The Corruption of Man and the Great Flood Bible Study: Genesis 4-11

GENESIS 4-11 THE CORRUPTION OF MAN & THE GREAT FLOOD BIBLE STUDY JANUARY 20, 2023

THE SIX DAYS OF CREATION AND WHAT THEY REVEAL ABOUT GODS CHARACTER THE SEVENTH DAY (LATER KNOWN AS THE SABBATH) AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR MAN, NATURE, AND GOD A QUICK GENESIS RECAP THE ANGELIC REBELLION AND THE INFLUENCE OF SATAN ON MANKIND WHY GOD S CREATION OF MAN WAS SPECIAL IN OUR PREVIOUS LESSON, WE LOOKED AT THE SIGNIFICANT EVENTS OF GENESIS 1-6. THIS LESSON COVERS GENESIS 4-11, SO YOU WILL SEE A FEW PAGES OF LESSON NOTES CARRIED OVER FROM OUR LAST STUDY. THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF MAN AND THE DISOBEDIENCE THAT LED TO THE FALL THE ADAMIC COVENANT AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR THE REDEMPTION OF ALL MANKIND MARRIAGE: NOT A MANDATE TO DOMINATE CAIN, ABEL, AND SETH: MAN S CONTINUING DISOBEDIENCE AFTER THE FALL OUR PREVIOUS STUDY COVERED THE FOLLOWING TOPICS: BECAUSE WE HAVE FALLEN DOESN T MEAN WE CAN T GET BACK UP AGAIN: WE ARE NEVER SO LOST THAT WE CAN T BE FOUND BY GOD.

SCRIPTURE STATES THAT GOD WAS NOT PLEASED WITH CAIN OR HIS OFFERING. AFTERWARDS, GOD CAUTIONS CAIN AGAINST WRATH, SAYING THAT IF CAIN DOES RIGHT, HE WILL BE ACCEPTED, BUT IF HE DOES NOT DO RIGHT THEN SIN WAITS TO CONSUME HIM. CAIN, ABEL, AND SETH A TALE OF THREE BROTHERS AND TWO SPIRITUAL KINGDOMS IT IS POSSIBLE THAT CAIN ALREADY HARBORED JEALOUSY OR RESENTMENT TOWARDS ABEL AND THIS CAUSED GOD TO REJECT CAIN AND HIS OFFERING. SCRIPTURE TELLS US NOT TO COME TO WORSHIP GOD WHEN WE HAVE A GRUDGE AGAINST ANOTHER HUMAN. WE ARE INSTRUCTED TO GO MAKE PEACE WITH THAT PERSON AND THEN TO COME TO GOD IN WORSHIP AFTERWARD. READ GENESIS 4-5 CAIN WAS FIRSTBORN BUT LOST THAT BIRTHRIGHT BECAUSE OF HIS SIN IN MURDERING HIS BROTHER ABEL. JESUS GOES SO FAR AS TO EQUATE ANGER WITH ACTUAL MURDER (MATTHEW 5:21-26). HATE AND ENVY ARE SIGNS THAT OUR HEARTS AND OUR SPIRITUAL WALK ARE NOT RIGHT WITH GOD BUT RATHER SIGNS THAT WE ARE IN PERIL OF BEING DRAWN TO THE DARKNESS OF SATAN S KINGDOM. MURDER IS A MENTIONED AS AN ABOMINATION TO GOD IN PROVERBS 6, ALONG WITH PRIDE, LYING, FALSE WITNESS, FEET THAT RUN TOWARDS EVIL, AND HEARTS THAT DEVISE WICKEDNESS, AND SOWING DISCORD AMONG BROTHERS (AND ALL HUMANS ARE BROTHERS AND SISTERS). SCRIPTURE REVEALS THAT, QUITE OFTEN, GOD S MESSIANIC PLANS ARE NOT PASSED DOWN THROUGH THE FIRSTBORN CHILDREN. ISAAC WAS NOT THE FIRSTBORN OF ABRAHAM (THOUGH HE WAS THE FIRSTBORN OF ABRAHAM S WIFE, SARAH). JACOB WAS THE YOUNGER SON OF ISAAC. JUDAH WAS NOT THE FIRSTBORN OF JACOB, BUT IT WAS HIS LINE FROM WHOM CHRIST WOULD DESCEND.

As we read in Genesis, Cain failed to heed God s warning and murdered his brother, Abel. Like His parents, Adam and Eve, Cain tried to hide his sin from God and then lied about it. God gave Cain a chance to confess and repent of his sins, but Cain is never said to have repented or to have asked God s forgiveness, only to have expressed regret and expressed fears that he himself would be killed in retaliation. In God s mercy, He placed a mark on Cain to prevent anyone from killing him in retribution (most likely, it would have been Cain s own family avenging Abel). Satan is called a murderer and a liar. Cain showed himself to be more an image of Satan than of God. Abel s blood spilled on the ground meant the earth would no longer yield crops to Cain the farmer. His actions closed the door to His relationship with God and Afterwards, God cautions Cain against wrath, saying that if Cain does right, he will be accepted, but if he does not do right then sin waits to consume him. his family. Jude 11 calls self-will and unbelief the way of Cain . Cain would go on to build civilizations and have off-spring, but the Bible records his cities as centers of wickedness (marking them as being of the kingdom of Satan). Those civilizations and descendants would be wiped away by the Great Flood. Cain (never repenting) experienced the pain of separation from God and a future without hope of forgiveness or a place in God s kingdom. Jesus briefly experienced this same pain while on the cross, when God temporarily had to forsake His Son to death. As Jesus was restored to God, so, too, will those who believe on Him be spared the agony of separation from God. The death of Abel and Cain s fall from the kingdom of God endangered God s covenant that Eve s descendant would be the Messianic Redeemer. God s purposes will never be thwarted by man s sinfulness. God gave Eve another son, Seth (meaning granted ), who would continue the Messianic line. His descendants would include Noah. He and his family would be the only humans spared during the Great Flood.

