Dr Paul Allen

Elijah and Enoch (ancestor of Noah) - an icon 17th cent., Historic Museum in Sanok, Poland (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints.” ( Jude 1:14 ) There are two Enochs in the First Age of the world. One is a son of Cain ( Genesis 4:17 ), and the other is a seventh-generation descendant of Adam through his son Seth ( Genesis 5 ). Jude makes very clear which one he means. Luke references Enoch in his genealogy of the Lord Jesus ( Luke 3:37 ), also indicating that this Enoch is important to remember. Enoch was the father of Methuselah , who was the grandfather of Noah. Although the Bible does not mention it, several of the early church scholars allude to a Book of Enoch and cite passages from it about the awful days before the world was destroyed by the great Flood. Perhaps the most startling fact recorded about Enoch is that he “was translated that he should not se...

Elijah and Enoch (ancestor of Noah) - an icon 17th cent., Historic Museum in Sanok, Poland (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Anyone who’s ever played Bible trivia knows that Methuselah lived longer than anyone else. He died at the ripe old age of 969. But have you ever wondered why? Putting aside all of the environmental factors of a pre-Flood world (where lifetimes lasted a lot longer than they do today), I’m convinced the answer has more to do with the character of God than the physical constitution or health consciousness of Methuselah. When Methuselah was born, the text of Genesis 5 indicates that his father Enoch began to walk with God in earnest (Gen. 5:21–22). Many commentators believe that it was during the time of Methuselah’s birth that God revealed to Enoch the reality of the coming Flood—which is why Enoch spent the next three centuries warning the world around him of God’s impending retribution ( Jude 14-15). Methuselah’s name can be translated as either “man of the jave...

Christ Leading the Patriarchs to Paradise. Institute of Hispanic Art, Barcelona/ Methuselah, Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, and Adam and Eve lead the procession of the righteous behind Christ. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Masaccio, Brancacci Chapel, Adam and Eve, detail. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." ( Genesis 3:15 )   When Adam and Eve rebelled against God in the Garden of Eden , God pronounced the dreadful curse on all of His creation, from mankind to the animal and plant kingdoms and even the earth itself ( Genesis 3:14-19 ). From that point on, everything began to die, but at the same time God predicted the coming Redeemer who would set things right.   There are several hints of the coming Redeemer in these early chapters of Genesis. Dr. A. T. Pierson, a Bible scholar of the late 1800s and early 1900s, mentioned an unnamed Hebrew...