To Whom It May Concern
I received a letter last month
from a very confused man.
It was
addressed,
“To Whom It May Concern.”
Let's imagine for a moment
that you had to answer this letter.
The letter opens, “I am a new
Bible student and am having some difficulty understanding creation
and how it actually came about and am hoping you will be able to
clear up a few things for me.” It goes on to ask the following
questions among others.
1.
If Jesus was the creator of man and he wasn't born until 6 or 5 BC,
then who created all the people who lived before? The Bible also
says God/Jesus created all the animals and plants of the earth; but
that is all questionable because in prehistoric times, man, plants,
and animals all existed before Christ was even born. So what is the
truth here? I am a believer in Christ but I want to know the real
truth. Is it the Bible or something else?
2.
How accurate is carbon dating of human remains?
And
how do we know the Bible is accurate?
3.
Where was the Garden of Eden located? Genesis 2:11-14 talks
about the four rivers coming out of the Garden of Eden to water it. Why can't I see them all on the
map of Bible lands? What happened
to them or did they not exist at all? Where did man originate?
Do
you feel confident
that you could give Bible-based answers to the questions given, or is there one or more you would have trouble answering? We all
need to continue to take the time to learn from God's Word and apply
what we learn to every area of life. Some of your friends and family
members are not getting Bible-based teaching. In fact most people
aren't. There are a lot of people out there—even some
Christians—who have questions about what God says or who are
swallowing the lies this world tries to feed all of us.
Here are some of the answers we gave to his questions.
As
for your questions, you are right. There is much controversy about
how the world and people got here. Much can be said about it, but the
answer is really quite simple. The Bible is God's Word. It is always
right. Man can be and often is wrong.
You
are trying to reconcile the two facts that...
(1)
Jesus Christ was born into this world at the end of BC (Before Christ) and the
beginning of AD (abbreviation
for "the year of our Lord" in Latin).
(2)
The world and people were in existence before that.
You
are also wondering about man's thinking that man has lived millions of years on the earth as well as the location of the Garden of Eden and how
that fits into man's theory that early man originated in Africa.
I
will answer your third question first. As you continue reading
through Genesis, you will reach Genesis 6-9 and read the history of
the great Flood. This worldwide flood God sent to judge sin not only
drowned all creatures outside the ark forming the fossils and layers
of earth that we find today, it also destroyed the topography of the
early earth. It created new valleys, mountains, canyons, rivers, and
seas. Psalm 104 praises God for His power. "Bless the Lord, O my
soul. O Lord my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with
honour and majesty" (verse 1). Verses 6-9 tell us that He is the
One Who not only laid the foundation of the earth, but "coveredst
it with the deep as with a garment: the waters stood above the
mountains. At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thunder they
hasted away. they go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys
unto the place which thou hast founded for them. Thou hast set a
bound that they may not pass over; that they turn not again to cover
the earth."
The
rivers and bodies of water and land masses we have today are not the
same as they were during the time of the Garden of Eden and before
the Flood about 2400 BC. We cannot know the location of the Garden of
Eden today because of all these changes. We cannot know where man first lived on earth before the Flood. However, mankind is in the
habit of naming rivers and towns after places they knew before, as is
evident in many names in the United States (the New World) named
after places in the Old World. The people living in that new world
after the Flood were no different. The ark landed on Mt Ararat
(Genesis 8:4). Thus the name of Euphrates for that major nearby river.
Remember,
when man alleges that he knows things like where and when man
originated, he is trying like a detective to piece together what
happened before he was there. He doesn't know it; he thinks it. He
believes it. God is the One Who has always been there. He knows what
happened, when, where, and how; because He was there and He created
and oversaw all. As for how the nations came about, read Genesis 10
and 11. Throughout the Bible, you will notice genealogies that God
gives not only to show the people in history and how they were
related, but also the age of the earth. If you add up all of them, you
will see that mankind has only been around about 6,000 years, and the
same for the earth, as man was created on the sixth day of creation,
five days after the earth was made.
