Lecture on Genesis (97)
Scripture
Genesis 6:1-4
[1] Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them,
[2] that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose.
[3] Then the LORD said, "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years."
[4] The Nephilim 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.
This is Genesis Lecture 97.
In the last lecture, I explained two reasons why Enoch was able to come into spirit and whole spirit.
I will add some more, and proceed to the next chapter.
The reasons why Enoch could quickly come into whole spirit were because he enjoyed storing up goodness, and because he loved God foremost of all.
Since Enoch loved God so earnestly, God also expressed His love to Enoch.
As a result, Enoch felt intimacy with God, and he could call God 'Father.'
From the age of 65, he lived his life walking with God.
From that time on his love for God grew ever greater, and soon 'he obtained the witness that he was pleasing to God.' (Hebrews 11:5)
Zephaniah 3:17 says, "...He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy."
Likewise, God the Father loved Enoch so much that He didn't want Enoch to be away from Him even for a moment.
And so, He walked with Enoch for 300 years, and He eventually took him up alive.
Since Enoch communicated with God clearly, he knew when God would take him up.
And so, he let his family and the people around him know in advance.
He explained well so that they would not be surprised at his disappearance, but rather to consider it as glory.
When Elijah ascended into Heaven, God let Elisha witness the glorious event.
2 Kings 2:11 says, "As they (Elijah and Elisha) were going along and talking, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire which separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven."
Elisha clearly saw God take his master, Elijah, up alive.
It was so glorious and so moving!
Later, when other disciples of Elijah tried to find Elijah in mountains and valleys, Elisha said they'd not need to, and stopped them.
However, 50 people searched in vain for 3 days.
At the same time, when Enoch was taken up alive, God let the people around Enoch recognize it as a glorious occasion.
By the way, Enoch was transported quickly through the passageway of light.
Although it lasted only for a moment, he could feel the moment and all the emotion in it.
When Enoch was in the flesh, he was always happy to think of the Father, but the ecstasy of being in the bosom of the Father was beyond any description.
God the Father prepared Enoch's house in Heaven.
In a place that is most prominent, there is a very special ornament.
That is, the confession that Enoch made to the Father is carved into a jewel.
And every word is decorated with jewels to give out brilliant light.
Moreover, the Father added the light and fragrance to the praise that Enoch sang to the Father, and arranged it into music; it resonates softly.
God the Father didn't miss one word from Enoch's confession or from his praise that Enoch offered out of his love for God.
He pleasingly smelled the aroma, and repaid him with beautiful rewards.
I wish that you will love God the Father will all your heart and with all your soul with this hope.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
So far, I explained about Enoch.
How much did Enoch look lovely to the eyes of God the Father?
Since the beginning of human cultivation, mankind was quickly stained by sin.
However, Enoch earnestly sought God, he gave out the aroma of love from the depth of his heart, and God the Father was comforted.
Out of joy of acquiring the true child for whom He waited and longed for, for so many long ages, it pleased God very much.
To let the latter generations learn that the child God the Father desires is the one who is full of goodness and love like this Enoch, He had this kind of a record recorded in the Bible.
Sin and evil are all the more is rampant in this generation than in the days of Enoch.
Just how much will God the Father be pleased if you come into spirit and whole spirit in the conditions of this time?
May all of you become God the Father's true children to give Him consolation and joy, in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ, I pray!
Dear brothers and sisters.
Now, I will proceed to Genesis Chapter 6.
About 1,600 years after Adam had been driven out of Eden to this earth, sin had already become rampant in the world.
Then, God decided the 'Judgment of the Flood,' and commanded Noah to build an ark.
In tonight's scripture, you can find a clue to the important reason why God decided to judge the world.
In addition, there is a record about 'the sons of God,' 'the Nephilim,' and 'the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.'
Those who read the Bible become curious about them.
There is a divergence of opinions concerning them, even among the Bible scholars.
You will have a clear answer soon through the direct interpretation from God the Father who is the Author of the Bible.
Now, let's begin and take a close look at Genesis 6:1.
It says, "Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them."
When was this time when men began to multiply on the face of the land?
First of all, literally speaking, it was when many people began to multiply on this earth.
For instance, among the descendants of Cain, Lamech took two wives.
As its result, he could have twice as many children.
And I said that it was an important factor to speed up the population increase.
In addition, beginning from Lamech's generation, human civilization greatly developed.
Industrial experts came out, technology developed, and people's lives became stable.
As they came to live affluent lives, they developed the culture of pleasure.
As their civilization developed like this, they became increasingly distanced from God.
God-centered life turned into a man-centered life.
It is the same today.
In a country that enjoys material affluence, humanism becomes dominant, and it is not friendly to Christianity.
Even on an individual basis, as a man acquires wealth and honor, he doesn't seek God, but distances himself from God.
He becomes arrogant in heart and thinks he can live a rich life without God.
Beginning from Lamech's generation, as mankind enjoyed material affluence and their lives became stable, they were quickly stained by sin and evil, and stayed far from God.
Therefore, secondly, the time' when men began to multiply on the face of the land' refers to the time when people were stained by sin and evil and distanced far from God.
'The land' in the scripture not only refers to the physical ground of this earth.
It also refers to the 'fleshly world' which is opposite to the Garden of Eden; that is, the spiritual world where Adam once lived.
Therefore, 'men began to multiply on the face of the land' means that men were stained by the flesh and became fleshly men.
Considering those situations, it tells us that people lost faith in God, and that they became so much stained by evil that moral values were lost among them, so to speak.
It gives us a clue why God decided the 'Judgment of Flood.'
Dear brothers and sisters.
Genesis 6:1 ends with saying, "...and daughters were born to them."
You should not misunderstand this verse and think, "They only had sons before daughters were born to them."
Without daughters, sons couldn't have been born.
Then, why is it written like this?
It is to explain the incident in the following verse, Genesis 6:2.
Although daughters were born before, these daughters had something to do with those of the following verse who were born when people began to multiply on the face of the land, that is, when people began to be greatly stained by sin and evil.
Genesis 6:2 says, "that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose."