F.M. Riley (2
Apr 2017)
"The Days of Genesis
1&2"
An Exposition of the
The Days of Genesis 1&2
Literally and Prophetically
Part One
By Pastor F. M.
Riley
April 3, 2017
Abib [Nisan] 6, 5777
"Wherefore the children of Israel shall
keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their
generations, for a perpetual covenant.
It is a sign between Me and the
children of Israel forever: for in six days, the Lord made
heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was
refreshed," Exodus 31:16-17.
"Known unto God are all His works from
the beginning of the world," Acts 15:18.
"Remember the former things of old: for
I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none
like Me.
Declaring the end from the beginning,
and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying,
My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure," Isaiah
46:9-10.
Introduction
The Book of Genesis is one of the two
most important books in the entire Bible! The other most
important book is The Book of Revelation. Why are these two
books so important?
Because Genesis sets before us the
beginning of the creation and the origin of mankind. In
order to believe this record of the origin of the earth, the
physical universe, and the origin of mankind upon the
earth, one must believe in the reality of Almighty
God. So right at the beginning of His Word, God set up a
"test" for mankind. Sadly, those who refuse to believe
this inspired Word, setting forth the origin of the earth and
the physical universe, and of mankind, will likely never come to
a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, Hebrews
11:6.
Then the Book of Revelation sets before
us the glorious future of redeemed mankind in "the ages to come"
[Ephesians 2:6-7], and also the end of evil and the evil one,
which has caused so many problems among mankind throughout the
past 6,000 years of human history.
It is needless to say that Satan and
his followers hate both of these books with passionate
hatred. These are the two books in God's inspired Word
which have come under the most severe attacks by atheists
and other assorted "God deniers" throughout human history.
Again, why are these two books in the
Bible so hated; yea, despised, by those who deny the existence
of God, and the Divine Inspiration of His Word? Because
Genesis pulls the cover off of Satan and exposes him for the
wicked being that he is, and Revelation glaringly reveals
Satan's ultimate defeat, condemnation, and well deserved end by
the hands of God's appointed Judge, the Lord Jesus Christ; the
precious Savior and Lord of all true believers.
Notice that in our Scripture texts for
this study, the inspired passage in Isaiah 46 explicitly states
that God declared "the end from the beginning." I receive
this statement as literal truth. Therefore, it is my
intention in these studies to examine each of the days in the
week set forth in Genesis 1 & 2, written now 6,000 years
ago, to see what can be learned about the end of this age.
My prayer is that this study will be enlightening and a blessing
to every reader........
ETERNITY PAST......
We begin with eternity past. The
expression in Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning God," does not
state nor imply the beginning of God. Almighty God was
already in existence before He chose to create.
The question then asked of me
numerous times over the 63 years I have been in the Lord's
ministry, is, "Where did God come from?" My answer is that
I haven't the slightest idea, but I refuse to let the question
stop me from believing in and serving the Lord.
The old Patriarch Job asked the same
question many centuries ago, in saying, "Canst thou by searching
find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto
perfection," Job 11:7-8. Whether some "super smart" men
[or women] choose to believe it or not, there are a few things
in life that are unknowable, and the origin of God is one of
them. The Lord God Himself, in Deuteronomy 29:29, inspired
Moses to write, "The secret things belong unto the Lord our God:
but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our
children for ever, that we may do all the words of this
law." Therefore, don't allow this question about the
origin of God to interfere with believing on, and loving and
serving, the Lord God. It is explicitly stated in Hebrews
11:6, "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he
that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a
rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." Glory to
God! I know this Scripture to be true by my own personal
experience of God's saving grace. Now let's move on.....
EXPOSITION OF DAY ONE
Our readers should notice that the Lord
God placed only five inspired Scriptures in this first chapter
of your Bible describing the first day of creation. Why
just five Scripures? Because God is filled with
GRACE and love and compassion for mankind, whom He created,
Psalm 111:4; John 3:16. "5" is the number in the Bible
which signifies "the grace of God."
