"Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel... By which also ye are saved... unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)

"By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth . . . For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast."  (Psalm 33:6, 9)

"For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day"    (Exodus 20:11).

In the beginning, Satan told Eve a lie that has taken many forms as mankind has coursed his way down through the ages to this very time. That lie was, "Ye shall be as gods" (Genesis 3:5). Multitudes have willfully believed this train of thought in one form or another, while others perhaps unwittingly have been seduced into following this "Pied Piper".

One avenue through which this lie is promoted is secular humanism that exalts and venerates the likes of Hollywood stars, music stars and sports idols, etc.  This type of adoration has produced for them a great number of followers and has influenced many to seek fame and fortune, and to "make a name for themselves", that they may attain honor of men and gain the chief places and high titles. The Bible calls this "the pride of life" (1 John 2:16) which is not of the Father but of the world.

Another extension to this lie is the ancient religion of pantheism [pan=all, theism=god]. This states that the whole universe is God, and everything within the universe is a manifestation of god. The religion of Polytheism [poly=many, theism=gods], which is somewhat like pantheism, says there are many gods. This is the self-delusion that led to Satan's rebellion. He did not say that he would replace God, but rather "I will be like the most High" (Isaiah 14:14). This was the very lie he told Eve saying they too could be  "as gods" (Genesis 3:5). Mormonism and Hinduism have taken in this lie, and in their wishful thinking believe that they will somehow attain godhood in the afterlife. But the Scriptures clearly teach that there is one God and no other. "I am God, and there is none else . . . Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any." (Isaiah 46:9, 44:8)

Although there are many forms of this lie, by far, the biggest and most popular form of this lie put forth by Satan, the "father of lies" (John 8:44), is that of Evolution. This is primarily due to its promotion as fact through the scientific community and its acceptance by the secular education system. Contrary to the lie of Satan is the truth above all truths, that God is the creator of all things and therefore is worthy of all possible glory, honor, worship and blessing by his creatures. "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created." (Rev. 4:11)

Creation points to the Creator who alone should be exalted by the ones whom he created, but evolution denies the existence of The Creator, and makes "Mother Nature" the creator of all things through "Natural Selection". Evolution points to man who is exalted above all, who is venerated as the ultimate being and the crowning achievement of the evolutionary process. Thus mankind "changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more that the Creator, who is blessed forevermore. Amen" (Romans 1:25).

The lie of Satan, "ye shall be as gods", will ultimately manifest itself in the man of lawlessness, the son of perdition, the Antichrist, who "as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God" (2Thes. 2:3-4). While there have been many little antichrists down through the ages, one will arise at the end of the age who will be the product of all human thinking that is contrary to the true Creator.

Mankind has been continually moving away from the One True God who alone is able to reveal to mankind who he is, and where he came from, and also his lost condition because of sin, and therefore his need for salvation. Organizations such as the "American Humanist Association" give a clear example of where the modern mind of man is taking us this century. They are one of many atheistic societies that has gained much attention this century beginning with the publication of their "Humanist Manifesto" in 1933.

In their fifteen-point statement of beliefs, they hold forth such "accepted wisdom" that clearly reveal themselves as the Godless evolutionists that they are. Consider the following points. "Religious humanists regard the universe as self-existing and not created." Also, "Humanism believes that man is a part of nature and that he has emerged as the result of a continuous process." They "are convinced that the time has passed for theism, deism, modernism, and the several varieties of "new thought."" And if there be any religion it "must formulate its hopes and plans in the light of the scientific spirit and method."

Sir Julian Huxley, one of the founders of this organization describes a humanist as "someone who believes that man is just as much a natural phenomenon as an animal or plant; that his body, mind and soul were not supernaturally created but are products of evolution, and that he is not under the control or guidance of any supernatural being or beings, but has to rely on himself and his own powers."

Organizations such as this are anti-creationist, anti-god, and anti-Christ, whose primary purpose is to promote humanism and to try and disprove God. The primary "evidence" they use to set forth such foolishness is the doctrine of evolution. Their influence has been far and wide, affecting the thought of man at every level whether it is the scientific community, the educational system, Hollywood, and even Christendom.

This ungodly view of evolution seeks to infect even the youngest of minds through some of the cartoons offered today that children find almost irresistible to watch. Dinosaurs fascinate children, and Hollywood has without a doubt picked up on this, producing a rash of movies, documentaries and cartoons that promote this evolutionary philosophy. Through evolution we are lead to believe that we are the descendants of animals, so societies animal behavior is explained away in this manner rather than dealing with the problem of sin, and its resulting fruit. The devil is very subtle, in fact he is the subtlest of all creatures that God had made (Genesis 3:1), and will use any means to steal the minds of our young today. Consider how a popular children's cartoon movie, "A Land Before Time III" begins, which is an example of many.
 

"A long, long time ago, some 3500 million years ago, the earliest form of life made its appearance on earth. These single celled animals grew and changed a million times over, until finally, at last there was a creature to leave the sea and crawled out into an unknown world. From this small fish like creature came hundreds of other animals . . ."

This is how evolutionists believe it all happened, and children are being subtly conditioned and taught by our culture these alleged "Scientific facts" that totally undermine Christianity. It is sad to say, that not only secular society has been influenced by this lie, but also much of Christendom. Many have taken in the evolutionary philosophy to be fact, believing that science has proved this theory and therefore conclude that this must be the method whereby God made all things.

The Bible says that "in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils" (1Tim. 4:1). Certainly evolution is a doctrine of demons that has recently permeated our public school system and universities, even to the extent that it has now become the acceptable worldview in explaining the origin of man and all other things. The school system in this manner undermines the Word of God by teaching evolution, and has sadly caused many Christians to accept this "science falsely so called" (1Tim. 6:20).

Surveys have shown that the majority of young people from Christian Churches abandon the Christian faith after a year or two of university brainwashing. Here is an example of one survey that reveals the alarming results of such ungodly influence on this generation:
 

"Many British clergy doubt the Genesis account of creation. A survey of 103 church leaders showed that 97% say they do not believe the world was created in six days, and 80% do not believe in the existence of Adam and Eve, Conservative News Service said. About 25% said they do not believe in the Virgin Birth, but the majority believes in the Resurrection and the validity of the Ten Commandments. Those surveyed included Roman Catholic and Anglican bishops, and Protestant ministers." (Religion Today, Dec. 29, 1999)

This is the tragic result due to the compromise made by the church to adopt this false "science", which has led to the liberalism and modernism we see today. The church has plotted a course to accommodate the worldview rather than reproving and separating from all ungodliness and worldly thought, which is enmity with God. We are warned by Peter "But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.  And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of." (2Peter 2:1-2) To see how far this lie of evolution has infiltrated Christendom it will be necessary to look at some of the teachings promoted by those in leadership, which will clearly reveal the extent of this downfall, and magnify the fact that we are indeed living in "perilous times" (2Tim. 3:1).

