Introduction.
It all began with something as innocent as a piece of fruit.
When God created humans, He gave them free will, because God is not God if He does not give humans the right to choose what they want to do. God knew that things could go wrong, terribly wrong, but God wants people to worship Him because they love Him, not because they are afraid of Him.
When humans were created, God said this to them: … … Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which [is] upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which [is] the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat, (Genesis 1:29).
In chapter 2, we read in the complementary account of creation the following: The Lord God commanded Adam, saying: And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die, (Genesis 2:16-17).
When we come to chapter 3 of Genesis, we find the following conversation between a serpent (Satan) and the woman (Eve): … …
Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree, which [is] in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it*, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree [was] good for food, and that it [was] pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make [one] wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat, (Genesis 3:1-6).
* God did not say that they should not touch it, that is what Eve adds, and thus she distorts what God had said. This had dramatic consequences. Now Satan comes up with the worst lie ever told: Ye shall not surely die, and Satan adds that they would be like God if they ate the fruit of this tree. Before Eve set out to talk to Satan, she was not tempted by this tree. To her, it was like all the other trees in the garden, and it was only when Satan told her his lies that she saw that the tree was good for food, a delight to the eyes and a tree to be desired.
In other words, it was the woman’s desire and appetite that led her to fall. We should take that to heart. The very day that Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden tree, sin began to develop, and when sin gets a foothold, it develops at almost supersonic speed.
Let’s look at what happened in the Garden of Eden after they ate the forbidden fruit.
And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where [art] thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I [was] naked; and I hid myself. And he said, Who told thee that thou [wast] naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest [to be] with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the LORD God said unto the woman, What [is] this [that] thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat, (Genesis 3:9-13).
We see that the first thing God does after the people have sinned against Him is to call out to them: Where art thou? Adam answers that they were afraid of God, which is because they had done what God said they should not do. We see from the text that they are not willing to admit their guilt but indirectly blame God. Adam says the woman that You gave me, and in this there is implicitly the woman that You created. Eve responds similarly and says that the serpent deceived her, but in reality she says the serpent that You created.
A few years later when their two sons Cain and Abel were to sacrifice on their own, we see that sin has taken control over some people. Cain killed his brother Abel. And it all started with a fruit and one person’s desire and appetite. After this, sin continued to develop, and everything that is holy to God has been dishonoured by sinful people.
Even though God put an end to the development of sin with the great flood, it took only two generations after the flood before it was as bad as before the flood. Although the eight people who boarded the ark were righteous in God’s eyes, they carried with them an invisible passenger, the memories of the time before the flood. The new generations were obviously told what had happened to warn them not to go their own way, but Nimrod went his own way, and the merry-go-round was on again.
In our time, there is no longer any limit to sin and sinful actions. Not even human imagination can set limits to what one can allow oneself to do. Paul warns of what would come in the end times in his second letter to Timothy: This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth, (Timothy 3:1-7).
What is Paul really trying to tell us through these verses? What Paul says applies both to his time and to our time. He warns Timothy that things will get worse and worse in the time to come, and that it will continue like this until Jesus returns. If we dare to look out of our living room window, we see a world that is exactly as Paul described it would be.
I have emphasized those who are without natural affection, those who are incontinent and those who are lovers of pleasures only to show that it is the same in our time as it has been since that fateful day in the Garden of Eden. Almost no one has any form of control over their more or less animalistic desires, and the appetite has turned humanity into gluttons. They call themselves enjoyers of life, but that is wrong. We can only enjoy life together with our God and Creator.
All Bible texts are from the King James Version 1611/1769 unless otherwise stated.
1) From creation to the flood.
What people do.
And God saw that the wickedness of man [was] great in the earth, and [that] every imagination of the thoughts of his heart [was] only evil continually, (Genesis 6:5).
