There are others who hold to literal days in the first chapter of Genesis who believe that the earth and universe still may be very old. They contend that
Genesis 1:1 simply states that God created the universe, but that the creation is not dated. The time of the creation of the heavens and the earth is left purposely vague. It may have been recent, it may have been billions of years ago. The phrase, In the beginning simply has no date attached to it. Since there is no date we cannot say when the universe was created.
Not Part Of First Day
Genesis 1:1 therefore, is not part of the first day of creation but a general statement that God made the universe some time in the dateless past. However the process with which God created the universe is not stated.
Difficulties With Literal Day/
Dateless Creation View
Though this view is attractive, it is not without its difficulties.
Creation In Six Days
First, it would seem to contradict the statement in Exodus as to how long it took God to create the heavens and the earth.
Exodus 20:11 says:
For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and all that is in them.
This seems to refer back to all the events in
Genesis 1, including the first verse.
Death Before Sin
If there was a vast unknown period of time before God formed the Garden of Eden for man to live, then death occurred in the animal world. This would seem to be in contradiction to the statements in
Genesis 1:31 that God made things very good.
Summary
Though this particular theory holds to a literal understanding of Scripture and of the days in Genesis it, like every other theory with respect to this tough question, still has its problems.