Issachar B7D Fellowship

Shalom Aleichem and welcome to my bi-monthly blog! As we conclude our opening session on understanding the times and before moving on to consider each Day of Creation in detail, let us first have an overview or snapshot of how each of the 7 Days of Creation foreshadowed each of the 7 millennia of world history from Creation until now as God unfolds His eternal will both in the world and in His Word: DAY 1 on the separation of light and darkness foreshadowed the Fall and is the key event that characterises the First Millennium of world history. DAY 2 on what the Bible described as a vault or space separating water from water foreshadowed the Flood and Noah’s Ark that became that vault separating the rain from the floodwaters. This event characterises the Second Millennium. DAY 3 on the gathering of waters and appearing of dry ground foreshadowed the emerging of the dry ground of salvation with the call of the Patriarchs and the Exodus. These events characterise the Third Millennium. DAY 4 on the greater and lesser lights foreshadowed how God appointed Israel to act as His lesser light directing mankind to Jesus Christ, the Greater/True Light of salvation. The time from Israel up till Jesus characterises the Fourth Millennium. DAY 5 on the water and air teeming with life foreshadowed the new life available to all mankind through the giving of the Holy Spirit and birth of the Church. This move characterises the Fifth Millennium. DAY 6 on the creation of Adam and the subsequent rule of Man foreshadows the coming rule of the Antichrist, the counterfeit “Son of Man.” The rule of the Antichrist is characteristic of the Sixth Millennium that we are currently living in and defines the spirit of our age. DAY 7 on the Sabbath Rest foreshadows the second coming of Christ and the establishment of His Millennial Kingdom and rule on earth. Christ’s coming will mark the start of the Seventh (and last) Millennium of world history as we know it. May God grant us wisdom and open our eyes to see and understand each day that has passed and especially the day that we are currently living in. Link to presentation - https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1oJkmnecyCSWf2FF5hmGZyqV6q4aPC-fBwSrwZ1s5JuA/present#slide=id.g3ce72879e0_0_4

Shalom Aleichem and welcome to my bi-monthly blog! As we conclude our opening session on understanding the times and before moving on to consider each Day of Creation in detail, let us first have an overview or snapshot of how each of the 7 Days of Creation foreshadowed each of the 7 millennia of world history from Creation until now as God unfolds His eternal will both in the world and in His Word: DAY 1 on the separation of light and darkness foreshadowed the Fall and is the key event that characterises the First Millennium of world history. DAY 2 on what the Bible described as a vault or space separating water from water foreshadowed the Flood and Noah’s Ark that became that vault separating the rain from the floodwaters. This event characterises the Second Millennium. DAY 3 on the gathering of waters and appearing of dry ground foreshadowed the emerging of the dry ground of salvation with the call of the Patriarchs and the Exodus. These events characterise the Third Millennium. DAY 4 on the greater and lesser lights foreshadowed how God appointed Israel to act as His lesser light directing mankind to Jesus Christ, the Greater/True Light of salvation. The time from Israel up till Jesus characterises the Fourth Millennium. DAY 5 on the water and air teeming with life foreshadowed the new life available to all mankind through the giving of the Holy Spirit and birth of the Church. This move characterises the Fifth Millennium. DAY 6 on the creation of Adam and the subsequent rule of Man foreshadows the coming rule of the Antichrist, the counterfeit “Son of Man.” The rule of the Antichrist is characteristic of the Sixth Millennium that we are currently living in and defines the spirit of our age. DAY 7 on the Sabbath Rest foreshadows the second coming of Christ and the establishment of His Millennial Kingdom and rule on earth. Christ’s coming will mark the start of the Seventh (and last) Millennium of world history as we know it. May God grant us wisdom and open our eyes to see and understand each day that has passed and especially the day that we are currently living in. Link to presentation - https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1oJkmnecyCSWf2FF5hmGZyqV6q4aPC-fBwSrwZ1s5JuA/present#slide=id.g3ce72879e0_0_4

