Now some hold that the Bible favors the idea that the days of creation were indefinite periods of time, and call attention to the following: ... (b) The days referred to are God's days, the archetypal days, of which the days of men are merely ectypal copies; and with God a thousand years are as a single day, Ps. 90:4; II Pet. 3:8. But this argument is based on a confusion of time and eternity. God ad intra has no days, but dwells in eternity, exalted far above all measurements of time. This is also the idea conveyed by Ps. 90:4; and II Pet. 3:8. The only actual days of which God has knowledge are the days of this time-space world. [Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology, 153; in Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology: New Combined Edition (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1996)]
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Monday, July 27, 2015
Berkhof against the Analogical Day view of the creation days
2 comments:
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If it's a confusion of time and eternity to speak of God's days, is it a confusion of location and omnipresence to speak of God dwelling in heaven?
ReplyDelete@David,
ReplyDeletethe language of God dwelling in heaven is given to us in Scripture, whereas we are not given any language of "God's days."
Furthermore, since God says He is present on earth too (cf Is. 66:1; the tabernacle, the temple at Jerusalem etc.), then we are to interpret the theophanies and language about God dwelling in heaven anthropomorphically. God dwelling in heaven speaks to us about God's transcendence ("above" the earth) and glory and rule, not that God is not omniscient and is restricted to a specific place: heaven.