God’s Plan of Salvation - Part 1
Adam/Noah/Israel
Every season of a person’s life is determined and purposed by God (Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8) and He is intimately involved in every beginning and ending, every growth and decline. At some point during eternity past, God created a length of TIME giving it a beginning and an end with a predestined timeline of events. See chart below. In the beginning, time BEGAN with the creation of Adam and time will no longer exist after the completion of the Millennium - ushering in eternity AFTER Time. Within this created span of time, God’s timeline, we see God’s plan of salvation for all mankind, through the person of Jesus Christ. These events follow what the Bible teaches us through His Word and prophecy.
Part 1: This is the beginning of a new sermon series entitled “God’s Plan of Salvation”. Following the chart above we will begin with eternity BEFORE time.
Eternity is infinite and not measured by time. Out of chaos, God creates - see Gensis 1 :1 In the beginning, that is, in the beginning of time - when that clock was set to start - time began with the production of things and beings measured by time. The sequence of biblical events are as follows:
During eternity past, before time, angels were created. They are also referred to as the Sons of God, or morning stars. They were present when God laid the foundation and created the heavens, the earth, the sun and moon and all creation, including Adam and Eve. At the birth of creation, songs of praise were sung by the angels. (See Job 38: 4-7) As God laid the foundation of the Earth, all the sons of God shouted with joy.
Not surprisingly, one of the first things God puts on His timetable is the fall of Satan, who was an angel, and still is an angel. However, he is a fallen angel due to pride and his desire to be like God. (See Isaiah 14:12) How you are fallen from heaven?
Satan begins to wreak havoc on God’s timetable. (See Ezekiel 28:13) You were in Eden, the garden of God …… until unrighteousness was found in you.
Next is the fall of Adam. Unlike the rest of creation, Adam was made in God’s own image. He was able to reason and commune with God, His creator, and God’s presence was continuously with them because they were sinless.
Adam was given commands by which to live. (See Genesis 2: 16) God said, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” However, Satan deceived Eve by saying, “you surely shall not die.” Obedience is at the core of all that God wants for and from His creation and sadly Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate of the forbidden fruit - thus committing man’s first sin.
Since God is a Holy God and cannot be in the presence of sin, He had to withdraw His Spirit from Adam and Eve. This caused not a physical death but a spiritual death, their relationship with God had changed. Satan had opened the door for sin in the lives of God’s creation and all future generations to come, forever causing a separation between God and man. (See 1 Corinthians 15: 22 and Romans 3:23) Due to the sin nature that was now in mankind, a void was created that was meant to be filled by God’s spirit. Fortunately, God loved us from the beginning of time and foretold how He would resolve this sin nature problem that was created by Satan’s deception and man’s disobedience.
Now, we need to take a dive deep into Genesis 3: 14, which is very compelling. God is speaking to the serpent here, placing him under His curse and pronouncing judgement. However, more importantly, it is our initial understanding of God’s plan of salvation for all mankind through Jesus and the first time Jesus is spoken of in the Bible. A modern-day interpretation of Genesis 3: 14 would be as follows:
I will put hostility between Satan and Eve, between the wicked world and my future Messiah. Satan will bruise My Messiah on the cross, but the Messiah will crush Satan in the end.
This is God’s plan of salvation, which is carried all the way through the Bible into Revelation.
The next major event on God’s timeline is Noah and the Flood. By now sin has taken its toll on humanity. The world was corrupt before God and the earth was filled with violence. (See Genesis 6:11) Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord and was commanded to build an ark. He and his family were to enter the ark, taking two of every living creature, male and female, as flood waters would soon come and destroy all remaining flesh. Noah obeyed. And, through Noah’s obedience, mankind was preserved, and the world population began to multiply once again.
God’s plan of salvation is moving right along. We began in eternity past before time, we witnessed the fall of Adam and followed Noah. Next on God’s timeline is the Nation of Israel.
God called Abraham to father His chosen people (See Genesis 22: 17) and with that God gave two promises:
I will greatly bless you and multiply your seed as the stars in the heaven and as the sand on the seashore; and
in your seed all nations shall be blessed because you have obeyed my voice.
Isaiah 41: 8 also confirms these promises by saying, “You Israel, my servant whom I have chosen, descendants of Abraham.” and He calls Israel “His Holy people, His own possession” (See Deuteronomy 7: 6).
God also chose a small piece of land located at the far east end of the Mediterranean Sea for Abraham. Its location intersected a number of vital trade routes, both by sea and by land; however, the primary reason that God chose Israel was for her to birth the future Messiah, mankind’s redeemer to restore our relationship with God, which was lost through Adam’s fall. Isaiah, the prophet tells us that the Redeemer shall come to Zion, which is Israel. (See Isaiah 59:20); God did not only prophesy that the Redeemer would come through Israel, but also would prophesy the exact day that He would arrive.
IN CONCLUSION: The prophesy in Daniel 9 is one of the most amazing and significant prophetic passages in the Bible. Only one figure in history fits the exact time frame of this prophecy: Jesus of Nazareth.
Daniel, chapter 9, states that God assigned Israel 490 years to complete her task of ushering in the Messiah, which is God’s master plan of salvation for all mankind through the person of Jesus Christ, to atone for the sin of mankind.
Also, per Daniel, God’s decree to Israel for the completion of her mission is divided into two major periods, a 283-year period and a 7-year period, with the cross being the pivotal point in history.
Period 1: This prophesy states that from the issuing of the decree - to begin restoration of Jerusalem, until the Messiah enters the city of Jerusalem - will be 483 years.
Nehemiah starts that clock ticking in 444 B.C. (See chapter Nehemiah 2) when he has been given the authority to go to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple walls; and the clock stopped ticking when Jesus entered into the city of Jerusalem, riding a donkey, in 33 A.D. thus completing the 483-year prophesy.
Period 2: The last 7 years are not yet complete. This period is carried forward and will occur in the future, marking the onset of the tribulation as shown on God’s timetable.
Pastors Note:
It is my prayer that all who read this message will understand God’s Plan of salvation for all mankind, through the person of Jesus Christ.
If you have questions or would like to discuss the contents of this series, please do not hesitate to contact my office at 352-748-3335. It would be my pleasure to meet with you.
Pastor Dick Wolters
