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Noah Part- 6. MENU

[ No. 91] - The End Of All Flesh. . . .

[ No. 92 ] - Why Is It Important Sometimes To Mention The Various Traditions? . . .

[ No. 93 ] - The Story Of Jonah Swallowed By A Large Fish . . .

[ No. 94 ] - What Is True Of Jonah Is Also True Of The Ark Of Noah, Of Enoch, And All Other Supernatural Events Foretold In The Word Of God . . .

[ No. 95 ] - Does The Whole Story Need To Be Confirmed? . . .

[ No. 96 ] - "In The Beginning God Created The Heaven And The Earth, { Genesis 1:1 }." . . .

[ No. 97 ] - The Very Extreme Position I Myself Must Take. . . .

[ No. 98 ] - The Various And Different Types Of Arks According To The Scriptures . . .

[ No. 99 ] - The Great Importance Of The Three Different Arks . . .

[ No. 100 ] - There Are Many Types Of The Lord Jesus Mentioned In Our Bible, And These Three Arks Are Each A Type Of Christ. . . .

[ No. 101 ] - The Rod Of Aaron That Put On Buds And The Golden Pot That Contained Manna . . .

[ No. 102 ] - The Ark Of Noah Pictured In Typology . . .

[ No. 103 ] - The Dimensions Of Noah's Ark According To Man, Can Be Different According To God . . .

[ No. 104 ] - This Writers Objections To The Modern Teaching Concerning The Size Of Noah's Ark . . .

[ No. 105 ] - Further Details Concerning Typology Between Christ And Noah's Ark . . .

[ No. 106 ] - A Raven And A Dove Sent Forth. . . .

[ No. 107 ] - Five Very Important Days . . .

[ No. 108 ] - The Ark And Its Resting On The Mountains Of Ararat . . .

[ No. 109 ] - Absolute Security Here In Typology, Refers To The Covering And Protection Of Saints Through The Blood Of - Christ . . .

[ No. 110 ] - Gopher Wood And Pitch . . .

[ No. 111 ] - As We Have Said Before, The Ark In Typology Is Christ! . . .

[ No. 112 ] - The Ark Had No Resemblance To The Picture Books That Portray It Today . . .

[ No. 113 ] - The Only Door Of Noah's Ark . . .

[ No. 114 ] - The Ark Was Like A Building With Three Flours . . .

[ No. 115 ] - The Question Arises: Were There Many Carpenters Used In The Arks Construction? . . .

[ No. 116 ] - Does Scripture State That There Were Children, Birds, Or Animals Born In The Ark? . . .

[ No. 117 ] - Considering These Seven Different Divisions Of Faith In {Hebrews 11:7} . . .

[ No. 118 ] - [ 1 ]: The Foundation 0f Faith In The Word 0f God. . . .

[ No. 119 ] - [ 2 ]: The Nature Of Faith - Believing The Unexplainable . . .

[ No. 120 ] - [ 3 ]: The Motive Of Faith - Moved With Fear . . .

[ No. 121 ] - [ 4 ]: Faith And Works. The 0peration 0f Faith - Prepared An Ark . . .

[ No. 122 ] - [ 5 ]: The Scope Of Faith. Included Noah's Family . . .

[ No. 123 ] - [ 6 ]: The Testimony Of Faith - Condemned The World. . . .

[ No. 124 ] - [ 7 ]: The Reward Of Faith - Imputed Righteousness . . .

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1. { V. 13 } Scripture: "And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

2. { V. 14 }: Make yourself an Ark of gopher wood [ Cypress ]; rooms shall you make in the Ark, and shall pitch it within and without with pitch [ bitumen ].

3. { V. 15 }: And this is the fashion which you shall make it of: The length of the Ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.

4. { V. 16 }: A window shall you make to the Ark, and in a cubit shall you finish it above; and the door of the Ark shall you set in the side thereof [ of it ]; with lower, second, and third stories shall you make it, { Genesis 6:13-16 }."

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5. Commentary . . . Gopher wood is literally cypress which is a wood that water does not rot. The Ark was sealed with bitumen and there wasn't one inch of the Ark that wasn't sealed, nor was it possible for even one drop of water to enter through the walls into the great ship. In typology, you as a child of God are completely protected within the Father's hands and are surrounded by His circle of protection just as Noah and his family were surrounded by the walls of the Ark. Not one drop of judgment can be placed upon your soul because you are encircled by the eternal protection of your heavenly Father from Satan the archenemy of every Saint of God.

6. Grace provided a Saviour for you and me, and salvation has been bestowed upon every Christian through the Lord's marvelous grace. See { Ephesians 2:8-10 }. No one can be saved except by grace. Faith brought Noah into the Ark to be saved through the Flood. They went in as we went into Christ Whom is our Ark. Noah was secure, so are we, Noah and his family were saved by grace and kept safe by grace, so are we. No one is saved by holding on to Jesus, but because He holds on to us.

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7. { V. 7 } Scripture: "That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

8. { V. 8 }: For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

9. { V. 9 }: Not of works, lest any man should boast.

10. { V. 10 }: For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them, { Ephesians 2:7-10 }."

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11. Commentary . . . Saints of God will be on eternal display by the grace of the Lord. Faith in itself involves knowledge of the Gospel of the Mystery, see { Romans 10:14-15 }, acknowledgment of the truth of its message, and personal reception of the Saviour { John 1:12 }. Works cannot save, see { V. 9 } above, but good works always accompany salvation { V. 10 } above; see also { James 2:17 }.

12. As we have before stated, three chapters in the book of Genesis describe the greatest physical catastrophe in the history of humanity, the greatest destruction of human and animal life recorded in all literature. It is not our purpose to try and prove the occurrence of the Flood or explain it on the grounds of tradition, geological evidence, or archeological discoveries. The Believer in the Word of God accepts the record of the Bible and needs no additional evidence or proof for the fact of a great Flood which once engulfed the earth. Although, the Flood is also a traditional legend of many nations which contain records of the great Deluge. These traditions of ancient peoples are of interest and bear some resemblance to the record in Genesis. They were handed down possibly from the days of Noah, and though they are not necessary to confirm the Word of God, we mention some of them just as a matter of interest.

13. An Egyptian legend of the Flood says that a long time ago the gods purified the earth by a great Flood from which a few shepherds escaped by climbing a high mountain. The east Indian tradition relates that the great teacher Manu was warned by a fish of a coming flood and was commanded to build a vessel in which to find safety. Manuthen fastened a cable from his ship to a horn on the fish's head, and was thus towed to the mountains of India where the cable was fastened to a tree, and remained there.

14. The Chinese tradition describe the Flood as follows: "And now the pillars of heaven were broken, the earth shook to its foundations, the sun and the stars disappeared, the earth broke up and its waters within engulfed the earth and overflowed. All these evils arose from man having rebelled against heaven, despising the supreme power of the Universe."

15. The Greeks had several traditions of the Flood. One of these says that the god Zeus was angry and threatened to destroy this earth. Prometheus, who was gifted with prophetic foresight, warned his son Deucalion of the coming Flood. Deucalion constructed an ark which eventually was run aground in Thessaly. There he and his wife Pyrrha [ the only survivors in the world ] repopulated the earth by throwing stones about them; the stones thrown by Deucalion became men, while the stones thrown by Pyrra became women, and thus the world was repopulated.

16. In Britain there is an ancient Druid legend that, because of the wickedness of man, the Supreme Being sent a Flood, when the waves of the sea lifted themselves up all around the island of Britain. But, a patriarch with a select company found refuge in a strong ship, survived the Flood, and repopulated the earth.

17. Among the American Indians the tradition of a flood is found in every tribe. Among the hundreds of tribes in North Central, and South America, not a tribe exists which does not have a legend of a great deluge in which from three to eight persons were saved and cast out upon a high mountain. The Mexican Indians' version makes the Flood the result of the earth being tipped to one side. All men were turned into fish except one family who escaped in a ship which stranded on a mountain. Here a humming bird came to them with a leaf in its beak, telling them that the storm had ended. Besides these traditions, there are numerous variations among the various Indian tribes.

18. We might add many other traditions of other nations, but we mention one more because of its similarity to the Bible record. The Babylonian tradition, dating back to the forth century B.C., narrates that a great Flood once covered the earth. The king Ardates was warned by the god Cronos and ordered to build a ship 3000 feet long and 1200 feet wide, in which the king, some friends, and a large number of animals, with all necessary food, passed through the Flood. This tradition also relates the sending out of birds which returned to him again; but the third time they failed to return.

19. The ship came to rest on the mountains of Armenia. However, they were ordered back to Babylonia, but the remains of the Ark [ so says the legend ] still exist in the Corcyrenian mountains. The Babylonian tradition goes into great detail concerning the dimensions, floors, rooms and stories, suggesting that it may be a distorted and corrupted version of the Biblical description. The similarity of the Babylonian account and the Bible record is thought to be due to the contact of the Babylonians with the Jews of the captivity and some acquaintance with the books of Moses.

20. Commentary . . . We might go on at length to relate many other interesting traditions, for it seems that every tribe on earth has had handed down to them the story of the Flood. It is established as a historical fact, and is not just a myth as some would have us believe. It has left its impression upon all the three branches of humanity which spring from the three sons of Noah, "Shem, Ham, and Japheth." The traditions, while interesting, are not necessary to establish the historicity of the Flood. Even if there were nothing in all secular history and no geological evidence or archeological proof of a Flood, we would still believe it, because God's Word says it.

21. The true Child of God accepts the record of the Bible as truth without any other proof or evidence. Neither do these traditions and legends strengthen our faith in the Word of God. Geologic discoveries and archeological findings do not confirm the Bible; they have merely discovered what the Bible has taught all the time. The Bible is to be believed, "not to be proven" because God's Word is a natural fact. One of the subtlest of Satan's methods to undermine faith in the Bible is to make us seek for "proof of God's Word." The Bible is a "supernatural revelation" and cannot be fully explained, nor does it need to be.

22. Commentary . . . As an example we have the attempts of well-meaning but shallow-minded Christians trying to prove that there is [ or was ] a fish without a throat large enough and a stomach spacious enough for a man to survive for three days and three nights, and then to be regurgitated in such good health that he could go immediately on a three-day preaching mission. There were sensational articles about finding a stranded whale on a Florida beach which could accommodate a man. Then they come up with a story of a sailor swallowed by a whale and rescued several hours later in a deep coma and his skin macerated and barely alive. These enthusiastic defenders imagine themselves a one-man army determined to rescue the Bible from disgrace by proving that a man could live in a whale's belly, and they cry out, see, the Bible story of Jonah is true! We have proof of it!

23. They say, "It can all be explained on a natural basis." This is not only stupid, but God-dishonoring. Instead of proving that the Bible is emphatically true, it is a downgrading of the Book instead. The experience of Jonah was a miracle. God's Word from the first word in its beginning in Genesis to its last word in Revelation is tremendously full of the "supernatural." Such attempts to explain the "supernatural miracles" of the Bible on a natural basis are only pious disguised methods of destroying the Lord's Word itself. Jonah's sojourn in the large sea creature that is usually thought to have been a whale is not the only thing these would-be defenders of the Bible should explain-naturally. They should also explain the stilling of the tempest when Jonah was thrown overboard from the ship, the vomiting of Jonah on dry land, and the miraculous growth of the gourd which gave him shade from the sun. The whole account is "supernatural," and any attempt at trying to prove it on a natural basis is a futile "beating of the air."

And All Other "Supernatural Events" Foretold In The Word Of God . . .

24. Commentary . . . Everything Concerning the events explained in the Lord's narrative about the great Flood and the Ark according to the record given in Genesis and mentioned by Christ Himself is abundantly clear and factual. The whole story is "supernatural." Man can raise thousands of questions which cannot be explained from the human standpoint, only the Bible can give intelligent proof. Think of these following questions and guess what man's answers would be! "How was the Ark ventilated with only one window and that one closed? What did they do for light? What did Noah and his family do with the offal and waste, and dung of the animals? Why didn't a single animal die during a year of living in such close quarters? Didn't they bare young during that time? Were there no baby animals born? Try and explain these things and try to answer these questions by using your own imagination."

