How old is the Earth?

[marks]

It actually doesn't if you read it carefully.

Actually, I read it very carefully, and I find that it does.

Much love!

 

[Kayla McCanny]

Actually, I read it very carefully, and I find that it does.

Much love!

If your young early or old earth it doesn't determine ones salvation. I have heard it both ways and both make good points. Just had to do that in.

 

[marks]

If your young early or old earth it doesn't determine ones salvation. I have heard it both ways and both make good points. Just had to do that in.

I agree! Doctrine doesn't save us, trust in Jesus does that.

Much love!

 

[Jay Ross]

The Bible presents a young earth, and it's important to be able to read the Bible the way it's written, and not with reservations. Looking at this strictly from "creation days", there is much debate over how long those days were. People resort to "the Day/Age Theory", "the Gap Theory", "Theistic Evolution", "Pre-Adamic Civilizations", but the Bible says plainly that in 6 days God created heaven and earth and all that is in them, and on the 7th day He rested. So you also work 6 days and rest on the 7th. It's the same days, and we rest just like God rested, we know exactly how long that day is.

So when we come to that passage, and others like it, can we read it and accept it fully, or do we have ways of negating what it says in favor of some other theory?

Much love!

This is how I have paraphrased Genesis 1:1-2:3:-

​

GENESIS 1:1-2:3: - How Creation unfolded​

(Gen 2:4-9; Job 38:4-11; John 1:1-5)​

​

1:1 First God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.​

​

Then God said, the first time and the first day unfolded ​

​

3 Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So, the evening and the morning were the first day.​

​

Then God said, the second time and the second day unfolded​

​

6 Then God said, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters." 7 Thus God made the firmament and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. So, the evening and the morning were the second day.​

​

Then God said, the third and the fourth times and the third day unfolded​

​

9 Then God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear"; and it was so. 10 And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good.​

​

11 Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth"; and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13 So the evening and the morning were the third day.​

​

Then God said, the fifth time and the fourth day unfolded​

​

14 Then God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; 15 and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth"; and it was so. 16 Then 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 God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on 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. 19 So the evening and the morning were the fourth day.​

​

Then God said, the six time and the fifth day unfolded​

​

20 Then God said, "Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens." 21 So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth." 23 So the evening and the morning were the fifth day.​

​

Then God said, the seventh and eight times and the sixth day unfolded​

​

24 Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind"; and it was so. 25 And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth/fertile soil according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.​

​

26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."​

​

29 And God said, "See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. 30 Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food"; and it was so. 31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So, the evening and the morning were the sixth day.​

​

Then God rested, from His creation work and the seventh day unfolded​

​

2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. 2 And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.​

Please note that the Hebrew Root Word, "yowm," has the meaning of a period of time where the context determines it length. The Hebrew Root word, "yowm," is often found embedded in a Hebrew word that has the meaning of "a day of the Lord," where its duration is the same as a "generation" and an "age."

 

[marks]

This is how I have paraphrased Genesis 1:1-2:3:-

Personally I'll stick with the translation.

I find this definitive:

Exodus 20:8-11 KJV
8) Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9) Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10) But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11) For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Six days we work, the seventh day we rest, just like God did.

Much love!

 

[Jay Ross]

Personally I'll stick with the translation.

The translation I posted was the NKJV with two small changes. In the first change, I modified the expression, "In the Beginning," to simply just "First" to show that God already existed when He created the Heavens and the earth.

The second change I made was to add my own headings without changing the context of what was written similar to what the Berean Study Bible has as shown in this screen snip from BibleHub.com.



It seems that you have not considered your response and posted a knee jerk reaction.

 

[Hiddenthings]

I agree! Doctrine doesn't save us, trust in Jesus does that.

Much love!

How long was the earth without form and void?

 

[Aunty Jane]

If your young early or old earth it doesn't determine ones salvation. I have heard it both ways and both make good points. Just had to do that in.

Actually, if it read in Hebrew, Gen 1 says exactly what is meant.....the problem is with the word that is presented as “day”.....which in Hebrew is “yôm”......Now what is interesting is how many ways this word is rendered by English translators.....
According to Strongs Concordance...The KJV translates Strong's H3117 in the following manner: day (2,008x), time (64x), chronicles (with H1697) (37x), daily (44x), ever (18x), year (14x), continually (10x), when (10x), as (10x), while (8x), full (8x), always (4x), whole (4x), alway (4x), miscellaneous (44x).

So we get an idea of how many meanings can be applied to this one word, that doesn’t just mean just a 24 hour period. Reasons for pause and reflection.

The other thing that stands out to many Bible readers is the fact that Gen 1:1 and verse 2 read as if they took place one after the other, in quick succession... but read as separate events in the stream of time, rather than in a short earthly period (as if 24 hours was all that was necessary for vastness of God’s creation) these fail to take into account why these periods of time were undertaken in planned increments with a declaration of satisfaction after each was successfully concluded.

