Well, this morning, if you want to open in your Bibles to Genesis chapter 4 and chapter 5, we are beginning something which is very exciting for me. In my whole life, I've never preached on Genesis 4 and 5. And I've been spending a long time studying these two chapters. And what I believe is it's going to be one of the more exciting portions of Scripture that we've ever covered. I've called this the Lost World because that's what the Bible calls it, especially in the New Testament. Peter, which we'll read a little bit later as our text together, says that the world that perished in the flood, you know, there was an entire world, and I'll just briefly sketch to you what we're going to see in the weeks ahead. If the birth rate was half modern birth rate, if the mortality rate was double modern mortality rate, if the sequencing of births was half of current sequences in births, And if the family members did not marry and beget children at half the current rate of marriage and begetting, then there were conservatively, at the moment of the flood, with 1,656 years minimum between Adam and Noah, there were at a minimum, at double the mortality and half the birth rate, a minimum of 7 billion people, more than today. on this planet when Noah and his children were the only ones that survived. There is a lost world that we know very little about, that was highly civilized, that was highly developed. In fact, the scriptures tell us that in the judgment it says death and the grave will give up those that are in them, and then it says the sea will deliver up those that are in them. Now, other than a few people that have drowned in fairies and wars and stuff. What is that? Well, there are 7 billion people that are buried under the sea because of the flood. That's the world we're going to go into. Open with me to Genesis 4 and 5. And this morning I welcome you to the part of God's Word I like to call the lost world. This is a mysterious part of human history involving up to 7 billion people who live before the flood. What was the antediluvian What was the anti-Diluvian world like? And why did God destroy it? And who lived? And most importantly, who served God in a world where God could only find eight people that were worth saving? Isn't it amazing to think that God looked and He scrutinized this world and there were only eight righteous people? Not out of a million. Not out of a hundred million. Not out of a billion. But potentially, out of seven billion people, he could only find eight that were righteous on the planet? That's an amazing world. But who in that time served God? And what can we learn from the world that perished? All this and so much more lies ahead in Genesis chapters 4 and 5. I'd like to just consider three questions with you this morning. Number one, why should we study the lost world? Why should we go to chapters that that we usually just skip right over, because chapter 5 is mostly genealogy, and everybody skips those, usually. And chapter 4 is just the boring thing about Cain and Abel, and we've heard that ever since we were little in Sunday school. Why should we study it? Well, first of all, because the lost world was sliding toward the flood of the water of God's judgment, just like our world is sliding toward the flood of fire. You say, what do you mean by that? In just a moment, we're going to read 2 Peter chapter 3. And God says, just like I destroyed the first world with water, I'm going to destroy the current world with fire. And so that must mean God believed in Noah and the flood and that it was global and it killed everybody. And as much as that happened, he said, the world that is now present will be burned with fire. Very interesting correlation between those two. If we could summarize Genesis 4 and 5, and as you look at these verses of these two chapters, just 26 verses in chapter 4 and just 32 in chapter 5, if we could summarize these two chapters, it would go like this. Not long after God created Adam and Eve and put them in His beautiful garden, where every one of their needs were met, they decided to do the one thing God told them not to do. They chose to eat from the tree of knowledge. and they fell and were ruined and all the rest of the universe fell with them and the whole earth was cursed by God. Our first parents lost their fellowship with God and were exiled from Eden. That's paradise lost. We just finished last week. Very soon after that, in this series, The Lost World, the first murder was committed when Cain killed his brother Abel. The world that followed was a world of corruption, of violence, of polygamy, a world of incest, of lying, a world filled with stealing, adultery, idolatry, and every other type of sin. And these sins became common and increasingly, in almost exponential multiplication, increasingly more vile. Mankind, in fact, became so terribly debauched that God had to destroy all people except for the eight in Noah's family. Man's nature was so sinful and in the generations after the flood, mankind continued to ignore God and sinned in every conceivable way. After this series and after the flood, we will see that God tried to reach people through Noah, Noah preached while he was building the ark and they wouldn't