Participants: Pastor Stephen Bohr
Series Code: CGC
Program Code: CGC000039
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01:13 Shall we bow our heads for prayer?
01:16 Father in heaven, we thank you so much 01:17 for the privilege of being here today to study Your Holy Word. 01:21 And as we study about the base crime of amalgamation 01:24 which led to the flood we ask for the guidance 01:27 of Your Holy Spirit. 01:29 Give us, Lord, a willingness to obey Your Word. 01:34 We thank you for hearing our prayer for we ask it 01:37 in Jesus' name, Amen. 01:40 We want to begin our study today at Genesis chapter 6 01:44 and verse 5. Genesis chapter 6 and verse 5. 01:49 Here we find a description of the mental attitude 01:54 of those who lived before the world-wide flood in Noah's day. 02:00 And it tells us there in this very well-known verse: 02:20 This sounds pretty much like 02:22 a world where most minds 02:26 were identified with evil. 02:29 Now notice Genesis chapter 6 02:31 and verses 11 and 12 02:34 on the aftermath or the result of this condition 02:38 of the corruption of the minds 02:40 of those who lived before the flood. 02:42 It says in verse 11: 03:05 So we see that every intent of the heart of man 03:08 was only evil continually. 03:11 And as a result, the Bible tells us that the earth 03:14 was filled with violence. 03:17 Now the question is: what led to this situation 03:21 in the world? In other words, what led to the thoughts 03:25 of man, of the heart of man being only evil continually? 03:29 And what led to the corruption of the earth? 03:33 Genesis chapter 6 has the answer to this question. 03:39 We find in Genesis 6 verses 1 through 4 03:42 an explanation of the cause for this deplorable condition 03:47 in the earth. We're going to begin at Genesis 6:1. 04:13 And now notice. 04:15 Immediately after saying that the sons of God 04:17 entered to the daughters of men 04:18 we're told: 04:30 And then it comes back to speak 04:31 about the sons of God and the daughters of men in verse 4: 04:34 It says: 04:52 So very clearly, what led to this wicked condition 04:56 referred to in Genesis 6:5 04:59 was what we find in the first four verses: 05:02 the sons of God entering in to the daughters of men. 05:07 Now the expression "entering in to the daughters of men" 05:10 means to have sexual relations. 05:13 It's a technical term in the Old Testament 05:15 that means to have sexual relations. 05:18 And so basically, what Genesis 6:1-4 is telling us 05:22 that the sexual connection or the intermarriages between 05:28 the sons of God and the daughters of men 05:31 is what led the human race to be in this condition 05:35 where every intent of the thoughts of the heart 05:38 was only evil continually 05:40 which led to the corruption of the earth and the filling 05:43 of the earth with violence. 05:45 In other words, this wickedness resulted from the amalgamation 05:50 of the sons of God with the daughters of men. 05:55 Now of course the question comes up: 05:57 who were the sons of God and who were the daughters of men? 06:04 Allow me to tell you first of all that Jewish tradition - 06:07 which is not always reliable by the way - 06:09 as well as some contemporary scholars 06:14 believe that the sons of God were actually fallen angels 06:20 and the daughters of men were human women. 06:24 And so these fallen angels went in and had sexual relations 06:30 with these human women. 06:32 And the result was a hybrid... a combination of fallen angel 06:38 and human. And they say that these are the giants 06:42 that are spoken of in Genesis chapter 6. 06:44 Now I want to tell you 06:46 that I do not believe in this interpretation. 06:48 I believe that there is a better interpretation 06:51 within its context that harmonizes with the beliefs 06:55 of most of the older Bible commentators. 06:58 Now allow me to give you several reasons why 07:01 I do not believe that the sons of God were fallen angels 07:04 and I do not believe that we can say that they actually 07:09 cross bred with human women. 07:12 First of all, the argument that the giants 07:15 came from this relationship does not hold water 07:19 when you study and read carefully Genesis 6:4. 07:23 Let's notice Genesis 6 and verse 4 once again 07:26 and you'll see that the giants existed before the sons of God 07:30 went in to the daughters of men. 07:32 It says there in verse 4: 07:43 Were there giants before the sons of God 07:46 came in to the daughters of men? 07:47 Absolutely. So the giants - the nephilim 07:51 by the way in Hebrew - were not the result of cross breeding 07:54 between fallen angels and human women. 07:58 The second reason is because the word nephilim 08:01 which is translated giants here 08:06 actually is used also to describe 08:09 the inhabitants of Canaan... the giants in Canaan. 08:12 Have you ever read about the giants in Canaan? 08:14 In Numbers chapter 13 08:17 the word nephilim is used. 08:19 Now all of the giants before the flood died in the flood. 08:22 So where did the nephilim come in the Promised Land? 08:25 Are you understanding what I'm saying? 08:27 Giants simply means individuals that lived in the land of Canaan 08:31 who were renowned for their wickedness 08:34 just like before the flood. 08:36 Furthermore, we know that angels do not cross breed. 08:41 Jesus said that angels do not marry and are not 08:45 given in marriage. 