Issued: 4/27/21    Updated: 6/20/21 Revised: 11/13/23

PLEASE NOTE:  Because Bible versions sometimes differ from each other in crucial ways, the version quoted here will be the one that best clarifies the point being made.  For a quick comparison between versions, please go to: http://www.biblehub.com.

   All bracketed material may be authorial comments, attempts at proper syntax, or minimal rewordings of Scripture for the sake of clarity and continuity.  These emendations will not be italicized.

   The “/” will be used to signify “and/or.”  The symbol “↔” is used to connect verses corroborating each other and so establishing doctrinal truths (Matthew 18:16↔2Corinthians 13:1).

   In differentiating between Yahweh Son [Jesus] and Yahweh Father [the Most High God], lower case letters have been used when discussing the former; upper case letters are reserved for the Only and Most High God.  Since Jesus was at pains to differentiate himself from Father, we have followed his lead here.

   The term neo-Christians will be used to differentiate between false Christians and Jesus’ true followers.

   We all know that there is more to Scripture than meets the eye; and that symbolic/allegorical language plays a huge role throughout most of it.  If we take a verse like, “Cast your bread on the waters; for you shall find it after many days” (Ecclesiastes 11:1), once we understand that “waters” is a symbol for “peoples and multitudes, nations and languages” (Revelation 17:15), the meaning becomes evident:  Give generously to people in need and you will be rewarded in time, whether in the form of material windfalls or in spiritual capital (Matthew 6:19-21).

   The ‘water’ symbolism is equally apparent in Ezekiel 29:3-5, where the “king of Egypt [the nation oftentimes symbolizing the world at large where Father’s people suffer bondage], the great dragon” refers to Satan (Revelation 12:9); and his “rivers” and “fishes” are nations and peoples under his control:  He is after all Father‘s empowered but reined-in ruler over all earthly governments (Daniel 4:17; Luke 4:6; John 12:31↔Daniel 5:21; John 19:11).  Taking our cues from the natural world, which is so structured as to provide us with a mirror image of the human condition (Ecclesiastes 3:18), we find the following: Predators atop food chains feeding off the weak and infirm, ranked by their dominant-specific marker [i.e., urine=money (Proverbs 22:7,16; James 5:1-6)]; alternating periods of light [i.e., day=understanding (Proverbs 4:18; 2 Peter 1:19)] and darkness [night=ignorance (Proverbs 4:19; John 9:4)]; rivers identifying nations [Volga=Russia; Nile=Egypt; Thames=England; Seine=France, etc.], all of them flowing into the sea of humanity [from which beasts symbolizing nations arise (Daniel 7:3; Revelation 13:1)—‘sea’ being, needless to say, Satan’s/Leviathan’s symbolic, world-wide domain (Job 41:33-34; Psalms 104:26)].

   When it comes to interpreting Scripture, we have to consider that anything involving Father must have a depth and breadth of conception meant to excite/dazzle our imagination, which are His stated goals in Isaiah 29:11,14, Habakkuk 1:5, and Mark 4:12.  It all goes beyond the rudiments of faith [“milk”]:  It is nothing less than an exercise in intellectual gymnastics [“solid food”] offering a peek into the richness of His otherwise inscrutable Mind (Romans 11:33; Hebrews 5:12-14).  Complexity leading to simple realities is Father’s modus operandi.  The majesty and grandeur of nature, devoid of evolutionary connotations, attest to this:  They are displays meant for our wonderment, enjoyment, and edification (↔Proverbs 6:6-8; Isaiah 59:5; Matthew 7:6).  Surpassing the parental love to give their offspring everything within their power, Father literally gives His children the world.

   Thus, there are two approaches to Scripture:  The Holy Spirit-mediated way (2Peter 1:20-21), the only channel to Father’s “hidden” wisdom (Deuteronomy 29:29; 1Corinthians 2:7,10), or any consensuses dependent on human conceits invariably leading to spiritual dead-ends.  If we take Revelation 13:5, for example:  “And there was given to it a mouth speaking great [and evil] things, and there was given to it authority to make war forty-two months,” forty-two months, in terms of the lunar Jewish calendar, translates as 1,260 days [42 x 30], which is meaningless in the context of prophetic value.  But if we apply Ezekiel’s 4:6 conversion factor [↔Numbers 14:34], “I have assigned one day for each year,” we end up with 1,260 years, which in terms of human history identifies “the mouth” waging war on the saints.  How?  There is only one religious institution which has reached that milestone and endures to this day.  Who?  Do your research.

