The Bible gives a brief summary of how the twenty-four hour day was created on the fourth day (or stage). “And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years" [Genesis 1:14]. This is the construction of day, night and years – which is the 24-hour timeframe that we live in.
God made a greater light (the sun), the lesser light (the moon) and the stars, then “set them (the sun, moon and stars) in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness” [Genesis 1:18]. For the first time in the creation process, the sun, moon and stars bring forth the day and night as we know it; and this is different from the first Day of creation, when God used the word ‘day' to denote light, and the word ‘night’ to denote darkness. Observe how the same word, ‘day’ and ‘night’, are used in different ways in Genesis.
Since God construct the 24-hour day on the fourth Day, doesn't it implies that the word Day was figurative in verses like "there was evening and morning, the first Day ... or second Day ... Sixth Day? For these verses, I used the word Day with a capital D. I believed that the word Day implies a stage, a phase, a timeframe. The creation took place in organized stages. At the first phase, light was created, followed by the sky, then the land and sea, plus the vegetation. Later, in distinct stages, God created the sun, moon and stars, flying creatures, sea habitants, and finally, land animals, then man and woman. He did not create randomly, so to speak: He did not make the stars, then the land, some living creatures, and then create more stars again; instead, He proceeded in an orderly way.
At the end of each Day, the Bible said, “There was evening and there was morning.” However, if the sun and moon were created on the fourth Day, how did evenings and mornings happen during the first three days? As well, notice the order: It was not morning, then evening. Instead, it was the reverse: Evening first, followed by morning. I believe that evening means the end of a stage, not sunset. And morning means the beginning of another phase, not sunrise. As well, it does not mean that the amount of time for each Day was the same. To gather the land into one place would take much less time than to create the many thousand kinds of sea creatures.
