Two themes run throughout the Holy Scriptures, the Word of God. These two themes may be called the doctrines of separation and restoration. They may also be called the doctrines of death and life, or sacrifice and resurrection. We see these two ideas throughout the entire Bible and we see them from the very beginning of God’s revelation to man. Both doctrines appear many times even in just the first few chapters of Genesis and, of course, occur repeatedly after that. The doctrines culminate in the New Testament in the first and second comings of Christ. Jesus’ death on the cross is the ultimate act of separation. His coming again with the clouds in power and glory will begin His ultimate act of restoration (insofar as His relationship to man is concerned).

{1) In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. {2} The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. {3} Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. {4} And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. {5} God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.(Gen 1:1-5 NKJV)

God has revealed the Doctrine of the Separation from the very beginning, from the very first day of creation. The day that I first began to understand this doctrine, I was literally startled by the Holy Spirit. He showed me that the idea of separation exists in almost every verse of Genesis 1! The first time that I taught this subject to a group of men I asked the question at the end of the night, “What book of the Bible does is it seem like we have been studying tonight?” Almost in unison they answered, “The Book of Revelation.” I nodded in agreement. The really interesting thing, though, is that we had not even turned to the Book of Revelation all night. We had stayed almost entirely in the first chapter of Genesis.

We first learn of the separation by explicit terms in Genesis 1:4 which says, “And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness” (Gen. 1:4 NKJV). The word “divided” is the Hebrew word “badal” which is also interpreted as “separated” in other translations of the Bible. In fact, “separated” is the word actually used in the New International Version, the New American Standard Version and The Schocken Bible. As one studies the words “separated” and “divided” in Scripture he will find that the two are often used interchangeably and synonymously. Thus we see that the act of separating is the act of dividing a thing from something else. Based upon the principles of “first mention” and of “type-antitype”¹ in the Scripture, when we encounter words that speak of division or separation in the Bible we must attempt to interpret them in the light of the way the word is first used by God in Scripture.

As we study the doctrine of separation we will see that God always brings separation so that He may restore something. For example, Genesis 1:1 describes the initial creation of the heavens and the earth in these words, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Isaiah 45:18 tells us that God did not create the earth “tohuw,” yet Genesis 1:2 tells us, “The earth was tohuw tohuw (without form), and void….” The word translated “was” here is often translated “to become” or “to come to pass” in other verses. See, for example, Gen. 2:7; 4:3; 9:15; 19:26; Ex. 32:1. Thus, the earth became formless and void sometime after the original creation of Genesis 1:1.

This destruction of the earth, i.e. its becoming formless and void, is a type of separation from God. We know from other Scriptures that Satan caused this destruction by rebelling against God. All of the acts of creation that we see in Genesis 1:3 to Genesis 1:31 describe God’s restoration of the earth after Satan’s rebellion. The rest of the Bible concerns the restoration of man to God after Adam and Eve ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The Bible, therefore, concerns itself with the restoration of God’s creation from Genesis 1:2 onward.

The Scriptures give many more examples of separation than the initial separations caused by Satan and man. Some examples are negative, but many more are positive. The positive aspect often signifies sanctification unto God. The idea of sanctification means to be wholly set apart, or separated, for God’s use. As we submit to God and set ourselves apart to His uses, He restores us to the perfection found only in His Son, Jesus. Thus we see the link between separation and restoration in the plan of God. These twin concepts literally pervade all the Scriptures. By studying Biblical separation and restoration, we will encounter and come to understand many of God’s profound hidden mysteries. We will come to understand His purpose in creating man and our responsibilities toward our Creator.