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Noah Part- 5. MENU

[ No. 64 ] - We Believe That The Very End Of This Age Of Grace Is Upon Us. . . .

[ No. 65 ] - And Then, We Have God's Program For this World And The Universe . . .

[ No. 66 ] - The Lord Will Call Out A Saved Remnant Of Saints . . .

[ No. 67 ] - False Prophets And False Teachers. You Can Still Be Reconciled To The Lord Through His Grace! . . .

[ No. 68 ] - The Prophet Enoch Was A True Child Of God For We Read That: . . .

[ No. 69 ] - What about Enoch's Walk With The Lord? . . .

[ No. 70 ] - People Today Would Call Enoch And Teachers Such As This Writer Fanatics, But, Was He And Are We? You Be The Judge! . . .

[ No. 71 ] - What Took Place After Enoch, What Followed After His Footsteps? . . .

[ No. 72 ] - The Horrible Sins Of The Five Cities Of The Plains . . .

[ No. 73 ] - Distinctions Must Be Made And Remembered In Bible Study Groups . . .

[ No. 74 ] - The People Were Obviously Very productive . . .

[ No. 75 ] - About Pride, Are You A Pride-full Person? . . .

[ No. 76 ] - Why Do Folks Invariably Boast? . . .

[ No. 77 ] - The Supreme Power Of the Almighty Is Far From The Understanding 0f Man . . .

[ No. 78 ] - Unprecedented Prosperity And Over Production With Surpluses Of Commodities . . .

[ No. 79 ] - Two Much Idleness Was Taking Place In The Land! . . .

[ No. 80 ] - Man Was To Work Six Days, The Seventh Was To Be A Day Of Rest . . .

[ No. 81 ] - What Are People To Do With Their Life Of Leisure? . . .

[ No. 82 ] - In Noah's Day There Were Giants On The Earth: In A World That Became Corrupted Because Of Strange Flesh:

[ No. 83 ] - There Have Been Two Schools Of Thought Concerning This Subject . . .

[ No. 84 ] - This Was Undoubtedly A Supernatural Union Of Spirit Beings And Humans . . .

[ No. 85 ] - The Great Testimony Of The Scriptures Tells It All . . .

[ No. 86 ] - The Apostle Peter's Testimony Recognizing Evil Angels As Sons Of God . . .

[ No. 87 ] - Naturally There Is Always An Exception . . .

[ No. 88 ] - What Difference Does It Make Concerning The Various Denominational Interpretations, Isn't One Just As Good As Another? . . .

[ No. 89 ] - It Is Easily Seen That Carnal Sex Can Be One Cause To Bring On The End Of This Present Age Of Grace. . . .

[ No. 90 ] - The Vital Question Is, What About You Personally? . . .

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1. Commentary . . . We cannot help but believe the time is at hand for the Rapture. Therefore, when Christ the Son of God, Who was rejected when He came as prophesied, literally and bodily the first time to Israel as their Saviour and Lord, will He not return literally and bodily as Messiah and King the second time as He has promised them throughout His Word? Then, that portion of prophecy concerning Christ's Second Advent will have been fulfilled. Thus, the curtain of doubt and mystery will be lifted and all humanity will see that the Lord's plans and purposes were perfect and just.

2. When this takes place, that golden age of millennial rest will be ushered in and peace will appear when Christ will reside as King over all the earth. After that, sorrow and tears for most of humanity shall hardly be known. Naturally, after thinking about all this, one must wonder if theologians are right in saying that complete harmony will exist during the Lord's reign. After all there will be many young folks born at that time that will fail to become followers of the Lord in their life time.

3. 0therwise, what about that last uprising against Messiah foretold in { Revelation 20:7-9 }. This of course is where supposition takes over. The fact is, we just don't know everything about that future age. The Lord only gives us minute details concerning future things that apply to that future millennium of rest. One thing we do know is that Christ's reign will be a golden age far beyond what humanity has endured in the past.

4. This golden age will begin for mankind to be what humanity has dreamed about ever since our first parents were driven out of the Garden of Eden. As we are well aware, all the attempts of men himself and the nations to overcome the effects of sin and bring in peace and harmony without help from God have failed. Thus, humanity will continue to fail, for man in his own achievements has no power to bring utopia into being by his own merit.

5. On the other hand, God's program is running on time, His plans are being fulfilled daily in every minute detail. It is therefore very important to study God's Word so that man can receive as much knowledge of the Lord's plan as we can find through theological research. There can be no other way to receive wisdom of His plans because man hasn't the answer and cannot receive it by supposition. Knowledge can only be achieved through wisdom given by the Lord Himself.

6. There are those who will claim, strangely enough, to the idle dream that man will ultimately conquer the problems of the nations. He will do this by culture, education, understanding by the scientific approach, and through conversations concerning knowledge. And, all this through the world's gospel of law and the golden rule, and especially by the populations own personal achievements. These visionary goals of foolish man may be summed up under five headings . . .

7. [ 1 ]: The conversion of the world in this age by the preaching of a social gospel of good will and mutual understanding.

8. [ 2 ]: The reformation of society by the application of education and cultural en-lightenment.

9. [ 3 ]: By the abolishment of war and violence at the conference table.

10. [ 4 ]: By the attainment of a super One World Government with one single governing body of magistrates.

11. [ 5 ]: And, by the unification of all the religions of the world into a great one world super-religious organization!

12.. Never before in all history has there been such intense activity, or such energetic efforts made to achieve these goals. Today, in the shadow of atomic destruction, man realizes that these ideals must be realized if civilization is to survive. Never before has there been such emphasis on Christian-izing the world with our inventions of radio, television, computers, and literature. And, yet it appears to some Christian leaders that people are being born many times more rapidly than we can reach them with the Lord's message of salvation.

13. If this above is true, there is very little time to reach the most very important goal, to outdistance Satan and lead modern man to Christ. As to the modern society at large, we have to but consider the countless organizations and movements designed to train, educate, and rehabilitate the backward nations of the world by man himself. Man states that he will wipe out illiteracy, poverty, and disease, by sharing his technological and scientific knowledge, thus, he will conquer the inequalities of the peoples of the earth. Finally man has decided that he will wipe out all the barriers to a completely integrated society. This is still man's dream. Can man achieve all this?

14. As to the third goal of the nations; namely, the abolishment of war and the establishment of world peace, comment seems almost unnecessary. Out of the experience of the various wars, man realizes that another world war is unthinkable because of the inventions of modern weapons of destruction. And, then along came this present terroristic war because of the various religions. The world's leaders in the past said: . . .

15. "with the possession of engines of destruction capable of destroying all mankind, another war must be prevented, and so the world leaders formed the United Nations Organization whose one and only, main and basic aim was to insure peace and prevent war. Naturally several wars have been fought since that time, and another world war is being fought at this present time that will likely go on until the Second Coming of Christ. This present world war is with the terrorist organizations that are waging havoc all over this world right now, this is a religious war that all the nations put together have no remedy to conquer.

16. Today the threat of more wars is greater than ever before and the whole world lives in fear and unrest. The 4th and 5th goal of man is to end the difference among the nations and to unite all religions into one great world super religious organization and under a one world government. The truth is, it is a well known fact that there is nothing more cruel than religious intolerance and bigotry.

17. With a one world religious system controlling every religious denomination according to their own belief and denominational doctrine - God would have to take a seat in the baaack row because His Word would be ignored by man-made rules! Today the ecumenical movement is in full swing. A one world Government with every nation on earth evolved as members of that government is being formed just as God's Word said it would be millennia ago. As a one world government, it will mean that all world nations will have to give up their own sovereignty and allow a supreme leader to control the entire world as a dictatorial regime.

18. Also today, we can see that on every hand there is compromise, and a surrender of long-held beliefs, plus, a yielding of fundamental principles in order to produce a system of beliefs and doctrines which isn't supposed to be offensive to any one. As you well know, this will never happen even though the world will do its best to force it on humanity as a whole! This then is the program of man . . .

19. [ 1 ]: World conversion in this age;

20. [ 2 ]: Reformation of a super world society;

21. [ 3 ]: The abolishment of war by the efforts of man; and

22. [ 4 ]: The unification of all religions into one harmonious, innocuous, harmless organization without spirit or power!

23. Commentary . . . Now contrast this wishful dream of man to bring on utopia by his own merit, with the program of God for the world. It is the exact opposite of man's program, for while it has for its ultimate goal the same results. It will not come through the efforts of man, but only by the program of God. God's program also calls for . . .

24. [ 1 ]: The conversion of the world,

25. [ 2 ]: The reformation of society,

26. [ 3 ]: The abolishment of war,

27. [ 4 ]: And, the unification of all religions into one saved Christian organism. Of course this is a future plan of God and will only take place on the new earth after it is created by God. Even during the Millennial Reign of Christ there will be different beliefs other wise there would be no more death or friction. But there will be some death and a certain amount of friction, this the Bible makes clear.

28. There can be no real future true religious change into Christianity on this present earth because, never will mankind agree on one fundamental faith. Much of this goal between man and God is the same, but there, all similarity ceases. These ideals will be realized someday by the Lord Jesus Himself. The conversion of the world is not the present plan or program of God for this age in which we live. We are not expected to win the world for Christ in this dispensation. It is not in God's plan that by the preaching of the Gospel more and more people will be saved until we have converted the world!!!!!

29. Some people teach that during the Millennial reign of Christ all sin will be eradicated. This my friend is wishful thinking! and there are several reasons why . . .

30. [ 1 ]: The worlds people as a whole will not under any circumstances have true peace or become Saints of God without Christ's presence on the earth to lead them, and that will not be possible till His Second Advent!

31. [ 2 ]: Even after the return of Christ, and after He judges the world's nations and people, there will still be a certain amount of sin present on this earth during His reign.

32. [ 3 ]: All this is easily proven by God's eternal Word. When Messiah returns He judges the nations { Matthew 25:31-46 } and all the 'lost [ goats' ] will be cast into Hell, and all the 'sheep [ saved' ] will enter into Christ's Millennial reign.

33. Satan and his wicked angels, and all demons will be incarcerated in the pit of Hell, { Revelation 20:3 }. Naturally, this will include all of Satan's followers. And, the Antichrist and false prophet will be cast into the lake of fire, { Revelation 19:20 }. Since only Saints are left on the earth to enter into Christ's Kingdom reign, the sinful conditions on earth will be dramatically changed. There "will be" peace on earth with no wars to take place. "BUT," this does not mean that all humanity will follow the dictates of Christ altogether willingly. The prophet stated that during Messiah's reign:

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34. Scripture: "There shall be no more thence [ i.e., at that time be ] an infant of days nor an old man that has not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed, { Isaiah 65:20 }."

35. The above verse paraphrased: "There shall no more be upon this earth an infant that lives but a few days, or an old man who dies prematurely, for the child shall die a hundred years old, and the lost sinner who dies when only a hundred years old shall be thought of as only being a child, he is cut off in death because he is accursed."

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36. Commentary . . . We have explained this verse in previous messages, but we will enlarge upon it again in this part of the message . . .

37. [ 1 ]: You notice that no one will die before they reach the age of one hundred years of age.

38. [ 2 ]: This means - even though all those whom entered into the Millennial reign were Saints, and that, all those Saints will live on through the complete millennium, without dying, still there is to be death among them during that period of time.

39. [ 3 ]: It must be understood that the people that will be in the world's nations and will enter into the Millennial reign while still in a live condition, these folks will have bodies of flesh, blood and bones. They will be just as human as you and I are today.

40. [ 4 ]: This also means that they will be able to have offspring, and even though they themselves are Saints, their offspring will be born with old sin natures just as you and I had when we were first born.

41. [ 5 ]: Most of these children will obviously become Saints of God, but many of them will fail and refuse to become Christians just as many today have this same failing.

42. [ 6 ]: According to this, they will not die or reach the age of accountability until they reach the age of one hundred, but since they will not repent and be saved, they will die in their sins at that age.

43. Down through that thousand years period, there will be a huge number of people that will fail to become believers in Christ the Messiah. This is because of their old sin nature, even though the Lord will be sitting on His throne personally and visibly at that very time right in front of their eyes, they will still reject Him. For sure, many of them will die at the age of 100, but a huge number of them under that age will still be alive that are numbered in the last generation of the millennium and will become followers of Satan. How is this to be when Satan is not present on the earth but is locked up in the pit of Hell? Scripture states that Satan will only indwell Hell for that thousand year period but then:

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44. { V. 7 }: Scripture, "And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison [ "the pit of hell" ],

45. { V. 8 }: And shall go out to deceive [ i.e., and seduce and lead astray ] the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle [ against Christ the Messiah ]: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. { See Ezekiel 38:2, 9, 15, 22. }

46. { V. 9 }: And they went [ 'swarmed' ] up on [ 'and over' ] the breadth [ i.e., broad plains ] of the earth, and compassed the camp of the Saints about, and the beloved city [ Jerusalem ]; and fire came down from God out of Heaven, and devoured them [ Naturally - future tense ], { Revelation 20:7-9 }." { See 2- Kings 1:10-12; - & - Ezekiel 38:2, 22. }

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47. Commentary . . . Remember, this will be similar to the time when Sodom was destroyed. This shows us that there will likely be billions of people on the earth at the time of the end of Messiah's millennial reign, and no wonder since all the Saints will obviously produce millions of children during that glorious thousand year period who have become Saints.