DESCENDANTS OF CAIN HIS DESCENDANTS INCLUDED ENOCH, MEHUJAEL, LAMECH. THEIR NAMES ARE SIMILAR TO THE NAMES OF SOME OF SETH S DESCENDANTS. SATAN CAN IMITATE THE NAMES OF TRUE BELIEVERS, BUT HE CAN T PRODUCE A TRUE BELIEVE IN GOD. PARALLEL FAMILIES LAMECH IS NOTED FOR BEING THE BIBLE S FIRST BIGAMIST. HE ALSO COMPOSED A SONG FOR HIS TWO WIVES DETAILING HOW LAMECH HAD KILLED A MAN FOR INJURING HIM, THEN SAYING AS GOD AVENGED CAIN SEVEN TIMES, SO WOULD HE AVENGE LAMECH SEVENTY-SEVEN TIMES (THOUGH HE NEVER ACTUALLY USES CALLS NAME, REPENTS, OR CALLS ON THE LORD FOR HELP). APPARENTLY, HE BELIEVED GOD S PROTECTION OF CAIN EXTENDED TO HIM. THERE ARE 10 GENERATIONS BETWEEN ADAM AND NOAH, THEN 10 GENERATIONS BETWEEN NOAH AND ABRAHAM. THIS WAS THE MESSIANIC LINE THROUGH ADAM S SON SETH. EXAMINATION OF THE DESCENDANTS OF CAIN AND THE DESCENDANTS OF SETH REVEAL THAT THEIR CHILDREN OFTEN SHARED SIMILAR (OR IDENTICAL) NAMES BUT VERY DIFFERENT SPIRITUAL NATURES. SETH S FAMILY WAS DEEPLY, SPIRITUALLY CONNECTED WITH GOD, WHILE CAIN S DESCENDANTS WERE VERY MUCH UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF THE KINGDOM OF DARKNESS. CAIN S GREAT-GRANDSON JAMEL WAS THE FOUNDER OF THOSE WHO LIVE IN TENTS . HIS BROTHER JUBAL ESTABLISHED THE MUSIC OF THE PIPES AND HARPS. THEIR BROTHER TUBAL- CAIN WAS CREATOR OF TOOLS OF COPPER AND PIPES.

DESCENDANTS OF SETH HIS DESCENDANTS INCLUDED ENOSH, MAHALALEL, LAMECH, METHUSELAH, ENOCH, AND NOAH. SETH S SON ENOSH WAS BORN IN AN ERA WHERE PEOPLE COLLECTIVELY GATHERED TO WORSHIP GOD AND PROCLAIM HIS NAME AND PRAY. SETHITES WERE GLORIFYING GOD WHILE THE CAINITES WERE GLORIFYING THEIR OWN ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THERE IS ALWAYS A SEGMENT OF MAN WHO WILL REMAIN FAITHFUL TO GOD AND KEEP HIS LIGHT BURNING. FOR THE DESCENDANTS OF SETH, THIS REMNANT WOULD ULTIMATELY TRICKLE DOWN TO JUST NOAH AND HIS FAMILY. PARALLEL FAMILIES THERE ARE 10 GENERATIONS BETWEEN ADAM AND NOAH, THEN 10 GENERATIONS BETWEEN NOAH AND ABRAHAM. THIS WAS THE MESSIANIC LINE THROUGH ADAM S SON SETH. EXAMINATION OF THE DESCENDANTS OF CAIN AND THE DESCENDANTS OF SETH REVEAL THAT THEIR CHILDREN OFTEN SHARED SIMILAR (OR IDENTICAL) NAMES BUT VERY DIFFERENT SPIRITUAL NATURES. SETH S FAMILY WAS DEEPLY, SPIRITUALLY CONNECTED WITH GOD, WHILE CAIN S DESCENDANTS WERE VERY MUCH UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF THE KINGDOM OF DARKNESS. METHUSELAH WAS FAMOUS FOR HIS LONG LIFE (969 YEARS. HE DIED THE YEAR OF THE GREAT FLOOD). ENOCH WAS METHUSELAH S FATHER. HE IS FAMOUS FOR WALKING FAITHFULLY WITH GOD. HE AND THE PROPHET ELIJAH ARE THE ONLY PEOPLE DOCUMENTED IN SCRIPTURE AS NOT HAVING DIED BUT RATHER BEEN TAKEN UP ALIVE INTO HEAVEN. THE BOOK OF JUDE STATES THAT ENOCH HAD ANNOUNCED GOD S ULTIMATE JUDGEMENT AT THE SECOND COMING OF THE REDEEMER. NOAH WAS THE SON OF LAMECH (DIFFERENT LAMECH). HIS NAME MEANS COMFORT AS WE WILL SEE IN THE NEXT LESSON WHEN WE STUDY THE GREAT FLOOD AND THE NOAHIC COVENANT, HE PLAYS A PROMINENT ROLE IN PRESERVING THE LINE OF THE REDEEMER AS WELL AS HERALD NEW CHANGES IN WORSHIP OF GOD.

THE EVOLUTION OF THEOCRATIC ADMINISTRATION (A.K.A. HOW GOD ADAPTS SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP TO RESISTANT HUMANKIND) ADAM AS THEOCRATIC ADMINISTRATOR THE LAW OF CONSCIENCE AFTER THE FALL OF ADAM, GOD PUT THE ABILITY TO DISCERN RIGHT FROM WRONG WITHIN MANKIND (A CONSCIENCE THAT WOULD CONVICT THEIR WRONGDOING OR APPROVE THEIR RIGHT OR JUST BEHAVIOR). THIS WAS THE FORM OF THEOCRATIC AUTHORITY FOR THE GENERATIONS BETWEEN ADAM AND NOAH. SCRIPTURE TELLS US THAT THE CORRUPTION OF SIN OVERWHELMED MANKIND AND THEIR WICKEDNESS GREW ALL-CONSUMING, RESULTING IN THE JUDGEMENT OF THE FLOOD. ADAM WAS GIVEN THE MANDATE TO HAVE AUTHORITY OVER ALL CREATURES. NATURE ITSELF WOULD SERVE HIM OBEDIENTLY. IN TURN, HE WAS TO EXERCISE AUTHORITY ACCORDING TO GOD S WAYS AND GOD S REQUIREMENTS AS THE LORD S APPOINTED VICEROY. ANYONE WHOM GOD HAS PLACED IN A POSITION OF AUTHORITY IS EXPECTED TO USE THAT AUTHORITY JUSTLY AND RIGHTEOUSLY FOR THE LORD S PURPOSES, NOT ABUSIVELY OR SELFISHLY. THEY ARE ALSO TO CARE FOR OTHERS (TO HARM ANOTHER IT SO HARM GOD HIMSELF) AND TO CARE FOR GOD S CREATION AS THE GIFT THAT IT IS. WHEN ADAM SINNED, HE NO LONGER HELD AUTHORITY OVER NATURE AND ANIMALS. NEVERTHELESS, HE AND OTHER HUMANS ARE STILL EXPECTED TO WALK IN THE CARE OF MAN AND NATURE AS GOD S CREATION AND IMAGES.

