Through the Bible: Genesis

[Nic Samojluk]

My personal preference is to rely on the following translations of Gen. 2:17 which omit the timing of Adam’s death. They simply state that he would die, which was fulfilled almost a thousand years later.

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New International Version (©1984)

but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."

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New Living Translation (©2007)

except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die."

Adam and Eve repented and were forgiven, but the debt incurred still had to be paid.

I checked my dictionary and it defines forgiveness as the willingness to forfeit the right to collect on the debt. If Adam and Eve were truly forgiven, then how can we say that God insisted on the payment of the debt? Wouldn’t such action destroy the true meaning of forgiveness?

Let’s take the case of Richard Nixon who was the recipient of a presidential pardon by President Ford. Would it have made any sense for him to go after Nixon and insisted that the debt for his crime be paid?

[Nic Samojluk]

Do you believe that Jesus was speaking of the angel Gabriel in those verses and when he talked about "the helper," "who the Father would send" in Jesus' name?

[Nic Samojluk]

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4This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created. When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens

The Bible clearly states that what we find in Genesis represents the historical account of the origin of the earth, the heaven, and of the origin of all life. Jesus apparently did believe in this account, for we find that when a dispute arose about marriage and divorce, he said: “In the beginning it was not so.”

If we are going to rely on the Darwinian theory of origin, then the story we find in Genesis makes no sense; Jesus reference to the “beginning” makes no sense; and the following reference we find in Ex. 20 makes no sense either:

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8“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.

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11For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

This is enshrined in the Ten Commandments, which was written by God himself in two tables of stone. Can we ignore the only thing which the Lord has written and choose rather to believe what Darwin wrote?

Can we also ignore what the inspired writer of Genesis affirmed when he stated: “In the beginning God.”? Modern science negates this beginning with God when it teaches: “In the beginning the Big Bang.” We have no alternative but to make a choice between these two diametrically opposed explanations for the beginning. Do you agree?

[Nic Samojluk]

In less than a month the next worldwide congress of the Adventist church will take place, and one of the items to be considered, I believe, is a request to tighten one of our fundamental beliefs: the one dealing with creation. Right now FB #6 reads as follows:

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6. Creation:

God is Creator of all things, and has revealed in Scripture the authentic account of His creative activity. In six days the Lord made "the heaven and the earth" and all living things upon the earth, and rested on the seventh day of that first week. Thus He established the Sabbath as a perpetual memorial of His completed creative work. The first man and woman were made in the image of God as the crowning work of Creation, given dominion over the world, and charged with responsibility to care for it. When the world was finished it was ``very good,'' declaring the glory of God. (Gen. 1; 2; Ex. 20:8-11; Ps. 19:1-6; 33:6, 9; 104; Heb. 11:3.)

There is a move among Adventists to modify said FB in such a manner that it will negate in an emphatic manner the Darwinian theory of evolution which is being taught as factual and as absolute truth at La Sierra University and in some of the other Adventist institutions.

The idea is to replace with something resembling the Affirmation of Creation which defined the days of the creation week described in Genesis as “literal,” “recent,” “consecutive,” “contiguous,” “24-hour days forming a week identical in time to what we now experience as a week.”

In line with this proposal, the Michigan Conference of SDA has resolved to request that this plan be considered by the General Conference in its June session:

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4. Furthermore: We request that the 2010 General Conference session vote a resolution affirming number 3 above, with the direction of bringing to the following GC session a statement that would serve to strengthen our fundamental belief number six. Hence, our Creation doctrine would clearly articulate our biblical view of “a literal, recent, six-day Creation,” in which “the seven days of the Creation account were literal 24-hour days forming a week identical in time to what we now experience as a week,” as the statement affirmed by the General Conference Executive Committee in October 2004 noted.

http://www.educatetruth.com/news/michigan-conference-takes-substantial-action-in-lsu-conflict/

The Michigan Conference went even further by condemning what has been taking place at LSU and by removing any scholarship benefits to the children of its employees who decide to attend said institution of learning. This bold move by the Michigan Conference was strongly denounced by a former president of LSU. For additional information regarding these incredible and earthshaing events, access the following web site: www.educatetruth.com

I am wondering whether Moses had any idea about the storm his Genesis account of creation would eventually produce among those who rely on his version of origins.