48. But, the horrible part of all this is, even though Christ Himself will be reigning in their presence and visibly before the eyes of the world's people, many as it is today, will not all believe in Him. There will be no trouble or wars between the nations. There will be long lives among the nations and their people. It seems that there will be no sickness or disease or prisons on earth to incarcerate people. Naturally this is supposition on this writers part but we find no Scripture to contradict us.

49. Still, the old sin nature inherited from Adam will be active and prominent among the populous, and millions of lost people will remain lost to God! [ Gog and Magog in verse 8 are symbolic names for the worldwide enemies of Messiah ]. There will be an uncountable number of the youth of the nations that are unsaved, this group will still be under the age of one hundred years at that time and will rebel against Messiah, they will follow Satan after he has been turned out of Hell. The Lord will immediately cast all of them into the lake of fire to spend all eternity, as it is foretold in the above verses! Notice that it is the rebellious youth that follow Satan in this last rebellion! As it is today, the rebellious youth cause the most trouble. "As it was so shall it be."

50. During this age of grace, Scripture doesn't say that more and more people will be saved as time goes on, but less and less as the age progresses. Neither does it state that the world will get better and better, but instead will get worse and worse. Nor does Scripture state that this age will end in a great worldwide awakening and climax in a blaze of revival glory, but instead it makes clear that humanity in a certain religious system will become so lukewarm and apostatize before the coming of the Lord that God will spue them out of His mouth, { Revelation 3:16 }.

[ Heading No. 66 ]. The Lord Will Call Out A Saved Remnant Of Saints . . .

51. Commentary . . . The N.T. is crystal-clear that the program for this grace age is to call out a remnant of true Believers to form the Body of Christ, but a much greater number of people will not be won to Christ in this dispensation. And, history corroborates this program. Nowhere do we see the conversion of whole nations or cities or communities, but here and there a few while the multitudes continue in their indifference. The Bible teaches as an unbroken witness the decadence of humanity and society "as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be." Read the following text . . .

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52. { V. 1 } Scripture: "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

53. { V. 2 }: For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetousness, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, [ we find this to be true in our own family members, isn't that true? ]

54. { V. 3 }: Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,

55. { V. 4 }: Traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

56. { V. 5 }: Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof, from such turn away, { 2- Timothy 3:1-5 }."

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57. The above five verses paraphrased:

58. { 1 }: "[This know and understand also, that in the last days perilous times of great stress and trouble shall come upon the earth that will be hard to deal with and difficult to bear.

59. { 2 }: For men, woman, and even children, shall be lover's of their own selves and be utterly self centered. They will be guilty of covetousness and aroused by an inordinate, greedy desire for wealth, boasters, proud and arrogant, contemptuous boasters. They will be abusive blasphemers, scoffers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy and profane.

60. { 3 }: They will be without natural human affection, callous and inhuman, relentless . . . admitting of no truce or appeasement. They will be slanderers . . . false accusers, trouble makers; intemperate and of loose morals and conduct, uncontrolled and fierce, haters of good.

61. { 4 }: They will be treacherous betrayers, rash and inflated with self conceit. They will be lovers of sensual pleasures and vain amusements more than - and rather than lovers of God.

62. { 5 }: For although they hold a form of piety [ i.e., true Christian belief ], they will deny and reject - and are strangers to the power of it . . . their conduct belies the genuineness of their profession. Avoid all such people as if they were a plaque . . . turn away from them."

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63. Commentary . . . 0f the above verses depicting the last days, this also includes the present last days of the Body of Christ period and goes on into the Tribulation Period. Paul stated these conditions to a certain extent was even present in Timothy's day, and would be prevalent, for he said to Timothy "from such turn away" { V. 5 }. Anyone with common sense can see that perilous times are much more evident in our present day. Can you just see the evidence of folks today being "lovers of their own selves?"

64. Everyone does that which is right in their own eyes. Selfishness abounds. And, covetous people are in a rush to keep up with the Jones.' Men and woman turn against their own children, and children turn against their parents and it seems, with actual hatred in their hearts against each other. Few are content with such things that they have in this age. You have probably noticed that even school children are very envious of others. Covetousness abounds all around us, can the readers see this in their own communities? .

65. "Disobedient to parents." Juvenile delinquency is the term in this generation, but now more common and rampant. "Unthankful." There is little loyalty or thankfulness for anything but only wanting more. "Unholy, without natural affection." { See Romans 1:26 } this concerns homosexuality, and by many - is accepted as a way of life. The queer crowd, sex out of bounds from God's limits, is accepted by much of society.

66. "Trucebreakers." One only has to look at North Korea and Vietnam to see blatant trucebreaking. "Incontinent [ Greek 'akrates' ]" meaning "no power" or "restraint" over one's self. Senseless killings and atrocious sex crimes give evidence to this today. "Fierce," meaning "not tame" "Savage." "Despisers of those that are good." The all-American boy or girl is not looked up to, but the radicals and immoral celebrities such as carnal movie actors and actresses are. The honest teenager is often ridiculed! Does it seem to you, that those who do good and act good are greatly in the minority?

67. "Lovers of pleasure." One would have to be blind not to see that pleasure-seeking has skyrocketed today. The cry of first-century Rome was, "Give us bread and the circus." The two necessities of life were "welfare and entertainment." The situation is the same today, even our largest Christian Assemblies today have become places of entertainment. It is said that a huge host of members of various Congregations attend some religious Assemblies primarily because of the musical and contemporary singing.

68. And, many of the older members have quit going to worship because of the loud horrible noise that is made up from the assemblies orchestras. "Forms of godliness." Christian Assembly attendance is said to be at an all time high, but many are powerless. To many religious denominations, no longer are God and His teaching considered in matters of divorce, sex, homosexuality, or abortion. A great many so-called Christian Assemblies are powerless in the community. They only appear to be godly. Inwardly they are impotent because of sin and little or no shame is expressed.

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69. { V. 1 } Scripture: "I charge you therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, Who shall judge the quick [ i.e., living ] and the dead at His appearing [ that is, when He returns at His Second Coming ] and His kingdom;

70. { V. 2 }: Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine.

71. { V. 3 }: For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lust shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;

72. { V. 4 }: And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and [ their teachings ] shall be turned unto fables.

73. { V. 5 }: But watch yourself in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of your ministry, { 2- Timothy 4:1-5 }."

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74. { V. 2-5 } above paraphrased . . . { V. 2 }: Herald and preach the Word of God! Keep your sense of urgency, stand by, be at hand and ready, whether the opportunity seems to be favorable or unfavorable, whether it is convenient or inconvenient, whether it will be welcome or unwelcome. You as a preacher of the Word are to show people in what way their lives are wrong. Convince them, rebuking and correcting, warning and urging and encouraging them, in long-suffering, and be inexhaustible in patience and teaching.

75. { V. 3 }: For the time is coming when people will not tolerate or endure sound and wholesome instruction, but having itching ears will be groping for something that is merely pleasing and gratifying. They will gather to themselves one teacher after another to a considerable number, chosen to satisfy their own liking and to foster the errors they hold,

76. { V. 4 }: Thus, they will turn aside from hearing the truth and wonder off into myths and man-made fictions.

77. { V. 5 }: As for you, be calm and cool and steady, accept and suffer unflinchingly every hardship, do the work of an evangelist; and fully perform all the duties of your ministry."

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78. Commentary of these 5 above verses,

79. "A , The Purpose of the Ministry { V: 1-2 }," . . .

80. { 1 }: "I Charge you." Paul's final charge to Timothy is more than a command. A charge carries with it the moral obligation to be carried out. "Judge." In the light of what has been stated in { 2- Timothy Ch, 3 } about the last days, Paul reminds Timothy of a day of reckoning. "The quick, which means - the living," those who are alive and remain { 1- Thessalonians 4:17 } and the dead, "for the dead in Christ shall rise first, { 1- Thessalonians 4:16 }." Pastors and people alike shall stand at the Judgment Seat of Christ { 2- Corinthians 5:10 }, at His appearing. "To whom much is given much is required, { James 3:1 }."

81. { 2 }: "Preach the Word." This means to herald as the emperor's herald gave a formal message in an authoritative way. Be consistent , he says, always at it. Don't be afraid to "reprove or rebuke" but do it with "long-suffering and doctrine." The minister's personal feelings are not the ground for reproof: doctrine alone is the ground of teaching.

82. "B, The Perversion of the Ministry { V. 3-4 }," . . .

83. { 3 }: "The time will come," and most believe it is here today. "Itching ears," will be "tickled" by preachers who do not preach and interpret the Bible as they should. Many pastors bow to the wishes of ungodly congregations who only want to hear what pleases them. [ As to this writer, I personally believe that many readers won't be very pleased with everything I teach.]

84. { 4 }: "Turn away" [ Greek, 'apostrepho' ] is in the Greek active voice and has the idea of deliberate action by themselves. "Shall be turned" [ Greek, 'ektrepo' ] means they are acted upon; it is a medical term meaning "to twist out of place."

85. "C, Priority of the Ministry { V. 5-7 }, "but we will only go as far as { V. 5 } here," . . .

86. { 5 }: 'Also,' in contrast to these above, Timothy is to 'watch,' which has the idea of being sober and alert. 'Endure afflictions.' Satan doesn't play games. He puts up a fight. Ministers must not get discouraged and run. 'Do the work of an evangelist.' Every pastor must evangelize; he must be a soul- winner. He cannot simply pray and preach. He cannot expect his followers to witness if he doesn't. He must preach the words: 'Be you followers of me. . . , { 1- Corinthians 11:1 }.' "To 'make full proof' of his ministry the pastor must be faithful in all the above admonitions." Even though the above words were for pastors, they apply in part to every Child of God! "Remember we are all Ambassadors for Christ, Who has given to us the ministry of reconciliation, { 2- Corinthians 5:18-20 }."

[ Heading No. 67 ]. False Prophets And False Teachers . . .

87. Commentary . . . Reconciliation involves a changed relationship because one's trespasses have been imputed to Christ { 2- Corinthians 5:19 }. We are now to announce to others the message of God's grace. Does all this that we have written sound as if in the latter days on this earth it will become better and better? The Lord told His followers that: "As it was in the days of Noah, so it would be when He comes again." In addition to the conditions to which we have already called your attention to in the preceding chapters, the Apostle Peter adds some pertinent information concerning those days, he says . . .

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88. { V. 1 } Scripture: "But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily will bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

89. { V. 2 }: And many shall follow their pernicious [ licentiousness ] ways by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of,

90. { V. 3 }: And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingers not, and their damnation slumbers not.

91. { V. 4 } For if God spared not the angels that sinned but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;

92. { V. 5 }: And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;

93. { V. 6 }: And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorra into ashes, condemned them with an overthrow, making them an example unto those that after should live ungodly;

94. { V. 7 }: And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked.

95. { V. 8 }: For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds, { See Psalm 90:4. }

96. { V. 9 }: The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished,

97. { V. 10 }: But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.

98. { V. 11 }: Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord.

99. { V. 12 }: But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption, { 2- Peter 2:1-12 }."

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100. The above 12 verses paraphrased below: . .

101. { V. 1 }: "But also in those days there arose false prophets also among the people, [ referring to the days of Noah and Lot, ] { Vs. 4-9 }, just as there will be false teachers among yourselves, who will subtly and stealthily introduce heretical doctrines . . . destructive heresies . . . even denying and disowning the Master, the Lord Jesus Christ Who bought them with His Own blood, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.

102. { V. 2 }: And many will follow their immoral ways and lascivious lifestyles, because of them the true way shall be maligned and defamed.

103. { V. 3 }: And in their covetousness [ lust, and greed ] they will exploit you with cunning false arguments. From of old the sentence of condemnation for them has not been idle; their destruction [ i.e., eternal misery ] has not been asleep.

104. { V. 4 }: For God did not spare the wicked angels who followed Satan and sinned against Jehovah God { see Genesis 6:1-4, - & - Jude 6, 'King James Version' }, but cast them down into hell, and delivered them to be kept there in chains of darkness and anguish, in the pit of gloom till the judgment and their eternal doom.

105. { V. 5 }: And the Lord did not spare the ancient world of Noah's day, but He preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others of his family, when He brought on the great Flood to the earth and to the remaining hordes of humanity . . . to their destruction. { see Genesis 8:18:6-8. }

106. { V. 6 }: And God condemned to ruin and extinction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the other three cities of the plains reducing them to ashes and thus set them forth as an example to those who would be ungodly. { Genesis 19:24. }

107. { V. 7 }: And the Lord Jehovah rescued righteous Lot, "vexed" [ that is, greatly worn out and distressed ] by the wanton ways of the ungodly and lawless, { see Genesis 19:16, 29.}

108. { V. 8 }: For that just man, living there among the heathen, tortured his righteous soul every day with what he saw and heard of the people's unlawful and wicked deeds.

