Now before I jump into chapter 5, I want to just pick up some stuff on the very end of chapter 4
that I didn't have time for when I was preaching through chapter 4.
I didn't get to these last two verses, so I just want to touch on these briefly
where the Bible reads in Genesis 4.25,
And Adam knew his wife again, and she bare a son, and called his name Seth.
For God said she hath appointed me another seed, instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.
And to Seth to him also there was born a son, and he called his name Enos.
Then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.
I wanted to point out that last phrase, then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.
Because that's a very significant statement in the Bible.
You see, it's not just that it's saying that they called God by that name.
Because we already saw people before this, calling God by various names,
and speaking to him, and talking about him.
When the Bible says, then began men to call upon the name of the Lord, this is talking about salvation.
And all throughout the Bible, this term, calling upon the name of the Lord, is used in regard to salvation.
Turn, if you would, just quickly to 2 Corinthians 4.
Just quickly, 2 Corinthians 4.
And in 2 Corinthians 4, I want to just point this out to you,
because it ties in with calling upon the name of the Lord.
And a lot of people become confused about salvation,
because, of course, we believe that salvation is 100% by faith.
And they'll say, well, you don't have to call upon the name of the Lord,
because you just have to believe, and that's enough,
and you don't have to call upon the name of the Lord.
But the thing is that calling upon the name of the Lord,
and believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, both go hand in hand.
They're both tied in.
For example, while you're turning to 2 Corinthians 4, the Bible reads in Romans 10, 9,
that thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus,
and shalt believe in thy heart that God hath raised him from the dead,
thou shalt be saved.
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness,
and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
For the Scriptures say, whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek,
for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed?
And how should they believe in him of whom they have not heard?
And how should they hear without a preacher?
And of course later on he says,
then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
So the Bible is real clear.
You hear God's word, you believe God's word,
and the result is that you call upon the name of the Lord.
Now some people have tried to say that
calling upon the name of the Lord is works, salvation,
and that praying with someone and having them call out to ask for salvation is work.
That is not true.
Because of the fact that the Bible makes it very clear
in Matthew chapter 7 when he said,
If he then being evil know how to give good gifts unto your children,
how much more shall your father which is in heaven
give good things to them than ask him?
So the Bible is clear that just because you ask for something
does not mean that it's not a gift.
Because a gift is free.
But asking for something does not make something not be free anymore.
And also in John chapter 4 Jesus said,
If thou knewest the gift of God,
notice the wording.
If thou knewest the gift of God,
and who it was that said unto thee,
Give me to drink,
thou wouldest have asked of him,
and he would have given thee living water.
So the Bible says that it's a gift,
but you ask for it.
And he told the woman at the well, you ask for this gift.
And he said, if you knew who I was, you would ask for it.
So believing and calling upon the name of the Lord go hand in hand
because believing is something that takes place in your heart
but it's expressed with your mouth.
How does anyone know what I believe?
Based on what I say.
And you look at so many scriptures
and I did a whole sermon on this.
It was like a 90 minute sermon
where I literally went to almost every passage
and just showed scores of times where the Bible says
that if you call upon him you'll be saved
and that tied in what you believe with what you say
saying that it's your words that will justify you or save you
and that it's your words that will condemn you.
You'll be condemned to hell by what you believe.
You'll be condemned to hell by what you say
because what you say is a reflection of what you believe
because out of the abundance of the heart the mouth's speaking.
And I'm not going to take the time to go to all the multitude of scriptures
but you can listen to my sermon on calling upon the name of the Lord
my sermon on the sinner's prayer
where I go into this in great detail
and show tons of scriptures
like for example when the Bible says
just whoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God.
God dwells at the name of he and God.
And there are all kinds of scriptures like that
but I want to just highlight one for you.
In 2 Corinthians 4.13 the Bible reads
we have in the same spirit of faith
according as it is written
I believed and therefore have I spoken
we also believe and therefore speak.
So when you have the spirit of faith
you believe and you speak.
Go back to Psalm 116.
We'll be back in Genesis 5 in just a moment
but go to Psalm 116.
You see if I told you
that I have a gift for you
but you must give me five dollars
that's not a gift.
If I told you I have a gift for you
but you have to work for me
you need to wash my car
you need to rake my leaves
that's not a gift
because you're working for it
because you're paying for it.
If I said I have a gift for you
but you've got to come to church every week
that wouldn't be a gift
because you're earning it
you're working for it.
But if I say to you I have a gift for you
just ask for it
and I'll give it to you for free
that's still a gift.
Now your faith is expressed in words.
Temperatures are expressed in
degrees Celsius or Fahrenheit
and what you believe is expressed
by the words of your heart
and the words that come out of your mouth.
Keep in mind what Paul said
when he quoted this
in 2 Corinthians 4.13
it says in Psalm 116 verse 10
I believe therefore I have spoken
that's the as it was written
that he was referring back to
in 2 Corinthians 4.13
when he said we have the same spirit of faith
we believe therefore we've spoken
he says in verse 10
I believe therefore have I spoken
I was greatly afflicted
I said in my haste all men are liars
what shall I render unto the Lord
for all his benefits toward me
I will take the cup of salvation
and call upon the name of the Lord.
