by Dave Root, VividChristianity.com, last modified on 12/08/2024.

As you read this section, keep in mind that the New Testament is not merely a history book, it's meant to change us to become more and more like Jesus. When we read any passages in the New Testament, our goal should be to discern what God wants us to believe and do so that we can be obedient to Him.


How do we know that God created the universe? We know it because the Bible says so. But no human was alive when God created the universe, so there was no oral tradition passed down through the millennia for Moses to write down in Genesis. So how did Moses know what happened? As Christians, we know that the entire Bible was inspired by God, which means that God in some way told Moses what to write.

When God came to earth as a human, His preferred way to speak to the masses was through parables:

"That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Then he told them many things in parables" (Matthew 13:1-3)

"The disciples came to him and asked, "Why do you speak to the people in parables?" He replied, "Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. This is why I speak to them in parables: Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand."" (Matthew 13:10-13)

"Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: "I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world."" (Matthew 13:34-35)

In the Parable of the Good Samaritan, for example, we can learn some important aspects of Jesus' parables:

"In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'"" (Luke 10:30-35)

In the above passage, notice some important aspects of Jesus' parables:

• Jewish men, Jerusalem, Jericho, robbers, Jewish priests, roads, Jewish Levites, Samaritan men, bandages, wounds, oil, wine, donkeys, inns, denarii, and innkeepers actually existed back then. Therefore, a parable can have elements that are literal or real (even though the story itself didn't literally happen in the way it's described).
  
  The robbed and beaten man must have been Jewish because the parable would lose its impact if he were an enemy of the Jewish priest and the Jewish Levite. The fact that a Samaritan man helped a beaten Jewish man adds more force to the lesson because in Jesus' time the Samaritans were enemies of the Jews (Biblical Views: The Many Faces of the Good Samaritan - Most Wrong ).

• The Samaritan man paid an innkeeper two denarii to look after the injured Jewish man, but the lesson would not be affected in any way if he had paid a different amount or paid someone else to look after the injured man. Therefore, a parable can have elements that are not actually important to the lesson (remember, it's a story that didn't literally happen in the way it's described).

• The man in the story needed to be robbed and beaten before the others came down the road, otherwise the parable loses its meaning. Therefore, the order of events in a parable might be important to the lesson.

• Jesus described a priest going down that road, followed by a Levite, but the lesson would not be affected in any way if the Levite had come before the priest. Therefore, the order of events in a parable is not always important to the lesson (again, it's a story that didn't literally happen in the way it's described).

In addition, notice that Jesus spoke a parable using yeast in a good way (as an illustration of the kingdom of heaven), but later He used yeast in a bad way (as an illustration of the errors of the Jewish religious leaders):

"He told them still another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough."" (Matthew 13:33)

"When they went across the lake, the disciples forgot to take bread. "Be careful," Jesus said to them. "Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees." They discussed this among themselves and said, "It is because we didn't bring any bread." Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, "You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? Do you still not understand? Don't you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? How is it you don't understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees." Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees." (Matthew 16:5-12)

As we can see in the above passages, Jesus sometimes used an element (such as yeast) in different ways depending on what best suited His point at the time. Once again, notice in the above parable that the yeast and the flour are elements that are literal and real and important to the lesson. But Jesus could have used any amount of flour, so the sixty pounds is an element that's not important to the lesson.

One more point to make about Jesus' parables is that sometimes they involve events that actually took place (or will take place), but they're told in the form of stories that didn't (or won't) literally happen in the way they're described, as in these examples:

"Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. The owner's servants came to him and said, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?' 'An enemy did this,' he replied. The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?' 'No,' he answered, 'because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.'"" (Matthew 13:24-30)

""Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him." Peter asked, "Lord, are you telling this parable to us, or to everyone?"" (Luke 12:35-41)

"While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once. He said: "A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. 'Put this money to work,' he said, 'until I come back.' But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, 'We don't want this man to be our king.' He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it. The first one came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned ten more.' 'Well done, my good servant!' his master replied. 'Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.' The second came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned five more.' His master answered, 'You take charge of five cities.' Then another servant came and said, 'Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.' His master replied, 'I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? Why then didn't you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?' Then he said to those standing by, 'Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.' 'Sir,' they said, 'he already has ten!' He replied, 'I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away. But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them - bring them here and kill them in front of me.'"" (Luke 19:11-27)

All three of the above parables are examined in my article called The Rapture of the Church - Part Eight, and they all describe events concerning the Second Coming. Those events will actually take place, but they're told in the form of stories that won't literally happen in the way they're described.

