Passage
Genesis 5:4-32
[4] Then the days of Adam after he became the father of Seth were eight hundred years, and he had other sons and daughters.
[5] So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years, and he died.
[6] Seth lived one hundred and five years, and became the father of Enosh.
[7] Then Seth lived eight hundred and seven years after he became the father of Enosh, and he had other sons and daughters.
[8] So all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years, and he died.
[9] Enoch lived ninety years, and became the father of Kenan.
[10] Then Enoch lived eight hundred and fifteen years after he became the father of Kenan, and he had other sons and daughters.
[11] So all the days of Enoch were nine hundred and five years, and he died.
[12] Kenan lived seventy years, and became the father of Mahalalel.
[13] Then Kenan lived eight hundred and forty years after he became the father of Mahalalel, and he had other sons and daughters.
[14] So all the days of Kenan were nine hundred and ten years, and he died.
[15] Mahalalel lived sixty-five years, and became the father of Jared.
[16] Then Mahalalel lived eight hundred and thirty years after he became the father of Jared, and he had other sons and daughters.
[17] So all the days of Mahalalel were eight hundred and ninety-five years, and he died.
[18] Jared lived one hundred and sixty-two years, and became the father of Enoch.
[19] Then Jared lived eight hundred years after he became the father of Enoch, and he had other sons and daughters.
[20] So all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years, and he died.
[21] Enoch lived sixty-five years, and became the father of Methuselah.
[22] Then Enoch walked with God three hundred years after he became the father of Methuselah, and he had other sons and daughters.
[23] So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years.
[24] Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.
[25] Methuselah lived one hundred and eighty-seven years, and became the father of Lamech.
[26] Then Methuselah lived seven hundred and eighty-two years after he became the father of Lamech, and he had other sons and daughters.
[27] So all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and sixty-nine years, and he died.
[28] Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years, and became the father of a son.
[29] Now he called his name Noah, saying, “This one will give us rest from our work and from the toil of our hands arising from the ground which the LORD has cursed.”
[30] Then Lamech lived five hundred and ninety-five years after he became the father of Noah, and he had other sons and daughters.
[31] So all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and seventy-seven years, and he died.
[32] Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
In Genesis Chapter 5, you can find the record of Adam’s family line; from Adam to Noah.
It is the record of approximately 1,600 years after Adam was driven out from the Garden of Eden to this earth.
The first 130 years of this time period was explained in the last lecture.
Tonight, I will cover the history afterwards.
The scripture shows you who were born to those 10 people from Adam to Noah, and how long they lived.
Such detailed records about the incidents that took place 4,000 years ago are well written in the bible.
It proves how precise facts the bible tells us.
In addition, tonight’s scripture helps us grasp the flow of 6,000 year-long-human cultivation history.
It took roughly 2,000 years from when Adam settled down on this earth until Noah died.
This time period takes up one third of human cultivation history.
Let’s call it ‘the early history of human beings.’
There is no other book in the world that records so many details of this time period.
Only the bible has the precise and correct records.
I hope you can believe that the bible is true as I explain the life of those who lived in this time period.
Dear brothers and sisters.
The average life span of the 9 people except Enoch among the 10 people from tonight’s scripture is about 912 years.
The reason Enoch was excluded is because he was lift up alive at the age of 365 without seeing death.
It is written that “Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth,” and then Genesis 9:29 says, “So all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years, and he died.”
The average life span in those days was over 900 years.
It was so long years that you and I cannot even imagine.
However, the life span of those who were born after the Great Flood became much shorter.
About 1,000 years later after the Judgment of Flood, in the days of Moses, the average life span became 70-80 years.
That is, Moses wrote in Psalm 90:10 that “As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, Or if due to strength, eighty years, Yet their pride is but labor and sorrow; For soon it is gone and we fly away.”
Since then, the average life span of man hasn’t much changed till today.
In July 16, Korea Health Industry Development Institute announced that the average life span is 77 and 84 years for men and women respectively.
Although the medical science has been greatly developed, it is rare to find those who live over 100 years.
