Genesis 1-11, Week 3. Two Weeks Ago. See the Difference. Exegesis or Eisegesis? Genesis 1:1-8. What kind of Literature is Genesis?

Transcription

1 Genesis 1-11, Week 3 Exegesis or Eisegesis? Genesis 1:1-8 Two Weeks Ago What kind of Literature is Genesis? What Theology does Genesis give us? Confused? Based on verbs used, not parallelism Mathematical Analysis by Dr. Stephen Boyd - Master's College Analyzed 47 narrative and 49 poetic texts for Types of verbs used Then compared them to Genesis 1:-2: % probability it is narrative. See the Difference Psalm 19:1 NIV The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Genesis 1:1-2 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. Poetry: Present tense Narrative / History: Past Tense = Things that have happened Greek Verbs: 4 moods, 3 voices, 3 persons, 3 numbers and 4 conjugations = 17

2 Two Weeks Ago What kind of Literature is Genesis? What Theology does Genesis give us? Lots of Theology starts in Genesis: God, Us, Sin, Salvation, Angels, The Church People of God, The Last Things Questions or Comments? Today's Topics Exegesis or Eisegesis? What is Exegesis & Eisegesis? Genesis 1:1-8 / Days 1 & 2nd Genesis 1:1-8 Eisegesis: Day-Age Theory Days = Long Ages First such Interpretation: Mid 1900's By American geologist Arnold Guyot All Prior Interpreters Did Not See Long Ages (Some claim Augustine but NO) Novel Interpretations Were Motivated by Needing to Conform Scripture to 'Proven Science' yom can mean other than a 24-hour day. Early Church 'Fathers' did do some alagorizing IN ADDITION TO LITERAL INTERPRETATION Some also questioned why not instantaneous?

3 Some Exegesis Context! In my father's Day He drove from Philadelphia PA to Fort Huachuca AZ in 5 Days During the Day. Some Exegesis All the creation days: evening + morning + numeric Compare Scripture with Scripture: Outside of Genesis 1 Always Understood to be 24-Hour Days "Day", singular or plural, with number, 410 times "Evening" plus "morning" without "day", 38 times "Evening" plus "morning" with "day", 23 times "Night" with "day", 52 times "Day", yom outside Genesis I always normal-length day in these examples Add up to 523 times out of about Many of the remaining 1500 also are considered 24-hour days Some Exegesis Joshua 6:2-4 (NIV) [2] Then the LORD said to Joshua, See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. [3] March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. [4] Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams' horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. This was in the 15th Century BC (1400's) How long did Joshua lead the Israelites around Jericho? Still Marching? How long were the days for Joseph? No 'qualifiers' Genesis 39:10 (NIV) [10] And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.

4 Eisegesis: Day-Age Theory Most Well Known Supporter: Astronomer Hugh Ross Founder of Reasons to Believe Soundly Discredited by Refuting Compromise From Creation Ministries International Eisegesis: Day-Age Theory Variation: Analogical Days From the Presbyterian Church of America Creation Study Committee in 1990 Affirm 6 Day Creation... BUT God's Days are not our Days His Days Are Variably Long They can even overlap Lets them move any event to any place in the Creation sequence The Need to Shuffle the Creation Days Day Biblical Creation Big bang, evolution 1a Heavens and Earth Light 1a Darkness Expanse ('space') 1a Water Stars 1b Light Water 2 Expanse Sun 3a Dry Land Earth and Solar System 3b First life: land plants, Dry land 4 Sun. moon, stars Oceans

5 The Need to Shuffle the Creation Days Day Biblical Creation Big bang, evolution 5 Fish 5 Whales (including dolphins) First life: single-celled organisms Death 5 Ichthyosaurs, mosasaurs Fish Ichthyosaurs: Fish Lizard mosasaurs / pliosaurs: Marine Reptiles Plesiosaurs: Dino 'Fish' pterosaurs: "winged lizard" 5 Plesiosaurs, pliosaurs Trees 5 Birds, bats, pterosaurs Land reptiles 6a Land reptiles ('creeping things') Ichthyosaurs, mosasaurs, plesiosaurs, pliosaurs, pterosaurs from land reptiles The Need to Shuffle the Creation Days Day Biblical Creation Big bang, evolution 6a Land mammals Land mammals (from land reptiles) 6b One man from dust Birds from land reptiles 6c A few days after Creation week One woman from the man's rib Death (from Adam's sin) Bats and whales (from land mammals) A population of ape-like creatures evolved into a population of humans. Eisegesis: Classical Gap Theory Inserts a vast period of time between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2 Introduced by Thomas Chalmers ( ) Assumes that Noah's Flood is comparatively insignificant from the standpoint of its geological and hydrodynamic effects, since all the major fossil bearing formations were laid down by the supposed flood of Genesis 1:2 (sometimes referred to as Lucifer's Flood) Classical Gap Theory 1st World Destroyed by God because it was so bad All Fossils are from that 1st flood: void in 1:2

