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The Bible speaks mainly concerning God’s economy. In His economy God has two elect peoples: Israel in the Old Testament and the believers in the New Testament. For the fulfillment of His eternal purpose, God desires to gain these two elect peoples. He first chose Israel to be His beloved elect, and around Israel are the Gentile nations. Israel and the Gentiles, the nations, are both related to God, because they were both created by God. God determined the borders of the nations and placed the children of Israel in the midst of the Gentiles (Deut. 32:8) so that He could spread His gospel from among the Israelites to gain those among the Gentiles whom He chose to be His people. Furthermore, in the coming kingdom the restored nations will be led by the saved Israelites to serve God (Zech. 8:20-23; Isa. 2:2-3).
God also has an enemy, Satan, who causes much damage. Satan came into man’s flesh by tempting him to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He has also used some of the nations—created but not chosen by God—to frustrate God’s eternal purpose. Satan will continue to oppose God until the end of the age of grace, that is, the conclusion of the great tribulation, when he will stir up Antichrist and his followers to fight with Christ and His faithful followers (Rev. 17:14; 19:11-21; 16:12-16). When Antichrist is defeated, Satan will be bound and cast into the abyss (20:1-3). Then Christ will establish the millennial kingdom on the earth to restore all things (11:15; 20:4-6; Acts 3:21; Matt. 19:28). After one thousand years Satan will be released from the abyss to deceive the nations, which are in the four corners of the earth. The deceived nations will surround the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire will come down out of heaven and will devour them. The devil, who deceived them, will be cast into the lake of fire, thus eternally clearing up the rebellion of Satan (Rev. 20:8-10). Then the old heaven and old earth will pass away through fire and be renewed to become the new heaven and new earth (2 Pet. 3:10-13; Rev. 21:1), into which the New Jerusalem will come (v. 2) to be the ultimate consummation of God’s economy unto eternity.
In the previous volume we saw the prophecies in the Bible concerning Christ, the church, and the believers. In this volume we will consider the prophecies concerning Israel (God’s elect), the Gentile nations, Satan, Antichrist and his followers, the last week, the great tribulation, the millennium, the new heaven and new earth, and the New Jerusalem. We will begin by looking at Enoch’s prophecy and Noah’s prophecies concerning his three sons—Shem, Ham, and Japheth—in Genesis. Enoch prophesied that God would judge that ungodly generation. Noah’s prophecies are the earliest in the Bible concerning mankind and the nations. His prophecies have also had a far-reaching effect on God’s elect, Israel and the church, and on the development of the world situation.
Enoch was the first person to prophesy in the Bible. Genesis 5:21 says, “Enoch lived sixty-five years and begot Methuselah.” Methuselah means “when he is dead, it will be sent.” This name is an important prophecy concerning the coming of God’s judging flood on that ungodly generation at the time of Methuselah’s death. By naming his son Methuselah, Enoch prophesied of the coming of the flood to destroy the living things on the earth.
Methuselah begot Lamech when he was one hundred eighty-seven years old (v. 25), and Lamech begot Noah when he was one hundred eighty-two years old (vv. 28-29). The flood came when Noah was six hundred years old (7:11). Thus, the flood came when Methuselah was nine hundred sixty-nine years old, that is, the year that he died. Therefore, by naming his son Methuselah, Enoch prophesied concerning the flood that came in the year that Methuselah died.
After knowing God’s will, Enoch prophesied concerning the flood when he was sixty-five years old. This must have caused him to anticipate the fulfillment of the prophecy and thus walk with God daily. Even though that generation and everything in it was ungodly, Enoch separated himself to walk with God. Finally, he was delivered from God’s judgment and was taken by God to be an overcomer in that age.
