Day Age Creation Belief is it Correct?

Partial Index: Day 4 Day 6

Version 2

By Mark Farquharson

The Day Age Creation belief, is the belief that each day in what is called the creation account or recreation account in Genesis 1, is an age long. A day can be form the morning to the evening, being 12 hours, or the full 24 hour day. However in scripture days can also be longer. A day can be a week, a day can be a year in prophecy.

The question is how long are the days in Genesis 1? Some people would say that they are 24 hour days like we have today, God could have done each work in that period. Others say that the events of each day point to longer periods of time, there is no way the things that happened on the day could have happened in one 24 hour day.

This argument can then be used by those who believe in science over scripture. They know that scientists have said that the earth is billions of years old, and they agree with the scientists, that the earth and the universe are many billions of years old. They also believe in evolution, that plants and animals evolved over hundreds of millions of years. How then do you get the six days of creation to fit? Clearly the days are long than a 24 hour period. Each is actually a age, or eon, which is along period of time. By making them many billions of years long they can fit what scientists are saying, But are they correct?

Heavens:

The word “heaven” or “heavens” in the Hebrew is translated from the world “shamayim.” This a dual of the unused singular “shameh.” This comes from the unused root, which means to be lofty. Most of the time this seems to be translated “heavens,” but sometimes it is translated “heaven.” There are at present three heavens: the Sky, Universe {Space}, and where the angels are.

Creation of the first Heaven and Earth

Is Genesis 1:1 a summary of the creation account, or is it as some say the actual creation of the heavens and the earth.

Genesis 1:1 Created by the Elohim were the heavens and the earth. CLV

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. REB

This is the actual creation of the first Heaven and earth. It is not the creation of the existing heavens and earth. At this present time humanity exists in the second heavens and earth. As will be explained the heavens now, Sky, and Space, were created on day two. The stars that exist today were not created until day four, and did not exist at this point. This is before the week starts that is covered in Genesis 1.

The set up of the earth and heaven here could have been very different to the present, but that is not the topic of this discussion. There were no humans on this earth as Adam had not been created yet. As for the animals, there is no scriptural support for there being animals on this first earth. The animals that exist today all came from the kinds that were created on days five and six. Thus recreation does not support the evolution model to do with humans & animals.

What of plants? The first earth could have had plants. However that does not mean the plants that exist today came form these plants. The first earth became chaos and vacant, thus no plants would have survived the process.

How long did it take God to create the earth? According to scientists it took a long time. However no one has seen the creation of a planet, the explanation of how planets are formed by scientists, is just that a explanation, it does not make it true. God could have formed the earth instantly, and when God forms the new earth, he will do it instantly. That does not mean that he will then take six days to fashion the new earth. When God forms the new earth, he will do the process I believe instantly, instead of putting the plants on the earth on day three, he will do it at the same time in an instant.

Chaos

Genesis 1:2 Yet the earth became a chaos and vacant, and darkness was on the surface of the submerged chaos. Yet the spirit of the Elohim is vibrating over the surface of the water. {CLV}

Here the first earth has become chaos and vacant. Creationists mostly believe that there was no recreation. They believe that the earth was original created that way, thus existing in that from, before it was transformed. For it is said that it can read “was chaos and vacant,” instead of “became a chaos and vacant.” This is not the main focus of this study. Thus I will not be covering all the arguments for or against the recreation.

2Peter 3:5-6 For they want to be oblivious of this, that there were heavens of old, and an earth cohering out of water and through water, by the word of God;" through which the then world, being deluged by water, perished." {CLV}

It is believe that this is talking about the flood in Noah’s day. That did cover the whole world with water, but that is not what is being talked about here. It says here that “there were heavens of old.” The flood in Noah’s day, did not effect the heavens. For the stars were not effected, and the sky was not replaced. Thus this must be talking about another event.

In Genesis 1:2, the first earth became chaos and vacant. It is a submerged chaos, having been covered with water. There is no sky because the sky that exists today was not created until day two. There is no universe, space, for that is also created on day two. Thus the recreation can begin, the creation of the present heavens and earth.

