Your Company Website

We have seen that the Bible claims that less than 10,000 years transpired between Adam and us today. Thus, the earth is less than 10,000 years old. However, there are some who would still object in the following way. “First,” they might say, “we don’t know how long the period of time was between Genesis 1:1, ‘In the beginning God created...’, and Genesis 1:2, ‘And the earth was formless...’” (This is known as the gap theory.) “Second, we don’t know how many years it took God to do the work of the so-called ‘creation week’, and third, we don’t know how many years Adam lived in the garden. Therefore, even though the Bible claims that it was less than 10,000 years from Adam’s day to our day, we still do not know how old the earth is.”

With regard to how long Adam lived in the garden, we know one thing for sure, it was less than 930 years, for Genesis 5:5 says, “Altogether, Adam lived 930 years, and then he died.”

Before we consider these objections any further, may I take a moment to remind you again of the importance of this study?

THE IMPORTANCE OF STUDYING CREATION EVIDENCES: The way we look at God and His word, the way we consider the world around us, the way we understand our purpose for living and our hope for the future all have their roots in the opening verse of the Bible, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1 The Bible is like a many-faceted jewel. This jewel can only gain its full radiance and splendor when every aspect of it is considered in the light of God’s creation story. Everything that is taught in the Bible has for its bedrock foundation this Biblical account of creation. To establish that any Christian doctrine is correct, we must ultimately begin with Genesis chapter 1.[1] For instance, if we could not confidently trust the creation story, we could never be sure that the story of Jesus the Savior is true. The creation account is the foundation of our faith in the Bible; therefore, the Bible stands or falls with the acceptance or rejection of the creation story.

Studying the Biblical account of creation is important because it forms the foundation of our lives. We sometimes say, “Oh, sure I believe in God. Mom always did, therefore, I do also.” But when a crisis comes in our lives, our foundation, which is built on another person’s faith, begins to crumble. Allow me to illustrate: A person that believes in God because his parents do, but not because he has really studied for himself, has a crisis in his life and he asks, “If there is a God, why would he allow this to happen to me?” The crisis may be cancer, financial struggles, or even growing weary in well doing. Suddenly, he questions the reality of God, and his life becomes shipwrecked. May I say again, the creation story forms the foundation for our lives?

Studying the Biblical account of creation is important because there are so many of us who are searching for an answer to our own beginning. One of the expressed goals of the multi-billion dollar space program is to find information about the beginning of our universe.[2] The Biblical creation account holds the answer to this billion dollar question.

Studying the Biblical account of creation is important because of the enemies of the Bible; Communism, Atheism, and Secular Humanism. All three of these enemies reject the creation account as given in our Bible and the reason is quite obvious. The logical place to begin to destroy a tree is not at the leaves, but at the root. The logical place to begin to destroy the Bible is at its very foundation. Secular Humanism, which teaches that man is his own god, is fast becoming the largest religion in America. Most, if not all, of our public schools teach this religion to one degree or another. To refute the enemies of God’s word, we must know the facts about biblical creation.

COULD THERE BE A GAP BETWEEN VERSES 1 AND 2 IN GENESIS 1? Let us consider this passage once more. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Verse 1) “Now the earth was formless and empty, and darkness was over the surface of the deep....” (Verse 2) There are some who would insert a long time gap between verses one and two, and would read the passage like this; “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (gap, a million or a billion years of evolutionary process transpired) and the earth was (still) formless and empty...” The reason that some people place the gap between verses one and two is to harmonize the creation account with the “supposed scientific fact” that the earth is about five billions of years old.[3] However, the important question is, did God intend to convey the idea of a time gap, or did He intend for us to understand that He created the heaven and the earth in the first 24-hour-day of history. If it were God’s intention for us to understand that the creation days were literal twenty-four hour days, we would have nothing to fear with regard to scientific facts, for God is the author of both the Bible and true science. These two always agree perfectly.

I am convinced that God did intend to convey the idea that He created the heaven and the earth in the first 24-hour-period of history, and that He created everything else on the succeeding five 24-hour days. The reasons for my confidence are as follows:

The creation account is given in a clear, sequential, matter-of-fact way. It appears to be a straight forward historical account. If it is only figurative it is very deceptive. If the Author had intended to say that the progressive sequence of the creation came about in six literal days, it is difficult to see how He could have done so more plainly than by the words that He actually used.[4] Allow any twelve year old child to read the passage and ask him to explain it. If the mind is not clouded by prejudice, he will consider the passage to be literal.

