Transcript Slide 1

GENESIS
• PART FOUR
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BOOK OF BEGINNINGS
GOD AS CREATOR
MAN MADE IN GOD’S IMAGE
(“I AM”, OMNISCIENT, CREATOR, WORK,
COMMUNICATION, LOVE, SOVEREIGN,
HOLINESS, FAMILY)
GENESIS
PART FOUR
BOOK OF BEGINNINGS
GOD AS CREATOR
MAN MADE IN GOD’S IMAGE
(“I AM”, OMNISCIENT, CREATOR, WORK,
COMMUNICATION, LOVE, SOVEREIGN,
HOLINESS, FAMILY)
EDEN
 TWO TREES
 SERPENT – SATAN
 TEMPTATION
 THE FALL
 CONSEQUENCES OF THE FALL
GOD’S RESPONSE
PROVIDES A COVERING (CLOTHING)
PROMISE OF A REDEEMER –
ONE OF EVE’S DESCENDANTS
OTHER CULTURES
GREEK:
Apollo, Hercules, Achilles
EGYPT:
Horus
INDIA:
Krishna
MEXICO:
Teotl
SCANDINAVIA: Thor, Yggasdral (Tree of Life)
CAIN AND ABEL
Biblical Principle: “First the natural, then the
spiritual” (1 Cor 15:46).
OFFERINGS ACCEPTABLE TO GOD
CAIN KILLED ABEL, HIS BROTHER
CAIN’S PUNISHMENT
CAIN’S DESCENDANTS
CAIN AND ABEL
ABEL AS A TYPE OF CHRIST
• Abel was a shepherd who presented his offering to God.
• Abel’s offering was a firstborn animal, and accepted by
God.
• He was hated by his brother through no fault of his own.
• He did not die a natural death, but met with violent death
at the hand of his brother.
• After his death, his blood cried out to God.
SETH
Abel’s death hammered home to Adam and Eve
the full implication of their own sin. The one they
thought would be the Messiah, the Redeemer
who would clean up their mess, was not to be.
When Eve gave birth (at age 130 – Genesis 5:3)
to another son, she named him Seth [substitute]
for she thought that this might be the Messiah.
ADAM’S GENEALOGY
• ADAM (Hebrew: ruddy, red, rosy – from the
soil from which he was made).
• ADAM – a man in God’s image – was a good
copy of his maker/father.
• His son was born in his image – tarnished
copies of a damaged father.
• Adam’s descendants were imperfect, mortal,
sinful and corrupt.
ADAM
130 WHEN SETH WAS BORN
920 WHEN HE DIED
Fourth oldest man ever to live.
SETH
Hebrew: “Substitute”
Eve possibly believing Seth to be the
promised Messiah.
(Hebrew “Messiah” = Greek “Christ”)
SETH
105 YEARS OLD WHEN ENOS WAS BORN
912 WHEN HE DIED (112 years after Adam)
ENOS
Hebrew: “Mortal” or “Frail”
During his lifetime mankind began to call on
God – probably out of desperation for the
growing wickedness.
ENOS
90 WHEN CAINAN WAS BORN
905 WHEN HE DIED (210 years after Adam)
CAINAN
Hebrew: “Acquisition” or “Possessing”
70 WHEN MAHALALEEL WAS BORN
910 WHEN HE DIED (305 years after Adam)
MAHALALEEL
Hebrew: “Who is like God” or “The praise of God”
65 WHEN JARED WAS BORN
895 WHEN HE DIED (360 years after Adam)
JARED
Hebrew: “Will descend”
162 WHEN ENOCH WAS BORN
962 WHEN HE DIED (492 years after Adam)
Second oldest man ever to live.
ENOCH
Hebrew: “Teaching”
• One of two people who the Bible records as
having “walked with God” – other is Noah.
• One of two people who went to heaven
without dying – other is Elijah.
ENOCH
The only man of whom it is recorded that he pleased
God (Hebrews 11:5).
One of a small group of antediluvians who
denounced the wickedness of the evil people around
him (Jude 14, 15).
What caused him to be so different?
ENOCH
65 WHEN METHUSELAH WAS BORN
After this, he walked with God for 300 years.
365 WHEN TAKEN BY GOD INTO HEAVEN
(57 years after Adam’s death)
Enoch symbolises those of the church who are still
living when Jesus returns in judgement on the
earth – they will be taken up [alive] to heaven
(1 Thessalonians 4:16,17).
