Six Days of Creation

[Norm]

Today, I want to look at Genesis One to examine the purpose and some of the intent found

within the Six Days and culminating with the Seventh Day Sabbath Rest. We want to view and

flesh out what John Walton has called an Ancient Near East Temple creation inauguration. We

also want to look at the six individual Days of creation to determine what correlation they may

have to the unfolding of God’s Temple Creation. I will state up front that my premise is that

Genesis One can be called a Temple Creation account but it is also a Covenant Creation account

establishing God’s people and not a material universe or physical Earth account. I believe that

Genesis lays out the entirety of the first heaven and earth that we find under consideration at the

end of the Bible in Revelation 21. The first heavens and earth that John sees passing away is

found in the entire scope of Genesis 1, and therefore is an exalted story of God’s people from

beginning to consummation. We see that indeed, this is the ending theme found at the conclusion

of the six Days of Creation when the author brings us to this finale.

Gen 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.

If this was a Temple creation process, then indeed, it makes all the sense in the world to declare

that God’s works of creating his people (the host) were ready along with Him for the eternal

Sabbath Rest. This mimics the conclusion found in Hebrew 4 in which the Sabbath Rest is about

to be obtained by the people.

Heb 4:4 For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: "And God rested

on the seventh day from all his works."

Heb 4:10 for he who did enter into his rest, he also rested from his works, as God from

His own.

We will attempt to look at what does each Day means and relates to. I believe that what it relates

to is found in scriptures extensively because it is about the establishment of God’s people, and if

this is true, then we should find these six Days have correlating periods of time matching

throughout the OT story.

This brings me to the introduction of Augustine’s ideas about the Six Days and what he believed

they represented. I’m going to read an excerpt from one of Augustine’s writings detailing his

thoughts on Genesis One’s Days. Augustine was a significant thinker for his age. He was still

close enough to some of the earliest Hebrew ideas giving the impression that there were

remnants of them still about in his time. However, we know Augustine was a futurist, and so the

understanding of the consummated Parousia eluded him, as well as many others for centuries to

come. Here is what he has to say:

6. … In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth. Genesis 1:1 Thence down to the time in

which we are now living ARE SIX AGES, this being THE SIXTH, as you have often heard and know.

The FIRST AGE is reckoned from Adam to Noah;

THE SECOND, from Noah to Abraham;

THE THIRD, from Abraham to David;

THE FOURTH, from David to the carrying away into Babylon;

THE FIFTH, from the carrying away into Babylon to John the Baptist;

THE SIXTH, from John the Baptist to the end of the world.

Folks, what I have just read to you is simply this. Augustine was presenting the Days of Genesis

as prophetic ages detailing the Biblical story of the Beginning of Israel with Adam until Christ,

the Messiah, arrived. What we Preterist may find amusing is that just like our current futurist

brethren, Augustine thought he was still in the sixth Day millennium period waiting for its

consummating event. However, I digress, because the point of referencing Augustine is to

demonstrate this idea that a figurative application of the Days of Genesis still existed three

centuries after Christ. Now, the question is where did he appropriate these ideas from? I would

suggest these came from the first Christian writings and from the second Temple Judaism period

writings pointing toward Christ, the Messiah. Enoch, Jubilees and the Barnabas Epistle would

be the most prominent of written works.

Read the full article hereSix%20Days%20of%20Creation[1].pdf

[Norm]

I just posted my 2010 conference article for any who may be interested. There is the opening page and at the bottom there is a link to the full article in pdf format.

[Tami]

Hey Norm. Thank you for posting this here.

Just a quick comment from a critique I saw on the other forum. The point was raised that the temple was not the focus of the Sabbath, but instead, the rest was Christ Himself. As if there was a dichotomy between the two.

Well, exactly, the rest is Christ. But Chist IS the temple!

What am I missing here, am I over-simplifying?

[Norm]

Tami,

I really was not very clear in my presentation but I did reference these verses in which we see that the Gentiles would come and help build the Temple along with the faithful Jews. Of course the Temple was not a physical building but resides within us so building it up was a spiritual endeavor and not the physical one of days past.

