This hypothesis attempts to reconcile  the scientific evidence of the Earth  

being billions of years old with  the biblical account of creation,  

suggesting that the Earth was created  with the appearance of being old.

It posits that when God created the Earth,  it included mature systems and organisms  

complete with signs of historical development  (e.g., fossils) that did not actually occur.

The Omphalos Hypothesis takes its name from  the Greek word "omphalos," which means "navel."  

This name is a symbolic reference to the supposed  creation of Adam with a navel, which would suggest  

a history of birth and development even though,  according to biblical tradition, he was created  

as a fully formed adult, who theoretically, if you  think about it, shouldn't have a navel otherwise.

Philip Henry Gosse used this imagery  to argue that God might have created  

the Earth with similar "evidence" of  a past that didn't actually occur.