[John317]

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John: Do you believe that Jesus was speaking of the angel Gabriel in those verses and when he talked about "the helper," "who the Father would send" in Jesus' name?

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Nic Samojluk: When people look at a cathedral, a bridge, or a building like the Empire State, and they ask: Who built this?” What is the usual answer? People get the name of the architect. When a battle is won we usually say that General so and so won the battle. Actually, the fact is that the architect did not physically build anything, but rather those who worked for him and were under his command. We can say the same about a general who wins a battle. The general probably had not fired a single shot.

The angels of heaven were once under the command of Lucifer who was next to Christ in honor and power in heaven until he was ousted from heaven. Gabriel probably replaced him in heaven. God’s angels are spirits, the Bible says. They are under the direction of Gabriel very likely. This means that, very likely, Jesus had Gabriel in mind, but the actual work sometimes is performed by any of God’s angels.

There is a quotation in Ellen White’s writings which states that all the miracles performed by Jesus were done by the ministry of the angelic host.

Jesus' statements in John 14 and 16 show clearly that He is talking about a single entity, not many angels. If Jesus were referring to angels, He would not have spoken of the One who would be sent as a single person, "He" and "Him."

If you consider what Jesus says this "Counselor" will do, it's obvious He's not talking about angels.

What you're saying about the Holy Spirit is as blasphemous in my view as the Muslims saying that the prophet Muhammad was the fulfillment of Jesus' words in regard to the "Counselor."

If you are going to quote Ellen White here, why not quote her where she says that the Holy Spirit is a person and is the Third Person of the Godhead?

It sounds like you believe in her but just not when you don't like what she says. She clearly teaches that the Holy Spirit is not the angels.

Please show the reference for your statement that Ellen White says all the miracles performed by Jesus were done by the ministry of the angelic host.

[Nic Samojluk]

Jesus' statements in John 14 and 16 show clearly that He is talking about a single entity, not many angels.

[Nic Samojluk]

As we continue with our “Through the Bible” journey, I find the following text:

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18The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

What is the hidden message behind this statement? Some people have observed that helper means assistant, like assistant nurse, who is inferior in responsibility to the physician she is helping in the care of patients. Can we conclude that the man is in charge and women should simply follow the orders of her husband or superior?

Does this view also apply to women in ministry as suggested by Pastor Doug Batchelor, who in his defense of his understanding of the Bible suggested that women have a lower IQ than men? Should women who feel called to the ministry be entitled to ignore Paul’s policy of not allowing women to talk in church? Is it right for them to speak, teach, preach, baptize, hold the position of pastor and perhaps senior pastor of a church?

The problem I see with this way of interpreting the text found in Gen. 2:18 is that there are many other texts in the Bible where the Lord states that he and the Holy Spirit are our helpers. Does this mean that they are inferior to us? I located 32 such texts in the Bible.

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for God is your helper [1 Chron. 12:18]

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But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. [John 14:26]

What do you think?

[Nic Samojluk]

Through the Bible: Genesis Chapter Three

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15And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

The enmity God develops between human beings and the Devil is a miraculous act of mercy. Were it not for this enmity, we would probably love the Devil and evil to death. Do we need to pray for this enmity today?

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16To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”

Did this dominion of men over women God’s ideal arrangement, or simply the result of sin? Is not the duty of Christians to restore, as far as possible the ideal relationship which existed in Paradise?

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21The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.

According to this story, the death of animals was the result of Adam’s sin. God had to sacrifice the life of some animals to clothe Adam and Eve. Nevertheless, the theory of evolution teaches that animals lived and died for millions of years before human beings came into existence. This has profound implications for the plan of salvation. How can we reconcile these two diametrically opposed worldviews?

If we evolved from lower forms of life, then there was no special creation as recorded in Genesis, no moral fall, and no need for salvation. We have been moving upward and we have done quite well since the first ameba moved in the pre-historic biotic pond. If there was no moral fall, there is no need for repentance and forgiveness, we are on an uninterrupted progress and there is no telling what state of human improvement we might eventually attain to. If this is the case, then the first and the second coming of Jesus Christ make no sense under this evolutionary scheme.

