The End Time Bible Commentary

My purpose in writing the End Time Bible Commentary is to comment on chapters of the bible that are relevant to the end time story. You might wonder what Genesis 1-3 have to do with end times.

Genesis 1-2 contain the biblical creation accounts, followed by the story of mankind's fall into sin as recorded in Genesis 3. Although these chapters are about the beginnings of the universe and world history, understanding them is essential to understanding the whole biblical story, including the end time story. Genesis 1-2 describe what God intended the heavens and the earth to be like. The last two chapters of Revelation describe what the new heaven and new earth will be like, and in many ways they are a restoration of what God originally intended.

In the story of the Fall, in Genesis 3:15 God pronounces over Satan what is both a curse and a prophecy. In a very real sense, this is 'THE PROPHECY'. The rest of the bible is then the story of how this prophecy will be fulfilled. Since this verse is directly relevant to end times, I will comment on it first. After that I will consider Genesis 1-3 and its relevance to the end times in a more general sense.


Genesis 3:15 - The Prophecy!
Genesis 3:13-14 says, "So the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman replied, “The serpent tricked me, and I ate.” The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all the cattle and all the living creatures of the field! On your belly you will crawl and dust you will eat all the days of your life".

Let me briefly fill you in on the context here. Satan has deceived Eve into eating fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Adam has then also eaten from it, even though God had warned Adam and Eve that if they ate it they would die. As a consequence, sin has entered the world, and something terrible has come in the way of their relationship with God. God has called out in verse 9, "Where are you?" God had made mankind to rule over his creation (Genesis 1:26), but by causing Adam and Eve to sin, Satan has wrested much of that God-given dominion from them. As Satan would one day say to Jesus in Luke 4:6-7, "To you I will grant this whole realm – and the glory that goes along with it, for it has been relinquished to me, and I can give it to anyone I wish. So then, if you will worship me, all this will be yours". That dominion is something that God had given to Adam and Eve, and they had freely handed it over. It could not simply be wrested back from Satan's control. This is where 'The Prophecy' comes in:

In verse 15 God says to Satan, "And I will put hostility between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring; her offspring will attack your head, and you will attack her offspring’s heel."

This anticipates perpetual enmity between Eve's offspring (literally 'seed') and Satan's offspring (seed). Who are Eve's offspring? In the Hebrew text, the word 'seed' is singular, which can be understood both collectively and individually. Understood as a collective singular, Eve's offspring represents all human beings. The same singular word for 'seed' is used in Genesis 12:7, 13:15 and 24:7 where God promises the land of Canaan to Abraham and his 'seed'. Understood as a collective singular, Abraham's seed represents the people of Israel, his physical descendants. However in Galatians 3:16, the Apostle Paul stresses that Abraham's 'seed' being singular also points to its fulfilment through a particular individual. That individual is Jesus the Messiah who will one day rule the land as king. By the same argument, Eve's seed also points to an individual, and once again, this individual is Jesus. Figuratively speaking, Satan the serpent would one day bite his heel as he hung on a cross at Calvary. The bite of a venomous serpent is fatal, and Jesus would die. In the more literal sense, the nails driven through Jesus' 'feet' were likely driven through his ankles just above the heel.

Who are Satan's offspring? In a collective sense, Satan's offspring are all those who follow him, including demons and also human beings who choose to disobey God. In John 8:44, Jesus accused his opponents of being children of Satan, saying, "You people are from your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires". Similarly, in the Parable of the Weeds in Matthew 13:38, Jesus describes the weeds as the 'sons of the evil one'. Satan's seed also points to an individual. This individual is portrayed in Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 as a man who is an incarnation of Satan. He has many biblical names, but is most commonly known to Christians as the Antichrist, a name that the Apostle John gives him in 1 John 2:18. In Ezekiel 38, he is given the name 'Gog'. Verse 17 of that chapter says, "Are you [not] the one of whom I spoke in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in those days that I would bring you against them?" In other words, the one called Gog in that chapter appears in many other places throughout the bible, but with different names.

