Noah

Up until recently I had not spent much time reading extra-biblical sources, however I’ve been reading the Book of Jasher [Yashar] because this book is mentioned in Joshua 10:13 and 2 Samuel 1:18. Today I will share some tidbits from Jasher that will shed some light on the pattern of Noah as it applies to the latter days.

Before I do that, we need to consider other information from the Book of Jasher– particularly the genealogy of Noah who descended from the righteous line of Seth.  See Genesis Genealogy.

• We must be careful not to confuse Noah’s father Lamech, the son of Methuselah with Lamech, the son of Methushael who descended from the line of Cain.
• It is also important to point out that Noah married Naamah, the daughter of Enoch.  This Enoch was the son of Jared and not Enoch, the son of Cain.  This is not the same Naamah who was the daughter of Lamech of the line of Cain.

What we see here is that Cain’s lineage is a counterfeit of Seth’s.  God intended Seth’s descendants to remain after the flood, not Cain’s.  It is no different today.  Satan continues to counterfeit everything that God does and people will be led to follow the false prophet and worship the beast of Revelation instead of God.  Having said this, let’s see what else we can learn about Noah from Jasher and Genesis.

Here’s a basic sequence of events from Jasher 5 and 6:

• God commanded Noah and Methuselah to speak to the wicked and urge them to repent of their unrighteousness when Noah was 480 years old.
• Noah married Naamah, the daughter of Enoch when he was 498 years old.  Shortly thereafter, he begot Japheth, Shem, and Ham.
• Noah began to the build the ark when he was 595 years old and finished in 5 years.   During this time, Noah took wives for his sons from the daughters of Eliakim, the son of Methuselah.
• According to the book of Jasher, Methuselah died when he was 960 years old.  The Bible is probably more accurate by saying he died when he was 969 years old because he was 369 years old when Noah was born.
• The righteous line of Seth died out the year prior to the flood so they would not see the destruction of their relatives.
• The animals began to come to Noah two weeks prior to the flood and the flood began when Noah was 600 years old.  Only Noah, his wives, sons and their wives, and these animals were spared.

One of the first things that caught my attention in this account from the Book of Jasher was that God used Noah and his grandfather Methuselah to call the wicked to repentance.  If you are starting to think in terms of Biblical patterns, your mind should be thinking about the two witnesses mentioned in Revelation 11!  Remember, Jesus said that just as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be when He returns (Matt. 24:37).

Another important thing that is emphasized in the Book of Jasher is that the righteous died prior to the flood.  When thinking in terms of patterns, this may cause you to think of the rapture theory.  Based on the information from the Book of Jasher, many righteous people will not be raptured but will probably die of various causes prior to the tribulation or they will be martyred before the two witnesses begin their ministry mid-way through the tribulation period.  In fact, more people than the 144,000 of both houses of Israel will be brought through the tribulation.  Give me more time and I’ll explain why.

Since God does things according to His patterns, destruction must come upon the unrighteous after they’ve been given the fair opportunity of 42 months to repent.

According to Revelation 6:8, one fourth of the world will be killed by war, famine, plagues, and wild animals during the fourth seal.  Revelation 11:7 tells us that seven thousand will die during the massive earthquake that will take place.  I suspect that not only will the wicked die but righteous people will die too.  Of course many non-believers will die during the Battle of Armageddon.

You may suggest that all of the wicked will be destroyed if God follows the original pattern of Noah but let’s take a closer look at the Biblical account.  The Bible says God gave Noah detailed instructions on how to build an ark that would protect him and his family and the chosen animals from the utter destruction that was about to take place.  Many would be tempted to think that Noah and his family didn’t amount to much in terms of numbers but we must not forget about the animals because they are significant!

There were seven pairs of each kind of clean animal and 1 pair of each kind of unclean animal.  I think we can safely assume that what remained of the flesh of the foolish people and the dead animals was most likely eaten by birds of prey and other unclean animals after they came out of the ark because that’s the kind of thing they eat.  That’s why the raven Noah released didn’t come back.  It had a lot of food to feast on.  The dove is a clean bird and it didn’t have a place to rest or food to eat so it came back to Noah.  Some of the clean animals were offered as sacrifices to God after Noah and his family came out of the ark.  The clean animals were also given to man to be eaten as food.

To what can we compare Noah’s family and these animals?

• Noah’s family can be compared to the 144,000 of the whole house of Israel.
• The clean animals can be compared to God’s faithful who are too many to count from every nation, tribe, and language.
• You might initially think that the unclean animals refer to all Gentiles but in Peter’s vision, God made it very clear that He considered God-fearing Gentiles to be clean (Acts 11:9)!
• The unclean animals can be compared to those throughout the world who do not know Jesus as their Bridegroom.

What do you think of this concept?

Remember, in Genesis 9:11, God promised to never again kill all flesh and destroy the whole earth by flood but the earth’s end will come quickly “like a flood.”  During Christ’s millennial reign there will still be unfaithful people living in the world until the Battle of Gog and Magog just as there were unclean animals alive after the flood came.

Just as birds of prey ate the dead flesh of the wicked after the flood, they will do so after the Battle of Armageddon and again after the Battle of Gog and Magog.  By the time the new Jerusalem comes down to a renewed earth, all of the unrighteous will have been thrown in the lake of fire.  Those who remain after the Battle of Gog and Magog will be like the clean animals.  Even now they are supposed to be offering themselves as living sacrifices to the Lord.

Will you be one of the 144,000 or one of the clean animals after their kind?