How long were the days of creation? You might wonder why some people would even ask that question after reading the first chapter of Genesis. Each of the first six days described there is clearly separated by the phrase, “the evening and the morning were the first day… second day…” and so on.  Those descriptive boundaries certainly make sense to us. Is there any reason to suspect it wouldn’t have been quite clear to Moses as well?  But what is the condition that makes an evening and a morning?  You might say “the sun.”  But on day one the sun wasn’t created yet.  And reading the text of Genesis, we discover that God didn’t create the sun until the fourth day along with all the other stars.  Here’s a question for you.  Even without a sun, how would you determine the length of a day?  Is it not by the rotation of the earth?  If you were on another planet the length of your “day” would be determined by the rotation speed of your planet, right?

Of course, with only a modest knowledge of Bible history, the implication of this idea would lead any reader to very naturally conclude that God said “let there be light” for the very first time only about six or 7,000 years ago. Well, that’s quite a thought.  But, some find this far too implausible. But why? Is it because of their pre-conceived idea that the universe must surely be much older than that? If that’s the only kind of information about earth’s ancient history you were ever taught, well then naturally we would expect that kind of reaction.  But, to follow it up, if they’re trying to show agreement with the Bible, you might hear them ask: “Isn’t there some place in the Bible where a day is described as a thousand years long?” Do you suppose they might be thinking they have to find a way to help the Bible get itself out of trouble with its credibility?