25. You see, everything in the Lord's record of truth must be accepted by faith, for there is no other answer than that the whole event was a miraculous "supernatural foreknowledge of God." How foolish, therefore, the attempts of man to try and prove the natural possibility of the story of the Ark. If it isn't the inspired record of God's miraculous dealing with His creation, then it becomes a fantastic, ludicrous, incredible, idiotic insult to our intelligence. It is either true or it is not true, and faith in the Word of God is the only answer. Most ministers do not believe that there were any birthing of babies on the Ark but that births took place after the Ark had landed on the mountain. I must say that this writer believes likewise!

26. Since all of this was of "supernatural origin," could it be that the creatures on the ship did not become hungry during that time, and that no food was necessary in that period? Perhaps there was no offal, waste, or dung to be cast out from the ship. Since we have mentioned several other ideas, let me give another one that can never be confirmed. We know that there are animals that hibernate during the winter season such as the bear. Since God Himself was on the Ark, don't you think that He could have placed both Noah's family and the other living creatures into a hibernation state throughout the voyage except for the last day when Noah was awakened to send birds out to explore for dry land?

27. By doing this no food would have been used during that time of travel and this is what I personally believe took place. You see, my supposition is likely as ignorant as your own, and my nor your questions from human knowledge are really answerable from human knowledge! After all, always remember that these events were "supernatural things just as salvation, resurrections," hell, heaven and the creation has all been of the "supernatural." God only can give the answers! But, don't expect Him to, it's really none of our business!

28. Commentary . . . For this reason, all the attempts to prove the existence of the Ark, or to confirm the Bible record by geological evidence of archeological discoveries, are quite unnecessary. Archeological discoveries are interesting, educating, and enlightening, but are not needed to confirm the record of Scripture. In recent years a great deal of publicity has been given to the rumor that the remnant of Noah's Ark had been reported on one of the mountains in Asia. The large vessel, or what is left of it, was reported to conform to the description of Noah's Ark. An expedition was organized and an attempt was made to reach the top of the mountain on which the Ark was supposed to be resting. World conditions and clouds of war are reported to have put an end to the expedition. Other attempts have been made and many stories have been told but no real proof seems to have been given.

29. Recently interest has been received in the report of Noah's ark and another attempt is being planned to reach it. It is already hailed as a most significant find, for it would confirm the Bible record. As one shallow enthusiast blurted, "Wouldn't it be wonderful if they found the Ark of Noah, it would prove the Bible to be true?" To all this we say, "nuts and nonsense" The Bible needs no confirmation. My dictionary defines "confirm" as "to ratify or verify." Thank God, I do not need the testimony of a heap of rotten timbers to 'verify' the Bible to me! What an insult to God that we will not take Him at His Word, but must have some additional, tangible, physical, mental, emotional or neurotic evidence. The opening verse of the Bible should teach us the lesson.

{ Genesis 1:1 }."

30. Commentary . . . There it is. Believe it or disbelieve it. God will not stop to explain, for He expects us to believe it because He says it. It must be by faith! The author of Hebrews states:

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31. Scripture: "Through faith we understand that the worlds [ i.e., Literally 'ages,' which includes 'time, space, and the material world' ] were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear, { Hebrews 11:3 }."

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32. Commentary . . . There it is! If we are not willing to accept God's Word by faith, there is no other answer. This is true of Noah's Ark. Suppose they should find the Ark of Noah on top of the mountain, intact and unmistakably identifiable. It would do nothing to my faith. It is a distressing sign of the age that men will not believe what God says just on the strength of: "Thus saith the Lord." I have no quarrel with the study of "Evidences" or the discoveries of science which seem to confirm the Bible, or the interesting findings of archeologists. But, while interesting, they are not an aide to faith. The Bible needs no proof, no confirmation. Scripture can stand on its own feet, it needs no crutches or scaffolding to support it.

33. Commentary . . . This writer has been called an extremist, a sensationalist, a person who only desires a following, a know it all, and other unique names have been applied me. There have been many names given to ministers who do their best to spread God's Word. But, this only proves that at least some ministers have stepped on the toes of folks by preaching the truth of the Lord's Word. I plead guilty to the charge of being an extremist in the matter of the teaching of the absolute plenary authority and inspiration of the Scriptures. My sole trust and only hope for eternity is built on the promises of my Bible. Its Word is the only answer to the cry of my heart. Any suggestion that this is not the absolute, unquestionable truth, is taking away the very foundation from under our feet.

34. I personally and definitely appreciate all the findings of science, but my faith, and I pray that your faith also is completely and emphatically built only on the record of Scripture. With the declaration of our faith we teach this message to the best of our ability by using the Holy Bible as our text book on scientific Bible occurrences. And, these occurrences foretold by God through His human instruments, the prophets, and Apostles whom He himself called forth to minister His holy Word. We shall try to limit ourselves entirely to the record as found in Genesis, and see what God would teach us by this account of the greatest cataclysm in human history. The Word of God must be believed and accepted by faith. It cannot be proven by human wisdom or philosophy. Once we accept it by Bible truth, then we must understand it strictly "by faith." Millenniums ago Zophar said to the patriarch Job:

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35. { V. 7 } Scripture: "Can you by searching find out God? can you find out the Almighty unto perfection? And the answer is:

36. { V. 8 }: "It is as high as heaven; what can you do? deeper than hell; what can you know? { Job 11:7-8 }."

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37. Commentary . . . Our business is not to prove the truth of God's Word, but to believe it. Until this is done, there is no salvation. God's Word says mankind as a whole are sinners, hopeless and helpless. It says that Christ died for sinners and rose again, and offers His salvation free and without price to all that believe it. You may argue till dooms day, you may try to understand it till Hell swallows you up, but you cannot be saved until you believe and accept it as truth!

38. Commentary . . . The Ark of Noah in which he and his family were saved from drowning in the Flood was only one of three Arks described in the Scriptures. There are two more Arks to be mentioned. The Ark of bulrushes in which the baby Moses escaped drowning in the river Nile, and the Ark of the covenant which rested beneath the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle. The first Ark was constructed with the human hands of the prophet Noah; the second was constructed of bulrushes by a woman, Jochebed; and the third Ark was made of wood, overlaid with gold, according to the minutest specifications laid down by the Lord God to Moses.

39. There are two words in the Hebrew that is interpreted "Ark," both of them meaning a box or chest for safekeeping. The Hebrew word translated "Ark" in { Genesis 6 } [ i.e., Noah's Ark ], and the { Exodus 2 } [ i.e., Moses' Ark ] is 'Tebah' and means a chest, or place of safekeeping for valuables. The word for the Ark of the covenant in the Tabernacle is 'Aaron,' and also means a chest or box; but the same word is also translated in one place as 'coffin,' or the receptacle for a dead body, { Genesis 50:26 }.

40. Commentary . . . While our interest in this message is particularly in the Ark of Noah, we must briefly touch upon the other two, the Ark of Moses, and the Ark of the testimony. The three Arks have so much in common that we must not fail to mention some of the identical and important features of all three of them. The following facts were true of each Ark:

1. It was a symbol of judgment.

2. It spoke of death.

3. It was a place of perfect safety.

41. Now it does seem that these are contradictory statements. How could these Arks be both symbols of judgment and of death, and at the same time also be places of perfect safety and life? The answer is that: Noah's Ark spoke of the judgment of God in a mighty Flood which destroyed all but eight people. All outside were under the sentence of death; all inside were perfectly safe. Moses' Ark teaches the same lesson. All the male babies of the Israelites in Egypt were under sentence of death by the decree of the Egyptian Pharaoh { Exodus 1:15-22 }, and only little Moses was completely safe in his Ark of bulrushes. In the Ark of the covenant that rested in the Tabernacle was the broken Law of God which condemned the Israelite to death; but God provided a mercy seat sprinkled with blood as a shelter from the judgment from God.

[ Heading No. 100 ]: There Are Many Types Of The Lord Jesus Mentioned In Our Bible, And These Three Arks Are Each A Type Of Christ . . .

42. Commentary . . . From these brief remarks we recognize that all these Arks were types or shadows of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Ark of Noah protected Noah from the wrath of God. The Ark of Moses protected him from the attack of Satan. The Ark of the covenant protected the Israelites from the condemnation of the old Law. The cunning little Ark of bulrushes, which had been sealed with slime and pitch to make it watertight, is a beautiful symbol of the Lord Jesus Christ, and Moses is a picture of the Believer secure in Christ. The word "slime" in the original means "tar," a mineral form of pitch. The small boat that Moses floated on was made of bulrushes, a common porous, air- filled reed which floats in the water. The little Ark itself was therefore unsinkable and perfectly sealed and safe. Surely one sees here the wise provision of God, ensuring perfect safety and security in Christ.

43. When we come to the Ark of the covenant described in { Exodus Ch. 25 - & - 37 }, we have an elaboration of the Ark of Moses. The Ark of the covenant was an oblong box or chest approximately four feet long, two and a half feet high, and two and a half feet wide. It was made of wood which spoke of Christ's humanity, a root out of a dry ground; and it was covered with gold, speaking of Christ's deity. What a perfect picture of the incarnate Christ, God Himself in precise perfection, and a perfect Man in His Humanity! Within this Ark was a symbol of death, judgment and the wrath of God.

44. Israel had broken the perfect Law of God. This broken law demanded the death of the sinner, and Christ died for the sins of all mankind, for "the [ lost ] soul that sins shall die" and "the wages of sin is death." Therefore in order to save man and overcome Satan, Jesus had to die by taking on every carnal sin that had come upon this world and its people. But, Christ did not pay for the personal sins of Satan and his wicked angels, they will have to be judged and sentenced at a later time. Like the Ark of Noah, and the Ark of Moses, this Ark of the covenant also speaks of judgment, but God made a provision for the lost sinner. Over and above this broken law, God ordered a mercy seat with a lid or cover of gold, { Exodus Ch. 25 }.

45. Without this cover, this Ark was a most horrible place of death and judgment, condemning the unsaved sinner and consigning him to eternal banishment from the presence of God. But, the mercy seat, the cover of the Ark, changed all this. The Bible student must remember that this all took place during the Old Testament Law Period. Today we are no longer under the law of Moses but are dwelling in this marvelous period of God's Grace! During that past age of the old law, the high priest once a year took blood from the altar and sprinkled it above the mercy seat over the broken law.

46. The Law had been given to Israel in all its perfection according to Jehovah's love, grace, and good will toward that nation, but the Hebrew people broke the law by disobeying its commandments that God had written and commanded for them. On the other hand, when God came down in the Shekinah cloud into the Holy of Holies of the Tabernacle, He did not see the law that had been broken and disobeyed. But, He recognized the atoning blood of the sacrifices that had been offered by the people and displayed by the high priest. Thus, the Believer was therefore sheltered from the penalty of the old Mosaic law, and could become recipients of eternal life by the grace of God. But, they could not be saved by personal works alone, but they could be saved by faith plus by being obedient to Jehovah's Law of commandments. The fact is, today we are saved strictly by Faith without works. But, at that time people were saved by faith plus good works that were performed to prove their faith.

47. The same thing takes place today, we are saved through the atoning blood that Christ shed on His Cross for us. He was our offering as the final sacrifice for our sins, and because He gave forth His blood as a sacrificial offering for us, we can receive

salvation through His blood atonement. God Himself had promised the Israelites of old by saying: ". . . When I see the blood, I will pass over you. . ., { Exodus 12:13 }." All this of course points to our Lord Jesus Christ Who shed His blood for every human being on earth, including those of us living today, and He made reconciliation for all who would believe.

48. It's also just that simple to become a saved child of the living God today. The difference is, we do not have to sacrifice anything to receive salvation, Christ's sacrifice on the Cross has already paid the price for us with His Blood. All we have to do to be recipients of salvation is to believe and ask Him to save us, because of our faith in Him, and He will save us with no questions asked because His grace is sufficient. Of this, the Bible states. . .

