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 Man
Has Been on the Earth Since... According to evolution,
man is a “Johnny-come-lately.” He is a newcomer to planet Earth, far
removed from the origin of the Universe. If the Universe was born 14
billion years ago, as many evolutionists, theistic evolutionists,
and progressive creationists believe, man did not “come along” until
about 13.996 billion years later. If such time were represented by
one 24-hour day, and the alleged Big Bang occurred at 12:00 a.m.,
then man did not arrive on the scene until 11:59:58 p.m. Man’s
allotted time during one 24-hour day would represent a measly two
seconds.
If the Bible ever taught, either explicitly or implicitly, that man
was so far removed from the origin of the Universe, a faithful,
Bible-believing Christian would have no reservations accepting the
above-mentioned timeline. Just as a Christian is expected to believe
that God parted the Red Sea (Exodus 14), made an iron ax head float
on water (2 Kings 6:5), and raised Jesus from the dead (Matthew
28:1-8), he would need to accept that humans appeared on Earth
billions of years after the beginning of creation—if that was what
the Bible taught. The problem for theistic evolutionists and
progressive creationists is, God’s Word never hints at such a
timeline. In fact, it does the very opposite.
The Bible makes a clear distinction between things that took place
before “the foundation of the world” and events that occurred after
the “foundation of the world.” Jesus prayed to the Father the night
of His arrest and betrayal, saying, “You loved Me before the
foundation of the world” (John 17:24, emp. added). Peter
revealed in his first epistle how Jesus “was foreordained before
the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last
times for you” (1 Peter 1:20, emp. added). Paul informed the
Christians in Ephesus how God “chose us in Him before the
foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without
blame before Him in love” (Ephesians 1:4, emp. added). Before “God
created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1), He was alive and
well.
If theistic evolutionists and progressive creationists are correct,
then man arrived on the scene, not before the foundation of the
world (obviously), nor soon after the foundation of the world, but
eons later—13.996 billion years later to be “precise.” This theory,
however, blatantly contradicts Scripture.
Jesus taught that “the blood of all the prophets...was shed from
(“since”—NASB) the foundation of the world..., from the
blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the
altar and the temple” (Luke 11:50-51, emp. added; cf. Luke 1:70).
Not only did Jesus’ first-century enemies murder the prophets, but
their forefathers had slain them as well, ever since the days of
Abel. Observe that Jesus connected the time of one of the sons of
Adam and Eve (the first couple on Earth, created on day six of
Creation—Genesis 1:26-31) to the “foundation of the world.” This
time is contrasted with the time of a prophet named Zechariah, whom,
Jesus told His enemies, “you murdered between the temple and
the altar” (Matthew 23:35, emp. added). Zechariah was separated from
the days of Abel by thousands of years. His blood was not shed near
the foundation of the world; Abel’s was. Certain early martyrs,
including Abel, lived close enough to Creation for Jesus to say that
their blood had been shed “from the foundation of the world.” If man
arrived on the scene billions of years after the Earth was formed,
and hundreds of millions years after various living organisms like
fish, amphibians, and reptiles came into existence (as the
evolutionary timeline affirms), how could Jesus’ statement make any
sense? Truly, man was not created eons after the foundation of the
world. Rather, he has been here “from the foundation” of it.
On another occasion when Jesus’ antagonists approached Him, they
questioned Him about the lawfulness of divorce. Jesus responded by
saying, “But from the beginning of the creation, God made
them male and female” (Mark 10:6, emp. added). According to Genesis
1 and 2, God made Adam and Eve on the sixth day of Creation
(1:26-31; 2:7,21-25). Jesus referred to this same occasion and
indicated that God made them “from the beginning of the creation.”
Similar to how Abel’s day could be associated with “the foundation
of the world,” so the forming of Adam and Eve on day six of the
Creation could be considered “from the beginning of the creation.”
In the epistle to the Christians in Rome, the apostle Paul also
alluded to how long man has been on the Earth. He wrote: “For
since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are
clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His
eternal power and Godhead...” (Romans 1:20, emp. added). Who on
Earth understands the eternal power and divine nature of God? Man
(NOTE: Although some might suggest that angels can understand God’s
invisible attributes, the context of Romans 1:18-32 clearly is
referring to humans, not angels.) How long has man been aware of God
and His invisible attributes? “Since the creation of the world.”
How, then, could man logically have been “perceiving” or
“understanding” God “since the creation of the world” (emp.
added), if he is separated from the creation of “the heavens and the
earth, the sea,” and so many of the animals (like trilobites,
dinosaurs, and “early mammals”) by millions or billions of years (as
evolutionary theory advocates)? Such a scenario completely
contradicts Scripture.
Gap theorists and day-age theorists who propose that billions of
years of time preceded the creation of Adam and Eve need to give
serious thought to the many Bible passages that teach otherwise. The
Bible is not silent regarding our origins. God Almighty created the
Universe (and everything in it) simply by speaking it into
existence. He said, “‘Let there be light’; and there was light’”
(Genesis 1:3).
By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all the host
of them by the breath of His mouth... Let all the earth fear the
Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For
He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast
(Psalm 33:6,8-9, emp. added).
The same God Who turned water into wine in only a moment of time
(without dependence on time laden naturalistic processes like
photosynthesis; John 2:1-11), “the God Who does wonders” (Psalm
77:14), spoke the Universe into existence in six days.
Had God chosen to do so, He could have spent 6 billion years, 6
million years, or 6 thousand years creating the world. Had He given
any indication in His Word that lengthy amounts of time—millions or
billions of years—were used in order for naturalistic processes to
take over during Creation, we could understand why Christians would
believe such. However, God has done the very opposite. First, He
revealed that the heavens and the Earth are the effects of
supernatural causes (thus contradicting the General Theory of
Evolution). Second, He gave us the sequence of events that took
place, which further contradicts evolutionary theory (e.g., the Sun
and stars were created after the Earth, not before—Genesis 1:14-19;
birds were created before dinosaurs, not after—Genesis 1:20-23).
What’s more, He told us exactly how long He spent creating. Genesis
one reveals that from the creation of the heavens and the Earth to
the creation of man He spent six days. On two occasions in the very
next book of the Bible, He reminds us that the Creation took place,
not over 6 eons of time, but over a period of six days: “For in six
days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that
is in them, and rested the seventh day” (Exodus 20:11; cf. 31:17).
He then further impressed on Bible readers that man is not 14
billion years younger than the origin of the Universe, by referring
to him as being on the Earth (1) “from the beginning of the
creation” (Mark 10:6), (2) “since the creation of the world” (Romans
1:20), and (3) “from the foundation of the world” (Luke 11:50).
If God did create everything in six literal days, and expected us to
believe such, what else would He have needed to say than what He
said? How much clearer would He have needed to make it? And, if it
does not matter what we think about the subject, why did He reveal
to us the sequence of events to begin with?
Truly, just as God has spoken clearly on a number of subjects that
various “believers” have distorted (e.g., the worldwide Noahic
Flood, the return of Christ, etc.), the Bible plainly teaches that
God, by the word of His mouth, spoke the Universe and everything in
it into existence in six days. ~
by Eric Lyons, M. Min.
http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/3068
(Please note: We do not necessarily endorse or agree with all that
may be published on the referenced site.)
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