Did Creation really happen in just seven days?

Question

I was just wondering how many people think seven days in the Bible means the days as we know them? I think it's difficult to tell what the Bible means when talking about length of time.

Answer 1

Excellent question. There are many passages in the Bible and many aspects of the universe that are difficult to comprehend. I believe God intended for us to discover and understand them as our ability to do so advanced over time. To answer your question, I don't believe the days described in Genesis 1 were 24 hours long, and I don't believe the original Hebrew text requires them to be.

EDIT :: I was raised under the young-earth paradigm, and believed in it until I was almost 30 years old. However, my doubt had grown with time and experience as both a Christian and a research engineer. I eventually decided to undertake a personal investigation of the matter, from both the scriptural and scientific points of view. After extensively investigating both sides of the young-earth/old-earth controversy, I came to a conclusion and a crossroads: either (a) the entire universe is an illusion, or (b) it is roughly 14 billion years old. I opted for the latter. I have continued to follow the controversy, and have read and heard nothing in the intervening 12 years to cast doubt on my current position, which is that God created the universe over six very long periods of time. However, I am not a theistic evolutionist, and remain strongly committed to Biblical inerrancy and salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone. I find no need for conflict between the scriptural and observational evidence.

It deeply troubles (and frankly, irritates) me that there are those who consider young-earth belief to be a litmus test for true Christianity, and persist in attacking the faith of those who do not agree with them.

Answer 2

I've answered this plenty of times but will do so again. The Bible couldn't possibly be any plainer or more clear on the fact that God created all things in 6 -not 7- literal days. The first chapter stipulates how God defines a "day" -repetitively- as follows:
"It was evening and it was morning, day one". "It was evening and it was morning, day two". "It was evening and it was morning, day three" etc etc etc etc. Also read the act of creation on the first day and you will see yet another God given definition of what exactly a day meant. "And God called the darkness night, and the light He called DAY, and it was evening and it was morning, day one".
Are you still unconvinced after all of that evidence? Try this, "Six days shall you labour and work... For in six days God made the heavens and the earth, the seas and ALL that is in them, and rested on the seventh day" -Exodus 20:9,11
And again, "Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh is a day of rest... For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested" -Exodus 31:15-17. There are other such verses of Scripture but surely these are more than enough to declare that when God says He created everything in six days, He means six days!
Furthermore, there is no other possible explanation for the fact that there are seven days in every week, all over the entire world, and that it's been that way since the begining of recorded history.
A day is defined by the rotation of Earth on its axis, which we can observe as darkness -evening/night- and light -morning/day. Thus has it been since God created time and the rest of the universe, and all that is within them. Months are determined by the moon travelling around Earth and years are determined by Earth travelling around the Sun. So someone, anyone, give me one solid, scientific reason for the fact that there are seven days in every week and have been since the beginning of time, all over the world

Answer 3

Creation happened in six days and on the 7th day God rested. This is the origin of the 7 day week (not the names of the week) and the 7th day Sabbath and it would be meaningless if the days were not literal.

It is not difficult to understand but it may be difficult for human nature to believe.

Unbelief stands in the way of much understanding.

Why would the Creator need millions of years to create the world when He can create a new heart in a moment ?

Show N Tell

Answer 4

I do not believe it means seven 24 hour days.
The Bible also says "to God a day is as a thousand years."
I do not dispute that the Earth is 2 billion years old, that there were dinosaurs... that can be proven. But I do not feel that those facts over the last two billion years diminshes God in any way. God's days, those whether metaphorical or different at that time in the Earth, still accomplished his beautiful work and I am in awe of it still.
I believe "day" is an expression in the Genesis scripture - an expression of God's time in the sense of one who has always been and always will be.

Answer 5

Gen.1:1,2 All exist.
Gen.1:3-25 Preparing earth that already existed for animal life and 26 human life and Gen.2:2,4 the age of the world after Adam was created to Rev.20:1-6 the 1000 year reign will end [ 7x 7000 years = ] as age of day seven at 7000, is age of 1 to 6 at 42,000 and all of it is 49,000 years and we are ver close to Rev.20:1-6 [ No Satan as the world from Eden with Satan will end ], the reign of Christ at his second coming.

Eph.2:7; 3:21 The world with Jesus is without end.

Answer 6

No, it happened in 6 days. God rested on the 7th day.

God knew this would one day be a controversial subject and He cared enough about us to be very specific and very clear that the "day" He referred to is the same as the day you and I know. The evening and the morning were the first day.

Example:

Genesis 1:3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

Answer 7

Listen the best thing to believe is the word of god..if god's says so its true! I would rather believe what god says than what people say; its very important that we know that God is God..he is omnipotent and its somewhat hard to believe how powerful he is but he is real....Trust in the lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding: Proverbs Chapter 3 vs 5

ALL Scripture is giving by inspiration of god
2nd Timothy Chapter 3 vs 16

Answer 8

Well it says seven days in the Bible, so obviously its seven days!

Answer 9

In the holy qur'an,Allah spoke that He created this universe the skies and this earth with all of its contents in 6 periods or time not days and after that He took a rest for 1 period..Allah has omni power and omni know, what He wants it will occure.The length of a period we do not know how long exactly.

Answer 10

Try 2 Peter 3:8 KJV