This article from Answers in Genesis pretty well covers my sentiments on this program. It was clearly obvious to me the blatant attack on religion as “religion bad; science good.” It fails to recognize that the majority of scientists started with a strong belief in a Creator God as they sought to “think God’s thoughts after Him.” It was also painfully obvious to me that most of the “facts” that were presented were based on speculation and “consensus science” and nothing that could be supported by the scientific method. It pains me to think how many people fall for this stuff just because “science” (so called) says.
“For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is …” (Exodus 20:11)
There is no argument that the age of the earth debate between evolutionists and creationists has no resolution because there can be no middle ground for compromise on either side. At issue is the question of origins: did all that exists come about by random chance over billions of years through natural causes, or did an omnipotent, omniscient Creator bring it all into being? It is one or the other, and the one who holds either view holds that view religiously and tenaciously. There is no “give.”
Lamentably, the real battle exists in the Christian camp (among “brothers”) where a variety of opinions persist. Is the earth 4.5 billion years old as the evolutionists claim, or is it only 6,000 years old as the Bible seems to indicate? Most Christians accept that God created all that exists, but beyond that opinions vary as to how God created. That God spoke everything into being as the Bible records is too simplistic an answer for some. There are basically two major divisions in this debate. The first group contends that God created everything in six 24-hour days around 6000 years ago. The second group comes in several flavors, but basically they agree with the evolutionists that God created everything over 13.7 billion years ago and used evolution in one form or another to create life. However, they will contend that man was a “special” creation of God and did not evolve from lower life forms. My intent here is to give a brief defense of the first group. The second group is indefensible in my opinion.
I wish to respond to three questions recently posed to me. (1) Where, exactly, does the Bible say that the earth is only six thousand years old? (2) How do we know that the creation spoken of in the Bible took place in six literal 24-hour days, as opposed to uncounted eons of time? (3) In 2 Peter 3:8, it says “that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” Is this passage pointing to God as being outside of time, or is it the basis for the 6-day/6-thousand years belief?
In answer to the first question, the Bible does not give an age for the earth per se. God did not exactly “date stamp” His creation. Archbishop James Ussher determined that the earth was created in the year 4004 BC by using the genealogies found in Genesis along with other sources.[1] When one begins with the Genesis account of creation (Genesis 1) and counts the generations from Adam to the Flood, one gets about 1656 years. From the Flood to the birth of Abraham was 297 years for a total of about 1953 years.[2] We can round that off to about 2000 years. Then we have about 2000 years to Jesus and from Jesus until now we have another 2000 years for a total of 6000 years – give or take a couple of hundred years.
Second, God created everything in six literal days. The Hebrew word used for “day” is yom, and it almost always means a normal 24-hour day. On those few occasions when it does not mean a literal 24-hour day, context lets us know that, as in the case of “the day of the Lord.” Furthermore, just in case it is not clear enough for us, God further specifies that “the evening and the morning was the first day, second day, third day,” etc., making it clear that God means a literal 24-hour day (Genesis 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31). Later, in Exodus 20:11, as God gave the commandment concerning the keeping of the Sabbath, God says, “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.” In other words, God is saying, “I gave you the example by creating in six days and resting on the seventh, and I want you to follow My example.”
The third question deals with what a “day” means to God. When we look at 2 Peter 3:8 we need to keep the context in mind. Peter is talking about the Second Coming of Christ, and he is encouraging his readers, in the midst of persecution, not to lose heart in waiting for Christ’s return. In essence he says that God does not mark time the way we do; He is not bound by time as we are. Furthermore, Peter employs simile when he says “one day is with the Lord as [or “like”] a thousand years, and a thousand years as [or “like”] one day.” Notice what he DID NOT say: “one day is with the Lord a thousand years, and a thousand years is one day.” We need to take care when reading the Bible not to read into Scripture what is not there.
There is no scriptural reason not to believe in a young earth, nor is there any scientific reason to not to believe in a young earth; but I will let the scientists at the Institute for Creation Research argue those finer points of science. Trust what God says in His Word – ALL of it! Seriously, who would you rather believe? The words of fallible man or the Word of Infallible God?