In the above points we can see that Jesus' parables teach truths using some elements that are literal or real and important to the lesson being taught, plus other elements that might be metaphorical or not important to the lesson, and sometimes He used an element (such as yeast) in different ways depending on what best suited His point at the time. We can also see that there are no fantasy creatures such as unicorns, mermaids, fairies, leprechauns, etc., anywhere in Jesus' parables, and His parables never take place in mythical, imaginary settings such as our stories of Metropolis or Middle Earth or Whoville. Jesus always used real-life objects and characters and settings and events in His parables. To see for yourself, here are all of Jesus' parables and certain other metaphors, illustrations, etc., that He used: Matthew 5:13, 14-16, 6:22-24, 7:3-5, 6, 13-14, 16-20, 24-27, 9:14-15, 16-17, 12:29, 33, 13:3-9, 24-30, 31-32, 33, 44, 45-46, 47-50, 15:12-13, 16:5-12, 18:23-35, 20:1-16, 21:28-32, 33-46, 22:1-14, 24:43-44, 45-51, 25:1-13, 14-30, Mark 4:2-9, 26-29, 30-34, 7:14-23, 9:35, 49-50, 10:23-25, 31, 12:1-12, 13:32-37, Luke 5:33-35, 36-39, 6:47-49, 7:31-35, 41-43, 8:4-8, 16-18, 9:62, 10:25-37, 11:5-8, 20-23, 33-36, 39-40, 44, 12:1-3, 16-21, 35-41, 42-48, 13:6-9, 18-19, 20-21, 23-30, 14:15-24, 28-30, 31-33, 34-35, 15:8-10, 11-32, 16:1-9, 19-31, 17:7-10, 18:1-8, 9-14, 24-25, 19:11-27, 20:9-18, 21:29-33, John 10:1-6, 7-10, 11-16, 12:23-26, 15:4-8.

Now compare Jesus' parables with the accounts of Noah in Genesis 6 through 9, Abraham in Genesis 12 through 25, and Abraham's children and other descendants in Genesis 25 through 50. Those accounts have the feel of being historical events involving actual historical people. Even though Jesus' parables contain some details and some dialog, His parables are nowhere near as descriptive and detailed and lengthy as the accounts of Noah, Abraham, and other people, all of which were written by Moses in the book of Genesis.

Remember, the entire Bible was inspired by God, which means that God in some way told Moses what to write in the Creation account in Genesis 1. Now compare the Creation account in Genesis 1 (below) with the parables that God told all throughout the Gospels, and compare it with the accounts of actual historical people that Moses wrote in Genesis (see the previous paragraph):

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning - the first day. And God said, "Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water." So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. God called the vault "sky." And there was evening, and there was morning - the second day. And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so. God called the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters he called "seas." And God saw that it was good. Then God said, "Let the land produce [dasa] vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so. The land produced [yasa] vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning - the third day. And God said, "Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so. God made two great lights - the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning - the fourth day. And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky." So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth." And there was evening, and there was morning - the fifth day. And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, "Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground." Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground - everything that has the breath of life in it - I give every green plant for food." And it was so. God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning - the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done." (Genesis 1:1-2:3)

Even though the above passage contains some details and some dialog, it's nowhere near as descriptive and detailed and lengthy as the accounts of Noah, Abraham, and other people, all of which were written by the same person who wrote the above passage (Moses) in the same book as the above passage (Genesis). The above Creation account has the feel of a parable; it does not have the same feel as the historical accounts of Noah, Abraham, and other people.

Notice that the above passage doesn't say that God created seeds that will one day produce vegetation, and it doesn't say that He created eggs in the water that will one day hatch to produce creatures of the sea, and it doesn't say that He created eggs on land that will one day hatch to produce birds, animals, and other creatures, and it doesn't say that He created humans as infants that will one day become mature adults. Look closely at the highlighted parts in the above passage and notice that the vegetation, the creatures of the sea, the winged birds, the creatures that move along the ground, the wild animals, and the humans are all described as if they were created or formed fully mature and fully functioning. There's absolutely no indication, implication, or evidence that any of those were created merely as seeds or embryos (in a moment we'll see why this is important). For example, notice the definitions of the Hebrew words shown in the above passage (where it says that the land produced vegetation), and notice what various Bible scholars say about the plants in the above passage:

"[The Hebrew word dasa is a] verb meaning to produce green plants or fresh green grass. With the earth as its subject, it depicts the initial production of green vegetables or grass (Gen 1:11). It depicts the pastures and the wilderness turning green from God's blessing and restoration after judgment (Joe 2:22)." (The Complete Word Study Dictionary of the Old and New Testaments, Dr. Spiros Zodhiates, dasa, emphasis and extra words added)

"[The Hebrew word yasa] indicates bringing forth, producing plants from the ground (Gen 1:12)" (The Complete Word Study Dictionary of the Old and New Testaments, Dr. Spiros Zodhiates, yasa, emphasis and extra words added)

