Sunday Evening Bible Study
May 4th, 2003
I. Introduction
a. Last few weeks we dealt with the first words written of the Revelation of God to mankind.
i. Genesis 1:1 shows the God who was there before creation and stands above all creation.
ii. Genesis 1:2 shows a state of raw material created before any form is superimposed on that material
b. This week we will want to look at:
i. Point of View of the Creation
ii. Various theories of the Creation
iii. Ordering and Structuring of Creation
iv. The Institution of the Type of Seven
v. Jesus Christ: The Divine Agent of Creation
II. The Point of View of the Creation
a. The unique third person viewpoint used in conjunction with God is really quite unusual. It is a view that we normally would not have since we are indeed His creation. This is proof that this account must be from the Holy Spirit recorded by Moses because the view is from the omnipresence of God not from what man may examine.
b. Empiricism, or the reaction to things that can be observed, is sometimes unreliable in relation to the view that is being received. If we were to view the creation from our vantage point, something that Evolutionary Science attempts to do frequently, we run the risk of not seeing everything, as it needs to be viewed. In the same way a scientist would not get good results looking through a dirty lens of a microscope or telescope.
c. While some parts of the Bible skips over huge chunks of time in only a few verses, the creation account is very rigid and systematic in its presentation. Each day will include and event, structuring and then will be certified by adding the phrase, “And there was evening, and there was morning, ____ day.” This is similar to how an accountant might handle a group of numbers that had particular importance. The 24-hour day will be dealt with below at length, just know here that this is special in relation to the point of view of the creation.
III. Various Theories of the Creation
a. After examining the point of view of creation we must understand there have been various theories put forward concerning how to understand the creation account of Genesis 1:1-2:3. You must remember that a theory is not a fact, and some components of certain theories ask interesting questions and answer some problems mankind has with his origin.
b. Categories of Creation by means of various interpretation (these will be treated below):
i. Literal Interpretation
ii. Progressive Creationism
iii. Theistic Evolution
iv. Religious-Only Interpretation (or Complementary Interpretation)
c. Some of these theories are:
i. The Gap Theory = Progressive & Literal
ii. The Flood Theory = Progressive
iii. The Ideal Time Theory = Progressive & Religious
iv. The Day Age Theory = Theistic
v. The Pictorial Day Theory = Theistic & Religious
vi. The 24-Hour Day Theory = Literal Interpretation
* NOTE: Please note that each of these may bridge across various categories but the list here is a stabilizing suggestion to understand them as they show their primary facet of interpretation.
d. Theories of the creationistic account in Genesis 1:1-2:3:
i. The Gap Theory
1. See Last weeks notes
2. An expanse of time existed before Gen 1:1, between 1:1 and 1:2 or in Gen 1:2 allowing for a large chunk of unmeasured time.
ii. The Flood Theory
1. Being in a vastly different cosmogony than we know today that time was understood different and so the days of creation are a different period of time than regular 24-hour days.
iii. The Ideal Time Theory
1. The theory does not hold to a literal 24-hour day but states that each day represents some ideal time it takes to foster what was created in an unspecified and non-uniform period.
iv. The Age Day Theory
1. Each of the days of creation do not stand for a 24 hour period but rather an unspecified geological age. This theory allows for the supposed millions and millions of years proposed by Evolution theory.
v. The Pictorial Day Theory
1. The days of creation are seen as stages of creation that are un-timed at all but provide a picture of what was created across various categories. The days are not even but could be and this theory doesn’t know. The days are not necessarily in order, but only symbolic of all that was created.
vi.
The 24-Hour Day Theory
1.
The creation of earth took six (6) 24-hour days to be
understood in a literal sense.
e.
The Believers Study Bible categorizes these theories
into 4 different view concerning the creation which states:
The creative “day” (yom, Heb.) is variously
interpreted: (1) A
literal interpretation understands the six days as six, 24-hour solar days. This
view, popularly known as “Recent Creationism,” believes that the creation week
and the first 11 chapters of Genesis should be interpreted literally, thereby
suggesting that the earth is actually no more than 10,000 to 15,000 years old.