The Compromise Within Christendom

 
When the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope John Paul II, announced in 1996, "the theory of evolution is more than a hypothesis" (Catholic News Service, Nov. 19, 1996), many were uncertain of just what was meant by this statement, or what the official position of the RCC was in regards to evolution. For clarification, let us consider the following by author Dave Hunt in his book entitled "Occult Invasion":
 

Most non-Catholics were surprised when Pope John Paul II, in a formal statement sent to the Vatican's Pontifical Academy of Science on October 23, 1996, announced that evolution was a scientific theory acceptable to the Church. Evangelical leaders such as Charles Colson, Bill Bright, J.I. Packer, Pat Robertson et al., in joining forces with Rome, assured their critics that Catholicism accepts biblical inerrancy. Yet the Canons and Decrees of the Second Vatican Council (Roman Catholicism's highest authority) declare: "Hence the Bible is free from error in what pertains to religious truth revealed for our salvation. It is not necessarily free from error in other matters (e.g. natural science)" [emphasis in original]. [Vatican II, Vatican Council II, Divine Revelation (Knights of Columbus paraphrase edition), III.11e.]  Evolution is "scientific," and the Bible is not infallible when it comes to science.

Allegedly infallible popes have made dogmatic but embarrassingly unscientific pronouncements based upon false biblical interpretations. Choosing to blame the Bible rather than admit the folly of its leaders, Roman Catholicism denies that the Bible is "free from error" in matters of science. Here is a brief excerpt from the Pope's statement to the Academy:

"I am pleased with the first theme you have chosen, that of the origins of life and evolution, an essential subject which deeply interests the Church.... We know, in fact, that truth cannot contradict truth. ... I would remind you that the Magisterium of the Church has already made pronouncements on these matters.... In his Encyclical Humani generis (1950), my predecessor Pius XII had already stated that there was no opposition between evolution and the doctrine of the faith about man.... Pius XII stressed this essential point: if the human body takes its origin from pre-existent living matter, the spiritual soul is immediately created by God.... For my part... [I have said that] the exegete and the theologian must keep informed about the results achieved by the natural sciences.... Today... the theory of evolution... has been progressively accepted by researchers, following a series of discoveries in various fields of knowledge. The convergence... of the results of work that was conducted independently is in itself a significant argument in favour of this theory."[Pope John Paul II, "Message to Pontifical Academy of Sciences," in L'Osservatore Romano, 30 October 1996, pp. 3,7]

John Paul II was simply reiterating the official position of his Church. In May 1982, on the hundredth anniversary of Charles Darwin's death, the Pontifical Academy of Sciences held a conference of scientists in honor of Darwin and issued this statement: "We are convinced that masses of evidence render the application of the concept of evolution to man and other primates beyond serious dispute." [Father Edward Daschbach, S.V.D., "Catholics and Creationism," in Visitor, October 21, 1984, p.3] As a further example of endorsements by the Roman Catholic Church, in 1967 the New Catholic Encyclopedia had declared confidently:

"Evidence ... supports... the fact of organic evolution. The best judges of the matter are the specialists who, over a period of 100 years, have assembled the necessary evidence. For them the fact of evolution has been established as thoroughly as science can establish facts of the past not witnessed by human eyes." [New Catholic Encyclopedia (McGraw-Hill, 1967), vol.5, P. 689.]

 
While many may think that this is just par for the course for the Roman Catholic Church, since she has long departed from the faith, clinging to many worldly philosophies, and adopting many tenants of the world's pagan religions, that have resulted in her numerous traditions that make the commandment of God null and void, but, many have never considered what "Evangelical Christianity" has to say regarding evolution.

Before we go on, I believe it is first necessary to explain something. While many may frown on the exposition of a "Christian Brother", or of an organizations false teachings, it is our absolute duty to "reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine" (2Tim. 4:2). This is increasingly more important as we move toward the end of the age, especially in this day when accountability is tossed out the window because many, having "men's persons in admiration" (Jude 16), would rather seek "the praise of men more than the praise of God" (John 12:43). But in the Scripture's we are told not to have "respect of person's" (Job 32:21, Proverbs 28:21, James 2:1), but to "love the truth" (Zechariah 8:19).

We are also to "love . . . the brethren" (1 Peter 1:22) as well as "thy neighbor as thyself" (Matthew 22:39), which is "the royal law according to the scripture" (James 2:8), but we are to love the Lord thy God first, "with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength" (Mark 12:33), and this, by keeping His commandments (John 14:23-24). Therefore we must love the brethren "in deed and in truth" (1John 3:18).

I believe in accountability, and certainly "every one of us shall give account of himself to God" (Romans 14:12), for "every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment" (Mt. 12:36). But there is also a special mention of leadership who would guide the church, that they who "have the rule over you . . . must give account" (Heb. 13:17), first to God, but also to the church to whom they minister. For if they be careless in their teaching office, and speak things contrary to "sound doctrine" (Titus 2:1), and are left unreproved, will they not lead multitudes astray and make shipwreck of the faith of many? And themselves fall to the position of blind leaders of the blind? Does history not prove this out time and again, where one generation's neglect leads to the next generation's stumble and fall?

When the apostle Peter was found to be a hypocrite and not walking "uprightly according to the truth of the gospel", Paul "withstood him to the face . . . before them all", why, "BECAUSE HE WAS TO BE BLAMED" (Galatians 2:11-14). Peter was the one responsible for the dissimulation of others, and Paul would have no fellowship with these unfruitful works, but rather reproved them (Eph. 5:11), not willing to be a  "partaker of his evil deeds" (2John 1:11). What was Peter's response to this? Did he say to Paul, Who do you think you are? No! Rather, he would later write in one of his own epistles mentioning "our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written . . . in all his epistles . . . things hard to be understood" (2Peter 3:15). Peter would call him his "beloved brother". The Bible tells us "Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee." (Proverbs 9:8)  Although Peter was an elder (1 Peter 5:1) in the church at Jerusalem, and highly esteemed by the people (Acts 5:13), the truth of the gospel was far more important to be upheld than men's reputations.

Many more examples of public reproof could be given from the Scriptures. Paul warns Timothy of Hymenaeus and Philetus "Who concerning the truth have erred . . . and overthrow the faith of some" (2Tim. 2:16-18). He also made mention of Hymenaeus and Alexander who were responsible for the "shipwreck" of the faith of some (1Tim. 1:19-20). Jesus also held the religious leaders of his day publicly accountable (Luke 20:45-47, 12:1, Mt. 23:13-33), and rebuked certain churches in Asia Minor for tolerating the doctrines of "Balaam", and of the "Nicolaitians" and of "Jezebel" (Rev. 2:14-24).

Nowhere in the Scriptures will you find an example where it is better to tolerate error or false doctrine for the sake of unity. The Scriptures clearly demands reproof. "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them." (Eph. 5:11) Where error and false doctrine are left to sew their seeds of corruption, we will find what is described in the Bible as a "falling away from the faith."

The apostle Paul would tell the Corinthians, "Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ." (1Cor. 11:1) So in keeping with the teachings of our Lord and His apostles, who have left us their examples that we should follow in their steps, we will by the grace of God do the same in unity with the Scriptures (2Tim. 4:2). "Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set us in the way of his steps." (Psalms 85:13) And as we go, let us beware, and take heed to the admonition of Scripture lest we slip, for the serpent is very subtle and would like to gain the advantage over us, as we are warned, " Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour" (1Peter 5:8). So let us "continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel" (Col. 1:23).