In most translations of the Bible, there is a period at the end of verse one, but in the original Hebrew there was no punctuation. Because of the absence of the period, we have no indication that the thought of verses 1 and 2 should be broken. The translators of the King James Version, American Standard Version, New American Standard Version, Douay Version, and most others have in Genesis chapter 1, verse 2, “And the earth was without form...” The translators added the word “and” because they felt that it helps us understand the meaning from the original Hebrew. There is no indication that God intended to break these verses apart nor to insert a time gap between them.

Next, I would like for us to consider a passage that is often overlooked when we are studying the creation account. This passage is Exodus 20:11. “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them...” Notice that this verse plainly tells us that the creation of the heavens and the earth was not separated from the other six creation days, but rather, that the creation of the heavens and the earth was performed DURING these six days. Let us observe the passage again, “In six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth...” Now, to insure that the reader would not mistake His intentions, God went one step further and stamped the passage with extra clarity, as He added “and ALL that is in them...”

SUMMARY: There can be no time gap between Genesis chapter 1, verses 1 and 2 because...

· There is no period in the original Hebrew that would separate these verses into individual sentences.

· The conjunction “and” at the beginning of verse 2, emphasizes the fact that verses 1 and 2 are, indeed, a continuous thought; therefore, no time frame can be inserted between them.

· In stating that God created the heaven and the earth in six days, and by re-emphasizing that in six days God created “all that is in them,” we see that Exodus 20:11 puts the final death blow to the time gap theory.

COULD EACH OF THE DAYS OF CREATION EQUAL A MILLION YEARS? There are some that hold the idea that each of the creation days equal a long period of time, as much as several thousand, or even several million years. Often, II Peter 3:8 is quoted to affirm this conviction. The verse reads, “...with the Lord one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as a day.” (KJV) Notice that Peter does not claim that a day is a thousand years, but only that a day is “as” a thousand years. We use this expression all the time. I might say, “It was just like yesterday that I was a boy,” or “It was ‘as’ yesterday.” In all actuality, I was not a boy yesterday, but it seems as though I was. Since God can remember all the things that happened thousands of years ago, the days that are past are like yesterday to him. Notice how the New International translation has it, “...with the Lord a day is like a thousand years...” A day with God then, when dealing with this earth, is a normal twenty-four hour period of time.

The scheme of redemption from sin and its penalty is the theme of the Bible. The Bible teaches us that the punishment for sin is death. If the creation days equaled millions of years of evolution, death would have had to come before sin, therefore death could not be the result of sin. If evolution is true the purpose of the Bible crumbles right before our eyes.

WORD USAGE SHOWS A TWENTY-FOUR HOUR DAY. In Genesis 1:1-25, the words “first day,” “second day,” “third day,” and so on, are recorded with reference to the creation week. The use of a number modifying the word “day” occurs over one hundred times in the first five books of the Bible and always refers to a solar, twenty-four hour day, unless the exception is in the story of the creation week. But why would we draw the exception here?[5]

The Hebrew words for “evening” and “morning,” as used in reference to the creation week, are found over one hundred times each in the Old Testament. And, they are always used in the literal sense, unless the exception is in the story of the creation week. But why would we draw the exception here?[6]

When the Hebrew word for “days” appears in the plural, as it does seven hundred times in the Old Testament, it always refers to a literal twenty-four hour day, unless the exception is in the story of the creation week. But why would we draw the exception here?

We must conclude from the way these words are used in the Bible that each of the creation days

EXODUS 20:8-11 SHOWS A TWENTY-FOUR HOUR DAY XE "EXODUS 20\:8-11 SHOWS A TWENTY-FOUR HOUR DAY" . Let us consider this passage. “Remember the Sabbath day, by keeping it holy” (verse 8). “Six days you shall labor and do all your work,” (Verse 9) “but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work...” (Verse 10) “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy” (Verse 11.) Notice again the first part of verse 11. “For in six days the Lord made...” Verse 11 begins with the word “for”. The word “for” means “because of” and can be properly translated in this manner. If we were to read, “Because in six days the Lord made...”, we would be led to ask, “Because of what? What is he driving at?” We are shown by the word “for” or “because,” that the purpose of verse 11 is simply to explain or illustrate the meaning of verses 8 through 10. In verses 8 through 10, God is commanding the Jews to work for six days and to rest on the Sabbath. Verse 11, therefore, illustrates what type of days that the Jews were to work and to rest. It shows that the Jews were to work and rest the same “type” of days that God worked and rested. If the days of creation were composed of indefinite periods of time, the creation week could not be used as an example of the type days they were to work and rest, for it would have confused the issue rather than clarifying it. The type of day they were to rest was a literal twenty-four hour day. Therefore, the creation week, of necessity, is made of normal twenty-four hour days.[8]

THE RULE FOR FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE SHOWS A TWENTY-FOUR HOUR DAY. All communication naturally falls into one of three categories. It is either LITERAL, FIGURATIVE, or a LIE.[9] There are no other possibilities! Wouldn’t it be grand if we had some kind of rule that we could use so we could always be sure whether a person was speaking literally, figuratively or was simply telling a lie? Sadly, there is no simple rule that we can use to establish if a person is telling the truth or not. The only way we can determine if a person is telling the truth is to contrast the person’s statement to known truth. There is a rule, however, that we can apply to any type of communication to determine if the message is literal or figurative. The rule is as follows:

We must consider everything that is communicated as being literal, unless it involves an absurdity, or a direct contradiction of Another clear message.

