Reading through the book of Isaiah, chapter 25, this morning; I was 'hit' with the thought that the 'middle wall of separation' described in Ephesians 2, was typified by God's creation, in Genesis 1:6 & 7, of the firmament, or, the 'barrier' between the physical heavens and the physical earth.
No: I'm not denying that God DID create a firmament between the aforementioned places, nor am I implying that Gen. 1 is 'merely' allegorical, and not historically accurate ( although it is NOT; I believe, scientifically precise! ), I'm only saying that every 'event' recorded in Scripture was written for a Purpose, that Purpose; I believe, being to 'point' us towards a deeper, spiritual Truth!
As believers in 'Fulfilled Eschatology' and in particular, consistent users of a grammatico/historical hermeneutic; we believe that the 'new heavens and new earth' promised in such Old Testament passages such as Isaiah 65 and Jeremiah 31, and in II Peter 3 and described in Revelation 21 & 22, are speaking of, not a physically new creation, but the deeper spiritual truth of the new creation in Christ, the Church, His elect ones, so it should not be too much of a 'stretch' to purport that the original, physical creation, described covenantally and allegorically in Gen 1 & 2 was atypical of the new, spiritual creation in Christ!
Speaking, I believe, of the Church; Isaiah records, in Isaiah 25:7, that God would 'destroy the surface of the covering cast over all people', thereby removing 'the veil that is spread over all nations', the veil that is 'taken away in Christ' ( II Corinthians 3:14 ).
If Genesis 1-2 is a covenantally historical description of the original creation, and the finality of Christ's Parousia in AD70 was the passing away of the original 'creation', as per II Peter 3, and the fullness of the new ( Paul describes the inauguration of this in II Corinthians 5:17 ), then why could not the creation of the 'firmament' in Genesis 1, be typical to the veil that Isaiah and Paul describe?
In the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in AD70 ( and especially when you look back prior to that, in the events described in Matthew 27:51, signifying the tearing down of that 'wall' that Paul talked about, and remember that the veil that was torn signified the separating 'wall', or the firmament, between earth and sky, or heaven/Heaven, see also Exodus 26:31.), the last vestige of that 'wall' was destroyed, thereby removing the 'covering cast over all people, or the firmament that separated the 'waters', or blessings, of heaven from those of the earth.
More could probably be written on this subject, and possibly will be, but for now, and the sake of time, I will end with the prayer that these thoughts will be a blessing to my readers, but; as always: I adjure you to be a Berean, and 'search the Scriptures daily to see if these things are so'.
May God bless you richly in His Kingdom and Glory,
Charles Shank
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