In the Beginning was the End, Part 1

To understand end-times we have to understand our beginning.  He is, after all, the Alpha and the Omega.  He fills all things with Himself.  He holds all things together, and sustains all things.  He is the beginning and the end.  Even from before the foundation of the world, He declares, “I AM.” 

 

I.  BETWEEN 1.1 AND 1.2 … GAP THEORY

 

Genesis 1

1In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. (ESV)

 

A.   So far, so good! 

 

Genesis 1

2The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. (ESV)

 

B.    Wait!  Where does this void come from?  Where does this formlessness come from? 

 

Isaiah 55

11  So shall my word be that goes forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. (KJB 2000)

 

C.    The "Gap Theory", suggests the angels were created "in the beginning" (Genesis 1:1), rather than during or after the creation week, and that Satan and his angelic (demonic) followers fell prior to Genesis 1:2. Chalmers grounds this theory in the reinterpretation of words used in Genesis 1:2, and their relationship with other passages of scripture.

 

And the earth was without form, and void;

Vav..Erets......hayah..tohu..............bohu;

and darkness was upon the face of the deep.

....choshek...........................tehown

 

D.   The word for "was" - hayah - is the same word used in Genesis 19:26 where Lot's wife was (hayah) turned into a pillar of salt. The implication is that the word hayah is not simply descriptive, but is active. Furthermore, the word "vav" for "and" can also be read as "but" depending on the context. In the Septuagint it has actually been translated this way. Thus Genesis 1:2 could, or should, read;

 

"But the earth became (or "had become") without form, and void".

 

E.    “Without form, and void" has been translated from the Hebrew phrase "tohu vav bohu". The words tohu and bohu are also found in Isaiah 34:11, but is there interpreted differently;

 

Isaiah 34:

11 "But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it: and he shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion (tohu) and the stones of emptiness (bohu)."

F.    Thus “tohu” can also mean "confused", and “bohu” can mean “empty”. "Confused" and "without form" share in common a lack of order, in a place where there should be order. Perhaps, then, the text could be read as follows; "But the earth was in disarray, and empty".

 

G.   Jeremiah 4:23-26 also uses the phrase "tohu vav bohu", as follows:

“I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form (tohu), and void (bohu); and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by his fierce anger.”

 

H.   You will notice that this verse describes the Earth as it would have been at the time of Genesis 1:2;

1. The Earth is described as "formless and void" (or "in disarray and empty")

2. There was no man

3. There were no birds

 

I.      What is interesting, though, is that it refers to cities, and what's more it seems these cities had received judgment from The Lord - "all the cities thereof were broken down (in disarray) at the presence of the Lord, and by his fierce anger". Perhaps these cities represented the homes of the angels who had fallen.

 

J.     The word "choshek" has been interpreted as "darkness", and when we read it we assume this is a natural darkness (i.e. before the creation of natural light), but the word "choshek" is also used in Exodus 10:21 to describe the darkness The Lord brought upon Egypt, which was so dark it could be felt. The word "tehown" has been translated as "the deep", but is in fact the same word (Greek abussos – abyss) used to refer to the home of demons and evil spirits, the place from which the anti-Christ emerges.

 

K.   Thus, again, Genesis 1:2 could be read:

"But the earth was in disarray, and empty; and spiritual darkness was upon the face of the demonic realm."

(Plaintruth.com)

 

L.    Which brings us to Genesis 1:3  And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.

 

M.  Prehistory and chaos… Something happened before something happened.  When we study ancient history, there is much that doesn’t fit with the evolutionary theory that we have been force-fed, rather the Bible narrative is proven!

 

II.  IN THE BEGINNING

 

A.   Let’s keep going!  In the beginning, when we read in the Hebrew text, we see that when God created man He also declares a new name.  No longer just known as Elohim “the strong God,” but as YHWH Elohim.

 

B.    The significance of the name Yahweh is that it is confirming God’s existence but most importantly His presence.  Even in Genesis 1 and 2 we see that Lord God, YHWH Elohim, The strong God -I AM -with you is intervening.

