Continuing with our examination of the differences between Seventh Day Adventist and Bible Students our next subject is
Creation: Seventh Day Adventist state:
“God has revealed in Scripture the authentic and historical account of His creative activity. He created the universe, and in a recent six-day creation the Lord made “the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them” and rested on the seventh day. Thus, He established the Sabbath as a perpetual memorial of the work He performed and completed during six literal days that together with the Sabbath constituted the same unit of time that we call a week today.”
Elsewhere it is stated: “The Seventh-day Adventist doctrine of creationism is based on believing that the opening chapters of Genesis should be interpreted as literal history. Adventist belief holds that all Earthly life originated during a six-day period some 6000 years ago. Although Adventists hold that creation week was a recent event, they believe the Bible speaks of other worlds populated by intelligent beings elsewhere in the universe, which pre-existed the Earth's creation week.”
Bible Students DO NOT believe in the literal 24 hour six-day creation concept, but rather we hold to the idea that the six days of creation are of equal lengths corresponding to the length of the last creative day of the week, which is now a little over 6000 years long and with the millennial age (another 1000) will encompass 7000 years total. Since heavens first law is “order” it seems only logical to assume that each of the creative days have been equal in length. Thus, the creative week encompasses 7 X 7- or 49,000-years total at which time it will reach the 50th, the Grand Jubilee of Jubilees at its conclusion.
Now as to their last statement, viz.
“Although Adventists hold that creation week was a recent event, they believe the Bible speaks of other worlds populated by intelligent beings elsewhere in the universe, which pre-existed the Earth's creation week.”
This is nonsense. There are no other worlds presently nor in the past that were ever populated by intelligent beings, nor does the bible mention any such, and this likewise includes the ridiculous notion put forth by some that the earth was occupied by intelligent life prior to its having been made ready for the arrival of man.
With respects to this last idea, many have tried to place a gap of indeterminate time between the first and the second verses of Genesis Chapter 1. There are many different versions as to what supposedly happened in this “gap” of time. Most versions of the “gap” theory place millions of years of geologic time (including billions of fossil animals) in between these two first verses of Genesis. This is referred to as the “ruin-reconstruction” version of the gap theory.
However, this undermines the gospel as it allows for death, bloodshed, disease, and suffering BEFORE Adam's sin. Because most “ruin-reconstruction” theorists have accepted the millions of years dating for the fossil record, they have thus allowed the fallible theories of scientists to determine the meaning of Scripture.
We certainly know where and when intelligent human beings first came into existence on earth it is spelled out for us in the Scriptures.
Near the end of the sixth day of creation:
“… the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” (Gen 2:7)
“And so, it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being… The first man was of the earth (earthly), made of dust.” (1 Cor 15:45, 47)
This proves conclusively that Adam was the first earthly or natural man, the first human being, that no human being existed prior to this. Therefore, there could not have been any human beings (earthly beings) on the earth prior to Adam, and since spiritual beings’ (Angels) dwell on the spiritual plain of existence, and NOT on the natural or earthly plain, we can be assured that there were no spiritual beings inhabiting the earth prior to Adam either.
We will continue with this subject in our next post.
Creation: Seventh Day Adventist state:
“God has revealed in Scripture the authentic and historical account of His creative activity. He created the universe, and in a recent six-day creation the Lord made “the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them” and rested on the seventh day. Thus, He established the Sabbath as a perpetual memorial of the work He performed and completed during six literal days that together with the Sabbath constituted the same unit of time that we call a week today.”
Elsewhere it is stated: “The Seventh-day Adventist doctrine of creationism is based on believing that the opening chapters of Genesis should be interpreted as literal history. Adventist belief holds that all Earthly life originated during a six-day period some 6000 years ago. Although Adventists hold that creation week was a recent event, they believe the Bible speaks of other worlds populated by intelligent beings elsewhere in the universe, which pre-existed the Earth's creation week.”
Bible Students DO NOT believe in the literal 24 hour six-day creation concept, but rather we hold to the idea that the six days of creation are of equal lengths corresponding to the length of the last creative day of the week, which is now a little over 6000 years long and with the millennial age (another 1000) will encompass 7000 years total. Since heavens first law is “order” it seems only logical to assume that each of the creative days have been equal in length. Thus, the creative week encompasses 7 X 7- or 49,000-years total at which time it will reach the 50th, the Grand Jubilee of Jubilees at its conclusion.
Now as to their last statement, viz.
“Although Adventists hold that creation week was a recent event, they believe the Bible speaks of other worlds populated by intelligent beings elsewhere in the universe, which pre-existed the Earth's creation week.”
This is nonsense. There are no other worlds presently nor in the past that were ever populated by intelligent beings, nor does the bible mention any such, and this likewise includes the ridiculous notion put forth by some that the earth was occupied by intelligent life prior to its having been made ready for the arrival of man.
With respects to this last idea, many have tried to place a gap of indeterminate time between the first and the second verses of Genesis Chapter 1. There are many different versions as to what supposedly happened in this “gap” of time. Most versions of the “gap” theory place millions of years of geologic time (including billions of fossil animals) in between these two first verses of Genesis. This is referred to as the “ruin-reconstruction” version of the gap theory.
However, this undermines the gospel as it allows for death, bloodshed, disease, and suffering BEFORE Adam's sin. Because most “ruin-reconstruction” theorists have accepted the millions of years dating for the fossil record, they have thus allowed the fallible theories of scientists to determine the meaning of Scripture.
We certainly know where and when intelligent human beings first came into existence on earth it is spelled out for us in the Scriptures.
Near the end of the sixth day of creation:
“… the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” (Gen 2:7)
“And so, it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being… The first man was of the earth (earthly), made of dust.” (1 Cor 15:45, 47)
This proves conclusively that Adam was the first earthly or natural man, the first human being, that no human being existed prior to this. Therefore, there could not have been any human beings (earthly beings) on the earth prior to Adam, and since spiritual beings’ (Angels) dwell on the spiritual plain of existence, and NOT on the natural or earthly plain, we can be assured that there were no spiritual beings inhabiting the earth prior to Adam either.
We will continue with this subject in our next post.
