THE SEVEN DAYS OF CREATION
REVEALS THE FIRST AND SECOND COMING OF JESUS CHRIST
BY SHOWING THE 7000 YEARS OF HUMAN HISTORY THAT WILL TAKE PLACE BEFORE THE NEW HEAVEN AND THE NEW EARTH
(Note: All Bible quotes are from the NASB unless otherwise specified)
INTRODUCTION
This study explains the picture chart included. God wants you to know there is more to the first chapter of Genesis than the account of His physical creation. He wants you to learn that there are going to be seven 1,000 years of human history before the New Heaven and Earth are formed. Also, He wants you to discover that the timing for the first and second coming of Jesus are also hidden prophetically in the days of creation. If just the second coming of Jesus is of most interest to you, please click here and we will cover that in a short version.
Let’s start with the seven physical days of creation and show how God intended all of them to represent seven thousand years of human history. The Apostle Peter received a revelation at some point in his life about the days of creation. He recorded it and he does not want us to be ignorant about it.
2 Peter 3:8. “Do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”
In Chapter 3 Peter is prophesying to Christians that scoffers will come in the future saying, “Where is the promise of Jesus’ return.” In doing this, Peter refers to the second day of creation by saying people are ignorant about the separation of the waters in day two of creation. He applies it to the flood in the second thousand-year period because with God, one day is like a thousand years (2 Pet 3:4-7). Peter goes on to say that although God promises not to destroy the earth by water again, He is going to destroy it in the future by fire. We are about at the end of the sixth thousand-year period on the history line. Let’s see how the first six millennia have proven themselves according to the prophetic statement Peter made.
Jesus’ first coming and second coming turn out to be on this timeline. It is scriptural that no man knows the day or the hour of his second coming. But it is important to note that I Thessalonians 5:4-5 tells us we are not to be in darkness so that the Day of the Lord should overtake us like a thief, for we are sons of light. We might not know the day, but we will discern the season. Christians want to know when the second coming is. So, this study should be of great interest to you.
Once you discover the time of Jesus second return and how close it is to being fulfilled, you should be emboldened to testify with confidence to those who are interested. This truth of 7,000 years for seven days is easy to remember if you just use the scriptures in red from the chart. By the time you are done with this study you will be prepared to share when Jesus is coming back even though you don’t have this chart or the Bible with you.
This will help: Notice this about the chart. God divides the first six days into two patterns. In the first three days He works with light, water, and land with no living creatures. In the second three days He works with light, water, and land, adding living creatures. You will see how this represents the spiritual life God intended in the fullness of time through His Son Jesus from the fourth thousand-year period.
DAY ONE – GOD DIVIDES LIGHT FROM DARK – GOD SEPARATES THE LINEAGE OF SETH FROM CAIN
Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. And God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day (Gen 1:3-5).
As I begin to explain how God divided the light from the dark in the first thousandth year, let me first refer to what Peter said again: “Do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” This first applies to the life of Adam.
The first thing God said to Adam in the garden before Eve disobeyed by listening to the manifestation of Satan through a snake in the tree was, “In the day you eat of it, you shall surely die.” We see that neither of them died physically that day as God said. As we follow the story of Adam, we learn he lived 930 years before he died physically. If Adam did not die in the day he ate, like God said he would, what does it mean? The answer is they both were separated from God in a spiritual way from that day forward. Adam did die in 930 years, so we see this principle of one day as 1000 years beginning in Genesis. We are going to see this principle through for the whole 7000 years confirming what Peter told us is from God.
What did God do in the first thousandth year that divided the light from darkness in human history? In Genesis Chapter 4 after the fall, we are told why Cain killed Abel. The incident was over whether the sacrifice was to be the offering of crops from the works of Cain’s hands or by the blood sacrifice of an innocent animal. The animal symbolically pointed forward to the blood of Jesus. Therefore, since Abel’s way turned out to be right, Cain killed him. God told Cain he could be accepted if he did what was right, but he was not interested. So, God did not allow Cain to be around the next son, Seth (whose name means compensation). God banished Cain to the land of Nod. The offspring of the sons of Seth wisely followed the right way and were therefore spiritually the sons of light by God. They lived separated from the sons of Cain who were spiritually the sons of darkness. This is why the lineage of Adam was recorded through Seth’s seed and were called the sons of God. We see the offspring of Cain are listed separately. Christians are called sons of God in the Bible now (I John 3:2-3).
The devil of course was active in both groups. The stories in the Bible are a narrative about God and Satan who loses in the end, but not without getting his share of the souls. “Narrow is the way which leadeth unto life and few there be that find it,” Jesus said (Matthew 7:14 KJV). Following the story line, Satan maneuvers so that the separation between Seth and Cain did not continue forever. As the first century progressed, the lineage of Seth became enamored with the lineage of Cain and began marrying them. Their co-mingling produced bad spiritual fruit which led to the flood which occurs in the second thousand-year period. Lucifer is continually at work to remove the light from the earth by bringing darkness to people. That is the only way he can be worshiped instead of God. God did not leave Adam and Eve without a promise. Even though there was to be a division among the seeds of men, one would come through a woman that would bruise Lucifer’s head (authority) (Genesis 3:14-15). The devil through Cain killed Abel and no doubt destroyed the hope Eve had that Abel would fulfill that promise. From then on, all godly women from Eve desired to give birth to the Messiah. That did not come to pass for 4,000 years until the days of the virgin Mary. That is why God did not create the physical sun until the fourth day. More on that later. For now, we need to see that the mixing of Seth’s and Cain’s lineage led to the flood occurring in the second thousandth year period of human history.