If God can create a whole Universe in a “day”, then why not create the earth as a finished product? Why would God need increments of his preparation of the earth for habitation, over set periods of time....why was there 6 periods of time to bring his creation to a completion?.....and what is time to a timeless being? Is he bound by our limited view of time which is governed by the rotation of this planet. How long is a “day” on Jupiter? or Mercury?

If we step back and see Genesis as it was presented to uneducated people in a fairly simplistic way, does it mean that we have reduced perhaps many millenniums of God’s creative works, as if he were some kind of magician rather than a careful, loving and thoughtful Creator?

How old the earth is, is of no relevance except to the YEC supporters who insist on the 24 hour day scenario, which is contradicted by science and archeology. They can guess how old the earth is, maybe not truly accurately, but they can at least explain the extinction of dinosaurs and why none were in existence long before man came on the scene. They can explain why so many species of living things came and went before man’s creation.
Why were there no dinosaurs mentioned in Scripture or accommodated on the ark? The obvious answer is that by the time of human creation, they had served their purpose and were no longer needed.

Living aquatic creatures and birds were seen on the 5th day and land animals were brought into existence on the 6th day.....mankind was not created until the end of that last creative day. If the days were very long periods of time, then God is a masterful Creator not a whimsical magician. One only has to examine creation itself to see how much careful detail there is even in the microscopic world.

 

[Jay Ross]

How long was the earth without form and void?

I believe that this question is irrelevant. What is relevant is that we can see God's glory on display in the creation story. The important matter that needs to be understood is how our response to the creation story frames our relationship and understanding of God.

 

[Hiddenthings]

I believe that this question is irrelevant. What is relevant is that we can see God's glory on display in the creation story. The important matter that needs to be understood is how our response to the creation story frames our relationship and understanding of God.

It only seems irrelevant to those unwilling to engage with it. Young-Earth proponents often treat Genesis as if it were a high school science textbook, but in reality, it was never written for Christians to determine the earth’s age. It's true purpose is to convey divine principles, revealing that God Himself in His Temple and brings order to chaos.

 

[ProDeo]

Personally I'll stick with the translation.

I find this definitive:

Exodus 20:8-11 KJV
8) Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9) Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10) But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11) For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Six days we work, the seventh day we rest, just like God did.

Much love!

That's exactly how Genesis 1 is written, in the Jewish framework later revealed in the Exodus passage you quoted.

 

[ProDeo]

How long was the earth without form and void?

And another question, why?

1 John 1:5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

Why the darkness on the earth without form and void.

Does it represent something spiritual?

 

[Hiddenthings]

And another question, why?

1 John 1:5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

Why the darkness on the earth without form and void.

Does it represent something spiritual?

The physical darkness is merely the absence of light. God is the creator of both.

 

[ProDeo]

Actually, if it read in Hebrew, Gen 1 says exactly what is meant.....the problem is with the word is presented as “day”.....which in Hebrew is “yôm”......Now what is interesting is how many ways this word is rendered by English translators.....
According to Strongs Concordance...The KJV translates Strong's H3117 in the following manner: day (2,008x), time (64x), chronicles (with H1697) (37x), daily (44x), ever (18x), year (14x), continually (10x), when (10x), as (10x), while (8x), full (8x), always (4x), whole (4x), alway (4x), miscellaneous (44x).

So we get an idea of how many meanings can be applied to this one word, that doesn’t just mean just a 24 hour period. Reasons for pause and reflection.

The other thing that stands out to many Bible readers is the fact that Gen 1:1 and verse 2 read as if they took place one after the other, in quick succession... but read as separate events in the stream of time, rather than in a short earthly period (as if 24 hours was all that was necessary for vastness of God’s creation) these fail to take into account why these periods of time were undertaken in planned increments with a declaration of satisfaction after each was successfully concluded.

If God can create a whole Universe in a “day”, then why not create the earth as a finished product? Why would God need increments of his preparation of the earth for habitation, over set periods of time....why was there 6 periods of time to bring his creation to a completion?.....and what is time to a timeless being? Is he bound by our limited view of time which is governed by the rotation of this planet. How long is a “day” on Jupiter? or Mercury?

If we step back and see Genesis as it was presented to uneducated people in a fairly simplistic way, does it mean that we have reduced perhaps many millenniums of God’s creative works, as if he were some kind of magician rather than a careful, loving and thoughtful Creator?

How old the earth is, is of no relevance except to the YEC supporters who insist on the 24 hour day scenario, which is contradicted by science and archeology. They can guess how old the earth is, maybe not truly accurately, but they can at least explain the extinction of dinosaurs and why none were in existence long before man came on the scene. They can explain why so many species of living things came and went before man’s creation.
Why were there no dinosaurs mentioned in Scripture or accommodated on the ark? The obvious answer is that by the time of human creation, they had served their purpose and were no longer needed.