This view explains that the earth’s geological history only appears to be
ancient because the earth was created fully developed and mature (cf. creation
of a mature man, 2:7). The geological record, in which simpler life-forms are
superseded by more complex life-forms, is not testimony to biological
evolution. Rather, it is best interpreted as the result of the sudden and
universal cataclysm of the Flood of Noah’s day. “Days” in the Bible, when
preceded by numbers (e.g., first day), always refer to 24-hour periods. Each “day”
ends with the descriptive refrain, “the evening and the morning.” Also, it is
argued, the human week is modeled after the creation week (Ex 20:8-11). (2) “Progressive
Creationism” interprets each of the six days as great periods of time. The
earth is ancient, a view in accord with contemporary geological theory (cf. Job
14:5, 6; Ps 90:4). All created organisms resulted from the direct command of
God, uttered at several points during earth’s long geologic history. Within the
parameters of each specially created “kind,” all organisms were permitted to
change and develop
through time (microevolution). Human life is the direct, special creation of
God. A general correspondence can be detected between the creation account and
the earth’s geological timetable. Genesis, then, is interpreted literally as to
its intended meaning, but not literally in its use of “day.” It is argued that
“day” is used variously in the account: it may refer to the “light” (v. 5), or
to the whole creation period (2:4). The expression “the evening and the
morning” does not occur with the seventh day, implying that we are still in the
seventh day as a period of time (cf. Heb 4:1-10). “Day,” then, should be
interpreted figuratively (Ps 90:5, 6). Therefore, there is no place for
disagreement between the findings of science and the description of Gen. 1. (3) “Theistic Evolution”
interprets Gen. 1 as a religious story. It has no correspondence to geologic
history, since it concerns religious matters and not scientific ones. God
initiated and oversaw the origins of the universe by means of macroevolution,
where all life-forms developed gradually through geologic history. While it is
true that all organisms adapt and mutate, the Genesis account indicates
boundaries (“according to its kind,” v. 24). The primary difficulty with this
view is the origins and nature of human life; evolution interprets human life
as a highly developed species in
continuum with the lower order of animal life. Genesis 1 and 2, on the
contrary, teaches that human life is a special, intimate creation of God. (4) The “Religious-Only”
view interprets the creation account in light of the cosmogonies of the ancient
Near East. Ancient peoples believed that the universe resulted from a struggle
between primordial gods. Genesis proclaims, in opposition to these pagan
cosmogonies, that God is Creator and that He has brought all things into
existence by His Word. This view is “Creationist,” since it believes in the
special creative acts of God, but it does not believe the account answers the
question of the age of the earth. It has been called “Religious-Only” because
Gen. 1 is believed to convey only religious truth. Some refer to the view as
“Complementary” because the Bible and science are said to complement one
another.
