Time From God’s Perspective
To fully understand this subject, one must understand time from God’s perspective. Specifically, what is a day? Is a day always 24 hours? And was the earth really created in six 24 hour days? One must understand that the Hebrew language is not as specific as the English language. A day in Hebrew is not necessarily a 24 hour day. It is an epoch of time.
Genesis 5:4
4And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters:
Days is the Hebrew word yowm {yome} (H3117). 2008 of its 2274 times in the Bible, it is translated day. However, yowm {yome} (H3117) is not specifically a 24 hour day. It is also translated: time, chronicles, daily, ever, year, continually, when, as, while, full, always, whole, always and 44 other miscellaneous words. Genesis 5:4 actually refers to an epoch of time.
Yowm’s {yome} (H3117) meaning can be determined from the context of the sentence. It is man and not God that insists that a day is 24 hours. Remember what God said to Adam in Genesis 2:17:
17But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
However did Adam die in 24 hours? Genesis 5:5
5And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.
Adam lived 930 years. Obviously, Adam did not die in a 24 hour day. No wonder people think that the Bible is full of errors. Here is one in the beginning. Did God misspeak or is human perspective skewed?
Remember what the serpent said in Genesis 3:4:
4And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
Who are you going to believe? God or the serpent? You would be surprised that the vast majority of non-believers and Christians believe the serpent. Most people believe the lie in the garden, the eternal soul. This single verse from Yeshua should have cleared up the matter, Matthew 10:28.
28And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell (gehenna).
However, that is not the subject of this study. Refer to Lie in the Garden for further information.
Of course God is right, Adam died in one day. However, it was not a 24 hour day as so many might assume. When Adam ate of the fruit, Adam spiritually died. Refer to Death of the Spirit. So God was correct and not the serpent.
Least one think I am mincing words, God is more right than most believers realize. Consider that Adam was 930 years when he died, Genesis 5:5.
5And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.
Interestingly enough the phrase: and all the days, is the Hebrew word yowm {yome} (H3117). Remember 2 Peter 3:8:
8But, 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.
Adam who lived just under a 1000 years in the perspective of 2 Peter 3:8, Adam lived less than one day. Therefore, Adam spiritually died in the day he ate of the fruit and literally died in one day of the Lord.
Never think that God was wrong or confused. It is God’s perspective that matters.
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