Prehistoric? Bogus!

(3 Minute Read)

Have you heard of prehistoric dinosaurs? Prehistoric man? Prehistoric geological events?

Such claims are totally bogus, all of it! There is no such thing as prehistoric anything!

“Prehistoric” means “before (recorded) history”. Written history, however, begins with the first verse of Genesis which documents the creation of the universe by God about 6,000 years ago.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1)

Mankind possesses recorded history from the very beginning of time up to the present day. Genesis means “Beginning.” This book reports the origin of basic human institutions such as marriage, family, and government. It documents the initial development of nations, cultures, languages, and industry, and the dispersion of man across the earth. It records the greatest geological event of all time, Noah’s Flood, the evidence of which is still visible around the world today.

Genesis tells of the very first people who walked the earth, real people of flesh, bones, and blood who lived and died in the first few thousand years of history. Its record consists of specific persons with individual names, precise ages, children’s names, and life stories. The book begins with the first man, Adam, and continues in an unbroken line through Jacob’s grandsons over 2,000 years later.

Genesis is foundational history. Its purpose is three-fold:
1. To tell the origin of man and of the world in which he lives.
2. To identify the root cause of all of man’s problems and difficulties.
3. To point to the solution to the problem through the development of the Hebrew nation as a vehicle through which God would give His Word and the Messiah to the world.

Genesis is certainly the “Book of Beginnings.” It is the only reliable historical source that goes back to the beginning of time and tells us where our world came from and how we got here. Non-biblical worldviews offer only vague myths or speculations, but Genesis provides a definitive historical record of real people involved in actual events of great significance for all mankind.

The Biblical authors themselves recognized the historical veracity and the foundational nature of Genesis, for they quoted from it more than from any other book. There are over 200 references to Genesis in the New Testament alone. In fact, every one of the New Testament authors refers to the first eleven (pre-Abraham) chapters of Genesis.

The Lord Jesus, the Son of God, viewed Genesis as true history. Jesus referred to Genesis at least 25 times in the Gospels. For example, notice what He said when questioned about an issue which probably causes more heartache than any other across all cultures throughout history, namely marriage and divorce.

Jesus based His answer about marriage on historical data from Genesis: “Have you not read, that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh’?” (Matthew 19:4-5)

Jesus’ subsequent teaching on marriage presupposed the historical validity of this reference to Genesis. If the Genesis base were invalid, then the teaching He built on it would be worthless. Jesus identified the Beginning as the time when the Creator made the first man and woman and joined them in marriage. Jesus quoted the Creator’s original instructions to Adam in Genesis 2 as the reason for His own teaching on the permanence of marriage: “Consequently they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” (Matthew 19:6) Notice the Lord’s use of the words “consequently” and “therefore,” signaling that He was deriving His conclusion from His Genesis quotation.

Once during a dispute with the Jews, Jesus concluded His argument by equating believing His words with believing Moses’ written record, a record which includes Genesis (John 5:45-47). Clearly, Jesus believed Genesis to be true history from the beginning, and He expected others to do so as well.

Biblical authors quote from Genesis
more than from any other book.

Genesis is not a fanciful story. It is literally true, a reliable historical document that provides a firm foundation for a Biblical worldview. Christ and the New Testament authors treated Genesis as absolutely true, historically accurate, and divinely authoritative as they based their teaching on this important foundation. If Genesis is false, then Christianity collapses, for all the major doctrines of the Christian faith are rooted in Genesis. The truths of Genesis are fundamental to the Christian faith.

The starting point for a Biblical worldview is the recognition that God is the Creator and that He began history in Genesis 1:1 with the creation out of nothing of the heavens and the earth. History begins with Genesis.

Questions to Ponder

1. If you could walk through a so-called natural history museum with the Lord Jesus Christ, what might He say about the displays labelled “Prehistoric Man” or “Prehistoric Dinosaurs” ?
2. How would it transform your own marriage if you took the one-flesh prescription of Genesis more seriously?

Share your thoughts on these questions in the comments below. It could encourage or help another reader.

Soli Deo Gloria.

Subscribe – Don’t miss future blog posts!
Click the sidebar’s “SUBSCRIBE” button to follow the
Bible-Science Guy Blog. You’ll automatically receive
new posts free by email. Click SUBSCRIBE NOW!

Click Best of Bible-Science Guy for lists of the best Bible-Science Guy posts of each year.
Click Bible-Science Guy Table of Contents for a list of all blog posts starting in October 2007.

©William T. Pelletier, Ph.D.
“contending earnestly for the faith”
“destroying speculations against the knowledge of God”
“for the defense of the gospel”
(Jude 1:3; 2 Cor 10:5; Phil 1:16)
Wednesday June 27, 2018 A.D.

We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.
(2 Corinthians 10:5)