Is a Day Really a Day? Some Intriguing Questions to Consider.

Here's a few questions for you:

1. According to the Scriptures, how many days was Jesus tempted in the wilderness?
2. How many days did it rain while Noah was on the ark?
3. How many days was Jesus in the tomb?
4. How many days was Lazarus dead and in his tomb?
5. After his resurrection, how many days does the Bible say Jesus taught and preached before he ascended to Heaven?

**Now, here's a tricky one for you:  How long did it take God to create the Heavens and the Earth and all that is in them? 

If you are honest, chances are that you can rattle of the first five questions with valid answers from the Bible and you wouldn't hesitate to insist that the definition of a day in those answers are literal 24 hour periods of time; however, when you ponder the account of creation, you may be persuaded to consider otherwise.  Why is that?

The answer is simple, but complex, and I really don't intend to go through all of the intricacies here on this post; rather, I'd simply like to get you to consider why you (or those you know) find it hard to believe that the days of creation are literal 24 hour time periods.  Many people would be quick to site 2 Peter 3:8 and say that a day with the Lord is like a thousand years.  While that verse does indeed say that, it is not the context for creation, but perhaps more importantly, would you be willing to subject those other five questions listed above with the same reasoning?  Why not?

For me personally, this is a non-issue.  I believe that God meant what he said as he inspired the Holy Scriptures to say that he created the heavens and the earth in six days and rested on the seventh.  I also believe that our calendar week is patterned after Exodus 20:8-11 that says "8“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."

For more valuable insight to this discussion, please read the following articles:

Could God Really Have Created Everything in Six Days?

The Necessity for Believing in Six Literal Days

2 Peter 3:8 "one day is like a thousand years"

Have a blessed day.  (Did I really mean a literal 24 hour period?)