For this study, I am referring to the
way these Scriptures read in my Hebrew
Bible.
1:1....."In [the] beginning God created
the heaven[s] and the earth."
In my Hebrew Bible, this
statement simply reads, "In beginning God...." Some
translations of the Scriptures render this statement, "In a
beginning God...." Either one of these translations are
setting forth the truth of God's Word in our English
Bible. God existed in eternity past, before He ever
began to create.....
This amounts to the fact that at some
point in eternity past, our Eternal God chose to begin the
material creation. Scriptural verification of this truth
is set forth in Psalm 41:13, "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel
from everlasting [eternity], and to everlasting
[eternity]. Amen and Amen." This literally means
from the state of eternity which existed in the past before God
began to create, to the state of eternity which will exist in
the future "ages to come," Ephesians 2:7."
There is another point about these days
of Genesis 1, which any true believer who desires to "rightly
divide the Word of Truth" must know and understand. Each
of the days in Genesis 1 typify 1,000 years of human
history. This is not my opinion! This is clearly
stated twice in God's Word.
"But beloved, be not ignorant of this
one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years,
and a thousand years as one day," 2 Peter 3:8.
"For a thousand years in Thy sight are
but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night,"
Psalm 90:4.
In serious study of God's Word, I
learned many years ago, that when a truth is stated twice in the
Scriptures, it is established by God, and is therefore
unalterable.
So here are two inspired Scriptures
which plainly state that the Lord regards each period of 1,000
years of human history as only one day in His Great Week, and
each day in His week of creation [Genesis 1] as typifying 1,000
years of human history. Therefore there is a
definite correlation between the days in the week of creation,
and the chronology of human history.
Caution.....this does not mean that
these days in Genesis 1 - 2 were anything more than 24 hour
days, just like days are today. It simply means that each
24 hour day typified a 1,000 year period in human history.
There is no Scriptural authority for making these days apply to
just any period or length of time, other than that which is
specifically stated in the inspired Word. Now let's
proceed with our examination.....
In this very first verse in God's Word,
the Hebrew word translated as "heaven" is in the singular in the
KJV, and in most other English translations of the Bible.
However, in the Hebrew text the word is in the plural; that is,
"heavens." Even the Apostle Paul spoke of a plurality of
heavens in 2 Corinthians 12:2. The word as used in Genesis
1:1 is basically speaking of the entire expanse of space above
and beyond the earth.
I also want to emphasize to our readers
that the heavens and the earth, as originally created were
"beautiful," and ready for habitation by mankind. In
Ecclesiastes 3:11, the inspired word clearly states, "He hath
made every thing beautiful in His time....." Then in
Isaiah 45:18, the inspired Word says, "For thus saith the Lord
that created the heavens; God Himself that formed the earth and
made it; He hath established it, He created it not in
vain, [tohu...formless; waste; empty; useless; confused;
vain], He formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is
none else." See Gesenius Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon, Page 857,
Strong's No. 8414. Dear readers, this inspired Scripture
just explicity states that when God created the earth, it was
not in the condition described in verse 2 of this chapter, but
rather was beautiful and ready for habitation by mankind.
Are our readers going to believe what God's Word says, or what
some "theorist" claims? Well...??
1:2.....And the earth [was] became
[verb tense] without form and void: and darkness was upon the
face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved [brooded]
upon the face of the waters.
In this Scripture, the word "was" as
supplied by the translators is not correct. Anyone who
seriously studies the Hebrew language [and the Hebrew Bible]
should know that there is a verb tense in this Scripture.
A verb tense in language always denotes action. "Was," on
the other hand, is speaking of a condition or fixed state, but
the verb tense in this Scripture clearly indicates that due to
some action on the part of someone [?], the earth as originally
created came into a state of waste and desolation [tohu wa
bohu], just as this Scripture describes it.