08:47 And so Jesus is explicit that angels cannot have 08:51 sexual relations with human beings. 08:53 But there are other reasons why we must understand 08:56 that the sons of God are not fallen angels. 09:00 The daughters of men, yes, are human women 09:02 we're going to notice, but the sons of God are not angels. 09:06 Now let me go through those reasons here very quickly. 09:09 First of all we have the immediate context. 09:12 The immediate context of Genesis 6 is found in 09:15 Genesis 4 and 5. In Genesis 4 we have the genealogy 09:20 of Seth, the son of Adam. 09:23 In Genesis chapter 5 we have the genealogy 09:26 of Cain... the wicked Cain. 09:29 And then in Genesis 6:1-4 09:32 we have the sons of God and the daughters of men. 09:35 Obviously the sons of God are the descendants of Seth. 09:39 The daughters of men are those who belong to the genealogy 09:45 of Cain. And by the way, there are three women 09:48 mentioned in the genealogy of Cain which is very significant 09:52 we're going to notice as we study along. 09:54 So the immediate context indicates that the sons of God 09:58 are the descendants of Seth 10:00 and the daughters of men are the descendants of the lineage 10:03 of Cain. Another reason why we believe 10:07 that the sons of God are actually the righteous 10:10 holy line of Seth whereas the daughters of men 10:14 represents the wicked descend- ants of the lineage of Cain 10:17 is because Genesis is the story of the battle between 10:21 two seeds. We have the seed of the serpent 10:24 which are the followers of Satan 10:26 and the Seed of the woman. 10:28 We have Cain... we have Abel. 10:30 We have the builders of the Tower of Babel... 10:35 Abraham. 10:36 You have Isaac... Ishmael. 10:39 Jacob... Esau. 10:41 Joseph... his brothers. 10:43 And all of these are human beings. 10:46 In other words, we have a righteous seed 10:48 and a wicked seed. 10:50 And so the sons of God and the daughters of men 10:52 must fit within this seed idea 10:56 in the book of Genesis. 10:59 And so the immediate context shows that the sons of God 11:02 are the lineage of Seth; the daughters of men 11:05 are the lineage of Cain. The wider context of Genesis 11:08 shows that there are two seeds: 11:11 the seed of the righteous and the seed of the wicked 11:13 which fits very well with this idea in Genesis 6. 11:17 But then, of course, we have the broadest context. 11:21 In scripture when the Bible speaks about the sons of God 11:26 it is not always referring to angels. 11:29 In fact, let's notice in the New Testament 11:32 John chapter 1 and verses 12 and 13. 11:36 John chapter 1 and verses 12 and 13 11:40 who the sons of God are. 11:43 And we're talking here spiritually. 11:46 It says there in John 1:12 the following: 12:13 This text is telling us that to be a child of God 12:16 means to have been born again into God's family 12:20 like the lineage of Seth. 12:23 Now notice also what we find in the book of Romans 12:27 chapter 8 and verse 14 12:29 on who the sons of God are. 12:32 Romans chapter 8 and verse 14. 12:36 Here the apostle Paul says this, 12:39 Romans 8 and verse 14: 12:50 So who are the sons of God? The righteous or the wicked? 12:54 They are the righteous who have been born again. 12:58 The daughters of men are those who are born according to 13:02 the flesh but they belong to the lineage of Cain. 13:05 In other words, they belong to the wicked seed: 13:10 the unregenerated, the unconverted. 13:13 Are you understanding what I'm saying? 13:14 And so very clearly for all of these reasons 13:18 we know that the sons of God were actually not angels. 13:23 Let me review. Number one: we noticed that there were 13:28 giants before the sons of God went in to the daughters of men. 13:32 Number two: we noticed that there were giants in Canaan. 13:36 And all of the giants before the flood were destroyed 13:38 in the flood. And the ones in Canaan 13:41 were not hybrids of angels versus humans. 13:43 They were human beings. 13:45 Three: Jesus said that angels are not married 13:49 nor are they given in marriage. 13:50 Number four: the immediate context shows 13:53 that the sons of God are the righteous lineage of Seth 13:57 whereas the daughters of men are those women from the 14:00 genealogy of Cain. 14:02 Number five: the wider context of Genesis shows 14:06 that the battle is between a righteous seed 14:08 and a wicked seed all throughout Genesis. 14:11 Number six: the widest context of scripture shows that the 14:14 sons of God are those who have been born again 14:17 into Christ's kingdom. Now I find it interesting 14:21 that Bible scholars 14:26 many centuries ago usually believed that 14:31 the sons of God were actually the righteous 14:34 whereas the daughters of men 14:35 were the descendants of the wicked. 14:38 Now I'd like to give you just a couple of examples of this. 14:42 The first one is from Martin Luther. 14:44 Have you ever heard of Martin Luther? 14:46 By the way, I could read you from Zwingli. 14:48 I could read you from John Calvin. 14:50 I could read you even from some Roman Catholic scholars 14:53 that say the same thing. 14:55 But this is what Martin Luther said: 15:14 In other words, the lineage of the righteous. 15:17 I also have a statement from that great Bible commentator 15:21 Ellen White in the journal Signs of the Times 15:25 for February 20, 1879. 15:27 She's even more explicit than Martin Luther and some of 15:30 the other reformers. She says this: 16:58 Now let's go back to Genesis chapter 6 and verse 2. 