OUR
FATHER'S
WORD
"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light
unto my path."
Psalm 119:105
________________________________________________________________________________
Genesis
A Message For The End Time
by
Jim Lisenby
________________________________________________________________________________
CHAPTER
7
The Flood
The story of Noah's ark and the flood may be the best known
tale in the entire book of Genesis, and perhaps even the Bible.
It has been the subject of countless Sunday school lessons, story
books, plays, cartoons and movies. It is so well known that
almost any child can tell you something about Noah and his ark. I
suppose that's good in a sense, but what if the story that they have
learned is not true? What
if most of what is taught about this catastrophic event is, in fact, a
glossing over of the true facts, or is an outright fabrication?
What if it is all a lot of errant misinformation, or perhaps even
deliberate disinformation?
It is important to understand about the so-called flood and what caused
it.
Some believe that it never happened at all and they are busy trying to
prove that, while others have spent a lot of time trying to gather
evidence that it did occur. Sadly, in the process some have
manufactured false evidence to prove their point whether pro or
con. There are many proponents for both sides of the issue, but
they can't all be right. Hopefully this lesson will shed
some
light on these things.
But before we get into it I want you to think
about Noah and his
situation, and that of his family. In a previous lesson we
learned that Enoch, a forebear of
Noah, was removed from the Adamic population to keep his lineage pure
and to avoid the corruption into which the Adamic people had
fallen. In like manner, it is also possible that
Noah did not live amidst the disobedient Adamic people for
the same reasons, but
regardless, they
had to see this huge vessel that he was building. Further, not
only could they see it, but they probably were also helping Noah to
build
the
large craft. It doesn't seem possible that only Noah and his
family could have accomplished such a task without the help of others.
He and his family must have suffered daily from the scornful derision
that came from his relatives and the people during
the time that the ark was abuilding. His brothers and sisters,
aunts and uncles, cousins and friends, were all likely arguing and
deriding him and his family. His wife's family likewise. It
all had to be very
unpleasant for them. This crazy Noah was
building an immense barge-like vessel in an area where there was not
enough water to launch it, and in addition, he was planning to stock it
with tons and tons of provisions for humans and large numbers of
livestock and other creatures as well. He was also likely
gathering seeds, grain, and perhaps even some cuttings of plants.
Can you imagine someone doing such a thing today? What a heyday
the media would have with that!
Through all the chiding and arguments Noah still had faith that God
meant what He
said. He would flood
the region where the corrupted Adamic people lived and He would
wipe
out every living thing including all the offspring of the fallen
angels. What great sadness Noah must have felt for his kinsmen
and those whom he thought of as his friends, but still he trusted God
and faithfully prepared for the inevitable.
Gen.
7:1 And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house
into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this
generation.
If you will remember, back in chapter 6 God had
given
Noah the measurements
for the ark and he faithfully built it. He gathered all the
things as God had instructed him and laded them on board.
Now it was time for Noah's immediate family and the other creatures
which
were gathered to get aboard. The last clause of this verse
indicates
that Noah was a
righteous man, and that means that he
obeyed God through faith, and he followed the rules of proper conduct.
There is something grave to consider in all this. Only Noah,
and
the seven other members of his family were spared, and they were the
only ones out of how many? Adam had been created approximately
1,656 years earlier and it is possible that the Adamic population of
the Tarim Basin, or wherever they were, could have numbered into the
millions. And that is not taking into consideration any other
people living alongside the Adamic people in the same area. Yes,
it is possible, however remotely, that there were millions of
other people also living in the same place where the Adamic people
were settled. We really don't know that, but nevertheless
the possibility still exists.
The point is, only seven* out of possibly millions were saved
alive in that area of the world. There was only one
righteous family out of all the other households. If that ratio
carried
over today like then, that would be unthinkable. God forbid.
(*Late note: Seven here is
incorrect, it should read eight souls.)
Gen. 7:2 Of
every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens,
the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the
male and his female.
Notice that there were to be seven pairs, male
and female, taken aboard the ark of
those animals which God called clean beasts, and only two pairs of those which
were not clean.
What is a clean
beast?
That term refers to those animals which were created and approved by
the Creator for the Adamic people to use for food. That is the
reason for seven breeding pairs instead of two, to ensure a fully
sustainable supply of food for Noah and his family.
Noah and his family did not eat unclean flesh and that means that they
knew the difference between the clean and the unclean. The
Biblical laws concerning clean and unclean animals were
not codified until Moses at Mt. Sinai but they were known
from the creation of Adam, as were all the other laws pertaining to
proper conduct. They were not written down, but they were passed
on orally from generation to generation, and I might
add that they are still in force and effect today.