Now, Promise Keepers, a popular ecumenical organization of our day, also endorses Theistic Evolution and expressed its agreement with the Pope's position on evolution even before he stated it. They argue in their official magazine called "New Man", "Remember, however, that the debate over how God created the world through millions of years of evolutionary work or through a few words spoken over a few days is not the central tenet of Christianity." ["Fathers, faith and fossils," in New Man, July-August 1996, p. 54.] To this organization the truth of the literal interpretation of the inspired book of Genesis appears to be irrelevant. What then does this say for the rest of Gods Word? If the foundational truth of Genesis be destroyed, that would certainly leave us as one building his house on sinking sand. It is the True Creator who is the center of Christianity, and He spoke all things into being in six days by the word of His power.

"In one of his messages at his evangelistic crusade in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1996, Billy Graham said that he wasn't sure if the flood of Noah's day were worldwide, or if it were only regional. He said that we don't know how much of the world was covered by the waters." (Reported by Fundamental Baptist News Service May 14, 1997) You may ask, What does this statement have to do with evolution? I think you will clearly see in a moment, but first let us address what the Scriptures do say. The Scriptures clearly and emphatically teach how much of the World was covered. Noah's flood was a yearlong, worldwide, mountain covering, catastrophic flood, whereby all air breathers were destroyed except those on the ark.
 

"And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered.  Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered. And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man:  All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died.  And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark." (Genesis 7:17-23)

How much clearer could this be? The mountains are the highest point on earth. If all the mountains and high hills under the whole of heaven were covered, there is no room left for any "regional" talk. The only logical conclusion is that "the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished" (2Peter 3:6). If Noah's flood were just "regional", there would have been no need of an ark. Noah and his family and all the animals could have easily migrated to higher ground, for Noah was warned of this coming judgment 120 years in advance (Genesis 6:3). But, the Bible tells us "the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth".
 
Because the "gap-theorists" (The "Christians" who claim a great flood between the first two verses of Genesis) apply the fossil record to Lucifer's Pre-Adamic flood, some have concluded that Noah's flood must have only been a regional flood with virtually no geological evidence of such an event ever happening. Because the existing sedimentary layers (with their fossil record) are assigned to the alleged pre-creation flood of Genesis 1:1-2, there is no room left for another worldwide cataclysmic deluge after this. If there were another flood of worldwide proportions the present sedimentary deposition would have to be applied to the latter flood. Therefore, some of the gap-theorists proposed the "regional flood" theory to accommodate the scientific communities hypothesis of a multi-billion year old earth with long geological ages.

But now, the Christian is left in a worse mess than when he began to follow the wisdom of the world, for if the flood was only regional, God would be a liar because there have been many regional floods since then. But God had made an everlasting covenant with Noah and his seed after him, that he would never destroy the earth and its inhabitants in this manner again (Genesis 9:9-17), and He set a rainbow in the sky as a token to remind man of His covenant. "God cannot lie" (Titus 1:2). Therefore, it is nonsense to even think that the flood may have been only regional.

With the increased acceptance that geologists provide undeniable evidence that the world is exceedingly old, many theologians began to reinterpret Genesis to conform to the geologists (who for the most part were atheists) so called "scientific teaching". This "old earth" thinking began in the mid-eighteenth century, which will explain why any Bible commentaries written prior to this time are void of any such thoughts as a billion year old earth with its Pre-Adamite creation and Luciferian flood.

Another individual who has had much influence in the Evangelical church, and for the most part very positive, was a man by the name of C. I. Scofield, who comments on Genesis 1:1-2 in the notes of his study Bible (Old Scofield 1917 Edition), suggesting a Pre-Adamite world that was ruined and then reconstructed between the first two verses of Genesis. He writes, "The first creative act refers to the dateless past, and gives scope for all the geologic ages." He believed that the earth prior to Genesis 1:2 "had undergone a cataclysmic change as the result of divine judgment.  The face of the earth bears everywhere the marks of such a catastrophe. There are not wanting imitations which connect it with a previous testing and fall of angels." He therefore relegates the fossil record "to the primitive creation" rather than to Noah's flood, and speaks of the "new creation" (of Genesis Ch. 1) as a "restoration of dry land and light" (Genesis 1:3-9) that was destroyed in the so-called primitive creation. That he was influenced by the scientists of the day is evident in his own writings where he even quotes Charles Huxley (one of the main advocates of the uniformitarian philosophy) in his commentary on Genesis 1:26.

Undoubtedly, Scofield, who is of the "Brethren Movement", was influenced greatly by his predecessors, such as Darby, Grant, Kelly, Coates, etc. Consider what they had to say when commenting on Genesis 1:1-2.
 

"" In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." That is all we get about the original creation. Then in the second verse we find things fallen into a state of ruin." "So that a solemn change had come about between the first and second verses of Gen. 1. We do not know what length of time elapsed between those two verses; possibly the long periods of which geologists speak might come in there." (C. A. Coates)

"The first verse of Genesis announces the creation of the heavens and the earth; the second a desolation that befell, not the heavens but the earth." "First of all there was the creation by God--both of the heavens and of the earth. Then we have the further fact stated of the state into which the earth was plunged--to which it was reduced." "The first verse speaks of an original condition which God was pleased to bring into being; the second, of a desolation afterwards brought in; but how long the first lasted, what changes may have intervened, when or by what means the ruin came to pass, is not the subject-matter of the inspired record, but open to the ways and means of human research, if indeed man has sufficient facts on which to ground a sure conclusion." "This thought of a ruined condition of the earth succeeding its original creation, so far from being merely an attempt to meet the demands of geology is no less required by the typical view." (William Kelly)

"It is necessary also to distinguish from the six days' work, what has been strangely confounded with it, the primitive creation of the first chapter and verse, and the ruin into which it had fallen when "without form and void, and darkness on the face of the deep."" "Here was, then, a primary creation, afterward a fall; first,  "heaven and earth", in due order; then earth without a heaven--in darkness, and buried under "a deep" of salt and barren and restless waters." (F. W. Grant)

John Nelson Darby also held to this creation-reconstruction theory using a verse from Isaiah to argue his point. "For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain , he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else." (Isaiah 45:18)  The word "vain" in this verse is the same word used in Genesis 1:2 that is translated "void". Darby therefore concluded that Genesis 1:2 must be a fall because God did not originally create the earth "void".

But there is no need for this kind of interpretation at all, for God created all things in six days, and verse 2 was just the beginning of His very good creation. He created the earth to be inhabited, but it first needed to be prepared for habitation, and when he was finished after six days, he pronounced it "very good". When a man sets out to build a house, after a day or two it may look without form and void, but when he is finished it will be his mansion. "For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God." (Heb. 3:4)

When an artist begins his painting with a few strokes of the brush, certainly it may look chaotic, but when he is finished, it will be his masterpiece. "And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands" (Heb. 1:10). I believe that Genesis 1:1 is the beginning of the creation of God when the heavens (space) and the basic elements of the earth were made. God then molded them into His masterpiece.

When we read the Genesis account of creation, we are simply told "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." This was the beginning of the time/space/matter cosmos. On the first day "the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." God could have spoken the whole universe into being in a split second, completely furnished and ready for man, but God chose six days to complete his great work, and the seventh day He sanctified and made a day of rest.

