The Transformation of Themes in the Pattern of Judgments, Part I
Introduction
Hopefully you have read the first ten articles in this series and have seen how the Pattern of Judgments repeats itself many times in the Bible. Essentially, Genesis 1-3 contains a group of sixteen themes/events1 which combine to form a particular pattern that is repeated numerous times throughout the Bible. I call this the Pattern of Judgments. The Genesis 1-3 thematic pattern always starts with Adonai (the Lord) initiating some form of new creation, and ends with Him meting out judgment upon those who have transgressed His commandments in some egregious manner. The first example of this cycle can be seen in Genesis 1–7, where Adonai initiated the cycle with the creation of the heavens and earth (Genesis 1:1-2), and then the cycle was brought to an end with the judgment of Noah’s flood (Genesis 7). Thus, Genesis 1–7 is what I term a major cycle of this pattern of judgments. Chapter 8 then starts a new major cycle with a “new creation” of the earth out of the chaotic waters of Noah’s flood.
As noted previously, the key to 1) understanding how the pattern repeats itself, and 2) how to perceive this pattern when/as it occurs, is to always thematically connect the events in the Biblical narratives back to the sixteen foundational themes established in Genesis 1–3. When you do that, you’ll see how the pattern repeats itself numerous times in Scripture.
As you review the sixteen themes you may be wondering if they are only applicable in the Tanakh (Old Testament). For example, you may think, “How are some of the
themes relevant to what I read in the New Testament?” Themes such as:
Genesis 1:26-28—Man, God’s Image-Bearer, Commissioned to Exercise Dominion Over Creation
Genesis 1:29-31—Man’s Diet
Genesis 2:1-3—The Sign of the Sabbath
Genesis 2:4-9—Man’s Work in His Ancestral Plot of Land
Genesis 2:18-25—A Virginal Bride for the Man
Genesis 3:15—Enmity of the Seed
Genesis 3:17-19—Curse on the Land
In actuality, these themes weave their way throughout the Bible from Genesis to Revelation! The problem is that the themes take on different characteristics as you progress through Scripture. In other words, the sixteen themes undergo transformations and we need to be aware of these changes. The next two articles will trace these themes through the Bible and we will learn how they are transformed, yet remain true to their basic thematic underpinnings presented in Genesis 1–3.
Genesis 1:1-25—New Creation
Recently, I noted how the first theme, New Creation, had slowly changed in certain particular aspects as we progressed through succeeding cycles of the pattern. For example, in the first major cycle, the new creation theme pertained to the literal creation of the heavens and the earth. The first major cycle ended with the first judgment theme, Noah’s flood. That ended the first major cycle and we saw how the narratives progressed from new creation to judgment. Since the pattern repeats, we expected to see another new creation theme and we did! The new creation theme of the second major cycle began with the re-creation of the earth in Genesis 8! In other words, just as Adonai created the first heavens and the earth out of the waters of chaos (Genesis 1:1-2), so likewise, He re-created the heavens and earth out of the waters of chaos of Noah’s flood! It’s as if Adonai was starting over with a new earth (newly regenerated, that is) and a new representative on earth (Noah instead of Adam). But notice how the new creation of Genesis 8 was not exactly like the first one in Genesis 1! Adonai did not create an entirely new heavens and earth as He had in Genesis 1. He simply performed a sort of re-creation using Noah’s flood waters to mimic what He had done in Genesis 1. The point here is that the second new creation was not an exact replica of the first. It was modified, changed or better yet, transformed! Therefore, the essence of the new creation theme, i.e., what’s most important, is not the act of creating a new heavens and earth out of nothing as in Genesis 1. If that’s the case, then what is the most important aspect of the new creation theme? The most important aspect seems to focus on the idea of a special land for Adonai’s chosen representative! This is the common denominator in both the original creation and in the re-creation after Noah’s flood. With this in mind, as noted in Part VIII and IX of this series of articles, we should definitely expect that the new creation theme will not continually involve Adonai creating some type of new heavens and earth with each iteration of the pattern of judgments. Rather, as we see in the first two major cycles, we may expect the theme of new creation to be transformed in some way, yet remain true to the central focus of the theme. Otherwise Adonai would have to re-create the entire heavens and earth with the start of each cycle of the pattern of judgments! We should also expect that this type of transformation process may occur with the other themes found in our pattern of judgments.