So the Bible puts those two things together
taking the cup of salvation
and calling upon the name of the Lord
just like he said to the woman at the well
if you would have known who it was
that said unto thee give me the drink
thou wouldest have asked of him
and he would have given thee
living water
to drink of the cup of salvation
living water
and he said if you drink of this water
you'll never thirst again
more proof that you cannot lose your salvation
because once you drink of the cup of salvation
you'll never thirst again
you don't need to take another swig of it
some other time
you get saved one time
and this is all throughout the Bible
and people will try to say
well people got saved different back then
they began calling upon the name of the Lord
in Genesis 4
that's the first generation of man
Adam was still alive
Seth was still alive
all the original humans
that were put on this earth
there were people there
they were calling upon the name of the Lord
they were being saved
Abraham called upon the name of the Lord
Genesis 12
it's reiterated in chapter 13
Isaac called upon the name of the Lord
the Bible records
Moses called upon the name of the Lord
David called upon the name of the Lord
and think about this
what name did they call upon?
well Abraham and Isaac and Jacob
did not know God by the name of Jehovah
they knew him by the name of God Almighty
that's what God told most of the burning bush
David called upon the name of Jehovah
we call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ
and the Bible says that there is not salvation in any other
and that there is none other name under heaven
given among men whereby we must be saved
now that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh
we must acknowledge him as the son of God
and to not acknowledge him is to not acknowledge the Father
you must be saved through the name of Jesus
not just calling out unto God in general
not being out in the jungle looking up at the stars
and saying God I know you're out there please save me
no, calling upon the name of the Lord
and it gets more specific when he said
confess with I'm not the Lord Jesus
that's the name, Jesus
that name is the name that saves today
Jesus, Jesus Christ that is the name
by which we're saved
back to Genesis 5
I just wanted to touch on that in Genesis 4
because I don't have time to get to that
salvation is calling upon the name of the Lord
calling upon the name of the Lord without believing
is meaningless
he said you can't call on him unless you believe
that's what it said in Romans 10.14
and so when you believe
that Jesus can save
when you believe that Jesus is the savior
and the only way to heaven
obviously you confess that
you speak that
that comes out of your heart
in the form of words that you speak
and it doesn't have to be some certain magical words
you know you look at the Ethiopian eunuch
just basically said
I believe that Jesus Christ is son of God
you look at the public and he went to the temple
and he said
Lord be merciful to be a sinner
you know it could be different words
but it's just a calling out to Jesus
to save you
kind of like the thief on the cross did
when he said
Lord remember me when thou comest in thy kingdom
that's a moment
when salvation is crystallized
when you believe in your heart
and you believe unto righteousness
and confession is made to salvation
let's get into chapter 5 here
this is the book of the generations of Adam
in the day that God created man
in the likeness of God made he him
male and female created he none
now this is a statement that is made
in Genesis 1
it's also made in Genesis 5
it's also made in 1 Corinthians 11
now we're not going to turn there for a second time
but in 1 Corinthians 11
God is explaining some differences between men and women
he talks about men having short hair
women having long hair
that's some of the subject that's covered
and part of the reason why he said
that the man is not to have his head covered with long hair
is that man is made in the image of God
that's why he's not supposed to have
his head covered in long hair
now
that tells me that woman
is different than man in that regard
because he's saying women do have long hair
men don't because they're made in the image of God
every time in Genesis 1
it's consistent
Genesis 5
he says
in the image of God made he him
male and female created he them
you say what's the point Pastor Anderson?
the point is that God is not a gender neutral God
and a lot of people will try to teach
that God has no gender
he's neither male nor female
and there are even new bible verses coming out
the new NIV
the 2010 version of the NIV
and if you go down to the Christian bookstore
and you buy the NIV
it's now the new 2010 version
it has taken out a lot of the gender specific language
from the 1984 NIV
of course they're both garbage
they use the human version
but
they're taking out gender specific words
like father
son
man
brother
and they're replacing them with gender neutral terms
and I hear all kinds of people say that
God is neither male nor female
that is now biblical
God is called the Father
the Son
and the Holy Ghost
two out of three of those names are gender specific
not the mother and the daughter and the Holy Ghost
it's the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost
and he said he made man in his image
basically what he's saying is that
man is after his likeness
after his appearance
which is why the hair is
now tell me this
if Jesus had
if Jesus had long hair
like these artists depicted
why would God say
well don't have long hair
because you're in the image of God
well if he had long hair
we would need to have long hair
in order to be in his image
he obviously didn't
and so that's a fallacy
that's just a myth
from a lot of paintings and so forth
so I just want to point out
very clearly here
and there are many other places
that God is not a gender neutral God
God is a male gender
and tampering with that
is to tamper with the nature of God
and to tamper with the Bible
and it says male and female
created them and blessed them
and watch this
this is an important phrase
and called their name Adam
in the day when they were created
does it say he called his name Adam?
no it says he called their name Adam
who wrote the they there?