I think that rather than trying to add to the Word of God, and inserting something between the first two verses of Genesis, we would be best off leaving it alone and reading it as it is. In the beginning the earth was "without form". Simply, it was not yet formed. The waters were yet mixed together with the earth making it a shapeless chaos. We could say that it was yet rude and unpolished, or in its embryonic state. It is also said to be "void", that is, empty and uninhabited and not yet prepared for habitation.

The effect of this false teaching (gap-theory) is still with the "Brethren Movement" and promoted today. William Macdonald in his "Believer's Bible Commentary" calls the "creation-reconstruction view . . . One of several conservative interpretations of the Genesis account of creation". This is not a conservative interpretation at all, for it is nowhere to be found in the Bible, but rather is a modernistic and liberal view to accommodate the long geological ages of the atheistic scientists. Even the good commentators have fallen prey to this delusion.

"Clarence Larkin in his book "Dispensational Truth", written in 1918, speaks of an "original or pre-Adamite earth" which existed in Genesis 1:1 but was made waste by Genesis 1:2, and then reconstructed throughout the rest of the chapter. This Pre-Adamite earth he believes was filled with fish, fowl, animal life, and he even suggests humans, but was then destroyed along with all its inhabitants by a worldwide flood. So he writes, pointing to Genesis 1:2, that the original earth "was made formless and void, and submerged in water and darkness". He then applies 2Peter 3:5-7, "the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished", to this Pre-Adamite world rather than the flood of Noah. Therefore the fossil graveyards are attributed to this imaginary pre-creation cataclysm, which he contributes to the fall of Satan, when he was cast down to the earth.  Larkin goes on to write,
 

"The manner of the creation of the Pre-Adamite Earth is not revealed in the Scriptures. They simply declare that—"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." We have to fall back then upon Science . . . Science demands thousands of years (now alleged to be billions) for the formation of the earth . . . [Genesis 1:1] then covers the whole period of the formation of the earth and its preparation for the habitation of man . . . The creation of the "Original Earth" was in the dateless past."

Larkin admits that this Pre-Adamite Earth is not revealed in the Scriptures, so he relies on "science" to fill in the alleged gap and to interpret the Scriptures, thereby adopting the Evolutionists long geological ages of the earth, fitting it into his frame of thinking. This is a fatal error when one tries to interpret the Scriptures in the light of the world, rather than interpreting the world in the Light of the Scriptures. Unfortunately, this "Gap Theory" has been adopted by much of "Christendom" since it began to embrace the worldly wisdom of the evolutionists. The falling back on the Science of atheistic evolutionists, who deny the Word of God, indeed was a terrible blow for Christianity. Perhaps the motive of Christianity was to gain credibility with the worldly wise, but friendship with the world can only result in enmity with God. The "wisdom of this world is foolishness with God" (1Cor. 3:19), and "the world by wisdom knew not God" (1Cor. 1:21). True wisdom is found in Jesus Christ alone, "In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." (Col. 2:3)

The American Atheist knows what is at stake, by applying the geological column with its fossil record (which is a record of death), to a Pre-Adamite world. Consider a quote from their publication that clearly reveals their understanding of the Scriptures. It is too bad the Christian has to hear this reproof from the atheist.
 

"But if death preceded man and was not as a result of Adam's sin, then sin is fiction. If sin is fiction, then we have no need for a savior . . . Christianity has fought, still fights, and will fight science to the desperate end over evolution, because evolution destroys utterly and finally the very reason Jesus' earthly life was supposedly made necessary. Destroy Adam and Eve and original sin, and in the rubble you will find the sorry remains of the Son of God [and] take away the meaning of his death. If Jesus was not the Redeemer who died for our sins, and this is what evolution means, then Christianity is nothing!" [G. Richard Bozarth, "The Meaning of Evolution," American Atheist, February 1978, p. 19, 30.]

How true this is. If death preceded Adam, the Bible is a lie, and this is precisely what Satan wants us to believe, that God is a liar (Genesis 2:17, 3:4). But the Bible tells us "by man came death" (1Cor. 15:21), "and death by sin" (Romans 5:12), and "sin entered the world" by "one man", Adam. There could not have been death before Adam, because death is said to have entered into the world by the sin of Adam. Because of sin, the ground was cursed (Genesis 3:17) from whence man was formed (Genesis 3:19, 2:7). Adams dominion also came under the curse for every beast of the field and fowl of the air was also formed from the ground (Genesis 2:19). So from that time forward "the whole creation" came under the "bondage of corruption" and "was made subject to vanity, not willingly" (Romans 8:20-22).

The American Atheist believes that if he can prove evolution he can do away with Jesus Christ. This reminds us of the Second Psalm where the Psalmist questions, "Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?  The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us." (Psalm 2:1-3) Therefore, "because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved . . . God shall send them a strong delusion, that they should believe a lie" (2Thes. 2:10-11). The Bible tells us "But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:  In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." (2Cor. 4:3-4) The gospel has been hid from them because they have exchanged the truth of God for a lie. Because they are unwilling to believe God and His Word, they are left with the only other alternative to the Truth, which is Satan's lies, who has caught them in his snare, and are taken captive by him at his will. (2Tim 2:25-26)

It is imperative therefore that we stand for what is true, lest others be led down the path of destruction. Those who hold public office and give public presentation of their beliefs ought also to be held publicly accountable if their teachings are found to be not according to the Scriptures. This may not be the popular way to go in these ecumenical days, when toleration and compromise are held as the key elements to Christian unity, however, we are not in a popularity contest, and need rather to "earnestly contend for the faith" (Jude 3). The apostle Paul would "cease not to warn everyone" (Acts 20:31) regarding the looming apostasy, so should we!

Consider the exhortation given some 100 years ago by Charles Haddon Spurgeon that is certainly just as valid in our time.
 

"We must defend the Faith; for what would have become of us if our fathers had not maintained it? . . . Must we not play the man as they did? If we do not, are we not censuring out Fathers? It is very pretty, is it not, to read of Luther and his brave deeds! Yes, yes, but you do not want anyone else to do the same to-day. . . . We admire a man who is firm in the Faith, say four hundred years ago; . . . but such a man today is a nuisance, and must be put down. Call him a narrow-minded bigot, or give him a worse name if you can think of one. Yet imagine that in those ages past, Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, and their compeers had said, "The world is out of order; but if we try to set it right we shall only make a great row, and get ourselves into disgrace. Let us go to our chambers, put on our night-caps and sleep over the bad times, and perhaps when we wake up, things would have grown better." Such conduct upon their part would have entailed upon us a heritage of error. These men loved the Faith and the name of Jesus too well to see them trampled on. Note that we owe them, and let us pay to our sons the debt we owe to our fathers."

Consider what Martin Luther had to say on this same subject of the Faith:
 

"If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest expression every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however, boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved, and to be steady on all battlefields besides, is mere flight and disgrace, if he flinches at that point."

