The creation week.

In elementary school, we started writing projects with an opening statement. It was meant to summarize what we were about to unpack.

“Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭46‬:‭9‬-‭10‬ ‭ESV‬‬ (emphasis mine)

According to God Himself, it is at this point – the beginning – that He declares the end. Might it be, that the days and the order of creation are a summary statement for the whole of human history?

I invite you to consider with me the following:

“But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”
‭‭2 Peter‬ ‭3‬:‭8‬ ‭ESV‬‬

According to a strict biblical chronology, (meaning, if you start by adding up the years of the lives of the people in the Bible, from Adam on), the earth is less than 7000 years old. It just is. Go visit Answers In Genesis if you want science on that. In fact, based on the fascinating Essene Calender discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran, we are, in spring of 2025, about to begin year 5950. For more on that, visit: http://dsscalendar.org

So if we started from the creation…

Year 1 – 1000, day 1

Year 1001 – 2000, day 2

Year 2001 – 3000, day 3

Year 3001 – 4000, day 4

Year 4001 – 5000, day 5

Year 5001 – 6000, day 6 (you are here)

Year 6001 – 7000, day 7

Let me give you a very nutshell review of 6000 years of human history compared with the days of creation.

Day 1 – light & darkness, basically the lifetime of Adam, Genesis 1-5, humanity split into 2 groups: those who lived in the light of God’s truth like Abel, Seth, and Enoch; and those who embraced darkness like Cain and Lamech.

Day 2 – the space that divides the waters, during this 2nd space of 1000 years (roughly Gen. 6-11) the greatest divisions of mankind took place: the flood, which divided the pre-flood world from the rest of history and the Tower of Babel which divided by language.

Day 3 – waters gathered, dry land appears, plants and trees with seed brought forth. The 3rd millennium started in the aftermath of the sea of humanity being gathered into their people groups and the promise of a land and seed to an old man (dry land) named Abram. That promise was fulfilled later in the same millennium when the waters were once again “gathered together” and God’s people exit Egypt on dry ground and settle into the promised land as the promised seed of Abraham.

Day 4 – sun, moon and stars for signs, seasons, days, & years to give light on earth, to rule and divide light from dark. Millennium 4 began roughly around the establishment of the Kingdom of Israel, (King Saul) and closed with the rising of the “Sun of Righteousness” (the Lord Jesus) “with healing in His wings,” Malachi 4:2. Along the way there were prophets who were living signs and whose preaching of God’s word gave light to the earth until the true “day star arises” in the hearts of God’s people, see 2 Peter 1:19.

This is the middle of the week and the fulcrum of history. Jesus.

Day 5 – marine life and birds, the Church begins with fishers of men who use the sign of the ICTHUS (fish) as a Greek acronym to preach the Gospel: Jesus Christ God’s Son Our Savior. The dove of the Holy Spirit arrives at Pentecost. The church is “fruitful and multiplies.” Day 5 introduces higher life forms. Plants are alive, but not in the way animals are. So the Gospel brings a higher life form to earth for the first time- born again saints.

Day 6 – (buckle up)…

The earth “brings forth” land animals and “creeping things” and God makes man and woman in His own image & likeness. God blesses them and gives them dominion over creation (but not each other).

Then we go to Genesis 2 for the unabridged version. God plants a garden, puts the (solitary) man in it, causes plants to grow as the man watches (so he knows how they got there), puts the 2 special trees in the middle (Tree of Life, Tree of the Knowledge of Good & Evil), gives the man a gardening/security guard job complete with rules, brings animals to the man so he can name them, God puts him “asleep” (a euphemism for death) and takes from his side the genetic material from which He makes a woman who is like him, wakes up (resurrects) the man and presents the bride to him. (Hopefully you catch all the parallels to the death/resurrection of Jesus, the 2nd Adam but that’s a post for another day.)

That’s a lot, (and I have a theory that there’s more and I’ll get to it,) but hang with me.

The 6th millennium began roughly around 1075 shortly before the first Crusade. And we are nearly at its end in the 21st century. Look at the past thousand years. Humanity was certainly “beastly.” The technology and architectural knowledge of the ancient Greeks and Romans had been lost. But along came a little thing called the Renaissance. The idea set forth by the Ancient Greek philosopher Protagoras, that, “Man is the measure of all things” was finally embraced (and even drawn by DiVinci) and “Man” as we know him today was created. During this 6th day man has been busy in the garden. He discovered the sciences- plant and animal genetics, (they were all renamed in what we now call “taxonomy”), and then woman arrived. Women’s rights have been the thing for about a century now. Women in space. Women anywhere she wants to be exercising dominion over creation just like the man. We are at the close of the day. Incidentally, that’s the same time God showed up.

To be continued… in the blog post on Genesis 3-4.