New Page 0

"Genesis" simply means - "Beginnings"! It is the book of beginnings - the beginning of everything! Here is a partial list:

I believe that the Bible is the Word of God, and it is all completely true and reliable, from the first verse of Genesis to the last verse of Revelation!

While I believe it is all true and factual, I also know and believe that it cannot always be taken literal. True Bible interpretation understands this! (Jesus once said he was the door - he also said to cut off your hand if it does evil, and we must eat his flesh and drink his blood to be saved - these cannot be taken literal!) Once again, I believe Genesis is true, and while we cannot take everything literally, I also believe it is historical and not a myth! (Adam and Eve were real people, and the tree they ate from was very real and is a historical account.)

Thinking logically, if Genesis is not valid, and it is more fairy tale than true, then we must also apply the same result to hundreds of other Bible passages, as well as to Jesus himself, because the are all intertwined and entangled!

No other book of the Bible is more quoted or referred to by other books of the Bible than Genesis.

There are at least 200 quotations or direct references to the first eleven chapters of Genesis in the New Testament.

On at least six occasions, Jesus quoted or referred to a person or event in Genesis as if it was fact, including Adam himself.

It is impossible to reject the historicity and divine authority of the book of Genesis without undermining, and in effect repudiating the entire Bible!

If Genesis is not true - then neither are those prophets and Apostles who believed it was true, including Jesus himself, who must be a false prophet because he believed it to be true.

If Jesus was a false prophet - our salvation is no good, if that is so - throw out your Bible, forget church; go home, we are all doomed!

Genesis IS valid and it IS entangled with many other books and people of the Bible, it cannot be a myth unless the entire Bible is false and in error or mythological also!

Who wrote Genesis? Moses did, with possibly a few brief passages written by Noah. (Luke 24:27, 44)

We don't know! It could have been any or all three, but probably it was handed down to him from written records on tablets of stone from Adam, Noah, Shem, then under God's direct guidance, he wrote his account.

Genesis is extremely important to understanding God's eternal plan, and is closely linked with the last book of Revelation.

7. Gold, pearl & precious stones found. (Gen. 2:12) City made from them: (Rev 21:18-21

בְּרֵאשִׁית, בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים, אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם, וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ

It is probably the most well known Bible verses, and the one verse that has been read most. Why?

Because many people at least start to read the entire Bible! Most start with this verse! Hopefully they get further)

It does not try to convince us of these facts! Yes, it requires faith to grasp it as none of us were there to confirm the statement! (But God continues to reveal himself daily to everyone, and all of creation reflects the creator, so we DO have evidence and confirmation)

I placed these questions in this particular order because they progress with degrees of difficulty. Question one: Why? (May be the easiest to answer)

As to the second question of - "How"- this one is much harder to answer! It is really just a two part multiple choice, but great theologians and scientists have debated which is correct for centuries, and the debate continues today.

(Notice-I am not including atheistic evolution possibilities as they are so unbelievable, they are not worthy to be a part of this discussion)

Creationism. It is the main belief of most Evangelical, mainstream Christian Churches.

The second point, a gradual process is called "Progressive Creationism" or "Theistic Evolution" where God is the creator and sustainer, yet he choose to use a gradual process which may have taken millions or billions of years.

Here is where we have a huge division from modern science and the Bible. Most men/women of science scoff and completely discount any idea of a young earth and cosmos of only 6000 years! Most evidence seems to refute it, and IF that is what the Bible teaches, then the Bible must be in error! It is my sincere conviction that if science and the Bible conflict, it is because of bad science or bad theology - in no way are the written scriptures ever in error!)

Progressive creationism also believes that God created and sustains everything, yet, he also set up all the laws of physics. If God himself works by the same laws he set up, and if everything functioned then like it does today, then God MUST have used the long gradual process.

(I am well aware of Romans 5:12 and I Cor. 15:21 - but it is not clear if this is literally ALL death, but possibly only spiritual death within the human race.)

I must confess that I was puzzled and in search of an answer myself for many years. It was a huge mystery, and one that needed a good answer!

For the time being, and I am not dogmatic about it, I found the answer largely due to one author and book I'd love to recommend:

Or simply visit his web site and read a few free enlightening articles on the subject:

To make, or fashion out of already existing materials - the Bible uses the Hebrew word - Asah

Genesis 1:1 uses the word Bara in speaking of creating. This is also linked with the Latin word -

Ex Nihilo - "Out of Nothing" and the fact that God created the Cosmos by fiat - Ex Nihilo - without existing material!

However, in speaking of this same creation, the scriptures also use the word –Asah

Which was it?! Was everything in Genesis One an outright act of Ex -Nihilo creation (Bara), or did God fashion and form everything during that time (Make) from the pre-existing matter/energy which he created?

This topic is in much debate! Some churches split, people fight, and wars nearly start over it! But the text of Genesis seems to indicate this:

(I am very aware, and a former supporter of the Gap theory, but have since moved on.)

After Gen. 1:1 and the word Bara- all through the rest of the chapter, and into chapter two, the word used for made is Asah.

(The word for outright creation - Bara - is used again only in the creation of the animals and mankind. For the record – 1. Gen 1:1 Creation out of nothing 2. Gen. 1:21 Creation of conscious life 3. The Creation of man.)

It is very interesting that the Bible uses the word – bara – three times when God created man, (Gen. 1:27) and then repeats this in Gen. 5:1-2. It is almost as if God put exclamation points here about the special and unique creation of man, made in God’s image.

This idea of both the creation and the making of the heavens and the earth are also seen in Gen. 2:3 where it clearly uses both words together: created (Bara) and made (Asah).

