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Why did God wait for him_ The man who NEVER DIED · truthunedited

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  Speaker 1: Navigating through the ancient pages of the Bible, we encounter
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  Speaker 1: an incredible character who lived for nine hundred and sixty
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  Speaker 1: nine years. Methuselah becomes the human who lived the longest
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  Speaker 1: as mentioned in the Bible. Imagine all that he would
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  Speaker 1: have seen, experienced, and learned in those years. However, his
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  Speaker 1: story goes beyond numbers, unraveling mysteries that many overlook in
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  Speaker 1: the context of a long and extraordinary life, divine lineages,
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  Speaker 1: and events that shaped the trajectory of humanity. Methuselah's life
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  Speaker 1: has a connection between the divine and the human. Let's
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  Speaker 1: explore the unique relationship with his father, Enuch, the prophet
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  Speaker 1: who never died, and his influence on the lineage that
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  Speaker 1: culminates in Noah, the Builder of the Ark. Methuselah occupies
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  Speaker 1: a unique position in the intricate genealogical tree intertwined in
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  Speaker 1: the early chapters of Genesis. Born into a lineage marked
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  Speaker 1: by extraordinary longevity and divine encounters, his story connects the
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  Speaker 1: worlds of man and God. In this period, people lived
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  Speaker 1: for hundreds of years in a different era when humanity
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  Speaker 1: was still intimately connected to its origins and the world
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  Speaker 1: was younger and fresher. Adam and Eve had other sons
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  Speaker 1: and daughters after Cain and Abel, and with the growth
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  Speaker 1: of their family, civilization was born. The Bible states that
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  Speaker 1: after becoming the father of Seth, Adam lived eight hundred
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  Speaker 1: years and had other sons and daughters Genesis five, verse four.
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  Speaker 1: As generations passed, each man fathered children and taught them
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  Speaker 1: about the earth, how to cultivate the land, care for animals,
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  Speaker 1: and connect with God. Methuselah had a father named Enoch,
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  Speaker 1: who was different from others of his time. Unlike many
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  Speaker 1: who strayed from virtuous paths, Enoch had a unique and
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  Speaker 1: deep relationship with God. Enoch was a prophet and unique
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  Speaker 1: because he never died. He lived sixty five years, fathered Methuselah,
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  Speaker 1: and afterward Enoch walked with God for three hundred years,
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  Speaker 1: having sons and daughters. All the days of Enoch were
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  Speaker 1: three hundred and sixty five years, and God took him
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  Speaker 1: Genesis five, verses twenty one to twenty four. This implies
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  Speaker 1: a close relationship between Enoch and God, indicating that Enoch
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  Speaker 1: lived in a righteous family. Methuselah blessed with a life
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  Speaker 1: that almost reached a millennium, became the grandfather of another
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  Speaker 1: significant figure in the Bible, Noah, in a world that
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  Speaker 1: was losing its way. Lammik lived one hundred and eighty
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  Speaker 1: two years, fathered a son and named him Noah Genesis five,
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  Speaker 1: verses twenty eight to twenty nine. Noah, as many know,
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  Speaker 1: was chosen by God to build an ark, insuring the
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  Speaker 1: survival of humanity during the Great Flood. In simple terms,
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  Speaker 1: Methuselah was the son of a man who walked so
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  Speaker 1: closely with God that he did not die in the
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  Speaker 1: un usual way. He was the grandfather of the man
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  Speaker 1: who built a massive vessel to save animals and humans
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  Speaker 1: from a giant flood. The story of this family is
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  Speaker 1: not just about longevity, but about divine purpose and destiny.
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  Speaker 1: Methuselah lived in a time of wickedness, and his father
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  Speaker 1: Enoch warned the world about a devastating event. This is
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  Speaker 1: evidenced in the New Testament, where Judas records a statement
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  Speaker 1: of Enoch, the father of Methuselah. In Jude verses fourteen
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  Speaker 1: to fifteen. Enoch prophesied about the coming of the Lord
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  Speaker 1: with thousands of his saints to judge all and condemn
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  Speaker 1: them for ungodly deeds and defiant and wicked words. The
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  Speaker 1: message was that God would soon come to judge and
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  Speaker 1: take action against all forms of ungodliness. Enoch, at sixty
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  Speaker 1: five years had a son, and God gave a name
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  Speaker 1: to this boy. When he would die, it would happen.