Consider what Harry A. Ironside has to say in regards to defending the Faith:
 

"Objection is often raised, even by some sound in the faith, regarding the exposure of error as being entirely negative and of no real edification. Of late, the hue and cry has been against any and all negative teaching. But the brethren who assume this attitude forget that a large part of the New Testament, both of the teaching of our blessed Lord Himself and the writings of the apostles, is made up of this very character of ministry, namely, showing the Satanic origin and, therefore, the unsettling results of the propagation of erroneous systems which Peter, in his second epistle, so definitely refers to as "damnable heresies." . . . It is as important in these days as in Paul's, in fact, it is increasingly important, to expose the many types of false teaching that, on every hand, abound more and more. . . . Error is like leaven of which we read, "A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump." Truth mixed with error is equivalent to all error, except that it is more innocent looking and, therefore, more dangerous. God hates such a mixture! Any error, or any truth-and-error mixture, calls for definite exposure and repudiation. To condone such is to be unfaithful to God and His Word and treacherous to imperiled souls for who Christ died . . . Let us who have been redeemed at the cost of His precious blood be "good soldiers of Jesus Christ." As the battle against the forces of evil waxes ever more hot, we have need for God-given valour."

In the end, I hope this chapter is not thought so much as an expose, but as an awakening to see just how far Christendom, from the highest levels, has drifted from Biblical Creationism and how important it is to do all that we can to stand for the Truth. Although leadership has a high calling, and should demonstrate "incorruptness in doctrine" and have "Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed"  (Titus 2:7-8), we must remember that they are human and subject to error. Therefore they should be remembered in prayer, obeyed and submitted to where the Word of God allows, and saluted, for they "have spoken unto you the word of God" and "watch for your souls".  "Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." (1Cor. 10:12)

The Recent History of Evolution

Evolution is not a new thought by any means, but goes back to the beginning, to the post flood (Noah's) world. After Cain slew Able, he proceeded to establish his ungodly Cainitic civilization that God had to destroy in the Great Flood. Shortly thereafter mankind rebelled again, and began to build a city and a tower up to heaven, to "make for themselves a name" (Genesis 11:4). At these two beginnings, the pre-flood, and post-flood world,  "from the creation of the world", the apostle Paul said that "they knew God" but "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" (Romans 1:21-23). In those early days they began to venerate man as God. Evolution is just another form of this vanity, which has itself evolved into many forms of ungodly thought, with man always at the pinnacle of this humanistic and satanic ideology.

In our day, most people understand the theory of evolution to have derived from Charles Darwin (1809-1882) who in 1859 published his book called the "Origin of the Species by Natural Selection" (Natural selection meaning the "Survival of the Fittest"). Although he was the major proponent used to launch this ideology onto the current world scene, much of his work was due to the influence of those who had gone before him.  For one, his grandfather Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802) was an anti-Christian who "believed that species modified themselves by adapting to their environment in a purpositive way."

Another man of that era, a Scottish geologist named Charles Lyell (1797-1875), had an influence on Darwin as well. Darwin concluded that his theory of evolution depended completely on long geological ages that Lyell had purported. Lyell reasoned in his book "Principles of Geology" that there are natural, as opposed to supernatural explanations for all geologic phenomenon's. Darwin would remark "The very first place which I examined . . . showed me clearly the wonderful superiority of Lyell's manner of treating geology, compared with that of any other author, whose work I had with me or ever afterwards read."

 Encyclopedia Britannica says of Lyell, that he was "largely responsible for the general acceptance of the view that all features of the Earth's surface are produced by physical, chemical, and biological processes through long periods of geological time. The concept was called uniformitarianism (initially set forth by James Hutton). Lyell's achievements laid the foundations for evolutionary biology as well as for an understanding of the Earth's development." This worldly view called uniforitarianism proposes that the sedimentary record (in some places as deep as two miles) was laid down slowly and naturally over billions of years, while the creationists model suggests that these thick sedimentary layers with their fossil record happened in a short period of time, in the catastrophic deluge of Noah's day.

This doctrine of Uniformitarianism, as mentioned, was first established by James Hutton (1726-1797). Encyclopedia Britannica says that he was a "Scottish geologist, chemist, naturalist, and originator of one of the fundamental principles of geology—uniformitarianism, which explains the features of the Earth's crust by means of natural processes over geologic time." He presented his uniformitarian principle in his papers to the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1785. Hutton explained in his papers that the world's geological phenomenon could be explained in terms of observable processes, and that those processes now at work on and within the Earth have operated with general uniformity over immensely long periods of time, and that the process of erosion, deposition, sedimentation, and up thrusting were cyclical and must have been repeated many times in the Earth's history, therefore asserting that the age of the Earth must be inconceivably great.

But the generally accepted belief in Hutton's day was that which is recorded for us in the Bible in the book of Genesis, that the Earth had been created only about six thousand years ago. At that time, the world's sedimentary rocks, and strata, with their fossil record were believed by some geologists to have been formed when immense quantities of minerals precipitated out of the waters of the biblical flood. This view was called catastrophism, which based its views of geology on the catastrophic events of the Genesis Flood. In contrast to the catastrophic view of geology, Encyclopedia Britannica states, "the principle of uniformity postulates that phenomena displayed in the rocks may be entirely accounted for by geologic processes which continue to operate at the present day —in other words, the present is the key to the past."

Thus far, we have seen how the originator of uniformitarianism, James Hutton's views of geology first challenged the concept of a Biblical earth and its 6000-year history, that was specially created to be the home for man. Lyell then adopted Hutton's views and rejected any form of supernaturalism in regards to the Earth's geological strata. Lyell's work in turn profoundly influenced Charles Darwin who extended the principle of uniformity to the plant and animal kingdoms.

So, we can see that modern evolution, as we now know it is largely based on Hutton's uniformitarian hypothesis. We would like to again repeat the explanation of uniformitarianism that is given in Encyclopedia Britannica that states,
 

"The principle of uniformity postulates that phenomena displayed in the rocks may be entirely accounted for by geologic processes which continue to operate at the present day—in other words, the present is the key to the past. "

This view maintains that the geological column with its fossil record has been formed over billions of years and continues to be formed today as it has from the very beginning of the creation. But obviously, the geological column with its record of death, (evidenced by the billions of fossils contained therein) point to some great catastrophe that caused these life forms to be quickly buried within the sedimentary strata, fossilizing them.

What is extremely interesting in regards to this recent form of evolution (uniformitarianism) is that our omniscient Creator God, who knows the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:9-10), foretold that this fable would arise in the last days. He said,
 

"there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.  For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished"  (2Peter 3:3-6).

Contrary to the predominant uniformitarian thought of the day, the Lord says that all things have not continued as they were from the beginning of the creation, but rather, there was a worldwide, mountain covering, yearlong flood that upset this continuum leaving behind it a record of death in the sedimentary strata. A catastrophe of worldwide proportions, this is the true account of the earth's history and its geological record. What the scientists think would take thousands of years to accomplish, the Lord can do in one day, for "one day is with the Lord as a thousand years" (2Peter 3:8). The scoffers of the last days would use this great lie of evolution to deny God's truth in general, and the promise of His coming to set up His kingdom.

Although Christ has delayed his coming for almost 2000 years, He will come again, and this lie will not change the Truth of God. He is longsuffering not willing that any should perish, but "because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved . . . God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." (2Thes. 2:10-12) The day will come when Gods patience will run out, and the wrath of God shall be revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness (Romans 1:18).