Shalom Aleichem and welcome to my bi-monthly blog! We believe that the 7 Days of Creation refer to 7 Millennia (or 7,000 years) of world history, as determined by the chronology of people and events in the Bible. There is a strong biblical basis for this (see 2 Pet 3:8 and Ps 90:4). Most importantly, it explains Christ’s Millennial or 1,000-year rule and how the 7th Day of Creation, when God rested in the original Creation account, points to this period when Creation will finally receive its earthly rest. There is a clear parallel in the Bible between a day in the original Creation Account and each 1000-year period of world history. We will see as we go along how key events that characterise each Day of Creation fit into this seven thousand-year historical framework. For this reason also, the question is not whether the world was created in 7 literal days as Creationists believe or had evolved over billions of years according to Evolutionists. All these arguments still function within a narrow viewpoint of the world ruled only by Chronos. As we saw in our earlier sessions, the Creation Account was given to help us understand God’s concept of time and eternity, to recognise the signs when He will act in His Kairos to bring about His eternal will, and to hear His Rhema for His people - in other words, to help us understand the times as they relate to God’s eternal will and know what we should do. Link to presentation - https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1oJkmnecyCSWf2FF5hmGZyqV6q4aPC-fBwSrwZ1s5JuA/present#slide=id.g3ce554f00c_0_0

Shalom Aleichem and welcome to my bi-monthly blog! We believe that the 7 Days of Creation refer to 7 Millennia (or 7,000 years) of world history, as determined by the chronology of people and events in the Bible. There is a strong biblical basis for this (see 2 Pet 3:8 and Ps 90:4). Most importantly, it explains Christ’s Millennial or 1,000-year rule and how the 7th Day of Creation, when God rested in the original Creation account, points to this period when Creation will finally receive its earthly rest. There is a clear parallel in the Bible between a day in the original Creation Account and each 1000-year period of world history. We will see as we go along how key events that characterise each Day of Creation fit into this seven thousand-year historical framework. For this reason also, the question is not whether the world was created in 7 literal days as Creationists believe or had evolved over billions of years according to Evolutionists. All these arguments still function within a narrow viewpoint of the world ruled only by Chronos. As we saw in our earlier sessions, the Creation Account was given to help us understand God’s concept of time and eternity, to recognise the signs when He will act in His Kairos to bring about His eternal will, and to hear His Rhema for His people - in other words, to help us understand the times as they relate to God’s eternal will and know what we should do. Link to presentation - https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1oJkmnecyCSWf2FF5hmGZyqV6q4aPC-fBwSrwZ1s5JuA/present#slide=id.g3ce554f00c_0_0

Shalom Aleichem and welcome to my bi-monthly blog! The Creation Account ultimately tell us about Jesus Christ. It reveals how, when God created the world, He had already planned how it would progress and eventually end by bringing all things to perfect completion and rest, forever set apart for Him, in Jesus Christ. Christ existed from the beginning, came 2,000 years ago to save us, and will return to usher in this seventh or Sabbath Day rest. This will happen during His Millennial or 1,000-year reign mentioned in many parts of the Bible. Let us always remember that everything is - and has to be - only about Jesus. This is what the Gospel and the entire Bible, indeed all of life and creation and history including everyone and every part of us, are about. Any gospel or sermon that puts us - our prosperity, welfare or blessing - or even the Church or our nation or anything or anyone else besides Jesus as the central focus of its message, misses the point and cannot therefore be God’s Rhema for us. Link to presentation - https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1oJkmnecyCSWf2FF5hmGZyqV6q4aPC-fBwSrwZ1s5JuA/present#slide=id.g3a3b8a6ab2_0_0

Shalom Aleichem and welcome to my bi-monthly blog! The Creation Account ultimately tell us about Jesus Christ. It reveals how, when God created the world, He had already planned how it would progress and eventually end by bringing all things to perfect completion and rest, forever set apart for Him, in Jesus Christ. Christ existed from the beginning, came 2,000 years ago to save us, and will return to usher in this seventh or Sabbath Day rest. This will happen during His Millennial or 1,000-year reign mentioned in many parts of the Bible. Let us always remember that everything is - and has to be - only about Jesus. This is what the Gospel and the entire Bible, indeed all of life and creation and history including everyone and every part of us, are about. Any gospel or sermon that puts us - our prosperity, welfare or blessing - or even the Church or our nation or anything or anyone else besides Jesus as the central focus of its message, misses the point and cannot therefore be God’s Rhema for us. Link to presentation - https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1oJkmnecyCSWf2FF5hmGZyqV6q4aPC-fBwSrwZ1s5JuA/present#slide=id.g3a3b8a6ab2_0_0