Verse 15 also says, "her offspring will attack your head". Ezekiel 38 and 39 describe the end-time Antichrist invading Israel from the North, and being defeated. Ezekiel 39:4 says, "You will fall dead on the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the people who are with you. I give you as food to every kind of bird and every wild beast". This is revealed as the battle of Armageddon in Revelation 19:11-21, where Jesus defeats the Antichrist and his followers. In Numbers 24:17-18, Balaam prophesied about this battle, saying, '“I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not close at hand. A star will march forth out of Jacob, and a scepter will rise out of Israel. He will crush the skulls of Moab, and the heads of all the sons of Sheth. Edom will be a possession, Seir, his enemies, will also be a possession; but Israel will act valiantly". Jesus crushes the heads of Antichrist's followers, who are Satan's seed in a collective sense. Jesus also kills the Antichrist, as in Habakkuk 3:13, "thou woundedst the head out of the house of the wicked, by discovering the foundation unto the neck" (KJV). Metaphorically, and in the singular sense, the Antichrist is the head of Satan's seed, the house of the wicked. Jesus slits him open from groin to neck and then throws him, still alive, into the lake of fire (Revelation 19:20).

In other words, Genesis 3:15 prophesies not just the Cross, but also the battle of Armageddon, when Eve's seed (Jesus) crushes the head of Satan's seed, the Antichrist and his followers. This verse is also fundamental to understanding the role of Satan in the world, and the course of history. God has pronounced a death sentence upon Satan, and Satan therefore does all that is in his power to prevent this sentence being executed, or at least to delay it. In Genesis 12, God promised to give the land of Canaan to Abraham's seed and to make his seed into a great nation through whom all the families of the earth will be blessed. It implies that the promise of Eve's seed in Genesis 3:15 is to be fulfilled through Abraham's seed. Consequently, Abraham's descendants have become the primary focus of Satan's attack. Throughout history, he has made attempts to wipe out the Jews (Abraham's literal descendants) and to persecute Christians (Abraham's spiritual descendants).

In 2 Peter 3:12, Peter tells us that we can hasten the coming of the day of God. As Christians, we can do so by actively fulfilling the Great Commission that Jesus has given us to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19-20). For Jesus prophesied in Matthew 24:14, "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole inhabited earth as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come". Satan, on the other hand, desires to delay the day of the Lord, and so does everything in his power to oppose the spread of the Gospel. Satan especially wants to prevent the Jews from believing in Jesus as their Messiah. Paul says of the Jews in Romans 11:15, "For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?" Many Old Testament prophecies portray the end-time restoration of Israel and Judah, and their ultimate acceptance of Jesus as their Messiah, such as Zechariah 12:10, "I will pour out on the kingship of David and the population of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication so that they will look to me, the one they have pierced". In Romans 1:16, Paul tells us that the Gospel is "God's power for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek (Gentile)". As Christians, we should have made the Jews our primary focus in our efforts to share the Gospel. Satan's strategy throughout Christian history has been to sow antisemitism among Christians, so that instead of reaching Jews with the Gospel, we make it repugnant to them. But Israel must be saved before the end will come (Romans 11:26). In recent decades, antisemitism among Christians has waned, and evangelical Christians have become some of Israel's strongest supporters. Instead, Satan has increased antisemitism around the world through the revival of fundamentalist Islam. Islam has been Satan's most successful ever strategy for limiting the spread of the Gospel and refuting its claims, and also for spreading antisemitism. The revival of fundamentalist Islam is also Satan's attempt to maximise the number of his followers who will oppose Jesus at the battle of Armageddon.

Creation Mythology
Genesis 1-3 is not the only creation story. Most cultures have some kind of creation story or mythology that explains how we got here and why the world is the way it is. In several places, the bible alludes to the Canaanite and Greek creation myths, and especially so in relation to end times. That does not mean that it affirms them. It simply means that such creation myths were part of the general knowledge and language of the biblical authors, just as modern English is rich with words, phrases and metaphors from Shakespeare's plays.

Today, much of the world assumes a 'creation mythology' based on Darwin's theory of evolution, and on the power of chance combined with vast amounts of time.