Like many other prophecies in the Old Testament, Enoch’s prophecy has a double fulfillment. The coming of the flood was the first fulfillment. Jude 14-15 is the second fulfillment of Enoch’s prophecy. Verse 14 says, “Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied also of these, saying, Behold, the Lord came with myriads of His saints.” The Lord’s coming in this verse must refer to the manifestation of the Lord’s parousia (coming) as spoken of in 2 Thessalonians 2:8; Matthew 24:27, 30; and Zechariah 14:4-5. The saints referred to in Jude 14 probably include, as in Zechariah 14:5, the saints (1 Thes. 3:13) and the angels (Matt. 16:27; 25:31; Mark 8:38). Enoch prophesied that when the Lord Jesus returns, He will come with myriads of His saints. The “saints” in Jude 14 are in contrast to the “ungodly” in verse 15, who will be convicted. Enoch’s prophecy must have influenced his living and caused him to live a godly and holy life by faith in midst of an ungodly generation. Enoch walked with God for three hundred years (Gen. 5:22).
According to the record of Genesis, after the flood Noah became the leader on the new land and the father of all mankind on the earth. When Noah and his family came out of the ark to start a new living, the first thing they did was to build an altar and offer sacrifices to God (8:20-22). Noah’s offering satisfied God, 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 terror of you shall be upon every animal of the earth and upon every bird of heaven, on everything that creeps on the ground and on all the fish of the sea; into your hand they are delivered...Be fruitful and multiply; / Abound on the earth and multiply in it” (9:1-2, 7). Noah and his family were brought back to God’s original purpose, which is to express God and represent God. Noah became the father and the leader of all mankind, and all living things were given into his hands. God also made Noah His deputy authority on the earth.
As the father and leader of all mankind, undoubtedly Noah was under God’s blessing. Noah became a farmer and planted a vineyard (v. 20). He was successful in this because the vineyards produced grapes from which wine was made. At this time, he should have exercised self-control, but on the contrary, he was loose and became drunk. He was not only loose, but he was careless, becoming naked in his tent without realizing it (v. 21). This was his failure. Because Noah was not covered properly before God, his nakedness was seen by his son Ham. After seeing the nakedness of his father, Ham, the father of Canaan, told his two brothers outside. Then Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it upon their shoulders, and they walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned backward so that they did not see their father’s nakedness (vv. 22-23).
Noah was a godly man. He was also the father of a family and the leader of mankind. But he made a mistake and had a failure, and his mistake was exposed. When Noah woke up, he cursed the one who exposed his nakedness and blessed the ones who covered him (vv. 24-27). We may think that Noah should have confessed and admitted his failure. However, since God had established him as the leader, Noah had to speak, not according to his feeling of conviction but according to God’s government. Even though he failed, he did not disregard his leadership, his position as God’s deputy authority. Instead, he took care of God’s government and God’s economy on the earth and represented God to speak a strong governmental word. Ham despised God’s government by seeing and exposing Noah’s failure. Thus, he lost the blessing and brought in a curse. Because Shem and Japheth respected God’s government, they did not see their father’s nakedness. Rather, they covered their father’s failure. Because of this, they were kept under God’s government. They thus escaped the damage caused by Satan and received the blessing.
Noah’s curse and blessing were prophecies inspired by God in His governmental dealing. They were not according to Noah’s personal feeling. They were according to God’s government. They were not of Noah but of the very God who exercises His government over mankind. Noah prophesied according to God’s government to curse one of his sons and to bless the other two.
According to history, Noah’s three sons eventually became three great races. Japheth became the forefather of the Europeans, and according to Noah’s prophecy, Japheth would be enlarged by God. This means that the descendants of Japheth would be the strong ones to conquer and spread. Over five hundred years ago, Columbus ventured to sail across the Atlantic, and he reached a new continent, America. Thus, Japheth was further enlarged. Shem is the source of the races that are mostly in Asia, including the Jews. Ham became the father of the race that is mostly in Africa. Europe, Asia, and Africa come together geographically around the Mediterranean Sea. The Jewish land of Palestine is in the center of these three inhabited sections: Europe to the north, Africa to the south, and Asia to the east. Hence, Noah’s prophecies concern the history of the whole world.