DAY TWO – GOD DIVIDES THE WATERS – NOAH’S FAMILY SAVED; THE WORLD IS DESTROYED BY WATER
Then God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” And God made the expanse and separated the waters which were below the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse and it was so. And God called the expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day (Gen 1:6-8).
We need water to survive, not destroy us! From a Biblical perspective water is important enough to be mentioned several hundred times—more than faith, hope, prayer, and worship. Water is used symbolically in the Bible in numerous ways. To name a few, it can refer to cleansing, baptism, difficulties, peace, the Word of God, the Spirit of God, eternal life, peoples, and nations. We cannot explore all of these, but here are a couple: We want to focus on how they represent peoples and nations.
God is not judging people with a physical flood again, but Bible writers do use the term to refer to trouble in a spiritual sense. The Bible says the wicked are like the troubled sea (Isaiah 57:20 Darby). When the devil comes in like a flood, God will raise up a standard against it (Isaiah 59:19). This applies to the greatest extent in the days appointed to the Antichrist since Jesus said it would be the greatest time of tribulation (Mathew 24:21). In the days of Noah, God used an ark to save. In the future, Jesus will snatch away a bride to safety at the rapture of the church.
A good example of waters representing peoples and nations is in Revelation 17. It is good because it is an excellent example of events which are about to happen spiritually in the sixth period that parallels what happened physically in the second period. It is about the judgment of the great harlot who has the name Babylon the Great, the mother of all harlots and the abomination of the earth. What a title! She is the religious entity of the world just before the end of the church age. The Antichrist finds her useful for a while because she is at that time very corrupt. However, he hates religion. Satan is incarnate in him, and Satan wants to be the object of people’s worship. When he has gained the control he needs, it says he will devour her flesh (kill her). In the narrative she sits on the sea. This is where we are given this revelation about the waters. The angel was showing John these things. “Then the angel said to me, ‘The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations. The woman whom you saw is the great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth. (Rev. 17:15,18)’” This gives us scriptural license, when appropriate, to say that waters can be referring to nations.
Let’s review in more detail Peter’s quote about a day being like 1,000 years in 2 Peter Chapter 3 again. He wants Christians to be clear about the second coming of Jesus and judgment. He starts by reaching back to the second day of creation. “For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water (referring to the second day of Creation) through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water (referring to the second thousand-year period) (2 Peter 3:5-6). Peter knew that the physical days of creation had a spiritual story behind it.
How does this apply to the second thousand-year period of human history? Seth’s and Cain’s lineage are the Patriarchs. Seth should have never mixed with Cain because it led to the flood in the second thousand-year period. God wiped out both lineages except for Noah and his family. Noah was a preacher of righteousness at a time of great darkness in the earth. As such, he foreshadowed the Messiah who was to come as a great light dividing the sheep from the goats. Jesus will save the people from their sins by rapturing (snatching away) those who love Him to be with Him. He will bind the devil and start over again with Israel.
DAY THREE – LAND SEPARATED FROM WATER – ISRAEL SEPARATED TO BE A BLESSING TO THE NATIONS
Then God said, “Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear.” God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas. Then God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with seed in them, on the earth.” The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, trees bearing fruit, with seed after their kind; God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, a third day (Gen 1:9-13).
In the creation narrative land refers to the earth that was separated from the all-encompassing waters. It was separated to stand out from the waters as a place created by God for humans and land animals.
In the first thousand years God separated the Patriarchs, who then intermarried resulting in the flood in the second thousand-year period. God always wanted families to multiply and inhabit the earth. During this period families expanded from clans into nations. We can track Noah’s sons and see the nations formed. From Ham into Africa and Arabia we see the Ethiopians and the Libyans. From Seth into Palestine, we see Persians, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Armenians, and Syrians. From Japheth into Asia Minor and Europe we find Gauls, Britons, Germans, Russians, Medes, Iberians, Greeks, Romans, and Thracians.
Due to continued demonic influence, it was not long until God needed to act sovereignly again. Men did not disperse; instead, they built the tower of Babel. God had to confound their languages to get them to migrate and inhabit the earth. Still, sin persisted as people continued to surrender to Satan the authority God gave them to preserve righteousness. In the beginning of the third thousandth year, God chose Abraham to come out of the land of the Chaldeans to go to a land He would show him.
God kept waiting 600 years for the Canaanites to repent, but they kept getting more ungodly. Eventually, Abraham’s seed was to inherit “the Canaanite’s land” and be occupied by the nation of Israel. Abraham and Sara had to wait until 100 years old to have Isaac. He was still not the seed to destroy the devil, but he was the one through whom the natural nation of Israel would come. Isaac’s son Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel, bore the sons to be chosen as a nation to inherit the Promised Land that Canaan occupied. It is a prophetic reality that Abraham by his seed did become a father of many nations. To shorten the story, Jacob and his sons’ families wind up in Egypt where Moses eventually delivers them so they could proceed to the Promised Land. Continued unbelief and unwillingness delayed them 40 years. They finally enter the Promised Land under Joshua, but they do not subdue all the unrepentant nations as God commanded. So, the cycle of disobedience and repentance continues. The time of the third thousandth year period takes us from Abraham up to the time of King David and Solomon who both represent the Messiah in some interesting ways.
