How Old is the Earth According to the Bible?
Dating the earth in years can be challenging. Everyone knows that some believe the earth is billions of years old, while others think the earth is 6,000 years old. Then, there’s a group somewhere in between, while others say they don’t know. These theories, including the latter, argue that observable phenomena can support their positions. So how can we know how old the earth is? Charles Darwin thought there were so many variables at work that it was nearly impossible to determine the earth’s age. However, we must remember that Darwin trained in medicine and theology, not geology.
The Biblical Record and Catastrophism
When you read the Bible, you might realize that the world’s history isn’t an endless linear succession of years, but instead, it’s broken up into catastrophic events that changed everything in the world. People who hold to creation’s visible and biblical record also hold to catastrophism. This is what Peter meant in 2 Peter 3:1-6 when he said in the last days, some will say that things have always been as they’ve been. The scoffers who don’t believe in the flood or Peter’s message believe in a viewpoint of the earth’s history called uniformitarianism. However, observable data and the Bible conflict with anyone tempted to join this group of scoffers.
The Bible explains that there was creation instead of a catastrophic rearranging of chaos and the fall. Genesis 1:2 reminds us that the earth didn’t have form, darkness faced the deep, and God’s spirit hovered over the waters. Before the flood and after the fall, another epoch existed. After the flood, the world was dramatically and significantly reconfigured. The flood marked a gap between the past and the emergence of a new environmental and geological norm for the future.
The Challenges of Scientific Dating
How can we correctly date the earth? The answer is everything. We can’t take present, observable information about the earth and project it back when about five cataclysmic events altered the atmospheric, environmental, chemical, geological, marine life, mammalian and the rest of the earth. Based on scripture, it would be challenging to say the earth’s age based on observation because too many things have changed. If we were to apply the scientific method, it would require two samples with similar constitutions, which is impossible. Thus, the case is bursting with difficulties.
Five Cataclysmic Events That Altered the Earth
| Event Number | Biblical Period/Event |
|---|---|
| 1 | Creation |
| 2 | Pre-fall |
| 3 | Post-all after Adam and Eve’s sin |
| 4 | Ante-diluvian (before the flood) |
| 5 | Post-flood |
Genealogies and the Measurement of Time
Going back to the data you see in the Bible, you may argue that the genealogies leave no doubt about the earth’s age. For those who believe that the Bible is the accurate word of the living God, it’s understandable that some would think you can total up the years from Adam to Noah to get an exact dating on the earth’s foundation. The only concern is that the genealogies, while accurate, include the people who lived through these transformative historical events. Can you calculate the earth’s age by generations if some generations lived through the flood, Eden, and the antediluvian years?
The earth isn’t the 67th book of the Bible. It has a record that gives us so much information, but the record doesn’t speak; God spoke through the Bible. According to the Bible and Peter, the “sample” has been spoiled by sin. Some may say a series of catastrophic events compromised the specimen. Furthermore, the six days of creation are supplied in 24-hour periods or “yom” in Hebrew. The problem with dating is, again, one of precise comparison. Can we understand what a day means on the second day of creation with what’s left of a day after creation’s completion?