Years of Ancient Times
A New Covenant in a New World with a New Patriarchy,
Followed by a New Anarchy, Requires New Genealogies
Noah was the only spiritual Father left standing in the Old World after the martyrdom or death of all the former Patriarchs. Meanwhile, after 500 years of travail without any lasting fruit, Noah acquired Shem, Ham, and Japheth (Gen. 5:32). Then, in a shocking turn of events, the LORD “repented” that he had “made man on the earth”, so He authored a plan to annihilate them (Gen. 6:5-7). However, because Noah “found grace in the eyes of the LORD” (Gen. 6:8), he went on to spiritually father Shem, Ham, and Japheth in a unique time of Biblical Church History that lasted 120 years in total. For, the next 120 years would be a time of divine striving unto the reprobation of each unresponsive backslider among the Sons of God, all of which would be immediately followed by a total annihilation (Gen. 6:1-7).
The divine operation of judgment that governed this unique period of 120 years in the Preflood World would eventually be repeated at other times in the near and distant future of Biblical History & Biblical Futurity. The same operation of divine pleading, reprobation, and annihilation is visibly manifest in the 40 years of the Exodus Generation in the Wilderness (Num. 14-15), and the 70 years of the Jews in the Spiritual Wilderness of Babylon (Ezek. 20:33-44). Even so, the withdrawing of the Spirit from the Sons of God in the Early Church is comparable to the withdrawing and departure of the Glory of God from the Tabernacle & the Temple in future generations (1 Sam. 4:15-22; Ps. 78:60; Jer. 7:11-16, 26:6-9, Ezek. 10:18-22, 11:22-25). Men would like to argue that the Sons of God simply cannot be the subjects of divine pleading, reprobation, and annihilation, but they are dead wrong. As a matter of fact, the Sons of God are the focal point of divine judgment in every case (1 Pet. 4:17-18): in the 120 years (Gen. 6:2, 4), the 40 years (Ex. 4:22-23, Deut. 1:31, 32:18-20), and the 70 years (Deut. 32:18-20, Isa. 1:2).
Noah was moved with fear at the divine tidings (Heb. 11:7). While in the process of building the Ark as a refuge to escape divine wrath (Gen. 6:14-22), the Almighty was in the process of withdrawing His “Spirit” from the rest of “the Sons of God” as they continued to forsake the “way” of the LORD and merit for themselves the death penalty (Gen. 6:2-4, 12; Num. 15:22-31, Heb. 10:28; 2 Chron. 15:2).
“And the LORD said, My Spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.” - Genesis 6:3
The divine act of withdrawing the Spirit from each backslidden Son of God happened over the space of 120 years until each one was reprobated, which means that the Almighty decisively refused to “strive” with them anymore (1 Cor. 9:27, 2 Cor. 13:5; Heb. 6:3-6, 10:26-29, 12:15-17; 2 Pet. 2:18-22). Therefore, when the allotted time of divine striving had reached its conclusion (Isa. 1:4-6, Jer. 5:1-5), Noah came into the Ark at God’s direction… “and the LORD shut him in” (Gen. 7:16).
“And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation…And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life. And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in.” - Genesis 7:1, 15-16
Upon narrowly escaping death with only a remnant of his family after 500 years of procreating, Noah was shut in by the LORD. Only 8 souls made it out of the storm alive. Left to themselves, without divine assistance, Noah’s family would not have been able to endure the cries and screams of reprobate family members, friends, acquaintances, and enemies helplessly clawing at the sides of the Ark! The Almighty shut in Noah, Shem, Ham, Japheth, and their wives, and the Almighty shut out everyone else. Thus begins a new Patriarchy descending from Noah. Before the flood, all of humanity could be traced back to Adam. After the flood, all of humanity can be traced back to Noah and then to Adam. Howbeit, despite the new beginning, the prophecy delivered in Genesis 3:15 still loomed overhead as an inescapable reality. The spiritual Seed of the Serpent was bound to arise again.
At the nativity of the Noahic Covenant while the Church was pure and life was beginning again in the New World, Noah’s family enjoyed the blessing of God as redeemed and faithful souls who withstood the entire world before the flood (Gen. 9:1, Heb. 11:7). Ah! What a happy time in Church History: a day in the life of Noah and his family at the base of the Mountains of Ararat (Gen. 8:4). However, for the brevity of the Genesis account, not much is known about these happy days of the Early Church in the post-flood world. But the little that is known about the years of ancient times is remarkably uniform. The overall divine message being conveyed for 12 chapters is marvelously harmonious.
