One Day

Let’s start by looking at what the Torah says about the first day of creation. Take note of the fact that it is NOT called the “first day”, but rather “One Day”.

Bereshit (Genesis) 1:1-5 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2. The earth was unformed and desolate, and darkness covered the surface of the abyss. The breath of God hovered above the surface of the water. 3. God said, “Let there be light.” and there was light. 4. God saw that the light was good, and God divided the light from the darkness. 5. God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. It became evening and it became morning, one day.

On the first day of creation, G-d created light, as we see in Bereshit (Genesis) 1:1-5.

At the very beginning of the first millennium of creation Adam HaRishon was created. Ramban teaches us that Adam HaRishon was the light of the world.

Ramban to Bereshit 2: And know, that it is also included in the word “to do”, that the six days of Creation are all the days of the world, for its existence will be 6000 years,[3] that accordingly they said:[4] A day of HaKadosh Baruch Hu is 1000 years. And behold in the first two days, the world was all water, and nothing was completed in them, and this is a hint at the first 2000 years, that there was none that called in the name of HaShem, and thus they said:[5] Two thousand years of chaos. But on the first day, light was created, hinting at the [nearly] thousand years of Adam HaRishon who was the light of the world who recognized his Creator. And perhaps Enosh did not begin with his idolatry until Adam HaRishon died. [6]

The Ramban give us the explanation that the light of Adam HaRishon was the light of the world.

Baba Bathra 4a Herod then said: I am Herod. Had I known that the Rabbis were so circumspect, l should not have killed them. Now tell me what amends I can make. He replied: As you have extinguished the light of the world, [for so the Rabbis are called] as it is written, For the commandment is a light and the Torah a lamp,[7] go now and attend to the light of the world [which is the Temple, of which] it is written, And all the nations become enlightened by it. Some report that Baba b. Buta answered him thus: As you have blinded the eye of the world, [for so the Rabbis are called] as it is written, if it be done unwittingly by the eyes of the congregation,[8] go now and attend to the eye of the world, [which is the Temple] as it is written, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes.[9]

Adam HaRishon lived for 930 years. He was destined to live for 1000 years, but he gave seventy of his years to King David.[10] Thus we see that on day one G-d created light just as Adam HaRishon spanned the first millennium as the light of the world.

It is worth noting that on every day of creation, except the first day, G-d said “and it was so” (Hebrew: כן ויהי). Chazal indicate that the reason for this is that Adam HaRishon sinned and this light of creation was withdrawn and held for the righteous in the Olam HaBa.

A Second Day

Bereshit (Genesis) 1:6-8 God said, “Let there be a canopy in the midst of the waters, and let it divide between waters and waters.” 7. God made the canopy, and divided the waters which were beneath the canopy, from the waters which were above the canopy, and it was so. 8. God called the canopy heaven. It became evening and it became morning a second day.

The second day of creation is marked by the separation of the waters above from the waters below. The second millennium is ushered in with Noach[11] and in his days the world was flooded when the waters beneath the canopy were brought together with the waters above the canopy.

Ramban to Bereshit 2: On the second day “let there be a firmament, and it will be a separation”, that in it (the second millennium), Noach and his sons, the righteous, were separated from the wicked, who were judged with water.

The second day is the only day that G-d did not say that it was ‘good’ or ‘very good’. Why?

Chazal have noted that the condition of the flood was the same as the condition before the waters were separated: formless and void.

A Third Day

Bereshit (Genesis) 1:9-13 God said, “Let the waters beneath the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dryness be seen.” It was so. 10. God called the dryness, “earth”, and the gathering of the waters, He called “seas”, and God saw that it was good. 11. God said, “Let the earth sprout grass, seed-yielding herbs, fruit trees bearing fruit of its own kind, with its seed within it, upon the earth.” And it was so. 12. The earth brought forth grass, herbs yielding seed of its kind, and trees bearing fruit which has in it seeds of its kind; and God saw that it was good. 13. It became evening and it became morning, a third day.

