Monday, April 29, 2024

6000 or 10000



About 6,000 Years or 10,000 Years—Does It Matter?

Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI

Biblical Authority Ministries, April 29, 2024


Brief Introduction

In a culture that demands Christians give up the Bible and accept the secular humanist age of the earth at billions of years, it seems the discussion about 6,000 years vs. 10,000 years gets left behind. Yes, biblical creationists unite to battle the secular dating system and that is the “bigger fish to fry,” but at times, we can’t ignore the little fish in the bucket that needs to be cooked up too.

Where Is the Debate?

Statements of Faith from various ministries can range, depending on their ministerial focus—and rightly so. But the foundation of our faith goes back to the early pages of Genesis, so I encourage Christians to take a stand on biblical creation and have a statement to reflect it. Many times, we applaud the way these statements on creation are stated, and in other cases we groan.

Some Christians try to avoid the subject by generically stating that God created. Of course, that leaves room for Christians who mix their Christianity with certain tenets of other religions like humanism’s origins account. For example, when Christians deviate from the Bible in Genesis and deny biblical origins, they are trading it for secular humanistic origins such as evolution, millions of years, and/or the big bang.

But another issue crops up as well. Have you ever seen statements of faith declaring that creation occurred “6,000–10,000 years ago”? Sometimes people put a range because they haven’t researched the subject. But regardless, they want to leave open the possibility of an extended age of the earth. Why? I’ve talked to others who profess to believe the earth is 20,000–30,000 years old. I’ve even spoken with other Christians who claim to believe in biblical creation (i.e., a young earth and six-day creation), but they really believe the earth is about 50,000 years old!

It is the issue of trying to stretch as much time out in the Bible as you can. Why? Is it because we are still influenced by the secular world inundating us with long ages? Do we really think that if we stretch out some dates in the Old Testament we will look better to the world? I suggest not. The world wants you to doubt God’s Word because they doubt God’s Word.

Getting into the Meat—or the “Little Fish” Anyway

So, what is the earth’s age? About 6,000 or 10,000 years or what? Biblical Authority Ministries (as well as Answers in Genesis and others) has carefully placed in the Statement of Faith that:

Scripture teaches a recent origin for man and the whole creation, spanning approximately 4,000 years from creation to Christ.[1]

Why do we say it this way? The Bible spans from the beginning of time (creation) until the New Testament was complete, so the logical place for a calculation based on the Bible is from creation to Christ; then we can add in the time from Christ until today. So, we work out the approximate calculation from creation to Christ.

This range from creation to Christ is placed at about 4,000 years, not on a whim but for a very precise reason. We limited the earth’s age to 4,000 years in this stretch in the Statement of Faith because of virtually every chronology based on ancient original language texts (e.g., Masoretic, but also consulting the Samaritan Pentateuch and Dead Sea Scrolls) as well as the Aramaic translations (which are very similar to Hebrew; Aramaic Peshitta, and Aramaic Targum of Jonathan). When calculated, we arrive at the date of about 4,000 years between Creation and Christ.[2]

We have biblical genealogies and chronological data from father to son, given precisely from Adam to Jacob (Israel). Jacob’s grandfather was Abraham.

Abraham is like the pivot point. Both Christian and secular scholars agree that Abraham lived about 2,000 years before Christ. And simple math reveals about 2,000 years from Adam to Abraham. See the chart:


Even from a rough calculation, you only get about 6,000 years when you tally:
 
  • Creation to Abraham about 2,000 years
  • Abraham to Christ about 2,000 years
  • Christ to today about 2,000 years.

You can try to get an extra 1,000 years or so from the Greek translation of the Old Testament, known as the LXX (Septuagint), which was translated just over 2,000 years ago. But it has glitches.[3] For instance, if you add up the translation’s inflated ages in Genesis, Methuselah lived for about a decade after the Flood without being on the Ark. But that is about the extent of it. You still don’t even come close to 10,000 years. The Latin Vulgate follows the Hebrew original and Aramaic translations being other early witnesses to the 4,000 years.

Few realize that to get 10,000 years, you need to put a gap between every single person from Adam to Christ because, really, you are doubling the 4,000 years to 8,000 years between Adam to Christ. No one tries to add 4,000 years from Christ to today and say that Christ lived 6,000 years ago! But if you put an additional person between every name from Adam to Jesus, that would be over 70 missing people in the Luke 3 genealogy. Furthermore, this does damage by neglecting that Jude clearly stated that Enoch was the seventh from Adam (Jude 14).

