As the time arrives to compose this month's newsletter, I am reminded constantly of the terrible events in my nation of 9-11. I believe the events of 9-11 continue to dominate our thinking and rightly should. Our prayers are for the victims and their families and friends, and that the church will awaken. I am reminded that God created time and thus time must have had a beginning and time will come to a conclusion as the Bible tells us. I am reminded that God's creation was very good at the end of day six and that man's disobedience brought evil and death into the world as God's judgement. I am reminded God controls his creation and that nothing occurs that he does not permit. In scripture God repeatedly used heathen nations to alert his people when they were not under the authority of the scripture. As his people we must return to the authority of the Bible. This makes me see the importance to Christians of understanding this simple truth and makes me aware of the need to review this article printed in the magazine Creation Ex Nihilo in 1996 by Ken Ham.

THE NECESSITY FOR BELIEVING IN SIX LITERAL DAYS
by Ken Ham

The major reason why people doubt that the days of creation are 24-hour literal days usually has nothing to do with what the Bible says, but comes from outside influences. For example, many believe that because scientists have supposedly proved the earth to be billions of years old then the days of creation cannot be ordinary days.

If people use Scripture to try to justify that the days of creation are long periods of time, they usually quote passages such as 2 Peter 3:8 '...one day is with the Lord as a thousand years ...'. Because of this, they think the days could be a thousand years, or perhaps even millions of years. However, if you look at the rest of the verse, it says,'...and a thousand years as one day'. This cancels out their argument! The context of this passage concerns the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. This particular verse is telling people that with God waiting a day is like waiting a thousand years, and waiting a thousand years is like waiting a day because God is outside of time-He is not limited by natural processes and time. This has absolutely nothing to do with defining the days of creation.

What does 'day' mean?

The Hebrew word for day in Genesis chapter 1 is the word yom. It is important to understand that almost any word can have two or more meanings, depending on context. We need to understand the context of the usage of this word in Genesis chapter 1.

Respected Hebrew dictionaries, like the Brown, Driver, Briggs lexicon, give a number of meanings for the word yom depending upon context. One of the passages they give for yom as meaning an ordinary day happens to be Genesis chapter 1. The reason is obvious. Every time the word yom is used with a number, or with the phrase 'evening and morning', anywhere in the Old Testament, it always means an ordinary day. In Genesis chapter1, for each of the six days of creation, the Hebrew word yom is used with a number and the phrase, 'evening and morning'. There is no doubt that the writer is being emphatic that these are ordinary days.

What if the days were millions of years?

The idea of millions of years came from the belief that the fossil record was built up over a long time. As soon as people allow for millions of years, they allow for the fossil record to be millions of years old. This creates an insurmountable problem regarding the Gospel. The fossil record consists of the death of billions of creatures. In fact, it is a record of death, disease, suffering, cruelty, and brutality. It is a very ugly record.

The Bible is adamant though, that death, disease, and suffering came into the world as a result of sin. God instituted death and bloodshed because of sin so man could be redeemed. As soon as Christians allow for death, suffering and disease before sin, then the whole foundation of the message of the Cross, and the Atonement have been destroyed. The doctrine of 'original sin' then is totally undermined.

If there was death, disease, and suffering before Adam rebelled - then what did sin do to the world? What does Paul mean in Romans 8 when he says the whole of creation groans in pain because of the Curse? How can all things be restored in the future to no more death and suffering, unless the beginning was also free of death and suffering? The whole message of the Gospel falls apart if one allows millions of years for the creation of the world.

How should we approach scripture?

One of the major problems we have (in fact, it is the same problem Adam and Eve had) is that we tend to start from outside God's Word and then go to what God has written in the Bible (or - in Adam's case - what God said directly to him) to try to interpret it on the basis of our own ideas. This is really the major reason why most people question the days of creation.

We need to realize that the Bible is God's Word. And as it is the inspired Word of the infinite Creator, God, then it must be self-authenticating and self-attesting. Thus, we should always start with what God's Word says regardless of outside ideas. Only God's word is infallible.

If we allow our children to accept the possibility that we can doubt the days of creation when the language speaks so plainly, then we are teaching them a particular approach to all of Scripture. Why shouldn't they start to doubt that Christ's Virgin Birth really means a virgin birth? Why shouldn't they start to doubt that the Resurrection really means resurrection?

In fact, there are many theologians who doubt those very things, as they have come to disbelieve the plain words of Scripture written in the foundational Book of Genesis.

Why did God take six days?

If you think about it, an infinite Creator God could have created everything in no time. Why then did He take as long as six days? The answer is given in Exodus 20:11. Here we find that God tells us that He deliberately took six days and rested for one as a pattern for man - this is where the seven days week comes from. The seven days week has no basis for existing except from Scripture. If one believes that the days of creation are long periods of time, then the week becomes meaningless.

The Bible tells us that Adam was created on the sixth day. If he lived through day six and day seven, then died when he was 930 years old, and if each of these days was a thousand or a million years, you have major problems! On the fourth day of creation (Genesis 1:14-19), we are given the comparison of day to night, and days to years. If the word 'day' doesn't mean an ordinary day, then the comparison of day to night and days to years becomes meaningless.

Were the days 24 hours? Most definitely! 'Let God be true, but every man a liar.' (Romans 3:4) End of Ken Ham's article.

Remember the purpose of these little messages is to strengthen your faith and remove evolutionary thinking from the church.

Sidney C. Phillips M.D. October. 2001

End of message 48