Opinion Piece.

Today, I would like to revisit a topic that has been brought up a few times already, and that is the age of our universe, planet, sun, and moon.

I also want to note that these "days" in Genesis may have been extremely long, separated by an extremely quick "night." It could have simply been the flickering off and on of a light switch (an angel turning its light off and on) and the begining a new day that would last for many years. What is a reliable timeline for all of this taking place? Let's take a look for more clarity. 1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. This references the Big Bang, which took place roughly 14 billion years ago (based upon observations made concerning the expansion of the universe). The creation of the Earth (separated by the "and") happened roughly 4.6 billion years ago, or 9.4 billion years after the Big Bang. There is a gap there where the "and" lies. We shouldn't miss it. 11 And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. 12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.

There is a gap here of roughly 100 million years between the sprouting of plant life and our next example, which I haven't been able to pin down yet. This is when plant life supposedly appeared. (Keep in mind, this plant life was likely sustained by an angelic light source, as the Sun had not yet been created according to scriptures). How are we dating plant life? If it is based upon the supposed availability of Sunlight, contemporary scientists may have been thrown off by the presence of an angel. (Let me clarify here: simplified, essentially, I believe that an angel sat perched up in the heavens over Earth's landmass, "Pangea," following it as the Earth rotated. I believe the angel may have received an order to flicker the light switch off and on, signifying each night/day cycle as needed. Night/Day cycles likely lasted between a few million years and tens of millions of years. In other words, sometimes, after the creation of the Sun, the other side of the Earth was illuminated simultaneously, however briefly. Yes, for a brief moment, the entire Earth would be sandwiched between the Sun and an angel dispensing its light, covering the entirety of the planet.) 14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. 16 And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. 17 And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day. Contemporary science holds a theory concerning the origins of the moon: that it was formed when a Mars-sized planet crashed into the Earth, just after the formation of our solar system. Biblical evidence points toward an ex-nihilo creation of both the Sun and Moon, at the same point in time. However, radiometrical measurements point toward an age of 4.3-4.56 billion years. The same figure would apply for our sun. 20 And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” 21 So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day. At least 430 million years ago, after a substantial gap in our timeline, life first spawned in the sea, and flying birds filled the air. We can point to an amphibious Scorpion that was unearthed in Canada recently as an example, but other fossils that may have been presented as evidence may have simply been recycled back into the mantle, erasing the evidence. 24 And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. 25 And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

The oldest known land fossil that has been discovered is that of a Millipede, found by an amateur fossil hunter in Scotland. It dates as far back as 428 million years, or 2 million years after aquatic life and airborne birds came onto the scene. 26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Roughly 200,000-30,000 years after the first land life, Human beings were created. I give a range because it depends on whether or not you believe that the first Humans were Neanderthals or not (I believe they were). If not, we go with the figure of 30,000 years ago for the age of the first Humans. Thanks for reading, and take care.