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  Speaker 1: I'm familiar with how names work in Hebrew and in
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  Speaker 1: the Bible. Names in the Bible are not just descriptive,
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  Speaker 1: they also carry authority. For example, the name that God
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  Speaker 1: gave to Adam meant of the earth, describing where Adam
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  Speaker 1: was formed. In Biblical narratives, a person's name often reflects
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  Speaker 1: their role, like Noah, whose name means rest and represents
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  Speaker 1: his significance. Names in the Bible can signify human aspirations,
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  Speaker 1: divine revelations, or serve as symbols to portray prophecies. I've
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  Speaker 1: received a unique and impressive name for a young man.
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  Speaker 1: It's crucial to remember that the name was not in English,
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  Speaker 1: but in a Semitic language. Are you familiar with what
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  Speaker 1: it means in the Semitic language? It's Methuselah. And Enoch
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  Speaker 1: knew that when his son died, God would delay the
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  Speaker 1: world because God is so patient. Methuselah lived longer than
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  Speaker 1: any other person ever recorded because of this fact, isn't
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  Speaker 1: that amazing? After nine hundred and sixty nine years, Methuselah
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  Speaker 1: passed away, and the next day it began to rain heavily,
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  Speaker 1: and the floods began. Enoch's great grandson, Methusalah's grandson, was
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  Speaker 1: named Noah. Not only is he known for his remarkable age,
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  Speaker 1: but also for the intriguing meaning behind his name. The Bible,
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  Speaker 1: with its written symbolism and meaning, provides clues that point
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  Speaker 1: to the deep connection between Methuselah's life and a crucial
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  Speaker 1: event in human history. The timing of Methuselah's death is
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  Speaker 1: of great importance. This intertwining of name, destiny, and prophecy
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  Speaker 1: offers a deeper insight into the intricate design of Biblical narratives,
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  Speaker 1: where every detail, even the name, holds profound meaning. When
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  Speaker 1: we compare the ages of the patriarchs, the year of
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  Speaker 1: the flood is the same year in which Methuselah passed away.
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  Speaker 1: There is the mistaken idea that Methuselah perished in the flood. However,
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  Speaker 1: this is false. Enoch a holy Father raised Methuselah, who
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  Speaker 1: walked with God. Noah and his three sons spent one
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  Speaker 1: hundred and twenty years building a large covered vessel according
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  Speaker 1: to God's specifications. You know the story. Then Noah heard
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  Speaker 1: Enochs sermon about the imminent judgment and realized that the
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  Speaker 1: name of Methuselah implied that the sentence would come shortly
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  Speaker 1: after the death of that patriarch. The mercy of God.
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  Speaker 1: The long life of Methuselah speaks to us about the
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  Speaker 1: mercy of God, which is very rich in compassion. The
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  Speaker 1: expression rich in mercy counterbalances the description of humanity as
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  Speaker 1: rich in sin. A merciful God conceived a plan to
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  Speaker 1: save and redeem wicked creatures. Mercy is compassion or forgiveness
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  Speaker 1: extended to someone who deserves punishment or harm. Mercy is
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  Speaker 1: undeserved forgiveness. Mercy is the only explanation for the great
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  Speaker 1: sacrifice of Christ on our behalf. Humans can only show
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  Speaker 1: limited mercy to each other. However, God's forgiveness for our
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  Speaker 1: horrendous offenses shows that he is more than merciful. He
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  Speaker 1: is rich in mercy. A God rich in mercy demonstrates
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  Speaker 1: his own love for us. While the father of Methuselah,
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  Speaker 1: Enoch and his grandson Noah warned people about the fate
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  Speaker 1: of the world, everyone mocked it. This is a crucial
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  Speaker 1: theme in the final period of Methuselah and a key
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  Speaker 1: theme in ours. In the end times, scoffers will arise,
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  Speaker 1: as worn by two Peter three three and Jude one
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  Speaker 1: eighteen explaining what this means. Two Peter three three to
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  Speaker 1: four in the Amplified Bible states that without a doubt,
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  Speaker 1: there will be scoffers in the last days, following their
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  Speaker 1: own human desires, mocking and saying, where is the promise
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  Speaker 1: of his coming? What happened to it? Since the fathers
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  Speaker 1: fell asleep, Since the beginning of creation, all things have
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  Speaker 1: continued exactly as they were. It should not surprise Christians
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  Speaker 1: to discover that there are those who ridicule the idea
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  Speaker 1: that Jesus will return in the future. Peter informed us
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  Speaker 1: that there would be those who would laugh at us.
