This is the third of a series of 5
sermons which examine the 7000 Year Theory. In sermon
Part 1 we
looked at the introduction of sin into this world and God revealing
His Plan of Redemption. In Part 2 we looked at the days
of Noah and the antediluvian world and saw parallels to our
world today. In Part 3 we will look at the coming of Jesus as the
Passover lamb and the significance of this to the plan of
redemption.
The Two Adams
What is important about the 7000 year theory is to establish a
start date. I believe that it is possible to obtain clues by looking
at Jesus, the second Adam. In
1 Corinthians 15 St Paul repeatedly asserts direct parallels
between Adam and Jesus. In
verse 45 he refers to 'the first man
Adam' who was made 'a living soul' and 'the last Adam' who became a
'quickening spirit.' In
verse 22 Paul states: "For as in Adam all
die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." In
verse 47 he
refers to them as 'the first man' and 'the second man.' Paul three
times asserts a direct linkage between the lives of Adam and Jesus
('the last Adam' or 'second man').
Similarities Between the
Two Adams
Why does St Paul refer
to Christ as the 'second Adam', or words to that
effect? Can we draw any inferences for the
purposes of our study by looking at the similarities
between the two Adams?
Adam |
Similarities |
Jesus |
The Bible tells us
that the first man, Adam, was created by God, in
His image and likeness, directly from the dust
of the ground.
|
A
miraculous beginning |
Jesus too had a
miraculous beginning when He was incarnated as a human
beingconceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary
(Matthew 1:2023;
Luke 1:2635). |
Adam was created a
perfect man, in full possession of all human
faculties, and had full communion with God.
|
Perfect,
innocent, holy |
The last Adam, Jesus,
was also perfectly man, one with God (John
10:30;
17:21-22), innocent, sinless, and holy
(Hebrews 7:26).
|
Adam was the head of
the human race. He lost this status to Satan when he
sinned. |
Humanitys head |
Jesus Christ is the
head of redeemed humanity (see, for example, Ephesians 5:23). He gained this status after victory over Satan at the cross. |
The first Adam gave
life to all his descendants.
|
Both givers of
life |
The last Adam, Jesus
Christ, gives eternal life to those who receive
Him and believe on His name, giving them power
to become the sons of God (John
1:114). |
Adam, representing
mankind, was given dominion over the created world (Genesis
1:26).
|
Two rulers |
After being raised
from the dead, Jesus Christ was elevated to
Gods right hand, and given dominion over all
things, which were put
under his feet. (1 Corinthians 15:27;
Ephesians 1:2022).
|
Genesis 2:21-23 tells
us that God put Adam into a deep sleep, during which time God made
Adams bride, Eve, from Adams sidea wound in Adams side produced
a bride!
|
A deep sleep
produces a beautiful bride |
After the last Adam,
Jesus, died upon the crosssuffering the sleep
of death for everyoneHis side was pierced by a
spear thrust (John 19:34). Thus a wound in the
last Adams side also produced a bridethe true
Church!19 |
Jesus Lived according to a Time Schedule
There is
only one story of Jesus after his birth before he
begins His public ministry. This story is found in
Luke 2:41-52. This gives us a little insight into
Jesus' life from twelve years old until He is in his
early 30s. According to
Luke 2:51 (TNIV), As Jesus
grew up, he increased in wisdom and in favor with
God and people. Jesus seems to be growing or
maturing in some way before the beginning of his
public ministry.
Jesus understood the Scriptures.
He knew His mission as
did John the Baptist. John's first words when he saw Jesus coming
toward him were, "Behold, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of
the world." (John 1:29). Jesus
knew that God had appointed, not only a pathway for the Messiah to
follow, but the very program and time in which the events would
occur.
Jesus first words in the gospel according to Mark, are these,
The time has come. The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and
believe the good news! (Mark 1:15, TNIV). Jesus seems to recognize
that there is a particular time for the beginning of His public
ministry. In other places in the gospels, Jesus speaks about the
right timing, or that His time has not yet come. Jesus had
a sense about the timing of His ministry, and the beginning of His
ministry fits into this timing.