"Since God created plants with seeds in them, the original creation evidently had the appearance of age. He created trees with rings and Adam an adult." (Dr. Constable's Expository Notes, Genesis 1:11)

"II. How the earth was furnished for the maintenance and support of man, Genesis 1:11; Genesis 1:12. Present provision was now made, by the immediate products of the upstart earth, which, in obedience to God's command, was no sooner made than it became fruitful, and brought forth grass for the cattle and herb for the service of man...though the precious fruits of the earth are usually brought forth by the influences of the sun and moon (Deuteronomy 33:14), yet here we find the earth bearing a great abundance of fruit, probable ripe fruit, before the sun and moon were made." (Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible, Genesis 1:11)

"On the first day light is. Next a firmament is separated in the midst of the waters to divide the waters from the waters. Thirdly the dry land appears, and the earth bringing forth grass, and herb, and fruit-tree." (Kelly Commentary on Books of the Bible, Genesis 1:11)

"It appears from the text that the full plants, and not the seeds, germs, or roots, were created. The land sent forth grass, herb, tree, each in its fully developed form. This was absolutely necessary, if man and the land animals were to be sustained by grasses, seeds, and fruits." (Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible, Genesis 1:12)

"It appears that God created every thing, not only perfect as it respects its nature, but also in a state of maturity, so that every vegetable production appeared at once in full growth; and this was necessary that man, when he came into being, might find every thing ready for his use." (Clarke's Commentary, Genesis 2:5)

So according to the evidence that we're given in Genesis 1, the plants and vegetation were created fully grown and fully mature. This will become important in a moment.

In the above Creation account, we see the earth, water, sky, land, sun, moon, plants, animals, and humans. All of these elements are literal and real, just as we see in God's parables. There's also a sequence of events taking place over a period of seven days. In a moment we'll see that the seven days are important, but the order of events might or might not be important to the lesson, just as we see in God's parables.

So far, we've seen that everything in the Creation account in Genesis 1 is fully consistent with God's parables as told by Jesus in the Gospels, and it bears absolutely no resemblance to the historical accounts of Noah, Abraham, and other people in the book of Genesis. As you can see online, the entire book of Genesis was written by Moses (inspired by God), and immediately after the above Creation account, Moses gave us a second Creation account (inspired by God):

"This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the LORD God made the earth and the heavens. Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. The LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground - trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food." (Genesis 2:4-9)

In the first Creation account (Genesis 1:1-2:3, above) we saw that vegetation was created on the third day, birds and creatures in the water were created on the fifth day, then creatures on the land were created on the sixth and last day, then humans were created on the sixth day. We also saw that the vegetation, the creatures of the sea, the winged birds, the creatures that move along the ground, the wild animals, and the humans are all described as if they were created or formed fully mature and fully functioning. There's absolutely no indication, implication, or evidence that any of those were created merely as seeds or embryos.

In the second Creation account (Genesis 2:4-9, above), Moses said that Adam was formed before there was any vegetation (he specifically said that there was no vegetation partly because there was no human to work the ground), which completely contradicts what he wrote in the first Creation account. He was highly educated (Acts 7:22), so it would be unreasonable to assume that he didn't notice he had contradicted himself. Instead, he was inspired by God to write both Creation accounts in those ways.

Earlier, we saw that Jesus spoke a parable using yeast in a good way (as an illustration of the kingdom of heaven), but later He used yeast in a bad way (as an illustration of the errors of the Jewish religious leaders), so He used yeast in different ways to make His points. Similarly, notice how the apostle Paul described himself in this passage:

"We were not looking for praise from people, not from you or anyone else, even though as apostles of Christ we could have asserted our authority. Instead, we were like young children among you. Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well. Surely you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you. You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children" (1 Thessalonians 2:6-11)

In the above passage, Paul described himself as a young child, a nursing mother, a brother, and a father, all in the same passage. Jesus and the writers of the Bible were very free with their metaphors and similes, using any descriptions that got the point across best. Notice that Paul described himself in different ways to make His points. Jesus and Paul were not contradicting themselves, they were simply using metaphors and similes in ways that got the point across best, even when those ways sound contradictory (e.g., Paul could not possibly have literally been a young child and a nursing mother and a father to the Thessalonians; he was speaking metaphorically).

We've seen reasons why the first Creation account is a parable, and the second Creation account gives us yet another reason. If both are meant to be actual historical descriptions of the order of events during Creation, then we're left with a contradiction. Some Bible commentaries try to fit Genesis 2:5-7 in the second account with the third and sixth days of Creation in the first account, but if you compare their explanations with what we've seen in this section then you'll find that none of their attempts actually reconcile the contradiction.

There is no contradiction between the two Creation accounts because the first one is not a true historical description of the order of events during Creation. It's a parable, which means that the order of events is not necessarily true (because it's a story that didn't literally happen in the way it's described), just as we've seen in God's parables in the Gospels.

