This is the fourth installment of the "Millennial-Day Theory" series entitled "The Millennial-Day Theory (part 4): The Time of the Messiah". This one will cover days 5 & 6 of God's Creation and how they correspond to the 5th and 6th millenniums. Youwon't see a lot of dialogue from me on this part of this series. However, you will be given access to a wealth of knowledge that is the product of the research of people far more intelligent than I am with a few of my comments thrown in here and there.
Below is a chart of the time period that we will be discussing. This time period covers the 5th and 6th millennia of history (0000 AD - 2000 AD) and as it also corresponds with days 5 and 6 of Creation. Click here for a more detailed view.
I must state here that I did not make this chart. All of the notes concerning the Catholic church and the Pope are not my notes. I am not saying that these notes about the Catholic church and the Pope are true or false assumptions. I found this chart useful because it plots occurrences listed in the Bible accurately.
In case you missed the parts one through three of this series, then you probably feel totally lost at this point. Feel free to get up to speed by reading "The Millennial-Day Theory (part 1): What Time Is It?", "The Millennial-Day Theory (part 2): Confusion & Void" and "The Millennial-Day Theory (part 3): Under the Law"...go ahead, we'll wait. :)
If you don't have time to read all of that, then let me give you a short synopsis:
Basically, the idea behind the "Millennial-Day Theory" got its start from Psalm 90:4 and 2nd Peter 3:8 and supported by several other bible passages. In short, both verses state that, from God's perspective, 1 day to Him is like 1,000 days to us. If you map out the course of history on a timeline based on events in the Bible (Yes, it's true. Click here for a short summary by David V. Bassett), then you come to the conclusion that the Earth is only about 6,000 years old. Take into account that our news headlines today are strikingly similar to the biblical prophecies concerning the end times and that, according to the book of Revelations, we still have the 1,000 year of Christ on our to-do list, then it stands to reason that this world only has approximately 7,000 years in total for its life (6,000 + 1,000 = 7,000...get it?).
Let's proceed...
Day 5
As we all know, the 5th millennia begins with the birth of our Lord Jesus. He is the Christ--the Messiah! The 5th millennia also brings the birth of the Church and the Great Commission! I am overwhelmed with curiosity to see how day 5 of Creation relates to the 5th millennia.
"Then God said, 'Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.' So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to 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.' So the evening and the morning were the fifth day." (Genesis 1:20-23)
There are so many ways we can look at this. The words "Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures" reminds me of baptism and the "living waters" reminds me of salvation, the Holy Ghost, and the words of Jesus:
"Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life." (John 4:13-14)
As early as the second century Titus Flavius Clemens (St. Clement of Alexandria), suggested that Christians identify themselves with a seal engraved with a fish or dove (Paedagogus, III, xi.)
Birds and fish both swim; one in the water and the other in the air. Also...
...there are fish that swim and fly...
...and there are birds that are just at home in the air as they are in the water...
The fish also signifies baptism. Fish swim in deep water yet do not drown; indeed, they need to be immersed in water in order to survive. When Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, He came up from the water and it was then that the Holy Spirit lit on Him in the form of a dove:
"When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.'" (Matthew 3:16-17)
Jesus also told His disciples "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men." (Mark 1:17). The words "bring forth abundantly," seem to be a picture of the Great Commission of Jesus to His disciples and similarly the phrase, "be fruitful and multiply" is a prophetic picture of our responsibility as Christian to take the message of the Gospel to every creature.
Clemens was a Greek theologian and noted that letters of the Greek word for fish, ΙΧΘΥΣ (pronounced Ichthys), made the following neat little acrostic:
Surely, you have seen this little symbol before...
At this time, the cross was not used as a Christian symbol, so the fish gave them something simple and easily recognizable, plus a motto that described their Jesus as Christ, God's Son, and Savior.