In day three we learned that waters represent peoples and nations. Land does as well. I will not go into all the references. This passage explains it well: “Those who trust in the Lord are as Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people from this time forth and forever. For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest upon the land of the righteous that the righteous may not put forth their hands to do wrong.” (Ps 125:1-3).
Stable land and mountains represent the place of presence and blessings for people believing God. Unstable waters represent the turbulent chastisement of unbelievers while outside the presence and blessing of God. In addition, for people following God, mountains represent the greatest blessing and valleys represent trials because God does chastise His children as needed.
DAY FOUR – GOD SETS LIGHTS IN HEAVEN – JESUS IS THE LIGHT OF GOD AND SO ARE BELIEVERS
Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth “;and it was so. And God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also. And God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day. Gen 1:14-19
Lights in the heavens represent people. As the fourth thousand-year period begins, David and Solomon are God’s ruling lights in the nation of Israel, but they were not the promised Messiah, the Son of God.
It is Jesus that symbolically represents the SUN in Malachi 4:2. Malachi prophesied “For you who fear My name the SUN of righteousness will rise with healing in his wings.” I John 3:18-19 shows that Jesus is the light that came into the world. 2 Peter 1:17-19, says, “When He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, ‘This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased.’ And we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. So, we have the prophetic word made surer, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the morning star arises in your hearts.” Matthew 1:21 states the purpose for Jesus coming. Mary will bear a Son and His name shall be Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins.
Believers are like the stars. Dan 12:3 “Those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.”
From day one God had been dividing light from darkness in men, but it was in the fourth thousand-year period when God starts shining through His only begotten son, Jesus. 2 Corinthians 5:19: “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and has given unto us the word of reconciliation.” This verse tells us that God is using Christ in heaven to lead the saints to bring righteousness on earth.
So how did the creation of lights in day four apply to the fourth thousand-year period? God used the separated nation of Israel to be a light to all the nations. When Israel ruled the nations, kings David and Solomon stood out in particular ways because they represented what Christ would do in in the future. If you look at the chart, you see David lived around 1,000 and Solomon dedicated the temple in 970 BC. David was a warrior, a bloody man, who defeated the giant Goliath and all his enemies. He expanded the nation and brought the Ark to the temple on Mount Zion in Jerusalem. He symbolizes Christ as the Savior who defeated the devil and saved us from our sins. Solomon represents Christ in a different way. He brought peace and Israel ruled among the nations. Unfortunately, he had a thousand wives, but God used that to point to something important. It represents Jesus as King of Kings who gave us peace by reconciling us with God through dying for our sins. And now He is creating His many-membered bride who will be raptured to Him before Jesus finally reigns over the nation of Israel in the Millennium. That will be the seventh thousand-year period, which we will develop in day seven. After Solomon, the kingdom of Israel was divided but eventually both kingdoms declined and were taken captive. Jews of the Southern kingdom returned later but they repeated the same cycle until Christ. After rejecting Christ, their nation was cut off and the church was grafted in, which Paul clearly explains in Romans 11.
DAY FIVE – LIFE CREATED IN WATER AND AIR – SPIRITUAL LIFE OFFERED TO ALL THROUGH CHRIST
Then God said, “Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens.” And God created the great sea monsters, and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after 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.” And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day (Gen 1:20-23).
In days one, two, and three we have seen how God used light, water, and land without life to represent people and nations. In days four, five, and six He used light, water, and land with living creatures. Concerning the living animals, God created two kinds, clean and unclean (see Leviticus 11). Concerning mankind, Old Testament stories characterize people as to whether they are following God or Satan. In the New Testament, Jesus becomes the way, the truth, and the life. He is the Good Shepherd. That makes Christian’s sheep, who are persecuted for following the rejected Jesus since the devil is still the god of this world. That makes the bad people vipers and brute beasts who desire to hurt or kill.
For His own reasons, God determined His Son was going to be born at the end of the four-thousandth year period. At that time Israel had just rejected their Messiah, so they no longer continued as a light to the nations. God promised to pour His Spirit out through the glorified Jesus in Acts 2:33. So the gospel went out to all nations through His disciples. Jesus’ believers became “the church,” which has spread the good news for the last 2000 years which is a prophetic reality. Physical days five and six correspond with God exalting Jesus, the Light of the world, to create new life in believers in the church for 2000 years. That is why days five and six together represent 2000 years of human history.
Two thousand years from Jesus’ death turns out to be very important prophetically. There are two scriptures that will be helpful to commit to memory to show people when Jesus is coming back. They are also listed on the chart in the fifth thousand-year period. One prophecy is about Israel and the other is about Jesus talking about the future.
Let me start with the Old Testament prophecy that points to the nation of Israel being cut off for two days which turns out to be 2000 years. After that, their nation will be restored as shown in Romans 11.
Hos 5:14,15; 6:1-2 “For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, And like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear to pieces and go away, I will carry away, and there will be none to deliver. I will go away and return to My place until they acknowledge their guilt and seek My face; In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me. Come, let us return to the Lord. For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us. “He will revive us after two days; He will raise us up on the third day that we may live before Him.”
