Evidence from the Development of the Earth

This documentary is from the History Channel 2007. After watching it several times, I realized it seemed to match what Genesis 1 said about the development of the earth. The next time it was on, I opened my Bible and followed along with Genesis 1 and it reasonably matched what the Bible said about the sequence of the development of the earth. This is what started my endeavor to discover how science was now providing the evidence that there is a God and it is the God of the Bible. I bought a subscription to Nature journal to research science papers and see if there really is enough science to support the biblical sequence for the development of the earth. The papers I found are listed at the bottom of this page. The material below the documentary provides clarification and support for the evidence from the development of the earth. I encourage you to read through Genesis 1 while watching this documentary.

Can the Days in Genesis 1 Be Longer than 24 Hours?

YES – the days of Genesis 1 can be interpreted as being longer than 24 hours

Adam and Eve did not die within 24 hours of eating the forbidden fruit as they were told they would die on the “day” they ate it. This is the first indication that the word for Day in the creation account might be longer than a 24 hour day. Death still came into the world for people through one man just at Paul wrote while animal death had been occurring already. There was a reason the tree of life was needed in the Garden of Eden.
The Biblical Hebrew word for day “YOM” was the only word available to indicate a period of time – Biblical Hebrew has a small vocabulary. YOM has multiple uses/meanings including a “long period of time”.
Psalm 90:4 written by Moses and 2 Peter 3:8 both say that with the Lord, a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like a day. So a “day” can be a long period of time.
There are problems with using the genealogies in the Bible to date the earth and Adam and Eve – See Appendix. We are better off saying we don’t understand the genealogies than in saying the Big Bang is not the biblical creation of the universe from nothing because creation had to have happened some 6000+ years ago rather than 13.8 BYA.

Sequence of Earth’s Development in Genesis 1 Is Correct – as viewed from the earth’s surface

Day 1- God created the universe from nothing and then the earth

Earth (and Venus) formed (static electricity plus gravity) from space rock which has gases entrained in it (mostly carbon dioxide and water, with some nitrogen and other gases) which were “de-gassed” from the hot earth to form a thick, dark atmosphere with a surface covered in water just like Job 38: 8,9 describes.
The sun, moon, and stars are there but can’t be seen from the surface.
Read Genesis 1.

Earth was covered in water and covered in darkness (i.e. it was dark at the surface). Light appeared and the day/night cycle began – but the atmosphere was not clear. Science has determined the early atmosphere of mostly Carbon Dioxide was thinned by reacting with the water and crust to form most of earth’s limestone – thus letting light get to the surface for the first time.
Venus still has its thick Carbon Dioxide atmosphere (mass is 93 x Earth atmosphere) and the same Nitrogen content as earth atmosphere. It is also still dark at the surface of Venus today but it’s water never condensed to from oceans – too close to sun. It has lost all its water since formation due to cosmic rays destroying the water vapor. Venus is essentially a “stillborn” Earth.

Day 2

As the air pressure dropped and the earth cooled, some of the water evaporated and created an overcast, cloudy sky – the water cycle began. The sky is not clear. Earth science indicates earth still very warm (about 150F) driving the evaporation. The heat is likely from multiple sources.

Day 3

The land did indeed rise from the oceans and some form of life (slime) on the land began – the sky is still covered in haze due the volcanic gases from the land creation and the earth is still warm – reference Psalm 104:5-9. Blue Green algae are making oxygen which produces an ozone layer. Before the sky clears there is evidence of plants.

Day 4

The earth finally cools enough and land creation slows so the atmosphere clears and the sun, moon, and stars can be seen from the surface for the first time. A couple of global ice ages happen. After a while, Oxygen levels rise in the atmosphere from photosynthesis setting the stage for complex life. Fossil evidence of seed bearing plants is not until the period for Day 5, but the ice ages may have affected fossil deposition.

Day 5

The Avalon and Cambrian explosions of life happen with complex sea creatures appearing first. The period ends with the feather covered surviving dinosaurs called Birds.

Day 6

Mammals and finally man appears. DNA analysis supports the very recent appearance of man possibly from only one man and woman. That’s as far as DNA analysis can go. Archeology finds first evidence for man in the near east along the Red Sea – very close to where the Garden of Eden is presumed to have been at the bottom of current day Persian Gulf.
This sequence of earth’s development in Genesis 1 is strongly supported by earth science. Genesis 1 is written from the point of view of the earth’s surface.
There are over 200 cultures that refer to a flood event survived by a small family group in a boat. The ancient Sumerian texts refer to their kings living to a thousand years before the flood but their age reduces quickly and dramatically after the flood.

