by Cowboy Bob Sorensen
There are some professing Christians who will say that since the Bible does not give a direct date of creation, they can gallop the Eisegesis Trail and shove millions or billions of years into the Bible. It doesn't work that way. Not only are they showing their bent toward compromise, but their lack of biblical knowledge, and essentially calling Jesus, Paul, Peter, and others liars. There is a right way to interpret Genesis, and it's a good idea to believe what Jesus believed and taught. Many serious problems arise when people play fast 'n' loose with Scripture.
The Old Testament is extremely important for understanding the New Testament. We were told that scoffers would come, and there would be apostasy. Peter referred to Genesis several times, and made it clear that not only was there a judgement by global Flood at the time of Noah, he likened it to the coming Judgement by fire. Mockers will denigrate the importance of Jesus' return, preferring to believe in evolutionism, at their own eternal peril. Even some professing Christians do not really believe the Bible, preferring long ages, compromise, and so on instead of God's Word.
There are some professing Christians who will say that since the Bible does not give a direct date of creation, they can gallop the Eisegesis Trail and shove millions or billions of years into the Bible. It doesn't work that way. Not only are they showing their bent toward compromise, but their lack of biblical knowledge, and essentially calling Jesus, Paul, Peter, and others liars. There is a right way to interpret Genesis, and it's a good idea to believe what Jesus believed and taught. Many serious problems arise when people play fast 'n' loose with Scripture.
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| The Penitent Apostle Peter by Anthony van Dyck, 1618 |
When it comes to the discussion over the days of creation and the age of the earth, many people mistakenly think that the issue only involves the interpretation of the early chapters of Genesis. However, it is important to remember that the teachings of the New Testament are also significant to this debate.To read the rest, click on "How the Apostle Peter Relates to the Age of the Earth Debate".
Second Peter 3:1–7, for example, says that in the last days scoffers will come scoffing at the belief that Christ will come again. They will base their ideas upon the assumption that the world has not changed, deliberately ignoring two major events in the history of world: God’s supernatural Creation of the world and God’s judgment of the world by the historical, global, catastrophic Flood in the days of Noah.
Peter’s understanding of these two events is key as it helps us see how the apostle read Genesis. This in turn informs our understanding of the issue of the earth’s age. It is important then to consider what these verses say.