Zec 6:12-15 And say to him, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, "Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD. (13) It is he who shall build the temple of the LORD and shall bear royal honor, and shall sit and rule on his throne. And there shall be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both."' … (15) "And those who are far off shall come and help to build the temple of the LORD. And you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. And this shall come to pass, if you will diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God."

In the Gospel of John, Christ states that His Fathers house is the place of abode in which Christ is there and we all live there together.

Joh 14:2-3 ESV In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? (3) And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

23 ESV Jesus answered him, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and MAKE OUR HOME WITH HIM.

There are other verses also that appear to emphasize that we are indeed a Temple constructed together with Christ and God.

Eph 2:19-22 ESV So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, (20) built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, (21) in whom the WHOLE STRUCTURE, BEING JOINED TOGETHER, GROWS INTO A HOLY TEMPLE IN THE LORD. (22) In him you also ARE BEING BUILT TOGETHER INTO A DWELLING PLACE FOR GOD by the Spirit.

Rev 3:11-12 ESV I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. (12) The one who conquers, I WILL MAKE HIM A PILLAR IN THE TEMPLE OF MY GOD. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.

Rev 21:22 ESV And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.

[Tami]

Yes!

You know, this goes hand in hand with the other discussions here, doesn't it?

Basically, your "temple creation" motif for Genesis creation has been challenged on the basis of verses which identify the "Lamb" or Christ, as the temple. But as we have shown, WE are also the temple. And specifically to the language of Genesis creation, the "heavens" are the tabernacle for the "Sun." (Psalm 19)

The temple is the dwelling place of God. And he has made *us* into that dwelling place.

And to the point of your passage above, John 14, we are the "many mansions" (monet--dwelling places) in the Father's house.

So again...I don't see the basis of the criticism that the creation of the "heavens and the earth" can't be a temple dedication/creation, when Scripture is clear that in Christ, as members of His body, His "flesh and bones," we are His habitation. We are His rest.

Again, I am not seeing the basis for the conflict people are suggesting.

[Norm]

I thought Micah Matin had an interesting observation that I wanted to share with everyone so here is his thoughts and a response from me.

Norm,

Thanks for the work you are doing within the Covenant Creation model. Your presentation really helped clear up a lot of things for me.

I was cleaning windows today and listening to Don Preston's Hosea series and a thought came across my mind that I thought I would share with you. I don't know if there is anything to it but I thought I would throw it out there in case you saw something in it also.

Hosea 6:2 "After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him."

Don (correctly I think) points to the correlation of this verse to Paul's teaching in 1 Cor. and uses it for his idea of a Corporate Resurrection in 1 Cor. I believe he is right in that connection. What I find interesting is that, according to my calculation (and my Bible history is not the greatest so I could be wrong) and Augustine's idea of 6 ages, this is exactly the timing of this prophecy. They would be struck down for two days (ages) and then Resurrection would be attained.

5th age = Carrying off to Babylon
6th age = John the Baptist to the time of the "end"

Two days.

Third day = Sabbath rest / New Heavens and Earth / Resurrection

I thought it fit nicely but I am definitely not the expert, nor as nearly as well studied in this area as you but I thought I would bring that to your attention.

Blessings,
Micah Martin
Micah,

My first thought was that it was prophecy about Christ being raised on the third day but now that you bring it to my attention I think you are very possibly correct. Even Christ being raised on the third day symbolizes the death Israel suffered for two ages (days) and being raised on the third. Very good Micah

Just another thought. I think this all ties in with the story of Jonah spending three days in the belly of the great sea monster. That Hebrew word used there is the same one found in the 5th Day of Gen 1 describing the Sea Monster. Christ also says that only the Sign of Jonah will be given and so raising the Jews out of the belly of the Gentile Nations corresponds to that time they were cast into the Sea as was Jonah as a typology of their fate and resurrection.