Creation Days as estimated by Science

Creation of the Universe – 13.8 BYA
Sun created 4.6 BYA
Earth created – 4.55 BYA
End of Day 1, Start Day 2 – Estimated 3.8 BYA – first evidence for bacterial life so light is getting to surface
End of Day 2, Start Day 3 – 3.2 BYA – the beginning of Plate Tectonics/land formation
End of Day 3/Start Day 4 – 1 BYA – Plants evidence is 1.2 BYA, land formation slows about 1 BYA to let sky clear
End of Day 4/Start Day 5 – 575 MYA – Avalon and Cambrian explosion of life
End of Day 5/Start Day 6 – 65 MYA – Feather covered dinosaurs called birds survive extinction event
End of Day 6/Start Day 7 - ??? 50,000 -150,000 years ago for first humans.

Can we use the Genealogies to Date Adam and Eve and the age of the earth? – Likely Not

The Genealogies in Genesis have been used to date when Adam and Eve were created as well as how old the earth is. This is the basis for Young Earth Creationism. They were never intended to be used in this manner. They indicated significant people in the line from Adam through Abraham.
Some scholars have argued the Hebrew words used for the genealogies allow for more time to have passed between generations identified. The generations listed are only the notable ones.
The Genealogies in Genesis indicate that Noah’s father Lamech was born 55 years before Adam died and that Methuselah died the year of the flood. The narrative seems to indicate that much more time had passed and that the memory of the Garden of Eden and of God had been almost forgotten.
The Genealogies indicate that Noah’s son Shem, Abraham’s great-great -great-great-great-great-great grandfather outlived Abraham – which does not make much sense.
The Genealogy in Luke indicates that the real son of Arphaxad was left out of the Genesis genealogy
The Genealogy in Luke provides only 10 generations to cover the 800+ years from when the Israelites entered Egypt to the time David was born. Even if each Father was 40 when he first had a son, that only covers 400 years.

Luke Genealogy for the 800+Years from Entering Egypt to David

Creation Week Science Sources

Anyone willing to spend $200-$300 dollars on books and a subscription to Nature.com can confirm the science is real in a few dozen hours.

Day 1

The Cosmic Jackpot. Paul Davies, 2007, Orion Productions
Why the Universe is the Way it is. Hugh Ross, 2008, Baker Books – from Reasons to Believe
“The Runaway Greenhouse and the Accumulation of CO2 in the Venus Atmosphere”, S.I. Rahool and C. DeBergh, Institute for Space Studies, Goddard Flight Center, NASA, New York; Nature Vol 226, June 13, 1970, pgs 1037-1039.
Drake, M. J. & Righter, K. Determining the composition of the Earth. Nature 416, 39–44 (2002).
Raymond, S. N., Quinn, T. & Lunine, J. I. High-resolution simulations of the final assembly of Earth-like planets I. Terrestrial accretion and dynamics. Icarus 183, 265–282 (2006)
Guillermo Gonzalez, Donald Brownlee, and Peter Ward, “The Galactic Habitable Zone: I. Galactic Chemical Evolution,” Icarus (2001), pre-press.
Robin M, Canup, “Lunar-forming Collisions with Pre-Impact Rotation,” Icarus 196 (August 2008): 518*538
Seth A. Jacobson, Alessandro Morbidelli, Sean N. Raymond, David P. O'Brien, Kevin J. Walsh & David C. Rubie; Highly siderophile elements in Earth’s mantle as a clock for the Moon-forming impact; Nature 508, 84–87 (03 April 2014)
Linda T. Elkins-Tanton and Sara Seager, “Ranges of Atmospheric Mass and Composition of Super-Earth Exoplanets,” Astrophysical Journal 685 (October 1, 2008)
The Birth Environment of the Solar System; Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics; Vol. 48: 47-85 (Volume publication date September 2010)
Fred C. Adams and Gregory Laughlin, “ Constraints on the Birth Aggregate of the Solar System,” Icarus 150 (2001): 151-156
J.D. Gilmour and C.A. Middleton,”Anthropic Selection of a Solar System with a High 26Al/27Al Ratio: Implications and a Possible Mechanism,” Icarus 201 (June 2009): 821-823
Keiichi Wada, Eiichiro Kokubo, and Junichiro Makino, “High-Resolution Simulations of a Moon-Forming Impact and Postimpact Evolution,” Astrophysical Journal 638 (February 20, 2006): 1180–86.
Joel Baker, Martin Bizzarro, Nadine Wittig, James Connelly & Henning Haack; Early planetesimal melting from an age of 4.5662 Gyr for differentiated meteorites; Nature 436, 1127-1131 (25 August 2005)
Hidenori Genda1,2 & Yutaka Abe, Enhanced atmospheric loss on protoplanets at the giant impact phase in the presence of oceans; Nature 433, 842-844 (24 February 2005)
H. J. Melosh Planetary science: The history of air Nature 424, 22-23 (3 July 2003)
Kevin J. Walsh; Asteroids: When planets migrate; Nature 457, 1091-1093 (26 February 2009)
Kevin J. Walsh, Alessandro Morbidelli, Sean N. Raymond, David P. O'Brien & Avi M. Mandell; A low mass for Mars from Jupiter’s early gas-driven migration; Nature 475, 206–209 (14 July 2011)