Back in the earliest days of the Church, Christians needed no reminder of how Jesus died; they saw it in its most hideous form all too frequently. But the symbol of the cross was too great to ignore. The shape and form of the cross made no difference to them, as shown by the Chi Rho, of which the Chi (X) formed the cross seen by Constantine in the sky. Also within the tail of the fish was seen embedded the Chi (X), the initial monogram of "Christ", as well as the Sign of the Cross.
It is understood that after Christ's crucifixion when Christians were persecuted, the fish symbol was used as an identifying symbol that fellow Christians would recognise, but non-Christians would not. Therefore Christians could connect with each other through this secret code without revealing themselves to the oppressors.
What is the spiritual significance assoicated with the number 5?
E.W. Bullinger writes in his work "Number In Scripture"
Five is four plus one (4+1). [...] Now we have a further revelation of a People called out from mankind, redeemed and saved, to walk with God from earth to heaven. Hence, Redemption follows creation. Inasmuch as in consequence of the fall of man creation came under the curse and was "made subject to vanity," therefore man and creation must be redeemed. Thus we have:
- Father
- Son
- Spirit
- Creation
- Redemption
These are the five great mysteries, and five is therefore the number of GRACE.[...]If four is the number of the world, then it represents man's weakness, and helplessness, and vanity, as we have seen.But four plus one (4+1=5) is significant of Divine strength added to and made perfect in that weakness; of omnipotence combined with the impotence of earth; of Divine favour uninfluenced and invincible.Grace means favour. But what kind of favour? for favour is of many kinds. Favour shown to the miserable we call mercy; favour shown to the poor we call pity; favour shown to the suffering we call compassion; favour shown to the obstinate we call patience: but favour shown to the unworthy we call GRACE! This is favour indeed; favour which is truly Divine in its source and in its character. Light is thrown upon it in Romans 3:24, "being justified freely by His grace." The word here translated "freely" occurs again in John 15:25, and is translated "without a cause" ("they hated me without a cause"). Was there any real cause why they hated the Lord Jesus? No! Nor is there any cause in us why God should ever justify us. So we might read Romans 3:24 thus: "Being justified without a cause by His grace." Yes, this is grace indeed,—favour to the unworthy.It was so with Abram. There was no cause in him why God should have called him and chosen him! There was no cause why God should have made an unconditional covenant with him and his seed for ever. Therefore the number five shall be stamped upon this covenant by causing it to be made with five sacrifices—a heifer, a goat, a ram, a dove, and a pigeon (Gen 15:9). See pp. 54, 113.It is remarkable, also, that afterwards, when God changed Abram's name to Abraham (Gen 17:5), the change was made very simply, but very significantly (for there is no chance with God), by inserting in the middle of it the fifth letter of the alphabet, h (Hey), the symbol of the number five, and Mrb), Abram, became Mhrb) AbraHam (Gen 17:5). All this was of grace, and it is stamped with this significance. It is worthy of note that this change was made at a particular moment. It was when Abraham was called to "walk before" God in a very special manner. He was to look for the promised "seed" from no earthly source, and thus he was to "walk by faith and not by sight." It was at this moment that God revealed Himself for the first time by His name of EL SHADDAI, i.e. the all bountiful One! able to supply all Abraham's need; able to meet all his necessities; able to do for him all that he required. How gracious! How suitable! How perfect! It is the same in 2 Corinthians 6:17, 18, when we are called, as Abraham was, to "come out," to "be separate," and walk by faith with God. He reveals himself (for the first time in the New Testament) by the same wonderful name, "Ye shall be My sons and daughters, saith the Lord ALMIGHTY"!—able to support and to sustain you; able to supply all your need. This is grace.
Overwhelmingly, Day 5 screams similarity to the 5th millennium! The mind is amazed at all of the symbolism and reference to Jesus our Lord, His Church, baptism, and salvation. In one word, Day 5 and the 5th millennium are all about one thing: GRACE!
Please also watch the video of Chuck Missler's seminar on Day 6 of Creation entitled "The Book of Genesis: Session 6 Day 5". Fascinating material.
