The execution of God’s eschatological plan has the objective to create a new spiritual cosmos that replaces the existing physical cosmos. Though much of the detail is yet to be revealed regarding God’s new creation, we can conclude that the new heaven and new earth find their consummation in John’s vision of Revelation 21-22. We have argued that the start of the new creation was the seminal event of Jesus’ birth, death and resurrection. Its ending point is Christ’s Parousia. What transpires between the inauguration and consummation is God’s redemptive plan. But what is the timing of the plan?
Though we cannot yet answer with certainty, there are some inferences that can be made. First, an underlying postulate is that the first creation serves as a model for the final creation. With this as basis, we can postulate that the second creation will show parallels with the timing of the first creation. As the first creation progressed in seven days, it seems reasonable to postulate that the second creation will also have seven “days”. Further, we would suggest the possibility that the seven “days” would be divided into two groups of three with a seventh day pointing toward a Sabbath.
What must be determined, is what type of “days” these might be, and whether these days are in fact ordered into groups of threes and one, whether the one points toward a Sabbath concept, whether each day is marked with transition points (evening and morning), what specific creation activities might occur on each of these “days” and whether these activities would provide any parallels with the first creation. If evidence exists for any of these parallels, it would certainly not provide proof of our postulate, but it would support that it has a credible basis.
Our approach will first focus on the meaning of “day” as there has been much presumption regarding its meaning. Having established its meaning, we will propose a biblical model for seven “days” of the new creation. An obvious choice for the seven “days” would be the seven Israelite feast days of the Sinaic cult. We will then propose an outline that overlays the timing of those feast days with the “calendar” of our eschatological age. The outline is designed to provide insights regarding God’s eschatological plan. To that end, we will argue that some of these “days” have come, and some remain to be fulfilled. In the process, we will attempt to show important events that marked the coming of each of the days and the signs that may accompany the remaining days.
The interpretation is non-traditional and must be rectified with Daniel’s prophecy of seventy weeks. This analysis will be undertaken next, showing how we can resolve an apparent inconsistency literalists will inevitably note. The resolution will be consistent with the method proposed, and hopefully introduce a novel, yet credible explanation within the framework of new creation.
Following that, we will propose an alternate definition of the Day of the Lord, one we have not encountered in the literature to date. That definition will also have its basis in the first creation narrative. With this linkage, we hope to provide further support for the postulate that the new creation will be accomplished in seven “days”. [1] More important, our postulate will serve as an alternative to the common dispensational view that envisions our age as a period of Kingdom Abeyance in which “the prophetic clock” of the Old Testament prophecies has been temporarily suspended. In contrast to this approach, the proposed methodology will smooth eschatology by eliminating the discontinuity dispensationalism has introduced. It will be argued that God’s eschatological plan is one plan, the same for the church as for historical Israel, a plan that has been proceeding throughout our age toward the Parousia. The advantages of the method will be discussed, revealing the church’s integral role in God’s eschatological plan established from the beginning. Unlike dispensationalism, we will argue no specific events must occur to restart God’s eschatological time-clock as it never stopped.
An illustrative example will follow, to show how the Day of the Lord predicted by Joel and later announced by Peter at Pentecost can be realized without introducing error or confusion. The analysis is intended to show the significance of new creation upon Old Testament prophecy. Analysis will then be conducted on the Sabbath, showing its eschatological significance before offering some closing reflections regarding the timing of God’s redemptive program as it relates to eschatology and eschatological texts.
It will be our primary purpose to illustrate how we believe the new creation derives from, and parallels the timing of the old creation. Highlighted will be parallels and breaks from the model of the old creation with explanations offered. It is our hope that from this model, we will be able to improve understanding of the time-clock of eschatological events, an area of significant uncertainty among students of prophecy. It will be left to the reader to decide the merits of the approach and the credibility of the findings presented.
[1] We acknowledge that we will be attempting to provide support for a postulate with a postulate. As imperfect as this approach may appear, we believe it brings clarity to issues associated with the Day of the Lord that to date have vexed some expositors.