f. The Believers study Bible also offers a chart to better understand and clear up the theories as they relate to each other:
|
Perspectives on Genesis 1 |
|||||
|
|
|
Progressive Creationism |
|
|
|
|
|
Recent |
Day-Age |
Intermittent Day |
Religious Only |
Gap Theory |
|
Main Objective of Genesis 1 |
Cosmology Anthropology |
Cosmology Anthropology |
Cosmology Anthropology |
Teaching
religious truth |
Regeneration Anthropology |
|
God’s Creative Activity |
Fiat
only |
Fiat
and natural processes |
Fiat
only |
No
comment |
Fiat
only |
|
Six Days of Genesis 1 |
Literal
24-hour, solar days |
Indefinite
periods of time (ages) |
24-hour
days with geologic ages between |
Literary
days Logical
order, not chronological |
24-hour
days |
|
Age of Earth |
10,000-50,000
years |
Several
billion years |
Several
billion years |
No
comment |
Several
billion years |
|
Origin of Life and Man |
Fiat
creation |
Most
fiat creation Some theistic evolution |
Fiat
only |
No
comment |
Fiat
only |
|
Evolution |
Microevolution
only |
Microevolution
and theistic evolution |
Microevolution
only |
No
comment |
Microevolution
only |
|
Origin of Current Land Forms |
Noah’s
flood |
Current
geological processes |
Current
geological processes |
No
comment |
Noah’s
flood |
|
Origin of Rock Strata and Fossils |
Upper
part— Lower
part— |
Progressive
deposition through billion-year history |
Progressive
deposition through billion-year history |
No
comment |
Upper
part— Lower
part— |
|
Dinosaurs |
Taken
on Noah’s ark; extinction after the Flood |
Extinction
in sixth day/age before man’s creation or evolution |
Extinction
in geologic age before sixth day, when man was created |
No
comment |
Part of
the original creation which persisted when Satan fell |
g. The Various Theories as treated by Pastor Steve:
i. The Gap Theory
1. Key Component
a. A large unknowable period of time prior to creation
2. Major Pro
a. Allows for space in the account for the Angelic fall and attempts to answer science
3. Major Flaw
a. The Gap occurs prior to creation in 1:3 and does not effect the six days of creation due to the form of the language used in that section
ii. The Flood Theory
1. Key Component
a. Time was understood different before the flood
2. Major Pro
a. It agrees that cosmogony prior to flood was different than now
3. Major Flaw
a. It violates the literal structure of the language itself.
b. It speaks where the Bible does not
iii. The Ideal Time Theory
1. Key Component
a. Each day represents some ideal time it takes to foster what was created in a unspecified and non-uniform period.
2. Major Pro
a. Creation was completed in the ideal amount of time and it makes just as much sense with six days as six thousand.
3. Major Flaw
a. Ideal creation makes just as much sense with six days as with 6 million days. Each way is equally unbelievable to the natural mind.
b. It violates the literal structure of the language
c. It is not uniform or structured
d. It allows for the disorder of what was created in specific order.
iv. The Age Day Theory
1. Key Component
a. Each of the days of creation do not stand for a 24 hour period but rather an unspecified geological age. This theory allows for the supposed millions and millions of years proposed by Evolution theory.
2. Major Pro
a. It is an attempt to integrate science and the Bible.
3. Major Flaw
a. It attempts to integrate science with the Bible.
b. It violates the literal structure of the language
v. The Pictorial Day Theory
1. Key Components
a. The stages of creation are un-timed but provide a picture of what was created across six various categories.
b. The days are not even but could be and days are not necessarily in order, but only symbolic of all that was created.
2. Major Pro
a. Understands that God created in distinguishable categories
3. Major Flaw
a. It violates the literal structure of the language
vi. The 24 Hour Day Theory
1. Key Component
a. The days of creation are literal 24-hour days
2.
Major Pro
a.
When the word (íBé)
is yom is used with a prefixing numeral like (ãç˜àÆ) echad - or any other number - then
the day is always and without exception meaning a 24-hour period.
b. The evening and morning descriptor also points to one full revolution of the earth, i.e. one 24-our day.
1. I once had a guy argue with me in a class on the Pentateuch that Gen 1:3-2:3 could not have been literal days because the sun was created to rise until day four. I pointed out however, the sun does not rise, but rather the earth rotates to determine days.
3. Major Flaw
a. It stands in opposition to liberal theology, non-literal interpretation of scripture and Evolutionary theory.
b. So, there is no major flaw at all. Jesus said to be afraid when the world speaks well of you.
