Teaching by: Pastor Jeff
Lesson on YouTube: https://youtu.be/dGRtzl4jc7g
Battle of Thermopylae, (480 B.C.), battle in central Greece at the mountain pass of Thermopylae during the Persian Wars. The Greek forces, mostly Spartan, were led by Leonidas.
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Why are we not picking our battlefield? Land is a strategic and critical component to a well-fought battle. Like Leonidas, we must follow the true Lion of Judah, King Jesus, who leads us in our current battles as we are refined through them.
Why are we looking back?
Every day we deal with a battle that we may not understand.
You CAN NOT fight a battle in a war without understanding the strategy.
What is the game plan? How do you apply that to the battle?
It isn't enough to say 'Jesus has that covered.' That's like sitting in the back seat at church, and not participating in the serving.
We are all grown by the serving. It is the refinement by fire.
We look back to understand the context in which we are fighting.
The enemy knows this, do you?
First Notes:
This is God's Battle Plan.
The Satan is in rebellion, but is defeated.
Still, the satan works to turn as many from God as he can.
God allows us a choose Him, or rebellion.
Motivations of the Enemy:
The enemy was trying to hold on to the dominion he had stolen.
> Until Jesus, who defeated sin and death.
Now the enemy is trying to take down as many people as he can.
What we've been looking at:
1: The enemy began to destroy humanity, as we saw with Cain & Abel.
So: God protected Cain, and humanity proliferated.
2: The enemy poisoned humanity
Through the genome using the Sons of God. (Genesis 6:5-7, 11-12)
This broke God's heart, because it defiled His image bearers and His creation.
This required the purification through the flood.
3: God found favor in Noah, and would bring salvation through him.
We will see how the Nephilim survive through the flood. This continuance of evil (not just the Nephilim, but the enemy in general) could be an interpretation of the Raven let out by Noah in Genesis 8:6-7.
Genesis Chapter 6
The Corruption of Humanity
1 Now it came about, when mankind began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them,
2 that the sons of God saw that the daughters of mankind were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose.
4b when the sons of God came in to the daughters of mankind, and they bore children to them.
4a The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward [4b]. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.
3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not remain with man forever, because he is also flesh; nevertheless his days shall be 120 years.”
God removing His Spirit here, is the removing of a restrainer.
Think about displacement, like the hull of a boat, displaces water so it floats.
God works in cycles so we can understand what is coming from what has happened.
Today God is removing the restrainer, it is already happening.
The war beginning in Israel is a prophetic event we can discuss another day.
5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of mankind was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually.
When God removes His restraint, wickedness increases.
As children of God, we have Jesus living in our heard and the infilling of Holy Spirit.
This SHOULD make us little pockets of displacement in the world today.
The Bible calls us lights, we are called to be His priests, His witnesses.
11 Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence.
12 And God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for humanity had corrupted its way upon the earth.
Self identifying as anything other than a child of God is blasphemy to our true identity.
You are not an inter-sectional group, you are a priest for the Kingdom.
The Word of God tells us that the path to eternal damnation is wide.
Let us seek ye first the Kingdom of God, even in the world today.
6 So the Lord was sorry that He had made mankind on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.
7 Then the Lord said, “I will wipe out mankind whom I have created from the face of the land; mankind, and animals as well, and crawling things, and the birds of the sky. For I am sorry that I have made them.”
The Day of the Lord is near, and Jesus is returning soon.
God works in cycles so we can understand what is coming from what has happened.
The earth will not be flooded again, but will be renewed through fire.
Fire, in the coded language of the Bible represents the truth of God.
This is how we are refined by fire - or by the Truth of God.
Favor in the Eyes of the Lord
8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
Noah found favor because he came from a bloodline that was still pure.
Noah wasn't perfect based on what we see in Genesis 9:20-21 where Noah gets drunk and uncovered himself in his tent. Still this is after the flood.
We do see Noah faithful to the call of God. Regardless, God found favor with Noah.
We find favor, but are not perfect. Don't become discouraged in your failure, but continue to fight for the Kingdom of Heaven to come into this world.
-- Not in Noah's family
Only Noah, not his wife, sons, or his son's wives found favor.
Nephilim survived the flood, thus it came through these other seven people.
Like Jesus, Noah was the only one of pure blood.
-- The result
The Nephilim gene was then 'diluted' into all of humanity.
This probably isn't a very popular view, but it helps explain, or explains in part so much about our 'old man" like being born into sin, warring with our flesh, our righteousness as filthy rags, etc...
To say 'I was born this way' is accurate, because we are all born into sin.
To choose Jesus is the only redemption from our defilement.
