Mustérion – The Mystery
A mystery or secret doctrine of which initiation is necessary; in the New Testament. The counsels of God, once hidden but now revealed in the Gospel or some fact thereof; the Christian revelation generally; particular truths or details of the Christian revelation.
Apokalupsis – The Revelation
An uncovering, an unveiling, revealing, revelation, disclosure. The book of the Revelation begins with John the Revelator addressing the seven churches in Asia.
What follows is an amazing prophetic insight of God’s plan and purpose for His creation from Genesis to the End of the Age.
Revelation 1:1, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, verse 2, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, everything that he saw. Verse 3. Blessed is the one who reads, and those who hear the words of the prophecy and keep the things which are written in it; for the time is near.
Verse 4. “John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before His throne, verse 5, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood— Verse 6, and He made us into a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. Verse 7. BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.”
Verse 8. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
I have color-coded certain words and phrases in these verses to draw attention to the Mustérion of the Apokalupsis. Others are color-coded in red to draw attention to their obvious and transcendent truth.
THE WORD OF GOD – THE ONLY WAY TO SAFETY AND SUCCESS
The cosmos and this world and everything in them, which God created from the beginning, were ‘Good’. God called all of His creation ‘Good’, and all things were ‘good’ because the process and the outcome of creation was perfectly in accordance to God’s Will, His Plan and His Purpose.
It may sound odd to say, but the scriptures about creation, particularly the creation of Adam and Eve, found in the Book of Genesis, seem to contain several contradictions.
THE FIRST ‘CONTRADICTION’
Revelation 1:1, says, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place…” These words were written sometime around A.D. 90. Over 1,900 years have passed since this prophecy was written, and according to the God-breathed and Holy Spirit inspired Word of God. The first ‘contradiction’, if that is possible, is if these were ‘to soon take place’, why haven’t they? But that is the wrong question to ask.
The right question to ask is, “Is this is more rock-solid evidence that the breaking of the first tribulation seals began at the birth of Christ and ‘the things which must soon take place’ began to appear around the time John the Apostle wrote his Apokalupsis?”
This prophetic statement fits perfectly with the words of Jesus and the Apostles Paul, Peter and Timothy, written around A.D. 30, and are found in :
- Hebrews 1:2,
- Hebrews 9:26,
- Acts 2:14-17,
- 2 Timothy 3:1,
- 1 Peter 1:20,
- 1 Peter 4:7,
- 2 Peter 3:3.
- 1 John 2:18.
Here is the Tribulation Timeline, in summary:
Section A.1. The opening of Tribulation Seal ONE began between A.D. 30 and A.D. 69, and perhaps as early as 2 B.C. Seals ONE through FIVE have been broken, progressively, up until this day.
So, in this case there is no contradiction. It is a clear and positive explanation of the timing of ‘the beginning of the End of all Things’ – The tribulation had begun. We are now standing at the precipice of the breaking of the 6th Tribulation Seal – which is the beginning of the final 7 years!
THE SECOND ‘CONTRADICTION’ – BACK TO THE BEGINNING
So, what does Genesis and the creation of man and woman have to do with the tribulation, the Revelation and the End of all Things? It shows that God planned all things to occur just has they have occurred from the very beginning. He planned it all.
Man and woman were created ‘in His image’ but as crazy as it sounds, the Hebrew language reveals, they were created with a flaw. They were created with a ‘as a mere image or a shadowed reflection of the Perfect God; an illusion with a dubious character’; but they were created with the potential of perfection.
This is shown as Adam and Eve sinned and doomed all humankind to live under the curse of sin. But, this was God’s plan all along, so He provided a solution, a Savior, His Son, Jesus. And the plan of Perfecting began.
Genesis 1:1, says, “In the beginning God, (Elohim), created the heavens and the earth. Verse 2. And the earth was a formless and desolate emptiness, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Verse 3. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. Verse 4. God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. Verse 5. God called the light “day,” and the darkness He called “night.” And there was evening and there was morning, one day.” And, God saw that it was good. (etcetera).
THE MAJOR EVENT
Then, in Genesis 1:26, “God said, “Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness.”
This is a major event. The seminal event in all creation. God is making a creature He calls ‘mankind’ in His, (Their), own image and according to Their likeness.
AN ODD THING
In the midst of His creation work, an odd thing occurs. This is an event, an occurrence in the creation of mankind, which is completely overlooked by the vast majority, if not all, Bible teachers. This is a bit technical, but please pay particular attention, as this is a game-changer.
Genesis 1, Verse 27. “So, God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”
It may seem tedious to look at the wording of this verse, as it was written in the original Hebrew language, but it is vitally important for our understanding of God’s Design, plan and purpose:
Verse 27. “So created God, man in His own image, in the image of God, He created him, male and female, He created them.”
man =adam, from ‘adam’; man, mankind. ruddy, i.e. A human being (an individual or the species, mankind.
In Him own image = tselem = an image; a mere, empty, image, semblance; image, vain show, from an unused root meaning to shade; a phantom, i.e., an illusion, a resemblance; hence, a representative figure, especially an idol, an image, a vain shew, of dubious character.
In the image = tselem = an image; a mere, empty, image, semblance; image, vain show, from an unused root meaning to shade; a phantom, i.e., an illusion, a resemblance; hence, a representative figure, especially an idol, an image, a vain shew, of dubious character.
Male = zakar = A male
Female = naqab = female, from the sexual form.
Genesis 1, Verse 27 , in other words, says, “So, God, signifying that this is God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, created, shaped through a formative process to make man, that is, mankind, ruddy, i.e., a human being, an individual of the species of mankind, in His own image, in the image; a mere, empty, image, semblance; image, vain show, from an unused root meaning to shade; a phantom, i.e., an illusion, a resemblance; hence, a representative figure, especially an idol, an image, a vain shew, of dubious character, of God, yet having potential of being very great, mighty, and consisting as a plural in the ordinary sense, He created him, shaped, created, through a formative process; male and female He created them.”
RECAP:
- God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, created, shaped and formed mankind.
- God created mankind ‘in His Own image’, which initially was a mere faint image of Himself; a vain representation, a shadow of the Original; an icon, a phantom pattern, an illusion, a mere resemblance; a being of dubious nature.
- God has deliberately made man and woman with a flaw, and destined them to fail.
- God would, through a formative process which would take a millennium, provide a way for man and woman to be redeemed and recreated into His perfect image through a Savior, His Son, Jesus.
Once again, there is no contradiction. God created man and woman with a flaw – He created you and me with a flaw – and destined us to fail WITH A PURPOSE. He also provided a Savior to redeem you from failure. Through all time, God is perfecting His creation, man and woman, into the very image of Jesus the Christ,
The Purpose of God’s Eternal Plan is “Perfection”. He is maturing and perfecting you into His image, ultimately to live in Perfect harmony with Him and with one another, in a New and Perfect heaven and earth.
“Because by a single offering He has made perfect for all time those who are being sanctified.” Hebrews 10:14
Each and every chapter, verse and word in the Bible, when viewed within this context of God’s Eternal Plan of Perfection, begins to make perfect sense.
Read it. Know it. Believe it. Live it.
Your Brother and Friend,
Mike Young
Whitestone Fellowship 