Origins
“For since the creation of the world His
invisible attributes, His eternal power and
divine nature, have been clearly seen, being
understood through what has been made, so
that they are without excuse. ”
(Romans 1:20)
Interpretations of Genesis
How are we to interpret the book of Genesis?
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The Days of Genesis
FORM
Day One
• Speak light into existence
• Separate light/dark
• Ordered Time
Day Two
• Speak to Separate Waters
• Order: Waters below
Expanse
Waters above
Day Three
FULLNESS
1:3-5
1:6-8
1:9-13
• Speak to Separate Waters Below so
Dry Land Appears
• Name: Earth/Sea
• Speak Earth to Sprout Plants
Day Four
1:14-19
• Speak Lights into the Expanse to
• Separate/Rule Day/Night for Signs,
for seasons, for Days/Years light/dark
Day Five
1:20-23
• Speak Waters to Team with Fish
• Separate Birds to Fly in Expanse
• Bless
Day Six
1:24-31
• Speak Earth to Bring Forth Living
Creation in Kind
• Let Us Make Man in Our Image
• Let Them Rule
• Bless
• Divide Plants
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Why View Genesis as History and not Myth?
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“There are 165 passages in Genesis that are either directly quoted or clearly
referred to in the New Testament. Many of them are alluded to more than once so
that there are at least two hundred quotations or references to Genesis in the New
Testament. It is significant that the portion of Genesis which has been the subject
of the greatest attacks of skepticism and unbelief – the first eleven chapters – is the
portion that had the greatest influence on the New Testament. There exists over
100 quotations or direct references to Genesis 1-11 in the New Testament.
Furthermore, every one of those 11 chapters is alluded to somewhere in the New
Testament. And every one of the New Testament authors refers somewhere in his
writings to Genesis 1-11. On at least six different occasions, Jesus Christ
Himself quoted from or referred to something or someone in one of those eleven
chapters, included specific references to each of the first seven chapters.
Furthermore, in not one of these many instances where the New Testament refers
to Genesis is there the slightest evidence that the writers regarded the events or
personages as myths or allegories. To the contrary, they all viewed Genesis as
absolutely true and historical and authoritative.”
- Dr. Henry Morris
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Seven Orthodox Views
I.
Young Earth – Earth is thousands of years old.
1. Standard Six-Day Creation
2. Ideal-Time
II.
Old Earth – Earth could be millions/billions of years old.
1. Long ‘Days’
2. Revelatory-Days
3. Day-Age
4. Literary Framework
5. Israel focus View
6. Gap /Ruin-Reconstruction View
7. Progressive Creation
Agreements/Disagreement of Views
I.
Agreements
1. Direct supernatural creation of all forms of life
2. Opposition to Naturalism (says no supernatural cause)
3. Opposition to Macroevolution
4. Historicity of Genesis account
II. Disagreements
1. Age of the earth
2. Literal days/allegorical days view of Genesis account
Two Core Old Earth Positions
I. Theistic Evolution – the belief that natural processes sustained
by God’s ordinary providence are God’s means of bringing
about life and humanity. Humanity came from a common ancestor
but God started everything and used evolution to bring things
about
II. Progressive Creationism: the belief that second causes
sustained by God’s providence are not the whole story, but that
instead God has added supernatural, creative actions to the
process, corresponding to the fiats of Genesis 1.
What About Theistic Evolution?
“Then God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit
trees on the earth bearing fruit after their kind with seed in them”; and it was so. The
earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees
bearing fruit with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good …
God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which
the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and God
saw that it was good … Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures
after their kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after their kind”;
and it was so. God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after
their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind; and God saw that
it was good.”
- Genesis 1:11-12, 21, 24-25
What About Theistic Evolution?
“All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one
flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, and
another flesh of birds, and another of fish.”
(1 Corinthians 15:39)
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Standard Six-Day Creation
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•
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Young earth category
Interprets Genesis literally
and chronologically
Natural reading of the text
presents the case that the
six days in Genesis 1 are
six normal 24-hour days
The normal use of the word
‘Yom’, the numbered series,
and the repetition of
‘evening and morning’
support six days of
creation
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Standard Six-Day Creation
“For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth,
the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh
day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made
it holy. ”
(Exodus 20:11)
“It is a sign between Me and the sons of Israel forever; for in
six days the Lord made heaven and earth, but on the
seventh day He ceased from labor, and was refreshed.”
(Exodus 31:17)
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Ideal-Time Interpretation
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•
•
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Young earth category
All things were created with
the appearance of age.
For example, Adam may
have looked 30 years old
when he was created but
was only seconds old
Applies to all things
including the earth, trees,
etc.
