METHUSELAH

Time with Jesus - 5 Nov 2013

Hi all,

Methuselah?

Today I thought it would be interesting to have a look at Dr John D Morris’ comments about Methuselah. Dr Morris is the President of the Institute for Creation Research. It follows he is a creationist rather than an evolutionist. His comments on the death of Methuselah are well worth reading. 

Methuselah?

They are however, his thoughts and are thus not to be understood as a doctrine. Perhaps the most fascinating is that Methuselah may also have perished in the flood. 

His comments on the sinful condition of man at that time and why only 8 close family members survived the flood, also challenges conventional thought. It may be speculation, but it’s the type I particularly enjoy; thought that challenges our conventional thinking. The Institute for Creation Research can be found on www.icr.org

Tortoise - Longevity

How Did Methuselah Die? by Dr John D. Morris Ph. D.

One of the favourite characters in the Old Testament is Methuselah, who lived 969 years (Genesis 5:27), longer than anyone else recorded. His father was Enoch, of whom it is said he “walked with God” (5:24) but who was taken to heaven without dying at 365 years. Methuselah’s son Lamech died a few years before the Flood at 777 years (5:31) after bearing Noah.

When Methuselah was born, his godly father must have prophetically known of coming things for his son’s name means “when he dies, judgment,” and interestingly enough, Methuselah died in the same year God judged the sinful world with the great Flood of Noah’s day.

There are many details of the Flood account about which we can only speculate, but perhaps Noah was given up to 120 years of warning that the Flood was coming (6:3), and we are told he was a “preacher of righteousness” (II Peter 2:5) during the building, yet only “eight souls were saved” (I Peter 3:20). 

Why didn’t he influence more people? His faithful obedience in building a huge boat on dry land must have been both attention-getting and a source of conviction to the surrounding sinful people. We might suspect that Lamech and Methuselah espoused the same testimony, yet only the eight close family members boarded the Ark.

Since Methuselah died the same year of the Flood, some have wondered if he was likewise an unbeliever and perished in the Flood waters. Of his spiritual condition we know little, other than that he was the son of godly Enoch, and his son Lamech prophesied with spiritual insight at the birth of Noah (Genesis 5:29).

Here are a few more hints to ponder. God had promised that “the seed of the woman,” Eve (3:15) would one day destroy Satan, and ever since Satan, in his hatred for God and His image in man, had schemed to thwart God’s plan (4:7, 6:2). Furthermore, man thought of “only evil continually” (6:5) and “the earth [was] filled with violence through them” (6:13). If left unchecked, there soon would be no survivor of Eve remaining.

Certainly the violence took the lives of many. Animals became violent and bloodthirsty. Wars must have been rampant as man’s sinful nature had full sway.

Would we not be correct in assuming that the violence was directed toward believers most of all? Perhaps Noah had many more converts over the years, and the only ones left were the eight mentioned. And this may have been what happened to Methuselah. Perhaps he was the last martyr, and when he was killed, God’s patience was over. In order to preserve mankind, and in particular Eve’s lineage through whom the Redeemer would one day come, God’s justice was finally unleashed.

969 years is a very long time. To put it in perspective, if we subtract 969 from 2013 we arrive at 1044. In those days, Edward the Confessor had been king for about 1 year. We would have been about 4 years too late to see Lady Godiva riding naked on horseback round Coventry to force her husband, the Earl of Mercia, to lower taxes (10^th July 1040) and too late to be able to give Shakespeare an eyewitness account of King Duncan I being killed in battle against his first cousin and rival Macbeth. (15^th August 1040) Macbeth succeeded him as King of Scots.

We may also have been on Runnymede Island on 15 June 1215 to see King John seal the Magna Carta! Mind you, King John may not have approved our presence. We may also have watched Jan van Riebeeck land at the Cape on 6 April 1652. In addition, we may have been present at the Gasthof zum Pommer on 20 April 1889, an inn located at Salzburger to witness the birth of Adolf Hitler!

The point of all this is that although it seems to be incredible, the truth is, Christians can expect to be with the Lord Jesus in His millennial reign; in other words, “alive” with Him for ±1000 years. 

What can we expect? Will there be memorable incidents similar to the ones referred to above? I know we will want to spend as much “time” as possible with Him as we can. But what else will we be expected to do? It’s a topic I’ve never really thought about in any depth. 

If we are ruling and reigning with Him, it can hardly be 1000 year praise and worship session! It’s not the sort of “thing” a bride and her husband would be wanting! Not in my opinion anyway. I rather suspect we will spend a lot of “time” learning about Him, His Father and the Holy Spirit. We’ll be busy! God doesn’t approve slothfulness!

