In the Beginning: Stand for Reason, The 7th Day

In "The Seventh Day...Today?" I explained that in a recent episode of Greg Koukl's "Stand to Reason" radio show, he appeared to use the opening verses of Hebrews 4 as an argument against the "Young-Earth Creationist" understanding of Genesis 1. He responded to a caller, saying based on that passage, "it's clear that the seventh day isn't a day" because we are in the 7th day of creation even today. That is in his view consistent with his understanding of the so-called days of creation being long periods of time, rather than 24-hour solar days.

Having called in to Greg's show once before, and having found him to be very humble and gracious, I decided to call in again to challenge his argument from Hebrews 4. Once again, Greg exhibited humility and openness, and explained that in that call he was only attempting to "defeat a defeater," that is to explain how Moses' application of the days of creation with regards to the Sabbath day of rest for the Israelites is not a legitimate challenge to his view. And by the end of the call, he agreed--assuming I am correct that numerous commentators throughout history do not share his view of the 7th day--that my understanding of Hebrews 4 is just as "sound theology" as his.

Anyway, I really enjoyed the conversation, and it seems to me that Greg did, too. Give the episode a listen if you're so inclined; my call begins at about 33:40 into the episode. Consider also subscribing to the "Stand to Reason" podcast, at which his live shows are archived the day after they air. I highly recommend his ministry, and think you'll enjoy it.

In the Beginning: The Seventh Day... Today?

In "Evening and Morning—Days Not Ages" we looked at the so-called "days of creation" in Genesis 1, and learned that the author's use of the phrase, "there was evening and there was morning," strongly suggests that he had ordinary, 24-hour days in mind. There are additional reasons to understand the passage in this way, but before we look at those, I want to address an argument I had never heard until a couple of days ago. In short, this argument is that the book of Hebrews claims that the seventh "day" of creation is ongoing, presumably even to this day. If true, then we would be forced to understand the "days" of creation as being long ages of time, despite the author's use of "evening" and "morning."