If the theory of evolution is false, what does
the record of the rocks really tell us when
coupled to the Word of God? What are these
two sources of information really telling
us about the Earth's past? Let's take a look.
First let's get a look at the chronology of when certain
key books of the Bible were written, and who was
inspiring the writers of them. The NIV Bible in
the opening notes to each book of the Bible gives
important dates on this subject. First, the Apostle
Peter says the books were written by men, but
that these men were inspired by the Holy Spirit
in everything they wrote down. I Peter 1:20-21, "Above
all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture
came about by the prophet's own interpretation.
For the prophecy never had its origin in the will
of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried
along by the Holy Spirit." Or as the King
James says, "as they were moved by the Holy
Ghost." In the opening notes to Exodus, the
translators say that the Israelites left Egypt
about 1446 B.C. So the first five books of Moses,
Genesis through Deuteronomy were written sometime
within the life-span of Moses, after 1446 B.C.
They, as we shall see, are not the oldest books
of the Bible. Job is thought to have lived around
the time of Abraham, in 2100 B.C. So the book
of Job is the earliest book of the Bible. Job
has an interesting encounter with God. In this
encounter God asks Job, who had been very prideful
about his knowledge and obedience to God, "Where
were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell
me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions?
Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line
across it? On what were its footings set, or who
laid its cornerstone--while the morning
stars sang together and all the angels shouted
for joy?" Job 38:4-7. So in the earliest
book of the Bible God himself is pointing out
that the earth was created so beautiful and perfectly
that the very angels of heaven were singing and
shouting for joy. Keep that in mind. Now let's
turn to the 2nd oldest book in the Bible, Genesis,
written some time after 1446 B.C. In Genesis 1:1
God describes this same creation of heaven and
earth, where the angels shouted for joy. Genesis
1:1, "In the beginning God created the heavens
and the earth." Now, let's read verse 2a
of Genesis 1. "And the earth was
[Hebrew: or possibly "became"] without
form [Hebrew: "tohuw"
"to lie waste; as desolation…] and void
[Hebrew from Strongs #8414: "bohuw" ruin:--emptiness,
void]…" Genesis 1:1 points to
the original creation, as Job 38:4-7 does. So
God's first creation was that of the angels
themselves, before time and space and matter
was created. The Hebrew then indicates in Genesis
1:2a that the earth "became" tohuw
and bohuw,
"waste, desolate and in ruin, emptiness."
If angels came first, and the earth and heavens
were created so beautiful as to make the heavenly
angels shout and sing for joy,does the Bible
show us an event that might have caused the ruin
of earth? Keep that thought in mind. Genesis
1:2a briefly indicates that the earth became towuh
and bohuw, empty and void, empty and desolate.
Genesis 1:2b brings us right up to the beginning
of the re-creation of planet Earth for man to
inhabit, creating a habitat suitable for man,
creating species of animals, plants, birds and
sea creatures suitable for mankind. But what happened
to the first creation on Earth? Does the Bible
tell us? What did God create first? In Job 38:7
we find angels already in existence before the
heavens and earth were created. They were shouting
for joy and singing. In the record of the rocks
we just saw plainly how the dinosaurs roamed the
earth, huge populations of all the various thunder-lizards
populating the planet Earth. We know that 65 million
years ago two, not one, but two huge meteors--global
killers--hit the earth. One measuring 6.25 miles
across hit the Yucatan the other measuring 25
miles across hit the Bay of Bombay. Today thirty-two
years after The Day the Dinosaurs Died was
written, we know this for a fact.
We also know from extensive satellite fly-bys
and telescopic observations that the moon, and
mercury, both without weathering atmospheres that
would destroy evidence, are covered with huge
craters, blast-marks from a distant past. An asteroid
belt consisting of the mass of a decent earth-sized
planet exists between Mars and Jupiter. This belt
orbits the Sun just like a planet would. Just
ask yourself "What would happen if someone,
something, were able to blow up a planet?" The
force required to do that would send "asteroids" speeding
in all directions. Those heading toward the sun,
and any planets in the way, would get a gravitational
assist in speed from the sun's gravitational field,
coupled to the gravitational field of the planet
or moon they were headed for. The asteroids flying
out in the direction of the orbit this planet
once occupied would "fill up" the orbital
path of this shattered planet, maintaining an
orbit of their own in the planet's place. Other
asteroids would form elliptical orbits that go
in close to the sun and then back out beyond our
solar system, just as astronomers have observed.