=== Sidebar Start ===
GIANTS IN THE LAND:
A BIBLICAL THEOLOGY OF THE NEPHILIM, ANAKIM, REPHAIM (AND GOLIATH)
The story of giants starts with the mysterious Nephilim in Genesis 6:4, who were wiped out by the flood. However, the Nephilim are linked with the later Anakim and Rephaim. Ten of the 12 Israelite spies feared going into the land of Canaan because they saw giant Anakim there, and Numbers 13:33 says they came from the Nephilim. Deuteronomy 2:11 says the Anakim were part of the giant group known as the Rephaim. And while in the wilderness, Moses defeated the giant Og of Bashan, who was one of the remaining Rephaim. After wandering in the wilderness for 40 years, Joshua and Caleb—the two faithful spies—then drove out the giant Anakim from Canaan. They “devoted” the Anakim to destruction, though they left some Anakim in Philistine territory (Joshua 11:21-22). One of those cities was Gath, from where Goliath hailed.
Thus the giant Goliath represented not just the Philistines, but the dreaded Anakim—which even Joshua could not fully defeat. Goliath and his fellow Anakim were also considered Rephaim (2 Samuel 21:15-22; cf. Deuteronomy 2:11). And if the Anakim were descended from the Nephilim (as Numbers 13:33 claims) and the Nephilim were the children of fallen angels and women (Genesis 6:4), then this would make Goliath the biological offspring of the serpent (Genesis 3:15). Goliath’s connection to the Nephilim is strengthened by his description as a gibbor, a “mighty” one (1 Samuel 17:51; cf. Genesis 6:4). Furthermore, Goliath wore serpent-like “scale armor” (1 Samuel 17:5). This was a battle between the seed of the woman, David, and the seed of the serpent, the giant gibborim-Nephilim-Anakim-Rephaim warrior named Goliath.
=== Sidebar End ===
9 These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God. 10 And Noah fathered three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Blameless in his generation = a bloodline un-defiled by the enemy.
Note the similarity to Jesus
The Ark and the Christ
13 Then God said to Noah, “The end of humanity has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of people; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth.
14 Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; you shall make the ark with compartments, and cover it inside and out with pitch.
Can we compare the ark to Jesus, and the pitch to the Blood of Christ?
Seas in the coded language of the Bible refer to the Judgement of God.
Thus, the ark covered in pitch is like the Christ covered in His Blood.
15 This is how you shall make it: the length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits.
Three - Godhead, divine completeness. [Example: Matthew 28:19-20]
Five - cross, grace, atonement. This could include, for example, the fivefold ministry gifts. [Example: Ephesians 4:11-13]
16 You shall make a window for the ark, and finish it to a cubit from the top; and put the door of the ark on the side; you shall make it with lower, second, and third decks.
One - God, beginning, source. [Examples: Genesis 1:1, Matthew 6:33]
One window - only one way to God the Father.
One door - only one way to enter and exit into the Kingdom.
John 14:6, "Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me."
17 Now behold, I Myself am bringing the flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which there is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall perish.
God isn't reckless in this destruction. It is always for the greater good of His creation, and glorifies Him.
The ONLY thing He is reckless in is His love for us, and we see that next.
18 But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall enter the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.
Noah & wife, 3 sons and 3 wives = 8 people.
Eight - New beginning. [Examples: Genesis 17:10-12, 1 Peter 3:20]
Some evidence that the Nephilim survived the flood.
Ham is the father of Cush, Mizraim, Put, Canaan.
- Cush was the father of Nimrod of the Tower of Babel fame.
- Put led to the Kingdom of Aksum (Eritrea and Ethiopia), and Egypt.
- Canaan was a land was filled with the decedents of the Nephilim (12 spies, Goliath)
19 And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. 20 Of the birds according to their kind, and of the animals according to their kind, of every crawling thing of the ground according to its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive.
Covenants
There are conditional and non-conditional covenants.
The Adamaic (Adam) covenant required Adam and Eve to not eat from the Tree of Knowledge.
- The Abramic (Abraham) covenant required circumcision.
- The Mosaic (Moses) covenant required the following of the law.
- In other words, God's people had skin in the game with *obligation* to obey.
The Noaic (Noah) was unconditional. Noah built an arc, but this was not a condition of the covenant. God the Father simply and unconditionally made a covenant.
Through this covenant:
- God the Father, through Noah and the arc covered with pitch
- rescued His image bearers
- and the animals
- from the purification of the flood.
Through the New Covenant established on the cross with Jesus
- God our Father, through Jesus our Messiah covered with His Blood
- rescued His children
- and creation
- from the purification of His Fire (Truth)
21 As for you, take for yourself some of every food that is edible, and gather it to yourself; and it shall be food for you and them.” 22 So Noah did these things; according to everything that God had commanded him, so he did.
And likewise, we take our daily bread through time spent with our Lord in prayer, meditation, reading the Scriptures, and in the demonstration of His character that He developed within us toward others.