109. { V. 9 }: Now if [ that is, since these things are all true, then you can be sure that ] the lord knows how to rescue the godly out of temptations and trials, and how to keep the ungodly under restraint until the day of judgment and eternal punishment."

110. { V. 10 }: And particularly those who walk after the flesh and indulge in the lust of polluting passion, and scorn and despise authority. Presumptuous and daring . . . self-will and self-loving [ creatures ]! They scoff at and revile dignitaries [ glorious ones ] without trembling,

111. { V. 11 }: Whereas even angels, though superior in might and power, do not bring a defaming charge against them before the Lord.

112. { V. 12 }: But these [ people ]! Like unreasoning beasts, mere creatures of instinct, born only to be captured and destroyed, railing at things of which they are ignorant, they shall utterly perish in their own corruption . . . in their destroying they shall surely be destroyed, , { 2- Peter 2:1-12 }."

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113. Commentary on verses above. { V. 1}: "Privily [ subtly, cunningly. ] denying the Lord that bought them. The price for the sins of all men [ including these false teachers ] was paid by the death of Christ, though no man can have benefit of this forgiveness except through faith in the Saviour { See 1- Corinthians 6:20; - & - 1- Peter 1:18-19 }. Also no person can benefit unless they are born again into the family of God. The words in { V. 1 }: "their were [ past tense ] false prophets also among the people," . . . The people mentioned in verse one refers to the people Israel, God's chosen people, and Peter believes, like Paul . . . that . . .

114. "These things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, { 1- Corinthians 10:11 }." See also { 1- Peter 2:9 } where people are applied to the Israelites during Messiah's future Kingdom reign, actually { V. 9 } here has a double meaning and can apply in part to the lost Gentiles who had lived during the Law period and had lived in darkness, but now since they have lived on into the grace dispensation can now receive Christ just like others will do when they choose the way of grace through the blood of Christ.

115. "Feigned words" in { 2- Peter: V. 3 } literally means "false words." The words "make merchandise of you," means to "exploit you for their own ends." Though it may seem that God has delayed judging these false teachers, you can be sure that judgment will surely come because { V. 3 } states that "their damnation slumbers not." { 2:V. 4 }: "angels that sinned," These are the fallen angels who sinned grievously by cohabiting with flesh and blood women, as described in { Genesis 6:1-4; - & - Jude V. 6. }

116. Two groups of Satan's angels committed this crime, one group before the Flood, the other during the period that Moses and David lived. In both cases they were consigned to Hell, literally 'Tartarus,' which refers to a deep pit that these angels are imprisoned in until the final "White Throne Judgment." On the other hand, there are untold thousands of wicked angels still at large, and are still free to perform Satan's crimes against God and man during this present age. The logic is that since' God punishes wicked angelic and demonic entities, surely He will not spare these false teachers spoken of in these Bible verses.

117. { 2: V. 9 }: The "unjust' mentioned in this verse, not only will be punished in the Lake of Fire but also are being punished in the intermediate place of Hades where they suffer presently until they are judged at the white throne judgment and transferred to the Lake of Fire { Luke 16:19-31. } Read our message concerning [ "The Prison Of No Return," which we have displayed on internet ]. { 2: V. 10 }: The words, "after the flesh," refers to some sexual perversion, likely homosexuality, since Peter has just written about Sodom and Gomorrah, see { V. 6 }. The words "despise government [ i.e., authority ], especially God's authority. The last part of verse ten may be translated, "Daring, self-willed, they tremble not at blaspheming the glorious ones [ i.e., God's holy angels. ]"

118. False teachers speak rashly in disbelief of the power and authority of angels, and we believe this also refers to the fact that these false teachers speak horribly against true Biblical oriented fundamentalist Christian Ministers, which every "True Child of God is!": { 2- Corinthians 5:14-21 }. { Ch. 2:11 }: The words "against them," we believe this is a reference to the false teachers. In other words, even though the false teachers speak evil of angels, and against all Christians, none of God's holy angels denounce these false teachers but leave all judgment to God.

119. Some folks interpret "them" to refer to evil angels; i.e., good angels would never accuse evil angels, but the Lord will. We suggest that the reader read and study the remaining verses in this chapter. In { Deuteronomy 13:1-5 } the people are warned that if a false prophet came and tried to draw them away from the worship of God, they should not listen. It was a test to see if they loved God with all their hearts [ minds ] or not.

120. Peter was telling his readers the same thing; he draws upon several apocalyptic passages to show that false teachers are despicable to the Lord and doomed to destruction as His enemies. There are thousands of false ministers today, and if you watch them preach on TV you can surely name several of them. And as Scripture states . . . "As it was so shall it be!."

121. Peter warns that "there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in - that is, smuggle into the Christian assemblies false doctrine without the people realizing it." "Damnable heresies," literally heresies of destruction, which means that the faith will be destroyed if the people believe these things. The reason the false teachers 'then and now,' sneak in heresy is because they deny the Lord that bought them with His Own blood in the same way and at the same time He bought us which are living in our own dispensation.

122. This also, does 'N0T' mean that Jesus Christ is their Lord or ever was, but He could have been since He had paid the price for their release from sin. Many in the past obviously denied Him and renounced him, and would not have anything to do with Him when they could have been saved. Therefore, they as well as false disciples today, have brought upon themselves swift destruction. "As it was so shall it be!." The problem for Peter and yes, also for the Body of Christ of today is:

123. From { V. 2 } above: "that many shall follow false doctrine," and we see the falseness everywhere we look, and in every way of life at this very time. Paul mentions the great apostasy of the end times in { 2-Thessalonians 2:3 } as well as in { 2-Timothy

4:1 }. This is harmful to the testimony of the way of truth. "The way of Biblical truth is what Believers absolutely must live by in this age of deceitfulness." { V. 3 }: "Make merchandise of you." The word merchandise here, 'emporeuomai' is from the Greek, and means 'exploit .'

124. False teachers exploit the general public and are in it only for the money and to glorify themselves before those they have deceived, { see 1 Peter 5:2 }. Their "judgment" and destruction will surely come, since they have made it obvious that they are the enemies of God, and the Lord's enemies will be judged! The meaning of: these 7 verses above, { V. 4-10 } are actually lessons from the past. This section of second Peter, which is so much like the greater part of Jude's Epistle, is the reason why the critics have claimed that one must have copied from the other.

125. The fact is, Peter and Jude wrote independently of each other as the direct instruments of the Holy Spirit. The correspondence of Peter's testimony with Jude's Epistle is more fully examined in the introduction to Jude. The Spirit of God calls attention through Peter to that which happened in past history. Thus, Peter shows that God deals with apostates who defy Him and are disobedient, while the godly He delivers into His Own family.

126. In Jude we should plainly see that while there is much similarity, the purpose of the testimony is quite different from that of Peter. First, mention is made of the angels who sinned and who are cast down to hell, the word as we have already stated refers to "Tartarus" [ i.e., the very lowest pit of hell ], where they are kept in chains of darkness for the coming judgment.

127. It is evident that the passage does not mean Satan and every single angel who joined in his rebellion before man was created, but only a certain group of the devil's angels were involved in the wickedness portrayed in verse 4 above. Satan and many of his fallen angels are not at this time in Hades awaiting there in a helpless state the judgment. They are not all in chains, but many of them are still loose and Satan, as the prince of this world, uses the rest of his angels in the pursuit of his evil work. Who then, were those angels?

128. As we have taught before in our message, they were the angels described in { Genesis 6:1-4 } as the "sons of God" [ i.e., by creation, a term which in the Old Testament means angels ] who came down and mingled with the daughters of men. These angels, as Jude tells us, did not keep their first estate, they left their assigned place, and by their disobedience became the means of corrupting the human race in such a manner that the judgment of God had to act in the Deluge.

129. God has not been pleased to give a complete revelation of this sinister event. Peter at once speaks of the old world, which was not spared by God, "but saved Noah the eighth person [ with seven others ], a preacher of righteousness, having brought forth the flood upon the world of the ungodly." This testimony is closely linked with what Peter had written in his first Epistle { 1- Peter 3:19-20 }. And here we are told that Noah was a preacher of righteousness.

130. Noah and his house had found grace in the sight of the Lord, while the mass of people of the ungodly world who rejected Jehovah, His Truth and His Spirit, Who strove with them. These unbelievers were not spared but dealt with in judgment. It is so now. Another day is coming in which the Lord will judge the ungodly and unbelieving, while His Saints shall be saved.

131. Peter was speaking of the days of Noah and Lot, when he said there were false prophets also among the people, for he refers to those two periods in history in these above verses. Were the days of Noah days of revival or days of apostasy? Were the days of Lot days of spiritual activity or indifference? Jesus said, "those days were pictures and types of the coming last days." In Noah's day only a small company of eight souls were saved.

132. In Lot's day, just three people from his family were saved from the destruction in Sodom. To which company do you belong? Could it be that you are a part of that great crowd who goes on its merry way to destruction? 0r, will you be among the "little flock" who though ignored, unheeded, and even hated by the majority of the world's people, who shall escape all these things which will come to pass? It is still not too late.

133. In { Genesis Ch. 1- 3 } we have the record of creation, the entrance of sin, and man's banishment from the Garden of Eden. The three chapters that followed are a record of the results of man's sin in the days of Adam's descendants, culminating in the judgment of the flood, and is therefore, a picture of the last day before the return of Messiah. The record of those days prior to the flood was one of violence, crime, murder and wickedness, of which the Bible says . . .

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134. Scripture: "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination [ and intention ] of the thoughts of his heart [ mind ] was only evil continually, { Genesis 6:5" K J V. }

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135. Commentary . . . There is no doubt that this is an indelible picture, a type, and descriptions of the very days in which we are living. But, thank God, there was a faithful remnant in those days, just as there is today. The faith chapter of Genesis contain two special names "Enoch and Noah" which stand out above all others in that faithless generation. The record of Enoch is brief but packed with instruction. We have pointed out that he was the first "spaceman" in history, and is a type of the Body of Christ which will be Raptured at least seven years before the Second Coming of Christ. But, the balance of the revelation of Enoch is equally instructive. Here follows the brief account :

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136. { V. 21 } Scripture: "And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat [ fathered ] Methuselah;

137. { V. 22 }: And Enoch walked [ in habitual fellowship ] with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat [ i.e., fathered more ] sons and daughters [ i.e., 'into his family by procreation' ],

138. { V. 23 }: And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years . . .

139. { V. 24 }: And Enoch walked [ 'in habitual fellow-ship' ] with God: and he was not; for God took him [ i.e., home to be with Himself in Paradise ], { Genesis 5:21-24" K J V. }"

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140. Commentary . . . [ Concerning Paradise, read our message concerning "Sheol." ] The New Testament adds a few details to this history of the first astronaut who lived before the flood. The writer of Hebrews inform us that . . .

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141. Scripture: "By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God, { Hebrews 11:5. K J V." }

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142. The above { V. 5 } paraphrased: "Because of his faith Enoch was caught up and transferred to Paradise, so that he did not have a glimpse of death. And, Enoch was afterward not to be found upon the earth, because Jehovah God had resurrected him. For even before he was taken to Paradise he received testimony [ that is still on record ] that he had pleased and had been more than satisfactory to Jehovah, { Genesis 5:21-24." }

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143. Commentary . . . As we have already brought out, the Apostle Jude also makes mention of Enoch and added a bit of very interesting information. [ The reader should read our message concerning Heaven, where we give some very important information concerning Enoch and Elijah's O.T. Rapture ]. This is the extent of recorded revelation concerning Enoch who lived before the great Flood, and Elijah after the Flood. Jesus stated . . .

144. "As it was then, so shall it be again at the time when I return the second time." It's all written down in the record as a picture of what is to take place in the last days, and the way prophetical events are presented in eschatology, this present generation is now living in the last days of our own age. The fulfillment we believe is just around the corner of this Grace age. Actually, the record is inexhaustible.

[ Heading No. 68 ]: The Prophet Enoch Was A True Child Of God For We Read That . . .

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145. Scripture: "Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years . . . , { Genesis 5:22 }."

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146. Commentary . . . One of the first things recorded about this man Enoch was that he "walked with God." 0nly one other man that is actually mentioned who walked with God was Noah. This was obviously because of something which happened to Enoch when his famous son Methuselah was born. Somehow the birth of Methuselah, who was to become famous for his longevity, had such a profound effect on father Enoch that it caused him to walk with God from that time onward. The reason for this we believe was a revelation given to Enoch concerning a Divine judgment which was imminent at the time of Methuselah's death.

147. This revelation of judgment was the great Flood which I mention again as the type of the coming judgment of God on Israel and the nations in the Tribulation Period, and at the judgment of the world's nations when Messiah returns. Never forget: "As it was then, so shall the scenario be acted out again only in a different way." Was this all that was important concerning Enoch's walk with God?

[ Heading No. 69 ]: What about Enoch's Walk With The Lord? . . .

