QUOTE(rbarclay @ Mar 2 2008, 06:27 PM)
ikester7579
The creation account in Genesis 1 and 2 are talking about two different perspectives in the same event. Genesis 1 tells us about God (Elohim) creating everything in an orderly fashion. Elohim literally means Mighty ones at bind with an oath. This can be seen when you read day 1,2,3,4, etc. It also speaks to Elohim binding order in nature, for example, in the genetic code He says everything will reproduce after its kind, to the he set the seasons in order, etc. This is how the Ones that bind created with an oath the heavens and the earth and all that is within them.
Genesis 2 now speaks of creation is a different light. In verse two you read that creation will now be told in the light of Jehovah God. Jehovah is the name Moses is instructed to tell the Hebrews if they ask who sent you at the burning bush. It means I Am and speaks of the covenant side of the Godhead. This is why you do not read the full account of creation only that part of which vital to know in regards to the covenant making God in creation. Literally the name of God used in verse 4 says “I Am of the Might Ones that bind with an oath.” This is speaking specially of Jesus’ role in creation He is the covenant making person in the Trinity. Certainly Jesus was there in chapter 1 it is that chapter 2 is giving Him the preeminence. This account of creation talks about what is referred to as the Edenic Covenant; placing (literally put him to rest) man in, tells him to tend it, and gives the first moral law, that is, eat of everything you see expect. It is why from chapter 2 on you read about God making covenants with man. When ever you read Jehovah, LORD, or GOD in the Old Testament it refers to I Am.
Writing more than one account of a subject was common for the Hebrews because each account gave a different perspective on the events talked about. This can be seen in their Historical books in the bible.
With that little bit of background we come to the word “generations.” In their commentary Keil & Delitzsch write this about the word generations:
“The history of those who are begotten or the account of what happened to them and what they performed. Just as the tholedoth of Noah, for example, do not mention his birth, but contain his history and the birth of his sons; so the tholedoth of the heavens and the earth do not describe the origin of the universe, but what happened to the heavens and the earth after their creation.”
In John Gill’s Expository of the Entire Bible we read this:
“Gen 2:4 - These are the generations of the heavens and the earth, when they were created,.... That is, the above account, delivered in the preceding chapter, is a history of the production of the heavens and earth, and of all things in them; the creation of them being a kind of generation, and the day of their creation a sort of birthday.”
The above account refers to God creating in Genesis 1.
There is no evidence that man sinned the same day he was created that can be found in Scripture. Time lapses in the Bible without mentioning how much time went by is common. For instances Abraham was told to go to land that God would show him we are not given the amount of time it took to get there. Yet the Biblical account tells us he was told to go the next couple of verses we read that he is in Egypt. Now we know he could not do that in one day so we can safely assume some time past before he got there. It is the same with when man sinned we do not know exactly when or how much time past but we do know and read he sinned.
As far as your theory of day age and time passing and the built in appearance of age is not new this was suggested by Dr. Charles Stanley a few decades ago. His theory was that man was created as an adult no childhood. The problem with this theory is the doctrine of Creation ex nihilo. That is God created everything out of nothing so that means that there was nothing to use that would appear to be aged. He did not use old materials to create the earth. It was brand new from the start. As far as earth dating back to 4.6 million years yet still is young? I would have to ask first how do you know how old something should look if you have no references or comparisons to use in this estimation. Also we now that radiometric dating is unreliable. There are varieties of studies by creation scientists that are proving evidence that the earth is not as old as evolutionists think.
When it comes to man God used the dust of the earth remember the earth at this time was new and it was good. So man was new and good. The Hebrews believe this dust is actually the fine clay used by potters. This belief can be seen in their references to man and clay in Job 33: 6, Is. 64: 8, and Romans 9: 211 – 23. Man is a three dimensional being; body the dust of the earth, soul that intangible part that makes us uniquely individual and the spirit that which God breathed into us.
Bob Barclay
This nice, but there is "one" problem with the whole idea. Does anything age in eternity? If so, how does something age but not die?
Aging only has one goal, and that goal is death of life. And decay of everything else involved.
Adam and Eve, were they created to live for ever? Or was it sin that brought death into their lives? It was sin of course. So they were created before sin which means they were created to live forever. Living forever means you live where eternity "can exist". This is why God could walk among them, and did not have to use a burning bush, or a Holy of Hollies place to meet with man. Which means that before sin this was Heaven on earth.
So being eternity, when would man age if in eternity you cannot age?
If things needed to age and die, then things would not have been created, they would have been birthed. But birthing, and the pains that go along with it, did not happen until man sinned.
Genesis 2:4 These are the generations of the
heavens and of the earth when they were created,
in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,
Don't believe that generations of heaven were made in the day the heavens were created? If the generations were of life and not time, then God's word would have said: Generations of man. Which would have pointed to time passage that included the aging and man reproducing generations. But, the Generations point only to heaven. Not to life.
And it also points directly at two things: heaven and earth. There are three heavens.
2cor 12:2 I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the
third heaven.These heavens are:
1) The physical heaven (where we are).
2) Where Satan and the fallen angels are, which was created when the first like was separated to created darkness. Which is a spiritual heaven
3) where God is.
So one day one, the physical heaven was created and the earth was created within it.
So what happened on that same day?
Genesis 2:4 These are the generations of the
heavens and of the earth when they were created,
in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,
In the day they were created, generations were added. Why use the word generations? What is the geologic column? Is it not evidence of a passage of ages? For if the whole earth was created as one age, then generations of ages would not be needed. So different parts of the earth were aged differently. You cannot put that into a more understandable word then to use the word generations.
Generations of heaven and earth are generations of space (heaven) and matter (earth).
1) Do the things created in space have generation of time? Yes, because they are not all of the same time periods.
2) Do the things created in the earth have generations of time? Yes, the evidence is the geologic column.
Generations: are periods of time.
Geologic column shows periods of time through it's layers.
Space shows periods of time through the different ages of things within it.
So we have generations of earth. Evidence: Geologic column.
Then we have generations of heaven (space). Evidence: Things in space are of different ages.
Need more evidence? There are two phrases in God's word as a reference to which time something was done or referred to.
1) Of old.
2) Of old time.
Of old is from time eternal (before sin): ps 93:2 Thy throne is
established of old: thou art from
everlastingThe term "of old" is of time eternal. Does it apply to the earth and how it was created?
ps 102:25
Of old hast thou laid the
foundation Of the earth: and the heavens are the work Of thy hands.
Of old time is a referrence to actual time and age passage (after sin):deut 19:14 Thou shalt not remove thy neighbor's landmark, which they
of old time have set in thine inheritance, which thou shalt inherit in the land that the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it.
So if you use this you can also determine some things.
Who were the Sons of God that went into the daughters of men, and where did they come from?
gen 6:4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were
of old, men of renown.
The reference:
of old. Shows that the Sons of God came from the eternal side of time. Which means they were angels. Now which angels could sin? The fallen ones.
If you would like to do a study on this, just do some searches on the terms: "of old" and "of old time". It makes things much clearer knowing what the phrases are referring to.