Adam and Eve
he called both their name Adam
now this is where we get the tradition
and the custom
of a woman taking her husband's name
now today in our women's lives
society that we live in
and the so called equality
of men and women
a lot of women do not want to take
their husband's name anymore
and I've even known of people in Europe
where they're even more further down
the left wing toilet bowl
a downward spiral
they even
it's trendy and cool
sometimes to take your wife's name
I'm serious
because they say why not?
I mean I've known people personally who did this
hey why not?
I mean if women
if all these thousands and millions of women
are taking their husband
why can't the husband take her name?
and this is becoming a trend in Europe
and it's probably coming to the United States
if it's not already here
but what is already here for sure
is women just retaining their original name
and you've got men and women
retaining separate last names
I would point to the Bible right here
who's the one doing the calling?
God and God called their name Adam
God looked at them as one flesh
God looked at them as one unit there
not as two separate
he said they are no more twain
but one flesh
and therefore they should not have two different names
because they are not two different entities in God's mind
God looks at it as one flesh
therefore the wife should take her husband's name
it doesn't say he called their name Eve
he called their name Adam
and so I believe that women should be called by their husband's name
and we do that with the last name
now not only that but in the olden days
they would even say Mrs. Stephen Anderson
who's ever heard that used before
now that's way out there in today's society
that's considered way out in the left field
but really there's nothing wrong with that at all
because that's what God did
and so I'll stick with that
it says he called their name Adam in the day when they were created
look at verse 3
and Adam lived 130 years
and begat a son in his own likeness after his image
and called his name Seth
and the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth
were 800 years and he begat sons of daughters
and all the days that Adam lived were 930 years and he died
now we're not going to reread this whole chapter
because we already read it right before the sermon
but notice how long these people are living
the Bible is telling us here that Adam lived to be 930 years old
now I've heard people try to dismiss this
and try to say that people didn't really live that long
and here's what they said
they said, well maybe
maybe the earth was going around the sun faster back then
so years were just blowing by
you know, because on certain planets
years are shorter or longer
has anybody ever heard that theory before?
and they say no, no, no, no
people weren't living to be that long
it's just that the years were shorter back then
you know, the earth was just whipping around the sun
but the problem with that is that
go to chapter 11 if you would
we'll come back to this
first of all, Genesis 5 records a guy
begetting a child when he's 65 years old
okay
Genesis 11, look at Genesis 11
it says in verse 10, these are the generations of Shem
Shem was 100 years old and begat Arphaxad
2 years after the flood
and Shem lived after he begat Arphaxad
500 years and begat sons and daughters
and Arphaxad lived 5 and 30 years and begat Selah
now, here's a guy who's begetting a child
he's living to be 400 and some years old
his dad lived to be, what, how old?
you know, 500 and some years
and so, so basically
he's having a child at 35
let's say, you know, they didn't really live that long
it's just the years were 10 times shorter
well then you got a guy having a kid
when he's 3 and a half or 6 and a half years old
that doesn't make sense
well it was just 5 times shorter
they were only living to be 200
well then you still, you got a 13 year old
and an 8 year old having a kid
that's garbage
so don't try to twist the Bible
they really lived to be 930 years
and the years and years
it was the same year that it is now
God set up a year in Genesis 1
and he said he was going to use that as a timekeeper
years have not changed
they've always been similar length to what they are right now
and so a year is a year
and when it says that they lived 930 years
they really did live to be 930 years old
now I've heard other people say this
they've said well before the flood
they were able to live that long
because the conditions were different before the flood
and there was a canopy of water and so forth
now I personally do not subscribe to that theory
for a couple of reasons
number 1
they kept living that long
or close to that long even after the flood
and you'll notice that in Genesis 11
if you look down at your Bible
this guy lived after the flood
502 years
ok?
Shem
502 years
so I mean he's still living long
after the flood
and if you look at his descendants here
you've still got people in verse 15
you know he lived after he began Heber
403 years
and then you see 430 years in verse 16
you see 430 years in verse 17
you see 209 years in verse 19
so you see it kind of tapers off
it's like the people before the flood
were living to be 800, 900 years old
then after the flood it goes from being like
600, 500, 400
a couple generations go down
and they're in the 200s
now when you get to people like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
it seems like people are really fortunate
if they're living to be in their late 100s
you know the 175, 180, 147
those are some good old ages
and then it gets to the time
of when David is writing the Psalms
he's saying that a man's year is a 3 score and 10
he's saying people live to be about 70 years old
and if you're lucky you live 80
and that's about where we're at right now
people live to be about 70 or 80 years old
so I don't think that the flood was what really changed it
because if you look at it
people were still living pretty long even after the flood
and it was like a gradual tapering down of ages in chapter 11
it wasn't just going from 900 to just constantly down to 100
I mean it took a long time to get down to where people were only living to be
80 and where it talks about people being really old when they're 80
like around David's time
that's thousands of years later
and the other reason that I don't believe in this water canopy
shielding people from the sun
and that's what made them live longer and making the atmosphere different
the reason I don't believe in that is because
the Bible talks about the waters above the firmament
in Genesis chapter 1
but it also talks about the waters above the firmament in Psalm 148
or 147, somewhere around there
so that shows that thousands of years later
they still have the water above the firmament
just like we have water in the atmosphere now
and there doesn't seem to be a change in God's language
about the water in the sky
versus Genesis 1 versus Psalms
thousands of years later
so why did they live so long?