   Which of the two approaches is the most spiritually enlightening?  A no-brainer: Jesus’ “anointment,” the Holy Spirit (John 15:26, 16:13; 1John 2:27). But let us keep ever present that in the Bible all truth must be established by two or three Biblical witnesses (Deuteronomy 19:15; Matthew 18:16; 2Corinthians 13:1; 1John 5:7); as if men—any man—deviates from that norm, follow Paul’s maxim: Anathematize them (Galatians 1:8-9).

A WEEK OF CREATION

   We are familiar with the genealogies of 1Chronicles 1:1-27 and Matthew 1:1-17, which respectively trace mankind’s lineage from Adam/Abraham to Jesus in terms of the flesh.  Luke’s inverted genealogy (Luke 3:23-38) traces back Jesus’ spiritual lineage from Joseph to Seth. Point one: There is no discrepancy between Matthew’s and Luke’s genealogies; they focus on different types of lineage.

   Thus it was not through Solomon, who apostatized (1Kings 11:1-11), but through Nathan (Luke 3:31-32, as opposed to Solomon in Matthew 1:6) that Jesus is linked to Seth.  This leads us to conclude that Solomon, who built the Jerusalem Temple [shadow] where Father would never have dwelt in (1Kings 8:27; Acts 7:47-50),¹ was not the son of David prophesied to build Father’s one and only everlasting abode (2Samuel 7:12-16):  Jesus was; in whose mystical body, the Church, Father lives in bodily form [substance (Ephesians 4:6, 5:23; Colossians 2:9)].  In short, while Jesus was always the substance behind these prophecies, Nathan, not Solomon, was the corresponding spiritual shadow. Solomon fulfilled prophecy in terms of building a man-made temple that would not endure (1Chronicles 28:3-6).

   We will have occasion to point out other Scriptural miss-takes [sic]; but let us proceed with our analysis of the Genesis ‘myth.’  We are all familiar with Peter’s observation that “one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2Peter 3:8), which by the way he was only re-stating (Psalm 90:4).  If the point is to suggest time is meaningless to Father, why specifically 1,000?  Why not 500,000 or 1 million?  Through their censuses, higher numbers were not unknown to the ancient Israelites (Numbers 2:32; 1Chronicles 21:5); and the higher the number, the stronger the metaphor suggesting timelessness.

   Some readers may be familiar with Archbishop Ussher’s attempt to write a complete history of the world from the time of Creation to AD 70, the year when the Jerusalem Temple was destroyed by the Romans.  This is neither an endorsement of that work nor a hat-tip to Creationist fancies; but using Ussher’s estimates however inaccurate they may be, he posited a world approximately ±6,000 years old.²  This ballpark estimate, and only because it relies on Scripture, is its only merit to open our discussion.

   The final time when ‘1,000’ makes its appearance in Scripture is in connection with Satan’s chaining on a dead world after all the redeemed have been transported to Heaven (Revelation 20:2-6).  Again, why specifically 1,000?  It does not take rocket science to see the correspondence between this Millennium of true rest and the “Seventh Day” of Creation when Yahweh Son proxy God/Creator rested—and the Father through him—from all the work Father had entrusted His Son (Genesis 2:2).  And Paul was savvy to this (Hebrews 4:4-6):  Genesis’ Sabbath was not Father‘s final involvement in human affairs, but a prelude to a pre-conceived plan stretching over millennia and ending with Armageddon.  Since there were souls to be gathered throughout history, Genesis 2:2 was shadow to the substance of Revelation 20:2-6.  Thus the two are thematically connected.

   Here we have our first intimation that 1 “Day” of creation ≈ 1,000 historical ‘days.’  But let us not overlook the detail—and we will repeat this often—that Genesis’ “Days” were reckoned from “evening to morning,” where “morning” does not necessarily mean ‘am’ hours but total period of daylight. This is borne out by the fact that next “Days” again started at “evenings.”  On the main, however, if we were to add Revelation’s Millennium of rest to the other six “Days” of Creation, we arrive at a week of 7 “Days” ≈ 7,000 historical years.