Also from the time Jesus first realized why He had been sent into the
world, He knew that His main purpose was to arrive in Jerusalem
at a precise, exact time and date on God's calendar that had been
prophesied by Daniel 700 years earlier, (Daniel 9:24-27). There He
knew that He would be betrayed by one of His own, and that He would
become a sacrificial lamb for the sins of all the world."
Jesus Knew He Would Be Crucified on the Passover. He said in
Matthew 26:2
"Ye know that after two days is the
feast of the Passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be
crucified."
Jesus spoke of a specific time in which he was to
lay down his life. In
John 7:6-8 KJV "Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come..."
John 13:1 says, "Now before
the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew
that His hour was come that he should depart out of this world
unto the Father, having loved His own which were in the world, He
loved them unto the end."
Jesus' death and resurrection kept a holy timetable on God's
Calendar.20,21
When did the 7000
Year Theory Start?
By analysing recorded Bible chronology it is
generally understood that the Creation occurred at
about 4004 BC. It is simply a matter of
addition to see that the end of a 6000 year period
would be somewhere near 2000 AD. The only
unknown in this discussion is when the 6000 years started.
The start date could not
have been at creation because God created everything
perfect.
There was no sin, corruption, ageing or death until
they sinned. The redemption plan, being a contingency
plan, would only be necessary should Adam sin.
The start date was when Adam and Eve sinned.
On the day that Adam and Eve sinned God
revealed His redemption plan to all parties, ie
Adam, Eve and the Serpent (Satan).
Genesis 3:21 says that God made a covering of skin for Adam and
Eve after they sinned. This is the first time blood is shed - right
after Adam and Eve followed Satan's advice and rejected God's
warning. The result was that some living animal had to die to provide
a covering for Adam and Eve. This is the first of a theme in
Scripture that something has to die to atone or make payment for
sin. The sacrifices were merely a symbol or prophetic picture of how
God would do this.
Jesus, symbolised as the Passover lamb, was taken and hid for 4 days
(4000 years). The sin of Adam and Eve resulted in them being exiled
from the Garden of Eden and cut off from the intimate presence and
communion which they had previously experienced with God.
Some
have speculated that
the period in the Garden of Eden may have only been a short time, perhaps a few months,
before they fell into sin. The rationale given is that
after God made Adam and Eve, He told them to be fruitful and
multiply and fill the earth (Genesis 1:28). It is known that they were created as full-grown adults
and we don't read anything about the children of Adam and Eve until
after they have left the Garden (Genesis 4:1,2). So it is presumed
that they may have
lived in the Garden for less than a year.
There is a flaw to the above arguments
because they assume that the human being was the same both before
and after the fall. This was definitely not the case. After Adam's
sin all nature changed. Adam and Eve lost their covering of light
and saw their nakedness. The serpent, once believed to be a glorious
flying creature with feathers, was now condemned to slither on its
belly. Animals became wild and unfriendly toward man, and many became predators of other
animals. Weeds and thistles grew.
Another aspect to consider is that Bible chronologies during the antediluvian period
reveal that child raising
occurred at a relatively late age. For
example, Adam's son Seth lived
105 years before his first born, and grandson Enos lived 90 years
before his firstborn.
The
Bible does not tell us how long that
sinless time
period lasted. The Book of
Jubilees in fact pegs it at seven years, however that book is not
considered Scripture and may not be reliable. And as it turns out,
adding those seven years to the year 1997 (a reasonable guess for the
6000 year anniversary of creation) would require that the end of the
6000 years of man arrive in 2003. Because the Second
advent is still in the future it is likely
that the period before sin may have been much longer.7,22
Why did it take 4000 Years for the Messiah to Come?
Now why did it take some 4000 years from
creation for the Messiah to come? We find the answer in the theology
of the ritual of the Passover lamb.
