Which, of course, leads to an even better double-bind, in that it creates a situation of functional equivalence, because, if God makes the universe look and ope

Which, of course, leads to an even better double-bind, in that it creates a situation of functional equivalence, because, if God makes the universe look and operate as if it is X billion years old, all inquiry and prediction based upon evidence of that conclusion will, by definition, be accurate. So it may not be the "truth", but from the perspective of living in it, that doesn't matter in the least. And if it only comes up as a matter in the afterlife, (that is, heaven doesn't like the given individual for acting upon the lie) there's another twist in the bind presented: that is God wants the given individual to live, but to do so requires interfacing with the rules of physical reality, which means accepting the predictive power of the "lie".