On the third day of creation G-d created the dry land and plants, as we see in Bereshit (Genesis) 1:9-13.

Ramban to Bereshit 2: On the third day, land appeared, and it sprouted and made fruit. This is the third millennium, which began when Avraham was 48 years old [it seems that this is an error, and should be 52],[12] and then he began to call in the name of HaShem, and he sprouted a righteous branch, for he brought many to know HaShem, like they have explained “and the soul that he did in Charan”.[13] And he commanded his house and his children after him to observe the way of HaShem to do righteousness and justice, and the matter went up until his descendants received the Torah at Sinai, and the Beit HaMikdash was built on this day, and then all of the mitzvot, which are the fruit of the world, were observed. And know, that from the time of “Bein haShemashot”[14] can be counted to the next day, and therefore the matter of a certain day will start a bit prior, like when Avraham was born in the second millennium, and you will see this on every day.

The third millennium begins with the covenant HaShem made with Avraham in Bereshit (Genesis) 17:1-27‎‎. In this covenant, HaShem promised Avraham, and his descendants,[15] the land of Israel.

The third day ends with the Bne Israel being planted in the land of Israel after the exodus and the wilderness experience, as we can see in Devarim (Deuteronomy) chapter 34.

A Fourth Day

Bereshit (Genesis) 1:14-19 God said, “Let there be lights in the canopy of heaven to divide between the day and the night, and they will serve for signs for seasons, for days and for years. 15. They will be for lights in the canopy of heaven to illuminate the earth.” And it was so. 16. God made the two great lights, the large light to rule the day, and the small light to rule the night, and the stars. 17. God set them in the canopy of the heaven to illuminate the earth, 18. to rule in the day and the night, and to divide between the light and the darkness; and God saw that it was good. 19. It became evening and it became morning, a fourth day.

On the fourth day of creation G-d created the sun, moon, and stars as we see in Bereshit (Genesis) 1:14-19. G-d created the greater light (sun) to rule over the day and the lesser light (moon) to rule over the night.[16] This concept of ruling is found twice. Once in v.16 and again in v.18. This suggests that a most important part of the fourth day is ruling.

The fourth day was also the day when the lights for the illumination of the earth were created. The illumination of the earth is also mentioned twice. Once in v.15 and again in v.17. This suggests that a second important concept of the fourth day is the illumination of the earth.

Ramban to Bereshit 2: And on the fourth day, the luminaries were created, the great one and the small one, and the stars. This day hints at the fourth millennium, which began 72 years after the first Beit HaMikdash was built, until 172 years after the second Beit HaMikdash. And behold on this day there was light for all of Bne Israel, for the glory of HaShem filled the House of HaShem, and the light of Israel was for a fire on the altar, lurching like a lion, eating the offerings, and afterwards their light became smaller and they were exiled, like the light going away at the time of the Molad of the moon, and it (the moon) shined for them all the days of the second Beit HaMikdash, and the fire on the altar lurched like a dog, and then the two luminaries set towards the evening, and the House was destroyed.

The fourth day begins with the establishment of the kings, from the tribe of Judah, in Israel. These kings, from the tribe of Judah, will rule over Israel for four hundred plus years. The kingship of David’s descendants ended with Gedaliah. For the next two hundred years there would be no Jewish kings in Israel. After this, there would be the rule of the Maccabees, the kings from the tribe of Levi, for nearly a hundred years. The millennium will close with the Herodian dynasty of Roman client kings for about a hundred years.

King David’s son, Shlomo, built the first Beit HaMikdash close to the beginning of the fourth millennium. It would stand for more than four hundred years before it would be destroyed by the king of Babylon. Seventy years later, the Bne Israel, under the leadership of Ezra, will begin building the second Beit HaMikdash. This Temple will stand for more than four hundred years before the king of Rome will have it destroyed. Thus the fourth millennium will also be dominated by the Beit HaMikdash, the Temple.

A Fifth Day

Bereshit (Genesis) 1:20-23 God said, “Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth, in the open canopy of the heaven.” 21. And thus God created the great whales, and every living creature that creeps, with which the waters teem, of its kind, and every winged bird of its kind; and God saw that it was good. 22. God blessed them saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, fill the waters of the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.” 23. It became evening and it became morning, a fifth day.