well, I guess when God created Adam
He created a perfect man in His image
He created a perfect woman
and I think that things have just degenerated over time
it's all part of evolution
things getting better and better
and people are getting smarter and stronger
I think it's just exactly the opposite
I think that people started out
I think that the prime specimen was Adam
and he was the strongest, the smartest, the most intelligent
not quite the longest, but that generation lived the longest
and I think that our bodies and our genes and our genetics
had just gone downhill since then
you know, perhaps from the way that people have
you know, who they've married and so forth
you know, you mix the genes around
and apparently there's been
not an evolution, but a devolution
everybody's going to the devil
and so, evolution is false
evolution is just, oh man, it's getting better and stronger and healthier
it's not true
because if you look back, if you study ancient history
now I'm really a person who's interested in language
so I love to study languages
if you look at the oldest languages, they're the most complicated
they're the hardest to learn
and the later we get here
the more simple languages are becoming upon this earth
you look at ancient languages and they're very complex
and even the English language
let's face it, the English language of the King James Bible is more complex
than what we speak today
the Bible's too hard to understand, you're just too dumb
and it's not God's fault that you're dumb
He's not going to make the hop on pop version
the Dr. Seuss version, because you don't know how to read
because you don't know how to speak the language
and you want to speak this dumbed down
you know, LOL, TTYL
you know, ROFL language of
wait, what's up, yo
God's too intelligent to talk
in a dumbed down way
just so that you can understand the Bible
you need to get some smarts
and you can get some smarts and learn the Bible
and then you'll be just fine with the King James
but if you go back before the King James
languages were even more complicated before that
now, if evolution were true
then if you go back to these old languages thousands of years ago
they'd be simple
because it'd be a bunch of dumb hunter-gatherer cavemen
saying, you know, me eat cow, yum
me, me fight animal
me hunt down, hoo hoo
but wait a minute
they had a more complicated language than we did
if they were dumb, why would they be speaking in such a complex way?
does it make any sense?
the dumber you get, the less your vocabulary is
the more simple your grammar is
you see, the smarter you are
the more complicated the grammar that comes out of your mouth
you see, there are a lot of finer points in English grammar
that a lot of people don't even know about
so they don't use them
they just pretty much use a basic past, present and future
they don't get into all these other verb tenses
and all these other grammatical constructions
but people who are intelligent
they use a more complex grammar
and so, if evolution were true
you'd go back to the origins of nations
and you'd find very simple language
but no, you'd find complicated language
and not only that
you'd find buildings that are huge
that are unaccountable, like the pyramids
things that they can't even explain how they did it
Stonehenge, the pyramids
all these great marvelous structures
that supposedly people went from a million years of ooga booga
to just all of a sudden they're building pyramids, Stonehenge
doing all this stuff
doesn't make any sense
how could it happen?
it couldn't happen
and so it's a false doctrine that teaches evolution
or theistic evolution
or intelligent design evolution
yeah, it's just not biblical
and this is part of the evidence for that
it's how people used to live longer
now they're living shorter
let's keep going here
I'm going to skip some of this
just because we already read the whole chapter
but let's hit some highlights
one of the reasons why this chapter is so interesting
you say, ah, it's a boring chapter, why is it there?
part of the reason is because we could use this to calculate exactly
how much time passed between Adam and the flood
because the Bible tells us that Adam lived to be a certain age
and he had a son
and then his son lived to be a certain age
and then he had a son
and you could easily do the math and come up with 1656 years
give or take a little bit just because of months
it doesn't go into the months
but it gives us grounded off to the years
1656 years passed between Adam being created
and between the flood that took place
and then God gives us all kinds of other numbers
we can trace from the flood to the children of Israel
going to Egypt, onto Solomon's temple
all the way through the end of the Old Testament
and we can figure out how old the earth is
and we can know that it's approximately 6245 years old
and that tells us that God gave it to us in such detail
for that reason
now look at verse 21 of Genesis 5
it says Enoch lived 65 years and begat Methuselah
now Methuselah is of course the man who lived longer than any other man
reported in the Bible
he lived to be 969 years old
no one else in the Bible lived that old
Adam only lived to be 930
but it says Enoch lived 65 years old and begat Methuselah
verse 22
and Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah
300 years and begat sons and daughters
all the days of Enoch were 365 years
and Enoch walked with God and he was not for God took him
now we'll get into that in a moment
but I don't know if Enoch walked with God before he begat Methuselah
the Bible makes a point to tell us
that he walked with God after he begat Methuselah
you know what I've noticed?