Also in Exodus 20:11 it states that God made -Asah -the heavens and the earth, of course this was after he first created (Bara) in Gen. 1:1

This word can, and is, used for both a literal 24 hour day period as well as a long age of time. So another heavily debated issue of Genesis is question of the days of Genesis One, were they literal 24 hour days, or possibly millions, or even billions of years?

For many years, I took the traditional belief of most churches, they were clearly 24 hour literal days, because not only does the Bible state it, but further brings this out by giving the phrase, "there was evening and morning....." for each day. Twenty four hour day’s right? How could they be anything else?

As science progresses, the facts of fossil dating become more and more clear. It is now been established, beyond almost any doubt, that the earth, moon, sun, and planets of our solar system have been here a long time....a very, very long time. The age of the earth is now accepted to be almost five billion years old, with the sun, having formed first, being at least five billion years old as well. However, most church leaders and many theologians believe and teach that the earth/sun is only about 6000 years old! (That is a huge difference!) This result causes most people of science to laugh, ridicule and totally reject anything from the church, (especially those with long memories of the Galileo incident.)

The Jewish calendar for our year of 2007, is 5768. (Coming this fall) This means, it has been 5768 years since - NOT - the creation of the universe, but since the creation of Adam! Most people don't realize this fact! All of fossil dating and science is in agreement with this as well! That mankind has existed for about 6000 years. This is how all of the Bible's timeline functions as well, it begins with Adam, not the creation of the universe!

I personally believe that it is impossible to know the exact timeline which occurred from the creation of everything unto Adam. Albert Einstein proved that time and space are relative, flexible, and can greatly vary depending on many factors, namely, velocity and gravity. Our entire concept of time on earth is based on the earth, the moon, and the sun, all of which were not even created until a few days into the creation account! It is possible that God was using his cosmic time clock based on the totality of everything. If that is so, billions of years could have transpired on our clock to only a day compared to it, and they both would be right!

I am not a scientist, but I have read many books by those who are, and Time Dilation is a fact that many people overlook when discussing Genesis One. It is very counterintuitive! Even those trained in science have great difficulty in grasping it, but it IS a fact Here is a brief segment from Dr. Gerald Schroeder’s book, “Genesis and the Big Bang”, to help clarify from a physicist/theologian:

(Please take a minute to read this account, it is written plainly and in laymen’s terms. If you have trouble in grasping or believing this, please express it! I can help clarify it as well, and give helpful resources. If you are shocked, that is a good indication that you grasp it!)

We look at the universe, and say, "How old is the universe? Looking back in time, the universe is about 15 billion years old." That's our view of time. But what is the Bible's view of time? How does it see time? Maybe it sees time differently. And that makes a big difference. Albert Einstein taught us that Big Bang cosmology brings not just space and matter into existence, but that time is part of the nitty gritty. Time is a dimension. Time is affected by your view of time. How you see time depends on where you're viewing it. A minute on the moon goes faster than a minute on the Earth. A minute on the sun goes slower. Time on the sun is actually stretched out so that if you could put a clock on the sun, it would tick more slowly. It's a small difference, but it's measurable and measured. If you could ripen oranges on the Sun, they would take longer to ripen. Why? Because time goes more slowly. Would you feel it going more slowly? No, because your biology would be part of the system. If you were living on the Sun, your heart would beat more slowly. Wherever you are, your biology is in synch with the local time.

If you could look from one system to another, you would see time very differently. Because depending on factors like gravity and velocity, you will perceive time in a way that is very different. Here's an example: One evening we were sitting around the dinner table, and my 11-year-old daughter asked, "How you could have dinosaurs? How you could have billions of years scientifically - and thousands of years Biblically at the same time? So I told her to imagine a planet where time is so stretched out that while we live out two years on Earth, only three minutes will go by on that planet. Now, those places actually exist, they are observed. It would be hard to live there with their conditions, and you couldn't get to them either, but in mental experiments you can do it. Two years are going to go by on Earth; three minutes are going to go by on the planet. So my daughter says, "Great! Send me to the planet. I'll spend three minutes there. I'll do two years worth of homework. I'll come back home, no homework for two years." Nice try. Assuming she was age 11 when she left and her friends were 11. She spends three minutes on the planet and then comes home. (The travel time takes no time.) How old is she when she gets back? Eleven years and 3 minutes. And her friends are 13. Because she lived out 3 minutes while we lived out 2 years. Her friends aged from 11 years to 13 years, while she's 11 years and 3 minutes.

Had she looked down on Earth from that planet, her perception of Earth time would be that everybody was moving very quickly. Whereas if we looked up, she'd be moving very slowly. Which is correct? Is it three years? Or three minutes? The answer is both. They're both happening at the same time. That's the legacy of Albert Einstein. It so happens there literally billions of locations in the universe, where if you could put a clock at that location, it would tick so slowly, that from our perspective (if we could last that long) 15 billion years would go by... but the clock at that remote location would tick out six days. Nobody disputes this data.

1. Notice how God both creates and makes everything – “And God said…” now read these verses: John 1:1-2 & Colossians 1:16 & Hebrews 11:3

Question: What is the link? Who is doing the creating and making of everything?

2. All through this chapter we see God responding to his creation in a certain repetitive way, not by speaking, but simply observing and viewing it: (7 times total)

3. Another repeating phrase, (also 7 times), is - “According to their kind…”

“Micro-Evolution” is the belief that living things evolved within their species.

“Macro-Evolution” is the belief that everything evolved from a single cell. (Darwin)

If God used a gradual method, by stamping this phrase seven times in one chapter, common Darwinism cannot be correct! But Micro-Evolution is allowed by the text.