Shalom Aleichem and welcome to my bi-monthly blog! The Creation Account gives us a framework with which to recognise when God will act in His Kairos - His appointed or opportune time. It thus gives us a unique Biblical perspective of world history. History is not just a series of accidents and coincidences or intentional or unintentional human causes and effects. It is His-story - God’s story in action, revealing His sovereign will and hand at work over everything that happens in the world. But God doesn’t just want us to see Him at work. He wants to tell us what to do in light of what He is doing in the world. For this reason, the Creation Account also reveals God’s Rhema for us in view of the times that we live in. The Bible is God’s story in revelation. Through the Creation Account, each Kairos generation receives a fresh understanding of the Bible and knowledge of what to do according to His eternal will here on earth. Let us listen as we join together with God to bring about the outworking of His eternal plan and will until everything is perfect and at rest. Link to presentation - https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1oJkmnecyCSWf2FF5hmGZyqV6q4aPC-fBwSrwZ1s5JuA/present#slide=id.g3c9a416b4f_0_0

Shalom Aleichem and welcome to my bi-monthly blog! The Creation Account gives us a framework with which to recognise when God will act in His Kairos - His appointed or opportune time. It thus gives us a unique Biblical perspective of world history. History is not just a series of accidents and coincidences or intentional or unintentional human causes and effects. It is His-story - God’s story in action, revealing His sovereign will and hand at work over everything that happens in the world. But God doesn’t just want us to see Him at work. He wants to tell us what to do in light of what He is doing in the world. For this reason, the Creation Account also reveals God’s Rhema for us in view of the times that we live in. The Bible is God’s story in revelation. Through the Creation Account, each Kairos generation receives a fresh understanding of the Bible and knowledge of what to do according to His eternal will here on earth. Let us listen as we join together with God to bring about the outworking of His eternal plan and will until everything is perfect and at rest. Link to presentation - https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1oJkmnecyCSWf2FF5hmGZyqV6q4aPC-fBwSrwZ1s5JuA/present#slide=id.g3c9a416b4f_0_0

Shalom Aleichem and welcome to my bi-monthly blog! Continuing from my previous podcast, God gave us Time when He created the Heavens and the Earth. Unlike eternity, time is always moving forwards and never stops. It is never in a state of rest or Shalom. Since we live in time, how are we to visualise what eternity and God’s eternal will is like? The answer is that we must view eternity not like an endless straight line but as a cycle, reflecting the nature of eternity. This was why God gave us the 7 Days of Creation, this weekly cycle that ends on the Seventh - or Sabbath - Day when He rested. The Creation Account is God’s means for us to see His eternal will at work on this side of time and history. It tells us that, just as in the original Creation Account, there is a future Sabbath or Shabbat when this world will enter into God’s eternal Shalom. Link to presentation - https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1oJkmnecyCSWf2FF5hmGZyqV6q4aPC-fBwSrwZ1s5JuA/present#slide=id.g3c982cf98f_0_0

Shalom Aleichem and welcome to my bi-monthly blog! Continuing from my previous podcast, God gave us Time when He created the Heavens and the Earth. Unlike eternity, time is always moving forwards and never stops. It is never in a state of rest or Shalom. Since we live in time, how are we to visualise what eternity and God’s eternal will is like? The answer is that we must view eternity not like an endless straight line but as a cycle, reflecting the nature of eternity. This was why God gave us the 7 Days of Creation, this weekly cycle that ends on the Seventh - or Sabbath - Day when He rested. The Creation Account is God’s means for us to see His eternal will at work on this side of time and history. It tells us that, just as in the original Creation Account, there is a future Sabbath or Shabbat when this world will enter into God’s eternal Shalom. Link to presentation - https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1oJkmnecyCSWf2FF5hmGZyqV6q4aPC-fBwSrwZ1s5JuA/present#slide=id.g3c982cf98f_0_0

