Mankind: Same as Ever

 "AS IT WAS IN THE DAYS OF NOAH"

The same thread in real life, in the Bible cover to cover, and throughout all of history, secular and profane

(Luke 17:26-32 [KJV])
And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;
But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.
In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. Remember Lot's wife.

LOT'S WIFE
(Genesis 19:17 [KJV])
And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.

(Genesis 19:26 [KJV])
But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

THEN
Hebrews 2:2 [KJV])

For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward;

NOWThe World today says:

• Man is evolving
• Man has upward progress, technology unlike anything ever seen
• Man needs to unite for peace, etc.
• We need great intellects to solve problems
• We do not die
• We do not need God
• We can make what God says into what we want
• We can study the past to better ourselves

Genesis 3:1 [KJV]

Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

• Man STILL denies the existence of that subtil serpent, because he cannot use science to "see" it.
• The enemy is still lying and man being tempted of evil

Genesis 3:2-3 [KJV]And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

1. Always changing what God said into what is their idea ("neither shall ye touch it")
2. Always having doubt created by the enemy in a subtil way ("Yea, hath God said?")
3. People still talk and listen to the enemy (séances, rock music, paganism, new ageism); we just call him satan now

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The ORIGINAL Command

(Genesis 2:16-17 [KJV])

And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:  But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

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Genesis 3:4 [KJV]

And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

1. Man STILL denies death and tries to cheat it
1. Reincarnation
2. Science looking for fountain of youth
3. Science looking for that "aging gene"
2. Young people STILL think they are immortal
3. People STILL deny hell (even though they believe in Heaven)
4. People STILL believe in reincarnation/RECYCLING

Genesis 3:5-6 [KJV]
For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

• Always wanting more knowledge ("Knowledge is POWER!")
• We worship science, arts, scientists, "intellectuals"
• Always wanting to be the Master of the Universe, Master of his destiny, in control, etc.  ("Ye shall be as gods")
• Always wanting to redefine morals ("Knowing good and evil")
• Always using the same three basic criteria:
• Pleasing to the body (Lust of the flesh)
• Pleasing to the eyes (lust of the eyes)
• Pride ("I got one of these! Ha!" or "I know something you don't know!")
• Product packaging is one out of every eleven dollars spent in the U.S.

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(Genesis 3:21 [KJV])

Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.

• Always now wanting to avoid the shame of nakedness, but not really.
• Same reason FOR clothing (part of curse) today
• Same reason for NO clothing (rejection of God) today

But the Bible commands us:

(1 John 2:15-16 [KJV])

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

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Genesis 3:7 [KJV]
And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

• Man to this day uses clothing to hide nakedness
• No civilized society on earth allows 24/7/365 public nudity of all of its citizens.

Genesis 3:8 [KJV]

And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.

Both Christian and Secular Man:

• STILL hearing from God
• STILL wanting to hide from God (Christian and Secular Man)

Genesis 3:9 [KJV]
And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?

God is still seeking man out

• Man is still afraid of being caught-afterwards

Genesis 3:10 [KJV]
And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

• STILL wanting to blame God
• STILL hiding from God

·        STILL ashamed of his nakedness

Genesis 3:11 [KJV]
And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?

Genesis 3:12 [KJV]

And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.

• God still has to convict to get man to confess
• STILL wanting to blame others

Genesis 3:13 [KJV]

And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

Genesis 3:14 [KJV]

And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

Genesis 3:15 [KJV]

And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

1. Women STILL hate snakes
2. Prophecy fulfilled!

(Genesis 3:16 [KJV])

Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

1. Women STILL have tremendous labor pains
2. Women STILL want control over the house

(Genesis 3:17 [KJV])

And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;  Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

1. Man STILL suffers when he works
2. Man STILL fights weeds
3. We even have air conditioners in swanky offices

(Genesis 3:20 [KJV])
And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.

(Genesis 3:22 [KJV])

And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

THERE IS NO ETERNAL LIFE POSSIBLE IN THIS LIFE!
YOU MUST DIE FIRS OR BE RAPTURED!

(Genesis 3:23 [KJV])

Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.

(Genesis 3:24 [KJV])
So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

PRE-FLOOD/POST-FLOOD

(Genesis 6:3-7 [KJV])

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.  There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God 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. And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 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.

1.      Wickedness on earth Pre-Flood was the same as today, archeologists have discovered

2.      Today wickedness is great in the earth

a.      Every imagination of the thoughts of his heart

b.      Only evil

c.       Continually

d.      Sin affects all of creation

One reason for the commandments is because God knew we would break them!  If we never would break them, we would not need them.

Man's Solutions are always the same: UNIFY!