Israel was
instructed to
keep the Passover Lamb for 4 days before killing it in the evening. (Exod. 12:1-6)
Also notice that when
Adam sinned, Christ our Passover
was taken and kept for 4000 years (4 days) and crucified at the end (i.e.
the evening) of the fourth day.
St Paul confirms this in
1 Cor. 5:7:
"For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us."
1 Peter 1:20 says Jesus
"was
foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was made
manifest in these last times for you."
Another thing to note about the Passover lamb is found in
Exodus
12:5: "Your lamb shall be without blemish."
Now why did it matter
whether the sacrificial lambs had any spots or blemishes? The answer
is that the sacrificial lambs symbolically represented Christ.
1 Peter 1:19,20 says, "But with the precious blood of
Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot".
Atonement for our sins could be made by none other than Christ, not
even the highest of angels. Christ was the only one worthy because
He was God.
Jesus
the Passover Lamb
I believe that we may see clues to the start date of the
redemption plan if we take at look at Jesus' crucifixion and His
role as the Passover lamb. There are a number of parallels between
Adam, Jesus and the Passover lamb.
T he
first ever Passover occurred back in the Garden of Eden when the
angel should have killed Adam physically, but he did not, in the
kindness of God he passed over him. And the same 'Angel' then gave
His life as a ransom for him, having spared him at the will
of His Father.
Jesus |
Hour of the Day |
Passover Lambs |
Jewish "Hours"
starts at Sunrise
Sunrise = 1st hour = 6AM
|
|
Roman Day starts at Midnight
Midnight = 1st hour = 12 PM |
On 10th Nisan Jesus made
His triumphal entrance into Jerusalem on a donkey
following exactly
the same path to the temple that the Passover
lamb had just taken
(Matthew 21:1-11).
During the four days, the chief priests, elders,
Pharisees, and Sadducees interrogated Jesus; but He always left them
speechless, because they could find no fault with His impeccable
logic and character (Matthew 21:23-27, 22:23-46, 26:59,60).23
7000 YEAR THEORY PARALLEL
These four days are prophetic of
the Messiah being hid from the world and not
coming to earth for four days or 4,000 years
after the fall of Adam.
|
NISAN
10th - 13th
(Sun. 6PM to Thurs. 6 PM)
|
On the tenth of Nisan
the priests carried the lambs for the Passover
sacrifices into the Temple, as commanded by God
(see
Ex. 12:3).
(A Jewish
historian Josephus records the number of lambs slain during the
feast to be about 256,500)24
The
lambs were kept in public view at the temple for
everyone to examine and if no blemish or defect
could be found, they qualified for the sacrifice
and were killed on the fourteenth.24
The Passover lamb entered Jerusalem with a sign
hanging around its' neck with the name of its'
owner inscribed on it. Likewise Jesus' died with
a sign hung over him. The Hebrew initials for
"Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews" was YHWH--the
Hebrew name for God.24
|
|
NISAN 14 |
|
Jesus
celebrated the Last Supper with disciples and
afterwards went to Mount of Olives.25 |
(6 PM Thursday |
|
Jesus was betrayed and arrested in the middle of
the night and was taken to the High Priest.
(Luke 22:47-53) |
Midnight |
|
Peter is in the High Priest's courtyard and
denies Jesus three times and the rooster crows.
(Luke 22:56-62) |
2-3 AM |
|
At daybreak the elders, chief priests and
scribes question Jesus asking whether he was the
Christ (Luke 22:66,67) |
Daybreak |
|
After Jesus said He was the Son of God they sent
Him to Pilate. (Luke 22:69 - 23:1) |
6 AM |
|
Pilate sent Jesus to Herod (Luke
23:7)
Herod sent Jesus back to Pilate (Luke 23:11) |
6 -9
AM |
|
"It was ... about the sixth hour (Roman time)
... Pilate handed him over to them to be
crucified." (John
19:14-16)
Soldiers mocked Jesus, struck him, spat on him
and took him to Golgotha.
