[1] God: Creation, Angels and Demons

[8] God: Creation, Angels and Demons

28. When was the universe created? Are the days in Gen 1 twenty-four hours?

a. Archbishop Ussher in 1654 was dated creation in 4004 BC. However, there are genealogical gaps (e.g. Gen 11:12 missing Cainan as recorded in Lk 3:36) because in Hebrew, "begat" or "son" may mean "in the line of descent", sometimes the omission is deliberate (Mt 1:11). As a result, others dated creation at about 8000 to 10,000 years ago. b. Age of the Earth: Based on radiometric method of dating, in particular using uranium, the age of the Earth is estimated to be 2 to 6 billion years. However, if other methods of dating are used, such as salinity of oceans, radioactive carbon 14, cosmic dust, sedimentary rocks, the results are very different, from a minimum of 10,000 years to a maximum of 100 million years. c. In the Bible, the word "day" (Heb. yom) has a broad range of meaning (day in Gen 1:5; year in Gen 41:1; period of time in Ps 50:15; Zec 4:10) although the common usage is for an ordinary day. d. Three theories of creation:

Creation with age	Gap theory	Day-age theory
literal days, creation 6,000 to 10,000 years ago; Great Flood as a major factor (flood geology)	literal days, original world corrupted by sin from Satan; a large gap between Gen 1:1 and 1:2; Gen 1:2-2:4 describes re-creation	days equivalent to epochs of very long periods, creation billion years ago; Gen 1:1 creation of universe included sun and moon; 1:2 from perspective of the earth
ARGUMENTS FOR Adam was created already as a young man evidence for the coexistence of man & dinosaurs lack of accuracy of dating evidences of catastrophism (not uniformitarianism) in the past, geologic changes could happen in a short time Sabbath day (Ex 20:9-11) imitates 7th day in creation. repeated mention of evening and morning	Gen 1:2, 2:7 the word "was" should be translated as "became" Is 45:18 "empty" same word as "empty" in Gen 1:2 (Heb. tohu, bohu); Is 34:11, Jer 4:23 words "chaos", "desolation", "formless", "empty" all relate to judgment; possibly the result of corruption of the original world 1:21, 1:27 word "created" only for animals & man, others words mean "made" (indicating renewal) 1:28 "replenish"= fill over again	prima facie (Latin, at first sight) view: 1:1-2:4 only describe chronological order Ps 90:4, 2Pe 3:8 -- 1000 years=1 day, God’s time scale "yom" can mean a period of time "evening" (not night) and morning can mean: This epoch had its gradual beginning and gradually merged into the epoch which followed Buswell: presently still in the 7th day (Ps 95:11, my rest; Heb 4:9, God’s Sabbath is still coming) can accommodate theistic evolution
ARGUMENTS AGAINST cannot explain fossils (due to flood?) no evidence of worldwide flood deny all dating methods no 24-hour days before the sun was created	Were there humans in the first creation (none of pre-Adam fossils are human)? If not, why was man not part of the first universe? too much emphasis was put on the word "made"	Is long time needed? Was man created separately? What about Adam, did he live a long time in the 6th day?

29. Who are the angels?

a. Origin of angels: (the word "angel" means "messenger")

Angels were created as holy beings (Mk 8:38) by God (Col 1:16) before the creation of the Earth (Job 38:7). Some are good, holy, and elect (Mk 8:38; Lk 9:26; 2Co 11:14; 1Ti 5:21; Rev 14:10); some angels are fallen and evil (Eze 28:18; Mt 25:41; Jn 8:44; 2Pe 2:4; Jude 6).

b. Nature of angels:

Angels have personality expressed by intellect (1Pe 1:12), emotion (Job 38:7), and will (Isa 14:12-15). They are normally invisible (Col 1:16) but have appeared to people (Gen 18:1-8; Da 10:5-6).
They are greater in intelligence, strength, and swiftness (2Pe 2:11), not subject to physical death (Lk 20:36). However, glorified man will judge angels (1Co 6:3).
Two angels are mentioned by name: Gabriel (Da 8:16; 9:21; Lk 1:19,26), archangel Michael (Da 10:13,21; Jude 9; Rev 12:7).
Words describing angels (including fallen ones): principalities, powers, thrones, dominions (Eph 1:21; 3:10; Col 1:16; 2:10; 1Pe 3:22); likely designate different ranks among the angels.

c. Work of holy angels:

Worship, praising God continually (Ps 103:20; Isa 6:3; Rev 4:6-11; 5:11)
Bear special revelations and messages of God (Da 9:21-23; Zec 1:14; Ps 103:20; Lk 1:19,26)
Execute God’s judgments on His enemies (Gen 19:1,13; Ex 12:13,23; 2Ki 19:35; Mt 13:41)
Serve believers by revealing (Ac 7:52-53; Gal 3:19), guiding (Ac 8:26; 10:1-8; 11:13-14), protecting (Dan 6:20-23), delivering (Ac 5:17-20; 12:5-10), strengthening and encouraging (Ac 5:19-20), attending upon the dead (Lk 16:22, Jude 9)
Watch over believers (Ps 34:7; 35:4-5; 91:11; Isa 63:9); protect little children (Mt 18:10)
Communicate blessings to God’s people (Ps 91:11-12; Isa 63:9; Da 6:22; Ac 5:19)

30. Who is Satan? Who are the demons? a. Satan’s fall:

Satan, evidently one of the princes among the angels, became the recognized head of the angels that fell away (Mt 25:41; 9:34; Eph 2:2). Isa 14:12-17 and Eze 28:1-19 likely also describe Satan.
Names: Satan (52 times in Bible, Zec 3:1; Rev 12:9, meaning adversary or opposer), Lucifer (Is 14:12, a shining one in his original state), Devil (Lk 4:2,13, meaning slanderer or one who trips up), old serpent (Rev 12:9), great dragon (Rev 12:3,7,9), the evil one (Jn 17:15, 1Jn 5:18), destroyer (Rev 9:11), tempter (Mt 4:3; 1Th 3:5), accuser (Rev 12:10), deceiver (Rev 12:9; 20:3)
Satan’s fall was his sin of pride and his aspiration to divine authority (2Th 2:4): "I will make myself like the Most High" (Isa 14:14)

b. Origin of demons:

Demons are most likely evil angels who followed Satan in his defection, numbered as many as one-third of all angels (Rev 12:4; Mt 25:41).

c. Work of demons:

Oppose God: promoting rebellion (2Th 2:3-4; Rev 16:14), slandering God (Gen 3:1-5), slandering men (Job 1:9,11; Zec 3:1; Ro 8:33), promoting idolatry (Lev 17:7; Dt 32:17; Ps 96:4-5; Isa 65:11)
Oppress mankind: causing injury and death (Job 1:12,16,19; 2:7), distracting from the truth (2Co 4:3-4; 1Ti 4:1-4; 1Jn 4:1-4), causing physical ailments (Mt 12:22; Lk 13:11-17; Mt 17:15-18; Mk 9:20); possessing individuals (Ac 8:9-24; 13:8-11; 16:16-19)
Oppose the saints: tempting to sin (1Ch 21:1-8), inflicting maladies (2Co 12:7); creating divisions through false teachers (1Ti 4:1), opposing the truth (2Ti 3:8), causing persecution (Rev 2:8-10)
Demon possession: no Christian who is walking with God and obeying God’s Word can become demon possessed because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Where Christians have been possessed, they have been involved in occult or demonic things with their own volition.