Noah's life after the flood. global flood

After the flood

Genesis 7:20-9:17

The water rose to a level of fifteen cubits above the highest mountains. Often it seemed to the family in the ark that they must perish, for five long months had passed since the ark, abandoned to the will of the waves and winds, rushed along the waves. It was a terrible test, but Noah's faith did not waver, for he was confident that everything was controlled by the Divine hand.

When the water began to subside, the Lord directed the ark to a place protected on all sides by mountains that had survived by His grace. The mountains stood like a high wall, and the ark calmly swayed on the waves in a quiet harbor, no longer rushing across the boundless ocean. This brought great relief to the tired people, exhausted by the raging elements.

Noah and his household eagerly awaited the moment when the waters would subside and they would set foot on land again. When the tops of the mountains finally appeared after forty days, Noah sent out a raven, a bird with keen senses, to find out whether the earth was dry. The raven, not finding a dry place anywhere, continued to fly over the ark. After another seven days, Noah released the dove, but it also did not find a dry place and returned to the ark. Noah waited another seven days and again released the dove, and when it returned in the evening with an olive leaf in its beak, real triumph reigned in the ark. Then, when Noah opened the roof of the ark, “and he looked, and behold, the surface of the earth was dry.” But he continued to wait patiently. At one time he entered the ark at the command of God and now patiently awaited special instructions to leave it.

Finally, an angel came down from heaven, opened the massive door of the ark and commanded the patriarch and his entire family to come out and take the animals with them. In his great joy on the day of liberation, Noah did not forget Him, thanks to whose tender care he and his whole family remained alive. Coming out of the ark, Noah first built an altar and offered sacrifices from every clean animal and bird as a sign of gratitude to God for liberation and as proof of his faith in Christ as the Great Sacrifice. This offering was pleasing to God and brought with it a great blessing not only to the patriarch and his family, but also to everyone who would live on earth. “And the Lord smelled a pleasant aroma, and the Lord said in His heart: I will no longer curse the earth for man... Henceforth, all the days of the earth, sowing and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will not cease.” This contains a lesson for all future generations. Noah came out of the ark into a desolate land, and before he built a house for himself, he built an altar to God. He had very few livestock, preserved with such difficulty, but still he joyfully gave some of it to God as an acknowledgment that everything belonged to Him. In the same way, we should always take care to make a voluntary sacrifice to God. Every manifestation of His mercy and love towards us should be responded to with devotion and gifts to support His cause.

So that the rolling clouds and falling rain would not make people constantly afraid of a second flood, God encouraged Noah and his entire family with the following promise: “I have established My covenant with you... and there will no longer be a flood to destroy the earth... I have established My rainbow. in the cloud, so that it would be a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. And it will come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that a rainbow will appear in the cloud... I will see it, and I will remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living soul.”

How great is God’s condescension and His compassion for the lost sons of the earth, revealed in the beautiful rainbow - a sign of the covenant between God and people! The Lord says that, looking at the rainbow, He will always remember the covenant that He entered into with the inhabitants of the earth. But that doesn't mean He can ever forget him. The Lord speaks to us in our language so that we can better understand Him. God wanted the children of future generations, asking about the meaning of the wonderful arc that frames the heavens, to hear from their parents the story of the flood, the story of how the Almighty placed a rainbow on the clouds, assuring that the waters of the flood would never again pour out on the earth. Thus, from generation to generation, the rainbow of the covenant should testify to Divine love for man and strengthen trust in God in his heart.

In the sky, a similar rainbow surrounds the throne and sparkles around the head of Christ. The Prophet says: “In the same form as a rainbow appears on the clouds during rain, such was the appearance of this radiance all around” (Ezek. 1:28). The author of Revelation writes: “And behold, a throne stood in heaven, and one sat on the throne... and a rainbow was round about the throne, in appearance like emerald” (Rev. 4:2, 3). When the iniquity of men provokes the judgments of God, then the Savior intercedes for them before the Father, pointing to the rainbow in the clouds around the throne and above His head as a sign of God's mercy to the repentant sinner.

With the assurance given to Noah concerning the flood, God connected one of the dearest promises of His grace: “For this is to Me as the waters of Noah: just as I swore that the waters of Noah should come no more upon the earth, so I swore not to be angry with you, nor to rebuke you. you. The mountains will move, and the hills will be shaken; But My lovingkindness will not depart from you, and My covenant of peace will not be removed, says the Lord who has mercy on you” (Isaiah 54:9, 10).

When Noah looked at the huge predators who came out of the ark with him, he was very afraid that his small family, consisting of only eight souls, would become their victim. But God sent an angel to His servant with encouraging words: “Let all the beasts of the earth, and all the birds of the air, and all that moves on the earth, and all the fish of the sea, fear and tremble at you; they are given into your hands. Every moving thing that lives will be food for you; I give you everything like green herbs.” Until this time, God did not allow people to eat meat; He wanted them to eat only the fruits of the earth. But now, when all the vegetation was destroyed, He allowed them to eat the meat of clean animals, which were preserved with Noah in the ark.

The flood greatly changed the appearance of the earth. As a result of sin, a third terrible curse was upon her. As the water subsided, hills and mountains appeared surrounded by an endless muddy sea. Dead bodies of people and animals were scattered everywhere. But God did not allow the decaying corpses to poison the air, and He buried them all underground, thus turning it into a common huge cemetery. The raging strong wind, with which the Lord decided to dry the surface of the earth, with terrible force carried away the corpses, demolished the tops of the mountains, piling up trees, stones and blocks of earth, burying dead bodies under them. In the same way, gold, silver, valuable species of trees, and expensive stones were hidden, which enriched and beautified the world before the flood and were deified by its inhabitants. Due to strong movements of water, these treasures were carried over by the earth, covered with rocks, and in some places even entire mountains were piled above them. God saw that the more He enriched and gifted sinners, the more corrupt their lives became. Instead of glorifying the generous Giver, people rejected and despised the Lord and began to worship these treasures.