Israel was obviously not restored in two days after 70 AD. This shows us that Peter’s revelation must be future. They were cut off as far as God was concerned when they rejected their Messiah in 33 AD. Their temple was destroyed in 70 A.D., but that was because they had already killed Jesus.
The second prophecy is given by Jesus Himself when people told Him that Herod was looking to kill him. “Go and tell that fox, “Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I reach My goal” (Luke 13:32).
Jesus made this statement long before His crucifixion. Therefore, it is not referring to His physical death, burial, and resurrection. It is a prophetic picture about thousands of years, not about days. Jesus knows He will soon die, and Israel will be cut off. He knows He will minister through the church for 2000 years. He knows both He and His bride will be restoring the nation of Israel for 1000 years before He delivers the kingdom up to His Father and the New Heaven and Earth are formed in eternity.
During the church age, Jesus prophesied in Mathew 24 that false prophets would arise to deceive, and many would fall (from the faith) before the end (of the church age) would come. Paul said this would happen after his departure (Acts 20:29). Jude as well as 2 Peter expand on this considerably. Jesus said His kingdom would become a tree, and the fowls of the air would come and lodge in its branches (Luke 13:18-19). He also added, “The gates of hell are not going to overpower the church” (Matthew 16:18). Paul agrees. “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (Romans 16:20). It is 2000 years later. “Soon” could have to do with a day being a thousand years at the end of the church age!
The gates of hell will not prevail against the church because Jesus is the life in His church all during the church age. In 1 Cor 15:45-47, 49, It is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul. “The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven. And just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.”
Romans 8:14 tells us “All who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are the Sons of God.” And again in 1 John 4:17-18 we read, “By this love is perfected with us, that we may have confidence in the day of judgment because as He is so also are we in this world.”
It has been promised that Christians will be victorious. Jesus is coming for His bride before the Antichrist is revealed to the world (2 Thessalonians 2). In the last two chapters of Revelation, it says that the Spirit and the bride cry come (to Christ). She plays a part in the harvest. She has prepared herself; she is spotless, and she is doing the works of God.
The following scripture refers to the rapture of the church and the resurrection. Romans 8:19, 21-23 says, “For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also, we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.”
This also refers to the rapture of the saints where the dead are raised and the saints alive are caught up to meet Jesus in the air: 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 says, “The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, with the trumpet of God. The dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore, comfort one another with these words.”
Days five and six are a prophetic picture representing godly and ungodly life on earth for 2,000 years. The ungodly end up in all the nations following the harlot as seen in Revelation 17. The godly point to everyone who has accepted Jesus as their Savior after the nation of Israel rejected Him. There are two kinds of creatures created by God, the clean and the unclean. The same is true for mankind spiritually. One group is manipulated by the devil and the other is led by our glorified Savior (Romans 8:14).
DAY SIX – MAN CREATED ON LAND FOR DOMINION – JESUS GIVES DOMINION TO THE CHURCH
Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after their kind”; and it was so. And God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. And God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to everything that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so. And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day (Gen 1:24-31).
The fifth and sixth days are combined into the fifth and sixth thousand-year periods. However, day six pictures the establishment of the church under Christ coming into existence which took some time. This is the same idea as we saw in the Old Testament where it took time for Abraham’s seed to become the nation of Israel. The land of day six represents godly governments, whereas waters in day five speak of worldly governments. Both overlap one another, but one brings forth life and the other death. When I speak of godly, I am speaking of true believers in Christ, for God says He knows those that are His. That was true in the Old Testament, for in Romans 9:6 it says, “They are not all Israel who descended from Israel.” Many rejected their Messiah. Then God through Christ poured out His Spirit to whosoever would believe. Many nations are Christian, but before the end of the church age many shall fall from the faith.
After his resurrection, Christ ascended to heaven to fill His High Priestly role as the glorified Son of man. He came to serve on earth, and he is doing the same from heaven. That is how John saw Him in Revelation 1, speaking to and leading the church. He is not king over the nation of Israel who rejected Him. Jesus said the church is to now be the light because it has a job to do. Jesus is the head, and we are the body as we are led by the Spirit (Romans 8:14). We are separated physically, but not in Spirit. We are co-laborers with Christ in maturing the church until He comes (Ephesians 4 and 5). We are all to be preparing ourselves for Him. We are waiting to join Him at the marriage supper of the Lamb which happens at the end of the church age.
Paul calls all this a great MYSTERY. Ephesians 5:23-28, 30-32 says, “The husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the church, being the Savior of the body. As the church is subject to Christ, wives ought to be to their husbands. Husbands should love their wives as Christ loved the church because He gave Himself up for her that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she should be holy and blameless. So, husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies because we are members of His body. For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother and shall cleave to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great MYSTERY, and I am speaking about Christ and the church.”
Ephesians 4:11-18 shows us that Jesus will supply the church what it needs: “He gave some apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ UNTIL we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, the measure of the stature which belongs to our fulness in Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causing the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.” Then Paul adds, “This I say therefore, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer as Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, due to the hardness of their heart.”
Spiritual maturity does not mean living perfect, without ever sinning like Jesus did. He was sinless. We go from more sin to less sin. God gives a blessed person 70-plus years to learn to hate evil and love good. It takes time to mature spiritually. The more years you live, the more years you will experience the devil opposing you; but you also have more years to say, “I can do all things through Jesus who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).
