What was the point of the flood?

[for_his_glory]

If you read 2 Peter Chapter 2 this is the whole point of the flood as also in Sodom and Gomorrah when God destroyed these cities. The angels (sons of God) in Genesis 6:2 and Jude 1:6 who left their first estate (heaven) sinned against God and fell to earth and saw that the daughters of men were fair and married them which is where the Nephilim (giants) came from. While angels are spiritual beings (Hebrews 1:14), they can appear in human, physical form (Mark 16:5). The men of Sodom and Gomorrah wanted to have sex with the two angels who were with Lot (Genesis 19:1-5). It is possible that angels are capable of taking on human form, even to the point of replicating human sexuality and possibly even reproduction. Why do the fallen angels not do this more often? It seems that God imprisoned the fallen angels who committed this evil sin, so that the other fallen angels would not do the same (as described in Jude 6).

Noah being the only righteous man left on the earth, God spared him and his family and made a new covenant promise for the generations to come that He would never destroy the earth by flood again and set His bow in the sky for a sign of His covenant. Through Noah a new beginning was made as we can see many came back to God and even now by His grace and will continue to until that of the door of salvation being shut forever when Christ returns for his bride.

 

[Vanguard]

Noah being the only righteous man left on the earth, God spared him and his family and made a new covenant promise for the generations to come that He would never destroy the earth by flood again and set His bow in the sky for a sign of His covenant.

Or, that was merely their explanation for what a rainbow was, since they didn't know anything about light refraction. I said it in another thread...when early humans could not explain something, they often turned to the supernatural. Just saying...

The flipside is...God would know what light refraction is (since he is omniscient) and used a law of nature (that He created) to make the rainbow happen.

 

[Vanguard]

I am with Edward on this one. the Flood and the arc pointed to the Cross. the wood represented the Humanity of Christ, And like Edward said in His post, Satan knew that humanity was to bring The Savoir and crush his head(satans). So satan was trying to corrupt the blood line of humanity so Christ could not be born.(satan is no idiot). Satan tried murder first with Abel, and knew he was not going to get it done that way.

One problem with this...while I can respect your opinion and beliefs, if you quote the OT you really need to understand the Hebrew perspective since it was originally written in their language. There was a big thread on Satan. On OT accounts, he is nothing more than an angel, carrying out his assigned duties, given to him by God. The Hebrews did not believe in Satan as the devil, nor do they believe in the concept of Hell. I understand that most people are not on board with this idea, but the facts remain about the OT and the Hebrew view of Satan (Ha-SaTan). Be careful when using post hoc, ergo propter hoc.

 

[VirginShallConceive]

Or, that was merely their explanation for what a rainbow was, since they didn't know anything about light refraction. I said it in another thread...when early humans could not explain something, they often turned to the supernatural. Just saying...

Exactly. If the rainbow was so special, why would you be able to create one yourself with a prism(or even a garden hose, for that matter).

 

[VirginShallConceive]

Be careful when using post hoc, ergo propter hoc.

And by all means, never use anything by Procter & Gamble.

 

[WIP]

Exactly. If the rainbow was so special, why would you be able to create one yourself with a prism(or even a garden hose, for that matter).

God could have just created the ability of a rainbow to form period. By creating this ability, not only in the fact that water molecules refract light AND the refracted light can appear in these various colors AND our eye was designed to separate them AND our brain was designed to comprehend it AND we are given the ability to take pleasure in it, we can see the reminder of his promise in other things around us such as those you mention above.

 

[Davies]

According to the NIV version;

"So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them" - Genesis 6:7

If he regretted making them, why save Noah when God knew it would all go wrong again? Did he know it would all go wrong again? If the story is metaphorical, what do people take from it?

My first thought is what does the New Testament say about the flood?

Luke 17:26-30

New King James Version (NKJV)

26 And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: 27 They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; 29 but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.


I see a display of God's holiness in the flood, and a witness to us for what the revealing of Jesus will be like when He comes again.


Genesis 6:5

New King James Version (NKJV)

5 Then the Lord[a] saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.


I think this verse explains why the judgement of God came. Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD, but those who's thoughts were continually evil did not.

- Davies

 

[for_his_glory]

Or, that was merely their explanation for what a rainbow was, since they didn't know anything about light refraction. I said it in another thread...when early humans could not explain something, they often turned to the supernatural. Just saying...

The flipside is...God would know what light refraction is (since he is omniscient) and used a law of nature (that He created) to make the rainbow happen.

