LESSON ONE, PARTS III AND IV

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS

INTRODUCTION: 

In our first session we covered Genesis as the foundation of all history. It is the book of the origin or the beginning of all things. That is what the Hebrew “Genesis” means, the first or the beginning. Then last week we saw that the author of Genesis was Moses. God used him to organize, edit and write the Book of Genesis from written records that were passed down from father to son, all the way back to Adam and the earliest Patriarchs. 

Now tonight our goal is to complete the Introduction to Genesis by focusing on the principles of interpretation of Genesis, the way it should be interpreted and how Genesis is the anticipation of eternity. 

Let’s pray. 

PART III: PRINCIPLES OF INTERPRETATION 

1. First, there are those who believe that the Book of Genesis should be interpreted as allegories or allegorically. This is especially the case with the first 11 chapters. This means that they spiritualize what is written in Genesis. For example, Adam is not considered a real person, but rather a symbolic representative of all men. The fall of man was not actually an act of rebellion and disobedience by the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, but was instead a figurative expression of the common experience of all men. I don’t have to tell you just how deadly this is! It’s eternally deadly. 

This kind of allegorizing the Book of Genesis must be rejected by any serious believer or Bible student! Why? Because as we have already showed you, the writers of the New Testament, and Jesus Himself, accepted Genesis as the record of literal history. How arrogant is it then, when so called modern-day scholars attempt, to correct the Son of God and the Apostles concerning the Book of Genesis! But someone says, “what about the dreams of Joseph?” The answer is that the symbols in Joseph’s dreams represented real events, as interpreted by Joseph, and they were events that actually took place in the time of Joseph. 

Therefore, we reject any allegorical interpretation of Genesis. The events in Genesis cannot be spiritualized. Genesis is about literal people and literal events that took place during a literal time period. 

2. Next we need to take a look at what is known as the typological interpretation of Genesis. 

This simply means that Noah, Abraham, Joseph and others, along with their experiences as recorded in the Book of Genesis, are taken as “types” of the experiences in the nation of Israel, in the life of Jesus, in the Church or of something else. The problem with this kind of interpretation is that it can be taken to far beyond the clear meaning of scripture. 

Now, not all typological interpretation in the Book of Genesis is wrong. There are things that happened in Genesis that are treated as types of what we see in the New Testament. For example, there is a first man in the Book of Genesis which is a type of the second man who came from heaven, Christ:

 1 Corinthians 15:21-23 “For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.”

1 Corinthians 15:45-46“So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.” 

Also, Abraham and Isaac can be taken as a type of Father God offering up His only begotten Son in Heb 11:17-19: By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18 even though God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned."  19 Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.” 

Also, there is little doubt that Joseph was a type of Christ. There are far too many similarities in what Joseph experienced and what Jesus experienced to just be coincidences! 

As long as we let scripture interpret scripture we are on solid ground. If the New Testament makes it clear that certain things that happened in the Old Testament are types of what happened in the New Testament, then we are rightly dividing or interpreting the Word of God. 

The danger comes when someone takes their liberty and makes types out of things that are not revealed in the New Testament as types. I gave you an example of this a while back about when someone took the parable of the Good Samaritan and completely allegorized the parable, adding a lot of things that were very questionable. That kind of typology can lead to dangerous errors and doctrines in the church. Be careful. 

The bottom line is this: in our studies in the Book of Genesis we will interpret the actual events in their historical setting and in their significance in terms of God’s plan and purposes. Typological illustrations will only be spoken of when the text warrants us to do so. 

Our goal is to stress the real-life truthfulness and significance of what is recorded in the Book of Genesis, the Book of our literal beginnings. 

IV. ANTICPATION OF ETERNITY 

Genesis is important not only as a history of man’s origin, but also as a prophecy of man’s future. The Book of Revelation should be taken literally just as Genesis should be taken literally. Paradise lost in Genesis becomes Paradise regained in the Revelation! 

The first chapters of Genesis describe a perfect world, made for man and placed under his dominion. Had man not sinned, he would have continued to rule and develop that perfect world, for man’s good and for God’s glory. Since God cannot be defeated in His purpose, even though sin and the curse have come in as intruders for a time, we can be confident that all God intended in the beginning will ultimately be realized! The earth, therefore, will be restored to its original perfection, and will continue eternally! Sin and the curse will be removed, and death will be no more! 

We can learn much about the original world in the last book of the Bible, the Book of the Revelation, and also much about the final world by studying the first book in the Bible, the Book of Genesis! 

The world revealed in the Book of Genesis and the world revealed in the Book of the Revelation are not quite the same. In the first world, man, though sinless, was yet untested. The first world was a probational world, though perfect and flawless for God’s intended purpose. In the final world, man, though having experienced sin and failure in the first world, has also experienced redemption and renewal. He will be made perfect and eternal, and so, his world will be made perfect and unchanging. Man’s probationary testing in the first world will have been completed and will not be repeated. The final world will be perfect and fully equipped as redeemed man’s eternal home, in the Presence of His Creator and Savior! 

Look with me at the contrast between the world under God’s curse and the new world that has been eternally redeemed and renewed: 

Cursed world (Genesis)                                         Eternal world (Revelation)              

Cursed ground (3:17)                                             No more curse (22:3)

Daily sorrow (3:18)                                                 No more sorrow (21:4)

Thorns and thistles (3:18)                                     No more pain (21:4)                                                                      

Sweat on the face (3:19)                                       Tears wiped away (21:4)                                        

Eating herbs of the field (3:18)                            Twelve manner of fruits (22:2)

Returning to dust (3:19)                                        No more death (21:4)

Evil continually (6:5)                                               Nothing that defiles (21:27)

Coats of skins (3:21)                                               Fine linen white and clean (19:14)

Satan opposing (3:15)                                            Satan banished (20:10)

Kept from the tree of life (3:24)                           Access to the tree of life (22:14)

Banished from the garden (3:23)                         Free entry to the city (22:14)

Redeemer Promised (3:15)                                   Redemption accomplished (5:9,10)

CONCLUSION

There are many more connections between the first book of the Bible and the last book of the Bible. But I believe that you can see how connected Genesis and Revelation are. 

The point here, as we will continue in our study in the following weeks is this: Understanding Genesis is very important in understanding the eternal purposes of God! 

The Bible is the story of God from Genesis to Revelation. It is the revelation of His eternal purpose to bring many sons and daughters into His glory forever! 

ALTAR

“For God so loved the world, that He gave us His only begotten Son, that whosever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

Salvation, your eternal redemption, your place in the New and final world of God described in the Book of the Revelation will begin the moment you choose to put your faith in Christ. 

If you haven’t done so, I urge you to do so now. Your eternal future is only a prayer away.