148. Commentary . . . This walk took place in that long ago day when it was exceedingly difficult to walk with Jehovah. At that time the wickedness of man was reaching its climax and would soon precipitate the judgment of God. It was an age when wickedness abounded on every hand, evil was multiplying very rapidly and rearing its head as fast as it is in our own present age. Men and women became very degraded, many of the women even surrendered their bodies to an evil angelic Host.

249. It was not an easy age for a person to become a Child of God, being surrounded by all the corruption, and filth of that day. The conditions are graphically described in Scripture. [ Read our message concerning "Giants 0f The 0ld Testament And Their Origin, And The origin of Satan Plus . . . Demons." ].

150. We must remember that in Enoch's and Noah's day there were hardly any saved Believers on the earth. Today every Christian walks with the Lord because Christ indwells every Believer, thus, wherever we go we take him with us. This should sadden many Christians because sometimes they go to the wrong places, evil places and this greves the Holy Spirit to no end. Just think about it what ever you do, if you are a Child of God, He is with you all the time!

152. The question is, what do you do? What kind of Ministry do you perform to others? What kind of language do you use? What kind of jokes do you tell and lesson to? Who do you associate with? How are you to your parents and others of your family? Do you show love to your family and friends? Has your anger gotten the best of you? Do you obey the ten commandments?

153. Read them again and test yourself. You will find them in { Exodus 20:1-17. } There are many more questions we could add to this list. But, the main one is: "Are you a Christian? Can everybody tell by your actions and the way you live that you are saved? What does God's Word say about you personally? Are you disobedient or are you a godly person? Think about it .

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154. Scripture: "And the Lord said, My Spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years, { Genesis 6:3 }."

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155. Commentary . . . The words "My Spirit shall not always strive with man." Two interpretations are possible, [ 1 ]: The reference is to the Holy Spirit striving in the sense of judging or executing judgment on mankind for its sinfulness. [ 2 ]: The human spirit God placed in human beings would not always abide in the human body; i.e., mankind was doomed to death. Man was given 120 years to repent after this warning was given to Noah before the judgment of the Flood took place.

156. During those years Noah built the Ark and preached the warning to people, but they failed to repent. do you believe that both of these interpretations are correct by displaying a double meaning? As you should know, many Bible verses give double or triple meanings! Concerning Enoch . . . It must have been a lonely life for Enoch as far as human friends were concerned.

157. If you think the Christian life is hard today, in this age of compromise, integration, apostasy, and departing from the faith, then remember Enoch. "For as it was then, so shall it be when Jesus returns." Today the bars are down, and the old paths are despised. Separation is an outmoded doctrine, and "standing for the faith" is branded as bigotry and narrow-mindedness. Shortly before the great theologian Dr. William L. Pettingill died, he said, "unless the Lord comes soon, those who will not compromise the Gospel, who will not cut corners on the truth, but stand firmly on the faith once for all delivered to the Saints, will find themselves squeezed into a lonely little company of despised non-conformists." This great man died over 50 years ago, and many of us have lived to see the truth of that statement come true.

158. The spirit of compromise, with the inevitable surrender of our precious fundamental truths, is upon us and it is gaining momentum day by day. As a result, many who once "stood fast in doctrine" have yielded to the temptation of religious integration. Thus, they are fearing the disgrace of being called fundamentalists, and have joined hands with the enemy in an effort at union without regard to the truth of God's Word.

159. The spectacle of seeing those once known as fundamentalists consorting with and endorsing liberals and modernists who deny the virgin birth is atrocious. Many of their cohorts deny the deity of Christ, His bodily resurrection, and the inspiration of the Scriptures, as a fulfillment of the type of the days of Noah. It can be seen very easily that these carnal beliefs are increasing every day.

160. Those who will not yield to the temptation, who will not endorse the doctrine of the universal fatherhood of God and the universal brotherhood of man, are finding themselves like Enoch outside the camp, in a place of rejection. But, thank God, there is lots of room outside the camp to "like Enoch," walk with God. Indeed, to walk with God one must be outside the camp of this world's societies. The prophet said:

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161. Scripture: "Can two walk together, except they be agreed? { Amos 3:3 }."

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162. Commentary . . . "The secret of Enoch's walk was that while he was in disagreement with the world around him, he was in fellowship with God." Enoch believed the Lord and had faith in what Jehovah said. Hebrews tells us that "By faith Enoch was translated." Furthermore, "walking" means progress as well as communion. Thus, as Enoch walked with God, the Lord began to reveal His plan to him concerning the coming judgment of the Flood, and beyond this the judgment at the end of that particular age. Therefore, there is no doubt as Scripture states "as it was then, so shall it be again." This expectation of imminent judgment so stirred the heart of Enoch that he got busy. He began to witness, to testify, and preach to the ungodly generation.

163. Jude tells us that Enoch prophesied, and this was obviously while he was preaching against the wickedness of his fellow men. When was Enoch's message preached and what did it consist of? It was not a honey -coated, candy -wrapped, popular message oof a loving God Who will not punish His creatures nor bring the wicked into judgment. No my friend! It was the message of judgment. The subject of his message was: "Behold, the Lord is coming!"

164. Enoch did not preach the Rapture of the Body of Christ because that was hidden in God from him and all the other O.T. Saints, right on until the Apostle Paul had it revealed to him personally by the risen Christ { Ephesians Ch. 3 }. But . . . Enoch definitely did not fail to preach the Second Coming of Christ. To His own generation he was also proclaiming the coming of the Flood, but his message went far beyond the Flood, for says Jude, Enoch preached the return of the Lord, coming with "ten thousands of His Saints, to execute judgment upon all."

165. It was not a popular message to the unsaved. It was not a harmless dissertation only on the goodness of God, nor a message of "cheer up my friend everything is going great, everything is coming out all right!" Nor was it a message of revival as the hope of the world or the solution to man's problems. On the other hand, Enoch's message concerned the "return of Christ" as the only remedy for the world's dilemma. There is 'NOT' one verse in the Bible which promises that this age, just before the return of the Lord, will be one of a great revival but instead the Bible declares without exception that . . .

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166. Scripture: "But evil men and seducers [ i.e., and impostors through Satan's enticement ] shall wax [ i.e., go on from bad to ] worse and worse, deceiving [ and leading astray others ] and being deceived [ i.e., and even lead astray themselves], { 2- timothy 3:13 }."

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167. Commentary. . . With this, the words of the Lord agreed with Timothy when He said, "As it was in the days before the flood, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." There is not a hint that Enoch or Noah's preaching resulted in a great revival just before the Flood came because it didn't happen. Enoch's message was not about revival but the return of Christ. Enoch was an unpopular minister just as this message will likely bring anger and wicked thoughts about this writer for teaching this subject .

[ Heading No. 70 ]: People Today Would Call Enoch And Teachers Such As This

168. Commentary . . . In spite of the fact that Enoch preached the imminency of the judgment of the flood and walked with God, he was not a fanatic. The fact that he expected the Lord to resurrect him at any moment did not cause him to sit down with folded hands and compromise with false teachers. He was not like Jonah awaiting God's judgment upon the wicked, but instead he lived a normal life while awaiting that judgment day.

169. Enoch was not an ascetic or a "holier-than thou" crank who withdrew himself from all the legitimate responsibilities of life. He was not a pious celibate, but a faithful father. Significant indeed is the statement that while Enoch walked with God after the birth of Methuselah, he brought other sons and daughters into this world, what happened to them is another question. While walking with God and living in the daily expectation of the end, he raised a family of children. His faith in God did not interfere with being faithful to his temporal responsibilities.

[ Heading No. 71 ]: What Took Place After Enoch, What Followed After His Footsteps?. . .

170. Commentary . . . As we said before, something evidently happened to Enoch at the birth of his son Methuselah. It was no doubt the promise of his resurrection. While he didn't know the day or the hour, he walked daily in the expectation that this might be the day. This is more than merely suggested by the word of the Lord, "By faith Enoch was translated." It does not say "by faith he was saved," although that was also true, but he was also translated by faith. We ask the question, "By faith in what?" It must have been by faith in the Word of God, by faith in some promise God had given him.

171. Enoch walked each day with God, and then finally one day the Lord said, "This is as far as we go today. We're going to stay at My house tonight," and Enoch was translated, and God took him on to Paradise to live with God's other children that were there also at that time. Even so shall it be in the day of the coming of the Son of man. Paradise at that time could not have had but very few souls dwelling in it. Naturally Noah and all who followed after him who became saved Believers joined Enoch, and now Paradise has a large host of God's Children presently inhabiting it. Many in the future will follow in Enoch's footsteps. Will you be one of them?

172. The Bible adds a significant phrase, "by faith Enoch was translated, and was not found." Notice those three words 'was not found.' Although they had made fun of him and scoffed at his message, just like some of our readers will make fun of this message, he was missed when he was gone. Don't you suppose that many of his listeners must have recalled to their minds the message of this strange prophet who had ministered to them, that someday he would be gone.

173. Jesus said the same thing to His Apostles and they likely didn't really understand Him until after He disappeared from their midst. Can you imagine during that evening folks jokingly saying, "I wonder what old Enoch will tell us tonight. What will be his approach to scare us with his predictions of judgment and destruction tomorrow?" [ Remember the word 'translated' here mean "Resurrected, Raptured or Taken." ]

174. On the following day they probably went to the accustomed street corner where Enoch would be waiting to teach them, and they likely intended to heckle him as usual, but there is no Enoch, he failed to appear. Perhaps the day before they had laughed and argued so much with him that he became so discouraged that he gave up his preaching and decided to compromise with the people, thus, he just stayed home. They wait around a while, but he doesn't appear. The next morning the rumor is circulated that Enoch didn't return home last night. They search for him, but he 'was not found.' The people in Enoch's day, while they missed him, evidently did not take the matter seriously, for they went on their wicked way until the judgment fell, and they all perished.

175. "As it was in the days of Enoch and later Noah, before the flood came, so shall it be." What a lesson for today! We perhaps should say: "As it was before the great flood that drowned all mankind because of sin, so shall it be just before the Messiah's Second Coming - because of sin. There will be no flood but there will be a chaotic apocalyptic judgment when Satan will be allowed to persecute earth's people for a seven year duration. And, afterward the judgment of the nations and its people just after the returning of Messiah takes place.

176. Those who rejected Enoch's message before his resurrection did not repent after his departure. The same is true today. Those who have heard and then refuse the invitation of salvation today, will not have a chance in the world after the Body of Christ is Raptured. They will have heard the message of salvation and will have willfully rejected it, there will not be another opportunity to become a Member of the Body of Christ. Today is the only time in which God promises to save you. "Tomorrow may be to late! See { 2- Thessalonians 2:10-12 }."

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177. { V. 7 } Scripture: "Therefore [ as the Holy Spirit says, Today if you will hear His voice,

178. { V. 8 }: Harden not your hearts [ minds ] as in the provocation in the day of temptation in the wilderness, { Hebrews 3:7-8 }."

179. { V. 8 } above paraphrased: "Do not harden your minds, as [ happened ] in the rebellion of Israel and their provocation and embitterness against Me in the days of Israel's testing in the wilderness after leaving Egypt."

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[ Heading No. 72 ]: The Horrible Sins Of The Five Cities Of The Plains . . .

180. Commentary . . . Four thousand years of human history had elapsed between the record of man's fall in the Garden of Eden and the fulfillment of the many prophecies concerning the birth of man's Redeemer, Jesus Christ, were finally fulfilled. Thirty-nine books of the Old Testament describes the record of fallen man up until a few hundred years before the birth of the Saviour. Shortly after the fall, when God pronounced the curse, He announced the struggle between the seed of the woman "Christ," and the serpent, the Devil. This announcement contained two promises, one of which was fulfilled over two thousand years ago; the other, still unfulfilled and lying in the future. And, we repeat this next verse, the promise was given . . .

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181. Scripture: "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; it shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel, { Genesis 3:15 }."

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182. Commentary . . . We have already brought out the facts of these two "bruisings" in previous chapters: the bruising of the "heal" of the seed of the woman, and the bruising of the "head" of the serpent. The bruising of the Saviour's heel was literally fulfilled on the cross of Calvary two thousand years ago. This is history, but the final crushing of the serpent's head still lies in the future.

[ Heading No. 73 ]: Distinctions Must Be Made And Remembered In Bible Study Groups . . .

183. Commentary . . . Unless we distinguish between these two comings of Christ, the Bible becomes a book of confusion instead of a Divine revelation. It was the failure to differentiate between the first advent from the second which caused all the doubt and perplexity in the minds of Christ's disciples. They had expected only one coming in power and victory, at which time He would deliver the Nation of Israel and set up His glorious Kingdom, when the serpent's head would be crushed.

184. This misunderstanding of the two comings of Messiah prompted them again and again to expect Jesus to declare Himself, and usher in the Kingdom. And then, He informs them that instead of the final victory over the serpent, the serpent would apparently bruise the seed of the woman. He tells them of the Cross, and of His rejection which lay ahead, and that He would soon leave them without fulfilling the hopes of His victorious reign. When they heard this, they were exceedingly sad and disappointed, and many of His disciples left Him. [ Again we repeat, the word disciple means "follower" ].

