How long did it take God to create the world? Was it six of our days or six of God’s days because a day for God is like 1000 years for us and 1000 years for us is a day for God?
The creation of the world by God has always been such a controversial subject. However, the scriptures are quite clear about it. We read about the creation in John 1:3, “ALL THINGS were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” We also read in Colossians 1:16-17, “For by him were ALL THINGS created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.” Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 12:1, “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth…” The creator of the heavens and earth is God and the Bible specifically tells us that. While ‘so-called’ science may try to refute this, we know from God’s Word that it is true.
So, how long did it take the Lord to create the world? The Lord COULD have created the world in the blink of an eye. Creation was so easy for our God who is immeasurably powerful. King David said in Psalm 8:3, “When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained.” He seemed to realize how simple a project it was for the Lord to create all things. “The work of thy fingers!” Just a wave of the arm, just a movement of the fingers, and the Lord created all things. Although He could have created the world instantaneously, He did not. Genesis tells us that the Lord created the world in six days. He created the earth in this order:
- DAY ONE – God created the heavens and earth. (Genesis 1:1-4)
- DAY TWO – God created the sky or atmosphere above us. (Genesis 1:5-8)
- DAY THREE – God created the dry land and called it Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. He also created all the plants. (Genesis 1:9-13)
- DAY FOUR – God created the sun, moon, and stars. (Genesis 1:14-19)
- DAY FIVE – God created all life that lives in the water and all the birds. (Genesis 1:20-23)
- DAY SIX – God created all the different kinds of animals and “everything that creeps on the ground.” Also, on this day, God created man! (Genesis 1:24-31)
- DAY SEVEN – God rested after His work of creation was completed. (Genesis 2:1-3)
Now, let us take a look at the Hebrew word for ‘day’. The word is ‘yome’ and is defined as: a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term). It is possible that the word ‘day’ could represent an indefinite period of time. However, the key to understanding its meaning in creation lies in the way it is used.
We read in Genesis 1:5, “And the evening and the morning were the first day.” This determines that the day consisted of an evening and a morning. It is a literal 24-hour day! We read the same expression after each day of creation in verses 8, 13, 19, 23, and 31. In the Hebrew world, each day began at sundown, so the evening is mentioned before the morning. The numbering of the days in sequence also indicates defined 24-hour periods.
In the giving of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20, we read in verse 11, “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.” This shows us that in creation, God established a literal seven-day week, based on the six days of creation and the day of rest. As we put all these things together, I believe we can easily see that the days of creation were literal days. (460.6)