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49. Scripture: "Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered in 'once' into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us, { Hebrews 9:12 }." [ 'Once and for all' our sins are paid for, He only died 'once' to pay this penalty. ]

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[ Heading 101 ]: The Rod Of Aaron That Put On Buds And The Golden Pot That

Contained Manna . . .

50. Commentary . . . Before continuing the main subject of this series, the Ark of Noah, we must briefly mention the other two things which was present in the Ark in the Tabernacle. Besides the broken law, this 'chest like Ark' also contained the rod of Aaron which budded . . .

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51. Scripture: "And it came to pass, that on the morrow Moses went into the tabernacle of witness [ i.e., the tent of the Testimony ]; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds, { Numbers 17:8 }."

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52. Commentary . . . The words 'the morrow', or the 'next day' was the brief time that elapsed that gave evidence of the miraculous nature of this blossoming of Aaron's rod. 'The tent of the Testimony': the 'Testimony' refers to the two tables of the Law, which along with the manna and Aaron's rod that budded, were deposited in the box like Ark of the Covenant, see { Hebrews 9:4 }. And, this Temple Ark also contained a golden pot of manna, which consisted of the same type of food that fed the Israelis while they were traveling in the wilderness of the exodus from Egypt.

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53. { V. 33 } Scripture: "And Moses said to Aaron, Take a pot and put an omer [ i. e., a Hebrew unit of dry measure, the tenth part of an ephah. About three quarts ] full of manna therein, and lay it up before the Lord, to be kept for [ that is, 'throughout' ] your generations,

54. { V. 34 }: As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept [ in the Ark, ] { Exodus 16:33-34." See again Hebrews 9:4 }.

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55. Commentary . . . The budding rod of Aaron was a symbol of "resurrection life," a dead stick came back into life and became active by bearing fruit, which is a type of Christ's resurrection from death on the Cross unto life from His tomb. This takes place with the death of every Child of God, when he passes from this life into death. His soul is resurrected from his dead body instantaneously on up into heavenly Paradise to remain in the presence of our Heavenly Father. The pot of manna is a symbol of the food of the Saints. Now that the blood had been sprinkled on the mercy seat, judgment was passed, the law was satisfied and, as a result, the Child of God receives eternal life as seen in the rod of Aaron which came to life from a dead stick [ i.e., a wooden rod similar to a shepherds staff or walking stick ].

56. Not only do we receive life, but God makes provision for our sustenance and development and growth in the provision of the manna, "the bread of life," which refers to the Word of God in typology, energized by God the Holy Spirit. The place of judgment has become the 'fountain of life.' It was so with the Ark of Moses, for he passed from death to life by way of the tiny bulrush Ark. It was so in Israel, for the place of judgment becomes the place of life. All of it speaks of Calvary where Christ our Ark bore our judgment for sin, and our souls became safe and protected in Him. And, now again we turn to Noah's Ark where we see all this and more in the story of salvation by God's Divine provision.

[ Heading. 102 ]: The Ark Of Noah Pictured In Typology . . .

57. Commentary . . . There are numerous details of the typical teachings of the Ark pointing to the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Scripture makes clear that it was perfectly designed and suited to the purpose of God for which it was built. Shipbuilders and sailors testify to the balanced proportions of this vessel - its size and dimensions being the most scientific and safe. Therefore, modern shipbuilders still build their ships in the same general relationship of the length to breadth and height. It was a flat-bottomed ship to give maximum capacity. It had no pointed prow, for it was built only to float and not to sail. It had no rudder for a guidance control, for God Himself steered the craft , the Almighty was the pilot and the captain of the ship. It needed no engine or sail, for God was in the Ark of safety to take it where he had planned it to go. It needed no compass, for the Lord directed its course.

58. The same is applied for the Children of God today, the Lord is our pilot, we go where He has planned for us to go, and He knows when that is to happen. Doctors, nurses, and other professionals with their hospitals and clinics cannot take us out from the plan of the Almighty, the very second our time has come to depart this life, we will be taken. Scripture states that there will be:

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59. Scripture: "A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted, { Ecclesiastes 3:2 }."

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60. Commentary . . . After our old bodies are planted in this earth, the Lord at His Own appointed time will resurrect us up into a new spiritual life from on high. There is nothing wrong or wicked with our departure, it will be a glorious event because the Lord Himself made clear . . .

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61. Scripture: "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His Saints [ i.e., whom He loves wholeheartedly ], { Psalm 116:15}." [ the Lord is very concerned for all His Saints. ]

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62. Scripture: "He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in His sight, { Psalm 72:14 }." ========

63. Scripture: "A good name is better than precious ointment [ or perfume ]; and the day of death [ i.e., for a Child of God is better] than the day of one's birth, { Ecclesiastes 7:1 }." "My friend do you get the point? Through a series of proverbial sayings, Solomon offers counsel concerning wisdom and folly."

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[ Heading. 103 ]: The Dimensions Of Noah's Ark According To Man,

Can Be Different According To God . . .

64. Commentary . . . Contrary to what Theologians have always taught, we must differ whole-heartedly with their teaching concerning the size they portray Noah's Ark to have been. They have continually taught that the Ark was constructed according to the length of the Hebrew cubit which would mean that it would have been 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. That is, if they were right and the ship had been built according to their figured dimensions. They teach that it had a floor space of over 33,000 square feet on each level, and since it had three stories, the total floor space would exceed approximately 100,000 square feet. Since the ceilings were 15 feet high, the total volume exceeded one and one-half million cubic feet. All the floor space was available for Noah's family and the animal's, for the food could be easily stored overhead in rooms 15 feet high."

[ Heading. 104 ]: This Writers Objections To The Modern Teaching Concerning -

65. Commentary . . . No doubt the Ark was built perfectly according to the Lord's dimensions portrayed in the Genesis record, but we find fault with the "cubit" these teachers use for the size of the Ark! In the first place the question must be asked: "How could the Hebrew cubit have been used in the arks construction?" Abraham, the first person who had ever become a Hebrew was called by the Lord for that purpose, he was to become the ancient great, great, grandfather of the Hebrew race. His son Isaac was the great grandfather of the Hebrew race, Isaac's son Jacob was the grandfather of the 12 tribes of Israel, and Jacob's 12 sons became the fathers of the 12 tribes of the nation.

66. The Hebrew cubit was obviously either invented to be used by the Hebrew tribes or perhaps Jehovah God put it into the minds for the people to use such a cubit that would hence forth be called the "Hebrew cubit." Abraham was born around the year 2,000 B. C. which was a few hundred years after the Flood of Noah had taken place. Since it was 1600 and 56 Years after the creation of Adam till the Flood, the question has to be asked, "How could the Hebrew cubit have been used in the construction of the Ark several centuries before there were any Hebrews?" We believe that it is simple arithmetic, to figure that when there were no Hebrews yet on the earth when the Ark was built, how could it have been built by using the Hebrew cubit that was not yet in existence at that time?

67. In another message we wrote some time ago, we mentioned the fact that archeologists many years ago had completed various digs in the Middle East and found ancient libraries located under the old cities that had long became extinct. These cities had been lived in and had evidently flourished before the Flood which proved that the people wrote on clay tablets and taught themselves to read and write to each other just like we do today. The Scriptures teach that "there is nothing new under the sun," which means that what man believes and observes today was believed and observed in ancient times.

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68. { V. 9 } Scripture: "And the thing that has been, it is that which shall be; and that which is [ or has been ] done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.

69. { V. 10 }: Is there any thing which it may be said, See, this is new? it has been already [ in the vast ages ] of old time [ been recorded or unrecorded ], which was before us, { Ecclesiastes 1: 9-10 }."

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70. Commentary . . . The clay tablets found in those ancient libraries by archeologists, mentioned another cubit that had been used before the Flood. The cubit mentioned was a 25 inch cubit which was called 'The Sacred Cubit,' whereas the Hebrew cubit which came into being and was used later by the Hebrews was an 18 inch cubit. This makes clear that instead of a 450 feet long Ark it would have been 600 feet long and considerably wider and higher. It would have had far greater floor space, and could have housed much more goods and animal life than has been thought by teachers in the past! Therefore, you the reader will have to be the judge, and come to your own conclusion of which cubit was used in building the Ark, it is my own belief that the '25 inch sacred cubit' was the one that was used by Noah.

71. It has been taught many times that the animals on the ark consisted of two cats, two dogs, and two each of all the other breeds of the animal family. And all animals in the cat family or dog family came into being through the first two cats and two dogs that were on the Ark. This cannot have been so, I personally, according to Scripture cannot accept this type of interpretation! For instance, lions, tigers, panthers, skunks, bobcats, alley cats and many other breeds in the cat family are in existence today.

72. I personally cannot accept the belief that two lions could be bred to become two house cats. Neither can I believe that a tiger or a panther could be bred from a lion. Nor do I believe that a Great Dane could be bred and down-sized to become a Pekinese or a Chihuahua. One more thing the Scriptures teach, there were seven pair of each kind of the clean animals, and only one pair each of the unclean animals on the Ark, { Genesis 7:2-3 }.

73. No doubt folks have done marvelous things with the breeding of various animals, but I must believe that only so much can be accomplished in that type of science through crossbreeding, selective mating, and hybridization. Personally, I believe that there were two small pussy cats, two lions, two tigers, two jack rabbits, and two panthers on the Ark. I believe that there were two gorillas and two each of the smaller monkey family present. I think that people go overboard when they predict so few amount of animals were placed in the ship, common sense tells me different. There was a huge amount of space on such a large boat, we find no reason to downgrade anything concerning the amount of animals or goods that evidently filled the space of the ark.

74. We must remember that there were "DOVES, and RAVENS" on the ark, { Genesis 8:7-8 }, and they are certainly different kinds of birds are they not? Why not pigeons, hawks, eagles, buzzards, chickens and storks? Could you possibly believe that a pigeon was later down-sized from a crane or perhaps from a pelican? We think that there were many types of the bird family present. Can you believe that a hawk or a turkey could be down-sized to become a hummingbird or vice versa? I don't believe it, maybe it could be accomplished, you be the judge! If there were only two of the dog family, and two of the cat family and two of the bird family there, then perhaps the evolutionist are right in their prognoses, do you believe that?

75. God made no mistake when He gave Noah the dimensions of the Ark . Although men have scoffed at the story of the Ark and ridiculed the revelation as utterly absurd, yet if these critics would use their heads before opening their mouths they would believe God's Word. Personally I believe that some of these know it all's are out-right liars, but naturally the only time they lie is when they open their mouth. Therefore, if many of these folks should start thinking by using their heads for something besides a hat-rack - they would see what fools they were making of themselves.

76. The higher critics call themselves the intelligentsia and look with pity upon us poor ignorant Bible-believing Christians as being dumb and gullible. But, surely all the wisdom of all men is foolishness with God. Imagine a mere man criticizing the blueprint of Almighty God the Creator of the universe, and saying that the great God that designed and planned a universe doesn't know how to build a little boat 600 feet long. Oh, the pathetic utter stupidity of unbelief! It reminds me of the definition of a "higher critic" that the late Dr. A. C. Gaebelein gave. He said, "They should be called higher CRICKETS, for they make a lot of noise but are always in the dark ."

77. The people in Noah's day had no excuse. They were given ample warning. They had the light of nature, { Romans 1:19-20 }. They knew the promise of a Redeemer as given in { Genesis 3:15 }. They had the preaching of Enoch, { Jude 14-15 } and the preaching of Noah, { 2- Peter 2:5 }; and they had the ministry of the Holy Spirit striving with them. This is clear from { Genesis 6:3 }, where God says: ". . . My Spirit shall not always strive with man . . . As it was then, so it is today."

78. Judgment is coming, and you have had ample warning. You, too, have the knowledge of nature. You're no dummy, you know your life is uncertain, and one of these days you must stand before God. You, too, have heard the Gospel preached, and salvation was and is offered to you. You, too, have resisted the striving of the Holy Spirit. Why not before it is too late-repent and receive the Lord Jesus by faith and be saved, and then trust His promise:

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79. Scripture: "But as many as received Him, to them 'gave' He power to become Sons of God, even to them that believe on His name, { John 1:12 }."