The
rules concerning health and hygiene are eternal and immutable.
They do not go away for any reason, even silly religious ones.
So, if you can determine that you are of the Adamic people, then you
might want to consider the difference between clean and unclean animals.
Untold problems
exist amongst us today because we violate natural laws
through weakness, ignorance, or rebellion. Not good! Violations always
result in penalties, even if they are delayed for long periods of time
they eventually exact an inexorable toll. Never, ever, forget
that principle. It is inviolable.
Gen. 7:3
Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the
female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.
Seven mating pairs also for the birds.
It is unlikely that there were any unclean fowl taken aboard the
ark. There would have been no need for them when Noah and his
family resumed an agrarian lifestyle after the flood waters
abated. In other words, there may have been clean domestic fowl
aboard such as chickens, doves, pigeons or quail, but no unclean wild
birds such as vultures, crows, or ostriches for example. Unclean
domestic animals such as camels, horses, asses, or even pigs have a
useful manageable function on a farm, but unclean birds of the wild do
not.
There would have been no need to take unclean birds aboard the ark for
the purpose of saving them because they could simply fly away from the
flooded area at will. In fact, they more than likely did that
very thing right before the deluge began. Why? Because wild
animals and birds have a sixth sense about such things and they flee
before an impending disaster.
A good case in point was the huge tsunami that recently inundated
portions of Indonesia, Asia, and East Africa. It was reported
that although huge numbers of humans were killed, few dead animals were
found on Sumatra after the surge indicating that they fled inland
before the giant wave hit. Somehow they knew it was coming and
ran from it before it struck.
Gen. 7:4 For
yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the
earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I
have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth.
The last clause of this verse indicates the
totality of the perversion and corruption of the area where the fallen
angels had done their evil works. Nothing was worth saving that
they had touched, and sadly, they had interfered with nature on a
grand scale.
Gen. 7:5 And
Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded
him.
We have already covered this above, but I'll
mention it
again. Can you imagine the scorn and ridicule that Noah
received? There
was no water there in which to float such a huge craft. He must
have looked like a pathetic imbecile to them. Yet, he did all
that God
commanded him to do. Friends, that is perfect faith and
righteousness. Good for him!
And, nothing has changed from that day until
now. Yes, even today
in our modern enlightened age, those who repent and begin to obey God
will suffer in similar fashion. It has always been thus
throughout this evil earth age and will
be until Messiah appears again. So, if you are receiving negative
feedback from your family and friends because you want to faithfully
obey God, be steadfast like Noah and endure until the
end.
Gen. 7:6 And
Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon
the earth.
Here we have a time marker to work with in
determing the date of the flood. It fixes the time of the deluge
at about 1,656 years after the creation of Adam, or
approximately 2344 BCE.
Gen. 7:7 And
Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives
with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.
Gen. 7:8
Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and
of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,
The word creepeth
here should be thought of as those animals which walk about on the
ground, especially those which walk on four legs, and those which herd
together.
Gen. 7:9
There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the
female, as God had commanded Noah.
Notice the last clause as God had commanded
Noah.
That means seven mating pairs of the clean animals and two mating pairs
of the unclean animals as God had specified in verses 2 and 3
above.
Gen. 7:10
And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood
were upon the earth.
Gen.
7:11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second
month, the
seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of
the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
It is important to consider the words: were all the fountains
of the great deep broken up. This may be the only
time in the entire history of mankind that this
has occurred and has been
recorded. The windows of heaven
in the last clause are also mentioned in a similar fashion in Isa.
24:18 (which see) concerning the end of this present evil age.
Gen. 7:12
And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
Regardless of whether you believe that the flood
was a local event or a worldwide inundation, rain by itself would not
have done the job in 40 days, or even 40 years. Some of the hills
and mountains were said to be covered in verses 19 and 20 below, and
that would have required many thousands of feet of water depth. A
staggering amount of water had to be provided which would immerse
everything quickly, hence the statement in verse 11 that the fountains of the
deep were broken up.
What the exact meaning of that statement infers is almost impossible to
comprehend because nothing like it had ever been recorded before in the
history of man, or since that time to now. We can only guess at
what it means
that the earth literally opened in one or more places and the water
underground rushed out upon the surface of the ground quickly
inundating everything in its path.
The water that we humans are familiar with comes from either runoff
surface water, or from shallow aquifers, but there are deep aquifers
holding huge amounts of water that we can't tap, at least not
economically. It was from those deep aquifers that the water came
to cause this event. That means seismic activity of
sufficient magnitude to open the earth in such a way that the deep
water would rush rapidly to the surface.