METHUSELAH
Hebrew: “When he dies, it will happen” or,
“He shall bring it by his death”
No doubt Enoch was warned by God that He
would destroy the world – and He would do it
when Enoch’s little baby died!
METHUSELAH
187 WHEN LAMECH WAS BORN
It seems he had serious doubts about the merits
of having children.
243 WHEN ADAM DIED!
Adam’s story could have been told to
Methuselah, who passed it on to Noah.
METHUSELAH
969 WHEN HE DIED (the oldest man ever to live)
A testimony of God’s grace, allowing man ample
time to repent.
He died in the year 1656 (after Adam).
LAMECH
Hebrew: “Destruction”
182 WHEN NOAH WAS BORN
Also a very long time before a child appears.
777 WHEN HE DIED, IN THE YEAR 1651, five
years before his son Methuselah. He is the only
antediluvian to die before his son.
NOAH
Hebrew: “Rest” or “Comfort”
Born in 1056 AA, 126 after Adam’s death and
when Methuselah was 369.
500 years old when Japheth is born.
Later Shem, and finally Ham, are also born.
NOAH
600 YEARS OLD WHEN THE FLOOD CAME,
IN THE YEAR 1656.
METHUSELAH DIED IN 1656.
It is possible that the flood started the day
Methuselah died.
ANTEDILUVIAN AGES
Some critics believe that these 900+ ages are not true
years, as we know them, and believe that every 9 or
10 of their years equals only 1 of ours.
This would mean that children were born to men who
were less than 10 years old!
Enos – about 9
Cainan – about 7
Enoch – about 6 or 7
ANTEDILUVIAN AGES
Name
As Recorded
Equivalent to 100
Age at death
Age when 1st son born
Age at death
Age when 1st son born
Adam
930
130
103
14
Seth
912
105
102
12
Enos
905
90
101
10
Cainan
910
70
101
8
Mahalaleel
895
65
99
7
Jared
962
162
107
18
Enoch
-
65
-
7
Methuselah
969
187
108
21
Lamech
777
182
86
20
AVERAGE
908
123
100
14
AGES OF THE PATRIARCHS
Year born
Year died
Adam
0
930
Age when
child born
130
Seth
130
1042
Enos
235
Cainan
Age when died
Scripture(s)
930
Gen 5:3, 5
105
912
Gen 5:6, 8
1140
90
905
Gen 5:9, 11
325
1235
70
910
Gen 5:12, 14
Mahalaleel
395
1290
65
895
Gen 5:15, 17
Jared
460
1422
162
962
Gen 5:18, 20
Enoch
622
987
65
365
Gen 5:21, 23
Methuselah
687
1656
187
969
Gen 5:25, 27
Lamech
874
1651
182
777
Gen 5:28, 31
Noah
1056
2006
502
950
Gen 5:32, 9:29, 11:10
Shem
1558
2158
100
600
Gen 11:10, 11
Arphaxad
1658
2096
35
438
Gen 11:12, 13
Salah
1693
2126
30
433
Gen 11:14, 15
Eber
1723
2196
43
473
Gen 11:16, 17
Peleg
1766
2005
30
239
Gen 11:18, 19
Reu
1796
2035
32
239
Gen 11:20, 21
Serug
1828
2058
30
230
Gen 11:22, 23
Nahor
1858
2006
29
148
Gen 11:24, 25
Terah
1887
2092
205
Gen 11:26, 32, 12:4, Acts 7:4
Abraham
2017
2192
130
100
175
Gen 21:5, 25:7
Isaac
2117
2297
60
180
Gen 25:26, 35:28
Jacob
2177
2324
91
147
Gen 41:29, 30, 46, 45:6, 47:28
Joseph
2268
2378
33.5
110
Gen 41:50, 48:5, 50:26
AGES OF THE PATRIARCHS
CHRIST IN ADAM’S GENEALOGY
1 Chronicles 1:1-4, when read as a sentence
translated into English:
“A man in God’s image, a substitute, mortal,
an acquisition, none other than God, will
descend, teaching, and will bring by his death,
destruction, and rest to the weary.”
ANTEDILUVIANS CIVILISATION
CLIMATE
• Very different from today.
• A covering of water above was separated from the
water below (oceans) by a division of the
atmosphere.
• The water above may have been in vapour form
(clouds) or in solid form (ice crystals).
• Possible that the sun and moon had never been
seen – their first mention is in Genesis 15.
(Genesis 1 mentions two “great lights”.)
