How can creation week be literal 24 hour days?

[Doveaman]

How do we explain the creation week as literal 24 hour days in the light of the verses below (no pun intended)?

'Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.' -- (Gen 1:4-5).

"Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the fourth day." -- (Gen 1:16-17).

The sun was made on day four.

So what was the source of the light on day one, if not the sun?

And if it was not the sun, then how can the fist three days be literal 24 hour days, since the sun is what determines a 24 hour day?

And if there was already light on the earth on day one, then how can the sun be made on day four "to give light on the earth", a light that already existed on day one?

And if the light and darkness were already divided on day one, then how can the sun be made on day four "to divide the light from the darkness", a division that already existed on day one?

I do believe, however, that all six days of creation week were literal 24 hour days.

But how do we give such a literal explanation to anyone who ask, since the literal evidence (the sun made on day four) does not seem to support it?

 

[HTacianas]

Google Origen's Commentaries on Genesis. He reached the same conclusion circa 220 AD. It's one of the reasons the original Churches don't involve themselves in the ridiculous debates regarding the age of the earth.

 

[Doveaman]

Google Origen's Commentaries on Genesis.

The OP is not meant for Origen.

He reached the same conclusion circa 220 AD.

What same conclusion?

It's one of the reasons the original Churches don't involve themselves in the ridiculous debates regarding the age of the earth.

The original Churches don't involve themselves in any debate at all, because they are all dead.

 

[HTacianas]

The OP is not meant for Origen.
What same conclusion?
The original Churches don't involve themselves in any debate at all, because they are all dead.

He reached the conclusion that a day could not exist without the sun, among other things.

Now, I mean this in the best possible light so please don't take it the wrong way. I have offered you a source of study nearly two thousand years old that by and large agrees with you on some points. But rather than seemingly being willing to even look into it and educating yourself (again, don't take that the wrong way) you seem to discount it in favor of your own opinions. That will prevent you from ever growing.

 

[συνείδησις]

And then there's this where it says the heavens and the earth were created in one day.

These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, Genesis 2:4​

 

[miamited]

Hi doveaman,

You wrote in your OP:

And if it was not the sun, then how can the fist three days be literal 24 hour days, since the sun is what determines a 24 hour day?

That is not now, nor has ever been what determines a 24 hour day upon the earth.

God bless,
In Christ, ted

 

[Not me]

How do we explain the creation week as literal 24 hour days in the light of the verses below (no pun intended)?

'Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.' -- (Gen 1:4-5).

"Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the fourth day." -- (Gen 1:16-17).

The sun was made on day four.

So what was the source of the light on day one, if not the sun?

And if it was not the sun, then how can the fist three days be literal 24 hour days, since the sun is what determines a 24 hour day?

And if there was already light on the earth on day one, then how can the sun be made on day four "to give light on the earth", a light that already existed on day one?

And if the light and darkness were already divided on day one, then how can the sun be made on day four "to divide the light from the darkness", a division that already existed on day one?

I do believe, however, that all six days of creation week were literal 24 hour days.

But how do we give such a literal explanation to anyone who ask, since the literal evidence (the sun made on day four) does not seem to support it?

Scripture says;

1 Timothy 6:16 (KJV)
Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom [be] honour and power everlasting. Amen.

That “no man can approach the light of God or see it.” So that would mean that which you and I call “light” is not the “light of God”, for we can approach and see it. So, it would have to be a facsimile of the “light of God”, for we can both approach and see it.

Meaning that which God said “let there be light” was the “light of God”, which would be something totally different, than that which you and I call light.

(could it be?)

Much love in Christ, Not me

 

[yeshuaslavejeff]

It looks like %origen% didn't speak Yahweh's Word.

What Yahweh Says is Truth, unspoiled by man's thinking or man's sin or man's ways. Man doesn't get it. Man doesn't grasp Yahweh's Word or Yahweh's Ways.