185. To those who remained with Him, however, He gave glorious revelation. He was going away, to be sure, but He would return again just as He had went away; then all their kingdom hopes would be fulfilled to the letter. In response to their request, the Lord referred them to many signs of two definite periods of history, and as we have already pointed out, these two consisted of the days of Noah and of Lot. Christ seemed to say: "Study the record of conditions before the Flood, and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and when conditions prevailing at that time are repeated, then know that My return is at hand," that is, "My Second Coming is very close to being fulfilled."

186. During the days of Noah and Lot, the impression one receives from the text is that it was an age of complete indifference to spiritual things. It was a materialistic age when men were occupied wholly with temporal things but without regard for the future, with judgment impending, wickedness and violence running wild. People went right on living as though Jehovah God didn't even exist. It was "business as usual." They ate, drank, married, built homes, performed business operations, bought and sold, planted, and harvested, without a thought of judgment. The entire world's population as a whole completely ignored heeding the impassioned plea of Enoch, the preacher of judgment, and Noah, the preacher of righteousness.

[ No. 74 ]: The People Were Obviously Very productive . . .

187. Commentary . . . Not only are the moral conditions of Noah's days similar to our own present age, but economically they were the same. The prophet Ezekiel throws added light on the conditions in Lot's day which is most interesting. And, he added three more characteristics of those days. He pronounced judgment on Jerusalem because the people of that city had copied the sin of Sodom, and the prophets statement of God's Word says :

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188. { V. 48 } Scripture: "As I live, says the Lord God, Sodom your sister has not done, she nor her daughters, as you have done, you and your daughters.

189. { V. 49 }: Behold, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters . . ., { Ezekiel 16:48-49 }."

190. The above { V. 49 } paraphrased: "Behold, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: pride, over-abundance of food, prosperous ease and idleness were hers and her daughters'; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy."

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191. Commentary . . . These words are truly interesting. Notice the three sins of Sodom, [ 1 ]: pride, [ 2 ]: fullness of bread, and [ 3 ]: abundance of idleness. These are called "sins of Sodom." We really agree that pride is sin. Naturally on the other hand, there is more than one meaning to the word pride, for there are different types of pride. One type of pride that is very sinful is taking credit for something that the Lord has given you and bragging about it. Nebuchadnezzar was guilty of that kind of pride and this is why he ate grass in the field with the cattle for seven years. He gave himself credit for building beautiful places in Babylon instead of giving God the credit! See { Daniel 4: 25-33 }.

192. Another kind of pride which is not believed to be sinful, is having enough personal pride in yourself and your loved ones to keep yourself, your family, and your home clean and respectful. Still, if you do this you should naturally give the Lord the praise for giving you the means, the integrity, and the substance to do so. After all what could you accomplish without His Help? This being so, what about the following? Why should fulness of bread and an abundance of leisure be called sins? The answer lies in the abuse of these things, and not in their use. Various things may be blessings when properly used, and become positive sins when they are abused. What:

[ Heading No. 75 ]: About Pride, Are You A Pride-full Person? . . .

193. Commentary . . . Pride, is an expression of self-sufficiency. It is taking credit for things we receive by grace. Evil pride denies God the proper recognition as the author and giver of all blessings and gifts. Men pride themselves in their physical achievements when all their strength is the gift of God. Men pride themselves in their wisdom and intellectual powers, as though they are responsible for their own Knowledge.

194. Yet, many folks are guilty of this sin and even though they may be intellectual giants, some of these wise people at times talk and act the part of morons with neither merit nor common sense. Some will explain that their fortunes were gained because they were born exceptionally talented even though they had no voice in the matter. It is said that "your physical and mental stature is the result of genetics at the moment of conception, and while faculties may be developed or neglected, no more can be produced than that which was present at conception and birth." Well, may we heed the words of Paul:

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195. Scripture: "For who makes you to differ from another? and what have you that you did not receive? now if you did receive it, why do you glory, as if you had not received it? { 1- Corinthians 4:7 }."

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196. The above verse paraphrased: "For who separates you from the others - as a faction leader? Who makes you superior and sets you apart from another, giving you the preeminence? What have you that was not given to you? If then you received it from someone, why do you boast as if you had not received - but had gained it by your own efforts?

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[ No. 76 ]: Why Do Folks Invariably Boast? . . .

197. Commentary . . . What is the truth of all this? Don't you believe that we are what we are because of influences over which we have absolutely no control, and in which we were not consulted? In one way this is true, but we must remember that we are responsible for our conduct. The Lord gives us the right to live a clean responsible life, being responsible for our own achievements.

198. On the other hand, we are also responsible for the sins we adhere to and perform. Do we follow the dictates of God or do we ignore the Lord and live according the dictates of Satan? It is true, your color, nationality, physical physique, mental capacity, color of eyes, temperament, emotional makeup-these and all other individual characteristics were thrust upon you and determined for you before you were born.

199. But, some of these things you can change and improve on for a better satisfaction, such as temper, better grammar, physique, and emotions. People take pride in their family tree, and point to the famous names in their ancestry as though they were the cause of their enviable origin and had chosen those noble ancestors themselves. They look upon this in a pride-full manner as if they were the wholly passive descendants of parents who determined beforehand what their offspring would be. The fact is, whatever we are by birth, is not by our own choice, but by influences beyond our control. Yet men will strut and boast like a King Nebuchadnezzar, saying,

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200. Scripture: "The King spoke, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the [ royal ] house [ and seat of government ] of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor [ and glory ] of my majesty? { Daniel 4:30 }." See { Proverbs 16:18; - Isaiah 59:2; - Ephesians 6:12; - & - Ezekiel Ch. 28 }.

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201. Commentary . . . These words in the above verse you may recall were fulfilled when the haughty king Nebuchadnezzar was reduced to the level of a beast. Gross acceptation of sin was also the cause of the fall and destruction of Sodom. When taking credit for things which belong to God, one may surely expect judgment one way or another. Pride may therefore be defined as taking credit for things which belong to God.

202. Remember we have mentioned two types of pride, perhaps you can give a better definition for the sinless type than what I have given. Although, the evil type of pride is god-less-ness, robbing God of the honor due His name, failure to recognize the Lord as the giver of all things. That type of pride is ungodliness, and this was not only the sin of Sodom but also the sin of Noah's day, as Enoch the preacher graphically describes in { Jude Vs. 14 and 15 }.

203. Sinful pride is ungodliness! Apply the description of the days of Noah and Lot to the days in which we are living, the words of our Lord is stated with terrific impact: "As it was then, it shall be again." Today is indeed the age of unashamed pride. Man has forgotten God almost entirely in this technological, automated, mechanical, computerized, and nuclear age. He boast of his achievements as though he himself created the atom, and invented the laws governing its reactions, and placed within matter by his own wisdom the energy which manifests itself in light and heat, motion and radiation; whereas man who is only in the Lord's shadow of things is only permitted to rediscover that which was present all the time.

204. Today with the discovery of atomic energy and the secret of the release of nuclear power, man is faced with the greatest crisis in history. He has in his hand the powers of destruction so great that this earth could be destroyed in a very short period of time, by just one error, one mistake, one so-called accident, in the race for atomic supremacy. All that restrains some madman to push the button and destroy this planet is the supreme Majesty of the Universe! He created everything, if it was to be destroyed, only the Creator could perform that event.

[ Heading No. 77 ]: The Supreme Power Of The Almighty Is:

205. Commentary . . . Amid all these frightening threats of intercontinental missiles and ballistic engines of war, orbiting satellites and interplanetary rockets, the average men and women refuse to acknowledge the Creator. Man talks about a timetable and promises to put men in outer space and on other planets but he never imagines for a moment there is a God in Heaven Who is to be reckoned with. Man does not consider what God's timetable calls for, or what the Lord will do in the near future.

206. What else other than unashamed pride is this, that man still dreams of settling the problem not only of war but also of peace, and that not through the dictates of the Lord but by his own plans and ingenuity? What else but unabashed haughtiness is the dream of world peace without the Divine principles laid down by the Prince of peace?

207. For millenniums man has striven to bring in the Golden Age, the ideal Utopia, by the scheming of the nations; yet after these millenniums we are farther from peace than ever, and tottering on the brink of total destruction. God is not recognized, and man's pride prevents him from admitting he has reached an impasse and needs higher help, still it is the Lord Himself Who is preventing man from utterly destroying himself. How significant, therefore, that the prophet Ezekiel places at the head of the list of the three sins of Sodom, the sin of pride. How fittingly descriptive and suggestive are the words of David concerning this dispensation, a description of the pride of the nations, unwilling to recognize God.

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208. { V. 1 }, Scripture: "Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing, [ i.e., This is David's question: Why is the world in the mess it is in? And the answer is 'pride.' ]

209. { V. 2 }: The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against His anointed, saying,

210. { V. 3 }: Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us, { Psalm 2:1-3 }."

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211. The above verses paraphrased . . .

212. { 1 }: "Why do the unsaved nations assemble with commotion and uproar and confusion of voices, and why do the people imagine and meditate upon and devise an empty scheme?"

213. { 2 }: "The kings of the earth take their places; the rulers take counsel together against the Lord, and His anointed One . . . the Messiah, the Christ." They say,

214. { 3 }: "Let us break "THEIR" [ i.e., the Three In One, the Trinitarian God's ] bands of restraint asunder, and cast "THEIR" cords of control from us, { See Acts 4:25-27 }:"

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215. Commentary . . . In other words, let us get rid of God, let us free ourselves from His restraints. Many folks on this earth have already renounced all faith in God, while many others have not openly renounced faith in the Lord but are nevertheless living as though God did not exist. Prayers to God are actually prohibited in many places in our society and the Word of God has been banned from our schools. Just this morning we read where the word Christmas cannot even be uttered in the schools by small children. We also read where a six year old child drew a picture of Christ and put it up on the schoolroom wall, and now there are those who wish to cause the child all kinds of trouble.

216. These God haters are all going to have to face the supreme Judge some day and pay for their ignorance. How silly this is as though our governing body can keep control of people talking in silent prayer and worshipping the Lord as they go on their way through life! These controllers try to dictate their own satanic rules and regulations against prayer on the premise that our children must be protected from the dangerous effects of Christianity and the truth about Almighty God. But as judgment fell in the days of Noah and Lot, this means that God will not remain silent, but will utter His voice in judgment. Today the Almighty is laughing at man's proud and haughty evil ranting's, but just around the corner the words of David will come to pass:

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217. { V. 5 } Scripture: "Then shall He speak unto them in His wrath [ His deep anger ] , and vex [ i.e., troubles, terrifies, and confounds ] them in His sore displeasure, [ that is, in His fury, and answering them He says ]:

218. { V. 6 }: Yet have I [ anointed, installed and ] set My King [ firmly ] upon My holy hill of Zion, { Psalm 2:5-6 }." God's long suffering may wait as in the days of Noah, but soon God will say :

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219. Scripture: ". . . My [ Holy ] Spirit will not always strive with man . . . , { Genesis 6:3 }."

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220. Scripture: ". . . and He Who said He would come, and will not tarry, { Hebrews 10:37 }." Read { Ezekiel 16:49 } again.

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221. Commentary . . . Thus, does the Prophet Ezekiel in his 16th chapter, sum up the conditions of society in the days just prior to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. In { Genesis Ch. 18 and 19 } we have a detailed description of the same conditions, an age of wickedness, violence and filthy immorality. These were overt sins, admitted by all to be evil and immoral. We have already dealt with the sin of pride, and seen that it is the same as ungodliness-refusal to give God proper credit and recognition. It is attributing to our own wisdom and ingenuity the progress we have made, not realizing that the faculties and brains and wisdom are not ours by choice or achievement but is received through the gifts bestowed to us from God.

222. It is refusal to be thankful to God for eyes, ears, hands and minds-with the possession of which we had absolutely nothing to do. The fact that you can read and understand this message is not something you did for yourself, for if you had been born blind, or an idiot or a moron, you would not have been able to read at all. God is the giver of all, and pride is failure to recognize God as the author of every faculty and blessing we possess. This sin of pride characterized the days of Noah [ the ungodly age ], and the days of Lot [ the haughty age. Haughty means "disdainfully proud; arrogant, lordly, contemptuous etc." ] Ezekiel says of Sodom:

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223. Scripture: "And they were haughty, and committed abomination [ abominable offenses ] before Me: therefore I took them away [ by removing them ] as I saw good, { Ezekiel 16:49-50 }."

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[ Heading No. 78 ]: Unprecedented Prosperity And Over Production With Surpluses Of Commodities . . .

