The Mystical Fourth Day

Genesis 1:14-19 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: He made the stars also.
17 And God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth,
18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

Mystically speaking the firmament is the realm of ministry. We saw in the second day that God made the firmament by separating the waters above from the waters below. And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament. Genesis 1:6-7. Water often represents spiritual life. For example, If any man is thirsty, let him come unto Me and drink. He that believes into Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his inner being shall flow rivers of living water. John 7:37-38. In the fourth chapter of John, Jesus spoke to the woman at the well about the water of life in contrast to the water of Jacob’s well. The water above the firmament, then, would be the spiritual water of life and the water below the firmament would be natural life. The firmament between the waters is the realm of ministry as is brought out in the 19th Psalm. The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Psalm 19:1.

The heavenly bodies of the firmament refer spiritually to the Lord, His Church, and their activity in realm of ministry. For example, God is pictured as a Sun and shield in Psalm 85:1. Malachi 4:2 speaks of Christ as the Sun of Righteousness. In John 8:12 He is the Light of the world, and in Revelation 22:16 Jesus calls Himself the Bright and Morning Star. As a moon the Church reflects the Light of the Sun of Righteousness. It is crowned with stars in Revelation 12:1. Daniel says that the saints shall shine as the stars in Daniel 12:3. The ministers of Christ are likened to stars in Revelation 1:16-20. Also, false ministries are likened unto wandering stars in Jude 13.

Genesis 1:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years.

This verse is just loaded with implications of spiritual ministry. What we have seen thus far in the ministry of the Church hardly scratches the surface of what is prophesied by the mystical fourth day.

We have established the firmament as a realm of heavenly ministry. Now God says, “Let there be lights in the firmament.” The Hebrew word for “lights” here is ma’owr and would be accurately translated “light-bearers.” The Lord Jesus Himself is the Light of the world (John 8:12), and His disciples become the bearers of His Light as He told them in Matthew 5:14 – you are the light of the world. The light-bearers will minister a living Word that will separate the day from the night. For the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit…. Hebrews 4:12. You are all the children of light, and the children of the day; we are not of the night, nor of darkness. I Thessalonians 5:5.

Next, the light-bearers will be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and for years. A sign is that which points to something else. The Hebrew word is owth, which is sometimes translated “token” or “pledge” in the sense of something “to come.” A prophecy can be a sign because it looks to something that is to be, and a token or pledge is like a promise of more to come. The light-bearing ministries of the Kingdom of God will proclaim a Word of God’s plan and purpose, and that Word will set His purposes in motion. The Scriptures themselves are a pledge of more to come.

The light-bearers will also be for seasons. The Hebrew word for seasons is mowed and is a set or fixed time. It is used in three other places in the book of Genesis: (1) at this set time in the next year in 17:21, (2) at the appointed time I will return in 18:14, and (3) at the set time of which God has spoken in 21:2. In other places of the Old Testament it is sometimes translated “congregation.” When they assembled at the tabernacle they were nearing God’s presence in the Holy of Holies. It was an appointed time of expectancy and blessing. It was also translated “feasts” many times. The feasts – Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles – were set times with a certain spiritual climate.

Thinking of a season naturally as a set time during the year, we realize that it has certain characteristics. Each season – spring, summer, fall, and winter – has its particular characteristics. So it is spiritually. There are certain seasons (set times or appointed times) with its own spiritual characteristics. In other words, there are particular aspects of the Lord that are available for our appropriation and spiritual growth. For example, when the Lord appeared as Jesus the Nazarene in Israel it was the appointed time for God to visit His people. What an opportune time it was for them, but they weren’t aware of the season and did not appropriate what was made available to them. As Jesus drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time (season) of your visitation. Luke 19:41-44. Jesus Christ was the Light-bearer. He was the sign of what was to come and He was the season, the set time of visitation. His light-bearers will also be for signs and seasons.

The light-bearers in the firmament realm of ministry will divide the day from the night. Then you shall again discern between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him. Malachi 3:18. They will be for signs and seasons. They will speak of the Coming One and of “the seasons of refreshing that come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19).

The light-bearers will be for days. The Hebrew word for “days” is yowm, which means “to be hot.” It is the warm hours of blessing. However, all warm without any cold is not good. It is during the cold days of winter when the roots of trees go deeper into the ground and brings forth new growth. At the proper time the Lord will send forth times of cold and warm upon His garden in order to produce the fragrant spices of His nature. Awake, O north wind, and come O south! Blow upon My garden, that its spices may flow out. Let My Beloved come to His garden and eat its pleasant fruits. Song of Solomon 4:16. The light-bearers of the Lord will minister the warm blessings of the Lord at the proper time. They will give blessing and sustenance in “due season” (Matthew 24:45).

The Light-bearers will be for years. The Hebrew word for “years” is shaneh, which means “to fold” or “duplicate.” A year is made up of days and seasons, and then it “folds over” or “duplicates.” Every Christian is not at the same age spiritually. Some have experienced more spiritual growth than others. While you are experiencing a certain “day” of the Lord or a certain “season,” others would be in a different day or season. A light-bearer who ministers “days” and “years” will need tremendous revelation in order to know where you are and what you need. Are you in need of the cold north wind or the warm southerly breezes? Have you completed a “year” and is it time for you move into another next year? Each day and each season and each year holds something new from the Lord for you, and it must be available at the proper time. The light-bearers will speak a Word that will be a “lamp to your feet and a light to your path” (Psalm 119:105). Who are these light-bearers that God places in the firmament? They are the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers that gives to the Church to bring it into the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:11-13).

Genesis 1:16-17 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: He made the stars also.
17 And God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth.

The Scriptures are very mystical and can be interpreted with a fulfillment in history, in the Kingdom of God, in Christ, in the many-membered Christ, and in each member of the Body of Christ. The sun and the moon are the two great lights and they typify the Lord and His Church. In quite a mystical way the firmament realm of ministry also lies within us. Within our heavenly firmament, then, are light-bearing stars whose purpose is to bring forth Christ in us. Daniel speaks of these stars as those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever (Daniel 12:3). Who are these stars in us ministering the light of the Lord? They are Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the prophets and apostles of the Scriptures. When you partake of the Word of Isaiah, for example, he becomes a light-bearer in your firmament. The stars of the Scriptures are set in the firmament of your heavens to give light into your earth.

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