As I have written about before, young-earth creationists often argue their worldview based on the idea that no death (including animal death, carnivores, diseases, etc.) could have existed before the fall of humanity at the Garden Of Eden. Their theology essentially looks like this:
1. Perfect universe, no decay, death, pain, etc. created by God at the very beginning.
2. Fall of Adam & Eve, death enters the world and we are left with the world we have today with entropy, carnivores, diseases, etc.
3. After the last judgment, the universe is restored/recreated as the perfect universe from the beginning, which will last forever.
As such, it is not possible for them to believe the fossil record, which clearly demonstrates animals dying, being fossilized and going extinct over millions of years. So they instead come up with contrived solutions involving geological layers being laid down by a global flood, carnivores as the result of Adam's "corruption" of the world, etc.
None of which has grounding in either the text, or the science, but is necessary to make their system of interpretation work.
The entire system here seems to be reliant on the idea that the ultimate reward for God's people, the "New Heavens And New Earth" God creates after the last judgement is poured out on the world is a returned, restored version of the world's original, pre-human sin state. Essentially saying all deviation from perfection in the world was caused by human sin.
As such, Young-Earth Creationist images of Eden often show Lions laying down with lambs and carnivores eating plants. Despite the bible passages being referenced about the future New Heavens And Earth, not about the past Pre-Fall world.
But this just shows that the two are one and the same in the minds of many young-earth creationists.
1. Perfect universe, no decay, death, pain, etc. created by God at the very beginning.
2. Fall of Adam & Eve, death enters the world and we are left with the world we have today with entropy, carnivores, diseases, etc.
3. After the last judgment, the universe is restored/recreated as the perfect universe from the beginning, which will last forever.
As such, it is not possible for them to believe the fossil record, which clearly demonstrates animals dying, being fossilized and going extinct over millions of years. So they instead come up with contrived solutions involving geological layers being laid down by a global flood, carnivores as the result of Adam's "corruption" of the world, etc.
None of which has grounding in either the text, or the science, but is necessary to make their system of interpretation work.
The entire system here seems to be reliant on the idea that the ultimate reward for God's people, the "New Heavens And New Earth" God creates after the last judgement is poured out on the world is a returned, restored version of the world's original, pre-human sin state. Essentially saying all deviation from perfection in the world was caused by human sin.
As such, Young-Earth Creationist images of Eden often show Lions laying down with lambs and carnivores eating plants. Despite the bible passages being referenced about the future New Heavens And Earth, not about the past Pre-Fall world.
But this just shows that the two are one and the same in the minds of many young-earth creationists.
What The Bible Actually Says:
Here are some Bible passages about the Pre-Fall World and what happened at the fall:
Genesis 1:31: "And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day."
Genesis 2:8-9: "And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil."
Genesis 2:15: "The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it."
Genesis 3:16-19: "To the woman he said,
“I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;
in pain you shall bring forth children.
Your desire shall be contrary to your husband,
but he shall rule over you.”
And to Adam he said,
“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife
and have eaten of the tree
of which I commanded you,
‘You shall not eat of it,’
cursed is the ground because of you;
in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
and you shall eat the plants of the field.
By the sweat of your face
you shall eat bread,
till you return to the ground,
for out of it you were taken;
for you are dust,
and to dust you shall return."
Genesis 3:23-24: "therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life."
Genesis 2:8-9: "And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil."
Genesis 2:15: "The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it."
Genesis 3:16-19: "To the woman he said,
“I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;
in pain you shall bring forth children.
Your desire shall be contrary to your husband,
but he shall rule over you.”
And to Adam he said,
“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife
and have eaten of the tree
of which I commanded you,
‘You shall not eat of it,’
cursed is the ground because of you;
in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
and you shall eat the plants of the field.
By the sweat of your face
you shall eat bread,
till you return to the ground,
for out of it you were taken;
for you are dust,
and to dust you shall return."
Genesis 3:23-24: "therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life."
Now here are some verses about the New Heavens And New Earth:
Revelation 21:1-3: "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."
Isaiah 65:17-18: "For behold, I create new heavens
and a new earth,
and the former things shall not be remembered
or come into mind.
But be glad and rejoice forever
in that which I create;
for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy,
and her people to be a gladness."
Isaiah 65:25: "The wolf and the lamb shall graze together;
the lion shall eat straw like the ox,
and dust shall be the serpent’s food.