Even when they live 70-80 years, not many of them live healthy.
Why is it that the life span became shorter than in the early history of mankind?
The fundamental reason is their sin.
Adam might have lived an eternal life if he had continued to live in the Garden of Eden. There would have been no end to his life span.
As a result of committing the sin of disobedience, he was driven out to this earth and came to have a limited life span.
According to the law of the spiritual realm, which dictates ‘the wages of sin is death,’ he lived a limited life in this earth and eventually died.
His descendants on this earth also came to have a limited life span.
If the matter of sin is not solved, people will see permanent death in a spiritual sense as well.
That is, they will not go to Heaven, but to Hell.
It is just as Romans 5:12 says, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned.”
In the early days of mankind, most people could live about 900 years. As the world was getting stained by sin, however, the life span was also shortened.
It was because the threats to human health were increased as the sin and evil became rampant in the world.
The germs that cause diseases came into being, and natural disasters took place more frequently.
And then, people couldn’t enjoy their original life span, but died.
They came to be affected by the fleshly environment all the more.
Then, they faced the ‘Judgment of Great Flood’ that made a crucial impact on their life span.
Genesis 6:5 says, “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” before God decided the judgment of flood.
Due to this Flood, the entire earth was submerged under water for many days.
As its result, the environment of earth was greatly changed.
Especially, there was a great change in the atmospheric layer.
The function of this layer which prevented the harmful elements of the sunlight from reaching the earth became weak.
It became more natural that people were revealed to the noxious environment.
The earth itself experienced great changes.
The law of nature began to be violated, and consequently there were more frequent natural disasters and abnormal climate.
Obviously, people came to live in a much more hazardous environment than before.
People came to suffer from more stress, and the speed of the aging was increased.
Moreover, the germs and viruses that cause diseases became stronger.
More factors that threat man’s life or decrease the lifespan came into being in many places.
All these complex factors worked to decrease the life span drastically after the Great Flood.
There is one more thing you should understand; an innate defect also decreased the life span.
Even if people live in an optimal environment, which excludes all the external factors such as diseases and accidents, their life span will be different from person to person.
It is because the energy that they inherit from their parents or the condition when they are conceived also affects their life span.
First off, when a man is conceived, the seed and the field decide the basic nature of the man.
Some are born with strong nature and become strong, and others are born weak, and grow weak.
The same goes with the matter of intelligence.
There are some clever people, and other less clever people.
It is also affected by their innate factors.
Their personality can also be affected by what kind of seed and field were combined, and how good the condition was when they were fetus.
It is not that some are born smart and healthy because God love them, and that others are born weak because God hates them.
God has set the principle of conception, and given the seed to people, but He didn’t preset the result of the conception.
God does not decide a baby’s gender or congenital defect.
Depending on what kind of seed and field are combined, and how the condition of the conception is, there will be a different result.
Since people don’t know this fact, they misunderstand God and grudge against God.
They think God decides their fate in advance for each and everyone.
And so, when they fall into hardships or misfortune, they harbor grudge against God.
God has only set the law of how fortune or misfortune comes upon man.
“He will be blessed, but she will be cursed.” “Tom will live long, but Jack will die young.” “Jane will be healthy, but Susan will be sick.” God doesn’t decide for each and everyone like this.
Whoever walks the path of blessing that God has set can receive blessing and become healthy.
It is the same whether they can live long or die young.
The secret of long life can be found in Proverbs 10:27.
It says, “The fear of the LORD prolongs life, But the years of the wicked will be shortened.”
Ecclesiastes 8:13 also says, “But it will not be well for the evil man and he will not lengthen his days like a shadow, because he does not fear God.”
The evil man cannot even enjoy the given lifespan, but the one who fears God can live a long life.
The one who fears God will hate evil, try to cast off every form of evil, and live a life of goodness.
He will follow the good and pleasing will of God, and live by it.
God the Father loves such children like him, becomes pleased with them, and gives them blessing upon blessing; you should remember this.
Let us review the things about life span of man.
The average life span of man was drastically decreased after the Great Flood of Noah.