If evolution is truly a faulty theory, then we
must look for answers that both fit the record
of the rocks and our astronomical observations
and that of the Bible, and the Creator God who
inspired its writing. This means you must look
into the Bible's pages to find logical answers
to these questions of origins, and what occurred
in our distant past. We know from the pages of
the Bible, the angels came first, then the heavens
and earth were created. The record of the rocks
clearly show there was a prior creation, where
dinosaurs (and angels) ruled the earth.
What happened in this Dinosaurian-Angelic realm?
Do angels wage war? Are we looking at the clear
evidence of a huge Star Wars type battle
that occurred between angels or perhaps between
God and some of his angels? Most Bible scholars
agree that Ezekiel 28:11-17 is talking about Lucifer,
who became Satan. Let's read it. Ezekiel 28:11-17, "The
word of the Lord came to me: 'Son of man, take
up a lament concerning the king of Tyre and say
to him: 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom
and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden
of God; every precious stone adorned you: ruby,
topaz and emerald, chrysolite, onyx and jasper,
sapphire, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and
mountings were made of gold; on the day you were
created they were prepared. You were anointed
as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You
were on the holy mount of God; you walked among
the fiery stones. You were blameless in your ways
from the day you were created till wickedness
was found in you. Through your widespread trade
you were filled with violence, and you sinned.
So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God,
and I expelled you, O guardian cherub, from the
fiery stones. Your heart became proud on account
of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom
because of your splendor. So I threw
you to the earth…" In verse
17 God says about Lucifer, "So I threw you
to the earth." In the process of throwing
Lucifer to earth, a planet was evidently blown
up with tremendous force. Remember, we're combining
the Word of God to the geologic and paleontological
evidence we see around us in an attempt to draw
a logical conclusion on this matter of origins.
If you have seen and come to your own conclusion,
based on the facts, that evolutionary theory is
a flawed theory--weak at best--then what else
is there? The Bible, or simply--we just don't
know?
Does Jesus, who prior to his human birth was alive
as part of the Triune God (John 1:1-11), say anything
about Satan's fall back to Earth, about how spectacular
an event it was or anything? Luke 10:18, "He
replied, 'I saw Satan fall like lightning from
heaven.'"
Isaiah 14:12-15 is another account of the same
event described in Ezekiel 28 and Luke 10:18,
of Lucifer's fall and being thrown back to Earth.
Let's read it. Isaiah 14:12-15, "How you
have fallen from heaven, O morning star ["Lucifer" means "morning
star" in Hebrew. The King James translates
this "How art thou fallen from heaven, O
Lucifer, son of the dawn…"], son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to the earth, you who
once laid low the nations! You said in your heart,
'I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne
above the stars ["stars", the Bible's
symbol for
"angels"] of God; I will sit enthroned
on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights
of the sacred mountain [Hebrew: "sides of
the north"]. I will ascend above the tops
of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most
High. But you are brought down to the grave, to
the depths of the pit."
Is there any other place in the Bible that shows
that Lucifer attempted to, and will yet again
attempt to wage war against God? Revelation 12:3-4a, "Then
another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red
dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven
crowns on his heads. [This is symbolic language
indicating that Satan is the unseen spiritual
ruler of the last resurrection of the Roman Empire
which will try to conquer the earth. Read http://www.UNITYINCHRIST.COM/preevangelism/prophecy.htm.]
His tail swept a third of the stars out of the
sky and flung them to the earth." Symbolic
meaning of
"stars" in the Bible is "angels".
This is where the Bible indicates that Lucifer
deceived one third of God's angels into following
him in his rebellion, and they became demons,
or fallen angels. The next verse is where Satan
is shown as trying to destroy the Christ child
right after his birth (this attempt occurred through
Herod killing all the babies in Bethlehem and
the surrounding towns who were around the age
of the new-born Jesus). So the event of throwing
the "one third of the stars to earth" was
before the birth of Christ, way, way before, in
time sequence. So here in Revelation 12:3-4a Jesus
is revealing that this Lucifer, now Satan, was
able to somehow deceive one third of the angels
to follow him.