(Mark 15:16-24 and
Luke 22:60-23:32).
Jesus carried his own cross, to Golgotha.
(John 19:17) |
6-9 AM |
7000 YEAR THEORY PARALLEL
The Passover lamb must be a male. It was through one
mans sin
Romans 5:12. Adam the first male
sinned; therefore, a firstborn male must make
atonement for mans sin. Jesus was the first
born Son of God.26
|
It was the third hour when they crucified
[Jesus] (Mark 15:25); that is, it was the third
hour of daylight, or about 9:00 a.m.
|
9 AM |
The Passover lamb in the temple was bound to the
altar at about 9:00 a.m.23 |
"At the sixth hour
(Hebrew time) darkness came over the whole land until the
ninth hour."
(Mark 15:33)
Hebrew time:
12 noon and 3 PM
7000 YEAR THEORY PARALLEL
It is quite probable
that Adam ate the forbidden fruit at about 12 Noon. Some
Bible students think that the time of Adam and Eve hiding from Gods
presence was three hours, corresponding to the three hours when the
sun was darkened at our Lords crucifixion (see
Matt. 27: 45).2
7000 YEAR THEORY PARALLEL
Just as Adam died spiritually in the Garden but
remained alive physically when he disobeyed, so
Christ was spiritually dead on the Cross while
darkness enveloped the Earth for 3 hours,
signifying His alienation from the Father for
our sakes but remained alive physically (Matt.
27:45-46;
Gal. 3:13).
|
12 Noon - 3 pm
PERIOD OF DARKNESS |
The sixth hour (Noon our
time) was Israel's preparation of the
PassoverThat is, the time in which they were
just preparing to kill the paschal lamb.27
During the 6 hours on the cross Jesus offered Himself as a sacrifice
to atone for the sins of the world. He destroys the separation that
sin caused between God and man.28
This darkness testifies to the Fathers having
forsaken his Son. It demonstrates the Father has withdrawn the light
of his glory, mercy, and blessings from Jesus to abandon him to His
dark wrath and punishment.30
|
"and at the ninth
hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice. . . With a
loud cry, Jesus breathed his last."
(Mark 15:34)
Hebrew time:
3PM
The following events occurred during the
earthquake following Jesus' death (Matthew
27:51-52):
1) The earth shook and the rocks split
2) The veil of the temple was torn from top to
bottom
2) The tombs opened and the dead raised to life
3) Jesus was acknowledged as the Son of God by a
Roman soldier.
These also point to the
fact that Jesus' redemption work was done and
finished when He died. Paul explains that
Jesus triumphed over the powers of darkness, by
the cross (Colossians 2:14,15).
7000 YEAR THEORY PARALLEL
After Adam and Eve sinned and realized they were
naked, God killed two
innocent animals and made coverings
for the man and his wife. (Genesis 3:21) This was the first
picture of the atonement.
7000 YEAR THEORY PARALLEL
After
Adam and Eve sinned God told the serpent (Satan) that he would be
defeated by the seed of the woman (Gen. 3:15). This occurred 4000
years later when Jesus shed his blood on the cross. |
3 PM
JESUS DIED |
Jesus was slaughtered with all the other lambs
that same day at 3:00 p.m. on the 14th of Nisan.27
It was about 3:00 p.m. that Jesus died (Luke
23:44-46)the same time that the sacrificial
Passover lamb in the temple was slaughtered. As
the high priest killed the lamb, he would have
announced, It is finished. It is no accident
that, on the cross a few kilometres away, Jesus last
words also were, It is finished (John 19:30),
which literally meant, Paid in full.23
7000 YEAR THEORY PARALLEL
Adam regained life spiritually
through saving faith in God's mercy and His plan of
redemption through a future descendant. Christ
regained life spiritually on the Cross when he was
reunited with the Father at the end of that period
of darkness. It was then that Jesus could declare,
'It is finished' (John
19:28-30;
Luke 23:46). |
Jesus' bones were not broken.
