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6 Literal Days of Creation |
Gen 1:1-2
1 {The Account of Creation--} In the beginning God created the heavens
and the earth.
2 The earth was empty, a formless mass cloaked in darkness. And the
Spirit of God was hovering over its surface.
(NLT)
There are generally 2 main schools of thought I have heard concerning the account of creation. The first one states that the earth is much older than Adam and that there was pre-Adamic life existent on earth which occurred sometime between verses 1 & 2 of Genesis chapter 1, explaining the supposed age of dinosaurs and various other scientific evidences found in the earth.
The other school of thought is that God literally created the earth in 6 days and that Genesis 1 verses 1 & 2 state exactly what they mean with no time gap theory.
I was watching a television program on a public television educational station, and they were simply stating many different thoughts concerning creation, evolution, and even the varied beliefs Christians have concerning the creation account. They even showed some Christians who stated to believe both in creation and evolution, saying that it was God who caused the big bang that resulted in the millions or billions of years process it took to form the earth and evolve man into his present state of existence.
I must admit, that I too could not put all the pieces together as to whether or not there were 6 literal days of creation or if there was a time gap theory in which pre-Adamic life existed giving us the fossil and dinosaur remains we have today that appear to be much older than the time of Adam. During the broadcast, they just happened to mention a book that supports 6 literal days of creation. The book is entitled, " The Genesis Flood" by John C. Whitcomb & Henry M. Morris (P & R Publishing). The paperback version is almost 500 pages long, so I must say that I have not read the whole thing, but watching the television broadcast aroused my curiosity.
I began to browse the book and I found what I believe to be the greatest biblical evidence that supports 6 literal days of creation without pre-Adamic life existing and without any time gap between verses 1 & 2 of Genesis.
1 Cor 15:21
21 So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, Adam, now
the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man, Christ.
(NLT)
Death did not exist prior to the sin of Adam, therefore there could be no pre-Adamic life that existed and became extinct because Adam had not yet existed to commit sin. The Bible clearly states that "death came into the world through a man, Adam." There could be no dinosaurs that existed before Adam that became extinct because death had not been introduced into God's creation until after Adam, the one man, sinned.
To say that there was pre-Adamic life is to say that God gave dominion over the earth to another earthly being that brought sin and death into the earth prior to Adam, but there simply is no Biblical account that supports this theory. Satan had no dominion to bring sin and death into the earth until after Adam sinned, Adam being the only living being God records He ever gave dominion over the earth to. No where can we find scriptures that support Satan's pre-Adamic rule over earthly beings bringing death to God's Creation prior to the existence of Adam. Apart from knowing the angels are created beings, we have no other account of living beings being created prior to the 6 day creation period described clearly in God's Word that would rule and have dominion over the earth. Angels were given dominion in one realm and man in another.
Prior to Adam's sin, he had no need to rule over anything other than the Earth. He had no need to exercise authority over demons or spiritual beings. All he had to do was obey God. That is one of the reasons God sent Jesus to the Cross, so that we could be recreated inwardly and given another dimension of authority which only God possessed prior to Christ's death. Man needed to be re-equipped with dominion to include authority restored not only over the earth again and himself, but to include this time dominion over spiritual wickedness in high places, which includes dominion and rule over sin, the flesh, and the devil. When God originally created man he was not created or equipped to have dominion over sin, the flesh (carnal mindedness), and the devil. He was simply equipped to obey God and exercise dominion over the realms God made him steward of. Obeying God and not eating the fruit of the tree in the midst of the garden was the only resource he needed to preserve the earth and humanity's well being the way God intended life to be.
So many of us today are going through things we were never created or equipped in Adam to deal with. No wonder murder is skyrocketing, perversion is running rampant, mental illness and anxiety are causing a melt down in the well being of man kind, just to name a few.
1 Cor 15:21
21 So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, Adam, now
the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man, Christ.