This is why, I am having a hard time understanding how Seventh-day Adventists can entertain the theory of natural progress as proposed by Charles Darwin. Much less, how Adventist institutions like La Sierra University can support the teaching of such a theory and allow Adventist scientists to defend it as the most logical explanation for origins, in direct contradiction of the clear teaching of the Bible and in opposition to our fundamental Belief Number 6 which negates such explanation for origins. I hope Adventists try to clear this up in the coming General Conference session starting soon.

[pnattmbtc]

15And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

The enmity God develops between human beings and the Devil is a miraculous act of mercy. Were it not for this enmity, we would probably love the Devil and evil to death. Do we need to pray for this enmity today?

[Nic Samojluk]

No, we don't need to pray for it, because we have it! God said, "I will put enmity between you and the woman," and this is just what He did. We could pray that we heed this enmity which God has instilled in us, as opposed to not doing so.

[Nic Samojluk]

Through the Bible: Genesis Chapter Four

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1Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man.”

Adam recognized that having a baby is not the result of man’s ingenuity and prowess, but rather the evidence of God’s creative power. If God is the one who creates babies, what right do we have to destroy them when we think the time is inconvenient to have them and we choose to have an abortion?

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4But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering,

Abel offered the fat of the animal sacrificed to the Lord. This may suggest that the prohibition against the consumption of fat might have been instituted when the Lord dressed Adam and Eve with the skins of animals and not when Israel was in the desert with Moses.

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14Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”

Sin produces a sense of guilt which drives us away from God’s presence. In this instance, Cain mimicked the action of his parents following their eating of the forbidden fruit. He felt that he was being separated from God, but he seemed to blame God for this instead of blaming himself.

[Nic Samojluk]

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16So Cain went out from the LORD’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

This sense of guilt and separation from God’s presence was designed to lead us to repentance and forgiveness, but quite often, like in the case of Lucifer, pride prevents most sinners from seeking reconciliation with the Creator.

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17Cain lay with his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city, and he named it after his son Enoch.

Who did Cain marry? There is no mention of any daughters born to Adam and Eve until chapter 5:3; by that time Adam was 130 years old. Henoch was the first one to build a city.

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18To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael was the father of Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech.

19Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah.

Lamech was the first polygamist. It is amazing how soon men departed from God ideal for the human family. Lamech’s polygamist example was eventually adopted by the society of that time, and even God's people thought there was nothing wrong with this. David had half a dozen wives, and Solomon had a harem of almost a thousand.

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21His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play the harp and flute.

Jubal seems to have been the first musician. The theory of evolution tells us that culture and civilization took millions of years to evolve and develop. The Bible, on the other hand, teaches that civilization and culture started right from the beginning.

[Nic Samojluk]

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22Zillah also had a son, Tubal-Cain, who forged all kinds of tools out of bronze and iron. Tubal-Cain’s sister was Naamah.

The Bible seems to suggest that the Iron Age started soon after creation. How does this square with the Darwinian theory of evolution?

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23Lamech said to his wives, “Adah and Zillah, listen to me; wives of Lamech, hear my words. I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for injuring me.

Lamech was the second recorded murderer. Adam and Eve thought that eating from the forbidden fruit was something of little consequence. Had they understood what the results of disobedience would be, they might have thought twice before appropriating to themselves what belonged to the Lord.

Departure from a “Thus said the Lord” is a slippery slope which leads to the eventual murder of those God has created.

You might have noticed that from Henoch’s progeny, the grandson of Adam, came the first city dweller, the second murderer, the first musician, the first expert in metals—brass and iron--and the first polygamist.

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24If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times.”

Lamech was the first one to commit himself to a policy of cruel vengeance based on the infliction of punishment way beyond the damage done to the victim. This is the essence of evil. This is why eventually the Lord imposed limits on vengeance when he imposed the “Eye for an eye” rule. It was designed to set a limit on the punishment of law breakers.

Not two eyes for the loss of one, but rather a single eye for an eye. This was the first step in God’s redemptive plan for man. Later on the Lord said: “Vengeance is mine." This was the second step in redemption, and eventually God took the third step when Jesus said: “Love your enemies and do good to those who hate you.”