Ultimately, the difference between Genesis 1-3 and any other creation story is that Genesis 1-3, if interpreted as God intended, represents God's truth about creation. Therein, or course, lies a challenge. How does God intend us to interpret it? If we try to interpret Genesis 1-2 as though it is a scientific explanation, perhaps we miss some of God's truth.

The same question applies to much of the bible. The bible contains many passages that are historical narratives, to be read and taken literally. But many of its prophetic passages are rich with symbolism and metaphors. This is especially true of Revelation, the final book at the end of the bible. If that is true at the end, how much is it true in the creation accounts at the beginning of the bible?

Fortunately with the book of Revelation, the Old Testament prophets provide keys that help us interpret many of its symbols and metaphors. For example, the beast out of the sea in Revelation 13 reminds us of Daniel 7 in which Daniel saw four beasts arise out of the sea. Each of these represented an empire and its king. In the centuries that followed, characteristics of the first three beasts matched characteristics of the Babylonian, Medo-Persian and Greek empires (see my commentary on Daniel 7). The beasts were metaphorical, but they represented literal empires that would arise and rule over nations.

In order to find keys with which to interpret Genesis 1-3, we have to look forward in the bible.


Genesis 1 - Six Days of Creation
Genesis 1 presents creation taking place within six days. Are these six literal days, or was each morning and evening the beginning and end of an age of time? Sometimes the bible uses time periods literally, and sometimes they are meant figuratively. For example in Luke 4:19, Jesus quoted Isaiah 61:2a and announced the 'year of the Lord's favour'. This is a time of amnesty, when sinners can repent and turn themselves in. They receive God's mercy and forgiveness rather than his condemnation. We are still in this 'year' today, nearly 2,000 literal years later. At his second coming, Jesus will announce the 'day of vengeance of our God' (Isaiah 61:2b). The 'day' of vengeance represents a shorter time period, also known as the Great Tribulation, or Day of the Lord. Various passages equate this to approximately three and a half literal years (see my commentary on Daniel 12:11-12).

Revelation 16:18 says, "Then there were flashes of lightning, roaring, and crashes of thunder, and there was a tremendous earthquake – an earthquake unequaled since humanity has been on the earth, so tremendous was that earthquake". Does this verse contain a hint that earth existed for a significant time period before humanity was on the earth? Personally I think the Theory of Evolution gives a suitable explanation for variety within species. For example, it explains why there are so many different types of birds, and it explains how individual species of birds have adapted to specific challenges in their environment. But as an explanation of where birds came from in the first place, I find it inadequate and unbelievable. The probabilities involved don't support it, even when you consider vast amounts of time. And evidence of a master designer is everywhere in the universe, unless you are looking with a blind spot. At the same time, I do recognise that multiple scientific methods point to the earth being much older than several thousand years as portrayed in the bible. The bible seems silent about the age of the dinosaurs. But if it hints at there being a time before humanity was on the earth, then perhaps we should not get too hung up on details.

If you interpret the six days of creation as six ages of time, the order of the six days is still problematic. Did God really create vegetation on day 3, and then wait another age before creating the sun and moon on day 4? And what was the earth revolving around on day 3? When I ask questions like that, am I somehow missing the point. What else might God have intended us to understand in his creation accounts?

Genesis 1-2 points to a monotheistic God with some mystical kind of pluralism. In Genesis 1:26 God says, "Let us make humankind in our image, after our likeness". Who is he speaking to? From an Old Testament perspective he appears to be speaking to himself. With the benefit of the New Testament we now know that God is Trinity. He is one God, but three persons. The three persons of the Trinity talk to each other and love each other.

Genesis 1-2 also distinguishes between God the creator, and his creation. In Greek mythology, Gaia is both the earth and a god. Ouranos is the sky and another god. Kronos is time, and yet another god. Every realm within the universe is itself a god. Not so in the bible! There is just one trinitarian God, and everything else is his creation.


