Thursday, 11 November 2021
Title: The Days of Noah
By Dr. Tho Lye Mun

Matthew 24
36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

It would not be surprising that for many of us in these times, the question of when Jesus will return would have cropped up in our minds. Jesus gave us the answer (see passage above). Interestingly Jesus says even He doesn’t know the hour, only the Father does.

The passage does give us a clue though. Some point to the verse where “people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage” as the sign. These seem fairly mundane activities and not sinful in themselves. I believe these verses just help to emphasize that the timing of His return will take everyone by surprise. Just as the disappearance of the man in the field and the woman grinding a hand mill. The world will be brought face to face with earth’s rightful king completely unsuspectingly.

I submit that the clue in fact lies in verse 37. Let us reference Genesis 6 for a deeper insight. Genesis 6:4 says “The Nephilim were on the earth in those days –and also afterward– when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown”. Quite a provocative passage. Rather than being a throw-away line, I believe this line is deliberate and perfectly placed and it points us to the trigger for the cascade of events culminating in the flood. Who are the “sons of God”? This is the first time the phrase appears in the bible. Could they be non-earthly beings? Certainly the off-spring of the union, the Nephilim, were referred to specifically and possessed superhuman strength and size and were feared by humans. Traditionalists, of course, have dismissed the possibility of angels interbreeding with humanity in this act of disobedience to God. It is beyond the scope of this article to discuss this in detail, but do see Jude 6-7, 1 Peter 3:19-20, Numbers 13:31-33. Others suggest that the men from the line of Seth married women of Cain but it becomes hard to explain the unusual characteristics of the Nephilim.

Controversy aside, it seems the mixing of “sons of God” and the daughters of humans led to “great the wickedness of the human race” where “every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time”. So much so that “The Lord regretted that he had made human beings”. How does this apply to our times?

To answer that, we must first ask: What marks humanity, or more specifically the people of God, as different? It is not just compassion, bonding, love – for even animals show these traits. It is the sense of knowing there is a God and being able to commune with Him, and understand the salvation message. Spiritually, we are meant to be set apart for God. One wonders if there are any physical or biological impediments that Genesis 6:4 is warning us about. I believe God will reveal this to us in His time.

Prayer:

Lord, give us the wisdom to be set apart for You. Let us move far from the things which will hinder the message of salvation – things which will affect our spiritual, emotional and physical ability to commune with You. Amen

每日灵粮
2021年11月11日，星期四
题目：挪亚的日子
作者：陶乃文医生
番译：吴淑娉姐妹

马太福音24章
36＂但那日子，那时辰，没有人知道，连天上的使者也不知道，子也不知道，惟独父知道。37 挪亚的日子怎样，人子降临也要怎样。 38洪水以前的日子，人照常吃喝嫁娶，直到挪亚进方舟的那日； 39不知不觉洪水来了，把他们全都冲去。人子降临也要这样。40 那时，两个人在田里，取去一个，撇下一个。 41两个女人推磨，取去一个，撇下一个。 ＂

活在现今的世代，耶稣何时再来这问题不时浮现在我们的脑海中，这不足为奇。耶稣在以上的经文为我们提供了答案，但有趣的是，耶稣竟说祂也不知道是何时，只有天父知道！

不过，以上的经文毕竟给了我们一些头绪，一些人认为应以＂吃喝嫁娶＂为记号，但＂吃喝嫁娶＂其实是很平常的活动，本身并没有罪! 我相信这段经文强调的是：耶稣再来的时候可能会令各人都感到惊讶，就像两个男人在田里工作、两个女人在推磨，一个消失（被取去），一个留下，世界将在毫无准备之下与有权统治地上的君王面对面！

我认为线索其实是在第37节，让我们参考创世记第6章作更深入的了解，创世记6章4节说：＂那时候有巨人在地上，后来上帝的儿子们和人的女子们交合生子，那就是上古英武有名的人。＂这是相当具挑衅性的一段话，我相信这并非即兴的台词，而是经过深思熟虑，特别放在这里的，用以指出这是洪水淹没地球一连串事件的导火线。谁是＂上帝的儿子们＂？这是这句话第一次出现在圣经中，他们是非地球生物吗？这些交合后所生出来的后裔——巨人，被指拥有超人的力量及体型，并为人类所畏惧。传统主义者认为这不是天使与人类作出有罪的杂交行为的后代，详细讨论这话题超出了本文的范围，但请参阅犹大书：6-7，彼前3： 19 – 20 ，民数 13：31-33。也有人认为是塞特的后裔与该隐的女后裔结合，但这论点就不能解释巨人异乎常人的特征。

撇开争议不谈，似乎上帝的儿子们和人的女子们的混合导致人类极大的罪恶，终日所思想的尽是恶，以至上帝后悔造了人——这如何引用到我们现今的世代？

要回答这问题，我们先要问：什么是人类或更具体说，是上帝的子民与众不同的标志？这不仅因为人类赋有同情心、关怀和爱，因为动物也显示出这些特征，它应该是：知道有一位真神、能与祂交流感应，并明白祂的救恩信息的能力。灵性上，我们蒙召，被上帝分别（set apart)出来。究竟创世记6：4是否警告我们在物理上或心理上要作什么的牵制？相信上帝会在祂认为适当的时候向我们揭示。

祷告

主啊，求祢赐给我们智慧，好让我们能为祢分别(set apart)出来。让我们远离那些阻碍传播救恩的事情——那些会影响我们灵性上、感情上、实际上与祢沟通的事。阿们。