Page 33 - Genesis: Book of Beginnings and Science Behind it

The Six Days of Creation (Genesis 1:3-2:3)
Verses 1 and 2 introduce the creation of the basic elements of the physical universe. This constitutes
the first two events of the first day of creation. To discuss the remaining events of the six days, we
must first determine whether these days are six literal days or whether these days are symbolic days
representing long periods.

The Days of Creation

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Day 1, And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good.
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And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light day, and the darkness he called
Night. And there was evening, and there was morning, the first day. (ESV)

Verse 3 is the first record of God speaking in the Bible. The Word of God brings light.

1. The Father is the source of all things. Verse 1
2. The Spirit is the energizer of all things. Verse 2
3. The Word (Jesus Christ) is the revealer of all things. Verse 3
II Corinthians 4:6
John 1:1, 14
John 8:12
1 John 1:5

When the light appeared, God divided the light from the darkness. He did not completely remove the
darkness; He just separated it from the light. Further, he called the light “day” and the darkness he
called “night.” As if anticipating a problem, God carefully defined His terms. The very first time He used
the word “day” (Hebrew yom), He defined it as the light to distinguish it from the “darkness” called
“night.”

After separating the light from the darkness, God completed His first day’s work. “The evening and
morning were the first day.” This is how he concluded each of the successive days of creation. There
was a light period when God worked and a dark period when He did not work. Nothing took place
between the evening and morning of each day. It is clear from the beginning that God establishes a
cyclical succession of days and nights – periods of light and periods of darkness. From this, we can infer
that the Earth is spinning now. We have the earth rotating on its axis, and there is light on one side,
giving the day and night pattern. There is no indication that this rotation is any different than the
current normal solar day.

It should be noted that in the Hebrew Old Testament, yom without exception NEVER means “period.” It
normally means either a day (24 hours) or the daylight portion of 24 hours. It may be used to express an
indefinite time (such as “in the time of the judges”) but never as a definite period of time with a specific
beginning and end. Furthermore, it is not used even in this indefinite sense except when the context
clearly indicates that the literal meaning is not intended.

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