SOME THEOLOGIANS, IN DISCUSSING THE INTERMARRIAGE OF SETHITES AND CAINITES, STATE THAT THE INTERMARRIAGE MEANT THAT THE SETHITES WERE DEFYING GOD, BECAME UNHOLY, AND COULD NO LONGER BE PART OF GOD S REDEMPTIVE PLANS (ERGO, THEY PERISHED ALONG WITH THE CAINITIES IN THE FLOOD). AND WHILE WE RE ON THE SUBJECT. CONSIDER THIS: THE LINEAGE OF JESUS CHRIST (POST-FLOOD) INCLUDES RAHAB, A PROSTITUTE IN JERICHO. WE LL MEET HER LATER WHEN WE EXAMINE THE BOOK OF JOSHUA. IN SHORT, RAHAB KNEW OF GOD, FEARED GOD, AND SUBMITTING TO GOD S WILL BY HELPING HIS PEOPLE. SHE THEN MARRIED INTO THE LINE OF ABRAHAM S DESCENDANTS. SHE WAS A PAGAN BY BIRTH, AND CERTAINLY ONE OF DISREPUTE, BUT THAT DIDN T STOP GOD FROM RECOGNIZING HER SUBMISSION TO HIM AND USING HER FOR HIS PLANS. ANOTHER MATRIARCH OF THE MESSIAH WAS RUTH. SHE WAS BORN A MOABITE BUT MARRIED INTO THE NATION OF ISRAEL. SHE WAS FAITHFUL TO HER MOTHER-IN-LAW, NAOMI, SO MUCH THAT SHE RENOUNCED HER PAGAN PEOPLE AND THEIR WAYS AND RECEIVED GOD, MARRYING INTO THE MESSIANIC LINE. AGAIN, HER ORIGINS DID NOT PRECLUDE GOD FROM USING HER IN HIS PLANS. A.K.A. THERE IS NO ONE SO LOST THAT GOD CANNOT FIND THEM OR USE THEM FOR HIS KINGDOM PURPOSES. WHILE IT S TRUE GOD PASSED LAWS AGAINST THE ISRAELITES INTERMARRYING WITH THE PAGAN NATIONS (POST-FLOOD), PRIMARILY SO THEY WOULD NOT BE LURED INTO IDOLATRY AND FALL FROM GRACE, THE BIBLE DOES NOT SPECIFICALLY SAY THAT SETHITES WERE FORBIDDEN TO MARRY CAINITIES. THE PEOPLE WHO PERISHED IN THE FLOOD WERE LOST BECAUSE OF THEIR OWN PERSONAL ALL-ENCOMPASSING WICKEDNESS AND UNREPENTANCE. NOAH FOUND GRACE BECAUSE HE ALONE WALKED IN FAITHFULNESS TO GOD (AS WE WILL SEE). ONE SHOULD NEVER FEEL THAT THEIR ORIGINS ARE SO SORDID THAT THEY CANNOT BE ACCEPTED IF THEY COME TO GOD IN GENUINE FAITH AND REPENTENCE THROUGH JESUS CHRIST. ONE SHOULD NEVER PRESUME THAT BIRTH INTO ANY FAMILY (ATHEIST OR EVEN SATANIC) AUTOMATICALLY CONDEMNS THEM IF THEY ARE WALKING IN TRUE AND RIGHT RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD THROUGH JESUS CHRIST.

ONLY GOD S GRACE CAN SAVE PEOPLE FROM GOD S WRATH, BUT GRACE IS GOD S RESPONSE TO SAVING FAITH OF A MAN OR WOMAN. NOAH WAS SAVED BY HIS FAITH IN GOD. THIS KIND OF FAITH MEANS: A MIND THAT UNDERSTANDS GOD (AS CREATOR, SOVEREIGN, HOLY, DESERVING OF WORSHIP AND OBEDIENCE) A HEART THAT RESPONDS TO GOD (WE ARE NOT RESPONDING TO GOD WITH OUR MOUTHS ALONE, BUT WITH OUR WHOLE HEART AND SOUL WE TRULY DESIRE RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM) A WILL THAT OBEYS GOD (NOT GRUDGINGLY BUT BECAUSE WE RECOGNIZE HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, HIS JUSTICE, HIS SOVEREIGNTY, AND TRUST IN HIS GOOD PLANS FOR THOSE WHO LOVE AND OBEY) UNDERSTANDING GOD S TRUTH WITHOUT ACTING ON IT IS ONLY INTELLECTUAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. THAT IS NOT FAITH. JAMES 2:14-26 STATES THAT FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD. AND WHILE WE RE ON THE SUBJECT. A.K.A. THERE IS NO ONE SO LOST THAT GOD CANNOT FIND THEM OR USE THEM FOR HIS KINGDOM PURPOSES. NO SACRIFICE WILL SATISFY GOD IF OUR HEARTS ARE NOT SINCERELY SEEKING HIM, HIS GRACE, HIS FORGIVENESS, HIS PRESENCE IN OUR LIVES KEEPING THE LAW DOESN T SAVE US. FOR ONE THING, JESUS HAS ACCOMPLISHED ALL THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE LAW. IF FOLLOWING THE LAW COULD SAVE US, THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN NO REASON FOR JESUS TO COME DIE FOR US ON THE CROSS. HUMANS CANNOT SAVE THEMSELVES BY THEIR OWN EFFORTS (LAW OR SACRIFICE) BECAUSE ONLY A PERFECT SACRIFICE OF A LAMB WITHOUT SIN WOULD SATISFY GOD. NO MATTER HOW GOOD WE ARE, WE ALL HAVE SINNED. EVEN THE HEROES OF THE FAITH BOTCHED IT AT LEAST ONCE (NOAH S DRUNKEN EPISODE, DAVID S ADULTERY WITH BATHSHEBA, PETER DENIES JESUS, PAUL PERSECUTED THE CHRISTIANS, ETC.) GOOD WORKS DON T SAVE US. (SEE ABOVE.) HOWEVER, IF OUR GOOD WORKS ARE AN ACT OF KNOWING GOD S WILL, BELIEVING GOD S WORD, AND SUBMISSIVELY OBEYING GOD S COMMANDS IN FAITH, WE OPEN THE DOOR FOR GOD TO BLESS US AND BESTOW HIS GRACE.

