(This page was originally posted:
4/29/2007 1:30 PM)
The purpose of this study is to demonstrate that:
The start of the calendar in Genesis 5 is from the day that Adam sins and not from the first day of creation as other Bible students have concluded. There is an undefined duration of time that occurs between the end of the first seven days of creation and the introduction of sin and death into the universe.
Note: All scripture is quoted verbatim from the 1769 Authorized King James Version (KJV) of the Bible except where noted as the Young’s Literal Translation.
The key to begin understanding this position is to first consider how Adam was created.
We are told:
Ge 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image <06754>, after our likeness <01823>: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image <06754>, in the image <06754> of God created he him; male and female created he them. (nb. “own” is italicized and is not in the original Hebrew).
The key words are “image” and “likeness”. God created man in the image and likeness of God. Both are different Hebrew words used in the same sentence and they represent different attributes and aspects of God and are not used interchangeable in the Hebrew as we would in our English language.
“Image” according to Strong’s Concordance is the Hebrew word:
06754 Mlu tselem tseh’- lem
This term is used 17 times in the Hebrew and is translated image 16 times but never translated “likeness”:
AV-image 16, vain shew 1; 17
On the other hand, “likeness” according to Strong’s Concordance is the Hebrew word:
01823 twmd d@muwth dem-ooth’
This term is used 25 times in the Hebrew text and is translated “likeness” 19 times but never “image”:
AV-likeness 19, similitude 2, like 2, manner 1, fashion 1; 25
Thus, we have established that the terms (“image” and “likeness”), having been used in the same sentence, are clearly different in the Hebrew and cannot be used interchangeably in the Bible and thereby God has created man with these two distinctive attributes of God.
Now, after Adam sins in Gen 3, we find that the Bible refers to man as still possessing the image of God. For example, after the flood of Gen 7, God reiterates this fact as He gives an edict to Noah:
Ge 9:6 Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image <06754> of God made he man.
And on the New Testament side, we read the same of man that he is still in the image of God:
1Co 11:7 For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.
From the verse above it is apparent that the image of God is closely connected with the glory of God. Man was the offspring of God (Acts 17:28-29) and so he has the glory of God but woman came from man (Gen 2:22-23) and she is thus the glory of man.
Jesus Christ came from God (John 8:42) and is the image of God and He is glorious, He being the very gospel itself:
2Co 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
Thus sinful man never lost the “image of God” throughout time. But, what of the “likeness of God”, did man retain this attribute also? It is interesting to note that after God created man in God’s likeness in Gen 1:26, there is no more reference in the Bible to man retaining God’s likeness. All the other uses of the Hebrew term denoted by Strong’s number <01823> say nothing that would continue to relate this attribute of God to man. In fact, when we get into the New Testament we find that Jesus, although being the very image of God, came in the likeness of man which is now full of sin:
Php
2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the
form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
Ro 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
So it is apparent that the natural man no longer has the “likeness of God” but rather he has the likeness of men which is in essence sinfulness. The likeness of God is therefore God’s righteousness. So, when and how did man lose this “likeness” or righteousness of God? We find that God made man righteous (upright) but it did not last:
Ec 7:29 Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.
The Bible does indicate how sin (and its manifestations—1. Naturally--physical death 2. Spiritually—the second death (Rev 21:8)) came about:
Ro 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: 13 For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.
So we see that the whole world became enveloped with sin (Rom 3:23) and its manifestation (death) at the time when Adam sinned and thus that is when man lost the “likeness of God” and its associated righteousness. The historical account of this incident is described in the early chapters of Genesis. God had given Adam a command which if disobeyed had a penalty starting the very day that the command was broken:
Ge 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
The serpent later came and tempted Eve who then enticed Adam to eat of the forbidden tree:
Ge 3:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. 6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked;
In verse 6, Eve is using her physical eyes to look at the tree and at this time both Adam and Eve had their eyes of righteousness (spiritual eyes) open. Then in verse 7, immediately after eating the forbidden fruit, we find that their physical eyes are still open but their spiritual eyes of righteousness have died (spiritual death, Eph 2:1-5) and their eyes of the sinful nature (the old man, Rom 6:6, Eph 2:3) are born within them and the seed of physical death is sown in them even as God had promised in Gen 2:17:
Gen 3:17 ¶ And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: ………..