Would cause certain
scientific tests to arrive at
incorrect conclusions; the
world appears old but is not
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Objections to Young-Earth Interpretation
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“Yom” normally means “day”, but it can mean something else. “This
is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created,
in the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven. ” (Genesis
2:4)
If viewed from God’s perspective, a day can be longer: “But do not
let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one
day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. ” (2
Peter 3:8)
Why is “evening and morning” used instead of “morning and
evening”? The evening-morning chronology was how the Jewish
people kept the Sabbath
Moses uses the terms “morning” and “evening” in Psalm 90 and they
don’t mean one day: “You have swept them away like a flood, they
fall asleep; In the morning they are like grass which sprouts anew. In
the morning it flourishes and sprouts anew; Toward evening it fades
and withers away. ” (Psalm 90:5–6)
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Objections to Young-Earth Interpretation
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The seventh “day” is still going on; it is the Lord’s Sabbath rest
It is difficult to imagine that Adam could name all the animals in a
single day
The earth produced life as stated here: “The earth brought forth
vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing
fruit with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was
good. ” (Genesis 1:12) . Are we to think this happened in a ‘timelapsed photography’ sense or naturally took time? Specifically,
“seeds” are mentioned; it would seem they would grow naturally
rather than immediately. Their origin may have been supernatural,
but their growth was natural
Some argue that an old earth view says death came before the sin
of man. However, Scripture says that “all men” die because of sin
(Rom. 5:12); it does not say animals didn’t suffer normal death
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“Why not an instant universe? At the Israelite
Exodus from Egypt, the Bible tells that God
used a wind that blew all night to split the Sea
of Reeds (Ex. 14:21). Why an all-night wind
rather than perhaps a hand from heaven? That
would have been much more impressive.”
- Dr. Gerald Schroeder
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Scientific objections to young earth
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The speed of light and the distance of the stars contradicts
light sources causing evening and morning so quickly
The rate of the expansion of the universe contradicts six
literal days if “heavens and the earth” mean the entire universe
Early rocks on earth have been radioactively dated in terms of
billions of years
The rate that salt runs into the sea and the amount of salt
there indicates multi-millions of years
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‘Long Days’ Interpretation
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•
•
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Old earth category
Proposes both biblical and
scientific evidence to support
the view that the ‘days’ of
Genesis are actually long
periods of time
‘Yom’ (Hebrew word for day)
often means more than just a
24-hour period of time.
“Day” is from God’s
perspective
Sixth day may be longer than
24 hours. Land animals, man,
woman created, and Adam
names the animals
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‘Revelatory Days’ Interpretation
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Old earth category
Asserts that the six days were 24hour days of revelation that God
gave to Moses who wrote Genesis
Just as God used visions to reveal
future events to his prophets, this
view asserts that God revealed a
past series of events to Moses
regarding creation
Some say “asah” used in Exodus
20:11 can mean “reveal: “For in six
days the Lord made the heavens
and the earth, the sea and all that is
in them, and rested on the seventh
day; therefore the Lord blessed the
sabbath day and made it holy."
(Exodus 20:11)
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‘Day-Age’ Interpretation
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•
•
•
Old earth category
Asserts that the six days were
24-hour days of actual creation
Between each day there was a
long period of time where things
took place
Third day indicates a process
may be involved that took longer
than 24 hours: "The earth
brought forth vegetation, plants
yielding seed after their kind,
and trees bearing fruit with seed
in them, after their kind; and
God saw that it was good."
(Genesis 1:12)
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Literary Framework Interpretation
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•
•
•
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Old earth category
Asserts that the six days were an
ancient literary device that was
sometimes used to frame certain
periods of time in order to
encapsulate them in literary form
much like we use a ‘chapter’ in a book
to do the same
“Morning” and “Evening” were
natural ways to point to a beginning
and an end
Held by Augustine who believed
God created everything instantly,
but used a allegorical framework to
convey His work
However, Genesis doesn’t seem to
be the genre of poetry
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‘Israel Focus’ Interpretation
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•
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States that the first
chapter that speaks of
creation is talking about
the promised land of Israel
and not everything
“In the beginning God
created the heavens and
the land. ” (Genesis 1:1)
Held by Old Testament
John Sailhamer
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Ruin/Re-construction Interpretation
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Old earth category
Thomas Chalmers early champion
States that there is a gap of time
either between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2
or there was a gap of time that
occurred prior to 1:1
Lucifer was originally given dominion
of the earth as the ‘covering cherub’,
but when he sinned, God judged
both him and his domain
The six days of creation in Genesis
are not an original creation, but a
reconstruction of the earth
God then granted a new steward –
man – to be in charge of the remade
earth
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Ruin/Re-construction Interpretation
Fall of
Lucifer; he
and earth
judged by
God
Untold number of
years
Gen.
1:1
God
remakes
earth and
gives it to
Adam
Untold number of
years
Is. 14:1214
Ez.