Then the Creator God of heaven shall send an angel "having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." (Rev. 14:6-7) This is whom all worship is due, the eternal, omnipotent Creator God. "Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies." (Psalm 40:4)

 

What Saith the Scriptures?

The Bible begins like this. "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." (Genesis 1:1) I would like to say that if anyone can get past this one verse, and does not have a problem that an Almighty, Omnipotent, Omniscient, Omnipresent, Eternal, Creator God spoke all things into being out of nothing in the beginning of time, they will have no problem believing anything else the Bible has to say. The prophet Jeremiah said "Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee" (Jer. 32:17). The prophet Isaiah said, "Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth." (Isaiah 40:26)

If man can believe in the power of God, he will have no problem with a worldwide flood; he will have no problem believing that God parted the Red Sea so that Israel could escape on dry ground from the hoards of Pharaoh. He will have no problem believing that God stopped the rotation of the earth for a day to give his people victory over their enemies (Joshua 10:12-14). And he will believe"By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. . . . For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast." (Psalm 33:6, 9)

Then we will certainly have no problem believing that God became a man in the person of Jesus Christ, born of a virgin, to bear away the sins of the world on a cross, and to suffer and die in the stead of his people, and rise again from the dead the third day triumphantly, "declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead" (Romans 1:3). If we place our trust in the Word of God we will certainly agree with the Psalmist, "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. . . marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well." (Psalm 139:6, 14)

Although there is no scientific or Biblical evidence to support the philosophical faith of evolution with its "Missing Links", and imaginative cartoon characters, we will find an abundance of evidence that will disprove evolution. In spite of this, many "Christian evolutionists" argue that evolution could be God's method of creation, and believe that man could have spent some millions of years evolving before he became Adam. But the Scriptures are clear saying that "the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." (Genesis 2:6) Eve was also miraculously created. "And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man." (Genesis 2:21-22) Adam was the "first man" (1Cor. 15:45), and Eve is called the "mother of all living" (Gen. 3:20). So there is certainly no reason to believe, from a Biblical point of view, that there was a population of evolving hominoids becoming "Adam".

Jesus believed the literal account of Genesis saying "from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female." (Mark 10:6) The apostle Paul believed this also saying "Adam was first formed, then Eve" (1Tim. 2:13). Paul testified to the polytheists of Athens that God "made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us" (Acts 17:26-27). All humans who ever lived are said to be the offspring of Adam and Eve.  If Jesus believed in the literal account of Genesis, should not we too?

Evolutionists will in vain search the fossil record and find no transitional forms between any of the "kinds" that God created. You will find much horizontal variety within the kinds, but you will not find vertical movement from one kind to another. For example, you will find many varieties of dogs, and many varieties of cats, but never a link between, which might be termed a cat-dog.

You will also find many varieties of monkeys, and much variety within the human species, but you will not find within the fossil record an ape-man. This is also the living record that we have today. You will find many living cats and dogs, many monkeys and humans, but nothing in between. You will only find within the fossil record completely developed, non-transitional forms of life, which suggests their sudden appearance. This is what the Bible teaches, God spoke and they suddenly appeared.

Contrary to that which the evolutionists would have us to believe, their samplings of bones have always been proven to be either human or ape. Even Darwin knew that there was no fossil evidence that could link man and ape, but hoped that one day the evidence for his hypothesis would be found. In his book "The Descent of Man" he wrote:
 

"With respect to the absence of fossil remains, serving to connect man with his ape-like progenitors, no one will lay much stress on this fact who reads Sir C. Lyell's discussion, where he shows that in all the vertebrate classes the discovery of fossil remains has been a very slow and fortuitous process. Nor should it be forgotten that those regions which are the most likely to afford remains connecting man with some extinct ape-like creature, have not as yet been searched by geologists."

Darwin's hypothesis for evolution came not from scientific fact, but from thoughts produced by his imagination that caused him to reason that the evidence exists but was not yet found. Today some scientists believe they have found the evidence for evolution but in all reality, this evidence only exists in their minds. This is what Romans says, they "became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart (mind) was darkened" (1:21). Consider this article in Time Magazine March 14, 1994, where at long last their missing link had supposedly been found.
 

The crucial piece of evidence came in 1974 with the discovery of the long-sought "missing-link" between apes and humans. An expedition to Ethiopia led by Donald Johanson, now president of IHO, painstakingly pieced together a remarkable ancient primate skeleton. Although about 60% of the bones, including much of the skull, were missing, the scientists could tell that the animal stood about 1.07 m tall. That seemed too short for a hominoid, but the animal had an all important human characteristic: unlike any species of primate known to have come before, this creature walked fully upright. How did the researchers know? The knee joint was built in such a way that the animal could fully straighten out its legs. That would have freed it from the inefficient, bowlegged stride that keeps today's chimps and gorillas from extended periods of two-legged walking. Presuming that this diminutive hominoid was a female, Johanson named her Lucy.

The scientific name they gave to Lucy was Australopithecus Afarensis, and they dated her at 3.9 million years old. Although she was short like a monkey (approx. 3 feet six inches) with skull fragments that "turned out to be much more apelike than human, with a forward-thrust jaw and chimp-size braincase", and current fossil evidence that indicate she had  "long curved fingers and toes and an opposing big toe", they yet insist she was on her way to becoming human. But, it is clear with such a grasping foot that this was clearly a tree dweller, and only the controversial hip and knee bones give any clue of a more erect posture than modern chimps. Even if this monkey could have walked upright, this is hardly reason to speculate that apes were well on their way to becoming human, for the "pygmy chimpanzee" today walks upright, but is still classified as a monkey. Although "Lucy" is clearly a monkey some believe they have found their missing link.

Contrary to what some believe, others of the same scientific mind will honestly point out that they are dealing with an ape. An article in National Geographic (The Search for our Ancestors, Nov. 1985) agrees that Australopithecus Afarensis was a tree dweller and points out that "Some scientists in Europe and the United States see bipedal locomotion in the early australopithecines as being less efficient that in modern humans. They believe that the earliest hominoids continued to be partly arboreal. They note that afarensis phalanges finger and toe bones) are slightly curved, which they regard as an adaptation for grasping tree limbs."

Many will yet insist on the "evolutionary facts" although there are billions of missing links in the fossil record, and will not face up to the true evidence or rather, lack thereof. This is the end result of man who refuses to believe God, he becomes a fool. "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." (2Tim 4:3-4) "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" (Romans 1:21-22). "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God." (Psalm 14:1)

"Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causeth to err from the words of knowledge." (Proverbs 19:27) "For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding." (Proverbs 2:6)

Evolution and Creation Cannot be Reconciled

Now that we have briefly considered the recent history of Evolution and the compromise within Christianity to adapt to this "science falsely so called", we would like now to "give an answer" as to why evolution and creation are at enmity with one another, and why the gap-theory can not be harmonized with the Scriptures.

