Does It Really Matter If the Days of Creation Were Literal Days or Long Ages?
-Rick Deighton-
Yes, it does. The main reason it matters that God actually did create everything in six days is the nature and character of God Himself. Here’s why:
1. God “cannot lie”. He told us in Genesis 1 as plainly as language can convey what He did, when, and how. He spoke – and it was done.
2. He repeated it six times for emphasis. In Hebrew writing, repetition is used for emphasis. For example, Isaiah 6:3 says, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory.” In Genesis 1, God inspired Moses to write six times: “and the evening and the morning were the first day…second day…third day… etc. Also when a number appears before the word “day” – it is a literal day. How could God have made it any clearer?
3. The only reason for trying to cram millions of years into the text of Genesis is to comply with the time table of the evolutionists. That time table was concocted by skeptics whose purpose was to undermine the Biblical worldview in order to promote their ungodly “progressive” viewpoint. It was not because of scientific evidence. If you want to see the documentation on this, check out the writings of Terry Mortenson at Answers in Genesis. He did the historical research on this subject for his doctorate. Also see “In the Minds of Men” by Ian Taylor and “The Emperors Who Had No Clothes” by Milt Marcy. (I have copies of Milt’s well-documented book in stock.)
4. God’s own commentary on Genesis 1 is found in Exodus 20:8-11. Verse 11 says: “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. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath Day and hallowed it.” The Sabbath Day was God’s covenant sign between Him and His chosen nation, Israel. Can you imagine an Israelite reading this commandment and thinking, “Oh! I have to work six million years first – then I can rest for a million!”? So, if someone asks if it is written in stone that the days of creation were literal days — the answer is Yes, definitely! The commandment to keep the Sabbath was the fourth of the Ten Commandments, which God wrote on stone. Exodus 31:12-18 is the passage of Scripture which tells us that the Sabbath was the covenant sign between God and His people, Israel. Verses 17 and 18 say: ‘It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.’ And when He had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.”
5. The God we worship is our Awesome Creator! – He does not need millions of years (or billions) to get a job done! When authority speaks – things happen! When Jesus spoke to the elements of the storm, “Peace – be still!”, how long did it take for the apostles to see the results? See Mark 4:35-40.
Does the Word of God describe our Awesome Creator as a cruel tyrant who created a world dripping with bloodshed and red from teeth and claw? The essential elements of change over millions of years include conflict, struggle, disease, and death with survival only of the fittest! (No matter whether it is called “theistic evolution” or “progressive creation”, these elements are ingrained in the process. Is that what the Word of God teaches as the pattern or process that our Creator used? No! To say that He “used evolution to create” is a contradiction of terms. Evolution is not creation! Creation is not evolution! They are opposite and opposing worldviews. It is a twisting of terminology to say “created by evolution” – such as calling a brilliant diamond an “intelligent rock”. God created a perfect paradise! (See Genesis 1). Isaiah 11:6-9, as well as Revelation 21 and 22, prophesy a restored paradise where “They shall not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” (Isaiah 11:9).
6. The worst part of the portrayal of God taking millions (even billions) of years to “create” by using gradual evolutionary processes is that He would therefore be using suffering and death as part of the process before Adam and Eve sinned. The Word of God explicitly teaches that everything God created during creation week was good, and the sixth day he declared it very good. Death and suffering came upon this world as part of the curse because Adam and Eve rebelled and sinned against God. Romans 5:12 says, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned….” Jesus came to this earth as the second Adam to undo what the first Adam caused. Jesus conquered sin and death by His sinless life, death for our sins, and resurrection for our eternal life. That is the gospel.
7. Every old earth theory (speculation) that is offered as a substitute for what Genesis 1 actually says puts suffering and death before sin. This is a blatant violation of Biblical teaching in Genesis 1 – 3 and Romans 5 – 8. This violation of vital Biblical teaching undermines the main reason why Jesus came to earth.
8. If the first Adam was an analogy, what does that make the second Adam? Luke traces the genealogy of Jesus all the way back to Adam. See Luke 3:23-28. Can an analogy “evolve” into a living, breathing human being? Doesn’t this idea require incredible blind faith? I mention analogy because proponents of long ages try to side-step the clear, historical narrative of the early chapters of Genesis by calling it an analogy or poetic. It is neither one.
9. How old were Adam and Eve on the 7th day? One day? Or millions of years? How can we make sense out of each day being a long age?
10. What is the origin of the seven day week? One year is based on the rotation of the earth around the sun, and the month is based on the rotation of the moon around the earth. The only reason for our seven day week is that it is the ordinance of our Lord Almighty Himself.
11. What kind of language is Genesis? The Bible has figurative language in the books of poetry and prophecy – but the first five books of the Bible are history and law. How should we read history and law? As literal truth!
12. Jesus Himself, while in human form, expressed his belief in the accuracy and historicity of the early chapters of Genesis. See Mark 10:6-9 and Matthew 24:37-39. He not only believed it – He created it! “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.” Colossians 1:15-18 (NKJV).
The issue is – do we believe Him? This is vitally important! Romans 4:3 says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Do we believe Him? Or do we doubt Him and try to twist His Word to fit human speculation of “science falsely so called”?
13. Please consider Psalm 33:6, 8-9: “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.. ..Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.” (NKJV)
Let’s do as the Word of God says – “Stand in awe of Him!” How awesome is the power of His Word! Let’s heed His warnings to never add to nor take away from His Word. Deuteronomy 4:2 says: “You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take anything from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.”
Does A Recent Creation Contradict Science?
I have listed 13 Biblical reasons for why this matters. Do you think the Bible contradicts science? God is the original scientist! Does God contradict Himself with His Word contrasted with His world? Are you willing to test, probe, and examine the implications of Paul’s warning to Timothy about science (knowledge) falsely so-called? See 1 Timothy 6:20-21.
By the way, every Biblical creation ministry can give you a lot of scientific reasons why the earth, the solar system, and the universe cannot be millions of years old. Contact us at Northwest Science Museum if you want more information. The phone number is 208-972-6288.
Or – the email address is: northwestsciencemuseum.com
You can also contact me (Rick Deighton) at overseasoutreach@earthlink.net