This was not an impulsive act of God. He gave Noah the task of building an ark and preaching the coming judgment. In his preaching, Noah pointed to repentance and conversion and said that all who turned to God could be in the ark when the great flood came. In this way, they would save their lives in faith. But no one listened to Noah. He said that water would come down from the sky, it would rain as he called it, and it was something that had never happened before. Perhaps it is not so surprising that they did not believe him. Noah spent 120 years building the ark, and all the while he preached repentance and conversion and the pending judgment on all who did not come aboard the ark.
Then the day came when the rain began to pour down from the sky, and Noah, his family and seven pairs of all clean animals and one pair of all unclean animals went aboard the ark. Then God closed the door to the ark. The door of grace was closed and all who were outside perished in the violent waters that covered all the land and all the mountains.
Many will probably say that this is completely impossible, because in our time we have mountains that are almost 9000 meters high. The answer to that objection is that before the flood there was only one continent, which is today called Pangea. This continent consisted of rolling hills and with mountains that were not nearly as high as they are today. A lot happened to this planet during the flood, and in the time after, which led to the great upheavals where high mountain ranges and deep valleys were formed. The sea that surrounded this supercontinent was also not as deep as it is today, it was quite shallow, perhaps 50 meters deep. Today there is a depth of the ocean that goes all the way down to a depth of 11034 meters. This depth of the ocean is found in the Mariana Trench, which is located some distance off Japan and the Philippines.
All the water that covered the earth during the flood had to find its way somewhere, and this is where we see Pangaea breaking up and mountain ranges and ocean depths forming so that the water can recede so that dry land can once again be made.
2) After the flood and before the cross.
What is it that people do?
The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant, (Isaiah 24:5).
After the waters had receded after the flood, God made a covenant with mankind when He smelled the pleasing aroma of Noah’s offerings, and we read the following: And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart [is] evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more everything living, as I have done. While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease, (Genesis 8:20-22) … // … And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there anymore be a flood to destroy the earth, (Genesis 9:11).
We also see in Genesis 9:1 that God blessed Noah and his family and told them the same thing He told Adam and Eve: Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.
But, as we know, it was not long before sin had once again gained a foothold among mankind. After Nimrod grew up, he continued the rebellion that Cain had started shortly after creation. About Nimrod it is written: And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah, And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same [is] a great city, (Genesis 10:8-12).
As we saw earlier, God gave Noah and his family the same command that He gave to Adam and Eve – replenish the earth. God also said that He would never again destroy mankind with a flood.
But as we see, Nimrod opposes God. He begins to build cities and the first city he built was Babel, which eventually got the name Babylon. As we see, Nimrod founded at least 8 cities.
In Babel, people began to build a tower that would reach all the way to heaven so that they could save themselves from the next flood, and to make a name for themselves! This was the exact opposite of what God wanted people to do. God had even said that He would never again destroy all flesh with a new flood.
If we look at the cities that Nimrod founded, I find it most interesting to look at what Babel and Nineveh have meant to God’s people throughout time. The wickedness that appeared in Cain’s life, and the opposition he showed against God, was initially only directed against God. But as people became many on earth, we see that they began to turn their wickedness also against those people who were faithful to God.
When Nimrod founded Babel and began to build a tower there, it was primarily to show his contempt for God and that God said people should live scattered throughout the earth and not live in cities, and that God said He would never again destroy the whole earth with a flood. But gradually this wickedness was turned against God’s faithful people for two reasons. 1) to destroy God’s people, and 2) to bring grief to God by harming His faithful people.
About this time, the Creator was forgotten by most people on earth, and sun worship took over. Noah lived 350 years after the great flood, and he was still faithful to God and preached God’s grace, telling everyone he met what God had done for him and his family before, during and after the flood. But as already said, most of them fell away from faith in the true God, the Creator.
Abraham was born about 50 years before Noah died, and we can assume that Abraham had the joy of hearing Noah’s preaching. It is clear from the story of Abraham that he did not receive satisfactory answers from the pagan gods that his family worshiped, so after he had heard Noah’s preaching a flame was lit in his heart and a desire to get to know the real God, our great Creator, was born.