17:03 There are several other things that I want us to focus on 17:07 in this fascinating passage. 17:10 Genesis chapter 6 and verse 2. 17:13 It says there: 17:21 Did it catch their eye? 17:24 There's something in these women 17:26 that caught the eye of the sons of God. 17:45 Is there something about the daughters of men that 17:49 appealed to the eyes of the sons of God? 17:52 Yes. Now let me ask you this: 17:54 do you think that there were also daughters of God? 18:00 Listen, if there's sons of God there's daughters of God. 18:04 If there's sons of God... 18:08 by the way, if there's also the daughters of men 18:12 there are also what? Sons of men. 18:16 Are you understanding what I'm saying? 18:19 Now my question is this: 18:21 why did the sons of God think that the daughters of men 18:26 were beautiful and they didn't think that the daughters of God 18:29 were beautiful? Are you with me tonight or not? 18:34 Obviously there was something external 18:37 in the daughters of men that the sons of God saw 18:41 that they did not see in the daughters of God. 18:46 Because there WERE daughters of God. 18:47 No doubt, because the holy line 18:49 continued all the way through the days of Noah. 18:53 And so they saw something 18:55 in the daughters of men 18:56 that they did not see in the 18:58 daughters of God. There was something external. 19:00 It says they: "saw that they were beautiful. " 19:03 In other words, the daughters of men were real eye-catchers. 19:09 Of course the big question is: what was it that caught 19:12 the eye? Now allow me to say this: 19:15 over 75 times in the book of Genesis 19:20 the meaning of a name is underlined. 19:24 In Genesis the meanings of names are of critical importance. 19:29 I'll give you some examples. 19:31 You have for example Adam saying: 19:34 "She shall be called woman 19:37 because she was taken from man. " 19:40 You have also the name Eve: mother of all living 19:45 it's explained. You have the name Babel 19:48 which means what? Interpreted in Genesis says confusion. 19:52 You have Peniel which means what? 19:56 The face of God where Jacob meets God face to face 20:00 and he survives. 20:02 You have the name YHWH-Yireh 20:04 which means the Lord will provide 20:08 in the story of the sacrifice of Isaac. 20:10 You have the name Bethel which means "house of God. " 20:14 You have the name Jacob which means supplanter 20:18 and then it's changed to Israel, prince of God. 20:20 Sarah... Sarai... Abraham... Abram. 20:24 Time after time after time in Genesis 20:26 names are very significant. 20:29 Now where do we have to go in order to understand 20:34 who these daughters of men were? 20:36 Listen folks, we have to go back to the genealogy of Cain. 20:42 Do you know why we can't go back to the genealogy of Seth? 20:45 Because there's no women in the genealogy of Seth. 20:49 And we're talking about the daughters of men. 20:51 Sons of God... daughters of men. 20:54 By the way, do you know that in Genesis 11 20:58 we also have the sons of men? 21:00 Do you know sons of men were just as wicked as 21:02 the daughters of men? Only in Genesis 6 the emphasis is 21:06 that the sons of God - the righteous - 21:08 started intermarrying with the wicked descendants of Cain. 21:12 In Genesis 11 the emphasis is that their male counterparts - 21:16 the sons of men - were the ones who built the Tower of Babel. 21:19 And by the way, there's a very close connection 21:22 between the two groups because in Genesis 6 21:24 it says that these were men of renown. 21:27 And in Genesis 11 the identical Hebrew expression 21:31 is used where the builders say: "Let us make for ourselves 21:35 a name. " And so you have a clear connection 21:40 between Genesis 6 and Genesis 11. 21:42 Genesis 6 you have the daughters of men. 21:45 In Genesis chapter 11 you have the sons of men. 21:47 In Genesis chapter 6 you have the sons of God. 21:52 And of course, the sons of God should have remained distinct 21:56 and different but they actually had 22:00 sexual relations and inter- married with the daughters 22:05 of men who are the women that are found in the genealogy 22:09 of Cain. Now let me ask you this: 22:13 Do you think it might just be important for us to examine 22:17 the meaning of the names of the three women 22:21 in the genealogy of Cain? 22:24 Remember, the sons of God saw something in the daughters 22:28 of men that they did not see in the daughters of God. 22:31 They'd say: "Wow! These are really good lookers. " 22:35 Why did they see that in the daughters of men 22:38 and not in the daughters of God? 22:40 There must have been some external reason. 22:43 Are you with me or not? 22:45 Now let's examine the names of the women 22:48 in the genealogy of Cain. 22:52 The first of them is in Genesis chapter 4 and verse 19 22:56 if you'll go with me there. 22:57 Genesis chapter 4 and verse 19. 23:01 It's speaking here about Lamech. 23:05 And we find the following words: Genesis 4:19. 23:15 By the way, he's the first 23:16 polygamist that we know about 23:18 in scripture. Or bigamist at least. 23:26 Let's stop there with the word Adah 23:29 or Adah in Hebrew. 23:32 That word is used elsewhere in the Old Testament 23:36 but not as a proper name. 23:39 It is used as a noun and as a verb. 23:43 The identical Hebrew word. 23:45 Do you know how it's translated? 