Through Noah’s prophecy, God cursed the son who exposed his father’s failure. Canaan, Ham’s son, received a curse to be a servant to both Shem and Japheth (v. 25). Ham was the father of Cush (10:6), who is the forefather of the Ethiopians.
Cush begot Nimrod (v. 8), who built Assyria with Nineveh as the capital. He also built Babylon with Babel as the capital (vv. 10-11; Micah 5:6). Assyria and Babylon became the leading nations that opposed God’s people. The first nation to invade Israel was Assyria. Then Babylon followed Assyria to conquer Israel, destroy Jerusalem, burn down the temple, and exile the great majority of the children of Israel (2 Kings 25:1-21; 2 Chron. 36:17-20).
Noah prophesied, saying, “Blessed be Jehovah, / The God of Shem” (Gen. 9:26). Jehovah, the very God, is of Shem. The Jews are the descendants of Shem. They have to boast, saying, “God is ours.” Even the Lord Jesus told the Samaritan woman that salvation is of the Jews (John 4:22). Shem was blessed by gaining God. God became Shem’s blessing, and He is also man’s rest, peace, enjoyment, and salvation.
Whatever is related to God has come out of the Jews. The Old Testament was written by the Jews. Except for one Gentile, Luke, the New Testament was also written by Jews. Even Luke wrote with the knowledge that he received from the Jews. All the things concerning God, concerning God’s gospel, concerning Christ, and concerning salvation have come out of the Jews. Shem does not have government or the sciences like Japheth. Shem has God.
Ham’s descendant Nimrod built Babel, but Shem’s descendant Abraham built and lived in tents. The children of Israel also built the tabernacle for God. The Lord Jesus, one of Shem’s descendants, was likened to a tent, a tabernacle (John 1:14). Eventually, the New Jerusalem will be God’s eternal tent, His eternal tabernacle (Rev. 21:2-3). The names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel are inscribed on its gates (v. 12), and the names of the twelve Jewish apostles are on the foundations of its wall (v. 14).
God gave Japheth the blessing of being enlarged (Gen. 9:27). Most of the people of Europe, Russia, and America are Japheth’s descendants. Especially since the time of Columbus, the Europeans have been constantly expanding, reaching the whole world. This expansion is carried out mainly by governmental power, science, and art, including skills and trades. The Americans are the expansion of the Europeans. Eventually, the European culture spread throughout the world through America. This is a fulfillment of the blessing spoken prophetically to Japheth.
According to Noah’s prophecy, the descendants of Japheth are a strong people. If we read history carefully, we can see that God always carries out His economy through strong people.
For example, the Roman Empire was a strong nation. They built highways and opened up traffic from Palestine to Rome and even to Spain. At that time, people considered Spain to be the uttermost part of the earth. Greek was also made the common language throughout the Roman Empire. Even the Lord Jesus quoted from the Septuagint, the Greek version of the Old Testament.
On the one hand, Rome conquered and captured Palestine, but on the other hand, Rome prepared a good environment for the Lord Jesus to be born. Rome also provided the way for the Lord to be crucified. Crucifixion was not a method of execution used by the Jews but by the Gentiles (Ezra 6:11). Eventually, this method was adopted by the Roman Empire to execute heinous criminals. Christ’s method of death, His being cut off, was a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.
After Christ’s ascension, the apostles rose up to spread the gospel. Their spreading of the gospel was facilitated by Roman highways on the land and by Roman ships on the seas. Thus, the preaching of the gospel in the initial stage was through the strong nation of Rome. On the one hand, the strong nation of Rome persecuted and even crucified Christ, and it also persecuted and martyred the apostles. On the other hand, through this strong empire the way was prepared for Christ to be born and crucified and for the gospel to be preached.
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, God used Great Britain as the world power, through the practice of imperialism, to pave the way to keep order in the whole world for the sake of mission work. The Lord used England spiritually at that time for the spread of His gospel throughout the world. Imperialism is the policy and practice of maintaining an empire through the conquest and domination of weaker countries. Politically speaking, imperialism is evil and should be condemned, but God is sovereign. Imperialism was used by the divine hand to spread the gospel. Otherwise, many backward countries would not have been opened up. Through imperialism, weak, backward countries were compelled to open up. This gave a way for the missionaries to go into these countries with the gospel. Christ’s birth, Christ’s death, the spreading of the gospel in the early days of the church, and the mission work to spread the gospel to every corner of the earth were all through a strong people, the descendants of Japheth.
