Something that used to puzzle me about the biblical account of Adam and Eve concerns archeological information that appears to contradict it. Neanderthals have been dated to last roam the Earth some 28,000 years ago.1 The older specimens found have been dated at 250,000 years old.2 I can already hear a plethora of creationists shouting at me, questioning the validity of these dates and the authenticity of the actual specimens that have been found, but for these creationists I simply request that they bare with me for a moment. I base my beliefs on the biblical text more than the words of any scientist, and I further don't believe in evolution, so please keep reading.
Cro-Magnon, what appear to be the newer model of homo sapiens, overlapped Neanderthal some 30,000 years ago, a time when both coexisted, then Cro-Magnon eventually replaced the Neanderthal altogether.3 No one knows exactly why the Neanderthal disappeared, since there is no evidence of war among the two classifications of homo sapiens. They just disappeared. But the puzzle with all these dates and differing skeletal structures is obvious to anyone familiar with the Biblical timeline. Adam and Eve were not created 250,000 years ago, or even 28,000 years ago.
Biologists have a date classification system that categorizes dates into eons, which range in the billions of years, such as the Hadean, Archean, Proterozoic, and Phanerozoic eons. Within eons are eras, which range in the hundreds of millions of years, and finally periods, which again are millions of years.4 Each division is used to define lines of demarcation for types of fossils and geographic events in Earth's ancient history.
Theologians, likewise, have a date classification system, but it encompasses only one category called a dispensation, which defines periods of social structures. The first and by far the longest dispensation is the dispensation of angels. It began in Genesis 1:1, when God first created the heavens and the Earth, and then created the first social structure made up of angels. Interestingly, the Bible never mentions in the book of Genesis exactly when angels were created, but only infers that they were long in existence before humanity, because when Satan makes his first appearance in Genesis 3:1, he's a fallen angel.
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Other passages of scripture that speak of Satan's history prior to his fall, such as Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 reveal that Satan once had a throne, and walked in the Garden of Eden, (a place only known to exist on Earth). When he rebelled against God, he deceived one third of all the angels and led an invasion into the highest heaven, where God the Father's throne is. He was defeated, and his kingdom was destroyed. Since scripture states in Hebrews 12:22 that the number of angels is innumerable, it should go without saying that Satan's fall from glory, wide spread deception of one third of the innumerable angels, and rebellion against God, took more than the little amount of time that it took Adam and Eve to have their first child, Cain, mentioned in Genesis 4:1. Even before Lucifer rebelled, there's no telling how long the angels dwelt in a peaceful existence in harmony with each other, and with God.
Those who hold to the young Earth theory espoused by creationists may find any statements supporting an old Earth difficult to swallow, despite the fact that it's difficult to assess when the angels were created within a six day construct. Indeed, people who say they believe in the Bible, yet straddle the fence with doctrines like evolution, which is commonly linked with old Earth theories, clearly don't understand the Bible in my opinion. It should be noted, however, that there is more than one old Earth theory, and the theory that I espouse does not violate scripture by accepting any notion of evolution. In short, I believe the initial creation of the heavens and the Earth was complete in its entirety in Genesis 1:1, and the gap in time between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2 could have lasted billions of years.
The events following from Genesis 1:2 through Genesis 2:25 are a literal six days, but I believe they are a re-creation of the Earth into a habitable state, rather than an original creation from nothingness. I believe this not because of a reliance on the words of scientists, but because of the actual Greek and Hebrew words of scripture, which I've studied in depth. I also believe it because of the high degree of scriptural consistency of the old Earth theory I believe in, also known as the Gap theory, when compared against the young Earth theory. Scriptures like those listed in the previous paragraph make much more sense with an old Earth theory. Other scriptures such as Job 38, which states that the angels sang together before the foundations of the Earth were laid, also make much more sense with an old Earth theory.
I would love to digress and expound upon the theology of the old Earth theory more in depth here, but it would far exceed the scope of this article. For the sake of brevity, suffice it to say that I believe the Earth is much older than Adam and Eve, and I believe this because of what the Bible says, primarily regarding Lucifer's past affiliation with this planet, and not because of any manner of science, despite the fact that science also tends to back up the old Earth theory.
Concerning the dispensation of angels, if scientific calculations about the Big Bang are at all accurate, it's possible that angels could've been created some thirteen billion years ago.5 What's more intriguing is that these beings are still alive, because according to Jesus in Luke 20:36, angels don't die.
The dispensations that followed the dispensation of angels were much shorter and the Bible focuses only on the Earth rather than the heavens; they were initiated after the re-creation of the Earth to a habitable state, as I previously mentioned, which began from Genesis 1:2 through Genesis 2:25. Using genealogical records meticulously recorded in the Bible, Adam and Eve began in what is known as the dispensation of conscience, which lasted 1,656 years. Following this dispensation was the dispensation of human government, lasting 427 years, then the dispensation of promise, being 430 years, the dispensation of law, 1,718 years, and finally the dispensation of grace, which we have been in since Jesus Christ was born, 2007 years ago as of the date of this article.6 Totaling all the human dispensations together, the Bible actually tells us that Adam and Eve were created from the hands of God 6,238 years ago.