Shalom

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – 5 Nov 2013			Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give
©	These devotionals are the intellectual property of Jim Strickland and copyright protected. You are welcome to copy and distribute them to anyone provided it is for non-commercial Christian purposes					©
INTRODUCTION			DAILY LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES	METHUSELAH
Anyone remember reading Oliver Twist? Well, if you haven’t read it, did you see the movie? I regret to say it’s the only Dickens book I’ve read. Not that I’ve a problem with Dickens. He was a brilliant writer. My grandfather had a library which included every book Dickens wrote. Unfortunately, for me, when it came to a choice between Dickens and Springbok Radio, Dickens was a non-starter. When it came to books and their characters, I preferred young Teddy Lester to young Oliver Twist! What most Christians don’t know is the possible connection between Oliver’s diet and longevity. You may remember that when young Oliver “stood up for himself” Mr Bumble stated that Oliver’s behaviour was attributed to meat! Now I rather doubt Dickens was familiar with the possible reasons for longevity, or in our case “shortevity”. (A new Jim type word) But there just might be a case to put forward. We are all aware that before the flood, people seemed to live a lot longer than they do now. Scripture tells us Methuselah lived 969 years. No one can say for certain why? Perhaps God wanted us to live that long? In this regard an analysis of the lifespan of Adam, Methuselah and Noah’s sons tells us Methuselah was a contemporary of them all. Of course they may not have known each other. But the fact remains Adam was alive when Methuselah was born. Furthermore, Methuselah died when the flood came. So he may have known Noah and his three sons! Incidentally, Noah was 4 when Adam died. So much for today’s bit of useless information! Why did everyone live so long? One view is that it took Satan all those years to work out how to kill Adam. Another view is tied up with the flood. We understand there was a canopy over the earth. Something a bit like a UV filter preventing harmful sunlight falling on the inhabitants. It’s thought that this canopy contained water which was released with the flood. Another thought is that after the flood, man started to eat meat. Before that time it was forbidden (see Gen 9:3) After the flood, man’s lifespan slowly reduced. Why? Sure, God had so willed it. But God would most likely have used a “natural mechanism” to achieve this purpose. The absence of the canopy could well have been a major contributing factor. We are informed that if a similar flood occurred today; taking the water content of the polar ice-caps into consideration, the water level could be as much as 7km above Mt Everest. It is suggested the run off from the land as the water levels retreated, could account for many of the geological features on our planet. But could the effect of meat in our diet perhaps also be a contributing factor? So was Mr Bumble right after all? Yes? No? Can you help? No! Neither can I! Jim & Phyllida Strickland			31 Those who use the things of the world should not become all wrapped up in them. The world as it now exists is passing away. 1 Corinthians 7:31 NIrV	Methuselah: The oldest man who lived upon this earth. “It will happen when he dies” they called him from his birth. His father’s name was Enoch and sixty five years old. He knew a flood was coming, for that’s what he was told. Nine sixty nine years later, when he had passed away, The rain-drops started falling, upon that very day! At least that’s what is stated and what we understand. For Noah and his animals, were in the Ark as planned. That’s what the Bible tells us and I believe it’s true. No matter what the scientists will ever say to you. For almost a millennium, the people had been warned. But sadly, God’s opinion was put aside and scorned. “What is this funny substance? This “stuff” that you call rain? We’ve never even seen it, so Noah, tell us plain, What is going to happen? Tell us; we insist. What’s this about rain water, there’s only been a mist That comes up from fountains and waters all the ground. (Gen 2:6) There is no other method that we have seen or found.” Noah tried to tell them but they did not believe. They thought he was a crazy man; that he had been deceived. But when it started raining and the great flood waters rose. Everyone was washed away. Everyone who chose, To ignore God’s warning, were swept away and drowned. Almost twelve months later, the Ark returned to ground. God is very patient. He waited all those years. Methuselah’s whole lifetime, He warned them, it appears. But did they pay attention? It’s clear that they did not. So they deserved the judgement, that all of them then got. We try and find the reason, why people had to face, Such terrible destruction to wipe out the human race. Genesis has answers; in chapter six verse five, The things that men imagined, or thought while still alive, Consistently and totally, was evil through and through. The planet was polluted. What could the Lord God do? It needed disinfecting, so He could start again, Without all the descendants of the wicked line of Cain. Thus Noah and his family would be the one blood line, Through whom God would send Jesus, the Son of God Divine! Jim Strickland Written 5th November 2012
			27 Methuselah lived a total of 969 years. And he died. Genesis 5:27 MSG
			9 Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honoured them. 10 And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field. 11 The hot sun rises and the grass withers; the little flower droops and falls, and its beauty fades away. In the same way, the rich will fade away with all of their achievements. James 1:9-11 NLT
			14 You don't know the first thing about tomorrow. You're nothing but a wisp of fog, catching a brief bit of sun before disappearing. James 4:14 MSG
			17 The world and all it’s wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out--but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity. 1 John 2:17 MSG
			4 "LORD, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered--how fleeting my life is. Psalms 39:4 NLT
			3 When people are saying, "Everything is peaceful and secure," then disaster will fall on them as suddenly as a pregnant woman's labor pains begin. And there will be no escape. 4 But you aren't in the dark about these things, dear brothers and sisters, and you won't be surprised when the day of the Lord comes like a thief. 1 Thessalonians 5:3-4 NLT