23:48 To deck with jewels 23:52 or to ornament. 23:57 Hello? Why would Adah be called 24:02 to deck with jewels? 24:04 By the way, let's notice in the Old Testament 24:07 other occurrences of this word. 24:09 Notice Exodus chapter 33. 24:12 The great apostasy of Israel at the foot of Mt. Sinai. 24:17 You remember when they worshiped the golden calf? 24:20 Exodus chapter 33 and I want to begin reading at verse 1. 24:26 "Then the Lord said to Moses: 'Depart and go up from here 24:31 you and the people whom you have brought out of the land 24:35 of Egypt to the land of which I swore to Abraham, 24:39 Isaac and Jacob saying to your descendants 24:41 I will give it. And I will send My angel before you. 24:45 I will drive out the Canaanites and the Amorites 24:48 and the Hittites and the Perizzites, 24:50 and the Hivites and the Jebusites. 24:51 Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey 24:56 for I will not go up in your midst lest I consume you 25:01 on the way for you are a stiff-necked people. ' " 25:05 What did God say about them? They were a what? 25:08 A stiff-necked people. 25:10 Do you know what stiff-necked means? 25:13 Oh... hard hearted. Unconverted is what it means. 25:17 Notice verse 5: 25:20 "For the Lord... " Oh, by the way, let me read verse 4. 25:25 It says: 25:39 Identical word... "his ornaments. " 25:43 What did they do when God said "you're unconverted? " 25:46 They took off their ornaments. 25:49 Notice verse 5... 25:50 why did they take them off? 26:28 What did they take off 26:30 as a sign of conversion - as a sign that they realized 26:33 that they were a stiff-necked people? 26:35 They took off their ornaments. 26:39 Do you know that this word Adah is constantly used 26:41 in the Old Testament to refer to Israel in apostasy 26:45 wearing ornaments and wearing jewelry. 26:48 Let's notice several other instances. 26:51 Notice Jeremiah chapter 4 and verse 30. 26:54 Jeremiah chapter 4 and 26:56 verse 30. 26:58 The same word Adah. 27:00 And notice what it says. 27:02 God is speaking about the destruction of Israel 27:06 for their sins. And by the way, this chapter 27:08 is also speaking about the destruction of the world. 27:11 It says: "And when you are plundered 27:13 what will you do? Though you clothe yourself 27:17 with crimson; though you adorn yourself 27:21 with Adah of gold... " with ornaments of gold... 27:26 "though you enlarge your eyes with paint 27:30 in vain you will make yourself fair. 27:34 Your lovers will despise you. 27:36 They will seek your life. " 27:39 Once again let me ask you: are ornaments connected with 27:42 apostasy from God? 27:44 They most certainly are. 27:46 Notice also what we find in the book of Ezekiel 27:50 chapter 23 and verse 40. 27:52 Ezekiel chapter 23 and verse 40. 27:57 It says here in this verse: 28:00 "Furthermore you sent for men... " God is talking about 28:03 apostate Israel... "Furthermore you sent for men 28:07 to come from afar 28:09 to whom a messenger was sent. 28:14 And there they came. " 28:16 And what did Israel do to impress them? 28:19 "And you washed yourself for them, painted your eyes, 28:23 and adorned yourself with Adah. " 28:28 Once again... with ornaments. 28:32 What is Israel trying to do here? 28:35 She's trying to impress the foreign nations. 28:38 The apostate men from foreign nations. 28:41 And so she paints her eyes and she puts on these adahs 28:45 or Adah. 28:47 Let's read one more. 28:49 Hosea chapter 2 and verse 13. 28:52 Hosea chapter 2 and verse 13. 28:56 Here we find a very important verse 28:59 because it closely links the idea of using ornaments 29:03 with apostasy. 29:04 It says here in the book of Hosea chapter 2 and verse 13 29:09 the following: "I will punish her 29:12 for the days of the Baals to which she burned incense. 29:18 She decked... " By the way, the word here 29:21 Adah is decked... 29:23 It's a verb here. 29:25 "She decked herself with her earrings 29:30 and jewelry and went after her lovers 29:34 but Me she forgot says the Lord. " 29:40 So let me ask you: what does the name Adah mean? 29:44 It means to deck yourself with jewelry 29:47 or it means to adorn yourself. 29:49 Is that significant when we study about the daughters 29:53 of men? Absolutely. 29:55 Because it gives us the characteristic of at least 30:00 one of these women who were of the apostate line of Cain. 30:05 I'm sure you're wondering 30:06 about the meaning of the other two names. 30:09 Well, the next name according to Genesis 4:19 30:13 is Zillah. Now the word Zillah 30:18 can come possibly from two different Hebrew words 30:22 because you have vowels that are added 30:26 and the consonants are the same in Hebrew for these two words. 30:30 So the vowels are the ones that change. 30:32 And so it can mean one of two things. 30:34 It can either mean shadow 30:37 or it can mean to tingle or to quiver. 30:42 Now that's a funny name. 30:44 To tingle or to quiver? 30:46 Well allow me to say that this word is used constantly 30:50 in the Old Testament to describe musical instruments. 30:56 It is used to describe for example cymbals 31:01 and bells. Is it just possible that 31:05 the reason why the name Zillah is given to this woman 31:10 which means to quiver or it means to tingle 31:14 that perhaps music is being emphasized here 31:18 because these women were involved with a lot of music 31:23 and dancing? I believe that the connection 31:28 with music is interesting. 