| HOW OLD IS THE EARTH (1) Jerry D. McDonald |
This is an age old question that has been asked time and time again. In days
gone by believers in God took the position that the earth was created in six
literal 24 hour days, and that the evolutionist was in error when he said that
the earth took billions of years to form. As the evolutionist began to make
progress in the scientific world, in converting scientists to be evolutionists,
more and more believers began looking at their arguments and thinking that
they might be right. Now, if you ask members of the church how old the
earth is, you might get as many different answers as you would people.
We have a real problem in the church today, because not only do these
people (who accept the doctrine that the earth is old) relinquish the Bible’s
teachings on this issue, they also relinquish their beliefs on the Bible period.
Now some try to hang on to their beliefs that the Bible is the inspired and
inerrant word of God, all the while tying to hang on to the arguments made by
the evolutionists. They want the best of both worlds, but James said that
“friendship with the world, is enmity with God” (Jas. 4:4). We cannot join
hands with the world and hold on to God’s hand at the same time, it just won’t
work.
So many people ask “just how old is the earth?” This is a valid question,
but it is one that requires a lot of thought and study. The answer is not easily
found because studying the Bible is a difficult thing to do as it is, and when we
study something this complex it becomes even harder. Back when people
took the time to study their Bibles diligently we didn’t have all these different
theories going around in the church. One person recently, sarcastically,
called attention to the fact that the church of Christ was small and stagnant.
My reply was: Yes it is small, and the reason for that is because people have
stopped studying their Bibles. Back when people accepted the Bible as the
inerrant word of God the church was the fastest growing religious organization
in the world, but now that most people just do lip service in studying their
Bibles we have ceased to grow. The only way that we are ever going to get
back to where we were in the 50's and 60's is if we can get people to accept the
Bible as the inspired, inerrant and authoritative word of God.
Brother Robert Taylor Jr. recently stated: “If you can believe the first
four words in the Bible...In the beginning God...the rest will be easy, but if you
cannot accept those four words, you will find it hard to accept the rest of the
Bible.” This is what has happened to the church today (as well as to the
world), we have gotten away from these first four words “In the beginning
God...,” and until we get back to them, we are going to find ourselves shaking
hands with the devil’s soldiers, and believing the things that they teach.
The reason that God did not want the children of Israel to marry into the
nations about them was this: “For they will turn away thy son from following
me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled
against you, and destroy thee suddenly” (Deut 7:3,4). When God’s children get
to allowing the world to meddle in the affairs of God and his word to us, we
lose people to the idols that God warned Israel about.
We have people today who believe that the earth is billions of years old
because they have teamed up with the atheists and are swallowing those
people’s arguments hook-line-and-sinker. They have removed themselves
from the authority of the Bible, and have placed themselves in Satan’s camp.
The evolutionist says that he has empirical (scientific) evidence that the world
is billions of years old and religious people stand in awe of them. These people
have their Ph.D’s and people think: “He must know what he is talking about,
look at his degree.”
Paul wrote to the church in Corinth about people like this and said:
everything. I once worked for a man who had a Ph.D. and he couldn’t even
open a bucket of paint without reading the instructions on how to do it. If a
person has no common sense, and has no faith based upon God’s word, all his
degrees in the world are useless. I have read works by men, who had their
doctorate degree, but they couldn’t write a common sentence because they
didn’t know how to communicate to where people could understand it. People
stand amazed at people like this, but I think just how terrible it is that these
people wasted all their time and money on an education and they can’t even
understand basic things like how to communicate. A degree doesn’t make
one right.
Now, how old is the earth? Is it billions of years old, or is it young? I am
going to attempt an answer to that in this series of articles. We will be
looking at what the Bible says about the matter and then we will look at the
wisdom of the world. I stand with Joshua when he said: “as for me and my
house, we will serve the Lord” (Josh. 24:15).
In looking at the age of the earth, one needs to look at the days of
creation in the books of Genesis and Exodus. In Exodus 20:9-11 says:
the heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them. Six days! Not six eons
of time, but six days! Was Moses using the words “days” there to refer to
long periods of time? No! He was using the words “days” there to refer to
literal 24 hour days and nothing more. There are times in the Bible when the
word “day” is used figuratively, but this is not one of those places. Some
argue that Peter’s statement that “one day is with the Lord as a thousand years,
and a thousand years is as one day” (2 Pet. 3:8). The mistake that people make
is in thinking that the word “day” is used figuratively. This is wrong! The
word “day” here is used to refer to a literal 24 hour day. This passage simply
shows that one literal 24 hour period is no different than a thousand years as
far as God is concerned. This shows that God is not confined to time and
space as we are because he is eternal, without beginning and without end.