IV. Ordering and Structuring of Creation
a. God provided for us a working division as recorded by Moses. In addition to God’s creation we see each day an ordering and a structuring. We will see these divisions by:
i. Illumination
ii. Each Day
iii. Ordering of Day
iv. Pronouncement
b. Illumination
i. Days 1 through 3
1. This is the original theophany, the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ illuminates the world in the first three days. This is the special provision of God for the good of the world. Notice that Light is need to break the darkness settled upon the earth, and that there does not appear to be any variation of light but one extreme or the other. Also, perhaps this is an additional indication of God’s subjection of evil to a specific realm.
ii. Days 4 and following
1. Stationary points of light – stars – are used for illumination and they are placed in relation to earth.
2. I can’t help but wonder if this is not a prefiguring of what God intends to do with the church. Consider light that was created by Christ Himself was pervasive in a way that regular light is not. On day four however the light was delegated to Material light-bearers just like Jesus delegated authority to his followers in this age.
c. Each Day
i. Importance of ‘Day’ (Yom)
1. Notice that day begins with evening in Genesis. The Jews still follow this to this day.
ii. Day 1
1. Light
a. The Hebrew word here is ‘or and is a simple word for illumination.
iii. Day 2
1. Atmosphere
a. The Hebrew word raqiah is translated firmament or expanse. It relates to the distance between two things here such as the waters above and waters below.
b. In verse 14 the expanse includes that contains the sun (greater light) and the moon (lesser light) in addition to the distance between the waters. This is the beginning of another ancient Hebrew belief in three levels of heaven. Earth to atmosphere, atmosphere to farthest star and farthest star to God’s throne.
iv. Day 3
1. Vegetation
a. Hebrew deshee here in its noun form means grass but comes from the root verb dasha which means to sprout forth.
v. Day 4
1. Sun, Moon and Stars
a. Greater and Lesser Light
1. The word light in Hebrew is ‘or with the prefix ma which means great or much and the combination mayor means a body of illumination.
2. Great is gadol and lesser is qaton
vi. Day 5
1. Water Creatures and Sky Creatures
a. The generic term nephesh for lifeform is used in conjuction with chay for living to show that this is a unique life form. Here specifically there are birds oaph, fish dawg (v.26) in the sea and the great sea creature gadol tannin.
vii. Day 6
1. Beasts of Field and Man
a. Beasts of the field chayyah eretz, all that creeps on the ground kol remes haadamah and Man adam
b. Adam is considered a low word for man, unlike ish which is more generic. Adam is also in a figurative sense for hypocrite, obviously an indicator of mans size and physical prowess compared to other creations, not in a spiritual context at this point.
viii. Day 7
1. Rest
a. In Hebrew the word is sabbath or rest.
d. Ordering of Each Day
i. Day 1
1. Light into the Darkness
2. Light from Darkness
ii. Day 2
1. Waters Above and Waters Below
iii. Day 3
1. Waters in One Place, Dry Land Appears and Vegetation springs forth
iv. Day 4
1. Day and Night - Seasons and Festivals
v. Day 5
1. Types and Kinds or Fish and Birds
vi. Day 6
1. Beast of the field and Man
vii. Day 7
1. Work and Rest
e. Pronouncement
i. The word used to pronounce ‘Good’ is tov. It means pleseant or benefit. The idea of benefit is in view of what God is providing for Man, the vice-regent of God’s creation.
ii. Day 1
1. Light was called the day
2. Darkness was called night
3. Light was Good
iii. Day 2
1. God calls the expanse (raqiah) heaven
2. This might be the first indication of a great flood that will come. Since there is no pronouncement of good here it must mean that this is not in its final form.
iv. Day 3
1. Dry land and seas are pronounced Good.
2. Separation of Sea and Land
3. Various vegetation pronounced Good
v. Day 4
1. Light for mankind was called Good
vi. Day 5
1. God pronounces sky and sea creatures Good
2. A blessing on water and sky creatures with the gift of reproduction.
vii. Day 6
1. Beasts of Field pronounced Good.
2. God’s statement, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
3. God blesses mankind, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
4. God instructs mankind, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; 30and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food.”
5. All that had been made was Very Good or meod tov.
viii. Day 7
1. Blessing on the Seventh day by making it qadash or holy, set aside. He honors it with the institution of Rest, not for God although we see God participating (isn’t that interesting?) it is intended for man and all of creation in turn to honor the God of creation.
