God's 7000 Year Plan for Mankind - And a Timeline!

[Journeyman]

It sure is isn’t it ? that’s the point of the doctrine of the Father in heaven and Son of man born and manifest on earth who are one .

The son is the heir of the fathers creation but the inheritance is made for the children

“The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ;

if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

For the earnest expectation of the creation waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:16-19‬ ‭

“For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed,

and heirs according to the promise.”
‭‭Galatians‬ ‭3:26-29‬ ‭KJV‬‬

the doctrine where God came and was born among us being the Son is meant to form us in the image of Gods son and give us the inheritance of the only begotten which is eternal life together with our God and father !!

everything is amazing to me brother which God created and then restores through Christ I am in awe of his plans and work to save us as I learn of things he’s made known in his word , it is truly mesmerizing how he loves man both as a whole and also individually

He is awesome

Yes he is awesome. Everything is amazing to me also. I'm amazed at how God freely gives To come into the world and put up with the violence against himself just blows my mind. Talk about turning the other cheek...yikes! I'm so happy he's making us like that!!!

 

[PennEd]

The creation story in Genesis can also be interpreted figuratively (including the interpretation that "Adam" is actually a metaphor for mankind rather than a literal individual). The timeframes and initial events can be understood as metaphoric or alluding to things that couldn't be properly encapsulated by the early languages.

Can Christ's Life, Death, and Resurrection be a metaphor as well?

 

[Jocund]

Can Christ's Life, Death, and Resurrection be a metaphor as well?

"And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins." - 1 Cor 15:17 KJV

I don't see how it could be contextually possible for the life, death, and resurrection to be metaphoric especially when we consider 1 Cor 15:17. Paul seemed to be driving home the point that believing in the literalness of the resurrection was essential for faith.

I think the concept you are pointing to is a very important one: "At what point do you draw the line between that which is literal and that which is figurative?" And what I'm proposing is that where there is uncertainty in what is meant by something that we at least explore and test the different interpretations that seem consistent.

Not everyone will agree on which interpretations feel the most correct, especially in things that are revealed by vision or prophecy. Visions are especially known for having abstract qualities that point to the truth. Because the creation itself happened before man existed, it therefore follows that the first part of the Gen 1 creation account was told or shown to man by God. Even the way Adam was created would necessarily be something told or revealed rather than witnessed by man.

In the initial creation account in Gen 1, in a figurative interpretation, it's only really the length of day that would need to be figurative in that style of interpretation (cf. Psalm 90:4). The rest of the creation process would just be understood with the concept that God sometimes creates things through natural means (e.g. Job). The descriptions and order of creation would still be literal. There are some things such as "the firmament" which still requires interpretation in either case. I'd propose that "firmament" is figurative. But other than that, Gen 1 interpreted as an account of billions of years of creation doesn't require much in the way of figurative elements. "Yes, He made the firmament, but could have used natural processes for it to get there" or... "the natural processes we see today are echoes from creation"

It's Gen 2-4 that becomes the point that differing opinions will emerge.

Is it a coincidence that "Adam" means "mankind"? A few things line up that make a case for the Gen 2-4 to be parable-like. But, like anything, just because an interpretation is consistent doesn't mean we should just stop there. I'm just pondering what would stop Gen 2-4 from being figurative. I'm content with leaving it as a mystery, unimportant to the core Christian message.

"Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created." - Gen 5:2 KJV

Gen 5:2 isn't a nail in the coffin, but it does highlight how one could see Gen 2-4 as a parable-like account with Adam being a symbolic representation of mankind.

I'm always on the hunt for perspective. What is your thought on all of this?

 

[PennEd]

"And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins." - 1 Cor 15:17 KJV

I don't see how it could be contextually possible for the life, death, and resurrection to be metaphoric especially when we consider 1 Cor 15:17. Paul seemed to be driving home the point that believing in the literalness of the resurrection was essential for faith.

I think the concept you are pointing to is a very important one: "At what point do you draw the line between that which is literal and that which is figurative?" And what I'm proposing is that where there is uncertainty in what is meant by something that we at least explore and test the different interpretations that seem consistent.

Not everyone will agree on which interpretations feel the most correct, especially in things that are revealed by vision or prophecy. Visions are especially known for having abstract qualities that point to the truth. Because the creation itself happened before man existed, it therefore follows that the first part of the Gen 1 creation account was told or shown to man by God. Even the way Adam was created would necessarily be something told or revealed rather than witnessed by man.

In the initial creation account in Gen 1, in a figurative interpretation, it's only really the length of day that would need to be figurative in that style of interpretation (cf. Psalm 90:4). The rest of the creation process would just be understood with the concept that God sometimes creates things through natural means (e.g. Job). The descriptions and order of creation would still be literal. There are some things such as "the firmament" which still requires interpretation in either case. I'd propose that "firmament" is figurative. But other than that, Gen 1 interpreted as an account of billions of years of creation doesn't require much in the way of figurative elements. "Yes, He made the firmament, but could have used natural processes for it to get there" or... "the natural processes we see today are echoes from creation"

It's Gen 2-4 that becomes the point that differing opinions will emerge.

