(#7 5984) Day 1 - Fall of Man

FIRST POSTED ON 1 NOVEMBER 2018.

Shalom Aleichem and welcome to my Shabbat blog!

In this and the next session, we shall look at the First Day of Creation.  

The first thing that the Creation Account tells us is that God created light. In fact, Jesus is the True Light. Light is associated with good and cannot co-exist with darkness, which is synonymous with evil. The Apostle John in 1 Jn 1:5 tells us that “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.” Evil exists as a result of free choice - evil is the absence of good or light, when we choose darkness.

The next thing that the Creation Account tells us is that the First Day foreshadowed the Fall of Man. Because of sin, our starting point - like that of Creation - is darkness. The Apostle Paul in Rom 3:23 tells us that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory (or light) of God.” Separated from God as darkness is from light, we are left formless and empty. In the dark, we cannot see ourselves or our surroundings. We do not know who or where we are, what we ought to become or where we ought to be headed. Instead, just as darkness flees from the light, our tendency whenever we sin is to run away or hide our shame/wrongdoing from God just like what Adam and Eve did (Gen 3:8). Like Cain, we are condemned to become “restless wanderers” here on earth (Gen 4:12). Now, the most wonderful part here is that God already knew all this from the very beginning. And only He can reconcile us back to Him - in Jesus.

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(#6 5984) Overview of the 7 Days of Creation

FIRST POSTED ON 15 OCTOBER 2018.

Shalom Aleichem and welcome to my Shabbat blog!

As we conclude our opening session on understanding the times and before moving on to consider each Day of Creation in detail, let us first have an overview or snapshot of how each of the 7 Days of Creation foreshadowed each of the 7 millennia of world history from Creation until now as God unfolds His eternal will both in the world and in His Word.

DAY 1 on the separation of light and darkness foreshadowed the Fall, resulting in the separation of God (who is synonymous with Light) and Man (who was now plunged into Sin and Darkness). This is covered in the Bible in Genesis chapters 3-4 and is the key event that characterises the First Millennium of world history.

DAY 2 on what the Bible described as a vault or space separating water from water foreshadowed the Flood - the first worldwide judgment - and Noah’s Ark that became that vault separating the rain from the floodwaters. This is covered in Genesis chapters 5-9 and characterises the Second Millennium of world history.

DAY 3 on the gathering of waters and appearing of dry ground foreshadowed the emerging of the dry ground of salvation out of the sea of sin and judgment with the call of the Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) and the Exodus of the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt - literally through dry ground as they crossed the Red Sea. This is covered from Genesis chapter 10 - Exodus chapter 15 and characterises the Third Millennium of world history.

DAY 4 on the greater and lesser lights foreshadowed how God appointed Israel - through its Law, Tabernacle, Priesthood, Sacrifices, Sacred Times or Festivals, history and the message of its Prophets - to act as His lesser light directing mankind to Jesus Christ, the Greater/True Light of salvation. This brings us all the way from Exodus chapter 16 to the end of the Gospels and characterises the Fourth Millennium of world history.

DAY 5 on the water and air teeming with life foreshadowed the new life available to all mankind through the giving of the Holy Spirit - the living waters and very breath of God that gave birth to the Church, the Body of Christ. This is covered in the book of Acts and throughout the New Testament Letters and characterises the Fifth Millennium of world history.

DAY 6 on the creation of Adam and the subsequent rule of Man foreshadows the coming rule of the Antichrist, the counterfeit “Son of Man.” This is covered primarily in Revelations chapters 1-18, but is also spoken of in many other parts of the Bible (especially in the prophetic book of Daniel). The rule of the Antichrist is characteristic of the Sixth Millennium that we are currently living in and defines the spirit of our age.

Finally, as we had learnt earlier, DAY 7 on the Sabbath Rest foreshadows the second coming of Christ (also known as the Day of the Lord) and the establishment of His Millennial Kingdom and rule on earth. This is covered in Revelations chapters 19-20 and is also spoken of in many other parts of the Bible. Christ’s coming will mark the start of the Seventh (and last) Millennium of world history as we know it.

Now, there is an “Eighth Day” Sabbath that Jews celebrate after the end of the 7-day Feast of Tabernacles prophetic of Christ’s Millennial Rule. It foreshadows the final and eternal Sabbath rest as the heavens, earth and time itself give way to the New Heaven, Earth and Jerusalem in eternity. This is covered in the concluding chapters of Revelations 21-22.

May God grant us wisdom and open our eyes to see and understand each day that has passed and especially the day that we are currently living in.

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(#5 5984) A Thousand Years in a Day

FIRST POSTED ON 1 OCTOBER 2018.

Shalom Aleichem and welcome to my Shabbat blog!

We believe that the 7 Days of Creation refer to 7 Millennia (or 7,000 years) of world history, as determined by the chronology of people and events in the Bible.

There is a strong biblical basis for this - the Apostle Peter in 2 Pet 3:8 reminded believers “do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” The Psalmist in Psalm 90:4 said, “For a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it is past, and like a watch in the night.”  Most importantly, it explains Christ’s Millennial or 1,000-year rule and how the 7th Day of Creation, when God rested in the original Creation account, points to this period when Creation will finally receive its earthly rest.

There is a clear parallel in the Bible between a day in the original Creation Account and each 1000-year period of world history. We will see as we go along how key events that characterise each Day of Creation fit into this seven thousand-year historical framework.

For this reason also, the question is not whether the world was created in 7 literal days as Creationists believe or had evolved over billions of years according to Evolutionists. All these arguments still function within a narrow viewpoint of the world ruled only by Chronos.

As we saw in our earlier sessions, the Creation Account was given to help us understand God’s concept of time and eternity, to recognise the signs when He will act in His Kairos to bring about His eternal will, and to hear His Rhema for His people - in other words, to help us understand the times as they relate to God’s eternal will and know what we should do.

Link to presentation.

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