The Cycles of Creation and Destruction in the Bible are Reflected in Prehistory

In The Earth is More than 6000 Years Old:  How Young Earth Creationists have Misinterpreted the Bible I explain how the Old Testament prophets portray the rise and fall of various kingdoms in symbolic language denoting the creation and destruction of heaven and earth itself.  In How and Why the Imagery of Zechariah 14 Intentionally Mirrors Genesis 1:1-10, I also show how the rise of these kingdoms is also sometimes described in imagery mirroring the steps of creation in Genesis 1.   In light of these and other facts, Genesis 1 appears to be an apocalyptic poem describing the renewal of a kingdom [possibly Israel] by foreign conquest symbolically portrayed as the creation of heaven and earth itself.  This repeated Biblical pattern of creation and destruction portrayed in the language and imagery of the creation of the cosmos marking the rise and fall of various kingdoms undermines the assumption that the world is 6000 years old and that the creation account in Genesis 1 records the very first literal, physical creation of heaven and earth. 

It is interesting to note that this repetitious cycle of creation and destruction seen so often in Biblical history is also literally echoed in prehistory.  According to the fossil record new species appear to emerge suddenly in the absence of transitional forms following cataclysmic events resulting in periods of mass extinction.  During these periods of mass extinction the earth was quite literally destroyed.  Having emerged after these global cataclysms without leaving any real trace of intermediate forms, the new species that appear after these periods of mass extinction seem to be quite literally a new creation and the environment in which they flourish could also be said to be a new earth. Could the fact that the divinely inspired Scriptures portray the rise and fall of various kingdoms in symbolic language denoting the creation and destruction of the earth be mirrored in by this repeated pattern of global creation and destruction in pre-Biblical history?

The Cycles of Creation and Destruction in the Bible are Reflected in Prehistory

Does the Bible say the Earth is 6000 Years Old? Ussher used the Bible to Calculate the Earth to be 6000 Years Old.

In the 17^th century, Archbishop James Ussher used the Bible to calculate the age of the earth.  According to his calculations the earth was created in 4004 B.C., just 6000 years ago.  This calculation stands boldly against the prevailing view of the age of the earth according to modern geology.  Geologists estimate the earth to be 4.5 billion years old.  These scientists assert that there is a multitude of evidence suggesting that the earth must be very old since geological processes often require millions of years in order to explain the current global landscape.   Many theologians agree with Archbishop Ussher’s assertion that all life was created 6000 years ago whereas evolutionary biologists believe that life originated from a common ancestor billions of years ago.  Does the fossil record support either view?

Is the World 6000 Years Old? Does the Fossil Record Suggest that All Creatures where Created 6000 Years Ago?

No.  As stated above, there is an abundance of scientific evidence supporting the contention that the earth is billions of years old.  Furthermore, different species are often only found in certain strata of the earth’s surface suggesting that all species have not begun to exist at the same time as many theologians believe Genesis 1 suggests.   For example, dinosaurs are not found before or after the Mesozoic Era.

Evolution vs. the Fossil Record: Does the Fossil Record Support Darwin’s Theory of Evolution?

The fossil record also does not support the intuitive expectations of evolution by natural selection.  According to Darwin’s theory, species are expected to change slowly from one species to the next as a result of environmental pressures.  Darwin expected the fossil record to show a blurring together of one species to the next with innumerable intermediate or transitional forms linking different species.[i]  This great multitude of transitional forms is absent in the current fossil record.

Evolution vs. the Cambrian Explosion: Is Darwin’s Theory destroyed by the Cambrian Explosion?

The greatest challenge to the theory of evolution is the Cambrian explosion.  Most scientists believe that life began as single-celled organisms 3.5 billion years ago.  The vast majority of the history of life on earth was occupied by these single-celled organisms and multi-cellular algae.  Then around 600 million years ago in the late Precambrian there is fossil evidence of worms and Ediacaran, plant-like and animal-like organisms that soon died out.  Then around 542 million years ago most of the major body plans, known as phyla, emerged suddenly in what is known as the Cambrian explosion.   If the history of the earth were condensed into a twenty-four hour period, the Cambrian explosion would occupy less than two minutes.  In other words, the Cambrian explosion is so brief that it is “below the resolution of the fossil record.”[ii] In other words, the Cambrian explosion could have happened in a day, though estimates range from five to ten million years.

The fact that almost all phyla present today appeared in the fossil record for the first time fully-formed without transitional forms in the Cambrian explosion is a major challenge to the evolutionary model.  Charles Darwin was aware of this fact when he published The Origin of Species in 1859 but postulated that the lack of fossil remains of the anticipated innumerable transitional forms blending one species to the next leading up to the Cambrian explosion was the result of an incomplete fossil record.  Darwin surmised that in time these intermediate forms would be unearthed to vindicate his theory.

Evolution vs. the Fossil Record: Is the Fossil Record Almost Complete?

Finding a transitional form is a seemingly guaranteed way to make an evolutionary biologist’s career.  So for the last hundred and fifty years, evolutionary biologists have been searching in droves for these intermediate forms.  One hundred and fifty years and thousands upon thousands of fossils later, these Precambrian transitional forms have still not been unearthed.  However, a vast array of Cambrian fossils were discovered in the Chengjiang in China that are so well persevered that not only were soft-bodied animals fossilized, but even fossilized embryos were found with their interior cellular make-up preserved.  These discoveries challenge the argument that Precambrian transitional forms were too small or soft-bodied to be fossilized.