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80. Commentary . . . This verse tells it all, how simple it is to merely believe in your heart [ Mind ] that you can be saved in such a simple manner. It doesn't cost you anything does it? Salvation cannot be bought. It cannot be traded for. It is completely free. All you have to do is take it as a free gift from God. The price for it has already been paid on Christ's Cross. Why not accept it? The truth is, if you reject it you will never lay eyes upon your loved ones that have already gone on before!!! But, should you accept it you will live with your loved ones throughout all eternity. Is it worth rejecting, or accepting it as a free remedy for eternity? [ Read our messages concerning Heaven and Hell. ]

81. The record of the Flood of Noah and the building of the Ark in which Noah and his family were saved is a historic fact, vouched for by the Lord Himself. Our Lord stakes His reputation on this fact, for He refers to it in { Matthew 24; - & - Luke 17 } as being a sign of His Second Coming. If the Bible record of the flood in Genesis is not true, then Jesus was mistaken, the Bible is not dependable, and we might just as well throw it away.

82. The attempt to disprove the story of Noah and the Flood is therefore a direct attack upon the veracity and trustworthiness of Jesus Christ. Jesus believed and spoke of the Flood as a historic fact. To those who believe in Him, the endorsement of the Lord is final proof of the historical accurateness of the account in Genesis. No further proof is needed. Even though archeologists should discover the Ark intact on some mountain in Armenia, it would not affect my faith in the least. The Bible needs no proof. It is to be believed first and then the witness follows.

[ Heading. 105 ]: Further Details Concerning Typology Between Christ And Noah's Ark . . .

83. Commentary . . . In a former part of this lesson we studied briefly the general architecture of the Ark of Noah, perfectly patterned to assure absolute safety and security for those within it. Now for a few of the countless details: in these specifications we shall see the whole story of the Gospel from the birth of the Lord Jesus to His final ascension into Heaven. The story of the Ark is the story of the Gospel, the death, the burial, and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. The Deluge beat upon the Ark for forty days and nights, but the occupants of the Ark were perfectly safe. The wrath of God upon man's sins was spent upon the Ark. The Ark bore the punishment due Noah and his family.

84. Certainly one cannot fail to see in all this the unmistakable picture of Calvary. The Ark was a type of the Lord Jesus Christ, Who hung on the cross and bore in His own body our sins upon the tree. For "forty days and nights" the rain of death beat upon the Ark until everything that had breath outside of the Ark perished in the earth. The whole earth was in the judgment of death, and the Ark was buried, as it were, in the waters of the wrath of God. But it did not remain in the bosom of death. After the Flood had spent itself, the Ark came to rest upon the top of a mountain. "This speaks of victory over death in Christ 's resurrection and finally his ascension into Heaven." Pay close attention now and don't miss this:

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85. { V. 2 } Scripture: "Until the day in which He was taken up, after that He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments unto the apostles whom He had chosen,

86. { V. 3 }: To whom also He showed himself alive after His passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them [ forty days ] and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God, { Acts 1:2-3 }."

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87. Commentary: "Many infallible proofs: The resurrection ministry of the Lord was accomplished by unmistakable signs. Over a period of [ 'forty days' ] between his passion and ascension Jesus appeared at frequent intervals to His Apostles. No one could seriously doubt that He was alive. The adjective 'infallible' [ Greek 'tekmerion' ] is employed in the Authorized King James Bible Version in order to extract the complete meaning. So infallible were the 'proofs' of Christ's resurrection that the author does not feel it necessary to list them.

88. Notice again that the Ark was aloft on the water as it rained [ 'forty days and nights,' ] and God was with Noah and his family in the Ark. Again notice that Christ, our Ark, was teaching His Apostles for 'forty days and nights' just prior to His ascension. Here we have the Ark as the type of Christ, and after a period of one year the Ark was resurrected from the waters. Also, Christ after being brought forth from His tomb, and having ministered to His disciples for 40 days, He was resurrected from the earth as is portrayed in the above verse."

89. "When we read chapter 7 we find that the waters prevailed upon the earth a hundred and fifty days. That is a period of approximately five months that the water prevailed. Now in chapter 8 we come to both the grief and wrath of the Flood.

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90. { V. 1 } Scripture: "And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the Ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged [ subsided ];

91. { V. 2 }: The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained;

92. { V. 3 }: And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated, { Genesis 8:1-3 }."

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93. Commentary . . . How wonderful that God remembered Noah. He was perfectly safe in the Ark. Not only were we told here of the building up of the Flood, but also of the prevailing of the Flood, and then the assuaging of it. We are told that God made a wind to pass over the earth. Now, all this didn't happen over night. The build-up of the waters was over 150 days. Then there are 261 days in the assuaging of the flood.

[ Heading No. 106 ]: A Raven And A Dove Sent Forth . . .

94. Commentary . . . The Ark came to rest on Mt. Ararat and then . . . { V. 5 } Scripture: "And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen. { V. 6 }: And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window [ singular ] of the Ark which he had made: { V. 7 }: And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth, { Genesis 8:5-7 }." Commentary . . . This gives one the idea that this may be the first time the window had been opened since the window had been built in the Ark. Noah became a bird-watcher now. His intention was to send out and watch two birds, the raven and the dove."

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95. { V. 8 } Scripture: "Also [ later ] he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground;

96. { V. 9 }: But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned to him into the Ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the Ark.

97. { V. 10 }: And he stayed yet another seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the Ark;

98. { V. 11 }: And the dove came in to him in the evening; and lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf plucked off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.

99. { V. 12 }: And he stayed yet another seven days; and sent forth the dove; which returned not again unto him any more.

100. { V. 13 }: And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth . . . { Genesis 8:8-13 }."

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101. Commentary . . . All this covers a period of 261 days so that the total time of the Flood was 371 days. That extended over a year, you see. This also conforms to the statement of Scripture that the Flood was universal. Dr. J. E. Shelley rightfully takes the position that the Flood was universal, covering the entire earth, and I would like to place a quotation from him concerning the most striking example of this found in the case of the mammals. Quote: "These elephants [ i.e., mammoths ] are found buried in the frozen silt of the Tundra, in Siberia, all over the length of the Continent of Asia, and in the North of Alaska and Canada. They are found in herds on the higher ground not bogged in marshes, hundreds of thousands in number." End Quote.

102. He goes on to tell about them, how they have been examined, and how the evidence is that they were drowned. If they had only gotten bogged down up there, they would have died of starvation. Quote: "The farther north one goes, the more there are, till the soil of the islands of the white Sea inside the Arctic circle, consists largely of their bones mingled with those of the saber- toothed tiger, giant elk, cave bear, musk ox, and with trunks of trees and whole trees rooted in the soil." Today there are no trees in those regions. The nearest ones are hundreds, almost thousands of miles away.

103. "The mammoth could not eat the stunted vegetation which now grows in this region . . . The food in their stomachs is pine, and hawthorn branches, etc. These mammoths were buried alive in the silt when the silt was soft. They and the silt were then suddenly frozen and have never been unfrozen. For they show no sign of decomposition. Mammoth ivory has been sold on the London Docks for more than a thousand years. The Natural History Museum purchased a mammoth's head and tusks from the ivory store of the London Docks. This head was absolutely fresh and was covered with its original fur. Explorers have saved their lives by eating the flesh of these animals, which have been in cold storage for thousands of years!" The truth is, friends, if you want evidence of the Flood and its universality, there is an abundance of evidence if you are willing to accept it,

104. I would like for you to see a great spiritual truth that we have here in this account of the dove and the raven. But, first let me mention that the dove came back and brought a little bit of greenery, an olive leaf, in its beak. I don't know why that has always been the symbol of peace, but it is. I cannot see that peace is the message of the first flight of the dove from the Ark, and later, when the dove did not return at all, that was the sign that the judgment was over, and there could be a return to the earth for those in the Ark.

105. The only peace I see here was the peace of the tree, or olive leaf which I suppose is what is considered as a peace symbol, and yet the people that went forth from the boat into the earth were the same type of people that had entered into the Ark. Adam and his family believed God that is true, but they still had the same characteristics as the people that had provoked the Flood in the first place. Remember a little later after they left the Ark, Noah became drunk as a skunk and somehow or other sin developed between himself and his son Ham, see { Genesis 9:20-27. } Later on according to the Scriptures, we will find that the human race did not show much improvement whatsoever.

106. Now let us look at the spiritual lesson. Noah was now engaged in bird watching. He sent out the raven, just a plain old crow, which failed to return. Why not? Well you must realize what it is that a raven eats. There were thousands of dead animals which consisted of a huge amount of flesh floating around after the Flood. That's a kind of thing that old crows feast on. He didn't return because, after all, he was really going to a feast and he was having a very wonderful time. He was an unclean bird and no doubt he didn't stray very far from the Ark. There was a very good reason he stayed in proximity to the Ark.

107. You must understand that since there were only two each of the unclean birds on the Ark naturally the raven would never have been able to have a family unless he waited for his mate that hadn't as yet been released from her cage in order to join him in his feasting. As we all know, they did get together because to this very day there are literally tens of thousands of crows around. Today this is all the proof we need that the crow family is alive and well on planet earth.

108. The dove is a clean bird and is listed as such later in the Bible. You remember that Noah took both clean and unclean animals and birds into the Ark and there were seven pair of all the clean birds. This dove was a regular homing pigeon and she brought information. After the dove's second trip, Noah knew the waters of judgment were gone because the olive leaf revealed that the dry land was appearing and the trees were bearing leaves.

109. As we pointed out, the raven went out into a judged world, and he found a feast in the dead carcasses because that was the kind of food he lived on. The bloated carcass of a dinosaur would have made a banquet for him . . . and would have been a real eating orgy. Back and forth, up and down he went because he is restless. That naturally is a picture of the old nature, the old nature is like the raven. The old nature loves the things of the world, and actually feeds on them. The raven went out into the world and loved and lived it. Now the dove went out into a judged world and she found no rest, no satisfaction. She returned to the Ark. The Ark is a type of Christ.

110. You see, there are people today who try to say that right and wrong is relative. No, that isn't true, God tells us what is right and wrong. The Believer is not to love the world nor the things that are in the world. We must always remember that we live in a world that has been judged. We are in the world but not of the world. We are to use it but not to abuse it. We are not to fall in love with it, but we are here to attempt to win the lost in the world and bring them to Christ. We are here to get out the Word of God. That is our responsibility in the world today.

111. It has been stated by various scientist that because of the Flood, the earth was tilted on its axis. We are just a little off center from our axis, if you please. The magnetic center is different from the center we're revolving on. Something happened somewhere along the line. It is the belief of many that it took place at the time of the Flood, and that is the reason God says there will be seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter. That gives us our seasons, and we have them because the earth revolves as it does. When Noah came out of the Ark, the first thing he did was to build an altar to the Lord and offer a sacrifice to Him. This was a burnt offering.

112. The burnt offering speaks of the person of Jesus Christ. It was offered on the basis of acceptance before God and of praise to God in recognition of Him. This was without doubt, one of the things that caused God to be pleased with Noah at this particular time. Now this man Noah comes forth from the Ark, he stands in a most unique position. He stands in the position of being the head of the human race again. It is the same position that Adam had before him. A great many people say, "We're all related. We all came form Adam." The fact is, we're closer than that. All of us are related in Noah. In one sense, Noah is the father of all of us today.

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113. Scripture: "And the Ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat, [ i.e., evidently in Armenia ], { Genesis 8:4 }."

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114. Commentary . . . Today Mt. Ararat rises about 17,000 feet above sea level, though the reference here is to the mountains of Ararat, which indicates a range of mountains, not necessarily a particular peak. The Ark rested on land 74 days after the end of the 150 days, see { Ch. 7:11 }. We call your attention to two things: first the word "rested," and then the exact date on which the Ark rested. Notice the date. It was the seventeenth day of the seventh month. Centuries later God changed the seventh month to the first month of the year.