V. The Institution of the Type of Seven
a. Seven is out of phase with everything else in creation
b. Seven is a prime number, a special trait mathematically
c. Seven is the number of perfection
d. Uses of Seven (from the ISBE)
i. Religious
The number 7 plays a conspicuous part in a multitude of passages giving rules for worship or purification, or recording ritual actions. The 7th day of the week was holy (see SABBATH). There were 7 days of unleavened bread (Ex 34:18, etc.), and 7 days of the Feast of Tabernacles (Lev 23:34). The 7th year was the sabbatical year (Ex 21:2, etc.). The Moabite Balak built Balaam on three occasions 7 altars and provided in each case 7 bullocks and 7 rams (Nu 23:1, 14, 29). The Mosaic law prescribed 7 he-lambs for several festal offerings (Nu 28:11, 19, 27, etc.). The 7-fold sprinkling of blood is enjoined in the ritual of the Day of Atonement (Lev 16:14, 19), and elsewhere. Seven-fold sprinkling is also repeatedly mentioned in the rules for the purification of the leper and the leprous house (Lev 14:7, 16, 27, 51). The leprous Naaman was ordered to bathe 7 times in the Jordan (2 Ki 5:10). In cases of real or suspected uncleanness through leprosy, or the presence of a corpse, or for other reasons, 7 days’ seclusion was necessary (Lev 12:2, etc.). Circumcision took place after 7 days (Lev 12:3). An animal must be 7 days old before it could be offered in sacrifice (Ex 22:30). Three periods of 7 days each are mentioned in the rules for the consecration of priests (Ex 29:30, 35, 37). An oath seems to have been in the first instance by 7 holy things (Gen 21:29 ff and the Hebrew word for “swear”). The number 7 also entered into the structure of sacred objects, for instance the candlestick or lamp-stand in the tabernacle and the second temple each of which had 7 lights (Nu 8:2; Zec 4:2). Many other instances of the ritual use of 7 in the Old Testament and many instructive parallels from Babylonian texts could be given.
ii. Historical
The number 7 also figures prominently in a large number of passages which occur in historical narrative, in a way which reminds us of its symbolic significance. The following are some of the most remarkable: Jacob’s 7 years’ service for Rachel (Gen 29:20; compare 29:27 f), and his bowing down 7 times to Esau (Gen 33:3); the 7 years of plenty, and the 7 years of famine (Gen 41:53 f); Samson’s 7 days’ marriage feast (Jdg 14:12 ff; compare Gen 29:27), 7 locks of hair (Jdg 16:19), and the 7 withes with which he was bound (Jdg 16:7 f); the 7 daughters of Jethro (Ex 2:16), the 7 sons of Jesse (1 Sam 16:10), the 7 sons of Saul (2 Sam 21:6), and the 7 sons of Job (Job 1:2; compare 42:13); the 7 days’ march of the 7 priests blowing 7 trumpets round the walls of Jericho, and the 7-fold march on the 7th day (Josh 6:8 ff); the 7 ascents of Elijah’s servant to the top of Carmel (1 Ki 18:43 f); the 7 sneezes of the Shunammitish woman’s son (2 Ki 4:35); the heating of Nebuchadnezzar’s furnace 7 times more than it was wont to be heated (Dan 8:19), and the king’s madness for 7 times or years (Dan 4:16, 23, 25, 32); Anna’s 7 years of wedded life (Lk 2:36); the 7 loaves of the 4,000 (Mt 15:34-36 parallel) and the 7 baskets full of fragments (Mt 15:37 parallel); the 7 brothers in the conundrum of the Sadducees (Mt 22:25 parallel); the 7 demons cast out of Mary Magdalene (Mk 16:9 parallel Lk 8:2); the 7 ministers in the church at Jerusalem (Acts 6:3 ff), and the 7 sons of Sceva (Acts 19:14, but the Western text represents them as only 2). The number must no doubt be understood literally in many of these passages, but even then its symbolic meaning is probably hinted at by the historian. When a man was said to have had 7 sons or daughters, or an action was reported as done or to be done 7 times, whether by design or accident, the number was noted, and its symbolic force remembered. It cannot indeed be regarded in all these cases as a sacred number, but its association with sacred matters which was kept alive among the Jews by the institution of the Sabbath, was seldom, if ever, entirely overlooked.