having kids will get you to walk with God in many ways
because suddenly you have a responsibility toward those children
and I know that I walked with God a lot more after my son Solomon was born
than I did before
because it causes you to have to mature
and you realize hey I'm not just responsible for myself
but my actions are affecting my child
and you look into a baby's face
and it's just that pure innocent face
that has not been defiled and corrupted with the things of this world
and you look into that face and you want that child
to grow up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord
you don't want to be corrupted and polluted
and so it really makes you rethink
some of the stuff that you might have thought
you know TV shows and movies and music
you know it makes you really take a second look at that stuff
because you don't want that stuff going into your child's mind
and there's so many other reasons why having a child
will cause you to mature and grow up and it's good for you
and I think it's very good for you
and I think that a lot of the problems people have in their marriages
is from not having children
I think that's part of the problem
you say prove it, well
the most common time to get divorced is within the first two years of marriage
or within the first two years of your last child leaving the home
that's the statistic
my parents were divorced within two years of the last child leaving the home
you know and most people that you know it's one of those two times
those are the most common
there are exceptions to that
but those are the most common times when he would be divorced
why? because children are something that bond the family together
and they're a common bond that help bring closeness in the family
contrary to what a lot of people will tell you that they'll drive a wedge
they actually help the family and it helped Deon
because he walked with God after he began Methuselah
it doesn't record whether he did or not before that
but he definitely did after that son was born
and he raised that son in an urgent admonition to the Lord
now how did Methuselah die?
well Methuselah lived to be 969 years old
now here's the interesting thing
if you do the math
he died the same year the flood took place
so the question is
how long was this guy going to live if he didn't drown in the flood?
or did he die of natural causes and then the flood came?
we don't really know
now if he drowned in the flood
good night, how old was he going to live to be?
he already set the record
so he was so old
he might have just died of natural causes
give the guy a break
don't say that he drowned in the flood
hey, I like to give people the benefit of the doubt
if we're not sure
I'm going to say he was a godly, righteous man
no, this is my guess
he was godly and righteous
and he died of natural causes at 969
and then the flood came
but we don't know, maybe he drowned in the flood
and it says all the days of Enoch were 365 years in verse 24
and Enoch walked with God
and he was not, or God, took him
now when it says he was not
that's a term that God uses as, you know, he was no longer alive
he was no longer on this earth
now go to Hebrews 11
Hebrews chapter 11
Hebrews chapter number 11
now that's a pretty interesting thing here
that Enoch was not for God took him
what does it mean God took him?
well that's explained further in Hebrews 11
in verse 5 the Bible reads
by faith, notice it doesn't say by works
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
so because he walked with God
and because he pleased God
and because he had faith in God
God chose for whatever reason to do this miraculous event
where instead of him dying a normal death
and his soul going to be with the Lord in heaven
he just was not, God took him
he did not see it
he was just translated
and the Bible uses that term translated
about us saying that we've been translated
from the kingdom of darkness
under the kingdom of Jesus Christ
we've been translated when we got saved
and so that's what this picture is
now go back if you would to Genesis 5
he was translated that he should not see death
for before his translation he had this testimony
that he pleased God
what else do we know about Enoch?
well the book of Jude records Enoch's preaching
he was a preacher and the Bible says
and Enoch also the seventh from Adam prophesied to be saying
behold the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints
to execute judgment upon all
and to convince all that are ungodly among them
of all their ungodly deeds
and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners
have spoken against him
so he prophesied of Jesus Christ coming in Revelation 19
where he comes on the white horse
and he comes with all the saints
and he comes with how many ten thousands of his saints
so a massive number
and the Bible tells the first Thessalonians 3
he's coming with all of his saints
you say why didn't he say millions?
why is it ten thousands?
well because the Bible doesn't really use the word millions
it uses the word a thousand thousand more often
it says a thousand thousand and thousands of thousands
to refer to hundreds of millions
or ten thousand times ten thousand I'm sorry
he said that the angels were ten thousand times ten thousand
ten thousand just seems to be a number that God likes to work with
he said ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands
and so he says he's coming with ten thousands of his saints
he doesn't say how many ten thousands
I'm sure it's millions
based on other things in scripture I'm sure it's millions
but he uses ten thousand ten thousands
to refer to hundreds of millions
why does God like the number ten thousand to work with?
well because God is not this atheistic humanistic society we live in today
that loves to talk about billions and trillions and quadrillions
now you say why is that bad?
well because whenever people are talking about billions and trillions and quadrillions
it's usually bad
it's usually like trillions of dollars
that they're spending of our money
or billions of dollars in debt
right? I mean isn't that when you normally hear these numbers?
or you'll hear these numbers
billions of years ago
trillions and trillions of years ago
a quadrillion years ago
so if it's not about our debt
it's about this science falsely so called about billions of years ago
but you know really in our daily lives
I don't think you really need numbers like that very often
if you think about it
I mean
those seem to roll off people's tongues a little too much
now I realize there are legitimate uses for the term billion
like hey there are seven billion people living in the world
but you know it seems like the more often you deal with these numbers
and you say well what do you have against those size numbers?
