Creation
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1. How should the six days of creation be interpreted? As long periods
of time (centuries, thousands of years, etc.) or literally as days of 24
hours? |
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The six
days of creation, as we find them in the book of Genesis, must be interpreted
literally, for each one of those days was made of 24 hours. This is confirmed
by the fact that at the end of each one of the six days the Scripture states:
“And there was evening, and there was morning …” (Genesis 1:5,8,13,19,23,31 –
NIV). |
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God
confirmed this on Mount Sinai when He gave the Sabbath commandment, as He
said to Israel: “Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the
seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any
work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy
maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For
in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is,
and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and
hallowed it” (Exodus 20:9-11). Therefore, the fact that God under the law
commanded the Israelites to follow His example by resting on the seventh day
of the week – in that after God made all things in six days He rested from
all His work, as it is written: “And on the seventh day God ended his work
which He had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which
he had made” (Genesis 2:2) – confirms that the six days of creation were days
of 24 hours. |