15. In the Beginning and in the End
Call this overview Creation and Decreation or The Relationship between Genesis and
Revelation. This explanation will become another example of why we cannot
fully understand the New Testament unless we understand it as fulfillment of
the Old Testament. What God creates in Genesis, the beginning of time, He wraps
up in Revelation, the end of time. Here are some examples:[1]
Genesis
1:1 In the beginning God created …
Revelation 22:13 I am the Alpha and the
Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
Genesis
1:3 God said “Let there be light”…
Revelation 21:23 The city does not need
the sun … glory of God gives it light …
Genesis 1:6 God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water
from water.”
Revelation 8:10–11 The
third angel sounded his trumpet, and … A third of the waters turned bitter …
Genesis
1:8 God called the expanse “sky.”
Revelation 20:11 Then … Earth and sky
fled from his presence … no place for them.
Genesis 1:11 Then
God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees …”
Revelation 8:7 The first angel …
earth was burned up, a third of the trees … all the green grass …
Genesis 1:14 God
said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from
the night …”
Revelation8:12 The
fourth angel … a third of the sun …
of the moon … of the stars … turned dark.
Genesis 1:20 God
said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the
earth …”
Revelation 8:8–9 The second angel sounded …
and … a third of the living creatures in the sea died …
Genesis 1:26 God
said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness …”
Revelation 9:15 And the four angels … ready … were
released to kill a third of mankind.
Genesis 1:27 God
created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him …
Revelation 21:3 Now the dwelling of God
is with men … and God himself will be with them and be their God.
Genesis 2:1–2 Thus
the heavens and the earth were completed… God had finished … he rested …
Revelation 21:5–6 He who was seated on the
throne said, “I am making everything new!” … “It is done.”
Have you got the idea? Everything that
God started in Genesis, He tied off or finished in the book of Revelation:
a)
Sin
is introduced in Genesis 3.
Sin is done away with in Revelation 20:3: He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations …
Sin is done away with in Revelation 20:3: He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations …
b)
The
curse is pronounced in Genesis 3.
The curse is destroyed in Revelation 21.
The curse is destroyed in Revelation 21.
c)
Death
enters in Genesis 3.
There is no more death after Revelation 21.
There is no more death after Revelation 21.
d)
Man
is banished from Eden in Genesis 3.
Man’s presence in the Garden of Eden is welcomed in Revelation 22.
Man’s presence in the Garden of Eden is welcomed in Revelation 22.
e)
The
Tree of Life is guarded in Genesis 3.
The right to the Tree of Life is available in Revelation 22.
The right to the Tree of Life is available in Revelation 22.
f)
Sorrow
and suffering are introduced in Genesis 3.
There is no more sorrow or suffering after Revelation 22.
There is no more sorrow or suffering after Revelation 22.
g)
Nimrod
founds Babylon in Genesis 10.
Babylon finally falls in Revelation 18:21: Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, and said: “With such violence the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, never to be found again.”
Babylon finally falls in Revelation 18:21: Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, and said: “With such violence the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, never to be found again.”
h)
God
uses a flood to destroy sinful men in Genesis 6–9.
Satan tries to destroy the elect in Revelation 12.
Satan tries to destroy the elect in Revelation 12.
i)
God
signs His covenant with a rainbow in Genesis 9.
Then He seals it in Revelation 10:1: Then I saw another mighty angel … robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun …
Then He seals it in Revelation 10:1: Then I saw another mighty angel … robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun …
j)
Sodom
and Egypt are introduced as signs of evil and corruption in Genesis 13.
Sodom and Egypt become the two witnesses in Jerusalem in Revelation 11:8: Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.
Sodom and Egypt become the two witnesses in Jerusalem in Revelation 11:8: Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.
k)
A
bride is chosen for Abraham’s son in Genesis 24.
Abraham’s seed becomes the bride in Revelation 19 and 21.
Abraham’s seed becomes the bride in Revelation 19 and 21.
l)
The
marriage of the first Adam takes place in Genesis 2.
The marriage of the last Adam takes place in Revelation 19.
The marriage of the last Adam takes place in Revelation 19.
m) Satan’s dominion is established in
Genesis.
Christ’s dominion is established in Revelation.
Christ’s dominion is established in Revelation.
What
God created in Genesis, at the beginning of time, He will wrap up in
Revelation, at the end of time.
Point to Ponder
Can you really understand and fully
appreciate
the
New Testament
without studying the
Old Testament, especially the Torah?
No comments:
Post a Comment