well the thing I have against them is that you can't really wrap your mind around them
for example you can't count to a million
you can't count to a billion
if you can't do a billion it would take you your whole life and you'd never get there
even if you were counting all day every day
do the math
so these numbers are numbers that are much larger than what we can comprehend
and yet we talk about them and throw them around
you know when you get into numbers that size
God just says it's like the sand in the sea you can't count it
when there's a huge number of people in heaven
God just says it's a multitude that no man can number
can't count that high
no one can count to a billion
and that's how he says no man can number this number
no man can count the stars
no man can count the sand on the seashore
so look why don't you just stick with ten thousand
and when you get to ten thousand times ten thousand
and you've got all that figured out and counted
then come back to me and we'll talk about millions and billions
I'm kind of joking around but you know what I mean
and so he talks about ten thousands of saints coming to execute judgment upon an ungodly world
he was the man who preached against ungodliness
so we know very little about Enoch
but we know that he walked with God
we know that he had faith
we know that he pleased God
and we know that he preached hard against ungodliness
and we know that he also preached hard about the second coming of Jesus Christ
you say the second coming of Jesus Christ
that's what he preached
and so a pretty amazing guy
he had a lot of revelation and knowledge from God
even before the flood took place
now some people will say that Enoch being translated
they'll say you know hey this is a picture of the rapture
have you heard people say that?
now in many ways I agree
because if you look at it
when the rapture takes place in 1 Thessalonians 4
the Bible talks about
then we which are alive and remain
shall be caught up together in the clouds
but in 1 Corinthians 15 when he talks about the rapture
he says this
we shall not all sleep
but we shall all be changed
in a moment in a twinkling of an eye
so when he says we shall not all sleep
think about what he said in 1 Thessalonians 4
about those who sleep in Jesus
those are those who are dead
the dead in Christ are called those asleep in Jesus
so the Bible is saying we're not all going to sleep
some people will be like Enoch
in the sense that they will not die a physical death
because if they are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord
they will not die a physical death
they will be changed or translated
just like Enoch was translated
they will be translated
and so it is a picture
of what is going to take place at the rapture
it's a foreshadowing of the resurrection
of the dead saints
but also just the translation of the living
now I've heard some people say
that the two witnesses
the two witnesses in the book of Revelation
are Enoch and Elijah
because of the fact that they're the only two guys
that did not see death but were translated and so forth
well, other people will say it's Elijah and Moses
first of all, it could just be two guys that we've never heard of
it doesn't have to be a reincarnation of a Bible character
it could just be two new guys
two new witnesses
it doesn't have to be these people
but not only that
but the Bible doesn't really specifically tell us
that Elijah did not see death
but I guess we can infer that from the fact
that he was just carried up in that chariot
the fiery chariot, the whirlwind and so forth
but wait a minute
and this is what they said
well those guys have to come back
I heard somebody say this
it's a point that a man wants to die they said
and so Enoch has to die
it's just not fair that he didn't die
and Elijah didn't die
so that's why those two have to come back and die
but here's the thing about that
what about all the people in the rapture?
they're not going to come back and die
so if it's just a point that a man wants to die
everybody's going to die
and so Enoch and Elijah are going to have to come back and die
in Revelation 11
get real, that's ridiculous
because there are going to be so many people
going up in the rapture
we don't know the number
but a huge number of people that are going to be caught up in the clouds
they're never going to die physically
now I'd like to be in that crowd
now we don't know if it's going to happen in our time or not
if it's going to happen in our lifetime
but hey it'd be pretty cool wouldn't it
to not have to go through physical death
just live all the way through
and just look up in the sky
see Jesus coming and be caught up in the clouds
be like Enoch, that'd be great
and so hopefully we will be the ones who can make it there
and survive and do it
otherwise it might be beyond us
in a different generation
so no question that Enoch represents the rapture there
because that's exactly what's going to happen at the rapture
but here's what I don't agree with
people will say
Enoch proves that the rapture is before the tribulation
now here's some problems with that
Enoch lived 65 years and began Methuselah
he lived after he began Methuselah 300 years
so all of his days were 365 years
now let's do a little math here
he lived 300 years after he began Methuselah
okay
when he was translated that he should not see death
that means Methuselah was 300 years old
how old was Methuselah when the flood happened?
969
so that's a really pre-tribulation rapture
because the flood and the seven days
that represents the tribulation
so this is pre-trib
that's way pre-trib
that's 669 years early
that's ridiculous
okay
long time
yeah that's a really long time
and not only that
not only is that a really long time
but see they make it sound like
yeah he's raptured and then boom
pre-tribulation
no it was 669
just to put it in perspective
what year was it 669 years ago?
think about that
I mean what are you in the, you'd be in the 1300s
right?
am I right about that?
