Creation and the Millennium

Notes from Stephen Bohr’s “The Genesis Code” #27 Genesis & Revelation’s Millennium

Day 1

The Hebrew phrase: “without form and void” is used together in only two places in the entire Bible.

Gen 1:2 And the earthH776 wasH1961 without form,H8414 and void;H922 and darknessH2822 was uponH5921 the faceH6440 of the deep.H8415 And the SpiritH7307 of GodH430 movedH7363 uponH5921 the faceH6440 of the waters.H4325

“THW WBHW” (commonly pronounced tohu
ubohu). THW is used to describe formed idols that are
lifeless and other lifeless, formed objects. BHW
appears in context to refer to the stillness of
that which is lifeless.

Jer 4:23 I beheldH7200 (H853) the earth,H776 and, lo,H2009 it was without form,H8414 and void;H922 and the heavens,H8064 and they had noH369 light.H216

(The Message)
22″What fools my people are!
They have no idea who I am.
A company of half-wits,
dopes and donkeys all!
Experts at evil
but klutzes at good.”
23-26I looked at the earth—
it was back to pre-Genesis chaos and emptiness.
I looked at the skies,
and not a star to be seen.
I looked at the mountains—
they were trembling like aspen leaves,
And all the hills
rocking back and forth in the wind.
I looked—what’s this! Not a man or woman in sight,
and not a bird to be seen in the skies.
I looked—this can’t be! Every garden and orchard shriveled up.
All the towns were ghost towns.
And all this because of God,
because of the blazing anger of God.
27-28Yes, this is God’s Word on the matter:
“The whole country will be laid waste—
still it won’t be the end of the world.
The earth will mourn
and the skies lament
Because I’ve given my word and won’t take it back.
I’ve decided and won’t change my mind.”

Ezekiel 32:6-8 (The Message)
When I blot you out,
I’ll pull the curtain on the skies
and shut out the stars.
I’ll throw a cloud across the sun
and turn off the moonlight.
I’ll turn out every light in the sky above you
and put your land in the dark.

Job 38:4-9 (New King James Version)

4 “ Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Tell Me, if you have understanding.

5 Who determined its measurements?
Surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?

6 To what were its foundations fastened?
Or who laid its cornerstone,

7 When the morning stars sang together,
And all the sons of God shouted for joy?

8 “Or who shut in the sea with doors,
When it burst forth and issued from the womb;

9 When I made the clouds its garment,
And thick darkness its swaddling band;

Gen 1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
Gen 1:4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
Gen 1:5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

• Light shining on earth was directional because there was day and night on the earth on the first day
• God created the earth with a thick layer of clouds around it that caused it to be dark
• When God said “let there be light” we can assume that God cleared the atmosphere and removed some of the thick cloud so light would fall in the surface of the earth
• Note that Genesis 1:1 states that God created the heavens and the earth “In the beginning,” logically before this narrative takes place. It then describes things as they were, and then describes the actions God takes starting on day one to form the earth for supporting life.

Day 2

• Creation of the water cycle, also to support life on earth

Day 3

Then God said, “Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. And God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:9-10)
Psalm 104 tells us how God accomplished the appearance of the land. “The mountains rose; the valleys sank down To the place which Thou didst establish for them.”

Then God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with seed in them, on the earth”; and it was so. And the earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:11-12)

On the third day God allows the earth to produce plants through germination (sprouting) and growth until seeds are produced. The Hebrew word dasha refers to a plant that sprouts from a seed until the seedling turns green. This verb tells us that God used processes identical to what we see on the earth today. Plants spouted, grew to maturity, and produced seeds. Several kinds of plants are described. The Hebrew word deshe refers primarily to grasses; the word eseb refers primarily to herbs and the words periets refer to fruit trees.

Day 4

Many people believe that the text about day 4 says that God created the Sun, moon and stars on the fourth day. This is not what the text actually says, so let’s read it again.

* Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years; (Genesis 1:14)
* and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. (Genesis 1:15)
* And God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also. (Genesis 1:16)
* And God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, (Genesis 1:17)
* and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:18)

In verse 14 we have that unusual construction again of “let there be.” It is not a statement of creation, but a statement of appearance. At this point, the clouds present at the initial creation of the earth were completely removed so that the bodies themselves appeared for the first time on the surface of the earth. The passage tells us that the lights were allowed “to be” so that they could be signs of the seasons, days, and years. It was necessary for the creatures of day 5 that the heavenly bodies be visible. We know that many of the migratory birds (created on day 5) require visible stars to navigate, hence the need to actually see these bodies. Verse 18 gives us another hint. The lights were placed in the sky to “separate the light from the darkness.” Does this sound familiar? It is the exact Hebrew phrase used for God’s work on the first day when, “God separated the light from the darkness” (Genesis 1:4) By using this phrase, the text is recounting the formation of the Sun, moon and stars from the first day. If we accept that God created the Sun, moon and stars on the fourth day, then He didn’t really create the heavens in verse one.