Naturally, gapping would call into question the integrity and accuracy of the Bible in Genesis 5, Genesis 11, 1 Chronicles 1, Luke 3, and others—which makes this a serious biblical authority issue. It would also call into question the majority of accounts where fathers and sons are discussed as overlapping in the text too. If you can’t trust the Bible in the area of genealogies, then why trust it anywhere? This would be a dangerous step toward unbelief, especially if taught to unsuspecting children.

Others have tried to allege that there are gaps between Noah’s sons and those listed in Genesis 10 at Babel (the splitting of languages where the people were divided on the earth). Again, this doesn’t comport with the lineages given in the Bible.The genealogies are very specific in giving the age of the father when the son is born. However, in some translations of Luke 3:36, there seems to be an extra Cainan. Because of this, some have proposed that there may be gaps in the genealogies. However, one needs to understand this specific instance better. Expositor Dr. John Gill points out,

"This Cainan is not mentioned by Moses in #Ge 11:12 nor has he ever appeared in any Hebrew copy of the Old Testament, nor in the Samaritan version, nor in the Targum; nor is he mentioned by Josephus, nor in #1Ch 1:24 where the genealogy is repeated; nor is it in Beza’s most ancient Greek copy of Luke: it indeed stands in the present copies of the Septuagint, but was not originally there; and therefore could not be taken by Luke from thence, but seems to be owing to some early negligent transcriber of Luke’s Gospel, and since put into the Septuagint to give it authority: I say “early,” because it is in many Greek copies, and in the Vulgate Latin, and all the Oriental versions, even in the Syriac, the oldest of them; but ought not to stand neither in the text, nor in any version: for certain it is, there never was such a Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, for Salah was his son; and with him the next words should be connected."[4]

This appears to have been one of a few copyist mistakes that have crept into the manuscripts after Luke wrote the original, inspired manuscript.[5] Early Luke manuscripts do not have this extra reference to Cainan. Others have pointed out how this error could have occurred rather easily.[6]

If one proposes gaps in Genesis 5, the chronological data in the Bible is false, and you are back to the same problem of having an untrustworthy Bible. There is no legitimate reason to introduce gaps into the genealogies—other than the desire to extend the dates based on extra-biblical ideas.

Conclusion

When you leave open the possibility for the earth to be 10,000 years old, you are suggesting that God erred in numerous places in the Bible. My humble suggestion is to be more precise based on the biblical data that is given. It is better to “err” on the side of Scripture than the side of sinful, fallible man’s ideas about the past.

Don’t let the world influence you to doubt the genealogies and chronological data in the Bible. There is no need for stretching—it isn’t going to help anyway. It’s time to reel in that little fish and cook it too!

Further Reading:



Originally Published at: https://answersingenesis.org/why-does-creation-matter/about-6000-years-or-10000-years-does-it-matter/. Reprinted and Updated with Permission.



[1] See: “Statement of Faith”, Biblical Authority Ministries,  https://www.biblicalauthorityministries.org/p/blog-page.html; see also “Statement of Faith,” Answers in Genesis, https://answersingenesis.org/about/faith/.

 

[2] Ken Ham and Bodie Hodge, A Flood of Evidence (Green Forest, AR: Master Books, 2016), 45–51.

 

[3] Bodie Hodge, The LXX Genesis Chronologies—A Closer Look, Biblical Authority Ministries, April 4, 2024, https://www.biblicalauthorityministries.org/2024/04/lxx-vs-hebrew-genesis-5.html.

[4] Dr. John Gill, commentary notes on Genesis 3:36, adapted from the Online Bible.

[5] Copyist mistakes do not affect inspiration or inerrancy. It is the original manuscripts that were inerrant. Even though fallible copyists made mistakes, these things can be traced via textual criticism to preserve the text.

[6] Ken Ham, ed., The New Answers Book 2 (Green Forest, Arkansas: Master Books, 2008), 296–297.

Monday, April 22, 2024

Earth Day

 

Earth Day—Principles That Go Back To Genesis?

 Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI

Biblical Authority Ministries, April 22, 2024

Happy “Dominion over the Earth” Day as it should be (or simply “Earth Day”). Today is a “holiday” where people use their God-given dominion to declare a day to honor and consider the way we, as mankind, live on earth.

Whether people realize it or not, this goes back to Genesis—though the “holiday” itself is new. The principles are found in Genesis. A ruling God made man in God’s image (Genesis 1:26-27[1]). Thus, He gave us something to rule over. In Genesis 1:28[2], God gave man and woman (man collectively) dominion over creation—the earth, the animals and so on.

