I was recently asked a question after telling a client that roaches were some 350 million years old & that the springtail is thought to be the oldest dating back some 407 million years. The reply I got came with a puzzled look and she asked inquisitively.
“How does that line up with the Bible? How can insects be so old when Adam & the beginning of Genesis is not?
After all, since you’re telling me SCIENCE could prove beyond a doubt that the earth was more than 400 million years old while from what I understand, Genesis of the Bible is only 6 to 9 thousand years old.
(estimates vary)
So, this being a pest control article, I thought you might be interested to know what I told my client. Here was my answer.
NOTE: My client came at this with an honest question & truly considered my reply. I could give a rat’s pa-tootie about what politicians, media or scoffers think who look for fault and to tear down. Those folks will never get it, regardless of how it’s presented. I do however care for truth. I know that Gods Word is true & science, true science is based in fact and is true. So if the Bible is right–if science is right–then there can be no schism at all. There must be room for the springtail in both.
Why The Springtail?
The simple answer is because it’s thought to be the oldest insect and far older than any caveman or dinosaur. Certainly MILLIONS of years before Adam and Eve. So why not go to the extreme so as to leave no doubt.
How We Date Adam-The First Man
Jesus Christ was born 77 generations after Adam, which is a period of approximately 4,000 years (Luke 3:23-38).
Jesus Christ was born approximately 2,000 years ago.
Therefore Adam was formed made and created approximately 6,000 years ago.
So c’mon, roaches, dinosaurs, silverfish, plants and even cavemen all out date the best estimates of Genesis and yet we read in Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Then the record goes on to list everything he made from great whales to the sun and the moon. But nowhere in the record do we find anything written specifically about dinosaurs (which we know to be true), cavemen (which we know to be true), 350 million year old roaches, mosquitoes trapped in million year old amber preserved for all eyes to see and nothing, absolutely nada, to suggest a 407 million year old springtail.(which we also know to be true) He does mention in verse 25 “everything that creepeth” so I’m thinking maybe he made some more bugs here but our dilemma still is that the math doesn’t add up.
Then in Gen 2:4 we find– These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created. (notice the ‘s’) So that verse sums it up…that’s it.
Well, if that don’t beat all. According to our best science and what we read in the holiest of of holy books–one source appears not to be factual. Science and the Bible seem to be at odds. (cue the scoffers– call in the dogs– well, hold off on that)
Unsophisticated and ordinary answers always seem to confound the wisest among us & this answer is no different. For those who have a thirst for truth, a simple google search for similar verses should have raised our attention when we compare…
Genesis 1:2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep…
with
Isaiah 45:18 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.
“Without form” (tohu) in Gen 1:2 is the same word used in Isaiah’s “not in vain” (tohu) One verse says ‘was‘ and another says was not‘..hmmmm..
To get to the bottom of this you should understand there is no verb “to be” in the original Hebrew or Aramaic languages. There was a verb “to become.” But the words “is,” “are,” “was,” and “were” literally were not in the original text. So the word “was” in verse one is simply a mistranslation and boy what a difference that tiny error made.
To see this for yourself simply try the google translator for Hebrew & Aramaic with the words ‘was’ and then type in ‘became’ and see the results.
This becomes most important because Gen 1:1,2 would now read… In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. “and the earth BECAME void and without form”.
He didn’t create it that way. It isn’t that it “was” without form and void when He created it. In other words “in the beginning God created the heavens and earth–STOP-Whatever God created at this point, He doesn’t say, what was in the original creation, He doesn’t say—THEN something happened, something cataclysmic because verse 2 says, “it became without form and void and darkness was upon the face of the deep.”
Note: (the second ‘was in verse one’ is in italics in the King James version–this means it was added by the translators–it’s not in the original and therefore should be deleted. Also-there were originally no verses in the originals. No chapters, no punctuation whatsoever. It was all ‘running hand’ so punctuation etc. has no authority when rightly dividing (studying), that too was added later by man.)
So logically, there is a time period in between these statements. How much time? I don’t know & the word doesn’t say. What was the earth like when it was created in Gen 1:1 and what was in it?–beats me, the Bible doesn’t declare it here. But could there be a cave man? A dinosaur? A 400 million old springtail? The answer is yes. Consider too that in Gen 1:28 God instructs Adam to “be fruitful & multiply and “replenish” the earth. You can’t “replenish” if it’s for the first time right? It first has to be ‘plenished.’ This indicates something was there before– the word “replenish was also used in Gen 9:1 where God told Noah the same exact words AFTER the flood…be fruitful and multiply and “replenish” the earth. And we know why that was.
So, I said to my customer, “you see there is no discrepancy with science and the Word of God. It fits together like a hand in a glove if we’ll just read what’s written and let it speak for itself.”
Well, I’m not sure if my client accepted this or not to be truthful…..it’s kind of a cardinal sin in business to speak about God and politics so I left her with her thoughts. I guess I’ll do the same with you except I’ll ask you to consider this. God isn’t hiding behind a 407 million year old springtail. He never denies true science nor all the wonderful discoveries His man has made in our short existence. He only asks that you don’t deny Him. Else why would he exhort you in this way?
Prov 6:6 Go to the ant thou sluggard: consider her ways, and be wise.
