In the Beginning

Sadly, many of my people missed the Messiah, but thankfully, many did not. Some scholars say there were a million Jewish Yeshua-followers by the end of the first century, CE. These two “days,” two millennia, line up with the rabbinic expectation of a coming Messiah/Savior.

The final day of Creation was the Sabbath, a day of rest and worship. This day provided the pattern for what Christians call the Millennium, the thousand-year reign of the Messiah. The Sages call these 1,000 years, a Sabbath.

It’s becoming fairly well accepted in theological circles, that echoes of biblical statements and incidents in the past are heard later in history. Some scholars argue that what happens to Israel, also happens to Israel’s Messiah and vice-versa. As one example, just as Israel spent time in Egypt, so, too, Messiah was sent to Egypt to escape Herod’s decree to kill Jewish baby boys.

Given these sorts of patterns, it’s not surprising that the six days of creation in Genesis would echo loudly throughout history, culminating when the seventh day would come. When Yeshua returns to reign as King, he will establish a Sabbath across the Creation. When we rest on the 7th day Sabbath, it sets a pattern for what is yet to come, 1,000 years of rest with the Messiah, who, as Matthew records, is “Lord of the Sabbath.”

The Rabbis calculate that we have just entered the year, 5770, i.e. 5770 years since the beginning of history. If this is so, then we are almost at the end of the third 2,000-year period. Now, I’m not saying that Yeshua will reign over the earth in exactly 230 years, but it sure does seem like something’s happening in our world in preparation for his return.

In creation, God set in motion the Completion. Even though the world has stood for nearly 6,000 years without the Messiah’s physical presence, a day is coming soon, perhaps in our lifetime, when that 6,000-year period will be over and the Sabbath/Millennium will begin. I personally look forward to that Sabbath. How about you?

You will enjoy reading Messianic Rabbi Russel Resnik’s book, Creation to Completion: A Guide to Life’s Journey from the Five Books of Moses, available at www.messianicjewish.net or by calling 800-410-7367. He writes about this concept.