Abraham eventually met God, and it changed his life. He began to follow God, and as long as Abraham, his son Isaac, his grandson Jacob and his great-grandson Joseph lived, Abraham and his descendants generally had a good relationship with God. Then Israel ended up in Egypt because of a drought in Canaan. There they were eventually made slaves shortly after Joseph died. That was when the apostasy began, and since then God’s people in Old Testament times have had an ambivalent relationship with God. It has been like a roller coaster ride, where Israel at times stayed close to God while at other times they have been far, very far away from Him.
It got so bad that even the kings of Israel and Judah built altars to the pagan gods. This started while Solomon, the wisest of all men, was still king. He built altars to the gods of many of his wives and concubines.
In the time of the prophet Elijah, Israel’s relationship with God had reached a low point, and wickedness had gone so far that King Ahab, who allowed himself to be dominated by his queen Jezebel, who was a Phoenician princess and priestess of Baal, built altars to Baal and erected Asherah poles to please his queen.
Let us now look at two of the cities that Nimrod founded.
Nineveh. This city grew very large, and in Jonah’s time it must have been the largest city of its time. It was so large that it was three days’ journey long, and the prophet Jonah went a full day’s journey into the city when he was to preach the coming judgment upon the city: Jona 3,3-4 So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days’ journey. And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown, (Jonah 3:3-4).
In the 8th century BC, Assyria, with Nineveh as its capital, was the leading power in the world, that is, the area that the Bible deals with, and in the years 722-721 Assyria went to war against Israel, the Northern Kingdom or the Ten Tribes. Most of those who were not killed were taken captive to a place beyond the Euphrates River. Since then, they have essentially disappeared into the oblivion of history. No one knows where the descendants of the ten tribes are today.
Babel also grew, and eventually it was named Babylon. Babylon became the second great power in the region, and eventually Babylon conquered Assyria, and in the year 605 King Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem, and Judea suffered the same fate as Israel. Twice more, the Babylonian soldiers are in Judea because of “disobedience” to Babylon, and in the years 597 and 586, most of the surviving Jews were taken captive to Babylon.
Although Babylon conquered Judea with divine help, the Babylonians were still in opposition to God and had hated God’s people. This was not so visible during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, but under the following two kings, Nabonidus and Belshazzar, who were co-regents for a period for a time, this became more evident. Later, as we know, Babylon has been used as a symbol of all wickedness, opposition to God and oppression of God’s faithful people.
In Babylon, a prophecy was given to the Jews that they had been given a grace period of 490 years. This prophecy is found in Daniel 9:24-27 and is referred to as 70 weeks. When it is a prophecy, the time cannot be interpreted literally, and in this case it is 70 weeks of years. A week is seven days, and 70 weeks is 490 days, and according to the year/day principle, it becomes 490 years. The Jews were unable to put an end to paganism, and by the end of the prophecy they demanded that their Savior and Creator, Jesus Christ, be crucified. This was the extent of God’s chosen people’s wickedness. Wickedness took complete control of God’s chosen people by the time of Jesus. This was the very culmination of the Jews as God’s chosen people, because they said they had no king but Caesar.
And so Israel and Judah’s relationship with God wavered back and forth, even after they returned from the Babylonian captivity they wavered back and forth. We clearly see that wickedness had prevailed over God’s chosen people.
What was God’s response to the wickedness that grew up just after the flood?
Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee, (Genesis 12:1).
When people rebelled against God again only a short time after the flood, God raised up a man who would be the ancestor of God’s people throughout all time. In the first centuries until Jesus’ death on the cross, these were Abram’s (Abraham’s) fleshly descendants, and after the cross, Abraham’s spiritual descendants – the Christians.