First of all, the Bible says that God, in the beginning made ALL THINGS in six days. This beginning according to Biblical chronology was not billions of years ago but around 6,000 years. When were all things created? "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth . . . in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is , and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it." (Genesis 1:1, Exodus 20:11) This should be all the evidence that man needs, the difficulty is just in believing it. In six days the Lord made all things and pronounced them "very good" (Genesis 1:31). "By him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible , whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him , and for him: And he is before all things , and by him all things consist." (Colossians 1:16-17) This is the clear teaching of God, so "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." (Colossians 2:8)

Yet many "Christians" in their desire to accommodate the worldly wise and their "scientific thinking", will argue that six "days" could actually mean long ages. Did God create all things in six literal days? Absolutely! On the very first day God made a decree that a day would consist of "evening and morning". When God created the heavens and the earth, "darkness was on the face of the deep" so "God said, Let there be light . . . and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day ." (Genesis 1:3-5) When God created time in the beginning, He divided the darkness and the light, the day and the night, and the  evening and the morning He constituted a day. It is exactly that way today. Our day consists of approximately 12 hours of daylight, and 12 hours of darkness.
 
However, many will agree to this and argue that there was time before this, between the first and second verses of Genesis, and will attribute the unformed earth to be the result of Lucifer's fall that subsequently resulted in a judgment upon the earth. But this may be easily dismissed by asking the question, When were the angels created and when did they fall? Remember, as we have already stated, "in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is . . . whether visible or invisible, whether . . . principalities, or powers". These principalities and powers that are mentioned are angelic beings (Eph. 3:10, 6:12, Col. 1:16). They are also referred to as the "host of heaven" (Luke 2:13 1Kings 22:19, Psalm 103:20-21), and when God finished his work of creation in six days it is said, "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them " (Genesis 2:1), and He pronounced them "very good".

Jesus Christ is before all things, and he created all things in six days. Although it does not mention in the first chapter of Genesis the day in which the angels were created, we know they were created in that time frame, because God says so. But, if we look to the rest of the Scriptures, I believe we may conclude that the angels were likely created on the first or second day.

In the book of Job we have indicated that the angels were already created on the third day of creation week when the foundations of the earth were formed (Genesis 1:9). "Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" (Job 38:4-7)

In the beginning God "created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein" (Revelation 10:6). In six days he created ALL things. The angels were there on the third day when the foundations of the earth were laid, so the angels had to have been created on the first or second day.

The Scriptures also indicate that Lucifer's fall could not have happen before the creation week. Sin could not have entered into the realm of creation before the sixth day because "God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good " (Genesis 1:31).  "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them . And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. " (Genesis 2:1-2)

Satan's rebellion in heaven could not have taken place before the creation week for he was created that week, either on the first or second day, and he too was pronounced very good. "Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee." (Ezekiel 28:15) Satan's rebellion therefore must have taken place between the creation week and the temptation in the garden when he beguiled the woman to disobey the commandment of God.

Therefore the geological column with its record of death could not have been produced before the six days of creation, but had to happen sometime thereafter. Sin entered the heavenly realm when Satan fell, but sin and death entered Adams domain when he sinned. "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" (Romans 5:12).  " By man came death " (1Cor. 15:21), so there could not have been death in the world before Adam sinned. Neither of man, nor any of the animals or dinosaurs, etc.

After Adam sinned, God cursed the ground (Genesis 3:17) from which he was made (Genesis 2:7), and pronounced that he should return to the dust (Genesis 3:19, Eccl. 12:7) from which he was made. The animals were also created from the dust of the ground (Genesis 2:19); therefore the curse fell upon Adams dominion as well for his sake, for he was the head of the lower creation (Psalm 8:6-8). Therefore "the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly" Since then"the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now." (Romans 8:20, 22) Death passed not only upon man, but also upon the whole of creation because of Adams sin, so neither did the animals experience death and decay till Adam sinned.

Many Christians have erringly tried to accommodate the atheistic evolutionists by proposing their own theories such as the "Gap Theory", the "Day Age Theory", or "Theistic Evolution", but these theories discredit and do violence against God's Holy Word. The Gap Theorists would like to put something between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2 which is not there, trying to put some primeval judgment on the earth because of Satan's fall, resulting in death of which the fossil record is evidence, with no other plausible reason than accommodating the wicked. Peter warns us against these scoffers who would come in the last days, saying, "beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness." (2Peter 3:3, 17) Paul says "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." (Col. 2:8)

True Science

True science (Gr. Gnosis) is knowledge based on observable evidence. Funk and Wagnals dictionary defines science as follows: "Knowledge of facts, phenomenon, laws, and proximate causes, gained and verified by exact observation, organized experiment, and ordered thinking." No one has ever seen evolution happening, so it cannot be verified by observation or organized experiment. Therefore, science or knowledge apart from observation is a hypothesis or speculation that uses assumptions based on human logic, which are not really science but faith. Knowledge apart from observation is faith, which believes without the need of certain proof.  This is how it must be with creation also, because no one was there in the beginning. "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear." (Heb. 11:1-3)

We trust God and his word rather than the words of men. When God in Christ was making all things, he was there personified as wisdom (Proverbs 8:22-31). He was there in the beginning, and was before all things. He is called the "faithful and true witness" (Rev. 3:14) because he was THERE, and no one else living today was. He has seen all things, and knows all things. A witness is one who may testify because they have personally seen and know by their own presence. "A faithful witness will not lie" (Proverbs 14:5).

Harvey Williams who has a PhD in biology and is a science educator with the University of Manitoba's faculty of education says, "The whole notion of creation science – it's an oxymoron" "Willaims asserts that creationism is a matter of belief not science. Evolution, he says, can be researched and tested. The same cannot be done for creation science." "He also argues that creation science is only a Christian idea of creation, and a specific segment of Christianity at that. Williams points out that all the major Christian religions – Roman Catholic and major Protestant faiths – accept evolution, as do Hindus and Buddhists." (Free Press, July 10, 1995)

While Mr. Williams may be correct in saying evolution is accepted by most of Christendom and the Pagan religions, he is wrong when he says that evolution can be researched and tested, because first of all, no one has ever seen a new species evolve, and secondly, there is no evidence to support evolution because there is not one transitional form to be found in the fossil record between any of the kinds of species created.

Dr. Henry Morris observes that "many leading evolutionists have recognized the essentially "religious" character of evolutionism. Even though they themselves believe evolution to be true, they acknowledge the fact that they believe it! "Science", however, is not supposed to be something one "believes". Science is knowledge—that which can be demonstrated and observed and repeated. Evolution cannot be proved, or even tested; it can only be believed."

Where then did all the water go?

This has been a logical question that deserves a proper answer. If all the high mountains under the whole of heaven were covered in the great flood (Genesis 7:19-20), first of all, where did all the water come from, and secondly, where did all the water go? If we believe in the God of the Bible, we should have no reason to doubt that the Almighty could have just spoken, and a flood would sweep clean the earth. The Bible tells us "all the fountains of the great deep [were] broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened." (Genesis 7:11) So we have indicated to us that there were great aquifers or cisterns in the heart of the earth and that they were "broken up". Undoubtedly this would have caused great upheavals and much sedimentary deposition reconfiguring the face of the earth from any likeness it had before the flood. The Psalmist said when the floodwaters arose, the mountains did "shake" and were "carried into the midst of the seas" (Psalm 46:2-3). Job said that the waters "overturned the earth" (Job 12:15).