listen or change. And sin reaches a climax after the flood when the Tower of Babel, where men literally tried to take heaven by storm. If you read chapter 11 of Genesis, chapter 10, 11, it says, we're going to build a tower and get to God. We're going to show him who's in charge around here. Well, God thwarted their scheme by causing them to speak different languages. And humans were scattered across the world. Yet God didn't give up on us. It was in God's eternal plan that those whom he had created in his own image would someday worship and serve him. And to do so, they had to be redeemed. And so God could only recover humanity by a very drastic means. And if a great river of God's plan had been blocked by the land side of man's sin, then God had to cut a new channel. And God chose a certain people to be the channel to bring the river of life to the world again. And the father of those people we'll meet in chapter 11 of Genesis. His name was Abraham. From his descendants came the nation of Israel, God's earthly, historic channel of revelation. This book comes through the family of Abraham, the Bible. And redemption came through the family of Abraham, through the seed. of Abraham, Jesus Christ. The old and the new covenants, the law, the prophecies, the priestly sacrifices, all of this came through Israel. The Messiah, Jesus Christ Himself, was a Jew, the truest Jew of all, and God's plan of redemption was to be carried out through those specially chosen people. As Jesus said in John 4.22, salvation is from the Jews, and all Jews are from Abraham. And God picked Abraham, and God predetermined the life of Abraham, and God set His love on Abraham as the one through whom the channel would be cut. It was God's divine choice. Why? Because the Lord, it says in Deuteronomy 7, did not set His love on Abraham or the Jews and did not choose them because they were more in number than any people, for you were the fewest, Deuteronomy says. But because the Lord loved you, and kept the oath he swore to you." That's why God gives us this record of the lost world. Let's turn to 2 Peter chapter 3 at the end of your Bibles, the other end of your Bibles. If you don't know the Bible well, just hit Revelation and back up past Jude, 1st, 2nd, 3rd John, and 2 Peter is next. And in 2 Peter chapter 3, I want to read to you about the lost world in the first nine verses. Let's stand together and remain standing after I read these nine verses. And we're going to ask God to really open our hearts. And I think you're going to be as excited about this as I have been these past several weeks. Second Peter, chapter three, as we read about the world that perished, the lost world, second Peter three, one through nine. Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder. Peter's sweet words saying he repeats himself. Verse two, that you may be mindful of the words that were spoken before by the holy prophets and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior. Verse three, knowing this first, that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts and saying, where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation. By the way, scientifically that's called uniformitarianism, which is what the scoffers in all of our universities from coast to coast and around the planet believe in. It's the basic tenet of evolutionism and evolutionary thought that everything has stayed the same and if long enough goes by, you can evolve into anything. And that is exactly what Peter said would grip our planet. So there's a prophecy that you've seen take place in every school across this planet. saying, everything continues from the beginning of creation the same, uniformitarianism. Verse 5, For this they willfully forget, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which, now look at this, here's the lost world in verse 6, by which the world that then existed perished. An entire world, an entire civilization that was very advanced. The entire world that existed then was lost. It says it perished. How? Being flooded with water, at the end of verse 6. But the heavens, verse 7, and the earth, which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire. until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. You see, the same God that flooded the world, the antediluvian, the pre-flood world of Noah, the same God that did that, is going to burn our current world with fire. Water, fire. Two judgments, both global. Verse 8, Beloved, do not forget this one thing. that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years is one day. And the Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. And we will see that in the lost world, the longest sermon ever preached was preached. For 120 years, Noah preached for the whole world that judgment was coming and that their only hope was in the Lord, and they wouldn't listen. But praise God, his family listened and they were saved. Let's bow before the Lord and ask him to open our hearts to his word this morning. Father in heaven, I thank you for the beauty of your word. I thank you for these new chapters in my life of a portion of your word that has yielded such richness that is overwhelming spiritually to think about. The beautiful