Were the seven days of creation actually seven days?

Answer 1

Morover, Adam lived to be 930 years old. Gen 2:17 says "in the day you eat of the fruit" you will die. By the reckoning of time IN the garden of eden, a day after being kick out into the normal world, must have been 1 day equals 930 years (or close to 1 thousand), then it took 6510 years to create the earth then rest on the 7th day (or 7000 years).

Answer:

The 7 days of creation were NOT 7 literal 24 hour days.

The word 'day' in The Bible, does not always mean a 24 hour day.

For example: just the next Chapter in Genesis (chapter 2) in verse 4, it labels all the 6 days (plural as depicted in Genesis 1); all those 6 days are labeled as 1 day (singular). Is this to say that 6 days also equals 24 hours, since it is also called 'day', not 'days'?

This is but one example of MANY, where the word 'day' refers to something OTHER THAN a 24 hour day. Likewise with the term 'evening' and 'morning'; it is also used in a 'figurative' was, NOT NECESSARILY always 'literal'; as fundamentalists would have you arbitrarily believe.

Another Evidence that the creative days were NOT 24 hour days. In the Scriptural record the account of each of the six creative days concludes with the statement: "And there came to be evening and there came to be morning" a first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth day. The seventh day, however, does not have this ending, indicating that this period, during which God has been resting from his creative works toward the earth, continued on. (Among other scriptures) at Hebrews 4:1-10 the Apostle Paul indicated that God's rest day was still continuing in his generation, which had by then been more than 4,000 years after that seventh-day rest period began. This makes it evident that each creative day, or work period, was at least thousands of years in length.

Reference Quotes:

• A Religious Encyclopaedia (Vol. I, p. 613): "The days of creation were creative days, stages in the process, but not days of twenty-four hours each."-Edited by P. Schaff, 1894.
• The Hebrew word yohm, translated "day," can mean different lengths of time. Among the meanings possible, William Wilson's Old Testament Word Studiesincludes the following: "A day; it is frequently put for time in general, or for a long time; a whole period under consideration . . . Day is also put for a particular season or time when any extraordinary event happens." (Old TestamentWord Studies, Grand Rapids, Mich.; 1978, W. Wilson, p. 109)

Therefore we cannot be as arbitrary as 'fundamentalists'.

I believe that science agrees with this Bible view. While not calling them 'creative' days; science agrees that there was MUCH TIME involved in the things that formed the earth, and life on it.

Answer:

Yes -- 24-hour days.

A day consists of two parts... a day or "light" portion, and a night or "dark" portion. And these are treated in the account:

"God called the light 'day,' and the darkness He called 'night.' And there was evening, and there was morning -- THE FIRST DAY." (Gen.1:5 NIV)

"...And there was eveniing, and there was morning -- THE SECOND DAY." (verse 8)

"And there was evening, and there was morning -- THE THIRD DAY." (verse 13)

And so on.

Answer 2

Yes. There is no doubt that Genesis chapter 1 says that each day of creation was a normal Earth Day, and that creation took six normal days, after which God rested for a day. After all, in Genesis chapter 1 each day had an evening and a morning (Genesis 1:5,8,13,19,23).

Moreover, the Old Testament genealogies make it clear that this was perceived as occurring just six thousand years ago. The fact that this conflicts with what we now know about the age of the earth and the time that it took for species to evolve, is not relevant to what the Bible says if read literally.

For more information, please visit: http://christianity.answers.com/theology/the-story-of-creation

Answer 3

Yes, that is what tradition states (though some people today would prefer to understand the verses as referring to seven epochs). This need not present a problem to us, since there is plenty of evidence for a young earth and for creationism in general:

Is there evidence for Creation?

Can you show that God exists?

Seeing God's wisdom

Answer 4

Yes, it is clear from the context of the Genesis account it is speaking of 7 twenty four hour periods or 7 literal days. The opening verses in Genesis 1:1-2 speak to the original creation (Genesis 1:1 with an apparent 'gap' before the next verse which may account for 'deep time' scientists have recently discovered) and the renewal of a devastated planet Earth beginning in Genesis 1:2 (see Psalm 104:30, etals). So the 'creation week' is actually the renewing of the face of the Earth for God's pinnacle creature - mankind, made after the God-kind and formed by Him - like a master sculptor.


The Bible never tells us how long the original physical creation took (see Genesis 2:4 referring to 'day') and the term 'day' can symbolically mean an extended period of time in some Scripture - like the 'day of the Lord' (1 Thessalonians 5:2). But here in the Genesis account, God is quite specific in meaning a 24 hour day repeating each subsequent day, "So the evening and the morning were the first day...etc" He also established the Sabbath - a day of rest - which was later enshrined in the Fourth Command and obviously refers to a 24 hour period (see Exodus 20:8-11) and not another period of time.

We know that the Creator 'Word' who became Jesus contrasted day and night saying, "Are there not twelve hours in the day? (see John 11:9). There are also 12 hours in the night, totaling 24 hours/day.
Consider the renewal process on the 3rd day - God created fruit-bearing trees. Now these trees would surely die off if insects, created a few days later and would pollinate them, if a day was millions of years later.


A 'Chronological Bible' was published attempting to put the Scripture in 'time-order.' It begins like this: John 1:1-2; Psalm 90:2; Genesis 1:1; Isaiah 14:12-17; Ezekiel 28:13-18; Genesis 1:2... for your reading pleasure.