Did God Really Create the Universe in Six Days?
Growing up I remember discussing with my parents about the Genesis account of creation. Having been taught evolution in the public school system, I found it difficult to believe. I eventually concluded this was a figurative “six days” that represented “6 million” years of evolution. For me, there was no other way to reconcile the difference. This article aims to show how the Bible itself reinforces six literal days of creation.
What Do Christians Believe?
I was surprised to find over the years some Christians believed the literal six days of creation and other believe similar rationalizations as I had made. How is it that Christians are inconsistent in this belief? I suspect the introduction of evolution as a scientific theory, that worked its way into the education system, slowly started convincing Christians away from the Genesis account of creation.
The Western culture has put a lot of weight on science and medicine which cause us to believe evolution must be right. Yes, both have proven themselves of sound practices and have earned our respect over the centuries — rightly so. Yet, we forget both science and medicine are arts and not as precise as we like to believe. You are probably thinking something like, “The law of gravity never fails.” There are laws that if broken our universe would start to unravel. I believe God put these laws in place to provide order to our universe. Evolution is not a law of nature — it’s a theory. Evolution has been proven which means the Genesis account of creation is still plausible.
What is the Genesis Account of Creation?
Day 1
The heavens, the earth, light, day, and the first day were created. Read Genesis 1:1-5.
Day 2
The earth’s atmosphere was created. Read Genesis 1:6-8.
Day 3
The dry land rose above the water thus separating the seas. The plant life was then created. Read Genesis 1:9-13.
Day 4
The sun, the moon, and the stars were created. Read Genesis 1:14-19.
Day 5
The sea life and the birds were created. Read Genesis 1:20-23.
Day 6
The animals, man, and woman were created. Read Genesis 1:24-31.
How Can We Prove a “Day” Means a Day?
The Jews and Christians credit Moses as the author of Genesis. Moses is known for liberating the Hebrews from their slavery in Egypt. One would presume a man of great respect would keep a “day” at the beginning of Genesis to mean one literal day throughout the entire book of Genesis. Thus, we will assume that the word “day” means “day” everywhere in the book of Genesis and we will establish the time frame meant by it.
The Great Flood and Noah’s Ark Establishes Time Frames
You probably know some about the story of Noah’s ark. God asked Noah to save two of every kind of animal — actually it was seven male-female pairs of the clean animals and one male-female pair of the unclean animals to be precise. Read Genesis 7:1-3. Only Noah, his family, and the animals were spared from the flood. I am going to attempt to establish a “day” must mean a literal day by enumerating the timeline of the flood.
Day 1
Noah was 600 years old when the flood started. Read Genesis 7:6. Let’s put aside how a man could live 600 years when he only lives up to the early hundreds in our current day and age.
It was the 17th day of the second month when the flood started. Read Genesis 7:11.
These two passages establish the existence of two other forms of time: months and years.
Day 41
The flood waters stop increasing after 40 days. Read Genesis 7:17.
Day 151
The last day the flood waters stay at their maximum, which happened on day 41. It was 150 days from the start of the flood to the start of the flood waters receding. Read Genesis 7:24 and Genesis 8:3.
We also learn the 150th day was exactly five months later, on the 17th day of the seventh month. Read Genesis 8:4.
This establishes one month was 30 days according to the calendar system at the time. (150 days over 5 months is 30 days per month.)
The flood waters started to recede.
Day 191
Noah waited forty days before opening the window in the ark. He sent a raven to see if the ground was dry but the raven found no dry ground. Read Genesis 8:6–7.
Day 198
Noah sent a dove to see if the ground was dry. The dove returns with an olive leaf. Read Genesis 8:10–11.
Day 205
Noah sent the dove out again and it does not return. It probably found a home. Read Genesis 8:12.
Day 211 or Day 301
Noah exits the ark on the first day of the first month of the next year: the 601st year. (The means Noah had a birthday on the ark.) Read Genesis 8:13. At this point at least seven months (210 days) have transpired. This means a year is at least nine months (270 days). If their calendar had twelve months also, ten months (300 days) have transpired.
Day 268 or Day 358
The earth is fully dry from the flood on the 27th day of the second month of the next year. Read Genesis 8:14. This establishes the flood and its effects took over one year to complete: it started on the 17th day of the second month of Noah’s 600th year and it ended on the 27th day of the second month of Noah’s 601st year.
Conclusion
The story of Noah’s ark establishes how many days are in one month and one year:
- One month is 30 days.
- One year is at least 270 days.
These are similar to our current Gregorian calendar:
- One month range from 28 days to 31 days.
- One year is 365 days with a correction of missing days with the leap year.
There might have been a way to reconcile the missing days, though it is not mentioned in the Bible.
Logically speaking, a “day” must mean a literal day. If a day means a million years, has any man lived 601 million years? Noah was 601 years old at the end of the flood.
If a day means thousands of years, has a month ever been 30 thousand years? A month was established to be 30 days long.
If a day means a year, has a year even been over 270 years long? A year was established to be at least 270 days long.
Thus we can safely conclude a “day” literally means one day and the Genesis account of creation took six literal days.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, I pray for a blessing to anyone who reads this article. Your Word is true and it proves itself trustworthy. May those who doubt your Word come to realize we used the laws of math and scientific reasoning to establish a day means a literal day. Genesis describes your awesome power to create an entire universe and life on our planet is six literal days. I ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.