After the flood, the earth presented an indescribable spectacle of chaos and devastation. The mountains, which were once so beautiful in their proportions, turned into a disorderly heap of earth and various rocks. Their surface was covered with fragments of stones and rocks. In many places, hills and mountains disappeared without a trace, and where plains had once stretched, mountain ranges now stretched. But the changes have not been the same everywhere. Regions once famous for their rich reserves of gold, silver and precious stones bore the heaviest traces of the curse, and the uninhabited parts of the globe and those places where sin did not dominate to such a strong extent were less affected by the curse.

Huge forests were buried underground. Gradually they turned into coal deposits that exist to this day, as well as large quantities of oil. Coal and oil often ignite and burn underground. As a result, the rocks are heated, the lime is melted, and the ore is melted. The action of water on lime causes unusually high temperatures, which is the cause of various types of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Fire and water, mixing with ore and lime, lead to heavy underground explosions that sound like dull rumbles of thunder. The air heats up and a volcanic explosion follows. Often during such underground explosions, the hot substance does not find a way out, the earth shakes, its crust swells and rises like sea waves. Large cracks form, sometimes swallowing cities, villages and huge mountains. Such stunning phenomena will occur more and more often and will be more and more tragic immediately before the Second Coming of Christ and the end of the world as a sign of its imminent destruction.

The depths of the earth are God's storehouses. To destroy the ancient world, He used the weapons stored there. Underground sources of water, bursting out of the ground, merging with water falling from the sky, did their devastating work. Since the time of the flood, fire, like water, has been an instrument in the hands of God to destroy wicked cities. God sends these punishments to earth so that those who carelessly reject God's Law and trample His authority would fear and recognize His power and sovereignty. When people saw the fire erupting, the streams of red-hot lava flooding rivers and covering entire cities, and the destruction and desolation reigning everywhere, then even the bravest hearts were filled with horror, and the godless and insolent scoffers were forced to recognize the limitless power of God.

The prophets of antiquity, pointing to such scenes, exclaimed: “Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down! the mountains would melt at Your presence, as from melting fire, as from boiling water, so that Your name might be made known to Your enemies; At Your presence the nations would tremble. When You did terrible things, unexpected by us, and descended, the mountains melted at Your presence” (Is. 64:1-3). “The procession of the Lord is in a whirlwind and in a storm; the cloud is the dust of His feet. He rebukes the sea, and it dries up and all the rivers dry up” (Nahum. 1:3, 4).

At the Second Coming of Christ, people will witness even more terrible phenomena. “The mountains shake before Him, and the hills melt, and the earth trembles before Him, and the world and all who live in it. Who can resist His indignation? And who can endure the flame of His wrath?” (Nahum. 1:5, 6) “Lord! Bow down Thy heavens, and come down; touch the mountains and they will rise. Flash the lightning and scatter them; Shoot your arrows and destroy them” (Ps. 143:5, 6).

“And I will show wonders in heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and smoking smoke” (Acts 2:19). “And there were lightnings, thunders and voices, and there was a great earthquake, such as had not happened since there were people on earth. Such an earthquake! So great!.. And every island fled, and the mountains were gone; and hail the size of a talent fell from heaven on the people” (Rev. 16:18-21).

Heavenly lightning will unite with underground fire, and then the mountains will burn like furnaces, spewing out terrible streams of lava, flooding gardens, fields, villages and cities. Under the influence of water boiling from the hot masses pouring into it, the inaccessible rocks will crack and fall apart. And their fragments will scatter throughout the earth at unprecedented speed. The rivers will dry up. The earth will shake, terrible earthquakes and explosions will occur everywhere.

In this way, God will cleanse the earth of the wicked. But in the midst of this turmoil, the righteous will be protected, like Noah in the ark during the flood. God will be their refuge, and under His wings they will be safe. The psalmist says: “For you have said: “The Lord is my hope”; You have chosen the Almighty as your refuge. No evil will befall you” (Ps. 90:9, 10). “For He would have hidden me in His tabernacle in the day of trouble, He would have hidden me in the secret place of His habitation” (Ps. 26:5).

The rain is whistling. The clouds are getting gloomier.

A wave hits Noah's Ark.

The animals locked in the hold howl,

Satan is bursting from under the decks...

The Great Flood occurred 11,000 years ago as a result of Nibiru approaching the Earth. When, after the Flood, “the water on the earth dried up” and the soil began to dry out, the Anunnaki landed on the highest mountain of Asia Minor, Mount Nizir. Nizir - translated as “Mountain of Salvation”, this is Mount Ararat. The ship of Ziusudra-Noah also arrived there, which was controlled by an experienced navigator provided by Enki. Enlil saw that the “seed of man” had not perished, and he became very angry. But Enki convinced him that this would benefit the Anunnaki. Because all cities and stations need to be built anew, and without the help of earthlings this is difficult to do. Enlil agreed with the existence of people: “And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.”

In the Old Testament of Moses, which further tells only about the family of Noah, the names of other people who were on board the ship are not mentioned. But the more detailed Sumerian texts about the Flood also talk about the ship's navigator, the friends and assistants of Ziusudra and their families who boarded the ship just before sailing. We learn that after the Flood, the gods took Ziusudra, his family and the navigator to their abode on Nibiru, and other people were ordered to return to Mesopotamia.

It is further said that those rescued immediately faced the threat of starvation. According to the Bible of Moses, the Lord said to Noah and his sons: “Let all the beasts of the earth, and all the birds of the air, and all that moves on the earth, and all the fish of the sea, fear and tremble; they are given into your hands. Every moving thing that lives will be food for you.” And then follows one important addition: “I give you everything like green herbs.”

This short Old Testament phrase, touching on the very beginnings of agriculture, hints at something that is explained in much more detail in the Sumerian texts. When large detachments of Anunnaki arrived on Earth, according to the Sumerian text entitled “The Tale of Cattle and Bread,” there were no domestic animals or cultivated varieties of grain on our planet. Then, in the “Room of Creation” of the Anunnaki, in their genetic laboratory, Lahar and Anshan were “made into beautiful species”. Lahar is the cattle that produces wool, and Anshan is the grain of wheat.

