Paula

in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens.

Where is the number? My point here is that there is a world of difference between “the day of the LORD” and “evening and morning, the nth day”. It is the combination, the phrase as a whole, not merely the word “day”, that matters. This is an important detail that needs to be considered, as a general interpretive principle.

God’s Sabbath rest from his creating work continues to this very day

This is a common claim: If the seventh day is the day God rested from creative work, and if God still speaks of people entering his rest, then this must still be the seventh day. But that would mean all people, not just the righteous, have entered God’s rest. And it is clearly stated in Heb. that a”Sabbath” still remains, meaning it hasn’t started yet. This passage states that only the righteous can enter it, along with all other scriptures regarding salvation. So the rest spoken of in this context cannot be equated with that of the seventh day of creation. “Today” here is held in contrast to ancient Israel, not to creation week. Notice also that “God specified another day called Today.” Not all the “Todays” are the same.

Reference is made to creation week and specifically portrays the seventh day as symbolizing God’s rest. But note the direction of the symbolism: the literal seventh solar day is a symbol of God’s rest; God’s rest is not a symbol of the seventh day. And God’s rest will never end; the writer has repeatedly pointed out that the opportunity to enter God’s rest (Today) is temporary, but the rest itself is eternal.

I mention these two points simply to illustrate that there are indeed problems with these particular lines of reasoning; they are hardly airtight. But of course we can always see the holes in other people’s arguments better than those in our own. But I will say that whenever one claims allegory, one must make sure it is consistent; hence the charge that if creation week is allegorical then there is no reason to omit the accounts of Adam and Eve as well. We need consistency above all, or there is as Cheryl mentioned a rubber standard. Personally, I would be most interested in studying the rationale for treating the “eve/morn day n” as allegory while not so treating the accounts of Adam and Eve.