John 19:32
says, "Then came the soldiers,
and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was
crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was
dead already, they brake not his legs".
The Soldier Pierces Jesus Side
(John 19:34)
Jesus was taken down and
buried in a nearby borrowed tomb just before
the end of the day or before 6 PM.
(Matthew 27:57-61;
Mark 15:42-47;
Luke 23:50-56;
John 19:38-42)
It was Preparation Day (that is the day
before the Sabbath). So as evening approached,
Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for
Jesus' body."
(Mark 15:42-43)
(no work was allowed on the Sabbath).
|
3-6 PM |
There
were clear instructions concerning the Passover sacrifice.
Exodus
12:46 says, "neither shall ye break a bone thereof."
Between 3-5 PM thousands of lambs are being
slain for Passover at the same Jesus dies.30
The body of the Passover lamb was to be killed and
eaten in the same night. Jesus was tried, convicted, crucified and died
all on the 14th of Nisan the Feast of Passover. Death by crucifixion and the burial usually took
more than one day. Jesus died in a matter of 6 hours.27
|
|
NISAN 15 |
|
Sabbath starts at
12th hour or Sunset. |
6 PM |
Sabbath starts at
Sunset 6 PM |
Chief priests and Pharisees ask Pilate to put a
guard on the tomb about 7 PM (4 hours after Jesus
died and one hour into the Sabbath but our
Friday night)
Matthew 27:62
The Messiah rests in the tomb, observing the
Sabbath day rest the entire day. This is the
second day in the grave.31 |
7 PM |
|
|
NISAN 16 |
|
The resurrection takes place
|
|
|
How long did Adam live in the Garden of Eden?
The Passover lamb was taken on 10th Nisan and slain
at evening on 14th Nisan. Likewise Jesus was taken
(when Adam sinned) and hid for 4 redemptive days or
4000 years. As the perfect Passover
lamb, Jesus' death paid the ransom for the penalty
of sin. His crucifixion
marked the end of 4000 years of sin and 4000 years
of redemptive work.
The
conclusion which can be drawn is that Jesus life up
to his ransom corresponded temporally with Adam's up to his sin
requiring a ransom. Now Jesus died 33½ years after he was born. So
Adam sinned 33½ years after he was born. This temporal
correspondence acts as a witness to Jesus' life being a ransom for
Adam.32
Next Part of 7000 Year Theory
In the fourth part of our series on the 7000 year theory, we will
look further into God's redemption plan and try to determine when
Christ died. His death is significant in that it ended 4000 years of
sin.
References and notes
1.
What is spiritual death? -
http://www.gotquestions.org/spiritual-death.html
2.
What Death Did Adam Die?
-
http://antipreterist.wordpress.com/2009/04/14/what-death-did-adam-die/
3.
THE 6000 YEARS -
http://www.cephasministry.com/water/bible_believers_6000_years.html
4. God's Redemptive Week -
http://bibleteachingonline101.net/God_s_Redemptive_Week.html
5.
Spiritual
Pictures of 6000 and 7000 Years in the Bible - Part I -
http://www.hebroots.com/lul11.html
6.
Why the Week
Has Seven Days - http://www.almanac.com/content/why-week-has-seven-days
7.
The 6000 Year Timeline Dilemma -
http://www.escapeallthesethings.com/6000-year-timeline.htm
8.
