Welcome to a course in Biblical Foundations

1. Welcometo a course in Biblical Foundations The purpose of this course is to obtain an understanding of the Biblical background of New Testament truths. This is primary a lecture course – not a Bible study/discussion. Feel free, however, to ask questions and make comments. This is an informal course and not a worship/ministry meeting and all are free to participate. I would, however, ask that ladies cover their heads when praying (1 Cor 11:5). www.sharongospelchapel.org - Lesson 5 - October 30, 2011

2. God’s Revelation to Man in Creation – What the Bible Says About the Earth’s Age Outline Is it possible to believe in God and evolution? Is the Text of Genesis to be taken literally? How old is the world? Is there a ‘Gap’ Between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2? What is ‘Progressive’ Creation? Different accounts of creation in Genesis 1 and 2? www.sharongospelchapel.org - Lesson 5 - October 30, 2011

3. 1. Impossible to Believe in God and Evolution Must believe that God created or believe there is no God Rom 1:19-20 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. www.sharongospelchapel.org - Lesson 5 - October 30, 2011

4. 1. Impossible to Believe in God and Evolution 2 Peter 3:3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. John 3:12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? ww.sharongospelchapel.org - Lesson 5 - October 30, 2011

5. 1. Impossible to Believe in God and Evolution Ye were … redeemed 1 Peter 1:19-20 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: 20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, John 15:12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. A Question - What right does Jesus Christ have to command if He didn’t create? ww.sharongospelchapel.org - Lesson 5 - October 30, 2011

6. 2. Is Genesis 1-11 to Be Taken Literally? – Differing Ideas of Creation http://www.angelfire.com/ok/bibleteaching/genesis1.html God created in 6 ‘normal’ 24 hour days and rested on the 7th God created an original creation and then there is a time gap between 1:1 and 1:2 and in 7 literal days re-created the world (gap theory) Days are not 24 h days but a week of ‘God days’ for creation The 7 days are not days of creation but of revelation in visions of creation Days are to be taken as literal but are not factual rather a mythical presentation Evolution–no God (compare with “In the beginning God created”) www.sharongospelchapel.org - Lesson 5 - October 30, 2011

7. 2. Hebrew Text – Is It to Be Taken Literally? God confirmed the creation in Exodus 20:11 (Note confirmation that God is speaking in verse 1): Ex 20:11 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. Jesus affirmed Adam and Eve, Able, Noah, the flood, Abraham, Jonah, etc. and placed man at the beginning of creation and not at the end of billions of years: Mark 10:6 But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. www.sharongospelchapel.org - Lesson 5 - October 30, 2011

8. 2. Hebrew Text – Is It to Be Taken Literally? Genesis, Exodus, Joshua, Judges are written as history, not as poetry (parallelisms are almost absent except when someone is quoted) or an allegory. This is also true for Genesis 1-11 which some question. Characterized by consecutives (Notice “and..and.and” in Gen 1) Hebrew verb forms in Genesis 1 are those normally used for recording history: "The first verb (‘created’ 1:1) is a perfect verb (perfect means ‘made complete’ or ‘completely done’ and denotes action which has been complete in the past) Verbs which continue narrative are imperfect (denotes action which usually is past as uncompleted, continuing or synchronous with some other action). www.sharongospelchapel.org - Lesson 5 - October 30, 2011

9. 2. Hebrew Text – Is It to Be Taken Literally? James Barr (Oxford Hebrew Scholar) “….probably, so far as I know, there is no professor of Hebrew or Old Testament at any world-class university who does not believe that the writer(s) of Gen. 1-11 intended to convey to their readers the ideas that: Creation took place in a series of six days which were the same days of 24 hours we now experience The figures contained in Genesis genealogies provided by simple addition a chronology form the beginning of the world up to later states in the biblical story Noah’s flood was understood to be world-wide and extinguish all human and animal life except for those in the ark.” www.sharongospelchapel.org - Lesson 5 - October 30, 2011

