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WHY JESUS IS COMING SOON The Great Week of Time Part 2
Biblical Time A Timeless God Introduces Time From cover to cover God’s word is embedded with references to time. Genesis 1 and 2 talk of the sequentially numbered creation days. Revelation ends with the “millennium” period (ch 20), the post-millennial new heavens and earth (ch 21); then, back to the eschatologic present with a trilogy, “I come quickly” (ch 22) – the shortness of time. God defined earthly time by the movement of celestial objects – the sun and the moon. Their periods could be observed by their movement and by their shadows. But one period that began at creation, the weekly cycle, had only a divine directive as its source and authority. Upon man was placed a responsibility to count 1–7 to preserve its integrity and the integrity of timed prophecy. That weekly cycle, standing alone, became a legal metaphor for all covenant timing promises. Every prophetic theme would have a segment of redemption’s plan timed within its chronology. As the body has remarkable structure because of its bony framework, so special time periods bring structure and life to salvation’s story. As we will soon discover, every day of the creation week was also an appointed holy time. The seventh was divinely set as a constant reminder of the whole week. Each part of that whole stands with sacred distinctness. Thus, in creation week a proleptic template is introduced that lends meaning to the prophecies within Scripture. When the book of Revelation draws to a close, Jesus personally (something He often does in Revelation) lets John hear three times that “I am coming” message. We must conclude that some time period, based upon a sacred template, is about to either move forward or end. God did not lay out eternal-laden messages within an ill-defined slurry of time. He is precise. The sacred messages are placed within a frame of time so they can be seen, appreciated and applied. That framework blends into the beauty of the artwork of revelation and inspiration. Thus, when He says, “I come quickly,” that must be framed within timing messages to make it relevant to the student. Shy of this, we become caught up in a web of nothingness. All reference points of hope cease. In God’s Word time is a tool that is used in various ways. Parts of a vision can be sealed until the “time of the end” (Daniel 12:4). Time is represented as standing still (Joshua Everywhere God has developed redemptive imagery, associated time themes are presented. This golden thread draws on covenant issues. They include ceremonial, prophetic and restoration periods that have everything to do with our eternal “rest” with Jesus. Careful expositors can see a crescendoing opus – the prophetic music of heaven placed on the pages of sacred writ, revealing the exact timing of its scores. No longer should its pages be obscure. God has given every opportunity to His children to now be “children of the light” (I Thessalonians 5:5). “For God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: For the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.” “Now we have received ... the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given us of God” (I Corinthians Jesus warned the Jewish nation of their pending destruction because “thou knewest not the time of thy visitation” (Luke He Came After Six Days Jesus said to His disciples, “There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom” (Matthew Why did it say “after six days?” At the seventh He “came?” At the seventh Jesus, in His glory, appeared to man. When He said in Revelation, “Behold, I come quickly,” it was a “six” coming to an end and a “seventh” about to begin? Is this alluding to a pattern or template of God’s timing handiwork? Is that great metaphor from creation week holding an unveiled key to Jesus’ parting words of Scripture? At creation the “seventh” began a special time when man and God were to meet. Does this theme open up prophetic understanding as to when He returns? As the pages of this amazing study unfolds, set aside prejudice, religious bias, the frailty of this writer’s pen and look at God’s designed module of time. Let’s pray that truth will be magnified and made honorable (Isaiah 42:21) within these pages. Creation Week – The Pattern To Understand Prophetic Time Redemption is God’s administrative plan to restore man back to the moral image of the Creator. Timed periods and events are great waymarks within its directives towards its completion. Without them redemption would never be understood. It would be nothing more than a philosophical idea or a tale of future bliss. But, when timed events are added, a chronology of God’s salvic plan is beautifully laid out. No matter where one enters that sequence (and it is given in sequence), there is an end which the Bible spends most of its pages talking about! But, how few pay serious attention to the amazing issues related to time. Expositors debate over historicism, preterism and futurism; whether time is literal or “prophetic” (a year for a day). If only a sequence could be seen, absolutely none of those issues would be needed or questioned. That is why we first address this chapter with the creation account. Days The first and most important concept of time is “day” (yowm). It is first mentioned in Genesis 1:5. The Bible says it became part of God’s creation. Celestial lights were to govern signs, seasons, days and years ( “And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: ...” ( The weekly period of seven days was presented as a linear time module at creation. It was unrelated to the celestial cycles of time that governed a month and a year. Prophecy is based on both linear and cyclic time. Yes, there are “weekly cycles,” but creation week was made up of numbered days, 1–7. They are to be counted. They are linear. The creation days have a beginning and an ending. Thus, God’s great measurement of time – 7 days, 7 weeks, 7 months, 7 years, 7 times, 70 