THE SEVEN DAY BLUEPRINT
In all things our Creator shows Himself to be methodical. The complexity of His work is beyond searching out, but the more we see and learn, the more we realise that a Master Designer and Master Mathematician is responsible for all that has been made.
This even applies to the concept of time.
The book of Genesis begins with the Creation account and immediately we are shown structure and order in relation to time. Many students of Scripture have come to believe that the seven days of Creation picture a SEVEN THOUSAND YEAR PLAN being worked out here on Earth.
Sabbath keepers have traditionally believed that the millennial rule of Jesus Christ mentioned in Rev 20:4-6 is foreshadowed by the Sabbath. In the same vein it is believed that the six days on which man is told he must labour, picture 6000 years that precede Christ's rule.
However, based on the numbers usually given, and adhered to by the Churches of God, we appear to have passed the year 6000.
How can this be? Is God imprecise? Or not fully in control?
Is there any reason to believe from the Scriptures that we have gone past the year 6000?
Human builders plan their work. THEY FIRST MAKE A BLUEPRINT. So does God.
The seven days of Creation found in Genesis 1 and 2 are a blueprint of God's 7000 year work with mankind.
Let's look at Genesis 1 and 2 day by day to get the details of the blueprint, the framework of time within which God is working.
Day One - Gen 1:1-5
The creation of the Heavens and the Earth, and the daily cycle of night and day
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day."
On the first day of Creation, God created our planet Earth. In regard to the "heavens", it is stated in II Cor 12:3-4 that God dwells in the "third heaven". As He has existed eternally, so must His dwelling place have as well. Therefore the "heavens" created on this first day must be Earth's atmosphere, which is the first heaven, and the expanse for the universe, which is the second heaven.
One distinction between Heaven and Earth is that God dwells in Heaven, while Satan has been assigned to dwell on Earth. God's hand is clearly displayed in the heavens: Psalm 19:1 says "The heavens declare the glory of God". Satan, on the other hand, is called "the god of this world" (II Cor 4:4). His influence is also clearly seen, i.e. in the mindset of evil that has tormented this planet. The fact that the Earth is said to be "formless and void" on this first day seems to be symbolic of Satan's nature.
In regard to night and day, Isa 45:7 says that God creates the light and the dark. Why did He create this contrast? What is pictured by light and darkness? In I John 1:5 we are told that "God is light". In John 8:12 Christ says "I am the light". What are we told about darkness? Acts 26:18 makes it abundantly clear: "to open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God".
We find these concepts being explained to Adam and Eve in Gen 2 where God shows them two trees, one being representative of His way, the other of the way of Satan.
So we see that Heaven and Earth, and day and night, represent two totally opposite ways of life: good and evil, right and wrong, lawfulness and lawlessness, life and death.
The first day of Creation pictures the contrast between God and Satan at the beginning of the first millennium.
Day Two - Gen 1:6-8
The separation of the Waters
"Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day."
What is pictured by the waters?
In Rev 17:1 and 15 and Rev 13:1, the nations are pictured as waters. Rev 17:15 says "the waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and tongues". We can't ask for a clearer explanation than that.
What do we see in the second millennium? - No surprise, the Flood occurred in 1656AM (AM = Anno Mundi, meaning "year of the world", which counts from the year of Adam's creation).
In addition to that, in Gen 10:5-32, in a passage of Scripture known as "the Table of Nations", we see the people divided into nations due to the incident of the Tower of Babel.
Putting together Gen 10:25 and 11:8,18-19 we see that this separation of the nations occurred in the lifetime of Peleg (which in Hebrew means "division"). Peleg was born in 1757AM, and died in 1996AM, so the division of nations took place late in the second millennium.
The second day of Creation foreshadows the separation of the nations in the second millennium.
Day Three – Gen 1:9-13
The separation of the Earth from the Seas and the creation of Vegetation
"Then God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the third day."
What is meant by "earth" and what does it picture?
Earth is the Hebrew word “eretz” (776 in Strong's) - see for instance Eze 40:2, which says “eretz Yishrael” (land of Israel).
What happened in the third millennium?
Abraham was born in 2008AM and was promised THE LAND in Gen 12:1-2, 7. Land here is “eretz”.
