In the Beginnining
The Creation of the World
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis: Origins, Beginnings
In the Beginning (time), God (force), created (action),
the Heavens (space), and the Earth (matter).
A loving, eternal, all powerful, personal God
created us in His image for a purpose
OR
Nothing X Nobody = EVERYTHING
Was it Six Literal Days?
Was it six 24 hour literal days or just symbols for long periods of time?
Why Is It Important?
If the days of creation are really geologic ages of millions of years, then the gospel message is undermined at its foundation because it puts death, disease, thorns, and suffering before the Fall.
It is clearly the scheme of Satan to attack the opening truths of the Bible which call into question the rest of Scripture. If Genesis 1 cannot be trusted, then the rest of the Bible is unreliable too.
The “Days” of Genesis 1
To understand the meaning of “day” in Genesis 1, we need to determine how the Hebrew word for “day,” yom, is used in the context of Scripture.
Consider the following:
- Outside Genesis 1, yom is used with a number 359 times, and each time it means an ordinary day.
- Outside Genesis 1, yom is used with the word “evening” or “morning” 23 times. “Evening” and “morning” appear in association, but without yom, 38 times. All 61 times the text refers to an ordinary day.
- Outside of Genesis 1, “night” is used with yom 53 times, and each time it means an ordinary day.
- The plural of yom, which does not appear in Genesis 1, can be used to communicate a longer time period, such as “in those days.”
Conclusion
- Day can mean something other than “ordinary day” but it can also mean “ordinary day”
- In Genesis it is perfectly clear and double-defined to mean “ordinary 24 hour day”.
To make it mean more than that, we have to elevate something to an authority higher than Scripture and make Scripture fit.
Why Six Days?
Exodus 31:15–17 Six days may work be done, but on the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work in the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. Therefore the sons of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to ob- serve the Sabbath throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant. It is a sign between me and the sons of Israel forever. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested, and was refreshed.
The plain meaning of Genesis 1:1 is unmistakable.
- The Bible determine your system of belief…
- Or bring your system of belief to the Bible and make the Bible fit it.
“The only proper way to interpret Genesis 1 is not to ‘interpret’ it at all. That is, we accept the fact that it was meant to say exactly what it says.” (Morris)
“Where the Bible makes plain sense,
seek no other sense,
lest you turn it into nonsense”.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) is adapted from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. All rights reserved. https://www.crossway.org/