10. 2. Problems in not taking Genesis literally, i.e. in believing in evolution: Undermines Scripture – “Scripture, not science, is the ultimate test of all truth. And the further evangelicalism gets from that conviction, the less evangelical and more humanistic it becomes.” (John MacArthur) Undermines goodness of God - How can you believe in a loving God when there was death and suffering in the world before Adam? Undermines Christ and the gospel – “For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:21, 22) (also Romans 5:12–21). Undermines end-time doctrines - And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. Rev 21:4 www.sharongospelchapel.org - Lesson 5 - October 30, 2011

11. 2. Problems if Genesis is not taken literally: Undermines evangelism – “Darwin made it possible to be an intellectually fulfilled atheist” - Richard Dawkins Undermines ‘standing by faith’ – many nations, churches and individuals have abandoned faith because of believing in evolution rather than Genesis Undermines other doctrines first appearing in Genesis - e.g. marriage, clothes, moral law www.sharongospelchapel.org - Lesson 5 - October 30, 2011

12. 3. Age of The World Based Upon Various Estimates from Biblical Chronology (Jones, 1993 Chronology of OT) (Taken from The Answers Book 2. Ken Ham ed. 2008) (Currently scientists estimate ~4.5 billion years for earth, 14 billion years for universe) (Written history from ~3,000 B.C) www.sharongospelchapel.org - Lesson 5 - October 30, 2011

13. 3. Patriarch Ages at the Birth of the Following Son (Taken from The Answers Book 2. Ken Ham ed. 2008) Without Septuagint – Average date of creation is 4,045 B.C. Biblical chronology should be based on the Masoretic Text, because the other texts show evidence of editing. For example, The Septuagint chronologies are demonstrably inflated, as they contain the (obvious) error that Methuselah lived 17 years after the Flood. www.sharongospelchapel.org - Lesson 5 - October 30, 2011

14. 3. Is There a Gap in Genealogy? In Hebrew “X is the son of Y” doesn’t always mean father/son relationship but the Hebrew word ‘begat’ (yalad) is always for a (parent/offspring) relationship (in contrast to ‘ben’ which can mean son or grandson). No missing generations in Chapter 5 between Adam/Seth (Genesis 4:3), between Seth and Enos (4:6), Enos and Cainan (5:9), Cainan and Mahalaleel (5:12), Mahalaleel and Jared (5:15), Jared and Enoch (5:18; 7th from Adam - Jude 14), Enoch and Methuselah (5:22), Methuselah and Lamech (5:25), and Lamech and Noah (5:29) (i.e. Noah is the 10th from Adam). From this, the flood is 1,556 years after creation and there are 156 years per generation. To get creation at 10,000 B.C., and flood at 5, 000 B.C. as some suggest, would need an extra 22 generations (156 yr at generation/yr) before the flood. If the writer omitted 70% of the generations, what is the purpose of it? Time of creation of Adam must be 1,556 years before the flood. www.sharongospelchapel.org - Lesson 5 - October 30, 2011

15. 3. Selected Extra-Biblical Earth’s Ages (Taken from The Answers Book 2. Ken Ham ed. 2008) (Mayans flood date was 3,113 B.C.) www.sharongospelchapel.org - Lesson 5 - October 30, 2011

16. 3. Age of Creation: Is the Word ‘Day’ to Be Taken Literally? No choice but to consider ‘day’ as a normal day (www.creation.com) Day is used with a number in Genesis 1. It is used 410 times [my count 516] outside of Genesis and always means ‘day’. [In Genesis 152 times – always days after Genesis 2] Evening and morning are used together 38 times outside of Genesis 1 and always means ‘day’ Compare the Hebrew word for day Hebrew ‘yÔm’ (<dy))) in Genesis 1 and Numbers 7:10-84 Both are list of days There is no difference in Hebrew word for ‘day’ between the lists Both lists have ‘in the day that’ (Gen 2:4; Num 7:10) or ‘in the day when’ (Num 7:84). Thus Gen 2:4, in contrast with suggestions for this phrase in Genesis, means that both are normal day lengths www.sharongospelchapel.org - Lesson 5 - October 30, 2011