4. What existed before the beginning?! These verses provide insight to this question: John 17:5 & 24 – Ephesians 1:4 – I Peter 1:20 – Titus 1:2 (The Trinity with love & glory & God’s eternal purpose and plan)

Question: Where do we clearly see the Trinity, (Twice) in Genesis chapter One?

5. Since God is personal and loving, isn’t it true that he needed to create us to fulfill that need, and for us to be an object for his love? (Answer is NO! – see point #4)

6. Before the fall, here in this chapter, both man and the animals ate only fruit and plants for food. (Verses 29-30) But this does not necessarily mean there was no death of any kind! There was the death of plants! Within every step on the ground we destroy thousands of micro organisms. (Also in Genesis 2:15, God commands Adam to work the garden! Work – implies the life cycle involving decay and death. Some Christians shutter at the possibility! But God designed the laws of physics himself, and even with natural laws, Eden still would have been a paradise.)

7. What does the Bible mean by saying man was made in God’s image? In the context where this is spoken by God, as stated, there is the Hebrew word – bara – the special Hebrew word for creation, and it is stamped there three times! Along with it we also see God speaking in the plural saying “Us” and “Our”, and uses the word – image – three times as well. If we can somehow try to connect the dots and link this together, it is very possible that the main definition of the term, “God’s Image”, refers to the triune aspect of God. (This is seen in Gen. 1:26-27) We also know that man was created in a triune fashion, reflecting the image of the creator, please see

8. Genesis is NOT in conflict with modern science! But we also must understand that Genesis was not written as a science textbook. God has only told us what he intended to tell us by his perfect wisdom. If, at times, there are conflicts which don’t agree, it must be because of one of two things: 1. Bad science 2. Bad theology (Sometimes it is a little of both!) God is the master scientist and is the one who designed and maintains all the laws of physics. Once we properly interpret scripture with accurate science, they will blend together beautifully!

One final example of this is the current Big Bang Theory. At this point, almost no scientist refutes it, and it has getting closer and closer to becoming an established fact with more and more data confirming it. Is it compatible with the Bible? YES! Genesis 1:1 could be called the “Proto-Big Bang Verse”. Even clearer is Isaiah 42:5:

“Thus says the God the Lord who created the heavens and stretched them out...”

The Big Bang theory states that everything came from a single point and then expanded outward by a huge push, and is still expanding, or stretching outward, and accelerating, today!

(More stretching space verses: Is 40:22/44:24/ 45:12/48:13/51:13 Ps. 104:2 Job 9:8 Jer. 10:12

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________-

This chapter begins with the declaration of God finishing his two-fold act of creating, (Bara) and making, (Asah) the Heavens and the Earth! Why is this two-fold process important? Because it is repeated for us to catch it - twice! (Vs 3 & 4)

Also repeated, is what we spoke of last session in chapter one, that a day, (Yom) could be a literal 24 day, or a long generation period, or both! This is clearly seen again in vs. 4, where it speaks of God creating/making the heavens and the earth....

"....in the day...". Here, as to make a point for us, we see that all six creation days are referred to as "a day".

This chapter is the very first time we see any mention of the Sabbath principle in the Bible. The word - Sabbath - is not used, but the meaning and principle is clear in the term, "Seventh Day" (Stated three times)

Later when God gave the Ten Commandments through Moses, the command to remember the Sabbath is spoken of as "The Seventh Day", and also linked to this verse in quotation. (Ex. 20:8-11)

Please read Hebrews Chapter Four! There are only 16 verses, but they are extremely important to begin to grasp this principal!

When God gave the command to remember, keep and observe the Seventh-Sabbath day, it was given as a shadow, or type of the more important, lasting spiritual reality of the Sabbath Rest!

The people of Israel rightly obeyed and observed the weekly Sabbath day, although, through the years it got twisted and grew into pure rote and ritual with many new detailed definitions! But when Jesus came, he seemingly broke the Sabbath frequently, and it was one of the Pharisee's biggest accusations against him!

But Jesus made it clear that the Sabbath was made for man, and that HE was no common man!

Jesus lived and obeyed all of the law, but from our point of view it can seem like he ignored aspects of it. Based on Hebrews chapter four, and other passages, it is clear that

To enter God's Sabbath rest, is to cease from our works of trying to achieve salvation, and simply trust God through Jesus by faith! Once we do that, we enter into God's rest, and we live, 24/7 within the Sabbath rest principal! To the Christ follower, every day is a Sabbath! We live and work physically, but spiritually, we live within God's Sabbath rest.

There are some Christian denominations that teach otherwise, (Seventh Day Adventist) and others, which never cease to amaze me! We can and should be friends with them, consider them followers of Christ, yet it would be wise to not be linked with any group which promotes and/or requires observance of any aspect of the Old Covenant law. (See entire book of Galatians, or James 2:10 or Colossians 2:16-23) Today, under the New Covenant of grace, we also abide by the law – but the law of The Royal Commandment. Which is what? (Matthew 22:37-39)

Here in Genesis two we see that God not only planted the garden, but it was God who made all the trees to spring up. Two trees are specifically mentioned:

The issue of two trees/choices here is the beginning of what is called: Antithetical Typology

Jesus said that he came to bring life, and also that he was the branch. If you link the tree of life to him, and specifically, the cross, you get another clear antithetical type picture:

4. Eating brought sin/death (Gen. 2:17) Eating brings life/salvation (John 6:53, 54)

5. Adam (A thief) took what was not his, The thief ate from the tree, (Jesus) and

Genesis two is one of the few places in scripture where we find any clues as to what it was like before sin came into the world.

It is always helpful to see how much sin and evil has influenced and devastated everything from our hearts to creation. Once we grasp this, we are in a better position to grasp God's amazing grace to set everything right! (Romans 5:20-21)

Some Bible teachers minimize and reduce sin to only things we do, or just bad behavior in people. But it is clear that sins affect is far more reaching!( Read Romans 8:19-22, we see that ALL CREATION seems to have been infected! Then in Isaiah 11:6-9, we see the reverse of the curse in the animal kingdom.)

