How Old is the Earth?

There are two leading theories on the age of the earth: the old earth theory and the young earth theory. According to the old earth theory, the earth is about 4.54 billion years old. According to the young earth theory, the earth is about 6.5 thousand years old.

The Old Earth Theory

The old earth theory is highly based on the theory of evolution. The theory of evolution itself requires large lengths of time for evolution between species to take place. Hence, to believe in the theory of evolution, you have to believe in the old earth theory. To support this theory, scientists and researchers have used radiometric dating to measure the age of the earth. Early calculations came from William Thomson and other geologists. That is where they get their calculation of 4.54 billion years.

The Young Earth Theory

The young earth theory, on the other hand, is not based on the theory of evolution. Rather, it is based on the theory of creationism. In classical creationism, evolution has no place, because a supra-natural being created the universe in a short period of time - usually six days. The young earth theorists counter the methods that old earth theorists use to measure the age of the earth, saying that radiometric dating is inaccurate, because it too is based off the theory of evolution. In other words, the numbers of years are made up in radiometric dating to fit the large length of time evolution requires.

So then, which theory does the Bible support?

The Six-Day Creation

The Bible explains a majority of God's creative act in the first two chapters of the book of Genesis:

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.

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.

⁹ And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so. ¹⁰ God called the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters he called "seas." And God saw that it was good.

¹¹ Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so. ¹² The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. ¹³ And there was evening, and there was morning-the third day.

¹⁴ And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, ¹⁵ and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so. ¹⁶ God made two great lights-the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. ¹⁷ God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, ¹⁸ to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. ¹⁹ And there was evening, and there was morning-the fourth day.

²⁰ And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky." ²¹ So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. ²² God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth." ²³ And there was evening, and there was morning-the fifth day.

²⁴ And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. ²⁵ God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

²⁶ Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

²⁷ So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.

²⁸ God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."

²⁹ Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. ³⁰ And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground-everything that has the breath of life in it-I give every green plant for food." And it was so.

³¹ God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning-the sixth day. - (Genesis 1)

After God created light, the Bible states, "And there was evening, and there was morning - the first day." After God created the atmosphere, the Bible states, "And there was evening, and there was morning - the second day." After God created land, sea, and plants, the Bible states, "And there was evening, and there was morning - the third day." After God created the sun, moon, and the stars, the Bible states, "And there was evening, and there was morning - the fourth day." After God created sea creatures and sky creatures, the Bible states, "And there was evening, and there was morning - the fifth day." After God created land animals and humans, the Bible states, "And there was evening, and there was morning - the sixth day."

Are you noticing the pattern here? After each of God's creative acts, the Bible states immediately afterward that God had completed each creative act in one day. The fact that "there was evening, and there was morning" indicates that the word "day" refers to a period of 24 hours. Not only that, the repetition of the phrase, "And there was evening, and there was morning" shows that the author was giving great specificity and importance to the 24 hour period of one day.

The One-Day Sabbath

However, some Christian theologians believe that the word "day" does not refer to a 24 hour period. These theologians do not interpret the first two chapters of the book of Genesis literally or in a dispensational manner. This belief states that the word "day" refers to a very long period of time despite the phrase, "And there was evening, and there was morning." However, this interpretation of the word and the Bible is a complete fluke and mistake in Biblical interpretation.

Whenever we interpret the Bible, we must always look at what a verse is saying in either a literal sense or symbolic sense. Then we have to take that interpretation and compare it to the context of the verse. After adjusting our interpretation to the context, we must ask ourselves whether or not our interpretation makes sense with the Bible as a whole and its teachings.

There is no way that the word "day" does not refer to a 24 hour period. There is also no way that the word "day" refers to a thousand year period of time. That interpretation violates the context of the passage and contradicts the Bible as a whole. Let's read what God did after he finished his creative acts:

¹ Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.

² By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. ³ And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. - (Genesis 2:1-2)

After God finished his creative acts, the Bible states that God rested from his creative acts on the seventh day. Christians theologians recognize this as the first Sabbath. The people of God also recognized how God rested on the seventh day and adopted this day for rest and worship. Now, let me ask you a question: How come the people of God only celebrated the Sabbath for one day?

Think about it. If the word "day" refers to a period of something thousand years and not a 24 hour period, how come the people of God only celebrate the Sabbath for 24 hours? How come they don't celebrate the Sabbath for more than one day? They surely would have rested for as long God had rested!

The fact of the matter is this: the word "day" in the first two chapters of the book of Genesis refers to a period of 24 hours. And so, a correct interpretation of these passages leads us to accept the six-day creation. So then, the Bible supports the young earth theory. According to the Bible, there is absolutely no way that God took millions of years to create the universe.

"Age of Earth." Wikipedia.
"Young Earth Creationism." Wikipedia.