ICR:No. 197 HOW LONG WAS THE SEVENTH DAY? by James S. Stambaugh, M.Div, M.L.S.*

   An important topic of debate for many years has been the length of
the days in Genesis 1. Some who hold to the standard uniformitarian
chronology insist that the days lasted perhaps billions of years, and
point to Hebrews 4:1-11 in an attempt to demonstrate that the seventh
day is still in progress. Their point is apparent; if the seventh day
is a long period of time, then so are the other days, and the supposed
multi-billion-year history of the earth and universe is intact.

   The issue regarding the length of the seventh day will be examined
in two ways: First, the context must be studied. There is an old adage
that "A text without a context is a pretext." Second, one must
understand what is meant by "rest" in this section, and the purpose of
the reference to the sabbath. Once these have been examined, the length
of the seventh day will be clear.

   THE CONTEXT OF HEBREWS 4:1-11

   Our text, Hebrews 4:1-11, is in the middle of a warning passage
(3:7 4:13). There are five such passages in the entire book.(1) The
warning passages generally are "concerned with the danger of apostasy.
There were some in the readership who had made a profession of faith in
Christ but were seriously considering returning to Judaism."(2) Each
warning is concerned with a particular issue.

   The issue in this passage is the superiority of Christ to Moses.
"The writer pauses to warn against a similar lapse of faith from
Christ, as was demonstrated in the days of Moses. The implication is
that since Christ is superior, such a lapse would be all the more
reprehensible."(3) Disobedience and unbelief caused the failure of
Moses' generation to enter God's promised rest. Verses 1 and 11 build
perseverance in the readers, and warn them not to return to Judaism.

   The point of this warning is to stay faithful to Christ. What we do
with Christ now determines whether or not we will enter a future rest.
"The picture that begins to emerge is one where this future rest is
entered into by faith in the historic present."(4) The Sabbath rest of
this passage is not present, but future.

   "REST" IN HEBREWS 4:1-11

   The concept of "rest" in Scripture is multifaceted, yet it is
important to the understanding of this passage. This can be seen in the
definitions and kinds of "rest." There are three words used for "rest";
two are from the same Greek root, a noun and a verb translated "rest,"
and the third word is "sabbath rest," used only here (v. 9) in the New
Testament. The verb form of the former gives the idea of stopping from
work; while the noun form may be used figuratively as a place or
situation of rest.(5) The concept of "sabbath-rest" will be considered
in more depth below. The kinds of rest are theological interpretations
based on the various definitions of "rest." There appear to be at least
four kinds used in the whole warning (3:74:13): Creation rest (4:4),
Canaan rest (3:7-19), Salvation rest (4:1,3a,8), and Eternal rest
(4:10,11) including the "Sabbath rest" (v. 9)(6). The "rest" can also
be viewed typically (the land of Canaan), present (our salvation), and
future (the eternal state), with creation rest used as a past analogy.
This illustrates the multifaceted use of "rest" in this warning passage.

   The Old Testament concept of "rest" appears to serve as a basis for
"rest" in this passage. The Old Testament view is itself multifaceted,
where "rest" is used in five ways: "1) literal, physical rest (Genesis
8:4); 2) rest in death (Job 3:13); 3) psychological-spiritual rest
(Proverbs 29:17); 4) physical rest in the land based on God's promise
to defeat Israel's enemies (Deuteronomy 12:10; Joshua 21:44), and 5)
the theology of the sabbath (Genesis 2:2,3; Exodus 20:11)." "God
intended that man share in the creation (sabbath) rest, but that Adam's
fall occurred and the sabbath rest was forfeited. The way back to this
rest is provided in the coming kingdom."(7) God's rest is related to
the sinless perfection of the first sabbath, which was lost when Adam
rebelled. This problem is corrected in the future "rest" that is
promised.

   Psalm 95:7-11 is quoted in this warning passage and draws our
attention to a specific time of "rest." This psalm occurs in a group of
Enthronement Psalms (93100), and it has been suggested that Psalms 95
and 96 should be viewed together.(8) The distinctive nature of these
psalms is that they celebrate the reign of God. Kaiser observes: "But
our Psalm (95:7-11) warns [against unbelief], before it breaks into the
triumphant strains of Psalm 96 with its announcement in song of the
final, universal reign of the Lord."(9) Yet the basic tone of these
psalms is that they look to the future.(10) So when Psalm 95 is used in
Hebrews 4, it is pointing to the future reign of God.