It's not so much the bow as a sign as man always seeks a sign of some kind, but what is important was the covenant God made with Noah and all the generations to come.

 

[for_his_glory]

Exactly. If the rainbow was so special, why would you be able to create one yourself with a prism(or even a garden hose, for that matter).

It never says rainbow in scripture, it says bow, but we only assume it was a rainbow.

 

[VirginShallConceive]

It never says rainbow in scripture, it says bow, but we only assume it was a rainbow.

From the context, the most probable thing being referred to seems to be a rainbow. If I had to name a second most probable, I guess that I would have to go with Sagittarius' bow.

I'm talkin':


Rainbow > 99%

Sagittarius' bow < 1%

All other possibilities < Sagittarius' bow

 

[Deborah13]

I don't believe that the story of the flood was metaphorical.


1 Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, 2 that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose. 3 And the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive[a] with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” 4 There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. 5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7 So the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. 9 This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God. 10 And Noah begot three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth./ (NKJV)

The sons of God are referred to other scriptures as angels. Notice there were giants from these unions. Yes the DNA of man was corrupted.

Noah found grace in the eyes of God. God says he was perfect. But what of the DNA of his wife and therefore his sons. Or even if they were pure what of his son's wives.
When Caleb went into the Promised Land he said there were giants there. David fought the giant Golith. So was there still DNA from the sons of God and humans and were they defeated by the Hebrews over the years?

 

[mondar]

My first thought is what does the New Testament say about the flood?

Luke 17:26-30

New King James Version (NKJV)

26 And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: 27 They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; 29 but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.


I see a display of God's holiness in the flood, and a witness to us for what the revealing of Jesus will be like when He comes again.

What you say I can agree with. The World Wide literal flood that wiped out most of the Human Race was a glorious display of Gods holiness and righteousness.

Genesis 6:5

New King James Version (NKJV)

5 Then the Lord[a] saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.


I think this verse explains why the judgement of God came. Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD, but those who's thoughts were continually evil did not.

- Davies

Interesting. I totally agree. I recognize that most or all other posts above take a totally different view of the nature of man then what you (and I) do. They seem to view man is some innocent creation that certainly never deserved Gods wrath or judgement. In fact mans nature is full of anger (Eph 2:3) and it is dead in sins and trespasses (Eph 2:1). The scripture you quote above demonstrates the justice of Gods wrath upon the evil generation of Adam. It says as you quoted that the "every intent of the thoughts of his heart only evil continually."

Of course then it is only a glorious God that will judge evil men; a God that is holy and righteous. Of course the question is not why did he judge Noah's generation, but the question is why does not not judge all of us. Of course as you also point out, Noah "found grace." That is not because Noah deserved it, earned it, but Noah found grace because God again wanted to show the glory of his Grace.

Well done.

 

[Deborah13]

What you say I can agree with. The World Wide literal flood that wiped out most of the Human Race was a glorious display of Gods holiness and righteousness.




Interesting. I totally agree. I recognize that most or all other posts above take a totally different view of the nature of man then what you (and I) do. They seem to view man is some innocent creation that certainly never deserved Gods wrath or judgement. In fact mans nature is full of anger (Eph 2:3) and it is dead in sins and trespasses (Eph 2:1). The scripture you quote above demonstrates the justice of Gods wrath upon the evil generation of Adam. It says as you quoted that the "every intent of the thoughts of his heart only evil continually."

Of course then it is only a glorious God that will judge evil men; a God that is holy and righteous. Of course the question is not why did he judge Noah's generation, but the question is why does not not judge all of us. Of course as you also point out, Noah "found grace." That is not because Noah deserved it, earned it, but Noah found grace because God again wanted to show the glory of his Grace.

Well done.

Just what we need another judgemental person assumming that they know what another person thinks when they have stated no such thing. Geesh

 

[elutz]

I believe the flood entered us into the first covenant with God. The error made is very common, you cannot judge the bible via the scientific method. The two are mutually exclusive. There is no scientific experiment for, the flood, Jesus or demons or anything biblical. It is by faith you accept those things. The Lord commands it. If he is Lord, then by definition he is right.

Likewise, I would not use theology or philosophy to conduct scientific research. Remember science by definition is apolitical and non linear. We all casually mix the two in our minds but u cannot.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

 

[wonby1]

According to the NIV version;

"So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them" - Genesis 6:7

If he regretted making them, why save Noah when God knew it would all go wrong again? Did he know it would all go wrong again? If the story is metaphorical, what do people take from it?

