Moses in describing the Sabbath Day observance in Exodus, speaks of the fact that God created the earth and its inhabitants in six days and rested on the seventh day. So Moses commands Israel to keep the 24 hour Sabbath Day. (Exodus 20:11.)
Brown, Driver and Briggs Hebrew Lexicon, a work that was the best Hebrew dictionary for 100 years , gives Genesis One and Exodus 20:11 as examples where the Hebrew word for "day" is used literally.
How Could You Have 24 Hour Days When the Moon and Sun Were Not Functioning on Earth Unitl the Fourth Day?
Simple. The fourth day did not make the days 24 hours, but measured them as already literal 24-hour days.
Doesn't the Lord say in II Peter 3:9 say that "a thousand years" is like a day?
Yes, but this passage is addressing God's mercy. A period of a thousand years is a short time for the Lord to extend mercy. His mercy "is long-suffering to us." However, many don't quote that Peter also wrote, "a day is like a thousand years." Here continual unrepentant sin for a day is like the affront of a thousand years of sin! Obviously, this passage has nothing to do with the creative days.
How Could Adam Name All the Animals in One Day?
No offence, but I find this objection rather silly. First God created families of kinds of animals, not all the variants we call "species" today. For instance there was only one cat-creature, canine-creature etc. The Museum of Natural History states there were only 50 major types of dinosaurs. Adam had to name the representative kinds of birds, livestock, and land animals. It no doubt took him most of the sixth day of creation. However, Adam's naming the animals is no real issue that the creative days are literal.
A Scientific Question for those Who Think the Creative Days Were Millions of Years
On day four God made plant life. On day six he made living creatures and creeping things (insects)? How could the plants on day four survive for millions of years before insects were formed to pollinate them?
So What?
God's word is plain (Proverbs 8:8:9). We should take a passage literally when it presents itself in that light. We must understand that all knowledge starts with certain models or truths. As Christians, we start with the claim of the Bible itself, that it is true. If scientific observation for the moment seems to be opposite from the Bible , we must be patient. Historic science is not an exacting discipline. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths" (Proverbs 3, 5,6).
HOWEVER, THERE'S MUCH SCIENTIFIC DATA THAT MATCHES A LITERAL SIX DAY CREATION OF THE BIBLE. IN THE COMING WEEKS WE WILL LIST SUCH OBSERVATIONS!
In the meantime have confidence that the Bible speaks plainly and is true, not the varied fallible observations of limited man. Wait and see. The Bible through the centuries has always demonstrated to be true--in history, science, and our comfort, strength, and peace through our Lord Jesus Christ
P.S. Dr. Hugh Ross, a Christian astrophysicist, states that if the universe is 13.7 billion years old, it still isn't old enough to have arrived at its present form with life on this planet. In other words the present condition of the universe is miraculous! Therefore, I have no problem believing the Lord could have created the earth in six literal days.
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