115. It was on the occasion of Israel's deliverance from the bondage of Egypt. Up until this time Noah's calendar had been in use, but now God gives Israel a new calendar. They are to forget their Egyptian bondage, and begin anew. They are to date their history from the day of their emancipation from Egypt. This was their New Year. So remember that the seventh month in Noah's day was changed to the first month in Israel's history. It was in this month that Israel was to commemorate the Passover in Egypt. And now to add to all this as we read with a somewhat different approach" that:

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116. { V. 4 } Scripture: "These are the [ set ] feasts [ or the appointed seasons ] of the Lord, even holy convocations, which you shall proclaim in [ stated times and ] their seasons.

117. { V. 5 }: In the fourteenth day of the first month at evening is the Lord's Passover, { Leviticus 23:4-5 }."

118. { V. 57 }, Scripture: "When the evening was come, there came a rich man of Arimathea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple, [ i.e., Arimathea was a town north of Lydda and east of Joppa. ]:

119. { V. 58 ]: He [ Joseph ] went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered [ to Joseph ], { Matthew 27:57-58 }." Christ stated to the scribes and Pharisees by saying:

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120. Scripture: "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, { Matthew 12:40 }." See { Jonah 1:17. }

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[ Heading No. 107 ]: Five Very Important Days . . .

121. Commentary . . . Remember that date- the fourteenth day of the first month was on a "Wednesday," this day . . .

[ 1 ]: was foretold in the Scriptures as Christ's Passover death and burial, remember the Passover, was always on the 14th day. See again in { Leviticus 23:5 } above. Christ is Israel's, and also our Passover { 1- Corinthians 5:7, } and it speaks of His death. His burial was just before sundown the day He was crucified. The next day,

[ 2 ]: Following this Passover on Wednesday the fourteenth day of the first month 'Nisan', was the Feast of Unleavened Bread and was on "Thursday" the fifteenth day.

[ 3 ]: Saturday, the weekly Sabbath of rest was on the seventeenth day. Typical of the day the Ark rested on Mt. Ararat.

[ 4 ]: Then follows the Feast of First-fruits, Sunday, the 18th of Nisan. "The first day of the week, and we know from Paul's words that the Feast of the First-fruits points to the resurrection of our Lord just after sundown on Saturday which completed the third day of His entombment after His death."

122. Since Jesus the Passover Lamb was crucified on Wednesday the fourteenth day of the first month in the late afternoon, and was placed in the tomb that same evening before sundown, Wednesday cannot be counted as being one of the three days that Jesus referred to in the verses above in { Matthew 12:40 }. Thursday the 15th was the first entire complete day He spent in the tomb. Friday the 16th was the second day He was in His tomb.

[ 4 ]: Saturday the 17th day in its entirety He was in the tomb till the sun had set in the evening. And, then the first day of the next week began to dawn [ come on the scene ]. And as we have pointed out . . .

[ 5 ]: Sunday the first day of the week began immediately after sunset Saturday evening. It should be easily seen that the resurrection of Christ on Saturday evening, just shortly after sundown, when Sunday began the 18 Day of the first month, which formerly had been the seventh month of the Flood.

123. The reason we placed His resurrection in the evening after sundown is because the day always ended at sunset for the Israeli. The ending of the Saturday Sabbath day took place at sunset, and Sunday the first day of the week, began at that time. This is the reason the Scripture states that Christ was resurrected from His tomb on the first day of the week in the evening which had been the first hours of the day. It is obvious that on Sunday sometime during the first part of the first day, the tomb was found to be empty. Had Saturday night been counted as one of the nights Jesus was to have spent in His tomb - He would actually have had to spend four nights there. Remember verse 40 above says that Christ would spend three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

124. This means while His body was in the tomb during that time, His Soul was in the Paradise section down in Hades which represents the heart of the earth as referred to in the above verse. [ see our message concerning Heaven and Hell which explains all of this in a somewhat better way ] If you will think about this, you can see that Wednesday night Thursday night and Friday night made up three nights that He was in the tomb, but as He had been resurrected just after sundown Saturday evening on the first day of the week Sunday, He could not have been in the tomb Saturday night otherwise scripture would have been wrong.

125. Thursday, Friday and Saturday were the three complete days he was in the tomb. Here then, we have the whole Gospel, and the message of salvation in the Ark of Noah. Noah and his family were safe and secure in the Ark because they believed the Gospel. Noah believed God's Word concerning the Ark. [ Again we repeat: Read our messages concerning Heaven and Hell, this will make what we have stated above much more comprehensible ]. And now we read:

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126. Scripture: "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an Ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith, {Hebrews 11:7}."

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127. Commentary . . . All outside the Ark were condemned to death - just like all those outside of Christ's salvation today are lost to everlasting doom. All inside the Ark were safe and secure - just like all those inside the Body of Christ are safe in Him. Are you in Christ? Have you believed the Gospel? If you are not in Him, you shall likewise perish. Concerning the Ark:

[ Heading No. 108 ]: The Ark And Its Resting On The Mountains Of Ararat . . .

128. Scripture: "And the Ark rested upon the mountains of Ararat, { Genesis 8:4 }." Commentary . . . The word "rested" may be translated "to settle down" or "to sit down." The Ark "sat down" on the mountains of Armenia or Ararat. The word "Ararat" means 'high or exalted mountain.' Here the Ark sat down upon the exalted mountains. It is a picture or a shadow of the Lord Jesus, our Ark of safety, Who also after His resurrection ascended into Heaven and sat down. The work was done, the judgment of the Flood was over. Noah and his family were safe, and the Ark sat down in the exalted mountains. Peter said of Jesus:

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129. { V. 32 } Scripture: "This Jesus has God [ the Father and God the Holy Spirit ] raised up, whereof [ and of that ] we all [ His disciples ] are witnesses.

130. { V. 33 }: Therefore being by the right hand of [ the other two parts of the God-head ] God exalted [ the Son ], and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has shed forth this, which you now see and hear, { Acts 2:32-33 }." Therefore Peter returning to his original point, states that it was the exalted Jesus Christ Who sent the Holy Spirit down to the human family. And, the writer of Hebrews tells us of Jesus:

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131. Paraphrasing { V. 33 } above: "Being therefore lifted high by the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promised blessing which is the Holy Spirit, He has made this outpouring which you yourselves both see and hear."

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132. Scripture: "Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, "sat down" on [ at ] the right hand of the Majesty on high, { Hebrews 1:3 }."

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133. The above { V. 3 } paraphrased: "He is the sole expression of the glory of God . . . the light-being, the out-raying of the Divine . . . and He is the perfect imprint and very image of God's nature, upholding and maintaining and guiding and propelling the universe by His mighty Word of power. When He had by offering Himself accomplished our cleansing of sins and riddance of guilt, He sat down at the right hand of the Divine Majesty on high." And again we repeat:

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134. Scripture: "But this man [ Jesus Christ ], after He had offered [ i.e., Himself as ] one [ single ] sacrifice for [ our ] sins for ever sat down" on [ at ] the right hand of God, { Hebrews 10:12 }."

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[ Heading No. 109 ]: Absolute Security Here In Typology, Refers To The Covering And Protection

135. Commentary . . . The Ark of Noah then presents to us a place of absolute safety and security for many reasons: because God Himself had designed it beforehand and because of its construction. And, again we repeat this next verse that Jehovah stated when He said . . .

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136. Scripture: "Make yourself an Ark of gopher wood; rooms shall you make in the Ark, and shall pitch it within and without with pitch, { Genesis 6:14 }."

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137. Commentary . . . As we have stated 'gopher wood' is the same as cypress wood but there is another word that comes from the word gopher. The word 'gopher' means 'to enclose' or 'house in.' It speaks of the humanity of Christ, just as the Shittim wood in the Ark of the covenant pointed to Christ's 'humanity.' It was the natural product of natural growth and development. This wood was to be perfectly sealed by covering it without and within with pitch. And here is an interesting word indeed. The word 'pitch' or bitumen is 'Kophar' in the Hebrew. The verb form is 'Kaphar.' This is the same word translated 'Atonement' in at least 70 other places in the Old Testament. In the following well-known verse we have the key to its typical meaning:

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138. Scripture: "For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that makes an atonement for the soul, { Leviticus 17:11 }." [ i.e., by reason of the life which it represents and this is the reason that the blood of animals are not to be eaten ], { See Genesis 9:4 }.

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139. Commentary . . . The word 'atonement' in the verse is 'Kaphar,' the same identical word translated 'pitch' in the Ark of Noah. Now remember it is the blood which is for the atonement for sin. It is therefore perfectly consistent to translate the above verse of { Genesis 6:14 }" as follows:

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140. Scripture: "Make yourself an Ark of gopher wood 'and cover it within and without with the blood of the atonement,' { Genesis 6:14 },"

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[ Heading No. 110 ]: Gopher Wood And Pitch . . .

141. Commentary . . . What a picture of our Saviour! The wood speaks of His incarnation in human form; the pitch speaks of His atoning blood shed on the Cross for the remission of sins, for 'without the shedding of blood there is no remission.' No wonder Noah was secure in the Ark, for he was under the blood even though Christ's blood was not to be shed for sin for another twenty four hundred years. But, this is not all, for Noah was also safe because Jehovah God Himself was with him in the Ark. Noah's safety was assured . . .

[ 1 ]: because the Ark was designed by God,

[ 2 ]: because it was sheltered by the atoning blood as represented by the pitch, and now . . .

[ 3 ]: because of the presence of God in the Ark. In the record we read:

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142. Scripture: "And the Lord said unto Noah, come you and all your house into the Ark; for you have I seen righteous before Me in this generation, { Genesis 7:1 }."

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143. Commentary . . . God did not stay on the outside and say, 'Go into the Ark.' But He said Come into the Ark. God was already 'in the Ark Himself.' This is the first time the word 'come' occurs in the Bible, although it occurs some 500 times after this. We have seen that the Ark is a clear unmistakable picture in the type of Christ, God was in the Ark and Noah was with God in it also. It brings to mind first that Christ is God, but also that . . .

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144. Scripture: ". . . God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself. . . , { 2- Corinthians 5:19 }."

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145. Commentary . . . As if these things we have considered were not enough to establish Noah's security in the Ark, we are told that God locked the door from the inside. In { Genesis 7:16 } we read 'the Lord shut him in.' Noah couldn't leave the Ark if he had wanted to, which of course, he didn't. This is typical of the Christian today. I personally spoke to a lady some time ago concerning eternal security of the Believer, and made it clear from the Bible that a Child of God could not lose his salvation after once being saved. The lady was affiliated with a denomination that taught that even though saved, sin could cause Saints to lose their salvation. She stated that she was positive that a person could lose their salvation if they really wanted to.

146. My question to her was this, what Christian would ever want to lose his salvation when he knew that by keeping it - he was headed toward eternal life with the Lord and his loved ones. Would he ever actually want to change his mind and desire to become lost again while knowing that if that were possible he would spend eternity in the Lake of eternal fire? Naturally, no one in their right mind would ever even contemplate such a thing. By rightly studying God's Word, it isn't difficult to prove that salvation is eternal and cannot be lost.

147. Just this one lesson we are teaching according to typology proves that a saved Child of God the Father cannot lose his salvation. Noah was under Jehovah's protection! He, as we have stated, could not have left the Ark that kept him safe from the elements of death outside of the Ark . Not even had he wanted to leave the Ark to drown in the flooded water could he achieve his desire to do that. Today, it is the same for a Christian. Once we are saved, our soul "which is the very life of the individual" is eternally protected by the Lord, because just as God dwelt in the Ark for the peoples safety, He indwells us and we are protected from eternal damnation in the lake of fire.

148. Now we come to the climaxing proof of God's perfect protection of His Own. Has it ever occurred to you that of the many animals and birds living in close quarters for a whole year "not one of them died?" There were no casualties in the Ark. We are safe to assume there was not even any illness or accidents. All that went in were preserved and came out upon a cleansed earth. Many centuries later the One of whom the Ark was the type, said:

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149. { V. 28 } Scripture: "And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish [ i.e., lose it through the ages . . . to all eternity they shall never by any means be destroyed. ], neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand [ i.e., 'and no one not even Satan and all his wicked angels and demons is able to snatch them out of the hands of Christ Jesus' ].

