Dear ISWASANDWILLBE.com,

On the website it is stated many times that the entire Bible is SIGNified.  I notice that the description of ‘Day’ in the ‘Meaning of Words’ section is, “Understanding God’s Ways.”  When days are interpreted as symbolic in other parts of the Bible, why are the six days of creation (in combination with the 7th sabbath day) taken literally?  If the days were symbolic of spiritual imperfection (as the number six is stated as being), this would be a perfect description of the creation of the Earth (SIX days to create a physical realm, with the seventh being reserved as holy).

Wouldn’t a “symbolic” interpretation of each day (perhaps such as meaning an extended period of time) allow for a scriptural justification for what modern science believes are billions of years of varying ages of the Earth?  If not, why are the ‘days’ of creation taken literally and not as SIGNified?

This is an entirely serious question and is NOT intended to create debate.  I understand virtually every concept I have come across so far on the ISWASANDWILLBE website, but this is a stumbling block for me.
Thank you very much!
Sincerely,
R____

Hi R____,

Thank you for your question.

You ask:

I notice that the description of ‘Day’ in the ‘Meaning of Words’ section is,”Understanding God’s Ways.”  When days are interpreted as symbolic in other parts of the Bible, why are the six days of creation (in combination with the 7th sabbath day) taken literally?

As concerns the meaning of the word ‘day’ in scripture, Christians are call “the children of light and of the day,” meaning they have Christ in them and they know God and Christ who is called “the light of the world.

Eph 5:8  For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:

1Th 5:5  Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

Joh 8:12  Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

Mat 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

Knowing this gives the account of first day of creation much deeper meaning:

Gen 1:3  And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
Gen 1:4  And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
Gen 1:5  And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

The short answer is that there is a qualifier with each of these days of creation, which does not appear in other scriptures which are later used to refer to overall periods as days.

For example:

Gen 2:4  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,

This verse summarizes what took place in those six “evenings and mornings” so of course there is no “evening and morning” following this statement.

Another example is the oft used phrase “the day of the Lord,” which appears in scripture many times

Isa 2:12  For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is  proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:

That is not the way he uses the word ‘day’ here at the time of creation. As Christ is creating the earth, He goes to great lengths to tell us after each step in the creation process:

Gen 1:5  And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

That phrase “the evening and the morning” is repeated six times in the creation account. Were it not used, then we would be justified in assuming these to be longer periods of time. The fact that it is not used in conjunction with the seventh day, indicates that the ‘rest’ is itself the completion, and mankind is still “entering into his rest” as we are indeed informed:

Heb 4:3  For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
Heb 4:4  For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.
Heb 4:5  And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest .
Heb 4:6  Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:

Some people apparently considered the ‘rest’ to be a symbol of entering the promised land, which Paul says was obviously not the case. Continuing Paul’s thought here in Hebrew’s four:

Heb 4:7  Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Heb 4:8  For if Jesus [Joshua] had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.

It is generally agreed that the ‘Jesus’ in this case should have been translated Joshua, both names meaning ‘Savior or Deliverer’. But Joshua did not give them rest, so Paul continues:

Heb 4:9  There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
Heb 4:10  For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
Heb 4:11  Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

Here we have an apostle interpreting this ‘rest’ as “ceasing from our own works” and exhorting us all to be diligent to do so. There is no such discussion about any of the six days of physical creation, with which the phrase “the evening and the morning” are associated.

No one is saying that there was not a literal seventh day. What is being pointed out is that man’s works have not yet ceased, and the fact that the words ‘and the evening and the morning were the seventh day’ do not appear in scripture symbolizes the fact that man’s works will indeed come to an end or completion.

Besides all of this we have this verse of scripture with which to contend:

Isa 48:3  I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I shewed them; I did them suddenly, and they came to pass.

Now here is Strong’s definition for the Hebrew word translated ‘suddenly’ here in Isa 48:3.

H6597
pith’o m  pith’o m
pith- ome’, pith- ome’
From H6621; instantly: – straightway, sudden (-ly).

Type this number into your e-sword, and look at how it is used. There is no way this word can be construed to mean long periods of years. It means ‘very soon’; it means ‘instantly’. Here, for example, is how this word is first used in scripture:

Num 6:8  All the days of his separation he is holy unto the LORD.
Num 6:9  And if any man die very suddenly^H6597 by him, and he hath defiled the head of his consecration; then he shall shave his head in the day of his cleansing, on the seventh day shall he shave it.

To try to turn evenings and mornings into eons of time in the light of all we are told about God’s ways, demonstrates a regard for “science falsely so-called” which supersedes the word of God, and demonstrates a lack of faith in God’s Words:

Exo 20:11  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.

It really does take less faith to believe that a hen was created then sat on her eggs, than to contrive some way for that hen to evolve over long periods of time. All of creation in its symbiotic nature demands that creation was very soon and instantly; “in six days” of six literal “evenings and mornings.”

In closing I will also note that for any spiritual word to be understood, there must first be a literal and physical shadow given. To take the initial shadow and make it the spiritual robs us of our ability to rightly divide God’s Word:

Rom 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

For example, Christ is called “the lamb of God.” If I now take that word ‘lamb’ and point out that this is a spiritual statement, does that mean that there never really was a literal physical lamb? Of course not. But that is exactly what is being done with this word ‘day’.  The physical ‘type’ that is first given is being denied ever being given as an original type. The claim is being made that it was spiritual in its first use, and this flies in the face of Gen 1, Exo 20:11, Isa 48:3, Rom 1:20, as well as logic and true science and all the rest of God’s Word.

I hope this has helped you to see why the evenings and mornings of Genesis one are never to be understood as speaking of long, extended periods or ages of time.

Be sure to read the letters on the gap theory, dealing with the theory of a gap of many ages between Gen 1:1 and Gen 1:2. There is no scriptural basis for such a theory, and the fact that Adam and Eve “were naked” proves it. Just type the words gap theory into the search box on iswasandwillbe and read that letter.

Mike