Furthermore, a great number of variations of the same species of Cambrian organisms have been found suggesting that the sample unearthed by biologists today is too complete to still be missing the innumerable transitional forms required by evolutionary mechanisms to give rise to the great deal of diversity found in the Cambrian.[iii]  The sketch to the lower left is an illustration of the descent of all species from a common ancestor as predicted by Darwin’s original theory of evolution by natural selection.   The sketch to the lower right is an illustration of the tree of life according to the fossil record.

The breaks in the two figures above represent the major periods of mass extinction: 700 million years ago, 250 million years ago and 65 million years ago.  Notice that on the figure to the right, new waves of different species seem to emerge immediately after each period of mass extinction.  Though evolution may explain variations within species and even account for the origin of closely related species from a common ancestor, there is a conspicuous lack of intermediate forms linking disparate species in the fossil record.  The fossil record does not support the contention that all species emerged from one ancestor.  Rather, it seems more likely to suggest a repeated pattern of successive waves of creation and destruction with a small remnant surviving each incidence of mass extinction.

Is the World 6000 years old? The Cycle of Creation and Destruction

During these periods of mass extinction the earth was quite literally destroyed.  Having emerged after these global cataclysms without leaving any real trace of intermediate forms, the new species that appear after these periods of mass extinction seem to be quite literally a new creation and the environment in which they flourish could also be said to be a new earth. It is interesting to note that this repetitious cycle of creation and destruction seen in the fossil record is also a prominent theme in the Bible.

Does the Bible say the Earth is 6000 Years Old? Genesis 1 and 2 poetically picture the Origin of Israel in the Image of the Creation of the Cosmos.

Because the major periods of mass extinction theorized by scientists were millions of years ago, I do not believe that they are recorded in the Bible.  Thus I would adamantly disagree with the idea that the majority of fossil remains were laid down during Noah’s flood.  Though I disagree with Ussher’s assertion that the world is just 6000 years old, I agree with him that the Bible only records history up to approximately 4000 B.C.

Whenever a kingdom is conquered and its people dominated or replaced by foreigners, this conquest of an individual kingdom is often metaphorically portrayed in the Bible as the destruction and creation of heaven and earth itself. See The Earth is More than 6000 Years Old:  How Young Earth Creationists have Misinterpreted the Bible. The rise of these kingdoms is also sometimes described in imagery mirroring the steps of creation in Genesis 1.  For an example see How and Why the Imagery of Zechariah 14 Intentionally Mirrors Genesis 1:1-10.  In light of these and other facts, Genesis 1 appears to be an apocalyptic poem describing the renewal of a kingdom [possibly Israel] by foreign conquest symbolically portrayed as the creation of heaven and earth itself.  I believe that the Jewish creation account in Genesis 1 relays the conquest and settlement of the descendants of the Jewish race in a particular land in the image and language of the creation of heaven and earth itself.

This fact is implied in Isaiah 51.  In v. 15 God “divided the sea” and “gave the law” in v. 16.  It is in this context that God is said to “plant the heavens and found the earth, and to say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’”  Here one can see how heaven and earth are created anew at the reception of the Law and the subsequent conquest and settlement of the Israelites in the land of Canaan after the exodus.   Though the creation of heaven and earth in Genesis 1 does not symbolize the Israelite conquest of Canaan after the exodus, I believe that it does symbolize a previous conquest of a particular land by the Israel’s ancestors.  Remember that the Bible’s use of the word earth is interchangeable with land or kingdom.

This repeated Biblical pattern of creation and destruction portrayed in the language and imagery of the creation of the cosmos marking the rise and fall of various kingdoms undermines the assumption that the world is 6000 years old and that the creation account in Genesis 1 records the very first literal, physical creation of heaven and earth.  Could the destruction and renewal of the earth following periods of mass extinction have been part of God’s inspiration behind the Bible’s repeated use of the destruction and creation of the earth motif when discussing the rise and fall of individual kingdoms?  For a detailed explanation of the evidence that Genesis 1 is an apocalyptic poem describing the renewal of a kingdom [possibly Israel] by foreign conquest symbolically portrayed as the creation of heaven and earth itself see The Earth is More than 6000 Years Old:  How Young Earth Creationists have Misinterpreted the Bible.

 

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For more compelling evidence of an old earth through sound Biblical exegesis see the following articles 1) The Earth is More than 6000 Years Old:  How Young Earth Creationists have Misinterpreted the Bible 2) Why Isaiah 65:20 and Related Verses Imply that Physical Death Preceded the Fall of Man 3) Understanding the Garden of Eden and the Fall from an Old Earth Perspective 4) How and Why the Imagery of Zechariah 14 Intentionally Mirrors Genesis 1:1-10 5) The Cycles of Creation and Destruction in the Bible are Reflected in Prehistory.

Interested in PRETERIST ESCHATOLOGY or are you a PRETERIST struggling with a prophecy or verse?  It DID happen just like the Bible says!  If you liked this essay, see PRETERIST BIBLE COMMENTARY for a detailed explanation of the FULFILLMENT OF ALL MAJOR END TIME PROPHECIES IN THE BIBLE.  The more unbelievable the prophecy, the more amazing and miraculous the fulfillment!

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