The Meaning Of "Day" | The Institute for Creation Research

The Meaning Of "Day"

“And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day” (Genesis 1:5).

Many people today, professing to believe the Bible, have compromised with the evolutionary philosophy which dominates our society by accepting its framework of geological ages. This system interprets the rocks and fossils in terms of a supposed 4.6-billion-year history of the earth and life culminating in the evolution of early humans about a million years ago. In order to justify this compromise, they usually say that the “days” of creation really correspond to the geological ages, arguing that the Hebrew word for “day” (yom) does not have to mean a literal solar day

Oh, yes it does- at least in Genesis chapter one! God, knowing that the pagan philosophers of antiquity would soon try to distort His record of creation into long ages of pantheistic evolution (as in the Babylonian, Egyptian, Greek, and other such ancient cosmogonies), was careful to define His terms! “God called the light Day,” and that was the first day with its evening and morning. All subsequent days have followed the same pattern-a period of darkness (night), then a period of light (day).

One may quibble about the exact length of the day if he insists (e.g., equatorial days versus polar days), but there is no way this definition can accommodate a geological age. This is the very first reference to “day” (or yom) in the Bible, and this is given as an actual statement of the meaning of the word.

This ought to settle the question for anyone who really believes the Bible. One may decide to believe the evolutionary geologists if he wishes, instead of God, but he should at least let God speak for Himself. God says the days of creation were literal days, not ages. “In six days the LORD made heaven and earth” (Exodus 31:17). HMM

The Latest
NEWS
September Wallpaper
"[Cast] all your care upon Him, for He cares for you."  (1 Peter 5:7, NKJV) ICR's September 2026 wallpaper is now...

NEWS
Life’s Origins: The Bootstrap Problem
Could life’s instructions exist without ever being made? This question raises what is called a “bootstrap problem.”1 It...

ACTS & FACTS
The Power of a Meek Life
One of the clearest voices calling believers to surrender to Jesus was George Whitefield, who said, “I have just put my soul as a blank into the...

ACTS & FACTS
Extent of the Curse and the Hope of Redemption
“For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.” Romans 8:22* At the end of the sixth day of...

ACTS & FACTS
Modern Idolatry: Crediting Natural Selection as the Creator
“Have no other gods before Me.” Exodus 20:3 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). The Creator...

ACTS & FACTS
Is Death a Curse or Life’s Change Agent?
“The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.” 1 Corinthians 15:26 Without a doubt, there is a sting to death that is felt by Christians...

ACTS & FACTS
A Literal First Adam and Redemption in Christ
“ . . . the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.” Luke 3:38 Was there a literal Adam created along with his...

ACTS & FACTS
How Can Anyone Believe There Was a Global Flood?
“Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished.” 2 Peter 3:6* I am often asked, “Where is the evidence...

ACTS & FACTS
Creation in Six Days: Both Biblical and Practical
“For in six days the LORD [Yahweh] made the heavens and the earth.” Exodus 20:11 We are clearly told in Genesis 1 that God created the...

ACTS & FACTS
General Revelation: Power and Wisdom in God’s Creation
“Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet.” Psalm 8:6* God is the great...