Living aquatic creatures and birds were seen on the 5th day and land animals were brought into existence on the 6th day.....mankind was not created until the end of that last creative day. If the days were very long periods of time, then God is a masterful Creator not a whimsical magician. One only has to examine creation itself to see how much careful detail there is even in the microscopic world.

And even so, the order of creation,

Gen 1:3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. Sun light reaches Earth.

Gen 1:6 And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, creation of the atmosphere.

Gen 1:11 And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. Plants indeed came first.

Gen 1:14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, Earth starts rotating.

Gen 1:20 And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” Exactly right, fish came first, then birds.

Gen 1:24 And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. And there are beast, science also got that right.

Gen 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Yep, mankind came last, science also got that right.

It took science ~3000 years to figure it out and confirm Genesis 1.

 

[HealthyShape]

There are some built in assumptions that determine the outcomes of the readings, and if those assumptions are false, then the readings don't show what people think they show.

One assumption concerns the level of radiation received by the target material, be it a tree, or animal, or whatever, that we "know" what that radiation level was. In fact we do not, as no one was there taking test samples for us. And we have good reason to think it may have been very different.

The Bible addresses this head on:

2 Peter 3:3-7 KJV
3) Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
4) And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
5) For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
6) Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
7) But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

God judged the world once with water, and will again by fire. But people don't want to think about that! So they look at a world ravaged by that flood, that killed all but 8 people, and tell themselves, there wasn't anything cataclysmic, this all happened just like it happens today, over a long long time. In a word, Uniformatarianism.

". . . All things continue as they were from the beginning . . ."

Just like in Romans 1, people did not want to be thankful, and so admit accountability to God, so they chose to forget about Him. Here, they don't want to know God will judge them, again, accountability, so they lie to themselves that it's all been going on for millions and millions of years, no, this wasn't from God's judgment! Because that would be admitting God will judge me!

Uniformatarianism as a philosophy exists to aid man in ridding God from his thoughts. In fact things have not continued always just as they were. There seem to be no end of "exceptions", such as fossil layers that don't match the theoretical "fossil record", trees standing upright through "millions of years" of rock layers, dinosaur fossils with soft tissue, rocks tested to be millions of years old that were actually formed in the modern day, it goes on and on.

1 Timothy 6:20-21 KJV
20) O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:
21) Which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with thee. Amen.

Much love!

I would not recommend to mix science and biblical texts. They are two totally different genres and styles.

 

[ProDeo]

The physical darkness is merely the absence of light. God is the creator of both.

I am still intrigued by :

Gen 1:2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

It does not read as if it was only for a few seconds. And... the universe is a violent place, we are lucky Earth is located in a relative safe place in the milky way, safe from super novas but not from comets and asteroids slamming into Earth. Current science teaches that 4.5 billion years ago the moon slammed into Earth (not sure how they can proof that) but it reminded me as a (emphasis added) reason why the Earth was without form and gravity had to redo its work.

Point being from a spiritual point of view, why did God use so much violence to create and why do we live in such a hostile place as the universe is. There must be a spiritual reason.

 

[Hiddenthings]

I am still intrigued by :

Gen 1:2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

It does not read as if it was only for a few seconds. And... the universe is a violent place, we are lucky Earth is located in a relative safe place in the milky way, safe from super novas but not from comets and asteroids slamming into Earth. Current science teaches that 4.5 billion years ago the moon slammed into Earth (not sure how they can proof that) but it reminded me as a (emphasis added) reason why the Earth was without form and gravity had to redo its work.

Point being from a spiritual point of view, why did God use so much violence to create and why do we live in such a hostile place as the universe is. There must be a spiritual reason.

Why did God create a people (light) out of Egypt (darkness)?

Isaiah 45:7 “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.”

His Wisdom is of no benefit without darkness and chaos. He gains pleasure from shaping evil and if you consider the Genesis principles its clear what he is teaching!

Light and darkness symbolize good and evil. The firmament represents righteousness spreading over the earth. The herbs, grass, and trees point to salvation springing up from the earth, a picture of resurrection life.

It's all done by Him and non-other!

 

[marks]

I would not recommend to mix science and biblical texts. They are two totally different genres and styles.

Truth is truth. And if science disagrees with Scripture, relook at the "science".

Much love!

 

[Wick Stick]

It actually doesn't [present a young earth] if you read it carefully.

I don't think the Bible is consistent in this regard.

Whoever redacted Genesis put together the stories to create a chronology. They intended for us to "do the math" on those genealogies.

But if you disregard that late editing... none of the stories in Genesis on its own tries to do that. Not Genesis 1. Not the genealogies.

 

[Wick Stick]

I find this definitive:

Exodus 20:8-11 KJV
8) Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9) Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10) But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11) For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Six days we work, the seventh day we rest, just like God did.

The question for this line of thinking is - was Exodus written first, with Genesis 1 being written later to support it?

Also... not my question exactly, but one I find worthwhile. Came from a different discussion on the same topic elsewhere.