Seven-fold Patterns In Scripture

"Let us begin our textual comparison with the seven-fold pattern of the creation days. This pattern is repeated seemingly endlessly throughout the book of Revelation. All the apocalyptic events in Revelation are categorized in this same seven-fold structure and what’s more, they mirror the creation order. It is necessary to quote Milton Terry at length here:

"The seven days of the cosmogony are no more to be interpreted literally than are the seven trumpets of the Apocalypse. Indeed, the repetitions of "God said" in Genesis suggest some analogies to be found in the sounding of the seven trumpets. At the sounding of the first trumpet the earth was smitten; at the second, the sea; at the third, the rivers and fountains; at the fourth, the sun; at the fifth, the abyss; at the sixth, the armies of Euphrates were set loose, and, at the seventh, "great voices in heaven" announced the advent and reign of the Lord and his Anointed. The days of Genesis are as symbolical as the trumpets of the Apocalypse, and can no more successfully be identified (or shown to correspond) with ascertained aeons of geology and cosmical evolution than can the trumpets with successive historical events.

"Augustine viewed the days of Genesis in much the same way, and modern advocates of the Framework View draw the same parallel Terry does. Lee Irons writes in response to the idea that numbered days must mean literal, chronological 24-hour days:

" 'The fact that the days are numbered need not be taken as evidence of chronological sequence any more than the numbering of the seven seals, trumpets, and bowls in Revelation. The days are numbered to call the reader’s attention to the theological significance of the sabbatical structure of the creation account.' "

from: http://www.truthinliving.org/

The above comes from a Preterist viewpoint. Preterist means that eschatology is defined as the "last days" already took place: they culminated in the 70AD destruction of the temple.

What strikes me here is how this dovetails with my analysis of these things in my book 7K: The Millennial Week. And I am not exactly a Preterist or a Futurist. In my thinking, the two can be blended. There doesn't have to be an endless "we-they" argument going on here.

What all of us are searching for is an understanding of how biblical prophecy applies to us. How do we process these enigmatic, ancient sayings? We know a great many prophecies were fulfilled with Jesus; it seems much harder to conclusively demonstrate that all of them were fulfilled in 70AD. There are some glaring loose ends that seem to escape the sight of devoted Preterists. Likewise, Futurists pooh-pooh everything Preteristic, which is sad. The Preterist view is revealing great truths.

One thing that emerges is mentioned in the writings of Milton Terry above, and it comes from a sensitivity to a kind of mystical Bible code that is right there in scripture itself (but not confined to Genesis and Revelation alone). There are patterns of 7 all over the Bible, some concealed in the text itself.

When we pull these patterns out and lay them over one another, we can begin to see connections revealing the greater plan of God. A literal reading of these things suggest that Jesus' future finishing of the Gentile Age is possibly just ahead of us. Preterists don't seem to give a nod to such an age even existing.

It is interesting that ancient sages ~ both Jewish and Christian ~ subscribed to an idea that has been called the septimillennial theory. This simply meant that the Bible suggested there would be seven millennial (thousand-year) periods before the complete fulfillment of all prophecy. Some of the Jewish scholars divided six of these millennia into three ages of 2,000-years apiece.

The first biblical age, from Adam to Abraham, was called the "age of chaos." The second age was "the age of Law" or of the Jew. The third age was to be "the age of Messiah." Indeed, in 30AD that "age" began, according to both Preterists and Futurists.

I tend to think that what is called the "times of the Gentiles" in the Book of Acts is referring to this third age. And I tend to think that age is near its close, but hesitate to say how soon, though dating would suggest it occurs within the next 23 or so years. However, Preterists help us to take caution with such information lest we encourage people to abandon their responsibilities thinking the Messiah is coming soon.

There is another way to consider the 7,000-year theory so that we don't have to take it literally. It can be thought of as a symbolic picture of the entire plan of God. In scripture, 7 is the perfect number. It is a connective and prophetic number as well. Both Genesis and Revelation reveal the whole plan of God, which is too much to discuss here. But in days to come I hope to go further, and to occasionally pull out some of these amazing connections.