“… and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world …” (Revelation 17:8)
In my last post, “The Book of Life” I talked about the Book of Life that will be opened at the Great White Throne Judgment. Anyone whose name is not found written in the Book of Life is sentenced to an eternity in hell. I also expressed my understanding that everyone who has ever been born has their names written in the Book of Life initially, but whether they remain there depends on how they respond to God’s offer of salvation.
I said this was true with some exceptions, but I did not want to go into the details at that time. The reason I did not elaborate on the “exceptions” is because it might sound a little strange or even weird to some people, and trying to explain it in one or two paragraphs would be next to impossible. In fact, books have been written on the subject, so it would be difficult to explain in just a few words.
Just by way of disclaimer: what I am suggesting in the following paragraphs should not be taken as “gospel.” These are simply my thoughts based on studies that I have done, and are not meant to represent any kind of ecclesiastical dogma. There are many things in God’s Word that are not made clear to us, and to attempt to build a case on a shaky foundation is simply foolish. So, I recommend a healthy dose of skepticism before continuing. You may think I am full of bologna, and that is fine. This is something I “think” is true, but I wouldn’t bet my next paycheck on it. So, read on.
You remember in Genesis 3 that Satan came to Eve in the form of a serpent and tempted her to eat of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. She then shared the fruit with Adam who also ate of the fruit so that both sinned by disobeying God’s only commandment – that they should not to eat of that tree. God punished them, as He had warned them, by causing them to die in two ways: (1) they would no longer live forever (when God created man, He intended them to live forever), and (2) they were separated from their Creator. This is what we know as original sin, and all generations since Adam and Eve have inherited original sin. We all have a “sin nature.” That is why the Bible says that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23, emphasis added). God also cursed the ground from which man was taken so that all of God’s creation suffers because of man’s sin. “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now” (Romans 8:22, emphasis added). Adam’s punishment was that work would be hard for him, and Eve’s punishment was that she would have pain in bearing children.
Following that (about 1600 years later), we are told that violence increased in the world. “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart” (Genesis 6:5-6). That was bad enough, but the first verses of Genesis 6 talks about something that is very strange, and has puzzled biblical scholars for ages . It says:
1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,
2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose …
4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. (Genesis 6:1-2, 4, emphasis added)
The “sons of God” in the Hebrew is bene elohim. This term always refers to angels in the Old Testament. (See Job 1:6; Job 2:1; and Job 38:7.) There are two kinds of angels: Satan’s angels (demons) and God’s angels. (Something to keep in mind is that even the devil is God’s devil. God created him, and he rebelled against God. But the devil (Satan) cannot do anything without God’s permission. This is demonstrated in the first three chapters of Job.) So, these demons “mated” with human females to create a mighty race of men. Now, angels cannot procreate directly, so what probably happened is that these demons possessed human males in order to mate with the human females. This somehow altered the DNA of the children born from these demonic unions so that they created “giants.” The Hebrew word used for “giants” is nephalim, and it literally means “fallen ones.”
Imagine just how bad things got that God felt He had to destroy them all. “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD” (Genesis 6:8) and “Noah was a just man and perfect in all his generations, and Noah walked with God” (Genesis 6:9, emphasis added). The phrase that Noah was “perfect in all his generations” does not mean that he was sinless. Remember, “all have sinned.” What this means, then, is that his blood line was not contaminated by the satanic unions of the others.
When I say that there are “some exceptions,” this is to what I’m referring. Revelation 17 discusses the apostate church during the Tribulation who the Antichrist will eventually destroy. About those who follow that apostate church it says, “The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is” (Revelation 17:8, emphasis added). It is very clear that these were never written in the Book of Life – “from the foundation of the world.” It is as if these were never meant to be born.
One would think that the Global Flood should have taken care of all of the “bad seed.” Well, perhaps not all of them. As we continue the narrative in Genesis 6, God sent the Flood that covered the entire earth for almost a whole year. The Bible tells us that Noah and his wife and his three sons and their wives were in the Ark for 371 days, before the earth was once again livable.