By that time, Primitive workers were already living on the earth - these were the first earthlings who “did not yet know bread... they chewed grass like sheep.”

In order to establish the production of livestock and bread to feed the gods, the Anunnaki Council decided: “It is necessary to teach the cultivation of land and breeding sheep... to feed the gods of Primitive workers.” “And so a reasonable man was born to feed the gods and raise sheep.”

Along with created species of animals and plants, the text also lists species of agricultural crops that have not yet been born, but will appear later. All these types of plants were planted on earth by Enlil and Ninurta some time after the Flood.

When the waters receded after the Flood, the Anunnaki were first faced with the task of where to get seeds for the revival of agriculture. Fortunately, samples of cultivated grains were sent to Nibiru by the Anunnaki, and now "Anu sent them from Heaven to Enlil." Enlil began searching for land suitable for growing bread. At that time, almost the entire surface of the Earth was still flooded by ocean waters, and only the slopes of the “mountain of fragrant cedars” were suitable for this purpose.

Enlil chose the Cedar Mountain, turned into the Forbidden, that is, the “Holy” Place, not by chance. In the entire Middle East there is only one famous Cedar Mountain - in Lebanon. At its top, a wide platform has been preserved to this day, at the base of which huge blocks of stone are laid. This was where the rockets launched and where they landed. Local residents named the platform Baalbek. This platform was built in antediluvian times, back in the time of Adam. And after the Flood, the Baalbek platform was the only place where Anunnaki spaceships could land - the spaceport at Sippar was washed away and buried under a thick layer of sediment. And when the seeds were delivered from Nibiru to Baalbek, the question arose of where to plant them... The still flooded low-lying lands were unsuitable for agriculture and living. In the high mountain regions, where the water has already receded, all the soil has softened from the rains that poured onto the ground during the thaw period. Streams turned into rivers, river beds were washed away, and the water did not decrease. It seemed that agriculture could not be revived. In ancient Sumerian texts, the author writes: “A severe famine came, and nothing grew from the ground. Small rivers are dammed, the silt is not carried into the sea... The land does not bear crops, there are only weeds everywhere.” And the same thing happened with the two major rivers of Mesopotamia: “The Euphrates does not find its banks, oh woe; the Tigris waters mixed.” And Ninurta took up the work of building in the mountains, laying out new river beds and draining the soil: “Then the lord showed great intelligence; Ninurta, the son of Enlil, performed a great work. To protect the land, he built a mighty wall around it. He splits mountains with his rod; he lifts blocks of stone onto his shoulders and builds houses from them... He gathered the spilled waters together; He collected those waters that had scattered in the mountains and sent them to the Tigris. He drains the arable land from the high waters. And so - everyone on earth praises Ninurta, the Lord of the land.

Ninurta flew from place to place in the mountains in his airship, trying to establish industrial and agricultural activities as quickly as possible. But one day he crashed on his jet plane: “His Winged Bird crashed on the top; losing its plumage, it falls to the ground.” After the crash of the flying ship, the crew and passengers of the plane were saved by Adad.

Further, dear Pythagoras, from the Sumerian texts we learn that at first fruit trees and shrubs, including grapes, were planted on the mountain slopes. The Anunnaki gave the earth “wonderful white grapes and excellent white wine; wonderful black grapes and wonderful red wine.” And in the Bible of Moses about these times we read that “Noah began to cultivate the land and planted a vineyard. And he drank wine and became drunk.”

Some time passed after Ninurta carried out drainage work in Mesopotamia. And so the cultivation of low-lying lands became possible. Then the Anunnaki “brought grain down from the mountains,” and “the Earth—meaning Sumer—began to give birth to barley and wheat.”

Over the next millennia, generations of people living in Mesopotamia worshiped Ninurta, the god who taught them to cultivate the land. At the site of the ancient Sumerian settlement "Larissa" our archaeologists found the "Farmer's Calendar". This calendar depicts the Anunnaki Ninurta handing over a plow to the people.

At the same time that Enlil and Ninurta taught the earthlings the skills of agriculture, Enki taught the “little people” to raise livestock, keep animals and use their milk, wool, strength, manure and other products. Many animals were brought to Earth from Nibiru. The Sumerian author reports that animal husbandry arose after people began to grow bread, but at that time there was no “grain that multiplies,” that is, grains with double, triple, and quadruple chromosomes. These types of grains were developed by Enki in the laboratory with the permission of Enlil. When Enlil gave his consent to the transfer of livestock and crop production technologies to people, times of abundance came on Earth. Enki created a new tool that significantly accelerated the development of agriculture - the plow. This simple but ingenious wooden device was first harnessed by people. But then Enki gave domestic animals, and people began to use bulls and horses as draft power. Thus, according to Sumerian texts, “the gods increased the fertility of the earth.”

Enki then returned to Africa to assess the damage caused by the Flood while Ninurta was busy building drainage works in the mountains on the Mesopotamian border.

It so happened that Enlil and his son took possession of the entire highland region, stretching from the southeast, Elam, to the northwest, the Taurus Mountains and Asia Minor. Enlil concentrated supreme power in his hands, while retaining the ancient E-din. The landing site for planes and shuttles on Cedar Mountain in Baalbek was entrusted to Utu-Shamash. And Enki and his descendants were left with Abza.

Enki examined Africa destroyed by the Flood and decided that he could not be content with the Abzu alone - the southern part of the continent. Mesopotamian “abundance” was achieved by the Anunnaki mainly due to the development of lands in river valleys and large wheat harvests. And, hoping to achieve the same in Africa, Enki directed all his efforts to revive the Nile Valley.