Does this mean scientists are right, the earth is actual billions of years old? Scientists do not believe in a recreation of the earth, which happen about 6000 years ago. As for the first earth being created billions of years ago, that is something that is unknown. However what is known is that dating is not correct. For instance the “Stone Age,” which started about a million years ago. Man was created only about 6000 years ago, therefore the dates for the “Stone Age” are completely wrong. Which brings the question, was there a stone age? That is not the focus of this study. With dating for things that are meant to be form the “stone age” completely wrong, how can one rely on dates that are millions & billions of years older? Of course one can not rely on any of these dates. Thus it is unknown how long ago the first earth was created.

The first earth could have been created only a few thousand years before the present earth was created, but it is just not known at this time.

Day 1

Is Genesis 1:1 a summary of the creation account, or is it as some say the actual creation of the heavens and the earth.

Genesis 1:1 Created by the Elohim were the heavens and the earth. CLV

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. REB

I use to think it was a summary, but now I realise I was wrong. Genesis 1:2 starts with the earth already created, if Genesis 1:1 is a summary, then Genesis 1:2 should start with the creation of the earth, it does not. However if it is not a summary surely this means that the stars were created on day one. Actually no it does not mean that. But it says heavens meaning the stars and the planets. Wrong the heavens does not mean stars and planets. There is more than one heavens, did you know the sky is also the heavens. However the atmosphere was not created when the heavens were created, because first the earth had to be created. The sky was actually created on day two. There are other heavens that God created, these heavens are where the heavenly host are. The angels are not in the sky, or in outer space. We know that the heavenly host existed when the earth was created. However the angels are not the heavens that they exist in, they are in the heavens. We know that the stars are not in the sky, they are in space. One of the heavens created was indeed space, but does that mean the stars were created at the same time? No the stars do not have to be made at the same time, they are not space, they are in space. Lets get this right, when God created earth on day one it did not have trees, animals and humans, these came later, they inhabit the earth, but they are not the earth. The stars and planets inhabit space, but they are not space. Thus we see that God created the heavens, one of these heavens was indeed space, and he created the earth, which is in space. There is no way the earth can be in space if God did not create space.

How long did it take God to create the earth? According to scientists it took a long time. However no one has seen the creation of a planet, the explanation of how planets are formed by scientists, is just that a explanation, it does not make it true. God could have formed the earth instantly, and when God forms the new earth, he will do it instantly. That does not mean that he will then take six days to fashion the new earth. When God forms the new earth, he will do the process I believe instantly, instead of putting the plants on the earth on day three, he will do it at the same time in an instant.

Genesis 1:3 And saying is the Elohim, "Become light!" And it is becoming light. CLV

Genesis 1:3 And God said—Light, be, And light was. REB

The argument is that God did not create the light, if he had done so the text would say this. If God did not create the light, then this must be the sun that is producing this light. However the problem is this light does not appear on the earth according to those who believe that each day is an age. The light actually appears on day four, that is why we have a recount of the stars be made on day four. This is also wrong, if the stars including the Sun were made in Genesis 1:1, then why mention the Sun in Genesis 1:3 when we have moved on to an account about the earth? See as this is an account about the earth, surely this is when the light appear from the Sun on the earth? This of course would create a problem for those who believe in the days being ages, because this would conflict with the light actually appearing on day four.

The argument is that if God created the light it would say so. Actually I don’t think God created the light, and I don’t believe it came from the Sun, because the Sun had not be made yet. The Light came from God, he did not have to create the light, it came form him.

They also say at this point that the earth was in darkness because of the thick cloud cover that is mention in Job 38: 4-9. Yes Job does mention cloud cover, but it does not mean it was like this on day one. How can you have thick cloud cover on day one, when there is no sky? The atmosphere, or the sky is not actually made until day 2. They agree that the atmosphere is not made until day 2, but they still have clouds on day one, impossible. However we will see more of there argument in day 2.

Day 2

Genesis 1:6 And God said, Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it be a means of dividing, between waters and waters,

1:7 And God made the expanse, and it divided between the waters that were under the expanse and the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so.