31:29 And by the way, if you go throughout the Old Testament 31:34 you'll find that dancing with the exception of David 31:37 is usually presented in a very negative light. 31:40 It's also connected with apostasy. 31:43 For example, when Israel was at the foot of Mt. Sinai 31:46 and they were worshiping the golden calf 31:48 there was lots of music. And what were they doing? 31:51 They were dancing. 31:52 If you go to Isaiah chapter 3 31:54 it speaks about the women of Israel that are decked 31:58 from the top of their heads to the bottom of their feet. 32:01 You can read it in verses 16 through 18. 32:04 I mean, there's not a part of the body that they didn't 32:05 cover with something. 32:07 And it says that they go and - you know - they mark the step 32:10 with their feet. In other words, they dance. 32:12 Now of course, you know what happened with John the Baptist 32:15 when Salome came in and danced for the king. 32:19 The result was the death of John the Baptist. 32:21 And so I'm just wondering whether perhaps 32:24 the reason why the name Zillah means to tingle or to quiver 32:29 and it's connected with musical instruments 32:31 that perhaps we might have some aspect having to do with 32:34 dancing. That was not absolutely clear... 32:38 but the third one is besides Adah. 32:43 The third name is found in Genesis 4 and verse 22. 32:47 Genesis chapter 4 and verse 22 32:51 we have the name of the third woman... 32:53 the third daughter of men. 32:55 It says there: "And as for Zillah 32:59 she also bore Tubal-Cain... " 33:02 and then it says... "an instructor of every craftsman 33:06 of bronze and iron. And the sister of Tubal-Cain 33:11 was... " Whom? "was Naamah. " 33:16 Now I'm not going to read the texts. 33:17 I'm just going to give you a couple of examples. 33:20 This word is used to describe the physical beauty 33:24 of the lovers in the book Song of Solomon. 33:29 Actually the Hebrew word means 33:33 to be sweet, to be lovely, to be beautiful. 33:39 Does this connect with Genesis chapter 6 where it says 33:42 that the daughters of men were beautiful? Absolutely. 33:46 And by the way, it's very interesting that this word 33:49 is used several times in the Old Testament to describe 33:53 external physical beauty. 33:57 Not internal beauty but external beauty. 34:02 And so you have these three names of the daughters of men 34:06 in the genealogy of Cain. 34:08 You have one that means to be decked with jewels/ornaments. 34:12 You have the other which means to quiver 34:16 and it has to do with musical instruments. 34:19 And you have the other one which means to be lovely 34:22 or delightful or beautiful. 34:26 What is it that attracted the eyes of the sons of God then? 34:31 is my question. 34:33 It must have been the external appearance 34:36 of the women in the lineage of Cain. 34:42 By the way, in Genesis 6 verse 2 34:44 where it says that the sons of God saw that the daughters 34:47 of men were beautiful that's the very word that is used 34:52 to describe Bathsheba in II Samuel 11:2 34:57 where it says that David looked 34:58 out from the porch of the palace 35:01 and he saw Bathsheba 35:03 and she was "very beautiful. " 35:07 Of course, she was naked according to scripture. 35:11 Now I find it interesting that Jewish tradition 35:14 even though they have wrong who the sons of God are 35:17 they caught this point. 35:19 I want to read you 2 statements 35:21 that are found in the Jewish writings 35:25 primarily of the inter-testamental period: 35:28 the period between the Old and the New Testaments. 35:30 The first one is from the Targum of Reuben 35:33 chapter 5 and verses 5-7. 35:36 This is what they say: 35:37 "Flee therefore fornication my children. 35:40 Command your wives and your daughters 35:43 that they adorn not their heads and faces. " 35:46 Notice? "That they adorn not their heads and faces 35:50 to deceive the mind. 35:52 Because every woman who uses these wiles 35:56 has been reserved for eternal punishment. 35:58 For thus they allured the watch- ers who were before the flood. " 36:05 How did they allure the watchers before the flood? 36:09 By adorning their heads and their what? 36:13 And their faces according to this. 36:15 The other statement is from the Targum of Pseudo-Jonathan 36:19 chapter 6 and verses 1-2. 36:21 This is really interesting. It says: 36:23 "And it came to pass when the sons of man began 36:26 to multiply on the face of the ground 36:29 and beautiful daughters were born to them 36:32 that the sons of the great ones saw that the daughters of men 36:35 were beautiful. " Now notice this... 36:39 I read once again that: "the sons of the great ones 36:42 saw that the daughters of men were beautiful 36:44 with eyes painted and hair curled 36:50 walking in nakedness of flesh. " 36:53 It kind of reminds you of Bathsheba. 36:55 Now they were talking about pornography at this period of 36:59 time... moral corruption 37:02 Hollywood style before the flood. 37:06 And it says: "And they conceived lustful thoughts 37:10 and they took wives of all whom they chose. " 37:15 Folks, what is it that attracted the sons of God? 37:18 It was the artificial beauty both according to scripture, 37:23 the meaning of the names, as well as Jewish tradition. 37:27 It was the external appearance, the artificial beauty 37:32 of these women who adorned themselves on the outside. 