times 7, 7 years have God as their designer – as defined periods or appointed times. If creation week is a pattern for all sevens, then each of those “sevens” would have a beginning and an ending. The seventh would be a time of holiness, rest, Sabbath, worship – man and God meet. When the word millennium is introduced in Revelation 20, it is, intriguingly, mentioned six times. The question that naturally comes to mind is: ‘Is there a preceding six?” Well, that is the issue to solve in the Great Week of Time question. We will discover that that particular millennium is the seventh. Another concept we’re going to find is that the day after the seventh is noted in the Bible in two ways: One, as the first to denote a new “cycle” of seven; and two, as the eighth to recognize a new beginning, a restoration or the onset of eternity. There is also a fiftieth day (Pentecost) and a fiftieth year (jubilee). The jubilee day is the eighth year after the last seventh year of seven 7-year cycles – 49 years, then the 50th. That eighth symbolizes when everything is restored back to what it originally was. Keep that in mind because we will visit that again – because God talks about it again and again. Now back to the creation week. We are not going to discuss the issue as to how long a day was. But let’s mention in passing a few simple thoughts. The first day (yowm) was given a parameter – evening and morning (as were all the first six). The fourth creation day defines the day further. The sun (greater light) ruled the day (yowm) and the moon (lesser light) ruled the night (layil). Thus, a day is defined. 1. Within a context of the sun and moon appearances – cyclic 2. With an evening and morning sequence – linear Those “Evening and Morning” Creation Days A pursuasive scholarly review of these “days” as a literal 24-hour time period was done by the late Gerhard F. Hasel in The Literal “Days” of Creation in Genesis 1: Literal “Days” or Figurative “Periods/Ephochs” of Time.1 The term for day, yowm, is used 2304 times in the Old Testament. Where it is simply used as a plain noun, with a number and as a singular word, it is a literal day – especially when tied to the evening–morning context. “When the word yÔm [same as yowm] (“day”) is employed together with a numeral, which happens 150 times in the Old Testament, it refers in the Old Testament invariably to a literal day of 24 hours.”1 The words for evening (ereb) and morning (boqer) present a very special message. By themselves or as the morning (boqer) and evening (ereb) sacrifice are noted in that sequence, they are tied to the daily 24-hour cycle. However, the late Cassuto, a Jewish scholar from Italy, examined the Biblical data on these two words. He found that the Jewish way of computing a day was that it began with the morning and ended with the evening. But – when the “evening” was noted first in the sequence, it related to festivals or appointed times. They are special times of appointment or reckoning of time.2 Therefore, in Daniel In the Genesis creation week we have an evening–morning sequence, showing us that not only is this 7-day period a template for time, but it is symbolic of appointed times to come.1 Each day draws on a “setting aside” theme. And together, with the sacred sabbath rest, look forward to periods of time in redemption’s plan. Creation begins God’s great purpose of time by setting up a template for the rest of sacred history. Lest we doubt this, we will be reminded again and again of this wonderful beginning of “seven.” Preparation------Rest Sequence There are several very crucial items introduced in this creation week story. In that narrative God is at work to prepare the earth for two persons – Adam and Eve. When sin entered, He began another preparation for two figures – Christ and His church (woman–bride). An angel said to John, “Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife” (Revelation 21:9). This occurs in a prophetic setting after the millennium land rest in chapter 20. The bride is symbolized by the New Jerusalem in a newly created earth. Jerusalem is seen in Old Testament imagery as God’s church or people – Israel. Somewhere between the fall and that new creation, with the restoration of the “pair,” is a time period of preparation. As Adam and Eve were created in His image on the sixth day, so God’s church is completed with the sealing (on their foreheads is the name of God and the New Jerusalem) just before the millennium of land rest. Note in Revelation 7, right after the sealing, is a commentary insert of a great multitude in heaven around the throne in a Feast of Tabernacle setting. That begins when Jesus comes to take His people to the heavenly home for that millennium of rest. Was the great “preparation” for that rest measured in millenniums? Would God have it any other than in a “seven” motif? Is there a chronology to redemption? Or is this one place in the Bible where we ignore “seven?” The culminating work of creation was man. The culminating work of redemption is man’s glorification (I Thessalonians At creation “sevens” were established. On the pre-rest day man came onto the scene in God’s image. In Revelation man returns to His image in the pre-rest millennium (i.e., just before the millennium when the land “rests”). Using Biblical chronology, we know the earth is approximately six thousand years old, and the signs suggest the coming of the “second man” is about to occur. Maybe, just maybe, we are about to end the sixth millennium. If not, God has a bizarre cycle we must somehow account for! In that great prayer of engagement of John 17 Jesus said, “The glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” John 17:23. That echoes the sixth-day words of Adam in the Garden.” This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh” (Genesis A Millennial Purpose Israel had forgotten God and rejected their Messiah at His first Advent. Hosea’s prophecy looked forward to that sad happening. Note the timing prophecy is unfolding. The Lord speaking: “I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early (Hosea Jesus did “go” to this earth and returned to heaven. Because of rebellion, He will remain away until a preparation is complete. Then He extends the invitation with the prophecy. “ Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.” Hosea 6:2. These words look forward according to some to Christ’s death and resurrection. But that already occurred in God has other ways to convince us of the GWT. His remarkable template of time cannot be toyed with. It is precise, predictive and prophetic. We now look at one of the most important concepts of time. There are moral and redemptive messages conveyed when God reinforces the seven by talking about an eighth. The Land Rest – After Six Years A solemn precept was introduced to ancient Israel. In spite of sin, God declared the earth His and that He still maintained sovereign control (Exodus 9:29; Psalm 24:1; I Corinthians 10:26, 28). To remind them of this He established an ordinance – a Sabbath for the land: “Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto the LORD. Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof; But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the LORD: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard” (Leviticus 25:2-4).” This was to be more than an agricultural rest. It gave them a whole sabbath year to worship Him and be reminded of His creatorship. It did more than that – it drew their thinking to the creation week theme and its timing metaphor. This was beautifully shown by additional insights: “Wherefore ye shall do my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; and ye shall dwell in the land in safety. And the land shall yield her fruit, and ye shall eat your fill, and dwell therein in safety. And if ye shall say, What shall we eat the seventh year? behold, we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase: Then I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years. And ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat yet of old fruit until the ninth year; until her fruits come in ye shall eat of the old store (Leviticus 25:18-22).” Beyond the message of special provision is a linear time sequence, another heavenly designed module of time. Notice the timing points that God introduced in these few verses: • Six years – activity on land • Seventh year – sabbath rest of land • Eighth year – restoration of land Collectively, we shall call them God’s restoration module of time. In fact, that was so vital for Israel (all of God’s people) to grasp, it became an extension of the creation metaphor for the timing pattern to complete the everlasting covenant! Israel violated that statute. They failed to obtain the creative power of those restoration appointments. They ignored the covenant arrangement. When the land would have rested, they could have had an appointment with God. Because of their failure, God decided to teach a lesson that had prophetic significance that His people would never forget – as long as time would last. “I [God], will chastise you [Israel] seven times for your sins.... I will scatter you among the heathen, ... and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste. Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye be in your enemies’ land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths. As long as it lieth desolate it shall rest; because it did not rest in your sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it [Leviticus 26:28, 33-35 (cf. 43)].” Between the Exodus and the Babylonian captivity they failed to observe this restoration module of time. The “seven times” comes from the Hebrew word sheba’. Here, contextually, they would be punished for all the “seventh” restorations missed. How many did they miss? “ And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years (Jeremiah 25:11)” –70 x 7. That means they had broken the covenant for 490 years. The Chronicles of Israel noted exactly the same. “[T]he wrath of the LORD arose against his people [because of the house of Judah’s disobedience], till there was no remedy. Therefore he brought upon them the [Nebuchadnezzar] king of the Chaldees, ... he gave them all into his hand.... And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they [the remnant of the house of Judah] were servants to him and his sons ... until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years (II Chronicles 36:16-17, 20-21).” Why did all this occur? God warned them that if they despised His statutes or abhorred His judgments and didn’t do His commandments, thereby breaking His covenant, this curse would occur (Leviticus 26:15-16). When would release come from bondage? At the end of the 70 years. Intriguingly, Daniel fully understood what was happening. “I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem (Daniel 9:2).” The word desolate here is shamen. This is used usually in the context of utter desolation caused by some great disaster, usually as the result of divine judgment. This is the same word used in Daniel 12:11 where an abomination maketh desolate. That abomination (shiqouts) means some false standard was set up – thus, leading to desolation of the earth. This is the description that we find in Revelation 16 as the result of the great and mighty earthquake (vs 18) when all the islands and mountains were gone (vs 20). What time period follows? Chapter 20 talks about a millennium where Satan is bound – the earth is at rest. The earth (symbolic in Revelation for the wicked) failed to prepare, and the earth became desolate. When is the preparation? On the sixth – the remnant, symbolized by the 144,000, prepared and were taken to heaven, entering their rest (Revelation Where did the symbolic “eighth” come in, revealing the restoration after the great sabbath year of rest? Let’s work our way through several Biblical illustrations to resolve this. The restoration module of time requires an eighth. After the Seven – Restoration (“The Eighth”) After the millennium when