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25Adam lay with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, “God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.”

26Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh. At that time men began to call on the name of the LORD.

Adam did not feel that Henoch, his grandson, was a fit replacement for Abel; but in Seth he did recognize that he had a different character. Adam’s grandson Enos was the first recorded as beginning to call on the name of the Lord.

[Felix Florimon]

Can you tell me why there is not a single example of the worship of the Holy Spirit in the Bible? How about an explanation why the Holy Spirit is not even mentioned in Rev. 1:1 and why the Angel Gabriel is in charge in the book of Daniel of what the HS is supposed to do according to 2 Pet. 1:21?

Can you also explain why in Daniel 10:21 Gabriel explained his delay in coming to the help of the prophet because there is “no one to help except Michael”? Why didn’t the omnipresent HS come to the rescue of Daniel when he was at the point of desperation in his concern for his people? After all, the task of revealing the future is the work of the HS, not an angel!

Can you also explain why in the Bible we find so many examples where people see an angel, and later on we discover it is God himself or the HS? I cited many cases like Moses and the bush, Gideon, and Phillip the evangelist.

Can’t you see that my view makes more sense when we try to harmonize all the texts dealing with the identity of the HS? It is as simple as the following: When the presence and power of God is manifested in a visible manner, the expression the “Angel of the Lord” is quite often used; but when said presence is felt but not seen, the phrase the “HS” or the “Spirit of God” is used.

When we consider the Trinity’s doctrine we should not be guided by what was said or not said at the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD. We should be guided by what is said in the whole Bible including the New and the Old Testament.

The most ideal attitude is to always keep in the back of our minds the way of thinking of the Apostle Paul when he wrote: “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14 NIV).

However, in order to properly apply the kind of thinking the Apostle Paul had, we need the most fundamental basis of our beliefs. This is that our faith rests in Jesus Christ. Now, everything we know about Jesus Christ and His early followers comes from the writings of those who had a very close personal relationship with Jesus while He walked on this earth. The Apostle Paul never met Jesus before His crucifixion but our Lord Jesus appeared to him after our Lord had resurrected, ascended and received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God (Mark 16:19). We don’t believe that Luke ever saw Jesus; however, he accepted our Savior thanks to the testimony and verbal account of those who had a much closer contact with Him.

Now, what should we believe about the Holy Spirit? If we truly believe in Jesus Christ and the account given to us of Jesus from the NT then we should believe the same thing Jesus taught about the Holy Spirit: “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (John 14:26 NIV). “When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me (John 15:26 NIV). “I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin”(Mark 3:28-29 NIV). “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” Ephesians (4:30 NIV).

“Then Peter said, ‘Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit…’” (Acts 5:3 NIV).

Based on the verses above the Holy Spirit is able to teach us, to remind us what we have previously heard. We could grieve him. Moreover, people who have accepted Jesus as their savior are able to lie to the Holy Spirit as Ananias did. All those are personal attributes that an intelligent person has.

Now when we talk about “the three persons of the Godhead,” God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, we are betrayed by our best common sense. This is because an infinite God that is only one God is something beyond what our common sense could grasp, especially when we have to express what is our best understanding about the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit based on what is written on the biblical record.

God is infinite and He doesn’t need to have a body in order to exist or to express Himself. We are very limited and finite creatures; therefore, in order to achieve a closer fellowship with our Creator we need Him to put some limits on Himself so we could have some communion with Him that could allow us to grow in wisdom and perfection.

When we say God Father, God Son and God Holy Spirit, we are expressing how we are being enabled to have a meaningful relationship with a perfect and infinite God

FF

[Felix Florimon]

God’s creatures are able to have two kinds of relationship with Him. A “linear relationship” (see Revelation 1:1, Mathew 6:9, Matthew 18:10, John 14:6) and a “non-linear relationship.” God’s creatures are able to have a “linear relationship” with the Father and the Son. For instance, our Lord Jesus taught us to pray to our Father who is in heaven. In this instance, we are establishing a “linear relationship” because there is a physical space separating us from the Father; moreover, our prayers intersect each other in a specific place in heaven where our heavenly Father is seated. Moreover, there is a “linear relationship” between our Heavenly Father and Jesus because our Lord Jesus sits to the right of our Heavenly Father.

