The Society is concordist in that they show a preference for the understanding that the earth is billions of years old, and show disdain for the YEC view that the earth was created 6,000 years ago. They have come very close to endorsing the scientific findings at times:
*** g73 5/22 p. 6 The Moon—What Was Discovered? ***
Have you wondered about the moon’s age? Rocks taken from the early Apollo missions were estimated at from 3.3 to 3.7 billion years in age. However, one lemon-size rock was estimated to have an age of 4.6 billion years. The moon’s soil was estimated at being from 4.2 to 4.9 billion years in age. Thus Science World of February 16, 1970, commented: “Several researchers confirmed that the moon is about 4.6 billion years old. The Earth and meteorites are about the same age.” So it is now generally agreed that the moon’s age is the same as that of the entire solar system, including the earth. This is a noteworthy confirmation of the Bible account at Genesis 2:4, which indicates that the earth and the heavens were formed in the same general period of time.
*** g81 11/22 p. 13 How Old Are the Fossils? ***
Nevertheless, with proper attention to such possible pitfalls, acceptably reliable dates have been put on many old rock formations. Based on this method, the age of the oldest parts of the earth’s crust has been set at over four billion years.
*** g83 3/22 p. 13 Evolution, Creation, or Creationism—Which Do You Believe? ***
If geologists want to say that the earth is 4 billion years old, or astronomers want to make the universe 20 billion years old, the Bible student has no quarrel with them.
*** it-1 p. 667 Earth ***
Just how long ago the starry heavens and the earth were created is not stated in the Bible. Therefore, there is no basis for Bible scholars to take issue with scientific calculations of the age of the planet. Scientists estimate the age of some rocks as being three and a half billion years, and the earth itself as being about four to four and a half billion or more years.
*** yp2 chap. 36 p. 301 How Can I Defend My Belief in God? ***
The Bible says that the earth and the rest of the universe were in existence before the first creative day. Thus, the earth and the solar system may well be billions of years old.—Genesis 1:1.
*** lc p. 24 Science and the Genesis Account ***
Geologists estimate that the earth is 4 billion years old, and astronomers calculate that the universe may be as much as 15 billion years old. Do these findings—or their potential future refinements—contradict Genesis 1:1? No. The Bible does not specify the actual age of “the heavens and the earth.” Science is not at odds with the Biblical text.
*** w00 12/1 pp. 30-31 Must You Believe It? ***
And is it not true that today, for example, creationists insist that the Bible teaches that the earth was created in six 24-hour days, when all the facts show that the earth itself is billions of years old? Actually, the Bible does not say that the earth is the center of the universe. That was a teaching of church leaders who themselves did not adhere to God’s Word. The Genesis account of creation allows for the earth to be billions of years old and does not limit each creative day to 24 hours.
When I was growing up, I had trouble reconciling an age of the earth in the billions of years with the Watchtower belief (found in the Paradise Regained book, and elsewhere) that the formation of the atmosphere, oceans and land masses — and of course the proliferation of life — began no earlier than 48,000 years ago. It was hard to swallow that all this history occurred in only .0001% of the duration of the planet's existence and essentially nothing happened for all those billions of years. That didn't really make sense to me.