Ramban to Bereshit 2: On the fifth day, the water put forth living animals, and birds flew upon the ground. This is a hint at the fifth millennium, beginning 172 years after the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash, for thus is the metaphor for the nations.

On the fifth day G-d created the birds and the fish to ‘swim’ in the waters above and the waters below. I see this as an allusion to fifth millennium and the period when the Mishna and the Talmud were composed and expounded by the Rishonim (first scholars). The Zohar[17] teaches us that water always represents the Torah, and it is well known that the ones who ply these waters are our Hakhamim.[18] Thus we see that the Mishna was composed just before the beginning of the fifth millennium, the Talmud in the early part of the fifth millennium, and that the fifth millennium was dominated by the Talmudic era and the Rishonim, the early Sages.

Baba Kama 82a ‘That the law be read [publicly] on Mondays and Thursdays.’ But was this ordained by Ezra? Was this not ordained even before him? For it was taught: ‘And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water,[19] upon which those who expound verses metaphorically said: water means nothing but Torah, as it says: Ho, everyone that thirsteth come ye for water.[20] It thus means that as they went three days without Torah they immediately became exhausted.

Midrash Rabbah - Genesis XLI:9 AND I WILL MAKE THY SEED AS THE DUST OF THE EARTH (XIII, 16). Just as the dust of the earth is found from one end of the world to the other, so shall thy children be found from one end of the earth to the other; and as the dust of the earth can be blessed only through water, so will thy children be blessed only for the sake of the Torah, which is likened to water…[21]

The Sixth Day

Bereshit (Genesis) 1:24-31 God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures, each of its kind, animals [of pasture], creeping things, and beasts of the earth, each to its kind.” And it was so. 25. And thus God made the beasts of the earth, each of its kind, the animals [of pasture] each of its kind, and everything that creeps on the ground, each of its kind, and God saw that it was good. 26. God said, “Let us make man in our image, as our likeness, and let him dominate the fish of the sea, the birds of the heaven, the animals, all the earth, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27. And thus God created man in His form. In the form of God, He created him, male and female, He created them. 28. God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it, and dominate the fish of the sea, the birds of the heaven, and every living thing that moves upon the earth.” 29. God said, “Behold, I have given you all seed-yielding herbs that are on the surface of the earth, and every tree that has seed-yielding fruit; to you it shall be for food. 30. And for every animal of the earth, for every bird of the heaven, and for everything that creeps on the ground, in which there is a living spirit, all vegetational herbs shall be [their] food.” And it was so. 31. God saw all that He had made, and behold it was very good. It became evening and it became morning, the sixth day.

Ramban to Bereshit 2: On the sixth day, in the morning, “let the land bring out animals and beasts by their types, and crawly beings by their types”, and their creation was before the shining of the sun, like was is written[22] “The sun rises, and they gather away, and hide in their dens”, and then Adam was created in the image of G-d, and this is the time of his governance, as it is said:[23] “Let Adam to out to his work, and his labor until evening”, this is the sixth millennium, for at the beginning the beasts are in control, they are the kingdoms that don’t know HaShem. And after one tenth, like the amount of haneitz hachamah[24] in relation to a day,[25] the redeemer will come, as it is said about him[26] “His chair is like the sun to me”, that is the son of David who is made in the image of G-d, as it says[27] “And he comes with the clouds of heaven as a man comes, and to the Ancient of Days he arrives, and he is brought close to him, and to him the government, honor, and kingdom is given”, and this will be 118 years after the fifth millennium, to the finishing of the word of HaShem from Daniel[28] “And from the time of the cessation of the continual offering, and to the giving of the desolate abomination, 1290 days.” And it appears from the change of the days, from the creatures of the sea and the birds, to the animals of the land, that at the beginning of the sixth millennium, the kingdom (of Israel) will be renewed, and be exceedingly strong, and come closer to the truth than those that preceded it.

