Isaiah 46:10: I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’
Through the Old Testament prophet Isaiah, God tells us that HE declares or reveals what will happen at the end of time from the very beginning. In the very beginning, the book of Bereshith (Genesis), we see the prophecy of the Promised Seed (Genesis 3:15). God’s plan was to destroy the works of the devil through His Son Yeshua (YHWH’s SALVATION) (1 John 3: 8-10). Jesus, the Son of God, was sent to earth by His Father YHWH, to die on a Cross to pay for the sins of all mankind, all who would BELIEVE on HIS NAME. The soul who sins will die (be eternally separated from the Creator YHWH (Ezekiel 18:4)). Mankind had NO SHOT! We were DECEIVED by the serpent, the enemy of mankind, and sinned along with him in the Garden!! Therefore the minute that Adam and Eve SINNED in the Garden of Eden, ALL who have been born after them, on this earth into human flesh, have received a DEATH SENTENCE! But GOD, in HIS MERCY, took on THE LIKENESS of human flesh (VIRGIN BIRTH, fully human and yet fully GOD) so that HE could SUBSTITUTE HIMSELF, perfect, blameless, sinless, and pay the debt that we ALL OWE. If you are IN CHRIST, then your debt has been paid, you will not have to pay the debt for the sin that is built into your flesh!!! Even if you DIE here on earth (separated from the earth), you WILL NOT be separated from YHWH, and you will not really die!!! This is the FREE GIFT of GOD for ALL who would BELIEVE in the NAME of JESUS the MESSIAH!!! All of this was prophesied in the very first book of the Bible, the book of Genesis!
There were many prophecies in those early books of the Bible, not only for mankind, but for the earth itself….
Exodus 20:11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.
Remember how we said that in the Hebrew mindset, there are 4 ways to interpret Scripture?
Consider this. The “obvious” meaning, the P’shat, or literal meaning of Exodus 20:11 is that YHWH really did create the Heavens and the earth and the sea in six 24 hour days and rested on the seventh. Though some believe that the 24 hour day was a metaphor, or a symbol of a longer period of time, the Lord does go to great lengths to not only say the word “day”, but also describe that “a day” is the time period between “evening and morning”, thus implying that this was a literal 24 hour day. Some would say, that’s not possible. Oh really? Perhaps not in our small, carnal human minds, but honestly, there is NOTHING impossible for YHWH.
Genesis 1: 3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.
So the PSHAT or literal meaning of Genesis 1 is very obvious, YHWH created the earth in six 24 hour days, and rested on the seventh.
Now let’s fast forward several thousand years to the time of Moses and the Israelites.
Exodus 20:8:“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.
Hmmm….But we know that there are some deeper (HIDDEN) meanings here (SOD), peeling back the onion. So let’s do that.
2 Peter 3:8: But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.
Oh, I thought that the earth was created in six 24 hour days (P’SHAT/LITERAL MEANING), so what’s this CLUE that a day is like 1000 years? Could there also be a hidden/SOD prophecy in the verses that describe God creating the earth in 6 days and resting on the 7th?
Well, the early Church Father’s definitely believed that there was a hidden Prophecy in those verses.
The Epistle of Barnabas (extra-Biblical text) is a Greek epistle written between 70–132 CE. It is preserved complete in the 4th century Codex Sinaiticus where it appears at the end of the New Testament. It is traditionally ascribed to Barnabas who is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles (Book of Acts in the New Testament)
Epistle of Barnabas 15:3-5: He speaks of the Sabbath at the beginning of the Creation, “And God made in six days the works of His hands and on the seventh day He made an end, and He rested on the seventh day, and He sanctified it. Consider, my children what this signifies: That He made an end in six days. The meaning of it is this: that in six thousand years the Creator will bring all things to an end, for with Him one day is a thousand years. He Himself testifies, saying, Behold the day of the Lord shall be as a thousand years. Therefore children, in six days, that is in six thousand years, ALL things shall be accomplished. And He rested on the seventh day: He means this, that when His Son shall come He will destroy the season of the wicked one, and will judge the godless, and will change the sun and the moon and the stars, and then He will truly rest on the seventh day. (Remember, this was written AFTER Jesus’ 1st coming).
Irenaeus 150 A.D. (was trained by Polycarp who was trained by John who wrote the Book of Revelation. Quote is from “Against Heresies” Book 5, 28, 3: For in as many days as this world was made, in so many thousand years shall it be concluded...This is an account of the things formerly created, as also it is a prophecy of what is to come. For the day of the Lord is as a thousand years; and in six days created things were completed; it is evident therefore, that they will come to an end at the six thousandth year.
Secrets of Enoch 33:1 And I appointed the eighth day also, that the eighth day should be the first created after My work, and that the first seven revolve in the form of the seven thousand, and that at the beginning of the eighth thousand there should be a time of not counting, endless, with neither years nor months nor weeks nor days nor hours.
Are you seeing what we’re seeing? Do you see the the SOD, the hidden Prophecy in Exodus 20:11? The early Church Fathers, those who KNEW the Disciples, who walked with them and with Jesus, were teaching that God gave mankind and the EARTH 7000 years to completion, foreshadowed (“TYPED”) in the Biblical 7 day week! God gave mankind 6 “days” (period of 6000 years) to “go his own way”, but the 7th “day” (1000 year/Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ) BELONGS to the LORD YHWH.