37:36 And you say: "Well, how do you know that? " 37:38 Let me ask you: does it say that the sons of God 37:40 looked at the daughters of God? 37:43 Do you think all of the daughters of God were ugly? 37:46 Why didn't they look at the daughters of God? 37:49 There must have been something eternally what? 37:52 Different! But you know what happens? 37:55 You know the daughters of God when they saw that the sons 37:58 of God were going after the daughters of men: 38:00 "We've got to keep up. " 38:03 And so they started adorning themselves too. 38:05 You say: "How do you know that? " 38:06 Listen: because when the flood came 38:09 there were only four couples left. 38:13 Which means that the daughters of God soon started doing 38:17 the same thing. And as a result, the whole human 38:22 race was what? Was corrupted before the Lord. 38:24 Do you understand the reason for the flood? 38:27 It was because the sons of God - they took the initiative - 38:31 the converted ones took the initiative to join 38:33 with the women of the world 38:36 because of their external characteristics. 38:38 And the result of this amalgamation 38:41 was the corruption of the human race. 38:43 Every intent of the thought of the heart of man 38:47 was only evil continually. 38:49 The problem of adornment was a pre-flood problem. 38:54 The problem of the world coming in among God's people 38:57 is not only a contemporary problem. 39:00 It is a problem that existed before the flood 39:02 and it actually led ultimately to the flood. 39:07 By the way, the church joining the world 39:10 never converts the world. 39:13 It always converts the church to the world. 39:17 And that's exactly what was happening here before the flood: 39:21 the church was converted to the world. 39:23 And by the way, God called Noah to rebuke the world. 39:29 He was a preacher of righteousness 39:31 II Peter chapter 2 and verse 5 says. 39:34 In fact, in Hebrews 11:7 it says he condemned the world. 39:38 Do you suppose that he condemned this intermingling 39:40 of the sons of God with the daughters of men? 39:43 Do you think that Noah had anything to say 39:46 about being attracted by this external appearance 39:49 on the part of the sons of God? 39:51 No doubt... 39:53 because the Bible says that this is the main reason 39:55 that led to the what? That led to the flood. 39:59 Now I'd like to ask a question. 40:02 Is the flood a type of what's going to happen at the end 40:05 of time? Yes. 40:09 Jesus said in Matthew 24 40:12 "As it was in the days of Noah 40:15 so also shall it be at the coming of the Son of Man. " 40:21 Is it just possible that before the second coming 40:26 Christians are going to do the same thing that the sons of 40:31 God did before the flood? 40:33 That they're going to be attracted by the lures of the 40:36 world? By the tinsel and glitter of the world? 40:41 Of worldly women or worldly men? 40:46 And as a result, link up with worldly people 40:50 and in this way dwindle the number of true Christians 40:54 on planet earth? "As it was in the days of Noah 40:58 so also shall it be at the coming of the Son of Man. " 41:01 Has God given a message to His people 41:04 to present to the world to warn the world about this? 41:07 Yes. Do you know where it's found? 41:09 It's found in the three angels' messages 41:11 of Revelation chapter 14. 41:13 "Fear God and give glory to Him 41:17 for the hour of His judgment has come. " 41:20 By the way, do you know on the Day of Atonement 41:22 the Israelites were supposed to attire themselves in a very 41:26 simple way. And we are NOW in the Day of Atonement. 41:31 And that angel says: "Worship Him who made the heavens, 41:35 the earth, the seas, and the fountains of water. " 41:37 And then it calls God's people to come out of Babylon. 41:41 And it says whoever does not come out of Babylon 41:44 will end up worshiping the beast, his image, 41:47 and receiving the mark... and as a result will be lost. 41:50 Now let's take a closer look at this. 41:53 God is going to have a warning message 41:55 for the world just like Noah did. 41:58 People are going to have to present a politically-incorrect 42:02 message to those who are blending with the world, 42:05 who are adopting the methods of the world, 42:06 the lifestyle of the world. 42:08 The dress of the world, the adornment of the world. 42:11 The evangelistic methods of the world. 42:15 The music of the world if you please. 42:17 All of this was involved before the flood. 42:20 Is God going to have a group of people that are not going to 42:23 fall for this? Yes, and here's where things 42:27 get very interesting. 42:29 Do you know how these men are described in Revelation 42:33 chapter 14 and verses 4 and 5? Go with me there 42:36 to Revelation 14 verses 4 and 5. 42:38 These are those who will be 42:39 alive when the world is destroyed. 42:41 They will survive the destruction of the world 42:44 like Noah and his family 42:46 survived the destruction at the time of the flood. 42:49 Revelation chapter 14 and I'd like to read verses 4 and 5. 42:53 They're known as the 144,000. 42:56 We've studied these before in the seminar: the 144,000. 42:59 And notice the interesting thing about them. 43:03 It says: "These are the ones 43:07 who were not... " What? "defiled with women 43:14 for they are... " What? "virgins. " 43:20 Did the sons of God defile with the daughters of men 43:23 before the flood? 