Angelic Conflict part 108: Human history – Gen 6:1-8; 9:1-17; 1Jo 2:1-6; Joh 1:1-13; .



Class Outline:

Title:

Angelic Conflict part 108: Human history - GEN 6:1-8; 9:1-17; 1JO 2:1-6; JOH 1:1-13; .

GEN 6:1 Now it came about, when men [mankind] began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them,

 

So the emphasis in verse one is on the daughters that were multiplying on the earth.

 

GEN 6:2 that the sons of God [bney ha-Elohim = angels] saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took [laqach] wives for themselves, whomever they chose.

 

GEN 6:3 Then the Lord said, "My Spirit [plurality; My - God; Spirit - HS] shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years."

 

GEN 6:4 The Nephilim [fallen ones] were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.

 

GEN 6:5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent [yatzar - the form of man] of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

 

GEN 6:6 And the Lord was sorry [repented] that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.

 

So God responds one way when man obeys and another way when man disobeys. Initially, Saul was obedient; and he was made king. He then became disobedient, so God removed the kingship from him. It appears from a human perspective that God changed His mind.

 

The blessing or cursing or discipline of God is directly proportional to the believer’s willingness to obey God’s commands and statutes. I said willingness and not perfection. Noah obeyed while the rest of the human race did not and so he is the father (second Adam) of the human race.

 

We are here now and commanded to overcome evil with good. Not to just overcome evil, but also to do good; divine good. One might ask, how can I do such a thing? Look at the world at this time. It is a mess, evil continually, every thought, so how in the world of this can man change? God found a way, through Christ, through the word, through the Spirit, to make man not only not evil, but good.

 

Change is wrought in man through regeneration and in obedience to the word and the influence of the Holy Spirit.

 

This is why God is comforted with the flood and the perpetuation of the human race through Noah. His repentance is due to the rest of the human race at this time who rejected His salvation offer and chose to change themselves from true humanity.

 

Throughout history the curse of the fall has made itself more and more apparent. The form of man is corrupted and in his flesh he desires evil. Therefore, every man is in conflict with himself, with the world, and with the kingdom of darkness. The situation looks dire if not for Christ, the word, and His Spirit.

 

In the midst of this conflict, when your very nature desires one thing, evil, and you actually live in good, chalk that up to the supernatural work of God the Holy Spirit and the word of God, which you must love. God the HS loves the word and so must the believer. When you both do, there is fellowship of the word in the believer and nothing, no nothing, can prevent him from being, thinking, speaking, and doing divine good.

 

The HS when free to work in the child of God, He will do all that He desires, overcoming evil and doing divine good.

 

The answer to the problem of good and evil is found in the truth that the HS who indwells, when reckoned and trusted by the believer, will accomplish both ends of spirituality.

 

The Holy Spirit is given and it wars with the flesh.

 

Therefore, no burden is placed on the Christian to order and arrange the Spirit’s undertakings, rather the Christian is commanded to have a right relationship with the Spirit, and let Him do His work against evil and for good.

 

This is an important subject, for although God destroyed the evil at this time, it is allowed to exist in the world throughout history, and through the covenant with Noah, God will never again destroy the world because of it, at least with water, and His destruction will only come at the end of time.

 

There is a hidden Hebrew treasure here.

 

 “Noah” - <j^n*[nacham] = to comfort. The same word for repent is the same word for comfort. The change of mind brings comfort. Noah will perpetuate; all others judged.

 

And comfort comes through Noah in that the human race will move on and the continuous evil of the world and the Nephilim and all who were contaminated by any amount of angelic seed will be judged and eradicated from the earth.

 

Also, “and He was grieved in His heart.” It seems odd that God would grieve. He saw it coming.

 

Christ knew about the destruction of Jerusalem through the prophets and yet when He approached her on the colt His last week, He wept over her.

 

Grieving is not a sin. But we could argue that Christ was a man and so He had human emotions, and that is true. But we also know that man was created in God’s image in that man was given a personality: intellect, sensibility, and will.

 

It’s the sensibility that possesses the emotions. Our emotions are not always correct or justified. They don’t always respond and sometimes they rule. But God’s emotions are always perfect in essence and timing. It’s the same situation as when we became knowledgeable of good and evil from innocence. Could we resist and judge evil and distinguish good perfectly as God can? No.

 

So God’s grieving over His creatures actions is legit, but it is never imperfect as a human’s.

 

GEN 6:7 And the Lord said, "I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them."

 

GEN 6:8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

 

The Noahic Covenant, GEN 9:1-17.