Before we get to Day 6...
Just as in the 5 prior days of Creation, I have no doubt that Day 6 will also give a summary of the 6th millennium from creation. This article (and all others included in this "Millennial-Day Theory" series) are written in the 6th millennium since Creation. In other words, Day 6 will give a summary of the current millennia that we are in. You may be asking yourself, "but this is 2010, right?" Yes, it is...by the Gregorian calendar that is in common use today, but God has His own calendar which is perfect in accuracy. Let me try to explain.
You may not be aware of the question amongst some scholars concerning when the actual 1st day of Creation started. Some believe it was 4004 BC, some 4010 BC, and some have other years in mind. So, that begs the question: Are we currently in the 6th millennium? I would have to say that we are indeed still in the 6th millennium because the 1,000 year reign of Christ (the 7th millennium represented by the Sabbath day) has not occurred yet.
You: But, Watchman, that means that Bishop James Ussher's "The Annals of the World" is wrong? Does that mean that you believe in William Whiston's 4010 BC theory in his book "A New Theory of the Earth"?Me: Nope and nope.
What I believe is that God made everything about 6,000 years ago, and I don't recall ANYONE ELSE starting a calendar from day 1, ok? I think Whiston, Ussher, and the whole scholarly conglomerate who are concerned with this issue are serious, intelligent, and HUMAN. All humans make mistakes. We make mistakes with the simplest of matters and somehow we think that these men (regardless of their level of intelligence) cannot make a mistake when trying to calculate accurately the first day of Creation involving thousands of years of history? My gut tells me that they all are probably close but likely have missed the mark.
Any of them could still be right. I mean, who am I to second guess them? I make mistakes too. Even those who have critiqued the work of people such as Ussher and Whiston could have made mistakes. Here's something to consider: The Earth's rotation is slowing down. Did you know that? That makes one heck of a bearing on how long a year actually is. How fast was the Earth's rotation on day 1? How about day 2,001?
Did you know that the Julian calendar (from where we get our current Gregorian calendar) had to be adjusted many times due to human error? My gosh, they added 90 days to the end of 46 BC in order to "catch up" with the seasons! After that, it was found that the guys who were put in charge of calculating the Julian calendar had added leap years to every third year instead of every fourth year by mistake. So, they had to skip leap years for 45 BC, 42 BC, 39 BC, 36 BC, 33 BC, 30 BC, 27 BC, 24 BC, 21 BC, 18 BC, 15 BC, 12 BC, 9 BC, 4 AD, 8 AD, and 12 AD!!! If they miscalculated the first time, then what makes us so sure that they did it right the second time? Were any of us there? I can assure you that none of us could have done much better.
How about the Arabic calendar? I hate to say this, but from what I've read, their calendar starts on the day that their founder left from Mecca to go to Medina. So, I am fairly certain that's not "In the beginning..."
And what about the Jewish calendar? The one thing I agree with the current Jewish calendar on is that it is a 360-day calendar. I believe that's how long a year was "In the beginning..." Remember, I told you that the earth's rotation was slowing down. I could get into why I believe this, but that's another article and it looks like I am writing two articles here already.
Well, the "Seder Olam Rabbah" (or the "Book of the Order of the World") is where the Jewish calendar gets it's start. The only problem is that they did this so it would look like Simon Bar Kochba (aka Simon Cosiba; their straw-man messiah) was fulfilling Daniel’s prophecy of the Messiah’s coming (Daniel 9:24-27). And why did they do this? Because the rabbis who wrote it were so consumed with keeping Jews from not knowing that Jesus was really their Messiah. Their obsession led them to remove 240 years from their calendar and purposely commit blashpemy.
Not only did these rabbis commit blasphemy, but they blindfolded generations upon generations of Jews from knowing that Jesus was their actual Messiah!
