WTS explanation of how old the earth is

by undercover 27 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  undercover

  I grew up as a JW believing that each creative day was a thousand years each. Man was created on the seventh day and man's existence on earth was supposed to have been six thousand years back in 1975.

  However, this WT article on reconciling science and the Bible says something different that I never picked up on in my later years as a JW. (I guess I blocked it out better than I thought)

  For example, when we understand that the Bible uses the term "day" to represent various periods of time, we see that the account of the six creative days in Genesis need not conflict with the scientific conclusion that the age of the earth is about four and a half billion years. According to the Bible, the earth existed for an unstated period before the creative days began. (See the box "The Creative Days—24 Hours Each?") Even if science corrects itself and suggests a different age for our planet, the statements made in the Bible still hold true. Instead of contradicting the Bible, science in this and many other cases actually provides us with voluminous supplemental information about the physical world, both present and past.

  The "box" comment: Some fundamentalists claim that creationism rather than evolution explains pre-human history. They assert that all physical creation was produced in just six days of 24 hours each sometime between 6,000 and 10,000 years ago. But in doing so, they promote an unscriptural teaching that has caused many to ridicule the Bible.

  Okay, was I confused when I thought (as a JW) that the earth was only several thousand years old? Are there any publications that actually say that a creative day was a thousand years? Are there any that claim that the earth is only thousands of years old and not millions? Did I sleep through every meeting I ever went to?

  Also, according to this WT teaching the earth rock could have existed for millions of years before God decided to press ahead with his "creative days". How does that explain fossils that are millions of years old if he didn't create the flying/land creatures until what ever "creative day" he created them?

  Any links to past publication quotes would be appreciated. I'd like to learn a little more on the evolution of the creation doctrine (pun intended).
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  Finally-Free

  When I was a JW I was under the impression that each "creative day" was 7,000 years in length, and that Adam and Eve were created near the end of the 6th "creative day". Don't the JWs believe we're currently in the 7th day of rest, and that the "millenial reign" begins at the 6,000 year mark of the seventh day? (not the 6,000th anniversary of Adam's creation - that's how they got 1975). As I understood it, the end of the millenium coincided with the end of the seventh day of rest, and then Jesus would hand it all back to Jehovah.

  I never heard of a 1,000 year long "creative day".

  W
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  undercover

  I never heard of a 1,000 year long "creative day".

  I may not be remembering it correctly. Maybe I'm getting the "thousand years as a day" rule mixed up with the "seven thousand years as a day rule".

  Even at 7,000 years per each creative day, that's still only 49,000 years, of which, as you indicated, we haven't reached the end of the seventh day as of yet, so we're less than 50,000 years from the creation of everything on the earth, but not the earth itself? Per the WTS, right?
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  Finally-Free

  I may not be remembering it correctly.

  You never know, it may depend on when we heard it from them. A few weeks ago I read a book Catholics use to refute JWs, but it's fairly old, and it said JWs believed in a 1,000 year long creative day, and that was actually the first I heard of it - it referred a lot to the "let god be true" book, which I don't have. This may be another example of "increasing light™".

  I think their "Creation" book goes into it a bit, but I was taught that the earth was here for billions of years before the "creative days" began.

  W
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  undercover

  "let god be true" book

  I remember that book. I might even have a copy of it. I'll have to dig it out and look at it.
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  sir82

  But in doing so, they promote an unscriptural teaching that has caused many to ridicule the Bible

  Umm, hate to state the obvious, but....

  In teaching that the creative days were exactly 7000 years long, wasn't the society effectively saying that all plant and animal life were less than 50,000 years old, which, oh, I don't know, could be construed as "an unscriptural teaching that has caused many to ridicule the Bible"?

  The article cited above completely ignores the fact that belief in literal 7000 year long creative days was an offical doctrine taught well into the 80's (and still believed by many many old-timers who may not have noticed that the figure is not used any more).

  Who was the poster who described the Society as having "cunning to burn"? The above article is a shining example of this.
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  DannyHaszard

  n teaching that the creative days were exactly 7000 years long,

  50,000 years,that's what i was taught since 1957 they accept that the geological age of the earth is billions but all life less than 50K
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  Shining One

  Did you not notice that the Watchtower article is (typically) lacking in any Hebrew language arguments? Like everything else they ignore the important facts that show why fundamentalists argue for the literal 24 hour day creation. This is exactly what the Bible claims. The Watchtower tries to 'weasel out' of the facts as they do not at all have the faith to accept the Biblical teaching. Right or wrong, that's what it teaches. Live with it!
  This is even worse than the old 'one day equals a thousand years' concept, which is what they based the 1975 false prophecy on...
  Rex
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  garybuss

  Since 1950 I've heard Jehovah's Witnesses claim creation was days of 24 hours, days of one thousand years, days of seven thousand years, and according to the Reasoning book and a recent Watchtower magazine, days of billions of years. I think it's just a reflection of their general competency. Don't believe these people. They're unreliable.
  
  
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  undercover

  I've heard Jehovah's Witnesses claim creation was days of 24 hours, days of one thousand years, days of seven thousand years, and according to the Reasoning book and a recent Watchtower magazine, days of billions of years.

  Is there anything in the publications that shows where they claimed either the 24 hour day, the 1000 year day or even the 7000 year day? I'd love to compare them.

  So maybe I wasn't so far off on the 1000 year day. Maybe it changed sometime in my life and I slept through that new light WT study.