Our relationship with the “third person” of the Deity is a different one. The angels are able to see the face of our Lord Jesus. Regarding our heavenly Father, Jesus said: “…their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.” However, there is not prophet, not even our Lord Jesus ever mentioning that any angel or God’s creature is able to see the Holy Spirit. This is because in order to have a kind of worship that could accepted by the Father our bodies should be temple of the Holy Spirit guiding our worship into a type of worship that could be accepted by God. If we live a kind of life that is a blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, God could never accept our worship and we would be lost. This is why Jesus said: “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” John 4:23-24

Our very narrow physical concept of what a person should or should not be is what is forcing many people, who claim to believe in the Bible, to conclude that the Holy Spirit is not the third person of the Deity or that He does not exist since He does not have any kind of body. A more detailed biblical definition of the Holy Spirit as a person is detailed in http://invitation.to/dance/cults-holyspirit.htm

Now, if EGW is a truthful prophet of God we can determine that the body of our heavenly Father has properties different than the body of our Lord Jesus. This is because EGW was able to speak in vision face to face with our Lord Jesus. However, she always saw the Father surrounded with a cloud of glory; when she asked Jesus if she could contemplate the face of the Father, Jesus told her that (even in vision) she could not because she would cease to exist. I feel that Jesus is God limiting Himself in time and space in order to have a closer physical fellowship with His creatures while the Father could interact with millions of angels simultaneously and order them to attend each of our prayers as if each prayer where the only prayer in the entire universe. Moreover, our heavenly Father is able to be conscious of each thinking we have and as Jesus said, even the very hairs of our heads are all numbered by our Heavenly Father (Matthew 10:30 NIV).

This is the triune God we know about: The Father, we call Him the First person in the Triune God because He sent our Lord Jesus to die for us and to save us from the power of sin. He is the only one to know the day and time when our Lord Jesus will return to earth to take His children to heaven. Our Lord Jesus, we call Him the second person in our Triune God; He is God limiting Himself in space and time; moreover, He is the way, the truth and the life; no one could come to the Father except through Him. The Holy Spirit, we call Him the third person of our Triune God because after the Father sent Jesus (the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation), the Father sends His Holy Spirit to those who accept our Lord Jesus as their personal savior. The Holy Spirit does not limit Himself in time or space and can simultaneously guide each believer in our Lord Jesus Christ to have a closer spiritual relationship with our heavenly Father.

FF

[Nic Samojluk]

When we consider the Trinity’s doctrine we should not be guided by what was said or not said at the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD. We should be guided by what is said in the whole Bible including the New and the Old Testament.

[Nic Samojluk]

However, there is not prophet, not even our Lord Jesus ever mentioning that any angel or God’s creature is able to see the Holy Spirit.

[Felix Florimon]

Can you explain the following passage we find in the Old Testament? Is it possible that the statement made by Jesus regarding the unpardonable sin was a reference to this OT text? Notice the similarity. Do we have two kinds of unpardonable sins: one against God’s angel and another against the Holy Spirit, or is it perhaps one and the same?

[Nic Samojluk]

Through Psalm 8:5, we learn that man was created a little lower than the angel. If we were created a “little lower than the angels” and our bodies are temple of the Holy Spirit, we could surely say that the body of any angel sent by God is also a temple of the Holy Spirit.

[Nic Samojluk]

According to Jesus, “the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (John 14:26 NIV).

[Nic Samojluk]

Bear also in mind that in the New Testament we have an example of how an angel of God is equated with the God’s Spirit. This is found in Acts 8:

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26Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.”

27So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopiand eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship,

28and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet.

29The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”

39When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.

From these biblical passages what I conclude is that the terms “Angel,” “Spirit,” and “God” are quite interchangeable and there is no way of knowing for sure what the identity of the being really is unless the context makes this clear. This is why I believe that there is no need to invent a third member of the alleged Trinity to explain what the Bible means.

For all practical purposes, we can safely assume that when the expression angel is used, it merely means that there was a visible manifestation of God’s power and presence; while when the term “Spirit” is used, this means that the divine manifestation was felt but invisible.