Covering a total of 10 generations from Adam to Noah amounting to 1065 years, the beginning and end of the Old World is narrated in only 6 chapters of Holy Scripture. Then, as history transitions from Adam to Noah, the Adamic Covenant comes to fruition in the Noahic Covenant. Like Adam unveiled to his posterity how things were in the past, once upon a time in Eden before the fall, Noah unveils to his posterity how things were in the past, once upon a time before the flood. Covering a total of 10 generations from Noah to Abraham amounting to 892 years, the beginning and end of the next era in the New World is narrated in only 6 chapters of Holy Scripture.
Then, as history transitions form Noah to Abraham, the Noahic Covenant comes to fruition in the Abrahamic Covenant. Therefore, in 2023 A.B. (after the beginning), when Abraham finally answered the call at 75 years old as the new Patriarchal figurehead of the Church for ages to come (Rom. 4:16, Gal. 3:29), the mantle bestowed upon him had been worn a long time before him (Gen. 12:1-8). However, in order to discern this, the divine message of the storyline recorded in Genesis 6-12 must be understood.
In Genesis 6, the apostasy of the Old World is duly accounted for (Gen. 6:1-7) while the remnant is divinely commissioned to build the Ark (Gen. 6:8-22). This is progress. While apostasy grew and the Spirit of God withdrew, the Ark of God was being built to completion.
In Genesis 7, the remnant and each creature after their kind entered the Ark and were shut in while the flood came and destroyed everyone and everything else (Gen. 7:1-24). This is a lovely display of mercy and judgment (Ps. 104:34-35, Micah 6:8, Ps. 101:1).
In Genesis 8, the floodwaters receded (Gen. 8:1-14) and Noah’s family came out of the Ark (Gen. 8:16-19), and then they offered a sacrifice to God in the New World (Gen. 8:20-22). Thus begins the Noahic Covenant. Typologically speaking, this is a triumphant demonstration of the resurrection and the final regeneration (Rom. 8:18-25, Rev. 21:1-8).
In Genesis 9, the Almighty made a Covenant with Noah (Gen. 9:1-17); however, despite the blessedness of the occasion (Gen. 9:1), there is a looming sense of curse on the horizon. No closure is offered in this chapter! Noah and his family don’t live happily ever after as the saints will one day in the New Heaven and Earth at the restitution of all things (Acts 3:21, Rev. 21:1-8). The narrator emphatically mentions a very significant detail in Genesis 9:18-19, namely that “Ham is the father of Canaan”, before immediately describing how Ham, the youngest son of Noah, fell into sin, became a reprobate, and was excommunicated from the Church just like Cain was in the Old World (Gen. 9:20-27). This disastrous moral failure perpetuates the problem until justice calls for another End to the World (1 Cor. 10:11, 2 Pet. 3:1-14).
In Genesis 10-11, without any delay, the post-flood genealogies of the wicked and the righteous are reckoned up for 10 generations in harmony with the preflood genealogies reckoned up in Genesis 4-5.
Like Genesis 4:1-16 and Genesis 4:25-5:5 provide a context for the genealogies from Adam to Noah found in Genesis 5:6-32, Genesis 9:18-29 and Genesis 11:1-9 provide a context for the genealogies from Noah to Abraham found in Genesis 10:1-32 and Genesis 11:10-32. Our interpretation of these genealogies must be coherent with these vital passages of Scripture. Paying close attention to what happened with Cain, Abel, Seth, and Enos was key to understanding the divine message in the genealogy of Seth. Even so, paying close attention to what happened with Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth early on, and what happened later on with Nimrod, Canaan (& the Canaanites), Eber (& the Hebrews), is key to understanding the divine message in the genealogy of Shem (& the Semites).
The author of Genesis 6-12 only expanded and amplified the doctrines already established in Genesis 1-6. Namely, I speak of the doctrines of salvation and damnation pertaining to Adam and Noah and their descendants. With unquestionable clarity, the language of salvation and damnation in the Kingdom of God was communicated through how the Covenantal blessings and curses were bestowed upon the righteous and the wicked following the contours of spiritual or carnal fatherhood and spiritual or carnal sonship.