With this in mind, here is a list of a few times in Scripture when the new creation theme appears. Notice that the central theme of new creation is a special land for Adonai’s representative/people! This list is not exhaustive, but it reveals the new creation theme for many cycles of the pattern of judgments.
Genesis 1—Creation of the heavens and earth
Genesis 8—Re-creation of the earth after the flood
Genesis 12—The promise of Canaan to Abram
Exodus 3—The promise of Canaan to the nation of Israel
Isaiah 11 and 65—The millennial kingdom given to Adonai’s people
2 Corinthians 5—Yeshua’s followers become new creations
Revelation 21—The new heavens and the new earth
As you can see, there have been numerous cycles of the pattern of judgments, and I’m positive the list above is not exhaustive. Furthermore, there will be new creations in our future. For example, I believe the next theme in the pattern of judgments that we will experience is the theme of judgments as manifested in the events of the book of Revelation. If this is true, then there will be major judgments associated with the end-time events mentioned in this book. What will happen after Adonai finishes judging the earth? A new creation as manifested in the millennial kingdom (Revelation 20). It’s a new creation because the earth will be regenerated! The curse upon the earth will be removed when Messiah Yeshua sets up His millennial kingdom, and we will experience conditions on earth similar to those in the Garden of Eden before there was ever a curse on the land.
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; 21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. 23 Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. (Romans 8:18-23)
Messiah will rule for a thousand years. Then, after the thousand years, what major event will occur? According to Revelation 20:7-10, there will be a judgment upon the nations of the world who will have come up to destroy Yeshua and the saints! In other words, the time period from the beginning of the new creation of Yeshua’s millennial kingdom until the final judgment of Gog and Magog in Revelation 20:7-10, will be a complete cycle of the pattern of judgments. And, what happens after the final judgment of Gog and Magog? According to Revelation 21, a final new creation of the heavens and the earth! But this time the new creation will never again give way to another judgment. As you can see, all of world history has certainly followed this pattern of judgments which always begins with some type of new creation.
Genesis 1:26-28—Man, God’s Image-Bearer, Commissioned to Exercise Dominion Over Creation
Our second theme pertains to Adonai’s choice of a human representative to exercise His authority in the earth. As we did with the new creation theme, we need to identify the most important aspect(s) of the theme pertaining to Man, God’s Image-Bearer, Commissioned to Exercise Dominion over Creation. From my reading of Scripture, this theme has three important aspects:
Someone bearing Adonai’s image
Someone exercising His authority
Someone being fruitful and multiplying
We ascertain these important aspects by simply noting their connection to the theme of Man, God’s Image-Bearer, Commissioned to Exercise Dominion over Creation. Let’s trace this theme throughout a few cycles.
Initially, when Adam was commissioned, all three aspects of our current theme were emphasized . Notice how Genesis 1:26-28 contains all three aspects:
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Hopefully you’ll remember how we learned that one of the primary purposes for the narratives in the beginning chapters in Genesis concerns tracing the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent! You’ll recall that the seed of the woman was represented by Abel, and the seed of the serpent was represented by Cain. Abel was chosen after Adam’s failure. But, once Cain killed Abel, a new seed of the woman was needed—enter Seth! Seth was the new seed of the woman destined to manifest Adonai’s image. This is why you see the word image used so much in Genesis 4:26–5:5 as we transition from Adam to Seth to Enosh:
And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth, “For God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed.” 26 And as for Seth, to him also a son was born; and he named him Enosh. Then men began to call on the name of the LORD. 5 This is the book of the genealogy of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. 2 He created them male and female, and blessed them and called them Mankind in the day they were created. 3 And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth. 4 After he begot Seth, the days of Adam were eight hundred years; and he had sons and daughters. 5 So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years; and he died.
However, when it comes to Seth, notice nothing is said about exercising dominion or being fruitful and multiplying. Despite this fact, nothing has changed about the three important aspects of our current theme, Man, God’s Image-Bearer, Commissioned to Exercise Dominion over Creation. The point I’m trying to emphasize is that sometimes the Bible may focus on all the important aspects of a theme, while at other times it may only focus on one of the important aspects.
