"The Lord God
said, “Since man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil, he must not
reach out, take from the tree of life, eat, and live forever.” So
the Lord God sent him away from the garden of Eden to work the
ground from which he was taken. He drove man out and stationed the cherubim
and the flaming, whirling sword east of the garden of Eden to guard the way to
the tree of life." Genesis 3:22-24
Does the
Bible hint that the total time of mankind here on Earth will be a total of 7000
years? I believe it does, and that the
Bible also provides a foreshadowing, or type, of the total timeline of mankind
on this fallen Earth.
As a
young Earth creationist who believes in the literal interpretation of the
Genesis account of creation, I hold firmly to my belief in a 6 day creation
with the 7th day being a day of rest and completion, a Sabbath. This 7 day pattern was repeated, 6 days of
activity and observance with a 7th day of rest or completion, throughout the
Old and New Testaments. It is also
expressed at times in years instead of days, but the pattern remains the
same.
This
shadow or type I believe sets the a pattern:
the 6 days of creation equaling 6000 years of mankind’s time on Earth,
starting after the fall of Adam and Eve and their expulsion from the
Garden. The 7th day of creation, the
Sabbath Day, a day of completion and rest, is then the last 1000 years of
mankind’s time. This is referred to in
the Book of Revelation as the Millennial Kingdom of God here on Earth.
The book
of Revelation provides a confirmation that the last 1000 years of time here on
Earth will be a time of rest and completion, a Sabbath period of peace during
the Millennial reign of Christ here on Earth:
“Then I
saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the abyss and a great
chain in his hand. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the Devil
and Satan, and bound him for 1,000 years.
He threw him into the abyss, closed it, and put a seal on it so that he would
no longer deceive the nations until the 1,000
years were completed.” Rev. 20:1-3
The
creation account in Genesis as confirmed in Exodus sets the pattern:
“It will
be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the Lord made
the heavens and the earth, and on the
seventh day he rested and was
refreshed.” Ex. 31:17
God’s
institution of the Sabbath year of rest for the land follows the pattern:
“Speak to
the Israelites and tell them: When you enter the land I am giving you, the land
will observe a Sabbath to the Lord. You may sow your field for six years, and you may prune your
vineyard and gather its produce for six
years. But there will be a
Sabbath of complete rest for the land in the seventh year, a Sabbath to the
Lord: you are not to sow your field or prune your vineyard.” Lev. 21:2-4
As does
the laws regarding the redemption of indentured slaves:
“When you
buy a Hebrew slave, he is to serve for six
years; then in the seventh he is to leave as a free man
without paying anything.” Ex. 21:2
When God
called Moses to the mountain to give him the Commandments, the Law, and the
instructions for the Tabernacle and sacrifices, the pattern was repeated:
“When
Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord settled on Mount
Sinai. For six days the cloud
covered the mountain, and on the seventh
day the Lord called to Moses from within the cloud.” Ex. 24:15-16
There are
7 Feasts of the Lord listed in Leviticus 23 by Moses. Interestingly, the last of the 7 is the Feast
of Tabernacles. This Feast commemorates
God dwelling (tabernacle) with the Children of Israel while wandering in the
wilderness for 40 years. Likewise,
during the 7th 1000 year period known as the Millennial Kingdom, God will once
again dwell with mankind here on Earth.
The pattern is also seen in the Feast of Unleavened Bread:
“For six days eat unleavened bread and on the seventh day hold an assembly to the
Lord your God and do no work.”
Deuteronomy 16:8
When the
Israelites began to conquer the Promised Land, their first encounter was at
Jericho where God once again repeated the pattern:
“Then the
Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with
its king and it’s fighting men. March around the city once with all the
armed men. Do this for six days. Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front
of the ark. On the seventh day,
march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the
whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight
in.”” Joshua 6:2-5
Notice in
this passage the shadowing of “the army” of the Lord after 6 days of marching
(6000 years), hearing the long blast of the trumpet(s) and then “go up,
everyone straight in” (rapture) to the “promised land” (Heaven).
And even
in the account of Jesus at the Mount of Transfiguration in the New Testament
gospels, the writer's point out that it was after 6 days:
“After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and
John and led them up on a high mountain by themselves to be alone. He was transformed in front of them...” Mark
9:2
This
account is important in that it contains shadows of several events that will
occur at the end time before the coming of God’s Kingdom. After “six days” (6000 years) at the start of
the 7th day (Tribulation/Millennial Kingdom) we have Peter, James, and John
going UP the mountain with Jesus. This
is a shadow of the rapture, where believers go up to be with Jesus. Jesus is transfigured or transformed in front
of them, His clothes becoming radiant and white. This mirrors the white robes that the Saints
will wear in the Kingdom, and the white robe Jesus wears Himself, but His
appearing as if dipped in blood. At the
same time as the disciples are going up, Moses and Elijah are coming down to
earth. This is a shadow of the Tribulation,
the 7 years immediately following the rapture and just prior to the 1000 year Millennial
reign of Christ here on Earth. During
the Tribulation, 2 witnesses (known as the Lampstands) are sent to earth to be
God’s prophets and witnesses on this Earth. I believe that these 2 witnesses will be Moses and
Elijah.
The Word
of God provides patterns, shadows, and types throughout its pages of things
which are coming. They are prophetical
in a sense as they provide a glimpse at what we are to watch for. I believe that the occurrences of “6 and 1”,
whether days or years, provides a shadow of what mankind can expect as far as
our time in this fallen world…6000 years of a fallen kingdom, a kingdom of man,
and then 1000 years of a Sabbath rest in the Kingdom of God here on Earth.
After
those 7000 total years, what then you ask?
"Then I saw “a new heaven
and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and
there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully
dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne
saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell
with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and
be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There
will be no more Death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old
order of things has passed away.”
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am
making everything new! ”Then he said,
“Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” He said to me: “It is
done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the
thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of
life. Those who are victorious will inherit all
this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. But the
cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those
who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to
the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” Rev. 21:1-8