BRIEF DIGRESSION

   While Scripture uses time in creative ways, it does not adhere to atomic-clock accuracy.  Let us be mindful of the interplay between literal and allegorical/symbolic meanings.  According to Jesus, and patterned after Jonah’s experience, he would lie buried for three days and three nights (Matthew 12:39-40).  In the literal sense, this was not so:  He was buried on late Friday afternoon (Mark 15:42; Luke 23:56; John 19:42) and rose early Sunday morning (Luke 24:1; John 20:1)—technically parts of three days but only two nights.  Was he capable error?  No; the estimated length of his death/sleep had an allegorical/symbolic component.

   In Habakkuk 3:2, “Yahweh, I have heard of Your fame. I stand in awe of Your deeds…Renew Your work in the midst of the years. In the midst of the years make it known,” we may interpret “years” within the context of human history.  The “renewal” has got to be the New Covenant mediated through the human Jesus; whereas in his pre-existence as Yahweh Son Angel proxy God, he had mediated the Mosaic Covenant atop Mount Sinai.  Historically, Jesus lived over ±2,000 years ago, or following Ussher’s model ≈ ±4,000 years after Creation.  In a week of ±1,000-year ‘days,’ the middle of the week would signify Wednesday or some portion thereof; Thursday and Friday the remaining ±2,000 years to the present; and the Sabbath, the exact Millennial Sabbath of Revelation 20:4.

   In this allegorical/symbolic context, there is no telling in which precise portion/hour of any one ±1,000-year period Father accomplished which particular deed.  What Scripture is aiming for is giving us an overview of Father’s agenda without specific time markers—as for example, the exact dates of Christ’s Second Coming (Matthew 24:36; Mark 13:32) or the restoration of the Kingdom of Israel (Acts 1:6-7).  Signs ushering these events are explained to a degree, but their exact dates are known only to Father and presumably to the Holy Spirit as well (1Corinthians 2:10).³ Even Paul’s tipping point ushering in the Great Tribulation is unknown (1Thessalonians 5:3-4).

   So harking back to Matthew 12:39-40, Jesus was prophesying that following his crucifixion, he would remain for three days and nights “in the heart of the earth”—meaning mankind.  If we carry the symbolism a bit further, Adam, the father of mankind, was made from earth (Genesis 2:7); and borrowing from Paul’s ‘potentiality’ argument (Hebrews 7:9-10), the whole of mankind was potentially present in Adam’s loins and sharing his ‘earthiness,’ making men heir to flesh eventually to return to earth (Genesis 3:19)—a notion memorialized in burial rituals.

   And to silence misogynists/feminists, women are included in men-kind’s [sic] mix, since they are regarded—in Father‘s conception—wholly indivisible from men; for which reason Man [↔Jesus, substance] called Woman [↔Church, substance] “flesh of his flesh and bones of his bones” to denote their Oneness (Genesis 2:23: Ephesians 4:4, 5:23).  Eve, mother of mankind, was the name Adam gave her after the Fall (Genesis 3:20).  From the “first Adam” [flesh] to the “last Adam” [life-giving spirit], and from Adam and Eve [one mortal flesh] to Jesus and his Church [one mystical, spiritual body] lies but a single allegorical/symbolic step (1Corinthians 15:45; Ephesians 5:29-32).

THE SABBATH OF CREATION

   To summarize:  There were six “Days” of Creation followed by a seventh “Day” of rest (Genesis 2:2-3).  Assuming each of those “Days” to be ≈ ±1,000 years in duration, we have a corresponding ±6,000 years of human history plus an exact 1,000 years of restful coexistence with Father and Jesus in Heaven (Revelation 20:4).  Seen this way, Genesis 1 turns out to be no myth at all, but a historical synopsis of divine works to be accomplished in each 1 day ≈ ±1,000 year period.  Does this contradict Ezekiel’s conversion factor of 1 day = 1 year?  Not exactly, since Ezekiel’s formula only applies to prophetic events as in Genesis’ 1 day ≈ ±1,000 years; whereas David’s and Peter’s 1 day = 1 year relates to factual time.