150. { V. 29 }: My Father, which gave them [ to ] Me, is greater then all; and no man [ not even Satan himself ] is able to pluck them out of My Father's hand.

151. { V. 30 }: I and My Father are One, { John 10:28-30 }."

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152. Commentary . . . Jesus Christ is 'ONE' with the Father: i.e., the Father and the Son are in perfect unity in their natures and actions, but the neuter form of 'one' rules out the meaning that they are one person. All this must be made personal. For while God designed the Ark, and had made provision for Noah and his family, Noah was personally responsible for entering the Ark. He was not compelled to enter, but was invited to come voluntarily. "The words of invitation were: 'Come you. Come you!' God seems to say: I mean 'you, Noah.' You must come." It surely reminds us of the words of our Lord when He said:

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153. { V. 28 } Scripture: "Come unto me, all you that labour and are heavy laden [ that is, over burdened ], and I will give you rest.

154. { V. 29 }: Take My 'yoke' upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart [ mind ]: and you shall find rest [ That is, relief, ease and refreshment and recreation and blessed quiet ] unto your souls.

155. { V. 30 }: For My yoke is easy [ i.e., wholesome, useful, good . . . not harsh, hard, sharp or pressing, but comfortable, gracious and pleasant ]; and My burden is light, { Matthew 11:28-30 }."

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156. Commentary . . . This great invitation, extended to all, is threefold . . . [ 1 ]: to come and receive salvation; [ 2 ]: to learn in discipleship; and [ 3 ]: to serve as in a yoke with the Lord. Perhaps the student has never observed an ox team at work in the field or pulling a wagon, but this writer has. The yoke fits around the neck of both animals to hold them together side by side. The yoke involves instruction under discipline.

157. Yet, in contrast to the teaching of the scribes, Christ's yoke or burden is easy as verse 30 above specifies. Through the ages these verses have been among the most beloved in the N.T. Not only was the same invitation extended to Noah, but the Lord also adds: "And all your house, { Genesis 7:1 }." Noah was not to be satisfied to escape the flood alone, but was to seek to bring others into that place of safety as well. And we certainly thank God that Noah was able to bring them otherwise we today would not exist.

158. What a testimony to the faithfulness of Noah, that his wife, his three sons and their three wives, believed his warning. What a contrast to the experience of Lot when he escaped Sodom and Gomorrah! He left his wife and others behind, he had - had no choice in the matter his wife had disobeyed God and had looked back which she had been warned not to do. Thus, Lot barely escaped with his two daughters. So I would ask two questions: Are you in the Ark of the Father's safety? . . .

159. If not, will you now heed God's warning of coming judgment and turn to Christ for salvation? And if you are saved, then this second question: "Is your family in Christ our Ark? Do your children believe your testimony? Have you even asked them? If they enter into hell are you responsible for not warning them? Does your lifestyle recommend Jesus 'The Ark of safety?' God grant that the testimony of { Hebrews 11 } may be true of you," and we repeat this next verse:

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160. Scripture: "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an Ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith, { Hebrews 11:7 }."

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161. Commentary . . . Do you know what color was used to paint the outside of the Ark? It was pitch black. There is no mention of any decorations or symbols or even a name on this strange ship. It was just a great big black box, without tapered prow or rounded stern. It was not built to sail but merely to float, so it had no sail, oars, or other means of physical propulsion. From the description, we gather that both ends were square and it had only one door in the side, while no window could be seen anywhere from the ground. To see the window one must rise above the top of the boat, and there on the roof of the Ark was a small window of one cubit, approximately 25 inches square with a covering over it. Nowhere does it say that the widow is to be longer than one cubit, but it is large enough to tell daylight from dark and to allow crows and doves to be loosed from it.

162. What kind of lighting was there in the Ark? Very little natural light could have entered to light up all three decks and all the rooms partitioned off on the three decks. The answer, Jehovah Himself was the light which shined all through the Ark, without God's presence all would have been darkness! It is the same today. God placed the sun, stars and moons in this galaxy. Without Him to light up the earth all would be darkness. Does the Lord light up your Life? He certainly will if you will let Him. Salvation in itself is light through Christ Jesus!

163. The Ark was built on dry ground, many miles from the sea. It must have presented a strange sight to the onlookers. Here was a huge box some 600 feet long, pitch black in color from stem to stern the fact is if you could see the Ark, you would fail to understand which end was the front of the boat or which was the tail end of it, it just looked like a great big long box. Certainly there was nothing appealing about the strange unattractive structure. . . .

164. And, not only was the outside black, but the inside was equally black and unattractive. With the black walls and only one covered window on the roof over the third floor, it must indeed have seemed like a very unlikely place to spend a whole year. What would it have been like had the Lord been absent from inside the Ark? Except for the faint trickle of light through the little skylight, all would have been pitch dark inside. That is, unless the Lord Himself revealed the light from Himself to brighten up the interior.

[ Heading No. 111 ]: As We Have Said Before, The Ark In Typology Is Christ! . . .

165. Commentary . . . All of this becomes tremendously interesting and significant when we remember that this Ark was a type of Christ. He, too, was somber and unattractive to the natural physical eye." Speaking of this Christ, Isaiah the prophet said:

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166. Scripture: "For [ i.e., Christ the servant of Almighty God ] He shall grow up before Him [ the Father like ] as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: He has no form [ i.e., no royal, kingly pomp ] nor comeliness; and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him, { Isaiah 53:2 }."

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167. Commentary . . . Today many unbelievers actually heap scorn on Christ, and since the Ark was a type of Christ, we can understand how people heaped scorn upon the Ark in like manner. We can also easily imagine with what scorn the people in Noah's day scorned Noah's labors. How ridiculous they thought, building a box that looked like a huge coffin, and predicting a Flood of waters when it had as yet never rained upon the earth. Certainly it had no appeal to the natural man. All they had was the Word of the Lord, and if they rejected that, they were lost. If the people had believed, in spite of outward appearances, they could enter in and be saved. All of this was true of the Lord Jesus. Of Him, Isaiah says again . . .

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168. Scripture: "He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief, and we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not, { Isaiah 53:3 }."

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169. The above verse paraphrased: "He was despised and rejected and forsaken by men, a Man of sorrows and pains, and acquainted with grief and sickness; and as one from Whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we did not appreciate His worth or have any esteem for Him." This is the way the lost folks today seem to look and think of Christ Jesus.

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[ Heading No. 112 ]: The Ark Had No Resemblance To The Picture Books That Portray It Today:

170. Commentary . . . The view of the Ark in books - and what the Scripture portrays is, I am quite sure - different than most people imagine it to be. I remember seeing the pictures in our Bible story-books which portrayed the Ark as a sleek liner with rounded rooms and graceful prow and three rows of windows for each floor. There have been several pictures that had a large door at the front or perhaps at the extreme rear of the ship similar to a landing boat that the military uses. However, the Bible presents no such picture. The Ark, we have mentioned before, looked like a huge black coffin. Most folks have seen a common match box squarely made on both ends, this we believe, was a similar picture of the Ark.

171. The word translated "Ark" is also translated "Coffin" by various translators by using { Genesis 50:26 }, which consisted as a mummy case for Joseph. And, as we have stated before, the Ark was a symbol of the death of our Lord Jesus and that He was to die that those within might be saved. This lesson of life through death is written large upon the Ark. Not only was the Ark in the shape of a coffin, covered with black pitch, but even the wood construction of the Ark spoke of death that others might live. Notice carefully that this was a wooden vessel. It was not made of steel like our modern dreadnoughts, but required the death of trees, to provide the lumber for the Ark. Again we see there is no life apart from death. Jesus expressed it when He said . . .

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172. { V. 24 } Scripture: ". . . Except a [ grain of ] corn [ i.e., which was used as a type of a grain ] of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone: but if it die, it brings forth much fruit,

173. { V. 25 }: He that loves his life shall lose it; and he that hates his life in this world shall keep it until life eternal. [ "Remember, this world is not the home of a Christian but Heaven is, we are not to fall in love with this world." ]

174. { V. 26 }: If any man serve Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall also My servant be If any man serve Me, him will My Father honour, { John 12:24-26 }."

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[ The three above verses paraphrased, . . .

175. . . . { 24 }: "I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, Unless a grain of wheat falls or is placed into the earth and dies after being planted, it remains just as it is, just one grain; and never becomes more if it is not fertile. But, if it dies as a fertile seed, it produces many other grains and yields a rich harvest.

176. . . . { 25 }: Any person who loves his life will lose it. But, any one who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal in Heaven but only if he is a Child of God. . . . Whoever has no love for, no concern for, nor any regard for his life here on the earth, but despises it, preserves his life forever and ever.

177. . . . { 26 }: If any person serves Me, he must continue to follow Me . . . to cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example, in living and wherever I am, there will My servant be also. If any one serves Me, the Father will honor him."

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178. Commentary . . . What Jesus was saying was that "Seeds which are not sown are alone." "The seeds which are sown, die, and in so doing brings forth a harvest. Christ used this to illustrate His Own death, which would produce a rich spiritual harvest of Saints in the future." "Had Jesus not died on the cross no one would have ever been saved. This principle of death produces life and is applicable to the disciple [ follower ] of Christ, as well as the Master, see { Matthew 10:37-39; - & - Mark 8:34-38 }." Read:

179. { V. 26 } again and remember that we Saints are servants of Christ, and where a Child of God is, Christ is also there with him because we are indwelling Him and He is dwelling in us individually. Our bodies are tabernacles of the Holy Spirit.

180. Notice in { V. 24 } that when corn, yes and even wheat or seed potatoes are planted, they eventually rot in the ground, but because of this process of dying, a growth will then begin to grow from the seed and sprout up into a plant to produce the fruit of the vine and this is where corn, wheat and potatoes come from. Any gardener can explain this remedy for growing garden produce. Therefore, in typology, Christ is using garden seed as examples and applying unbelievers to garden seed. When I was lost to sin, it was necessary for me to die to Christ. In other words, my days of sinful rot had to be laid low in order to sprout up into a Christ-like seed of recognition to God the Father, and this, in order to take on a spiritual growth as a Child of the living God.

[ Heading No. 113 ]: The Only Door Of Noah's Ark . . .

181. Commentary . . . We come now to a consideration of the 'door of the Ark.' [ 1 ]: First there was only one door, [ 2 ]: it was in the side of the Ark, and [ 3 ]: God alone held the key to the door. There was no need for any more than one door, for the occupants of the Ark were to use the door only twice-once to go into the Ark, and once to leave. There was only one door because the occupants of the Ark would not have to leave in a panic or a hurry.

182. Today in our cities we have strict building codes especially for public places. There must be an ample number of exits, plainly marked, so that if fire breaks out or another catastrophe threatens, there will be no congestion and crushing at the exits. But all this was unnecessary in the Ark, for they were perfectly safe because God Himself was in the ark, to preserve them. We have before pointed out the security of those in the Ark by the fact that there were no casualties, no sickness, and no death." How clearly the Word of God is when the Lord stated . . .

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183. { V. 18 } Scripture: "And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his son's wives with him,

184. { V. 19 }: Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creeps upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the Ark, { Genesis 8:18-19 }."

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185. Commentary . . . Although there was only one door, it was safe enough for all. It is worthy of note that no dimensions are given for the door of the Ark. The length, breadth and height of the Ark are carefully given, and the size of the little sky-light in the roof; but for the door, no dimensions. It was as wide as God's provision, wide enough to let the largest animal in. It is therefore the 'whoever door.' No one is excluded. There is room for all. Of course, we know that the door of the Ark speaks of Another, Who Himself said:

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186. { V. 1 } Scripture: "Verily, verily, [ surely, most solemnly ] I say to you, he that enters not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up some other way [ elsewhere, from some other quarter ], the same is a thief and a robber.

187. { V. 7 }: Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of [ for ] the sheep, [ i.e., the saved Believer. Or listen to the Lord once more when he says ] . . .

188. { V. 9 }: I am the door: by Me if any man enter in [ through Me ], he shall be saved, and [ he ] shall go in and out [ freely ], and find pasture, { John 10:1, 7, 9 }."

