Creation Points to the Cross and Consummation

Many people are pleasantly surprised when they come to the Creation Museum and realize that this facility and its exhibits are not just about creation vs. evolution and age of earth issues, but portray the message of the whole Bible from the beginning to the end. As I have often said, we don’t want to just convert people to be creationists as a creationist can end up separated from God for eternity like an atheist! We need to see people converted to Christ! Certainly in this day and age, there has been a very focused attack on the first eleven chapters of the Bible in a spiritual war for the hearts and minds people. Many of the coming generations have been led to doubt the first eleven chapters, and this has put them on a slippery slide of doubt and unbelief through the rest of Scripture.

Thus the ministry of AiG and the Creation Museum, in its presentation of the Word of God and the gospel, have specialized in creation and general biblical apologetics (giving people answers to skeptical questions and so on) to deal with this attack on Scripture in this era of history. And through all that, we make no apology about the fact, and we are not ashamed at all, that our primary purpose is to present the gospel of Jesus Christ and see people saved to be in heaven for eternity.

Recently, AiG staff member Steve Ham reminded the staff of this in a devotion at an AiG staff chapel time.

As many of you are aware, the Creation Museum explains world history through the use of the Seven C’s of History: Creation, Corruption, Catastrophe, Confusion, Christ, Cross, and Consummation. The purpose of the Seven C’s is to first establish the bad news in Genesis, so that people might have a proper understanding of the good news (gospel). Steve Ham, at Answers in Genesis, taught on 1 John 2 in a recent staff meeting. In his teaching, he made the point that as we teach the history of the Bible according to the Seven C’s, we must understand the importance of the message of all the C’s as a united whole.

In our ministry distinctive, it is vitally important we support the local church in helping the body of Christ defend against the major attacks from the world that are pointed at the first four C’s. That importance is increased when we realize the first four C’s provide the historical foundation to understanding Christian doctrine and the Bible. Yet, in doing this vitally important job, biblical creationists must also keep in mind the unified message of the Seven C’s. Steve made the point that if we speak of the first four C’s alone, we are in danger of not pointing people to Christ. If we speak only of the first six C’s, we are in danger of not pointing to the hope that is in Christ in the seventh C, as He brings in the consummation of all things and a new heaven and earth.

All Seven C’s are also essential for the fullness of a biblical Christian worldview. The first four C’s help us to understand the world we live in. It is because of the last three C’s that we can live in it with victory and hope for the future. The point of the message is that whenever we are dealing with any individual portion of biblical history, it is important to understand that each individual account is a part of the whole divine message.

This perspective helps us understand the importance of what we are doing in the ministry of Answers in Genesis. We must defend the historical accuracy of the first eleven chapters in Genesis because in doing so we are pointing to the credibility of our Savior and our need for him. We are also pointing to a full resolution to all the problems in this physical creation caused by sin as we acknowledge that God is going to make all things eternally new. The Seven C’s as a whole tell us two great truths: Because of man’s corruption, we live in a cursed world where man (on his own) fails in every sense; but because of Christ, we can live in victory with full hope of a never-ending glory.

There is an interesting parallel between Creation and the other C’s. Essentially, Adam and Eve were presented with the best of conditions and could not pass the test. However, Christ was under the worst of conditions, yet he passed the test. Dr. Russell Moore, dean of the School of Theology and senior vice-president for Academic Administration at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, explains this same parallel further in his book Tempted and Tried: Temptation and the Triumph of Christ (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2011). He writes the following (concerning the tempting of Christ in the wilderness):

We’ve already seen what the satanic powers have done to lure away humanity in general from God’s reign. That’s our universal human story. Jesus reorders human desire by joining the race as a desiring human being. … As he stood where Adam stood, he reclaimed what Adam lost. The first Adam was tested in the God-blessed garden and fell. The second Adam was tested in the God-cursed desert, and won. (p. 41)

The importance of Christ’s temptation as it relates to man’s fallen state is staggering. Moore lays out the primary difference between man and Christ in their respective temptations as this: Christ’s desires mirror those of His Father. While Adam fell when he shifted his desires to earthly things, Christ overcame temptation in the wilderness, and by His death and Resurrection alone are we saved. At the Creation Museum, we show a film called The Last Adam for all of our visitors, and it makes the same point: we can trust Christ for our future because “He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25).

The essence of Steve’s message focused on the seventh C—Consummation. We are living in the last days (1 John 2:18), and Christ will return. Knowing that He has won the victory over sin—the battle humanity lost, even in a perfect world—let’s look with eager anticipation toward the Lord’s return because He alone is our hope.

I believe you will be greatly blessed when you visit the Creation Museum—and bring your non-Christian friends and family. It is a great place to present the gospel to the unsaved in an non-threatening environment. The presentation of the Word of God and the gospel is done in a very tasteful but authoritative way.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken