When scientists consider the huge expanse of the universe which appears to be infinite, and suggest that the light which we see from the distant stars and galaxies must have taken millions of years to reach us, how could all of this have happened only about 6,000 years ago in a short time span of one literal 24-hour-day week? It is certainly a good question, but are there other explanations that could actually be seen as supporting the biblical time frame of a young earth and universe?
The answer is, yes. As those who want to give honor and respect to the inspiration and infallibility of God’s Word, we notice first of all that the Scriptures say twice referring to God’s initial creative act.
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work…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” (Exodus 20:8-11).
“Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath…for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth” (Exodus 31:16,17).
We are well aware of the fact that the Hebrew word for day can mean literal days or periods of time. However, in the case of the scriptures above it should be obvious that the Sabbath days God is talking about had to be literal. In other words, the seventh day of each literal week. Therefore, the six days mentioned for creation by God in the same context must grammatically be ordinary solar days of approximately 24-hours each. It is interesting that Hebrew scholars have also confirmed that Genesis chapter one indicates from the language itself, that a literal week of seven days is intended by the author (the Holy Spirit) for the understanding of the reader.
How then can we explain the largeness of the universe and the apparent eons of time it might suggest? Genesis 1:14-19 records the creation of the universe and the stars on just one day, day four. Everything we can see, whether with our natural eyesight or through a telescope, was created on this special day four.
But apart from our own Milky Way solar system, where were all the other stars and galaxies located to begin with? We don’t know. Since God has been stretching them out, they must have been closer. What we do know is that they were not where they are now. I believe the Bible indicates (vv. 14-19) the light from the stars was already seen by Adam and Eve from earth on day four,1 and we still see them in real time. God has given us an abundance of scriptures to let us into His secret of how He did this. Here is a sampling of many:
“I have made the earth, and created man on it. I—My hands—stretched out the heavens, and all their host I have commanded” (Isaiah45:12).
“He has…stretched out the heavens at His discretion” (Jeremiah 10:12).
Scientists, if correct, tell us that the rate of expansion or stretching out of the galaxies is extremely crucial for the universe to maintain any semblance of orderliness. Any slight variation and we would not be here! At what speed did God start stretching out the heavens to begin with on day four? We don’t know. Perhaps God used a system of inflation as suggested by some scientists.
Let us be very careful before dismissing Scriptures in order to be in compliance with modern science. God created everything in six days. RB
Something we see in our daily lives and don’t give much thought to is trees. These staples of our world have very interesting ways of pointing back to our Creator. Let’s examine how just two species of trees give evidence of design.
Giant Flood, Giant Rocks, Giant Wonder On a recent trip to Northern Ireland, my family had the opportunity to visit one of her greatest natural wonders: Giant’s
We love helping people put the truths of the authority and reliability of God‘s Word into their hearts. We also enjoy getting resources for these truths into their hands. And with the holiday season coming up, the bookstore can be a blessing both to the ministry and to your family and friends!
Everyone has a worldview, and every worldview has questions that it must answer. The truth will naturally produce the best and most sensible answers, and the Bible does just that.
