Six,Sin and 6000 years of World Kingdoms   Part Two
 
In Part One which came out yesterday on fivedoves.com (5-15--07), I went over a basic background as I briefly spoke about the biblical meaning of the number 6 and what I believe the Bible teaches regarding 6000 years of world kingdoms. I even quoted ancient theological historians.I would highly recommend that you go back to read Part One before Two ( this present article ) because you will get more of a foundation for your edification and understanding. I just quoted a few but I was told that there was at least one prominent theologian of every century that believed in this general 6000 year principle. Since they did not have the chronology of the history in the world and the timing like we do, many believed Jesus Christ could come at any moment.
 
If one were to look at the number 5 ( 1 before 6 ) or 7 (1 after 6 ) it becomes very evident that man is seen as destitute of God. Five is the number of the grace of God. If one is added to five, grace does not mean anything because man is trying to add to the perfection of God. In all of their "efforts" they have corrupted a pure loving gift from God and as a result the "1" that was added leaves these people on their own, bound by sin. Or if you want you could go the opposite way. If you were to subtract 1 from 7, some truths become evident. Seven is the number of spiritual perfection. There is an old saying, "Why mess with perfection," yet people do it all the time with God. Subtracting one from seven is falling just short of God, which points to human beings struggling in their sins. So as you can see six is couched right in the middle as being trapped by the evils of iniquity.
 
One of the very first things that anybody has to realize is creation was completed by God in 24 hour days. Man was created on the sixth day, so right away it has got to be evident that human beings are associated with the number 6. Relative to the 6000 year principle regarding the kingdoms of this world, they will have "their day" for this amount of time. Jesus Christ will then take over the nations on planet earth. In Genesis 1:26  God gave man..."dominion"... over all the earth which corresponds to what has been happening for the past 6000 years. He was appointed 6 days of labor and the world has been going through the same thing for 6000 years. Even when a women becomes pregnant she goes into "labor". That is the term we use.This world has been laboring for approximately 6000 years. We can understand the basic idea by making these simple comparisons.
 
Hebrew slaves would serve for 6 years, not seven because it was ultimately a prophetic picture of 6000 years of labor and toil in this world. I would not think that God would put the principle of 6 days of labor right in the 10 commandments with the seventh being a day of rest but He did. In Exodus 20:11, the Bible says..."Wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it." The seventh millennium of human history will be set apart for Jesus Christ Himself. In fact the Bible is very specific when it says "And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. (3) And God blessed the seventh day,and sanctify it: because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made." Genesis 2:2-3. Six days of labor with the seventh being set aside for God.Even in our secular culture, it is kind of interesting to me that our society still acknowledges Sunday as a 24 hour time period that is set a part from the previous 6 days.
 
Jewish theologians even had some things to say about the amount of time for humanity. In 1976 Rabbi Ben Zion Wacholder made a quote in the Hebrew Union College Annual Yearbook stating " Just as the seventh offers a release to the Jew, so the world will be released during the seventh millennium." I believe several Jewish scholars throughout history broke the 6000 years up in three increments of 2000 years with their Messiah taking over on the seventh.
 
Even when one reads the account of Jericho in the book of Joshua, the children of Israel walked around this city for six days. This is a picture of man actively engaged in labor, but it was not until the seventh day that the walls actually fell down. This pictures God taking action. Think about the word "walls" in the most basic sense of the idea. For 6000 years this world labors with evil "walls" but Jesus Christ causes them to collapse on the seventh day. At that point it will be His time, just like Genesis chapter 2:3 says... "He had rested from all his work which God created and made." The number six and labor go hand in hand, but seven is reserved for God and His rest.
 
Some people may ask, why 24 hour days for creation. I suppose there are several reasons for this but one would be that 4 ( the number of this world system ) and 6 ( the number for sin ) when put together is 4x6=24. These are numbers associated with the world system and the sinful nature of man. The number 24 is associated with our Priesthood and that is what we will be doing in heaven at the 7th millennium of human history after the rapture of the church. Exactly when our training for this role will take place in Paradise is unclear to me but the book of Revelation does speak of this in Revelation 1:6. "And hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father, to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen."
 
What I am about to propose, I am sure many people will not agree with me on this.  In fact, I am not positive I adhere with what I am about to say. I am just asking a question. Is it possible that Adam and Eve were not only created on the 6th day but fell and sinned in that same 24 hour time frame.Years ago I would listen to sermons on this, and I would hear preachers say something to the order of " I don't think it took them very long to sin." I understood the basic principle of rebellion but I never until recently thought about how long it took. I think it is possible that they may have sinned before sundown and as a result they did not go into the Holy Sabbath or the Kingdom. A basic principle in Scripture is nothing "enters" the seventh day in a state of sin.
 
The biggest example would be in Matthew chapter 25.When the sheep (the righteous) and the goats (the unregenerate) are judged by Jesus Christ.This happens after the 7 year tribulation period, before He sets up His reign on earth. On the one hand Jesus Christ will speak to the sheep on His right and say..."Come,ye blessed of my Father,inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." Matthew 25:34. Then Jesus will send the unsaved at the end of the tribulation period into everlasting punishment. Matthew 25:46. Only those saved from their sins and cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ will enter into the millennium because nothing unclean can enter into the Holy Sabbath. People will still have to receive Jesus Christ into their hearts in the millennium but if you will look very close, nobody is walking into the 1000 year rule and reign in a state of sin. They are saved or "cleansed" by the blood of Jesus Christ. That is the only reason they are allowed to move into the seventh millennium.
 
Regardless as to what your opinion is, almost nobody can deny that this is a fascinating subject, especially since we are very close to this time period. If you are watching for the rapture, there would have to be excitement as to how close we really are to this event. Try not to get too discouraged because the time is at hand.Tomorrow I will focus on examples in the Bible that I believe teach the principle of 6000 years regarding the rule of world kingdoms. If you are not a Christian, to be a part of this blessed hope you have to accept Jesus Christ into your heart. Then you will have eternal life and go up in the Rapture. Part 3 will be out tomorrow. If you want click on and I am sure you will be blessed.
 
Love in Christ,
    Bob D.