Seven Day Creation Story

[GoingMyOwnWay]

I'm a little confused about the whole Creation story - Catholics believe that it didn't actually take seven days, that it really took billions of years. What do other Christians believe?

[Pastor _rob]

There are some who believe there was a earth created before God spoke in Genesis 1, saying let there be. We find that in Ezk 28 Lucifier walked in the garden, this is pre Genesis 1.
In this verse we find he was placed in charge of God's glory both in heaven before the throne and in the earth. Before this destruction which caused God to re-create everything, because the earth was flooded and set adrift, Lucifier was charged with others to teach men rightousness. This was because there was no written word at the time, so God sent angels to do His will.
When Lucifier fell he was banned from heaven and those who sided with him were casted down to the earth as well.
With this comes an interesting teaching that these men and women who sided with the devil on earth, because they could see his beauty and hear him music, and even worshipped him, became the demons we face today. There is a difference between evil spirits and demon. One seeks a body (demon) and the other doesn't.
Genesis also tells us that there were gaints in the land in those days, men of renown, anicent. This is what it is refering to and is what is known as the seed of the serpent. Satan was attempting to squash God's spoken word concerning the seed of man smashing the head of the enemy. Satan did this by introducing his seed into the earth, which produced giants in the land, these beasts were filled with hatred and killing, so God destroyed the earth during the days of Noah, to prevent the enemy from corrupting all of man's seed, and only the pure lineage of man through Noah survived.
So some believe satan walked in the garden before Genesis 1 according to Ezk 28, and was seen in the garden again during the time of Adam, where he was seeking to get back his position through lies. These are all taught and some are found mentioned in the book of Enoch which is mentioned in the bible.
So everything that is there came from our Bible so therefore you didn't read. Iasked that you prayed first (1Jn.2:27). u should ask God for more understanding.Amen!!!

[MaryAnn]

Hi Jack,

I thank you for this further clarification...Yes, obviously we need this information more than once to glean from it.

MaryAnn

[Jonathan McLatchie]

Please allow me to offer some clarification as to the alleged contradiction between chapter 1 and 2 in terms of the creation of mankind in relation to that of the animal kingdom, while erring on the side of brevity.

The first point I think we should consider is that in the original Hebrew, the tense of a verb is determined in light of the context. It is clear from such context in Genesis 1 that the animals were created prior to the creation of Adam, and so the Jews would have understood the word ‘formed’ used in Genesis 2:19 to mean something to the effect of ‘having formed’. If one were to translate Genesis 2:19 in the way that the New International Version does, one would find that “Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field...” As you can see, the alleged contradiction evaporates. One might also recognise that Genesis 2 is not simply an additional creation account (it says nothing about the creation of the heavens, earth, stars, etc), but mentions only mentions things from the perspective of Adam and Eve.

Chapter 2 may be seen as an overview of the whole of the creation event. To answer your question more specifically, we read in Genesis 2:4 – “This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created. When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens...” This clearly marks a break with the first chapter. In the Hebrew, such breaks are used often to identify the end of each section in Genesis. There is a total of 10 such structural ‘breaks’ in the book of Genesis. Such a divisive device affirms that while chapter 1 is the ‘overview’ of the origin of the ‘heavens and the earth’ (Genesis 2:4), whereas chapter 2 is predominantly concerned with the perspective of the first humans. Perhaps also the context of Genesis 2:4 can be thought to suggest a shift in emphasis (makes reference to “the heavens and the earth” followed by “the earth and the heavens”). Genesis 1 and 2 therefore are not distinct and conflicting records of creation, but rather, Genesis 1 depicts the ‘big picture’, while Genesis 2 gives a more detailed account of the creation of Adam and Eve on day six of creation week. I hope this helps resolve your dilemma in this respect.

[Absent Minded]

I believe in six litteral days of creation... The way I see it is if I can't believe the Bible in it's entirity then I have nothing to stand on and it becomes a work of fiction. I do have one other take.. when asked how long a day was God said a thousand years. So even if I streatch that to be 6 of God's days that is only 6 thousand years. Adam died in one of God's days just as God said he would. Adam was 900 and some years old when he died. I believe God was talking about the litteral death of Adam when he said in the day you eat of the fruit ye shall die.

[Eren]

hi there,
there are some great site on the internet that might help you understand and also movies that show why we can believe scientifically in a 6 day creation.
Here is a blog i made with many links to online movies for you to watch.
I hope this helps you out:
online videos about creation
also check out:
answers in genesis
blessings,
Eren

[Jonathan McLatchie]

Hey Eren,

Many thanks for the link to the videos. There are some films there which I have not seen before. I appreciate it alot.

Thanks!

Jonathan

[Carl]

This question is a hard one to answer. Since God always has been and always will be he doesn't live by the same 'time rules' we do. He lives outside of time. I have tried to answer this question myself and found an answer that I can accept that takes everything into account. Be fore warned some may disagree with me and that is all right because that just allows us to work TOGETHER to find a answer.

My thoughts are God is trying to teach us what he has done. And as a child asks the question "What makes the car move?" we don't go into the details that we drill for oil refine it into gasoline, and dig ore from the ground and refine that into steel and explain how the metal is formed into a car. Or explain the workings of a motor and how the transfer of energy is done. We are just told "the engine makes the car move and I control where it goes." So I don't really think that it makes that much diffrence if it was seven days or 70 trillon years. All that matters is that we are here because of God.

[swtswan]

I'm sorry;but this is the first time I've heard this,I was raised a Catholic;and this was never taught to me (not even in the church,or in any catholic church) i've been to. We were always taught that God created the earth in 7 days.Are you sure it was a person who said they were catholic,and weren't; just to mislead you? It seems someone was acting as a sheep in wolves clothing.
I'm sorry they misled you.

[swtswan]

Although Carl is also right, because our time is different in Gods time. It states clearly in the bible that very same thing; What may be a minute to us may be something like a thousand years or more or less to God. I'll look for scripture to back it up.Thanks Carl you are right dear brother. I wasn't sure if I could explain it in enough detail. hope it helps!

[MaryAnn]

Hi there, I realize there is a major debate over this topic. I believe that it clearly stated in the Genesis account. God created the earth in six literal 24 hour days, and rested on the 7th day. It is clear! We still have these 24 hour days He created, with a morning and an evening in every 24 hour period. I don’t choose to add my own interpretation to something so clearly stated. If it were billions of years, I believe that it would have been worded differently.

Ge 5b And there was evening and there was morning, one day.
Ge 8b And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.
13 And there was evening and there was morning, a third day.
19 And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.
23 And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.
31b And there was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.
Genesis 2:2 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.

This 6 day creation story, and resting on the 7th day is what I believe.

God bless!
MaryAnn

[LT]

Sounds Good to me...

Lord Bless,
LT

[MaryAnn]

Thanks LT