ANTEDILUVIAN CIVILISATION
CLIMATE
• This water covering above the atmosphere would
have created a tropical earth all over the earth – a
permanent greenhouse effect where plants grew
very quickly.
• Some animals have been found at the North Pole,
frozen by a sudden catastrophe while eating, with
food in their mouths and stomach that is tropical in
origin.
ANTEDILUVIAN CIVILISATION
CLIMATE
Experiments done in a simulated environment
produced the following results:
• Some reptiles lived up to 13 times longer.
• Wounds and cuts healed faster.
• Animals grew to a much larger size at maturity.
ANTEDILUVIAN CIVILISATION
THE PEOPLE
With such a climate comes increased longevity, with
the following consequences;
• Overpopulation: lifespan of 900+ years
estimate of population in 1656 years is 4 billion
• Knowledge: long time (over 900 years) to learn;
one language and culture; produces extremely
intelligent, civilised society
ANTEDILUVIAN CIVILISATION
LEGENDS
Many legends from ancient past deal with mighty
heroes who were “immortal”, eg. Atlantis.
These could have been distortions of the real people
carried through the flood by the survivors (Noah’s
family).
ANTEDILUVIAN CIVILISATION
SONS OF GOD
There are 2 schools of thought:
• Righteous descendants of Seth.
• Fallen Angels (cf Job 1:6, 2:1).
Offspring were giants.
Fallen angels’ sin is linked to Sodom and
Gomorrah (Jude 6, 7) and to Noah’s flood
(1 Peter 2:4-7).
This is part of Satan’s plan to stop the Messiah.
NOAH
 Noah “found grace” in God’s eyes
(Genesis 6:8).
 This comes shortly after we are told that
the entire earth is corrupt (Genesis 6:5)
– so much so that God chooses to
destroy every living creature.
NOAH
Noah was “perfect”.
Hebrew “tamim” means “without
blemish” or “uncontaminated”.
NOAH
• Noah walked with God!
• No doubt he knew about the prophecy of Enoch, his
great grandfather, and the reason for Methuselah’s
name, and also his own name (“will bring rest and
comfort”).
• Then God spoke to Noah and faith was his response
(Hebrews 11:7).
NOAH
• Noah trusted God in the most difficult times.
• When he was 500 he started a family.
• Japheth, then Ham, then Shem.
• Shem is often mentioned first because it is through
his line that the Messiah is traced.
NOAH
How long did it take Noah to build the ark?
Some believe 100 years. He was 500 when
his three sons are mentioned (Genesis 5:32),
And then God told him to build an ark
(Genesis 6:10-14).
He was 600 years old when the flood came
(Genesis 7:6).
NOAH
How long did it take Noah to build the ark?
Some believe 120 years. God says He will
give man a further 120 years to repent
(Genesis 6:3).
100 or 120? It was a long time and a huge
undertaking!
THE ARK
Dimensions of the ark (Genesis 6:14-16):
300 cubits (135m) long
50 cubits (22,5m) wide
30 cubits (13,5m) high
Three decks: floor area about 10 000m2.
Fully loaded – displaced about 14 000 tons of water.
Window: 50cm x 50cm in the roof.
Door: built in the side.
THE ARK
Made of “gopher” wood – a wood of uncertain meaning.
Contained many “cages” or “rooms”.
Had to be sealed inside and outside with a
waterproofing pitch.
Hebrew for “sealed” (Genesis 6:15) is “kapher”, which
means “cover” and which in every other place in the OT
is translated “make atonement”.
THE ARK
HOUSING THE ANIMALS
• Birds, “cattle” and creeping things which breathed air
(Genesis 6:20) were to enter the ark.
• Two of the unclean (male and female), and
• Seven (or seven pairs) of the clean (Genesis 7:2)
• Seven (or seven pairs) of the birds (Genesis 7:3).
• The reason for 7 of the clean was that these were
used for sacrifice and would, after the flood, be used
as food.
THE ARK
FOOD
Noah was instructed to take enough food into
the ark (Genesis 7:21) – for his family and the
animals. This implies he knew approximately
how long they would be in the ark.
Genesis 8:1: “God ‘remembered’ Noah and the
animals” implies “cared for”, which may have
involved a type of hibernation for many of the
animals.
THE ARK
THE ANIMALS
• Noah did not have to hunt down the animals.
When the ark was finished, God sent them all
to him (Genesis 6:20, 7:8-9).