But wait! What about the Cro-Magnon and the Neanderthal? They're a lot older than 6,238 years ago, aren't they? What's the deal here? Biologists believe that modern humans evolved from earlier ape-like hominids, dating back to Australopithecus Africanus, about 2.5 million years ago.7 According to evolutionary theory, one species evolved into another, until homo sapiens evolved about 250,000 years ago. 8 Within the homo sapiens classification are Neanderthal (homosapiens neanderthalenis to be more precise), and the more recent Cro-Magnon. While we know these fossils exist, and are even on displays in museums all over the world, how does one reconcile their existence with the biblical account of Adam and Eve without espousing evolution?
Putting arguments about the credibility of carbon dating aside, there's an interesting fact about both Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon that I believe holds the key to their true identity. Both Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon had a larger brain capacity than the humans of today.9 In fact, their brains were significantly larger; about ten percent larger. This fact doesn't fit with most creationist theories, or evolution. Creationists that believe Neanderthal were the same as the humans of today have to explain the difference in cranial capacity, which is a bone structure not likely to be altered through any known natural process, if excluding evolution. Evolutionists, on the other hand, must wonder why cranial capacity suddenly changed course, since having a larger cranial capacity was clearly the dominant trait up until this point. Contrary to popular opinion, both Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon could very well have been more intelligent than the humans of today.
While the Cro-Magnon were almost identical to modern humans, the Neanderthal were shorter, stockier, and had thicker bone density.10 Their cranial capacity, however, was the same as the Cro-Magnon, and in this respect, the Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon resembled each other more than they resemble the humans of today.
Going back to the dispensation of angels, recall from my previous statement about Satan, when he was known as Lucifer, he once walked on the Earth prior to his fall from glory, as stated in Ezekiel 28. If, in fact, both angels and the Earth have been around much longer than Adam and Eve, could the Bible be telling us that there were humanoid beings on Earth prior to Adam and Eve? What's more, if it was Lucifer who was walking on the Earth prior to Adam and Eve, then perhaps some of the members of his kingdom were actually an earlier order of creation that once existed on the Earth. This theory is almost theologically sound, but one last point needs to be made. Lucifer was an angel, and angels can't die, so who were these other humanoid beings that are now dead?
The answer to this question is actually quite simple, if we look into our future, to answer what happened in the past. (Only with the Bible is this possible.)
Jesus stated that people who are saved will one day be like the angels which are in heaven (Matthew 22:30; Mark 12:25; Luke 20:35). Two examples of people that have already been transformed into angels are listed in Revelation 21:17, and 22:9. Furthermore, the inhabitants of the kingdom of Christ on Earth to come, referenced in Matthew 5:5 and Revelation 21:1-22:6, will contain glorified saints who will be angels (1 Thessalonians 4:17; 1 Corinthians 15:52), and natural generations of people are specifically mentioned as well (Isaiah 11:6-7, 65:20, 65:25). Angels, therefore, weren't initially created as angels. They most likely began as Adam and Eve, initially depending on something like the Tree of Life to keep them alive, until they reached a certain level of spiritual maturity and God transformed them into angels-completely and irrevocably immortal. Therefore, if the past was like the future will be, the Earth contained a population that consisted of angels, and non-angels.
Taking all this into account, I raise the question again: who were the Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon? I believe these beings had nothing to do with the humans of today. I believe they were members of Lucifer's kingdom before he fell from glory. They sinned against God, and those who were not angels yet were completely destroyed. As for the angels, they escaped the destruction, and have been plaguing humanity ever since Genesis 3:1.
Exactly where did they escape to? The heavens, naturally, or in today's language, other inhabited planets in outer space. But they returned, first mentioned in Genesis 6:4. They caused a lot of damage back then, and it was because of their corruption that God destroyed the world in the flood of Noah. And guess what? The days are soon approaching when they will return yet again. Jesus said in Matthew 24:7, "…as the days of Noah were, so shall the days of the coming of the Son of Man be." It was no mistake that Jesus singled out this one time in history, a time when angels intermingled in the affairs of humanity in open contact, and said that our future will see these events transpire once again.
When open contact is made in our future, their history of our world will be highly accurate, but slightly skewed. While they might be able to prove that they once lived here long ago, and they'll have a vast archeological archive of evidence to support their claims, they'll most likely be spouting off some nonsense about how we evolved from them. They'll also conveniently leave out the reason they were destroyed.
But all hope is not lost. While one third of the angels have fallen, and the Earth will be filled with many otherworldly deceivers, two thirds of the angels remain loyal to God, and some of them are going to be showing up as well. Not only will they be among us, they will actually be preaching the Gospel! Consider the words spoken in Revelation 14:6
Revelation 14:6-7
And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
Needless to say, church services in our future might be a little different than they are today.
For anyone interested in reading more about the event of the destruction of Lucifer's kingdom, known as the flood of Lucifer, as well as all the theological information I barely touched upon in this article, I invite you to my website, http://www.AliensAndTheAntichrist.com, where I post all my books as free electronic downloads.
