Noah Part 6 The beasts two and two went into the ark with Noah by Victor Torres Last time we learned that Noah was helped by his family in building this huge ark and covering it inside and out with pitch. We also learned that the way Noah's family helped each other is also the way the family of God is helping each other build up the church. I also showed you how God's family is compared to a body. Each part has it's own function to do, just like the parts of our own bodies have their own function or use. Our feet are used for walking and our eyes are used for seeing. When every part of our body does the function it was created to do, the result is the growth of the whole body. That's how each part of the body of Christ need to behave. Each member should be content in doing the function God has given him or her. All of us should be happy just to be a part of His body. Rom 12:5 That's how it is with us. There are many of us, but we each are part of the body of Christ, as well as part of one another. Rom 12:6 God has also given each of us different gifts to use. If we can prophesy, we should do it according to the amount of faith we have. Rom 12:7 If we can serve others, we should serve. If we can teach, we should teach. Rom 12:8 If we can encourage others, we should encourage them. If we can give, we should be generous. If we are leaders, we should do our best. If we are good to others, we should do it cheerfully. Those are just some of the gifts that are given to the members of the body of Christ. What does prophesying mean? To prophesy, if you look at a dictionary, means to predict, to foretell or foresee the future. This definition is incomplete. Here's the Bible's definition of to prophesy: 1Co 14:3 But he who prophesies speaks to men for building up, and exhortation, and comfort. So to prophesy includes building up each other. How? Through teaching and learning from each other. A few men are put in the church to be teachers of the whole church. The mature women can teach the kids and the younger women (Tit 2:3-4). We can prophesy by encouraging one another and praying for each other (1Co 11:4-5). We can also prophesy by singing and dancing like what Miriam, the sister of Moses did (Exo 15:20).
The other gifts that you can use to serve the body are listed in the succeeding verses after Romans 12:6. As you grow up, think of ways on how you can serve the body of Christ. Everything that you do for a member of His body, it is doing it to the Lord Himself. If you do good things to His followers, the Lord will reward you for it. Mat 25:37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? Mat 25:38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? Mat 25:39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' Mat 25:40 And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.' On the other hand, anything bad that you do to His followers, the Lord will punish you for it. The apostle Paul, before he became a follower of Christ, was an evil person, persecuting or mistreating Christians very badly. Act 9:1 Saul kept on threatening to kill the Lord's followers. He even went to the high priest Act 9:2 and asked for letters to the Jewish leaders in Damascus. He did this because he wanted to arrest and take to Jerusalem any man or woman who had accepted the Lord's Way. Act 9:3 When Saul had almost reached Damascus, a bright light from heaven suddenly flashed around him. Act 9:4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice that said, "Saul! Saul! Why are you so cruel to me?" Act 9:5 "Who are you?" Saul asked. "I am Jesus," the Lord answered. "I am the one you are so cruel to. Paul was known as Saul before the Lord called him to serve God. The Lord made it very clear to Saul, and He is making it very clear to us today, that if we say bad things or do bad things to His followers, He is the one we are being cruel to.
Let's continue the story of Noah and see some more of your questions: Gen 7:1 Then the LORD said to Noah, "Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation. Gen 7:2 Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and his mate, and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and his mate, Gen 7:3 and seven pairs of the birds of the heavens also, male and female, to keep their offspring alive on the face of all the earth. Gen 7:4 For in seven days I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and every living thing that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground." Gen 7:5 And Noah did all that the LORD had commanded him. Gen 7:6 Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters came upon the earth. Gen 7:7 And Noah went in. And his sons and his wife and his sons' wives went in with him into the ark, because of the waters of the flood. Gen 7:8 Of clean animals, and of animals that are not clean, and of birds, and of everything that creeps on the ground, Gen 7:9 two and two, male and female, went into the ark with Noah, as God had commanded Noah. Gen 7:10 And after seven days the waters of the flood came upon the earth. Gen 7:11 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. Why did God picked the six hundredth year of Noah's life (Gen 7:11), in the second month, in the seventeenth day of the month, to flood the earth? Gen 7:12 And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights. Why did it rain for 40 days and nights? (What is the spiritual significance of 40?) I'm really glad to see the two questions above. This means you are starting to see that every word in the Bible, including numbers, have a spiritual meaning. These spiritual meanings, I want to remind you again are hidden behind the physical words. The words of our Lord are first and foremost spiritual.