1. It was all good! God states this five times in chapter one, and ends with, "...it was very good".

2. God ruled - Man ruled in perfect harmony! (1:26, 28)The adage, "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely" is not true! (Why?)

3. Man's diet consisted of fruit, and the animals ate fruit and vegetables. (1:29/3:2, 18)

(This does not mean eating meat is wrong today, God ordained eating meat after the flood)

4. There was no rain but underground streams and rivers which gave water. (This also implies, possibly, no snow or climate change in seasons, also no huge oceans. The earth had much more land mass.)

7. It is possible that Adam and Eve had far superior mind capacity, as today we use only a small fraction. Why? (2:19-20)

8. Marriage was something good and part of God's original paradise. (2:21-24)

Finally, I must point out something on this last verse of Genesis two. I believe that Adam and Eve were naked, but that they were also very much covered!

Matthew 17:2 - Jesus shines in his glory and his clothes are white as light.

Proverbs 4:18 - The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, brighter and brighter until full day.

Matthew 22:12 - Clothing (wedding garments) are essential to gain entrance into God's kingdom!

Revelation 3:18 - White garments needed to cover shame of spiritual nakedness.

Adam & Eve were physically naked, but covered with God's righteous robe of light. While clothed with this, they were totally unaware of their physical nakedness. At the moment that they sinned, they lost this covering and discovered their physical nakedness (Which was symbolic, and a reminder of their spiritual condition)

All of us today are in this state, spiritually naked, until we become Christ followers. At that moment, God covers us with his robe of light and righteousness, provided to us freely by God’s grace through Jesus.

Why is this important? So we can live in freedom and grace! So we can know that any and all righteousness that we may have, comes from the spiritual covering that God has given us! (This spiritual covering is beautifully seen in the next chapter, when God makes animal coats.)

This is good news because we can really cease from any attempt to try to obtain favor and righteousness from God. If we can grasp this spiritual reality, and hold on to it on our journey, it will continually change us truly grow in grace! (II Peter 3:18)

In the first verse of Genesis Three, we see the serpent introduced. Who is he? Where did he come from? What was his appearance like?

The main reason we know the serpent actually is the devil, or Satan, is because the Satan is called the serpent elsewhere. (Besides the obvious implication from this text)

There are two passages in scripture which shed much light on this subject, Isaiah 14:4-21 and Ezekiel 28:2-19.

Please take a few minutes to read them. Although Isaiah is speaking about the King of Babylon, and Ezekiel is speaking to the King of Tyre, these scriptures can have a much deeper spiritual meaning, and be addressed to another. This is a common scripture principal; many scriptures have both a historical and a prophetic aspect. Most Bible scholars agree that these passages are prophetically speaking about Lucifer, Satan, or the serpent.

The serpent began as God's highest Angel called Lucifer. One who possibly was much more than an Angel, and guarded God's throne, and also possibly was God's worship leader with built-in musical instruments in his glorious body. But because of pride deep within his heart, of wanting to actually ascend higher than God, he was cast down along with 1/3 of his followers and is forever doomed.

Finally, as to his appearance, all I can say for certain is that, at this point in Genesis 3:1, he is NOT a snake or in appearance of a serpent at all! (Remember that he his called the serpent here in hindsight, long after the event)

He was probably beautiful and also covered in glorious light as Adam and Eve were.(II Cor. 11:14) Why am I so sure that he was not a serpent or snake a this point? (Answer- Gen.3:14)

19. The first death of an animal and portrayal of the spiritual principal of blood covering.

The serpent is cursed to crawl on his belly, but never elaborates if like a snake, or actually a snake.

The serpent was initially upright and beautiful and probably covered in light. Every picture of a snake dangling from a tree tempting Eve is wrong!

There is no mention of apples or an apple tree anywhere here or elsewhere in the Bible for this event! We have no idea what kind of fruit it was, but we can be sure it was not bad or evil! God created a perfect paradise and would never create anything evil.

Because Eve does not seem surprised by the serpent speaking to her, does that indicate other animals had language before sin?

We see sins results of childbirth pains, sweat in work, thorns and thistles and physical death promised. Is this the full extent of sin, or does it go much deeper and wider? How did it affect nature and animals?

Here in this verse, Genesis 3:15, we have the very first prophetic announcement of the coming cure for the curse also just stated.

The imagery here is of one [Jesus] who comes in bare feet, and stomps on the head of the serpent, destroying it, but in doing so, bruises his heel and suffers.

Some translations say "her offspring..." but it is better translated, "...her seed". This is the only time in scripture where we find a reference to a woman's seed. Everywhere else, whenever this term is used, it speaks of the man's seed. (Because, of course, it is the man which has the seed and fertilizes the woman's egg).

This one exception is almost universally accepted to be speaking of Jesus - as the seed, and the woman - is the Virgin Mary who would give birth to him. She is the only woman who actually had the seed within her, divinely planted by God. Jesus, and him alone, is considered the woman's seed! (Although in a larger sense, the woman is also Israel (Revelation 12)

Why is this important? Because we see that almost immediately after the first sin and curse, we have God's remedy of life and cure! Adam and Eve's fall into sin affecting all human beings and all creation, was not something that took God by surprise! God's providence is always in full control and rules supreme. We can rest assured that whatever happens in our lives or world, however bad, that God is in complete control. We need to simply trust him by faith.

In Genesis 3:21, we see that God himself discards Adam and Eve's self-made fig leaves clothes, and makes new ones for them out of animal skins. This is very important and significant! This is also, another first mention in Genesis where we can establish some important principles which also are evident through the entire Bible.

