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- Website: Ichthys.com
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Video
Summary
God created the original universe in the blink of an eye. After the rebellion of Satan and his demons, God chose to re-create the earth over a period of six literal days, with the seventh day following as a day of rest. This is neither insignificant nor accidental, for these seven re-creative days of Genesis serve as a model for God’s plan for human history. In both the Genesis days of re-creation and the millennial days of human history, there are subdivisions into three discrete pairs: 1-2, (separation only); 3-4 (separation and filling); 5-6 (filling only). Re-creation was a physical separation of the good from the bad and a filling of the earth to make it habitable for human life, mirroring God’s work throughout the six millennial days wherein believers are separated from the devil’s world in mounting numbers, spilling over in abundance after the sacrifice and resurrection of God’s Son. Both the seventh Genesis day of rest and the millennium serve as a time of memorial rest and blessing to signify God’s completed work (of re-creation and the completion of His family, respectively).
Throughout the Bible we see beautifully constructed patterns, woven across the fabric of Scripture by the powerful hand of God, meant to point us towards spiritual truths. In the provision of marriage, we see the intimacy of Christ’s relationship with His bride, the Church. Through the provision of days and weeks, we are reminded of God’s plan for the ages, His separation of a holy people and a filling up of His eternal family to the glory of His Son, Jesus Christ.
Content
Audio clip from Ichthys
Both sets of days are subdivided into three discrete pairs: 1-2; 3-4; 5-6 (with the exception in each instance of the seventh day). Whether taken in tandem or taken individually, both the first six Genesis days and the first six millennial days demonstrate an essential progression of separation (the good from the bad, physically and spiritually respectively) and of filling (to replenish the material world and the family of God respectively) leading toward an ultimate goal: the habitability of the earth for mankind in the case of the Genesis days, and the filling up of the full number of family of God for the Son of Man at His return in the case of the millennial days. The seventh day in each case is a crowning glory, a memorial time of rest and blessing with paradise conditions under the rule of the First Adam and the Last Adam respectively. Thus the seven re-creative days of Genesis serve as a model for God’s plan for human history, wherein the people of God are progressively separated from the devil’s world and enter God’s lists in progressively mounting numbers through faith in the Son of God, Jesus Christ as replacements for Satan and his followers (Ex.32:32-33; Ps.69:28; Dan.12:1; Phil.4:3; Rev.3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 20:12-15; 21:27).
God had originally created the entire universe in the blink of an eye (Gen.1:1; see Part 2 of the current series). Therefore His utilization of six literal days merely to restore the earth to habitability (with a seventh memorial day of rest to follow), was certainly not the result of any need on His part for what in comparative terms was a much longer period of time (He is omnipotent, after all, and not subject to space and time). We must conclude then that God’s re-creation of earth over seven days was neither accidental nor without significance. In fact, as we have just sought to demonstrate above, the seven Genesis days have great symbolic significance, for they provide a blueprint of God’s plan for human history in the planting (Gentile age), growing (Jewish age) and harvesting (Church age) of the Church for Jesus Christ (with a second, memorial bumper crop to follow in the Millennium). Just as was the case in His provision of marriage (with that institution providing mankind with a constant synchronic analogy for the overarching purpose of history: the marriage of Christ and the Church), so through His re-creation of the earth in seven days and the resultant weekly seven day pattern governing our lives God has given us a continual diachronic memorial for remembering and considering His essential objective for human history: the calling out of the Church for Christ. Every day and every week – the essential units of time by which we organize our lives – offers us a reminder of God’s plan for the ages, perfect and inevitable. For every day and every week serve as divinely constructed analogies to God’s design of human history in the progressive and systematic formation of the Church, centered and focused upon the Person and the work of Jesus Christ.
Summary points
The core parallels
Both the seven Genesis days of re-creation and the seven millennial days of human history:
- Have in the first six days
- Subdivisions into three discrete pairs: 1-2; 3-4; 5-6
- An essential progression of separation (the good from the bad, physically and spiritually respectively) and of filling (to replenish the material world and the family of God respectively) leading toward an ultimate goal: the habitability of the earth for mankind in the case of the Genesis days, and the filling up of the full number of family of God for the Son of Man at His return in the case of the millennial days.
- Have a seventh day that is a crowning glory, a memorial time of rest and blessing with paradise conditions under the rule of the First Adam and the Last Adam respectively.
Thus the seven re-creative days of Genesis serve as a model for God’s plan for human history, wherein the people of God are progressively separated from the devil’s world and enter God’s lists in progressively mounting numbers through faith in the Son of God, Jesus Christ as replacements for Satan and his followers.
The significance of God creating over a period of time when He did not need to
God had originally created the entire universe in the blink of an eye. Therefore His utilization of six literal days merely to restore the earth to habitability (with a seventh memorial day of rest to follow), was certainly not the result of any need on His part for what in comparative terms was a much longer period of time (He is omnipotent, after all, and not subject to space and time).
We must conclude then that God’s re-creation of earth over seven days was neither accidental nor without significance. In fact, as we have just sought to demonstrate above, the seven Genesis days have great symbolic significance, for they provide a blueprint of God’s plan for human history in the planting (Gentile age), growing (Jewish age) and harvesting (Church age) of the Church for Jesus Christ (with a second, memorial bumper crop to follow in the Millennium).
Just as was the case in His provision of marriage (with that institution providing mankind with a constant synchronic analogy for the overarching purpose of history: the marriage of Christ and the Church), so through His re-creation of the earth in seven days and the resultant weekly seven day pattern governing our lives God has given us a continual diachronic memorial for remembering and considering His essential objective for human history: the calling out of the Church for Christ.
Every day and every week – the essential units of time by which we organize our lives – offers us a reminder of God’s plan for the ages, perfect and inevitable. For every day and every week serve as divinely constructed analogies to God’s design of human history in the progressive and systematic formation of the Church, centered and focused upon the Person and the work of Jesus Christ.
Follow-on topics
The beauty of divine symbolism
Sometimes people might scoff at Christians “seeing patterns in creation” and the like. They might think it fanciful and contrived, and little more than weaponized confirmation bias.
But in fact, we believe in a God who foreordained everything that would happen in creation from eternity past. It would be more odd if there weren’t patterns in how God acted!
As I see things, God’s symbolism is the Platonic ideal of symbolism (so to speak). You may have rolled your eyes in literature class when forced to analyze how an author might have used color or shape or whatever else to convey veiled meaning, but God as an Author is completely unlike puny human authors whose creativity is nothing when compared to the creative majesty of the One who made the entire Universe out of nothing, in all its resplendent glory. What may seemed forced from them is in fact natural to God, who is full control of everything.
And so it is that we can see symbol and metaphor dance across the pages of scripture, simile and typology, prophecy and personification. The sheer scale and complexity of the Bible’s symbolism is like no other book in creation. No matter how deep you go, there is always a level deeper—not things we make up arbitrarily, but patterns that are truly there, repeating across the fabric of creation.
If we can see beauty in a composer masterfully weaving a theme throughout her grand symphony or a writer deftly placing a recurring motif throughout his literary epic, how much more so with God’s version of these things? In my opinion, coming to recognize and appreciate the breathtaking majesty and symmetry and rightness of God’s patterns is one of the very best parts of spiritual growth, and there is nothing else quite like it.