Genesis account of creation literally to justify their belief in a young earth. They say that anything other than about six-ten thousand years is playing around with the literal translation of the creation account. In actuality, it is the Young Earth Creationists themselves who play around with the literal meaning of the Genesis account of creation. Let us now see what the Bible says and what Young Earth Creationism (YEC) says. The Bible says that God created the earth in the beginning; YEC says that God created the earth in the first day. The Bible says that God created the sun and the moon in the beginning; YEC says that God created the sun and the moon in the fourth day. The Bible says that God created the heavens and the earth in the beginning; YEC says that God created the heavens and the earth in six days. Young Earth Creationism misunderstands the Genesis account of God's creation when it misinterprets the very first verse of the Bible (Genesis 1:1) as being a summary statement of the six-day creation account, which is described in Genesis 1:3-31. This misunderstanding of the very first verse of the Bible has led Young Earth Creationism to believe that God created the earth on the first day without the sun, and that it wasn't until the fourth day that God created the sun, the moon and the stars. This is not only biblically untrue but also scientifically nonsensical. It is impossible for a 24-hour day comprising of both light and darkness, day and night with morning and evening to occur, without both the earth and the sun existing together. This is elementary physics and common sense.
The Bible is extremely logical and it does not contradict true science, after all God Himself is the greatest scientist. God does not want us to believe in something that is illogical and scientifically stupid. We shall show you later why Young Earth Creationism confuses the beginning of the heavens and the earth many millions of years ago, as stated in Genesis 1:1, with the beginning of the Adamic Age, approximately six-ten thousand years ago, as described in Genesis 1:3-31. Let us now go on to understand the literal interpretation of the Genesis creation account as the Bible actually teaches. What was the state of the earth when God created it, along with the rest of the universe, in the beginning? Let us see what the Bible says. Job 38:4-7 (NIV)4 "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand. 5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? 6 On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone 7 while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? Job Chapters 38 and 39 show God humbling Job, who thought that he had a great fount of knowledge. In the verses above, God challenges Job about his knowledge of the creation of the earth. God did this to make Job acknowledge God's greatness and to show Job that he knew absolutely nothing about how and when God had created the earth.
Notice that all the angels sang and shouted for joy when God laid the foundations of the earth. ‘Morning stars’ here also refers to angels. The verses above reveal two important truths:God created angels before He created the earth and the universe.When God created the earth in the beginning, He created it in such a beautiful and perfect condition that the angels responded with joyful singing and shouting.However, shockingly, in the second verse of the Bible, Genesis 1:2, we read that the earth had changed from its beautiful and perfect state, when it was first created in the beginning, to a totally different ruined state. It had become formless, empty, in darkness and submerged under water. Genesis 1:2 (NIV)Now the earth was (hayah, meaning became) formless, and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. Since God did not create the earth in a formless, empty, dark and flooded state in the beginning, then it must have become that way at a later date. This is exactly what happened to the earth, because an accurate translation of the Hebrew word hayah, in Genesis 1:2 above, is became as given in Strong's H1961, and as also confirmed by the NIV in their footnote. Young Earth Creationism argues that Genesis 1:2 is the description of a stage in the construction of the earth. It is a misunderstanding and misinterpretation of this verse to believe that God firstly had to create the earth in a formless, empty, dark state and totally submerged under water in order to proceed and complete the rest of His beautiful creation on earth. The truth of the Bible is that Genesis 1:2 is the description of the earth resulting from God's massive cataclysmic global judgement because of the sins of angels. It is not speaking about a stage in the construction of the earth, as mistakenly believed by Young Earth Creationists. Let us now have a closer look at Genesis 1:2 to understand that it is indeed a description of God’s global judgement. God's global judgement of rebellious angels in the Pre-Adamic Age Genesis 1:2 (NIV)Now the earth was (hayah, meaning became) formless (tohuw), and empty (bohuw), darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. The Bible is abundantly clear that the inspired Hebrew words tohuw and bohuw in Genesis 1:2 above, when used together, are the descriptive words for God's global judgement. The Hebrew word tohuw occurs 20 times in the Old Testament with meanings of chaotic, nothing, confusion, waste, wilderness, emptiness, formless and vain. The best meaning of tohuw in Genesis 1:2 is chaotic. Something that is in a confused, wasted, empty, flooded and dark state is obviously in a chaotic state.The Hebrew word bohuw occurs 3 times in the Old Testament with meanings of void and waste.
We believe that God inspired the use of the Hebrew word bohuw in Genesis 1:2 to reinforce the meaning of tohuw, which we have just shown means chaotic. The Bible specifically confirms in Isaiah 45:18 below that the earth was not created in the chaotic state that we see in Genesis 1:2. Isaiah 45:18For thus says the LORD, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain (tohuw, meaning chaotic), Who formed it to be inhabited: 'I am the LORD, and there is no other'. So an accurate translation of Genesis 1:2 is: Genesis 1:2The earth became chaotic and wasted and darknesswas on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.Please understand that God did not create the earth in the beginning (Genesis 1:1) in a chaotic, wasted, dark state submerged under water. The earthbecame like that because a massive cataclysmic change took place on earth between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2. Let us believe what the Bible says that God did not create the earth in vain in an uninhabitable, chaotic (tohuw) state. As we have shown from Scripture, the earth was created in such a beautiful state that the angels sang and shouted for joy. Most certainly, the angels would not have sung and shouted for joy over the creation of a chaotic, wasted, flooded and dark earth. It is abundantly clear from Scripture that there was agap of time between the creation of the beautiful earth of Genesis 1:1 and the totally ruined chaotic earth of Genesis 1:2. This gap of time is the Pre-Adamic Age, which lasted for many millions of years. So, the key question is: ‘Why did the earth become chaotic and ruined as described in Genesis 1:2?’ Let us now go on to understand that Genesis 1:2 is the description of the earth resulting from God's global judgement because of the sins of angels. The sins of angels 2 Peter 2:4-6 is an account of three important historical judgements of God, which helps us to understand the consequences of sin. 2 Peter 2:4-64 For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell (tartarus) and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; 5 and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; 6 and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly. Sin has consequences and it brings judgement from God in the form of death and destruction. Please take note of the correct chronological order in which these judgements are listed in the scripture above. The judgement against the angels who sinned happened first, followed much later by the judgement against Noah’s world, which in turn was followed much later by the judgement against Sodom and Gomorrah. In verse 4 above, the Greek word 'tartarus' is mistranslated as ' hell'. Tartarus is used only once in the Bible, and the context in which it appears reveals the meaning of the word as a 'prison of spiritual darkness'.
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