The Age Of The Universe.
Editorial by Kenny Brownlee (TheFinalGate.COM Ministries)
Pub: 01/31/2022
Humanity has been pondering the question of how old the universe is since the beginning of time. How ironic that seems when time is in question.
First, let us look at modern day science and astronomy to see what they believe.
The best that I can understand, it all started with the so called "Big Band" over 13 billion years ago, some type of explosion that cause all forms of matter, space, and time to expand out into what we see today.
According to the references above from scientific and astronomy sources seems to vary in the age. Some say around 13.7 billion, or 13.8 billion or one that concludes that
a lone star called Methuselah is 16 billion years old. This seems very out of place since others conclude that the universe is around 13 to 14 billion give or take a
few 250 million years. Also notice they named this star after a biblical character from the Bible “Methuselah”.
Job 9:9 He made the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades, And the chambers of the south;
Job 38:31 Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades, Or loose the belt of Orion?
Amos 5:8 He made the Pleiades and Orion; He turns the shadow of death into morning And makes the day dark as night;
He calls for the waters of the sea And pours them out on the face of the earth; The Lord is His name.
This image above is within Orion's Belt and we see what is called "Blue Stars" some of the brightest stars that we know of.
Job lived around the time of Abraham, we must assume that Job knew and had knowledge of Orion’s Belt. Why would God refer to Orion’s belt if Job had no understanding
of what God was talking about? Remember God was proving to Job that he was in charge and that Job was puny in comparison.
I mean if Job had no understanding, then he would have replied to God with “so what.” Job lived around 3500 years ago and yet he understood what was Orion’s Belt.
“The hottest blue stars have a maximum lifespan in the millions of years range. And yet blue stars are abundant, particularly in the arms of spiral galaxies.
The stars of Orion’s belt, for example, are blue stars and cannot be billions of years old. Blue stars seem to indicate that the universe was created recently
and is not millions and certainly not billions of years old.”
The time and space and distance and the orbit of the Earth, Sun and Moon is so exact and perfect that it is required for the earth to exist. If any one was out of sync with another,
our earth would fall apart. Earth is intimately tied to the star around which it revolves, the Sun, and the satellite that revolves around Earth itself, the Moon.
Without the Sun, of course, life on Earth simply could not exist, not just because of the need for light but to an even greater degree because of the energy it supplies.
For that matter, Earth itself would not exist:
But, The moon is receding from the Earth due to tidal forces. The gravity of the moon pulls on Earth’s oceans, inducing two tidal bulges on Earth – one on the moon-facing side,
and one on the opposite side (as the Earth is pulled away from that ocean). The Earth rotates faster than the moon revolves around it. So, the tidal bulges are always a bit
ahead of the moon and therefore pull forward on it. A forward force applied on an orbiting object increases the object’s energy, causing it to move outward in its orbit.
So, the moon’s orbit gradually enlarges. We can measure the distance to the moon very precisely by bouncing laser beams off reflectors left on its surface during the Apollo missions.
Science confirms that the moon moves about an inch and a half farther away from the Earth every year.
Note: At perigee — its closest approach — the moon comes as close as 225,623 miles. At apogee — the farthest away it gets — the moon is 252,088 miles.
The current distance of the earth and moon on average is 238,855 miles.
The difference between perigee (225,623) and apogee is (252,088) is 26,465 miles. That is amazing! The distance between the earth and the moon can deviate within 26,500 miles depending on the seasons. So, just what would that have looked like in the past?
Given that we can calculate back 6,000 years and determine the distance that the moon was or should have been around 750 feet closer to the earth. (1.5 X 6,000 / 12) = 750.
(Using the same calculation for 36 million years would be 4.5 million feet or (852 miles). Calculation (1.5 inches X 36,000,000 years) = 54,000,000 inches.
(54,000,000 inches / 12) = 4,500,000 feet (4,500,000 / 5280) = 852.27 miles. (Do you see how 750 feet could have easily been much more reasonable than 853 miles?)
According to this source at 3.5 billion years would make this much more complicated when using the same formula, the 3.5 billion would render 82,859 miles.
The moon at its nearest point would have been 142,764 miles, while the farthest point would have been 334,947 miles away from the earth.
That seems to me to be a bit to close and way to far away given all the gravitational forces in place that controls the tides of our planet.
Since, within the Roche limit of 11,500 miles (theory), tidal forces overwhelm the gravitational forces that might otherwise hold the satellite together,
no satellite can gravitationally coalesce out of smaller particles within that limit. (the moon would turn into a ring around the earth like Saturn)
The 11,500 miles (Roche Limit) is far from the 142,64 miles, but this would have certainly cause havoc on earth and the moon. Could the gravitational pull on both planets have torn both apart.
Now let us use common since, no creature not even a dinosaur could survive on earth with the moon and earth that close.
So, let us take a look at the Sun. The sun burns hydrogen — a lot of it, several hundred million tons per second. But don’t worry; there’s plenty more where that came from;
by most estimates, the sun has enough fuel for about another five billion years. What does modern science say about the sun?