Dominion means to look after the earth and care for it but use it in responsible ways. In the same way, if a parent gives a new bicycle or vehicle their child, that child now has dominion to rule over it. In doing that, they take care of it, maintain it, but also use it—for good.

Historically, man broke God’s law and sinned and rebelled against God (Genesis 3). God cursed the dominion of man which directly resulted the animals and the ground being cursed (i.e., the earth). Man was also sentenced to die. The world is broken, which means we have to work extra hard to work the ground (Genesis 3:17-19[3]) and take care of the earth.

In our culture, sadly, we have people who reject God and reject that we are made in God’s image and want to replace those concepts with secular ideas. Like the pagans of old, they want to worship the creation instead of the Creator (e.g., Romans 1:25[4]). They want to worship the earth and ourselves instead of God.

Our sin against God, which includes these errors, have eternal consequences—an eternal Heaven or Hell (Daniel 12:2[5])! The earth can’t save you and you can’t save the earth in any eternal way. It is God who can do that (e.g., John 5:24[6], 6:40[7]). He promised to make a new heaven and a new earth (collectively call “Heaven”; Isaiah 65:17[8]; 2 Peter 3:13[9]; Revelation 21:1[10]), but while we remain in this sin-cursed and broken world, we are still to exercise a caring dominion over it.

Do I like clean water, clean air, recycling, using technology to make cleaner coal, using technology to make renewable oil, and blend with clean energy based on new technologies? Of course. However, we need to make sure we don’t do it at the expense of attacking humanity and worshipping nature (e.g., the climate cult, environmentalism, etc.). These false religions can lead many astray. There needs to be a balance when it comes to using the earth responsibly.

Did you notice that I put “holiday” in quotes earlier in reference to Earth Day? A holiday is a Holy Day, which is predicated on a Holy God existing and making things holy (that is, sanctified and pure). So, can those who reject a holy God really have anything holy? Not consistently! As image bearers, we mimic a holy God when we develop holidays. For instance, there is man-made holiday developed between the Old and New Testament (e.g., the Festival of Lights/Feast of Dedication/Hannukah). Jesus attended, which shows us a freedom we have in the Lord to make new holidays.

God prescribed certain holidays in the Bible and one of them (Passover) happens to start today (on April 22, 2024—FYI Passover tends to move around a little on our modern Gregorian calendar). Passover is a type and shadow of the Lord’s crucifixion and resurrection where Jesus Christ was offered once for all as our unblemished, eternal Passover lamb/sacrifice (1 Corinthians 5:7[11]). It is only through the blood of Jesus Christ that we can be saved for all eternity and enjoy a new heavens and new earth in a perfect state enjoying God’s goodness forever.

I hope you not only ponder how man uses the earth currently; but seek to understand how this earth is broken due to sin. In light of this, I would also love for you to consider how we can be saved in Jesus Christ and thereby look forward to a new earth in a perfect state forever.  





[1] Genesis 1:26-27 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. NKJV.

[2] Genesis 1:28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” NKJV.

[3] Genesis 3:17-19 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life.  Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.” NKJV

[4] Romans 1:25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. NKJV.

[5] Daniel 12:2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt. NKJV.

[6] John 5:24 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. NKJV

[7] John 6:40 “And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” NKJV.

[8] Isaiah 65:17 “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. NKJV.

[9] 2 Peter 3:13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. NKJV.

[10] Revelation 21:1 Revelation 21:1 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. NKJV.

[11] 1 Corinthians 5:7 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. NKJV.

Monday, April 15, 2024

Christian Holidays

 

Christian And Biblical-Based Holy Days (Holidays)

 Bodie Hodge

Biblical Authority Ministries, April 15, 2024

In our culture, many Christian holidays are being erased. How many people could recite just 4 of the 12 Days of Christmas for instance? What about Saturday and Sunday—these are weekly biblical holidays! Did you realize that?

You’d be surprised how many Christian and biblical-based holidays go by and no one seems to notice. Yet, Darwin Day, Earth Day, and Halloween (non-Christian days of celebration) seem to get precedence in our school systems while Christmas gets shut down! There is shift going on.

I decided to put together a list of popular Christian holidays that have been celebrated for thousands of years as well as the biblical feasts. Many holidays (holy days) are types and shadows but the substance is Christ and holidays reflect the substance of Christ. The Bible reminds us:

Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. Colossians 2:16-17 ESV

Here are the major holidays that have been celebrated by Christians whether in the Old Testament, Intertestamental, the New Testament, or subsequently. 