Concerning the bride of Christ, there is a spiritual work that happens at the end of the church age that concerns her. The last two chapters of the Book of Revelation are devoted to her so she must be important! It starts in chapter 19 where it describes events around the second coming of Christ. Revelation 19:7-9 says, “Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” And it was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. And he said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.'” And he said to me, “These are true words of God.”
The bride has made herself ready. She did not do that on her own. Jesus gives her the Helper spoken of in the Book of John. A conditional covenant has two parties. Both must be willing to prepare their hearts to live together the way God intended.
I do not have to tell anyone about how a bride feels about her wedding dress! However, Jesus sees that spotless gown as a submitted person who knows His heart, and then obeys Him and does what He wants. It is like the 144,000 in Revelation 14 who are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. They are the ones that are being purchased from among men to be first fruits to God and the Lamb.
Revelation 22:17 says “The Spirit and the bride say come.” She is saying the thirsty can partake of the waters of life without cost. Jesus said blessed is the man when He comes again, He finds him working in the harvest field with whatever talents he has been given. If he is not found working, those talents will be taken away and given to someone else. I am not trying to scare anyone here, only to wake up those who need to be. Remember Mathew chapter 25. At the midnight hour, ALL the virgins were sleeping when the cry went out that the bridegroom is coming. They ALL had to wake up, get oil and enter in. She will not only know the Word, but she will also know Him. She will be doing supernatural exploits to make happen what God wants to wrap up the end of the church age.
In Revelation 19:8-9 we read, “It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. And he said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.'” And he said to me, “These are true words of God.” This shows the bride has done these works for the Lord on earth before the marriage supper occurs. This is an important fact about Salvation. Salvation does not experientially come until the rapture according to Revelation 12:10-12. “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them before our God day and night. And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even to death. For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.” The bride is no longer on the earth here. At that time, the disobedient and the unbelievers are going to see what Satan can really do when he is incarnate in the Antichrist.
1 Cor 15:50-55, 58 Explains the rapture of Christian saints. “Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’ Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”
The dead and the living going up in the rapture will be joint heirs with Jesus forever. He is in God’s glory, and we will be there also. The difference is, He will be the head and we will be spiritually functioning as His body. This is a great mystery as we already pointed out from Ephesians 5. The church age ends as Jesus returns and receives His bride. Then He begins to restore the nation of Israel for 1000 years in the Millennium.
Days five and six, being tied together in 2,000 years, can be a little confusing at first. That is because Peter only said a day is like 1,000 years, not clarifying that two days is like 2,000 years. The 2,000-year period only becomes clear when you understand the two scripture prophecies that are forced to be interpreted according to Peters revelation (Hosea 6:2 and Luke 13:32). These scriptures cannot be interpreted as literal days. Some would say that they prove there are mistakes in the Bible. That is why Peter does not want you to be ignorant about this. It is a revelation about the bride at the end of the church age and that time is upon us.
That does not mean that for 2,000 years now the prior saints did not have an opportunity to be the bride of Christ. In Revelation chapters 2 and 3, Jesus promised all seven churches a special reward for overcoming. It seems like that is the goal Jesus is desiring of them. Any person that overcomes the devil all through the 2,000 years of the church age will receive those special promises! That does not mean that the Bible cannot contain prophecies about a special work the overcoming people will need to do to wrap up the end of the church age.
I will deal with this again in the summary since understanding the time of the second coming of Jesus is such an important part of this study.
DAY SEVEN – MAN RULES WHEN CREATION IS COMPLETE – JESUS RULES THE NATIONS THROUGH ISRAEL
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. And God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to everything that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so. And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. Thus, the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. And by the seventh day God completed 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 (Gen 1:26-2:3).
Let’s talk about God resting on the seventh day. God is the self-existent, everywhere present, all-powerful Spirit that no one can see as He really is. When He spoke, it was created. God is simply explaining so humans can understand that He prepared earth in a physical form for mankind and animals with vegetation in a system that miraculously sustains itself even into the universes. His plan was to give man dominion, which meant they are now going to be doing the work of maintaining things the way God wanted. When Adam and Eve gave their dominion over to Satan by believing him instead of God, he saw to it that their work became a curse. In Christ, our Helper, we are to cease from our own works of the flesh and find rest in Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “My Father is working until now, and I myself am working” (John 5:17). Jesus does not mean God is doing physical work. God is communing with His Son so the Son can do what His Father wants. For us now, that means the God of peace (rest) is going to defeat Satan under our feet shortly as we do what He wants. If you want to understand more about this rest as it applies to you in Christ, read John, chapters 4-17.
At the beginning of the seventh 1,000 year-period (on God’s clock) Christ will return. He will begin working to restore the nation of Israel after the Battle of Armageddon and all the unimaginable plagues upon the nations to prepare the way for the Millennium period of 1000 years. I agree that we cannot know the day or the hour of His return, but believers are not in darkness that that day should overtake us as a thief (I Thessalonians 5:4-5). No one can determine the actual day because there have been too many factors disallowing the ascertaining of actual dates.