Again, Jesus and the writers of the Bible were very free with their metaphors, similes, etc., using any descriptions that got the point across best. The first Creation account is a parable which teaches (among other things) that humans were created last, as the very pinnacle of God's Creation. The second Creation account teaches (among other things) that humans are so important to God that He created Adam as the first living thing, then He planted a garden somewhere else, then placed Adam into that garden, then created all other living things. Just as we saw with Jesus and Paul, Moses described Creation in ways that sound contradictory in order to get the point across.

Even now, if we want to show that something has primary importance, we tend to do it in one of two ways:

• Sometimes we leave the most important thing for last (and we often point this out by saying that we've saved the best for last). This is what Moses did in the first Creation account.

• Sometimes we show the importance of something by placing it first in the list, such as mentioning the Olympic medals in the order of gold, silver, and bronze, or placing the most important ingredient first in the list of ingredients as American food manufacturers are required to do. This is what Moses did in the second Creation account.

Moses (inspired by God) used both methods of demonstrating the importance of humans in God's Creation. In the first Creation account, it's important that humans were created last (saving the best for last), but we have no scriptural reason for assuming that the other events (the other days of Creation after the 1st day) are listed in a sequence that's literally true, just as we saw with the priest and the Levite in the Parable of the Good Samaritan. Remember, a parable is a story that didn't literally happen in the way it's described.

In a parable, some elements are important and some are not, as we saw earlier. The first Creation account describes God creating the earth and all life on earth in 6 days and then resting on the 7th day. In this way, God was establishing a pattern that can be seen all throughout the Bible, as described in my article called End-Times Prophecies Are Coming to Pass Right before Our Eyes (see sign #21). Therefore, we have scriptural reasons for concluding that in some way, God's Creation was done in six days.

Many Christians believe that those were 24-hour days, but we can't be certain of that. For example, in both the Hebrew and the Greek, the word "day" is used in a number of different ways all throughout the Bible, as explained in this dictionary definition of the Hebrew word for "day":

"A masculine noun meaning day, time, year. This word stands as the most basic conception of time in the Old Testament. It designates such wide-ranging elements as the daylight hours from sunrise to sunset (Gen 1:5; 1Ki 19:4); a literal twenty-four hour cycle (Deu 16:8; 2Ki 25:30); a generic span of time (Gen 26:8; Num 20:15); a given point in time (Gen 2:17; Gen 47:29; Eze 33:12). In the plural, the word may also mean the span of life (Psa 102:3 [4]) or a year (Lev 25:29; 1Sa 27:7). The prophets often infuse the word with end-times meanings or connotations, using it in connection with a future period of consequential events, such as the "day of the LORD" (Jer 46:10; Zec 14:1) or simply, "that day" (Isa 19:23; Zec 14:20-21)." (The Complete Word Study Dictionary of the Old and New Testaments, Dr. Spiros Zodhiates, yom, emphasis added)

The Hebrew word for "day" has different meanings throughout the Old Testament, and the 6 days of Creation are equated with 6,000 years throughout the Bible (see my article above). Therefore, we can't be certain that each "day" of Creation was a 24-hour day. When the word "day" is modified with a number (such as "the first day"), this is often used in reference to a 24-hour day in the Old Testament, but not always (see my article above), so again, we can't be certain that each "day" of Creation was a 24-hour day. As my article above shows, the 6 days of Creation have prophetic significance throughout the Bible, and the repeated statement that "there was evening, and there was morning - the first day" (second day, third day, etc.) also has prophetic significance throughout the Bible (see my article called The Rapture of the Church - Part Five), so again, we can't be certain that each "day" of Creation was a 24-hour day. In a parable, some elements (such as a "day") are literal and real, but some are not, so again, we can't be certain that each "day" of Creation was a 24-hour day. We can't conclusively prove how long each "day" was, and in fact there might have been gaps between the "days" of Creation because when passages have prophetic significance, there are sometimes gaps (which can last for millennia) between events, and these gaps are not apparent on the surface (see my article called The Rapture of the Church - Part Two).

All of the scriptural evidence is consistent with the first Creation story (in Genesis 1) being a parable, and none of the scriptural evidence is consistent with the first Creation story being a historical account of actual events. As you can see online, Moses wrote the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and most of Deuteronomy, and those books contain numerous accounts of actual historical events involving actual historical people. The first Creation story does not have the same feel as those actual historical accounts, even though it was written by the same person who wrote those actual historical accounts.

The first Creation account (in Genesis 1) is a parable that was given to Moses by God, with all of the elements that we've seen in God's parables in the Gospels.

Is the second Creation account a parable as well? I don't know, but if the Lord tells me to write about it then I'll add that information here (or in a new section).