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189. Commentary . . . Jesus is the only door into the Ark of salvation. He is not one of several doors, but He is the door of the saved sheep: "Family of God." Notice further that this door was in the side of the Ark. It reminds us immediately of the opened side of our first parent Adam from whence his bride Eve was taken, and points to the pierced side of the Lord at Calvary which opened a door into the very heart of God the Father.

190. And, since Eve came from the side of Adam, so shall Christ's bride "redeemed Israel" appear through the redemption brought forth through their Redeemer the Son of God at His second return as Messiah and Israel's Bridegroom! In type, the same thing must be applied to the Body of Christ today. He will not be our Bridegroom or Messiah, but He is at this very time our Head, our heavenly Redeemer, and adopted Brother, for we are of His Own Body which will continue onward throughout all eternally!

[ Heading No. 114 ]: The Ark Was Like A Building With Three Flours . . .

191. Commentary . . .There is one detail often overlooked when studying the Ark. It is the instruction to build three stories or levels in the Ark, one above the other. When we recall that the Ark is a picture of Christ, this provision is full of meaning. Jesus, while He was perfect God, was also perfect man. He was the Second Man as Adam was the first man. Adam was created after the image of God and, God is a tripartit God [ "tripartit". . . divided into or consisting of three parts: "3 persons in one God!" ] The Ark was also a type of the Trinitarian God [ 1 ]: God the Father, a type of the upper deck of the Ark, [ 2 ]: God the Lord Jesus Christ, a type of the center deck of the Ark, and [ 3 ]: God the Holy Spirit, a type of the lower deck of the Ark, the 'Three in One,' it was constructed with three decks, three the number of the trinity.

192. This 'image of God' we confidently believe consisted in Adam being tripartit; he was created with, a body, a soul, and a spirit, but yet he was one man. Jesus, too, was made in the 'likeness of man, { Philippians 2:7 },' He had a body, a soul and a spirit. Thus, we Children of God being tripartit are divided into three parts the same as is Christ, body, soul and spirit. If one denies this he denies himself!" Therefore, repeating ourselves, Christ, in His humanity, possessed a body, { Hebrews 10:5 }, a soul, { John 12:27 }, and a Spirit, { Luke 23:46 }. We see in the three stories or levels of the Ark a shadow of all this. God said:

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193. Scripture: ". . . with lower, second, and third stories shall you make it, { Genesis 6:16 }."

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194. Commentary . . . Why are we told this? What difference does it make to us living over four thousand years later how many stories it had, one or a dozen? Since we believe that everything in the Bible, even every word, has some spiritual lesson for us, and since the Ark is an indisputable type of Christ, it must point to Him. In addition, we may also see in these three levels of the Ark the threefold salvation work of Christ.

195. The inside of the Ark speaks of what we as Believers have in Christ. Isn't it a fact that this points to the complete salvation of our whole being? We are spiritually saved the moment we believe; we are progressively saved as to the sanctification of the soul, and shall ultimately also have our bodies redeemed at His Coming. We were justified in the spirit [ in the past ], sanctified in our soul [ in the presence ], and will be glorified in our heavenly bodies [ in the future eternity. ]

[ Heading No. 115 ]: The Question Arises: Were There Many Carpenters Used In The Ark's Construction? . . .

196. Commentary . . . In the same connection, speaking of the humanity of Jesus, we notice from the Scriptures a complete absence of any mention of Noah's helpers in the Ark's construction. Apparently from the record in Genesis, Noah alone built the complete Ark without any help. Evidently many sermons given by various ministers giving their ideas about "Noah's carpenters" we will be subject to criticism by what I say here, but I must believe it will be the truth just the same.

197. It has been taught that a large number of carpenters worked on the Ark, and yet not entering the very Ark they helped build. One can indeed make a nice application of this; namely, that it is possible to be religiously preoccupied, be an Assembly member and help build the organization and yet be lost! Nowhere in our Bible does it state that the entire membership of a Christian Congregation will be eternally saved!

198. This would be a good application if one could prove that Noah always had helpers. I hate to spoil all those good sermons, but there is every indication that 'Noah alone' was instrumental in building the Ark. There is certainly no reference in the record of any assistants. Had Noah had a large crew of workman working, it certainly would not have taken him 120 years for the Ark's construction, do you get the point? This would be in harmony with the typology of the Ark.

199. The Ark is a shadow of Jesus in His humanity, passing through the waters of judgment, bearing "our sins in his own body on the Cross." This body was designed by God, but the instrument of God used to build this body was the womb of a virgin. The reference is that the Ark designed by God but built by a human instrument, certainly suggests the supernatural conception of [ God's design ], and the virgin birth [ the human instrument ].

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[ Heading No. 116 ]: Does Scripture State That There Were Children, Birds,

200. Commentary . . . We conclude with a very practical observation. There is no record of any young beast, birds, or humans being born in the Ark for the entire year of their residence. The animals went in two by two with the exception of clean animals of which there were seven pairs of each kind, and they apparently came out the same way. The sons of Noah did not have any children in the Ark, and there is not even a hint that the same is not true of the animals and birds.

201. For one whole year there was no reproduction or increase. The lesson should be clear. Entrance into the Ark was a personal decision for each one. The parents cannot decide for their children. Since Christ is the Ark of salvation, we learn that we cannot be saved by our father's religion. While we believe that all babies who die in infancy before years of personal accountability, are all saved by virtue of the work of Christ, it is just as true that when these children reach the age of personal responsibility, they must themselves make the decision.

202. They cannot be saved because of the religion or piety or example of their parents, without a personal choice. That false terminology which teaches that children born of Christian parents are in the covenant of grace and need only to grow up into mature Christians without the experience of the new birth, is absolutely foreign to the revelation of Scripture. To teach that so-called covenant children are saved if they die in infancy, while others who are not children of believing parents are lost, is an invention of man and a delusion. God is not in the 'baby damning' business like many folks seem to believe during this present age. If you have been taught that you are a child of God because your parents were Christians and members of a certain Denomination, and because you were water baptized as an infant, I would remind you of the "Lord's Words" . . .

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203. Scripture: "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily [ surely, most solemnly, ] I say unto you, Except a man be born again [ according to the Scriptures ], he cannot see the kingdom of God, { John 3:3 }."

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204. Commentary . . . The Kingdom of God consists of all God's creation which concerns all three heavens mentioned in the Bible. Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven which refers to Christ's future Millennial reign on this earth will naturally be surrounded and encompassed by the second and third heavens. This means that all three Heavens consist of the Kingdom of God in their entirety. Whereas as we have stated, the Kingdom of Heaven just consists of the Lord Jesus' earthly kingdom. Even though we today were born into a different Dispensation other than the one John lived in when he walked with Christ before the Body of Christ first began with the Apostle Paul, still, we must understand that: the Apostle John wrote the Books of First, Second, Third John, and Revelation after Christ's death and during this present grace period, [ A.D. 90-96 ].

205. This means that the above verse applies to you and me during our own age of grace. Therefore, do you, to whom these above words were spoken, believe that you were saved because your parents were saved? Do you believe that just because you attended a Christian assembly, were baptized, taught Sunday school, or perhaps became some type of officer in the Assembly etc, when you were young, prove that you are a Christian? Also do you, to whom these words in {John 3:3} were spoken believe that you can be saved in any other way than what the above verse states?

206. These words were spoken by Christ personally, not only to you and me but to the fallen woman in { John 4 }, to a lost publican and also to a man by the name of Nicodemus, a religious Pharisee. Nicodemus was a ruler of the Jews, a teacher in Israel, who was a member of the chosen Hebrew race. It is an absolute fact, no person could be saved before Christ's crucifixion or afterwards up to this very time without being reborn into the family of God? Nicodemus was a covenant child under the old Hebrew order, and had been circumcised as an infant, but Jesus said to him . . .

207. "You must be born again!" My friend, even though Noah and his family were living long before the Hebrew law was in existence, and thousands of years before this grace period came into being, still, people in that day and in every generation since that time could not be saved into God's family without being 'reborn into it.' Typology is a marvelous teacher, is it not? We find types and shadows displayed all the way through the 66 books of our Bible. There were only eight adults who entered the Ark, because they believed God's promise and acted upon it. No one entered the Ark by being born into it by natural birth. Neither can anyone's natural birth make him a child of God today. "Ye must be born again!" John said concerning Jesus:

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208. { V. 12 } Scripture: " But as many as received Him, to them gave He power [ past, present, and future tense ] to become the sons [ and daughters ] of God, even to them that believe on His name:

209. { V. 13 }: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, not of the will of man, but of God, { John 1:12-13 }."

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210. Commentary . . . We have already explained how people of the Old Testament period were saved, and so we will not go into that again. But, your own religion, your works, your denomination, your friends, and your loved ones, cannot save you. It must be by a personal faith in the Son of God. And again we repeat this next verse:

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211. Scripture: "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an Ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith, { Hebrews 11:7 }." =============================

212. Commentary . . . This verse may well be called the story of Noah in a nutshell. This is a common occurrence in the Bible. Most of the great doctrines taught throughout the Bible will be summed up somewhere in a brief, succinct passage or verse. The whole doctrine of the love of God, for instance, is condensed in capsule form as follows, and we have already repeated some of these verses in other parts of this message . . .

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213. Scripture: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life, { John 3:16 }." See { Romans 10:9-13 }. [ The doctrine of justification by faith is pressed together in five verses ] . . .

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214. Scripture: "{ V. 1 }: "What shall we say then that Abraham our [ fore ] father, as pertaining to the flesh, has found?

215. { V. 2 }: For if Abraham were justified by works, he has whereof to glory; but not before God,

216. { V. 3 }: For what says the Scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. see { Genesis 15:6 }

217. { V. 4 }: Now to him that works is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.

218. { V. 5 }: But to him that works not, but believes on Him that justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness, { Romans 4:1-5 }." [ The doctrine of Israel's restoration is summed up as follows ] . . .

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The above 5 verses paraphrased . . .

220. . . . { V. 1 }: "But if so, what shall we say about Abraham, our forefather humanly speaking? How does this affect his position, and what was gained by him?

221. . . . { V. 2 }: For if Abraham was justified [ that is, established as just by acquittal from guilt ] by good works that he did, then he has grounds for boasting. But not before God!

222. . . . { V. 3 }: For what does the Scripture say? Abraham believed and trusted in God, and it was credited to his account as righteousness . . . right living and right standing with God.

223. . . . { V. 4 }: Now to a laborer, his wages are not counted as a favor or a gift, but as an obligation . . . something owed to him.

224. . . . { V. 5 }: But to one who doesn't work [ and yet ] trusts [ i.e., believes fully ] in Him [ Christ ] Who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited to him as righteousness . . . the right standing that is acceptable to God."

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225. Scripture: "For I would not, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own conceits, that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in, { Romans 11:25 },"

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226. The above { V. 25 } paraphrased: "Lest you be self-opinionated . . . wise in your own conceits . . . I do not want you to miss this hidden truth and mystery, brethren: a hardening [ insensibility ] has [ temporarily ] befallen a part of Israel [ to last ] until the full number of the ingathering of the Gentiles has come in." [ Read { V. 26 }, { Isaiah 59:20-21 }, and See { Acts 15:14 }. "Read the doctrine of the Rapture of the Body of Christ as follows, and both of these following texts apply to the Rapture of Christ's Body": ========

227. { V. 16 } Scripture : "The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

228. { V. 17 }: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord, { 1- Thessalonians 4:16-17 }," ========

229. { V. 51 } Scripture: "Behold, I show you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall be changed,

230. { V. 52 }: In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead [ in Christ ] shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. See { Philippians 3:21 - & - Luke 21:35-36 }.

231. { V. 53 }: For the corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

232. { V. 54 }: So when the corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. See { Isaiah 25:8; - & - Revelation 21:4 }.

233. { V. 55 }: 0 death, where is your sting? 0 grave, where is your victory?, { 1- Corinthians 15:51-55 }."