In addition, the rains may not have been rain at
all in the way that we understand rainfall. It
is possible that when the fountains of the
great deep were broken up
the water came out at tremendous pressure spraying very high into
the air and falling back to earth like rain. It is also possible
that some of the water came from the ground initially in the form of
steam which condensed quickly in the cold upper air and fell back to
the earth as rain. The ark was constructed in such a way that it
would shed the falling water and would bob like a cork in the rising
floodwaters.
Gen. 7:13 In
the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth,
the sons of Noah, and Noah’s wife, and the three wives of his sons with
them, into the ark;
The Bible is written from a male perspective, but
it is still a curiosity to me that so few of the women are
named. So far up to this point in Genesis, Eve and Naamah are the
only females
mentioned by name.
(Late correction entered on
12/29/2005: The last sentence above is not correct. Adah
and Zillah, the wives of Lamech, a descendant of Cain are also
mentioned by name in chapter 4. Sorry.)
Gen. 7:14
They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their
kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his
kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort.
Gen.
7:15 And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all
flesh,
wherein is the breath of life.
Gen.
7:16 And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh,
as God
had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in.
Now, for those of you who still persist in
believing that the flood was a worldwide event, these verses give
you some "wiggle room" to explain how the various races survived the
flood. Enough said.
Gen. 7:17
And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters
increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth.
The first clause doesn't mean that the flood
waters were on the earth only forty days, but that the flooding water
continued to come and inundate for forty days. The flood waters
stayed upon the earth for much longer before finally draining off to
normal levels.
Gen. 7:18
And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth;
and the ark went upon the face of the waters.
Gen.
7:19 And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all
the
high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered.
Consider here the great depth of the
waters. Thousands of feet.
Gen. 7:20
Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were
covered.
The way this verse is written provides fodder for
Bible skeptics. Obviously fifteen cubits, 22 to 30 feet depending
on which cubit is used, is not enough to cover
mountains and the biblical antagonist will be quick to point that
out. But there is a plausible explanation. Notice in verse
19 above that the
high hills
were covered, to a depth of 15 cubits. Any man, including giants,
and all physically exhausted animals would have finally perished in 15
cubits of water, save marine life of course. The
word mountains
in verse 20 should more correctly be construed as mountainsides.
The water went up the sides of the mountains for a considerable height.
As you probably already know, some scholars think that the flood
occurred in the Tarim Basin in central Asia. I accept and believe
that, not to a certainty, but that it is the most likely
location. In that part of the world are found some of the highest
mountains (i.e., the Himalayas). Indeed, the tallest
mountain in the world, Mount Everest, is nearby, as is the second
highest, K2. They are literally miles high, and
basically uninhabitable at the higher levels (above the tree line, or
about 8,000 feet or so) because of the bitter cold and the violent
storms that sometimes occur. But, there are foothills and smaller
mountains that are inhabitable. These verses show that the basin
floor and the inhabitable foothills were covered by the flooding surge
as were the precipitous mountainsides. I hope that idea is
understandable to you. Work with it.
Gen. 7:21
And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of
cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon
the earth, and every man:
Gen. 7:22 All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all
that was in the
dry land, died.
Everything died except the marine life, which of
course is quite at home in the water.
Gen. 7:23
And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of
the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl
of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only
remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.
This verse brings us back to focus on the cause
for the flood in the first place. The ecosystem in the place
where the Adamic people lived was corrupted beyond repair. It all
began initially through the perverted practices of the fallen angels,
but the Adamites contributed greatly to the problem by receiving and
adopting their ways. They even allowed their women to crossbreed
with those rebels producing offspring which were giant blivits.
The Adamic people continued over the centuries to marry and mix with
the hybrid children until the whole group was bastardized beyond hope
of recovery.
Everything in the affected area (the Tarim Basin???) was corrupted and
perverted over time through the evil practices of the vile
hybrids. The identifiable Adamites who were left were enslaved by
the powerful giants and forced into involuntary servitude providing
goods and services for the mighty ones. When enough food could
not be produced through normal methods, the giants resorted to abnormal
practices including cannibalism. What a horrible situation!
The once proud and pure Adamic race which was created specifically to
bring forth the Messiah was corrupt beyond redemption, indeed the whole
natural creation in that area was ruined and worthless. It all
had to be destroyed and wiped out so it could be revitalized.
Noah and his family were the only ones out of that entire group of
people who were not corrupted, possibly through being isolated from the
rest of the Adamites. That isolation could have begun with the
removal of their ancestor Enoch from the midst of the Adamic people
before they were totally and utterly corrupted. Noah and the
seven other members of his family became the new beginnings of the
Adamic race who were still yet destined to bring forth the Messiah.
Gen. 7:24
And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.
Nothing but a fish can swim for 150 days.
God bless with
understanding
of His word.
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