19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
As a result of this gross insubordination, God punishes man even further on a spiritual level:
Gen
3:22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of
us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of
the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: 23 Therefore
the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from
whence he was taken. 24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the
From verse 22, it is therefore evident that for man to regain the likeness of God and live forever he would have to eat of the tree of life:
Re
22:2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the
river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner
of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the
tree were for the healing of the nations.
Re 22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
Partaking of the tree of life is a spiritual typology of the eating of Jesus Christ who came to Earth to reverse the effects of Adam’s sin by bringing His people the righteousness of God (God’s likeness, also the new man, or divine nature) and eternal life:
Joh 6:51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
Joh 6:58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.
Mt 1:21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
Eph 4:24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
2Pe 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
So recapping, we have established that man, having been made in the image of and likeness of God, never lost the image of God but lost the likeness of God which was replaced with the sinful likeness of men in the Garden of Eden when Adam rebelled and ate the forbidden fruit. Well, how does this finding impact the calendar given in Genesis 5? In Genesis 5, we read pertaining to Adam’s generation:
1 ¶ This is the book of the generations <08435> of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;
2 Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.
3 And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness <01823>, after his image <06754>; and called his name Seth:
The Hebrew term translated “generations” in verse 1 is denoted by Strong’s number <08435> and is normally translated “generation” in the KJV but is translated birth in following passage:
Ex 28:10 Six of their names on one stone, and the other six names of the rest on the other stone, according to their birth <08435>.
The Strong’s Concordance also states that the Hebrew term comes from a word which indicates giving birth. The point being made here is that the passage could have been translated using “birth” instead of generation and in its original plurality:
1 ¶ This is the book of the births <08435> of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;
In fact, the Young’s Literal Translation reads:
1 ¶ This is an account of the births of Adam: In the day of God’s preparing man, in the likeness of God He hath made him;
So, the next verses relating to Adam are describing his births of which we have already proven that he had two (creation and birth of his sinful nature). Thus verse 2 gives us his first birth:
2 Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.
Then verse 3 gives us the length of time from his second birth (the sinful nature) to the birth of Seth:
3 And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness <01823>, after his image <06754>; and called his name Seth:
The clue in this verse is the phrase “his own likeness”. In this passage “own” is not italicized
in the KJV and thus is in the original Hebrew text from which the KJV was
translated (unlike what we saw above in Gen 1:27 where “own” is italicized and
not in the original Hebrew text but is strongly implied and comports with the
rest of scriptures). We further accept that “own” is in the original Hebrew
text used by the KJV translators because just before “own” we find the word
“son” which is italicized showing it
is NOT in the original and so it is highly unlikely that the translators would
be making an error right after italicizing “son”. Furthermore below is the Ben
Asher Morphological Hebrew text of Genesis 5 verse 3 and it was given on
Monday, March 10, 2008 to two Jews who were seen reading Hebrew in Downtown
Brooklyn, N.Y. and they translated it just like the KJV and showed which
characters were translated as “own”:
ts wms-ta arqyw
wmluk wtwmdb dlwyw hns tamw Mysls Mda yxyw
Also the following Jewish website was found where they did a
literal English translation of the Hebrew and they agree fully with the KJV
translation of Genesis 5:3:
KJV:
Gen 5:1 This is
the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the
likeness of God made he him;
2 Male and
female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the
day when they were created.