Chart of Christian Holidays (including those specifically mentioned in the Bible)

Holiday

Date

All Saturdays/Sabbaths[1]

Instituted by God during Creation

All Sundays/Lord’s Days

The Day of the Lord in honor of Christ’s Resurrection on Sunday

New Moon[2]

Monthly

Advent (four Sundays proceeding Christmas)

Varies

Festival of Lights/Hanukah/Feast of Dedication[3]

Varies

St. Nicholas’s Day

December 6

Christmas Eve

December 24

Christmas

December 25

Twelve Days of Christmas[4]

December 26-January 6th

   1. Boxing Day (St. Stephen’s Day, the Martyr)

December 26

   2. Apostles Day (Specifically St. John)

December 27

   3. Ember Day (Holy Innocents)

December 28

   4. Martyrs and Sacrifice Day

December  29

   5. Holy Family Day

December 30

   6. New Year’s Eve (Hogmanay Day)

December 31

   7. New Year’s Day

January 1

   8. Church Father’s Day

January 2

   9. Triune Day[5]

January 3

   10. Presentation Day (Simeon’s and Anna’s Day)

January 4

   11. Epiphany Eve (Angels’ and Shepherds’ Day)

January 5

   12. Epiphany

January 6

Baptism of Jesus Day

Varies (first Sunday following Epiphany)

National Sanctity of Human Life Day

January 22

Creation Day

February 12

Ash Wednesday (First Day of the Lenten Season)[6]

Varies, always 40 days before Easter

St. Valentine’s Day

February 14

Purim[7]

Varies

St. Patrick’s Day

March 17

St. Joseph’s Day (husband of Mary)

March 19[8]

Passover[9],[10]

Varies (tied to the Lunar calendar but is in March or April)

Feast of Unleavened Bread[11],[12]

Varies (tied to the Lunar calendar, 7 day feast that follows Passover)

Firstfruits[13],[14]

Varies (tied to the Lunar calendar, first Sunday after the first Sabbath after Passover

Palm Sunday

Varies (the Sunday prior to Easter)

Holy Thursday[15]  (Maundy Thursday)

Varies (the Thursday prior to Easter)

Good Friday[16]

Varies (the Friday prior to Easter)

Resurrection Sunday (Easter)

The first Sunday following the first full moon on or after the vernal equinox[17]

St. George’s Day

April 23[18]

Ascension Day (39th day after the Resurrection)

Varies (always a Thursday, the 40 Day of Easter)

Feast of Weeks[19],[20]

Varies (tied to the Lunar calendar, 50 days [Pentecost] after Firstfruits)

Pentecost

Varies but is 10 days after Ascension Thursday

National Day of Prayer

May 6

St. Peter’s and St. Paul’s Day

June 29[21]

St. James the Great’s Day (son of Zebedee)

July 25[22]

Michaelmas (Michael’s and All Angel’s Day)

September 29

Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah)[23],[24]

Varies (tied to the Lunar calendar around September October)

Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur)[25],[26]

Varies (9 days after the Feast of Trumpets)

Feast of Tabernacles/Booths/Ingathering/Sukkot[27],[28]

Varies (8 days festival beginning 5 days after the Day of Atonement)

Ussher’s Birthday for Creation

October 23 per the Julian calendar (translated to September 21 by the Gregorian Calendar)

Reformation Day/All Hallows Eve

October 31

All Saints Day

November 1

All Souls Day

November 2

St. Andrew’s Day

November 30

Thanksgiving

Varies, but is always the fourth Thursday of November

 

 

Others

 

Baptism

Dependent on the individual

Holy Matrimony (and Anniversaries)

Dependent on the husband and wife[29]

Birthdays (important to keep track of age[30])

Dependent on the individual[31]

Funeral Grievance/Mourning

Dependent on the individual[32]

Jubilee

Every 50th year (last ones 1967, 2017; next ones: 2067, 2117)

Communion/Lord’s Supper

As often as you drink it, in remembrance of Christ[33]

 

 

 



[1] Types and Shadows but the substance is Christ (Colossians 2:16-17).

[2] Types and Shadows but the substance is Christ (Colossians 2:16-17).