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  Speaker 1: That is the first thing to know. Skeptics must have
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  Speaker 1: doubted Noah, the grandson of Methuselah, who built the ark
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  Speaker 1: for one hundred and twenty years one hundred and twenty
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  Speaker 1: years seemed like a long time. Now we see the same.
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  Speaker 1: These skeptics have the mentality that Christians have been talking
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  Speaker 1: about the second coming of Jesus for the past two
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  Speaker 1: thousand years, and yet he has not returned. The narrative
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  Speaker 1: that skepticism spreads is based on the assumption that things
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  Speaker 1: have always been as they are now, and that God
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  Speaker 1: has not done and will not do anything new in
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  Speaker 1: his plan for creation. For when they maintain this, it
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  Speaker 1: escapes their notice that by the word of God, the
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  Speaker 1: heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out
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  Speaker 1: of water and by water, through which the world at
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  Speaker 1: that time was destroyed by being flooded with water. But
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  Speaker 1: by his word, the present heavens and earth are reserved
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  Speaker 1: for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction
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  Speaker 1: of the ungodly Second Peter three, verses five to seven.
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  Speaker 1: When God initially formed the earth, it had a different appearance,
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  Speaker 1: and after the flood it had a different appearance. Therefore,
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  Speaker 1: no one should underestimate God's promise that he will make
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  Speaker 1: it different once again, judging it with fire instead of water.
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  Speaker 1: The same word of God that created all matter and
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  Speaker 1: judged the world in the flood will one day bring
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  Speaker 1: a judgment of fire upon the earth. The lesson taught
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  Speaker 1: by the flood was that this is a moral universe,
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  Speaker 1: and sin will not go unpunished forever. Jesus himself used
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  Speaker 1: the flood to point to this moral aspect, but these
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  Speaker 1: men chose to neglect it. What seems like an eternity
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  Speaker 1: to us is only a brief period for God, just
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  Speaker 1: as an hour may seem like an eternity to a child,
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  Speaker 1: but a moment to an adult. The Lord is not
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  Speaker 1: negligent in his promise. God is merciful. However, the reality
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  Speaker 1: is that God will keep his promise and do so
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  Speaker 1: promptly according to the time he has determined. Any perceived
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  Speaker 1: delay from our perspective is due to God's long suffering,
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  Speaker 1: allowing mankind the maximum time possible to repent. Now we
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  Speaker 1: have the mercy of Methuselah. A significant number of people
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  Speaker 1: who identify as Christians in the modern era are relieved
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  Speaker 1: that Jesus has not returned ten years ago, five years ago,
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  Speaker 1: two years ago, one year ago, or even two months ago.
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  Speaker 1: There is a merciful reason in the timing that God
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  Speaker 1: has chosen. Peter here revealed part of God's glorious heart.
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  Speaker 1: It's the same thought expressed in Ezekiel thirty three, verse eleven.