1:8 And God called the expanse, heavens. So it was evening—and it was morning, a, second day. REB

The waters in these verses are on the earth, and they are being separated by something called the expanse, which God creates between the waters. What then is this expanse, that is called the heavens?

The CLV translation use the word “atmosphere,” instead of “expanse” however this is incorrect, for this just refers to the sky, and one would then incorrectly think that just the sky is being created. I myself use to think that, but there is a lot more than the sky being created here. Other translations use “firmament” which is also incorrect, for it also refers to the sky.

When I say a lot more than the sky is being created here, what do you think I mean? Well what I mean is that not just the sky is being created, but also the expanse beyond the sky is being created here. What is beyond the sky? If you go right up above the sky you get to? Well you get to outer space of course do you not?

How do I know that space is created at this point and not just the sky? Simple if you read a bit further on in the scriptures they indicate it is outer space, that is also created. You will see that on day four, the luminaries, that is the sun, moon and stars, are placed where? In the expanse, that is were they are created as I will cover later. Thus the expanse known as the heavens, is the sky, the first heaven, and space, the second heaven. Note at this point no stars are created, it is only the place where they will be placed that is created. You will see that the stars are created on day four. Thus heavens, does not mean the stars and planets themselves, they are placed in one of the heavens on day four.

How then do I know the sky is part of this expanse? When the birds are created on day five, they fly in the expanse, which means it must include the sky.

The believers in long periods of time state this is when the clouds are separated from the water, the separation being called heavens. Actually this is not what is happening here, it does not say the clouds are on the seas, and that they are then separated form the sea. “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters”, that is the expanse that God makes is in the water. There are no clouds before God creates the expanse it is all the water. What God does is separate some of the water, by putting an expanse there in the water. This courses some of the water to be separate from the sea.

This has implications for the actual structure of the universe. For I have just explained that space was put between the waters, and that being the case, it indicates a different structure of the universe than what we have been told by scientists. Somewhere out there at the edge of space is these waters that were separated by the expanse, that was created. The water is not necessarily in liquid form, it could be like ice or crystal. And space itself was created around the earth, between the waters. This article is not about the actual structure of the universe.

Day 3

Genesis 1:9-10 And God said—Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together, into one place, and let the dry—ground appear. And it was so. And God called, the dry-ground, land, but the gathering together of the waters, called he seas. And God saw that it was good. REB

How long did God take to gather the waters and make dry land appear? Those who believe that each day is an age, believe God used plate tectonics. This would have indeed taken along time if God used plate tectonics, but did he? There is no evidence in the scripture that point to God using plate tectonics. When God flood the earth in Noah’s day, the earth was greatly changed. The springs of the submerge chaos broke up. This did not take billions or even millions of years, it did not even take a thousand years. Of course it did take longer than a day. Thus we know that God does not need to use plate tectonics to reform the earth. Why change all the land on the earth so that the land is above the water. When God made the earth, why did he not have the land under the water in the shape it would be when it was above the water? Actually this makes a lot more sense, than believing God had to greatly reform the earth that he had just created in an instance. God did not have to reform the land that was under the water, it was already in the proper layout, that it would take above the water. Thus with no reform needed, it was a quick process. The land did not actually need to move at all, it was the water that moved. Genesis 1:9-1:10 tells us that it is the water that moves, not the land. “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together”, this tells us it is the water that moves, not the land. The land appears when the water has moved of the land. The land did not have to move for the land to be above the water.

Psalms 104:5 He has founded the earth on its bases. It shall never slip for the eon and further.

104:6 You covered it with the abyss as clothing; The waters stood above the mountains,

104:7 Yet from Your rebuke they fled; From the sound of Your thunder they hurried away.

104:8 They ascended over the mountains; They descended to the valleys, To the place that You had founded for them." CLV

This details what happened in Genesis 1:9-1:10. Note here also it is the water that moves, not the land. The water is rebuked, it hurries away from the thunder of God. There is no mention of the land being rebuked, or moving in some way at all.

Of course one wonders, how the water went down, if it covered the earth. Are we meant to think that there was some large hole that was full of air that the water drained into, of course not. However there is another time that the earth is covered with water, this is at the time of the worldwide flood. At the time of the flood God used his powers to get the waters to cover the entire earth. Thus God kept the waters high enough to cover the entire earth until such a time that he want to let them go down.