 

[2tim_215]

Revelation 21:23 (KJV) And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
Apparently there is coming a day where there will be no sun or moon, but there will still be light. How that will be the case is something that does not fall under man's scientific understanding but will happen some day. When you're God, you're not limited by science or man's knowledge

 

[miamited]

Scripture says;

1 Timothy 6:16 (KJV)
Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom [be] honour and power everlasting. Amen.

That “no man can approach the light of God.” So that would mean that which you and I call “light” is not the “light of God”. So, it would have to be a facsimile of the “light of God”, for we can approach it.

Meaning that which God said “let there be light” was the light of God, which would be something totally different.

(could it be?)

Much love in Christ, Not me

Hi not me,

Man has existed on the earth for some 6,000 or so years and it has taken us a long, long time of actually living on the earth to understand a lot about how our realm works. It would, therefore, make sense that since no man, except Jesus, has been with the Father and lived in the glorious realm where the Father lives, that man has absolutely no understanding of how things work in that realm.

Yes, the Scriptures declare that God is light and it is completely possible that when God spoke into this realm, "Let there be light!", that He was Himself entering into this realm of His creation. We, of course, have very little understanding of what it really means for God to create a realm of existence. We know that there is an angelic realm. A physical surrounding in which the angels live. Now, what that physical surrounding is like, we can't even hope to begin to imagine, beyond the one or two short glimpses that God gives us through His word.

We know, that humans can, with God's provision see bits and glimpses of that angelic realm. One of the most amazing is the account of the angelic host singing glory to God on the night of Jesus' birth. Others would be the few cases of angels interacting with people in the Scriptures. John and Paul speak of being taken into the angelic realm where they see the throne of God and the myriad of angels at His beck and call. That realm exists and contains the life of God and the angels. God has the power and authority to move into and out of, or even be physically present in both realms. In the Revelation we are told at the end that now the dwelling of God is with men. So, it would seem logical that right now the dwelling of God is not with men. At least not on a continual basis.

However, the point is that humans have no understanding of any of the workings of this other realm. As I've said, it's taken some 6,000 years for us to understand as much as we do about this realm in which we exist. There's no way we could have any real understanding of this other realm in which we have never existed.

So God, as a creature of light, as the Scriptures describe may have been speaking of His entrance into this realm to begin the work of creating this realm as a place for man to live. A feeble analogy would be a stage performer behind the curtain who parts the curtain and steps out onto the stage to be seen by the audience. Similarly, God may have, from the angelic heavenly realm, 'stepped' out onto the stage of this physical realm in which we live and, in making His entrance, commanded, "Let there be light!", as He moved fully into this realm to begin His creative work of all the stars and planets and asteroids and the earth and the flora and fauna of the earth, and finally man.

We just can't know with any certainty exactly what God meant or how God put light into this realm when He spoke that command. However, as a firm believer in the truth of God's word...I believe that He did it just as He has told us in His account that He did. That He divided the light that was in this realm of His creating as darkness and light upon the earth which He called evening and morning. Then on day four, He created the sun and moon and gave over to them the authority to be the ruler of this pattern of darkness and light upon the earth. One reason for that may be because God knew that He wouldn't always be able to abide with our sin and remain as the one who creates, by His own light, the darkness and light that made night and day. We also read in the Revelation that at the time when God's dwelling is with men that there won't be any need of a sun to give light upon the earth. That He will be the light of the earth. Perhaps, it's just a returning to how it was in those first three days of the creation account.

Now, 'how' all that will be done, I haven't a clue. But, the Scriptures tell us that it was so in the beginning and will likely be the same in the end.

God bless,
In Christ, ted

 

[SkyWriting]

How do we explain the creation week as literal 24 hour days in the light of the verses below (no pun intended)?

'Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.' -- (Gen 1:4-5).

"Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the fourth day." -- (Gen 1:16-17).

The sun was made on day four.

So what was the source of the light on day one, if not the sun?

And if it was not the sun, then how can the fist three days be literal 24 hour days, since the sun is what determines a 24 hour day?

And if there was already light on the earth on day one, then how can the sun be made on day four "to give light on the earth", a light that already existed on day one?

And if the light and darkness were already divided on day one, then how can the sun be made on day four "to divide the light from the darkness", a division that already existed on day one?

I do believe, however, that all six days of creation week were literal 24 hour days.

But how do we give such a literal explanation to anyone who ask, since the literal evidence (the sun made on day four) does not seem to support it?