After Genesis 1–11, the word image is rarely used when introducing us to someone who will fulfill the theme of Man, God’s Image-Bearer, Commissioned to Exercise Dominion over Creation. The Scripture will simply begin to focus more on the other two aspects associated with this theme. For example, in Genesis 12, Adonai chose Abram as his man to exercise authority. How do we know this? Because we see the other two aspects (multiplicity of seed and authority) associated with the theme of Man, God’s Image-Bearer, Commissioned to Exercise Dominion over Creation. Furthermore, we see the idea of Adonai choosing a particular person to further His plan. Note how we can see that it is as if Abram is the new “Adam.”
In Genesis 1:26-28, Adonai chose Adam and commissioned him for His purposes.
In Genesis 12 Adonai chose Abram and commissioned him for His purposes.
In Genesis 1:26-28, Adonai told Adam to be fruitful and multiply.
Note the following passages where Abram was promised fruitfulness and a multitude of descendants.
Genesis 12:2a—I will make you a great nation
Genesis 13:16—And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered.
Genesis 15:4-5—And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” 5 Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”
Note the following passages where Abram’s seed will multiply.
Genesis 22:17—blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies.
In Genesis 1:26-28 Adonai gave Adam authority and dominion in the earth.
Note the following passages where Abram is given authority and dominion over his enemies!
Genesis 12:3—“I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Genesis 22:17-18—“blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
As you can see, Abram is now Adonai’s man on the earth, chosen to exercise His authority. This calling upon Abram was then given to his descendants as follows: After Abram, He chose Isaac over Ishmael. After Isaac, He chose Jacob over Esau. After Jacob, he chose the tribe of Judah over all the other tribes. Throughout the book of Genesis you can read about how the promises of 1) multiplicity of seed, and 2) dominion over one’s enemies, were passed on to each of Abram’s descendants!
Of Isaac it was promised:
And the LORD appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for My servant Abraham’s sake” (Genesis 26:24).
Of Jacob it was promised:
And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; your name shall not be called Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name.” So He called his name Israel. 11 Also God said to him: “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body (Genesis 35:10-11).
Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be master over your brethren, and let your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be those who bless you!” (Genesis 27:29).
Once we arrive at the twelve tribes, two of the important aspects were split between Judah and Ephraim. Concerning Dominion Over One’s Enemies, Judah was promised the following:
“Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s children shall bow down before you (Genesis 49:8).
Concerning Multiplicity of Seed, Ephraim was promised the following:
Then Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh was the firstborn. 15 And he blessed Joseph, and said: “God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has fed me all my life long to this day, 16 the Angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; let my name be named upon them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.” 17 Now when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him; so he took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.” 19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations” (Genesis 48:14-19).
Taken all together, the twelve tribes, i.e., the nation of Israel, was chosen by Adonai. Why? To be His chosen people to bear His image and exercise His authority in the earth! Here is a list of instances where Adonai’s choice of a man to bear His image and exercise His authority occurs in the pattern of judgments. Again, this list is not complete, but serves as an example of how Adonai repeats the cycle of choosing someone to bear His image, exercise His authority in the earth, and be fruitful.
Man (Adam) was created in Adonai’s image, commanded to be fruitful and commissioned to exercise authority.
Seth was created in Adam’s image.
Noah was commanded to be fruitful and multiply and was given dominion.
Abram was promised a multitude of descendants and given authority to rule over his enemies.
Isaac was promised a multitude of descendants.
Jacob was promised a multitude of descendants and told he would have dominion over other nations.
Judah was promised leadership and dominion within Israel.
Ephraim was promised multiplicity of his seed.
The nation of Israel was commissioned to bear Adonai’s image to the nations. They were promised to grow into a multitude and fill the earth. They were promised that they would rule and reign over their enemies.
All authority to rule and reign was given to Yeshua, the new Adam. Yeshua also exercised all power and authority over hasatan. Yeshua will one day rule with a rod of iron.
Yeshua gave his authority to rule and reign and destroy hasatan’s kingdom to His disciples.