sometime in the, you know whatever
you'd be, that's a long time ago
for the rapture to be taking place
okay that doesn't make any sense
that's a bunch of false talk
not only that but
a lot of people
they decide to just interpret the bible however they want
they kind of decide what they believe
and then they just find stuff to prop it up
now look at Luke 17 quickly
I don't want to spend a lot of time on this
because I already spent a super long time on it
last Wednesday night
on my marathon sermon last Wednesday night
Luke 17
let me just touch on this
because they'll say
hey Enoch being caught up
that proves it's pre-trib
well first of all it's one guy
one guy
whereas the rapture is going to be lots of people
you know millions of people
but not only that
look what the bible clearly says in verse 26
but as it was in the days of Noah
so shall it be also in the days of the son of man
so he does relate the Noahic flood
he does tie it in with the second coming of Christ
and with the tribulation and these events
he says they didn't eat
they drank, they married wives
they were given in marriage
until the day that Noah 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 built it
but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom and 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
so God says yes it will be like those days
but guess who Jesus said represents the believer
not Enoch
because Enoch, listen to me
Enoch did not live in the days of Noah
he said as it was in the days of Noah
so shall it be in the days of the coming of man
son of man
news flash
Enoch didn't live in the days of Noah
you say well how did he even know
because guess what
Enoch was Noah's great grandfather
that's why
so Noah was not living in the days of Enoch
but guess who was living in the days of Noah
Noah
and he represents the believers
and he says it's going to be just like that
just as Noah was entered into the ark
which represented safety and refuge
Noah was entered into the ark
the same day the flood came and destroyed them all
so the flood came and destroyed them all
the same day that Noah got on the ark
and he says it's the same thing with Sodom and Gomorrah
he said the same day
Lot went out of Sodom
it rained fire and brimstone
so the same day Noah got into the ark
it rained water
the same day Lot got out of...not out of Dodge
what is it...Sodom?
the same day he got out of Sodom
it rained fire
the same day when Jesus comes
he says it's going to be the same way
look at the pattern
the same day that we are taken out of this world
the same day that we're caught up in the clouds
God's going to rain fire and brimstone upon this earth
just like he did with Noah with rain and water
and just like he did with Sodom with fire and brimstone
and the Bible is real clear on that
you know you see the rapture take place
after the tribulation
after the sun and moon are darkened
and you see in Matthew 24 the sun and moon are darkened
Jesus comes in the clouds, the trumpet sounds
in chapter 6 of Revelation you see the sun and moon darkened
chapter 7 you see the great multitude appear in heaven of all the people who have been raptured
and then in chapter 8 a half hour later
now isn't that the same day?
a half hour later he pours out fire and brimstone
so this fairy tale of the Left Behind series that says
oh everybody's going to be wondering where is everybody
and not knowing what's happening
no, they're going to be heading for cover
because they got 30 minutes before fire and brimstone starts falling out of the sky
and the same day Noah got out of the ark
the same day
not 7 days later
no, and I was taught that growing up
that Noah got in the ark and sat there for 7 days waiting
and then it rained, no
he started loading up the animals and everything 7 days in advance
but the Bible clearly said right here in Luke 7
and it says back in Genesis 7
that the same day he got on the ark is when the flood came
and the same day Lot
who was the saved person living in Sodom
got out of Sodom and rained fire and brimstone
hey, the same day that we're caught up in the clouds
God will rain fire on this earth
that is not jive with pre-tribulation rapture doctrine
which says everybody's going to disappear
nobody's going to know where they were
it's a big secret rapture
hey, 30 minutes later fire's coming out of the sky
there's nothing secret about that
it's a false doctrine
and look, did Noah escape tribulation?
did Noah escape persecution?
that's what tribulation means
study your Bible
did Lot escape persecution?
he was being attacked by Sodomites
angels had to step in and miraculously protect him
from being attacked and physically assaulted
but he was spared the judgment and wrath of God
we will not be here when God pours out his wrath on this earth
but we will be here for the tribulation
we're going through tribulation right now
but we're going to go through even greater tribulation
when the real great tribulation comes
and then the rapture
then God pours out his wrath
and so forth
so go back to Genesis 5, let's finish up
so bottom line is this
you can't just take stories and just make them mean whatever you want
well I think Enoch represents this
and I think this proves this
well it doesn't matter what you think
it matters what Jesus said it means
and Jesus said Noah is a picture of the timing
of when the rapture takes place versus the judgment coming from God
Noah is the picture
is Enoch a picture of the rapture?
absolutely, but was he living in the days of Noah?
no, 669 years early he was that prototype
had nothing to do with the timing of the rapture
in regards to the tribulation, the wrath of God and so forth
let's finish this up in Genesis 5
we see of course Enoch begets Methuselah, begets Lamech
Lamech begets Noah
and the Bible reads in verse 28
and Lamech lived 182 years
and begat his son and he calls his name Noah
saying this same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands
because at the ground is the Lord hath cursed
so Lamech prophesied about an infant
about a baby, about a child and just said
this same shall comfort us concerning our work
and toil of our hands because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed
what does that mean?
well they're struggling to produce crops
they're struggling to feed themselves
because God had placed a curse on the ground
when Adam and Eve sinned
God cursed the earth and said
it's going to bring forth thorns and thistles to you
and you're going to have to work by the sweat of your brow
it's going to be very difficult
for you to be able to get things to grow out of the ground
well Lamech makes this pronouncement upon the birth of Noah
saying this same will comfort us
and that it has to do with the earth being cursed
look at the fulfillment of that prophecy at the end of Genesis 8
the Bible reads in Genesis 8
what does Lamech say Noah was going to do?
