____________________________________________________ THE GOSPEL OBSERVER "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20). ____________________________________________________ July 4, 1999 ____________________________________________________ Age of the Earth: Are There Biblical Parameters? (Conclusion) by Mark Mayberry How Many Hours Did Jesus Spend In The Tomb? |--------------------------------|----|----|----|-----------| | Day |Fri.|Sat.|Sun.|Total Hours| |--------------------------------|----|----|----|-----------| | Maximum Total Hours in Theory| 24 | 24 | 24 | 72 | |--------------------------------|----|----|----|-----------| |Maximum Total Hours in Actuality| 3 | 24 | 12 | 39 | |--------------------------------|----|----|----|-----------| (Editor's Note: The above chart, in which I had to abbreviate the days, was explained in last week's bulletin.) What About Those Biblical Genealogies? Could the Jews tell time? In discussing the genealogical family lines of Genesis 4-5, 10, etc. we must acknowledge that the word ``beget'' does not necessarily refer to a direct father/son relationship. It can and perhaps often does mean ``descendant of.'' I agree there could be some generational gaps in the lineage. Yet, how many could there be? There must be some outer limit on the number of generations that were skipped, lest the entire genealogical concept become meaningless! In tracing the genealogy of Christ through Joseph, Matthew lists 40 individuals from Abraham to Jesus (Matt. 1:1-17). In tracing the genealogy of Christ through Mary, Luke lists 75 individuals from Adam to Jesus. According to Luke, Abraham is 55 generations removed from Jesus, and Adam is another 20 generations removed from our Savior. In tracing the genealogy of Adam, Moses lists 9 generations from Adam to Noah (Gen. 5:1-32). Jude acknowledges this chronology by speaking of Enoch as ``the seventh from Adam'' (Jude 1:14). Was Enoch seven generations removed from Adam? Was he seventy generations removed? Was he seven hundred generations removed? Was he seven thousand generations removed? The answer we give to such a question is significant! Bishop Usher added up the genealogical lists in the Bible and concluded that Adam and Eve lived approximately 4,000 years before Christ. He made no allowance for any generational gaps in the lineages. My question is this: how many gaps could we allow before the whole concept of genealogy is lost? If we allow an average of 100 years per generation, it would take 40 generations to go from Adam to Jesus. In fact, an average of 100 years per generation is too high, because we know that Luke includes 75 generations from Adam to Jesus. If we divide Usher's 4,000 years by Luke's 75 generations, we get an average of 53 years per generation. Nevertheless, for our purposes let's stick with an average of 100 years per generation because (1) it is generous and (2) it is easy to compute. Current evolutionary thought allows a million or so years for human evolution. If you are trying to make room for 1,000,000 years since the evolutionists say man first appeared, you are now discussing 10,000 generations. If you say man has been around for 500,000 years, you are discussing 5,000 generations. If you say man has been around for 250,000 years, it would have taken 2,500 generations from Adam to Jesus. If you say man has been around for a mere 100,000 years, you are still assuming approximately 1,000 generations from Adam to Jesus. For the sake of argument, let's be conservative and say that man has been on the earth for 100,000 years. Luke says there were 75 generations from Jesus to Adam. Where are you going to stick the extra 925 generations and have the Biblical genealogy make any sense at all? A line with that many gaps is no line at all! Using this approach to genealogy, all of us could claim to be the direct descendants of George Washington (even though he had no children)! That which proves too much proves too little. If you tried to gain admission to the Daughters of the American Revolution (D.A.R.) based on such sketchy data, they would laugh you out of the room! How does Hill Roberts handle Biblical Genealogies? In a handout entitled Genealogy and Chronology, written by Hill Roberts and revised in 1994, he affirms that there is no question as to the date when Abraham lived: ``By starting from events in the Bible which can be correlated to events which are well dated in secular history, historians are able to date the life of Abraham to within about a hundred years either side of 1900 BC.``(2) Nevertheless, Hill goes on to say that we cannot accurately date such events as the construction of the tower of Babel, the flood, Cain and Abel, the fall of man, or the creation.(3) How much time elapsed from Adam to Abraham? Bishop Usher, making no allowance for any generational gaps in the lineages, calculated that 2,000 years elapsed between Adam and Abraham. According to the Bible, twenty generations are under dispute. In the aforementioned handout, Hill correctly points out that sometimes several generations are skipped in Biblical genealogical listings. In at least one instance, Hill argues that a father/son generation is actually separated by 400 years.(4) Okay, how much time can one reasonable insert into these 20 generations? For the sake of argumentation, let's say that each of the 20 generations from Adam to Abraham is separated by 400 years. According to this timetable, 8,000 years would have elapsed from Adam to Abraham (20 x 400 = 8,000). Hill does not dispute the Biblical dating from Abraham forward. He accepts that Abraham lived approximately 2,000 years before Christ, and that we live 2,000 years after Christ. Therefore, according to this method of calculation, Adam was created about 12,000 years ago (8,000 + 2,000 + 2,000 = 12,000). Therefore, even if we grant that the first 20 generations of Bible history each cover over 400 years, this still does not help Hill Roberts. Having bought into the standard evolutionary timetable, Hill needs to make that 2,000 years become 100,000 to 250,000 years. Obviously, he has a problem. And we are not even touching the extra 4.5 billion years he has to get into the six days of creation. What About ``One Day Equals A Thousand Years''? Could the Jews