Greetings!
Let’s face it….dinosaurs and similar critters did exist but they certainly were not present at, near or in the Garden of Eden. How does this square with the Biblical account of creation in Genesis? The factual and simplest of explanations follow. Emphasis and parenthesis within the scriptures are mine throughout.
I am covering this subject to show that the Biblical account in Genesis (properly translated) is in perfect harmony with TRUE science and TRUE paleontology.
Rotherham’s Emphasized Bible (probably the most literal and accurate Bible in existence) translates Genesis 1:2 correctly :”Now, the earth HAD BECOME waste and wild, and darkness was on the face of the roaring deep”. This means that the earth had existed thousands, millions or even billions of years ago and probably had all sorts of creatures roaming and flying around. However, it then “BECAME” waste, wild (chaotic) and darkness…. BEFORE the present heavens and earth (and humans) came along in Genesis 1:1.
The Concordant literal translation of Genesis 1:2 has: “Yet the earth BECAME a chaos (disorder) and vacant.
Bullinger’s Companion Bible has “became waste”.
The exact same Hebrew word (“hayah”) translated “was” in verse 2 by the King James Version (as well as in most other versions) is actually translated “became” in Genesis 19:26. Go figure!!!
In all fairness, there are 3 definitions or renderings for “hayah”, and fortunately, Rotherham’s, Concordant and the Companion Bible chose the correct one for verse 2.
Aside from grammatical correctness, let’s consider this from a logical as well as scriptural approach:
1. The “chaos” (disorder), “waste” and “darkness” in verse 2 obviously had to get there somehow.
2. God would have had to put it there through Christ because “ALL things were made by Him; and without Him was NOT ANY THING made that was made.” (John 1:3; Colossians 1:15-17). Simply put: nothing exists unless Christ made it or put it there.
3. The problem here is : “God is not a God of disorder” (1 Corinthians 14:33….Strong’s Concordance has “disorder”, “confusion” and Darby has “disorder”).
In other words, chaos and disorder cannot come from God Himself (directly) nor Christ (directly). That is….They do NOT create “disorder”,”confusion” or “chaos”….it does NOT originate from Them. They always start with what they create as being “very good” (Genesis 1:31….Rotherham’s). It has to BECOME or degenerate to “waste”, “disorder” or “chaos” because They do not create it like that from the git-go.
(This is in line with the Second Law of Thermodynamics which dictates that order always disintegrates to disorder….never the reverse, as claimed by “evolution”. Please see the Post of “Creation vs Evolution”.)
This, then, is why Rotherham’s ,Concordant’s and Companion Bible’s translations are correct and reveals a prior existing earth that “became” disorder and waste. Then, in Genesis 1:1, God gave it a NEW MAKEOVER through Christ: our present heavens and earth!
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown Commentary has: “This globe, at some undescribed period, having been convulsed and broken up, was a dark and watery waste for ages perhaps, till out of this chaotic state, the present fabric of the world was made to arise.”
Which also means: Paleontology and the Bible (properly translated) have no conflict.
Take care.
Fred
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