Young Earth (Creation)

Many questions arise when trying to contemplate the age of the earth. Do we subscribe to the evolutionary viewpoint that the earth is billions of years old? Or do we hold to believe what the Bible says? In the book of Genesis we find that God created the earth in six days and rested on the seventh day. Many Biblical scholars and I subscribe to a young earth belief. According to most theologians the earth is approximately 6,000 years old. How was this number figured out? It was in part by the genealogy found in Genesis 5-11, combined with the life of Abraham and combined again with exodus experience. The word for day in Genesis is a literal one solar day which equals 24 hours. The word that was used for day is not an allegory and it did not refer to a day as figuratively.

1. Day one – Heaven, Earth, Light, Dark
2. Day two – Firmament (sky)
3. Day three – Land and plants
4. Day Four – Celestial Bodies, Sun and moon, stars
5. Day Five – Sea creatures and birds
6. Day Six – Land animals, man and woman (Man & Woman made in image of God)
7. Day Seven – God rested on the seventh day and blessed it.


Archbishop James Ussher determined that the earth was created on October 23rd, 4004 B.C. Ussher was a renowned historian of his day and wrote the Annals of the World, covering ancient history with miraculous clarity. Many have dismissed this date, thinking that Ussher pulled it out of thin air; however there is some scientific explanation for this date. David Dewitt explains it as follows:


Select image for more information about Ussher

Ussher developed his chronology assuming that the ages listed for people in the genealogy were accurate and that there were none missing. This gave the year of 4004 B.C. That seems reasonable enough, but why would anyone pick
October 23rd date?
The section of the date makes more sense when we understand the rationale and its relationship to the Jewish calendar. The Jewish people started their week on Sunday and their days began at sundown. Therefore, it would be a reasonable assumption that the beginning of creation would be on the evening before a Sunday.

This would make the seventh day a Saturday which Jews recognize as the Sabbath. Importantly, October 23 would have been the date of the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah) in 4004 Day 1, the date of the Jewish New Year is probably the most reasonable one to choose. Besides suggesting the date for creation, Ussher also posited that the fall took place on the tenth day. The tenth day also seems arbitrary at first glance. However, this corresponds to Yom Kippur which is the Day of Atonement. (David A. Dewitt, 2007)

There is no way of course to prove this, but it is intriguing to think about and I would encourage a dialogue to discuss this issue critically.