Without this rule, we would have no hope of understanding any type of communication. To illustrate the rule, Jesus said, “I am the door.” Is this statement to be understood as being literal or figurative? The first part of our rule is, “We must consider everything as literal unless it involves an absurdity....” An absurdity is something that is absolutely silly. If Jesus’ statement was to be considered literal, then Jesus, as a door, would be perhaps made of a piece of pine about an inch and a half thick, three feet wide, eight feet tall, and have a door knob some place in his middle. You say that’s absurd, that’s silly, and certainly it would be. Therefore, we must conclude that Jesus is a door only figuratively, that is, he is like a door that opens to heaven. Now, let’s apply the second part of the rule. “We must consider everything that is communicated as being literal unless it involves...a direct contradiction of another clear message.” What do the clear passages say about Jesus? The clear passages tell us that Jesus was a living, breathing, human being, a “God-man” and certainly not a hunk of wood. Jesus’ statement must be considered figurative. Let’s apply the rule to our subject of creation. “We must consider everything that is communicated as being literal unless it involves an absurdity...” Is it absurd or silly to think that in six literal days God created the heavens and the earth? No. If we can believe that God is so great as to create all the intricacies of the universe, it is not at all difficult to take it a step further and believe that He did it in six literal days. The second part of the rule again states, “We must consider all communication as literal unless it involves...a direct contradiction of another clear message.” Is there a clear passage in the Bible that would show that the creation week was something other than a literal week, made up of normal, twenty-four hour days? The answer is no. There is not one single passage in all the Bible that would even hint to the idea that the creation days were anything but literal. Exodus 20:11 says that they were literal days.

We must conclude from the application of the figurative language rule that each day of creation equaled a normal twenty-four hour day.

SUMMARY: Each of the days of creation could not equal a long period of time, such as a million years, because...

The purpose for recording the creation story in Exodus 20 was to illustrate when the Jews were to work and rest. If the days of creation were figurative, the creation story would have confused, rather then clarified, the issue.

The rule of figurative language demands six literal days of creation and a literal day of rest.

When the word “day” is used with a number, as it is in the account of the creation week, it always refers to a literal solar day.

When the plural word for “days” is used, as it is in the account of the creation week, it always refers to a literal solar day.

When the words “evening” and “morning” are used in the Old Testament as they are in the account of the creation week, they always refer to a literal solar day.

If God used figurative language in Genesis 1, is it not strange that He withheld the code from all the prophets and apostles, and only allowed the unbelieving scientists of today to discover this truth?[10]

The Bible does claim the earth to be less than ten thousand years old, but in doing so, it opens a Pandora’s Box full of questions. Some of these questions are as follows:

· How do we harmonize stalactites, carbon 14, and other dating methods with a 10,000 year old earth?

· How could stars that burned out a million years ago be created only 10,000 years ago?

The questions that we have just raised will be considered in the following chapters.

[1] Warren H. Johns, Ministry, may 1981, p 18.

[2] Henry M. Morris, Biblical Cosmology and Modern Science, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, MI., p j.

[3] Henry M. Morris, The Remarkable Birth of Planet Earth, Creation-Life Publishers, San Diego, CA., p 80.

[4] Henry M. Morris, The Remarkable Birth of Planet Earth, Creation-Life Publishers, San Diego, CA., p 84.

[5] Henry M. Morris, Biblical Cosmology and Modern Science, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, MI., p 58,59.

[6] Henry M. Morris, Biblical Cosmology and Modern Science, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, MI., p 58,59.

[7] Henry M. Morris, Biblical Cosmology and Modern Science, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, MI., p 58,59.

[8] Henry M. Morris, Biblical Cosmology and Modern Science, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, MI., p 59.

[9] Some would suggest that a forth category of communication is a joke. An illustration might be, “There will be no women in heaven because in Revaluation 8:1 the Bible says there was silence in heaven for a half hour.” A joke is only a joke if the literal truth is known or revealed, otherwise it is a lie.

[10] Henry M. Morris, The Remarkable Birth Of Planet Earth, Creation-Life Publishers, San Diego, CA., p 83.

THE GAP THEORY AND THE

MILLION YEAR PER DAY THEORY