The Voyage To The New World

Humans were created sinless, however when they chose to rebel against their Creator (see The Rock Of The Church) by following a loser (see Do You Want A Servant Or A Serpent?), they became losers too. They became "violent," which in the Word of God means not only behavior that causes unlawful injury or destruction to others (but certainly includes it), but violation of God's Law - a state of eager insurrection that has inflicted the religion and politics of humanity ever since e.g. "^3:4 Her prophets are light and treacherous persons: her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law" (Zephaniah 3:4 KJV). So it was that one day, the LORD declared that He had enough of the nasty little renegades.

"^6:5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. ^6:6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. ^6:7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them." (Genesis 6:5-7 KJV)

Good and evil never stopped being a choice however. There was one man, and the family of which he was the patriarch, that had not rebelled against the LORD. "Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God." Noah was therefore chosen as the means to transport humanity into a new world.

"^6:8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

^6:9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. ^6:10 And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

^6:11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. ^6:12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.

^6:13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. ^6:14 Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.

^6:15 And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. ^6:16 A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.

^6:17 And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.

^6:18 But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee. ^6:19 And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. ^6:20 Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive. ^6:21 And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them.

^6:22 Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he." (Genesis 6:8-22 KJV)

"And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat"

Noah was also given instructions for restoring animal life, both "clean' and "unclean" (e.g. vultures are unclean because they clean the Earth by consuming carrion) creatures. "And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him."

"^7:1 And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. ^7:2 Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female. ^7:3 Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth. ^7:4 For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth.

^7:5 And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him." (Genesis 7:1-5 KJV)

When all of the preparations were completed, the waters came, from above ("the windows of heaven were opened. and the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights") and below ("the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up").

"^7:6 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth. ^7:7 And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood. ^7:8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth, ^7:9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah. ^7:10 And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.

^7:11 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. ^7:12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.

^7:13 In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark; ^7:14 They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort. ^7:15 And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life. ^7:16 And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in.

^7:17 And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth. ^7:18 And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters. ^7:19 And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered. ^7:20 Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered. ^7:21 And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: ^7:22 All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died.

^7:23 And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark. ^7:24 And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days." (Genesis 7:6-24 KJV)

The Scriptures do not record whether Noah knew of the destination (he likely didn't because the Ark, as it's described, had no sails or tiller), but it didn't matter. The LORD watched over the voyagers and guided them to their landing place as the waters receded.

"^8:1 And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters asswaged; ^8:2 The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained; ^8:3 And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated. ^8:4 And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat. ^8:5 And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen.

^8:6 And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made: ^8:7 And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth. ^8:8 Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground; ^8:9 But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark. ^8:10 And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark; ^8:11 And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf plucked off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth. ^8:12 And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; which returned not again unto him any more." (Genesis 8:1-12 KJV)

Humanity began again from then and there - with the promise by the LORD that never again would He destroy the violent rebels of the world with a worldwide flood of water. The next time will be with a worldwide flood of fire that will create a New World that will last forever (see The Last Days Before The Everlasting Days and the Fact Finder question below).

"^8:13 And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry. ^8:14 And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried.

^8:15 And God spake unto Noah, saying, ^8:16 Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee. ^8:17 Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.

^8:18 And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him: ^8:19 Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark.

^8:20 And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. ^8:21 And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.

^8:22 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease." (Genesis 8:13-22 KJV)

Fact Finder: (a) What did Jesus Christ say about the Flood that occurred in the time of Noah? (b) What did the apostle Peter say about the Flood that occurred in the time of Noah?
(a) Matthew 24:37-39; see also Could Christ Return Tonight? and The Raptures
(b) 1 Peter 3:18-22, 2 Peter 3:3-18 and see The Lake Of Fire Into An Ocean Of Fire - When?

This Day In History, January 2

69: The Roman Lower Rhine army proclaimed its commander, Vitellius, as the 8th Roman emperor (see Ancient Empires - Rome The Politics Of Rome).

366: A large force of Alamanni (an alliance of ancient tribes of Germanic people) crossed the frozen Rhine River and invaded the Roman Empire i.e. they did to Rome what Rome had being doing to everyone else for centuries (see Pax Romana: The Birth Of The Roman Empire).

533: Mercurius became Pope John II; he was the first pope to adopt an alias for a papal reign.

757: Aethelbald, king of the Mercians from 716, died. By 736 he was signing himself as "king of Britain."

1492: Spain recaptured the southern city of Granada from the Moors (an Arab and Berber people from North Africa who converted to Islam and conquered Spain in the 8th century), consolidating the monarchy under Ferdinand of Aragon. The same year, King Ferdinand and his wife Queen Isabella ordered the expulsion of all Jews from Spain, while sending Christopher Columbus, an explorer in their employ, off on his first voyage to the "new world."

1602: The Spanish force in Ireland surrendered to the English at Kinsdale.

1757: Clive of India recaptured Calcutta after it had been seized by the Nawab of Bengal who used the infamous "Black Hole of Calcutta" to imprison British captives.

1839: Pioneering photographer Louis Daguerre of France took the first photograph of the moon.

1905: During the Russian-Japanese War, the Russians surrendered to the Japanese after the Battle of Port Arthur.

1936: In Berlin, Nazi officials claimed that their treatment of Jews was not any of the League of Nations business (see Presidential Quotes On War, Terrorism, Religion).

1937: Britain and Italy signed the Mediterranean Peace Pact. They were at war less than 2 years later.

1942: During the Second World War, in the Philippines, Japanese forces captured the capital Manila, along with the nearby air base.

1944: The first use of helicopters in actual combat, by the British Atlantic patrol.

1959: The first human lunar space mission was begun by the Soviet Union with its launch of the unmanned Luna I. It passed within 4,600 miles of the moon before moving on to a solar orbit.

1971: A team of Israeli scholars announced the discovery in Jerusalem of a 2,000 year-old skeleton of a crucified male. Found in a cave-tomb, it was the first direct physical evidence of the Roman method of execution.

1988: The Canada-U.S. Free Trade agreement was signed by President Ronald Reagan and Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.

1995: The most distant galaxy discovered to that time was found by scientists using the Keck telescope in Hawaii. It was estimated to be 15 billion light years away i.e. the light image seen in the telescope was 15 billion years old (see Your Very Own Time Machine; also Parabolic Prophecies).

2007: Teddy Kollek died at age 95. He was the mayor of Jerusalem 1965-1993.