God's Work Week vs. Man's Work Week
Does God's work week have any symmetry to Man's work week? Let's compare what happened in each of God's work days to the major of events of Man's history and see if we can discover any similarities. If there are, then it is reasonable to suggest that God wanted his work week to be a blueprint or pattern for our work week and is therefore evidence that God is intimately involved in the affairs of man to "...do all that he pleases" (Isaiah 46:10).
Day 1
In Day 1 of God's work week, "...God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light 'day,' and the darkness he called 'night.' And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. created the heaven's and the earth, then He separated the light from the darkness" (Genesis 1:1-5). In Day 1 of Man's existence, or the first 1000 years of history, we learn that man disobeyed God's instruction not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God told Adam that in the day that he does this, he would surely die. Have you ever noticed, however, that Adam did not die the day that he ate of the forbidden fruit? In fact, he lived on to be 930 years old! Now, was God serious when he said that Adam would die that day or was this just some joke? I propose to you that God meant exactly what he said, except that 1 day equals a 1000 years to God. So, Adam lived right up until the end of the first day (930 years), then he died just as God said he would.
When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, the relationship was broken between mankind and God. Man's heart was darkened by sin and God, being only light, could no longer have fellowship with man. So, he separated himself (the Light) from mankind (the darkness) and from that point forward, darkness has reigned on the earth. Mankind died that day (Gen 2:17) and he has been dead ever since (Eph 2:1). Does man's first "day" have symmetry with God's first "day"? I believe so. Let's look at Day 2 and see if a pattern develops.
Day 2
In Day 2 of God's work week, "God said, 'Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.' So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. God called the vault 'sky.' And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day" (Genesis 1:6-8).
As we have already discovered, Adam lived right up until the end of the first 1000 years. But, what was the most significant event that occurred in the next 1000 years of history? The flood. Do you remember the story of Noah and how God told him to build an ark because he was going to flood the entire earth? The world had become so wicked that God decided to purge the wickedness from it by covering the entire earth with water. This is exactly what God did during the 2nd day of His work week! So, what God did during his 2nd Day, repeated itself in Man's 2nd Day of his work week. Now we can see a pattern developing.
Day 3
In Day 3 of God's work week, "God said, 'Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.' And it was so. God called the dry ground 'land,' and the gathered waters he called 'seas.' And God saw that it was good.Then God said, 'Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.' And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day" (Genesis 1:9-13).
In man's 3rd day, God promised Abraham the "promised land" and that he would be the father of many nations. In other words, he was the seed by which the nations would come. Later we find that Jacob (a descendant of Abraham) also known as Israel, "...was consecrated to the Lord, she (referring to the nation of Israel) was the first fruits of his produce" (Jeremiah 2:3). This is truly amazing! God is so precise in what He does as it is clear by day 3 of history that God is intimately involved in the affairs of man, even to the extent of orchestrating them to fulfill his purpose. And what is His purpose? To redeem mankind from sin and restore the fellowship that He once had with us.
Day 4
In Day 4 of God's work week, "God said, 'Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.' And it was so. God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day" (Genesis 1:14-19).
In man's 4th day, or fourth millennium, in a world bound by the clutches of sin and darkness, a great light appeared. His name is Jesus who is also know as "the bright and morning star" (Revelation 22:16). Not only Jesus descended, but the Holy Spirit as well (Matthew 3:16). There are countless references to light and darkness throughout scripture and also specific places where Jesus is referred to as either the light, Daystar, the light of the world, etc... He is the one who conquered sin and death and he is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. It is said that the government will be upon his shoulders and that he will rules the nations with an iron scepter. It is by His light that we, as followers of Jesus, have become sons of light and can escape the clutches of sin and death (John 12:36). The world, however, is still dead and in total darkness.
Day 5
In Day 5 of God's work week, "God said, 'Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.' So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them and said, 'Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.' And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day" (Genesis 1:20-23).
In man's 5th day, or 5th millennium, the church (which is represented by the symbol of a fish) that began with Jesus and a few fishermen, was empowered by the Holy Spirit (represented by a dove) to preach the gospel to the entire world. Their commission was to make disciples (multiply) and baptize them into the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. God does not do things by accident. He is precise and he is a God of order! Here we find the connection of God's creation and multiplication of fish and birds, symbolize those who would become a new creation (fish) with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (dove).
Day 6
In Day 6 of God's work week, "God said, 'Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.' And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.Then God said, 'Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.' So God created mankind in his own image,in the image of God he created them;male and female he created them.God blessed them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.' Then God said, 'I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.' And it was so.God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day" (Genesis 1:24-31).
In man's 6th day, or 6th millennium, we have seen the nations of the earth rise up, which the book of Revelation depicts as particular beasts such as a bear, leopard, eagle, etc. These nations are represented by animals. According to the pattern of God's work week, the animals preceded God creating Adam. What does this pattern tell us? I believe that it tells us that the nations that will rise up, will precede the appearing of Jesus as the 2nd Adam. The apostle Peter described Jesus as "the last Adam, a life-giving spirit...the first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven" (1 Corinthians 15:46-48). This "man from heaven" will return to the earth to rule over creation just as the "man of the earth" was intended to rule over God's creation before the fall. If I could put this on a map, it would read, "You are here" just before Jesus returns as the 2nd Adam!
Day 7
"By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done" (Genesis 2:2-3)
In man's 7th day, well...we haven't got that far, but scripture describes it as the 1000 year reign when Jesus will rule as King on the earth, and his followers will rule with him.
I believe that we have seen man's work week progress in the same pattern that God established when he created creation. And now, we are on the brink of Jesus' glorious return to the earth.