SHORT ANSWER: YOU AREN T GOING TO FIND A CONSENSUS ON THIS QUESTION. SOME THINGS IN THE BIBLE WILL REMAIN A MYSTERY. WHEN YOU RUN UP AGAINST AN ISSUE LIKE THIS, YOU MUST EXERCISE CAUTION NOT TO ADD TO GOD S WORD BY SPECULATING. READ CAREFULLY WHAT THE BIBLE STATES AS FACTS. IF SOMEONE OFFERS YOU AN INTERPRETATION, CONSIDER CAREFULLY THE FACTS OF THE BIBLE BEFORE YOU ACCEPT THEIR INTERPRETATION (WHICH BASICALLY APPLIES TO ALL SCRIPTURAL INTERPRETATION). ADDING TO GOD S WORD IS A SIN. IT S BETTER TO SAY YOU DON T KNOW IF YOU DON T KNOW. THAT BEING SAID, THE NEPHILIM ARE MENTIONED TWICE (GENESIS 6:1-7, NUMBERS 13:31-33). I VE HEARD SPECULATION THAT THEY WERE ANGELS OF GOD WHO MARRIED HUMAN WOMEN. I VE HEARD SPECULATION THAT THEY ARE THE SONS OF GOD MENTIONED, AND THAT THE SONS OF GOD MEANS SETHITES WHILE THE DAUGHTERS OF MAN MEANS CAINITIES (AS WE JUST DISCUSSED). LET S SEE WHAT SCRIPTURE STATES: WHO EXACTLY ARE THE NEPHILIM ? A LESSON IN CAUTION WHEN READING SCRIPTURE READING GENESIS 6:1-4 DOES NOT DISTINGUISH SETHITES FROM CAINITES (IT DOES HOWEVER IMPLY POLYGAMY WAS STARTING). READING GENESIS 6:4 CLEARLY SHOWS THAT THE SONS OF GOD ARE SEPARATE FROM THE NEPHILIM. THIS PASSAGE SIMPLY SAYS THE NEPHILIM WERE ON THE EARTH IN THOSE DAYS AND AFTERWARD. THERE IS AN ANNOTATION IN THE NEW WORLD TRANSLATION THAT NEPHILIM IS A HEBREW IDIOM FOR ANGELIC SONS OF GOD. OTHER INTERPRETATIONS OF NEPHILIM MEAN GIANTS OR FALLEN ONES (FROM NAPHAL MEANING TO FALL ). NUMBERS 13:31-33 STATES THAT THE NEPHILIM WERE IN CANAAN AND THAT THE SONS OF ANAK WERE DESCENDANTS OF THE NEPHILIM. AND THAT THEY WERE ALL OF EXTRAORDINARY SIZE. SO, WE END UP WITH MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS. ANAK ALSO MEANS GIANT. ANAK IS ALSO ONE OF THE TERMS REFERRING TO SATAN. IF THE NEPHILIM WERE HUMAN, HOW COULD THEY HAVE SURVIVED THE GREAT FLOOD AND EXIST IN CANAAN? DID SOMEONE IN NOAH S FAMILY CARRY THE GENE CODE FOR GIANT MEN AND PASS IT ALONG? IF THE NEPHILIM WERE ANGELIC SONS OF GOD, WHY WOULD THEY REPRODUCE WITH HUMANS TO HAVE DESCENDANTS? AND WERE THEY ANGELIC SONS OR DEMONIC SONS WHO WERE SOMEHOW TRYING TO POLLUTE THE BLOODLINE TO PREVENT THE REDEEMER FROM BEING BORN? YOU CAN SEE HOW EASY IT WOULD BE TO SLIP INTO SPECULATION, FALSE INTERPRETATION, AND FALSE THEOLOGY. IT IS BETTER NOT TO TRY TO FILL IN THE BLANKS. TRUST IN THE HOLY SPIRIT TO ILLUMINATE THE PORTIONS OF SCRIPTURE THAT GOD WANTS CLARIFIED AND TRUST THE MYSTERIES OF GOD TO GOD.

GOD COUNTED NOAH RIGHTEOUS BECAUSE OF HIS FAITH. HE WOULD DO THE SAME FOR ABRAHAM, A DESCENDANT OF NOAH. NOAH FINDS GRACE IN THE EYES OF THE LORD (GENESIS 7-9) NOAH S CONDUCT BEFORE PEOPLE IS CALLED BLAMELESS . THIS DOESN T MEAN HE WAS WITHOUT SIN. IT MEANT THAT HE HAD INTEGRITY SO THAT OTHERS COULD NOT FIND FAULT WITH HIM. HE WALKED WITH GOD IN A LIFE OF FAITH AND OBEDIENCE, ESPECIALLY IN A TIME WHEN WICKEDNESS WAS RAMPANT ON THE EARTH AND GOD SAW ONLY WICKEDNESS IN THE HEARTS OF MANKIND. MAN S BEHAVIOR GRIEVED GOD TO THE POINT THAT HE REGRETTED THE CREATION OF ALL LIVING BEINGS. IF YOU ARE A PARENT, HOW MUCH PAIN AND GRIEF WOULD YOU SUFFER FROM YOUR CHILDREN BEFORE YOU REGRETTED THEIR EXISTENCE? THIS MUST INDICATE THE DEPTHS OF CORRUPTION OF HUMANKIND THAT OUR FATHER FELT THIS LEVEL OF PAIN AND GRIEF BECAUSE OF US. WICKEDNESS = UNGODLY DEEDS, UNGODLY WORDS, UNGODLY WAYS. WALKING WITH GOD = LIVING A LIFE OF FAITH AND OBEDIENCE OUT OF TRUST OF GOD (AND OF CHRIST THE REDEEMER). THIS IS A CHOICE THAT WE MAKE EVERY DAY. YET WE ARE ABOUT TO SEE AGAIN THAT GOD IS FAITHFUL, GRACIOUS, MERCIFUL, TRUSTWORTHY, AND (OF COURSE) OMNIPOTENT. THOUGH MAN GRIEVED GOD, THE LORD HAD COVENANTED WITH ADAM AND EVE TO PROVIDE A REDEEMER FOR ALL MANKIND, WHO WOULD BE A DESCENDANT OF EVE. HE WOULD KEEP THAT COVENANT BY PRESERVING NOAH AND HIS FAMILY AND, THROUGH THEM, THE LINE OF THE MESSIANIC REDEEMER. NOAH IS THE FIRST MAN IN THE BIBLE TO BE CALLED RIGHTEOUS .

