Claim. To restore the foundation of faith that Adam lost by disobeying the Word, three indemnity conditions must converge: a central figure called by God to lay the foundation; an object for the condition offered as a substitute for the Word; and a numerical period of indemnity over which the condition is fulfilled. All three are required.
Elaboration. Per dp-1-the-principle-of-restoration-through-indemnity §1.2.1: “There are three aspects to the indemnity condition required for restoring the foundation of faith.”
Central figure. “From the time Adam failed to establish the foundation of faith, God has been looking for central figures who could restore the lost foundation of faith.” Named: Cain and Abel; Noah; Abraham, Isaac, Jacob; Moses; the kings; John the Baptist.
Object for the condition. When Adam lost faith he lost the Word. Fallen people, degraded below the things of creation (Jer 17:9), could not directly receive the Word; substitutes had to be offered. The object varies by age: pre-OT sacrifices and the ark; OT Law and its representatives (Ark, Temple, central figures); NT Gospels and Jesus as the incarnation of the Word. From the human side these establish faith; from God’s side they “secure God’s ownership of the dispensation.”
Numerical period of indemnity. Why the length is based on certain providential numbers is deferred to later chapters — but the period itself is a non-negotiable component.
Significance. This is DP’s structural account of why providential history is dense with sacrificial offerings, named central figures, and precisely-numbered time spans (the 40-day flood, 400-year sojourn, 40-year wandering, 2000 years to Jesus). Each is not arbitrary devotional symbolism but a load-bearing component of the foundation-of-faith indemnity formula.
See also. foundation-of-faith · dp-foundation-age-adam-to-abraham-laid-resurrection-precondition