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Genesis Chapter 8 "Noah's Flood, Continued." This
Bible Study is written by Roger Christopherson, and it's
transcription/ location The two important things that we will learn from this chapter is that God will never destroy this earth by water ever again, and that we will always have our days and nights, and our seasons with us. Genesis 8:1 "And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters asswaged;" The waters that covered the earth subsided gradually [asswaged]. God remembered Noah during that entire five month period, and all of his family and the living that were on the ark, they were all under God's protection. Genesis 8:2 "The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained;" Genesis 8:3 "And the waters returned from of the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred ad fifty days the waters were abated." This is that five month period again, and at the end of the five months the flood waters started to go down, and the turbulence ended. Remember in Revelation 12:16 it tells us that the earth will again open up and swallow Satan, the Antichrist, and all the flood of lies and deceit that came from him. The flood spoken of in the end times is a spiritual flood of lies, and deceptions that will cover the entire earth. That flood of the end times will also continue for a five month period, and this is recorded in Revelation 9:5; "And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: And their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man." Genesis 8:3 separates the flood of Noah's day from the flood that caused the end of the first earth age. For in Noah's flood the waters declined gradually, and as we will see later, took a full year to totally resend. In our study of Genesis chapter one, the flood that ended the first earth age went away instantly, at the word spoken by the Holy Spirit, the "ruach" in the Hebrew text. Genesis 8:4 "And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat." "Ararat" in the Hebrew tongue means "high ground". The day that the ark came to rest on that high ground was five months after God sealed Noah and all the lives on board with him, in that ark. And then the "fountains of the great deep were broken up", as recorded in Genesis 7:11. It is five months to the day later. Genesis 8:5 "And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen." This now is three months after the ark came to rest on the "mountains of Ararat". At this time the tops of other high mountains and high places could also be seen. Genesis 8:6 "And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made:" "Forty" in biblical numerics is probation. Genesis 8:7 "And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro. until the waters were dried up from off the earth." The raven that Noah sent forth did not come back to the ark. In Leviticus 11:15 we are told that the raven is an unclean bird. This is an object less also of the unclean and godless of today. When they are sent out to do a mission, they do not give a care for others, or for God's ways. They put themselves first, and care only for their own well being. This dirty bird, the raven probably found himself an old dead carcass rotting on the high ground, and stayed to fill himself. His own natural instincts set his priorities. Genesis 8:8 "Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground;" The dove is an clean creature, and in symbolism represents the Holy Spirit of God. Genesis 8:9 "But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand and took her in unto him into the ark." The dove is unlike the raven, and refuses to touch her feet on the filth that covered the earth following the flood. She does not live of garbage and the dead. The dove came back home to the ark. She gave Noah the correct indication for the signs of the times; that the earth was not ready to accept the clean living of any kind. The Holy Spirit is also in control and ready to give us the proper indications for the signs of our times. And at the end of the five month period of time which marks the end of our flesh age, He will give us all the necessary indications to know what we are to do. We can receive those instructions now, for God recorded them in His Scriptures, through the prophets, and we are to seal those instructions away in our minds. The dove cared for the living, and came back to the ark, and the Holy Spirit also cares for the living, spiritually. Genesis 8:10 "And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark." All of these things that are happening are taking place on the Sabbath. Genesis 8:11 "And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo in her mouth was an olive leaf plucked off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth." Keep in mind that the "olive leaf" was "plucked off" a living tree, that was living to give Noah the sign that life and vegetation existed outside the ark. This is important. In the Hebrew text the wording for "olive leaf" reads; "newly sprouted olive leaf". It was freshly grown. We saw in Jeremiah 4:19 that in the total destruction that came upon the earth at the end of the first earth age was complete. There were no man, nor birds, nor animals, nor vegetation [verse 27], and even the sun and heavenly planets were missing [verse 28]. So what is represented in this Olive leaf to show live, there had to be life in the vegetation, and a sun to germinate, and give new life to that seed of the olive tree that the leaf came from. This also verifies that Noah's flood was not the flood of Genesis 1:1-2, Jeremiah 4, or II Peter 3. That flood caused total void and destruction upon the whole earth. It is important that we understand these fine points in God's word, for they all help us understand the plan of God. It was because of Satan's downfall in the first earth age, and the fall of one third of all of God created beings, the angels, that God destroyed the earth then. Those fallen angels are also referred to as "the sons of God" in Genesis 6, and they rebelled against God. God's plan was set in motion to provide a way that His children could come back to Him, for God does not desire to destroy any of His children. The creation process, as told in Genesis one and two, provide that the souls of all his children would enter this earth age once through the womb of womb of woman, in a innocent state, and be given a free will to chose between God, of the evil ways of Satan. Our study in Genesis three revealed how Satan seduced Eve, and from that sexual union came Cain. When Cain killed Adam's son, Abel, God used Adam's second son Seth to fulfill the promise He gave that a coming Messiah would be born through the lineage of Adam. In Genesis six we