Joh 6:63 It is the Spirit that makes alive, the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit and are life. All the numbers in the Bible have a spiritual meaning. Let's look back at the part of Noah's story we just read and this time, we will highlight all the numbers in those verses. Gen 7:1 Then the LORD said to Noah, "Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation. Gen 7:2 Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and his mate, and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and his mate, Gen 7:3 and seven pairs of the birds of the heavens also, male and female, to keep their offspring alive on the face of all the earth. Gen 7:4 For in seven days I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and every living thing that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground." Gen 7:5 And Noah did all that the LORD had commanded him. Gen 7:6 Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters came upon the earth. Gen 7:7 And Noah went in. And his sons and his wife and his sons' wives went in with him into the ark, because of the waters of the flood. Gen 7:8 Of clean animals, and of animals that are not clean, and of birds, and of everything that creeps on the ground, Gen 7:9 two and two, male and female, went into the ark with Noah, as God had commanded Noah. Gen 7:10 And after seven days the waters of the flood came upon the earth. Gen 7:11 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. Gen 7:12 And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights. In those 12 verses that we just read, we see the numbers 2, 7, 17, 40, 600. There's another number that wasn't explicitly written in those twelve verses but we saw it before and I told you its meaning before. You can figure it out from this verse:
Gen 7:7 And Noah went in. And his sons and his wife and his sons' wives went in with him into the ark, because of the waters of the flood. It's the number of people that went into the ark, the number 8. I told you before that the number 8 is a symbol of the new person, Jesus Christ in us. One of the teachers in the church, your Uncle Mike Vinson have studied the spiritual meaning of numbers in the Bible. He has posted these studies in his website called iswasandwillbe.com. These are very deep studies and you can learn a lot from them. My hope is that when you mature, you will study them for yourselves. We don't have time to study them in detail here, but I want to give you an overview of what each number means spiritually. One = Unity The number one is code word for unity or agreeing with each other. It is the unity between the Father and the Son. Joh 10:30 I and the Father are one. It is the unity between the members of Christ's body. Php 2:2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Think of the unity of Noah and his family as a symbol of the unity of Christ and His family. All have made their contribution in building the ark. Some of them helped in the carpentry. Some of them helped gather the materials and tools to build the ark. Some of them helped in covering the ark with pitch. Some of them cooked the food eaten by the family during the construction of the ark. Some of them helped gathering the food that will be eaten by the people and the animals during the flood. Since every word of God has a positive and a negative meaning, all the numbers have a negative meaning also. The negative meaning of the number one, is our unity with the beast (which we will see later who this beast is). Rev 17:13 These have one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. Rev 17:14 These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them. For He is Lord of lords and King of kings. And those with Him are the called and elect and
faithful ones. You see above that with one mind, we all gave our power and authority to this beast. This means we all have been slaves of this beast. The next verse says when we were slaves of this beast, we made war with the Lamb. We fought with Christ! But we see the good news in the same verse. The Lamb will overcome them!when we make war with the Lamb or Christ, and we all do, He will overcome us. He will win against us! Why? For He is Lord of lords and King of kings. When He overcomes us, we will be in unity with Him and those with Him, who are the called and elect and faithful ones. Two = Witness The number two is code word for witness. Rev 11:3 And I will give power to My two witnesses, and they will prophesy a thousand, two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth. Again, I must remind you that God's word are hidden in symbols or code words, so these two witnesses are not just two people who will prophesy a thousand, two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth. These two witnesses are code words for God's elect who will teach the true teachings of Christ. That's the positive meaning of the number 2. We learned from a previous study that the people at the time of Noah did not listen to his witness, to his preaching. We also learned that it was our Lord Himself preaching through Noah, so it is really the Lord's witness that they rejected. On the other hand, the negative meaning of the number 2 are false witnesses. These are the people who belong to the churches of this world. These people resists or teach against the true teachings of our Lord, like the two men who resisted Moses, Jannes and Jambres. 2Ti 3:8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, these people are enemies of the truth. Their minds are sick, and their faith isn't real. Where do we see the number two in Noah's story? Gen 7:8 Of clean animals, and of animals that are not clean, and of birds, and of everything that creeps on the ground, Gen 7:9 two and two, male and female, went into the ark with Noah, as God had
