52 Weeks in the Ark with Noah and Family — EPILOGUE (371 Days of Earth’s Rebuilding)
“So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs. But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man’s brother I will require the life of man.
‘Whoever sheds man’s blood,
By man his blood shall be shed;
For in the image of God
He made man.
And as for you, be fruitful and multiply;
Bring forth abundantly in the earth
And multiply in it.”‘
-Gen. 9:1-7
Final Week inside the Ark (371 Days Add up to 53 Weeks)
Yes, you read it right. Noah and family spent 371 days, essentially, inside the Ark. For we said that the call to enter the Ark came on the 10th day of Iyar, the second month in the Hebrew religious calendar. And for the next 7 days when it did not yet rain on the Earth, according to Jubilees 5:23, they “entered, and all that we brought to him, into the ark”. Then, on the 17th day, Yahuah “closed it from without”. We understand that to mean that the whole week prior to the coming of the rain, Noah and his family brought in all the animals into the Ark. What would be the use of all the humans and animals staying in the Ark doing nothing but waiting for one whole week with the door open?
We also assume that Noah would have built the rooms for all the animals according to their sizes, needs and habits. That would mean testing those stalls with actual or the very animals Noah was bringing with them, so as to know how much food and water they would need, as well as many other necessary factors. Hence, even prior to the call to enter, some of the young and delicate animals, such as the numerous tiny insects, snails, worms and slugs would have been already in their places weeks before the call to enter. Otherwise, it would have taken a month or more for all those animals to be brought in. The call to enter would have been intended for the huge beasts and medium-sized land animals to be herded one-by-one into the Ark by the family. It makes sense, therefore, that the call to enter came on the 10th and the door was closed on the 17th day. Bringing all the animals on the 10th – within one day! – and keeping them inside for 7 days before the rainfall came sounds comical and absurd. Instead of feeding them inside the Ark for at least 6 days while there was still no rain, Noah would have kept the big animals outside until the 14th to the 16th and fed them accordingly.
Hence, we wish to clarify the title of this series of “52 Weeks inside the Ark with Noah and Family”. All-in-all, they were inside the Ark for 371 days, as itemized and illustrated in the article covering Week 52. That means they were inside the Ark a total of 53 weeks; however, the door was closed for only 52 weeks. Going in and out of the Ark for a week to bring in all the animals, as the family must have done, does not properly belong to the entire time that the Ark was being used for its intended purpose, which was to keep living beings safe from the floodwaters. Just as it took a full week for the preparation of the whole Creation (including the day the Lord ”rested” or ceased His work), it took also a full week before Noah could “rest” or finish his work of building the Ark as a safe home for all living beings.
But remember, the Great Flood was intended to be a great rebuilding of the Earth into what it is now, meteorologically and geophysically. While many of the geological and meteorological features remained after the Flood, some have been drastically altered or diminished, resulting in processes that did not occur prior to the Flood. First and foremost, it first rained during and after the Flood. Also notable is the presence of huge continents and oceans; whereas before, there was just one gigantic continent called Pangaea and only one global river system and small seas or lakes, perhaps, but no ocean at all.
Enoch’s and his Entire Tribe’s Role in the Great Flood
Enoch (7th from Adam) was the great-grandfather of Noah (10th from Adam). He received the news of the global flood from Yah during his “missing” years when he was translated into Heaven. Enoch also gave to Lamech, Noah’s father, the name “Noah” (rest) by which he would call his son. In short, practically the whole tribe knew about the Great Flood even before it happened. It was not kept a secret after all but broadcast to the world. Even Methuselah, Enoch’s son, had a name that foretold of his death at the time the Flood would come. Lamech’s name (desperado) must also have some connection to the Flood, as it expressed his reaction to the question of whether he would survive or die when the Flood came and when his father Methuselah was bound to die. Given such an unsure future, anyone would be living on edge and feeling more anxious as the Ark neared completion.