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  Speaker 1: As I live, says the Lord God. I have no
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  Speaker 1: pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the
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  Speaker 1: wicked turn from his way and live, just like Methuselah's
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  Speaker 1: long life. The Lord's patient life for those who are
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  Speaker 1: lost may give the impression that he is delaying his arrival,
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  Speaker 1: but the reality is that he will come at some
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  Speaker 1: future moment. When Jesus returns, it will be at an
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  Speaker 1: unexpected moment, like a thief in the night, catching many
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  Speaker 1: people off guard. The end result of his coming will
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  Speaker 1: be a total transformation of this world, where the heavens
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  Speaker 1: will pass away with a great noise and the elements
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  Speaker 1: will melt with fervent heat. Mokers dominated the days of
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  Speaker 1: Noah and Methuselah, leaving God with little choice but to
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  Speaker 1: destroy them all and start anew with Noah the only
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  Speaker 1: righteous man on earth. In Genesis chapter six, verses five
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  Speaker 1: to eight, it is written, then the Lord saw that
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  Speaker 1: the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and
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  Speaker 1: that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was
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  Speaker 1: only evil. Continually, so the Lord regretted that he had
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  Speaker 1: made man on the earth, and he was grieved in
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  Speaker 1: his heart. So the Lord said, I will destroy man
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  Speaker 1: whom I have created from the face of the earth,
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  Speaker 1: both man and beast, creeping thing, and birds of the air.
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  Speaker 1: For I am sorry that I have made them. But
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  Speaker 1: Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. We
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  Speaker 1: already see an increase in scoffers in our world to day,
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  Speaker 1: and various factors may be contributing to this rise. There
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  Speaker 1: are more skeptics in the world now than ever, and
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  Speaker 1: there are likely several causes for this. By turning away
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  Speaker 1: from the Bible, modern society has lost any sense of
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  Speaker 1: right and wrong, good and evil, truth and falsehood. In
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  Speaker 1: this climate, any one claiming to know the truth is
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  Speaker 1: a prime target for scoffers. The world in the time
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  Speaker 1: of Methuselah. As mentioned earlier, in the days of Methuselah,
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  Speaker 1: the world was very different, as the pages of the
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  Speaker 1: Bible tell us, During his incredibly long life, the earth
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  Speaker 1: saw dramatic changes, not only in landscapes, but in the
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  Speaker 1: hearts of the people living on it. The world took
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  Speaker 1: a dark turn. Humanity, once created in innocence, now delved
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  Speaker 1: deeper into paths of wickedness and rebellion, and God saw
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  Speaker 1: that the wickedness of man was great on the earth,
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  Speaker 1: and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart
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  Speaker 1: was only evil continually according to Genesis chapter six, verse
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  Speaker 1: five in the King James version, it seemed that humanity
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  Speaker 1: had lost its way, drifting away from the divine and
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  Speaker 1: approaching chaos. In a world where things were becoming terrible,
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  Speaker 1: there was a good man named Noah, who was the
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  Speaker 1: grandson of Methuselah and the son of Lamech. While everyone
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  Speaker 1: else was doing wrong, Noah remained righteous. Because Noah was
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  Speaker 1: a righteous man, God told him about a great plan.
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  Speaker 1: He would send a massive flood to wash away all
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  Speaker 1: wickedness from the earth and start afresh. Thus, God, being
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  Speaker 1: kind and gracious, provided a way out. He told Noah
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  Speaker 1: to build a massive arc to keep his family and
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  Speaker 1: two of every animal safe from the impending flood. But
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  Speaker 1: with you I will establish my covenant, and you shall
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  Speaker 1: enter the ark, you and your sons, and your wife
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  Speaker 1: and your son's wives, according to Genesis chapter six, verse
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  Speaker 1: eighteen in the King James version. As the world persisted
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  Speaker 1: in its disobedience unconsciously marching toward its destiny. Noah and
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  Speaker 1: his family redded themselves for the promised storm in the
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  Speaker 1: final days of the pre flood world. Methuselah's extended journey
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  Speaker 1: on Earth likewise concluded, symbolically marking the end of an
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  Speaker 1: era before the waters rose to reclaim the land. In
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  Speaker 1: the initial chapters of Genesis, particularly Genesis six, verses one
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  Speaker 1: to five, the Bible depicts a scene of the world
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  Speaker 1: before the flood. The earth was not a haven of
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  Speaker 1: peace or kindness, but rather brimmed with sin, violence, and
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  Speaker 1: moral corruption. Envision a realm where individuals are consumed by
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  Speaker 1: their desires, constant pursuing their whims, regardless of the toll
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  Speaker 1: on others. Honesty, integrity, and kindness are neither extolled, virtues
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  Speaker 1: nor comprehended ideals. Instead, deceit and manipulation preside over the day.
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  Speaker 1: Each person is for themselves, and societies fabric is rent
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  Speaker 1: by selfishness and wickedness. Amidst this setting, families are not
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  Speaker 1: havens of love and support, but battlegrounds of deceit and betrayal.
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  Speaker 1: Neighbors neglect each other, opting instead to exploit one another.
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  Speaker 1: Governments forsake justice, morphing into systems of oppression that uphold
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  Speaker 1: the dominance of the powerful over the weak. Now introduced
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  Speaker 1: to this tumultuous world and unusual development, the Nephelim. The
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  Speaker 1: Bible recounts that the sons of God saw that the
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  Speaker 1: daughters of men were beautiful, and took for themselves wives
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  Speaker 1: of all whom they chose Genesis six, verse two, New
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  Speaker 1: International Version. These sons of God are often construed as
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  Speaker 1: fallen angels, though the term is somewhat ambiguous. The descendants
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  Speaker 1: of these unions Sons of God and daughters of Men,
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  Speaker 1: emerged as the heroes of antiquity, men of renown Genesis six,
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  Speaker 1: verse four. The Nephelm were distinctive and distinct from ordinary individuals.
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  Speaker 1: They were robust and sizable, but aggravated the world's predicaments. Revered, feared,
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  Speaker 1: and perhaps even venerated. They steered people away from the
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  Speaker 1: true God who had created them. Their strength rendered them
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  Speaker 1: subjects of fascination, but it exacerbated a world sinking further
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  Speaker 1: into chaos and sin. It was within this backdrop that
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  Speaker 1: God observed humanity's wickedness. Yet, even amidst this somber chapter
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  Speaker 1: in human history, a glimmer of hope emerged a man
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  Speaker 1: named Noah, who found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
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  Speaker 1: Genesis six, verse eight. Methuselah lived during Noah's time, implying
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  Speaker 1: he experienced the last days of his world. Comprehending Methuselah's
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  Speaker 1: world necessitates understanding the world during Noah's time, just as
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  Speaker 1: it transpired in Noah's days. A parallel scenario will unfold
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  Speaker 1: in the days of the Son of Man, people indulging
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  Speaker 1: in eating, drinking, marrying, and being given in marriage until
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  Speaker 1: Noah entered the Ark and the flood arrived, annihilating them all.
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  Speaker 1: This mirrored the days of Lot, people engaged in eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting,
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  Speaker 1: and building. However, on the day Lot departed, Sodom, fire
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  Speaker 1: and sulfur reigned from heaven, obliterating them all. Such will
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  Speaker 1: be the day when the Son of Man is revealed
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  Speaker 1: Luke seventeen, verses twenty six to thirty Amplified Bible. Jesus
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  Speaker 1: used the example of Noah's time to explain that the
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  Speaker 1: world continued its daily activities such as eating, drinking, and marrying.
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  Speaker 1: This was also the time of Methuselah, everyone just carried
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  Speaker 1: on with their lives. We are also in Methusela's times.
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  Speaker 1: The world keeps moving forward, even if we are in
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  Speaker 1: the last days. Everything continued as usual until Noah and
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  Speaker 1: his family entered the Ark, at which point the cataclysmic
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  Speaker 1: flood came and destroyed all people. Jesus didn't say that
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  Speaker 1: everything would be fine or that there wouldn't be problems.
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  Speaker 1: The conditions before the flood and before the judgment of
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  Speaker 1: Sodom and Gomorrah were terrible, but wickedness was accepted as
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  Speaker 1: something usual and routine. The word translated as revealed is apocalypto,
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  Speaker 1: from which we get our modern word apocalypse, but the
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  Speaker 1: ancient Greek word has the idea of revealing or unveiling.
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  Speaker 1: When Noah's flood happened, one can imagine people trying to
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  Speaker 1: keep their belongings safe as they perished in vain. Still,
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  Speaker 1: if someone is ready for Jesus's coming, they won't be
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  Speaker 1: concerned about material things left behind. The focus of the
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  Speaker 1: heart shouldn't be on what's at home, but on what's
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  Speaker 1: in heaven. There will come a time when all opportunities
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  Speaker 1: to obey God will have run out some mock preaching
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  Speaker 1: and teaching about hell or any imminent judgment, seeing it
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  Speaker 1: as tactics to scare children and fools. We are too
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  Speaker 1: wise to believe in that more than any other subject.
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  Speaker 1: Jesus spoke about hell. Consider the countless examples of people
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  Speaker 1: who had the chance to do the right thing and
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  Speaker 1: then mist that opportunity forever. The rapture of the Church
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  Speaker 1: is the next event in God's prophetic time line. It
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  Speaker 1: is one of the great hopes of the Christian faith
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  Speaker 1: and shrouded in mystery. When will it happen? What will
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  Speaker 1: the experience be like? What does the Bible teach about
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  Speaker 1: the rapture? When the Lord returns descending from heaven, his
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  Speaker 1: appearance in the resurrection of his people to meet him
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  Speaker 1: in the air will be visible to the whole world,
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  Speaker 1: an event known as the rapture. There is a final
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  Speaker 1: aspect of the last days that Jesus points out present
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  Speaker 1: in the societies of Noah and Lot. Jesus mentions eight
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  Speaker 1: specific activities, eating, drinking, marrying, giving in marriage, buying, selling, building,
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  Speaker 1: and planting. There is nothing inherently sinful in any of
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  Speaker 1: these activities. What was the problem. The problem was that
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  Speaker 1: they were so immersed in these activities that they didn't
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  Speaker 1: recognize the days they were living in. I would sum
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  Speaker 1: up this problem in one word, materialism. They were so
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  Speaker 1: immersed in the material that they had no more understanding
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  Speaker 1: or alertness to the spiritual and the eternal. The last
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  Speaker 1: trait of the days of Noah and Lot was materialism.
• 20:39
  Speaker 1: How much materialism is there in the world today, I
• 20:42
  Speaker 1: would say that Western civilization is practically flooded by it,
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: and the Church is not exempt. Many professed Christians are
• 20:50
  Speaker 1: as materialistic in their hearts as unbelievers. However, it would
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: be wrong to close this picture of the days of
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: Noah and Lot without showing the positive side, because there
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: was a positive side in two main aspects. There is
• 21:06
  Speaker 1: an excellent side to the days of Noah. For Genesis six,
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: verse nine says, these are the generations of Noah. Noah
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: with God. There was a man among all these people
• 21:22
  Speaker 1: who had a personal and intimate relationship with God. God
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: could speak to him and tell him how he saw
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: the situation and the judgment that would come. As believers,
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: Noah sets a standard that we should follow Noah and
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: his family were the only survivors of that tragedy. It
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: seems clear to me that only those who live like
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: Noah and his family will survive to day. Noah was
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: not left in ignorance of what was to come. As
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: a faithful servant of God, he received directly from God
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: a supernatural revelation of what would happen on the earth
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: and how he and his family could prepare to face
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: and survive it. God warned Noah and showed him away.