43:24 Is God going to have a group of individuals in the end time 43:27 that will NOT BLEND with women? 43:33 By the way, where it says women it's not saying that 43:35 that they weren't married. It's saying that they're not 43:37 having adulterous relationships with the apostate churches. 43:44 How are those apostate churches garbed by the way? 43:49 Go with me to Revelation chapter 17. 43:53 Revelation chapter 17. It says that they did not 43:56 become defiled with women. 43:57 They're virgins. They're like before the flood. 43:59 You know, they were not attracted by the worldliness 44:04 of the culture. Notice Revelation chapter 17 44:08 and verse 4 speaking about this apostate woman. 44:13 By the way, she has daughters also. 44:15 It says there in verse 4: 44:40 Are these apostate churches going to be garbed very 44:44 similarly to the daughters of men before the flood? 44:47 Yes. Is God going to have a group of people 44:50 that do not become defiled with these 44:53 just like Noah and his family? Absolutely yes! 44:57 By the way, this is the reason why God says 45:00 in II Corinthians "Be not unevenly yoked with... " What? 45:05 "Be not unevenly yoked with unbelievers. " 45:09 But it's become very common for the church today 45:12 to import the practices and the culture of the world. 45:16 The music of the world... as long as it's christened. 45:19 The adornment of the world; the fashion of the world. 45:24 The evangelistic methods of the world if you please. 45:28 It seems like everything is invading the Christian church. 45:33 Is God going to have a group of individuals 45:36 who are faithful and say: "We're going to keep dress, 45:39 we're going to keep music, we're going to keep entertainment 45:43 if you want to call it that... we're going to keep all of this 45:45 only Christian and we're not going to blend 45:48 with these things in the world. " 45:51 I pray to God that we WILL have those kinds of people. 45:55 By the way, this issue is also - the issue of adornment - 46:00 is also addressed in the New Testament. 46:03 Go with me to I Peter chapter 3 and verses 3-5. 46:09 I Peter chapter 3 and verses 3 through 5. 46:13 You know, some people say: "Well, this is Old Testament. " 46:16 You know, I find that interesting. 46:17 People... anything that demands a change or a sacrifice 46:20 was for the Jews. The Sabbath? For the Jews. 46:26 Tithe? For the Jews. 46:29 Unclean foods? For the Jews. 46:32 Modesty? For the Jews. 46:36 Anything that demands a change in the life 46:39 that leads us to live differently than the world 46:42 people say that that was for the Jews 46:44 as if God expects less from us 46:47 than He expected from Israel. 46:49 Notice what we find in II Peter chapter 3... 46:54 Oh, not II Peter. I Peter chapter 3 46:57 and let's read verses 1 and following. 47:02 It says here: 47:04 "Wives, likewise be submissive to your own husbands. " 47:09 That in itself is politically incorrect. 47:11 "Then even if some do not obey the word 47:16 they without a word may be won by the conduct 47:19 of their wives 47:22 when they observe your chaste conduct 47:26 accompanied by fear... " 47:31 By the way, do you know what the word there is? 47:33 It's the word cosmos. 47:37 Cosmos. You know what cosmos translates? 47:41 World. 47:44 By the way, we get the word cosmetics from it 47:49 in case you were wondering. 47:52 It says: "Do not let your adornment be merely... " 47:55 And the New King James says "merely. " 47:58 See, they add that. The original doesn't say merely. 48:01 See, merely indicates that you can have it as long as 48:04 you have the other. Notice it's in italics 48:08 in the New King James and in the King James? 48:10 Really it says: "Do not let your adornment be outward. " 48:29 What is the adornment that God looks upon positively? 48:34 The adornment of the what? Of the heart. 48:49 Not outward adorning but what? Inward adorning. 48:53 Notice what the apostle Paul says in I Timothy 2:9-10. 48:58 I Timothy chapter 2 and verses 9 and 10. 49:02 The apostle Paul has the same counsel 49:04 that we just read in Peter. 49:07 Once again, I Timothy chapter 2 and verses 9 and 10. 49:12 The apostle Paul says this: 49:15 "I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere 49:19 lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting. " 49:22 That's verse 8. "In like manner also 49:25 that the women adorn themselves in... " What? 49:31 "in modest apparel with propriety and moderation. 49:36 Not with braided hair or gold 49:40 or pearls or costly clothing 49:44 but which is proper for women professing godliness with... " 49:50 What? "with good works. " 49:53 Once again, the adorning should not be external. 49:56 It should be what? It should be internal. 50:00 Allow me to say a few things about Christ. 50:03 Do you know that the whole Old Testament sanctuary was 50:06 a symbol of Jesus? 50:08 You remember in John 2 Jesus said: 50:14 He was talking about the temple of His what? 50:16 About the temple of His body. 50:19 Did Jesus have any external physical attraction 50:22 that people were drawn towards? 50:26 By the way, do you have any physical description of Christ 50:28 in the gospels 50:30 that say what color of hair He had? 50:33 Color of eyes? His height? 50:37 There's really no physical description of Christ 50:40 in the gospels, but do you know what description there is? 50:43 There's abundant description of His character. 