In 1929, in the California Mount Wilson observatory, an American astronomer by the name of Edwin Hubble made one of the greatest discoveries in the history of astronomy. While he observed the stars with a giant telescope, he found out that the light from them was shifted to the red end of the spectrum and that this shift was more pronounced the further a star was from the earth. This discovery had an electrifying effect in the world of science, because according to the recognized rules of physics, the spectra of light beams traveling towards the point of observation tend towards violet while the spectra of the light beams moving away from the point of observation tend towards red. During Hubble’s observations, the light from stars was discovered to tend towards red. This meant that they were constantly moving away from us.

Before long, Hubble made another very important discovery: Stars and galaxies moved away not only from us, but also from one another. The only conclusion that could be derived from a universe where everything moves away from everything else is that the universe constantly ‘expands’.

Bible verses that claim God stretched out the heavens when He created them:

* Who alone stretches out the heavens, And tramples down the waves of the sea; (Job 9:8)
* Covering Thyself with light as with a cloak, Stretching out heaven like a tent curtain. (Psalm 104:2)
* It is He who sits above the vault of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. (Isaiah 40:22)
* Thus says God the Lord, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread out the earth and its offspring, Who gives breath to the people on it, And spirit to those who walk in it, (Isaiah 42:5)
* Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb, “I, the Lord, am the maker of all things, Stretching out the heavens by Myself, And spreading out the earth all alone” (Isaiah 44:24)
* “It is I who made the earth, and created man upon it. I stretched out the heavens with My hands, And I ordained all their host.” (Isaiah 45:12)
* “Surely My hand founded the earth, And My right hand spread out the heavens; When I call to them, they stand together.” (Isaiah 48:13)
* That you have forgotten the Lord your Maker, Who stretched out the heavens, And laid the foundations of the earth; That you fear continually all day long because of the fury of the oppressor, As he makes ready to destroy? But where is the fury of the oppressor? (Isaiah 51:13)
* It is He who made the earth by His power, Who established the world by His wisdom; And by His understanding He has stretched out the heavens. (Jeremiah 10:12)
* It is He who made the earth by His power, Who established the world by His wisdom, And by His understanding He stretched out the heavens. (Jeremiah 51:15)
* The burden of the word of the Lord concerning Israel. Thus declares the Lord who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him, (Zechariah 12:1)

State of the world in the beginning:

Genesis 1:1-2 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

1. The earth was without form
2. The earth was void
3. The earth was dark
4. The earth was flat (deep=Hebrew word for table)

Revelation describes seven last plagues reversing the seven days of creation

Jeremiah has a vision of these last plagues. Note that in verse 23 the world is reverting to a state without form, void, and dark.

Jeremiah 4:19-23 O my soul, my soul!
I am pained in my very heart!
My heart makes a noise in me;
I cannot hold my peace,
Because you have heard, O my soul,
The sound of the trumpet,
The alarm of war.
20 Destruction upon destruction is cried,
For the whole land is plundered.
Suddenly my tents are plundered,
And my curtains in a moment.
21 How long will I see the standard,
And hear the sound of the trumpet?
22 “ For My people are foolish,
They have not known Me.
They are silly children,
And they have no understanding.
They are wise to do evil,
But to do good they have no knowledge.”
23 I beheld the earth, and indeed it was without form, and void;
. And the heavens, they had no light.

The event is described with trumpets and with war is the second coming of Jesus:

1 Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

1 Corinthians 15:51-52 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

Revelation 19:11 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.

Creation Reversed:

1st day: light / Jeremiah 23:”the heavens had no light”

2nd day: water separated / water is poisoned

Revelation 16:4 Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood.

3rd day: dry land and plants/ Islands sink/mountains crumbled

Revelation 16:20 Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.

Jeremiah 4:26 I beheld, and indeed the fruitful land was a wilderness, And all its cities were broken down At the presence of the LORD, By His fierce anger.

4th day: Sun Moon and stars and the birds / sky darkened

Matthew 24:29-30 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

“the powers of the heavens” refer to the bright objects in the sky in the night and day:

Genesis 1:16 Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also.

Jeremiah 4:25 I beheld, and indeed there was no man, And all the birds of the heavens had fled.

5th day: Fish/sea animals / none

Revelation 16:3 Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living creature in the sea died.

6th day: man / everyone dead

Also see Jeremiah 4:25 above

Jeremiah 25:33 “And at that day the slain of the LORD shall be from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth. They shall not be lamented, or gathered, or buried; they shall become refuse on the ground.

Isaiah 24:1-5 Impending Judgment on the Earth
1 Behold, the LORD makes the earth empty and makes it waste,
Distorts its surface
And scatters abroad its inhabitants.
2 And it shall be:
As with the people, so with the priest;
As with the servant, so with his master;
As with the maid, so with her mistress;
As with the buyer, so with the seller;
As with the lender, so with the borrower;
As with the creditor, so with the debtor.
3 The land shall be entirely emptied and utterly plundered,
For the LORD has spoken this word.
4 The earth mourns and fades away,
The world languishes and fades away;
The haughty people of the earth languish.
5 The earth is also defiled under its inhabitants,
Because they have transgressed the laws,
Changed the ordinance,
Broken the everlasting covenant.

