Closer To Heaven
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You can view an in-depth discussion of
The Flood; in the Hope Sabbath School class led by Pastor Derek Morris. Click on the image to view:
With thanks to Hope Channel – Television that will change your life.
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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/4-the-flood-hopess-video-discussion/
Join the Hit the Mark Sabbath School Panel as they have a lively, interactive discussion of the week’s lesson. 
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God’s commitment to preserve life was an act of grace; it was not a result of human merits. God decided to preserve life on earth in spite of human evil (Genesis 8:21). Genesis 8:22 reads, literally, “all the days of the earth” (DRA); that is, for as long as this present earth remains, the seasons will come and go and life will be sustained. In short, God has not given up on His creation.
Image © Pacific Press at Goodsalt.com
In fact, the following text, which talks about God’s blessing, takes us back to the original Creation, with its blessing (Genesis 1:22, Genesis 1:28; Genesis 2:3). The Lord, in a sense, was giving humanity a chance to start over, to start fresh.
The phrase “establish … covenant” is repeated three times (Genesis 9:9, Genesis 9:11, Genesis 9:17), marking the climax and fulfillment of God’s initial promise (Genesis 6:18). Following the preceding section, which parallels the sixth day of the Creation account, this section parallels the section covering the seventh day of the Creation account, the Sabbath. Inside the text the repetition, seven times, of the word “covenant” resonates with the Sabbath. Like the Sabbath, the rainbow is the sign of the covenant (Genesis 9:13-14, , Genesis 9:16; compare with Exodus 31:12-17). Also, like the Sabbath, the rainbow has a universal scope; it applies to the whole world. Just as the Sabbath, as a sign of Creation, is for everyone, everywhere, the promise that no other worldwide flood will come is for everyone, everywhere, as well.
| Next time you see a rainbow, think about all of God’s promises to us. Why can we trust those promises, and how does the rainbow show us that we can trust them? |
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Now it is the moment when the promised covenant was to be fulfilled. “But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark — you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you” (Genesis 6:18, NKJV). In contrast to the divine threat to destroy (Genesis 6:17), this covenant is the promise of life.
Image © Review & Herald Publishing at Goodsalt.com
Like Adam and Eve, who surely worshiped God on Sabbath immediately after the six days of Creation, Noah worshiped God immediately after the Flood, another creation event in and of itself. There is a difference, however, between the two acts of worship. Unlike Adam and Eve, who worshiped the Lord directly, Noah had to resort to a sacrifice. This is the first mention in the Scriptures of an altar. The sacrifice is a “burnt offering” (‘olah), the oldest and most frequent sacrifice. For Noah, this sacrifice was a thanksgiving offering (compare with Numbers 15:1-11), given in order to express his gratefulness to the Creator, who had saved him.
Because of the effect of the Flood, plant food was no longer available as it used to be. Therefore, God allowed humans to eat animal flesh. This change of diet generated a change in the relationship between humans and animals, in contrast to what has been between them in the original Creation. In the Creation account, humans and animals, shared the same plant diet and did not threaten each other. In the post-Flood world, the killing of animals for food entailed a relationship of fear and dread (Genesis 9:2). Once they started eating each other, humans and animals had, no doubt, developed a relationship quite different from what they had enjoyed in Eden.
God’s tolerance, however, had two restrictions. First, not all the animals were proper for food. The first restriction was implicit in the distinction between “clean and unclean” animals, which was a part of the Creation order (see Genesis 8:19-20; compare with Genesis 1:21, Genesis 1:24). The second one, which was explicit and new, was to abstain from the consumption of blood, for life is in the blood (Genesis 9:4).
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Then God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the animals that were with him in the ark…. Genesis 8:1 NKJV
Photo by William Earnhardt
A family I had studied with called me late one afternoon, asking me to meet them ASAP at the hospital. Their mother was dying, and they wanted prayer. Now I believe that God can hear your prayers for your sick loved one, just as easily as He can hear an elder’s prayer. Nevertheless, I met the family in ICU. They told me they were praying for a miracle. One son told me they knew God was going to work a miracle for his mother. He explained that God was going to raise her up right now, or He would heal her, like He did Lazarus, by letting her sleep and then waking her up at the resurrection. Either way it would be a miracle.
We admire people who have the faith to heal a loved one, but what about having enough faith to just let them go to sleep? The son had faith in the miracle of 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18.
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words.
A few days later, his mother fell asleep in Jesus, and his family is encouraging each other with the promises of the greatest miracle yet to come.
There are more Bible prophecies about the Second Coming than any other event. While many prophecies have already been fulfilled, we are certain the prophecies pertaining to the second coming are just as sure.
I understand that while we sleep, when we enter the REM (rapid eye movement) stage, we are actually very close to death. Yet each morning when we wake up, we don’t realize the miracle that has just taken place. I understand there are many mysteries about sleep that medical science is still researching. Could it be that sleep is just our “rehearsal” for the resurrection? That God is just getting us used to falling asleep and trusting Him to wake us up when it is time?
I walked into the church lobby after worship service one Sabbath to find a very distraught elderly lady. She has Alzheimer’s disease and had forgotten who had driven her to church. She was afraid she was going to be left. I put my arm around her and assured her that even though she may have forgotten who had taken her to church, whoever they were, they had not forgotten her. I told her we all loved her and would not leave her alone. She began to cry like a little girl, as she told me “Thank you very much!” Sure enough, her ride found her. She had forgotten them, but they remembered her.
This elderly lady felt like a little child left all alone. When we face the grave of a loved one, or even our own, do we feel like a little child left all alone? We needn’t be afraid. Our Ride to heaven will remember us even if in death we forget Him as we sleep. The same God who wakes you up every morning, the same God who remembered to create you and remembered to redeem you on the cross, is the same God responsible for waking you up when He comes again. Don’t worry, even when in death you forget Him, He won’t forget you!
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