[Norm]

Following up on what Micah introduced I would like to point out what James Jordan says about the former and latter Days as discussed in the OT. This following excerpt is from his Daniel commentary “The Handwriting on the Wall” starting on page 19.

The book of Daniel stands at the very beginning of the Latter Days. To understand its position in history, and the meaning of its prophecies, we have to look back at the God-orchestrated structure
of history. In Jeremiah 16:14–15, God sets out a clear demarcation in history:

Therefore, days are coming, declares Yahweh, when it will no longer be said, “As Yahweh lives, who brought up the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt,” but, “As Yahweh lives, who brought up the
sons of Israel from the land of the north and from all the countries where He had banished them.”

This statement is repeated almost verbatim in Jeremiah 23:7–8. These two periods can be called the Former Days and the Latter Days.

The expression “latter days” or “last days” (the two are the same in Hebrew) is probably familiar to the reader. Such expressions as “former things,” “former days,” “latter days,” “end of days,” and the like do not always refer to the same period of time. Depending on when a particular writer is writing, the former things are the things that came before his time and the latter things are those that will come after his time.

When we come to the prophets, a more technical meaning begins to emerge. For instance, in Isaiah 48:3, God says, “I declared the former things long ago and they went forth from My mouth, and I proclaimed them. Suddenly I acted, and they came to pass.” This
statement comes as part of a prophetic message to the exiles in Babylon, in the future of Isaiah’s own time. While these words might be taken in a general sense, it seems rather clear from the context that the message that went forth from God’s mouth in the former times was the Law given at Sinai, which predicted the exile (Leviticus 26, and compare Deuteronomy 28). The “former things” that were declared and proclaimed initiated a block of history, at which point
the course of that history was prophesied. Now, with the prophets, there emerges a new block of history, and the course of that history is also prophesied, especially in Isaiah, Daniel, and the second half of Zechariah. That second block of history carries down to the work of Jesus Christ and to the destruction of Jerusalem in ad 70.

These two periods are the former days and the latter days of Israel, not of the entire world. For that reason, as we shall see, Daniel’s prophecies of the latter days concern the future history of Israel down to ad 70, and do not directly deal with the gospel era (except as general principles). The same is true of Zechariah 9–14. Arguably, every instance of “last days” and “last hour” in the New Testament also refers to the end of Israel’s history down to ad 70.

[Doug Wilkinson]

I'm working through Norm's PDF and a couple of thoughts come to mind.  If the first man is defined as the first man who worshiped God, then that would mean that those who don't worship God are not considered "man" (prior to this the occupants of the earth are described metaphorically or otherwise as animals).  How, then, do we define things such as murder?

[JL Vaughn]

Doug,

 

Hebrew has two words that are commonly translated man.  Ish and Adam.  I highly recommend you use the Blue Letter Bible or some other means, find every incidence where Adam is translated man or mankind, and write Adam.

 

You'll find that Adam and the sons of Adam are different from ish.  For example, both ish and the sons of Adam are liars, but God only expects the sons of Adam to repent.  That is, only the sons of Adam have a relationship (fellowship, covenant) with God.

 

Only Adam and the sons of Adam were given law law from God.  God promised the sons of Adam that if they did the law, that the ish would take notice and praise the sons of Adam for their God/law/righteousness.  (Deut. 4, see also Deut. 32:1, 8, 18)

 

Blessings,

 

Jeff

[Norm]

Doug,

I think you are taking the animal metaphor further than intended. Jesus died on the cross for both the clean animals [sheep and oxen] and the unclean animals [wild animals]. Peters vison clarifies that both groups are considered clean now so the past usage in the OT is a means of identifying covenant people and non covenant people. He healed the Cananite woman whom He classified as dogs.

[Doug Wilkinson]

I hear what you're saying.  But, that would mean that the New Covenant now applies to people that the Old Covenant didn't apply to.  That means that the Parousia is more than the switching of the terms of the Old Covenant to the New, but the extension of the covenant to people previously uncovered.  And, if this now includes all of humanity, and "the death" is covenant separation which is destroyed in the past, then how can you avoid universalism?