Introduction to Studies in Biblical Pre-History
Thus far, our studies have covered creation, temple, end-times and Eden. Each of these topics was covered from a creation/new creation perspective. Most important, our studies have taken us from Genesis 1:1 through Genesis 3:24 – from the beginning of God’s creation of heaven and earth to the Fall of Adam and Eve. The focus of all these studies has been to reveal God’s redemptive plan in creation, and man’s placement in a garden from which he fell, necessitating and actualizing God’s redemptive plan.
Biblical Protology
With completion of studies in the Fall, Genesis proceeds to present mankind’s post-Fall challenges. These are laid out in Genesis chapters 4-9. These chapters are often called “protology”, meaning first things. By first things, it means the first events to follow man’s Fall.
These “first events” flow from the blessing to subdue and fill the earth. But preeminently they also focus upon mankind’s struggles and hopes of seeing the fulfillment of the promised seed of Eve that would restore fallen man back to God’s presence in Eden. The events thus track important births, attempting to identify the genealogical line through which the promised seed would come. Hence why Scripture speaks of the toledoths or family histories, most of which intend to track the path to the Messiah, the promised seed.
These chapters are densely packed and present important ethical lessons, particularly regarding the progression of man’s sin and failure and God’s eventual resolve to deal with it. These first things surprisingly end with God’s resolve to destroy His creation, everything that has breath upon the earth. It is certainly a macabre and unexpected end to what is initially presented as a creation of incredible grandeur.
The end of this era provides the central problem of sin and the impossibility to rout it out of the world once introduced. Moreso, sin is presented as constantly escalating, whose effects unceasingly desecrate and destroy God’s creation. It is the overriding ethical lesson of this era.
An Important Truth: Protology Anticipates Eschatology
But there are also important eschatological implications that are often unrecognized by Christians. It is in part due to a failure by pastors to teach this side of the storyline. It is in part due to ignorance but also due to resistance against typological methods, which are often distrusted, particularly among literalists.
But these foreshadowings of the end of our era not only provide relevant ethical lessons, but also forewarn against sin, reminding believers of inevitable judgment against sin. More than that, God’s redemptive plan to solve the sin problem are also foreshadowed, making these chapters important for gleaning “eschatological” lessons for us.
It makes these chapters from our distant past immediately relevant to all modern audiences. They also bear witness to God’s greatness, that He would forewarn us of the future. For who can foretell the future, except God?
But as we shall show, it is not just the end that comes into view, nor simply judgment for sin and God’s ultimate solution for sin. A surprising level of detail is foreshadowed in the outline of end-time events that include the main actors in the redemptive drama and their relationship to God and His redemptive plan.
It’s an area of study we’ve found spiritually invigorating, and we hope it proves also to be for you! So, strap in and enjoy these studies.