pictures of you, O Christ, of the wonderful clarity of the approach to you, O God, of coming with a substitutionary sacrifice to come your way with your sacrifice that you expect for us to approach you. I pray that all who hear your word this morning will be quickened to understanding of the truth of the God who loves so much that He is patiently waiting that all might come to repentance. I pray that in your great mercy, you would grant repentance to some, even this morning, who are sitting in the darkness of unbelief and have never yet yielded and said, yes, I am lost. I'm undone. I am ruined. Your judgment is coming. Save me now, O Savior. Teach us from your word, we pray in Jesus' precious name. Amen. You may be seated. As you're seated, I repeat to you that the first reason we're going to study Genesis 4 and 5, and you can turn back there with me, the first reason we're going to study it is because the world that existed then was sliding toward judgment, just like our current world is sliding toward judgment. But secondly, I want to introduce a second thought from this chapter. And what's amazing is that when we go through it verse by verse, and we're going to go through every part of these two chapters, We're going to see that God's demands for holiness haven't changed. God's demands of holy approach to him haven't changed, and therefore we should pay attention. The lost world, Genesis 4 and 5, introduces us to the reality that God doesn't change. God is holy, and only the saints or holy ones will be with him in heaven. In the lost world, only the saints, only the holy ones, only those who were sanctified by substitutionary offering for their sin. Everything about Cain and Abel is just such a beautiful picture of salvation. Cain was one who wanted to come to God his own way. Abel said, I can't come to God on my own, I have to come God's way. Cain was one who says, everything in my hands I bring simply to what I can do I bring. Abel said, nothing in my hands I bring simply to the sacrifice, the cross I cling. I mean, it's the most glaring dichotomy, the most clear separation between the religion of Cain, which was religion of human achievement and works, the revelation that Abel had received, that only through a substitute could you be saved, as you come saying, I'm a sinner, I can't please God, and therefore someone else has to die in my place, which is the whole message of Christ. But that is the reality that God is holy, and God cannot overlook sin. Sin must be dealt with. Now, one Puritan, and I've been enjoying, nowadays a lot of modern writers don't even write on these two chapters. I mean, it's just kind of, they go right by it. The Puritans, those early Bible teaching saints from England that came to America, they used to write voluminously on this. And let me just read to you, and I know it's archaic language, but listen to two paragraphs from a Puritan commentary on these two chapters. This is what it says. This is his comments on verse one, okay? I mean, verse one of chapter four. This is what they got out of verse one. Now, look at this. They thought a lot. the necessity of holiness. It is impossible that ever you should be happy except you are holy. No holiness here, no happiness hereafter. The scriptures speak of three bodily inhabitants of heaven. Enoch before the law, Elijah under the law, and Jesus under the gospel. All three eminent in holiness to teach us that even in ordinary course there is no going to heaven without holiness. There are many thousand thousands now in heaven, but not one unholy among them. There is not one sinner among all those saints. There is not one goat among all those sheep. There is not one weed among all those flowers. There is not one thorn or prickle among all those roses in heaven. There is not one pebble among all those glittering diamonds. There is not one cane among all those Abels. You see where his attachment to chapter four comes. He's talking about Cain and Abel. There is not one Ishmael among all those Isaacs. There's not one Esau among all those Jacobs in heaven. There's not one Saul among all the prophets, nor one Judas among all the apostles, nor one Demas among all the preachers, nor one Simon Magus among all those professors. Heaven is only for the holy, the holy are only for heaven. Heaven is a garment of glory that can only be suited to him that is holy. And God, whose truth itself cannot lie, hath said, without holiness, he's quoting Hebrews 12, by the way, the person on earth shall never see the Lord. As the writer of Hebrews says, follow after holiness without which no one will see the Father. Without holiness, the nobleman shall not see the Lord. Without holiness, the mean shall not see the Lord. Without holiness, the prince shall not see the Lord. Without holiness, the peasant shall not see the Lord. Without holiness, the ruler shall not see the Lord. Without holiness, the ruled shall not see the Lord. Without holiness, the learned shall not see the Lord. Without holiness, the ignorant shall not see the Lord. Without holiness, the husband shall not see the Lord. Without holiness, the wife shall not see the Lord. Without holiness, the father shall not see the Lord. Without holiness, the child