Some people suggest that God did not create the world in seven, 24-hour solar days (which is the Young Earth viewpoint). They suggest instead that each day consisted of a long, protracted period of time, an extended "age" or "epoch" in world history.

Such a proposal allows each day to consist of thousands or millions of years during which a process of evolution might occur and promotes an Old Earth viewpoint. We call this viewpoint the Day-Age Theory, but does the biblical evidence allow it?

"The Evening and Morning"

Day-Age advocates point out that the Hebrew word for day (יוֹם) can mean "an indefinite, protracted period of time marked by some distinguishing characteristics." This observation is true. The word does not always refer to a 24-hr. solar day. Even so, this word does often refer to a 24-hr. solar day.

To determine when it does, we should look for contextual clues to guide our interpretation. In this case, Genesis 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, and 31 precede the word day with the phrase "the evening and the morning." This additional description limits the meaning of the word day to a 24-hr. time period and excludes a "day-age" interpretation.

Plants Before Sun

Genesis 1:11-13 locates the creation of plant life on Day 3, while Genesis 1:14-19 places the creation of the sun on Day 4. If the Day-Age Theory is correct, then plant life would have come into existence and evolved over a long period of time without sunlight and photosynthesis, which is a problematic and implausible scenario for sure. If God created the world in seven, literal days, then this presents no such problem.

From the Beginning

The Day-Age Theory contradicts how Jesus himself described Creation, and how he described the inception of marriage in particular. He described marriage as being “from the beginning of creation” (Mark 10:6). This description does not harmonize with the idea that human beings came into existence after an evolutionary process that occurred over millions of years.

In such a protracted arrangement, human beings and marriage do not appear at the beginning of creation, but at the end. However, if God created human beings and marriage as part of a rapid, literal, 7-day series of events, then the entire process of creation qualifies as "the beginning" and harmonizes with Jesus' depiction.

The Entrance of Death

From a theological standpoint, this may be the most important observation in this debate. According to Romans 5:12, death entered the world through sin, and sin entered the world through human beings. It says, "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned."

If the Day-Age Theory is correct, then death would have occurred in the world before human beings came into existence, since plants and animals would have necessarily died in the millions of years before mankind existed. Yet Romans 5:12 teaches that there was no death before Adam and Eve sinned, and Romans 8:20-22 teaches that this curse of death extended creation as a result (and not beforehand).

This is significant because the redemption that occurs because of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection corresponds to this doctrinal reality. 1 Corinthians 15:21-22 says, "For since by man came death, by man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive."

The Answer is "No"

These four biblical clues indicate that the Day-Age Theory is untenable. Instead, they support a Young Earth perspective and the creation of the world in seven, literal, solar days.