Many evangelical Christians who profess to believe the Genesis account of creation over the Theory of Evolution still argue over one main area. Did God really perform the act of creation within six literal days? Since science has “proven” the earth is billions of years old and that the dinosaurs lived millions of years before man even existed, isn’t it only logical to conclude that the earth could not have really been created within the literal six days of creation? Regardless of the sincerity and depth of the believer’s conviction that creation “must have” taken a longer period of time, God’s word is very clear that the days of creation were six literal, 24 hour days. In fact, the biblical account of creation is actually the foundation of the Christian faith.
The biblical account of creation begins appropriately in Genesis 1:1 and states on the first day, “And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. “ (Genesis 1:3-5 NIV) Please note that God was very specific to point out the following items; the descriptive phrase “and there was evening and morning” and also a number preceding the word day “the first day”. The second day of creation, God created atmosphere, but note what He says in verse 8, “God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.” (NIV) Again pointing out the evening and the morning was the second day.
First, let’s look at the word “day” used in the Genesis account which is the Hebrew word “yom”. The word “yom” can be translated to mean a specific day or a period of time depending on its context and if it is preceded by a number. This is very similar to our English usage as well. For example, we could say, “ Back in the day when I was a child ..” and it would be understood by the context that we meant a period of time and not a single, 24 hour day. However, if we said, “I will give you one more day to clean your room or else!” this would be clearly understood that we meant a single, 24 hour day.
The use of word “yom” with a number outside of Genesis chapter one occurs 359 times in scripture and each time it means a literal, 24 hour day. There is one question we must ask. Why would Genesis chapter one be the exception?
The next important evidence that the author meant a literal, 24 hour period is the use of the phrase “And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.” Outside of Genesis chapter one, “yom” is used with the word “evening” or “morning” 23 times. “Evening” and “Morning” are used together without the word “yom” 38 times. Since all 61 times refer to an ordinary, literal day, why would Genesis chapter one be the exception?
Why does it really matter whether or not we believe that the world was created over a span of billions of years or a literal six days? Is the belief of creation really essential to the Christian faith? If the account of creation in Genesis is accurate, then there was once a literal Adam and Eve and a perfect world without sin that was created in six literal days. Once sin entered into the world, death and separation from God were the results. If there was no Adam or Eve and no original sin, then why would we need a savior? We would conclude that we are simply a result of chance and evolution and that death and sin are natural and salvation would therefore be unnecessary. Creation is actually the foundation of the Christian faith and God’s plan of salvation was created before the foundations of the world. In fact, Jesus is referred to as the “second Adam” in Romans 5:19, “For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. (KJV)” The final question to ask is when does the Bible become “real” to you and actually means what it says? In Genesis, Exodus, Matthew, Mark? Let’s start by focusing our attention on the first four words of the Bible, “In the beginning, God” (Genesis 1:1, NIV) and ask Him to reveal His truth to you.
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