shall not see the Lord. Without holiness, the master shall not see the Lord. And without holiness, the servant shall not speak the Lord. For faithful and strong is the Lord of hosts that have spoken it." Those Puritans could get a lot out of one verse, couldn't they? But do you see the message? The God who said to Cain and Abel, there's one approach to me acceptable. He revealed it. There was one altar, one place, one way of worship, which we'll study next week. That same God says to us today that there is one way, one truth, one life, and no one can come to the Father except through the Son. That's the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Well, finally, why should we study the lost world? In Genesis 4 and 5, we can find the Lord Jesus Christ everywhere through those two chapters. You say, you can? Some of you have been, you know, kind of looking and you're saying, all I see is blood and murder and genealogies. Where can you find that? Well, listen. Why should we study the lost world? What can the New Testament Christian find in Genesis 4 and 5? Well, most amazingly, we can find in these two chapters the Lord Jesus Christ in all his glory. And the way we see these chapters will color all the rest of our understanding of God's Word. Now, let me just share with you what a great English preacher, his name was J.C. Ryle, what he said as he began 150 years ago preaching on this very two-chapter section of the Bible. This is what he said. In every part of both Testaments, Christ will be found, dimly and indistinctly at the beginning, but clearly and plainly in the middle, and fully and completely at the end. But He will be found really and substantially everywhere." Why? What do we see in these two chapters? Well, Christ's sacrifice for death for sinners, Christ's kingdom and future glory are the lights that we bring to bear on every book of Scripture. Christ's cross and Christ's crown are the clues we hold And if we will find our way through Scripture, we will find, even through the most difficult passages, Christ's cross and Christ's crown. Christ is the only key that will unlock many of the dark places of the Word. Some people complain they don't understand the Bible. The reason is very simple. They are not using the key. Now, I like this, what he said. To many people, the Bible The book you hold in your hand is like the hieroglyphics of Egypt. It's a mystery, because they don't employ the key. Now, what's the key? I'm going to show you, and you might want to write some of these references down. Number one, it was Christ crucified who is set forth in every sacrifice of the Old Testament. Now, what do we find in chapter 4 of Genesis? We find the first description of the sacrifices of the Old Testament. In fact, it's the first mention of blood and the first of anything in the Bible ought to get your attention. The first time grace shows up is in chapter 6 with Noah. The first time blood shows up is in chapter 4 with Cain and Abel. And blood and sacrifice and grace are big themes in the Bible. And so, In every sacrifice of the Old Testament, it was Christ crucified who was set forth. Listen to this. Every animal slain and offered on an altar by those righteous, faithful seekers of the Old Testament was a practical confession that they were looking for a Savior who would someday die for sinners. You say, where do you get that? Well, back to Peter. Turn to 1 Peter chapter 3. The first reference I want you to mark down. And the rest of these you won't have to turn to, I'll just read to you. But look at 1 Peter 3. Not 2, we were in 2. Look at 1 Peter 3 and verse 18. Because listen, they looked for one who would die in the place of sinners. And 1 Peter 3.18 is going to explain this. They looked for a Savior who would take away their sin by suffering. They looked for a substitute. They looked for a sin bearer who would stand in their place. You know, it's absurd to suppose that an unmeaning slaughter of innocent animals without a distinct object in view would ever please God. And so, every sacrifice in the Old Testament by the Old Testament saints was a portrait of Jesus Christ. Why? Because 1 Peter 3.18 says this, For Christ died for sins once for all. the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body, but made alive in the Spirit." You say, what do you mean? Well, God's plan was always that a sacrifice would substitute for the sins of the individual. That's why people had to bring the Lamb. Just the bringing of the Lamb was a confession that they were sinners. And then they would put their hands on the lamb and identify their sin with that substitute. Then that lamb would be slain, and only one way. It had to be slain to pour out its blood. And then that blood was caught, and that blood was sprinkled and then poured out around the base of the altar, and that lamb was consumed with fire after it was skinned and cleaned and shown to be perfect and whole and blameless. That is the picture of Jesus Christ. Every time a sacrifice was offered in the Old Testament, it was Christ crucified, who, as Peter said, that he would die for sins once for all. No animal could take away sin. They only covered them. They only piled them up. They only put them off