17. 3. Age of Creation: Is the Word ‘Day’ to Be Taken Literally? http://www.angelfire.com/ok/bibleteaching/genesis1.html Gen 1:5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. Now He separates light from darkness so that there will be periods of both, and the periods of light He calls ‘day’ (yom) and the periods of darkness He calls ‘night’. So the term ‘yom’ is used in this sentence with two meanings. In the one it describes the periods of light, in the other it describes the whole first period of creation. This reminds us that even today long periods of light in the Arctic are called an ‘Arctic day’. The term ‘day’ is not quite so circumscribed as some suggest, even in our scientifically oriented era. www.sharongospelchapel.org - Lesson 5 - October 30, 2011

18. 3. Age of Creation: Is the Word ‘Day’ to Be Taken Literally? In my opinion we really can’t be sure about the ‘length’ of days 6,000 years ago. However we do know that the length of a day depends upon the time it takes for the earth to revolve once on its axis: One could predict shorter days right after creation since the earth’s rotation is slowing down. - Every 18 months on the average, with variation, a leap second is added to planetary time keeping to keep the day consistent with atomic clocks) (www.physlink.com/Education/ AskExperts/ae695.cfm)(67 seconds/100 years; 11.2 minutes/1ooo years) However, we know that day lengths would have to be reasonably similar to ours once there was life on earth otherwise if a side of the earth were away from the sun too long it would become uninhabitable We do not know when God started the rotation of the earth (notice that the sun appeared on day 4 (1:17-19). For example, Day 1 could have been very long (before the earth started to spin?) www.sharongospelchapel.org - Lesson 5 - October 30, 2011

19. 3. Is the Word ‘Day’ to Be Taken Literally? What do we ‘have’ to believe about the word ‘day’? That the length of days at the creation of Adam have to be close to what they are now (maybe ~1 hour longer) That when Scripture speaks about the date of the creation of the first man Adam the time has to be very close to 4,004 B.C. Because of the entrance of death and suffering into the world and redemption through Jesus Christ, there can be no creation of life before the 3rd day of creation Although I think day 1 and 2 were of similar length as the other days of creation, in terms of our theology it probably doesn’t matter if the first day was a ‘long’ day – as long as we don’t believe in a previous creation of life before the third day. www.sharongospelchapel.org - Lesson 5 - October 30, 2011

20. 3. Why the discrepancy with Science?One example: Potassium –Argon (K-Ar) Dating (Taken from The Answers Book 2. Ken Ham ed. 2008) www.sharongospelchapel.org - Lesson 5 - October 30, 2011

21. 3. Is There a time Gap Between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2? Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the Heaven and the earth. Gen 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. Gen 1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. The classical gap or ruin-reconstruction theory postulates a catastrophe between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2—the ‘ruin’—followed by the ‘reconstruction’ of the six-day creation. God originally created a perfect world, but then, in this gap, the anointed cherub fell to become Satan (Isaiah 14:9-14), and was expelled to the earth (Ezekiel 28:12-15). God judged the world by a flood catastrophe, which formed most of the fossils (which are different from plants and animals and people today). God then re-created the earth in 6 days. Newer ‘soft-gap’ theory has long ages for the earth, with death and fossils predating the fall but gap is between Genesis 1:2 and 1:3. www.sharongospelchapel.org - Lesson 5 - October 30, 2011

22. 3. Is There a time Gap Between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2? Creation Ministries International. The idea of a gap of millions of years between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2 was virtually unknown until Thomas Chalmers (1780–1847), founder of the Free Church of Scotland and popular evangelical preacher, started promoting it. The idea of a gap was ‘canonized’ for some Christians when C.I. Scofield included it in the footnotes of the Scofield Reference Bible in 1909. Scofield Reference Bible says “Relegate fossils to the primitive creation, and no conflict of science with the Genesis cosmogony remains.” www.sharongospelchapel.org - Lesson 5 - October 30, 2011