NOAHS OBEDIENT WALK WITH GOD NOAH TRUSTED IN GOD S COVENANT NOAH GATHERED THE ANIMALS NOAH BUILT THE ARK NOAH LABORED ON THE ARK FAITHFULLY AT GOD S INSTRUCTION. HE DID THIS DESPITE THE WICKEDNESS OF THE WORLD AROUND HIM. WE WILL SEE MANY TIMES IN SCRIPTURE WHERE MEN AND WOMEN MUST CHOOSE FAITHFULNESS TO GOD DESPITE TREMENDOUS PRESSURE FROM THEIR CULTURE (THINK OF SHADRACH, MESHACH, AND ABEDNEGO STANDING IN FRONT OF THAT FIERY FURNACE IN DANIEL 13). SURELY NOAH FACED RIDICULE, CONTEMPT, AND DOUBT FROM OTHERS AS HE LABORED ON THE ARK AND WITNESSED FOR GOD. SOME OF GOD S COVENANTS ARE CONDITIONAL, MEANING MAN MUST DO SOMETHING BEFORE GOD IS ABLE TO BLESS US BY FULFILLING HIS PROMISES. HOWEVER, MOST OF GOD S COVENANTS ARE UNCONDITIONAL, MEANING MAN CAN DO NOTHING TO FULFILL THEM, IT DEPENDS SOLELY ON GOD S POWER AND FIDELITY. GOD HAD PROMISED A FLOOD, HE WAS PROMISING TO BRING NOAH AND THE ANIMALS ON THE ARK THROUGH THE FLOOD. NOAH BELIEVED HIM. IT S TRUE GOD PROBABLY HAD A HAND IN MAKING SURE THAT EVERY KIND OF ANIMAL FOUND ITS WAY TO NOAH, BUT NOAH GATHERED THEM INTO THE ARK ALONG WITH ALL THE SUPPLIES THAT MAN AND BEAST WOULD REQUIRE. MOST CHRISTIANS AND HEBREWS KNOW THAT THERE WERE PAIRS OF ANIMALS ON THE ARK. IT IS INTERESTING TO NOTE THAT GOD COMMANDED SEVEN PAIRS OF SPECIFIC CLEAN ANIMALS AND BIRDS. CLEARLY GOD WAS ALREADY LOOKING AHEAD TO THE END OF THE FLOOD WHEN NOAH WOULD WORSHIP HIM AND OFFER SACRIFICES OF CLEAN ANIMALS IN GRATITUDE FOR GOD S DELIVERANCE AND GRACE. GOD SPEAKS TO US NOW THROUGH HIS WORD; THE HOLY SPIRIT ILLUMINATES THAT WORD AND TELLS US WHAT WE NEED TO KNOW AND TO DO IF WE ARE FAITHFUL TO OPEN OUR HEARTS TO HIM. CLOSE FRIENDSHIP WITH THE LORD BELONGS TO THOSE WHO FEAR HIM, AND HE MAKES HIS COVENANT KNOWN TO THEM

NOAHS OBEDIENT WALK WITH GOD NOAH WENT INTO THE ARK A UNIVERSAL JUDGEMENT A WARNING FOR THE FUTURE THE DAY OF RECKONING IS RECOUNTED IN GENESIS 7:11-24. GOD SHUT NOAH AND HIS FAMILY INTO THE ARK. WE WITNESS THEN THE SAME POWER OF GOD THAT SPOKE ALL THINGS INTO EXISTENCE NOW WIPING ALL LIVING THINGS FROM THE EARTH. YET, WE SEE HIS FAITHFULNESS AND MERCY AS HE PRESERVES THOSE ALIVE ON THE ARK. THE FLOOD FORESHADOWS THE END OF TIMES WHEN JESUS CHRIST RETURNS. THE JUDGEMENT UPON THE EARTH AT THAT TIME WILL BE FIRE AND NOT FLOOD, AS WE READ IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION. THIS WAS A UNIVERSAL JUDGEMENT, MEANING IT INVOLVED THE ENTIRE EARTH. THERE ARE THOSE WHO STILL ARGUE THAT THE FLOOD TOOK PLACE ONLY IN A VERY SPECIFIC REGION. THAT S NOT WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS.

GOD S NATURE IS HOLINESS, JUSTICE, AND RIGHTEOUSNESS. HE MAY DELAY JUDGEMENT OR DISCIPLINE OF HIS PEOPLE, BUT AT A CERTAIN POINT THE HAMMER WILL FALL. WE WILL SEE THIS AGAIN IN THE STUDY OF SODOM AND GOMORRAH AND THE KINGDOMS IN ISRAEL AND JUDAH. WHAT DOES THE GREAT FLOOD TELL US ABOUT GOD? THE FLOOD AGAIN DEMONSTRATES GOD S OMNIPOTENCE, HIS SOVEREIGN POWER OVER NATURE. HE UNLEASHED THE WATERS AND THEN MADE A WAY FOR THEM TO RECEDE. HE PRESERVED THE LIVES OF NOAH, HIS FAMILY, AND THE ANIMALS ON THE ARK. WE LL SEE MORE DEMONSTRATIONS OF HIS GREAT POWER WHEN WE EXAMINE THE PLAGUES OF EGYPT AND THE PARTING OF THE RED SEA. WE EXAMINED WHAT WE LEARNED ABOUT GOD FROM CREATION IN THE LAST LESSON. LET S EXAMINE HOW THOSE TRAITS ARE MANIFESTED WITH THE EVENT OF THE GREAT FLOOD. GOD IS FAITHFUL TO HIS PROMISES. NOT ONLY DID GOD KEEP HIS WORD TO PRESERVE NOAH S FAMILY, IN DOING SO HE WAS ALSO KEEPING HIS COVENANT WITH EVE THAT HER DESCENDANTS WOULD INCLUDE THE REDEEMER. WHY DOES IT READ: GOD REMEMBERED ? DOES GOD ACTUALLY FORGET ANYTHING? NO. REMEMBER AS USED IN GENESIS 8, REMEMBER MEANS GAVE ATTENTION TO SOMEONE OR ACTED ON THEIR BEHALF. WHEN YOU READ (GOD) WILL REMEMBER THEIR SINS NO MORE , IT MEANS THAT GOD IS DELIBERATELY FORGIVING SINS THAT WOULD OTHERWISE REQUIRE DEATH. GOD IS HOLY, HE DOES NOT CHANGE AND HE DOES NOT FORGET. 1) WE KNOW THAT GOD IS PATIENT OR LONG-SUFFERING . IT IS NOT HIS WILL THAT ANYONE SHOULD PERISH, ESPECIALLY NOT ETERNALLY. HE DELAYS HIS JUDGEMENTS TO GIVE PEOPLE THE CHANCE TO REPENT OF WICKEDNESS AND SIN AND RETURN TO RIGHT RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM. GOD WOULD MAKE THE SEVENTH MONTH (THE MONTH WHEN THE ARK CAME TO REST ON THE MOUNTAINS OF ARARAT (TURKEY) SACRED TO HIS PEOPLE IN ISRAEL. IT WOULD INCLUDE THE FEAST OF TRUMPETS, THE DAY OF ATONEMENT, AND THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES.