Creation of plants

Genesis 1:11-12 And God said—Let the land put-forth vegetation-herb yielding seed, fruit-tree, bearing fruit, after its kind, whose seed is within it on the land. And it was so, And the land brought-forth vegetation—herb yielding seed after its kind, and tree bearing fruit, whose seed is within it, after its kind, And God saw that it was good. {REB}

It is point out that the process under natural conditions would have taken several years. The argument is that God would not have speeded up the process. Since God says “Let the land put-forth vegetation” and of course “the land brought-forth vegetation”. God would be a liar if he did it miraculously in a 24 hour period. The questions is would it make God a liar? Actually it would not. The beginning of the process most be miraculously, because there is no way ground on it’s own can produce trees, the land has to have seeds in it, before any trees will grow. These would have be created by God and put in the ground, there is no other way they could have got there. The seeds did not evolve somehow out of the ground, that is impossible. After God put the seeds miraculously in the ground, he then stops and waits for the trees to grow?

Numbers 17:5 So shall it come to pass, that, the man whom I shall choose, his staff, shall bud,—so will I cause to cease from against me the murmurings of the sons of Israel, wherewith they, are murmuring against you.

17:6 And Moses spake unto the sons of Israel and every one of their princes gave unto him, a staff apiece, for each prince, by their ancestral houses, twelve staves,—and the staff of Aaron, was in the midst of their staves.

17:7 So Moses laid up the staves before Yahweh,—in the tent of the testimony.

17:8 And it came to pass, on the morrow, that Moses entered into the tent of the testimony; and lo! the staff of Aaron for the house of Levi, had budded,—yea it had brought forth buds and bloomed blossoms, and borne ripe almonds. REB

In this Numbers account, a rod actually blossoms, and is ripe with almonds. Now we see that it only took until the next day. I know this is not a full grown fruit tree, but it is the language used we need to look at. “It brought forth buds” that is the rod “brought forth buds”, this of course is miraculously, there is no way a rod can on it’s own can bud and produce almonds. Note the buds just did not appear on the rod, they grew from the rod. On day 3 in the Genesis account “the land brought-forth vegetation.” Thus just like the rod miraculously grew buds so the land on day three miraculously brought forth vegetation. This shows God is not a liar, the trees sprouted from the ground and in one day grew big enough to produce fruit. Note the trees did not have time to evolve.

Day 4

Gen 1:14 And God said—Let there be luminaries in the expanse of the heavens, to divide between the day and the night,—and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years;

Gen 1:15 yea let them be for luminaries in the expanse of the heavens, to give light on the earth. And it was so.

Gen 1:16 And God made the two great luminaries,—the greater luminary to rule the day, and the lesser luminary to rule the night, also the stars.

Gen 1:17 And God set them in the expanse of the heavens,—to give light on the earth;

Gen 1:18 and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. REB

“Let there be luminaries in the expanse of the heavens,” where are the luminaries created, they are created in the expanse that was created back on day two. There are two great luminaries, these being the Sun, which rules the day, and the moon that rules the night. They are in the expanse along with the stars, that means that part of the expanse that was created on day two is outer space, for the luminaries are not in the sky, they are in space, and here they are put in the expanse, which means part of the expanse is outer space. Thus as I explained before, on day two the sky and space was created.

You can not have the stars created on day one, if “space” itself was not created until day two. There would be nowhere to put the stars, which does create a bit of a problem.

If the stars were made on day one, why is it recounted here? If the stars were made on day one then this account should be included in the day one account. When the plants are made, their account is included on the day they are made, not some other day. This is the same for the fish and the birds and the beasts, the accounts are on the day they happened. Also the pattern is the same as the other days when something is made. None of these are recounts, of something that happened earlier, and the people who believe that the days were ages, also do not view these as recounts. To make the day age believe work, this has to be a recount, but there is no way it is a recount. It does not mention the stars being made on day one. And as already pointed out, the expanse where the stars are, was not created until day two.