As I list each principle, discuss how it is linked here in context with Adam and Eve, as well as spiritually relating to Jesus and us here and now:

The account of Adam and Eve falling into sin in this chapter is the unequivocal antithesis of the very much accepted Darwinian theory of evolution. Darwin taught that man began at the bottom of creation, and then crawled his way upward, evolving to his current position.

However, here in Genesis Three we see just the opposite! Man begins at the very top of all creation and then fell downward because of sin.

Many liberal thinkers believe that all that most people need is a good environment, education, and support, and then all poverty, crime, and problems will vanish. However they fail to realize that Adam and Eve already had the very best environment in every way, and they still blew it!

In summary, our root problem is not external, but internal. We need a new birth, not a new berth!

God works from the inside outward, where Satan works from the outside inward.

If the last chapter, Genesis Three, could be called, "The Root of Sin", then this chapter follows easily as "The Fruit of Sin".

Sin is a verb! It is progressive and never is static! (James 1:15) But the good news is, so is God's grace! In fact, the more sin increases, so does grace, always even more! (Romans 5:20)

Who were Cain & Abel? Were they the very first children of Adam & Eve? Were they possibly twins? Were they real historical people or mythological types?

We don't know if they were the very first children of Eve's, but most likely they were. Some also think they were twins due to the wording of the text, but we simply don't know. (As Glen Beck says......"Here's what I know :)

1. Cain was the firstborn. His name has several meanings, two of the most telling are "gotten" and "spear". (What do these speak of?)

2. Abel was the second born. His name means "vapor" or "vanity". (What do these speak of?)

3. Cain and Abel are both historical, real people - and two types of seeds. Cain - the seed of the serpent (I John 3:12 / Jude 11)

(The blood of Abel is linked as a type to the far better blood of Christ - Hebrews 12:24)

OK - time to put this rather silly question to rest forever! It has become a popular question from those wanting to discredit the scriptures. But anyone who asks it only really shows ignorance of these matters. The answer is found in Genesis 5:4,

"The days of Adam after he had fathered Seth were 800 years, and he had other sons and daughters."

The next verse says that Adam died at age 930. So that means he fathered Seth when he was 130 - which means sometime within those 130 years he had, at least, two sons - Cain and Abel.

But since it says that he had other sons and daughters, we can assume that sometime, both before Seth, and after Seth, he had a whole lot of children! Remember the command God gave him,” Be fruitful and multiply"!

Cain simply married one of his sisters, nieces, or a cousin - case closed! What about gene problems within families? That came later as sin progressed, and life spans were shortened. This was along time ago!

Scholars have estimated that with the long life spans, that during Cain's life there could have been possibly 150,000 people living. (By the time of the flood, there was possibly several billion!)

It is significant to realize that Cain was a worshipper of God, who had a desire to please him. Although we usually look at his evil deed and attitude, initially, he came just like his brother, to worship God. He was no atheist!

It is also significant to know that God himself confronts Cain before he kills his brother! There are really two reasons for God confronting Cain like he did:

( For more on heart attitudes and why this is true see – Matthew 5:21-22 & 27-28)

While both Cain and Abel were very real, historical people, they also are very clear types of two others prophetically and spiritually.

To go through every point of comparison would be lengthy, but here are a few key ones:

Both linked with marks for identification / both are murderers and liars / both are cursed and doomed forever

Both shepherds / both murdered involving envy, by family / both have blood that speaks on after death

It is always good to read the Bible in two ways: 1. In the here and now of the text, historically.

We must remember that Cain committed the first murder before there was any law from God or government against it! This does not excuse his terrible sin, because God had placed a moral law within his heart and he did know right from wrong. But God considers human life very sacred, later he commands strict laws requiring blood for blood (capitol punishment).

But Cain received a curse from God, upon himself, and upon his link with working the ground. It would now be much harder to work for him! Also, part of his judgment was to become banished from God's presence. (Probably in one place near Eden) When he left God's presence he became a vagabond - or an aimless wanderer, dwelling in the land of Nod - meaning wandering.

Important point: I used to think Cain's main punishment was to become a vagabond. But I have since reconsidered and concluded this:

Cain's main punishment was banishment from God's presence, which resulted in his wandering and becoming a vagabond.

Do you see the difference? His wandering was the result of his punishment. Wandering alone is not such a bad thing if God goes with you, but if you aimlessly wander in the dark with no light or guidance, or even presence from God, it is unbearable! (Exactly what Cain says!)

Read Genesis 4:13, 14, 16 very carefully and find the key words revealing these conclusions.

Aimless wandering in the Bible is never a good thing! (Israel in the wilderness for 40 years)

A vagabond or aimless wanderer has no goal, no homeland, and no destination in sight. In speaking of “The way of Cain" Jude says,

"....they are waterless clouds swept along by winds, fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead uprooted. Wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame, wandering stars for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever."

In direct contrast, all Christ followers are called “strangers and pilgrims” and NEVER vagabond or aimless wanderers.

Hebrews chapter eleven lists a long line of faithful heroes, sometimes called the great hall of faith. Leading the list is Abel!

"These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For people who speak like this make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. But as it is, they desire a better country that is a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city."

Notice the huge contrast! Both are on a journey. But one is wandering with no destination or goal.....the other has a clear goal and destination in sight! One is called a wandering star, and wild wave of the sea.....the other has a clear hope and grip on a homeland and is a true child of God.

Verse 17 states that Cain has a son naming him Enoch. It is very important to know that this Enoch is NOT the same Enoch as the one we will look at closely in chapter five! Same name, different people!