• It is possible that at that stage there was just
one continent, and that our present continents
formed during or shortly after the flood.
THE ARK
CARRYING CAPACITY
• Approximately 522 railway stock cars.
• US taxonomist Ernst Mayr lists 17 600 species
(i.e. about 35 000 animals) of reptiles, birds, insects
and mammals required to be saved.
• Average size, so Mayr claims, is about that of a sheep.
• These could be accommodated in 146 railway trucks,
leaving ample space for food, exercise, living room,
etc.
WHY AN ARK?
• Why did God go to such elaborate means to
destroy mankind?
• Why not use a simpler ‘quick fix’ method?
WHY AN ARK?
1.Taking a long time gave mankind more time
to repent.
By the time the flood came there must have
been very few people on the planet who had
not heard of “Noah’s folly”.
WHY AN ARK?
2. The watery covering which protected the
earth and gave it the atmosphere described
earlier, disappeared with the flood. As a
result of this, mankind’s average lifespan
was shortened considerably.
WHY AN ARK?
3. Romans 15:4 states that things which
occurred in the past (such as the flood),
were recorded in order for us to draw hope
from them.
The ark was a picture-image of the Messiah’s
redemptive work. Christ is pictured as the
ark, saving those who believe from the
judgement of God on sinful men.
WHY AN ARK?
4. God was teaching us about faith and
obedience, using Noah as an example.
WHY AN ARK?
5. Noah’s era is referred to by Jesus, saying
that just before Christ returns again,
conditions on earth will be similar to those
that existed in Noah’s time (Matthew 24:37).
THE FLOOD
DURATION
• Began in Noah’s 600th year, 2nd month,
17th day (Genesis 7:11).
• Noah left the ark in his 601st year, 2nd month,
27th day (Genesis 8:13, 14).
• Total time: 1 year and 10 days (375 days).
THE FLOOD
DURATION
40 Days: Rain, heavens opened (canopy
of water above collapses), fountains of the
great deep broken up (underground water
gushing up, lava spewing up).
Genesis 7:11-12
THE FLOOD
DURATION
150 Days: Water begins subsiding.
Ark comes to rest on one of the mountains of Ararat
(Genesis 8:3, 4).
This was Noah’s 600th year, 7th month, 17th day.
Exactly 5 months later – which means they were using
months of 30 days each!
Although the ark was now stationary, there was no land
visible because the ark lay at least 22m into the water
(Genesis 7:19, 20).
THE FLOOD
DURATION
74 days
Water subsides so that mountains become
visible (Genesis 8:5).
40 days
Noah sends out a raven and a dove. Dove
returns (Genesis 8:6-9).
7 days
Noah sends out dove again – she returns with
an olive leaf (Genesis 8:10, 11).
THE FLOOD
DURATION
7 days
Noah sends the dove out again – she
does not return.
Noah concludes there is dry land on
earth again
(Genesis 8:12).
57 days
Earth dries completely and Noah, his
family and the animals leave the ark
(Genesis 8:14-19).
ARGUMENTS FOR A UNIVERSAL FLOOD
1. The need for an ark!
If it was a local flood, Noah and his family and
the “herd” of animals could just have trekked to
a high altitude location temporarily.
ARGUMENTS FOR A UNIVERSAL FLOOD
2. Testimony of Peter: 2 Peter 3:3-7 refers to two
worldwide catastrophes
one past – by flood
one future – by fire
ARGUMENTS FOR A UNIVERSAL FLOOD
3. Depth of the flood
At least 15 cubits (22m) above the highest
mountains (Genesis 7:19, 20).
ARGUMENTS FOR A UNIVERSAL FLOOD
4. Duration of the flood:
150 days of enormous geological upheaval:
Huge pressures and temperatures produced:
Magma, lava, molten earth, causing oceans to boil
and spill over onto land.
Floodgates of the sky opened.
ARGUMENTS FOR A UNIVERSAL FLOOD
5. Size of the ark:
4 to 5 stories high; 10 000 m2 of floor space,
14 000 tons displacement.
Only in 1884 was a boat built to better the size of
the ark – the RMS Etruria, a Cunard liner.
ARGUMENTS FOR A UNIVERSAL FLOOD
6. The human race was widely distributed over the
face of the earth – about 4 billion people.
It was impossible for all of them to be living in a
local geographical area.
ARGUMENTS FOR A UNIVERSAL FLOOD
7. Every ancient civilization has a parallel account
of a flood (Egypt, Lapland, Babylon, etc.).