Being so early on "Creation Week" could be describing the creation of Paradise where God walked beside Adam. Man was banned from that place and not allowed to return.

The upshot of that is that what we see around us is not paradise where God walks.
Is that plausible to you?

 

[Chinchilla]

How do we explain the creation week as literal 24 hour days in the light of the verses below (no pun intended)?

'Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.' -- (Gen 1:4-5).

"Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the fourth day." -- (Gen 1:16-17).

The sun was made on day four.

So what was the source of the light on day one, if not the sun?

And if it was not the sun, then how can the fist three days be literal 24 hour days, since the sun is what determines a 24 hour day?

And if there was already light on the earth on day one, then how can the sun be made on day four "to give light on the earth", a light that already existed on day one?

And if the light and darkness were already divided on day one, then how can the sun be made on day four "to divide the light from the darkness", a division that already existed on day one?

I do believe, however, that all six days of creation week were literal 24 hour days.

But how do we give such a literal explanation to anyone who ask, since the literal evidence (the sun made on day four) does not seem to support it?

Sun is just object God count the time himself from the beginning . Our finite universe is made up from parts which can't be divided further we assume that Planck got them right so we have Planck's time , lenght ect.

God simply knew the amount of particles that go in a day before he created the sun and moon .
God often count the time himself in Bible .
Light has nothing to do with it , you can lock yourself in dark basement and day will pass anyways you won't be timeless there .

 

[Not me]

Hi not me,

Man has existed on the earth for some 6,000 or so years and it has taken us a long, long time of actually living on the earth to understand a lot about how our realm works. It would, therefore, make sense that since no man, except Jesus, has been with the Father and lived in the glorious realm where the Father lives, that man has absolutely no understanding of how things work in that realm.

Yes, the Scriptures declare that God is light and it is completely possible that when God spoke into this realm, "Let there be light!", that He was Himself entering into this realm of His creation. We, of course, have very little understanding of what it really means for God to create a realm of existence. We know that there is an angelic realm. A physical surrounding in which the angels live. Now, what that physical surrounding is like, we can't even hope to begin to imagine, beyond the one or two short glimpses that God gives us through His word.

We know, that humans can, with God's provision see bits and glimpses of that angelic realm. One of the most amazing is the account of the angelic host singing glory to God on the night of Jesus' birth. Others would be the few cases of angels interacting with people in the Scriptures. John and Paul speak of being taken into the angelic realm where they see the throne of God and the myriad of angels at His beck and call. That realm exists and contains the life of God and the angels. God has the power and authority to move into and out of, or even be physically present in both realms. In the Revelation we are told at the end that now the dwelling of God is with men. So, it would seem logical that right now the dwelling of God is not with men. At least not on a continual basis.

However, the point is that humans have no understanding of any of the workings of this other realm. As I've said, it's taken some 6,000 years for us to understand as much as we do about this realm in which we exist. There's no way we could have any real understanding of this other realm in which we have never existed.

So God, as a creature of light, as the Scriptures describe may have been speaking of His entrance into this realm to begin the work of creating this realm as a place for man to live. A feeble analogy would be a stage performer behind the curtain who parts the curtain and steps out onto the stage to be seen by the audience. Similarly, God may have, from the angelic heavenly realm, 'stepped' out onto the stage of this physical realm in which we live and, in making His entrance, commanded, "Let there be light!", as He moved fully into this realm to begin His creative work of all the stars and planets and asteroids and the earth and the flora and fauna of the earth, and finally man.

We just can't know with any certainty exactly what God meant or how God put light into this realm when He spoke that command. However, as a firm believer in the truth of God's word...I believe that He did it just as He has told us in His account that He did. That He divided the light that was in this realm of His creating as darkness and light upon the earth which He called evening and morning. Then on day four, He created the sun and moon and gave over to them the authority to be the ruler of this pattern of darkness and light upon the earth. One reason for that may be because God knew that He wouldn't always be able to abide with our sin and remain as the one who creates, by His own light, the darkness and light that made night and day. We also read in the Revelation that at the time when God's dwelling is with men that there won't be any need of a sun to give light upon the earth. That He will be the light of the earth. Perhaps, it's just a returning to how it was in those first three days of the creation account.