Or perhaps, Lamech had his own separate story; nevertheless, who would not be affected by all that was going on in the violent world ruled by human hybrids while a gigantic vessel that provided the only escape was being built by his own son? While Lamech put his hope on Noah as a kind of savior for humanity, he probably knew he was not intended to become part of that divine mission and, thus, felt miserable. Even at the birth of Noah, we read in Jubilees that Lamech had been terrified at seeing Noah’s face which shone so brightly that he ran out of the house. He sought solace from Enoch, who told him about what Noah was going to accomplish. Lamech’s feelings of extreme unworthiness had deep and persistent roots. For all of that, Lamech must have also helped his son accomplish his gargantuan work as much as the whole tribe and family had. He died years before the Flood came at the age of 777.
As we mentioned, Noah carried Enoch’s book with him in the Ark; otherwise, we would not have a copy of it today. In fact, Noah added his own writings to the volume containing stories that many seem to reject because of their incredible nature. Yet, what is so incredible with Noah’s face shining, when Moses’ own face also shone? Or that Enoch went to Heaven to receive great revelations when John also had similar “in the spirit” visions? Moses’ accounts of the Flood in the books of Genesis and Jubilees are quotations or brief narratives of the whole account which Noah himself wrote in Enoch 1. In spite of this fact, so many still consider the 2 latter books as apocryphal or uninspired. How can that be, when Moses and the rest of the prophets, the Temple priests, who had hidden the Temple scrolls in Qumran caves which we now read, and the apostles themselves read and quoted those books? Ironically, many believers today accept the fact that Enoch was translated into Heaven but do not believe he wrote a book (which Noah carried, read and preserved) that the Savior Himself and the apostles quoted and acknowledged.
Why Dwell on The Great Flood Story?
The task of presenting the story of Noah involves not just proving its authenticity and historicity but also showing that it is a vital and irreplaceable part of the long process of preserving the Pure Seed of Adam and Havah until the Promised Seed would finally come and complete the work of redeeming humans from the curse of death. Death through drowning, while it involved a divine, cosmic and cataclysmic process we tried to describe and explain, was but a necessary act of Divine Justice that portends the coming final judgment upon those who continue to oppose the will of the Creator. It is a story of judgment and salvation, of death and life, and of destruction and renewal. And it continues till today and until the completion of Yah’s plan to refresh and rebuild His handiwork.
We have discussed at length the great significance that Enoch’s role in the Great Flood played. In a way, the fall or the inception of the Watchers or Fallen Angels into Creation and their spawning a hybrid race of humans was counterpointed by Enoch’s transformation into an exalted human in the spiritual realm to provide a Yah-given defense, as well as a way, for humans to cope with the wickedness and destruction those hybrids would bring into the world. Noah was, thus, chosen to build that mechanism through which the hybrid race would be destroyed. Nevertheless, the final destruction of the demons that arose from the Nephilim race would fall into the hands of the Promised Son of Yah.
Yet, that final solution remains to be fulfilled until the end of time. It remains, therefore, for the disciples of Yahusha to deal frontally with the demons that now pose the greatest and ever-present danger for humanity. However, mainstream Christianity, in general, remains complacent, clueless and indifferent to the reality of the Nephilim, historically and existentially. In fact, most believers continue to hide their heads in the sand. Most seminaries do not even have studies that cover such topics as modern miracles, prophetic abilities, demon possession, sorcery, occultism, as well as the other dark angelic powers.
And without doubt, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech and Noah must have surely known the great powers the Nephilim possessed and, therefore, must have also wielded great divine abilities to fight their enemies. We imagine them, especially Noah whose face shone like the Sun, being so fearful and formidable that the hybrids must have avoided them. Noah was no mere builder but also a warrior who was of such stature that, as we said, if the hybrids were indeed giants, Noah himself would have been equal in size and might. But we lost this obvious fact in translation and transmission. Furthermore, if Enoch talked and lived with angels, how hard was it for him to seek help from angels to protect his family? And what were the archangels for if not to fight against the fallen angels and the Nephilim?
