The Debate on the Duration of Days in Genesis

THE BATTLE OF ORIGINS! Lesson #5 Days of Genesis

Days of Genesis When is a day not really a day? When evolutionist say it isn t! We read in Genesis chapter 1:3-5 Then God said, Let there be light ; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day. Is God talking about one 24 day or is He talking about a vast period of time?

Days of Genesis The natural reading of Genesis points clearly to the idea that it is speaking of a normal 24 hour day. But the idea that the days mentioned in the first chapters of Genesis are talking about normal 24 hour days is hard for many people who believe in evolution to accept. As we have seen from our previous lessons, those who believe in evolution need billions of years of time for their theory to even have a far fetched, impossible, illogical, against all odds, chance of happening.

Days of Genesis Dr. George Wald of Harvard University, a proponent of evolution, admitted that the theory does have its problems. But he stated that some of the things that seemed impossible could be done if there was enough time. Time itself, he said, performs the miracles needed for evolution to occur. He went on to state that time is the hero of evolution.

Days of Genesis Robert Jastrow, an agnostic and popular science writer, stated, The key to Darwin s explanation is time, and the passage of many generations. Time is important for those who believe in evolution so they must figure out a way to put billions of years into the creation account as recorded in Genesis chapter 1-2. One way they try to put vast periods of time into Genesis 1-2 is to say that the days of the creation week are not really literal 24 hour days but instead are vast periods of time.

Days of Genesis Are the days of Genesis 1-2 really literal 24 hour days? If not then are the days in the rest of the Bible really 24 hour days? If the creation did not take place in six 24-hour days, then did it actually rain 40 days and nights at the start of the flood? Was Jonah truly in the belly of the great fish for just three days? Was Jesus' body in the tomb for three days? If you cannot believe Genesis 1-2 then can you truly believe that God had the power to raise Christ from the dead on the third day?

Days of Genesis If God s account of creation is actually a fable and not truth then why should we take the rest of what God says as truth? These are all good questions because if we do doubt the truth of what God says concerning the days of creation then why should we trust anything else that God says? And that is exactly what Satan wants! What about the days of creation, are they literal 24 hour days, or vast periods of time?

Days of Genesis The Hebrew word for day is yom . The word yom can carry with it the meaning of a literal day or a period of time based on its usage and language constructions. Those who believe in evolution argue that the days in the creation account are long periods of time, but are they? Let s look at some clues that God has given us in His word that will help us understand the true meaning of the word day , as used in the first two chapters of Genesis.

Days of Genesis We need to remember that language is meant to communicate ideas. God used certain words and used those words in such a way as to communicate to mankind exactly what He wants us to know. God s purpose in having the Bible written was to convey His thoughts to us and do so with words that we can understand. For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints. I Cor. 14:33

Days of Genesis As we study God s use of words we need to ask ourselves, Why does God use the words that He did and not use different words? What is the meaning that God is trying to communicate to His original audience and to us today? Why did God have Moses use the word day instead of the more generic term time , when describing the creation in Genesis?

Days of Genesis Or if time is not important, why not do away with the concept of time and just list the events of creation in sequential order? God could have said something like, I formed the earth, separated water from land, created the sun, moon and stars, then I created plants, sea animals, land animals and birds. Then My ultimate creation was making man in Our own image.

Days of Genesis Instead God used the concept of time by using the word yom with the idea of a 24 hour day! He did that because He wanted to convey to us a certain thought or concept! If we are trying to convey a certain thought or concept, don t we use words that precisely convey the meaning that we want to say? YES! So Does God!

Days of Genesis The concept that God wants us to know and understand is that the word yom (day) is a 24 hour period of time! God has given us ways to help us clearly understand what He means by His use of the word day by... 1. Repeatedly using numbers in describing each day of creation. 2. Describing the days of creation with the phrase, evening and morning .

Days of Genesis Let s begin by taking a close look at the word day (yom) as it is used in Genesis 1-2. The Hebrew word yom, (day) can have a number of different connotations. 1. period of daylight 2. period of 24 hours 3. general, vague amount of time 4. point of time We use the word day in several different ways even in our own language.

Days of Genesis Examples of how we use the word day 1. Let s do that during the day. 2. What day is it? 3. In the days of King David. 4. In that day. 5. Work day. 6. Call it a day. 7. Day in and day out. 8. Back in the day. 9. The good ole days. 10. It is just not my day. 11. That will be the day.

Days of Genesis Remember, the purpose of language is to communicate and God wants to communicate to us in Genesis 1 what took place during the creation week. He is not out to deceive us or trick us. He is an expert in the use of language and therefore knows what words to use to best convey the message that He wants to get across. The meaning of words are determined by its context and should be taken to mean the normal and customary usage of the language.