C.    John the beloved, was absolutely taken with this!  He sees Jesus in Genesis 1.  John, who was discipled by the Living Torah (Jesus), sees His friend in the story of creation!  How amazing is this?!

 

John 1

1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

 

1 John 1

1That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— 3that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

 

Revelation 1

8"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."

 

A.   John was seeing Jesus in Genesis 1.  To understand this we need to understand the beginning from a Hebraic perspective.  In his book, The Shinar Directive, Dr. Michael Lake says this:

 

 

 

Enoch walked with God.  What was between Enoch and Elohim that enabled the walk?  The answer is Aleph-Tav!  The placement of the Aleph-Tav reveals the truth that it is impossible to walk with God without the enabling work of Messiah.  The Shinar Directive, by Dr. Michael Lake, Chapter 2

 

B.    At the creation of man something changes in the text.  God reveals a new name!  We’ve seen that this Aleph-Tav was right there, right next to Elohim, but now he creates man and He releases a new revelation about who He is.  He declares Himself to be Elohim YHWH. 

 

C.    Mark D. Futato, Robert L. Maclellan Professor of Old Testament and Academic Dean at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando says this:

 

“In Genesis 1 only Elohim is used to refer to deity. This is no doubt because of the universal perspective of this creation story. In Genesis 2, on the other hand, deity is referred to as YHWH Elohim. These two accounts converge to affirm that YHWH (the God of Israel) and not any other ancient Near Eastern deity is Elohim (the universal God).

 

So then, YHWH Elohim does not mean "Lord of Gods...the one of many," but means that YHWH, the personal God who rules over Israel, is at one and the same time the universal God who rules over all.”

 

(Mark D. Futato, Robert L. Maclellan Professor of Old Testament and Academic Dean at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando. Dr. Futato received his Ph.D. and M.A. in Semitic Languages from the Catholic University of America. He specializes in Hebrew language and is author of the book Beginning Biblical Hebrew (Eisenbrauns, 2003).

 

D.   If we break down the meaning of the word YHWH letter by letter, we discover something incredible…

 

E.    These letters are pronounced, in Hebrew, "Yod Hey Vav Hey," when you read them in the Hebrew manner from right to left.

 

 

F.    The four letters in God's name in Hebrew have the following meanings:

 

Hey = Behold

Vav = Nail

Yod = Closed Hand

 

G.   When read in English from left to right, it says: 

"BEHOLD THE NAIL, BEHOLD THE HAND!"  Or, "Behold the nailed hand."

 

John 1

1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God.

 

H.   Hallelujah!  Jesus was there revealing Himself to man in the beginning.  He was there!!

 

III.  TWO TREES

 

Genesis 2

4 These are the generations

of the heavens and the earth when they were created,

in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.

 

7then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. 8And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

 

15The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17but 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."

 

A.   I want to point something out here that maybe we have missed.  The Lord never commanded man not to eat from the tree of life!  From the beginning He has loved us and desired our fellowship forever and ever!!

 

B.    Adam was commanded not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil… We were always supposed to eat from the Tree of Life!  

 

Revelation 22

1Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. 4They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

 

IV.  THE FALL

 

Genesis 3

1Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.

 

He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?" 2And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'" 4But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. 5For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 6So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

 

8And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, "Where are you?" 10And he said, "I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself."

 

A.   Now look at this…”He said to the woman, "Did God actually say..”  the Hebrew word for God here is Elohim.  The Serpent didn’t know the revelation of Elohim YHWH.  He didn’t know the plan.  It was hidden from him!  Don’t you see God had already revealed Himself to man in a way that this fallen seraphim, who had looked into the very glory of God, did not know!  It’s glorious!!

 

B.    As we’ve discussed, the words and translations here are important.  The Hebrew word for serpent is Nachash. This creature is not a reptile from the animal kingdom being possessed by the devil, but rather is the devil himself. “Nachash” describes a shining being, a seraphim/serpentine- Satan or the Devil, for in the story he accuses (devil) and is the adversary of God and man (satan).

