Letter to Laodicea - The Seven Day Blueprint

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, including the author, 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 many of 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 by first making a blueprint. So does God.

The seven days of Creation found in Genesis 1 and 2 are the 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, i.e. 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 what He calls "the heavens", and our planet which He calls "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 of the universe, which is the second heaven.

God also created the cycle of "night" and "day", which He confirms in Isa 45:7. The night is described as "darkness", while the day is described as "light" and pronounced by God to be "good". 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 gives us the perfect answer. Here Paul recounts how Christ appeared to him and directed him to go to the Gentiles "to open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God".

Further into the Creation narrative in Genesis 2, we find these concepts being explained to Adam and Eve where God shows them two trees, one being representative of His way, the other of the way of Satan.

So we see that day and night represent these 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, from the very 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 13:1 and 17:1,15 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 happened in the second millennium that might be pictured by the separation of the waters?

In a passage of Scripture known as "the Table of Nations" (Gen 10), we see people divided into nations due to the incident of the Tower of Babel.

Putting together Gen 10:25 and 11:8,18,19 we learn 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 Concordance) which in most cases means "land". See for instance Ex 12:12 which says "eretz Mizraim" (land of Egypt), or Eze 40:2 which says "eretz Yisrael" (land of Israel).

What happened in the third millennium?

Abraham was born in 2008AM. When he was 75 years old he was commanded by God to leave the nation of his birth, and informed that God would build a new nation from his descendants. In the account of these things, found in Gen 12:1-7, God also promises that He will provide Abraham's descendants with a "land" ("eretz").

Which "land" is God referring to?

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, because of their wickedness, 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 that he would become a great people through his son Isaac, referring specifically to the nation of Israel. This is pictured in the creation of vegetation, and so in Scripture we see Israel pictured as a vine, a fig tree, an olive tree etc. Individuals are as well. For example:

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 (part of Israel) at the hands of the Romans.

When was the nation of Israel created?

The nation of Israel was raised up and planted in their designated place in the third millennium. They came out of Egypt in 2513AM and, after 40 years of wandering, were led by God into the promised land.

As this millennium neared its end, King David captured the city of the Jebusites, calling it Jerusalem, and moved 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 raising up of the nation 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 the "great light" depicts Jesus Christ.

Other Scriptures support this, e.g. "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 has a dream about the sun, the moon and the stars. These are interpreted by Joseph's father Jacob as applying to himself, the 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 (e.g. Isa 54:5, Eph 5:23-24, Rev 19:7).

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 4000AM, i.e. 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 to 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 framework of the true chronology.

The fourth (i.e. 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 also occurred on a Wednesday, which is 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”, 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 the 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 when He died on the cross 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". Before Christ died for the sins of mankind, Satan could accuse God's people of wrongdoing before God, but since that time his accusations against repentant believers are of no consequence, because "As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us" (Ps 103:12).

The conclusion must be that after Christ's victory over him, Satan was cast out of heaven without being able to return to it. Whereas in the time of Job (Job 1:6-12) Satan still had this ability, he now had lost it.

Knowing that Christ would conquer Satan in the fourth millennium, God foretold in the 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 angels. This is typified by the birds and the large sea animals. Earth's atmosphere, where birds fly, is a type of heaven, the dwelling place of God and His angels. The seas, where the "sea monsters" abide, are 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 saw the creation of the land animals and the creation of 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 this event is predicted to occur at Christ's return, which Rev 20:4 shows is before the start of the seventh millennium, i.e. before the rule of Christ commences.

Now this of course is logical, for if the first physical humans were made of flesh on the sixth literal day, the first to enter God's family 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 2:7 RSV), but at the resurrection man will become part of God's family and will be distinctly higher than the angels. Man's dominion over the animals pictures the dominion man will ultimately have over angels.

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.

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. See "DAYS, WEEKS, MONTHS, YEARS AND TIMES" for a full explanation of this.

Clearly, the Creation account in Gen 1 and 2 gives us a blueprint. Looking back in time from where we stand today, there can be no doubt that this is correct. It is evident that throughout the course of history this blueprint has been followed precisely. Now, who could possibly have brought this about? Only God could have.

Therefore, 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.