   Now that we have briefly examined the background and general use of
"rest" in Hebrews 4:1-11, let us examine why "rest" is used in
connection with the sabbath. The problem as it relates to the length of
the Genesis days and the age of the earth is well stated by Newman:
"The fourth chapter of Hebrews tells us that the believers can still
enter into the rest of God mentioned in Genesis 2:2. This may be
understood figuratively to mean that we, too, can someday rest just as
God did long ago. But a more literal interpretation could suggest
either that God is still resting (day-age view) and that we are living
now in the seventh day, or that God has not yet begun to rest, as the
seventh day is still in the future."(11) Archer believes that the
seventh day is still continuing: "Scripture does not at all teach that
Yahweh rested only one twenty-four-hour day at the conclusion of His
creative work. No closing formula occurs at the close of the seventh
day, referred to in Genesis 2:2. And in fact, the New Testament teaches
(Hebrews 4:1-11) that that seventh day, that 'Sabbath rest,' in a very
definite sense has continued on right into the church age."(12) Dr.
Kent holds the view that the seventh day is future (he also believes in
a six-literal-day creation), but also observes: "This does not imply
that the seventh day was not a literal day with an evening and a
morning, just as the previous six days of creation. However, the author
has used the silence of Scripture on this point to illustrate his
argument that God's sabbath rest has never ended."(13) The author of
Hebrews refers back to the creation in Hebrews 4:9, telling us that
there is still this type of rest available. The author is exhorting his
readers to diligent obedience, with the hope of future rest. Hughes
says: "The expression 'sabbath rest' links the concept of the promised
rest still more closely with the account of creation, in which the
seventh or sabbath day was the day on which God rested from his
labors."(14) The author wants us to notice that the future "rest" will
be like the past "rest" when God finished His creation.

   THE NATURE OF OUR REST

   It has been demonstrated that the "rest" in this passage is future
and is similar to the first sabbath "rest." What remains to be
discussed is the future nature of that "rest." There are two views on
the timing of this "rest": The first is that the "rest" is the
millennial rest. This view is held by some premillennialists. The
second view believes that the "rest" is the eternal state. Most
amillennialists and some premillennialists hold this view.

   Of the first view, which presents the "rest" as a millennial "rest,"
Oberholtzer says: "The sabbath rest interrupted by the fall of Adam
will be restored in the coming age. The millennium will be an extension
of the original sabbath."(15) This view does handle most of the
evidence well. It observes that the context of the passage is a
warning, and promises future reward. It accepts the fact that the Psalm
95 quote is ultimately pointing to the future, and that the one who is
to reign is Jesus Christ Himself. It also believes that the fall of
Adam will be undone in this time of "rest." It states that men and
animals will dwell in complete harmony, and that the earth will be able
to produce abundant food supply for mankind. This "rest," according to
this view, will truly be a paradise on earth. However, there is a major
problem as it handles the remedy to the fall of Adam. While much of the
results of the fall are overcome during the millennium, the two
exceptions to this are sin and death. These will remain, because God
wants all to see the incorrigible nature of man. Sin and death are not
abolished until after the millennium (Revelation 21:4,8). In assigning
the future "rest" to the millennium, this view fails to take into
account the absence of sin and death in the original sabbath "rest" to
which this passage refers.

   The second view of the nature of "rest" is that it refers to the
eternal state. This view accepts the context as future "rest," and
likewise accepts the idea that Psalm 95 is picturing a future reign of
God and His Son. This view also believes that the fall of Adam will be
totally undone, and that there will be no sin and death in the ultimate
"sabbath rest." This view handles more consistently the data of the
passage, for the "rest" from creation and the future "rest" are
analogous. Our ultimate "rest" is still future.

   SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

   This article asked: "How long was the seventh day?" There are some
who believe that the seventh day of Genesis 2:2 has lasted at least
several thousand years. They base this on the quote in Hebrews 4:4,
which seems on the surface to show that God's rest has still not ended.
It was demonstrated that they have ingored the context of the passage,
which issues a solemn warning and promises a future blessing. It was
further demonstrated that those who believe in the seventh day as a
long time period do not adequately understand the reference to Genesis
2:2 or the "sabbath rest." The rest referred to in Hebrews 4:1-11
speaks about a time that will be similar to the first "sabbath rest,"
in that there will be no sin or death in the creation. If one desires
to make the days of creation more than a solar day, then one must do so
from the context of Genesis 1, not Hebrews 4:1-11. The days of creation
were six literal days, with God resting on the seventh. Although the
seventh day does not have the concluding formula, it is related to the
other days from the context. The seventh day was a solar day, just like
the other six days.

   * Mr. Stambaugh is Director of the ICR Library.

   REFERENCES

   1. Stanley D. Toussaint, "The Eschatology of the Warning Passages in
the Book of Hebrews" Grace Theological Journal 3: 67-80. 2. Ibid, p.
68. 3. Homer Kent, The Epistle to the Hebrews (BMH Books, 1972), p. 68.
4. Walter Kaiser, "Promise Theme and Theology of Rest," Bibliotheca
Sacra 130: 143. 5. William F Arndt and F. Wilbur Gingrich, A
Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (University of Chicago
Press, 1975), pp. 416-417. 6. Kent, p. 88. 7. Thomas Oberholtzer, "The
Kingdom Rest in Hebrews 3:14:13," Bibliotheca Sacra 145: 191. 8.
Kaiser, p. 142. 9. Ibid, p. 143. 10. Ibid, p. 142. 11. Robert Newman,
Genesis One and the Origin of the Earth (Baker Book House, 1977), p.
65. Emphasis his. 12. Gleason Archer, Encyclopedia of Bible
Difficulties (Zondervan Publishing House, 1982), p. 62. 13. Kent, p.
82. 14. Philip Edgcumbe Hughes, A Commentary on the Epistle to the
Hebrews, (Eerdman's Publishing Company, 1977), pp. 160,161. 15.
Oberholtzer, p. 193.