Now, 'how' all that will be done, I haven't a clue. But, the Scriptures tell us that it was so in the beginning and will likely be the same in the end.

God bless,
In Christ, ted

Hi Ted!
Thanks for responding. I agree we don’t know for sure how things work in Spiritual realm, but we can get a glimmer here and a glimmer there. My post was what I had read in a book once that got me to thinking. Just a thought, and a possibility. That to me, makes some sense.

As a YEC myself the evidence of creation always fascinates me. Are you familiar with the fact they found soft dinosaur tissue in dinosaurs bones?

Much love in Christ, Not me

 

[drjean]

God said, "LIGHT!" and there was light! But the vs 4-5 do not say that it shown upon the earth... He separated the light from darkness (a novel concept, quantum physics ?) and He gave them names.... he created Sun, Moon to control the light that shines onto earth...


I have enjoyed reading this pretty complete interpretation: https://thetorah.com/if-the-sun-is-created-on-day-4-what-is-the-light-on-day-1/

He ends with:

"In short, reading the biblical text as an allegory or a mystery is merely an attempt to foist modern notions of the heavens upon an ancient text working with an entirely different worldview, and doing so obscures the creativity and message of the biblical author."​

 

[dreadnought]

How do we explain the creation week as literal 24 hour days in the light of the verses below (no pun intended)?

'Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.' -- (Gen 1:4-5).

"Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the fourth day." -- (Gen 1:16-17).

The sun was made on day four.

So what was the source of the light on day one, if not the sun?

And if it was not the sun, then how can the fist three days be literal 24 hour days, since the sun is what determines a 24 hour day?

And if there was already light on the earth on day one, then how can the sun be made on day four "to give light on the earth", a light that already existed on day one?

And if the light and darkness were already divided on day one, then how can the sun be made on day four "to divide the light from the darkness", a division that already existed on day one?

I do believe, however, that all six days of creation week were literal 24 hour days.

But how do we give such a literal explanation to anyone who ask, since the literal evidence (the sun made on day four) does not seem to support it?

The seven days could be figurative - or not. That's the way I look at it.

 

[drjean]

And then there's this where it says the heavens and the earth were created in one day.

These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, Genesis 2:4​

For me, this is not an issue. beyom - "day" in Hebrew may just be for our benefit in understanding (the actual time period...the creation is not at issue here, I assume, that God's creation of heavens and earth occurred "in the beginning" of His further creations?) AND/OR we know that GOD knew He would be dividing and assigning and calling "day" day and He uses that identifier.

 

[bcbsr]

How do we explain the creation week as literal 24 hour days in the light of the verses below (no pun intended)?

'Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.' -- (Gen 1:4-5).

"Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the fourth day." -- (Gen 1:16-17).

The sun was made on day four.

So what was the source of the light on day one, if not the sun?

And if it was not the sun, then how can the fist three days be literal 24 hour days, since the sun is what determines a 24 hour day?

And if there was already light on the earth on day one, then how can the sun be made on day four "to give light on the earth", a light that already existed on day one?

And if the light and darkness were already divided on day one, then how can the sun be made on day four "to divide the light from the darkness", a division that already existed on day one?

I do believe, however, that all six days of creation week were literal 24 hour days.

But how do we give such a literal explanation to anyone who ask, since the literal evidence (the sun made on day four) does not seem to support it?

24 hour days in which the prophet was recording the 7 day vision he observed. He got up in the morning, saw a vision during that day, went to bed, and got up the next morning and saw another vision of creation, for 7 days.

 

[Valetic]

How do we explain the creation week as literal 24 hour days

I believe the days of creation are represented in the OT through the sabbath. Such as when the mosaic covenant was established in the wilderness, God gave them manna from Heaven to eat and they had to go gather it for the 6 days but then do no work on the 7th day. There also seems to be this universal 7 day week most of the world has observed historically. So in a way, God is setting up the universe in a way that is standardized to humans in the days of creation. We go to bed for a certain amount of time, we go to work for a certain amount of time before we become tired, and the cycle repeats itself.