Therefore an enemy of God obviously
brought the earth into such a state of waste and desolation, as
stated in 1:2. Now who could the enemy be, who would do
such a thing to God's beautiful creation? The answer is
obviously Satan, the same evil being who also deceived Mother
Eve, and caused sin and death to come upon mankind, Romans 5:12.
Think about this! Is it just
"coincidence" that Adam and Eve were created in the image and
likeness of God, and as such were spiritually pure and
sinless. But just as the original earth was brought into a
state of waste, desolation, and darkness, so when Satan deceived
Eve, and Adam chose to disobey the Lord, spiritual sin and death
came upon mankind, and spiritual darkness filled their
souls. Is this correlation just "coincidence?" Be
careful how you answer, for God is listening, Matthew 12:36-37.
I suggest that our readers look at 1
Corinthians 15:47, which Scripture points out that Adam was
typical of the earth. So what happened to the earth as
originally created, was similar to what happened to Adam.
Quite obviously, the correlation is not just "coincidence."
But notice that this Scripture also
states, "And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the
waters." The Hebrew word translated as "moved" literally
means "brooded," as a hen broods over her eggs, Matthew
23:37. In other words, the Lord God was not at all pleased
that the earth, as He had originally created it, had been
brought into such a state of waste and desolation. So,
just as a hen broods over her eggs to bring forth life, so the
Spirit of God brooded over the waters covering the earth, to
restore form and life and usefulness to the earth. Glory
to God! Praise the Lord! Hallelujah!
1:3....."And God said, Let there be
light: and there was light."
In order to hasten the
restoration of the earth to the beauty and usefulness in which
God had originally created it, God introduced "light" to dispel
the darkness. This "light" was obviously not the light of
the Sun, for the Sun was not brought into this week of creation
until the fourth day, 1:14-18. This "light" which God
introduced on the very first day of the creation week is typical
of the light of Christ Jesus, whom the Scriptures explicitly
state is "the light of the world," John 1:1-9; 8:12; 9:5.
A true believer can stand in total darkness, and still have "the
light of Christ" shining in their heart and soul. Glory to
God!
Across the centuries of human history,
men have "discovered" that "light" is very necessary for the
maintenace of life upon the earth. Light is necessary for
the purification of the water we drink, of the air we breathe,
and for the germination and growth of the plants we eat, and for
other vegetation. Now look at your Bibles, and see that on
the second and third days of the creation week, within 24 to 48
hours, God would deal with the waters covering the earth,
and would cause vegetation to grow upon the earth. There
are certain types of vegetation on the earth today, which if
deprived of light, will completely die within just a day or
two. Our great and gracious God knew exactly what He was
doing when He introduced "light" upon the earth to dispel the
darkness, on the very first day of the creation week.
Glory to God!
1:4....."And God saw the light, that it
was good: and God divided the light from the darkness."
Folks, "light" is good! It makes
a way for us to see how to get around in a dark place. And
it is powerful! Even a wee candle, when lighted, will
overpower the darkness, making it possible to see to get about
and do whatever we need to do in a previously dark
room. Do not our readers enjoy the sunlight on a
lovely day, much more than day after dreary day when there is no
light of the Sun shining?
There is also a spiritual significance
to "light" as opposed to darkness. Light in the Scriptures
is typical of that which is good and righteous, as opposed to
that which is bad and evil.
1:5....."And God called the light Day,
and the darkness He called Night. And the evening and the
morning were the first day."
God Himself labeled these as two
distinct periods of time. The 12 hours of darkness are
called "Night." The 12 hours of light are called
"Day." Each period of time has spiritual significance.
In Psalm 30:5, we read, ".....weeping
may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." It
is obvious that this is speaking of periods of time in human
history, when there is great sorrow, only to be followed by
rejoicing when the "morning" of the "day of Christ" finally
dawns upon mankind. Glory to God!