iii. Didactic or Literary
The symbolic use of 7 naturally led to its employment by poets and
teachers for the vivid expression of multitude or intensity. This use is
sometimes evident, and sometimes latent. (a) Evident examples are the 7-fold
curse predicted for the murderer of Cain (Gen 4:15); fleeing 7 ways (Dt 28:7,
25); deliverance from 7
troubles (Job 5:19); praise of God 7 times a day (Ps 119:164); 7 abominations
(Prov 26:25; compare 6:16); silver purified 7 times, that is, thoroughly
purified (Ps 12:6); 7-fold sin; 7-fold repentance, and 7-fold forgiveness (Lk
17:4; compare Mt 18:21); 7 evil spirits (Mt 12:45 parallel Lk 11:26). The last
of these,
as well as the previous reference to the 7 demons cast out of Mary Magdalene
reminds us of the 7 spirits of Beliar (Testament to the Twelve Patriarchs,
Reuben chapters 2 and 3) and of the 7 evil spirits so often referred to in
Babylonian exorcisms (compare Hehn, op. cit., 26 ff), but it is not safe to
connect our Lord’s
words with either. The Babylonian belief may indeed have influenced popular
ideas to some extent, but there is no need to find a trace of it in the
Gospels. The 7 demons of the latter are sufficiently accounted for by the
common symbolic use of 7. For other passages which come under this head compare
Dt 28:7, 25; Ruth 4:15; 1 Sam 2:5; Ps 79:12. (b) Examples of latent use of the
number 7, of what Zockler (RE3, “Sieben”) calls “latent heptads,” are not
infrequent. The 7-fold use of the expression “the voice of Yahweh” in Ps 29, which has caused
it to be named “The Psalm of the Seven Thunders,” and the 7 epithets of the
Divine Spirit in Isa 11:2, cannot be accidental. In both cases the number is
intended to point at full-summed completeness. In the New Testament we have the
7 beatitudes of character (Mt 5:3-9); the 7 petitions of the Paternoster (Mt
6:9 f); the 7 parables of the Kingdom in Mt 13; the 7 woes pronounced on the
Pharisees (Mt 28:13, 15, 16, 23, 25, 27, 29), perhaps the 7 sayings of Jesus,
beginning with
“I am” (egoôñ eimi) in the Fourth Gospel (Jn 6:35; 8:12; 10:7,
11; 11:25; 14:6; 15:1), and the 7 disciples at the Lake after the Resurrection
(Jn 21:2). Several groups of 7 are found in the Epistles and in Revelation: 7
forms of suffering (Rom 8:35); 7 gifts or charismata (Rom 12:6-9); 7 attributes
of the wisdom that is from above (Jas 3:17); 7 graces to be added to faith (2
Pet 1:5 ff); two doxologies each containing 7 words of praise (Rev 5:12; 7:12),
and 7 classes of men (Rev 6:15). Other supposed instances of 7-fold grouping in
the Fourth Gospel are pointed out by E.A. Abbott (Johannine Grammar, 2624 ff),
but are of uncertain value.
