Welcome!
Creation was Renewed 6,000 Years ago
buildontherock
2012-02-062024-12-17

Some questions about creation are nothing to fight over; they have no impact on our salvation. In spite of this we all yearn for answers to these timeless questions. The problem is that questions like these can undermine our faith because of the confusion surrounding them. You have no faith because if you did you would believe what it plainly says. That is the gist of some arguments but often what is cited as the clear evidence is not so very clear. I address something of that subject in this article but look here to find much more to be said on the subject of creation.

Two views

There are basically two views of the origin of the earth. One view is that it is very old and is supported by Habakkuk 3:6:

Habakkuk 3:6 (KJV)6 He stood, and measured the earth: he beheld, and drove asunder the nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow: his ways are everlasting.

Another view is that it is 6,000 years old and is backed by the Bible's clear revelation in Genesis 1:1:

Genesis 1:1 (KJV)1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

Both sides poke fun at the other and criticise and there is real support for either option. People have whole sites dedicated to proving or disproving as with answersingenesis vs. bibleandscience and then there is creation.

Of course there was a time when the earth was founded (not created) and seas were born and when they were wrapped in a thick cloud

Job 38:4-17 (KJV)4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. 5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? 6Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; 7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? 8 Or who shut up the sea withdoors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb? 9 When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it, 10 And brake up for it my decreed place, andset bars and doors, 11 And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed? 12 Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring toknow his place; 13 That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it? 14 It is turned as clay to the seal; and they stand as a garment. 15 And from thewicked their light is withholden, and the high arm shall be broken. 16 Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth? 17 Have the gates of death beenopened unto thee? or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death?

Young translates v4 as

Job 38:4 (YLT)Where wast thou when I founded earth? Declare, if thou hast known understanding.

Now I cannot swear that this is not the same time as 6,000 years ago but it does not seem to be. I seems to be the original creation. Notice at this time somebody had to say let there be Earth or something similar, not come to visit a site and declare it a disaster area (without form and void). By asking the question where were you when I ... you confirm that you did it. So there was a time when it was first planned and brought into existence and the angels sang in celebration. And later we find this:

Job 38:13-15 (YLT)13To take hold on the skirts of the earth, And the wicked are shaken out of it, 14It turneth itself as clay of a seal And they station themselves as clothed. 15And withheld from the wicked is their light, And the arm lifted up is broken.

Then somebody held the Earth like a skirt or apron and shook off the crumbs so that the Earth became empty, not a living soul, dark empty and waste. The Earth turned itself ready for God to stamp ownership of a new day and select its clothing from the wardrobe but instead it's light was withheld and the arm of the mighty was broken. When was this?

Those who do not like the belief that the earth was renewed make all kinds of comments about psalm 104:30 but it does tie in closely with this scenario.

Psalm 104:30 (KJV)30 Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.

But is there strong logic that clinches the argument? I believe that there is. If one can prove that events occurred on the Earth before the six-day creation period then the Earth would have existed before and furthermore if created as is used in the Bible does not mean created in the sense that is commonly accepted i.e. existing out of a vacuum, then it all harmonises. The actions of Satan/Lucifer show that there was activity on the Earth before the six-day creation period and creation as used in the Bible does not mean poof out of nothingness. Other topics go into these in detail. Even so that leaves us with no firm time when creation from poof occurred and therefore I can find no solid answer to the question of when the Earth was originally formed but it does not seem to have been 6,000 years ago.

God Can't Count

One of the things that caught me a bit by surprise is how people who believe that creation was 6,000 years ago, use genesis 1:14-18 to claim that other people do not have faith.

Genesis 1:14-18 (KJV)14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: 15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. 16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night:he made the stars also. 17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, 18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.

Now you see. God said that He created the stars the same time that He created the sun and moon. But did He? The first thing to note is that the he made in verse 17 was added. We know this because it is in italics in the King James Bible. Secondly, while God notes that there are other lights He said that HE ONLY MADE TWO. Now can God count? does He really know the difference between two and two trillion? If you have all of this faith then you must believe God when He says that He only made two no matter what appears to be to the contrary, simply because He said so. Now let us read the verse again without the added text: And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night the stars also. Now it appears to say something completely different. Now it is just a punctuation problem. Let us correct the punctuation: And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night (the stars also) .Now the meaning is obvious without adding any text, but that creates a problem for the creation 6,000 years ago. Where did the stars come from? They must have been there along with the watery mass that the Spirit moved over. .

The Origin of the 6,000 Year Old Earth Theory

The source of the modern 6,000 year old earth theory appears to be Bishop James Usher, who produced the Ussher chronology during the 17th-century. In fact Ussher was a brilliant man but confused two issues viz. the creation of the Earth and the creation of man. Based on scriptural records we can trace the creation of  man to 6,000 years ago but the Biblical record also shows that it was not the original creation of the Earth and certainly not that of the Universe. To see the buildontherock approach to the creation of the earth you may want to read what the Bible actually says happened 6,000 years ago. Usher was an extraordinary mind as is attested by by this short article on the Institute of Creation Research website, James Ussher and His Chronology: Reasonable or Ridiculous? https://www.icr.org/article/james-ussher-his-chronology-reasonable/ by Jerry Bergman, Ph.D. Monday, March 31, 2014. There is an attempt to discuss his work in context at Wikipedia in Ussher chronology https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ussher_chronology last edited on 4 December 2024, at 15:40, but I believe that the buildontherock article cited above connects these rationally. You can also checkout our chronology.