[3] John 10:22

[4] The Twelve Days of Christmas tend to vary depending on the culture. England specifically has one of the Twelve Days honoring a Bishop of Canterbury and another celebrating a saint of Worcester for example. But the Twelve Days of Christmas have extensive overlap beginning with Boxing Day and ending with the Feast of Epiphany. Some of these days have been celebrated as far back as the AD 200’s as the Feast of Epiphany is mentioned by a church father in the Fourth Homily: On the Holy Theophany, or on Christ’s Baptism, which was written in the 3rd century AD. The listing given here is for protestants and is from: B. Hodge, The Twelve Days of Christmas (for Protestants), Biblical Authority Ministries, December 16, 2015, https://biblicalauthorityministries.wordpress.com/2015/12/16/the-twelve-days-of-christmas/.

[5] For discussion, see: God is Triune from Scripture: https://answersingenesis.org/who-is-god/the-trinity/god-is-triune/.The Athanasius Creed can be found here: https://carm.org/christianity/creeds-and-confessions/athanasian-creed-500-ad.

[6] Sometimes denoted as Repentance and Fasting Day and beginning 40 days prior to Easter in honor of Jesus’ 40 days of fasting and prayer and Christ’s temptation by Satan.

[7] Based on Esther 9:26-32

[8] If Palm Sunday happens to fall on St. Joseph’s Day (a rare occurrence), then St. Joseph’s Day is honored on the following Monday.

[9] Exodus 12:1-4; Leviticus 23:5; Numbers 9:1-14; 28:16; Deuteronomy 16:1-3, 4-7; Matthew 26:17; Mark 14:12-26; John 2:13; 11:55; 1 Corinthians 5:7; Hebrews 11:28.

[10] Types and Shadows but the substance is Christ (Colossians 2:16-17) as He is our ultimate and final Passover sacrifice satisfying the wrath of God upon sin through the blood of His Son Jesus Christ.

[11] Types and Shadows but the substance is Christ (Colossians 2:16-17).

[12] Exodus 12:15-20; 39; 13:3-10; 23:15; 34:18; Leviticus 23:6-8; Numbers 28:17-25; Deuteronomy 16:3, 4, 8; Mark 14:1,12; Act 12:3.

[13] Types and Shadows but the substance is Christ (Colossians 2:16-17).

[14] Exodus 23:19; 34:26; Leviticus 23:9-14; Deuteronomy 26:5,9-10.

[15] After Sunset to commemorate the Last Supper.

[16] Commemorating the Day of Jesus’ Crucifixion.

[17] This is because Easter always follows the Passover date in any given year because Jesus actual resurrection was after the date that the Passover began. The Passover date is determined on a lunar Babylonian Calendar that was adopted by the Jews in the Captivity. The Jewish (Babylonian) Calendar has 354 days per year based on the moon’s cycle which is about 29.5 days (so each lunar month is either 29 or 30 days in length) with an extra month thrown in a every few years to correct the calendar. To make sure that Resurrection Sunday always followed Passover (the type and shadow leading to the Resurrection) on the Gregorian Calendar currently in use, a lunar element was added to fix the day each year. This is why dates for Easter, and those linked to Easter, vary each year on the current calendar. To calculate Easter Sunday, it is the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal/Spring equinox.

[18] This is the date accepted for date of his death during persecution of Christians in AD 303.

[19] Types and Shadows but the substance is Christ (Colossians 2:16-17).

[20] Exodus 23:16; 34:22; Leviticus 23:15-21; Numbers 28:26-31; Deuteronomy 16:9-12.

[21] In honor of their martyrdom at the hand of Nero in AD 68.

[22] In honor of his martyrdom in AD 44.

[23] Types and Shadows but the substance is Christ (Colossians 2:16-17).

[24] Leviticus 23:23-25; Numbers 29:1-6; 2 Samuel 6:15.

[25] Types and Shadows but the substance is Christ (Colossians 2:16-17).

[26] Leviticus 16:1-34; 23:26-32; Numbers 29:7-11.

[27] Types and Shadows but the substance is Christ (Colossians 2:16-17).

[28] Exodus 23:16; 34:22; Leviticus 23:33-38; 39-43; Numbers 29:12-34; Deuteronomy 16:13-15; 1 Kings 8:3; 2 Chronicles 7:1; Zechariah 14:16-19; John 7:2.

[29] Based on Genesis 2:24; Mark 10:6-9; John 2:1-11, etc.

[30] Important for a host of things such as Exodus 30:14, Number 1:3, etc.

[31] Based on Job 1:4, etc.

[32] Based on Genesis 27:41; Deuteronomy 34:8

[33] Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 11:25

Dear Atheists

  Dear Atheists, from Bodie Hodge Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI Biblical Authority Ministries, November 9, 2024 Why would an atheist ...