Is it a coincidence that "Adam" means "mankind"? A few things line up that make a case for the Gen 2-4 to be parable-like. But, like anything, just because an interpretation is consistent doesn't mean we should just stop there. I'm just pondering what would stop Gen 2-4 from being figurative. I'm content with leaving it as a mystery, unimportant to the core Christian message.

"Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created." - Gen 5:2 KJV

Gen 5:2 isn't a nail in the coffin, but it does highlight how one could see Gen 2-4 as a parable-like account with Adam being a symbolic representation of mankind.

I'm always on the hunt for perspective. What is your thought on all of this?

I mostly agree with the op. I think we are always in great danger when we pick and choose which passages are allegory, and which are true as written.

Hence my question. If we allegorize the Genesis account, what stops us from allegorizing ANYTHING, including Christ?

I have spoken to people claiming to be Christian, that have actually made metaphors out of Lazarus rising from the dead, and other foundational truths.

 

[Blade]

7000.. amen. Demons saying to Christ have you come to torment us before our "time".

 

[4winds]

First of all, as a disclaimer, the purpose of this thread is NOT date setting, but to prove God's 7000 Year Plan for Mankind in this link below, also known as the Millennial-Day Theory, by presenting a potential timeline of 6000 years from Creation to Second Coming based on biblical chronology. Date setting is almost impossible because there are different definitions of years and calendars, which I’ll explain at the end.

https://www.christianevidence.net/2019/01/gods-7000-year-plan.html

So far this is the most convincing theory about the time of the second coming, it's solidly based on the Scripture and perfectly consistent with God's six-one operation pattern. This is an ancient belief among Jews and early Christians even before the canonical Bible was compiled. In summary, 7 days in the creation week foreshadow 7000 years of human history, 4000 years from Adam to Christ, 2000 years from Christ's ministry to the second coming, and 1000 years of millennial kingdom. In the Garden of Eden God warned Adam not to eat the forbidden fruit, "for the DAY you eat of it, you shall SURELY die." So why didn't Adam - or Eve -die on that day? Not because they were "spiritually dead", for God's spirit shall strive with man for 120 years, but it was a day for 1000 years. Later Adam passed at the ripe age of 930, just 70 years short of a millennium.

In the bible many genealogies and chronologies were given, i.e. A begot B at age x, C reigned y years and died. Based on these information a timeline can be drawn to date all the major events, you've probably seen such a timeline before. However, in order to draw an accurate one, it has to be done according to God's calendar, not our Gregorian calendar. Therefore, this timeline uses the Jubilee System in Leviticus 25. In this system, every 7 years is a sabbatical year, and every 49 years is a jubilee cycle. The 50th year, starting from the Day of Atonement on Tishri 10, is a jubilee year, which is also the first year of the next jubilee cycle. The theme of this year is celebration, liberty and HOMECOMING, this is where we got the words "jubilation" and "jubilant" in English. This is written in Lev. 25:13 and 25:40-41:

"In this Year of Jubilee, each of you shall return to his possession."

"As a hired servant and a sojourner he shall be with you, and shall serve you until the Year of Jubilee. And then he shall depart from you—he and his children with him—and shall return to his own family. He shall return to the possession of his fathers"

Keep this in mind, it will help to identify the beginning of certain periods. This timeline starts from Adam. Add up all the numbers in the genealogy from Adam to Noah (Gen. 5), you get 1056 years; Noah was 600 years old when the flood came (Gen, 7:6), so 1656 years from Adam to the Flood. Year count: 1656

Add up all the numbers from Flood to birth of Abraham (Gen. 11), you get 292 years; Year count: 1948

From this point discrepancies begin to appear. In Gen. 12:1-2 it says Abraham received God's calling at age 75, then there's 430 years of sojourning (Ex. 12:40-41, Gal 3:16-16), you get 505, including about 200-220 years in Egypt; but by another count, Abraham begot Isaac at 100 (Gen. 15:13), then his descents were to be afflicted for 400 years (Gen. 15:13, Acts 7:6), also including the couple of centuries in Egypt, you get 500. To solve this conundrum, I take 502 in between. Why 502? Because adding 502 onto 1948 you get a year count of 2450, which is exactly 50 jubilee cycles, this is very important, because the first year of Exodus must be a year of Jubilee - remember the theme of celebration and LIBERTY?

After Exodus was 10 cycles of the wilderness (40 years) and judges (450 years), according to Paul in Acts 13:18-20, Joshua counted as judge; Year count: 2940

Then 10 cycles of kings, possibly started when the Ark of Covenant was returned (1 Chron. 13:3) from the Philistines, which matches the "homecoming" theme. However, 70 sabbatical years are neglected in at least 490 following years (2 Chron. 36:20-21); Year count: 3430

For these neglected 70 sabbatical years, Jews were led into captivity and exile in Babylon for 70 years (Jer. 25:11-12). Year count: 3500. This judgement was foretold in Lev. 26:33-35:

“I will scatter you among the nations and draw out a sword after you; your land shall be desolate and your cities waste. Then the land shall enjoy its sabbaths as long as it lies desolate and you are in your enemies’ land; then the land shall rest and enjoy its sabbaths. As long as it lies desolate it shall rest—for the time it did not rest on your sabbaths when you dwelt in it.”