tell time? When we attended a "Lord I Believe Seminar" several years ago, one of the most disturbing things we encountered was the instruction that our 4th grade son received. Our son's teacher said we cannot know how long the days of creation actually were because Peter said, ``with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day'' (2nd Pet. 3:8). This is an egregious misapplication of Scripture. These words have nothing to do with the chronological measurement of time; rather they describe the nature of God. Peter is not saying that there is some special time zone called ``God Standard Time'' where one God-day equals 1,000 human years. Rather, the inspired apostle is saying God is not limited by time and space. In contrast, man is a creature governed by time (Gen. 1:14). Therefore, the time references in Scripture are significant to man. Conclusion If the Jews were culturally and ethnically incapable of a precise understanding of time, the man who picked up sticks on the Sabbath should have been declared innocent by reason of incompetency. Yet, he was held accountable for trespassing a clear and understandable law relating to one's conduct on the seventh day (Num. 15:32-36). Time mattered! If the Jews were not interested in time in any traditional sense, why were they in such a hurry to remove Jesus and the two thieves from the hill of Calvary (John 19:31)? If they truly held such a loose view of time, why didn't they say, ``What's the rush? Who cares if the bodies remain on the cross after sundown?'' No, as much as the Lord's enemies had enjoyed seeing him hang on the cross, they decided to ``call it a day'' because the Sabbath drew near. Obviously they were not watching the second hand tick away on their wristwatches, but they were watching the sun set in the west. Time mattered! There is absolutely no basis in saying that the Jews could not tell time. They had a very clear understanding of times and seasons, days and years. The only reason one would argue otherwise is to accommodate the proclamations of science regarding the alleged old age of the earth. Yet, as one considers the Sacred Text, it is apparent that the most straightforward understanding of the Genesis record indicates that God created the heaven and earth in six literal, successive twenty-four hour days. Furthermore, the Scriptures point to a recent creation, not one that occurred billions and billions of years ago. Therefore, on this issue and all others, I am content to speak where the Bible speaks and remain silent where the Bible is silent. -------------- 2. Hill Roberts, Genealogy and Chronology, Handout written by Hill Roberts, revised 1994, Paragraph 1, First Sentence. 3. Hill Roberts, Genealogy and Chronology, Handout written by Hill Roberts, revised 1994, Paragraph 2, First Sentence. 4. Hill Roberts, Genealogy and Chronology, Handout written by Hill Roberts, revised 1994, Sub-point: The Nature of Hebrew Genealogies, Paragraph 4, Last Sentence. -- Via Watchman, April 1999 ___________________________________________ ``Taught of God'' by Robert F. Turner ``It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me'' (John 6:45). If we read this passage hurriedly, and without regard to context, we may think Jesus is saying we must be taught about God. That sounds reasonable, but it is not His point. Both the context and the grammatical construction of the statement show Jesus refers to source -- we must receive teaching from a divine source. Following the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus warned the people who followed Him for material reasons. He said that He was the true bread sent from heaven (John 6:26-35), and that He came to do the will of God (vs. 38). It is in this context that He says none can come to Him except the Father draw him. Then, ``they shall be all taught of God.'' Their only hope was to accept Jesus, as being from God. This same genitive construction is found in Matt. 25:34, ``Come ye blessed of my Father,'' which means that the blessings enjoyed had God as their source. See also Phil. 1. The Mysteries of the Ancients were a ``feeling after'' God, according to human philosophy. The Cabalist, with their numbers; the weird rites of the Egyptians; and their counterparts in the secret lodges of today -- all seek God apart from true divine revelation. The Naturalist, who seeks God in the marvels of the universe; and the philosopher, who seeks God within the confines of his own mind -- all these are doomed to failure. We must be taught of God. Truth must come from Him. A true appreciation of the idea of God enforces the need for revelation. Man can go to the earth and study the rocks. He formulates theories and tests them by further appeal to the object of his study. He grinds the rock, heats it, analyzes it. But the very nature of God prohibits His being subject to human judgment. ``Who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been His counselor?'' (Rom. 11:33-f). If we are to know of God, He must come to us; must reveal Himself. And that is exactly what He did in sending His Son. Paul says, ``In Him dwelleth all the fullness of the God-head bodily'' (Col. 2:6-10). Nothing more than Christ, as teacher and perfect example, is needed. In Him alone the ``Great Architect'' is manifested. Through His word, the divine source, the will of God is made known to man. ``How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him'' (Heb. 2:3). Faith in God cannot weather long absence from His word. We either feed on His truths, growing stronger; or we drift into a skeptical world; our original faith and knowledge being constantly diluted by human reason. Fleshly appetites become our teacher; we are ``taught of the world'' to use its carnal methods to gain our ends. What a pity -- for heaven is there for those who will be taught of God. -- Via Plain Talk, December 1966 ________________________________________ Tri-State CHURCH OF CHRIST 1314 Montgomery Avenue, Ashland, Kentucky 41101 Sunday: 10:00 A.M. Bible class 10:50 A.M. Worship 6:30 P.M. Worship Wednesday: 7:30 P.M. Bible study evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (606) 325-9742 e-mail: tedwards@zoomnet.net Gospel Observer web site: http://www.zoomnet.net/~tedwards/go ________________________________________