The Seventh Day

Bereshit (Genesis) 2:1-3 The heavens and the earth were completed, and [so were] all their conglomerations. 2. God completed by the seventh day His work which He had made, and He abstained on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. 3. God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, for on it He abstained from all His work, which God had created to do.

Ramban to Bereshit 2: The seventh day is Shabbat, a hint at Olam HaBa, which is all Shabbat and rest for eternity. And G-d should protect us on all the days, and put our place with his simple servants.

I believe that the sixth millennium will find two kinds of men: Those who act like men (study Torah) and those who act like animals. In this millennium we see a nearly constant stream of anti-Semitism coupled with pogroms, the holocaust, and various atrocities being committed by those who hate HaShem and His mitzvot.

Thus the two things created on the sixth day of creation will find their counterparts in the actions of the men of the sixth millennium.

We are also seeing the extinction of many species of animals in the sixth millennium.

For the first three millennia we saw the species animals and men increasing in diversity. We started with one race of men and expanded into five separate races. The diversity of animals has similarly expanded during the first three millennium.[29]

During the fourth, fifth, and sixth millennia, we have seen inter-racial marriage shrinking the numbers of people in the various races. In addition, these last three millennia have seen the extinction and contraction of the number of species of animals.

We appear to be going back to the future, as King Shlomo said:

Kohelet (Eccisiastes) 1:9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.

And we see a similar sentiment in the Sefer Yetzirah:

Sefer Yetzirah 3:1 the end is enwedged in the beginning.

* * *

Let’s take a look at a broad overview of history. Try converting all references to ‘days’ into millennia.

Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 65:17-25 “Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more. “Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; he who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere youth; he who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed. They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat. For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the works of their hands. They will not toil in vain or bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by HaShem, they and their descendants with them. Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear. The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but dust will be the serpent’s food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,” says HaShem.

The Wedding At Cana

The first day, two hours before the end of the day:

Yochanan (John) 1:35-42 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Yeshua passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Yeshua. Turning around, Yeshua saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour. Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Yeshua. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah“ (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Yeshua. Yeshua looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).

I was wondering if the tenth hour might indicate that Messiah is telling us that the Cana event is happening very close (within two hours) of the end of the fourth millennium.

The Next day

Yochanan (John) 1:43-51 The next day Yeshua decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.” Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote--Yeshua of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip. When Yeshua saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false.” “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Yeshua answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.” Yeshua said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that.” He then added, “I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

On The Third Day:

Yochanan (John) 2:1-11 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Yeshua’ mother was there, And Yeshua and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Yeshua’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” “Dear woman, why do you involve me?” Yeshua replied. “My time has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Yeshua said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so, And the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside And said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.” This, the first of his miraculous signs, Yeshua performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.

“My time has not yet come” may refer to the fact that His time for glory will be on the third millennium from when this event took place, the end of the fourth millennium. If this is prophetical, and I believe that it is, then we should have the wedding of the Lamb at the end of the seventh millennium.

Bibliography

The Jewish Time Line Encyclopedia, by Mattis Kantor.

CREATION	EVENTS
One Day Light	0: Day Six – Adam the Light of the World is created. (Ramban) 930: Adam died having given seventy years to King David.

A Second Day Waters separated	1056: Noach is born. 1948: Avraham is born. 1996: Dispersion from the Tower of Bavel.

A Third Day Land and Plants	2000: Avraham destroys his father’s idols. 2018: Covenant between the parts. 2084: The Aleida. 2238: Yaaqov and his family descend into Egypt for 210 years. 2449: The Mishkan is erected, it will stand for 480 years. 2928: First Temple begun. 72 years before the end of the third Millennium.

A Fourth Day Sun, moon, and stars	3000: First Temple is still standing. 3338: First Temple was destroyed. It stood for 410 years. 3342: seventy years of Babylonian exile begin. 3408: Begin building the Second Temple to stand 420 years. 3782: Yeshua dies (approx.) 3829: The Second Temple is destroyed. 172 years remaining in the fourth millennium.