The average was over 900 years, but it was gradually decreased to 70-80 years.
I said that the fundamental reason for this is ‘sin.’
In addition, innate factors make the life span different from person to person.
Their health can be affected by the inherited nature from their parents or by the given condition when they were fetus.
Despite all these, those who fear God can enjoy the health and long life as their soul prospers.
On the other hand, the evil man cannot even enjoy their given life span.
Regarding all of these, ‘sin’ can decide not only the average life span of mankind, but also individual’s.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
When the average life span was 900 years, how was the speed of time flow that they felt?
Comparing with today’s, did they feel the speed of a day faster, or slower?
You may guess a day out of 900 years was felt much shorter than a day out of 100 years.
However, it was actually the opposite.
The length of a day is the same in the past and in this day; the 24 hours.
The length of a day is the time that it takes for the earth to rotate.
The speed of the earth’s rotation hasn’t been changed since the Creation.
Therefore, people mellowed out everyday when they lived long years.
And so, when compared with this end time, they felt the flow of time slow.
As the end time of the world comes closer, people feel it getting faster and faster.
The speed of time is not actually faster, but they think “the time truly flies.”
Most people of today are pushed for time.
As their ways of life become various and complex, they have to do many works and live a busy life.
And soon, they pass their middle age and old age, and eventually reach their latter years.
The speed of time flow is the same in the early days of mankind and in this end time, but the relative speed of time is different depending on whether they live long years or not.
Dear brothers and sisters.
When the average life span was over 900 years, the flow of time felt slow, and the process of man’s growth was also slow.
The steps of man’s growth are infancy, childhood, adolescence, manhood, and senescence.
So to speak, from age 1 to 6 is infancy, and from 7 to 13 is childhood.
This way, according to age, there are different steps of man’s growth.
This is the classification of today as the average lifespan is less than 100 years.
How about the days when the average lifespan was more than 900 years?
In those day, all the people grew up through the steps of growth.
They all experienced infancy, childhood, adolescence, manhood, and senescence.
The pregnant period was also the same with today.
Most people just say the period is about 10 months, but to be accurate, it is 280 days.
From the conception till the delivery, it took 280 days in the past and it still does today.
However, after a man was born, the process of growth was different.
It was much longer in each step of the growth than today.
For example, the period of infancy, childhood, and adolescence was longer than today.
Especially, the period of manhood was much longer.
Therefore, someone who can be considered as a boy by his outlook in today’s standard, was still a young child in those days.
Someone who looks like a young man in today could be a young boy by the standard of those days.
Since the living environment was better than today, their body grew up well.
Let me help you understand it better.
During the process of man’s growth, secondary sexual characteristics begin to develop.
As they pass the childhood and reach puberty, vivid changes occur to their bodies as men or women.
For example, boys experience the change of voice, and girls, their first period.
The speed of growth varies from person to person; the same goes with secondary sexual characteristics.
Even if there are 2 boys who are 14 years old, one’s voice is already changed, but the other’s isn’t yet.
However, even after their voice is changed, do you consider them adults?
No, you don’t.
In this country, they are considered adults after they are 19 years old.
In the early history of mankind, for example, even if they looked like an adult at the age of 30, they were still considered as boys.
Nowadays, most people give birth in their 20’s and 30’s. But it was much older in those days.
You can find it in the scripture of today.
From Seth to Noah, their ages are written when they gave birth to a child who would continue their family line.
They gave birth to such a child at the age of 105, 90, 70, 65, 162, 65, 177, 182.
Of course, you should consider that the child might not be their first child.
They might have delivered daughters before the son, or they might have had other sons.
For example, Genesis 5:15 says that Mahalalel became the father of Jared at the age of 65, but in Genesis 5:18, Jared became the father of Enoch at the age of 162.
There was a great difference in ages when they became the father of their sons.
However, it is not that Jared had no sons or daughters before Enoch only because he became the father of Enoch at the age of 162.
It is just that it was Enoch that was chosen to continue the family line among Jared’s sons and daughters.
I will explain in greater detail later, but Enoch had many brothers.
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