Genesis opens with the universe and our earth already created. Genesis chapter 1 is told from the point of view of God looking at the earth and beginning its specific creative works including mankind. Genesis 2 continues from the point of view of Adam, looking out in the expanse of the universe and what was created for him on earth.

Although the Scriptures do not provide a means to understand how much time was involved in this process of creation overall, they do offer insight into the progression of the creative process, and God’s judgment on each stage of progression.

In Genesis 1:4, light is separated from dark, and God declares the light to be “good.” The next part of the creative process which God judges as “good” is the separation of the dry land from the seas in Genesis 1:10. Next, verse 12 in which plants are established, followed by the establishment of the earth’s day-and-night cycle in verse 18 are both judged “good.” Verse 21 describes the establishment of first sea life, then avian or “winged fowl” life which are the next to be judged “good.” Verse 25 describes the establishment of land-based life, which is the final creation to be judged “good.” Finally, verses 27-38 describe the creation of man, and it is only after man’s creation that God considers His creation to be “very good.” There is an orderly progression to this creative process, as one might expect from God, which, from a certain perspective is in harmony with at least some modern scientific theories.

After the creation of man, Genesis chapter 1 ends. With mankind being the final creation mentioned in the chapter, and with God giving man dominion over the previously created things in Genesis 1:28-30, there is a sense that God’s creation to this point was all meant to lead up to the creation of mankind. Confusion can arise from misapplying the timeline of the entire creative process specifically with the history of man.

Genesis 1:27 states that man was created in God’s image. Man was created perfect, with a perfect mind and body, according to God’s plan. Man was also created with free will; the ability to consciously choose his actions. This is evident by Genesis 2:16-17. God commands Adam not to eat of a certain tree. The fact that God commanded Adam demonstrates that Adam had a choice. One does not issue commands to something that has no choice but to obey. Neither does one expect perfect obedience from something that has no reasoning ability to guide their choice to obey.

In Genesis 3:6, both Adam and Eve disobey God’s commandment. In Genesis 3:16-19, God describes the punishment for their disobedience, which is ultimately death. This punishment was not only applied to Adam and Eve, but all their descendants down through the generations of mankind, to us, today. From this perspective, by the disobedience of one man, Adam, death became a reality to mankind, as referred to by Paul in Romans 5:12.

This does not mean that the other living things of God’s creation outside of mankind did not die prior to Adam’s disobedience. God’s judgement, as reflected in Paul’s words, are specific to mankind. Mankind was the only part of God’s creation made after “His image” (Genesis 1:27), and thus death only came upon mankind specifically because of Adam’s disobedience.
Centuries later, God delivered a set of laws and sacrifices to a group of mankind in Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The perfect keeping of these laws would entitle one to life, with respect to God’s justice, as stated in Leviticus 18:4-5. Over the centuries, none could perfectly keep this Law, so all of mankind continued to be subject to death. 

This cycle was broken when Jesus was able to perfectly keep the Law and earn the right to life in view of God’s justice. This is evident in Jesus’s own words in Matthew 5:17-18, where Jesus states that he came to fulfill the law. The fact that Jesus did so is emphasized by Paul in Philippians 2:8, where Paul states that Jesus was “obedient unto death.” Obedience means that one has complied with whatever rules one is under. As by Jesus’s own words, he came to fulfill God’s law, and was obedient to it until his death, the conclusion is that he kept that law, and as stated in Leviticus 18:4-5, had a right to life.

Jesus willingly gave up that life, and in so doing, balanced the scales of God’s justice that Adam, through his disobedience, had set to unbalance. Jesus’s perfect life, rightfully earned and willingly sacrificed, provided a corresponding price for the perfect life that Adam, through disobedience, lost. This is the balance that Paul refers to in Romans chapter 5. 
In balancing the scales of God’s justice, Jesus “purchased” mankind from Adam. In the fulness of God’s plan, all mankind will thus have an opportunity to return fully to God, and enjoy the blessings of life that were lost due to Adam’s disobedience. This “time of restitution,” as referred to in Acts 3:21, is approaching with each passing day, and will usher in a new period of everlasting joy and life for mankind (Revelation 21:4).

Additional Resources:
Christian Questions Podcast
Episode #1090: “What Profound Secret Does Creation Reveal? Contradictions (Part V)”
Startling revelations from Genesis 2
Preview Video
CQ Rewind Show Notes

For kids, parents and Bible class teachers, CQ Kids provides short, animated videos:
(video) “Did the dinosaurs live when Adam and Eve were alive?”