Satan is bound, comes some of the most beautiful language of hope in all the Scriptures. This world is recreated into a new heavens and new earth! The first world passed away (Revelation 21:1). There’s the beginning of the “eighth.” The eighth is renewal – restoration. Thus, the desolation millennium was the “seventh.” On two major points we can see the rest of the land – the seventh millennium, the pre-Sabbath preparation “sixth” of the 144,000 and the post-Sabbath renewal or beginning again in the “eighth.” The Passion week saw the Lamb slain on the sixth, resting on the seventh and “as it began to dawn towards the first day of the week (the old week? No – the new week). “In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.” Matthew 28:1. The week here is sabbaton. Many have suggested this means Jesus rose at the dawn of the seventh day, bringing great confusion to the passion week, the great module of time and the real message that is being presented. Jesus arose at dawn. It was at the “eighth,” a time during the Spring Festival of unleavened Bread that began and ended with a Sabbath (that had started the previous day). He arose on the “Firstfruits,” the “morrow after the sabbath (Leviticus Jesus arose as the firstfruits (I Corinthians The Greek of Matthew 28:1 reads, “After Sabbath dawning toward first of week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to look at the grave.”3 Another fascinating portrayal of the “eighth” comes from Nebuchadnezzar. Though he was warned through vision and experience to honor the God of heaven, he worshiped what he accomplished and was physically driven to the fields for seven times (shiaba iddan – seven years). What were those years symbolic of? In the creation week the seventh was set aside. Why a continuous seven here? There is only one application where there is a complete seven in the setting of degradation – this world. At the end Nebuchadnezzar was restored not only to his sanity but to a beautiful relationship with God. “I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me.” Daniel 4:36. As he began his restorative praise, he noted, “[A]ll the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing” and then said in the restorative context, “I blessed the Most High whose dominion is an everlasting dominion” (Daniel This contextually draws on the seven millenniums that we saw typified in Revelation. Nebuchadnezzar’s restoration is symbolic of all those who will be redeemed to that “everlasting dominion” at the new creation from seven millenniums of earth’s sin. Let’s draw upon another remarkable illustration. The module of time is based on the six years of activity and one year of land rest. The “eighth” is a beginning again as we’ve previously shown. Seven of those seven modules of time equals 49 years. As man was to carefully count the days of the weekly period, this 49 cycle was to be carefully noted: “And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years. Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement [Yom Kippur] shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land. And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family (Leviticus 25:8-10).” The 50th year was the time of restoration and redemption, a “jubilee.” This paralleled a 7-week cycle that ended in Pentecost – when man was filled with God’s Spirit. In the jubillee cycle the last seven-year cycle had the second sabbath year – the 50th – added. To that last cycle it was linearly the “eighth” when everything became new! In review: Creation week – sequence of sacred seven 6 days preparation 1 day Sabbath Seven-year sequence – the eighth is introduced 6 years – activity on land 7th year – sabbath rest of land 8th year – restoration of land – beginning again Seven millennial sequence – the eighths continue 7th millennium – land desolate 8th millennium – restoration – new heaven and earth Therefore, the first six millennium period is a linear preparation time Based on the land rest and eighth modules with now a jubilee celebration within a millennial motif in Revelation, God must have a lot more to say regarding these time modules. And, that is exactly right. Some of the most solemn prophetic timing for God’s people is found in Daniel 8 and 9. Before we look at that, let’s look at another number message. Emphasizing a Number Revelation 7 adds numerical insight to prophecy. God’s pure remnant people are symbolized by the 144,000 message in verse 4. How was that number made up? That group came from each of the 12 tribes of Israel (Manasseh taking the place of Dan). Twelve in prophecy is God’s kingdom number. 12 Tribes 12 Apostles 12 Foundations 12 Gates 12 Stones on priest’s breastplate But verses 5-8 say 12,000 came from each of the tribes. How was this derived. To emphasize a message, the number is multiplied by one thousand. Thus, 12 x 1000 = 12,000. Then when 12,000 is multiplied by itself, it equals 144,000, which is God’s final kingdom number signifying those in a full restoration setting. The millennial symbology in Revelation 20 draws on Leviticus 26 with the land rest – however, then the time period of one year is multiplied by one thousand, focusing on when God’s kingdom will be fully restored! What did Jesus tell the disciples about the GWT? Did the disciples know the earth would go on another 2000 years? Jesus unfolded an amazing amount of timing prophecies to those twelve men. Next issue we will begin to see just how much.
References: 1Gerhard F. Hasel, The Literal “Days” of Creation in Genesis 1: Literal “Days” or Figurative “Periods/Ephochs” of Time,” www.grisad.org/origins/21005.htm. 2Cassuto, Umberto; Genesis I, p. 29, as quoted by Harris, R. Laird, et al. in Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, vol. II, p. 694. 3Douglass, J. D.; The New Greek-English Interlinear New Testament (translated) to New Revised Standard Version (Tyndale House Publishing, Inc.) Wheaton, IL), 1990. Christian Heritage Foundation, CS © 2003-2005 – Franklin S. Fowler Jr., M.D., Director |