WHO CARES HOW OLD THE EARTH IS?
There is an internal struggle between Christians. It is ironically one of the same struggles that Christians have with Atheists.
'THE AGE OF THE EARTH'
Atheists teach that this earth and universe is millions and billions of years old. Unfortunately there are allot of Christians who agree with them. This is in spite of what God says in his word: which is that this universe and earth is a mere 6000 years old and made in a time frame of 6/24 hour periods.
Many Christians argue:
Does it really matter how old the earth and universe is? Someone who has repented from their sinful ways and believed that Jesus is Lord and that God raised him from the dead is saved.
That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. - Romans 10:9
Does it really matter if they also believe what the Evolutionists believe and teach about this earth and universe being millions and billions of years old?
It does matter. This is because even though someone's view of the age of the earth will not affect their acceptance into the heavenly realms, the belief that this earth and universe being millions and billions of years old is inconsistent with their claim of being a total follower of Jesus Christ. A total follower of Jesus isn't someone who just does the good deeds that Jesus requires of us to do. A Christian is someone who has put their faith in Jesus Christ as the son of God, believes that he is God and that he died to save them from the punishment for their sins and then rose again on the 3rd day. Someone who believes that Jesus is God believes by default:
- THAT JESUS IS ALL POWERFUL:
- Therefore is capable of creating everything in such a short time frame.
- THAT JESUS KNOWS EVERYTHING:
- Therefore knows who to making everything in such a short time frame.
- THAT JESUS IS ALL TRUTHFUL:
- Therefore when God says something in his word, he is telling the truth.
A Christian also claims to believe that the bible is the totally-truthful word of God.
WHAT DOES GOD SAY?
God states in the genealogies of the bible that this universe from Genesis 1:3 to today is roughly 6000 years old. (This revelation was discovered by a man named James Ussher) Furthermore, when God wrote his word he used the Hebrew language. The way the Hebrew language works as it pertains to the word 'DAY' is this:
When the word 'DAY' is used with the words indicated below it always means a 24 hour period:
- MORNING
- EVENING
- NIGHT
- & A NUMBER (1,2,3, etc
So, when the bible states in Exodus 20:11 'For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth,...' It is saying that he created the '...heavens and the earth...' in 6/24 hour periods. This is because the word 'DAY' is in conjunction with the number 6. For another example in Genesis 1:3-5 God states:
And God said: "Let there be light," and there was light. God saw that the light was good,... God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day." - Genesis 1:3-5
This means that the light was created in 1/24 hour period. This is because the word 'DAY' was expressed with the words:
- NIGHT
- EVENING
- MORNING
- & A NUMBER (...'first day.' )
In order for ‘DAY’ to mean a literal day all it needs to be is associated with 1 of the options stated above. God used all 4 options. It is like God is beating the point home; the point being that he created the light in 1/24 hour period; not over a long period of time.
This is a common motif throughout the first chapter in Genesis; so God is saying to us, via the rules of the Hebrew language that he created the heavens & the earth in 6/24 hour periods.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BELIEVE IN MILLIONS AND BILLIONS OF YEARS AS A CHRISTIAN?
When someone, on one hand:
- Claims that the bible is the infallible word of God
Then on the other hand say that in spite of the bible stating that the earth & universe is only 6000 years old & was created in 6/24 hour periods:
- This earth & universe is really millions of years old and was created over a long period of time
is calling God a liar
A CASE-STUDY:
Jesus Christ alludes to the creation as being at the beginning.
"But at the beginning of creation God 'made them male and female.'" - Mark 10:6
When did God create Adam & Eve?
ANSWER: At the beginning.
Was their millions of years of evolution before they came on the earth?
ANSWER: NO
The claim that this earth is millions & billions of years old is parallel to calling Jesus Christ a liar; and this doctrine is something that the anti-creationists (Atheists) support. Millions & billions of years after the creation of the light for an example is not '...at the beginning...' of creation. However sceptics could argue:
Jesus was wrong because according to the scriptures Adam and Eve were made last; so in a way neither is 6/24 hour periods down the road from the creation of the light is "...at the beginning". Jesus was wrong because it was at the end of creation that '...God made them male ad female.' The light was the first thing God created, so the light was created '...at the beginning...' .
This is a good argument, but just as it is a good argument it is just as wrong. The 'creation' was 1 event that was 6 days long and this event was at the beginning of time. So Jesus was not wrong because Adam and Eve were created at the beginning, (along with everything else) because the 'Creation -event' was at the beginning.
So... who cares whether a Christian believes in 6-days or billions of years?
ANSWER: God does! This is because one of the effects of compromising on God's word is it brings down the validity of God's word in the hearts and minds of others when his own followers don't believe him.
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