How long did it take God to create the world? Exodus 20:11 says, “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.” The plain declaration of scripture is that God created everything “in six days.” Some have theorized that since scientists tell us that the universe is billions of years old, there must be large gaps of time between the days of creation mentioned in Genesis 1. The implication of such a theory is that what the Bible says occurred “in six days” actually required billions of years to take place.
Trying to reconcile modern science with the Bible is at best a tricky endeavor. Conflicts inevitably arise which tempt us to compromise science, the Bible, or both. The simple fact is that miracles, such as the Creation, cannot be disproved, limited, or defined by scientific “truths.” For example, scientists would tell us that a virgin cannot conceive a child; but one did (Luke 1:26-35). Science can also prove that you cannot turn water into wine, but it was done (John 2:1-11). Scientists know (or think they do) that the light now reaching the earth from some stars takes about 16 billion years to reach Earth. Does this necessitate that the universe must be 16 billion years old? If it does, then Mary was not a virgin, Jesus did not turn water into wine, raise Lazarus from the dead, feed the 5,000, or rise from the dead three days after being crucified! For people who believe in the inspiration of scripture, no scientific “fact” should ever be allowed to supersede a Bible miracle. We must believe that miracles occurred exactly as the scriptures say they did (including the given time frame), or be forced into rejecting every statement of scripture which does not agree with the science of our age.
The inspired writer of Genesis takes great care to number each of the days of creation. For example, “the evening and the morning were the first days,” “the evening and the morning were the second day,” etc. (Genesis 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31; 2:2). This numbering indicates the days were sequential and consecutive. There could not have been millions of years between them.
In Judges 20, when the nation of Israel fought against the single tribe of Benjamin, the Bible describes what happened on the “first day” (20:22), the “second day” (20:24), and the “third day” (20:30). What person reading this account would think that the events of the first day were weeks, months or years removed from the events of the second day? It is obvious that the three days of this battle are consecutive days. The very reason the days are numbered is to convey that fact. Even so, the consecutive numbering of the days of Creation in Genesis indicates that they were consecutive days! The claim that the six days of Creation spanned millions of years robs us of the power, beauty, and wonder of the Biblical account.
Steve Klein