A Fifth Day Fishes and Birds	4000: The nations have dominion.

The Sixth Day Animals and Man	5000: beginning of which the “beasts,” ‎symbolizing the kingdoms that knew not the Eternal, will rule, but after a tenth thereof - in the ‎proportion of the time from the first sparklings of the sun to the beginning of the day - the redeemer will ‎come, as it is said concerning him, And his throne is as the sun before Me. This is the son of David. 5708: The nation of Israel is established.

The Seventh Day Rest	The seventh day which is the Sabbath alludes to the World to Come, “which will be wholly a Sabbath and ‎will bring rest for life everlasting”.

* * *

CREATION	EVENTS
One Day 3760-2760bce	0: Day Six – Adam the Light of the World is created. (Ramban) 930: Adam died having given seventy years to King David.

A Second Day 2759-1760bce	1056: Noach is born. 1948: Avraham is born. 1996: Dispersion from the Tower of Bavel.

A Third Day 1759-760bce	2000: Avraham destroys his father’s idols. 2018: Covenant between the parts. 2084: The Akeida. 2238: Yaaqov and his family descend into Egypt for 210 years. 2449: The Mishkan is erected, it will stand for 480 years. 2928: First Temple begun. 72 years before the end of the third Millennium.

A Fourth Day 759bce-240ce	3000: First Temple is still standing. 3338: First Temple was destroyed. It stood for 410 years. 3342: seventy years of Babylonian exile begin. 3408: Begin building the Second Temple to stand 420 years. 3782: Yeshua dies (approx.) 3829: The Second Temple is destroyed. 172 years remaining in the fourth millennium.

A Fifth Day 241-1240ce	4000: The nations have dominion.

The Sixth Day 1241-2240ce	5000: beginning of which the “beasts,” ‎symbolizing the kingdoms that knew not the Eternal, will rule, but after a tenth thereof - in the ‎proportion of the time from the first sparklings of the sun to the beginning of the day - the redeemer will ‎come, as it is said concerning him, And his throne is as the sun before Me. This is the son of David. 5708: The nation of Israel is established.

The Seventh Day 2241-3240ce	The seventh day which is the Sabbath alludes to the World to Come, “which will be wholly a Sabbath and ‎will bring rest for life everlasting”.

This study was written by

Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David

(Greg Killian).

Comments may be submitted to:

Rabbi Dr. Greg Killian

12210 Luckey Summit

San Antonio, TX 78252

Internet address: gkilli@aol.com

Web page: http://www.betemunah.org/

(360) 918-2905

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Send comments to Greg Killian at his email address: gkilli@aol.com

[1] Biur HaGra, Safra D’Tzniusa, Chapter Five

[6] Yerushalmi Sabbath 2,6: "The first man was the light [literally: the candle] of the world."

[8] Literal rendering of Bamidbar (Numbers) 15:24.

[10] Soncino Zohar, Bereshit, Section 1, Page 55a

[11] Noach was born in the year 1056 AM. He called his name Noach, saying, This one will comfort us from our deeds and our distress, from the earth that HaShem has cursed. Bereshit 5:29

[15] Descendants = those who are ‘planted’ in the land.

[17] Soncino Zohar, Bereshith, Section 1, Page 12b

[29] I heard this from my teacher Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai.

The Cosmic Week
First Day	= First Millennium	3760 BCE- 2760 BCE	1 – 1000 A.M.
Second Day	= Second Millennium	2760 BCE-1760 BCE	1001 – 2000 A.M.
Third Day	= Third Millennium	1760 BCE-760 BCE	2001 – 3000 A.M.
Fourth Day	= Fourth Millennium	760 BCE-240 CE	3001 – 4000 A.M.
Fifth Day	= Fifth Millennium	240 CE -1240 CE	4001 – 5000 A.M.
Sixth Day	= Sixth Millennium	1240 CE - 2240 CE	5001 – 6000 A.M.
Sabbath	= Seventh Millennium	2240 CE - 3240 CE	6001 – 7000 A.M.