Using the timeline from the chart and the principle of one day is like 1000 years, we can estimate the approximate time of Jesus second coming. Assuming His birth was around zero and His death was at 33 A.D., we can add 2000 years for days five and six to get to an approximate date of 2033. The days of creation principal that Peter gives us, allows a very simple verification for the time of Jesus second coming. Even a child can understand this! For the nation of Israel, the second coming is the day Jesus returns on the Mount of Olives (Acts 1:11). It is very important to understand the two prophecies mentioned before about days that can only be interpreted using thousands of years. One was the prophecy of Israel being restored as a nation in two days from Hosea 6:2. The second was Jesus saying His work would be completed in three days in Luke 13:32. These two scriptures are listed on the chart in day five. They are a major emphasis in understanding the second coming of Jesus.
I want to avoid debate here about the rapture of the church. Just let me say this: You can make your own calculation about the time of Jesus’ return for you depending on whether your view is pre, mid, or post tribulation. Jesus will take His bride, who has made herself ready, near the end of the 2000-year church age. God said He created them male and female and the two shall become one. This was part of God’s physical creation, but it follows that it will have its spiritual fulfillment as well. While on earth, Jesus had no physical bride because He had to die for the sins of the world at age 33. In the Millennium, the many membered overcoming bride is joined with Jesus. He will give them authority to rule like He was given authority to rule from the Father (Revelation 2:26-27).
Jesus will continue working along with His bride during the 1000-year Millennium, restoring the knowledge of God to all the nations through Israel (Zechariah 8:23). This would be the third day Jesus was talking about in Luke where He said, “On the third day, I reach my goal.” Romans 11 shows God drawing Israel into covenant again. “Then the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, like the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah11:9). That is why the Millennium will be more blessed than the church age. Revelation 20 and Isaiah 11 are chapters that can provide you some good basics about the Millennium. Revelation 20:2-4 is where we are told that the devil is bound for that 1000-year period so he cannot deceive people. Then the devil is loosed for a short period near the end of the thousand years to prepare the nations for war again. It says the number is like the sand of the sea. They surround the saints and the holy city. Then fire comes down from heaven and devours them. The devil is thrown into the Lake of Fire and Brimstone where they will be tormented forever and ever (Revelation 20:7-9).
Next, we see the Great White Throne Judgment, “And the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. And death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:11-15).
Day seven of creation represents the day God rested (ceased) from His physical creation as Christ is given authority over the earth. As we discussed earlier, Adam and Eve forfeited dominion and Satan became the god of this world. That’s why we see in the fourth thousand-year period the Sun of righteousness came. God never got what He wanted after the seventh day. So, Jesus will rule the seventh 1000-year period like Adam was supposed to rule after the seventh day, because with God a day is like 1000 years. Therefore, the Bible calls Jesus the last Adam (1 Cor. 15:45). He took the first Adam’s place to exercise the will of God on earth. God is going to give Jesus a bride as a joint heir with Him. This seventh 1,000-year period starts after the great tribulation at the end of the church age. The Millennium ends with the Great White Throne Judgment followed by the New Heaven and the New Earth.
In Ezekiel 47 and 48 you can read about the regathering of the tribes of Israel. Their geographical locations are square, and the order of the tribes are different than when they entered the promised land in the Old Testament. This shows it is literal and that the church has not replaced God’s ultimate restoration and plan for Israel.
EIGHT (8) – SYMBOLIZES NEW BEGINNINGS – THE ETERNAL STATE IN THE NEW HEAVEN AND NEW EARTH
Eight is like a new beginning. A week has seven days. The next day after that would be eight if the week were not starting all over again. If a day is like a thousand years with God, we should find that true with the seven thousand-year periods. If so, we should also expect God to start the eighth day with a new heaven and earth. The difference is that the eighth period shall be time no more. Can you see there is going to be 7,000 years of human history and then eternity? Let’s read about God starting all over again.
Revelation 21:1-8. I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them, and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any crying, or pain; for they have passed away.” “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said to me, “It is done. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. He who overcomes shall inherit these things. I will be his God and he will be My son. But for the cowardly and unbelieving and murderers and immoral persons and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
To not accept eternal life through Christ is to invite separation from God’s presence forever. Hence, the second death. We read in Revelation 20:10 that torment is forever and ever. This is not annihilation of the body and soul, nor is there any mention of reincarnation. This place of eternal torment is reserved for the devil and all his angels along with all unrepented ungodly sinners (Matthew 25:41).
Concerning true believers, Jesus said in Matthew 19:28-29 “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, shall receive many times as much, and shall inherit eternal life.”
The state of the righteous is explained in Revelation 22:3-5. “There shall no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His bondservants shall serve Him; and they shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. And there shall no longer be any night; and they shall not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God shall illumine them; and they shall reign forever and ever.”
There are other interesting points about the New Jerusalem coming down from heaven. There is no physical temple there. God almighty and the Lamb are its temple. There is no need for the sun because God illuminates the New Jerusalem. It says the Lamb is the lamp (Revelation 21:23); He lights the way as High Priest and King of Kings. Nations shall walk in that light and earthly kings shall bring their glorified people into it. The gates will always be open, but no unrighteous person can enter. The river of life flows there. The tree of life bears 12 kinds of fruit. The Lamb is in the New Jerusalem, and we shall see His face. The curse is gone, and we shall serve Him day and night forever. Eternity won’t be sitting on clouds playing harps. God is creative, and Jesus will always be showing us God’s intentions and allowing His servants to help with God’s every desire.
Can you even imagine how incredible and thrilling those experiences will be forever and ever!