WHAT DOES ALL THIS MEAN? ADAM AND CAIN HAD CAUSED THE GROUND TO BE CURSED (ADAM BY THE FALL, CAIN BY SPILLING ABEL S BLOOD ON THE EARTH). THESE CURSES MAKE THE GROUND RESIST CULTIVATION, AND THIS WILL CONTINUE UNTIL CHRIST S SECOND ADVENT. WHEN GOD AFFIRMS HERE THAT THE REGULAR CYCLE OF SEASONS WILL CONTINUE (FOR THAT MATTER, SO WILL THE ROTATION OF THE EARTH) UNTIL THE HOUR THAT CHRIST RETURNS. LIVING THINGS ON THE EARTH WILL BE MAINTAINED. THIS IS ESSENTIAL TO MAN S SURVIVAL. THIS IS NOT A PROMISE THAT WE WON T HAVE CYCLES OF DROUGHT, LOCALIZED NATURAL DISASTERS, OR LOCALIZED FAMINES, ONLY THAT THE WORLD WILL CONTINUE UNTIL GOD IS READY TO MAKE A NEW CREATION. THE NOAHIC COVENANT 1) INCLUDED MAN AND EVERY LIVING CREATURE AND THE GROUND 2) GOD PROMISES NEVER AGAIN TO SEND A FLOOD TO DESTROY ALL LIFE GOD WILL NO LONGER SEND A UNIVERSAL FLOOD TO DESTROY ALL LIFE ON EARTH NOR WILL HE GIVE ANY FURTHER CURSE TO THE GROUND. 3) GOD PROMISES THE CYCLE OF DAYS, YEARS, SEASONS, ETC. WILL CONTINUE GOD STILL WISHES THAT HIS IMAGE, MANKIND, FILLS THE EARTH. 4) GOD REPEATS HIS COMMANDS THAT MAN BE FRUITFUL AND MULTIPLY WHEN MAN SEES THE RAINBOW FROM EARTH, GOD WILL SEE THE RAINBOW FROM HEAVEN. IT WILL BE A BRIDGE BETWEEN US, REMINDING GOD AND MAN OF THIS PROMISE THAT THE LORD HAS MADE (AND A REMINDER OF HIS MERCY PRESERVING A REMNANT OF MAN TO REPOPULATE EARTH). 5) GOD MAKES THE RAINBOW THE SIGN OF HIS COVENANT

NOAH AND HIS FAMILY WAITED FOR THE WORD OF GOD BEFORE THEY LEFT THE ARK. WE SEE AGAIN HIS MODEL OF RIGHTEOUSNESS: OBEYING GOD, WALKING WITH GOD, WITNESSING FOR GOD, AND WAITING FOR GOD S WORD AND TIMING BEFORE WE ACT. NOAH S RESPONSE TO DELIVERANCE FROM THE FLOOD NOAH S FIRST ACT IN LEAVING THE ARK WAS TO LEAD THE FAMILY IN WORSHIP (HE WAS THE NEW THEOCRATIC ADMINISTRATOR). IN GIVING A BURNT OFFERING TO THE LORD, HE WAS SYMBOLICALLY OFFERING HIMSELF AND HIS FAMILY TO THE LORD FOR DEDICATED SERVICE AND EXPRESSING GRATITUDE TO THE LORD. WE NEED TO TAKE CARE THAT WE DO NOT BEHAVE AS THOSE WHO PERISHED IN THE FLOOD. THEY HAD SO NEGLECTED THEIR SPIRITUAL LIFE, THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD, THAT THEY WERE GOING ABOUT THEIR NORMAL DAILY LIVES ALL THE WHILE NOAH BUILT THE ARK. THEY DISREGARDED HIS WITNESS ABOUT GOD AND WENT ON WITH WORLDLY CONCERNS UP UNTIL THE RAINS BEGAN TO FALL. THIS WORLD WILL NOT CONTINUE FOREVER. GOD HAS SET AN HOUR FOR CHRIST S RETURN. WE SHOULD NEVER BE SO WRAPPED UP IN WORLDLY MATTERS THAT WE NEGLECT OR FORGET OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD, WHICH SHOULD BE OUR FIRST PRIORITY. BURNT OFFERINGS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT MEANT THAT THE ENTIRE ANIMAL WAS BURNED FOR THE LORD, NO PORTIONS PRESERVED FOR THE PERSON OFFERING THE SACRIFICE (WE LL SEE THAT SOMETIMES THE LORD SHARED A MEAL BY ALLOWING THE INDIVIDUAL TO EAT A PORTION OF THE SACRIFICE AND THAT HE ALSO ALLOWED PRIESTS TO EAT PORTIONS FOR THEIR DAILY MEALS). IF GOD INHALED THE PLEASING AROMA OF THE SACRIFICE, IT MEANT THAT HE WAS PLEASED WITH THE OFFERING. IF HE REFUSED THE FRAGRANCE, HE WAS DISSATISFIED WITH THE OFFERING OR THE PERSON WHO GAVE IT.