For there to be a recount it would have to say more on day one about the creation of the stars and the expanse would have to be created on that day as well, not day two. It does mention the heavens being created in Genesis 1:1, but as already pointed out this can not be talking about the creation of space on day one. For as explained space was not created until day two.

If indeed the stars were made on day four, this totally destroys the day age believe. Scientists don’t believe the stars were made after the earth, this would be preposterous to them.

How long did God take to create the stars and the planets. Actually he did not need a long time. It is again the scientists who say that it takes along time for a star to form.

There is no mention of any other work on this day. However to make their believe work, they say God did do something else on this day. If God did something else on this day it should say this. Instead of giving us a recount of the stars being made as they claim, it should mention this work. They say the clouds were removed, so the light could appear, but it does not mention this in the Genesis account for this day. In fact if the earth was covered with a layer of cloud it could have been removed on a previous day. Why did not God remove it before he created the plants for instance? We have no scripture support that confirms the cloud cover was removed on this day.

If we have no work on this day, then God did not do any thing on this day, which makes the day irrelevant. The day is not need at all. It does not say that God rested on this day. What did God do on the day if he did not make the stars or remove the cloud cover?

Of course God made the stars on this day just as it says.

Job 38: 4-9

Job 38:4 Where were you when I founded the earth? Tell if you know with understanding.

Job 38:5 Who determined its measurements--for surely you know! Or who stretched out a tape upon it?

Job 38:6 On what were its sockets sunk? Or who directed its cornerstone in place,

Job 38:7 When the stars of the morning jubilated together, And all the sons of Elohim shouted with joy?

Job 38:8 Who shut in the sea with double doors When it rushed forth, it came forth from the womb,

Job 38:9 When I made a cloud its garment And murkiness its swaddling band,

Job 38:10 When I set My statute upon it And broke bar and doors,

Job 38:11 When I said, Unto here shall you come but shall not proceed farther, And here a limit is set to the pride of your billows? CLV

The scripture says “a cloud its garment”, but does this mean the earth was covered by cloud? Job does not say when this cloud cover was removed if indeed it is cloud cover. You can claim it was removed on day four, but it does not say that in Job, in fact it does not mention any days in Job. There is no scripture support for the cloud cover being removed on day four. It does not say when the cloud cover was made, it does not say the cloud cover was made on day one. In fact, Job seems to be indicating that the cloud cover is actually more to do with day 3. If it is to do with day one it should be earlier in the account. It should actually be mention before Job 38:8. It is Job 38:8 that starts taking about the sea, and Job 38:10 -11 are also to do with the sea, which makes the placing of the clouds in Job 38:9 problematic. However it is only problematic if you say that it is to do with day one. What is a cloud? It may seem like a stupid question, but I do have a point. A Cloud is water, thus Job 38:9 is also to do with the water. This is an indication of what happened on day two when God separated some of the water, by putting the expanse in the water. It is a not saying the earth was covered by clouds that prevent the Sun shining through. But surely if the cloud is a garment then it would stop light getting through? No it is saying that the cloud is the garment of the sea, not a garment that is covering the earth. How can the cloud be a garment of the sea?

Garment has Strong’s number H3830: lebûsh

From H3847; a garment (literally or figuratively); by implication (euphemistically) a wife: - apparel, clothed with, clothing, garment, raiment, vestment, vesture.

Note it says by implication a wife, that is the two are joined together. How are the two joined together when they are separated by the expanse? The water in the clouds when it rains, falls on the land and the sea. The water from the land drains into the sea. Some of the water in the sea gets separated again, this is known as evaporation, which can then form clouds again. Thus figuratively the cloud is a wife.

Now I know it says “And murkiness its swaddling band”, this is to do with the water, it is not to do with the clouds being so thick that they stop light getting through. The sea is murky, it is dark and gloomy, it is hard to see through. This is what the sea is like, it is describing a feature of the sea.