 

Noah is going to become a second Adam, for all the human race is descended from him, and certain facets of the covenant made with Noah resembles the one made with Adam.

 

The conditions on the earth before the flood are corruption and evil.

 

GEN 6:9 These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God.

 

Blameless is the Hebrew word tamim and it means without blemish or free from defect and it refers to both his righteousness as a believer, his walking with God (fellowship), and that he is uncontaminated by intermarriage.

 

The earth had become so corrupted and evil that there seems to be only one man who walks with God or obeys God.

 

GEN 6:10 And Noah became the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

 

GEN 6:11 Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence.

 

GEN 6:12 And God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth.

 

GEN 6:13 Then God said to Noah, "The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth.

 

God commands the building of the ark and Noah obeys.

 

The Ark is a type of Christ.
 

1. Constructed of wood - the humanity of Christ.

2. Secured with “pitch” - kaphar = covering, i.e. atonement and the protection against judgment.

 

The Hebrew word for tar or asphalt is not used. Kaphar is the word for covering and is the same word that is used for the covering of blood over the mercy seat. Therefore, it speaks of atonement.

 

Water was the tool of judgment and the pitch kept this wooden box sea worthy and inside was dry. Those inside were delivered while those outside had perished.

 

3. One set of plans from God - the word of God is the only source of balance, security, and stability.

 

The ark was large enough to house 130,000 sheep, but had an actual number of animals around 70,000 meaning it was at about 60% capacity. This reveals the unlimited atonement in that there is room for everyone, only those who chose not to enter the ark, or believe in Christ for salvation, did so at their own choice and their own peril. This cannot be used to imply that 60% of the human race will be saved.

 

440 feet long, 73 feet wide, and 44 feet high. It was made to float only and was extremely stable. It could be tilted up to 90 degrees and still right itself.

 

It wasn’t made to sail. The whole earth was covered with water so where would it sail to? It was made to float and was at the mercy of the wind. As the wind often represents God the Holy Spirit we see the corollary to the believer who is led by God the HS and does not chart his own course. God has not given us a steering mechanism. He asks us to obey.

 

JOH 14:15

If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

 

Excuses are self made reasons not to do something. Obeying is in view when the word is loved.

 

1JO 2:1 My little children, I am writing these things to you that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;

 

1JO 2:2 and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.

 

1JO 2:3 And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.

 

1JO 2:4 The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;

 

1JO 2:5 but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him:

 

1JO 2:6 the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.

 

4. There was only one door - there is only one way to salvation; faith in Jesus Christ.

 

5. There was only one window - there is only one Light, Jesus Christ as the living word and the written word.

 

JOH 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

 

JOH 1:2 He was in the beginning with God.

 

JOH 1:3 All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

 

JOH 1:4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

 

JOH 1:5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

 

JOH 1:6 There came a man, sent from God, whose name was John.

 

JOH 1:7 He came for a witness, that he might bear witness of the light, that all might believe through him.

 

JOH 1:8 He was not the light, but came that he might bear witness of the light.

 

JOH 1:9 There was the true light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.

 

JOH 1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.

 

JOH 1:11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.

 

JOH 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,

 

JOH 1:13 who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

 

6. There were three floors - likely for positional, experiential, and ultimate sanctification.

 

If you were at the bottom of the ship and went up level by level eventually you would get to the window, the source of light, analogous to approaching heaven.

 

Those who walked through the one door were saved from judgment within the wooden ship revealing positional truth. The ark is a type of Christ.

 

There are a few things that I want to address as we document the Noahic Covenant. The general layout is chiastic.

 

A. God resolves to destroy the earth.

    B. Noah builds the ark.

      C. God commands Noah and family to enter ark.

        D. The flood begins.

          E. The flood covers the mountains 150 days.

 

F. God remembers (delivers) Noah, GEN 8:1a.

 

          E. Flood recedes 150 days, mountains revealed.

         D. The earth dries up.

        C. God commands Noah and family to exit ark.

       B. Noah builds an altar.

     A. God resolves not to destroy humanity.

 

There had never been a flood before and likely there hadn’t been rain before as the earth was still watered from below. But Noah was a believer and walked with God and so he obeyed God.

 

This flood is unique since only one Hebrew word is used exclusively for it and not for any other flood. The same is true in Greek. The word katakusmos is used for Noah’s flood only.

 

Therefore this is not a typical flood. It wasn’t just local, but it encompassed the entire surface of the earth to a depth that covered the highest mountains. The language is clear that everything on the earth was to die and not just the local area.

 

Plus, God promised He would never do it again, and so if it was just a local flood then He would have broken His promise.