(Genesis 11:4 [KJV])

And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

• Washington Monument (obelisk)
• Chrysler Building
• Eiffel Tower
• Sears Tower
• Empire State Building
• Trade Center Twin Towers (1,482 ft)
• Currently the Burj Khalifa, Dubai, 2,717 ft
• They have categories, definitions, etc.
• Wikipedia, "History World's Tallest Building"

(Genesis 11:4 [KJV])
And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

Man has always and will always worship ANYONE or ANYTHING, dead or alive,  if he does not worship the True and Living God.

(Revelation 13:7-8 [KJV])

And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

APPLICATION: NEVER FORGET

1. Our flesh is the same as the people in the Bible

(1 Peter 1:24 [KJV])
For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:

2. Temptations never will cease in this life

(James  1:13-14 [KJV])
Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

(Hebrews 4:15 [KJV])

For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

(James 1:13-15 [KJV])
Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

"Opportunity may only knock once, but temptation bangs on the front door forever"

3. We on earth have a solution to our flesh; the world rejects it

The Gospel in the Old Testament

The Gospel In The Old Testament

The word "Gospel", we are told, means "Good News" and, no doubt the Gospel is definitely Good News.  But, the fact is, the English word is a combination of two words, "God + Spell", or God's Word.  Either definition is fine, since God's Word is definitely Good News! 

The world is often led to believe that the Gospel is only found in the New Testament

 

The Saving Gospel is spelled out in the Bible, and here very clearly by Paul:

 
(1 Corinthians 15:1-8 [KJV])

Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;  By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.  For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;  And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:  And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:  After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.  After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.

Hebrews 1:1 

God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,

1 Peter 1:9-11 

Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.

They heard that the Messiah, though it may have been a “proto-Gospel”

·        Was the Begotten Son of God (Psalm 2:2, Psalm 2:7, Matthew 26:63)
·        Was called their Messiah (Matthew 26:63)

·        Was the ruler of the Kingdom of God (Psalm 2)
·        This ruler was God (Micah 5:2, Daniel 2:44)
·        Was to die on a Cross (Zechariah 12, Isaiah 53, Psalm 22, Genesis 3)
·        Was to die for Israel (Daniel 9)
·        Was to resurrect (Genesis 3, Genesis 6, Genesis 22, Jonah, Daniel 3:25)

Genesis 22-24 cannot be understood at all without the New Testament Gospel. That said, Abraham had to have had an understanding of the entire Gospel, since He practically carried it out literally, up to the point of the death of “his only son”, Isaac. Only a believing Jew, looking to the future Messiah, could have understood this account.

 

Abraham could not have understood the entire situation here either without an intimate knowledge of the death and resurrection of his only son and without an intimate understanding the Gospel of the future Jewish Messiah. To the human mind, this whole incident is stupidity.

 
·        Murder is wrong
·        Killing your son is wrong
·        Isaac was not a small boy, he was about thirty three by this time (Born 1896 B.C, this is 1863 B.C…..carried the wood also!)
·        This whole thing would serve no purpose if not for the Gospel, to Abraham
·        He had faith God would resurrect him

Genesis 22:2-8 

And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
 
·       Isaac is silent the entire way there, like a lamb led to the slaughter, before his shearers is silent, and could have easily overpowered his “old man”, literally very old, but did not
·       Isaac was not Abraham’s only son, technically. Abraham never refuted it.
·       On the third day Abraham…
·       God Himself is the Lamb, not Isaac
·       Abraham expects to return with Isaac
·       Death (Hebrews 11), Resurrection of Isaac

Genesis 22:9-18 

And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen. And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

·       Again Isaac is “thine only son”, two more times

·       The sacrifice is then a ram and not a lamb
·       Seed (not seeds) to posses gate of “his enemies”, not “their enemies”
·       His “seed” is the blessing for all, not “seeds” (Galatians 3:16)
·       His seed is Jesus (Galatians 3)

Galatians 3:8

And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.

The Gospel is not the nation of Israel becoming a nation blessing all nations with its presence, its laws, its rituals, its religion, but it is through birthing the Jewish Messiah, the Christ. The blessing is not the seeds, not the nation, but the seed, Jesus Christ the Messiah.

Galatians 3:16-20 
Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise. Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.

·       To Abraham and his seed were the promises made

·       Seed is singular, not plural (modern versions are incorrect here once again)
·       Thy Seed, which is Christ
·       Covenant confirmed before the law
  

The Gospel to Abraham

 

To AbrahamààààààààPromise of Thy SeedààààààààWhich is Christ

  
Hebrews 11:17-19 
By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.

·       Son called “begotten”

·       Death, Burial, Resurrection of Jesus Christ
·       Received Jesus in a figure
·       Isaac was in a figure resurrected (even from the dead, whence also he received him)

Hebrews 4:2 

For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it
 
·       They got the Gospel in the Old Testament
·       They did not receive it by faith, like today
·       “them” is Israel, which includes all Israel (Abraham)
 
Hebrews 11:24 
By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.