In Revelation 12:7-9 we find a description, a
prophecy, of an angelic war between God's holy
angels and Satan's angels (demons) yet to come.
But it can also be a good reflection of the first
angelic war. "And there was war in heaven.
Michael [one of two more cherubs, or archangels
that God created (Lucifer, Michael, and Gabriel).]
and his angels fought against the dragon, and
the dragon and his angels fought back. But he
was not strong enough, and they lost their place
in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down--that
ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who
leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to
the earth, and his angels with him" (Revelation
12:7-9). In the first angelic war between Satan
and God the exact same result occurred as in Revelation
12:9b, "He was hurled to the earth, and his
angels with him." Jesus said of this first
event, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from
heaven."
Now getting back to where we were in Genesis 1:2a,
the record of the rocks shows that after these
two global-killer asteroids hit, huge clouds of
dust, volcanic smoke and debris filled the skies,
blocking out all light. Anything that survived
the two huge blasts and resultant shock waves
of searing steam and heat, and oncoming tidal
waves flying out from the blast sites for hundreds,
even thousands of miles, and then the buckling
of Earth's crust creating volcanic eruptions and
fissures around the world--the life that was left
alive--plant life from the giant Cycads down to
the tiny diatoms, stopped photosynthesizing. Any
dinosaurs to survive died of starvation. The huge
chalk cliffs, the White Cliffs of Dover being
one example, are dead diatoms, nannoplankton,
from the K/T Barrier, dated 65 million years ago!
Revelation 12:7-9 is not only a prophecy for the
future, but a reflection of that Star Wars that
occurred in the distant past of 65 million years
ago.
In Genesis 1:2a+b we see "Now the earth becameformless
[tohuw] and empty [bohuw], darkness was over the
surface of the deep,…" Now the next part
of Genesis 1:2, Genesis 1:2c, "…and the Spirit
of God was hovering over the waters." So
the earth is in darkness, and the Spirit of God
is hovering over the waters. God is ready at this
point to start re-creating new life-forms. Let's
continue reading and see what happens. Remember
the paleontologists quoted in the article "The
Day the Dinosaurs Died" said, "It was
as if a huge curtain was wrung down on the Dinosaurs,
and when it lifted the whole stage had changed.
Nothing of the Dinosaur age was to be seen. Now
everything that had to do with man and man himself
was on the stage, and reptiles were mere supernumeraries
[bit part actors]." The following is quoted
from "The Bible Story" vol. 1, pp. 8-11,
which gives the scenario of Genesis 1:2-27 as
a re-creation, which seems to follow the record
of the rocks which we have been looking at. Some
Bible scholars reject this scenario, saying God
created everything, the heavens and the earth,
in six days, and that dinosaurs are some Satanic
deception. I chose to believe the record of the
rocks as added to Scripture, which is called the
Gap Theory, that there was a huge time-gap between
Genesis 1:1 and 1:2. It also successfully integrates
the geologic record of the rocks into the Biblical
record of events. So let's look at Genesis 1:2-27
as portrayed in this particular view, as a re-creation.
Then we'll read the actual verses as the NIV has
them.
"On the first day of reforming Earth's surface,
God prepared the periods of night and day by clearing
way much of the smoke and gases surrounding the
whirling planet. Thus a little light came through
to Earth for the first time since Satan and his
demons were cast back down from heaven, when deep,
heavy blankets of dark clouds were formed from
the wrecking of the world. At that time those
clouds had cut off all light rays from the sun,
moon and stars. (Genesis 1:3-5.)
"On the second day God formed a vast layer
of fresh air over the Earth. This caused much
of the water vapors to seep upward, like steam
out of a teakettle, and to form great, billowing,
clean clouds high in the sky. This air, a combination
of healthy gases, is known to us as the atmosphere
(Genesis 1:6-8). It was very necessary to prepare
the atmosphere, because man has to breathe air
in order to live. He actually lives in a deep,
heavy sea of gases, much as sea creatures live
in deep oceans.
Three
Heavens
"God called this atmosphere Heaven (Genesis 1:8).
However He also spoke of two other heavens. One
is the vast space beyond our atmosphere (Genesis
1:14). The other is where His throne is (Acts
7:49). He doesn't tell us just where that is,
and astronomers can't find out because it isn't
visible to human eyes.