saw another attack upon mankind, when these fallen angels, the followers of Satan, refused to be born of woman; and as Jude 6 says; "And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation," The attack in Genesis six was on the bloodline of all mankind, to take the daughters of mankind as their wives, and destroy pollute the blood of all mankind. There would be no completion to the plan of God that the Messiah could come, born of a virgin, and offer Himself as the sacrifice for all sins of those who would repent and seek him. This was God's plan to bring the sinful souls back to Himself. This is why it is important for us to understand exactly why God destroyed mankind and his creation, and allowed a new start with Noah and his family. God did not destroy the earth itself, only the evil that was upon it. Genesis 8:12 "And he stayed yet another seven days; and sent forth the dove; which returned not again unto him any more." Genesis 8:13 "And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry." Genesis 8:14 "And in the second month, on the seventh and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried." "Second month, on the seventh and twentieth day of the month", completed one solar year from the entering of the ark, as we read in Genesis 7:11. Genesis 8:15 "And God spake unto Noah, saying," Genesis 8:16 "Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee." God gave the command to come out of that ark, and He set the time for this new age to begin. We must learn to have patience and wait for the proper time, so we will not be partakers in the wrong wedding of the latter days. We must know the difference between the coming of the Antichrist first, and and have patience to wait for the coming of Jesus Christ, which will also mark the end of this flesh age. Many Christians will rush to be part of the wrong wedding party. Noah was perfect in his "pedigree", or blood line, and one of the reasons for this is that Noah always obeyed God in everything that he does, and in all his commandments. Noah did it God's way, from the life he lived, the ark he built, and even to the obedience to commands God gave him, for his own protection. Noah made no move until God's appointed time, and then was alert to all the commands that God gave him. Mankind today always tries to run around God's instructions, and commandments. If they see another mountain top, they immediately have to go their, and test God's limits, and defy God's commandments. They simply can not wait upon God's appointed times, but must create, and find a better way, to satisfy their own desires. It is sort of like the "rapture doctrine", a devised way to circumvent God's plan for testing mankind, and seeking God's protection for a time when God will use Satan as His servant. There should be no surprises as to what is to take place in these latter days, for every detail is written in His Word, the Bible, and all the protection we need is given to us. Yet Christians simply do not trust God, and have allowed Satan's kids, the Kenites, create a lie, and false hope, so they do not have to trust God. We have God's commandments, and guide book [the Bible]; and in it we can follow God's plan completely laid out for us, so there will be no confusion. The times of the end have started, and our "ark" is not a physical one like Noah's, but it is a spiritual ark, built with words and ideas that come straight from God's Holy word. The flood will not be with water in these final days, but through the lies and deceptions pouring forth from the mouth of Satan, and God will allow it. When your spiritual ark is built within your mind, that understanding is your protection from the flood of the Antichrist, and God will place the seal upon you and your mind. Noah trusted God for protection, and built that ark which took one hundred and twenty years. The building of your ark takes time, and study in his word, and the only way that you will survive this latter day flood is to take time to do it. That is why we are taking God's Word in a verse by verse study, for it is all important and requires a lot of detailed study. Genesis 8:17 "Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth." Genesis 8:18 "And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him:" Genesis 8:19 "Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepteth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark." Genesis 8:20 "And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar." This is the first time that an altar is mentioned in the Bible. Even though God gave the order to repopulate the earth; "every thing after his kind"; God still desires His offerings. When we do it God's way, He will provide and supply all our needs. The "burnt offerings", or "olah" in the Hebrew language, means "to cause to ascend". This is referring to the smoke and flames that rise in the consuming of the offering totally. It conveys the message of totally consuming or giving over to God, and asking for God's acceptance of it. Noah is giving over to God one seventh of what he has, yet it is a blessing that we can give back to God. Genesis 8:21 "And the Lord smelled a sweet savour; and the Lord said in His heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done." God makes it clear that it is He that has caused the total destruction before; and that He will never do it again. He was happy to rid the world of the wicked Nephilim hybrids, but never again will He allow the destruction of the earth by water. The curse of the ground is now lifted. Genesis 8:22 "While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease." This covenant between Jehovah God and Noah is unconditional in relation to our earth and the heavenly bodies around it. When God makes a covenant, He keeps His word. This earth is not going to burn up in any nuclear war, or by the sun. Why? Because God said it would not. Will Satan destroy the earth? Definitely not; for Satan, the Antichrist is the "prince of the earth, and when he is cast out of heaven by Michael, he is coming to earth to rule. Upon his arrival to earth, Satan wants you and all mankind to believe that he is your Messiah, and this is why he will be a strong environmentalist. In fact he as well and the entire locust army of fallen angels will be of the same mind. The total destruction spoken of by the prophet Joel, is for the truth of God's word. It is a spiritual void that will cover the whole earth, except for those who are sealed by God, prior to the coming of the Antichrist. Satan intends to control the world as King and Savior, and to be the provider and protector for you, and all of mankind. In return he expect you loyalty and commitment to him in gratitude.
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