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Having seen several very plausible, if not compelling, reasons for understanding the days of creation in Genesis 1 to be literal, 24-hour periods, we suggest the following additional reasons:
- Had Moses desired to refer to an ordinary day in Genesis 1, how would he have done so, except as he did? For the sake of argument, let us suppose that day in this passage means epoch or If so, in order to refer to an actual day that had an evening and a morning, Moses would have written about it as follows: “And in each evening and morning of the day there were millions of evenings and mornings of days.” Such, of course, is absurd. The fact stands that Moses used just such terms as would indicate a normal 24-hour period for each of the creation days.
- The “day-age” theory contradicts established scientific truths. Vegetation was created on the third day, but the sun was not created until the fourth day. Are we to believe that the vegetation created on the third day was able to survive for millions of years (if the “days” are understood as ages) without benefit of photosynthesis? A similar problem is encountered relative to the creatures necessary to the pollination of various plants. Such creatures were not created until the fifth day. If the days of creation are actually vast ages, then one must explain how certain plants were able to survive these vast periods of time (part of the third day, all of the fourth day and part of the fifth day) without benefit of pollination?
- Adam was created on the sixth day, then God rested on the seventh day. Yet Adam was still living after the seventh day. If the “days” are vast ages encompassing millions of years, then Adam far exceeded Methuselah in longevity! Yet we know this is not so, for the record states that Adam died when he was 930 years old, while Methuselah died at the age of 969 years (Gen. 5:5, 27).
The acceptance of the days of Genesis 1 as literal 24-hour periods is not only the most natural interpretation, but it is also harmonious with scientific fact. The fact remains that no one would ever have considered the days of creation as other than actual 24-hour periods except for the attempt to bend Bible teaching into conformity with unproved, atheistic theories of man’s origin.
[Note: I wrote this article for, and it was published in the “Bible Thoughts” Column for the Hood County News, Granbury, Texas, July 30, 1978.]
Attribution: From thescripturecache.com; Dub McClish, owner and administrator.