According to God’s sovereignty, regardless of how much Japheth has been enlarged, he still needs to dwell in the tents of Shem. The Europeans, including the Americans, are strong, but they need the tents of Shem. For Japheth to worship God, he must believe in the God of Shem and receive rest, peace, enjoyment, and salvation in the tents of Shem.
Japheth has been enlarged and needs to dwell in the tents of Shem. Ham has been cursed because he was involved in God’s government. He lost the blessing. Under the curse, he became a servant of servants (Gen. 9:25). This has been proved by history. Acts 13:1 says, “There were in Antioch, in the local church, prophets and teachers: Barnabas and Simeon, who was called Niger, and Lucius the Cyrenian, and Manaen, the foster brother of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.” This verse shows that different peoples had become one as the church. Certain prophets and teachers are listed among the prominent, functioning members of the church. Barnabas and Saul were Jews. Simeon was called Niger (which means “black”); from this designation, he might have been a black person. Lucius of Cyrene was from Africa. Cyrene was a city in northern Africa, where Libya is today. Manaen was brought up with Herod. Herod, though a descendant of an Idumaean (an Edomite) was governmentally related to the Romans (the Europeans). So, although Manaen’s origin is unknown, he, as a foster brother of Herod, must have been Europeanized. Thus, the five prominent functioning members of the church in Antioch were composed of two Jews, descendants of Shem; one from Africa and one who might have been a black person, both of whom might have been descendants of Ham; and one who was at least culturally related to the descendants of Japheth. They all became one as the church. Regardless of whose descendant you are, do not feel disappointed. Since we have been regenerated, we are all the church. We were born of different origins, but now we are all the church. We all were born in the fulfillment of God’s prophecy concerning mankind spoken through Noah. But our natural status has been changed by the salvation of God in Christ.
Enoch was the first person to prophesy in the Bible. When he was sixty-five years old, he bore a son and named him Methuselah, which means “when he is dead, it will be sent.” This name was an important prophecy concerning the coming of God’s judging flood on the ungodly generation at the time of Methuselah’s death. Enoch’s prophecy has a double fulfillment. The coming of the flood was the first fulfillment, and the second fulfillment will be at the manifestation of the Lord’s parousia (coming). Enoch prophesied that when the Lord Jesus returns, He will come with myriads of saints.
Noah’s prophecies are the earliest prophecies in the Bible concerning mankind and the nations. His prophecies have also had a far-reaching effect on God’s elect, Israel and the church, and on the development of the world situation. After the flood Noah became the leader on the new land and the father of all mankind. God gave all living things into Noah’s hands and made Noah His deputy authority on the earth. However, due to his looseness and carelessness, Noah failed. He got drunk and became naked in his tent. His son Ham saw and exposed Noah’s failure, thus despising God’s government. But because Shem and Japheth respected God’s government, they did not see their father’s nakedness; rather, they covered their father’s failure. When Noah woke up, he cursed the son who exposed his nakedness and blessed the sons who covered him. He cursed Ham’s descendant, Canaan, to be a servant to Shem and Japheth. He prophesied that Jehovah would be the God of Shem and that Japheth would be enlarged and would dwell in the tents of Shem.
Even though these prophecies have been proved by history, in Acts 13 the five prominent functioning members of the church in Antioch were composed of two Jews—the descendants of Shem, two who were probably descendants of Ham, and another one who was at least culturally related to the descendants of Japheth. They all became one as the church. Therefore, regardless of whose descendant we are, all the regenerated believers are the church. Even though we have different origins, in relation to the fulfillment of God’s prophecy concerning mankind, our natural status has been changed by God’s salvation in Christ.