SUMMARY – SEVEN DAYS OF CREATION – 7 PERIODS OF 1000 YEARS FOR HUMAN HISTORY
When I read 2 Peter 3:8 telling us not to be ignorant that one day with God is like a thousand years, I knew there was a correlation between each day of creation and each corresponding thousand-year period. I prayed and set out to discover it. The primary conclusion turned out to be that God is allowing seven periods of 1000 years for human history on earth before the New Heaven and New Earth will be formed. The story turned out to be a short panorama of the Bible. As you read about the thousand-year periods, it summarizes in a few pages a condensed version of the 900-page Bible.
I found a picture of the days of creation to use as a chart showing how the days of creation relates to the thousand-year periods. The chart makes the picture worth a thousand words. People can refer to it and easily identify with the picture after reading the explanations of the periods. When committed to memory, it provides an easy way to share with others how it relates to Jesus’ second coming. In review, the following are simplified truths lending credence to how the chart relates to Jesus’ second coming.
People want to know the future and this chart shows when Jesus is coming back again. The chart explains how two prophecies must be interpreted in thousands of years, not days, as in Peter’s revelation in 2 Peter 3:8. The fact is that Jesus birth around year zero and His death around 33 A.D. are well documented and accepted. God abandoned the nation of Israel when they crucified their Messiah even though their city was not destroyed until 70 A.D. The two days being 2000 years in the Hosea 6:2 prophecy means Israel will be restored again approximately around 2033 A.D. This would relate to the event when Jesus returns visibly to the Mount of Olives. This is not a prediction but a basic explanation of the prophecy.
Another truth to review is Luke 13:32. The important aspect about this prophecy of Jesus working two days and reaching His goal on the third day is that Jesus could not be talking about Himself in physical days. So, what does this mean? He is talking about preparing the rest of His body. Paul calls this a great mystery in Ephesians chapter 5:32. He is the head of the body, His church (Colossians 1:18). So, this revelation in Luke reveals that the glorified Jesus will work spiritually in His church for 2000 years to prepare and receive a bride for Himself when He comes again. That means on the third day or the third 1000-year period (the Millennium) His matured bride will be joined to His Body and taken to be where He is. Therefore, His bride, the church will be reigning with Him where He is in a glorified state during the Millennium. The time for this is almost upon us!
Interpreting the above scriptures according to Peter’s concept of one day is like a thousand years supports Jesus’ parable of the fig tree about Israel in Matthew 24:32-34 “Learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender, and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; even so you, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near (Jesus’ coming), right at the door. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.”
People sense the time is close for Jesus to return and they want to know when. This chart works well. Try just using the main points from days four through six focusing on Hosea 6:2 and Luke 13:32. You will be a very effective witness. Bless you as you walk in light and share it with others in the love of God. Please, refer people who want to study this in more detail to livingthespiritfilledlife.com.
— Roger and Pam Anderson
FIRST AND SECOND COMING OF JESUS CHRIST SHOWN IN THE DAYS OF CREATION
(Short Version)
Jesus’ first coming and second coming are outlined on the pictured chart timeline. It is scripturally true that no man knows the day or the hour of Jesus second coming. However, I Thessalonians 5:4-5 tells us we are not to be in darkness that the Day of the Lord will overtake us like a thief, for we are sons of light. So, we won’t know the day, but we will be able to discern the season. All Christians want to know when the second coming will happen. That means this study should be of great interest to you.
This truth of 7,000 years for seven days is easy to remember if you just use the scriptures in red from the chart. By the time you are done with this study you should be prepared to share when Jesus is coming back even though you don’t have this chart or your Bible with you. Ask and see how many want to know.
It is helpful to note how the first six days divide into two patterns. In the first three days God creates light, water, and land with no living creatures. In the second three days He works with light, water, and land, with living creatures. The second set represents the spiritual life God intended in Jesus from the fourth thousand-year period and after. Peter knew about the Biblical principle of “first the physical, then the spiritual. An early illustration is the first Adam’s failing and Jesus called “the last Adam” succeeding.
Let’s see how the physical days relate to Jesus’ return in the corresponding thousand-year periods:
Day One – GOD DIVIDES LIGHT FROM DARK – GOD SEPARATES THE LINEAGE OF SETH FROM CAIN
Genesis 1:3-5. 3 God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 And God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, day one.”
In Genesis chapters 4-6 Cain’s seed representing “darkness” got separated from Seth’s seed representing “light” because Seth’s seed were the ones calling on God. This happened in the first thousand years, so you see the spiritual parallel between “light and dark” between the first day and the first thousand years.
This also applies to Adam. God said he would die the day he ate the forbidden fruit, but he didn’t (Gen. 2:17). He died at age 930 (Gen.5:5). For the Bible to be true, Peter’s “day as a thousand year rule” has to apply to Adam. Jesus, called the “last Adam” is going to come on the 4th day as we will see. So, the same rule is going to have to apply to Him as well. For deceiving Eve, God told Satan the seed from a woman would bruise his head (Genesis 3:15). Eve undoubtedly thought that was her firstborn, Cain. For four thousand years that was the desire of women! Finally, Elizabeth tells Mary, it is your womb that is blessed with the Messiah; but he had to die a sinless death on a tree to defeat the enemy to set us free.