This is why Jesus compared the work of the Holy Spirit to the action of the “wind.” Remember that the term “wind” or “ruach” in the original means literally “wind,” “breath,” or “spirit.” This is why some Bible translators have rendered Genesis 1:2 as “the wind of God” instead of “the Spirit of God.” I have even seen this equated with “God’s presence.”

Read my next posting:

[Nic Samojluk]

I am not interested in how the Catholic Church or any other person interprets the word “co-equal.”

[Nic Samojluk]

Through the Bible: Genesis Chapter Five

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1This is the written account of Adam’s line. When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God.

2He created them male and female and blessed them. And when they were created, he called them “man.a”

3When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth.

How come in this story Cain and Abel are not mentioned? It seems to me that the purpose of chapter five is to trace the genealogical line leading first to Noah and eventually to Abraham. If this is the case, then naming Abel made no sense, since he was dead and if he had other sons and daughters, they were not the progenitors of Noah and Abraham. For the same reason, the name of Cain is not included in this historical record.

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6When Seth had lived 105 years, he became the fatherb of Enosh.

7And after he became the father of Enosh, Seth lived 807 years and had other sons and daughters.

Was Seth single until he was 105 years old, or did he perhaps have other children which are not included in this genealogy? Notice also, that only certain male descendants are named while the rest are referred to as “other sons and daughters.”

I wouldn’t be surprised if Seth might have had other children before he was 105 years old, but they were probably not named because they were not part of the genealogy of Noah.

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21When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah.

22And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters.

23Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. 24Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.

Enoch must have distinguished himself in some way because the author of this story took the time to make a special observation which is unique in the Bible: “Enoch walked with God.” Did not the rest walk with God? They probably were men of faith as well, but Enoch must have excelled them all for which reason the Lord decided to take him to heaven. The author of the book of Hebrew had this to say about this man of faith:

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By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.

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32After Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham and Japheth.

Was Noah single for almost five hundred years? Was his wife barren like Sarah and Rebecca for many years? Did Noah’s wife have triplets? Were Shem, Ham and Japheth born the same year? These are questions for which we have no answers.

My theory is that Noah might have had other children before the birth of these three boys. We need to remember that in this genealogy leading to Noah only the first male children are named.

This means probably that other children might have been born who were either female or else did not become members of this particular genealogical line. If Noah had other children, the question would be: How come they were not saved from the flood?

[Nic Samojluk]

Through the Bible: Genesis Chapter Six

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2the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose.

The terms “sons of God” and daughters of men” seem to have been code words to differentiate those who worshiped God from those who didn’t. Intermarriage between those loyal to God with those who weren’t produced the moral deterioration which eventually forced the Lord to destroy the pre-flood generation from the face of the earth.

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3Then the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend witha man forever, for he is mortalb; his days will be a hundred and twenty years.”

There is a noticeable contrast between the long ages of the preceding patriarch listed in the preceding chapter and the short time assigned to the pre-flood generation. They would be granted merely 120 years to put a stop to their evil behavior.

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5The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.

The evidence manifested in the preceding chapter seems to indicate that people in those times tended to live long lives. If we add to this the fact that their inclination was constantly towards evil, then we probably have no idea of the amount of wickedness that was present in said society.

The amount of injustice, suffering, and blood shed must have been enormous, which prompted the Lord to put an end to such a sorry condition. I wonder what the front pages of the newspaper might have been there if the printing press was available to them.

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6The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain.

Does God experience repentance like men? Doesn’t the Bible state that God doesn’t repent? Besides, don’t we teach that the Lord knows the end from the beginning? Does this mean that God knew exactly that he would be forced to destroy humanity when he decided to create Adam and Eve?

Did the Lord know in advance that Lucifer would eventually rebel and that heaven would be forced to pay a high price in order to offer human beings a second chance? Is God’s knowledge of the future absolute and pre-determined, or has he limited himself when he decided to create human beings with real moral freedom?

Could it be that God knows all the potential contingencies connected with the future but not the actual detailed knowledge of how they would materialize? Is the future open to God perhaps the way Dr. Richard Rice suggested when he wrote his book “The Openness of God”?

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9This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God.

