The entry in Nave for "vision" seems to confirm my notion
that the first vision in Scripture is that to Abraham just after he had
received imputed righteous by faith (Gen 15:6) and had become the father of all
receiving that gift (Rom 5:17), either imputed or actual (Rom 3:24-27), by
faith (Rom 4:11-13,16-17). (The "vision" given to Job's friend
Eliphaz may have occurred earlier in time but it seems a bit too fuzzy to
qualify as a "vision" and the revelation is mostly a rather important
spoken message (Job 4:16-21).)
Gen 15:17 KJG And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down,
and it was dark (1), behold a smoking furnace (2), and a burning lamp (3) that
passed between (4) those pieces (5).
1 - I am reminded of the darkness that occurred when a Man was
completely separated from God (Psa 22:1-2, Mark 15:25, 33-34) in order to take
away the sins of the World (John 1:29-34). And of the pre-dawn darkness when a
rescued sinner went to a tomb to see if she could properly tend to the corpse
of her Savior (John 20:1-2,15-17).
2 - The prophesied captivity in Egypt may also be in view (Deut 4:20), but I believe that the primary meaning is the separation of the Son of
Man from the Triune God. The description of the lake of fire includes the smoke
of the torment of the worshippers of the anti-Christ. The Lamb was there when
He took away the sins of the World, having been made both sin and accursed. And
He continues to be aware of the torment that He endured for six hours that the
begotten again might spend eternity in His presence and not is the place where
God and everything good is not (Rev 14:9-11).
3 - The first appearances of the risen Christ were like a lamp
burning in the general darkness of contemporary Israel (Isa 62:1 KJG For Zion's
sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until
the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as
a lamp that burneth.) According to the Geneva notes it is Isaiah who will not
rest (while breath remains in him) until these two goals are met. The general
spiritual brightness of the holy and spiritual Jerusalem is presently available
in the nations of the saved (Rev 21:22-24).
4 - Passing between the halves of a sacrificed animal seems to have
been a recognized method of ratifying a covenant (Jeremiah 34:17-20). The lesser
party would walk between the halves, thus showing that the penalty for breaking
the covenant might be as severe as being cut in two. A prophetic parable
illustrates this severe penalty and may apply symbolically to the leaders of
Israel in the 70 ad rebellion against Rome (Mat 24:45-51). The remarkable thing
about the First Vision is that it is God and not Abraham that passes between
the halves of the sacrifices. It is God through the Crucifixion and
Resurrection who would pay the price for the covenant breaking of all who are
united to Abraham by having like precious faith and the resulting gift of
righteousness.
5 - The specific animals (Gen 15:9-10) cut in half have specific
applications to the Crucifixion. The split heifer signifies the separation of
the Son of Man from the Triune God and the taking away of the sins of the World
(Deut 21:1-9). The goat signifies the separation of spirit and soul (Luk 23:46).
The ram signifies separation of flesh from bone. (Heb 4:12, Col 2:11). More
later, Lord willing.
I2C 131012a Gen 15v17 First Vision / I2C M1310 / 10/12/2013 9:29 AM
/ Gen 15v17 The First Vision