6 Eisegesis: Classical Gap Theory All the plants and animals of the first world were destroyed and fossilized and had no genetic connection to the living things of the present world. In spite of that fact, a majority of them appear to be genetically identical in form to the modern types. Assumes that carnivorous and other animals were living and dying not only millions of years before Adam, but even before the fall of Satan Eisegesis: Classical Gap Theory They must redefine "very good" as given in Genesis 1:31a. [31] God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. Eisegesis: Soft Gap Theory A Variation Inserts a vast period of time between Genesis 1:2 and Genesis 1:3 Supported by Gorman Gray & John Sailhamer Mid to later 20th Century Recognized the problems of death before Adam No 1 st Earth No Destruction Creation is of The Nation of Israel, not the Universe

7 Eisegesis: Framework Hypothesis Developed by scholars who realized that the Day-Age and Gap Theories failed to fit millions of years into what Genesis 1 says. By Arie Noordsij in 1924 Eisegesis: Treated Science Magisterially Rejected Historicity of the text Claimed it is a Framework that God used to teach us about Himself and Creation Science over Scripture In spite of Obvious narrative nature of the text EG: Teach 6-day week, BUT that is in Exodus and that is based on the historical events of Genesis 1 It's backward interpretation Eisegesis: Framework Hypothesis I have advocated an interpretation of biblical cosmogony according to which Scripture is open to the current scientific view of a very old universe and, in that respect, does not discountenance the theory of the evolutionary origin of man. The leading proponent of the Framework view was Meredith Kline ( ) from Westminster Seminary California. Meredith Kline ( ) from Westminster Seminary CA Today's Topics Exegesis or Eisegesis? What is Exegesis & Eisegesis? Genesis 1:1-8 / Days 1 & 2nd Genesis 1:1-8

8 In The Beginning... This is an Absolute Beginning = ex nihilo Space-Time Begins General Relativity is in Agreement Time & Space are Linked There was No Time Before Creation God is Not One Who Exists a Long Time But One Who Is Not Constrained By Time This Does Away With The Question Who Created God? He has No Beginning! Uncreated! = I AM No Universe, Mass, Time, Space... General Relativity is in Agreement = Under Scripture! In The Beginning God Created... Hebrew 'Heavens and Earth = merism A Figure of Speech Totality expressed by Contrasting Parts Like He searched 'far and near' Meaning Everything: The Universe God Created From Nothing = Beginning Exposes All False Religions! Exposing False Religions Atheism: there is no God * God exists, and was present 'at the beginning '. * God created the universe; the universe neither spontaneously appeared nor has it existed forever. Agnosticism: It is Impossible to know whether God exists Dualism: Good and Evil are eternally co-existent (as Zoroastrians believe). * God has revealed Himself In Scripture as Creator. * God was alone when He created. * God is perfectly good. * Beings who became evil are part of the created order.

9 Exposing False Religions Finite -god views (e.g. Open Theism and Process Theology) Evolutionism: that goo became you via the zoo Humanism: man is the measure of all things. * God created the space-time universe. * Thus He is not limited by anything in the universe, including the future, since God created time itself. * God created a man, a woman, and the various kinds of animals in distinct acts of creation. * God is the ultimate reality. * Man is part of the created order. * God created us so He is the measure of all things. Exposing False Religions Materialism: Matter (or mass-energy) is the only reality. This is a synonym of: Naturalism: natural laws describe all things. Pantheism: all is god; god and creation are the same thing * God created matter (and massenergy); or, God created nature. * God is thus sovereign over the natural world. * Thus matter (mass-energy) are not eternal or self-existent. * God created the universe. * Thus God is distinct from His creation. Panentheism: 'all is in god'. * God transcends what He created Exposing False Religions Polytheism: there is more than one god * Only one God created all things. Just one example of why God being Creator is important Unitarianism (that God is an absolute unity. e.g. Islam. modern Judaism, Jehovah's Witness doctrine, (classical unitarianism) * Elohim is a plural noun With a singular verb, teaching a plurality in the Godhead. * The NT reveals this further as the Trinity. Psalm 146:5-6 (NIV) [5] Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, [6] the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them the LORD, who remains faithful forever.

10 Helpful Diagram? Ancient Teaching Diagram NT Confirmation / Clarification [John 1:1] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [2] He was with God in the beginning. [3] Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. Apostles John & Paul These build on the Foundation that Jesus / The Word is The Creator [Colossians 1:16] For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. [17] He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. NT Confirmation / Clarification [Hebrews 1:1] In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, [2] but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. [3] The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. Unknown writer: Paul? Jesus: Creator, The Word of God, Sustainer, Exact Representative of God Qualifies Him as Savior and Intercessor