Genesis 2:1-3 - The seventh day
In 2 Peter 3:8-9, Peter says, "Now, dear friends, do not let this one thing escape your notice, that a single day is like a thousand years with the Lord and a thousand years are like a single day. The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some regard slowness, but is being patient toward you, because he does not wish for any to perish but for all to come to repentance".

In Mark 9:1, Jesus told the disciples that some of them would not die before they saw the kingdom of God come with power. In the very next verse, Mark records that six days later Jesus lead Peter, James and John up a mountain and was transfigured before them. In 2 Peter 1:16-17, speaking about his assurance that Jesus will come back again, Peter looks back at the transfiguration, "For we did not follow cleverly concocted fables when we made known to you the power and return of our Lord Jesus Christ; no, we were eyewitnesses of his grandeur. For he received honour and glory from God the Father, when that voice was conveyed to him by the Majestic Glory: “This is my dear Son, in whom I am delighted". In other words, the transfiguration was like the trailer for the movie. Having personally seen the trailer, Peter was convinced that the second coming would definitely take place. Mark's Gospel is believed by bible scholars to be Peter's account of the Gospel, as written down by Mark. The same Peter who equates a day with a thousand years also recorded that the transfiguration took place 'six days later'. Is this a coincidence?

Hebrews 4:2-9 makes a connection between the seventh day when God rested, and a 'day' of rest for God's people. It is reasonable to understand that this 'day' is the thousand year reign of Christ known as the Millennium (Revelation 20:1-6).

If you trace biblical genealogies back from known historical landmarks, the bible points to Adam and Eve being created in about 4,000 BC. That means that from a biblical perspective, there have now been about 6,000 years of human history. Does that mean that it is now about time for Jesus to come back and usher in the final Millennium of this earth's history, before it is replaced by the new heaven and the new earth for all eternity (Revelation 21:1)?


Canaanite Mythology
Genesis 1:1-5 says, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was without shape and empty, and darkness was over the surface of the watery deep, but the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the water. God said, “Let there be light.” And there was light! God saw that the light was good, so God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.” There was evening, and there was morning, marking the first day".

In Canaanite mythology, this formless chaos that existed in the beginning was portrayed as a great seven-headed sea monster called Lotan. The bible alludes to this, calling it Leviathan.

Speaking about creation, Psalm 74:12-14 says, "But God has been my king from ancient times, performing acts of deliverance on the earth. You destroyed the sea by your strength; you shattered the heads of the sea monster in the water. You crushed the heads of Leviathan; you fed him to the people who live along the coast". This is speaking about God creating the world as in Genesis 1, but borrows the Canaanite metaphor of Leviathan to do so. It isn't affirming Canaanite creation mythology. It simply borrows the metaphor. The Old Testament Israelites understood the metaphor and knew that the psalmist was using poetic language. In that sense, the psalmist is talking about how God overcame the forces of chaos and created order in the world.

Speaking about end times, Isaiah 27:1 says, "At that time the Lord will punish with his destructive, great, and powerful sword Leviathan the fast-moving serpent, Leviathan the squirming serpent; he will kill the sea monster". In Revelation 12, Satan is portrayed as a seven-headed dragon. In Revelation 13 and 17 his earthly kingdom is portrayed as a seven-headed beast that arises out of the sea. Revelation 17:9-11 identifies each of its seven heads as seven empires that have existed in history, with Antichrist's end-time empire being a restoration of the seventh empire.


Greek Mythology
In several places, the bible alludes to Greek mythology, sometimes intertwined with Canaanite mythology. Genesis 6:4 speaks of the time before the flood and says, "The Nephilim were on the earth in those days (and also after this) when the sons of God would sleep with the daughters of humankind, who gave birth to their children. They were the mighty heroes of old, the famous men". The 'mighty heroes of old, the famous men' is a reference to the heroes of Greek mythology. It doesn't affirm the legends in their detail, but it does affirm that there was a time when 'the gods' (fallen angels or demons) appeared to people and reproduced with them. So it affirms that there was at least some basis to the Greek legends of heroes who were half 'god' and half man.