"On the third day, our Creator molded Earth's
crust so that some of it was high and some of
it was low. The great layer of water covering
the planet drained into the low areas, causing
deep seas. Large areas of land were left above
water, forming continents (Genesis 1:9-10).
"On the continents God planted all kinds
of vegetation--trees, bushes, flowers, grass--everything
that could grow out of the ground. And in that
same day the lands of Earth began to be green
with plants of all kinds springing up from the
soil (Genesis 1:11-13).
"On the fourth day God cleared away the last
of the dust and harmful gases from the sky, thus
letting the sun, moon and stars shine in their
full brilliance and splendor upon the lands and
seas (Genesis 1:14-19).
"On the fifth day the Creator planted in
the sea whales, fish, eels, octopi and many, many
other water creatures. On that same day He also
formed various kinds of birds to fly through the
air. From these sea creatures and air creatures
came many others of their kind, and in time the
seas and skies were swarming with living things
(Genesis 1:20-23).
"Now God had renewed the whole face of the
Earth in five days, and at last the planet was
ready for God to create man on it.
"But before He created man on that sixth
day, God formed other creatures to live on land.
Elephants, cattle, lizards, worms, insects--every
kind of thing that walks or creeps was brought
into being that day (Genesis 1:24-25)." ("The
Bible Story", vol. 1, pp. 8-11, by Basil Wolverton,
published by Ambassador College Press, Post Office
Box 111, Pasadena, California.)
Now lets read the actual whole account in the
NIV, and see how it looks, based on what we've
read in the geologic record of the rocks and in
the Bible. Genesis 1:1-27, "In the beginning
God created the heavens and the earth. Now the
earth was ["became"] formless and empty [Tohuw
and Bohuw, waste, empty and desolate], darkness
was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit
of God was hovering over the waters.
"And God said, 'Let there be light,' and
there was light. God saw that the light was good,
and he separated the light from the darkness.
God called the light "day,"
and the darkness he called "night." And
there was evening, and there was morning--the
first day.
"And God said, 'Let there be an expanse between
the waters to separate water from water.' So God
made the expanse and separated the water under
the expanse from the water above it. And it was
so. God called the expanse "sky." And
there was evening, and there was morning--the
second day.
"And God said, 'Let the water under the sky
be gathered to one place, and let the dry ground
appear. And it was so. God called the dry ground "land," and
the gathered waters he called "seas." And
God saw that it was good.
"Then God said, 'Let the land produce vegetation:
seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that
bear fruit with seed in it, according to their
various kinds." And it was so. The land produced
vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their
kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it
according to their kinds. And God saw that it
was good. And there was evening, and there was
morning--the third day.
"And God said, 'Let there be lights in the
expanse of the sky to separate the day from the
night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons
and days and years, and let them be lights in
the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." And
it was so. God made two great lights--the greater
light to govern the day and the lesser light to
govern the night. He also made the stars. God
set them in the expanse of the sky to give light
on the earth, to govern the day and the night,
and to separate light from darkness. And God saw
that it was good. And there was evening, and there
was morning--the fourth day.
"And God said, 'Let the water teem with living
creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across
the expanse of the sky.' So God created the great
creatures of the sea and every living and moving
thing with which the water teems, according to
their kinds, and every winged bird according to
its kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed
them and said, 'Be fruitful and increase in number
and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds
increase on the earth.' And there was evening,
and there was morning--the fifth day.
"And God said, 'Let the land produce living
creatures according to their kinds: livestock,
creatures that move along the ground, and wild
animals, each according to its kind.' And it was
so. God made the wild animals according their
kinds, the livestock according to their kinds,
and all the creatures that move along the ground
according to their kinds. And God saw that it
was good.
"Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image,
in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish
of the sea and the birds of the air, over the
livestock, over all the earth, and over all the
creatures that move along the ground.'
"So God created man in his own image, in
the image of God he created him; male and female
he created them" (Genesis 1:1-27). Now whether
we're created in the literal, look-alike image
of God, or in the sense that we think and reason
like God, and that we can create new things out
of the elements of the earth, in a similar fashion
like God creates, is up for grabs. Man is the
only creature on earth that creates. Look at the
phenomenal creating ability of man, the engineering
genius of man. Animals don't possess that ability.