to the side until the complete, the once and for all sacrifice of Christ could be accomplished. Well, back to Genesis, because I want you to see in Genesis 4, and you can stay there and just write these references down. Secondly, and in our text this morning, it was Christ to whom Abel looked when he offered his sacrifice. In Genesis chapter 4, it says in verse 4 that Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock. And look at this little addition, and of their fats. You see, this means that there was a clear revelation from God of how He wanted animals to be sacrificed. They didn't just throw them up there and strangle them and burn them, skin and all. There was a very clear way they did it. First, they slit their throat, they caught the blood, then they skinned them, they cleaned them out, they took the fat off to the side, they laid them in pieces on the altar, and the fat was offered separately. It was a very clear way that God wanted it to be offered to him. And it was Christ to whom Abel looked when he offered a better sacrifice than Cain. Now listen, it wasn't just Abel's heart that was better than his brother Cain, but Abel showed he had a knowledge, listen, of a vicarious sacrifice. That means a sacrifice, a substitute, one in his place. And his faith was in an atonement. He offered the firstlings of his flock with the blood and thereby declared he believed, listen to this, that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins. No blood, no sacrifice that atones for sin. That's God's message. You say, how do you know that? Well, we'll see in the future, but let me read to you from Hebrews. Hebrews 11 says, by faith, by the way, The Bible clearly tells us what that kind of faith is. So, faith comes by hearing what? The Word of God. Abel, by faith, offered. How did he do that? Because God had told him what he wanted. He didn't walk around and try everything until finally something worked. God said, and that's what God always has done, God said, this is the way you come to me, Cain and Abel. By the way, The Bible even tells us how old Cain was when Abel was slain. Cain was 129 years old. Cain had lived in Adam and Eve's family for 129 years. He had heard the message, he knew the approach to God, and we'll cover this, it says it in Genesis, and you can add the numbers yourself. Don't get boggled with numbers, but just this. They knew clearly what God wanted. They knew exactly how to approach God, and it says by faith And faith is obediently following God's Word. Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain did. Hebrews 11.4 By faith, he was commended as a righteous man because God spoke well of his offering. And by faith, Abel still speaks even though he's dead. What do the Scriptures tell us? It was Christ that Abel looked to when he offered a better sacrifice than Cain. It was Christ of whom in chapter 5, if you want to turn over to chapter 5, and look at verse 22 of Genesis. We're going to cover this also. It was Christ of whom Enoch prophesied. Remember, Enoch walked with God? And Enoch walked through abounding wickedness before the flood, and he prophesied that the Lord would return with his saints. Did you know Enoch was an itinerant preacher of righteousness? He walked around the antediluvian, pre-flood world, and he walked for 300 years preaching and proclaiming that God was coming back, that he was going to bring back his saints. You know, most people know very little about Enoch, but he was prophesying of Christ's return. In fact, the book of Jude, verses 14 and 15, record his prophecy. He says that God will judge everyone and convict the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds that they have done in an ungodly way, and of their harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against God. That's his sermon. Well, we'll see that in the days to come. It was Christ not only Abel looked to when he sacrificed a better sacrifice than Cain, it was Christ whom Enoch prophesied of as he walked for 300 years with God, but it was also Christ to whom Abraham looked. And in the days ahead, Abraham, who shows up in chapter 12, verse 1, Abraham looked to Christ when he dwelt in the tents of promise. In fact, Jesus said this in John 8, 56, Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day. And he saw it and was glad. Abraham looked forward to Jesus Christ. Cain did not. Abel did. Enoch did. Abraham did look forward to Jesus Christ. What a wonderful world, the lost world, because there were such great saints living in it. You know, later on in Genesis, we'll see it was Christ of whom Jacob spoke to his sons when he lay dying. In fact, you're in Genesis. Look at Genesis 49. Don't want you to get away from Genesis, but Genesis 49. And at a later date, we'll probably get this far into the book. But it was Christ of whom Jacob spoke. Jacob marked out the tribe out of which Christ would be born. Jacob foretold that gathering together unto him Something would be accomplished in the future as he gathered his family around and look at chapter 49 of Genesis verse 10 Because Christ as I'm telling you is in all the scripture. He said the scepter will not depart from Judah Judah wasn't the firstborn Reuben was the