MANKIND AND THE LIFEBLOOD ONE MAJOR CHANGE IN THE NATURAL ORDER AFTER THE FLOOD WAS THAT GOD INDICATED MEN ANIMALS WOULD HAVE THE FEAR OF MEN AND THAT ALL ANIMALS WHO MOVE WERE MEN S FOR FOOD. GENESIS 4 INDICATED THAT ABEL WAS A SHEPHERD WHO KEPT FLOCKS BECAUSE HE GAVE OFFERINGS FROM THE FLOCK TO GOD. IT S POSSIBLE THAT GOD IS NOW SAYING THAT HUNTING WILD ANIMALS IS PERMISSIBLE WHEREAS MEN HAD BEEN EATING OF FLOCKS OR HERDS BEFORE THIS TIME OR THAT THE FLOCKS KEPT BY ABEL WERE STRICTLY FOR OFFERINGS TO THE LORD OR THAT THE FLOOD HAD LEFT AN INSUFFICIENT AMOUNT OF VEGETATION FOR A TIME AND NOAH WOULD HAVE TO HUNT TO PROVIDE FOR HIS FAMILY. AGAIN, I M NOT GOING TO ADD TO GOD S WORD BY SPECULATION. AN IMPORTANT RESTRICTION ON EATING ANIMALS IS THAT MAN IS FORBIDDEN TO EAT THEIR BLOOD. BLOOD IS CONSIDERED LIFE; GOD ALONE GIVES LIFE AND HE ALONE HAS THE RIGHT TO TAKE LIFE. GOD HAS CARING FOR ANIMALS BECAUSE HE GAVE THEM LIFE, OTHERWISE SACRIFICING THEM AS ATONEMENT FOR SIN WOULD HAVE MEANT NOTHING TO HIM. THE LIFEBLOOD IS SO IMPORTANT THAT SPILLING ABEL S BLOOD EXACERBATED THE CURSE ON THE GROUND. GOD ADDS TO THIS A RESTRICTION AGAINST MURDERING ANOTHER HUMAN BEING. MANKIND IS MADE IN THE IMAGE OF GOD; MAN IS GOD S REPRESENTATIVE ON EARTH. TO ATTACK ANOTHER PERSON IS TO ATTACK THE IMAGE OF GOD AND, THEREFORE, TO ATTACK GOD PERSONALLY. TO TAKE AWAY THE LIFE OF ANOTHER PERSON IS TO SUBVERT A SOVEREIGN RIGHT THAT BELONGS TO GOD ALONE AND, THEREFORE, TO TAKE THE PLACE OF GOD. HUMAN GOVERNMENT WOULD BE ESTABLISHED IN PART TO PUNISH MURDERERS ACCORDING TO GOD S REQUIREMENTS (SEE ROMANS 13:1-7). GOD S LAW DOES DISTINGUISH BETWEEN MURDER AND MANSLAUGHTER, AS WE WILL READ IN THE LAW OF MOSES. THE FEAR OF PUNISHMENT WAS MEANT TO DISCOURAGE MEN FROM LAWBREAKING. HOWEVER, AS WE CONTINUE TO READ IN THE SCRIPTURE, THE IMPULSES OF SIN ARE EXTREMELY DIFFICULT FOR MEN TO OVERCOME UNLESS THEY TURN TO GOD.

GENESIS 9:18-23 NOAH AND HAM HAM NOAH NOAH IS STILL A HERO OF THE FAITH ACCORDING TO THE BOOK OF HEBREWS, BUT HIS INCIDENT OF DRUNKENNESS IN GENESIS 9 REMINDS US THAT EVEN THE FAITHFUL STILL BACKSLIDE TO SIN. DAVID WOULD COMMIT ADULTERY, SOLOMON WOULD WORSHIP FALSE GODS, MOSES WOULD DISOBEY A CRUCIAL ORDER FROM GOD, PETER WOULD DENY CHRIST, ETC. HAM S SIN WAS ENTERING HIS FATHER S TENT WITHOUT PERMISSION, LOOKING AT NOAH WHILE HIS FATHER WAS NAKED, AND THEN TELLING HIS BROTHERS ABOUT THEIR FATHER S NAKEDNESS. SHEM AND JAPHETH SHOWED LOVE AND RESPECT BY COVERING NOAH WITHOUT LOOKING AT HIM. SOME THEOLOGIANS HAVE DISTORTED THIS STORY BECAUSE LOOKING UPON A FATHER S NAKEDNESS IN HEBREW TRADITION IS SOMETIMES A EUPHEMISM FOR COMMITTING ADULTERY WITH A FATHER S WIFE. SOME EVEN SPECULATED THAT CANAAN WAS CURSED BECAUSE HAM SLEPT WITH NOAH S WIFE AND SHE WAS THE MOTHER OF CANAAN. THAT IS NOT WHAT THE SCRIPTURE SAID HAPPENED HERE. I CANNOT EMPHASIZE ENOUGH THAT YOU SHOULD ALWAYS EVALUATE SPECULATIONS AGAINST WHAT SCRIPTURE TELLS YOU. IT IS FAR MORE LIKELY THAT THIS STORY INSPIRED THAT HEBREW EUPHEMISM. DRINKING WINE IS NOT FORBIDDEN IN THE BIBLE, IN FACT WINE WAS CONSIDERED A BLESSING. IT WAS NOAH S DRUNKENNESS AND NAKEDNESS THAT WERE CONSIDERED DISGRACEFUL.