Timeline: Jesus second coming will destroy everything and reverse creation to a lifeless state unable to support life

Jesus after the millennium returns to earth and re-creates it new.

Who will be alive during the thousand years on earth?

Isaiah 24:6 Therefore the curse has devoured the earth,
And those who dwell in it are desolate.
Therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned,
And few men are left.

Remembering the definition of “left” used in the Bible means removed by the Lord, nothing on the surface surviving. Those who are left are relatively few in number and have gone to heaven:

Genesis 7:23 Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; men and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds of the air were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark.

At the second coming of Christ, two groups will be punished. The kings of the earth refers to the rulers of this world. And also another group “on high the host of exalted ones”

Isaiah 24:18-21 And it shall be
That he who flees from the noise of the fear
Shall fall into the pit,
And he who comes up from the midst of the pit
Shall be caught in the snare;
For the windows from on high are open,
And the foundations of the earth are shaken.
19 The earth is violently broken,
The earth is split open,
The earth is shaken exceedingly.
20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard,
And shall totter like a hut;
Its transgression shall be heavy upon it,
And it will fall, and not rise again.
21 It shall come to pass in that day
That the LORD will punish on high the host of exalted ones,
. And on the earth the kings of the earth.

This second group is Satan and his angels, those who are identified to be in the heavenly places:

Ephesians 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

“flesh and blood” are human beings so these must not be human beings. Jesus came down became human with us:

Hebrews 2:14 Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,

What is their punishment?

Isaiah 24:22 They will be gathered together,
As prisoners are gathered in the pit,
And will be shut up in the prison;
. After many days they will be punished.

The word pit is the identical word used here in the story of Joseph. In this case Joseph was cast alive into an empty well or cistern:

Genesis 37:24-25 Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it. 25 And they sat down to eat a meal. Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry them down to Egypt.

The word dungeon here is the Hebrew word for pit:

Jeremiah 38:6 So they took Jeremiah and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the king’s son, which was in the court of the prison, and they let Jeremiah down with ropes. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire. So Jeremiah sank in the mire.

This exact same word for pit may also refer to the grave:

Isaiah 38:18 For Sheol cannot thank You,
Death cannot praise You;
. Those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your truth.

Therefore Isaiah 24:22 has clear connotations of those who will be imprisoned alive but can also mean a second group can be imprisoned dead.

Revelation 20:1-2,7 Satan Bound 1000 Years
Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years…
7 Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison

The Greek word used here as pit/abyssos is the same word in Hebrew used in Genesis 1 as deep/meaning table. The Greek Old Testament has translated every reference to “deep” as abyssos.

The devil is trapped on a desolate, barren planet with no people or followers on it. Just as in the flood, when all the wicked were destroyed and there were only righteous people, so in the millennium that will only be the righteous alive and all the wicked dead. Satan will be constrained on this planet and not allowed to go elsewhere by God. The same millennium that all the righteous are in heaven is the same millennium that Satan will be trapped.

Another way to explain this, Satan is constrained to only exercise power through his people. He is not permitted to act directly. When he has no people, his power has been completely taken away.

Revelation 20:5 But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

Notice that the punishment is an explicit event that takes place after the imprisonment, the imprisonment itself is not the punishment. The punishment also occurs in the presence of the glory of the Lord that outshines the sun, which means the Lord comes back to

Isaiah 24:22-23 They will be gathered together,
As prisoners are gathered in the pit,
And will be shut up in the prison;
After many days they will be punished.
23 Then the moon will be disgraced
And the sun ashamed;
For the LORD of hosts will reign
On Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
. And before His elders, gloriously.

The wicked experience two deaths. This means they must die, either on earth or when Jesus comes, be resurrected, and be killed a second time:

Revelation 20:11-15 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. 14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

Isaiah 24:23 Then the moon will be disgraced
And the sun ashamed;
For the LORD of hosts will reign
On Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
. And before His elders, gloriously.

At the end of the thousand years, “then” sequentially after the many days, Jerusalem will come down to the earth:

Revelation 21:2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Revelation 21:23 The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.

Where will God’s people be during this 1000 years? With God:

John 14:1-3 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

Two themes are found here: at the second coming we go up to the clouds to meet God. He does not come all the way down. The second idea is that we will always be with Him. The rapture theory teaches that we go to heaven while God stays on Earth, and that we are separated again:

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

The reason that the rapture doctrine exists is because Satan needs cover to explain his counterfeit second coming

Mark 13:22 For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall show signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect will be deceived.

Matthew 24:23-26 If any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is the Christ, or, Here; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. Behold, I have told you beforehand. If therefore they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the wilderness; go not forth: Behold, he is in the inner chambers; believe it not.

2 Corinthians 11:13-14 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.

If we will judge angels, what angels will we judge? Satan’s angels will be judged by us during these 1000 years.

1 Corinthians 6:1-3 Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints? 2 Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? 3 Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life?

Revelation 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.