Dear friend, the modern Egyptians, as we know, claim that their great gods came to Egypt from Ur. According to Manetho, the god Ptah began to rule the lands of the Nile 17,900 years before the era of Menes. Then Ptah transferred his Egyptian possessions to his son Ra, but the Great Flood occurred. Egyptian priests say that after the Flood, Ptah returned to Egypt to carry out extensive reclamation work and literally raised Egypt from under the water. And so we found Sumerian texts, which also say that Enki went to Meluhha, as Ethiopia and Nubia are called, and Magan. Egypt is called Magan. He flew to Magan to make these lands suitable for human and animal life. These Sumerian texts, which connect the name Enki with the African lands of the Nile, tell us that the Egyptian god Ptah is none other than Enki.

The Sumerian texts further tell us that after these lands around the Nile were drained and repopulated, Enki divided the African continent among his six sons. The southern part of Africa was given to Nergal and his wife Ereshkigal. The mining region, which lay a little to the north, went to Gibil, whom his father initiated into the secrets of metal processing. The son of Ninagal took possession of the region of the great lakes and the upper Nile. Further north stretched the lush pastures of the Sudan plateau, which belonged to Enki's youngest son, Dumuzi. Dumuzi was nicknamed "The Cattleman". Enki's last son was named Marduk. The Egyptian name of Marduk is Ra.

Dear Pythagoras, if we compare the deeds of the god Marduk and the god Ra, we will find many similarities: the former was the son of Enki, the latter was Ptah, and the names Enki and Ptah referred to the same god. We find numerous, albeit indirect, evidence that the Egyptians called this god Ra, and the Mesopotamians called Marduk, in other Sumerian texts. Thus, in the hymn of praise to Marduk, tablet Ashur number 4125, one of his epithets is indicated - “God Imkurgar - Ra,” which is translated from Sumerian as “Ra, who lives near the mountainous land.”

There is other written evidence that the Sumerians knew about the Egyptian name of the god Ra. Thus, in tablets dating from the reign of the Third Dynasty of Ur, the name “Dingir Ra” is found, as well as the name of the temple - E-Dingir-Ra. Then, after the fall of the Ur dynasty, when Marduk was proclaimed the main deity in his beloved city of Babylon, Marduk began to be called Kadingir Ra. Kadingir Ra - translated from Sumerian means “Gate of the Gods Ra”.

Dear friend, all stages in human development from the time of the destruction of Atlantis to the era of Sumerian civilization are separated by an interval of 3600 years. Look - 11000, 7400 and 3800 years... Whose mysterious hand was it that each time pulled a person out of the quagmire of decline and raised him to a much higher level of culture, science and civilization? It was the hand of the Anunnaki - giants from the Twelfth Planet. Every 3600 years, the planet Nibiru approached the Earth, and the Anunnaki were able to make interplanetary flights.

And so, when the revival of Sumer began after the Flood, the Ancient Cities were first restored, which, however, were no longer exclusively the Cities of the Gods. People were allowed to settle in these cities, who were supposed to sow the surrounding arable land, plant gardens, raise livestock to feed the gods, and serve the gods in every possible way. Among the earthlings there were not only cooks and bakers, artisans and tailors, but also priests, musicians, artists, and temple prostitutes. Eridu was the first of the cities of Mesopotamia to be revived. Eridu is Enki's first settlement on Earth, and it has found a second life. Its ancient sanctuary was also rebuilt in Eridu. It was a ziggurat - a real miracle of architecture, decorated with gold, silver and other precious metals from the Lower World. The Ziggurat was guarded by the "Bull of Heaven". The city of Nippur was restored for Enlil and Ninlil. There, the Anunnaki erected a new Ekur - “House-Mountain”, where this time, instead of equipment for the Mission Control Center, formidable weapons were placed: “The Raised Eye that inspects the earth” and the “Raised Beam”, “The Beam” that pierces any obstacle. Sumerian authors write: “In this sacred structure was also the Swift Bird of Enlil, from whose claws no one can escape.”

We can read in the Hymn to Eridu about Enki's journey to the meeting place of the great gods, which took place on the occasion of the arrival of Anu on Earth. At this meeting the fate of gods and people on Earth for the next 3600 years was to be determined. After a feast at which “the gods drank an intoxicating drink, wine prepared by men,” the Anunnaki Council began. The ruler of the Earth, Enlil, was dissatisfied with the fact that Enki was withholding the “Divine Formulas” - knowledge about more than a hundred aspects of civilization - from the other gods. Enki allowed only his close associates to visit them in the city of Eridu. Then it was decided that Enki should share the Divine Formulas with the other gods, so that they too could build their cities: the fruits of civilization should be enjoyed by all of Sumer.

The Anunnaki who lived on Earth prepared a surprise for their heavenly guests: between Nippur and Eridu they built a sanctuary dedicated to Anu, which was accordingly named E-anna in his honor. Which translates to “House of Anu.”

Before returning to Nibiru, Anu and his wife Antu spent the night in their earthly temple. And this event was arranged with due solemnity. When the divine couple approached the new city, a procession of gods escorted them to the temple. This city was later named Uruk.

The priests of the temple brought to the ruler's table "wine and good oil" and the sacrificed "bull and ram for Anu, Antu and all the gods." Then there was a break for the main ceremony of the evening. Then one group of priests chanted the hymn “Kakkab Anu ethellu shamame”, which translates as “The planet Anu rises in the heavens.” Then one priest climbed to the “top step of the temple tower”, waiting for the appearance of the planet Anu, the planet Nibiru, in the sky. And at the calculated time and in a certain place in the sky, the planet Anu appeared. And then the priests sang hymns: “To the one who grows in radiance, the celestial planet of Lord Anu,” “The Face of the Creator has risen.” Then the signal fire was lit, and, passing along the chain the news of the appearance of the planet, fires began to be lit one after another in the remaining cities of the Anunnaki. It was still far from dawn, but it was as bright as day.

