THE SEVEN MILLENNIAL DAYS OF HUMAN HISTORY
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER ONE
The First Millennial Day
It was with deliberate purpose that, when God made light, He noted that it was good. He did not make the same observation about darkness. Rather, He divided the light, which was good, from the darkness:
"Then God said, 'Let there be light'; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night."
(Genesis 1:3-5)
God's act of dividing light from darkness carries the most important, deeply significant lesson in the whole Bible. It shows man that God has everything to do with light, and nothing to do with darkness. Throughout the Bible, light is used to portray the things which come forth from God, and God's way of life. Darkness, on the other hand, represents the way of Satan which leads to death:
"This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all."
(I John 1:5)
" . . . to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God. . . ."
(Acts 26:18)
"For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light. . . . And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. . . . But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. Therefore He says, . . . 'Christ will give you light.'"
(Ephesians 5:8-14)
"Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places."
(Ephesians 6:11-12)
"But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. . . . For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."
(II Corinthians 4:3-6)
These, and many other Scriptures declare emphatically that God is the God of light, while Satan is the god of darkness.
Angel Rebellion
Whatever God creates is in a state of perfection, beauty and light from the moment it is brought into existence. The heavens and the earth were perfect when they were made. The angels shouted for joy when they first saw God's marvelous creation (Job 38:4, 7). But long after the time of Genesis 1:1, a horrible rebellion of one third of the angels occurred, led by Satan the Devil:
"And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. . . .
"And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him."
(Revelation 12:3-4, 7-9)
This rebellion of angels -- war in heaven -- brought about the condition of spiritual "darkness" in which Satan and the demons dwell to this day:
" . . . God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down . . . and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment. . . ."
(II Peter 2:4)
"Babylon the great . . . has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit. . . ."
(Revelation 18:2)
Satan was originally an archangel named Lucifer who was created by God and was perfect in all his ways. Over the course of what undoubtedly took eons of time, however, he corrupted himself in pride and vanity. He also corrupted the minds of the angels under his authority and attempted a coup d'état in order to seize control of God's Kingdom and gain supreme authority over all creation (Isaiah 14:12-14; Ezekiel 28:12-17). That is how "darkness" came into existence before the time of man:
"The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep."
(Genesis 1:2)
The Hebrew words translated "without form, and void" in the passage above are tohu and bohu, which signify a condition of chaos, confusion, waste and decay. God did not create the earth in such a condition (Isaiah 45:18).
The creation of the physical universe (Genesis 1:1) occurred billions of years ago. God placed man upon the earth, however, approximately 6,000 years ago -- long after the creation of the universe and subsequent rebellion of angels.
Two Trees in the Garden
One third of God's angels rebelled against the authority of their Creator. The universe, including the earth, was subjected to a state of waste and decay (the dinosaurs perished on earth; life may have existed on other planets also, only to be destroyed by the war in heaven). God set out to repair the damage, restore order to the universe and lay a solid foundation for the security of future eternity. He did so by rejuvenating the earth in seven days and placing man upon it, intending to teach human beings the importance of following their Creator (the God of light) instead of Satan (the god of darkness).
God declared, "You shall have no other gods before Me" when He gave the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:3), and emphasized this vital lesson repeatedly throughout the Bible (e.g., I Kings 9:6-9; Matthew 4:8-10; I Corinthians 10:20-21).
The two trees in the garden of Eden were intended to impress the angels as well as human beings (Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:10, 15; 21:8; I Peter 1:12; 3:22; I Corinthians 4:9; 6:3; Ephesians 3:10; Hebrews 5:12, 14). They represented obedience to God's government versus rebellion against it. Obedience leads to life; rebellion to death.
"And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, 'Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.'"
(Genesis 2:16-17)
God issued a commandment to man. He allowed the human beings whom He had created to be tested (James 1:12-15). First, Satan approached mother Eve and persuaded her to break God's command (Genesis 3:1-6). Then, Adam made the colossal error of following his wife instead of obeying God (Genesis 3:17; Luke 14:26; Matthew 10:37). Eve was deceived; Adam was not (I Timothy 2:14). Sin entered the world through Adam (Romans 5:12). God's reaction was swift and resolute:
"' . . . And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever' -- therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden. . . . So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life."
(Genesis 3:22-24)
Light Divided From Darkness
God divided His way from Satan's way on the First Millennial Day of human history, as He had divided light from darkness on the first day of creation (Genesis 1:3-5). Adam and Eve, after having chosen to follow Satan, became cut off from God (Genesis 3:22-24). God does not tolerate rebellion (I Corinthians 10:21).
Mankind in general has been in a state of "spiritual darkness" to this day, separated from God (Isaiah 59:2; Ephesians 2:1-3, 11-13; 4:17-19). Adam and Eve became the parents of the entire human race (Genesis 1:28; 3:20; 5:1-2, 4), but Satan has "held the world captive" in a mental prison of darkness ever since mankind was driven from the garden of Eden (Isaiah 42:7; 61:1; Luke 4:18; II Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 6:10-12). The creation was "subjected to futility" (Romans 8:20). Human civilization was built on a foundation of sand and is destined to crumble and fall, as pictured by the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Matthew 7:17-19, 26-27; I John 2:15-17).
When human beings walk in spiritual darkness, in disobedience to God, they are blinded, unable to "see" the difference between right and wrong. God wants us to be able to discern good from evil (Hebrews 5:12-14; I Kings 3:9-10). We can do so only by walking in the light of God's Law (Psalm 19). The Basic Questions
Sin Spreads Like Leaven
At the time of creation,
At the time of creation,
"God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good."
(Genesis 1:31)
After Adam and Eve sinned, however, evil began to spread through the earth like leaven (Romans 5:12; I Corinthians 5:6; Galatians 5:9). In the process of time,
"the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."
(Genesis 6:5)
Imagine the pain and sorrow felt by Adam and Eve as they watched their children begin to destroy one other; as a spirit of hatred, violence and immorality began to permeate the world (Genesis 3:16; 4:1-8, 19, 23-24; 6:1-5). God's way had been pictured by a tree which was pure and good; Satan's way was represented by a tree which contained a mixture of good and evil. The human race proceeded to bear the fruit of Satan's influence: Cain first hated, and then killed his brother Abel (Genesis 4:1-2, 8; Matthew 5:22-24; 23:35; I John 3:10-15). Mankind acquired Satan's sinful nature (Ephesians 2:2-3; Galatians 5:19-21). Evil spread throughout the world (Genesis 6:5). Doctrine Five
God gave Adam nine hundred thirty years to see the long-term fruit of his decision to disobey God (Genesis 5:5). God intends that human beings learn from 6,000 years of trouble, suffering and war not to follow Satan any longer (Genesis 3:15; Romans 16:19-20). The Basic Questions
A New World Coming
On the First Millennial Day God divided light from darkness -- His way from Satan's way. Mankind has remained in a state of darkness and deception to this day (John 3:19), but soon will be given the opportunity to live in a world of light and truth when Christ returns to establish the kingdom of God on earth (Isaiah 11:9; 42:6-7; 60:1-3, 19-20; 61:1-2; Daniel 2:44; 7:14; Zechariah 14:9; Luke 1:33; 4:18-19; Hebrews 2:5; Revelation 11:15; 21:24-25). Christ's new world will be built on the foundation of the tree of life -- a rock-solid foundation which will never crumble (Matthew 7:24-25; Hebrews 12:28). The Word of God is the Foundation of Knowledge.
Continued
© Copyright 1974, 1993, 2013 Matthew Kalliman