NOAHS BLESSINGS AND ONE CURSE BLESSING ON GOD OF SHEM CURSE ON CANAAN JAPHETH CANAAN WAS THE SON OF HAM. NOAH S ONLY RECORDED WORDS IN THE BIBLE WERE A CURSE ON CANAAN BECAUSE OF HAM S ACTIONS. NOAH PREDICTS THREE TIMES THAT CANAAN S DESCENDANTS WOULD BECOME THE LOWEST OF SERVANTS TO HIS BROTHERS DESCENDANTS. NOAH DID NOT BLESS SHEM, BUT RATHER BLESSED THE GOD OF SHEM. NOAH WAS PERHAPS GIFTED WITH THE FOREKNOWLEDGE FROM GOD OF WHAT THE LORD WOULD DO THROUGH SHEM S DESCENDANTS, WHO WOULD BECOME THE NATION OF ISRAEL. THE ISRAELITES WOULD RECORD THE SCRIPTURES (BEGINNING WITH MOSES WRITING THE PENTATEUCH). CHRIST THE REDEEMER WOULD DESCEND FROM SHEM. JAPHETH BECAME THE PATRIARCH OF THE GENTILE NATIONS. THEY WOULD SCATTER TO LANDS THAT BECAME ASIA MINOR AND EUROPE. WHEN NOAH SPEAKS OF JAPHETH S DESCENDANTS FINDING GOD IN THE TENTS OF SHEM, HE MEANS THAT THE ISRAELITE PEOPLE WOULD BE THE WITNESSES AND LIGHT OF GOD FOR THE GENTILE NATIONS, DRAWING THEM TO THE LORD. (SEE ISAIAH 42:6 AND 49:6 AND ROMANS 2:24) HIS DESCENDANTS INCLUDED THE NATIONS OF BABYLON, ASSYRIA, AND EGYPT. CANAANITES WOULD DESCEND INTO A PAGANISM AND WORSHIP OF FALSE GODS. THEY WOULD PERSECUTE ISRAEL (THE DESCENDANTS OF SHEM). THIS, HOWEVER, DOES NOT MEAN THAT ALL HIS DESCENDANTS SUCCUMBED TO PAGANISM OR STRAYED FROM THE LORD. AS WITH THE CAINITES, WE SHOULD NEVER MAKE UNIVERSAL PRESUMPTIONS ABOUT ANY PEOPLE GROUP. REVELATION TELLS US THAT GOD S FAMILY IN THE END DAYS WILL INCLUDE PEOPLE OF ALL TRIBES AND NATIONS OF THE WORLD. SINS OF THE FATHER DO NOT CONDEMN THE CHILD. NOAH RIGHTLY GAVE GLORY TO GOD, NOT SHEM, FOR ALL OF THIS. ALSO, WE MUST NOTE THAT GOD IS AGAIN ENACTING HIS REDEMPTIVE PLAN THROUGH THE SECOND- BORN SON RATHER THAN THE FIRSTBORN. GOD WOULD ELEVATE THE YOUNGER SIBLING TO THE STATUS OF FIRSTBORN WITH ABRAHAM, ISAAC, AND JACOB.

THE TABLE OF NATIONS (GENESIS 10) THREE SONS REPRESENTED SHEM THE NATIONS OF HAM AS WE NOTED, HIS DESCENDANTS WOULD INCLUDE THE PATRIARCHS ABRAHAM, ISAAC, AND JACOB. FROM HIS LINE WOULD COME KING DAVID AND THE OTHER MONARCHS OF ISRAEL. ULTIMATELY, HIS LINEAGE WOULD LEAD TO THE BIRTH OF JESUS THE MESSIAH. FUN FACTS: HAM S DESCENDANTS WOULD POPULATED THE LANDS OF CUSH (ANCIENT ETHIOPIA), MIZRAIM (EGYPT), PALESTINE, SUDAN, SAUDI ARABIA, AND YEMEN. THE ETHIOPIAN TREASURER OF ACTS 8:26 IS A DESCENDANT OF HAM. PAUL THE APOSTLE IS A DESCENDANT OF SHEM. HAM S GRANDSON, NIMROD, WOULD ESTABLISH CITIES IN SHINAR (BABYLONIA) AND ASSYRIA. HE WOULD ESTABLISH BABEL, SITE OF AN INFAMOUS REBELLION AGAINST GOD. HIS DESCENDANTS WOULD BECOME THE NATION OF ISRAEL, WHICH LATER DIVIDED INTO THE TWO KINGDOMS, ISRAEL AND JUDAH. THE LINE OF KING DAVID WOULD CONTINUE TO REIGN IN JUDAH UNTIL THE EXILE. DAVID S THRONE WILL BE RE- ESTABLISHED AT THE SECOND ADVENT OF JESUS. THE ROMAN CORNELIUS AND HIS FAMILY (ACTS 10) ARE DESCENDANTS OF JAPHETH.

THE PEOPLE DIRECTLY DISOBEYED GODS ORDER TO SCATTER AND FILL THE EARTH BECAUSE THEY SETTLED IN ONE PLACE. THEY ATTEMPTED TO BUILD A ZIGGURAT THAT WOULD REACH THE HEAVENS (BABEL = GATE OF THE GODS ). THEIR DESIRE WAS TO MAKE THEMSELVES FAMOUS, TO BE LIKE GOD. BABYLON WOULD COME TO SYMBOLIZE WORLDLY PRIDE, MORAL CORRUPTION, AND DEFIANCE OF GOD. THEY WOULD BE GOD S INSTRUMENTS TO DISCIPLINE ISRAEL. THE TOWER OF BABEL (GENESIS 11) WHY WAS THIS A REBELLION AGAINST GOD? GOD CONFOUNDED THEIR LANGUAGES AND SCATTERED THEM TO VARIOUS PLACES ACROSS THE EARTH SO THAT THEY COULD NO LONGER UNIFY AGAINST HIS PURPOSES. THEIR UNITY AGAINST GOD GAVE THEM A FALSE SENSE OF POWER, WHICH LEAD TO EVEN GREATER REBELLION. PROVERBS 16:8 AND MATTHEW 23:12 WARN US AGAINST PRIDE AND EXALTING OF ONESELF. STUDY JEREMIAH 50-51 AND REVELATION 17-19 TO SEE THE CONTRAST OF CORRUPT BABYLON AGAINST THE FUTURE CITY OF NEW JERUSALEM, WHICH SYMBOLIZES HOLINESS AND OBEDIENCE TO GOD.

UP NEXT: ABRAHAM PLEASE READ GENESIS 11 23. WE WILL BEGIN LOOKING AT THE LIFE OF ABRAHAM AND IT S SIGNIFICANCE IN GOD S REDEMPTIVE PLANS.

REFERENCES FOR THIS LESSON: BE BASIC: BELIEVING THE SIMPLE TRUTH OF GOD S WORD , WARREN W. WIERSBE; VICTOR BOOKS, 1998 EVERLASTING DOMINION , EUGENE H. MERILL; B&H ACADEMICS; 2006 THY KINGDOM COME , J. DWIGHT PENTECOST; KREGEL PUBLICATIONS; 1995 USEFUL INFORMATION, READ THEM!