Job 38:7 When the stars of the morning jubilated together, And all the sons of Elohim shouted with joy? CLV

The “stars of the morning jubilated together?” This is another interesting one, is it saying that the stars were made earlier than day four? Actually it is not indicating that here. It also mentions the stars after the earth was created, and it does not actually mention their creation here, it is saying they jubilated together. Jubilated, meaning the stars celebrated and rejoiced, but no star can celebrated and rejoiced. Also no stars are of the morning, you look at the stars at night time. The same verse mentions that the sons of Elohim shouted with joy. These two parts are connected, they are both talking about the same thing. The sons here being spiritual beings. This tells us that it is not the actual stars that jubilated together, but the heavenly beings.

Psalms 104:4 Making His messengers winds, His ministers a flaming fire, CLV

Here in Psalms 104:4 God makes His ministers a flaming fire, that would be indeed bright light a star.

Why mention them twice in Job 38:7 ? There are many different kinds of angels {heavenly beings}. For instance in Psalms 104:4 we have messengers and ministers, two different groups. Thus “stars of the morning” is one group that jubilated together and all the angels shouted with joy.

Day 5

Genesis 1:20 And God said—Let the waters swarm with an abundance of living soul, and, birds, shall fly over the earth, over the face of the expanse of the heavens.

1:21 And God created the great sea-monsters,—and every living soul that moveth— with which the waters swarmed after their kind and every winged bird—after its kind. And God saw that it was good.

1:22 And God blessed them, saying,—Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let, the birds, multiply in the land. REB

This is when the whales and other sea creatures were created. On this day also were the different kinds of birds created. They fly over the earth in the expanse that was created back on day two. There is no reason to believe that this process of creation took a long time. There is no need for an sort of evolution here. If it did not take along time, then what did God do if the day was many millions or billions of years long? Did he rest?

Day 6

Genesis 1:24 And God said—Let the land, bring forth, living soul, after its kind, tame-beast and creeping thing and wild-beast, of the land, after its kind. And it was so.

Gen 1:25 And God made the wild-beast of the land after its kind, and the tame-beast after its kind, and every creeping thing of the ground, after its kind. And God saw that it was good.

Gen 1:26 And God said—Let us make man in our image after our likeness—and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the bird of the heavens and over the tame-beast—and over all the land, and over every creeping thing, that creepeth on the land.

Gen 1:27 And God created the man in his own image, In the image of God, created he him,—Male and female, created he, them.

Gen 1:28 And God blessed them, and God said to them Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it,—and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the bird of the heavens, and over every living thing that moveth on the land.

Gen 1:29 And God said—Lo! I have given to you—every herb yielding seed which is on the face of all the land, and every tree wherein is the fruit of a tree yielding seed,—to you, shall it be, for food;

Gen 1:30 and to every living thing of the land—and to every bird of the heavens, and to every thing that moveth on the land, wherein is a living soul, every green herb for food. And it wins so.

Gen 1:31 And God saw every thing which he had made, and lo! it was very good. So it was evening—and it was morning, the sixth day. REB

Note God created both Adam and Eve on day 6, “Male and female, created he, them”.

If you believe that each day is many millions or billions of years old, then you have to believe that Adam was made very late in the day, since he only lived until he was 930 years old. I don’t believe Adam was born when day six was very nearly over. There is no scriptural support for Adam being made so late in the day.

Some of Genesis 2 also details what happen on day 2. Below are the parts we will look into.

Genesis 2:8 And Yahweh God planted a garden in Eden, on the east,—and put there the man whom he had formed.

Gen 2:9 And Yahweh God, caused to spring up, out of the ground, every tree pleasant to the sight and good for food,—and the tree of life, in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. REB

Lets first deal with this garden that God planted. God cause the garden to spring up out of the ground. Under natural conditions the garden would have taken many years to grow. However the seeds for the trees of the garden world have been place there supernaturally by God. The ground with out seeds can not produce trees, no matter how long you wait for it to do so. After God supernaturally put the seeds in the ground, did he then wait for the trees to grow? Why would God stop using his powers and wait for it to grow? Thus God continued to use his powers, making the trees grow faster than normal conditions just like he did on day 3. The account in Genesis 2 shows God’s continuous use of his powers throughout the day. God did not stop to watch the trees grow naturally.

