Did God Take Millions of Years to Create the Earth?
There have many attempts to fit the idea that the world is millions of years old into scripture. Before the year 1795, Christians never really questioned the age of the earth while reading the creation story in Genesis 1. The Bible's record made it clear that the world was created roughly around 4004 B.C., and there was no problems with this belief because of the genealogies leading back to Adam and Eve.
In 1795, a man by the name of James Hutton published a book titled 'Theory of the Earth' that argued the earth was millions of years old, and unfortunately this is where the real doubting started for Christians. Later in 1814, Thomas Chalmers introduced the Gap Theory as an explanation in scripture where these millions of years exist. Chalmers claims stated that in between verses one and two of Genesis chapter one were millions of years, the time of the fall of Satan (which is still taught by many pastors today). Not long after that, in 1859, Charles Darwin published 'The Origin of Species', and by this time Christians had already been conditioned to freely accept millions of years into Genesis, so there was no real opposition to his claims.
The Day Age Theory is another idea, that we are discussing now, claims there are millions of years in between each day of creation, unlike the Gap Theory that only believes in millions of years between only verses one and two. The root of this argument lays in the definition of the Hebrew word for DAY, which is 'Yom'. This Hebrew word, Yom, is used 2,301 times in the Old Testament, but is only questioned in Genesis by those who have adapted the Day Age and Gap Theories. Many Day Age theorist will say this word does not mean a 24 hour period as we typically think of, but instead as an undefined period of time. Or they may even quote the verse that says
'But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.'
– 2Pe 3:8 KJV
There is a problem with quoting this verse to make up for God's scope of time. The verse above is really more of a visual to illustrate the fact that time does not matter to God. Because God lives outside of time, it is my opinion that this is not to be taken literally. Here is why… God created time and transcends it. God is present at the creation of the earth at the same time He is viewing the end of the earth and everything in between. God lives in eternity, where time is non-existent; something we can't comprehend with our finite earthly minds. In eternity, EVERYTHING is right now. We can find another example of this type of visual in the Gospels, illustrating the math doesn't matter when forgiving.
'Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.'
– Mat 18:21-22 KJV
Jesus is not actually telling us how many times we should forgive people, expecting us to actually count out 490 times and then forget about it. It's rather a picture of completion times completion; unlimited forgiveness. Jesus shows Peter that we always forgive without the thought of how many times we are forgiving. If you also notice, Peter was not only the one who asked this question, but then later wrote the phrase of 'a day being as a thousand years'. Isn't it interesting that Peter uses the same type of example that Jesus gave him during His ministry to show something innumerable?
Another example might be considered when God asks Abraham to count the stars. The point God makes to Abraham was not that he actually COULD count the stars, but that it was impossible to do so, giving the same type of illustration we see in 2 Peter 3:8 and Matthew 18:21-22 stated above.
'And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.'
– Gen 15:5 KJV
So given these verses, it would be very unwise, in my opinion, for us to take what Peter said in the book of 2 Peter literally, especially when studying the record of creation.
There are many reasons to interpret the Hebrew word Yom as being a 24 hour day. First and foremost, if God was not being clear enough, at the end of every day in creation it states very clear that 'the evening and the morning' were the end of that particular day. This leaves no room to conclude anything other than a 24 hour time period.
When we read of the flood account during the time of Noah, also in the book of Genesis, we learn that it rained for 40 days and nights, the fountains of the deep poured up water from the earth for 150 days, and the flood waters remained on the earth approximately a year. All this time, Noah was in the ark waiting for God to allow him to emerge onto dry land. The Hebrew word Yom is used to describe all these days, same as in the creation week. Are we to believe that the rains and flood lasted millions of years, and that Noah spent millions of years in the ark?
Additionally, if we look at the story of the Hebrews in Exodus chapter 20, God tells Moses that His people were to work for six 'days' and rest on the seventh day, just as He created the heaven and the earth in six 'days' and rested on the seventh. In the very same statement, God compares the days of work to the days of creation! Did God mean for us to work for MILLIONS OF YEARS? How many hours did you put in this week?
'Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 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.'
– Exo 20:9-11 KJV
Aside from these scriptural arguments, let's take a look at this from a scientific point of view. On the THIRD DAY God created the plants of the earth; grass, trees, flowers, etc.
'And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.'
– Gen 1:11 KJV
On DAY FOUR God made the sun, moon, and stars.
'And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.'
– Gen 1:16 KJV
And on DAY SIX God made the insects.
'And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.'
– Gen 1:25 KJV
Ask yourself, if there are millions of years in between each creation day, how did the plants live for millions of years before the creation of the sun? Moreover, how did they pollinate if it was even more millions of years before insects where created? This would be an impossibility.
Adam and Eve were created on day six. Jesus, God in human form, states in the book of Mark that
'But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.'
– Mar 10:6 KJV
It would be foolish to think that Jesus is insinuating there were millions of years before Adam and Eve. As He states, they were at 'the beginning of the creation'. If Adam and Eve were created on day six as Genesis 1:27 states, it would not be considered 'the beginning' if there were millions of years before them; thus making Jesus Christ a liar, contradicting His claim to be the truth.
In the book of Romans we read that death didn't enter into the world until the introduction of sin by Adam.
'Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; …'
– Rom 5:12 KJV
If this verse is true, is it possible to have millions of years of dinosaurs living and dying before the creation of man on day six; man being the one to introduce sin into the world? This would put death BEFORE the introduction of sin, making Paul a false teacher, and God again would be a liar.
Lastly, don't forget at the end of the sixth creation day, God proclaimed that everything was 'very good'.
'And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.'
– Gen 1:31 KJV
Could everything be 'very good' with millions of years of death before the creation of Adam? I can't say that I would think so, and I'm not half the perfectionist that God is. Is scripture true, or did men prove God to be wrong?
Disclaimer: The views and interpretations expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs or positions of WiProud. This article is intended for informational and discussion purposes only. Readers are encouraged to explore multiple perspectives and conduct their own research when forming conclusions about religious texts and beliefs.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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