23. 3. Problems with The Gap Theory(www.bible.org/article/gap-theory-genesis-chapter-one) Jack C. Sofield “This interpretation of Genesis and associated passages of Scripture was not developed in an effort to solve apparent problems with the Text. It was not difficulties with the fall of Satan or the condition of the earth during the six days that precipitated the theory. It was, and is, an effort to solve the problem of time. The time of the earth’s formation, according to natural science, is extremely long and drawn-out, while the Biblical record describes a relatively recent, rapid formation. There were, and still are, those who are quite unwilling to make a decisive choice between these two accounts and thus the gap theory.” www.sharongospelchapel.org - Lesson 5 - October 30, 2011

24. 3.1a Hebrew Words and the Gap Theory(www.bible.org/article/gap-theory-genesis-chapter-one) ‘Create’ (verses 1:1, 21, 27, 2:3, 4) versus ‘made’ (verses 1:7, 16, 25, 31, 2:2, 3, 4, 9 ,22) The first “proof” offered is usually an effort at creating an impassable distinction between the words “create” and “made” as found in the first chapter of Genesis. The contention being that only the word “create” (bara in Hebrew) can mean to call forth out of nothing and subsequently the words “make” or “form” (asah in Hebrew) must be interpreted to mean a re-fashioning or making from pre-existing material. While it is true that the two words in question are different and can have distinct, separate meanings, they also are used synonymously throughout the Scriptures. In fact “bara” is not always used to describe a calling forth out of nothing. www.sharongospelchapel.org - Lesson 5 - October 30, 2011

25. 3.1a Hebrew Words and the Gap Theory(www.bible.org/article/gap-theory-genesis-chapter-one) Hebrew ‘Bara’ (created – used 55 times in the OT) Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Hebrew ‘asah’ (made) used for create (notice ‘heaven’ included here) Ex 20:11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: 2 Kings 19:15 And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord, and said, O Lord God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth. Ps 124:8 Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. Examples of ‘asah’ being used for create Exodus 20:11; II Kings 19:15; II Chronicles 2:12; Nehemiah 9:6; Psalms 33:6; 96:5; 115:15; 121:2; 124:8; 134:3; 136:5; 146:6; Proverbs 8:26; Ecclesiastes 3:1,1 Isaiah 37:16; 44:24; 45:12, 18 Jeremiah 10:12; 27:5; 32:17; 51:15 www.sharongospelchapel.org - Lesson 5 - October 30, 2011

26. 3.1b Hebrew Words and the Gap Theory(www.bible.org/article/gap-theory-genesis-chapter-one) ‘Was’ should be translated as ‘became’ without form, and void’ A second “proof” put forth to substantiate the gap theory is the declaration that the word “was” in Genesis 1:2 should be translated “became.” This, of course, is done so as to allow a change of state to occur from verse one to verse two. That is, the initial, perfect creation of verse one “became” without form and void, indicating a transition to have occurred. OT:1961 hayah Vine's and Thayers- to become, occur, come to pass, to be, to exist, to happen, to fall out http://custance.org/old/time/3ch2.html “In a former state God perfected the heavens and the earth but the earth had become a ruin and a desolation, and the darkness of judgment was upon the face of it.” www.sharongospelchapel.org - Lesson 5 - October 30, 2011

27. 3.1b Hebrew Words and the Gap Theory www.bible.org/article/gap-theory-genesis-chapter-one It is true that the word used here in the Genesis text can be translated as either “was” or “became,” however it is the context of the passage which dictates the choice of the word. This means that the transition or change of state must first be clearly understood from the overall picture (context) as presented in the passage. www.sharongospelchapel.org - Lesson 5 - October 30, 2011

28. 3.1b Hebrew Words and the Gap TheoryIdeas from bible.org/article/gap-theory-genesis-chapter-one ‘Was’ should be translated ‘became’ There are many times in the Pentateuch were the Hebrew word ‘hayah’ [used 1048 times] is translated as ‘was’. The following passages indicate that ‘hayah’ is correctly translated ‘became’ only when it is in the context of a clearly understood transition: Genesis 2:7 And 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. Genesis 2:10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. Genesis 2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. www.sharongospelchapel.org - Lesson 5 - October 30, 2011

