Beginning of the End - Ellen G. White

Chapter 9
The Beginning of the Literal Week
Like the Sabbath, the week had its beginnings at creation, and
it has been preserved through Bible history. God Himself measured
off the first week, which consisted of seven 24-hour days. Six days
were used in the work of creation, and on the seventh God rested,
then set it apart as a day of rest for humanity. "'Remember the
Sabbath day, to keep it holy. ... For in six days the Lord made the
heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the
seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and
hallowed it.'" (Exodus 20:8-11).
This reason appears beautiful and ordained when we
understand the days of creation to be literal. The first six days of
each week are given to us for work, and on the seventh day we are
to rest from our work to recognize and honor the Creator's rest.
But the teaching that the events of the first week required
thousands upon thousands of years is godlessness in its most subtle
and dangerous form. Its real character is so disguised that it is held
and taught by many who profess to believe the Bible. "By the word
of the Lord the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the
breath of His mouth" (Psalm 33:6). The Bible does not recognize
long ages in which the earth slowly evolved from disorder. Of each
successive day of creation, the sacred record declares that it
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