28:12-17
2 Peter
3:3-6
Fall of man;
Satan
regains
earth
?of
years
Gen. 1:231
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Human history up until now…
Gen. 3
Progressive Creation Interpretation
• Old earth category
• Combines Literary Framework and/or
Day-Age interpretations, and poses a
gap between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2
(without the Lucifer episode)
• Accepts mainstream geological and
cosmological estimates for the age of the
Earth
• Posits that God created new forms of
life gradually, over a period of hundreds
of millions of years
• Rejects macro-evolution as Scripture
and the fossil record don’t support it.
• Distinct from theistic evolution in that
God is seen to regularly involve himself
in the process of species development
through special creative acts
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So Which Interpretation is Correct…?
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“I don’t know”
William Lane Craig,
2 Ph.D.’s
Series on Creation
More on Ruin/Re-construction
" In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The
earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface
of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface
of the waters." (Genesis 1:1-2)
“formless” = “tohuw”; literally “a wreck/chaos”
“void” = “bohuw”; literally “a waste”
Only used in 2 other places (Jer. 4:23, Isa. 34:11);
describes divine judgment
"For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens (He is the
God who formed the earth and made it, He established it and
did not create it “tohuw”, but formed it to be inhabited), “I am
the Lord, and there is none else." (Isaiah 45:18)
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More on Ruin/Re-construction
" It is clear from the contents of verse 2 that something is
drastically wrong at the outset. . . . Essentially the work of
creation is a correction of chaos. Emptiness, formlessness,
darkness, and the deep are replaced or altered with a creation
that is pronounced good and is blessed by God. Genesis gives
no explanation of the chaos, but we may gather from the words
used and from parallel passages that is was a judgment on
rebellion, that Satan was somehow involved, and that oppressive
evil existed instead of the fullness of life. If creation is a remedy
for this chaos, then God’s work through the six days anticipates
his work in bringing about blessing after the fall.”
-Dr. Allen Ross
Creation and Blessing
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A Different Eden?
"Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre and say to him,
‘Thus says the Lord God, “You had the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom
and perfect in beauty. “You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every
precious stone was your covering: The ruby, the topaz and the diamond; The
beryl, the onyx and the jasper; The lapis lazuli, the turquoise and the emerald;
And the gold, the workmanship of your settings and sockets, Was in you. On
the day that you were created They were prepared. “You were the anointed
cherub who covers, And I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of
God; You walked in the midst of the stones of fire. “You were blameless in
your ways From the day you were created Until unrighteousness was found in
you. “By the abundance of your trade You were internally filled with violence,
And you sinned; Therefore I have cast you as profane From the mountain of
God. And I have destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the
stones of fire. “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You
corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I
put you before kings, That they may see you."
(Ezekiel 28:12-17)
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More on Ruin/Re-construction
"I looked on the earth, and behold, it was formless and
void; And to the heavens, and they had no light. I
looked on the mountains, and behold, they were
quaking, And all the hills moved to and fro. I looked, and
behold, there was no man, And all the birds of the
heavens had fled. I looked, and behold, the fruitful land
was a wilderness, And all its cities were pulled down
Before the Lord, before His fierce anger."
(Jeremiah 4:23-26)
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More on Ruin/Re-construction
" In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The
earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface
of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface
of the waters." (Genesis 1:1-2)
“darkness” = “hosek”; never used in Bible for good
“deep” = “tahom”; ancient symbol for chaos
Lexicons define it as ‘flood’, ‘deluge’,
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Separation – Good from Evil
“Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. God
saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from
the darkness. God called the light day, and the darkness He
called night. . . . God made the expanse, and separated the
waters which were below the expanse from the waters which were
above the expanse; and it was so. ”
(Genesis 1:3–7)
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Election and Separation in Genesis
Seed of Woman
Abel Seth
Noah
Abraham
Isaac
Jacob
Separation and Election
Cain Lamech Sons of Elohim Rest of World Ishmael
Seed of Serpent
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Esau
Gap + Progressive Creationism?
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Gap does occur between
Gen. 1:1-2
Satan’s fall did occur in
between these times and
judgment pronounced
God re-creates the world
and there are long periods
of time between the
creative acts
www.confidentchristians.org
Review of Agreements
I.
Agreements
1. Direct supernatural creation of all forms of life
2. Opposition to Naturalism (says no supernatural cause)
3. Opposition to Macroevolution
4. Historicity of Genesis account
II. Disagreements
1. Age of the earth
2. Literal days/allegorical days view of Genesis account
Origins
“For since the creation of the world His
invisible attributes, His eternal power and
divine nature, have been clearly seen, being
understood through what has been made, so
that they are without excuse. ”
(Romans 1:20)
Interpretations of Genesis