DAY FOUR – GOD SETS LIGHTS IN HEAVEN – JESUS IS THE LIGHT OF GOD
14Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years; 15And let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth,” and it was so. 16And God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also. 17And God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good. 19And there was evening and there was morning, day four. Genesis 1:14-19
Jesus symbolically represents the SUN in Malachi 4:2. Malachi prophesied “For you who fear My name the SUN of righteousness will rise with healing in his wings.” Jesus is the Savior and the light of the world (I John 1:7). In Matthew 1:20-21 we read, 20An angel appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. That which has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a Son; and His name shall be Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Peter, talking about light again in 2 Peter 1:17-19, says, 17 “When He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, ‘This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased.’ 18 And we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. 19 And so we have the prophetic word made sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the morning star (singular) arises in your hearts.”
Really, from day one God had been dividing light from darkness in men, but it was in the fourth thousand-year period when God starts shining through His only begotten son, Jesus. 2 Corinthians 5:19: “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and has given unto us the word of reconciliation.” This verse tells us that God is using Christ in heaven to lead the saints to be righteous and to promote righteousness in the earth.
No one really knows what year Jesus was born or crucified. So, on the chart we show Jesus at year zero. He must have been very significant to start counting time over again from His life on earth. If you count the chronology of men from the Bible, Jesus first coming was very close to 4,000 years from Adam. So, if Peter’s principle remains true for Christ’s first coming, we can be sure His second coming will as well.
DAY FIVE – LIFE CREATED IN WATER AND AIR – SPIRITUAL LIFE OFFERED TO ALL THROUGH CHRIST
20Then God said, “Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens.” 21And God created the great sea monsters, and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; And God saw that it was good. 22And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23And there was evening and there was morning, day five. Genesis 1:20-23
In days one, two, and three we have seen how God used light, water, and land without life to represent people and nations (see chart). In days four, five, and six He again works with light, water, and land, only this time it includes living creatures. There was life in the earth in the first four thousand years, but days four through six represent the “born again” spiritual life that comes through Christ after He overcame the devil, died, rose again, and ascended to be glorified by God as our High Priest and King in heaven. If you want to see how animals are like men, read Day 5 in the longer study above. This is the short version to show you the timing for the first and second coming of Christ.
Physical days five and six correspond with God exalting Jesus, the Light of the world, to create new life in believers in the church age for 2000 years. We want to show you how prophecy ties days five and six together to represent 2000 years of human history. Israel as a nation was soon cut off because they crucified and rejected their Messiah. However, God had promised to pour His Spirit out through the glorified Jesus in Acts 2:33. So the gospel went out to all nations through His disciples whether Jews or Gentiles. Jesus’ believers became “the church,” which has spread the good news for the last 2000 years which is a prophetic reality.
Two thousand years from Jesus’ death turns out to be very important prophetically. There are two prophecies that show Peter’s principle to prove to us when Jesus is coming back. They are also listed on the chart in the fifth thousand-year period. One prophecy is about Israel and the other is about Jesus talking about the future. Let me start with the Old Testament prophecy that points to the nation of Israel being cut off but also to be restored after two days which turns out to be 2000 years.
Hos 5:14,15; 6:1-2 14“For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, And like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear to pieces and go away, I will carry away, and there will be none to deliver. 15I will go away and return to My place until they acknowledge their guilt and seek My face; In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me. 6:1Come, let us return to the Lord. For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us. 2“He will revive us after two days; He will raise us up on the third day that we may live before Him.”
Israel was obviously not restored in two days. This shows us that Peter’s revelation is true and must be fulfilled in 2,000 years for his principle to be true.
The second prophecy is given by Jesus Himself. When the people told Him that Herod was looking to kill him, “He said to them ‘Go and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I am perfected (Luke 13:32).’” Jesus made this statement long before His crucifixion. Therefore, it is not referring to His physical death, burial, and resurrection. It is a prophetic picture about three thousands years, not about days. Jesus knew He will soon die, and Israel will be cut off. He knew He would minister through the church for 2000 years. He knows both He and His bride will be restoring Israel in the third day, the last 1000 year period during the Millennium. Then He delivers the kingdom up to His Father to be all in all and the New Heaven and Earth are formed for eternity.
From these two prophecies in Hosea and Luke we learn that 2,000 years from Christ’s crucifixion at approximately 33 A.D. puts us at 2033 for His feet to come down on the Mount of Olives to stop the battle of Armageddon and to graft in Israel again (Romans 11). If you believe the church is raptured in a pre or mid tribulation, you need to adjust backward from 2033 according to what you believe.
The purpose of this revelation from the days of creation is to wake up Christians. They must know when Jesus is coming and they must be ready. This is NOT a prediction of the exact year because there is no precise starting point. Remember, Israel missed their Messiah the first time. While riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, he told them it was because they did not understand the book of Daniel. Christians are supposed to be children of light so that day does not overtake them like a thief. That is why Peter is telling the church in 2 Peter 3:8 not to be ignorant of this one thing. A day really is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day to God. Jesus is coming back for His Bride! Will YOU be ready?
Every Christian should be discerning how lawlessness is escalating in the world now. Jesus tells us, “When the devil comes in like a flood, He will raise up a standard against him (Romans 16:20). I believe that standard will be the Bride Jesus is coming for. She is spotless and without a wrinkle and she is doing the works of God (Revelation 19:7-8). This is what the Spirit is saying to the churches (Rev. 2:26-29).
Blessings. See you on the other side!
— Roger and Pam Anderson