A Young Earth
In this article I would like to consider a common question concerning the Genesis account of creation that announces the earth was made on the first day of the first week of time—that was just six thousand years ago! And since the great Creator was none other than Jesus Christ, of course, He would embrace the fact that the earth was young. I have repeatedly been asked, “What difference does it make how old the earth is, as long as we believe that the God of the Bible created the universe and everything in it?”
In the first place, either the Bible is the Word of God or it isn’t. If it is, in fact, inspired from cover to cover, then the days of creation are obviously 24 hours in length, and the Creation Week must have happened a few thousand years ago—there is no getting around that fact for believers in creation ex-nihilo (i.e., creation just six thousand years ago).
It is noteworthy that Evolutionary biologist, Dr. Douglas Fuytuma of Stony Brook University, said, “Creation and evolution, between them, exhaust the possible explanations for the origin of living things. Organisms either appeared on the earth fully developed or they did not. If they did not, they must have developed from some preexisting species by some process of modification. If they did appear in a fully developed state, they must have indeed been created by some omnipotent intelligence, for no natural process could possibly form inanimate molecules into elephants or redwoods trees in one step.” (Douglas J. Fuytuma, Science on Trial: The Case for Evolution , 1982, p. 197.)
Apostle Paul made it exceedingly plain in 2 Timothy 3:16 that all Scripture is given by the inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine (teaching), etc. Moreover, Solomon emphasizes the fact that, “Every word of God is pure; He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him. {Moreover, we are told} add thou not unto His words, lest He reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.” (Proverbs 30:5-6)
A genuine Bible believer knows that scriptural revelation is recorded in 66 books of the Old and New Testament, and regardless that certain “scholars” attempt to add time to this Holy Book, the Bible plainly tells us that from Genesis 1 until the second coming of Jesus, we are dealing with six to seven thousand years!
Jesus knew that the earth was young (Mark 10:6 and Matthew 19:4), because He created it and everything that was in it, on it, under it and above it, just a few thousand years ago! Please note that both passages tell us that: “… from the beginning” … “God made them male and female.” (Mark 10:6; Matthew 19:6) And since the word “Genesis” means beginning, or at the first, it refers to course beginning of space/time (Genesis 1-12), and mankind was created “ex nihilo” (i.e., out of nothing but His Word [logos]). God created the heavens and the earth and everything in them in six, twenty-four hour days in the first week of time, and this completely agrees with the Genesis record! It’s a young world after all!
G. Thomas Sharp