In his book, "Comparative Jewish Chronology", Rabbi Simon Schwab admits:
"It should have been possible that our Sages -- for some unknown reason -- had covered up a certain historic period and purposely eliminated and suppressed all records and other material pertaining thereto. If so, what might have been their compelling reason for so unusual a procedure? Nothing short of a Divine command could have prompted..."
Correction: It could have been nothing short of a Satanic command that prompted these men to do this.
Rabbi Schwab continues:
"...those saintly 'men of truth' to leave out completely from our annals a period of...years and to correct all data and historic tables in such a fashion that the susequent chronological gap could escape being noticed by countless generations, known to a few initiates only who were duty-bound to keep the secret to themselves."
I don't believe for one second that their was anything "divine" about the secrecy of these rabbis. And guess what? Simon Bar Kochba (the false messiah) died at the hand of the Romans too, but unlike Jesus (the real Messiah) just couldn't seem to manage the whole resurrection thing.
And on top of everything else, after their attempts failed these rabbis curse anyone who attempts to calculate the coming of the Messiah! It is recorded in the Talmud:
"May those who calculate the end and offer a date for the Messiah’s arrival be cursed, for they say: Since the time that we thought had been designated for the Messiah’s arrival has already passed, and still he has not come, he will not come at all."[...]"May those who calculate the end swell up. ‘One should not try to calculate the end, for the Rabbis already cursed those who tried to offer a date for the Messiah’s arrival’"
"Swell up"? I guess I've always been a "swell" guy. Well, I suppose that I will just have to be cursed then because I intend to "try to calculate the end" even though "the Rabbis already cursed those who tried to offer a date for the Messiah’s arrival." Curse me? If it weren't for the fact that you are hurting yourself more than you are me by your "curse" then I wouldn't even care.
Here I will explain the prophecy of Daniel 9:24-27 otherwise known as the "70 Weeks Prophecy". The angel Gabriel comes to Daniel in a dream:
"Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times. And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined. Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate." (Daniel 9:24-27)
Now, in prophecy language, each day of a week is equivalent to a year. You may be thinking, "A day of week is a year and a day is a thousand years?" I don't make the rules, folks, I just do my best to follow them. God paid the price; therefore, He gets to make the rules. Now, put on your seatbelt because the ride is about to get a little bumpy. Back to the subject.
Here you can plainly see that Daniel's prophecy clearly states that from "the command to restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks". "Seven weeks and sixty-two weeks" is 69 weeks. So, 69 weeks is 7 x 69 years which is 483 years. So, what it is saying is that there will be 483 years from the time that the command is given to rebuild Jerusalem until the death of the Messiah.
The command to rebuild the walls and streets takes place in March/April 444 B.C. (Nehemiah 2:8) Nehemiah is given orders to build the walls of Jerusalem, and access to the King of Persia's resources.
Gabriel tells Daniel from the command given (March/April 444 BC) until Messiah the Prince will be 7-weeks (49 years) and 62-weeks (434-years) totaling 483-years. (7 Weeks + 62 Weeks = 69 Weeks) (69 x 7 = 483) From the command given in March/April 444 BC to until Messiah the Prince is 483 Jewish years (360-day calendar). Our equivalent to Daniel's calendar is 476 years and 24 days. The Command was given in March/April 444 BC 476 years and 24 days later is March 29th 33 AD the Jesus Christ was "cut off" by the Jewish Priesthood (John 19:6).
So, there you have it. If this is what it takes to get a curse around here, then so be it.
However, I beg all of you not to judge a whole race of people (the Jewish people) by the actions of these few clearly misguided rabbis. The Jews are still God's people and God is still in the business of blessing those who bless Israel and cursing those who curse Israel. Just read Genesis 12:3 if you want to see a quick way to the oldest of old-school type cursing. Please love the Jewish people. These few rabbis did a lot of damage, but the rest of the Jewish people are not at fault--love them and teach them about their long awaited Messiah.