The questions we must ask ourselves are: How did Abraham respond to God when God told him to leave his father’s house and all his family? Did he ask for time to say goodbye to the whole family? Did he refuse to obey God’s command? No, far from it. It is truly impressive what Abraham did. He packed up everything he owned, took his wife and his nephew Lot, his servants, and all his livestock, and set out on a journey without knowing where he would end up. Talk about trusting God! This should be an example for all people of all times to follow.
Another question we should consider is why God asked Abraham to leave his family. Was it to test Abraham’s obedience, or was there another reason?
I believe the same principle applies today as well. Abraham was not satisfied with his life; he had no children despite the fact that he had probably sacrificed to many of the idols that his family and his neighbours worshipped. After Abraham heard Noah preach God’s grace, he began to seek the Creator with all his heart. We can say he was converted.
When I was converted and accepted Jesus as my Savior, I had only two things to do. I had to burn all bridges to the old life, otherwise the old life I was living would soon catch up with me and tear me out of God’s hands. This is probably what God had in mind when He asked Abraham to leave his home. He had to separate himself from those who could influence him in a negative way. Abraham could not have become the ancestor of God’s people if he had stayed with his closest family in Haran.
God raises up Abraham.
I will make of you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great. And you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed, (Genesis 12:2-3).
Because Abraham answered God the way he did, God tells him that he will be blessed, and that Abraham’s name will be great. Unlike Nimrod who wanted to make a name for himself, it is God the Creator who makes Abraham’s name great on earth. Nimrod perished because of his selfishness, while Abraham, who loved God and worshipped Him, will be in the first resurrection and inherit both eternal life and the kingdom God promised him.
We should also learn from another thing Abraham did regularly. Every time they camped during their journey, Abraham built an altar to God and offered sacrifices of thanksgiving to Him. We should also do this in a figurative sense. We do not offer animal sacrifices in our time, but we need to bring our daily sacrifices which consist of our prayers to God the Father, prayed in the name of Jesus. Every day when we wake up, and every time we have time, and every night when we go to bed, we should thank the Father for all His rich gifts, protection, and all the blessings He showers upon us every single day.
After the captivity in Egypt.
After Israel was freed from slavery in Egypt and they had taken possession of the promised land, their religious life went in waves. There were periods when they were close to God, and there were periods when they were far from Him. God raised up judges to lead His people, and He raised up prophets to chastise His people and bring them back to the right path. Then they demanded to have a king over them, like the neighboring nations, and even though God wanted to be their King, He let them have a king. And all the time they moved further and further away from the Lord-
Just before Israel was to take Canaan, Moses gave one of his last speeches to the people where he reminded them that obedience and blessings are connected, and that disobedience and curses are connected, (see Deuteronomy chapter 28) The first 14 verses are about being obedient and show what blessings God wants to give his people, but the rest, a whole 54 verses, are about the punishment of disobedience (curse). This was not said because God wants to punish his people, but disobedience to God and God’s commandments will always have consequences for those who disobey.
Then came the time when Israel and Judah’s guilt for sin was complete. The ten-tribe kingdom, Israel, was whispered out of history by Assyria, and Judah were taken captive to Babylon. Now began the Babylonian captivity that lasted from 605 BC to 457 BC. In the year 457, the Jews received permission from the Medo-Persian king Artaxerxes to return home to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple, and they were equipped with all the necessary powers, both religious, political, economic and military powers.
Now a 490-year probationary period began for the Jewish nation. Would they turn away from all wickedness and seek the Lord, or would they continue their apostasy? Daniel 9:24-27 is a prophecy that tells of this. Unfortunately for the Jews, they failed to fulfil God’s desire for complete surrender to Him. Instead, they demanded that God’s Son, Jesus Christ, be crucified, and in this way they fulfilled this prophecy.
After Jesus died on the cross and the gospel was given to the Gentiles, one would think that the Christians, God’s people, would have learned from history. Let’s look at what has happened since the cross.