In the morning, Anu and Antu went to the cosmodrome. A tablet found in the archives of Uruk states that Anu and Antu went to the spaceport on the seventeenth day of their stay on Earth. The short visit to Earth of the ruler of Nibiru was successfully completed. But the decisions made during the visit marked the beginning of the grandiose construction and development of human civilization. In addition to the Ancient Cities, new urban settlements were built. The largest city built was Kish. It was given to Ninurta, "Enlil's chief son", who made it the first administrative capital of Sumer. For Nannar, otherwise Sin, the first son of Enlil, the city of Ur was founded, which played the role of the economic center of the entire Mesopotamia.

During Anu's visit, issues related to the further development of humanity and relations between people and the Anunnaki were also discussed. Sumerian texts tell of a “Secret Conference” that resulted in the great civilization of Sumer. The author of the Sumerian tablet says: “The great Anunnaki, who determine destinies, decided that the gods were too high for man. The Anunnaki decided to give people a “Kingdom” that would play the role of an intermediary between them and the mortal population of the Earth.” All Sumerian legends indicate that this decision was made during Anu's visit to Earth, at the Council of the Great Gods.

While the Mosaic Bible states that the first three capitals were called Cush, Babylon and Erech, the Sumerian king lists indicate that the Kingdom moved from Kish to Erech and then to Ur. The Sumerians did not mention Babylon, since it did not exist yet. And there was the biblical Tower of Babel. The fact is that the ancient “Tower of Babel” of the Old Testament was located on Mount Lebanon, on the Baalbek platform. It was a gigantic seven-stage building that served the takeoff and landing in Baalbek of Anunnaki spaceships and their “flying chariots” - airplanes.

The Mesopotamian texts then recount the same incident: Marduk's futile attempt to prevent the transfer of the kingdom from Kish to Erech and Ur, the major urban centers that belonged to Nannar-Sin. However, this attempt by Marduk entailed a chain of irreversible tragic events - the internecine wars of the Anunnaki.

Dear Pythagoras, at this point I have to interrupt my story. It’s late, and tomorrow we need to have bright heads to work in the library.” Pythagoras rose from his chair and thanked Caspar: “Thank you, friend, your stories about the legends of the Sumerians close many gaps in my knowledge of history. Good night!"

The KP columnist studied the sacred texts and made an incredible discovery

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Let us turn to the genealogy of the first man on earth, Adam. In the Old Testament it is written in black and white: “all the days of Adam’s life were nine hundred and thirty years; and he died."

Adam's son Seth lived 912 years. Grandson Enos - 905. Great-grandson Cainan - 910. Great-great-grandson Malaleel - 895. Great-great-great-grandson Jared - 962. The next descendant Enoch - 365. Methuselah and all - 969! Record holder for the longest life on the planet. It’s not for nothing that there is an expression of Methuselah’s centuries. Lamech - 777. Noah – 950.

By simple addition and division we find out: the average life expectancy of the patriarchs of the nine antediluvian generations was 912 years. (The tenth, Enoch, does not count; he was taken alive to heaven at the age of 365. But he managed to give birth to Methuselah himself!)

Each of these respectable fathers of families also had sons and daughters. But only the first-born in the line of Adam are mentioned in the genealogy. We must assume that the other children lived for a long time.

It is strange that the Old Testament does not say how long the progenitor of mankind, Eve and her heirs, lived. Perhaps because it was created from Adam's rib. Sorry, feminists, but you can’t erase words from the Bible. The iron patriarchy ruled the roost until the flood, women knew their place...

DO EVERYONE CALENDARS LIE?

But why, why did the first people live so long?

I remember that the country’s leading gerontologist (specialist in aging), academician of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, on “Direct Line” with Komsomolskaya Pravda readers, answered a similar question succinctly and authoritatively: “Then in the Bible, a month was considered a year!” I sat next to the academician and allowed him to doubt. “Scientifically proven fact!” - said the Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation.

Yes, you can’t argue against science.

The other day, having taken up this biblical detective story, I asked a burning question about the Methuselah Age to another respected gerontologist, geneticist, Doctor of Science. “The Bible was rewritten in different languages ​​in different centuries,” the scientist clearly explained. - There was a translation error. In the original it was “lunar month”, but the ancient translator put the word “year”. Then it went like this. And if you recalculate, life expectancy was around 80 years, which is realistic.”

It turns out that the legendary Methuselah actually lived only a little over 80?! The rest of the patriarchs are even less. This is what omniscient science means!

Not otherwise, the demon misled the ancient translator. He brought him some strong wine, or inadvertently pushed him under the elbow. The evil one has brought confusion into the holy book. Oh, this Satan! First, under the guise of a serpent, he tempted Eve to eat the forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. For which the Lord was angry with Adam and his frivolous wife and drove them out of Eden. Thus, the first people and all their descendants, including you and me, lost eternal, endless life, violating the original plan of the Creator. And then the demon replaced the month in the Bible with a year, and people in different countries have been wondering for thousands of years why people lived for nine centuries before the flood, but now only a few can barely reach one.

You can safely close the journalistic investigation.

FIVE-YEAR-OLD FATHERS!

But one hitch emerged. Judging by the Old Testament chronicle, Adam gave birth to Seth at the age of 130. If you believe our gerontological scientists, in fact, the first father of the planet was not yet eleven years old. But before Seth, for a minute, he managed to give birth to as many as two sons. I lost them as adults. Remember the story of how Cain killed Abel and went into exile himself. Only after this loss did Adam conceive Seth, by the way. To prolong the race. He gave Adam his grandson Enos at the age of 105. Divide by 12. So, is the young parent under 9 years old? Gee! An even greater mystery is Adam's great-great-grandson Malleleil. He became the father of Jared at 65. If you follow the scientific version that the antediluvian year was equal to our month, he conceived his first-born when he himself was not even five years old. Isn’t science itself funny? In the antediluvian 65, by the way, Enoch gave birth to Methuselah himself.

So there is an inconsistency, comrades scientists, in your scientific formula - “a year for a month.”

“FOR DEBROKE, FOR DRUNKENNESS, FOR BRANDBAND!”