224. Commentary . . . The second sin of Sodom mentioned by Ezekiel was "fulness of bread." It was an age of unprecedented prosperity and over production. It was an age of surpluses of food and commodities. This was undoubtedly due in the days of Noah to the tremendous industrial, economic and agricultural expansion. We have previously pointed out the picture in { Genesis Ch. 4 }, as an age of agricultural prosperity, the beginning of the metallurgical age with its accompanying moral decay. In the days of Lot this condition of over-production and surpluses was due to the unusual fertility of the Jordan valley before the judgment fell on the five cities of the plains. The regions of Sodom and Gomorrah are described in the following verse:

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225. Scripture: "And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, "even as the garden of the Lord," like the land of Egypt as you come unto Zoar, { Genesis 13:10 }." [ More than likely the garden of the lord in this verse is a reference in type to the garden of Eden? ]

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226. Commentary . . . The plain of Jordan was well watered, irrigation systems were in use long before Lot's time. Lot's greed to inhabit the Jordan valley with its lush vegetation exposed him to the wickedness { Vs. 12-13; - & - 19:1-25 }. Zoar was a town located at the south of the Dead Sea, see also { Genesis 14:8; - & - 19:20-23 }. It was definitely an age of fullness of bread and over production, which resulted in an abundance of idleness and unemployment. One cannot fail to see the unmistakable picture of the present economic condition in our own land.

227. Due to our technological progress, the tremendous productive capacity both of farm and factory has resulted in our present problem of over-production and over-priced surpluses. I say over-priced because inflation has been on a rampaging increase for several years which makes it increasingly difficult for wage earners to keep up with the high-cost of living. This being so, It is almost impossible for many folks to keep up with the ever increasing living standards of this age. Even though food and other commodities are being produced in abundance, many folks cannot afford them!

228. During the time of plenty in our country, especially following world war two, there were enough supplies of wheat in storage to bake twelve loaves of bread for every man, woman and child in the world. There was enough corn to supply all the cornstarch, syrup and corn oil to last the United States five years; and enough butter to make a birthday cake for every child under fifteen for the next ten years.

229. There was enough cotton for fifty-four house dresses for every woman in the land, and during the early part of the last century most all woman wore dresses. That was then, today one can imagine the ever increasing cost of commodities, and how much more that has been laid away in storage. Thus, you as a tax payer are paying the bill while the cost of living is rising at a tremendous rate.

230. More and more storage facilities are needed today at a far more dollar increase in expense. This writer must honestly confess that he is totally confused by the strange paradox of stepping up production, as has taken place on the one hand, and then spending astronomical sums at certain periods to curtail that same production, which had been encouraged beforehand. To the layman, unable to understand the logic of the planners, all this leaves one completely bewildered. The government has spent hundreds of millions and billions to produce greater yields of produce per acre.

231. This has been accomplished by soil conservation, better management, soil erosion programs, and the intelligent use of fertilizers. At the same time vast areas of fertile land have been removed from production in order to prevent a greater surplus, while tens of millions of people in poorer countries who are starving could be receiving food from us. All this while many farmers in the past have been paid large sums of money to let their farm land lay idle.

232. We spend millions for irrigation, the building of dams to provide water for barren lands, and methods for reclaiming waste lands. Then, after spending all this money to produce more, vast areas of already productive lands have laid idle, does this make sense to you? The situation throughout the more productive countries apparently is not a new one. Ezekiel tells us about one of the conditions in the days of Lot, which led to the destruction of Sodom, the sin of fulness of bread, or over-production. And, the Lord stated: "As it was in the days of Lot, it would again be in the latter days." But a more serious result was caused by this situation of surplus, and it is called by Ezekiel:

[ No. 79 ]: Two Much Idleness Was Taking Place In The Land! . . .

233. Commentary . . . The grievous sins of Sodom and the other cities of the plains which led to their ultimate judgment can be traced to idleness. This would naturally follow the fullness of bread and over-production. Man was able to produce the necessities and luxuries of life such as efficiency and speed, that he had time left on his hands, and unemployment was the result. Ezekiel expresses it as the "abundance of idleness."

234. Someone has suggested the interpretation of the original to be "idleness caused by over-abundance." Whatever the cause of idleness in the days of Sodom, Gomorrah, and their sister cities, it is no secret what is causing the idleness of these present latter days. God gave man work to do, to keep him from being idle with all of its accompanying dangers and temptations.

[ No. 80 ]: Man Was To Work Six Days, The Seventh Was To Be A Day Of Rest . . .

235. Commentary . . . What I am going to say now will not be popular with most folks, but it is true just the same. God intended that man should labor six days out of seven, and rest one day from his physical toiling; the seventh day was to be spent in the special way in worshipping God, and associating himself with spiritual endeavors.

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236. { V. 9 }: Scripture: "Six days shall you labour, and do all your work.

237. { V. 10 }: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord your God: in it you shall not do any work, you nor your son, nor your daughter, your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger that is within your gates, { Exodus 20:9-10 }."

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238. Commentary . . . Six days shall you labor" is as much a part of the fourth commandment as: "the seventh day you shall rest." This was placed in the commandment when God gave the law to Israel. Thousands and thousands of sermons have been preached on the part of the commandment which says, "the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord: in it you shall do no work." Notice that the children were not to work, and neither were the hired hands to work. At that time I think that it is obvious that ox teams worked in the fields, so they were also to rest at least one day a week. And, people that were visitors were not to labor either. [ Naturally some people do work 6 and sometimes even 7 days, but very few according to the population. ]

239. But how many sermons have you heard that states that a person should work six days? Not five days, or four and one-half days, but six days! This was God's provision to keep man from the evils and temptations of idleness. We mentioned the three sins of Sodom: Pride, Fullness of bread, and Abundance of idleness. One follows naturally upon the other. Could over-production be one of the cause of idleness? As it was in the days of Lot, so it is today; Jesus told us when these conditions re-occurred it would herald the last days.

240. Not too long ago our fathers worked six days a week and rested on the seventh day. Today men usually work only five days a week, and it is said that folks are now planning a thirty four hour work week, whether this will ever come to pass we cannot tell. People have forgotten that work is a blessing, and too much idleness is a curse. Today people are trying their best to get away from work. Of course, we know the cause of the evil. It is the natural result of man's technological progress. Labor-saving machinery and automation have made the need of manpower less and less.

241. The machine has replaced the laborer, and mechanical brains have made it less and less necessary to use our own brains. Remember working on the old typewriter and how discouraging it was when you misspelled several words when writing? It took a great deal of your time to correct the mistakes didn't it? But now on the computer this trouble doesn't exist, because of the spell checker, there are no messy ribbons or ink remover to hinder us. Personally I like the computer much better than the old typewriters because they save a lot of labor-saving time.

242. People today can push a button and let the machine do the work. Basically this condition is the fruit of covetousness and the selfish minds of man, and yet we are all guilty of it. In a highly competitive society where survival depends on doing a thing better than our rivals, man is constantly seeking to cut down the cost of his product in order to gain the advantage over his competitor, and naturally to make more profit for himself. He therefore, invents, improves, and produces methods by which he can do the job faster, cheaper, and with as little labor cost as possible and of course we find nothing wrong with this. The sins of covetousness and too much leisure is naturally in the minds of many people and we realize is difficult to eradicate without the help of God.

243. But, in this technological age the machine has become the master, and a constant problem of unemployment stares those in the face who are not trained in the art of mastering machines, computers, and other mechanical equipment. This does not mean that there isn't a great deal of work in many localities, but the trouble is, even though employment may be out there, the workers in many cases are so under paid in this time we are living, that they may find it difficult to afford the upkeep for their families. And, since there is a threat to cut down working hours, in order to distribute the available employment over a larger number of individuals, the result is even less weekly pay for the worker and more . . . "abundance of idleness!"

[ Heading No. 81 ]: What Are People To Do With Their Life Of Leisure? . . .

244. Commentary . . . How does man use this extra unoccupied unrestricted time when he is not laboring? In his search, he turns to pleasure, recreation, fun, and sin. Idleness is the cause of more crime and violence than any other factor in society. Men and woman in many cases instead of using their spare time in useful pursuits, is interested only in seeking ways to please the flesh, until we have become a nation of pleasure-mad people; and much of the trouble, is immorality and wickedness and can be attributed to the curse of idleness.

245. To meet the demand for activities during spare time and idle hours, we have built amusement houses, parks, taverns, dance-halls, theaters, pleasure palaces, recreational areas-not to mention other dens of sin, vice, gambling casinos, and many other places of corruption. Instead of using the spare time at home with the family and improving ourselves by constructive reading and spiritual exercise. An uncountable number of the human race must be on the constant 'Go' in an effort to gratify the flesh, and pass the time.

246. Where is the home where all the family spends an evening or a day together? When I was a boy, fathers worked six days a week, and still had more time for their familles and the place of worship than men have today with all their leisure time. Today with our modern conveniences of transportation, our parks, beaches, and pleasure places mentioned above, take a tremendous amount of money that should be spent for family expenditures thus robbing the family of improving themselves. Many parents are not home enough to become acquainted with their own family, and the result . . . juvenile delinquency and teenage crime are increasing by leaps and bounds!

247. But, the Bible predicted these days would come when the Lord said that the days of Sodom would be repeated. The words of the prophet Ezekiel take on real meaning when he describes the three sins of Sodom as pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness. Jesus said, "so shall it be again in the last days," and here we are - for "so it is" today! The age of grace is running out! One of these days, the day of reckoning will appear and that time cannot be far off. Men may scoff at the seeming delay, and men may imagine that the Lord God has failed to observe what is going on, but in an hour when men think not, then He shall come! The writer of Ecclesiastes says . . .

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248. { V. 11 } Scripture: "Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.

249. { V. 12 }: Though a sinner do evil a hundred times, and his days [ seemingly ] be prolonged [ in his wickedness ], yet may I [ surely ] know that it shall be well with them that [ reverently ] fear God, which fear [ that is, who revere and worship ] before Him [ realizing the Lord's continual presence ]. { See Psalm 37:11, 18-19; - Isaiah 3:10-11; - & - Matthew 25:34. } . . .

250. { V. 13 }: But it shall not be well with the wicked [ lost sinner ], neither shall He [ i.e., the unsaved person be able to ] prolong his days [ indefinitely because the age of a man is that: ], which are as a shadow [ i.e., today we are here, tomorrow we are gone,  the sinner is lost: ] because he fears not before God: [ i.e., reverently nor does he ever worship the Lord ], {Ecclesiastes 8:11-13}." { See Matthew 25:41 }.

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251. Scripture: ". . . Today if you will hear His voice, harden not your hearts [ minds ], { Hebrews 4:7 }."

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[ Heading No. 82 ]: In Noah's Day There Were Giants On The Earth . . .

In A World That Became Corrupted Because Of Strange Flesh . . .

252. Commentary . . . The Scripture brings out this great truth, that God met Noah and warned him of the coming Deluge, referring of course to the Flood. Noah naturally knew that through the human race the Messiah was to later appear, and the world was on the brink of being destroyed in his lifetime. He knew this because of the defilement and corruption of Satan, and because of the serge of sin taking place through the deeds of wicked angelic beings! Most of the trouble it seems, was because of the wicked Giants that were in the land.

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253. Scripture: "There were giants on the earth in those days; 'and also after that,' when the sons of God [ 'i.e., in this sense wicked angels' ] came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown, { Genesis 6:4 }."

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254. Commentary . . . After leaving Egypt and traveling to Canaan, spies were sent into the land of Canaan to search out the land before the Hebrews were to enter into it. And, while spying as they were supposed to do, they found that many giants were dwelling in the land, and this was hundreds of years "after the Flood of Noah's day." Concerning some of these giants, some of the Hebrew spies said, after leaving the land of the giants:

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255. { V. 32 } Scripture: "And they [ the spies ] brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched [ scouted out ] to the children of Israel, saying, the land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eats up [ and devours ] the inhabitants thereof [ " i.e., various groups fought to posses it because it was such a good land" ]; and all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature.

256. { V. 33 }: And there we saw the giants [ Nephilim ], the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight, { Numbers 13:32-33 }."

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257. Commentary . . . Giants the sons of Anak, literally, Nephilim, Anak was a tribe of giants that lived near Hebron in the south of the Canaanite kingdom. Many of them remained even after Joshua's later conquest of the land, see { Joshua 11:21-22 }. They were very large of stature, see { Deuteronomy 2:10 }. Naturally there was, as we have stated, many of the Nephilim on the earth during the antediluvian age of { Genesis 6:4 }.

258. The word Giants comes from the root meaning "to fall;" i.e., to fall upon others because they were men of great strength. The only other use of this Hebrew word is in { Numbers 13:33 }. Obviously many of these wicked giant children of Satan's angels were on the earth for sometime before Noah was warned by Jehovah concerning the great Flood that was soon to take place. Because of their great stature and strength, they were mentioned as being mighty men.

259. There were many families of giants who existed on the earth during King David's life time. The words, "and also after that " in the above verse of { Genesis 6:4 } was referring to these mighty men that came on the scene after the Flood. They were the same type of giants that had been present before the Flood. The words "which were of old," would also refer back to the giants that were present in Noah's time. They were "not" mighty men because of being children of military officers, kings or of Politicians. In other words, they were not "men of renown" because of wealth and power! And now, here they are again found in the land of the Canaanites.

