This is interesting, they have found footprints in a "dry lake bed" that throws off what they believed about the "age of human habitation".

"When humans first populated North America and how they arrived has long been a matter of spirited debate. A recent study detailing what archeologists believe are the oldest known footprints in the United States is sparking new questions and upending long-held beliefs."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFk7o6C2kV8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Jfr-ihgb7M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjwNzjMkdMY

All three of those videos go back beyond the biblical age of the earth itself.

As Seventh-day Adventists the emphases is on "about" 6,000 years, not the more narrow 6,000 year thought. We have more flexibility. While I attended the seminary a couple of years before the official forming of the Adventist Theological Society, which required it's members to sign a list of beliefs, including the "about" 6,000 years. But when I was at Andrews the idea of "about" 6,000 years would be open all the way to 21,000 years, although most held to 10,000 year or less. Then there were other creationist theologians who would go back to 60,000 years, but that was too long for who was to become the ATS.

Some of the issues included that, one piece of evidence for the authenticity of the scripture is that, since language is alive, the language being updated over the centuries makes the ages some of the hardest to translate. The typical possibilities would range from 6,000 to 10,000. The LXX range from 7,000 to 10,000. In Jesus' day there were three textual families: The Egyptian text where the most complete and best known is the LXX. Bibles, and there is evidence that there were other Greek translations in this family. Bibles from this family is what Paul used. There was also the Babylonian family, the most complete and best known is what became the Masoretic text, and it became the Bible that we mostly use. The third family was the Palestinian text, the best known and most complete are the Dead Sea Scrolls. Bibles from this family is the Bible that Jesus used.

Now, rabbis adding up the dates from the Palestinian family of texts realized that one way of understanding the numbers had them approaching the 7,000 thousand year mark (It corresponded to what we call 31 AD). As they saw that they were approaching 7,000 year some of these Rabbis created the theory of the cosmic week, that the days of creation would correspond to the thousands of years from creation. This would require to take a text out of context, and rejecting texts dealing with the times that correspond to each other that we find in Leviticus 23, Leviticus 25 and here and there in Deuteronomy. Despite it being disrespectful to the times given in Leviticus 23 and 25 and in Deuteronomy to take a text out of context, it became fairly popular. Again, they year they came to the conclusion to entering the 7,000th year corresponds to our year AD 31. When nothing happened (except for those pesky Christians) the Rabbis wanted to push the 7000th year into the future and as far away from Jesus as possible. Since the youngest possible reading of the ages came from the Babylonian family, making the world only about 4,000 years when Jesus was here, they decided to use these ages and push the 7000th year well into the future.

Now, in dealing with ancient genealogies there are three differences from modern genealogies. First of all, just because it is listed as someone begetting someone else does not necessarily mean an blood relative, maybe yes, maybe no. This is also how they listed people who held the same office. But even when they are parent to child (which Genesis probably was) the other two points are important to keep in mind. The strict father to son, include everyone, did not start until the golden age of Greece. We tend to read this Greek method into the Bible which has genealogies from a different time and culture. In ancient genealogies it was only the important people in the family who were listed, and they would skip generations and move on to the next important person. The third issue is that frequently the first born child would be named after the paternal grandfather. During these periods you would have several generations where the two names keep repeating. But in the ancient genealogies the two names would only be mentioned once, with the ages of the first and last to use those names.

Keeping all these things in mind is why we put more emphasis on the "about" rather than the 6,000 years. Why the most traditional among our leaders tend to go more for 7,000 to 10,000 and can go to 21,000 without having their feathers ruffled. And also how other conservative creationists are even comfortable with 60,000 years.

What we can say is that the time from creation is young enough to know that Adam, Eve, Seth, Enoch, Noah, Abraham are all real people and that the world is so old that we lost track of these first people. I'm not sure if the ages from these articles are ridiculously old, but unlike some of our Evangelical friends, we have more flexibility in the years back to that special week.

Now, besides the time from creation week, there are other things that our evangelical friends tend to ignore, but which we want to be fair to. Now we are not given specific details, but when we look at the little bit the Bible teaches us and compare that to what Mrs. White was shown about the issues of the great controversy, there is the possibility that as Lucifer started his questions, that here was something where Lucifer, Gabriel and the other angels and beings from what became the unfallen world, were able to come and experiment in trying to get the evidence about the issues in the great controversy. We are told that God worked LONG with Lucifer. We have no idea how long, and just what was here. But the Bible indicates something here and uses language that ties what ever happened to the great controversy. That God was unassuming wanting the universe to make their decisions by evidence and faith. Eventually, a time was reached where two events happened: First, the two sides of the great controversy were chosen, and what ever they were working with here ended up in total chaos. When this mile stone was reached then God finally gave some proof as his spirit hovered over the chaos and said "Let there be light!"

Dr. Doukhan points out in his commentary on Genesis that Genesis 1 and 2, especially chapter 1 has AT LEAST three layers: First is the obvious special week that is important to us, but two other layers include the creation of the universe, and the creation of the great controversy. Also, the verse "Let there be light" has two layers. First of course the brightness that illuminated the situation. But in a deeper sense it was the entering of a special age of the creatures gaining special light about God that they did not have prior.

We don't know how much of things we see as ridiculously old, far beyond what we can live with for Adam and Eve, may date back to those days that were included in what was translated as "without form and void" but has deeper significance in the Hebrew and other ancient languages.

While some of our evangelical sister churches would be more ridged in the 6,000 years, we have the acceptance of the evidence for the way we apply the "about" as well as how we apply the phrases such as what is translated as "without form and void" and other verses, and that prior to that special week there was still something here that was playing a role with the angels and other worlds in the way God was working with evidence and faith to work LONG with Lucifer.

I hope this helps!

The theory of evolution and their 'timeline Their theory of evolution and their 'timeline' is just that, a 'theory' and now its falling apart and being shown for what it is, ideas of how to deny the truth of what God gives us in His Word. They cant put the pieces together, no matter what way they try...

The video is interesting. Humans and dinosaurs existed at the same time. However, the long timelines are not accurate, since carbon dating, etc. is only accurate back to the flood. Scientists usually don't figure in the disruption to the ratio of the amount of carbon-14 divided by the amount of carbon-12 that occurred during the world shattering flood in Noah's time nor the period shortly after the flood as the world transitioned from pre-flood conditions to post -flood conditions. (an ice age)

Some suggest the dating of fossils from that transition period can come up with rather different "ages" depending on whether the creature died just before the flood, at the beginning of the flood, or if they managed to survive for a few days once the flood began clinging to debris. Thus suggesting the year of the flood and even for a short time after, would render vastly different fossil dates of creatures dying within a relatively short time from each other, depending on their exact time of death

Daryl, Rick H and dedication, thank you for what you added to this discussion!!! Good points.