(NLT)
Concerning the account of Creation, God clearly states that death did not enter the world prior to the sin of Adam. "The Genesis Flood" goes on to explain many scientific terms of how dinosaurs and fossils (remains of the dead) have existed and become extinct after Adam sinned. They stated that man is trying to go back to a time in which powers God used to create with are no longer being observed in the earth this day. Man is trying to explain from his temporal state of mind what God did by the Hand of Eternity. How can science explain the existence of something that came from nothing? There is no book on this subject in science. Science has to believe in some form of eternal existence to explain the substances they believe existed to start creation.
God ceased from the labor of creation and the laws that governed the world during the creation process are no longer in existence. We are only observing the effects of what took place during this time and God's preserving power over all creation, which are now tainted by the stain of death. That is why science will never have enough data to tell us what only God can know and tell us through His 6 day account of creation. Through the eyes of scientific observation, creation looks like it took millions of years, to the creative power of God things were being made by the minute.
"The Genesis Flood" also goes into detail about how fossils can be found and dinosaur remains can be formed into crude oil in processes within the earth that would give them the appearance of having been in a process that would take a much longer period of time. Does science pretend to conclude that it has exhausted the laws of the universe to the point that they know better than God concerning these events? Some Christians are trying to take a half science and half Christian approach at Creation, but only the account recorded in the Word of God will do for me these days, no matter how many scientists say the earth is billions of years old.
PRE-ADAMIC DEATH & ATONEMENT
If there were pre-Adamic natural life on earth and sin entered in causing death to that life prior to the existence of Adam, then the Bible would also have to include Jesus' death to atone for the sins of those beings that brought sin and death into the earth prior to the existence of Adam as well. If these pre-Adamic sins that brought death to creatures on earth prior to the existence of Adam could effect the whole earth and cause it to become an "empty formless mass cloaked in darkness...", then Jesus' death would have to atone for the sins of this time period as well to prevent this from ever happening again.
God starting the earth's creation as an "empty, formless mass cloaked in darkness" does not necessarily mean that chaos ruled the world. In that same verse and in its same condition, we see the Spirit of God hovering over its surface as if the finished product were being cloaked by the forming hand of God who in hovering over its surface, had complete control and mastery of the work that was submitted to the creative wisdom of His hand. There might have been darkness over the surface over the earth in the natural because the light had not yet been made to be until verse 3, but in the spirit realm I guarantee you that under the creative hand of God there was spiritual illumination surfacing the earth by the Glory of God. The only scriptural proof we have that sin entered into the physical world and had a direct effect on its condition is listed in Romans 5:12.
Rom 5:12
12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death
through sin, and thus death spread to all...
(NKJ)
The Bible is quite clear. It does not say that death entered AGAIN into the world after Adam sinned, but it says that exclusively, through ONE MAN sin entered the world, and death through the sin of that ONE MAN. Adam was the door through which sin and death entered into the natural universe. Christ was sent to atone for the death that came by one man Adam, that is why He is called the last Adam. He was not sent to atone for the pre-existent condition of sin on the earth prior to the existence of Adam because the Scripture never records such an event taking place, and as for fallen angels there is no atonement for them. If the scripture did speak of sin on the earth prior to the existence of Adam, then in order for the atoning death to be effective for ALL SIN effecting the realm of human existence (the natural universe), then the Apostles would have included that time period for being covered by the death of Jesus Christ, unless there are sins effecting the existence of humanity that are not atoned for by Christ, which would only make the work of the cross partially effective in dealing with sin. In the Bible, all teachings on the origin of sin in humanity trace back to Adam, unless we have an inaccurate record of sins origin entering into the world?
Satan is a spiritual being existing in a spiritual dimension or a spiritual universe we can call it. He cannot have direct access into the natural except through a vessel willing to submit to his commands. It was the same for God. He could not obtain direct access into the natural to redeem humanity except through a vessel willing to submit to His commands.
Besides all this, if there were pre-Adamic creatures that did exist, what sin could a dinosaur commit to cause God to judge them and condemn them to death or extinction? Where they some top secret hierarchy of fallen beings corrupting the earth by acting on mere animal instincts? From what I have been taught theologically, Genesis 3:21 records the first death of any being:
Gen 3:21
21 And the LORD God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his
wife.
(NLT)
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