"5 - 10 my is not 10s of millions of years."
Poor recollection on my part. 5 to 10 is still not "instantaneous."

" fact vs a theory."
Theories do not graduate into become facts.The germ theory of disease is still a theory, even though it is a fact that some germs cause some diseases.

The word "theory" does not reflect any level of certainty - any more than the word "law" does.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTaiP04UlxE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Un-I0mRq8Dw

There is no "graduating" into facts and there is no opposition between fact and theory.