29. 3.1b Hebrew Words and the Gap Theory ‘Was’ cannot be translated ‘became’ — (www.creation.com) It is grammatically impossible to translate the verb ‘to be’ היה(hayah) as‘became’ when it is combined with a vav disjunctive Also, the correct Hebrew idiom for ‘become’ is to attach the verb ‘to be’ היה (hayah), e.g. ‘was’, to the preposition ‘to’ (Hebrew ל le). The verb ‘to be’ does NOT mean ‘become’ without this preposition. Since Genesis 1:2 lacks the preposition, it cannot mean ‘became’. www.sharongospelchapel.org - Lesson 5 - October 30, 2011

30. 3.1c Hebrew Words and the Gap Theory (www.bible.org/article/gap-theory-genesis-chapter-one) “Without form and void” Additional support for the gap theory is recruited, or perhaps conscripted is better, from the phrase “without form and void.” An appeal is made to consider other Biblical texts in which these words are found together and it is pointed out that these passages…. are judgmental in character and context. Isaiah 24:1 Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. Jer 4:22 For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge. 23 I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. 24 I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. 25 I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. 26 I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by his fierce anger. www.sharongospelchapel.org - Lesson 5 - October 30, 2011

31. 3.1c Hebrew Words and the Gap Theory(www.creation.com) Rebuttal of ‘Without form and void’ in Isaiah and Jeremiah The judgment which is spoken of is future and is not a statement of a past action of God. The subjects of the judgments are Israel and Edom and not the entire earth. Not only is it a future judgment limited to a specific peoples, but the judgment spoken of is itself limited, not a comprehensive world wide judgment as required by the gap theory. Both Isaiah and Jeremiah, in the context of the subject judgments, show that there will be survivors on the earth (or land) that is to be “without form and void.” www.sharongospelchapel.org - Lesson 5 - October 30, 2011

32. 3.1c Hebrew Words and the Gap Theory Rebuttal of ‘Without form and void’ in Isaiah and Jeremiah These two verses are not the only ones containing these words in the Old Testament. They are used in a number of places and translated with a variety of words…… all suitably translated by rendering the Hebrew “tohu” and “bohu” (without form, void) as “empty” and “lifeless.” Usually the implication is a place not suitable for habitation such as a desert. This condition could be the result of a judgmental action, but again as before, the context must show that to be the case. ….It is clear from the text that the necessary and desirable features of an earth suitable for man’s habitation were absent in Genesis 1:2, however, this does not justify the interpretation that “without form and void” means ruined, chaotic or judged. www.sharongospelchapel.org - Lesson 5 - October 30, 2011

33. 3.1c Hebrew Words and the Gap Theory Replenish (Hebrew ‘male or mala’) Gen 1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. Gen 9:1 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. Used 253 times in the Old Testament – the above 2 times are the only times it is translated as ‘replenish’ OT:4390 mala‘ to fill or (intransitively) be full of, (Strong's); to fill, to be full (Thayer‘s) www.creation.com/images/pdfs/cabook/chapter3.pdf Linguist Dr Charles Taylor: ‘As translated in 1611, it (“replenish”) was merely a parallel to “fill”, and the prefix “re-” didn’t mean “again”, but “completely” www.sharongospelchapel.org - Lesson 5 - October 30, 2011

34. 3.2 Other Problems with the Gap Theory Undermines God’s goodness - Postulates Satan’s fall and death and suffering before Adam in world God said was ‘very good’ (Gen 1:31). Rom 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: 1 Cor 15:21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. Undermines doctrine of redemption and need for Jesus’ death. Rom 5:17 For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) 18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. 19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. www.sharongospelchapel.org - Lesson 5 - October 30, 2011