Then came the Universal Flood. Well, I guess everyone has heard about him. The Lord was angry with the people for their sins and decided to drown everyone.

A quick question: for what specific sins? I think most people don't know.

When Adam's descendants began to multiply on earth, "the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were beautiful, and they took them as wives as they chose." And the daughters of men began to bear giants to the sons of God. Are these giant skeletons still periodically found by archaeologists in different parts of the world? And who are the sons of God themselves? The Bible doesn't give the answer. Some consider them Atlanteans, others - aliens from other planets, the same Nibiru. However, this is a topic for a separate biblical detective story, beyond the scope of our today’s investigation.

“And the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually... And the Lord said, “I will destroy from the face of the earth man whom I have created, from man to beast, and the creeping thing, and the bird of the air, I will destroy...”

He pardoned only the pious grandson of Methuselah, the six-hundred-year-old Noah and his wife, and his three sons and their spouses. He ordered Noah to build a huge ark, to take into it on the appointed day his large family and a pair of each creature. For divorce after the flood.

And now, citizens, attention!

“In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of heaven were opened. And rain poured on the earth for forty days and forty nights... Every creature that was on the surface of the earth was destroyed; from man to cattle, and creeping things, and birds of the air; only Noah and everything that was with him in the ark remained. And the water began to subside at the end of one hundred and fifty days. And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat.”

Judging by the Bible, the ark sailed until it stopped over Ararat for exactly 5 months - 150 days. So a month was 30 days. Much like today.

What if there were only 7 months in the Old Testament year, the meticulous reader will ask? Then Methuselah's age will be almost half as long, and with young 65-year-old fathers everything will be fine!

“The water constantly decreased until the tenth month. On the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains appeared. After forty days (almost the middle of the eleventh! - Author) Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made.” And he released a dove to find out if there was dry land somewhere. He returned without finding her. After hesitating for seven days, Noah released the bird again. In the evening it flew in with an olive leaf in its beak. After waiting another seven days, the patriarch released the dove again, and it never returned. Apparently he found a piece of sushi somewhere and stayed. And Noah continued to wait. Until the end of the twelfth month. And only “in the year six hundred and one, on the first day of the first month, the water on the earth dried up and Noah opened the lid of the ark.” The earth dried up only on the twenty-seventh day of the second month. It was then that God ordered Noah to leave the ark along with his family, all the livestock, creeping things, and disperse throughout the earth to be fruitful and multiply.

SENTENCE - 120 YEARS FOR LIFE

At least we sorted out the calendar. It turns out that with the Old Testament chronology everything was the same as today. I specifically do not name the academician and doctor of sciences I really respect, who misled me with the “scientific” formula - the biblical year is equal to the modern month. They themselves clearly did not read the Bible, although the topic of longevity touched upon in it is the work of their lives. They simply repeated a version widespread in scientific circles, which cleverly refutes the Methuselah century, which is inexplicable to scientists. That is why I quoted the Bible in such detail and cited facts. You don't have to believe me. And don’t believe it, it’s better to check it yourself. Today is not Soviet atheistic times; anyone interested can easily find and read the Bible.

There is also a version that the then 10 years went by in one current year. But how will she explain that Mallelel and Enoch gave birth to their first children at 6.5 years old?

Even before the flood, angry at people who sinned with the sons of God, the Lord said: “My Spirit will not forever be despised by men; because they are flesh; Let their days be a hundred and twenty years.” This, dear readers, is where all the scientists talk about how a person should live 120 years. From the Bible. (If we take the “scientific formulas of biblical chronology”, it turns out that God allotted us 10-12 years. Nonsense!!!)

Now let’s look closely at how the Lord’s strict sentence to sinful humanity to shorten life from 969 Methuselah years to 120 was fulfilled.

The fulfillment did not happen instantly, by the method of a Divine Miracle, as one might think: someone hits 120 - immediately give your soul to God! And gradually. Evolutionary. Already after the global flood.

Noah himself, having descended from the ark with his family and livestock, no longer experienced the joy of fatherhood. Although he lived another 350 years after the universal cataclysm. And he rested in God in 950. The earth was populated by numerous descendants of his sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth. But in the Old Testament, according to tradition, the genealogy of only the firstborn Noah is described in detail.

Shem himself, born before the Flood, lived 600 years, his son Arphaxad, who was born two years after the universal flood - 438, grandson Sal - 433, great-grandson Eber - 464, great-great-grandson Peleg - 239, Raghav - 239, Serukh - 230, Nahor - 148, Terah - 205. Terah's son - the legendary "father of many tribes" Abraham - 175, his wife Sarah - 127. Abraham's son Isaac - 180, grandson Jacob - 147, great-grandson Joseph - only 110. The same wise Joseph who predicted seven fat years and seven hungry years for the Egyptian pharaoh. After his death, his body was embalmed and placed in an ark in Egypt.

And soon the prophet Moses will lead all Jews from Egyptian captivity to the Promised Land. Moses himself lived exactly 120 years, designated by the Lord. But here is his curious psalm:

“The days of our years are seventy years,

and with greater strength - eighty years;

and their best time is labor and illness,

for they pass quickly, and we fly.”

It was said before the birth of Christ, but as if about us, the unfortunates of the 21st century.

Judging by the pedigree of Shem, it took only a dozen generations of the descendants of the 950-year-old patriarch Noah for life expectancy to sharply and steadily decrease. Frozen at our modern level. What's wrong? Universal flood? But the water has gone, the earth has dried up. And people did not stop sinning after the Flood. The burning of Sodom and Gomorrah for homosexuality happened under Abraham.