When Abraham was first led by God to the land that his descendants were to inherit, it was called "the land of Canaan". It was filled with various Gentile nations. God, however, took the land from these Gentiles and re-designated it as the land of Israel.
In the third millennium therefore, we see the separation of the land of Israel (the earth) from the Gentile nations (the seas).
Abraham was also promised to become a great people; his descendants, Israel, came out of Egypt in 2513AM. This is pictured in the creation of vegetation: The nation of Israel is pictured as a vine, a fig tree, an olive tree etc. Individuals are as well. Some examples are:
Psalm 1 states: “He shall be a tree that grows, planted by the riverside......"
In Psalm 80:8-11, 14-15, Israel is depicted as a vine. Also in Isaiah 5:7.
In Jeremiah 11:16-17, Israel is compared to an olive tree.
In Luke 13:6-7, Israel is compared to a fig tree. Christ cursed a fig tree, foreshadowing the destruction of the Jewish nation at the hand of the Romans.
When was the nation of Israel created?
The nation of Israel was raised up in the third millennium and planted in its designated place.
As this millennium neared its end, King David captured the city of the Jebusites, calling it Jerusalem, and moving his seat of government there. His son, King Solomon, built the first Temple in Jerusalem, dedicating it in the final year of the third millennium, as shown on the chart on the "HOME" page.
The third day of Creation foreshadows the creation of the people of Israel, and the separation of Israel's land, including Jerusalem, from the land of all other nations, in the third millennium.
Day Four – Gen 1:14-19
The creation of the Great Light and the Lesser Light and the Stars
"Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the fourth day."
Who or what is pictured by the great light? In Isaiah 9 we find the well known prophecy foretelling the coming of Christ. Verse 2 says "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined".
In Matthew 4:12-16 we see this passage from Isaiah quoted and applied to Jesus' manifestation in the Galilee region, when He began His ministry.
Clearly Jesus Christ is depicted as the "great light".
Other Scriptures add weight to this: "the Lord God is a sun" (Ps 84:11) and Christ's description as "the Sun of Righteousness” in Mal 4:2.
In Gen 37:9-10 the patriarch Joseph had a dream about the sun, the moon and the stars. These were interpreted by Joseph's father, Jacob, as applying to himself as husband (the sun), his wife Rachel, Joseph's mother, (the moon), and Joseph's siblings (the stars). Christ is in many Scriptures portrayed as Husband, with Israel or the Church as His wife.
Did Christ (the great light) and the Church (the lesser light) appear in the fourth millennium? Yes they did.
Putting all the Biblical data together, we see that Christ was born in 3965AM and died at Passover in the 4000th year from Creation, or in other words, the last year of the fourth millennium. The Church was founded in the same year as Christ's death. These dates can be seen on the chart on the "HOME" page.
The stars picture the members of the Church individually.
The appearance of the "lesser light" is of crucial chronological importance:
The Creation account says that the lesser light was made on the fourth day and therefore the Church must have come into existence by the end of the 4th millennium, otherwise it wouldn't be the fourth day anymore, but rather the fifth.
Conventional chronology places the death of Christ and the start of the Church around the year 4030AM, or in other words, well into the fifth millennium. This error has occurred because of an incorrect starting point being assigned for the Seventy Week Prophecy of Daniel 9. This is explained in detail on the page "BIBLE CHRONOLOGY". The seven day blueprint of Genesis 1 and 2 shows us the true chronology.
The fourth (middle) day of the week pictures Christ's centrality in the plan of salvation. It was in the fourth millennium that He came to Earth to establish the New Covenant and to die for the sins of mankind. His death occurred on a Wednesday, the middle day of the week.
The fourth day of Creation foreshadows the manifestation of Jesus Christ and His Church in the fourth millennium.
Day Five – Gen 1:20-23
The creation of Marine Life and Birds
"Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.” So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” So the evening and the morning were the fifth day."
