Creation vs Evolution - Part 2



Creation vs Evolution - Part 2The Biblical Age of the Earth-Introduction-In our lesson last week - an introduction to a series of lessons on creation vs evolution - we began by looking at Rev 4:11 & 1 Pet 3:15.-A key element—actually thee key element—to evolution is time.-If you remove vast amounts of time from the theory of evolution you in turn remove the theory.-I want to suggest to you this morning that it is exactly what the Bible does. (Now, I understand that as soon as I reference the Bible some are going to dismiss anything that follows. I understand that. This lesson this morning is directed to Bible believers. Do you know what the Bible says regarding the age of the earth? You need to.)-In lessons that follow, I’ll include information exterior to the Scriptures and see how they impact the discussion.-Creation vs Evolution and Time-Consider once again some information from the text book that I borrowed (Biology, Miller, Kenneth R., Levine, Joseph S., ? 2006 by Pearson Education, Inc. as Pearson Prentice Hall, Boston, Massachusetts 02116)-“Geologic evidence show that Earth, which is about 4.6 billion years old, was not ‘born’ in a single event. Instead, pieces of cosmic debris were probably attracted to one another over the course of about 100 million years…” (pg 423).-Page 421 contains a geological table representing the various layers of rock and corresponding dates or ages. According to the chart, the top layer of rock dates from the present day back to 1.8 million years ago. The earliest (deepest) layer dates back to a time period from 650-544 million years ago.-On page 373 I found the following: “Most Europeans in Darwin’s day believed that the Earth and all its forms of life had been created only a few thousand years ago. Since that original creation, they concluded, neither the planet nor its living species had changed. A robin, for example, has always looked and behaved as robins had in the past. Rocks and major geological features were thought to have been produced suddenly by catastrophic events that humans rarely, if ever, witnessed” (pg 373).-Seems to me like a tactic used in debate - pick one bit of information which is obviously false and attach another statement to it that you want to present as also being false.-For example: People actually thought the Earth was flat. They also believed that this Earth was created by an Almighty God. When the 2nd, truthful statement is combined with the 1st which is obviously false, people may assume and accept the idea that the 2nd is also false.-This earth has in fact changed—perhaps more than we often times realize. Yet, I believe the Scriptures contain indications of this fact and provide information as to how/why it happened. But, that will have to wait for another lesson. -Yet, I point out this information from the book to indicate quite a difference in ideas regarding the age of this Earth - billions of years vs thousands of years.!”-Biblical Age of the Earth-Can we know the approximate age of the earth? Yes, we can! How? The Bible tells us.-Let’s divide time into three categories: 1. Adam to Abraham; 2. Abraham to Jesus; 3. Jesus to our present day-Let’s consider that 3rd category of time. Since dates are classified in accordance with Jesus, it’s easy to conclude that approx. 2,000 years have passed since Jesus was here.-Now then, let’s consider the 1st category: Gen 5 and Gen 11-Gen 5:1-5 - These verses show that the days of Genesis 1 were not vast periods of time. If they were, Adam would have had to have been much older than 930 at his death. -Consider: Adam was created sometime on the 6th day and lived through the seventh. If the days of creation are actually vast periods of time (thousands— millions of years; Day-Age Theory), Adam would have had to live longer than the time represented by at least one of those days (the 7th day). Yet, we’re told that from the day he was created to his death, he lived 930 years.-See chart - “Adam to Abraham” - approx 2,000 years-That leaves us with the 2nd category - Abraham to Jesus-1 Kings 6:1 - Very helpful verse. History records reveal that Solomon began the temple in 966 B.C. The Exodus/giving of the Law took place 480 years prior to this. 966 B.C. + 480 years = 1446 B.C. - The date of the Exodus & giving of the Law.-Page 2 on chart - Abraham to Joseph - From the birth of Abraham to the death of Joseph - 2369 -2008 = 361 years.-What does the Bible tell us in terms of history regarding events between the death of Joseph and the Exodus? - the time of the Egyptian bondage.-This is usually thought of in terms of 400 years. -Abraham’s birth to Joseph’s death: 361 years + 400 years for bondage = 761 years-1446 B.C. + 761 years = 2207 years (birth of Abraham to Jesus)-approx. 2,200 years-Conclusion: Adam to Abraham - 2,000 years; Abraham to Jesus - 2,200 years; Jesus to today - 2,000 years = 6,200 years for the Biblical Age of the Earth.-There is room for some additional time due a degree of flexibility within geneaologies. Yet, the additional time would be minimal and have no impact on the discussion of creation vs. evolution.-Summary and Invitation-Remember, the text book stated, “Most Europeans in Darwin’s day believed that the Earth and all its forms of life had been created only a few thousand years ago.”-The Bible supports such a view and rejects the timeline as represented by the Theory of Evolution.-It seems to me many do not question the evolutionary time frame because they have been bombarded with it (Parks Dept., zoo, t.v., even cartoons, etc.)-The Bible is accurate. It means what it says. And we need to take it very seriously.-Invitation ................
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