The statement “he walked with God” is reminiscent of the experience of Enoch, who “didn’t see death” according to the Bible and was probably translated to heaven and thus became a living symbol of those who will be likewise translated at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ in glory and majesty.

Noah is described as a “righteous man.” Does this mean that he never made a wrong moral choice? We know that after the flood he planted a vineyard and got drunk. What does the phrase “righteous man” really mean? The Bible states elsewhere that there is no perfect man, not even one? Wasn’t this precisely Paul’s argument in Romans?

Was Noah’s character flawless or perhaps flawed like the rest of humanity? Do we have today individuals who are righteous in the same sense that Noah was? How would we go about recognizing them? What moral characters would we be looking for in our search for such individuals?

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14So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out.

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16Make a roof for it and finishe the ark to within 18 inchesf of the top. Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks.

A three story boat? Was ship building that advanced? Did Noah have the right tools like saws, hammer, and nails to work with timber? Could he have built a three story ark if he lived in a pre-historic and undeveloped time as described by evolutionists?

Could it be that the pre-flood generation was a rather sophisticated and advanced civilization, especially considering the fact that people tended to live long lives? Is it possible that Noah perhaps lived near the ocean or a great lake and ws actually a ship builder? Would the Lord select someone who lacked the proper technology to build a three story boat?

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21You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them.”

It is possible that all animals were vegetarians before the flood, because Noah was ordered to store food for both men and beasts. Predatory animals were evidently included in the ark, because we have them today. Would Noah have been able to provide for predatory animals the diet they are dependent today on for survival within the confines of an ark?

Could it be that Noah had also experience as a zoo keeper? Was he suddenly confronted with the need to improvise for his new assigned task as a zoo keeper, or is it possible that the Lord did prepare him for such a task in advance?

[Nic Samojluk]

Through the Bible: Genesis Chapter Seven

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1The LORD then said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation.

How should we understand this biblical passage? Was Noah righteous in an absolute sense? We know that when the flood was over, he planted a vineyard and got drunk. Didn’t Saint Paul state that there was not a single righteous man on earth?

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As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one; [Rom. 3:10]

Before we try to answer this question, let us examine how the Bible described certain individuals we find in the Bible:

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Yes, Lot was a righteous man who was tormented in his soul by the wickedness he saw and heard day after day. [2 Pet. 2:8]

Notice that Lot, a righteous man, also got drunk. Actually he was so inebriated that he didn’t even become aware when his two daughters took turns to sleep with him. Then we have other individuals whom the Bible describes as righteous:

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As a result, you will be held accountable for all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of the righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. [Matt. 23:35]

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By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead. [Heb. 11:4]

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Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. [Luke 2:25]

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The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, "Surely this was a righteous man." [Luke 23:47]

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because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled; yet he liked to listen to him. [Mark 6:20]

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Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. [Matt. 1:19]

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Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous in God's eyes, careful to obey all of the Lord's commandments and regulations. [Luke 1:6]

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Now there was a good and righteous man named Joseph. He was a member of the Jewish high council, [Luke 23:50]

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In the same way, "Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith." [Gal. 3:6]

Did Abraham behave like a righteous man should all the time? Didn’t he deceive King Pharaoh and Abimelech and led them to believe that Sarah was not his wife and he was severely reprimanded for this?

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And because of Abraham's faith, God counted him as righteous. [Rom. 4:22]

Notice that even Saint Paul, who had stated that there wasn’t anyone righteous, did make a reference to Abraham as a righteous man. Doesn’t this suggest that being righteous can have more than one connotation? Perhaps the following text can help us understand this concept:

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There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins. [Eccl. 7:20]

This text is suggesting that even righteous people are not righteous in an absolute sense. Sometimes, they do sin and are forgiven when they repent.

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2Take with you sevena of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and two of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate,

Why did the Lord want Noah to take seven of the clean animals instead of a single pair like the unclean ones? The answer lies in the fact that following the flood, Noah and his family needed to survive, since there was little vegetarian food available, and they were forced to adopt a non-vegetarian diet.

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20The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than twenty feet.

How did Noah manage to measure this from a boat which was carried aimlessly by the waves over the wide watery expanse? Could it be that he had some experience with boat building and navigation before the flood?