 

C.    What we need to understand is that this is not some barnyard animal story, this was a extra-dimensional (or extra-terrestrial) conspiracy against God.  This was a planned assault against the government of God and His creation. 

 

D.   If you study ancient history, from all over the world there are creation accounts that verify the Biblical narrative.  From the American Indians, who have a story of a bearded Creator who came and created all that was good, followed shortly therafter by a plumed serpant, or brilliant (shiny) serpentine figure who corrupted the earth.  There was human sacrifice and every vile thing, until finally the earth was laid waste by a flood. 

 

E.    Asian ancient history tells the same story, as does Puru, Mexico, Central America… Even the Alaskan Eskimo has a similar creation story.  A plumed  (feathered) serpent, or a fiery dragon, or a shiny reptilian creature comes and deceives.  The Indians call this time period, “the time when we lost our way.”

 

F.    Ancient history doesn’t destroy our faith.  Ancient history confirms the story of our faith!

 

V.  THE CURSE/ THE PROMISE (depending on your perspective)

Genesis 3

11He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" 12The man said, "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate." 13Then the Lord God said to the woman, "What is this that you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."

 

14The Lord God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock

and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.

15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel."

A.   In his ‘The Serpent and the Seed,’ Charles Missler said, “The curse says that the Nachash will be cursed above all livestock, above the beasts of the field. Or, to put it another way, he will be made lower than the livestock and beasts of the field. Based on the second part of the verse, “...on your belly you shall walk, and dust you shall devour all the days of your life,” many people read this spatially or physically. That is, he will be shorter than all other animals. Indeed, he will no longer have legs and feet, but will have to slither along the ground, the lowest of all animals. This is not the meaning.

B.    Instead of seeing God taking away the limbs of snakes (and how does this punishment even fit the crime using God’s own measuring stick of judgment: an eye for an eye?), it is better to see snakes as having always looked like they look now. They have always slithered; they have never had feet. This was an image God built into creation to display and personify coming evil. This curse consists of two parts. The first is a being brought low. The second is a judicial sentence to die.

C.    The idea here is that if Satan finds it this important to interfere in our realm, because all that he had been given in the heavenly realm was not enough, then fine. He will be forced to deal with our planet for all time. But he will now be given a position so low that even the beasts of the field will be considered more important, more authoritative than him. The other part of the verse is that Satan is being sentenced to die. It is the opposite of 1 Cor 15:53. Here, the immortal puts on mortality. This is the meaning of the image of eating the dust all the days of your life.”

D.   All of this pertains to our understanding of verse 14, but it’s verse 15 that we are waiting nearly with baited breath.  You see it’s here in verse 15, that the first Gospel is preached, and it’s declared by Elohim YHWH Himself! 

 

Genesis 3:15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel."

 

E.    This is known as Proto-Evangelium (or First Gospel).  It is the first telling of the victory of Jesus in the midst of a great war.  This war was and is about genetics, both spiritual and physical.  It is about the seed.  The seed of the devil verses the seed of God.  The seed of the devil verses the seed of the woman!  Though hidden, it is the first glimpse we have of the baby who would be born the virgin Mary… literally fathered by God, and born of the seed a woman.

 

20The man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. 21And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

 

F.    Here again, we see the first shedding of blood for the covering of sin.  And it is God who makes Adam and Eve their covering!  Do you see it!!?

 

22Then the Lord God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—" 23therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.

 

G.   We have considered this cutting off as a punishment, but if you can see take just a step to the right, maybe you will see that this is not judgment but rather mercy.  In His love for us, the Lord separated the dimensions so that we could not eat of the Tree of Life in a fallen state, breaking our fellowship forever.  No!  For a time we were cut off, but there would be another tree provided, this one would look like a cross.  His own Son would make way for us, opening a door once again into the reality of heaven.  His own blood would be our covering.  Jesus, the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world, the One with the nailed hands, is our reconciliation.