(I have written this article in french the 19th of September 2014 on this same blog)
Some creationists believe that the earth is young (YEC, Young earth Creationists) while others affirm that the earth is really old (OEC, Old Earth Creationists). Both groups rely on the Word of God, on their personal interpretation of it and... on science ... to support their theory. The main goal of this article is to demonstrate, by the Word of God only, that the earth, as we know of it today, and all the living beings have being formed by God in 6 days (6 x 24 hours) and not in 6 long undetermined periods of time extending from millions to billions of years.
We learn, reading Romans 1:20, that the eternal power of God and his Godhead "are clearly seen" (King James version) "from the creation of the world, being understood by the things that are made". If it is from the creation of the world that we can see in a clear way the external power and Godhead of God, we have no choice to conclude that the first man, Adam, and the first woman, Eve, have being formed (created) at the very beginning of creation (the sixth day) and not after millions, even billions of years like the defenders of an old earth (OEC) pretend.
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"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. (Exodus 20:9-11)
This text of Exodus compares and associates, without any doubt, the six days of creation with the six days of work in a week. It would not be convincing to pretend that the six days of creation which are talked about in Exodus 20:9-11 are not days of 24 hours but long, very long periods of time. One of the aims of these verses are they not to convince that work all the time (7 days a week) is not everything to life? Should we not put apart at least one day a week for the Lord and have rest if we want to put all the "chances" on our side to maintain a good corporal, psychological and spiritual health?
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In Genesis 1:30, it is written that God gave to all beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, every green herb for meat. At the end of this same verse, we can read:"and it was so" meaning that when God proclaims something, it happens the way He said. This presuppose then that the animals (even dinosaurs like the Tyrannosaurs Rex) where all vegetarians before the sin of Adam and Eve and that no animal would kill another animal to feed itself. After the seduction of the first man and first woman by Satan in the garden, we realize reading in the book of Genesis that death begins gradually to be mentioned (as a consequence of original sin, Genesis 2:17): 1- God used the skins of animals to make coats of skin because Adam and Eve needed to be clothed after their sin (Genesis 3:21). This verse presupposes that the Lord provoked the death of the animals so to use their skin. 2- Abel had to kill the firstlings of his flock in order to offer them as an offering to the Lord (Genesis 4:4). 3- Cain slew (killed) his brother Abel (Genesis 4:8). 4- After the flood, as we read in Genesis 9:1-17, God gave officially to man the permission to kill animals in order to eat and, at the same time, He said that the blood of any man and of any beast would be required if a man would be killed or assassinated. In other words, if a man (a human) kills another human or if a beast kills a human, the consequence or punishment of their act should be death (Genesis 9:5; Exodus 21:28-29). But, it is important to note, God did not require this same punishment to an animal that would kill another animal. In fact, the era of carnivorous animals at this same time was proclaimed by our Creator. What could have happened at this precise moment is that God permitted some minor mutations (micro-evolution) in some animals, those we classify today as carnivores and omnivores, to adapt themselves in order to kill other animals and to eat and digest their flesh. It is interesting concerning this subject to read in Isaiah, chapter 11 , verses 6 to 9 and in chapter 65, verse 25, how many carnivores and omnivores (wolf, leopard, lion, bear, asp) , at the return of Messiah, will cohabit pacifically with herbivores and shall eat straw. Also, the prophet Hosea (Hosea 2:18) have written, concerning the Restoration of Israel that the Lord will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground. So, we can conclude that God will transform carnivores into herbivores at the return of Christ. The point is that The Creator could have possibly made the inverse transformation for some animals (from herbivores to carnivores/omnivores) after the sin of Adam and Eve. ______________
" For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time." ( Romans 8:19-22, NIV)
"In hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay" (Romans 8:21): this part of the verse from Romans 8:21 refers to the hope by all creation of being delivered from death (decay, corruption). All creation include not only humans but all the rest of living beings who all suffer the consequences of the sin of Adam and Eve. Let me remind you in the same manner of thought that God made a covenant not only with men (Noah and his descendants) after the flood, but with every living creatures, "from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth" (Genesis 9:8-12). He will do another covenant in a similar way at the return of our Messiah (Hosea 2:18)
So, as a consequence of the original sin, death affects not only humans, but all living animals. All the arguments given earlier give me the right to affirm that death was introduced only after the sin of Adam and Eve, that before this original sin, men and animals did not die. Consequently, if the earth was old like the Old Earth Creationists (OEC) pretend, it could not have contained and support so many animals that would have multiplied and could not die since the original sin of Adam and Eve would come so many millions or billions of years later. But, a young earth of 6 days (6x24 hours) before the creation of Adam and Eve, would not suffer overpopulation of animals.
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Finishing the argumentation, it is written in Genesis 2:7 that "the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." What presupposes this verse is that our Creator did not need years and years to form man. By His might, He took the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils and man became a living soul. There is no indication if He formed man as a child or as an adult, but, it is reasonable to think that He formed it as an adult since, after having planted a garden in Eden for Adam to live in (Genesis 2:8), He "caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and he slept: and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof" (Genesis2:21). It is from this rib that Eve was formed (Genesis 2:22). Immediately after, God married Adam and Eve (Genesis 2:23-24).
If God made Adam and Eve in the form of an adult, why is it so impossible to believe He made also in the third day of creation the plants in their mature form, that He made also in the fifth day of creation all the living creatures in water and the winged fowl in their adult form, that He made also all the animals in the sixth day of creation in their adult form? God is Almighty! God doesn't need billions of years to create life.
Whatever scientific "evidences" presenting the idea that the earth is old, the Bible shows that the earth is young. There is also a growing proportion of scientists in our days that believe the earth is young. Talking about scientific evidences (I am addressing particularly to evolutionists), did you know that it is proven statistically that it is impossible for the different chemical elements that we can find in a living being to gather hazardously to form a living cell? Even billions of years are not enough for it to happen.
