Reconciling 6 Days with 13.7 Billion Years

[FreeGrace]

6 hours ago, Truswell said:

FreeGrace said:

Are you viewing the "7th day" from 2 Pet 3:8 - But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.  iow, do you view the 6 days of work, plus the day of rest as the length of human history (7 thousand years)?  Thanks.

Metaphors and idioms are common in scripture.

True.  But we have to be careful not to 'read into' more than is warranted in any text.

6 hours ago, Truswell said:

An example is "God can move mountains." A mountain in this context is an insoluble problem.

Well, literally, God can and does move mountains.  During the Tribulation, an earthquake will make mountains disappear.  Rev 16:20

6 hours ago, Truswell said:

Please do not take these metaphors literally. A day is as a thousand is simply telling us that God's time is not our time. Thanks.

I don't take metaphors literally.  But the challenge is to know what is and what is not a metaphor.  I think most people think that what Peter wrote is simply that God's time is not our time.  And that is obvious to anyone who understands what the Bible says about God.

However, that verse seems out of place in the text if that's all it is about.  The context for that statement:  2 Pet 3:3-9

Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

The red words refer to the end of normal human history, since at His coming all believers will be resurrected into glorified immortal bodies and serve the the King during the Millennium.

Blue words refer to the beginning of human history.  The green words refer to the earth presently.  Then, Peter ends his thought with a reminder.  After giving reference to the beginning of human history and the end of human history, he seems to tie the 6 days of work and the one day of rest in Genesis 1 (blue words) with the end of normal human history, which is immediately followed by a millennium of rest on the earth as the King reigns in peace.

Just my thoughts.  And I do agree that God's timing is certainly not our timing.  But I think Peter was telling us the length of human history before eternity (end of the Millennium), or 7,000 years.  And scholars have counted backwards from known events and estimate that Adam was on earth about 6,000 years ago.  Kind of a hint that we are rather close to the Millennial reign.  Meaning, closer to the Tribulation.  And seeing how evil has multiplied exponentially recently, seems kinda obvious.

 

[Truswell]

2 hours ago, FreeGrace said:

True.  But we have to be careful not to 'read into' more than is warranted in any text.

Well, literally, God can and does move mountains.  During the Tribulation, an earthquake will make mountains disappear.  Rev 16:20

I don't take metaphors literally.  But the challenge is to know what is and what is not a metaphor.  I think most people think that what Peter wrote is simply that God's time is not our time.  And that is obvious to anyone who understands what the Bible says about God.

However, that verse seems out of place in the text if that's all it is about.  The context for that statement:  2 Pet 3:3-9

Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

The red words refer to the end of normal human history, since at His coming all believers will be resurrected into glorified immortal bodies and serve the the King during the Millennium.

Blue words refer to the beginning of human history.  The green words refer to the earth presently.  Then, Peter ends his thought with a reminder.  After giving reference to the beginning of human history and the end of human history, he seems to tie the 6 days of work and the one day of rest in Genesis 1 (blue words) with the end of normal human history, which is immediately followed by a millennium of rest on the earth as the King reigns in peace.

Just my thoughts.  And I do agree that God's timing is certainly not our timing.  But I think Peter was telling us the length of human history before eternity (end of the Millennium), or 7,000 years.  And scholars have counted backwards from known events and estimate that Adam was on earth about 6,000 years ago.  Kind of a hint that we are rather close to the Millennial reign.  Meaning, closer to the Tribulation.  And seeing how evil has multiplied exponentially recently, seems kinda obvious.

 

Believe what you want. I have no interest in arguments.

 

[FreeGrace]

2 hours ago, Truswell said:

Believe what you want. I have no interest in arguments.

 

I believe what convinces me.  My only interest is in the truth.  Unfortunately, people argue with the truth at times.  

btw, I wasn't trying to argue.  I was only giving my thoughts.  Anyone is free to consider them, or not.

[Truswell]

4 minutes ago, FreeGrace said:

I believe what convinces me.  My only interest is in the truth.  Unfortunately, people argue with the truth at times.  

btw, I wasn't trying to argue.  I was only giving my thoughts.  Anyone is free to consider them, or not.

I know that, no problem at all. The thing is, words, particularly in Hebrew, have several meanings depending on context, and unfortunately the days of creation are much longer than one revolution of the sun round the earth. To give an illustration, if my memory is correct, it takes 300 years for coal to form, and that is only one example. Keep on reading, and may God bless you in your studies.

[FreeGrace]

2 minutes ago, Truswell said:

I know that, no problem at all. The thing is, words, particularly in Hebrew, have several meanings depending on context, and unfortunately the days of creation are much longer than one revolution of the sun round the earth. To give an illustration, if my memory is correct, it takes 300 years for coal to form, and that is only one example. Keep on reading, and may God bless you in your studies.

I do agree that words are understood in context.  Which is why I am convinced that "tohu wabohu" in Gen 1:2 cannot mean "formless and void" since the same 2 words occur together only two more times; Jer 4:23 and Isa 34:11.  In both contexts, the subject is about total destruction of land.  That is why Jeremiah and Isaiah quoted from Gen 1:2 and used "tohu wabohu"; to describe the destruction of land.

So, Gen 1:2 isn't about construction or creation, but destruction of earth.  Therefore, based on how the Bible defines itself, the 6 days aren't about creation but about a restoration of earth, which fortunately doesn't change any other thing in the Bible.