Reputation Points: 35
7000 years each: Six days of "creation" or six days of "conversion"?
I'm sure some have heard this before. Basically, when Hebrews speaks of yet another "sabbath" within the sabbath day of rest and that is applied to the millennium of 1000 years, then that means each creative day must have been 7000 years each. But having noted that, some get confused over the words of Genesis 1 in relation to precisely what is going on, creation wise.
How so? Because many think when God said, "Let there be light" it meant that he created the Sun at that point. But this would conflict with the previous statement that "in the beginning" God created the heavens and earth. Further, it describes the earth as being a place of a watery void. So the earth and, therefore, the sun and other planets were already in existence before the six creative days began. That's why they probably should not be called "creative" days as much as "conversion days" since what occurs during that time is the conversion of a lifeless planet into an incredible biosphere.
Thus including the above facts, what is happening during those six creative days?
Well, when God said, "Let there be light" it did not mean he created the sun at this point. The sun was already in existence, likely for billions of years already. What occurred is that God picked out the Sun and then moved the earth to the vicinity of that star so that light and warmth came from that star in preparation for life! Not too close and not too far.
When it says the light did not reach the surface of the watery deep, it meant there were thick clouds surrounding the earth. When it says there was a division between the waters above and below, it meant the vast water vapors surrounding the planet were separated from the surface of the waters and collected high above the earth, condensed into a clear water canopy and then frozen, creating a glass house atmosphere for the earth. The earth looked like a beautiful planet encased in a glass bubble.
When it speaks of making the lesser luminaries of the night compared to the greater luminary of the day, it meant that the other planets were collected from all over the universe, each beautiful and unique in its own right and then placed in the Sun's orbit. These distinct planets could be seen from the surface of the earth and, indeed, can be used for creating timekeeping! Thus the solar system is like a precision clock. Even now we find ancient astronomical texts that tell us the position of the various planets on a certain lunar day and we can tell precisely what year is in reference!!! That's because the combination of the various orbits in relation with the day of the year creates a unique signature that is not duplicated for sometimes thousands of years!
In fact, astronomy is what we can use to correct the timeline. Revisionists could have simply redated some events and introduced a new eclipse reference if they wanted to, not mentioning anything about the original event. But they don't. They didn't just revise the history, therefore, but left clues to what the original event did. Because of that, we realize the original timeline can be recovered. A good example is the most famous solar eclipse in ancient history, the predicted Thales eclipse.
Thales predicted a solar eclipse over Ionia that made him famous. Scientists will tell you quite readily that they don't know how he did this, though they allow for some type of predictable solar eclipse pattern that the ancients might have known about, based upon previous phenomena. But they don't know specifically which pattern that might have been. Generally, though, they claim Thales could not have predicted that eclipse.
Turns out, indeed, there is a very famous predicted eclipse that occurs in the Assyrian eponym! That is a pattern of successive solar eclipses occuring over the same longitudes that begin from the South Pole and graduate to the North Pole, about 500 miles or so farther north each time. That means any given location can see three of these eclipses. These eclipses occur every 54 years and 1 month apart. Thus once you experience the first two eclipses, you can predict both the location and date of the third. To make a long story short, once the timeline was revised, the Thales eclipse was displaced. It now is thought to occur in 585 BCE, which is during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II. The eclipse described by Herodotus, though, occurs during the reign of Nabonidus. Nabonidus was only active on the throne for 2 years before letting his son, Belshazzar take over. Of course, the 585 BCE eclipse does not fit this unique pattern of solar eclipses. But when you correct the timeline so that the 1st of Cyrus falls in 455 BCE then the predictable eclipse occurs within the first 2 years of the reign of Nabonidus. Cyrus ends a 20-year rulership over Persia before beginning his rule over Babylon. He begins that rule in the 6th year of Nabonidus, thus his 20-year rule begins in 475 BCE. That means Nabonidus begins his 2-year rule in 480/479 BCE.
So was the Thales predicted eclipse bogus? Turns out not. Because in early 478 BCE we find a predictable eclipse that occurs over Ionia! We also learn that Thales studied astronomy in Egypt! Thus it was the Egyptians who would have told them about the eclipse over Ionia. The Egyptians would have been aware of this, not by calculation but by experiencing a solar eclipse 54 years and 1 month earlier over Egypt. So the Egyptians merely told Thales about the upcoming eclipse in 478 BCE based on the eclipse they experienced in 532 BCE over their region. Ionia is about 500 miles north of Egypt. The context of this event was that Thales "warned" the Ionians about that eclipse. That's because Ionia was Greek and where he came from. When the eclipse event occurred, then Thales became famous for predicting this eclipse. But he didn't really predict the eclipse, he just warned about it based on what the Egyptians told him.
But, of course, this confirms the Thales eclipse was not only predicted but predicted during the 2-year window of when Nabonidus was active on the throne! Now whether one is able to know enough about the history of this period to realize that 455 BCE, indeed, was the original year 1 of Cyrus or not, for those following that timeline, we can include that predictable eclipse during the reign of Nabonidus per Herodotus! Herodotus, in fact, may have purposely included that specific eclipse to date for us the original rule of Nabonidus! In the meantime, where the eclipse in 585 BCE is dated works in no way shape or form, beginning with it not being a predictable eclipse, not occurring over Ionia, nor occurring during the reign of Nabonidus.
So God's purpose for the planets with respect to timekeeping works wonders! Those who want to hold on to the revised chronology that date the fall of Jerusalem to 586 BCE, though there is so much evidence this is a revised date, now have to claim the Thales eclipse story is bogus, since 585 BCE doesn't match that eclipse reference. On the other hand, when you trust the Bible and have the correct timeline, turns out Thales did predict this eclipse, and not by some magical incantation, but by hard astronomy out of Egypt! Everything matches: the year of the king, the predictability, the location! Everything matches the true 455 BCE timeline, and nothing matches the revised timeline.
But again, this demonstrates, based on the nature of the planets in the solar system and particularly with eclipses linked to historical events, that, indeed, the planets, sun and moon in relation to the earth do act as timekeepers!
It's amazing! This proves there is a God and that the solar system meets its purpose of design, which was for timekeeping! In the meantime, you have scientists who don't know what they are talking about making false statements that influence people. God designed the solar system for timekeeping and it does so amazingly!