There is absolutely no question in my mind that a flood occured. The only question becomes, how big? After all, archeaology tells us that all ancient traditions in that region have a flood myth of some sort. They are not all the same, but all point to a flood.

The question beckons, if there was no flood then how did they even know what a flood was?

From my own personal view of scripture, I think it interesting that before the flood, men lived to be around a thousand years old. However, after the flood they only lived to be around 100 years old.

I think the message is obvious, whether you think it to be a real story or not. Can you imagine, say an Adolph Hilter, living close to a thousand years? Think of the evil he could inflict upon the world. As it was, his short stay of about 50 years was bad enough.

I personally believe that the atmosphere changed after the flood which caused people to live shorter lives. It was God's attempt to limit evil in the world.

As for the whole genocide angle, there is no getting around that children are extensions of ourselves. That means if we have high blood pressure, they will probably have the same. If we are alcoholics, they will probably be the same etc. Is it fair? Well, nothing is fair, that is just the way it is.

In the end, God needs no justification, he simply is and does what he deems to be right. Assuming that had he not undertaken such an action and humans had destroyed themselves, what would we say then?

 

[Davies]

Just what we need another judgemental person assumming that they know what another person thinks when they have stated no such thing. Geesh

Hi Deborah,

I was trying to figure out what you were referring to, then I saw the bold highlight of mondar's post. You're not judging mondar are you? I'm thinking if you agree with mondar regarding the nature of man and what he deserves, why would you think he's judgmental? Do you think I'm judgmental? I think we should leave room to ask questions to clarify what a person thinks, considering the medium we're using, rather than assuming what a person thinks.

I'll give it a try.

Mondar, why do you think that others seem to have the view that man is some innocent creation that never deserved God's wrath or judgment?

- Davies

 

[JCitoL]

the "flood" in the time of Noah was a spiritual process of cleaning the earth from the great spiritual/religious iniquity which proceeded then, because in those times there were many utmost spiritual servants/workers of the "darkness" and most the so-called ancient yogis such as krishna who were very dangerous to all humankind, that's why then the spiritual/religious violators/offenders were ejected in the so-called "outer darkness" although some of them came/got back afterward(s) by their servants on the earth

1 Peter 3:18-22 "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison(i.e. unto the unrighteous spiritual servants/workers in the "outer darkness"); Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark(i.e. while the covenant with Noah) was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water(i.e. by cleaning spirit). The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him."

Blessings

 

[wonby1]

I was taught that it was the removal of the firmament that was the probable cause for this. It filtered out many harmful rays from the sun and now that the firmament is gone because of the flood that mankind live shorter lives now.

Interestingly, no one really knows what is being talked about when the Bible says "firmament". I would say that this thinking is spot on. Something drastic changed after the flood.

 

[wonby1]

the "flood" in the time of Noah was a spiritual process of cleaning the earth from the great spiritual/religious iniquity which proceeded then, because in those times there were many utmost spiritual servants/workers of the "darkness" and most the so-called ancient yogis such as krishna who were very dangerous to all humankind, that's why then the spiritual/religious violators/offenders were ejected in the so-called "outer darkness" although some of them came/got back afterward(s) by their servants on the earth

1 Peter 3:18-22 "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison(i.e. unto the unrighteous spiritual servants/workers in the "outer darkness"); Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark(i.e. while the covenant with Noah) was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water(i.e. by cleaning spirit). The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him."

Blessings

Looking at the world the way it is, I'm thinking that God is long suffering with those that are wicked. However, when such wickedness reaches a limit, all bets are off. Then you have your Hitlers and Saddams judged OT style.

For example, I can only imagine the level of wickedness in Sodom when the men of the city forceably gang raped anyone who entered it.

 

[JCitoL]

Looking at the world the way it is, I'm thinking that God is long suffering with those that are wicked. However, when such wickedness reaches a limit, all bets are off. Then you have your Hitlers and Saddams judged OT style.

For example, I can only imagine the level of wickedness in Sodom when the men of the city forceably gang raped anyone who entered it.

you are right about the patience of God, however such a judgment of old testament's style (as it was also with muammar gaddafi) definitely is not the best which can be done for the bad people, but the greatest iniquity remains the spiritual/religious, that is why all punished people that have been pointed out in the Bible were spiritual/religious violators/offenders, even the people of sodom who worshipped the so-called (cult of) "molech", an evil spirit and idol which made its worshippers to treat the males/men (principally those who are not of its cult) as females

Blessings