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: Just as the harmful elements of history apply to the present,
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: this positive element must also be considered. We are faced
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: with enormous dangers, catastrophes, and judgments that we cannot fully
• 22:16
  Speaker 1: measure or identify. But amidst all this, I believe that
• 22:20
  Speaker 1: God will still alert his faithful servants and show them
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: a path to survival. The legacy of Methuselah remained scarce
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: in the scriptures, but one thing is certain. He lived
• 22:31
  Speaker 1: in a different era than any other, witnessing a world
• 22:34
  Speaker 1: that we can only imagine. Methuselah's legacy extended beyond his
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: impressive years. His lineage continued to Noah, his grandson. Human
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: history would be forever altered through Noah, who became the
• 22:46
  Speaker 1: beacon of hope and survival during the Great Flood, and
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah fathered shem
• 22:54
  Speaker 1: Ham and Jaffath Genesis five, verse thirty two. Thus, through
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: Methuselah's life, humanity had a second chance, setting the stage
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: for a new chapter in the great narrative of humanity.
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: Methusalah's longevity in the Bible, amidst stories of great floods,
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: burning bushes, and giant beings, is the story of Methuselah.
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: For generations, Methuselah's age has sparked the imagination of scholars, theologians,
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: and lay people. Many have speculated about the reasons for
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: his longevity. Was it a literal or symbolic age, Was
• 23:29
  Speaker 1: it a testament to the conditions of the primitive earth,
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: or perhaps a special blessing from God. However, beyond numbers
• 23:37
  Speaker 1: and speculations, there is a deeper spiritual lesson. Methusellah's long
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: life is a beacon of God's patience and mercy in
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: a time when humanity was sinking into wickedness. Methuselah's long
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: life served as a reminder that God's grace was still
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: in action, holding back the waters of judgment for a time.
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: In this sense, his life's symbolizes that even amid the
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: increasing wickedness of humanity, God's patience and mercy prevailed, offering
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: hope and a chance for redemption. Although we don't know
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: much about what happened in Methuselah's life, his story provides
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: us with many interesting lessons that people still think about today.
• 24:20
  Speaker 1: The value of time. Methusellah's staggering life makes us reflect
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: on the value of time. How do we use the
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: days given to us. It's not about how long we live,
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: but how we use our time. The brevity of life,
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: even for methuselah life eventually ended. His story reminds us
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: of the brevity of existence even for the longest lived
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: among us. Psalm ninety, verse twelve says teach us to
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: Legacy and lineage. Methuselah was the grandfather of Noah, the
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: man chosen by God to build the Ark. Through Methuselah's lineage,
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: humanity was saved from the Great flood. This teaches us
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: that our legacy is not only about our achievements, but
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: also about how we influence and guide the generations after us.
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: Faith and God's plan. Methuselah's name may allude to the
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: flood occurring after his death. This interpretation suggests the notion
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: of divine timing and trust in God's greater plan, just
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: as Proverbs chapter three, verses five to six suggests, trust
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: on your own understanding. In all your ways. Submit to Him,
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: and he will make your path straight. The mystery of
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: God's grace. As mentioned earlier, Methuselah lived in a time
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: when human wickedness was great, yet he was blessed with longevity.
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: His life serves as a testimony to the mystery of
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: God's grace and mercy, a theme echoed in Ephesians chapter two,
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: verses eight to nine. For by grace you have been
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: saved through faith, and this is not your own doing.
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: It is the gift of God, not the result of works.
• 26:03
  Speaker 1: So that no one may boast. Let's pray Heavenly Father
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: to day. We are amazed by the broader picture of life,
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: reminded by Methuselah's journey that extends beyond what most of
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: us can comprehend. His nine hundred and sixty nine years
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: testify to your grand design and the mysteries of life. Lord.
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: Just as you sustained Methuselah through countless dawns and dusks,
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: we ask that you guide us through our days, however
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: many they may be. Help us value each moment, see
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: the beauty in the transient and the eternal, and understand
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: that our lives, though short in comparison, are full of purpose.
• 26:42
  Speaker 1: Remind us of the importance of patience, witness, and enduring
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: faith in every breath we take, in every challenge we face,
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: in every joy we celebrate. May Methuselah's longevity inspire us
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: to cherish our time, deepen our faith, and lean on
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: your eternal arms. In your precious name, we pray Amen.