iv. Appocalyptic
As might be expected, 7 figures greatly in apocalyptic literature,
although it is singularly absent from the apocalyptic portion of Daniel. Later
works of this kind, however—the writings bearing the name of Enoch, the
Testaments of Reuben and Levi, 2 Esd, etc.—supply many illustrations. The
doctrine of the 7
heavens which is developed in the Slavonic Enoch and elsewhere and may have
been in the first instance of Babylonian origin is not directly alluded to in
the Bible, but probably underlies the apostle’s reference to the third heaven
(2 Cor 12:2). In the one apocalyptic writing in the New Testament, 7 is
employed with
amazing frequency. We read of 7 churches (Rev 1:4, etc.); 7 golden candlesticks
(Rev 1:12, etc.); 7 stars (Rev 1:16); 7 angels of the churches (Rev 1:20); 7
lamps of fire (Rev 4:5); 7 spirits of God (Rev 1:4; 3:1; 4:5); a book with 7
seals (Rev 5:1); a lamb with 7 horns and 7 eyes (Rev 5:6); 7 angels with 7
trumpets (Rev 8:2); 7 thunders (Rev 10:3); a dragon with 7 heads and 7 diadems
(Rev 13:3); a beast with 7 heads (Rev 18:1); 7 angels having the 7 last plagues
(Rev 15:1); and 7 golden bowls of the wrath of God (Rev 15:7) and a
scarlet-colored beast with 7 heads (Rev 17:3) which are 7 mountains (Rev 17:9)
and 7 kings (Rev 17:10). The writer, whoever he was, must have had his
imagination saturated with the numerical symbolism which had been cultivated in
Western Asia for millenniums. There cannot be a shadow of doubt that 7 for him
expressed fullness, completeness. As this inquiry will have shown, the
significance of the
number is practically the same throughout the Bible. Although a little of it
may have been rubbed off in the course of ages, the main idea suggested by 7
was never quite lost sight of in Biblical times, and the number is still used
in the life and song of the Holy Land and Arabia with at least an echo of its
ancient meaning.
The significance of 7 extends to its multiples. Fourteen, or twice 7,
is possibly symbolic in some cases. The stress laid in the Old Testament on the
14th of the month as the day of the Passover (Ex 12:6 and 16 other places), and
the regulation that 14 lambs were to be offered on each of the 7 days of the
Feast of
Tabernacles (Nu 29:13, 15) hint at design in the selection of the number,
especially in view of the fact that 7 and 7 occur repeatedly in cuneiform
literature—in magical and liturgical texts, and in the formula so often used in
the Am Tab: “7 and 7 times at the feet of the king my lord … I prostrate
myself.” The arrangement of the generations from Abraham to Christ in three
groups of 14 each (Mt 1:17) is probably intentional, so far as the number in
each group is concerned. It is doubtful whether the number has any symbolic
force in Acts 27:27; 2 Cor 12:2; Gal 2:1. Of course it must be remembered that
both the Hebrew and Greek words for 14 (arbaô€aôh €aôsaôr; dekateñssares) suggest that it is made up
of 10 and 4, but constant use of 7 in the sense above defined will have
influenced the application of its double, at least in some cases. Forty-nine,
or 7 X 7, occurs in two regulations of the Law. The second of the three great
festivals took place on the 50th day after one of the days of unleavened bread
(Lev 23:15 ff), that is, after an interval of 7 X 7 days; and two years of
Jubilee were separated by 7 X 7 years (Lev 25:8 ff). The combination is met
with also in one of the so-called Penitential Psalms of Babylonia: “Although my
sins are 7 times 7, forgive me my sins.” Seven multiplied by ten, or 70, was a
very strong expression of multitude which is met with in a large number of
passages in the Old Testament. It occurs of persons: the 70 descendants of
Jacob (Ex 15; Dt 10:22); the 70 elders of Israel (Ex 24:1, 9; Nu 11:16, 24 f);
the 70 kings ill treated by Adoni-bezek (Jdg 1:7); the 70 sons of Gideon (Jdg
8:30; 9:2); the 70 descendants of Abdon who rode on 70 asscolts (Jdg 12:14);
the 70 sons of Ahab (2 Ki 10:1, 6 f); and the 70 idolatrous elders seen by
Ezekiel (Ezek 8:11). It is also used of periods: 70 days of Egyptian mourning
for Jacob (Gen 50:3); 70 years of trial (Isa 23:15, 17; Jer 25:11 f; Dan 9:2;
Zec 1:12; 7:5); the 70 weeks of Daniel (Dan 9:24); and the 70 years of human
life (Ps 90:10). Other noticeable uses of 70 are the 70 palm trees of Elim (Ex
15:27 parallel Nu 33:9); the offering of 70 bullocks in the time of Hezekiah (2
Ch 29:32), and the offering by the heads of the tribes of 12 silver bowls each
of 70 shekels (Nu 7:13 ff). In the New Testament we have the 70
apostles (Lk 10:1, 17), but the number is uncertain with Codices Vaticanus and
Bezae and some versions reading 72, which is the product, not of 7 and 10, but
of 6 and 12. Significant seventies are also met with outside of the Bible. The
most noteworthy are the Jewish belief that there were 70 nations outside
Israel, with 70 languages, under the care of 70 angels, based perhaps on the
list in Gen 10; the Sanhedrin of about 70 members; the translation of the
Pentateuch into Greek by Septuagint (more exactly 72), and the 70 members of a
family in one of the Aramaic texts of Sendschirli. This abundant use of 70 must
have been largely due to the fact that it was regarded as an intensified 7.