You
mentioned carbon dating in your second question. Like all the dating methods used by
evolutionists, it is based on faulty assumptions and is fraught with
error. Half the dates scientists come up with are thrown out. They themselves admit there are problems with these methods. Only the ones that fit in with their ideas are selected to be published. The Evolution Handbook is a great resource to give you more details. The Bible is always trustworthy. Sinful man tries so hard to explain the world and man apart from God. If the Bible were not true about how life began in the beginning, there could be no science.
Now
for the first question...
As
you read the Bible, you will notice something. It declares that God
has always existed. "In the beginning God" (Genesis 1:1)
and Revelation 1:11, "I am the Alpha and Omega, the first and
the last."
God
the Son did not come into existence when He was born into the world
as a human being. Take a look at John 1. It explains the preexistence
of Christ. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All
things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that
was made." The Word is one of the titles given to Christ in the
Book of John. But later, about 4,000 years after creation, God the
Son stepped into human history bodily. "And the Word was made
flesh, and dwelt with among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory
as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth"
(John 1:14). Why would almighty, eternal God stoop to become a human
being?
Go
back to Genesis. God made everything perfect in the beginning
(Genesis 1-2). He gave him a perfect body, a perfect environment, a
perfect wife, a perfect job, and only one restriction with a clear
statement of the consequences of breaking it. God even showed Adam in
the Garden that He was the Creator by creating some animals--cattle,
birds, and beasts of the field right before His eyes and allowing him
the privilege to name them (Genesis 2:19-20) and then putting Adam to
sleep and creating Eve from his rib, which Adam understood, as shown
in verses 21-23. God gave Adam every proof of His love, power,
holiness, etc.
But
after all of this, Adam listened to an alternative point
of view given to them by a created being who had rebelled against God
(Satan in the form of a snake) and decided to make his own choice
instead of believing and following his loving Creator. Adam turned
from the goodness of God and all that He had provided for him,
deciding that he would do what he thought was right instead of what
God had commanded for him to do. Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden
and the penalty of death came on him and all of God's creation. This
is explained succinctly in Romans 5:12, "Wherefore, as by one
man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed
upon all men, for that all have sinned." God the righteous Judge
of all the earth must do right. He must punish sin.
But
the Bible doesn't stop there. God's dealing with man does not stop
there. God has all knowledge. Nothing takes Him by surprise.
God
knew before He made the world that this would happen, and He already
had planned what He would do about it. He reveals in many places
(Acts 15:18; Ephesians 1:4; 2 Timothy 1:9; 1 Peter 1:19-20) that He
had planned that Jesus should be "slain before the foundation of
the world" (Revelation 13:8).
God
showed how much He loved Adam and all mankind in promising that He
would send a Saviour to pay the righteous price that was required for
man's sin (Genesis 3:15). How we should worship our dear Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ for His great sacrifice! You wrote that you are
a believer in Christ.
All
of us know about God. He has revealed Himself to us by His creation,
His Word, and the conscience He has put into each of us. We have no
excuse for not believing Him. Romans 1 tells us, "For the wrath
of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and
unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God
hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the
creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the
things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that
they are without excuse" (Romans 1:18-20).
If
we turn from this knowledge, the following occurs. "Because
that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were
thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish
heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became
fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image
made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts,
and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness
through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies
between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and
worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is
blessed for ever. Amen" (Romans 1:21-25). How do many people
worship man and animals today? Evolution claims that man and creation
made themselves, taking God's glory.
Man
has turned from the absolute truth of God and His Word. It is no
wonder that he is proudly proclaiming that what is false is true and
what is bad is good. Continue to read the rest of Romans 1 to see
what happens when mankind turns from God and it is like you are
reading a newspaper about what is happening in our country
today.
Dear Praying Friends,
