By Alan John Meister
Do you believe in creation – that is took seven of our earth days?
Genesis 1:3-19
Then God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God saw how good the light was. God then separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." Thus evening came, and morning followed--the first day.
Then God said, "Let there be a dome in the middle of the waters, to separate one body of water from the other." And so it happened: God made the dome, and it separated the water above the dome from the water below it. God called the dome "the sky." Evening came, and morning followed--the second day.
Then God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered into a single basin, so that the dry land may appear." And so it happened: the water under the sky was gathered into its basin, and the dry land appeared. God called the dry land "the earth," and the basin of the water he called "the sea." God saw how good it was. Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth vegetation: every kind of plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree on earth that bears fruit with its seed in it." And so it happened: the earth brought forth every kind of plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree on earth that bears fruit with its seed in it. God saw how good it was. Evening came, and morning followed--the third day.
Then God said: "Let there be lights in the dome of the sky, to separate day from night. Let them mark the fixed times, the days and the years, and serve as luminaries in the dome of the sky, to shed light upon the earth." And so it happened: God made the two great lights, the greater one to govern the day, and the lesser one to govern the night; and he made the stars. God set them in the dome of the sky, to shed light upon the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. God saw how good it was. Evening came, and morning followed--the fourth day.
Explanation
Certainly in this passage, the text says that God created and separated the light and darkness. on the first and third days. On the third day, it even says God established the fixed times, days and nights, and years. After God created the sun and the moon to govern the day and night, was not the earth “governed” by the sun and the moon, the day and night. As such, was not the day, like a day today, and a night like a night today, and a year like a year today? Simply stated on the third day, after the earth was created, how might there be day and night without the earth revolving around its axis? Morever, this passage was written by Moses, who was brought up as an Egyptain. The Egyptians at that time had a 365 day year, a seven day week, and called a day one revolution on its axis. Furthermore, this text is the account of the creation of the earth and was written for the Israelites to read. They believed in a literal seven days, in fact the Jews still believe. Lastly, notice the continual use of the words "evening" and "morning."
2 Peter 3:3-9
Know this first of all, that in the last days scoffers will come (to) scoff, living according to their own desires and saying, "Where is the promise of his coming? From the time when our ancestors fell asleep, everything has remained as it was from the beginning of creation." They deliberately ignore the fact that the heavens existed of old and earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God; through these the world that then existed was destroyed, deluged with water. The present heavens and earth have been reserved by the same word for fire, kept for the day of judgment and of destruction of the godless. But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord, one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day. The Lord does not delay his promise, as some regard "delay," but he is patient with you, not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
Explanation
Here Peter is discussing about end times when there will be scoffers who deny God’s second coming. Such people deny that though God’s word the earth was created. Still, God is patient and gives all people plenty of time to repent. Peter uses a metaphor of a thousand years relating God’s patience (not a creation period), which allows each person to repent before God destruction of the godless. This does not create a different fixed times other than the one he used in Genesis 1:14-18.
Genesis 2:2-3
Since on the seventh day God was finished with the work he had been doing, he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work he had done in creation.
Explanation
The text indicates God not only rested on the seventh day, but also blessed the seventh day and made it “holy.” Was God mistaken? Did he bless the wrong day?
Exodus 20:10
But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD, your God. No work may be done then either by you, or your son or daughter, or your male or female slave, or your beast, or by the alien who lives with you. In six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the LORD has blessed the sabbath day and made it holy. (Exod. 20:10-11)
Between me and the Israelites it is to be an everlasting token; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, but on the seventh day he rested at his ease. (Exod. 31:17)
Explanation
The concept of the seventh day relates to God resting on the seventh day, and although the use of this stems from the Genesis account there is much theology behind it, for the Israelites (the Jews) saw this as part of the God's divine plan and the Mosaic law as well. Clearly, the origin of the Hebrew Sabbath was formulated from the seventh day. The seventh day was a day of rest solely because God rested on the seventh day (not the 8th or 15th day). The Sabbath was established and was holy because God made it so by resting on the seventh day. Assuredly, the Hebrews took this to mean exactly what as it says and they believed in creation in six days. Moreover, we again clearly see the mentioning to the Israelites, here in Exodus, of God creating the universe in six days.
Importantly to think about is that the Sabbath is not just the symbol of God’s creation. The Sabbath is a real day created for the worship of God himself. As a symbol, the Sabbath, i.e., if both the Sabbath observance and the seventh day were symbolic, does not make sense for you cannot have a symbol of a symbol, something that never existed or happened basis on something that never existed either - that would be crazy.
Hebrews 4:3-4
For we who believed enter into (that) rest, just as he has said: "As I swore in my wrath, 'They shall not enter into my rest,'" and yet his works were accomplished at the foundation of the world. For he has spoken somewhere about the seventh day in this manner, "And God rested on the seventh day from all his works."
Explanation
Clearly, the Pauline text shows Christians during St. Paul’s time he believed in creation in seven days. This text confirms this. There is much theology behind it for the Book of Hebrews which sees sees it as being part of the God's divine plan and the Sabbath as a prefigurement of the heavenly beatitude. God’s rest is not a symbolic rest, it is the reality of eternal life in heaven.
In summary, we cannot overcome the evidence for the seventh day being the seventh day. Neither could the Hebrews (Jews). When scholars try to to this, their underlying intention is to water down our faith. More and more of Sacred Scripture becomes symbolic and the Bible then becomes just a good with cute stories and pious sentiments.
Note: Still we must note that Roman Catholics are left to choose whether they believe or not in the seven earth days of creation.