3 And Adam
lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after
his image; and called his name Seth:
4 And the
days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat
sons and daughters:
Extract from the following
Jewish website with an English translation:
http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0105.htm
Genesis Chapter 5
Therefore Adam gave Seth his (Adam’s) own likeness which was his sinful nature (which agrees with Rom 5:12 covered earlier); Adam no longer possessing God’s likeness (righteousness). And like Adam, Seth was also subject to physical death. The verse states that Adam lived one hundred and thirty years and therefore this was the length of time continuously that he had his own likeness (sinful nature) and was subject to physical death which eventually overtook him eight hundred years later so that all the days that Adam lived being subject to death were nine hundred and thirty years:
4 And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters: 5 And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.
Note: There is no point in giving a person’s life span in terms of
time if that person’s life span is not subject to time by way of physical
death. The only person in the Bible whose life span is given who did not
physically die was Enoch (the 7th from Adam, Jude 1:14) and he was
subject to physical death but was translated at 365 years old (Gen 5:23-24, see
Biblical Calendar) to typify the
believers alive on the earth who will be similarly translated at the end of the
acceptable year (365 days in a year) of our Lord in the perfect (7th)
generation of Jesus Christ. Additionally, if a person has unceasing physical
existence that is not subject to physical death, then his lifespan cannot
be stated in terms of time in earthly years. Here is a passage that shows (amongst other things) that
man's earthly years are directly linked to sin as opposed to God who has no sin
and therefore His eternal life cannot be compared to that of a man who is
sinful and as a result his physical life is marked by earthly years:
Job 10:4 Hast thou eyes of flesh?
or seest thou as man seeth? 5 Are thy days as the days of
man? are thy years as man’s days, 6 That thou enquirest after mine iniquity, and
searchest after my sin?
Below are passages that show
God’s eternality, quite a difference from man’s physical temporariness due to
sin:
Ps 90:2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or
ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to
everlasting, thou art God. 3 Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest,
Return, ye children of men. 4 For a thousand years in thy sight are but
as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.
Ps 102:12 ¶ But thou, O LORD, shalt endure for ever; and
thy remembrance unto all generations.
Ps 102:24 I said, O my God, take me not away in the
midst of my days: thy years are throughout all generations. 25 Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the
earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. 26 They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: y
ea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change
them, and they shall be changed: 27 But thou art the same, and thy years
shall have no end.
Heb 1:12 And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and
they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.
Now let us compare the language of a typical Genesis 5 passage to that used in relation to Adam in Gen 5:3. We will choose the language with regards to Seth’s life before he begets Enos:
6 ¶ And Seth lived an hundred and five years, and begat Enos: (“his own likeness” is omitted, as compared with verse 3 dealing with Adam).
We can see therefore that God goes out of His way to emphasize that the likeness that was passed on to Seth was Adam’s own likeness and then He does not have to repeat it as like begets like and this principle continues through succeeding generations.
For additional information on these
discussions see study “Nuggets
in the Foundation of the Patriarchal Calendar”.
The starting
point of God’s calendar is from the sin of Adam (in 11013 B.C., based on The Biblical Calendar Page 9) and not from the first day of creation. This makes sense
since without sin man would live continuously and there would not be the need
to track time and also there would not be any purpose for salvation or the
gospel which in itself starts out firstly in time with the sin of man and then
imputed righteouseness of the elect and finally judgment of the non-elect as
preached by the Holy Spirit:
Joh 16:8 And when he (the Holy Spirit) is come, he will
reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: {reprove:
or, convince}
God, however, knowing beforehand that Adam would sin, He got the timekeepers (Sun, Moon, and Stars) in place to prepare for this inevitable phenomenon of sin and then when it occurred He simultaneously started the calendar using the life spans in Gen 5 and will keep it going until man will live forever (that is no more physical death) when God’s salvation of the elect is complete (Matt 24:14, Rom 6:22) at the end of time and the non-elects are judged on the last day (John 12:48). This truth is similar to that pertaining to the salvation plan of the elect: Christ was slain as the Lamb from the foundation of the earth to redeem the elect in anticipation of Adam’s sin and it being passed on by way of the sinful nature to the whole human race thus causing God’s salvation plan to become effectual (Rev 13:8, Eph 1:4, 1Pet 1:18-20).