As well as all marine life in general, Gen 1:21 in the KJV states that on the fifth day God created "great whales". Many other translations render this "great sea creatures". The RSV, however, translates this as "sea monsters" and, I believe, for good reason. The Hebrew word here is “tanneen”, and is number 8577 in Strong's Concordance. Let the Bible explain itself:
In Eze 29:2-3, Pharaoh king of Egypt is called "tanneen", which most Bible versions translate as "monster" or "dragon". In Isa 27:1, the mysterious "Leviathan" is mentioned twice, before being given an alternative name, "tanneen", again usually translated "dragon" or "monster".
The comparison with Pharaoh is especially telling, as the office of Pharaoh has long been equated with Satan, while Egypt is a Biblical type of sin. "Dragon" is a word also associated with Satan in Scripture.
Col 2:14-15 tells us Christ was victorious over death and "spiritual principalities", the chief of which is Satan. Christ was victorious over Satan on the cross when He died to pay the penalty for our sins. Christ, foreseeing this, states in John 12:31 “now shall the prince of this world be cast out”. And thus, after the fact, Rev 12:10 says "the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down".
The conclusion must be that after Christ's victory over Satan, Satan was cast out of heaven without being able to return to it. Whereas, in the time of Job, Satan still had this privilege, he now had lost it.
This explains Rev 12:1-13 where it mentions Satan being cast down to the earth and persecuting "the woman", AFTER CHRIST HAS BEEN CAUGHT UP TO HEAVEN, BUT BEFORE THE 1260 YEAR PERSECUTION OF THE CHURCH mentioned in Rev 12:14, which most probably commenced in the time of Constantine the Great, when organised false Christianity began its persecution of true Christians.
God, foreknowing that Christ would conquer Satan in the fourth millennium, has foretold in His account of the fifth day of Creation that Satan (and his demons) would be cast out from His presence in the fifth millennium.
A separation was going to occur between the righteous and the unrighteous spirit beings. This is typified by the birds and the sea monsters. Our atmosphere's heaven is where birds fly, and is a type of the dwelling place of God and His angels, whereas the seas are where the "sea monsters" abide, the seas being a type of the Gentile nations (Rev 17:15), of whom Satan is god and ruler.
The fifth day of Creation foreshadows the separation of angels and demons in the fifth millennium, after Christ's victory over Satan.
Day Six – Gen 1:24-31
The creation of Land Animals and Man
Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind”; and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so. Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day."
The sixth day of Creation involves the creation of the land animals as well as mankind, the latter of which pictures the next major event in God's plan, i.e. the birth of the firstfruits of salvation into the Family of God. In I Cor 15:42-44, 52 and Rev 14:1,4 these things are described as occurring at Christ's return; Rev 20:4 shows this is before the seventh millennium, i.e. before the rule of Christ commences.
Now this of course is logical, for if man was made of flesh on the sixth literal day, man will be born of spirit on the sixth millennial day.
In his physical state man was made for a little while lower than the angels (Heb 2), but at this point man will become God and will be distinctly higher than the angels. The fact that man was made to have dominion over the animals, pictures the dominion man will ultimately have over angels when man becomes part of God's family.
As these major events of the sixth millennium have not yet occurred, we cannot have passed the 6000th year since Creation, as many mistakenly believe.
The sixth day of Creation foreshadows the birth of the first humans into the Family of God in the sixth millennium, and their distinction from the angels.
Day Seven – Gen 2:1-3
The creation of the Sabbath
"Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made."
The seventh day of Creation foreshadows the rule of Christ and the Kingdom of God in the seventh millennium.
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Here is a very important quote regarding this subject from II Peter chapter 3:
3 knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts,
4 and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.”
5 For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water,
6 by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water.
7 But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
8 But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
Here we are told in the specific context of the Creation and the timing of Christ's return that a day pictures a thousand years.
The Scriptures teach that in prophecy, a day pictures a year (e.g. Eze 4:6, Num 14:34). However, this passage in II Pet makes it clear that a day of Creation pictures a thousand years. Looking back in time from where we stand today, there can be no doubt that this is correct.
Clearly the Creation account in Gen 1 and 2 gives us a blueprint. Throughout the course of history it is evident that this blueprint has been followed precisely. Now, how can this possibly be? Who could have brought this about? Only God could have.
Who can doubt that those things still prophesied to occur will indeed come to pass exactly as foretold?
Please read the page "BIBLE CHRONOLOGY" to understand why most Churches of God think we have passed the year 6000.