Did Biblical Creation Take Thousands of Years?
The Seven Days of Creation
Do you believe the seven days of creation were literal of figurative? Explain your answer in the comment box below.
Did Biblical Creation Take Thousands of Years?
Some Christians believe that creation week in Genesis 1-2:3 took thousands of years to complete. This hub is going to be a review of creation week to determine if that, in fact, is the case. I will tell you my position before I even get started. I think creation week should be taken literally to mean seven 24-hour periods of time. I will be highlighting the scriptures that support this.
"The Evening and the Morning"
The first compelling proof that creation week is meant to be taken literally is the terminology “the evening and the morning” used to describe the first six days of creation week (verse 5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31). Now, please correct me if I am wrong in the comment box below; but the last time I checked, if you count the amount of time it takes to complete an evening and a morning you get 24 hours.
We don’t typically think of a day in terms of an evening and a morning (more like a morning and an evening). This is because we now internationally go by the Roman Calendar, which used this system. However, in Bible times, this was not the case. Sundown marked the beginning of a new day for people back then.
Yom Kippur
Another compelling proof that creation week is meant to be taken literally is the Hebrew word that “day” is translated from: “yom”. Do you know what the deifinition of “yom” is? According to Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary, it is a 24-hour period. It is just like in "Yom" Kippur, the "Day" of Atonement.
The Sabbath Day
The institution of the seventh-day Sabbath is also strong evidence for a literal creation week. The Fourth Commandment, in Exodus 20:8-11, tells us to keep the Sabbath in remembrance of the Sabbath (seventh day) of creation. The Sabbath we keep now is a 24 hour day. Since it is a memorial of the Sabbath of creation, this means that the Sabbath of creation was a 24 hour day as well.
"One Day is as a Thousand Years"
Second Peter 3:8 is often referred to in support of the theory that biblical creation took thousands of years to complete: “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing: that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” However, this is taking this scripture out of context. If you read on, you will see that the context is about the delayed second coming of Jesus:
“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the Day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat. The earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” - Verse 9, 10.
Believers were wondering (as some do now) why it was taking God so long to fulfill His promise to send Jesus to bring this sinful world to an end. Peter then put our time in perspective to God’s eternal existence, encouraged believers to be patient, and gave them a glimpse into the scene of Jesus’ return.
What Does it Matter?
Some may say, “What’s the big deal? What does it matter whether one believes in a literal creation week or not?” It is an issue of the power of God. When people say that they do not believe that God created the world in six literal days, they are limiting His power; and it is not a big jump from limiting the power of God in creation to limiting the power of God in our lives.
If we don’t serve an awesome God, who powerfully spoke the world into existence; how can we expect His Word to have power in our lives. Think about that, and I would appreciate your response in the comment box below.
All Scripture references are from the 21st Century King James Version Bible.
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