he was going to comfort them concerning the work and toil of their hands
because the Lord had cursed the ground
look at Genesis 8 20
the Bible reads
and Noah built an altar unto the Lord
and took of every clean beast, of every clean fowl
and offered burnt offerings on the altar
and the Lord smelled a sweet saber
and the Lord said in his heart
I will not again curse the ground anymore for man's sake
so are we still today living with the same cursed earth
that Adam was living with
and Seth and Enos and Kainan and Mahalel and Jared?
no
it was worse before the flood
now sure weeds grow
but it's not that hard to get things to grow today
you know now we live in Arizona
it's pretty hard to get anything to grow
but there are a lot of places in this earth where it's not so hard
but the bottom line is
when God smelled the sweet saber of Noah's sacrifice
Noah worshipping him and making supplication to him
he lifted that curse and said
I will not again curse the ground anymore for man's sake
for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth
he's just saying look I understand man is a sinner
he's going to continue to sin
but because of Noah's life
I'm going to not curse him anymore
neither will I again smite anymore everything living as I have done
while the earth remaineth seedtime and harvest and cold and heat
and summer and winter and day and night shall not cease
now I don't want to steal my thunder of chapter 8
but let me just quickly say this
a lot of people teach that when Jesus Christ draws out his wrath on this earth
in the book of Revelation
they teach that every unbeliever will be killed
now this is what most people that I've heard teach about prophecy
they say wipe out every unbeliever
only the saved will go into the millennium
that's not true
because right here he promises he's never more going to wipe out everybody
because in the flood he wiped out everybody
except for who?
the people who got on the ark which represents salvation
but you see there will be unsaved people who survive the wrath of God
he talks about wiping out a third of the population
and then in chapter 19 he wipes out the great army that assembles with the antichrist
but that's only the army that he wipes out
it's not every human being living upon the earth at that time
and so there will be unsaved people who survive all that
if not taking the mark of the beast and they've made it through it
and that's when we're going to be ruling and reigning over in the millennium
we're going to rule and reign with Christ
because a lot of people will say
well if everybody's saved going into the millennium
who are all these people rebelling a thousand years later?
well if you stop and think about it
if everybody's saved they neither in the resurrection
those who've been saved and gone through the wrath
they neither marry nor are given in marriage
and so that doesn't hold water
God's not going to destroy everybody again
he's going to destroy a lot of people
he's not going to send a flood
he's going to set fire and brimstone
he's going to kill a lot of people
but he's not going to make a full end
of mankind
that's what he did in the days of Noah
he's not going to do it again
and so one more quick thing
the last verse of Genesis 5 the Bible reads
and Noah was five hundred years old
and Noah begat Shemhem and Japheth
now some people have said well they're triplets
but they were not triplets
the Bible often gives a list of children
it gives an age and then a list of children
same thing when it talks about Terah giving birth to Abraham
if you study your Bible and you do the math
it lists three children that Terah gave birth to
Abraham was born seventy years later
he had those three in succession
now we know that his son Shem
was not the firstborn
he was listed first
because he was the one who inherited
the blessing of being the firstborn
because of the fact that Ham sinned
and because Ham sinned
he lost his position
and so God gives Shem
the position of preeminence there
sort of like Ephraim and Manasseh
he switched their order
and the elders served the younger
same thing with Jacob and Esau
the elders served the younger
that's what happened with Shemhem and Japheth
because the Bible tells us that Noah
if you study your Bible
and I'm not going to do the math for the sake of time
but Shem was actually born when Noah was five hundred and two years old
if you do the math
and it talks about that in Genesis chapter eleven
you can compare numbers in Genesis eleven and Genesis five
and see that Noah was five hundred and two years old
when he began Shem
so he had Ham and Shem and Japheth
we don't know exactly when Japheth was born
but stop and think about this
remember earlier I talked about how the years
were real years
not like the earth was spinning on the sun faster
well this proves that they were real years
because if he's having children two years apart
if he's been getting Ham
and then two years later he's been getting Shem
that's about the distance
between two pregnancies
I don't see any record of Noah having multiple wives
in fact he gets on the ark with one wife
three sons and their wives
no mention of him having a multiple wife
or multiple wives
he was a godly man, he had one wife
he got on the ark with his one wife
and if you notice that my children
I have six children and the seventh is on the way
they're all spaced approximately two years apart
that's a pretty natural spacing
and so if this was some kind of one fifth of a year
or one tenth of a year
then that would mean that they were like four months apart
or two months apart
well guess what, that doesn't work
that's not physically possible
and so let's put our eyes and have a word of prayer
Father thank you so much for this chapter
a lot of people skimmed over this chapter
and thought it was boring because of the genealogy
but there were a lot of things that we could learn from it
and study from it
and help us to keep on learning and studying
to show ourselves approved unto you
and help us to apply these truths to our life
and understand the importance of the doctrines of the second coming
and the doctrines of the creation of the world and the flood
these are vital doctrines
and help us not to be carried about with every wind of false doctrine
in Jesus' name we pray