Shalom Aleichem and welcome to my bi-monthly blog! In this and my next podcast, we will consider how what God wants to say to us can be discerned from the Bible when we approach it through the perspective of the 7 Days of Creation, by first understanding how God sees Time. In the spiritual realm, there is no time. What we see happening on earth have all reached completion and are finished. There is no beginning and no end - all is one and done. Moreover, everything is perfect and at rest. Only God can bring about this perfect unity, because it is an expression of His perfect, complete and finished will. This is the full meaning of the Hebrew word Shalom, summing up for us what it means to be in heaven in God's eternal presence. Link to presentation - https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1oJkmnecyCSWf2FF5hmGZyqV6q4aPC-fBwSrwZ1s5JuA/present#slide=id.g3c8f40680d_0_0

Shalom Aleichem and welcome to my bi-monthly blog! In this and my next podcast, we will consider how what God wants to say to us can be discerned from the Bible when we approach it through the perspective of the 7 Days of Creation, by first understanding how God sees Time. In the spiritual realm, there is no time. What we see happening on earth have all reached completion and are finished. There is no beginning and no end - all is one and done. Moreover, everything is perfect and at rest. Only God can bring about this perfect unity, because it is an expression of His perfect, complete and finished will. This is the full meaning of the Hebrew word Shalom, summing up for us what it means to be in heaven in God's eternal presence. Link to presentation - https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1oJkmnecyCSWf2FF5hmGZyqV6q4aPC-fBwSrwZ1s5JuA/present#slide=id.g3c8f40680d_0_0

Shalom Aleichem and welcome to my bi-monthly blog! Previously, we touched on the idea of God's Rhema and Kairos as it applied in our personal lives. But more importantly, God does not only speak to us personally but collectively as His people. In fact, the Bible is primarily His message to Israel, the Church and the world. His purpose is so that we understand the times we live in and know what we, together as one Body of Christ, should do. There is an example of this in the Old Testament account of the men of Issachar. May we be like them - to hear, understand and act decisively as one Body of Christ in light of His Rhema and will. Link to presentation - https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1oJkmnecyCSWf2FF5hmGZyqV6q4aPC-fBwSrwZ1s5JuA/present#slide=id.g3c8cf45fc9_0_0

Shalom Aleichem and welcome to my bi-monthly blog! Previously, we touched on the idea of God's Rhema and Kairos as it applied in our personal lives. But more importantly, God does not only speak to us personally but collectively as His people. In fact, the Bible is primarily His message to Israel, the Church and the world. His purpose is so that we understand the times we live in and know what we, together as one Body of Christ, should do. There is an example of this in the Old Testament account of the men of Issachar. May we be like them - to hear, understand and act decisively as one Body of Christ in light of His Rhema and will. Link to presentation - https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1oJkmnecyCSWf2FF5hmGZyqV6q4aPC-fBwSrwZ1s5JuA/present#slide=id.g3c8cf45fc9_0_0

Shalom Aleichem and welcome to the Issachar B7D Fellowship! I’m Stephen and this is the first of my bi-monthly YouTube blog posts. I have named my blog “From Now to Eternity”, because I believe the time has come for us to proclaim God’s living word, His Rhema, in this, His Kairos or appointed time. I pray that this blog will serve as an ongoing journal to equip and encourage all whom the Lord calls, to keep the faith until He returns to bring us back to eternity. In this blog post, we will look at the concepts Rhema and Kairos in order to better understand why we believe that God has an urgent Word for His people today. We are not talking about God's Logos or eternal Word, but His specific Word or message to us at this point of time in history. Come, listen and understand! Link to presentation - https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1oJkmnecyCSWf2FF5hmGZyqV6q4aPC-fBwSrwZ1s5JuA/present#slide=id.g3d15b3d87b_0_0