Ok, let's get on with Day 6.
Day 6
"Then God said, 'Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind'; and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.' So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.' And God said, 'See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food'; and it was so. Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day." (Genesis 1:24-31)
The words "let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth" stands out as a defining feature of the 6th millenium. Considering all of our technological advances in intelligence, communication, transportation, and weaponry, no one can deny that mankind has dominated the world and "every living thing that moves on the earth."
On both days 5 and 6 of Creation God said, "Be fruitful and multiply." He also makes man "in His own image" on the 6th day. At the end of the 6th millennium, everyone that has received Christ as their Savior will be caught away in the rapture. They will be given new bodies (perfect bodies) made again in His image and according to His likeness.
"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 incorruptible, and we shall be changed." (1st Corinthians 15:51-52)"For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will 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 thus we shall always be with the Lord." (1st Thessalonians 4:16-17)"Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." (1st John 3:2)
We can also see the battle of Armageddon in the fall of Adam and Eve -- God judging the unbelieving. If you'll remember, God also told Eve, "I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; in pain you shall bring forth children" (Genesis 3:16).
Let's see what the spriritual side of the number 6 is all about.
Bullinger writes:
Six is either 4 plus 2, i.e., man's world (4) with man's enmity to God (2) brought in: or it is 5 plus 1, the grace of God made of none effect by man's addition to it, or perversion, or corruption of it: or it is 7 minus 1, i.e., man's coming short of spiritual perfection. In any case, therefore, it has to do with man; it is the number of imperfection; the human number; the number of MAN as destitute of God, without God, without Christ.[...]At any rate it is certain that man was created on the sixth day, and thus he has the number six impressed upon him. Moreover, six days were appointed to him for his labour; while one day is associated in sovereignty with the Lord God, as His rest.Six, therefore, is the number of labour also, of man's labour as apart and distinct from God's rest. True, it marks the completion of Creation as God's work, and therefore the number is significant of secular completeness.[...]Six is the number stamped on all that is connected with human labour. We see it stamped upon his measures which he uses in his labour, and on the time during which he labours. And we see this from the very beginning.The number six is stamped upon the measurements of the Great Pyramid, the unit of which was the inch and its sexagesimal multiples. The first multiple is the foot, 12 inches (2x6); and after this the rises are 18 (3x6), 24 (4x6), 30 (5x6), and 36 (6x6 or 62=the yard).Corresponding to these measures we have the first division of the natural time-spaces which measure man's labour and rest,—the day, consisting of 24 hours (4x6), divided into the day and night of 12 hours. The multiples and subdivisions are also stamped by the number six. The months being 12; while the hours consist of 60 minutes (6x10), and the minutes of 60 seconds (6x10).The base of the Great Pyramid shows that the unit-inch* was obtained by a division of the original circuit, 36,000 inches or 1,000 yards.On account of the curse (Gen 3), the number six tells not only of labour, but of "labour and sorrow," and it specially marks all that is "under the sun," all that is "not of God." The true "sabbath-keeping," now, is in reserve; for there is no rest apart from "peace with God"; the rest which God gives and which we find (Matt 11:28).
The words of our Lord seem most appropriate to quote here:
"Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy. A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you." (John 16:20-22)
The 6th millennium will end with the anguish of childbirth. However, this time it will be to give birth to a perfect mankind made in God's image. Just as in 1st Corinthians 15:53-54:
"For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: 'Death is swallowed up in victory.'"
Without a doubt, the biblical account of the 5th and 6th days of Creation accurately summarizes the events of the 5th and 6th millenniums. The spiritual attributes attached to the numbers 5 and 6 also provide supporting evidence to the Divine nature of their predictions.
Please also watch the video of Chuck Missler's seminar on Day 7 of Creation entitled "The Book of Genesis: Session 7 Day 6". Also, check out the next installment of this series: "The Millennial-Day Theory (part 5): Rest & Renewal".
Later tater...
Watchman
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