God's a creator, and on a lesser degree, man is
as well, just like his Creator parent.
So the record of the rocks in the article "The
Day the Dinosaurs Died" shows us clearly
the quotes of geologists that say the curtain
was wrung down upon all the species of Dinosaurs,
and when the curtain was raised again, all the
life-forms we see and know of today were on the
scene, mysteriously, some how. It is a big mystery
to those people being quoted. But that record
of the rocks fits Genesis 1:1-27, as we've just
seen, if you're willing to honestly look at the
evidence and come to a logical and intellectually
honest conclusion, whether that meets with your
past beliefs on the subject or not.
CREATED IN SIX
DAYS?
There
are many fine men of God who teach that the earth is young, having only been
created less than ten thousand years ago.I respect these men and appreciate all they have done to combat the
godless evolutionary theories that dominate our world today.One of their strong arguments in favor of a
young earth comes from Exodus 20:11, which says: “For in six days the LORD made the heavens
and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them.”While I see how this verse can be used in
arguing for a young earth, I do not necessarily agree with their position of a
young earth, nor do I believe the Scripture necessarily supports a young earth.
I do believe there is much
credence to what is known as “the gap theory,” which is the suggestion that
between verses 1 and 2 in the first chapter of Genesis, there is a gap of time
that could extend even to several billion years.In the beginning God created the heavens and
the earth, but the earth became wasted and desolate.Darkness was upon the face of the deep.Sometime between Genesis 1:1, when God
created the heaven and the earth, and Genesis 1:2, when the earth was wasted
and desolate, or without form and void, perhaps there was some cataclysmic
happening in the universe that brought the earth into a chaotic state; an ice
age, perhaps.And I think that this
could extend over millions of years, even into billions.[Comment:The dinosaurs were wiped out, along with all plant life down to the
diatomic size and plankton in the oceans by two global-killer asteroids 65
million years ago.One was 25 square
miles in diameter and hit the Bay of Bombay, creating 500,000 years of volcanic
activity on the Indian subcontinent.The
other was 6.25 miles in diameter, and hit what is now the Yucatan Peninsula.Both struck at speeds in access of 17,000
m.p.h.All photosynthesis stopped within
hours, so all life died, from single celled to dinosaur size, both plant and
animal.]
Those who contend for a young
earth would cite verse 11 and say, “It says it was made in six days.”They say the whole universe was made in six
days; the heavens and earth, everything in six days.It is a strong argument, but I think it has a
fatal flaw.In the beginning, God
created the heavens and the earth.The
word for “created” there is bara, which means “to create out of
nothing.”In the beginning God bara,
created, out of nothing, the heavens and the earth.Now, as we go into the creation of Genesis, a
different Hebrew word is employed.God
“made” the dry land appear.That’s the
Hebrew word asa, which is “to assemble from existing materials.”Now, this particular word here, “for in seven
days God made the heavens and the earth,” is again, the word asa,
that is, God assembled from the existing materials the heaven and the earth, in
it’s present order, as is recorded in the remainder of chapter 1 of Genesis.
So I do not believe that from the
Scriptures, you have to argue for a young earth, say, ten thousand years or
less, though there may be some scientific evidence for that, and you really
can’t prove it either way.But I don’t
think a young earth is necessarily a scriptural position.Also, the young earth position does not
explain when the angels were created or when Satan fell from heaven, which had
to be before the Genesis creation account.[cf. Job 38:4-7; Luke 10:18.Job
38:4-7, the angels wouldn’t be shouting for joy at the beauty of the newly
created earth if it was created without form and void, tohu and bohu, waste and
desolate as those two Hebrew words mean, used in Genesis 1:1-2.The pre-incarnate Christ saw Satan fall as
lightning to the earth, Luke 10:18.Possible that event coincided with the catastrophe that occurred 65
million years ago.The text here except
for my comments in brackets, are the words of Pastor Chuck Smith, senior Pastor
of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, CA, the senior pastor of the whole Calvary Chapel
movement.This statement of his found in “The Word For Today Bible, New King James
Version”, on page 107.
Where do the dinosaurs fit in the geologic
record? What did early geologists and
paleontologists believe,
who by the way also believed in the Bible? Log onto: http://www.gnmagazine.org/issues/gn76/dinosaurs.htm