Verses 20-26 are the few verses which speak of a lost world which we know almost nothing about. It is a world that was wiped out by the flood coming in chapter six.

Also we see some of the attitude and development of sin. Lamech marries two wives, commits a second murder, then boasts about it saying, in essence,

"If Cain got away with cold blooded murder of his brother, then what I did in self defense (probably revenge) is not so bad, there will be far less punishment, if any!"

The chapter ends on a positive note with hope by the birth of Seth! His name means "appointed" or "substitute", and Seth becomes the first of a new line of people who escape God's judgment of the flood, a line from which God raises up his own people called Israel, a line from which Jesus in born into, and a line from which we are all related both spiritually and physically!

The line of Cain, all of them, Enoch, Irad, Mehujael, Lamech, Adah, Zillah, Jabal, Tubal-cain, Naamah and all the thousands, possibly millions of their line are completely wiped out with no trace found anywhere today.

The way God accepted and looked with favor on people in the Old Covenant, was dependant on what people did or did not do. If they did right, they were accepted, if not, they were not accepted. (Like God said to Cain in verse seven.) However today in the New Covenant, it is different! We still are accepted by what we do – but this does not involve going to church, tithing, or anything else of our service for God. What we do is follow Jesus! When we accept his forgiveness, we are accepting all that he has done, and is doing, and WE are accepted and favorable to God!

Also, another application is to heed the warning of Cain’s lesson: namely that all sin has consequences! Even the smallest sin can have terrible domino effects. We must always keep short accounts with God and like Jesus taught us to pray, ask daily, “Forgive us our trespasses”.

Because of this statement, and wording, many believe that this portion of Genesis was actually from an earlier written record, probably from Adam.

Also, this phrase, "This is the book of...." is only found in one other place in he entire Bible. Many times we find,” These are the generations.." but this specific wording of "a book" is very special and significant! Why?

"The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham."

(Before reading these notes further, can anyone see the significance and make a connection?)

In the big panoramic picture of the Bible, from God's point of view, there are really only two groups of people - those In Christ or those In Adam. We are all born into Adam to be human beings, however if we only stay In Adam, we are lost and destined for separation from God forever.

Here we have two books; one is the book of Adam - and the other the book of Christ. That may seem too black & white or simplistic, but there are other scriptures which state the same principal.

See Jesus' teaching about the end of the age and God separating the sheep from the goats: Matthew 25:31-46 /See The Lamb's Book of Life: /Revelation 20:15

Remember from our last session when I pointed out the progression of sin? I stated that sin is a verb, and quoted James 1:15: (Lust - Sin - Death.)

Here in Genesis Five we have a very vivid example of this principal! Notice the progression:

The very first death was in Gen. 3:21, where God killed an animal to make skins.

(This is actual physical death, Adam & Eve had this begun earlier, and certainly died spiritually before also)

The next death, again in same chapter, in Gen 4:23, we see that Lamech killed a man.

Don't miss this! If we consider Adam & Eve suffering the first death spiritually, and the first physical principal of death....then the math is easy: 2 - 4 - 8 within three chapters it doubles for each new chapter! (Then if you continue and look at the next three chapters it goes off the charts! God sends judgment by a flood and brings death to probably millions, possibly billions of people including untold amounts of land animals.)

But there are a few bright spots in this obituary listing, namely Enoch, Methuselah and Noah.

Before I focus on those three men, here is a brief listing of the names in chapter five with each name's meaning. Every name in the Bible, especially here, has great meaning! Look at each name with its meaning and make some of your own conclusions:

Jared - "Descending" or “Shall Come Down” (Enoch's father, linked to Christ-Luke 3:37)

Lamech - "Conqueror, Over thrower" or “Despairing”, linked to Christ-Luke 3:36

Ham - "hot", father Egyptians, Africans & Arab peoples.(One of Ham's sons was Cush, which means "black".

Japeth - "fair, enlarged, the father of all who settled in Europe & Asia.(My great-great.....grandpa)

Methusaleh – “When he dies it will come” or “His death shall bring”

Enoch - “Dedication” or “Teaching” is one of the most amazing, and also the most mysterious men in the Bible!

Amazing Observation

If you list the first ten names that appear in this genealogy, and then assemble their meanings together in a sentence, you get an amazing prophetic statement!

Adam-Seth-Enosh-Kenan-Mahalalel-Jared-Enoch-Methuselah-Lamech-Noah =

Man (is) appointed mortal (and) sorrow (but the) blessed God shall come down teaching

(that) his death shall bring (the) despairing rest & comfort.

Enoch is one of only two in the Bible of whom it is said, "Walked with God". Gen. 5:22 (Noah was the other Gen. 6:9)

Enoch is one of only two people who never died! [God took him, and he was not!] Gen. 5:24 (Elijah was the other II Kings 2:11)

Note: Because of this unique quality, many believe that both Enoch and Elijah will be the two witnesses yet to come. See Zech 4:14/ Rev 11:7-12

Also both prophets ministered during a very dark apostasy and Enoch about midway between Adam-Abraham / Elijah midway between Abraham-Christ.

See Hebrews 11:5, 6 (Jesus is the exception stating that he always pleased God – John 8:29)

Enoch is linked with Christ in Luke 3:37. He is also part of the few select great men of faith listed in Hebrews Eleven.

He was dedicated in following God in the midst of an evil world.(Sound like anyone you know today?)

Methuselah - was Enoch's son, and it is very significant that the Bible makes it clear that Enoch began walking with God AFTER his son Methuselah was born! There was something about that boy that may have had a huge impact on Enoch, (who may have been an ordinary heathen before.)

The answer requires some deeper digging that is not apparent in a surface reading.

"When he dies, it will come". (There are various meanings but this one is accepted from the language scholars who break down his name) Most also believe that “it” is referring to God’s judgment of the flood.