11 Out of Nothing Biblically: No Prior Existing Stuff Out of God's Imagination and Power The scientific claim is absurd because all of space is full of QFs. Why no new universes bursting into existence? Scientifically They 'say nothing' BUT Mean 'Out of Quantum Fluctuation' We have no nothing They Claim there never was no nothing What Was First? Genesis 1:1-5 (NIV) [1] In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. [2] Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. [3] And God said, Let there be light, and there was light. [4] God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. [5] God called the light day, and the darkness he called night. And there was evening, and there was morning the first day. First - Water Naturalistic Science says Start with QF > Hydrogen >... Bible says started with Water - LOTS of it! Dr Russel Humphries: Started with Water Predicted planet magnetic fields and current geologic activity No one else did Naturalist / Evolutionary thinking hindered good science! Let there be light 1 st John 1:5-7 (NIV) [5] This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. [6] If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. [7] But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. What John is Saying Not that God is EM Radiation His Character Has Nothing Evil to Hide

12 Let there be light Revelation 21:23 (NIV) [23] The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. Exodus 13:21 (NIV) [21] By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. God Does Not Need Luminous Bodies To Provide Light. The First 3 Days Have No Sun, Moon or Stars [4] God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. [5] God called the light day, and the darkness he called night. And there was evening, and there was morning the first day. Let there be light Genesis 1:3-5 (NLT) [3] Then God said, Let there be light, and there was light. [4] And God saw that it was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness. [5] God called the light day and the darkness night. Together these made up one day. Notice God Declared Light Good God Named Day and Night - Not Adam God Defined A Day, not the First Day When Was Creation? Many Have Made Calculations From 1 st Century for Present Used many different source texts Many not as good as what we have today Range from BC Most Commonly Known is 4004BC By Bishop Ussher How Can We Determine The Date? Genealogies But are they reliable?

13 Genealogies What have you heard about genealogies in the Bible? Only list the people important to the subject being covered. Skip 'unimportant' people Therefore they can not be used as a time-line. Genealogies Look at Matthew 1:1-17 It is Jesus' genealogy It is severely shortened. Matthew only wants to list kings and king-like people He is presenting Christ The King! Genealogies Luke 3:23-38 is also a genealogy of Jesus But Luke is presenting the Humanity of Christ He list many very ordinary people, even women and sinners. He traces Christ back to Adam to show human lineage

14 Genealogies Look at Genealogies in Genesis 5 & 11 Is Something Different? Genealogies Look at Genealogies in Genesis 5 & 11 Is Something Different? Age of Father when Son was Born Genealogies Genesis 5:3-4, (NIV) [3] When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth. [4] After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters.... [18] When Jared had lived 162 years, he became the father of Enoch. [19] And after he became the father of Enoch, Jared lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. [20] Altogether, Jared lived 962 years, and then he died.... How many years between Adam's creation and Seth's birth? Does it matter that Cain and Able were somewhere in between?

15 Genealogies See How We Can Build A Time Chart? Errors: Was the birth at the beginning or end of the father's XX years? Genealogies See How We Can Build A Time Chart? Using the best texts 4178 BC +/- 50 years This makes Creation about 6200 years ago Errors: Was the birth at the beginning or end of the father's XX years? Using the best texts 4178 BC +/- 50 years Can It Really Be 6200 Years Old? Look at Rocks Layers Take A Long Time To Build Up, Right? Top dark layer: March 19, 1982 Middle Layers: June 12, 1980 Bottom: May 18, 1980 Have you ever seen such layers bent?

16 Can It Really Be 6200 Years Old? Dinosaur Fossils Lived Millions of Years Ago, Right? How can they have Soft Tissue and Blood? Can It Really Be 6200 Years Old? All Radiometric Dating works this way. All Assumptions have been proven wrong. Rocks forming in Mt St Helens are dated to tens-of-thousands of years old Can It Really Be 6200 Years Old? Yes the earth can be 6200 years old There Are Many Other Evidences Coal & Diamonds have 14 C Earth's Magnetic Field Decay Too Little Salt in the Seas Comets Should be Gone Polystrate Fossils Flat Gaps and Layers

17 The Expanse Genesis 1:6-8 (NIV) [6] And God said, Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water. [7] So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. [8] God called the expanse sky. And there was evening, and there was morning the second day. Notice: No Good Description. Not Done with water. Wait. 2nd Day like the initial one. Where is the Expanse? The Expanse It Is Outer Space Billions of Light Years Big! God Streached Out The Heavens Job 9:8, 26:7, 37:18, Psalm 102:4, 144:5 Isaiah 40:22, 42:5, 44:24, 45:12 Jeremiah 10:12, 51:15, Ezekiel 1:22 Zechariah 12:1 Had To Be Supernatural Action Faster than Light Opposed Gravity The Expanse Naturalists Criticize Biblical Creation BUT Big Bang Also Has A Light Travel Problem CMB is uniform but 13.8 Billion Years Too Little Inflation is the proposed solution Faster than Light Expansion No Known Cause for Starting or Stopping Opposes Gravity More on this on Day 4

18 Waters Above This Indicates There Is A Water Shell Surrounding The Universe Psalm 148:4 (NIV) [4] Praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies. Dr Humphreys agrees it is there Dr Sarfati agrees it might be the cause of the outer galaxy acceleration