firstborn it was Reuben Simeon Judah Levi so Simeon and and Reuben were ahead in the birth order, but God picked the third born son of as his tribe and the air through which Christ would come. So the scepter will not depart from Judah nor a lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh come and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. That was Christ of whom Jacob spoke. Well, we are going to see in the evening service tonight. It was Christ who was the substance of all the ceremonial law which God gave to Israel by the hand of Moses. the morning and evening sacrifices, the continual shedding of blood, the way the altar was set up, the mercy seat, the high priest, the Passover, the Day of Atonement, the scapegoat. These were all pictures and types. They were emblems of Christ and of his work. And God had compassion on the weakness of his people. He taught them about Christ line upon line, just like we teach little children. In fact, Galatians 3.24 says, the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. Well, also, it was Christ to whom God directed the attention of Israel. All the miracles they saw that were done before their eyes in the wilderness, the pillar of cloud, the pillar of fire that guided them, the manna which descended and was on the ground every morning to feed them, the water that came out of the smitten rock that followed them, all of these were pictures and images of Christ. The brazen serpent on that memorable occasion when the plague of the fiery serpents was sent to them, was an emblem of Christ. In fact, just a reference, if you want to look it up this week, 1 Corinthians 10.4, Paul is preaching about the Old Testament, and he says this in 1 Corinthians 10, For they drank of that spiritual rock, he's talking about Israel in the desert, that followed them, and listen to what he says, and that rock was Christ. The rock that was smitten, the rock out of which the water flowed, was Jesus Christ. And when all the way through the scriptures, David said, he is the rock. And when Moses said that he was the one who would be a prophet greater than Moses, they were always pointing to Jesus Christ. Jesus is in all the scriptures. That's why we study the lost world. It was Christ of whom all the prophets spoke, though they could only see through a glass darkly. 1 Peter 1.11 says, They tried to find out the time and the circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ, who was in them, pointed when He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. It is Christ of whom the whole New Testament is full. The Gospels are Christ living, speaking, and moving. The Acts are Christ preached, published, and proclaimed. The Epistles are Christ written and explained and exalted. But all through the Bible, from the first to the last, there is one name above every name. That's the name of Christ. I like this parting comment that. J.C. Ryle gave his congregation at the New Year and we're kind on the last Sunday before the New Year. Now, listen carefully. He says, I charge every reader. Of this message, because he published his messages in the newspaper, ask yourself frequently what the Bible is to him. Is it a Bible which you have found nothing more than good moral precepts and sound advice? Or is it a Bible in which you have found Christ? Is it a Bible in which Christ is all the way through? If not, if you don't see Christ even in Genesis 4 and 5, he's saying, I tell you plainly, you have hitherto used your Bible very little. You are like a man who studies the solar system and leaves out in his studies the sun, which is the center of all. It is no wonder you find your Bible a dull book. You know what? Look for Christ as we go through this passage. One last thing. Genesis 5. And this is what I want to conclude with. And you might want to write in your Bibles because this has been a real blessing to me. Genesis 5. What I want to show you is the first seven men who followed Adam. And if you've never seen this in your Bible, and last night it was fun. My family was watching me. I had out my old falling apart Schofield Bible. The first edition Schofield's had this, this what every Hebrew name in the Bible means, and I was checking all these out, and if you look closely at what I show you, you might want to jot these in your Bible, you'll see Christ even in the genealogies, and a lot of people have never seen this. An interesting message can be found from the genealogies of Genesis chapter 5. And let me go through that with you. The Hebrew word and then the English meaning of that, because every name in the Old Testament has a meaning. Those words were actually common words that were applied to individuals or they were put together words. And all of these names in the Old Testament have meaning. Let me give you an example, look at chapter 5, verse 21. It says, Enoch lived 65 years and begat Methuselah. Now, Methuselah comes from two Hebrew words, muth, that's a root that means death, and shalak, that's a Hebrew word which means to bring or to send forth. So Methuselah That word that Hebrew word is if you were listening and understood Hebrew, and I said Methuselah I would be saying to you in Hebrew. You would understand me to say