Revelation 12:4 says, "…Then the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child as soon as it was born". Verse 9 of that chapter tells us that the dragon represents Satan. The book of Revelation was written in Greek and sent to seven churches in a very Greek part of the world. The picture of the dragon waiting for the woman to give birth so that he might devour her child as soon as it is born was very recognisable. It was a picture of Kronos, straight out of Greek mythology.

If you are unfamiliar with Greek mythology, the picture likely passes over your head. Let me give a brief introduction to Greek mythology, to explain where Kronos fits in. This is my summary of the opening chapters from 'Mythos' by Stephen Fry, an excellent modern retelling of Greek mythology:

In the beginning, there was formless Chaos. Out of Chaos sprang Erebus (the darkness) and Nyx (the night). Erebus and Nyx coupled to produce Hemera (the day) and Aether (light). Out of Chaos also sprang Gaia (the Earth) and Tartarus (the depths and caves beneath the earth). Gaia then spontaneously gave birth to Pontus (the Sea) and Ouranos (the Sky). Together, Darkness, Night, Day, Light, Earth, Tartarus, the Sea and the Sky were the primordial deities, the first order of creation. Gaia and Ouranos (Earth and Sky) then reproduced, giving birth to the twelve children known as the Titans, including Kronos (Time). With the birth of Kronos, time began, stories developed, and the gods developed personalities. Gaia and Ouranos also gave birth to the three Cyclopes and the three Hecatoncheires. These and the twelve Titans represent the second order of creation. When the Cyclopes and Hecatoncheires were born, Ouranos took an instant dislike to them and forced them back into Gaia's womb, causing her terrible pain. In time, Gaia sought relief and revenge. She convinced her son Kronos that he should kill his father Ouranos, and gave him a scythe with which to do so. In his sweep of the scythe, Kronos failed to kill Ouranos, but castrated him and defeated him. Having overthrown Ouranos, Kronos now wrested dominion from each of his siblings to become overall ruler of the universe. With another sweep of his scythe he cut open Gaia's side and delivered her of the Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires. He then confined Ouranos to Tartarus and assigned the Hecatoncheires as the guardians of its gates. First however, Ouranos cursed Kronos saying, "May your children destroy you as you have destroyed me".

In time, Kronos married his sister Rhea and they gave birth to children. Afraid of his father's curse, Kronos swallowed each of them whole the moment they were born. Wise to this, before their sixth child Zeus was born, Rhea wrapped a smooth stone in swaddling cloths like a baby and tricked Kronos into thinking she had given birth. Kronos swallowed the stone whole, none the wiser. Rhea then secretly gave birth to Zeus, who survived and grew to adulthood. Later, Rhea gave Kronos a potion that made him vomit up all the children he had swallowed, and they were effectively reborn. In time, Zeus and his siblings rose up against their father, starting a ten-year war known as the Titanomachy. Eventually, with help from the Hecatoncheires whom he brought up from Tartarus, Zeus overthrew Kronos and defeated the Titans. Establishing his seat of power on Mount Olympus, Zeus became the new ruler of the universe.

What this means in relation to Revelation 12:4 is that Satan is afraid of the prophecy of Genesis 3:15. The baby being born is not a literal birth, but represents the second coming of Jesus. Jesus is the seed of Eve who will crush the head of Satan and his seed.

There is more to this connection between the bible and Greek mythology. Here in my commentary on Genesis 1-3 is not the place to tell it, but you will find the rest in my commentaries on Ezekiel 38, Luke 16, Revelation 13, and Revelation 17.


Does Science Disprove the Bible?
When I was a teenager, I understood that Genesis had been disproved by science. And if Genesis had been disproved, I questioned why we should trust the rest of the bible.

Later, while studying at university, I began to question those assumptions. If you still think that science has disproved the bible, you may find the following video helpful:

Is the Bible Myth?
As I've commented on Genesis 1-3, I've considered Greek and Canaanite mythology. Is the bible really any different? Absolutely!

The following video is neither about Genesis, nor about end times. But studying what the bible says about the future is pointless unless you are first convinced that it is a reliable book of historical facts.