This indicates that the present population
descended from one man who survived a flood,
i.e. Noah.
ARGUMENTS FOR A UNIVERSAL FLOOD
8. Population growth: It is now about 4 400 years
since Noah’s flood (about 100 generations).
Reliable data over the last 2 to 3 centuries
puts the world population growth rate at
about 0,45 to 0,5% p.a.
These two estimates predict a current world population
(over 4 400 years) of between
3,0 and 27,1 billion.
Population (min) = 8(1,0045)4400
ARGUMENTS FOR A UNIVERSAL FLOOD
9. There is geological evidence of
catastrophism, i.e. upheavals,
volcanoes and earthquakes on a
scale unknown today, occurring in
the recent past.
ARGUMENTS FOR A UNIVERSAL FLOOD
10. Sedimentation is an important geological
process.
Three-quarters of the land surface
and rock just below the surface is
sedimentary rock – which indicates
that a large amount of water once
covered the entire planet.
ARGUMENTS FOR A UNIVERSAL FLOOD
11. Large graveyards of bones/fossils have
been uncovered in Europe.
Hundreds of animals lie trapped/
buried/frozen in Siberian wastelands.
Mammoths have been found encased suddenly
in ice near the North Pole with food still in
their mouths.
All of these indicate a sudden catastrophe!
ARGUMENTS FOR A UNIVERSAL FLOOD
12. Not all rock strata are in order with the
oldest layer at the bottom – many
cases of reversal.
This indicates a sudden upheaval over a
large geographic area!
ARGUMENTS FOR A UNIVERSAL FLOOD
13. No trees have been dated older than about
4 000 years.
Sequoia – 3 300 years.
California bristle cone (dubbed “everlasting trees”).
17 trees have been ring dated between 4 000 to 4
600 years old.
ARGUMENTS FOR A UNIVERSAL FLOOD
14. No truly verifiable archaeological data antedate 3000 BC.
Egypt 1st Dynasty
Sumerians
3200 to 3000 BC
3000 BC
Switzerland 2800 BC
Denmark
2600 BC (earliest European agriculture)
Chinese
2300 BC
DISCOVERY OF THE ARK
•
DISCOVERY OF THE ARK
2. JOSEPHUS (1st Century AD Historian)
Records Armenians showing the
remains of the ark to their children.
DISCOVERY OF THE ARK
3. MARCO POLO (1254-1324)
Mentions the existence of the ark.
4. ARMENIAN YOUTH (1902)
Personally claims to have seen and
climbed on the ark.
DISCOVERY OF THE ARK
5. WHITE RUSSIAN MILITARY PATROL (1916-17)
Saw the ark at close range.
6. H. KNIGHT (Explorer, 1930’s)
Came across a rectangular framework in the ice.
7. GEORGE G. GREEN (1952)
Photographed a boat-like form protruding from the ice.
DISCOVERY OF THE ARK
8. FERNAND NAVARRA (1952-1955)
Saw under the ice, a boat-like shape in the biblical
dimensions of the ark. He obtained some wood
which was found to be hand-tooled, pitchimpregnated, and at least 5 000 years old.
8. 1970’s
US spy planes, weather and military satellites
have photographed a structure appearing to be
the ark on Mt Ararat.
DISCOVERY OF THE ARK
The Genesis Flood
Whitcombe, John C. and Morris, Henry M. (1961)
(Baker Book House, Michigan).
Reasons Sceptics Should Consider Christianity
McDowell, Josh and Stewart, D. (1987)
(Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Illinois)
Biblical Cosmology and Modern Science
Morris, Henry M. (1970)
(Craig Press, New Jersey)
NOAH – A TYPE OF CHRIST
Noah is a shadow, a picture of the Messiah. What Noah did
is symbolic of the work that the Messiah would one day.
JESUS
NOAH
•
Name means “rest”.
•
Jesus brings us into God’s rest
(Hebrews 4:1-9).
•
Was just, righteous and ‘perfect’.
•
Was just, righteous and perfect.
•
Walked with God (communed and
communicated with God).
•
Walked with God (Luke 6:12).
•
Prepared the way of salvation for
the world.
•
Prepared the way of salvation for
the world (John 14:6)
•
Obeyed God.
•
Obeyed God (John 15:10, Phil 2:8).
•
Offered a sacrifice to God.
•
Offered a sacrifice to God (Eph 5:2).
•
God established a covenant with
Noah.
•
God established a covenant with
Christ (Heb 13:20).