Then follows an incident where Noah got drunk, and his son Ham saw him naked (Genesis 9:20-29). Ham, instead of covering his father went and told his brothers, Japheth and Shem. So they went into Noah’s tent backward so as not to see the nakedness of their father and they covered him up. When Noah awoke from his drunk and discovered what Ham had done, he cursed Canaan, Ham’s youngest son. So the question is, why did Noah curse Canaan and not Ham or Ham’s other sons? The answer may be that Ham’s wife may have carried some of the “bad seed” of the Nephalim in her, and it showed up in Canaan. One of the characteristics of Nephalim is that they had six fingers. (Goliath’s father had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot (2 Samuel 21:20).) Canaan was probably born with six fingers and when Noah saw it, he cursed him. So, some of these probably still exist in our world today with or without six fingers, but God knows who they are. These would not qualify to be written in the Book of Life.
Canaan’s descendants settled in the “Land of Canaan” which was given to Abraham and his descendants (Genesis 13:14-18; 15:18-21). Genesis 10:15-20 describes who these people were and where they settled. “And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest, unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha” (Genesis 10:19). These are the people that the children of Israel had to face when they entered the Promise Land. As they prepared to enter into the land, 12 spies were sent in to spy out the land and report back what they encountered. The book of Numbers records the bad report returned by 10 out of the 12 spies. “And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight” (Numbers 13:33). Again, here the Hebrew word for “giants” is nephalim – the “fallen ones.” In The Henry Morris Study Bible, Dr. Morris makes this note about this verse:
There were also other tribes of giants in the land. “That was also accounted a land of giants: giants dwelt therein in old time; and the Ammonites call them Zamzummims; A people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims” [i.e., sons of Anak] (Deuteronomy 2:20, 21). Here, and in a number of other passages, the word for “giants” is Rephaim, evidently a tribe descended from the “Rephaims” associated with the “Zuzims” and the “Emims” of Genesis 14:5. The Emims also were called “a people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims” (Deuteronomy 2:10).
All of these references indicate that there had been another irruption of the fallen “sons of God” just as in the days before the Flood. This time the irruption was probably in connection with the events surrounding the rebellion at Babel and the subsequent worldwide dispersion of the occult religious system introduced there. These demon-possessed men and women became the progenitors of tribes characterized by giantism, just as in the antediluvian days. (http://www.icr.org/bible/numbers/13:33/)
So, it is apparent that these nephalim somehow managed to survive the Flood. These who survived were descendants of Canaan, which explains why Noah cursed Canaan and not Ham. Oh, and by the way, Ham begat other sons before Canaan: Cush, Mizraim (Egypt), and Phut. Canaan was the youngest, but evidently, he carried the “bad seed.”
Now, to further complicate things, I am sure you have heard of UFOs and of aliens abducting humans. I believe (and I am not alone in this) that these are demons that are doing the same thing today as they were doing back in Genesis 6. (See my article “Aliens?”) These creatures, that may look very human, were never meant to be born, so their names are not written in the Book of Life.
Unless you are one of the nephalim (and you probably are not, if you are reading this), your name is written in the Book of Life. My question to you would be, is your name permanently written in the Book of Life, or is there a possibility that it could be blotted out? That choice is up to you.
Watch “On the Trail of the Nephalim” on YouTube with L.A. Marzulli.
“But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:” (Mark 3:29)
One of the charges leveled against God by unbelievers is the question of why a loving God would send anyone to hell. A corollary to that questions why God would send sinners to hell since He created them that way in the first place. Unbelievers are not alone in this camp. They are joined by many pseudo Christians, like those in the Emergent Church movement who would do away with the doctrine of hell altogether in their misguided effort to rescue God from such charges, and thus make Him more attractive to the masses.
The truth of the matter is that God sends no one to hell. Hell was not intended for man, but rather it was “prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41). From the beginning of time when man fell, God has always been proactive in the restoration of the broken relationship between God and man.
When man first disobeyed God, God immediately reached out to man in an effort to reconcile the broken relationship. “And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?” (Genesis 3:9). Does anyone really believe that God did not know where they were? David says, “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?” (Psalm 139:7). God knew where they were. He gave them the opportunity to come forward and confess their disobedience, but instead they made excuses: “I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself” (Genesis 3:10). Again God gave opportunity for confession: “And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?” (Genesis 3:11). Of course God knew what they had done. He was present when the serpent tempted Eve. In fact, Satan could not have tempted Eve without God’s permission (See Job 1-2). Just in case you are thinking it unfair of God to put Eve through such a test remember that “God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). Adam and Eve had all of their needs met. They wanted for nothing, yet they chose to disobey. But it was God who opened the door for reconciliation.
