Welcome to EBible Fellowship’s Bible Part in the Book of Genesis. Tonight is Part #23 of Genesis, chapter 17 and we are going to read Genesis 17:23-27:

And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him. And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son. And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him.

This brings us to the end of the chapter and we have spent some time discussing how circumcision identifies with salvation. The circumcision of the heart is commanded by God in a couple of places and it points to being born again.

The circumcision of the flesh has a dual spiritual meaning. At the end of the world when all the people of God are translated out of this world and into the next, what is “cut off” from us? It is our “flesh.” We lose our flesh because we will have become equipped with out new spiritual bodies, so circumcision also points to that.

We also spent some time looking at the promise to Abraham concerning his son Ishmael. God heard Abraham’s plea and God would make Ishmael fruitful, which would take place at the end of the world when God saved the great multitude outside of the churches and congregations. Included among the number of the great multitude would be many “sons of Ishmael,” as typified by Nebaioth and Kedar in Isaiah 60. We know the descendants of Ishmael are typically found in the Middle East among the Arab nations and are mostly involved with the religion of Islam. And, yet, God’s plan was to save a great number of them among that great multitude, so we know that the Lord is pointing us to the end of the world because Ishmael was 13 years old when he was circumcised and circumcision identifies with salvation. Likewise, God used the word “covenant” 13 times in Genesis, chapter 17 to help us to understand that the things we are reading there has to do with the time of the end of the world. The end of the world began in 1988, because 1988 was the 13,000th year of earth’s history.

So far, we have that understanding, but now we have a curiosity. We wonder why God is making a point of emphasizing that Abraham, Ishmael and all of Abraham’s servants (those born in his house or bought with money) were all circumcised the “selfsame day.” The word “selfsame” was used twice. Again, it says in Genesis 17:23:

And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him.

I mentioned this in a past Part, but as a reminder all those that were born in Abraham’s house points to all those born from above in the house of God. All those bought with money represent all those God has purchased or redeemed. Remember it says in 1Corinthians 6:20: “Ye are bought with a price.” We have been purchased by the Lord Jesus Christ to become a servant of the Lord, just like Abraham’s servants were bought and served in the house of Abraham. Those born in the house and those bought with money are pointing to the elect that would experience God’s salvation at the time of the end of the world.

All were circumcised in the selfsame day. It said that Abraham was 99 years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin and his son Ishmael was 13 years old when he was circumcised in the foreskin of his flesh. And, just in case we did not catch it, God summed it up in Genesis 17:26-27:

In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son. And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him.

It was all happening on the “selfsame day.” Why is God making this point? Why is He drawing our attention to the word “selfsame”? This word seems familiar, does it not? Where else do we read this word “selfsame”? It is actually a compound word. In the English, the words “self” and “same” are joined together. In the original Hebrew, there are also two words that are translated together as “selfsame.” From what I could tell, these Hebrew words were translated as “selfsame” eleven times. They appear twice here in Genesis 17 and they appear three times in Exodus, chapter 12. I am sure it will be familiar to everyone because we have read this again, and again, regarding the exodus from Egypt. It says in Exodus 12:17:

And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever.

It speaks of observing the feast of unleavened bread, which was Part of the Passover, and it was that day when God told the Israelites to put the blood of a lamb on their doorposts and the angel of death would pass over all those that had the blood upon their doorposts. It was a figure of the blood of Christ that causes the wrath of God to pass us by. It was a picture of salvation. However, all the firstborn of the Egyptians perished in that night and it was not long after that when Pharaoh finally relented and said, “Take your people and go.” Moses, Aaron and all Israel deParted out of Egypt the “selfsame day” as the Passover.

In this chapter, it says in Exodus 12:40-41:

Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years. And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of JEHOVAH went out from the land of Egypt.

The term “selfsame day” is being used in conjunction with the exodus of Israel out of Egypt, which we can understand as coming out of the kingdom of Satan. Egypt was called the “iron furnace” and Pharaoh was a type of Satan, so it was a picture of Satan ruling over his kingdom of darkness and keeping Israel as slaves to sin and Satan. The deliverance from Egypt typified salvation that occurred in the “selfsame day.” Even when we think of the circumcision, when Ishmael was 13 years old he, his father Abraham and all in the household were circumcised and circumcision is a figure of salvation. So, we wonder if God is using the word “selfsame” to help us in understanding something. It was used twice in Genesis 17 and, so far, we have seen it twice in Exodus 12. In both instance in Exodus 12, it has to do with coming out of Egypt, but it is also used in Exodus 12:51:

And it came to pass the selfsame day, that JEHOVAH did bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies.

So, this is now five times this word is translated as “selfsame.” It may be translated some other way. I did not look at that as I probably should have, but we know that this word translated as “selfsame” is found 11 times in the Old Testament. It was mentioned twice in regard to circumcision when the word “covenant” was used 13 times and when Ishmael was 13 years old. It was mentioned 3 more times regarding the deliverance from Egypt. All five uses can point to salvation.

There is a sixth time this word is used and it is very interesting. It says in Genesis 7:10-13:

And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth. In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights. In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah’s wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark;

Here, we see the term “selfsame day.” Noah and his entire family (the eight souls) went into the ark together, just like God makes a point to say that Abraham, Ishmael and those of his household were circumcised on the selfsame day. In Genesis 7, Noah and his family entered the ark in the seventeenth day of the second month of Noah’s 600th year. Everyone is being “circumcised” the selfsame day. Everyone entered the ark the selfsame day. All Israel came out of Egypt the selfsame day.

Why is God putting such emphasis on the “selfsame day”? How can we understand it? Here is what is interesting. When we look at Genesis 17, we find that Ishmael is 13. The covenant is mentioned 13 times. The focus is on the end of the world because the number “13” in the Bible points to the final stage of earth’s history which began in the year 1988, the 13,000^th year of earth’s history since creation. It was the start of the Great Tribulation and the end stage for this world. So, we have an emphasis on the end of the world in its 13,000^th year in Genesis 17.

In Genesis 7, it was “seven days” from the time God said in Genesis 7:4:

For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights…

We have understood this to be a time path that ties in with 2Peter, chapter 3 where the Lord says, “one day is as a thousand years,” in the context of the flood and in the context of the end of the world. Right in the midst of that discussion of those major destructions, God says, “one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” He doubles it. We learned several years ago that we can count from the flood date of 4990 B.C. because God said, “And yet seven days,” regarding when the flood would come; and 7,000 years from the flood date of 4990 B.C. is 2011 A.D. (4990 +2011 -1 = 7,000). Furthermore, May 21, 2011 was the 8,400^th day or exactly 23 years of the Great Tribulation period. That date had the underlying Hebrew calendar date of the seventeenth day of the second month, which matches with the date of the flood that came after seven days. The number “7” points to perfection and God pointed to that specific time path and locked it in place so that it could not be moved.

It was important that this specific date not be moveable and it is not moveable, at least legitimately. It can only be changed if the Bible teaches something else to provide correction, but the Bible does not teach anything else and does not give correction on that date. Some people try to jostle it around or move it here or there. They say, “Oh, that was not Judgment Day. It is not the end of the Great Tribulation.” It becomes a huge and chaotic mess and confusion begins to become evident because they have moved the date illegitimately. It is not to be moved in that fashion. God locked it in on a date that was 13,023 years from creation, so the reference to Ishmael being 13 years old in Genesis 17 directs us to the end of the world after 13,000 years of earth’s history.

So, now we are starting to see it. Is this why God is emphasizing that in the “selfsame day” everyone entered into the ark in Genesis 7? The ark represents Christ and salvation and it was on May 21, 2011 that God completed His salvation for His spiritual house – for all that were born in the house and bought with money. He saved all the souls whose names were recorded in the Lamb’s Book of Life, just as all were circumcised in Abraham’s house when Ishmael was 13, pointing to the Great Tribulation and the completion of God’s salvation program.

Likewise, it is true regarding Israel coming out of Egypt. We know the year was 1447 B.C. and it was 430 years from their entry into Egypt. They came into Egypt in the time of Joseph in the year 1877 B.C. after two years of that awful famine that Acts chapter 7 calls “great tribulation.” If we go 430 years from 1877, it lands on 1447 B.C. and Mr. Camping laid out in some of his books that you can triple the number “430” to get “1290,” which is referred to in the Book of Daniel and 1290 years from 1877 B.C. directs us to 587 B.C., another point of time that is in the midst of another historical type of the Great Tribulation when the Babylonians came against Jerusalem and destroyed the temple in 587 B.C., which was 1290 years from the house of Jacob entering into Egypt to be cared for by Joseph, a type of Christ.

We saw that “430 x 3” led us to a very significant point in the midst of a great tribulation period. If we triple “1290,” we come up with 3,870 years and 3,870 years from 586 B.C. leads us to 1994 A.D., another time post that is in the midst of the Great Tribulation. The Great Tribulation began in the year 1988 and 2,300 evening mornings later in September 1994 the Lord began to evangelize the earth the second time to recover the remnant of His people.

Again, it was the “selfsame day” when they came out of Egypt. That is really the point. It has to do with deliverance from bondage to sin and Satan. It has to do with salvation. When we follow this time path by multiplying the “430” to reach “1290” and multiplying the “1290” to reach “3870,” it leads us from jumping stone to jumping stone of types of the Great Tribulation and, finally, to the midst of the actual Great Tribulation when God recovered the remnant of His people.

When we get to 1994, we have now been learning that there is a very likely 40-year time period, as we have seen in the Book of Jonah, from the point of Jonah, the dove or Holy Spirit, entering into Nineveh (a figure of the world) and proclaiming, “And yet forty days.” And forty years from 1994 leads us to 2033 A.D., inclusively. From the coming out of Egypt in 1447 B.C., how long did they wander in the wilderness? All those delivered from Egypt wandered in the wilderness for 40 years before entering the Promised Land of Canaan.

So, we see that this compound word translated as “selfsame” is directing us in six out of 11 places to a time at the end of the world when God completed His salvation program and delivered all the elect. Everyone that was to become saved did become saved.