How do we explain the creation week as literal 24 hour days in the light of the verses below

Well the bible doesn't specify what the "light" is. It just is. And so is the darkness. Since the Heaven and Earth are created first, obviously the rest of the physical universe is created with the Earth in mind. But regardless there was light and there was darkness, there was day and there was night, there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

So what was the source of the light on day one, if not the sun?

There are several verses that might hint to what that light could be, or at least hint at it's existence IMO. My favorite of which is Revelations 22:5 when it says, "There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light." (NIV)

Jesus says He is the "light of the world" in the gospels. Contextually, you wouldn't say that Jesus is the light in the days of creation, but that doesn't out rule the possibility if it. There was no light, then God spoke it into existence, and it just existed. God is the great I AM through whom light exists. Sunlight is sunlight. I might be implying here that God is in fact the source of the light that He created on day 1.

Then for some reason on day 4 it would seem He would let the material universe handle the days and nights.

 

[SeventyOne]

How do we explain the creation week as literal 24 hour days in the light of the verses below (no pun intended)?

'Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.' -- (Gen 1:4-5).

"Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the fourth day." -- (Gen 1:16-17).

The sun was made on day four.

So what was the source of the light on day one, if not the sun?

And if it was not the sun, then how can the fist three days be literal 24 hour days, since the sun is what determines a 24 hour day?

And if there was already light on the earth on day one, then how can the sun be made on day four "to give light on the earth", a light that already existed on day one?

And if the light and darkness were already divided on day one, then how can the sun be made on day four "to divide the light from the darkness", a division that already existed on day one?

I do believe, however, that all six days of creation week were literal 24 hour days.

But how do we give such a literal explanation to anyone who ask, since the literal evidence (the sun made on day four) does not seem to support it?

The reason we feel compelled to try to provide such an explanation is because we've been trained to believe the cosmos is structured and functions in a certain way. Perhaps there should come a time when one must question what they've been told to believe by society in favor of the scriptural contradiction, rather than feeling we must try to modify the plain text of scripture to conform to their views.

There was an earth and a source of light before there was a sun, moon, or stars. Any model in any other order is incorrect. We aren't told what the light was that I'm yet aware of, but just state the truth as you know it and stick to it. They'll probably look at you funny, but you'll be the one vindicated in the end.

 

[DamianWarS]

How do we explain the creation week as literal 24 hour days in the light of the verses below (no pun intended)?

'Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.' -- (Gen 1:4-5).

"Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the fourth day." -- (Gen 1:16-17).

The sun was made on day four.

So what was the source of the light on day one, if not the sun?

And if it was not the sun, then how can the fist three days be literal 24 hour days, since the sun is what determines a 24 hour day?

And if there was already light on the earth on day one, then how can the sun be made on day four "to give light on the earth", a light that already existed on day one?

And if the light and darkness were already divided on day one, then how can the sun be made on day four "to divide the light from the darkness", a division that already existed on day one?

I do believe, however, that all six days of creation week were literal 24 hour days.

But how do we give such a literal explanation to anyone who ask, since the literal evidence (the sun made on day four) does not seem to support it?

did you consider the parallels in the creation account? you picked up on day 1 with day 4 but it goes deeper. days 1-3 God separates and makes empty vessels and days 4-6 God fills them.

He separates the light and darkness (day 1) he separates the waters for sky and water (day 2) and the separates land from the water day 3). Then God fills these vessels on day 4-6. Day 4 the sun and moon and all the celestial objects are created; God fills space. Day 5 all the birds and marine animals are created; God fills the waters and the sky. Day 6 all the land creature are created; God fills the land. Did you know the Hebrew word for "create" can mean "to fill" or "to fatten"? So there are parallels in the text with days 1 and 4, days 2 and 5 and days 3 and 6. Puts new meaning to "the earth was formless and void" so in the beginning God makes empty vessels then he fills them up.

There is also this overlapping order to it all. the land comes from the water which comes from the sky which comes from the light/darkness. Without day 2 how could the land be gathered from the waters? Without day 1 how could the sky/waters be separated? It might just be these "days" do not fit our western worldview. In an eastern ancient Hebrew mindset these really aren't questions.