We are also told that the "windows of heaven were opened" and that it rained forty days and forty nights. One might question, Could that much water fall from the sky? We have never seen anything like it in our day, and if all the rain precipitated out of all the clouds in our atmosphere today, it would only amount to about 1-2 inches over the face of the earth. But in the beginning, on the first day of the creation week, God created the heavens and the earth, and the earth was without form and void and the earth was covered with water (Genesis 1:2). Then on the second day God divided the waters and made a firmament between the waters (Genesis 1:6-8). On the third day he caused dry land to appear out of the waters beneath the firmament and he called the dry land Earth (Genesis 1:9-13).

So before the flood there was a great body of water above the firmament or the atmosphere. This would have provided a much more uniform temperature and more stable climate than we have today. It would have caused a greenhouse effect that would have made the whole world more tropical. That this is true is evidenced by the mummified forests, with trees as high as 35 meters and stumps 2.5 meters round, that are "found in their original estate" on Axel Heiberg Island, Nunavut, above the Arctic Circle. In Maclean's Magazine (September 6, 1999), it says that these forests existed there due "to a lengthy warm spell", and because they are "in a polar deep freeze, the plants and trees have kept their original form and tissue". This could only have resulted due to the rapid freezing of the polar regions before they rotted away, which would have been the result when waters from above the firmament were precipitated reducing the greenhouse effect, subsequently causing the north and south poles to freeze over. There is also evidence of fossilized coral in some of the Polar Regions, which would necessitate warmer waters than are there today.

That there are large amounts of water frozen in the Polar Regions is evident by the concern the scientists of our day have with global warming. Some speculate that if the globe were to increase an average of 1-2 degrees, much of the polar ice would melt flooding many coastal cities. But that is not where the bulk of the water is today. Water covers 70% of our world with some of the oceans as deep as six miles. If the earth was smoothed out and the mountains leveled into the sea, the earth would be covered with water almost two miles deep. Where is the water from the flood? It is in the sea.

"Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever.  Thou 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." (Psalm 104:5-9)

After the flood the mountains ascended and the valleys descended, and the waters drained down by the valleys into the sea that was founded for them. That would explain the evidence of marine fossils and water-laid sediments at the summits of the highest mountains today.  God did set the bounds that the waters should not pass over to cover the earth again. "Fear ye not me? saith the LORD: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it?" (Jer. 5:22) "He hath compassed the waters with bounds, until the day and night come to an end" (Job 26:10).
 

What about the Big Bang?

In the medical field, aseptic techniques are used to prevent infection by pathogenic organisms. This is done either by chemical sterilization, but is usually done with an "autoclave", a device that subjects the instruments to 30 minutes of moist heat at 260 degrees F (127 C) and 20 pounds of pressure. This ensures the instruments to be free of any bacteria and microorganisms.

In the Big Bang theory, the universe and life itself is proposed to have been kick started by a Big Bang some 10-20 billion years ago. Within the first second, the proponents of the Big Bang theorize that the temperature was not only hot, it was very hot, 10 to the 19th power GeV (1 gigaelectron volt = 45,940,000,000,000,000 degrees F). Without trying to ridicule the scientific mind, we must reason that if 260 degrees F will destroy all organisms on surgical instruments, certainly 45,940,000,000,000,000 x 10 to the 19th power degrees F would do the same. To give an idea of just how hot this is, the surface of the Sun is 12,000 degrees F, and the outer atmosphere is around 1,000,000 degrees F. The Big Bang that is alleged to be 459,400,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 times hotter than the sun's atmosphere would certainly sterilize the whole universe and leave it void of any life, even if there was life before the Big Bang.

Big Bangs do not create life they bring death. How much life was created at Hiroshima or Nagasaki? The big bangs that took place there brought death, not life. But modern evolution starts with a Big Bang that states that all that existing particles evolved out of nothing. Then, from this dead matter evolved a single cell that eventually evolved into all life that exists today. So life or living organisms are said to have evolved from non-living chemicals. But the observable evidence that we have today is that life comes from life. Our offspring have life because we live, so we must conclude that all life ultimately comes from the living God for "we are the offspring of God" (Acts 17:29), made in His image. Yet those who deny the Creator's existence must believe evolution happen once upon a time.

The New Creation

There is one who sits on the throne who is worthy of all our worship and adoration, and his name is Jesus Christ. And one day in the future, according to his promise, he will create a new heavens and a new earth (Rev. 21:1). This time though, He will not take six days, but will create them in a moment. "And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.  And he said unto me, It is done." (Rev. 21:5-6)

There will be no sin there, for it is a place "wherein dwelleth righteousness" (2Peter 3:13). It is the place where there will be peace and joy, and pleasures forevermore (Psalm 16:11) because Jesus will be there. It is the place where the saints will dwell for eternity, because Christ loved them and washed them from their sins in His own blood. They will not be there because they have done good deeds, nor because they were baptized, nor for any other reason, but because Jesus Christ shed his precious blood for them, and they have taken Him to be their Savior.  In the blood of Christ alone there is merit. It is the blood of Christ alone that can turn back the wrath of God against the ungodly. "For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.  For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.  But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him." (Romans 5:6-9) When His blood was shed on Calvary's cross, it satisfied God's perfect justice against every sin-burdened soul, that man might find grace and acceptance and forgiveness through His beloved Son. It is on the cross of Christ that justice and mercy were brought together.

"Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:  Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood , to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus ." (Romans 3:24-26)

But there is yet another creation that is far more important today than a new heavens and earth, for that is at least a thousand years away. This new creation comes by a new birth. It is said about John Wesley that he preached again and again on one verse, "You must be born again." One who had heard him preaching ten and twenty times, got annoyed and said, "But Mr. Wesley, there are thousands of verses in the Bible. Why don't you change just once? Why do you always preach about this one verse?" Wesley replied, "Because you must be born again."

One must be born again; he must be made a new creature because the old nature is defiled with sin. Sin today is made to look glamorous, adventurous and fun, but if you do not recognize the hideousness of iniquity and its dreadful consequences, you are in extreme danger of perishing forever. Spurgeon described it like this, "The curse of God hangs over thee, and in a moment thou mayest be in Hell." "God is a just judge, and God is angry with the wicked every day." (Psalm 7:11) Yes God loves the sinner, but unrepentant sin will surely draw the wrath of God. Yes God is longsuffering not willing that any should perish. He is not willing that any die in their sins. He has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. But will you receive His Son. "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." (John 1:12-13)

When the apostle Paul went about preaching the gospel, the only thing that mattered to him was "a new creation" (Gal. 6:15), that a man be "created in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:10). He would tell us "by grace are ye saved through faith" (Eph. 2:8), and that "ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus." (Gal 3:26) This is what is important, a newborn child of God, a new creation in Christ. "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (2Cor. 5:17)

Only those who are directly created by God have the liberty to be called the sons of God. The angels are called the "son's of God" (Genesis 6:2, Job 1:6, 2:1, 38:7). Adam was called the "son of God" (Luke 3:38). If you have received Jesus Christ the Lord as your personal Savior, we may say with the apostle John, "Beloved, now are we the sons of God" (1John 3:2). And we may say with the prophet Isaiah, "But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we are the work of thy hand." (Isaiah 64:8)