tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5193745359560427451.post4738757929846018491..comments2024-03-28T17:07:27.195-07:00Comments on The Refiner's Fire Blog: Reader asks about the “lights” in Genesis 1Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14998146626031186940noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5193745359560427451.post-48230195039167231202017-01-28T08:49:56.406-08:002017-01-28T08:49:56.406-08:00Thank you, Joan!Thank you, Joan!Carmenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14998146626031186940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5193745359560427451.post-32076831161991383082017-01-28T08:44:21.961-08:002017-01-28T08:44:21.961-08:00Excellent! I concur.Excellent! I concur.Joanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16206585604122387398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5193745359560427451.post-49809994769134198242017-01-27T10:44:03.452-08:002017-01-27T10:44:03.452-08:00Hi Kevin,
An interesting question. No, the age of...Hi Kevin,<br /><br />An interesting question. No, the age of the earth is not important to our salvation. In a nutshell, the belief that one must accept or believe in a young earth comes from misguided interpretation of scripture. For example, the Bible teaches that death is the penalty for sin (Romans 6:23). Adam and Eve received death because they directly violated the simple command not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, (Genesis 2:16-17). The young earth adherent, assumes that the earth is only 6000 years old from the chronologies found in scripture, but then add to that assumption by requiring Genesis 2:16-17 to mean there was no physical death before sin. Thus, they "must" believe in a young earth, and they consider it blasphemous - and salvation-threatening - if others don't believe it.<br /><br />But what they don't realize is that they are wrong on both counts. First, the Bible does NOT teach the earth is 6000 years old, and second, physical death was clearly present as part of the Creation since it is important to the ecosystem YHWH created! It would not have been possible for the earth to sustain the inevitable result of the command "Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it" in Genesis 1:28. "Death" as the result of Adam and Eve eating of the forbidden fruit is "spiritual death", not physical death. Their sin separated them from YHWH, possibly forever, depending on what they did to repent. <br /><br />As far as believing in a young earth as "part of having a relationship with YHWH", (if that is what you meant), I will have to disagree. Our relationship with YHWH has to do with our personal readiness to stand before Him to be accepted into His Kingdom. That means how we conduct our day-to-day earthly lives avoiding intentional sin, and trying to be "clean" before His eyes so that when we meet our ultimate earth-bound end, we can be accepted. I guarantee that NO "young earth" proponent is going to be admitted at the pearly-gate just because they "believed in a young earth"! And no "old-earth" proponent is going to be admitted either for the opposite reason! What is found in the "Book of Life" on each of us is most certainly NOT going to be "Believed in young earth - yes or no?" More likely it will contain things like "Willfully broke _[fill-in the blank]__ commandment and did not repent," or "Saw a person in need, and stopped to help." That sort of thing. I think we owe it to YHWH to be far more cognizant of how He asked us to live while we are in our "earth-bodies", than to worry about the "young/old earth" argument or the "humans existed with dinosaurs or not" argument. After all, EVERYTHING that happened on earth before you were born, has little bearing on how you conduct your day-to-day existence except to have learned and grown from what the record shows of the mistakes of others before you.Liamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00281049645175102119noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5193745359560427451.post-89854376835088541122017-01-27T08:34:24.108-08:002017-01-27T08:34:24.108-08:00Is the age of the earth important to our salvation...Is the age of the earth important to our salvation? I have heard people who say it doesn't matter how old the earth is, or whether man and dinosaurs coexisted. I personally believe it is part of having a relationship with YHWH. Kevinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09165901818107578168noreply@blogger.com