They shall not hurt or destroy
in all my holy mountain,”
says the LORD."
Isaiah 65:17-18: "For behold, I create new heavens
and a new earth,
and the former things shall not be remembered
or come into mind.
But be glad and rejoice forever
in that which I create;
for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy,
and her people to be a gladness."
Isaiah 65:25: "The wolf and the lamb shall graze together;
the lion shall eat straw like the ox,
and dust shall be the serpent’s food.
They shall not hurt or destroy
in all my holy mountain,”
says the LORD."
Notice a stark contrast here? The New Heavens And New Earth are a perfect, future universe with no pain, suffering, or death. Where there really are no carnivores. But none of this language is found in the creation accounts or the account of Eden.
The original creation is only "Very Good" as opposed to "Perfect". The New Universe is spoken of as a freshly created universe as the old one has "passed away". It is not a restored, renewed, old universe.
The very fact that the Garden Of Eden existed and being expelled from it was such a big deal should be a huge tip-off that the outside world is pretty much normal, like today. Full of predators, thorns, diseases, natural disasters, etc.
There is nothing in the Genesis text that claims that the world outside of Eden was supernaturally altered by the fall, it was merely Adam and Eve's world that changed dramatically when they were made mortal and expelled from the Garden. The outside world never changed.
There simply is no evidence for this conflation between the original creation (The outside universe prior to sin) and the final creation (New Heavens and Earth).
The original creation is only "Very Good" as opposed to "Perfect". The New Universe is spoken of as a freshly created universe as the old one has "passed away". It is not a restored, renewed, old universe.
The very fact that the Garden Of Eden existed and being expelled from it was such a big deal should be a huge tip-off that the outside world is pretty much normal, like today. Full of predators, thorns, diseases, natural disasters, etc.
There is nothing in the Genesis text that claims that the world outside of Eden was supernaturally altered by the fall, it was merely Adam and Eve's world that changed dramatically when they were made mortal and expelled from the Garden. The outside world never changed.
There simply is no evidence for this conflation between the original creation (The outside universe prior to sin) and the final creation (New Heavens and Earth).
Distinctions Between The New Earth, and Pre-Fall Earth:
To prove this conflation impossible once and for all, I have constructed a list of clear distinctions between the pre-fall world, and the new, perfect world God will create when sin is defeated.
1. The original creation had seas, the New Heavens and Earth will not. (Genesis 1:10, Revelation 21:1)
2. The original creation had a nighttime, the New Heavens and Earth will not. (Genesis 1:14-19, Revelation 21:25)
3. The original creation had no city of Jerusalem, only the garden of Eden (a forest-like environment), the New Heavens and Earth will have a massive 1380x1380x1380 mile city of Jerusalem. (Genesis 2, Revelation 21:9-21)
4. The original creation had a sun and moon, the New Heavens and Earth will not. (Genesis 1:14-19, Revelation 21:23)
5. The original creation was "very good", the New Heavens and Earth will be perfect. (Genesis 1:31, Revelation 21:3-4)
The Bible itself clearly destroys the idea that the New Heavens and Earth are simply a restoration to the conditions of the universe prior to human sin. Therefore, no verse about the New Heavens and Earth can reasonably be applied to the pre-fall world. Making young-earth creationist "propaganda" like this:
1. The original creation had seas, the New Heavens and Earth will not. (Genesis 1:10, Revelation 21:1)
2. The original creation had a nighttime, the New Heavens and Earth will not. (Genesis 1:14-19, Revelation 21:25)
3. The original creation had no city of Jerusalem, only the garden of Eden (a forest-like environment), the New Heavens and Earth will have a massive 1380x1380x1380 mile city of Jerusalem. (Genesis 2, Revelation 21:9-21)
4. The original creation had a sun and moon, the New Heavens and Earth will not. (Genesis 1:14-19, Revelation 21:23)
5. The original creation was "very good", the New Heavens and Earth will be perfect. (Genesis 1:31, Revelation 21:3-4)
The Bible itself clearly destroys the idea that the New Heavens and Earth are simply a restoration to the conditions of the universe prior to human sin. Therefore, no verse about the New Heavens and Earth can reasonably be applied to the pre-fall world. Making young-earth creationist "propaganda" like this:
...an absolutely ridiculous false-dichotomy.
Thanks for reading!