260. No doubt the reader will agree that the offspring of wicked angels, and flesh and blood woman would bring forth strange flesh. But, we believe that because of this and the many other sins taking place at that time, God determined to preserve a seed, and wipe out the rest of mankind from the face of the earth, because He said, "The whole world is corrupt." Therefore, He approached Noah on a "Covenant Ground Of Grace." Jehovah warned him of the coming judgment, and so dealt with his heart [ mind ] that "Noah believed and feared and prepared" to order his entire life in accordance with God's will.

261. Noah and his family's souls were at stake. Plus, God's Word was at stake concerning the coming Messiah and Saviour. Thus, Noah obeyed the Lord with his eyes upon the Redeemer Who would come through his seed. Noah laid hold of God as God had hold on him. He was determined to obey Jehovah and could not be moved to do otherwise. Having been warned of God, Noah never thought of anything else but walking with his Lord.

262. In the past we have written a message concerning the Giants that are mentioned in the Old Testament. That particular message can be found on our home page on internet. But here again, we will place in this message another picture of the giants of the Old Testament, so please bear with us as we teach the message. The question is: "Who were the giants spoken of in the days of Noah and even afterwards in the days of king David?

263. These Giants were described as the offspring of the sons of God and the daughters of men! Why did the appearance of these giants precipitate the judgment of God and make necessary the destruction of man by the Flood of Noah? Who were these sons of God, and who were the daughters of men? For the answer to these questions we turn to { Genesis Ch. 6 }.

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264. { V. 1 } Scripture: "And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,

265. { V. 2 }: That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.

266. { V. 3 }: And the Lord said, My Spirit shall not always strive with men, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty years.

267. { V. 4 }: There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God [ wicked angels ] came in unto the daughters of men [ i.e., flesh and blood woman in a sexual liaison ], and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.

268. { V. 5 }: And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart [ mind ] was only evil continually.

269. { V. 6 }: And it repented the Lord that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart [ mind ].

270. { V. 7 }: And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them, { Genesis 6:1-7 }."

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271. Commentary . . . As we have already discussed before concerning this passage, we have described in detail the occasion for the Flood of Noah. Christ does not say that there will be another Flood, but He does state that the evil in the days of Noah will be repeated at the end of the age. The Lord gave a long list of signs and taught them by referring to the history of the days of Noah and the days of Lot. One of the immediate occasions which precipitated the Flood was the union of the sons of God and the daughters of men, resulting in the birth of a race of giants, with supernatural wisdom and powers, and of exceeding great wickedness.

272. We emphasize and repeat: the immediate occasion for the coming of the Flood was partly because of the illicit union between the sons of God and the daughters of men. It is important that we seek to determine why this sin was so serious as to call for immediate judgment. In order to understand this we must identify the sons of God and the daughters of men. Also, we must be able to account for these giants as the result of this union.

[ Heading No. 83 ]: There Have Been Two Schools Of Thought Concerning This Subject . . .

273. Commentary . . . There are two interpretations of this strange account. The generally accepted and unwise explanation of this union of the sons of God and the daughters of men is that the former were the godly descendants of Seth, and the daughters of men were the descendants of wicked Cain. Dr. C. I. Scofield in his notes on this passage sums up this generally accepted view. He says . . . [ Quote ]: "Some hold that these sons 'sons of God' were the "angels which kept not their first estate" { Jude 6 }.

274. It is asserted that the title [ sons of God ] is in the O.T. exclusively used of angels. But this is an error { Isaiah 43:6 }. Angels are spoken of in a sexless way. No female angels are mentioned in Scripture, and we are expressly told that marriage is unknown among angels { Matthew 22:30 }. The uniform Hebrew and Christian interpretation has been that { Genesis 6:2 } marks the breaking down of the separation between the godly line of Seth and the godless line of Cain. . . [ brackets ours ]. [ End quote." ]

275. This is the generally accepted theory of the birth of these giants in Noah's days. However, we feel this explanation is wholly in error, and that the sons of God were actually fallen angels, who by a supernatural conception of the daughters of men produced a race of monstrosities called giants, and so dangerously threatened the program of God that it became the occasion for God to say . . . Scripture: "My Spirit shall not always strive with man, { Genesis 6:3 }."

276. Commentary . . . When we examine the argument held by many including Dr. Scofield mentioned above, that this text refers to many of the females that were descendants of Seth, Noah's son, and likewise many of the unbelieving male sons whom were descendants of Cain, we find that it cannot stand up under close scrutiny, for it presents too many difficulties and problems. If reference is to the godly daughters of Seth and the ungodly sons of Cain then we must explain after answering this question:

277. [ 1 ]: Why was this union only between the female descendants of Seth and the male descendants of Cain, and not also between the 'male' descendants of Seth [ sons of men ] and the 'female' descendants of Cain [ daughters of God ]?

278. [ 2 ]: Were all the descendants of Seth females and those of Cain males? Were all the Descendants of Seth believers and all the descendants of Cain unbelievers?

279. [ 3 ]: How do we account for the birth of giants, men of great stature and unusual intelligence, as a result of the union of unbelievers with Believers? These giants were unusual individuals; they were not only physical giants but mentally superior as well, for they are called "Mighty men which were of old, men of "renown." Now it is simply not true that a mixed marriage between the daughters of men [ descendants of unbelievers ] and sons of God [ children of Believers ] will produce any physical or mental oddities. When a Christian marries an unsaved person, their children are no different from any other children physically, emotionally or mentally. One's faith has no physical effect on one's offspring. How then do we account for the fact that the offspring of this union in { Genesis 6 } were these monstrosities called Giants?

280. [ 4 ]: If the sons of God were the descendants of godly Seth and the daughters of men were the children of wicked Cain, it certainly does not mean that their mixed marriage was the capital sin which precipitated the judgment of the Flood. It could have been merely the unequal yoke of a mixed marriage of humans.

[ No. 84 ]: This Was Undoubtedly A Supernatural Union Of Spirit Beings And Humans . . .

281. Commentary . . . These facts alone make the above generally accepted explanation quite untenable. We therefore hold that this sin which was one of many sins that brought on the Flood, was a supernatural union between fallen angels and the children of men. And of course, this was with the resultant birth of monstrosities called giants who were half breads - that is, half human and half angelic.

282. Accounting for the physical stature and supernatural wisdom and wickedness, these wicked angels are called the sons of God because they were created by God in the long ago past before there were people placed upon the earth. The words "sons of God" was a term repeatedly applied to angels in the Old Testament, both fallen and un-fallen. Notice that the following angels are angels that had not as yet fallen from Jehovah's grace and they are all called both stars and sons of God. Job says that at the creation of the world:

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283. Scripture: "When the morning stars [ i.e., angels ] sang together, and "all the sons of God" shouted for joy, { Job 38:7 }."

284. Scripture: "Now there was a day when the sons of God [ i.e., angels ] came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan [ that is, the wicked angelic cherubim . . . the adversary and accuser ] came also among them, {Job 1:6}." { See Ezekiel 10:14-22; - 1:1-14; - & - 28:11-19. } The same is repeated in the next chapter . . .

285. Scripture: "Again there was a day when the sons [ angels ] of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord, { Job 2:1 }."

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286. Commentary . . . The same expression is also used for angels after the fall. When Satan came among the angels this could be the time he led "one third" of them away from God. See { Revelation 12:3-4 }, Notice that in these verses in Revelation, the one third of Satan's angelic followers are called stars, the same as the other angels are called in verse 7 above.] We are told Here that fallen angels are called "sons of God" and Satan was one of them.

287. We believe that the "sons of God" in { Genesis 6 } were fallen angelic beings. This alone will account for the birth of giants as a result of this unholy union. As we have already stated: The word "giant" is "Nephilim" in the original text and means "fallen ones." The Hebrew word "nephilim" translated "giants" comes from the verb "naphal" which is to fall. We may therefore translate the verse as follows in . . .

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288. Scripture: "There were 'fallen creatures [ i.e., giant children ] of fallen ones' [ i.e., wicked angels ] in the earth in those days; when [ a certain group of ] the sons of God [ fallen angels ] came in unto the daughters of men, { Genesis 6 }:"

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289. Commentary . . . Is there any other explanation for the birth of these monstrosities "if " there is no supernatural force involved? That this was an unusual situation, occurring only when this unholy union was entered into and not the result of natural generation, and this is emphasized by the reminder . . .

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290. Scripture: ". . .and also after that when [ whenever ] the sons of God came in [ i.e., unto the daughters of men, sexual perversion ] . . . { Genesis 6:4 }."

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[ Heading No. 85 ]: The Great Testimony Of The Scriptures Tells It All . . .

291. Commentary . . . The one objection raised against this interpretation is that angels are sexless and do not marry, and thus are unable to fulfill the role suggested in the record of { Genesis 6 }. This objection is based almost entirely on the words of Jesus in { Matthew Ch. 22 } The unbelieving Sadducees had come to Jesus with the ambiguous question of the woman who had - had seven husbands [ brothers ] and they wanted to know which one of these brothers could claim her as his wife in the resurrection. To this Jesus gave answer as follows:

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292. { V. 29 } Scripture: ". . . You do err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God.

293. { V. 30 }: For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in Heaven, { Matthew 22:29-30 }."

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294. Commentary . . . Upon this is based the theory that angels are sexless and that angels never marry. But nowhere in the Bible is it stated that angels are sexless. The words in the verse above "but are as the angels of God in Heaven," this means that since humans are sexually oriented people, so were the angels created in the same way even before man was created. In the Scriptures the angels are always referred to as masculine, never feminine. There are no female angels; hence, no baby angels. Those cute little cherubs with stubby wings and baby faces which embellish your Christmas cards are pure imagination, like so many other things associated with Christmas. The fact that angels are all masculine, and there are no female angels, may throw some light on the eagerness of these fallen angels to take human wives. But the objection is raised that Jesus says,

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295. Scripture: "In the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in Heaven, { Matthew 22:30 }." See also { Mark 12: 25 }.

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296. Commentary . . . The statement has nothing to do whatsoever with the fallen angels in { Genesis 6 } and their union with the daughters of men. Christ said the angels in Heaven neither marry nor are given in marriage. He is not talking about fallen angels in Hell or in the pit of Hell, or free in the atmosphere about us. Herein is the difference between the "Angels in Heaven" and the "fallen angels": these fallen ones left their first celibate estate, and fell from their holy position and committed the sin which God could not tolerate, and He therefore sent the Flood to cut short the clever scheme of Satan to corrupt the whole human race.

297. Scofield in his notes on { Genesis 6 } misquotes the passage in { Matthew 22 } by saying "marriage is unknown among angels." Jesus said He referred to the angels of God in Heaven. If what we have said so far has not convinced you of the nature of these sons of God, we would turn to the testimony of the Bible itself. The writer Jude clinches the matter once for all. He is referring to the days before the Flood and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and says:

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298. Scripture: "And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation [ i.e., sphere of activity ], he has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day, { Jude 6 }." Commentary . . . Where were these angels which kept not their first estate? And, what was the nature of their sin which caused God to shut them up in chains of darkness, only to be released for a short time in the future - in the great day? The next verse, { Jude 7 }, gives the unmistakable answer:

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299. Scripture: "Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire [ in- Greek, 'Gehenna' the lake of fire ], { Jude 7 }."

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300. Commentary: Here is the inspired answer. These angels which fell from their estate were once holy angels. Their sin was the same sin as that of Sodom, they went after strange flesh, the flesh of human woman was definitely strange to the spiritual body of these wicked angels. They were guilty of fornication, engaging in unnatural relationship between angelic beings and humans - bringing on the Flood, the judgment of God.

[ Heading No. 86 ]: The Apostle Peter's Testimony Recognizing Evil Angels

As Sons Of God . . .

301. Commentary . . . By enlarging on some of the things we have brought out in a previous chapter, the Apostle Peter gave his testimony concerning the sin of these sons of God and identified them as "wicked angels" who sought to corrupt humanity in the days of Noah before the Flood. His words corroborate the testimony of the writer Jude who wrote the book of Jude. Speaking of the certainty of the coming judgment. So again we repeat this text:

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302. Scripture: "For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to Hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment, { 2- Peter 2:4 }."

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303. Commentary . . . Peter is talking about fallen angels who sinned so wickedly that God shut them up, where they couldn't continue their evil influences. And, then Peter identifies these fallen angels by placing them in the days of Noah. Continuing, we read:

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304. Scripture: "And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness. . . , {2- Peter 2:5 }." [ This places these fallen angels in the days of Noah, and the nature of their sin is disclosed in the next verse ] . . .

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305. Scripture: "And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an example unto those that after should live ungodly, { 2- Peter 2:6 }."

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306. Commentary . . . When you read today's news remember the word "example" mentioned in the above verse. This may enlighten the reader as to what will happen to people who are caught up in the sins of homosexuality, lesbianism and other carnal activity in our own age. In the light of Christ's teaching, "as it was in Noah's day and Lot's day, so it will be in the last days." We easily detect a repetition of the activity of "Satan the old dragon, the god of this evil world," in these days in which we live-corrupted with filth, and the abuses of sex , this will again be interrupted only by the judgment of God. Read again { Genesis 6:5-13 }. This final climax of an age of sex abuse was the "last straw" in the long-suffering patience of God, and resulted in God's pronouncement . . .