“And have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth” (Revelation 5:10).
As you can see from these examples, although Adonai began with Adam, He has worked throughout human history to chose someone to represent Him in the earth. His choice ultimately was Yeshua!
Genesis 1:29-31—Man’s Diet
With the commencement of Adonai’s covenant with Adam, we notice a peculiar subplot regarding what man was able to eat. Amazingly enough, this theme resurfaces whenever Adonai initiates a new creation! Adam was told he could eat from any tree in the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. So likewise, when Adonai implemented His covenant with Noah, Noah was told what he could and could not eat. This theme weaves its way through each new creation event in Scripture. Here are a few examples of how this theme appears in various cycles in the pattern of judgments.
Genesis 2—Adam and Eve were commanded to only eat from trees of the garden.
Genesis 9—When Adonai made a covenant with Noah, man was allowed to expand his diet to meat. Nonetheless, he was commanded not to eat meat with the blood in it.
Leviticus 11—When Israel was chosen as a nation to bear Adonai’s image in the earth, they were given a set of laws concerning what was permissible and what was not permissible to eat.
Acts 15 and 21—The subject of what was permissible to eat was a main topic of concern once it was determined that Gentiles were to be allowed in the congregations of Yeshua.
Revelation 22—Lastly, we are informed that those who overcome will be able to eat from the tree of life.
Genesis 2:1-3—The Sign of the Sabbath
With each major new creation, Adonai implemented a sign of the covenant. Here is a list of examples of how this theme is repeated in Scripture.
Genesis 2—The Sabbath was given to mankind.
Genesis 9—The sign of the rainbow given to mankind after Adonai chose Noah.
Genesis 17—The sign of circumcision was given after He chose Abraham.
Exodus 31—The sign of the Sabbath was also given to Israel.
Ephesians 1—Yeshua seals those who walk in covenant relationship with Him with the sign/seal of the Holy Spirit.
Genesis 2:15-17—The Choice Between Life and Death
Each major event in Adonai’s dealings with mankind seems to bring with it the responsibility for mankind to make a choice between life and death. Here are a few instances of how this theme surfaces through different iterations of the pattern of judgments.
Genesis 2:16-17—Adam and Eve were given the choice of eating from the tree of life (life) or from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (death).
Deuteronomy 30:19—Moses warned the people that their covenant with Adonai meant they, too, would need to choose between life (obedience) and death (disobedience).
Ezekiel 3:18-21—Ezekiel was told to prophecy to Israel that all people must choose between life or death.
2 Corinthians 2:15-16—Here we are told that we are the fragrance of life or death to the unsaved. Life to those who believe the gospel we preach, or death to those who do not believe.
The book of Revelation—This is a major choice that mankind will face during the period of time known as the tribulation. People, through their acceptance or rejection of the gospel, will be determining whether or not they will experience eternal life with Messiah Yeshua or the second death.
Genesis 2:18-25—A Virginal Bride for the Man
A dominant theme in our pattern of judgments which weaves its way throughout the Bible into the book of Revelation is that of A Virginal Bride for the Man! This is an amazing theme and the implications of its occurrence throughout the Scriptures will be examined in detail in later articles. For now, I just want you to see the unity of Scripture and how concepts developed in the Apostolic writings (New Testament) have their roots (and therefore their meaning) in the Tanakh (Old Testament). Once we get to the book of Revelation, we’ll see how we can learn important information about mystery Babylon and the bride of Messiah Yeshua by making thematic connections to the concept of a virginal bride, which was introduced to us in Genesis 2! For example, do you think it’s a coincidence that the Bible begins with a story about the marriage of a virgin to a man, and ends in the same manner with the marriage of a bride to Messiah Yeshua?
Genesis 2:22—The virgin Eve was brought to Adam.
Genesis 24:15-17, 62-67—The virgin Rebecca, who Eliezer met at a well, was brought to Isaac.
Genesis 29:2-12—The virgin Rachel met Jacob at a well.
Exodus 2:15-17—Moses met the virgin Zipporah at a well.
2 Corinthians 11:2—Messiah’s followers are spoken of as His bride.
Revelation 21:9—In the book of Revelation we are given the following invitation: “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.”