Let’s look at another Scripture in Genesis 6, that may also have a hidden (SOD) prophecy that confirms God’s 7000 year plan for mankind being taught by the early Church Fathers….
Genesis 6:1: Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, 2 that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose. 3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.”
The obvious (P’SHAT) meaning here is that YHWH literally shortened mankind’s earthly lifespan to maximum 120 years. This is definitely true because mankind used to live almost 1000 years, but God did indeed shorten our lifespans. However, the really cool thing to understand is that once we enter the Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ, mankind’s lifespan will again be lengthened dramatically (Isaiah 65:20)!
One of the “keys” to understanding the SOD (hidden) Prophecy in Genesis 6:3 (mankind’s lifespan shortened to 120 years max.) is understanding the JUBILEE.
What is the Jubilee?…It’s a 50 year cycle of time!
Leviticus 25: You are also to count off seven sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years, so that you have the time of the seven sabbaths of years, namely, forty-nine years. 9 You shall then sound a ram’s horn abroad on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the day of atonement you shall sound a horn all through your land. 10 You shall thus consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim a release through the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, and each of you shall return to his own property, and each of you shall return to his family. 11 You shall have the fiftieth year as a jubilee; you shall not sow, nor reap its after growth, nor gather in from its untrimmed vines. 12 For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy to you. You shall eat its crops out of the field.
13 ‘On this year of JUBILEE each of you shall return to his own property.
God divided time up into segments or cycles, and He uses Agricultural metaphors (Parables) to teach us spiritual truths. YHWH is a God of the HARVEST! In our previous post, we mentioned that the Hebrew mindset is Cyclical. God established the 7 DAY week, the 7 YEAR Shemitah cycle, and even the 50 YEAR Jubilee Cycle. The Israelites were told to let their “land rest” every 7 years so that the “land” would produce the maximum harvest. After a period of 7 Sabbaths (Shemitah cycles), or 49 years, God declared a time ( year) of REST, a time that the slaves would be set free and a time that each man would return to “his own land”. This is the JUBILEE YEAR!!!
This has multiple meanings, both physical and spiritual. Who is the original “owner of the earth”? Who is the landlord?? Who are the slaves?? God is the owner of the earth, but satan is currently the “landlord”, or the “prince of the power of the air”. Jesus came to set the SLAVES FREE!! The earth will be returned to its’ original owner (YHWH) during the 1000 year Millennial reign of Jesus Christ, the “year” of JUBILEE!!! Hallelujah!
Let’s consider Genesis 6:3, where God said that mankind was completely evil due to the contamination with the fallen angels, and that His Spirit would not always “strive” with mankind, and that He would shorten our lifespan to 120 years. If we also look at this as a “maximum period” for God’s Spirit to strive with mankind (collectively), then we could imagine 120 X 50 (JUBILEE CYCLES) = 6000 years for God’s Spirit to “strive ‘with mankind! What comes next? THE DAY OF THE LORD! This hidden prophecy appears to confirm what the early Church Fathers taught. They were teaching God’s 7000 year plan that was written (hidden/SOD) into the 7 day week. God did indeed declare what would happen at the end, from the BEGINNING! As written into His Laws, the ten commandments, God gave mankind 6 “days” (6000 years) to “go his own way”, but the 7th “day” (the final 1000 years) belongs to the LORD (Messianic Reign of Jesus Christ on earth for 1000 years, Rev. 20:7-10)….DAY OF THE LORD.
This 1000 year reign of Jesus Christ will be a time of REST, a time of RESTORATION, a time where the captives will be set FREE! This is the “YEAR” that God takes back what is RIGHTFULLY HIS! This is the THE “YEAR” OF JUBILEE!!! Of course, spiritually speaking, Jesus has ALREADY set the SINNER FREE from the laws of sin and death; however, we are not yet resting, and we still have a “landlord”. In-fact, we are still in the battle! (Ephesians 6: 10-13).
But soon, and very soon, Jesus will return to earth to set up His GLORIOUS KINGDOM, THE KINGDOM THAT HAS NO END, and we will enjoy our Sabbath’s rest (1000 years/DAY OF THE LORD).
By the way, according to the genealogies that are listed in the Bible, we seem to be at the END of 6000 years! Jesus REALLY could come at any time!!! COME LORD JESUS!!! 🙂
From the lifespans of people in the Bible, we can come up with a fairly accurate timeline of this earth’s history, which you can see below:
From Adam to Abraham is estimated to be 2000 years
From Abraham to Jesus time is estimated to be another 2000 years
From Jesus time to His return will be another 2000 years
Therefore from creation of Adam to Jesus last return to the earth is 6000 years.After the 6000 years, Jesus Christ will return and rule for 1000 years (the Millennium Reign).
Let there be LIGHT…and there was LIGHT...And God Separated the LIGHT (JESUS CHRIST) from the darkness (EVIL)! The 7000 year Plan of God is hidden (SOD) within God’s 7 day WEEK established in the Beginning (Genesis), confirmed in the Commandments of God and the Holy Sabbath, and will be completed after the Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ. Hallelujah!