The Great Flood as the Prime Case of Biblical Ambivalence
When I wrote a book on Noah and the Great Flood from a fresh, wholistic perspective, not many found it plausible or acceptable, whether scientifically or theologically. After having finished a year-long revisit of the story in this blog, nothing has changed much. Not many accept the possibilities and the theories presented to explain the biblical text in the light of new scientific and archeological findings. We harbor no childish desire to please everyone or to convince many overnight. Perhaps, it is because the Flood, even for believers, somehow has remained as a myth or a magical story that we accept by faith or even blind faith without even questioning the big and small aspects of it. Yet, we have done just that – posing questions many times over and have seen that it is far from being impossible or unlikely but as an actual and real story within the entire scope of recognized scientific and natural processes. Certainly, the Creation Story, which we also revisited, could not be accepted without believing in a supreme, invisible Creator. That is where science fails or limits itself. For science has its own way of explaining the existence of the Universe. Fortunately for us believers, whereas science encounters blank walls and gaps it cannot explain; our faith, with the aid so much logic and even science (which comes from Yah), can easily solve so many issues, as we have done here.
Prime Foundation of Truth: Vision
Science is the study of or the search for basic, reproducible truths. Applying such vast knowledge has allowed humans to understand the Universe and to build a world that provides them with many conveniences and benefits. Faith, on the other hand, is simple belief in truths or principles revealed to prophets or people who were blessed to receive wisdom and understanding from the Maker of the Universe. Speaking and seeing the Maker is the Prime Foundation for knowing truth, understanding it and applying it to expand or improve Creation. Adam and Havah were the first depository of all Divine Truth. Everyone else who learned from them carried the wisdom and power of making this world according to Divine Will, as well as to human will.
Nevertheless, Cain, the eldest and son of Adam and Havah, used his inherited knowledge and technology to build the first city. Even today, some of that knowledge has not been explained or duplicated, Being a man burdened by a guilty conscience, Cain became a broken vessel of so much wisdom and potential that would eventually lead to empowering humans to serve selfish human desires. And, thus, the Tower of Babel rose up on the horizon as a defiant challenge to Yah’s rule. But that did not trouble Yah as much as what the fallen angels had done when they introduced divine wisdom and powers that distorted and corrupted divine principles and blessings. At every step, Yah spoiled arrogant human plans: The Great Flood and the confusion of Babel give us irrefutable proofs of that ever-present concern of Yah.
Conclusion
We endeavored to provide that vision of divine power and human participation in that Divine Work through the story of Noah and the Great Flood. Not as Hollywood often does by bringing in so much magic or fantasy that the testimonies of the prophets become more mythological than historical and more incredible rather than credible, but as events that live and shine within the bounds of logic, science, common sense, and organic, human experiences. Even science itself confirms the authenticity or reality of magic or psychic phenomena, as well as the fact that such abilities are being used by police and military agencies to perform operations involving espionage, investigation and crime resolution. Check out this link or the video below.
For those people still holding out on such esoteric or fantastic powers or phenomena, including references to Conspiracy Theories, here is a LIVE STREAMING video on YouTube (embedded below) which broadcasts an ongoing US Congress hearing investigating the so-called physical anomalies labeled as UAP’s (Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena) or UFO’s. The US authorities consider such “anomalous” events and contacts revealed by US Naval personnel attributed to unexplainable intelligent beings as a serious threat to national and global security. Ironically, with all the evidences of angelic, demonic and occultic phenomena attributed to spiritual beings since the beginning of time, modern societies look at the manifestations of extra-terrestrial — or, more likely, outer-dimensional — beings, as purely a matter of scientific inquiry.
And so, while the world takes its sweet time warming up to the realities and possibilities of divine or spiritual phenomena, the written testimonies of angels, the prophets and the disciples abound with innumerable evidences of supernatural and untapped powers given and made available to humans under certain conditions. Noah and his family were necessarily accustomed to the physical, psychological, magical and supernatural abilities of the Nephilim whom Moses described as being “mighty and renowned”. That tells us that our indomitable Ark family dealt with far more and greater challenges than what we have already chronicled. Who knows? Perhaps, there is a horrifying and intriguing prequel to this epic story we have just presented that requires unraveling.
Until then, thanks for visiting this blog and Yah bless.
Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of Yah which is in Masshiak Yahusha our Lord.