Naming the Animals

Genesis 2:19 Now Yahweh God had formed from the ground every living thing of the field and every bird of the heavens, which he brought in unto the man, that he might see what he should call it,—and, whatsoever the man should call it—any living soul, that, should be the name thereof.

Gen 2:20 So the man gave names to all the tame-beasts, and to the birds of the heavens, and to all the wild-beasts of the field,—but, for man, had there not been found a helper as his counterpart. REB

Note no creatures of the sea are mention, Adam does not name these. The question is how many creatures does Adam name? The people who believe that each day was an age state the number of species that we have today, at least 14,600 species (8,600 species of birds and 4,000 species of mammals). They also state that Adam would have also had to name all the ones in the fossil record, which would have made it double. Also Adam did not have all day, only the time form when he was created, until the time Eve was created. Thus they claim that Adam would have had to name at least 20 species in a minute. It makes you wonder if they actual read the stuff by those who believe in a young earth correctly. Young earth believers do not believe that all the species we have today were around in Adam’s day. They believe God created kinds, which then over time became all the species we have today. Is it correct to believe that God created all the species we have today in the six days of creation? Or is it correct to believe that he created kinds, which later became all the species we have today?

According to creationists each Kind is a biological distinct species which can adapt to a wide variety of environments, but no kind can evolve into another kind. Animals with in a kind can mate with one another and produce offspring, but animals from different kinds can not mate. God did create kinds, but are creationists right about kinds? Some claim the kinds are equal to the species we have today, is this correct.

We know that God flood the whole world in Noah’s day. We know this because it destroyed all flesh, that is all people and all the animals on the land. This tells us that all the kinds that Adam name were on the ark, they had to fit on the ark. This indicates that there were not that many kinds as we have species today.

Lets use dogs as an example, due to breeding by humans we have all the domestic breeds we have today. In fact wolves, coyotes, dingoes and domestic dogs can all easily breed with one another. This shows that breeding can cause a wide variety of animals of all the same kind. This show that animals do have a built in variability, that allows them to change. If this was not the case, we would not have all the breeds we have today. It is also know that this can happen in the wild. For instance when a pest becomes resistant to pesticides. This shows the pest can adapt to changes in it’s environment, however it has not become a new kind.

Different breeds of cat can also mate and produce offspring. For instant the mating of a male lion and a female tiger can produce offspring know as Ligers. When it is a female lion and a male tiger, the offspring is called a Tigon. This shows that they are the same kind. Other hybrids include bobcats that mated and lynx {Lynxcat} and bobcat and domestic cat {Blynx}. Thus different sizes of cats can interbreed which suggests there is only one cat kind. Other breeds of animals are also known to be the same kind.

This shows that the number of kinds is much lower than the number of species. God created kinds, he did not create in the six days the species we have today. This means that Adam could have named all the kinds in one day. For more on this refer to: What are Kinds?

Did Adam say “at Last”

Genesis 2:21 So Yahweh God caused a deep sleep to fall on the man, and he slept,—and he took one of his ribs, and closed up flesh instead thereof.

Gen 2:22 And Yahweh God builded the rib which he had taken from the man, into a woman, and brought her in unto the man.

Gen 2:23 And the man said, This, one, now, is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh! This, one shall be called Woman, for, out of a man, hath this one been taken. REB

What was Adam’s response to Eve? Does his response mean that it was several years before Eve was created. Did Adam say "at last,” when he saw Eve for the first time. The people who believe that each day is an age long, say that Adam said “at last.” They take the word “now” or “once” in some translations to mean that Adam said “at last.” They do this by refer to the Strong’s reference.

Brown-Driver-Briggs' Hebrew Definitions:

pa‛am/pa‛ămah (/) (Strong's H6471)

stroke, beat, foot, step, anvil, occurrence

foot, hoof-beat, footfall, footstep

anvil

occurrence, time, stroke, beat

one time, once, twice, thrice, as time on time, at this repetition, this once, now at length, now...now, at one time...at another

Part of Speech: noun feminine

A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: from H6470

However Adam did not say “at last.” He was refer to Eve coming from him, which had just happened. Since he is refer to a process that had just happened, to assume that he said “at last”, could also mean that Adam thought the process took a long time, not that it had happened in an instance. This would imply God took a long time to produce Eve, when he had produce Adam in an instance. Adam actually said something more like “Now.” There is no reason to believe that after God had showed Adam the animals that he then wait several years to produce Eve. There is no scriptural support for such along time. What this actually shows is that Adam knew what had happened, but he had been asleep at the time. Which means God explained to Adam what he had done, and Adam understood.