Right after 70 years, Jews were set free and allowed to go home (Jer. 29:10). There it is the liberty and homecoming theme again. Jer. 29:10 was exactly what Daniel was reading in Dan. 9:2. Daniel prayed for deliverance and mercy for his people, and Gabriel appeared and answered him with the puzzling and controversial 70 weeks prophecy, which are also 10 cycles of 490 years. Year count: 3990.

By this count, Jesus was born on year 3953, baptized on year 3983 and crucified on year 3987, pretty close to 4000. If you count the year from Abraham to Jesus, it's very close to 41 jubilee cycles, which are symbolized by the 41 previous generations before Jesus in Matthew 1.

After that is the church age. Based on Isaiah 61:1-3, which Jesus quoted in Luke 4:18-19, the “acceptable year of the Lord” is very likely to be a jubilee in which he will “proclaim liberty to the captives”, so the length of the church age must be an integral number of jubilee cycles. But how many? One clue is the birth pang comparison. Since the church is the Body of Christ, the birth of Christ mirrors the completion of the full Body of Christ, from Christ - the head to the final ten toes, like the prophecy of the Babylonian statue.

As I explored in my 70 weeks thread, Jesus's ministry lasted exactly 3.5 years; since He was crucified on Passover, dial back 33.5 years was the Feast of Tabernacle (Tishri 15), that's when He was really born; Then go to Luke 1-2. John the Baptist was conceived when Zechariah finished his duty at the temple and went home. Since he was of the 8th division of Abijah, that's in late Sivan, about a week after Pentecost. 6 months after that Jesus was conceived in Mary. Do the math, and you get Hanukkah (Kislev 25). The three trimesters between Kislev 25 and Tishri 15 is about 41 weeks. Now if - and this is a BIG IF - these 41 weeks symbolize 41 jubilees, which also match the 41 jubilees from Abraham to Jesus. Add 41 cycles of 2009 years to the previous year count, guess what, you get a final Year Count: 5999! If you consider the first year of creation a sabbath year since God rested on the 7th day, and Adam and Eve were cast out on the second year, then that's exactly 6000.

So, since the year of crucifixion is commonly believed to be springtime in AD30, add 3.5 plus 2009 years , yo land in fall season of 2042. Does this mean Jesus will return on 2042? Not really, because the definition of year varies. In the Bible there’re a lunar year of 354.36 days, a prophetic year of 360 days, and according to Dead Sea scrolls there’s Qumranic year of 364 days, all shorter than a solar year of 365.25 days, therefore the second coming could be much earlier than 2042. It’s unclear which definition of the year was actually used to count the years in a jubilee cycle, there’s just no way to pin a jubilee year on the calendar and set a date.

There is much that is in error in the above-proposed outline. However, the teaching of 2,000-years from the crucifixion year of Jesus is correct and taught in Hosea 5:15--6:2. It is clear that Jesus ASCENDED back to His place in the same year as His crucifixion and will return after 2-"Days" 2,000-years and reign for the 1-"Day" (Hosea's 3rd "Day") as His 1,000-year promised kingdom rest Rev 20:1-6.

 

[Journeyman]

Which is another reason why the saints reign with Christ Jesus in Heaven in the 7th mill.

I believe we reign now in "heavenly places in Christ."
Our Lord allowing people to sin against him without immediately passing judgment on them, doesn't mean he wasn't reigning over them.
The King also gave us, his ambassadors, the order to reign over all creation in love.
There is no higher authority than that. Unbelievers think there is. They're wrong.

 

[Journeyman]

Yeah, the 7th day is the millennial sabbath. And that one missing year doesn't matter. You see, by the definition of Jubilee cycle in Lev. 25, one cycle is always counted from Tishri to Tishri on civil calendar, which is in fall season. It's also a common belief that Jesus will return in a Tishri to fulfill the three fall feasts. But if the first Year of Man is counted from Nissan, the first month, than there's half a year between Nissan and Tishri, and that's the one "missing" year.

I think Jesus is fulfilling his work now, including the fall feasts. When he returns, it's all done.

 

[Pilgrimshope]

This idea is held by many people, and it is based on the Bible verse which says that God regards a thousand years as one day, and vice versa. If we accept the fact that the age of the earth is slightly over 6,000 years, then we should have already been within the final Millennium. Which would mean perfect peace and righteousness on earth right now. Since we see the exact opposite all around us, we cannot really apply this theory to God's time frame.

I think I had also heard this theory at some point I never know the labels but I’ve heard a lot of the theories over the years.

 

[Journeyman]

Nehimiah6 said,
...the final Millennium. Which would mean perfect peace and righteousness on earth right now. Since we see the exact opposite all around us, we cannot really apply this theory to God's time frame.

The idea that everyone on earth would live in peace during Messiahs' reign isn't taught in scripture. Jesus said,

Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. Mt.10:34

Our Lord does give his peace to his people,

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you Jn.14:21