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234. Commentary . . . And so on with the other great truths of the Bible. So it is with our text in { Hebrews 11:7 } concerning the faith of Noah and the building of the Ark. It sums up in one small condensed package the whole story of the Flood, in what we might call a dehydrated concentrate. It is the story of Noah's faith, and the verse begins and ends with the same two words "by faith."

[ Heading No. 117 ]: Considering These Seven Different Divisions Of Faith In

{ Hebrews 11:7 } . . .

[ Heading No. 118 ]: [ 1 ]: The Foundation 0f Faith In The Word 0f God . . .

236. Commentary . . .

[ A ]: God had spoken to Noah and told him the flood was coming, even though there was no indication of it and it seemed utterly impossible.

[ B ]:Saving faith is simply believing God's Word, without any additional evidence or proof.

[ C ]: It is believing the unreasonable, illogical, unexplainable, supernatural revelation of God just because God says it.

[ D ]: True faith asks for no additional evidences.

[ E ]: It does not ask for signs or voices or revelations, visions or dreams, scientific proof or archeological discoveries or geological evidences.

[ F ]: True saving faith is accepting the Word of God just because God says it.

[ G ]: Noah was warned of God concerning a most unbelievable Flood, and he believed it.

[ Heading No. 119 ]: [ 2 ]: The Nature Of Faith - Believing The Unexplainable . . .

237. Commentary . . . This need of believing God's Word without necessary proof or explanation is seen in the second observation concerning Noah's faith. We have seen the basis-the very foundation of faith, and now we come to the nature of faith. As we said, it was believing God even though we cannot understand everything He says in each minute detail. Our verse therefore continues: Scripture: "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet" . . .

238. Notice that phrase: "of things never before seen!" What does this refer to anyway? No doubt it pointed to the Flood of waters which would come upon the earth. It had never rained upon earth until that time; no rain had ever fallen from the sky. But God said it would! The people must have laughed and scoffed at Noah when he told them water would fall from the sky. Why, just look up there! There is no water up there, and if there is, how did it get up there? It did seem unreasonable and unbelievable. We are told that there was no rain upon the earth, but the moisture came up from the earth in the form of a heavy mist.

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239. { V. 4 } Scripture: "These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens,

240. { V. 5 }: And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.

241. { V. 6 }: But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground, { Genesis 2:4-6 }."

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242. Commentary . . . In the day. The creation week is not specified as a single day by this phrase; rather, without the article "the," it means "at the time." The Lord, literally., YHWA [ probably pronounced "Yahweh" ], the most significant name for God in the old Testament. It has a twofold meaning: the active, self-existent One since the word is connected with the verb meaning "to be," { Exodus 3:14 }; and Israel's Redeemer { Exodus 6:6 }. The name occurs 6,823 times in the O.T. and is especially associated with God's holiness { Leviticus 11:44-45 }, His hatred of sin { Genesis 6:3-7 }, And His gracious provision of redemption { Isaiah 53:1, 5, 6, 10 }.

243. This sentence may begin at { V. 4 } above, "At the time the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, then no shrub of the field was at yet in the earth . . ." The kind of plants referred to here are those requiring cultivation, and the green plants appeared the third day, { Ch. 1:11-12 } and did not grow until after there was a man to take care of them. The mist, probably caused by daily evaporation and condensation, which occurred because of the change in temperature between daytime and nighttime.

244. There is no indication of rain having fallen until the days of Noah. This is evidently the meaning of the phrase that Noah was warned "of things not yet seen." Rain had not been seen before, but Noah believed the Word of God. This is the nature of faith-believing what we cannot explain, but believing it because God says it.

[ Heading No. 120 ]: [ 3 ]: The Motive Of Faith - Moved With Fear . . .

245. Commentary . . . After mentioning the basis of Noah's faith and then the nature of this faith, we notice the third thing mentioned-the motive of faith "moved with fear." Noah was afraid. When God told Noah about the wrath of God and that He was going to destroy millions of sinners for their rejection of the Word of God, it scared Noah. He was moved with fear. It has been said many times that to be afraid is to be "chicken" and soft. But fear is one of the basic emotions of every persons existence. The life of the average man is motivated by fear. We build homes because we fear exposure and cold. We work to obtain money to feed, house and clothe ourselves, because we fear the specter of hunger, cold, and discomfort. We spend billions for defense because we fear invasion. Almost all actions are motivated in a measure by fear.

246. It is not a sign of weakness to be afraid. All humanity fear pain, sickness, and death, or else, why all the doctors, drugstores, and hospitals? All humanity fear death whether they admit it or not. I have heard men boast and brag, blaspheme and curse, and laugh at God and Christianity; and I have heard many stories about people who are braggarts who whined and cringed like beaten puppies when facing eternity. Any person in their right mind must know some fear of the future and the wrath of God. Yes, Noah was moved with fear before the wrath of God, and it drove him to seek salvation. The wise will do as Noah did. The Bible says there is a Hell at the end of the sinners road. God's Word says:

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247. Scripture: " . . . it is appointed unto man once to die, but after this the judgment, { Hebrews 9:27 }." [ Why not discard your thin mask of audacity, braggadocio and false bravery, and acknowledge that you do fear God, and flee to Him for salvation! It is questionable if any man was ever saved without a certain amount of the element of fear. ]

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[ Heading No. 121 ]: [ 4 ]: Faith And Works. The 0peration 0f Faith - Prepared An Ark . . .

248. Commentary . . . The fourth thing we learn about Noah's faith is the exercise of his faith. It is contained in the phrase "prepared an Ark." Noah did something about his faith. "It was a working faith," for we read: Scripture: "By faith Noah, being warned of God . . . moved with fear, prepared an Ark . . ." Noah's faith was an active faith. It was faith that saved him, "and it was his work which proved his faith." Noah did not say: "Yes I believe a Flood is coming, and my only hope is to find refuge in the Ark," and then do nothing about it. Faith without works is dead. It is not enough to give mental assent to a warning of danger. One must act upon it.

249. There are teachers who will say that personal works has never had anything to do with salvation. This is true during this present grace generation, but it was not always true during the Old Testament period! During the Mosaic Law period, works had a great deal to do with salvation. For instance, animal offerings to the Lord God were performed as works of faith, the offering in itself saved no one, but faith plus works did. As we stated above: faith was a necessary ingredient to prove ones faith, faith without works did not count as far as salvation was concerned. This is easily proven when studying the old Mosaic Law. Read the above Bible verse again. And we repeat it: Scripture: "By faith Noah, being warned of God . . . moved with fear, prepared an Ark . . ."

250. May I ask you: Do you believe the Bible? Do you believe God is going to punish the wicked unless they repent and accept the remedy for sin? You may believe all this and be lost unless you personally receive Jesus Christ by an act of faith. It is often said: "One needs to do nothing to be saved," but the very opposite is true. You need to do nothing to be lost. You are a sinner and already condemned and already lost. When the Philippian said to Paul, "What must I do to be saved?" Paul did not say, "Do nothing," but he said: and again we repeat this verse . . .

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251. Scripture: " . . . Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved, and your house, { Acts 16:31 }." Commentary . . . If you believe that you do not have to do anything to be saved then read { John 3:3; - & - 3:16 } again to prove that you could be wrong in your thinking. You positively do have to do "two things" to be saved, "you absolutely must 'BELIEVE IN AND ACCEPT THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AS SAVIOUR TO BE SAVED!" Have you ever by a definite act of faith received Christ, and called upon Him and trusted Him for salvation? Is it so difficult to believe by pure faith and accept Jesus Christ as your Saviour and Lord?

[ Heading No. 122 ]: [ 5 ]: The Scope Of Faith. Included Noah's Family . . .

252. Commentary . . . This brings us to the scope of Noah's faith. Remember the seven aspects of Noah's faith-the foundation, the nature, the motive, the exercise, the scope, the testimony, and the reward of faith. We have considered the first four. Now the scope. We read that Noah: this same verse repeated . . .

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Scripture: "By faith Noah . . . prepared an Ark to the saving of his house [ family ]. . ., { Hebrews 11:7 }."

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253. Commentary . . . Noah was not satisfied to be saved alone, but was deeply concerned about his family. He expected his family to follow him, for he made provision for them in the Ark, "He prepared an Ark to the saving of his house." And this is one of the surest evidences of the genuineness of faith. When a person is truly saved, he becomes concerned about others, beginning at home. A parent who professes salvation but shows no concern over the fact his children are lost, will find it difficult to convince anyone else that he is saved.

254. We may indeed doubt the reality of a profession which does not show deep regard for the salvation of others. How often I have observed that immediately after a person accepted Christ he became thoughtful about a father, mother, boy, or girl who may not be saved. "Now I will not rest until I have brought mom and dad also," exclaimed one person as he got up from his knees after receiving Christ. Test yourself by this rule, and it will reveal the reality and depth of your spiritual life. Do you know that you were saved because someone was interested in you, prayed for you, and gave you the Word? Yes, Noah "prepared an Ark to the saving of his house." Are your children saved? Your brother. Your Sister?

[ Heading No. 123 ]: [ 6 ]: The Testimony Of Faith - Condemned The World . . .

255. Commentary . . . The sixth characteristic of the faith of Noah was his testimony to the world. Notice how our text states it : Scripture: "By faith Noah . . . prepared an Ark . . . by the which he condemned the world . . . { Hebrews 11:7 }." While the building of the Ark was for Noah's salvation, it was the condemnation of the unbelievers. Day after day Noah labored on the Ark; day after day he preached the coming judgment of the great Flood; day after day he must have pleaded with them to repent and believe.

256. There was no excuse for their perishing in the Flood, for they had-had ample warning. There stood the Ark nearing completion, as a daily reminder of the impending catastrophe. The building of the Ark was a testimony of the faith of Noah. Noah and his family believed the Word of God; all the others rejected it and perished in the Flood. Millenniums later, Jesus spoke practically the same message when He said:

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257. { V. 17 } Scripture: "For God sent not His Son unto the world to condemn the world; but that the world though Him might be saved.

258. { V. 18 }: He that believes on Him is not condemned: but he that believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

259. { V. 19 }: And this is the condemnation, that light [ spiritual knowledge ] is come into the world, and man loved darkness rather than light, { John 3:17-19 }."

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[ Heading No. 124 ]: [ 7 ]: The Reward Of Faith - Imputed Righteousness . . .

260. Commentary . . . One other feature of Noah's faith remains. We have seen the basis, the nature, the motive, the scope, the exercise, and the testimony of faith. Now we mention the last one, the reward of faith. Our text says that Noah, and we repeat these next verses for the last time: Scripture: " . . . became heir of the righteousness which is by faith, { Hebrews 11:7 }."

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261. { V. 38 } Scripture: "For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the Ark,

262. { V. 39 }: And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be, { Matthew 24:38-39 }."

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263. Commentary . . . Dear reader, be honest with yourself. Ask yourself the question: What or who rules me? Is it fear, jealously, hate, wrath, evil thoughts? Do you have to admit that evil desires rule your heart, and ignore the worries and the guilt which threaten to destroy you? You know, it is really true. You are a poor sinner! There is no need to hide behind your Christian Assembly, or your traditional Denominationalism, for Satan himself does not mind at all if you remain an Assembly member in good standing or that you are without a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. One thing the enemy does not want: namely, the fulfillment of the Scripture such as the following one that Paul stated when he said . . .

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264. Scripture: "And let the peace of God rule in your hearts [ minds ], to the which also you are called in one Body; and be you thankful, { Colossians 3:15 }."

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265. Commentary . . . Because, whenever the peace of the Lord rules in your mind and life then you have been liberated from all resignation, from all the complication of your own created philosophies, and you are free to serve a living and soon-returning Saviour. Then the dynamic power of God becomes effective in your life. It is the harmony and peace of your Liberator with all His unlimited power that will enable you to live a life purposefully for Him, because your entire life will then be aimed at God.

265. In order to be positive of your own Salvation, we would ask you to "Please" read and pray the following prayer at the end of the last part of this message, and if you really believe and accept in your heart [ mind ] what you have read and have spoken those words in the prayer with a contrite mind to God the Father, you will have become a Child of the living God!

End Of Part Six Of "The Days Of Noah." Continued 0n Part Seven Of This Subject.

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