How Long is a day?

There are different scriptures which indicate days can be long than 24 hours, the question is, do any of these apply in this case. You should note that in each of these cases, these are actually groups of days, and that each day in the group is still the same length. Thus a day can be a week, but the week has seven ordinary days all of the same length. There is also something else to remember when using these groupings which I will now explain. In prophecy a day can be a year, and since the prophecy contains many days, it covers many years. However each day in the prophecy is the same length, that being one year. This is important to remember.

We know that a day can be a year, but to the Lord a day can be a 1000 years {2 Peter 3:8} . While believers have been waiting nearly two thousand years for the Lord’s return, it has only be almost two days for the Lord. Thus the believers of the day were told that the Lord would actually be gone a long time. However we have no reason to apply this to the creation days. There is nothing in the scriptures that say the two are connected. Using this incorrectly can lead to incorrect thinking. People use this to back up their belief that after the Lord returns he will reign on this earth for a 1000 years before it is destroyed. This is actually untrue, I cover this in other articles. Again it is important to remember that each day for the Lord is the same length, 1000 years, it does not say that some days for the Lord are longer than other days.

To believe that each day is an age in length that agrees with scientists understand of the age of the earth and the universe, then each day would have to be greatly different in length by many millions and billions of years. As we have seen in the groups of days, each day has the same number of days in it. Thus when the rule is a year as in a prophecy, it is always one year.

The text of Hebrews 4:3-10 surely indicates that the seventh day of creation has lasted many thousands of years? This does not mean we should automatically apply it to the rest of the days. This text in Hebrews is to do with believers entering God’s rest spiritually and those who were stubborn not entering, but believers are not actually at rest. I don’t believe it should be applied to the rest of the days. The seven day has not last many millions or billions of years, which is what is needed to fit scientists views. Unless you claim that each day is different in length and some are indeed many billions of years long, but then day seven has not been that long, and should not be used to claim those sort of lengths, this is unscriptural.

There is no indication from the scriptures that the other days were collections of days. No matter how you apply any and all of these different groups they don’t get the length that is required.

There is no need to have each day longer than 24 hours, God could have done the work in that time. He was using his powers to create all that he did create, but people would have you believe he stopped using them to wait for natural processes and then started using them again. Adam could have named all the animals in the time he had. After God accomplished what he want to get done in a 24 hour period are we to believe that he just sat around doing nothing for billions of years, I thought he rested on the seven day, not the other days.

We need to look at this correctly, no matter how you apply these groupings each day is still only a day long. Thus while one day can be a group of seven days or a group of 1000 years, that does not change the length of an actual day. Adam was born on day six, and when day seven came along, for him it was only a day long.

While people may claim that certain texts point to the days being longer, there is no scripture in the bible that points to the days being many billions of years long or even many millions of years long.

Removing God from the Process

People seemed to constantly want to remove God from the process. Wether it be the creation process or the flood, or something else, where God is involved, they seem to want to remove him. They want to remove his powers, or lessen his powers, or reduce his involvement. Some do not want God to be there at all. They have God use his powers for part of it, and then they say he stopped to wait for the natural process. They are limiting God’s involvement in the process, they say he did do this, but not that. Actually there is no scripture support for this at all. How do they know that he used natural processes, they were not there, and it does not say that at all. Instead people are making the account fit their own beliefs.

Summary

God did all the work in six days, each day did not need to be longer. He did not stop on any of the days to let natural processes take over. He did not rest before day seven. There is no support for the days being many millions or billions of years long. Thus each of the six days of creation were only a day long.

Note: CLV: Concordant Literal version & REB: Rotherham Emphasized Bible

Copyright © Mark J Farquharson 2009. Version 1, 2009. Version 2, update and correction on version 1, 19 July 2011.

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