Bible Study Made Simple. Wesley PhD Pierce
instead, starting with the first generations of people living more than 900 years, then gradually winding down through time as they became more and more corrupted in God’s eyes)
Gen 6:1-3
1)When men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them,
2)the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose.
3)Then the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years.”
(God warns us about being unequally yoked...see 2Cor 6:14-15. The “sons of God” most likely refers to Believers in God descended from Seth, Adam and Eve’s godly son born after Abel was murdered, while the “daughters of men” are most likely the non-believers descended from ungodly Cain, who killed Abel...see Gen 4:25-26)
Gen 6:5-9
5)The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.
6)The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain.
7)So the LORD said, “I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them.”
8)But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.
9)This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God.
Gen 6:11-14
11)Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence.
12)God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways.
13)So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.
14)So make for yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out.”
Gen 6:22
22)Noah did everything just as God commanded him.
Gen 7:1
1)The LORD then said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation.
Gen 7:11-12
11)In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month—on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.
12)And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.
(water not only came down from the skies, but from below-ground springs as well)
Gen 7:21-23
21)Every living thing that moved on the earth perished— birds, livestock, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all mankind.
22)Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died.
23)Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; men and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds of the air were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark.
(this total corruption of the human race took approximately 1600 years from the time of Adam’s creation to Noah’s flood. The re-start after the flood would last only about 400 more years before Mankind once again became fully corrupted and spiritually dead.
This caused God to make a third attempt, following Adam and Noah, at gaining people’s allegiance by calling Abraham and the Israelites to become God’s “chosen people”...see Exo 19:5-6. That in turn would go back and forth from blessings to failure dozens of times over the next 2000 years during the Old Testament age, depending often on whether the nation’s reigning king was godly or corrupt, with the citizens usually following his example.
God finally lost patience with the Israelites as well, because in the end their religious leaders—priests, pharisees, sanhedrin—became as ungodly as the bad kings had been, and were especially scolded by Jesus Christ himself, which gave them one of many reasons to crucify him. After Christ’s resurrection from the dead, the nation was forsaken by God when he allowed the Romans to conquer the land and destroy the temple in 70 A.D.
Mankind then entered what will likely be the final phase of God’s attempts to redeem the human race unto himself, sending forth the message of reconciliation through Christ to the rest of the world, starting with the original 12 Apostles and Paul, on down through other messengers as more countries became populated.
Now another 2000+ years have passed since the Lord came to this earth. One has to wonder how much longer God will continue waiting with this last dispensation of his grace known as the “times of the Gentiles”...see Eph 3:6.
The message of salvation in Christ has gone, or is now going, to every nation on earth. One day all bases will be covered; then it is probable God will no longer have a reason to keep on waiting, especially in view of the ever-increasing ungodliness displayed by people everywhere.
But how long before God puts an end to it, as in the days of Noah? Before his last bit of patience finally runs out? Nobody knows...see Mat 24:36. However, we can simply observe what is taking place with the current human race all over the world, as compared to what the Scriptures state our behavior should be like, then use common sense to judge whether it is more likely to be sooner— years/ decades, or later—centuries)
2Pet 3:9
9)The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
(a message to all people for our own well-being—get serious, sober up, be prepared. The final destruction of planet earth will be by blazing fire, not cool water as in Noah’s Time; see 2Pet 3:3-12. We can be sure it will not be pleasant for those who miss the call to be with God in the future, eternally)
*Note: italics added to relate to topic title; researcher comments in parentheses to clarify
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.