Time has no meaning as far as he is concerned. We will continue to look at
this issue next week.
gone by believers in God took the position that the earth was created in six
literal 24 hour days, and that the evolutionist was in error when he said that
the earth took billions of years to form. As the evolutionist began to make
progress in the scientific world, in converting scientists to be evolutionists,
more and more believers began looking at their arguments and thinking that
they might be right. Now, if you ask members of the church how old the
earth is, you might get as many different answers as you would people.
We have a real problem in the church today, because not only do these
people (who accept the doctrine that the earth is old) relinquish the Bible’s
teachings on this issue, they also relinquish their beliefs on the Bible period.
Now some try to hang on to their beliefs that the Bible is the inspired and
inerrant word of God, all the while tying to hang on to the arguments made by
the evolutionists. They want the best of both worlds, but James said that
“friendship with the world, is enmity with God” (Jas. 4:4). We cannot join
hands with the world and hold on to God’s hand at the same time, it just won’t
work.
So many people ask “just how old is the earth?” This is a valid question,
but it is one that requires a lot of thought and study. The answer is not easily
found because studying the Bible is a difficult thing to do as it is, and when we
study something this complex it becomes even harder. Back when people
took the time to study their Bibles diligently we didn’t have all these different
theories going around in the church. One person recently, sarcastically,
called attention to the fact that the church of Christ was small and stagnant.
My reply was: Yes it is small, and the reason for that is because people have
stopped studying their Bibles. Back when people accepted the Bible as the
inerrant word of God the church was the fastest growing religious organization
in the world, but now that most people just do lip service in studying their
Bibles we have ceased to grow. The only way that we are ever going to get
back to where we were in the 50's and 60's is if we can get people to accept the
Bible as the inspired, inerrant and authoritative word of God.
Brother Robert Taylor Jr. recently stated: “If you can believe the first
four words in the Bible...In the beginning God...the rest will be easy, but if you
cannot accept those four words, you will find it hard to accept the rest of the
Bible.” This is what has happened to the church today (as well as to the
world), we have gotten away from these first four words “In the beginning
God...,” and until we get back to them, we are going to find ourselves shaking
hands with the devil’s soldiers, and believing the things that they teach.
The reason that God did not want the children of Israel to marry into the
nations about them was this: “For they will turn away thy son from following
me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled
against you, and destroy thee suddenly” (Deut 7:3,4). When God’s children get
to allowing the world to meddle in the affairs of God and his word to us, we
lose people to the idols that God warned Israel about.
We have people today who believe that the earth is billions of years old
because they have teamed up with the atheists and are swallowing those
people’s arguments hook-line-and-sinker. They have removed themselves
from the authority of the Bible, and have placed themselves in Satan’s camp.
The evolutionist says that he has empirical (scientific) evidence that the world
is billions of years old and religious people stand in awe of them. These people
have their Ph.D’s and people think: “He must know what he is talking about,
look at his degree.”
Paul wrote to the church in Corinth about people like this and said:
- “For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring
to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? where is
the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish
the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by
wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to
save them that believe” (1 Cor. 1:19-21).
everything. I once worked for a man who had a Ph.D. and he couldn’t even
open a bucket of paint without reading the instructions on how to do it. If a
person has no common sense, and has no faith based upon God’s word, all his
degrees in the world are useless. I have read works by men, who had their
doctorate degree, but they couldn’t write a common sentence because they
didn’t know how to communicate to where people could understand it. People
stand amazed at people like this, but I think just how terrible it is that these
people wasted all their time and money on an education and they can’t even
understand basic things like how to communicate. A degree doesn’t make
one right.
Now, how old is the earth? Is it billions of years old, or is it young? I am
going to attempt an answer to that in this series of articles. We will be
looking at what the Bible says about the matter and then we will look at the
wisdom of the world. I stand with Joshua when he said: “as for me and my
house, we will serve the Lord” (Josh. 24:15).
In looking at the age of the earth, one needs to look at the days of
creation in the books of Genesis and Exodus. In Exodus 20:9-11 says:
- “Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 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: 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.”
the heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them. Six days! Not six eons
of time, but six days! Was Moses using the words “days” there to refer to
long periods of time? No! He was using the words “days” there to refer to
literal 24 hour days and nothing more. There are times in the Bible when the
word “day” is used figuratively, but this is not one of those places. Some
argue that Peter’s statement that “one day is with the Lord as a thousand years,
and a thousand years is as one day” (2 Pet. 3:8). The mistake that people make
is in thinking that the word “day” is used figuratively. This is wrong! The
word “day” here is used to refer to a literal 24 hour day. This passage simply
shows that one literal 24 hour period is no different than a thousand years as
far as God is concerned. This shows that God is not confined to time and
space as we are because he is eternal, without beginning and without end.
Time has no meaning as far as he is concerned. We will continue to look at
this issue next week.
| "Sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth" (Jno. 17:17). bellecofc.centurytel.net |
Bulletin Article
Belle church of Christ
 |
| |
 |