50:47 What He was like. 50:49 How He loved and was kind and was at peace 50:53 and had joy. In other words, all of the 50:56 character qualities of Jesus shine forth in the gospels. 51:01 And it says in Isaiah chapter 53 and verse 2 51:04 that there is in Him no comeliness that we should 51:08 desire Him. What is Jesus trying to teach us? 51:12 He's trying to teach us that our adornment should not be what? 51:16 External! 51:19 Our adornment should be eternal... internal... 51:23 it should be... and eternal by the way also. 51:25 That should be the thing that attracts people to us... 51:28 not the outside. 51:30 Because folks, I dare to say that many of those 51:33 who decorate themselves outside 51:36 are trying to cover up a problem inside. 51:43 How beautiful it is to see a woman who has natural beauty 51:46 and just has a kind, loving spirit. 51:51 How beautiful it is to see men that way also. 51:56 Do you know that the Hebrew 51:57 sanctuary outside 51:59 was a pretty ugly building? 52:01 It was made of badger skins 52:03 according to Exodus 26 verse 14. 52:06 Have you ever seen a badger? 52:09 Brown... but when you looked inside the sanctuary 52:15 oh, there was the gold and the silver. 52:18 And the precious fabric and the precious stones 52:21 were inside the sanctuary not outside. 52:25 And that's the way Jesus was. 52:28 His beauty was not outside. 52:30 His beauty was inside and shone outward. 52:36 By the way, does the apostle Paul say that we are 52:38 temples of the Holy Spirit? Yes. 52:42 I Corinthians chapter 6 verses 19 and 20 says: 53:11 Are we to glorify God with our body? 53:14 Absolutely. 53:17 Now why did I call this presentation 53:19 The Base Crime of Amalgamation? 53:22 Well because before the flood the sons of God amalgamated 53:26 or had illicit relationships with the daughters of men. 53:29 But there's another reason. 53:31 You see, Ellen White has a quotation where 53:36 she talks about the main reason for the flood, 53:39 and this statement has been misunderstood. 53:41 People have accused Ellen White of saying that 53:43 Ellen White believed that before the flood there was 53:45 cross breeding between human beings and animals. 53:49 Allow me to read how she describes it. 53:52 This is found in the book Spirit of Prophecy volume 4 53:55 page 69. She says: "But if there was one sin 53:59 above another which called for the destruction of the race 54:02 by the flood... " If there was one sin... 54:06 destroyed the world by a flood, she says... 54:08 "it was the base crime of amalgamation 54:13 of man and beast. " 54:16 Notice she doesn't say of man with beast. 54:18 She says of man and beast. 54:21 Man with man and beast with beast. 54:24 "which defaced the image of God. " 54:28 Let me ask you: the blending of the righteous with the 54:31 unrighteous... does this deface the image of God? 54:35 Oh, it sure does. 54:38 Led to the loss of everybody before the flood 54:41 except four men. It says: "Which defaced the image of God 54:46 and caused confusion everywhere. 54:49 God purposed to destroy by a flood 54:52 that powerful, long-lived race 54:54 that had corrupted their ways before Him. " 54:57 She calls, in other words, the blending or the amalgamation 55:02 of man and beast "the base crime of amalgamation. " 55:07 And those who accuse Ellen White... they say: 55:09 "A base crime cannot be a sexual relationship between 55:13 a man and a woman. That's too strong an expression 55:16 to be describing a sexual relationship between 55:18 a man and a woman. So it must be that when 55:20 Ellen White says amalgamation of man and beast 55:23 she means amalgamation of man WITH beast. " 55:26 The fact is that Ellen White only uses one other time 55:30 the expression base crime. 55:32 Do you suppose we should allow Ellen White to interpret 55:34 Ellen White? Absolutely! 55:37 We have to do the same with Ellen White as we do with 55:39 the Bible. The only other time that she uses the expression 55:43 base crime to describe something 55:45 is when Potiphar's wife tried to entice Joseph 55:50 to have sex with her. 55:52 She calls that a base crime. 55:54 So is a base crime in the mind of Ellen White 55:57 crossing a believer with an apostate? Yes! 56:02 In fact, let me read you that statement. 56:04 Volume 1 Spirit of Prophecy page 131 56:06 she says, speaking of Joseph: "He would not be persuaded 56:11 to deviate from the path of righteousness 56:14 and trample upon God's law by the inducements or threats. 56:18 And when he was accused 56:21 and a base crime was falsely laid to his charge 56:25 he did not sink in despair. " 56:29 So let Ellen White interpret Ellen White. 56:31 When she says that there was amalgamation of man 56:35 she means of righteous with unrighteous. 56:37 And beast? Yeah, there was probably cross breeding of 56:39 animals. Now allow me in the few seconds that we have left 56:42 to give you some principles of how we're supposed to 56:45 choose the right attire. 56:47 First of all, it should be clean. 56:50 Secondly, orderly and neat. 56:53 Third, simple and not extravagant. 56:56 Fourth, modest. That means not revealing too much. 57:01 Five, economical. 57:03 Not cheap... economical. 57:05 Six, durable. 57:07 Seven, healthful. 57:09 Not too tight. Protect us from cold and heat. 57:12 Eight, tasteful. 57:14 Nine, appropriate to the occasion. 57:18 And ten, it should bring honor and glory to God. |
Revised 2014-12-17