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307. Scripture: ". . . My Spirit shall not always strive with man. . . , { Genesis 6:3 }."

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308. Commentary . . . We come now to the very heart of the attempt of Satan to corrupt humanity. What was behind this bold attempt of the enemy to defile the race of Adam's children? It was an attempt to defeat God's purpose and program in providing a Redeemer for mankind. The declaration of war spoken by God to Satan in { Genesis 3:15 } contained the promise of a coming Saviour called the "seed of the woman," and this seed was to ultimately defeat the Devil.

309. There is no doubt that Satan realized that if he is to prevent his own destruction he must prevent the coming of this Christ Whom is the seed of the woman Israel." He therefore directs his attack upon the nation of Israel who is mentioned as the woman. And, the small born again remnant of the Israelis will consist of the saved remnant who will become the Bride of Christ at the return of the Bridegroom as the worlds Messiah and King!

310. Long before the creation of Lucifer, who later became the devil called Satan - and of man, God the Father because of His omniscience knew beforehand that Satan would seek to prevent the birth of a Saviour. Jehovah knew that Satan's intention was to corrupt the whole human race by the birth of children who are not only the seed of the woman but also the seed of the serpent. The Lord was well aware that In Satan's own mind was the idea that if he could only produce a race of supernatural beings by the illicit cohabitation of the wicked sons of God and the daughters of men He could thwart the plans of God Himself.

311. Satan evidently thought that he could make possible the birth of a redeemer which was to be a union of Deity and humanity. If all the human race could be corrupted by this supernatural race of giants, then the Saviour cannot be a human, or a Divine Redeemer, for the mother of the seed herself would then be the seed of the serpent. Does this all sound like double talk to you? If so perhaps you should reread the devil's plan over again! The complete corruption of all humanity by this filthy scheme was Satan's dream. This is evident from the record:

[ No. 87 ]: Naturally There Is Always An Exception. . . .

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312. { V. 11 } Scripture: "The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.

313. { V. 12 }: And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth, { Genesis 6:11-12 }."

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314. Commentary . . . It seems that this deterioration of humanity had gone so far that immediate action was necessary to prevent its total corruption. But, there was still one family which was yet unaffected by Satan's program, and this one family was that of Noah. After the dramatic description of the unspeakable corruption, filth, and degradation as a result of this demonic activity, we come to that significant word "But ." . . . After the statement:

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315. { V. 7 } Scripture . . . And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth . . . for it repenteth Me that I have made them,

316. { V. 8 }: "But" . . . Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord,

317. { V. 9 }: . . . Noah was a just man and perfect in his generation, and Noah walked with God, { Genesis 6:7-9 }."

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318. Commentary . . . It seems to have been the only exception in the sordid record of Satanic corruption. Concerning Noah we read: "Noah was perfect unspoiled, uncorrupted in his generation." It does not mean that Noah was sinlessly perfect in his walk or conduct. It does not say that he was faultless and completely sanctified in practice, but it says he was "perfect in his generation." He was not corrupted by the demonic inspired generation.

319. His conception and his birth were unaffected by the general evil of demons in their supernatural corrupting of the stream of humanity. Noah was perfect in his origin genetically, and so before the whole human race should be corrupted, making the coming of the pure seed of the woman impossible, God destroyed the whole of humanity, sparing only Noah and his family. This was God's way of preventing the defeat of His plan.

320. The entire race of demonic - defiled giants that were present on the earth at that time were destroyed. And, the wicked angels whom had corrupted the people in that age were taken and cast into Hades according to the writings of Jude which we have already brought out. Therefore, God made a new beginning upon a cleansed and renewed earth. To prevent these horrible wicked and filthy giants whom had been fathered by Satan's angels from again attempting to corrupt humanity, the Lord shut those angels up in the pit of Hell. This is Jude's word concerning the angels which kept not their first estate: Naturally the giants of Noah's day are also incarcerated in Hades

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321. Scripture: ". . . he has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day, { Jude V. 6 }."

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322. Commentary . . . The question is, did this stop the wicked angels that were still indwelling the first and second heaven from being used by Satan to again perform the same wicked development of giants on the earth after the Flood? It is evident according to Scripture that wicked angels again fathered giants that were present on the earth. As we have also brought out, these giants and their angelic fathers during the exodus from Egypt were living in Canaan, and were also living during King David's day, and were obviously also according to Jude, sent to Hades with those who were already imprisoned there.

[ Heading No. 88 ]: What Difference Does It Make Concerning The Various Denominational Interpretations, Isn't One Just As Good As Another? . . .

323. Commentary . . . Now we anticipate that many will ask: Why place such emphasis on the record in Genesis? What difference does it make whether we accept one interpretation or the other? Why spend so much time in establishing the fact that these "sons of God" were really fallen angels? We feel that the following reasons fully justify the emphasis we place upon this interpretation. First, it is always important to seek the proper interpretation of any Bible text. If we are to make the right application to our own lives we must first have the correct interpretation. Second, Jesus Himself said, "As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the Son of man."

324. If we therefore would comprehend the signs of the times we must understand what Jesus referred to as the "days of Noah." And, even though we teach the correct understanding of the Scriptures and use the correct interpretation, we must not fail to teach the correct personal application. It is always possible for a minister to lose himself in a maze of denominational doctrine when trying to establish the truth of the Word of God, and miss the most important lesson it was meant to covey. So whether you agree with us or not as to the identity of these "sons of God," we can still agree on its application to our own present day. Therefore, setting aside the various different opinions, we would end the discussion by pointing out its lesson for ourselves.

325. The question is, can we see in the conditions of today any resemblance to the days of Noah and of Lot? It was the terrible sin of the mixed marriages of Noah's day which occasioned the Flood. There were many causes which led up to the Flood, but God had a tremendous amount of patience with what was taking place because He knew the final outcome. Thus, the Lord took His Own time and in His long suffering, waited in the days of Noah. However, when the horrible, intolerable sins of that age threatened the whole human race, the ticking of the clock of time finally set off the alarm and, God would wait no longer, but stepped in to put an end to the corruption.

[ Heading No. 89 ]: It Is Easily Seen That Carnal Sex Can Be One Cause To Bring On The

End Of This Present Age Of Grace. . . .

326. We cannot fail to see the very condition taking place today, and increasing at an ominous speed. The days of Noah, as the days of Lot, were days of "sex abuse." This stands out above all the evils of that day. It was the debauchery of womanhood, the disregard of the sanctity of the time, and violation of the strict prohibition of God concerning the unequal yoke and mixed marriages. This present generation has reached an all time high, and is very rapidly approaching the days of Noah and Lot, in the increase of sex crimes, divorce, broken homes, and juvenile delinquency until it will finally climax with the Rapture of the Body of Christ. The truth today, of separation from the world is almost unknown even among professing Believers.

327. The divorce rate has reached the ratio in many cases, of one divorce for less than two marriages. Sex crimes, immorality, alcoholism, and drug addiction, are sweeping over our communities like a veritable flood. Surely one must be spiritually blind and totally ignorant of the teaching of the Word of God, to fail to recognize in all this the repeating of the days of Noah and of Lot. This is the age of sexual depravity. In today's news media, sex holds the spotlight. As in the days of Noah men were without excuse, so it is today! And yet even Christians you likely know yourself, and probably even someone in your own family is ignoring the Word of God and instead of being a God fearing Child of God, is mixed up in some type of sexual sin.

328. The days before the Flood were days of powerful preaching. The Bible records that Enoch preached judgment, for some Three hundred years after his son Methuselah was born. How long Noah preached we are not told, but as he was six hundred years old when the flood took place, we believe that since he was perfect in the eyes of God, he obviously preached for several hundred years before the Flood took place.

329. Noah lived three hundred and fifty years after the Flood, so he evidently preached during that time also. It would be very out of place for him to be a righteous minister and perfect in God's sight before the Flood, and not continue his ministry for the next three hundred and fifty years of his life, would it not? But, just as the Lord stated, as it was before the Flood, so shall it be!

330. Today the world's people have a greater opportunity of hearing Paul's Gospel of the Mystery taught by Christian ministers than at any other time in the past ages of human history. Never before has so much Gospel literature been published, nor has modern facilities of distribution been available such as it is today. Along with this, the increase in literacy makes it possible for a much greater number to receive Bible literature and the Gospel message, in addition through satellite communication that circles the entire globe. We have the greatest and most powerful medium for the proclamation of the Gospel which of course is through the broadcast of radio, computer, VCRs and television that man has ever thought possible!

331. And, all this communication is being sent into every nook and corner of the world. This was foretold as being the final sign of the end of the age. Naturally when Jesus taught the following verse He was teaching the Hebrews concerning the terrible Tribulation Period that would climax seven years after the Rapture of Christ's Body of Believers, and at the very time Messiah would return. Nevertheless, this only means that since that period of time is already a picture of those things that are taking place today, this helps us to realize that the time of the Rapture of the Body of Christ is on our doorsteps at the present time! Jesus told His Hebrew Apostles concerning the kingdom Gospel:

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332. Scripture: "And this Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world { i.e., during Daniel's 70th week, which is the 7 year Tribulation Period, see Daniel 9:27 } for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come, [ i.e., of the Tribulation Period, and of that particular Hebrew age ], { Matthew 24:14 }."

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333. Commentary . . . Significant words these: "and then shall the end come." We ask the question, when? When shall the end come? And the answer is: when that particular Kingdom Gospel shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations. Yes, then shall the end come! We have come mighty close to that period in history. As we have stated, all this will not be fully realized until the Tribulation Period, and that the end refers to the Second Coming of Christ in glory after the Tribulation. But, this only adds emphasis to the words of Jesus.

334. Since the Kingdom Gospel is to be preached to all the world before the Second Coming of Christ at the end of the Tribulation, it only brings the Rapture of the Body of Christ so much closer. And, since the translation of the present Body before the day of the Lord, which commences with the Tribulation, and we already have the potential means of circling the earth with the Present Mystery Gospel: one can only surmise how very imminent the return of Christ for His Body of Believing Saints of today really is. Jesus Himself said . . .

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335. Scripture: "And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption [ is ] drawing near, { Luke 21: 28 }."

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336. Commentary . . . Even if this redemption refers to the Second Coming of Christ to deliver Israel, and they are admonished to look up, then how much more significant is this admonition to the Body of Christ which shall be caught away at least seven years before.

[ No. 90 ]: The Vital Question Is, What About You Personally?. . .

337. The most imminent event, therefore, is the appearance of Jesus from Heaven to shout from the air, when the dead in Christ shall be raised, living Believers transformed, and together we shall be caught up like Enoch before the Flood of God's wrath breaks upon a scoffing unbelieving world. The one vital question then is: Are you ready to meet the Lord as your Saviour when He comes? Or, will you have to meet Him as your judge at the end of the Tribulation Period when Messiah will say:

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338. Scripture: " . . . depart from Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels, { Matthew 25:41 }."

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339. Commentary . . . It need not be like that, for God's long-suffering is still waiting, and you can still turn to the Lord and be saved by trusting and receiving Jesus Christ and believing the promise He has given:

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340. Scripture: "Verily, verily [ surely, surely ], I say unto you, he that hears My word, and believes on Him that sent Me, has everlasting life, and shall not come unto condemnation but is passed from death unto [ eternal Heavenly ] life, { John 5:24 }."

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341. The above verse paraphrased: "I assure you and most solemnly I tell you, that the person whose ears are open to My message . . . and believes and trust in and clings to and relies on God the Father Who sent Me has and possesses at this very hour - eternal life. And he will never come into judgment . . . does not incur sentence of judgment, and he will never come under eternal condemnation . . . but he has already passed over out of death into life eternal."

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342. Commentary . . . Then you need not be disturbed by the confused conditions in the world, but with God's children "look up, and lift up your heads" in the anticipation of His soon coming to resurrect His Saints of today. After the Rapture and during the Tribulation Period Jesus will call the world's people to come to Him and become Messiah's saved Saints, and be saved as God the Father's Adopted children. Through the teaching of the Hebrew ministers during that time, many people will have the chance to be saved but very few will listen, for the majority will accept the mark of the beast, and thus, will become eternally lost. Nevertheless, God will give the warning and likewise tell the people, by saying at the end of the Great Tribulation Period:

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343. Scripture: "Then shall [ Messiah ] the King say unto them at His right hand, Come you blessed of My Father [ that is, you favored of God and appointed to eternal salvation ], inherit [ receive as your own ] the [ Millennial ] kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, { Matthew 25:34 }."

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344. Commentary . . . Concerning folks today, you must decide before the Rapture takes place! Read the sinners prayer at the very end of our message. Remember salvation is eternal and can be received in less than two minutes, but everlasting suffering is also eternal and this will take place in the "Lake Of Fire." What ever you decide will show which one you prefer. Don't wait!

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