The Apostle Paul explicitly stated that
we New Covenant believers are living in the "night" time of
human history, and are headed towards "the day of God," Romans
13:11-12. He used this knowledge to admonish true
believers to "awake" out of spiritual sleep, "knowing the
time.......for now is our salvation nearer than when we
believed." Praise the Lord! Glory to God!
Then the remainder of 1:5 says,
"And the evening and the morning were the first day." In
the Hebrew text this statement is literally, "And the evening
and the morning became day one."
Each period of time observed as a
"day," by the early inhabitants of the earth, began at sundown,
and proceeded forward 24 hours until sundown the following
day. The modern practice of beginning each new day at
midnight, is a practice which was not followed by the early
peoples on the earth.
What this tells us is that the first
day of the creation week began on what we now call Sunday
evening at sundown, and ended 24 hours later on Monday evening
at sundown. It was then Monday evening at sundown when the
second day of the creation week began.
THE CORRELATION
Now let's look at the correlation
between this first day of the week, and the first 1,000 years
which this first week typifies, 2 Peter 3:8.
This first 1,000 of human history began
with the creation of Adam and Eve on the sixth day of the
creation week, 1:26-30; 2:7-8. The Lord God explicitly
told Adam not to eat of "the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil," 2:16-17. The penalty for disobeying the Lord was
that Adam would die, 2:17. But Adam didn't obey, and
brought sin and death upon all of mankind, Romans 5:12.
Notice the exact wording of 2:17, "But
of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shall not
eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt
surely die." Some unbelieving critics of the Bible have
declared that here is a mistake in God's Word, for Adam did not
die on the day he ate of the forbidden fruit. Pshaw!
Read 2 Peter 3:8 again, and let the truth stated soak in.
Adam did die in the first 1,000 year day of God's Great
Week. Adam died when he was 930 years of age, Genesis
5:5. This was 70 years short of fulfilling the full day of
1,000 years. Glory to God! His Word stands correct
and inviolate!
Imagine if you can, the entire earth
populated by just one family, Adam and Eve and their
children. Now look at the teeming millions of people today
all over the earth, all of whom are descendants of that original
first family. How great is our God!
The chronology of mankind from Adam to
Noah is set forth in Genesis 5. The careful Bible student
can calculate the years involved from this chronology. It
is obvious that the first "day" in God's Great Week, the first
period of 1,000 years, there were very few people on the whole
earth. There were just a few families multiplying and
replenishing the earth, as the Lord had instructed, Genesis
1:28. It was 1,056 years from the creation of Adam to the
birth of Lamech, the father of Noah.
This chronology primarily traces the
descendants of Adam who believed in the Lord God and passed the
knowledge of God on to their children. In other words, it
basically sets forth the "blood line" of those believers through
whom the Lord Jesus Christ would come into the world many
centuries later in mankind's history.
In seriously studying this chronology,
it explicitly mentions the first three sons of Adam.
Adam's firstborn son was Cain,
4:1. This son of Adam is mentioned 20 times in the Bible,
but never in a good sense. Cain was a type of those who
depend on themselves and their own works [the flesh] to justify
themselves before God. I suggest our readers look up the
Scripture references to Cain in God's Word, and carefully study
them all.
Adam's secondborn son was Abel,
4:2. Abel apparently believed what his father, Adam, told
him about God, and sought to love and fear and serve the
Lord. As a result, he was hated by Cain, and became the
first martyr for the Lord, brutally murdered by his own brother,
4:8.
Because of Cain's wicked and
unrepentant heart, the Lord God placed a mark and a curse upon
him, and Cain became "a fugitive and a vagabond," 4:11-12.
One might describe him as the first "hippy."
Since the ground was cursed, and would
no longer yield it's strength to Cain, he then made the choice
to become a city dweller, and established the first city on the
earth, 4:11-17. Since that day to the present time, those
of mankind who do not want to earn their bread by the sweat of
their face [3:17-19], have favored living together with others
in cities. Working at a job in some city, is usually
physically easier than laboring on a farm to exact a living from
the soil.