his death shall bring How would you like to name your child his death shall bring? I mean we wouldn't do that. You know we'd name him John or Bill or whatever we wouldn't say his death shall bring But think about it Methuselah's father had been given a prophecy of the coming great flood, and was apparently told, listen, that as long as his son was alive, the judgment of the flood would be withheld. But as soon as his son died, God would judge the whole world with this flood." Can you imagine that? Can you imagine that God had told, as it says in verse 21, Enoch, who walked with Him, He says, Enoch, your son, When he dies, it will come. With his death, the judgment will come. Can you imagine, every time old Methuselah got a cold, his dad went, oh no, what if he gets sick or what if he dies? It's coming now. Can you imagine that, having a son, that if they got sick and died, the world was going to end? It must have been kind of an awesome thing to raise him. Every time he caught cold, the entire neighborhood probably panicked, you know, and went for higher ground. But indeed, the year Methuselah died, the flood came. That's what the Bible says. When he dies, it will come. It's interesting. Methuselah's life, in effect, was a symbol of God's mercy for stalling the coming judgment of the flood. And therefore, it's fitting that his lifetime was the longest in the Bible, which shows the extensiveness of God's mercy. But let me just go through these names, OK? Here are, starting in verse 1, Adam and Seth and Enosh and Kenan and Mahalalel and Jared and Enoch and Methuselah, Lamech, and Noah. Now, here's what they mean. Noah means rest or comfort. Lamech means the despairing. Methuselah, his death, shall bring. Enoch is the word for teaching. Jared means shall come down or descend. Mahalalel means the blessed God. Kenan means sorrow. Enosh means mortal, or frail, or despairing. Seth means the appointed one. And Adam means man. Now, just in my Bible, I've just actually, in verse 1, I put Adam, and I wrote man by it. And in verse 4, by Seth, I wrote appointed. And in verse 6, by Enosh, I wrote mortal, frail, or miserable. That's what the Hebrew means. In verse 10, by Canaan, or Canaan, depending on which way it's transliterated in your Bible, that means sorrow. In verse 13, Ma-ha-la-el means blessed be God, or the blessed God. In verse 16, Jared means descent, or I wrote in, shall come down. Verse 19, Enoch means teaching, And verse 21, Methuselah, his death shall bring. And then in verse 25, Lamech means despairing. And in verse 29, Noah means rest or comfort. Now, this is interesting. And if you ever want to read about this, A.W. Pink and Ray Stedman and many other commentators through the years have taken these names and put them together and watch. We'll look at them together, okay? Man, that's Adam, is appointed mortal sorrow. So that's Seth, and after Seth, Enosh. Okay? So Adam, Seth, Enosh, those names mean man is appointed mortal sorrow. But the blessed God, Ma-Ha-La-Lel, shall come down, that's Jared, teaching, that's Enoch, that his death, that is Methuselah, shall bring the despairing Lamech rest." Noah. Did you know that the Lord Jesus Christ is even in the genealogies? Because if you string together the Hebrew meaning of the names of those seven descendants of Adam, Man is appointed to mortal sorrow because we're sinners. Our lives are frail. We're weak. We're dying. But the blessed God shall come down, teaching that His death... God come down? What's Christmas about? God coming down to be with man. And His death, He came to die in our place, shall bring to the despairing the rest of eternal life. I wonder this morning, have you seen Christ in all the Scriptures? But more than that, have you realized this Christmas season that we are appointed to all the sorrows of sin, but our blessed God has come down to teach us that through the death of Jesus Christ, we can receive eternal life. That's the message of the Scripture. I hope today that you will not be like the world that was lost and perished and they wouldn't listen. I hope that you will listen to the good news of Jesus Christ and let him bring you rest and comfort. Let's stand together and be dismissed with a word of prayer this morning and listen to the word of God as God speaks to us through his spirit. Please bow with me. Father in heaven, thank you for the good news of your word. Thank you that we can see Christ in every corner of this book. Even in the genealogies, the good news is present and we pray As believers that know you, that we would be comforted, that we would share this Good News with all we meet, and with any who are with us this morning who are lost, who are ruined, who are headed to destruction, that they will see, that if they will believe in your judgment and your wrath, then they will look for a Savior. And they will find that you, Lord Jesus, are the blessed God who came down to give the despairing, the weak, the mortal, the ruined, the rest and comfort of salvation. Thank you, Jesus, that you came to save us, your creatures, from our sin. We bless your name, the name that is above every name, the Lord Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen? God bless you as you go.