Seventy and seven, or 77, a combination found in the words of Lamech (Gen 4:24); the
number of the princes and elders of Succoth (Jdg 8:14); and the number of lambs
in a memorable sacrifice (Ezr 8:35), would appeal in the same way to the
oriental fancy. The product of seven and seventy (Greek hebdomeôkontañkis heptañ) is met with once in the
New Testament (Mt 18:22), and in the Septuagint of the above-quoted Gen 4:24.
Moulton, however (Grammar of Greek New Testament Prolegomena,
98), renders in both passages 70 plus 7; contra, Allen, “Mt,” ICC, 199.
The number is clearly a forceful equivalent of “always.”
Seven thousand in 1 Ki 19:18 parallel Rom 11:4 may be a round number chosen on
account of its embodiment of the number 7. In the Moabite Stone the number of
Israelites slain at the capture of the city of Nebo by the Moabites is reckoned
at 7,000. The half of seven seems sometimes to have been regarded as
significant. In Dan 7:25; 9:27; 12:7; Lk 4:25 parallel 5:17; Rev 11:2; 13:5 a
period of distress is calculated at 3 1/2 years, that is, half the period of
sacred completeness.
VI. Jesus Christ: Divine Agent of Creation
a. Jesus Christ is the Revealed member of the God-head
b. Jesus Christ is responsible for creation, “All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.” John 1:3
c. Jesus Christ is responsible for sustaining creation, “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” Colossians 1:17
d. The I AM statements of Jesus in the Gospel of John correlate to the days of creation as follows:
1 Light the
light of the world We
are illumined in Him
2 Expanse the gate We
find our place in Him
3 Gathering, Vegetation the good shepherd We are separated
with Him
4 Constellations the way, truth and
life We find
direction in Him
5 Teaming
Creatures the bread of
life We
have provision in Him
6 Beasts
and Man the true
vine We
have life in Him
7 Rest, Consecration the resurrection & the life Our rest is found in Him.
e. Do not forget about the recreation that is coming to present the Bride of Christ to Him and set the millennial state. See Revelations 21:1-22:5. This is sometimes as referred to as the eighth day of creation.
VII. Conclusion
a. What we have seen
i. The ISBE states, “The early chapters of Genesis were, of course, not given to reveal the truths of physical science, but they recognize creation as marked by order, continuity, law, plastic power of productiveness in the different kingdoms, unity of the world and progressive advance.”
ii. However, what Genesis does provide does not contradict legitimate scientific examination and postulation.
iii. Of the various forms of theories there is no matching the simplicity of the literal 24-Hour Day Theory
iv. The number seven is going to be highly repeated throughout scripture and sets a precedent for completion.
b. Questions?
c. Next Week we will look at:
i. “The Vice Regent” in Genesis 1:26-2:25
VIII. Pray
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