Some readers may resent what I have
just stated about cities. But before a reader gets boiling
mad at me, perhaps they need to read and explain why all the
cities on the earth will be destroyed, with the exception of
Jerusalem, during the coming Tribulation period? And why
the Lord God is going to make certain that "the face of the
earth" is never filled with cities again, Zephaniah 3:6,
Revelation 16:19, Isaiah 14:17, and 14:21?
Well.....??
Then Adam was blessed with yet a
third son, whose name was Seth, 5:3. Seth's name means
"appointed" or "substituted." Seth was appointed as the
godly seed, in the place of Abel, whom Cain had murdered.
Some of our readers have likely studied
about Seth. According to the traditions of the Israelite
people, Seth was a devoted "man of God," totally sold out to the
Lord God. According to Israelite traditions, Seth was also
the man who constructed, or was in charge of constructing, the
Great Pyramid in the land of Egypt. I feel certain that
some of our readers have studied about the Great Pyramid in
Egypt. I have neither time nor space to go into detail
about it in this study.
I will simply mention that the Great
Pyramid is a mathematical and prophetical marvel set in
stone. The design and construction of the Great Pyramid
contains information about the earth and the heavens, and even
the future of mankind, which was not yet known in the days of
Adam and Seth, and which was not even "discovered" until recent
times.
The only rational explanation for this, is that Almighty God
inspired Seth as he constructed the Great Pyramid, for it can
almost be said that the Great Pyramid is "the Bible set in
stone." Any reader who has never studied the subject,
would be blessed by reading some of the many books which have
been written about the Great Pyramid.
Therefore Seth was one of the two
outstanding "men of God" listed in this chronology in Genesis 5.
The second outstanding "man of
God" listed in this chronology in Genesis 5, which deserves the
attention of God's people, is Enoch, 5:18. Enoch was the
son of Jared. and the 7th man in the lineage of descent from
Adam, born 622 years after the creation of Adam. Enoch is
the man who wrote The Book of Enoch, which is still in print and
available to God's people to read today. Every true
believer would be blessed by obtaining a copy of this book and
reading it for yourself.
Enoch was also the man who lived only
365 years, and walked so close to the Lord, that the Lord "took
him," 5:24. In other words, Enoch did not die, but rather
was "raptured" off the earth into the Lord's presence in
glory. As such, he stands as Scriptural proof of the
reality of the rapture for God's people. Glory!
Glory! Glory!
Since Enoch was born 622 years after
the creation of Adam, and "God took him" 365 years later, then
his rapture occurred 987 years into the first "day" of God's
Great Week. Glory to God!
Conclusion
Dear readers, we who are living on the
earth today are so close to the coming of Christ "in the air" to
rapture His New Covenant saints to glory, that every reader of
this study should be living for the Lord every day. At any
minute of any day now, our Lord could come for us. Are you
a true believer? Do you have the assurance of forgiven sin
and salvation in Christ Jesus? If not, why not? The
way of salvation is repeatedly set forth in God's Word, and all
the Lord is asking of you is to believe, Acts 16:30-31.
Read Luke 21:36, John 3:16-18, 5:24,
14:6, Acts 4:12, Romans 10:8- 13, and get the salvation of your
eternal soul settled with the Lord today. May God
grant you His GRACE is my prayer.
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TO BE CONTINUED AS THE LORD PERMITS
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Permission is granted to any true
believer to reproduce this study to share with others, or to
quote from it in context as written.
Thank you again, beloved brothers and
sisters in Christ, for your prayers for me, and for your gifts
for the support of this Bible Study ministry. Every
kindness is so deeply appreciated. Thank you!
Please address all comments,
questions, and correspondence to me at: Pastor F. M.
Riley, 14275 County Road 8120, Rolla, Missouri 65401.
Those who would like to speak with me personally can reach me by
calling 573-201-0491. Just remember that I am as old as
the hills, and let the phone ring until I can get to it to
answer it.
God bless you all is my prayer.......
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