Some have determined that the sun was much larger in the past than it is today, and that makes since to me. If the sun is burning up,
then it only makes sense that it must have been larger in the past. They say about 0.1% per century, given six thousand years for creation that would not be alarming and would yeild 6% increase in size.
But if we look at one hundred thousand years the sun would be twice the size it is now. If we considered twenty million years, at that rate of 0.1% per century the sun would
have been touching the earth's surface. Now, we know that would not work out.
What Does the Bible Say about the Universe and Creation?
Let us read Genesis 1:1-31 and Chapter 2:1-3
The First Day
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.
The Second Day
6 Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” 7 Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day.
The Third Day
9 Then God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. 10 And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
11 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13 So the evening and the morning were the third day.
The Fourth Day
14 Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; 15 and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. 16 Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. 17 God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 So the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
The Fifth Day
20 Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.” 21 So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 So the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
The Sixth Day
24 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind”; and it was so. 25 And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
29 And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. 30 Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so. 31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
The Seventh Day
Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. 2 And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.
Moses the Author
Moses is the author of the book of Genesis as we know it today, he lived around 1450-1410 B.C. That would make this book around 3,452 years old. This book was one of many written around the same time by Moses. The Pentateuch is known as the first five books of the Bible and includes Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Moses is credited as the author of all five books. This does not in any way indicate that no other books or letters or even history documents had not been written prior to Moses’s writings. In fact, we have writings from Enoch who live around 600 – 900 B.C. 750 years before Moses and prior to the flood. Enoch wrote about creation although slightly different and not as detailed but is basically the same that God created the visible things from the invisible things. “Before anything existed at all, from the very beginning, whatever is, I [God] created from non-being into being, and from the invisible things into the visible.” 2nd Book of Enoch.
At this point, we must understand that what we read from the Bible requires faith in God, you must believe in God to understand or accept it as truth. In 2 Timothy 3:16
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, We find in the new testament that
Jesus testified about Moses and other old testament prophets and writings. The account of creation as written by Moses is told in a simple story, it is made simple so we can easily
understand it and accept it as truth. Not to indicate that we as humans are dumb and not capable of comprehending the entire creation process. But to give us understanding of the
authority and greatness of God and how He created all this for us.
In Deuteronomy 4 also written by Moses, he reminds the people of God to keep God’s commandments and laws and to live by them, later in verse 19 we read
And take heed, lest you lift your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, you feel driven to worship them and serve them,
which the LORD your God has given to all the peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage.
God knew that man would end up worshipping the things of creation instead of the one who created it all. Also, here we can see and should be able to understand that
“all the host of heaven” is the entire universe as we know it. Man has created technology to see beyond our solar system and yet because of un-belief in God, they give credit to a so
called “big bang” theory.
The 4th Day
According to the Genesis story of creation the sun, moon and stars was not created until the fourth day. That seems strange and uncoordinated with conventional thinking and is
found to be un-acceptable for science. It also makes for a bit of confusion over night and day given the 24-hour day and how we measure time. Our understanding of time is
based on the rotation of the earth and the relationship to the sun and moon described on the fourth day. With that said, one may question the “evening and morning” of day one.
Was it a 24-hour day as we know it today?
In 2 Peter 3:8 we read But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
and in Psalm 90:4 For a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it is past, And like a watch in the night.
While both scripture references may allow wiggle room for explaining the day issue, both of thesis’s scriptures are indicating that with God there is no time,
this does not have anything to do with the creation story. Even if it did (which it did not) it is only 3,000 years from day one to day four not billions of years.
The reason for the seven days is symbolism of the perfect number of seven compared to the number six. God used days to organize the creation story into separate events,
so the story could be passed down from generation to generation. You see, it could be taught to children and to their children’s children.
1 Corinthians 1:27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame
the things which are mighty; Matthew 18 1-5 1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
2 Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, 3 and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children,
you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
5 Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me. Jesus indicated that we must come to Him with a childlike faith, just believe in Him as a child would.
This is true when reading the creation story of Genesis, do not try to read between the lines or question why it does not match secular reasoning of billions of years.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I know one could argue of why can’t the creation story of Genesis and the secular idea of billions of years coexist? and where is the dinosaurs in the creation story?
Well, the dinosaurs are pre-flood and was killed off during the flood. The answer to the other leaves us with another question. Why would God need billions of years instead of 6 days?
Edited: this was added later 08/01/2022
In verse 5 we read God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.
God created the Sun, the Moon, and the Stars on the fourth day for humankind’s benefit so we would be able to track the seasons, years, and days. Why would God “Yahweh” need anything at all to know and understand what a 24-hour day was? God had already indicated that light was “day” and darkness was “night” and “evening” and “morning” had passed which concluded the first day. Would it have helped if God had stated “mid-day” or “good afternoon” or maybe “mid-night snack” so readers of His word would believe that He said it was the “first day.”
Listen, make no mistake about this, your first spiritual warfare battle is this first 24-hour day.