commanded Noah. There is again a hidden message in these verses. Notice in verse eight which kinds of animals went into the ark with Noah: Gen 7:8 Of clean animals, and of animals that are not clean, and of birds, and of everything that creeps on the ground, Or in the KJV: Gen 7:8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth, The Bible's code word for humanity (all flesh) is beasts. Ecc 3:18 I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts. In the ESV, this is how this verse is translated: Ecc 3:18 I said in my heart with regard to the children of man that God is testing them that they may see that they themselves are but beasts. So now that you see that all flesh, all mankind, are but beasts. We can now see what Revelation 17:13 and 14 is telling us. Rev 17:13 These have one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. Rev 17:14 These [the people who gave their power and authority to the beast] will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them. For He is Lord of lords and King of kings. And those with Him are the called and elect and faithful ones. Giving our power and authority to the beast = giving in to the flesh. When we do this, we are worshiping the beast. Don't believe the lie that other religions teach that the beast is a certain man, like the Catholic pope or the US president. That's what Satan wants you to believe, so that you won't know that you are already worshiping the beast when you give in to your selfish desires. When we worship the beast, we fight against the Lamb (Jesus Christ). But Jesus Christ will be victorious in the end. What Revelations 17:13-14 is telling us is actually the same as what Genesis 7:8-9 is telling us: all of mankind will be saved. All men including the wicked and the righteous, the clean and the unclean beasts. All of them will witness ( two and two ) for Christ and will be united ( male and female ) with Him.
Here are Gen 7, verses 8 and 9 again where I got the subtitle of this study: Gen 7:8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth, Gen 7:9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah. As God had commanded Noah are code words for our Lord saving all mankind as God has sent Him: Joh 3:17 God did not send his Son into the world to condemn its people. He sent him to save them! Luk 3:6 And all flesh (= all beasts, all mankind) shall see the salvation of God. In the next studies, Lord willing, we will see the spiritual meaning of the other numbers including the answer to these two questions: Why did God picked the six hundredth year of Noah's life (Gen 7:11), in the second month, in the seventeenth day of the month, to flood the earth? Why did it rain for 40 days and nights? (What is the spiritual significance of 40?) Quiz: 1. What produces the growth of the whole body? a) When every member functions or contributes b) When some member contributes c) When most member contributes d) When some members are jealous to the other members 2. According to the Bible, how can you prophesy? a) teach b) encourage and pray for one another c) By singing and dancing d) all of the above
3. Who is speaking in this verse? Mat 25:40 And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.' 4. Which apostle was formerly known as Saul and used to be cruel to Christians? 5. True or False. Every word in the Bible, including numbers, have spiritual meaning. 6. The number one is code word for unity or agreeing with each other. The positive meaning of the number one is the unity between the Father and the S. Another positive meaning is the unity between the m of the church of Christ. 7. The negative meaning of the number one is our unity with the b. 8. The number two is code word for witness. The two witnesses in Revelations who will teach the true teachings of Christ are they symbol for God's e. 9. The negative meaning of the number 2 are false witnesses. These are people who are described in this verse: 2Ti 3:8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, these people are enemies of the t. Their minds are sick, and their faith isn't real. 10. The Bible's code word for h (all flesh) is beasts. 11. Giving our power and authority to the beast = giving in to the flesh. When we give in to the flesh, we are w the beast. 12. What Revelations 17:13-14 is telling us is actually the same as what Genesis