Upon the birth of Methuselah, God directed Enoch to prophetically name him this as a witness to coming judgment. God was stating, "As long as this boy lives, I will withhold my judgment, but upon his death, I warn you now, it will come!"

Methuselah's life was a living prophecy! It is no wonder it may have caused Enoch to start walking with God, which he did for 300 years, and then God took him. This also explains why Methuselah lived so long. He is the oldest human being who ever lived! He lived to 969 years!

Noah was Methuselah’s grandson, and we find, a few verses into chapter six, that he was a very special, righteous man, the only one of his generation! Noah was also the very first preacher! We even know his main topic - righteousness. (II Peter 2:5). He is also part of the faithful listed in Hebrews Eleven.

(Yes - Methuselah died the exact year the flood came, and very likely the very day, although the Bible does not get that specific).

“The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came into the daughters of man and they bore children unto them. These were the mighty men of old, the men of renown." Gen. 6:4

The Nephilim were a species of giants that lived all through Canaan, which is now modern Israel. This is a generic term, which is also translated "giants" in many Bibles. There were at least six nations of these giants:

All these were an evil giant species! These were not just tall people, like today's NBA players, they were the product of the breeding of......please stay with me......fallen angels and human women! This is not some new, weird teaching! This has been established with solid Bible interpretations by many scholars, and has been the most reasonable conclusion to this text, along with others, for hundreds of years. It is the most accepted view by the most respected teachers today.

Most people, sadly even most Christ followers, even more sadly, most Bible students....have almost no knowledge of these things. It is not a minor subject! The Bible devotes more than 75 verses to these terrible creatures! Let me be up front about my belief right away:

Rather than type out several pages of my explanations and reasons for this, I will simply give a very brief, but detailed list of my notes with plenty of scriptures for you to look up,(All my personal notes on the subject from the front of my Bible)

1. The most dominant race of giants in the Bible were the Rephaim. They controlled a large valley near Jerusalem. Joshua 15; 8, 18:16

"The Valley of Rephaim"(Giants) is mentioned 7 times: II Sam 5; 18, 23:13/ I Chron. 11:15, 14:9/

"Og" was a famous Rephaim giant recorded in 22 verses! Key ones - Numbers 21:33-35/ Deut. 3:1-11

(He slept in a bed approx 13-18 feet long, later the Ammonites were so amazed at his size, they made his bed a museum piece!

Many centuries after Og's defeat by Israel, they still sang praise to God for the victory. Ps. 135:10-11, 136:17-20

Og was the last enemy Israel had to overcome before entering the promised land.

"Bashan" is near Jerusalem and the place where Og lived, it was commonly part of what was called, The Land of Giants. Duet 3:13/Josh 15:8

2. Anakim - were another race of giants who lived here: Num. 13:22,28/Duet.1:28,2:10,11:20-

21/Josh 11:21 Under Joshua's command these giants were almost completely wiped out except for in Gaza, Gath and Ashdod. Josh.11:22/Zech 9:6

The most famous giant in the Bible, Goliath, was of the Anakim species from Gath, he was approx 10-13 feet tall. One of his brothers had 24 fingers and toes and was killed by David's nephew Jonathon. II Sam 21:15-22/I Chron. 20:4-8

The Zamzummin- who lived after the flood, but were supernaturally wiped out by God! Duet 2:19-20

4. The Nephilim - All these giant races came under the same generic name of Nephilim - which literally means to "fall" "throw down" or "attack" The root Hebrew word in "Naphal" which also means "bully" or "Tyrant"

5. This word - "Rephaim" is often translated "dead" in many English Bibles, but there are other words used for dead and death, and when used, it refers to giants.

6. There is a special place, different from hell and the lake of fire, reserved for all giants:

Tartarus - used in II Peter 2:4, the only place in the Bible this word is used, and in context, Peter is speaking of the angels that sinned. Most believe referring to these angels and their gross mixture with women. One of the many reasons many link Greek Mythology to these creatures is

that the only other place "Tartarus" is often used is in Greek Mythology when speaking of the prison for deposed gods!

7. The words, "Sons of God" in Genesis 6:1-4 is"Ben-Elohim" in Hebrew, all other occasions it is used refers to angels. Job 1:6, 2:1, 38:7/ Dan. 3:25. Basic Bible interpretation is that if other places use the word in one way, most often, the place in question will be the same. (Some people think the sons of God were offspring of Seth)

Another reason to believe these were fallen evil angels is because of Jude 6 - It speaks of the angels that sinned and left their "habitation"-Hebrew - Oiketerion - which means - house or body. They left their previous spiritual house and body to appear and become flesh and blood. This has happened before with good angels - see Gen. 18:1-22, 28:10-19/ Heb. 13:2

One of the main reasons many people don't believe these were fallen angels is because of Matthew 22:30, where it states that angels do not get married and seemingly don't have sexual relations. But those that hold this view always overlook one important fact in this verse:

Jesus stated that Angels, in heaven, do not marry! The fallen ones we are speaking of have come to earth and have taken on human form!

Also, many believe that angels are either sex-less of female, but the fact is ALL THE ANGELS IN THE BIBLE WERE ADULT MEN IN APPEARANCE. There is not one mention of a female, or child angel anywhere in the Bible! (Plus they are all male)

Here is the final segment of this session, which will focus on Genesis 6:5-13

Wickedness, violence, evil continually, all flesh corrupt....this is the description we are given in these few verses of the world just before the flood. God is deeply grieved, even sorry he made man! (This is anthropomorphism) God is about to do an incredible and terrible act of judgment and destroy, not only nearly all people, but all land animals and birds as well!