35. 3. Problems with the Gap Theory Undermines and contradicts Sabbath demands of Exodus 20:8-11 which is based on 6 days of creation (also Exodus 31:17) Ex 31:17 It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed. If there is a gap between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2, the ‘re-creation’ must being in verse 3. This separates the “creation of heaven and earth” from the rest of the week by some indefinite time period…, the ‘heaven and earth” creation cannot be considered to be a part of the re-creative week which follows. Scripture (Genesis 2:1 to 4 and Exodus 20:11 and 31:17) clearly include the creation or making of the “heaven and earth” within the six creative days. Uniformitarism geologists reject any world-wide flood including ‘Lucifer’s flood’. They also believe fossils formed over hundreds of millions of years. The gap theory thus doesn’t jibe with science. www.sharongospelchapel.org - Lesson 5 - October 30, 2011

36. 4. Progressive Creation Dr. Hugh Ross has proposed this ‘day-age’ or ‘progressive creation’ theory. Endorsed by Christians, churches, seminaries, colleges. It teaches Universe was created by a ‘big-bang’ 13 -15 billion years ago The days of creation were overlapping periods of millions/billions of years Over million of years, God created new species as others became extinct (progressive creation) The record of nature is just as reliable as the Word of God Death, bloodshed and disease existed before Adam and Eve Manlike creatures looking much like us existed before Adam and Eve but did not have a spirit that was in the image of God and had no hope of salvation. (In contrast, cavemen looked like us, drew pictures, wore jewelry, buried their dead, etc.) The Genesis flood was a local event. www.sharongospelchapel.org - Lesson 5 - October 30, 2011

37. 5. Different Accounts in Genesis 1 and 2? The Problem (which suggests separate creations) Plants and herbs in Genesis 2:5 and trees in Genesis 2:9 appear to be after the creation of Adam, supposedly contradicting plants on day 3 and people on day 6 in Genesis 1. In Genesis 2:19 mention of ‘beasts of the field’ and ‘birds of the air’ supposedly before Eve. Explanation Genesis 1 is the big picture account and Genesis 2 concerns the creation of man and women. Plants in Genesis 2:5 are described as ‘of the field’ (opposite to 1:12). They are cultivated plants and man was needed to tend them (2:5). Trees in 2:9 are trees planted in the garden, not trees in general. (See 2:8) Hebrew has no specific verb form to indicate the pluperfect (‘had formed’, ‘having formed’). Keil and others have recognized context requires pluperfect tense , thus it would be ‘God had formed out of the ground’ www.sharongos pelchapel.org - Lesson 5 - October 30, 2011

38. 6. Summary Impossible to believe in the God of the Bible and evolution Genesis has to be taken literally Biblical chronology suggests creation around 4,000 B.C. Even a date of 10,000 B.C. is outside of Scriptural possibilities. Non-Biblical sources give a similar date for creation as the Bible A gap after Genesis 1:1 has been postulated but suffering and death can’t Scripturally come before Adam Progressive creation has been postulated but fails for the same reasons as the gap theory. No discrepancy in creation accounts between Genesis 1 and 2 Overall conclusion from Genesis is that God created Adam at some time around 4,000 B.C. Is it scientifically possible to believe in a young earth? Come on November 13 to find out! www.sharongos pelchapel.org - Lesson 5 - October 30, 2011

39. 7. Appendix: Maximum age of earth based upon escape velocity in the past and observed slowing of rotation Calculated from Universe: The Solar System. 2002. R. A. Freedman and W. J. Kaufmann III. Pp. 160, 703 Escape velocity on earth’s surface = 11.2 km/sec Current velocity of earth at equator= 0.4636 km/sec Currently earth’s rotation is decreasing 0.67 sec/year (affected by depth of icecap which is not considered here) Thus in 1 year change in distance = 0.67 sec*0.46 km/sec=0.3082 km Seconds per year = 60*60*24*365 = 3.1536*107 Thus change in velocity per year = 0.3082 km/31.536*107 = 9.77295x10-9 km/sec Change in velocity for earth to reach escape velocity =11.2-.46 = 10.74 km/sec Time required to reach escape velocity = 10.74 km/sec/(9.77295x10-9 km/sec) = 1.1 x 109 years Note: does not account for change in earth’s velocity because of change in icecap height (lower increases velocity). Also the earth would not have been created at a rotation speed of escape velocity. www.sharongos pelchapel.org - Lesson 5 - October 30, 2011