   That Father finally rests from all His work is evident from the fact that activities during this time involve Jesus’ “Wedding” with Heavenly Jerusalem and the attendant bridal feast (Matthew 22:2-3; Revelation 19:9, 21:9-27 [↔Joel 3:17-18]).  Overall details regarding this are sketchy; nevertheless, Genesis 1’s main focus lies exclusively on highlighting events in preceding time periods, which will be the subject of the following discussion.

THE SIXTH DAY OF CREATION

   Moving back from Sabbath to Sixth Day, we come to the “Day” when Man and Woman were created.  The singular detail in Genesis 1:27 is that no personal names are given to either of them.  Adam’s name is mentioned in passing in Genesis 2:19; before this he is simply called “Man” (Genesis 1:26-27, 2:7-8,16,18).  It is said that ‘Adam’ in Hebrews is evocative of the ruddy color of the soil from which he was formed; but the name ‘Eve,’ meaning “mother of all the living” (Genesis 3:20), was specifically given to Woman after the fall.  Which “living,” if there were no other people but them?  This is Scripture’s way of telling us that Adam was channeling future prophecy—a device we later see in John 11:50-52.

In a state of sin, Adam and Eve were no longer creatures fit to live in the company of angels (↔Ezekiel 28:13, 31:8-9,16-18); borrowing Paul’s terminology, they had become ‘earthly,’ devolving into a mortal state that could not co-exist with divine beings (1Corinthians 15:46-47).  Thus they were banished from Eden (Genesis 3:22-24), marking the onset of Father’s preconceived plan of redemption (↔1Peter 1:10).  Leading to what?  To Jesus’ crucifixion [“sleep” of death]; piercing of his side while on the cross [rib area, from which Woman’s was formed (John 19:34)]; resurrecting as immortal flesh (Colossians 1:18↔1Corinthians 15:50-54; Revelation 1:18); interacting with his Church to engender immortal progeny that will eat from the Tree of Life (Revelation 2:7, 22:2); and entering the true Promised Land from an eastern direction (Micah 2:12-13; Revelation 16:12↔Genesis 2:14; Joshua 3:13-17).

   This ‘engendering’ takes place in the ‘Thursday’ and ‘Friday’ of Genesis’ allegorical week, following Jesus’ crucifixion sometime on the ‘Wednesday’—in short, the whole of Christian evangelization. In terms of historical time, what gets accomplished on Sixth Day—during end times—is making the redeemed immortal, and so of the same flesh Jesus’ immortal body has: It is only then that Genesis 2:2o,23-24 will be finally fulfilled. And just as Adam spoke of man leaving parents to join his ‘woman/suitable helpmate’, so will Jesus remain as man on earth, both King/High Priest over Father‘s people in everlasting union with His Bride (John 14:3; Revelation 14:4, 21:2,9-10).

  Thus a pattern begins to emerge suggesting Genesis 1 is much more than mere myth, given that it purposefully and blatantly does not correspond with scientific theories regarding the cosmos and the evolution of life in our planet.  Celestial bodies created on Fourth Day? Supposing Genesis 1:3—as some have argued—references the Big Bang [or its current alternative, the Big Bounce], what were the land and seas that pre-existed either one (Genesis 1:1-2)?  But let us not get mired in the falsely called science: It is the trap where faith might go astray (1Timothy 6:20-21).

Let us instead stick with the Ussher model and see how productive in terms of spiritual wisdom (1Corinthians 2:13-14) it turns out to be.

¹ Solomon was very much aware of this fact (1Kings 8:27,30,32,34,36,39,43,49): He knew his Temple to be a way-station to access the Divinity in Heaven.

² Some scholars argue that there are gaps in Ussher’s calculations.  Meanwhile science, with its many dating techniques, has rendered Ussher’s hypothesis worthless.  Nevertheless, “Let God be found true, but every human being a liar” (Romans 3:4).  We must abide—and proudly so—by non-empirical faith, “without which it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6).  In the context of our discussion, Ussher’s estimates are more useful than isotopic-decay readings.

³ Stop listening to doom-casters: The fact that they presume to know what Jesus and Father‘s angels do not know (Mark 13:32) should tell readers they are the false prophets we were warned about (Deuteronomy 18:22).