Genesis 3:1-7—Fall into Sin
This will be our last theme for this article. The fall into sin is a major repeating theme in the pattern of judgments! Not only is it a major theme, it’s a theme that is specifically pointed out to us by the Holy Spirit. How so, you may ask? Remember in our previous articles we noted how all the men Adonai chose fell into sin just like Adam. In fact, we saw how each person’s fall into sin was told in parallel with Adam’s sin! This is what I mean when I say that this theme is specifically pointed out by the Holy Spirit. When we study the Scriptures thematically and make the correct Holy Spirit-inspired thematic connections certain truths become abundantly clear.
In previous articles, I also noted that hasatan typically uses the virginal bride (or a corrupt woman) to cause Adonai’s chosen representative fall into sin. It seems that hasatan’s goal is to corrupt the bride/woman so that he can cause Adonai’s chosen representative to fall. This theme is developed quite well in the Bible. Here are a few iterations of how it occurs in our pattern of judgments.
Genesis 3:1-6—The devil successfully seduced Eve in order to tempt Adam to sin.
Genesis 6:1-4—The sons of God corrupted the women on earth by having sexual relations with them, engaging in a forbidden sexual union between mankind and angels.
Genesis 12, 20 and 26—During the “she’s my sister” narratives, Pharaoh and Abimelech try to corrupt Sarah and Rebecca, the wives of Abraham and Isaac, by taking them captive, with the intent of making them part of his harem and eventually defiling them sexually.
Genesis 34:1-3—When Jacob and his family arrived in Shechem from their exile in Padan Aram, Shechem defiled Jacob’s daughter Dina by raping her.
Judges 13-16—Samson was tempted by the beautiful Delilah to reveal the secret of his strength. He succumbed to her temptations and was temporarily overcome.
Micah 4:11—This prophecy details how Israel’s enemies wanted to “defile” Israel, similar to how a man can defile a woman through rape. This is the sense in Zechariah 14:2, when Israel’s enemies rape the women of Israel after sacking the city.
2 Corinthians 11:3-4—The apostle Paul warned Yeshua’s disciples that hasatan is trying to deceive (and thereby defile) them, just as he deceived Eve through his craftiness.
Numbers 25—The Moabites and Midianites sent their women over to engage in illicit sexual sins with the the men of Israel. This is known as "The Doctrine of Balaam.
Revelation 2:14—Yeshua warned His disciples not to be caught up in the sins promoted by the doctrine of Balaam.
Revelation 18:4—Adonai’s people (His bride) are warned to “Come out of her my people,” so that they are not corrupted by Babylon’s allurements.
The next article will examine how the remaining themes presented in Genesis 1–3 are transformed as we travel through the Bible from beginning to end.
Here is a list of the 16 themes:
Genesis 1:1-25 – New Creation of the Universe
Genesis 1:26-28 – Man, God’s Image-Bearer, Commissioned to Exercise Dominion Over Creation
Genesis 1:29-31 – Man’s Diet
Genesis 2:1-3 – The Sign of the Sabbath
Genesis 2:4-9 – Man’s Work in His Ancestral Plot of Land
Genesis 2:10-14 – Natural Riches of the Creation
Genesis 2:15-17 – The Choice Between Life and Death
Genesis 2:18-25 – A Virginal Bride for the Man
Genesis 3:1-7 – Fall into Sin
Genesis 3:8-13 – Adonai Investigating Sin
Genesis 3:14 – The Curse on the Serpent
Genesis 3:15 – Enmity of the Seed
Genesis 3:16 – Pain in Childbirth
Genesis 3:17-19 – Curse on the Land
Genesis 3:20-21 – Acts of Redemption
Genesis 3:22-24 – Judgment
Wow! I'm not buying that for a second!
In Revelation, the "1000" years is symbolic as is most of Revelation. We are in the so called Millenium right now ruling and reigning with Christ - we are Royal Priests and seated with Christ in heaven and He is abiding in our spirits now. We are yoked to Him. There is no "pretrib rapture" there is a rapture at the end of the church age - the end of the 3 1/2 Great Tribulation period.