But what of the period between the end of the first seven days of creation and the fall of Adam, how long was it? God did not give its duration but there are some things we can surmise:
- God communed harmoniously with Adam:
Gen 3:8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. 9 ¶ And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
The language in verse 8 suggests that this was not the first time God was paying Adam a visit but rather this was one of the usual visits. The difference on this occasion is that God had to call out for Adam who was hiding because of his disobedience (verses 9-10). Adam would not have been hiding on earlier occasions.
- There was no physical death in the universe.
Pr 12:28 In
the way of righteousness is life; and in the pathway thereof
there is no
death.
Ro 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
The connotation in these verses indicates that because there was no sin in the universe prior to Adam’s sin then there was also no physical death.
- God was enjoying His creation during the time
between creation and the sin of man:
Isa 45:18 For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.
The phrase “he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited” would suggest that the world continued for some time (not given in the calendars of the Bible) after creation without sin and being inhabited fully by all of God’s creation or else if sin appeared immediately after God’s resting on the seventh day of creation (Gen 2:1-3) then God’s creation and its inhabitation would have been marred and thus vain and not have served God’s purposes.
The conclusion reached in this study pertaining to the starting point of the Biblical Calendar of time being the day that Adam sinned and thus paving the way for God’s salvation plan to materialize is further supported by the way God ties important aspects in His salvation plan with specific times, the two going hand in hand:
Ec 3:17 I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work (including that done by God when he saves someone, John 6:28-29).
Isa 49:8 Thus saith the LORD, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages;
Da 12: 1 ¶ And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. 2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. 4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
Ro 5:6 For when we were yet
without strength, in due time Christ died
for the ungodly. (literally: “in due time”-- according to the time, ie. that
appointed by God)
2Co 6:2 (For
he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted,
and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is
the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)
Ga 4:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
There is a specific hour set within the counsels of the Godhead for the resurrection of the believers and the unsaved:
Jo 5:28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
And, there is no further need for time when the salvation program is ended:
Rev 10:5 And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, 6 And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer: 7 But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.
Eph 5:32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. (This is the mystery of God in Rev 10:7)
And the timekeepers (sun and moon) are no longer needed:
Rev 21:23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. 24 And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. 25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. 26 And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. 27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
The end.
Jan 2007.
Note: See Addendum following:
Addendum
In the period between the end of the seventh day of creation and the day of Adam’s sin there was no sin and hence no corruption and decay. Corruption and decay in the universe came as a result of sin and started the same day that Adam sinned and the seed of physical death was sown in man:
Gen 3:14 ¶ And
the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above
every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt
thou eat all the days of thy life:
Gen 3:17 ¶ And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
The universe was a perfect work of God (De 32:4 He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.) and it would have continued in its pristine form even as God continues without ageing, for ageing is a decaying and corrupting process. The universe did not begin to wax old as a garment with the natural decaying processes until sin entered it:
Ps 102: 24 I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days: thy years are throughout all generations. 25 Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. 26 They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: 27 But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end. 28 The children of thy servants shall continue, and their seed shall be established before thee.
Heb 1:8 But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. 9 Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. 10 And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: 11 They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; 12 And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.
It is impossible for man throughout time or with today's advanced scientific and technological resources to discover any truthful information about the duration of this period as the methodologies employed in dating time are all based upon the natural processes of decay and degeneration so they can only measure from the day Adam sinned and not before that day. When scientists of this world are now coming up with a “young earth” as we hear on religious programs (“The Stones Cry Out”, “Creation Moments”, and “Beyond Intelligent Design”) supporting creation, they are finally wising up to the fact that the year 2007 A.D. is now only 13019 years from Adam’s sin! So it is indeed a young earth!
The whole creation which fell into corruption (i.e., vanity) at the same time as Adam and his posterity will be liberated jointly with and at the completion of the salvation of the saints of God and then it will not be subject to decay any longer much as it was from the end of the seventh day of creation through to the time of Adam’s sin:
Rom 8: 17 ¶ 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. 18 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. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. 20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, 21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. 23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
The end.
Jan 2007