The Days of Creation
Introduction:
Up until recently, the creation
of the universe as revealed in Genesis Chapter One was believed to
have taken place in six literal 24-hour days. But with the advent
of the Theory of Evolution, many have been deceived into believing
that billions of years must be fit into the days of Genesis One.
While Jehovah could have created the world in six seconds, six
hours, or six billion years, what does God’s Word say?
Body:
I.
The Creation of Man
·
The Theory of
Evolution claims man is a relative newcomer to the earth. It
teaches the earth is some five to six billion years old but man has
only been here a few million years. This completely contradicts the
Bible.
·
Luke
11:50-51
“that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the
foundation of the world may be required of this generation, from the
blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the
altar and the temple. Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of
this generation.”
NKJV
Note that Jesus connected the time of one of the sons of Adam and
Eve to the foundation of the world. Abel lived close enough to
creation for Jesus to say his blood was shed from the foundation of
the world. This does not allow for billions of years.
·
Mark
10:6
“But from the beginning of the creation, God made them male and
female.”
NKJV
God made Adam and Eve on Day Six of the creation week and He
called this “from the beginning of creation.” If there were
billions of years between creation and the origin of man, Jesus’
statement couldn’t be true!
·
Romans 1:20
“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are
clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His
eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,”
NKJV
Mankind has been witnessing God’s attributes since the creation of
the world. It is impossible for there to have been millions or
billions of years between creation and the origin of man.
II.
God’s Order of Creation
There is no doubt the all-powerful Creator could have made
everything in a second or over a billion-year time span. There are
a vast numbers of ways God could have made the universe, but there
is only one way His Word said He did! Evolution’s order of creation
and the Bible’s order of creation are contradictory. Notice
the following:
1.
Which came
first – the earth or the sun? Evolution claims the sun and
other heavenly bodies evolved millions of years before the earth.
According to Genesis One, God created the water-covered earth on
Day One. (Genesis
1:1-5)
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth
was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the
deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the
waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light.
And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light
from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He
called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.”
NKJV
The sun, moon, and stars were created on Day Four. (Genesis
1:14-19)
“Then God said, ‘Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens
to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and
seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the
firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth’; and it was
so. Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the
day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars
also. God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on
the earth, 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.
So the evening and the morning were the fourth day.”
NKJV Jehovah
God, the “Father of lights” could easily create light without having
to first create the sun, moon, and stars. (James
1:17)
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes
down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or
shadow of turning.”
(Psalm
136:1-9)
“Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures
forever. Oh, give thanks to the God of gods! For His mercy endures
forever. Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords! For His mercy
endures forever: To Him who alone does great wonders, For His mercy
endures forever; To Him who by wisdom made the heavens, For His
mercy endures forever; To Him who laid out the earth above the
waters, For His mercy endures forever; To Him who made great lights,
For His mercy endures forever – The sun to rule by day, For His
mercy endures forever; The moon and stars to rule by night, For His
mercy endures forever.”
NKJV
2.
Did fruit-bearing trees come before or after fish? According
to evolution, fruit-bearing trees came into being millions of years
after there were fish in the sea. According to Scripture,
God created fruit-bearing trees on Day Three. (Genesis
1:11-13)
“Then God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that
yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its
kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth’; and it was so. And
the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according
to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself
according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. So the
evening and the morning were the third day.
NKJV
Sea creatures were created on Day Five. (Genesis
1:20-23)
“Then God said, ‘Let the waters abound with an abundance of living
creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the
firmament of the heavens.’ So God created great sea creatures and
every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded,
according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its
kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying,
‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let
birds multiply on the earth.’ So the evening and the morning were
the fifth day.
NKJV
Which are we to believe?
III.
The Days of Genesis One
·
The singular and
plural forms of the Hebrew word for day appear in the Old Testament
more than 2,300 times. It is used in three basic ways.
*
“Day” can refer to a 24-hour period. (Genesis
50:1-3)
“Then Joseph fell on his father’s face, and wept over him, and
kissed him. And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to
embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel. Forty days
were required for him, for such are the days required for those who
are embalmed; and the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.”
NKJV
*
“Day” can refer to the part of the 24-hour period that is
“light.” (Genesis
1:3-5)
“Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. And God
saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the
darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called
Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.”
NKJV
*
“Day” can also refer to longer periods of time. (John
9:4)
“I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night
is coming when no one can work.”
NKJV
·
It is usually very
easy to tell which meaning applies to a particular Bible passage.
Note the following: (Genesis
7:24)
“And the waters prevailed on the earth one hundred and fifty days.”
(Genesis
8:22)
“While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat,
Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease.”
(Deuteronomy
31:15-18)
“Now the Lord appeared at the tabernacle in a pillar of cloud, and
the pillar of cloud stood above the door of the tabernacle. And the
Lord said to Moses: ‘Behold, you will rest with your fathers; and
this people will rise and play the harlot with the gods of the
foreigners of the land, where they go to be among them, and they
will forsake Me and break My covenant which I have made with them.
Then My anger shall be aroused against them in that day, and I will
forsake them, and I will hide My face from them, and they shall be
devoured. And many evils and troubles shall befall them, so that
they will say in that day, Have not these evils come upon us because
our God is not among us?’ And I will surely hide My face in that
day because of all the evil which they have done, in that they have
turned to other gods.’ ”
NKJV
·
An easy way to
determine if a literal, 24-hour sense is meant is if the term is
modified by a number. (Genesis
1:5)
“God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the
evening and the morning were the first day.”
(Exodus
20:8-11)
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall
labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of
the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son,
nor your daughter, nor you male servant, nor your female servant,
nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. 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.”
(Exodus
31:17)
“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.”
NKJV
God created everything in six 24-hour days is the clear meaning.
Also, note
Joshua 6:12-14.
“And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the
ark of the Lord. Then seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’
horns before the ark of the Lord went on continually and blew with
the trumpets. And the armed men went before them. But the rear
guard came after the ark of the Lord, while the priests continued
blowing the trumpets. And the second day they marched around the
city once and returned to the camp. So they did six days.”
NKJV
The Israelites marched around Jericho for six literal 24-hour
periods, not six long, vast periods of time!
·
Many other reasons
could be given to show that, without a doubt, the days of Genesis
one were literal, 24-hour periods of time.
Conclusion:
The Bible is clear about the
origin of our world. (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.
8
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
Jehovah spoke the universe into existence in six literal days just a
few thousand years ago.
Source of this lesson: apologeticspress.org
Bobby Stafford
October
11, 2015
The
church of Christ