From the beginning God initiated the plan to reconcile man to Himself. “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; [He] shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15). God’s solution was to take “upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:7-8). Such extreme measures were necessary because He is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). That being the case, after all that effort on His part, why would He send anyone to hell?
As can be seen by the example in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3), it was not the sin of disobedience that brought the curse, but lack of contrition on the part of the guilty couple. God gave ample opportunity to confess, assume responsibility, and ask for forgiveness, but instead they offered up excuses. If our sin kept us from being reconciled to God, no one would be saved “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). But God has provided the solution to the rift that exists between God and man. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). For this reason He said, “Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation” (Mark 3:28-29, emphasis added). To “blaspheme against the Holy Spirit” is nothing more than rejecting the message of salvation that the Holy Spirit brings to every individual.
What is that message? “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31). “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9-10). Reject that message, and it is not God that sends you to hell. At that point, you have rejected God and His offer of reconciliation, so He has no other option but to say, “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41). You don’t go to hell because you’re a sinner, but because you have rejected God’s offer of salvation.
If you are unsure of your eternal state and are still conscious and breathing, there is hope for you. You have two choices: God or no God. Just remember, whatever choice you make, it is for eternity. If you choose God, He says, “Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:12-13). Sin won’t keep you out of heaven, but the wrong choice will.
“. . . when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” (Job 38:7)
A common question that arises from time to time is, “When did God make the angels?” A corollary question to that is “Was there enough time for pride to grow in Satan and for the war in Heaven to occur within the first few days?”
In the Job passage quoted above, God is telling Job that the angels were there at the time when He formed the earth. As to whether there was sufficient time for Satan’s pride to grow, we must ask, “How much time does it take for pride to grow?” In our own experience, does it take a long time to develop pride, or does it just seem to flare up unexpectedly? I would say the latter. Pride is one of the most basic sins. Human beings are naturally selfish and self-centered. Recall that very shortly after Creation, Satan was able to tempt Eve with “the pride of life” (1 John 2:16): “ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5). It does not take a great amount of time for pride to grow.
The angels probably were created on the first day of the creation week. We cannot be dogmatic about this. The Bible does not specify when the angels were created, but the above passage in Job indicates that they were at least around to see the creation taking place. The angels, therefore, were created before man. Perhaps the reason for not focusing more attention on angels is that the Bible focuses mainly on the relationship between God and man. Angels play a part, but they are not central to God’s redemptive plan. But what does God say about man? “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth” (Genesis 1:26, emphasis added). Did God say that about the angels? Did God give dominion over His creation to the angels? Can you see anything there that would give rise to pride and jealousy?
It would not have taken a long time for Satan’s pride to grow. Having been created first and then given lower status than man, Satan said, “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High” (Isaiah 14:13-14, emphasis added). Satan hates man because God has bestowed upon man greater status than the angels. “What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet” (Psalm 8:4-6, emphasis added). The English phrase “a little lower than the angels” is not an accurate translation. “Angels” is the Hebrew ‘ĕlôhîym referring to God rather than the normal word for angels mal’âkîm. This is a messianic passage describing the condescension of Christ in taking human form, but this also has a secondary meaning as applied to man. Having been created in the image of his Maker, man holds a higher status than the angels, and this infuriates Satan.
This being the case, Satan most likely rebelled on Day Six of creation or very shortly thereafter. Seeing that man was God’s prized creation, Satan turned his ire toward destroying man. Knowing that man was created in the image of God, he employed that fact to cause man’s demise: “ye shall be as gods” (Genesis 3:5). If one analyses the source of any sin, it all goes back to pride – man wants to be his own god. This has been true from the beginning when Satan witnessed the creation of man, and since the fall of man in the Garden (Genesis 3). It really takes no time for pride to develop. It is nothing that requires any nurturing. On the contrary, it is something must actively be suppressed, and this cannot be done through human strength. It requires the supernatural power that only comes from God through the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised, “ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you” (Acts 1:8), and it is in that power alone that pride can be conquered.
Ernie's Musings 