Days of Genesis We need to know that the use of a number along with the word day is very important. This combination of using a number along with the word day , yom, occurs 357 times outside of Genesis 1. Each time that a number is used along with the word yom it means a 24 hour period of time or a portion thereof but not more than a 24 hour day!

Days of Genesis Let s look at some passages where day is being used along with a number. For after seven more days I will cause it to rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and I will destroy from the face of the earth all living things that I have made. Genesis 7:4 He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every male child in your generations Genesis 17:12

Days of Genesis Now the children of Israel camped in Gilgal, and kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight on the plains of Jericho. Joshua 5:10 And the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. So they did six days. Joshua 6:14 These passages show us when the word day is used with a number it is describing a 24 hour day, not long vast periods of time!

Days of Genesis This brings us back to Genesis 1. If the meaning of the word day , when used with a number, always means a 24 hour period of time, or a part thereof, outside of Genesis 1, then shouldn t it also have the meaning of a 24 hour period of time when used in Genesis 1? OF COURSE IT SHOULD!

Days of Genesis Another clue that God gives us, as to the meaning of the word yom, is in how He describes day with the use of the phrase, evening and morning . Besides using a number along with the word yom to convey the idea of a literal 24 hour day, God goes one step further and frames the concept of the word day within the confines of evening and morning !

Days of Genesis If you were trying to explain to someone the concept of a 24 hour day what better way to do it than to use something that they are al- ready familiar with, the rising and setting of the sun! By saying evening and morning you are relating to them the cycle of the sun setting and the sun rising which is exactly what our concept of a day is! By numbering the days of creation and setting the boundaries of evening and morning God is clearly telling us the days of Genesis 1 are literal 24 hour days!

Days of Genesis This should be proof enough to show that God is plainly telling all of mankind that the Hebrew word yom in Genesis 1 is speaking of a 24 hour day and not vast periods of time! Some, in trying to promote evolution, say that God could have brought the universe into existence any way He wanted to. That may be so, but our finding the truth is not based upon what God could have done but what He said He did in creating the universe!

Days of Genesis God could have spoke the universe into existence at one moment in time but instead He clearly tells us that He created the world and everything in it in six literal 24 hour days and rested on the seventh day! Have you ever thought about why God used six days to create the world and then rested on the seventh day? Was it by accident or was it planned?

Days of Genesis First, let s ask the question, What is the standard by which we measure time? The relationship between the earth, sun and moon! One year = time it takes earth to revolve around the sun One month = time it takes moon to circle earth One day = time for earth to complete one rotation on its axis

Days of Genesis We understand that our standard for time is based upon the celestial relationships between the earth, moon and sun as God set in motion during creation... Then God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years. Genesis 1:14

Days of Genesis We understand that our standard for time is based upon the celestial relationships between the earth, moon and sun as God set in motion during creation... Then God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years. Genesis 1:14

Days of Genesis That brings up an interesting question... Where do we get the universal standard of time of seven days equals one week? We know where we get the concept of a day, a month and a year, but what astronomical phenomenon is there that will explain our standard for the week? There isn t any!

Days of Genesis So where did our week come from? God! The only place we can go to that will support the use of our week is found in God s account of the creation week! Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day and on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Gen. 1:31; 2:2

Days of Genesis God set the standard of time for the week! As for back as human records show, a week consist of seven days and each day consist of 24 hours. A day or a week has never been vast periods of time of millions or billions of years as the evolutionist try to tell us! One day = 24 hours One week = seven days

Days of Genesis We can see God using this standard when He told the Israelites to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. Notice what God says in Exodus 20:8-11

Days of Genesis Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Exodus 20:8-11

Days of Genesis Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Exodus 20:8-11

Days of Genesis Did the Israelites understand that the word day , as used here by God in the giving of the Ten Commandments, to be vast periods of time or a literal 24 hour day? A Literal 24 Hour Day! God is comparing the days , in the Ten Commandments, as being the same as the days of creation, which show that both are literal 24 hour days!

Days of Genesis We have seen that God has made it clear to those who want to see, that the days of Genesis 1 are literal 24 hour days and not vast periods of time. There is no place in the creation account for the evolutionist to place the billions of years that they need to even have the slightest chance for evolution to have taken place. Sorry, evolutionist but your theory of evolution is FALSE because .

Days of Genesis In six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Exodus 20:8-11

Creation vs. Evolution By Bob Gard Hollister, Missouri church of Christ www.hollistermocofc.org October 4, 2017 October 18, 2017