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The Six Days of Creation
Thomas Tvedten
In this essay the notion of whether the six days of creation are to be taken literally or are symbolic of time periods other than a twenty-four hour day will be considered. The reason this is an important topic is because there are a large number of people who want to combine the big-bang theory, evolution, and the Holy Bible. Those that subscribe to this theory are referring to “the day-age theory.” Turning the six twenty-four hour long individual days of creation into longer periods of time (such as millions of years) allows for the big-bang theory to squirm its way into the Bible, and for evolution to do so also. According to evolutionists millions of years are required for species to evolve.
One claim that those who subscribe to the day-age theory make is that since the sun had not been created yet solar days of twenty-four hours had not been established yet either. Biblical evidence that the sun had not been created yet on the first and second days is given in the Holy Bible: “And the evening and the morning were the third day. And God said, let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and for years: and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And 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. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from darkness: and God saw that it was good” (italics added, Geneses 1:13-18). The sun was therefore created on the third day.
If you read further however, it states “and the evening and the morning were the fourth day” (Geneses 1:19). This indicates that the fourth day had arrived after the creation of the sun, therefore indicating that the third day (and the fourth day for that matter) was a solar day; they consisted of twenty-four hours. God is the most logical omnipotent being in existence. Why would God refer to the third and fourth days as twenty-four hour periods and not refer to the first and second day in the same manner? To do so would be inconsistent. God is consistent throughout the entire Bible. Our heavenly Father is always consistent.
The Bible directly states in Genesis 1:20-23 that, “And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the Earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his 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 fowl multiply in earth. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day” (italics added). It is obvious then, that these creatures did not come about through the process of millions of years but in a single day. So if we debunk the day-age theory then the theory of evolution falls by the wayside.
The Bible is to be interpreted literally unless it specifies that the story being told is a parable or the verse is obviously an analogy. This is a conclusion that must be held because if it is not held the entire Bible falls apart. For example, if the days of creation are symbolic then the death of the Messiah on the cross could very well be symbolic too. No true Disciple of Christ would doubt the truth of Christ’s sacrifice for our sins, and therefore no true Disciple should doubt the literal translation of any other part of the Holy Bible either.
There is only one exception to this rule and that is when the statement is obviously a parable or a symbolic statement for example, in Matthew 5:30 Jesus states “And if thy right hand offend the, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that the whole body should be cast into hell.” This is obviously an analogy because it is the soul and the brain that causes one to use his or her right hand to sin. We cannot cut our soul out, and if one cuts his or her brain out the person will be dead. The ten commandments in Exodus 20:13 specify “thou shalt not kill.” It is obvious then, that one shalt not kill his or herself either. All true believers in God know that God does not contradict himself, therefore Matthew 5:30 is obviously an analogy telling us to rid our lives of sin and all of those things that tempt us to sin. Except for these obvious analogies and stated parables the Bible must be taken literally. The Bible was written simply and for the common person to understand; it was not written for rocket scientists or for only a few elite people to understand. It is God’s direct communication to each of us for application to our lives. It is not meant for us to abstract upon it, add to it, or take away from it. In fact the Bible gives us a stern warning against doing so in Revelation 22:19, “and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”
In summary, the Bible is meant to be interpreted literally unless the verse is a stated parable or obvious analogy and this includes the six days of creation. A malignancy which is overtaking the Lord’s children is the notion that “science” is taught in school and “stories” are taught at church. Once demonic forces plant this seed in children’s minds they begin to doubt the legitimacy of the Bible as God’s inspired word. This leads to children doubting the truth that Jesus Christ was born of the virgin Mary, was crucified on Calvary’s cross, died for our sins so that we all can be with the Holy Father one day, and that Jesus ascended into Heaven. It is not only important to stress a literal interpretation and understanding of the Bible to adults but to offer children the truth through interactive exhibits such as the one in Winston Oregon.