There are speculative pseudo-scientific hypotheses that before the Flood there was a huge steam-water dome above the earth’s atmosphere. 12 meters thick! He, they say, like a screen, reliably protected the planet and the first people from harmful cosmic rays and ultraviolet radiation, absorbing more than 70% of the radioactive background. At the same time, it created a greenhouse effect, plus additional atmospheric pressure. There was 50 percent more oxygen on earth. People lived as if in a giant greenhouse combined with a healing hyperbaric chamber. All year round, supposedly, everything was blooming and fragrant. It was easy to breathe. Therefore, a person could run hundreds of kilometers tirelessly. No illnesses for you, they say. And if any illness happened, people quickly recovered. The food is all natural, enriched with all vitamins and other additives.

During the flood, the heavens opened up, the entire layer of water poured onto the earth, flooding it. The protective screen disappeared, and Noah’s descendants had no salvation from evil cosmic radiation, ultraviolet radiation, or any gamma-beta rays. Mutations, degenerative changes, diseases, epidemics began. And then the climate changed, the earth’s axis shifted, the cold appeared regularly... That’s why human life, they say, became difficult and short.

But, I repeat, these are all amateur hypotheses that are not confirmed by the Bible.

EAT PINEAPPLES, CHEW WEED!

But this is what is indicated in the Bible itself in plain text! Having created man and woman in the first week, God said: “Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed that is on all the earth, and every tree that has fruit yielding seed; it shall be for you to eat.”

It turns out that the Creator created the first people as vegetarians. Clean. The so-called vegans. No eggs, caviar, milk, cheese and other gastronomic tricks with livestock and poultry products, as many modern vegetarians do. Only fruits, vegetables, grains. From birth until death. No “fasting days”. Eternal Lent!

Moreover, the Creator also made animals herbivores. “And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to every thing that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food. And so it became.”

Imagine an idyll: lions, tigers, cows, wolves, hares, people walking calmly together. Nobody eats anyone! And everyone lives for centuries.

But people did not appreciate such grace. They became soft and indulged in debauchery and other indecencies. And the Lord, outraged by this black ingratitude, decided to drown the sinners. And future generations will have their lives reduced to 120 years. So that you don't spoil them too much. And therefore, he gave a different covenant to Noah and his family who came out of the ark than to his distant ancestor Adam. “Let all the beasts of the earth, and all the birds of the air, and all that moves on the earth, and all the fish of the sea, fear and tremble at you; they are given into your hands. Every moving thing that lives will be food for you; I give you everything like green herbs.” Later, through Moses, the Lord gave people a large list of clean and unclean animals, fish, birds and reptiles, specifying who can be eaten and who cannot.

As you can see, only the diet changed dramatically after the flood. A person was allowed to jump off veganism, eat meat, milk, eggs and other animal foods, which, according to science, give strength, fats and proteins necessary for the body. After only a dozen generations of direct descendants of the antediluvian patriarch, 950-year-old Noah, life expectancy sharply and inexorably decreased on animal food. There are 120 years before those awarded by the Creator. And this is in exceptional cases. Our usual destiny is still 70-80 years. What did Moses mourn about in ancient times in his famous psalm?

One must think that it was meat-eating that became the Creator’s humane instrument for the execution of his non-appealable sentence to radically shorten the lives of sinful people.

And in memory of the golden ages of vegetarianism in Christianity, I believe, fasts have been preserved. On March 14, the strictest of them begins - the Great. It will last until May 1st.

You might be wondering why today vegetarians don’t live much longer than meat eaters. Honestly, I don't know. Although medicine does find small advantages of plant nutrition over animal nutrition. Perhaps because there are no generations of pure vegans who would eat this way for several centuries without a single violation. Then it would be possible to look at the results, compare statistics, genealogies, as in the Bible before and after the Flood. This is a matter for scientists. There are many of them now among vegetarians. Let them figure it out. My job as a journalist is to solve the biblical detective story about centenarians.

OTHER OPINION

NOT MEAT, BUT SINS HAVE SHORTENED OUR LIFE

Sergei ZUBOV, teacher at the Moscow Theological Academy:

Indeed, initially man’s food was plant-based: And God said: Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed that is on all the earth, and every tree that has fruit yielding seed; - [this] will be food for you (Gen. 1:29).

The animals didn't eat meat either.

Initially, man was potentially immortal, that is, immortality was given to him by God, the reason for it was in God. The task of man was, by becoming like God in caring for creation, in obedience to God, to ascend from strength to strength and achieve likeness to Him. Since God is the source of life, a person, becoming more and more like God, would reveal divine properties in himself - this process is endless, because God Himself is infinite.

The whole problem is not a “diet”, but a violation of God’s commandments. The Fall occurred and the road to immortality was closed for man. After the Fall, man cannot help but sin. Accordingly, if he is given eternal life, then this means the opportunity for endless improvement in sins.

Therefore, God expels man from Paradise: And the Lord God said: Behold, Adam has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, as if he did not stretch out his hand, and also took from the tree of life, and did not eat, and began to live forever (Gen. 3:22). - God limits the human age so that man cannot sin forever.

Please note that it is not after the flood that God shortens the duration of life, but before that: And the Lord said: My Spirit will not forever be despised by men; because they are flesh; let their days be one hundred and twenty years (Gen. 6:3).

And permission to eat meat is given after the flood, rather, to strengthen a person, because, probably, the world and conditions of existence have changed.

Thus, according to Orthodox theology, the duration of a person’s earthly life was shortened not because of eating meat, but because of committing sins:

1. the fall of Adam and Eve in Paradise - a person becomes mortal;

2. the sins of antediluvian humanity - the age of man is shortened.

In both cases, the reduction is due to a decrease in the time of confirmation in committing sins.

In the book of the Wisdom of Solomon we read:

Do not hasten death by the errors of your life and do not attract destruction to yourself by the works of your hands (Wis. 1:12).

Righteousness is immortal, but unrighteousness causes death: the wicked attracted her with their hands and words, considered her a friend and wasted away, and entered into an alliance with her, for they are worthy to be her lot (Wis. 1, 15-16).

The Bible says this about the impact on life expectancy: Honor your father and your mother, so that your days on earth may be long (Ex. 20:12). At the very beginning, man did not honor the Father. And as a result, man became mortal.