Once again, there is more here than meets the eye in a surface reading! As evil and wicked as people can get today, this seemed to be something far worse. It seems like every human being was actively pursing evil and violence! Today, although there are plenty of evil people, most people are decent, moral and have sensitive consciences.

To understand what the underlying horrific evil and wickedness was here that caused God to act like he did, all you have to do is extrapolate on what has been presented so far.

1. Evil, fallen angels descend to earth in human form and begin a widespread program of rape and violence creating a new species of half human-half fallen angel giants.

2. According to the book of Enoch, these giants and the fallen angels also proceed to teach and instruct mankind in every possible way to rebel against God and commit unspeakable evil.

3. These giants keep raping and attempt to produce more and more part-human children, until eventually after hundreds of years; the entire earth was populated by this evil, gross mixture of genetic cross-breeding! This was Satan’s master plan, to so contaminate the human race with this breeding program that the seed of the woman - Jesus - could never be born into the human race and redeem mankind!

It is almost perfect logic, and it almost worked!

However God IS perfect, and cannot be out smarted! Noah and his family were somehow the only ones who were both, uncontaminated, and also righteous God-seekers. (Possibly only Noah, but his family may have been saved only through him)

How do I know this? Is this just a wild guess? No! Again, we must dig deeper into the text to find deeper answers.

The original Hebrew word for perfect is Tamiyn - which means perfect, sound, free from blemishes in sacrificial victims.

Instead of saying he was perfect, it would be acceptable to also say, he was unblemished! Tamiyn is the very word used later to describe the required animal sacrifice brought unto the Lord, which had to be unblemished, and free from contamination in every way!

Noah was chosen by God because he was righteous AND because he was unblemished by this evil satanic cross-breeding program.

Also notice verse twelve, that "all flesh had corrupted their way". All flesh, except Noah and his family, were the only ones saved.

OK, what can we learn and apply from all this? Hopefully it won’t just become bloating head knowledge so you can amaze and impress others! Here are some suggestions;

God takes up without dying before his judgment comes again in the Tribulation.

The Bible gives us only a chapter for the creation of the universe, with only one verse about making trillions of stars! We have two chapters on Adam & Eve and the events in the Garden of Eden. There is only half a chapter on Cain & Abel, and one short chapter about generations of people who lived for hundreds of years. Now we come to the story of the flood and the Bible is much more generous, allowing over three chapters about the flood!

So if we can equate more importance to more text and information, then the story of the flood is very important!

Since there is a lot in these two chapters, rather than try to go verse by verse in every detail, this outline will focus on some of the highlights and points of the story that I decide need explaining. There is one requirement: You must read Genesis 6-8 all through now!

Of all the Bible stories, it seems the account of Noah and the flood get the most ridicule! The story has been likened to Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs, taken seriously only by weird, extreme, right wing Bible fanatics! But once again, everything within the Bible is linked with everything else. It is like a house of cards, if you pull one out near the bottom, the entire house collapses. Consider this:

If Noah, and the account of the flood, are a myth and not historical, then both Isaiah and Ezekiel were false prophets! The book of Chronicles and Luke are in error, the Apostle Peter and the writer of Hebrews are also wrong which casts doubt on the rest of the Bible. Finally, it also means that Jesus, the Son of God is either mistaken, or flat out lied! This would mean that he is not the Son of God, which means our salvation is invalid, which means throw the towel in, we’re all doomed!

God specifically gave Noah the dimensions of the ark; 300 cubits long – 50 cubits wide – 30 cubits high. But what the heck is a cubit?!

Most Bible scholars think that this ancient cubit may have been 18 inches, but the plain fact is that nobody really knows for sure!

Conservatively speaking, consider Noah’s cubit to be the smallest at 17.5 inches:

Then, in today’s measurements the ark would have been 438 feet long – 72.9 feet wide – 43.8 feet high. The total volume capacity would be 400,000 cubit feet = 522 standard livestock railroad cars on modern trains. Since each of these cars can carry 240 sheep, a total of 125,000 sheep could have fit inside the ark!

There are approximately 18,000 species of land animals today, if we double that to allow for the many that have gone extinct, there may have been 40,000 land animals in Noah’s day. Since he took two of each into the ark, which would be 80,000 animals. Then if you allow for many extra animals taken for both sacrifice and food, you still have plenty of room left for living and some movement of Noah, his family, and the animals!

(It is possible that God caused the animals to enter into a hibernation period. Also, remember that Noah did not need to bring all the many sea animals or even insects. Plus he only needed two of each, two canines, two felines ect, rather than all the varieties of dogs, cats within each species.)

The ark would have looked like a huge rectangle box with these dimensions, and extremely stable, almost impossible to capsize.

“The ark was exactly six times longer than it was wide, and it set the standard for all ocean going vessels. Had the ark been square, for instance, it would have just spun around in circles. The dimensions of the ark made it so stable in rough seas that the same length to width ratio is still being used by modern shipbuilders today. In fact, in World War II, the USS Oregon and the USS New Mexico were built specifically on this model, using the same length to width ratio as the ark.”

In Genesis 6:14-16, God instructs Noah to use “Cypress wood” or “Gopherwood”. Many people have speculated what this was, and from what trees they came from, but there has never been a definitive answer, until recently.

The idea is gaining support that Gopherwood did not come from a Gopher tree, anymore than Plywood comes from a “Ply Tree”! Some believe that the term “Gopherwood” is actually a lamination process using resins made from sap. A laminated beam made from several types of wood, glued together, cured and hardened, is structurally superior to a single block of wood. This process can cause the dry, hardened wood to actually become harder than steel! Insects will leave it alone, it floats, is water resistant, fire resistant and practically indestructible.

(There are some who believe that our own Stealth aircraft is built with this technology to avoid radar.)