Time with Jesus - 5
Nov 2013
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| Methuselah? |
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| Methuselah? |
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 (10th 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. (15th
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
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Matt 10:8
Freely you received, Freely give |
Time with Jesus – 5 Nov 2013
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Matt 10:8
Freely you received, Freely give |
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©
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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
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©
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INTRODUCTION
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DAILY
LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES
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METHUSELAH
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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
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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
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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
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27 Methuselah lived a total of 969 years.
And he died.
Genesis 5:27 MSG
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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