How could there
be light on the first day of Creation if the sun was not created
until the fourth day? -
http://www.gotquestions.org/light-first-sun-fourth.html
9. ECLIPSES A MIRACLE OF GODS DESIGN (WITH FUTURE
SIGNIFICANCE?) - http://stevenmcollins.com/WordPress/?p=594
10. THE VITAL IMPORTANCE OF BELIEVING IN RECENT
CREATION - http://www.icr.org/i/pdf/btg/btg-138.pdf
11. What does Genesis 1 really teach? -
http://www.wcg.org/lit/bible/OT/tripp.htm
12. Globalization and the Tower of Babel -
http://shepherdtheflock.com/2009/01/26/globalization-and-the-tower-of-babel/
13. Sermon: The Days of Noah -
http://cgg.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Audio.details/ID/2201/Days-Noah.htm
14. 6,000 years for
mankind as
understood by Churches of God still valid -
http://www.thejournal.org/issues/issue121/six-thousand-years-for-man-still-valid.html
15. Globalization and the Tower of Babel -
http://shepherdtheflock.com/2009/01/26/globalization-and-the-tower-of-babel/
16. Online Text Sermon - The Days of Noah, Matthew ch.24 v.37 -
http://www.bible-sermons.org.uk/text-sermon/421-the-days-of-noah/
17. Revealing That The Days of Noah and The Flood Are
Here! -
http://www3.telus.net/thegoodnews/noah.htm
18. Jesus in
the Life of
Isaac The Sacrificed Son -
http://www.jesusplusnothing.com/studies/downloads/jcisaac.doc
19.
First Adam - Last Adam -
http://www.hebrew4christians.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=122&t=504
20.
Jesus, Son of God, Son of Man -
http://ldolphin.org/accomplish.html
21. Why did Jesus preach for such a short period of time? -
http://andrewconard.com/2009/09/01/why-did-jesus-preach-for-such-a-short-period-of-time/
22. Old Testament Pictures of Jesus -
http://www.onlinethoughts.com/onlinethoughts/old_testament_pictures_of_Jesus.htm
23. Hebraic Spring
Festivals/Holy Days -
http://www.tedmontgomery.com/bblovrvw/c_4a.html
24. THE FEAST OF PASSOVER -
http://brenda.ratcliffs.net/03Passover.pdf
25. The Last Supper (Luke 22:7-23) -
http://bible.org/seriespage/last-supper-luke-227-23
26. THE PASSOVER -
http://www.bibleprophesy.org/feasts2.htm
27. The Feast of Passover Exodus 12 -
http://www.bibleinsong.com/Music/Images1/Jesus%20the%20Passover%20Lamb.pdf
28. It is Finished Six Hours One Friday
-
http://www.onlinethoughts.com/onlinethoughts/it_is_finished.htm
29. Jesus Died a
Startling Death -
http://www.christianinconnect.com/jstardea.htm
30. Christ Our
Passover is Slain for Us -
http://www.abideinchrist.com/messages/ex12v1.html
31. Was Jesus crucified on Wednesday,
Thursday, or Friday? -
http://biblelight.net/pasover.htm
32. The date of Armageddon without using the code
- http://www.biblecodeintro.com/intro44.html
33. A CHRONOLOGY OF THE BIBLE -
http://www.cocoris.com/BBC%20pages/Microsoft%20Word%20-%201.%20Bible%20Chronolgy.doc.pdf
34. ON WHAT DAY DID JESUS DIE? -
http://www.angelfire.com/nt/theology/date-crucified.html
35.
Notes on The Sabbath
- http://ldolphin.org/sabbath.html
36.
Jesus born 5 B.C. #1 -
http://www.keithhunt.com/Wheborn1.html
37. Daniel's Prophecy - Foretells date of crucifixion -
http://www.ldsmag.com/sci_rel/040915prophecy.html
38. Year of Jesus' Death -
http://www.rusearching.com/nostradamus/nostradamusyearofdeath.htm
39.
When Was
the Crucifixion? -
http://www.hissheep.org/messages/when_was_the_crucifixion.html
40.
A Prophecy Explained - http://www.mundall.com/erik/ezekiel4.htm
41. THE TEMPLE DESTROYED, 70 A.D. - http://www.bibleresearch.org/articles/a11pws.htm
42.
THE MYSTERIOUS EVENTS OF THE
YEAR 30 A.D.! -
http://www.ensignmessage.com/archives/mysteriousevents.html
43.
IMPORTANT HAPPENINGS ON THE
DAY OF ATONEMENT -
http://www.electalert.org/content/b7c62.html
44.
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