This
is a valid question and demonstrates the need to have insight into the
Scriptures, the plan and purpose of God, and the way God communicates through
the written word.
Did
God create everything in 7 days? No. How do we know. Genesis tells us that in
five days God created the Heavens and the Earth.
And God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day. Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” And God made the firmament and separated the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament. And it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day….And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, a sixth day. (Genesis 1:3–8, 31)
We
see that God began creating the Heavens after the period for the first day had
been closed. When you read the Creation account, you will find that the Sun was
not created until the fourth day. This means that the light of the first day
had nothing to do with the Sun. In fact, the Sun being created on the fourth
day informs us that the days of Creation could not have been twenty-four hour
days. To suggest that they are is to jump from using reason and logic to imagination
and myth—the realm of much human philosophy and religious dogma.
The light of the first day is contrasted with darkness, but presented so readers can immediately understand that light enables people to see and be free to know the truth, whereas darkness blinds people and creates fear of the unknown.
Distinguishing
the difference between symbolic representation and fact is critical for people
seeking to understand the plan and purpose of God.
Day two: creation of Heavens
Day three: creation of Earth and vegetation
Day four: creation of Sun, Moon, Stars
Day five: creation of water creatures and birds
Day six: creation of land based animals and humans
The
first day is finished at the evening. There is no morning to start the first
day of the beginning of Creation week to tell us when it began—as in, morning
of first day/evening of first day—instead we read evening/morning. There is a
morning to indicate the start of the second day.
At
the end of the sixth day, we see there is the same expression found at the end
of the first day.
And
there was evening and there was morning, a sixth day
Mornings
are not the end of the day, but the beginning of the day. Therefore, when we
read that there was evening and there was morning, a sixth day, we are being
informed that this was the beginning of the seventh day. Nowhere do we read
there was evening and morning, a seventh day. There is no mention of any
evening or end of the seventh day. Instead, we learn that God blessed this
seventh day in which He is resting from His work of creating the Universe.
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work which he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all his work which he had done in creation. (Genesis 2:1–3)
The
book of Hebrews explains why God rested from His work of Creation and that this
rest exists for the people of God.
So then, there remains a sabbath rest for the people of God; for whoever enters God’s rest also ceases from his labors as God did from his. (Hebrews 4:8–9)
From
what is written in the Bible, we learn that God was simply taking it easy until
He decided to exert Himself somewhat and create the Universe, which did not
previously exist. This God did in five different periods—could have been five
seconds, could have taken five hours, or maybe some thousands of years; only
not millions or billions of years. The point that needs to be understood is the
Creation was not something that evolved from nothing—abiogenesis—but required
thought, reason. and some exertion of power to accomplish, which was executed
in five distinct epochs.
As
for this rest being meaningless to God, from what the Bible tells us, this
current time is very meaningful, because people are being given the opportunity
to come and reason with Him and discover their eternal purpose for existence.
If people think that there is meaning in the futility of being born to die,
then this is up to them. The Bible tells us that the wise recognize the
futility of being born to die and seek out God, until they establish a
meaningful relationship with Him.
But according to his promise we wait for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. (2 Peter 3:13)
Once the number of people who have been designated to enter eternal life have secured their salvation, then Lord Jesus Christ will return to rule on Earth for 1000 years. After this, there will be a period when every person will be held to account for what they have done with their lives. If their name is not in the Book of Life, they will be judged, then cast out of the presence of God for ever; whereupon they will be able to contemplate why they were so foolish to reject their only hope of eternal life. After everybody has been judged, God will cease from this current period of rest and destroy this present Universe. Then God promises He will create "new" Heavens and Earth, one where people who like to do evil will have no place; a society that is impossible in this current world system where liars rule the world.
