In this section of the Bible dealing with the period between the “fall of man” and the initiation of the first “redemptive covenant” (with Abraham), God acted to limit the manifestation of evil in mankind due to the influence of Satan. He reduced the “gene pool” of mankind by causing all future generations to be descended from one righteous family. He reduced the lifespan of man by an order of magnitude (from 900-plus years to a theoretical limit of 120 years). Finally, He confused the language at Babel making human cooperation very difficult.
The account of Noah presents us with some insight into way that God views “human progress”. It appears that God has predetermined limits on such development. During the days of Noah, mankind (daughters of Adam) was evidently interactive with spiritual beings (sons of god) resulting in offspring referred to as “niphilim” or “fallen ones”. These are the “men of renown” from ancient times, literally, from eternity. Since God acted to destroy these “mighty men” we must consider them as evil relative to God’s purpose. Only Noah and his immediate family were survived the flood.
God used the mechanism of the “great flood’ to accomplish His purpose. Noah, his immediate family, and pairs of the various species of the animal kingdom were preserved in the ark. From these the earth was repopulated. The sign of the rainbow was given to assure man that God would not intervene in this same way again. We must understand that God did not indicate that He would not intervene in some other way.
God’s appraisal of the progress being made by mankind was:
“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.” (Genesis 6:5)
We presume that the reason for this assessment and God’s subsequent intervention is a result of the interaction between the “daughters of man” and the “sons of god” previously stated. Judging from the whole Biblical account, I speculate that man was on the verge of destroying himself at least in the sense of God’s creative purpose for him. He intervened for this reason.
From my study of the Bible both from a historic perspective and from a prophetic perspective, I will set forth the hypothesis that God will intervene in human affairs in order to prevent man from self-annihilation. Later, in the Genesis account, God again intervened to retard human progress at Babel (Genesis 11:1-9). This, I believe, prevented man from reestablishing contact with the “sons of god” as had occurred in the pre-flood generations.
Will God intervene in the future? I believe that He is in the process of doing so and has been for millennia. Indeed the whole of Biblical revelation paints such a picture. I believe that we are very late in this intervention. In what way will He intervene? Well, we know that it won’t be by a great flood. Instead, Bible prophecy indicates that God is in the process of establishing a king over all of mankind who will,
“And He shall rule them with a rod of iron”. (Revelation 2:27a)
This is the rule of the Messiah coming to Israel who is “King of Kings and Lord of Lord”. (Revelation 19:16b)
Four thousand years ago God began preparing to establish a king over the human community. We can see it in the revelation through Abraham. Gradually, over long periods of time, the prophetic picture was laid down. Two thousand years ago, God intervened through the person of Jesus. Subsequently, He has chosen individuals to be “born from above” who walk in the Holy Spirit in a manner like that of Jesus. This is the true church that follows Jesus in the Spirit. Now, in our own days, Israel has been gathered in from the nations and dwells in their own land as an independent nation once again. Soon, we believe that Jesus will return from the heavenly realm and establish His rule on the throne of David in Jerusalem in the midst of Israel. God has chosen Israel to be the “host” country for His kingdom and Jerusalem to be the seat of His government.
In the book of Revelation, these events are seen as the ultimate judgment on the rebellious human community. John declared:
“The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Messiah and He will reign forever and ever.” (Revelation 11:15b)
So we see that God has and will intervene in the human community to limit and ultimately eliminate the manifestation of evil from the world He created. He limited man’s lifespan, reduced the “gene pool” for the generations following Noah and limited human cooperation at Babel. He is now in the process of establishing a reigning King on the throne of David in Jerusalem. God:
“is coming to judge the earth; He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with equity”. (Psalm 98:9b)
Judge in the Hebrew sense means to “rule over” as in the period of the Judges of Israel. The Great King will rule over the house of Israel and through them the whole world population.
Praise the Holy One of Israel. His redemption is near.
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