FIVE OLDEST RESIDENTS ON EARTH

All were women and their age was documented.

1. Jeanne KALMAN, France. 122 years, 164 days. (1875-1997)

2. Sarah KNAUSS, USA. 119 years, 97 days. (1880-1999)

3. Lucy HANNA, USA. 117 years, 248 days (1875-1993)

4. Maria Louise MAILER, Canada. 117 years, 230 days (1880-1998)

5. Misao OKAWA, Japan. 117 years, 27 days (1898 – 2015)

BY THE WAY

TO BELIEVE - NOT TO BELIEVE?

The Flood appears not only in the Christian Bible. Legends about him are preserved in the myths and religious texts of many peoples of Australia, North and South America, India, Europe, Papua New Guinea, Japan, China, the Middle East... The British anthropologist and historian of religions J. J. Fraser collected about a hundred such versions around the world . Legends about the first ancient long-livers - gods, kings - were also widespread among different peoples. Let us at least remember our Kashchei the Immortal.

Atheist scientists often call the Bible a collection of myths, legends about the origin of the Earth and man, which have nothing to do with science. But, let’s agree, the deeply scientific Big Bang theory about the origin of the Universe is also just a hypothesis, albeit the most widespread one yet. She has many critics in the scientific community. And alternative versions. The main thing is that there is still no answer, what happened before the Explosion? After all, an empty space does not explode. There are also critics of the scientific theory about the origin of man from apes. What is the origin? Modern gerontologists and biologists still cannot clearly explain why a person ages. There are dozens of deeply scientific, smart theories on this subject, sometimes mutually exclusive. Some academics believe that a person, like a military missile, is programmed for self-destruction, others blame free radicals that cause “rust” in the body, and others blame “slags” that clog the body...

So everyone has the right to believe in what they want.

After being expelled from paradise, Adam and Eve began to have children: sons and daughters. (Gen. 5 , 4).

They named their first son Cain, and the second Abel. Cain farmed, and Abel tended flocks.

One day they made a sacrifice to God: Cain - the fruits of the earth, and Abel - the best animal from his herd.

Abel was of a kind and meek disposition, he made a sacrifice from a pure heart, with love and faith in the promised Savior, with a prayer for mercy and hope for the mercy of God; and God accepted Abel's sacrifice - it is believed that the smoke from it rose to heaven.

Cain was of an evil and cruel disposition; he made sacrifices only as a custom, without the love and fear of God. The Lord did not accept his sacrifice; this is thought to have been evident from the fact that the smoke from his sacrifice spread across the ground.

After this, Cain became jealous of his brother, called Abel into the field and killed him there.

God turned to Cain, wanting him to repent, and asked him: “Where is your brother Abel?”

Cain answered boldly: “I don’t know; am I my brother’s keeper?”

Then God said to him: “What have you done? Your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the earth. For this you will be cursed and will wander the earth.” And Cain, tormented by his conscience, fled with his wife from his parents to another land.

Human life is a gift from God, therefore a person has no right either to deprive himself of it or to take it from others. Taking the life of a neighbor is called murder, and depriving oneself of life is called suicide and is the most serious sin.

Instead of the murdered Abel, God gave Adam and Eve a third son - a pious Sipha, and then many more children. Adam and Eve lived on earth for a long time. Adam lived 930 years. They endured a lot of suffering and grief, heartily repented of their sin and firmly believed in the promised Savior. This faith saved them, they are now among the holy forefathers.

Cain kills his brother Abel

NOTE: See the Bible in the book. Genesis: ch. 4 , 1-16, 25; 5 , 3-5.

Flood

From the children of Adam and Eve, the human race quickly multiplied; people at that time lived for a long time, up to 900 years or more.

From Seth came pious and good people - the “sons of God”, and from Cain the wicked and evil - the “sons of men”.

At first, the descendants of Seth lived separately from the descendants of Cain, maintaining faith in God and the future Savior. But later they began to take daughters from the descendants of Cain as wives and began to adopt bad customs from them, become corrupted and forget the true God.

After a long time, wickedness between people reached the point that of all the people on earth, only one descendant of Seth remained faithful to God - the righteous Noah with his family.

Seeing the great corruption of people, the merciful Lord gave them one hundred and twenty years for repentance and correction. But people not only did not improve, but became even worse.

Then the Lord determined to wash (cleanse) the earth with water from the wicked human race, and preserve the righteous Noah on earth for the further reproduction of people. God appeared to Noah and said: “The end of every creature has come, for the earth is filled with evildoings from them; and I will destroy them from the face of the earth. I will bring a flood of water on the earth to destroy everything that is on the earth.” He commanded Noah to build the ark, that is, a large quadrangular vessel in the likeness of a house, in which his family and animals could fit, and gave him exact dimensions and instructions for this. Noah accepted God's commandment with faith and began to build the ark.

When the ark was ready, Noah, at the command of God, entered it with his wife, three sons and their wives and, as indicated by God, took with him all the animals and birds that cannot live in water, clean, (i.e. those who can be sacrificed) - seven pairs each, and the unclean - one pair each, in order to preserve their tribe for the whole earth. He also took a supply of food for everyone for the whole year.

global flood

On the day Noah entered the ark, the waters of the flood gushed over the earth - " all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of heaven were opened", that is, there was a great flood from the seas and oceans, and rain poured from the sky onto the earth for forty days and forty nights. And the water on the earth rose higher than the highest mountains, intensifying one hundred fifty days, and drowned all the people and animals, so that no one could escape except those who were in the ark.

After one hundred and fifty days, the water began to gradually decrease. On seventh month the ark stopped on the mountains of Ararat (in Armenia). First day tenth month the tops of all the mountains appeared. TO end of the year the water entered its containers.

Noah opened the window of the ark and sent out a raven to find out if the water had receded from the earth, but the raven flew away and flew back to the roof of the ark.

Mount Ararat

Then Noah released a dove, which, having flown away, could not find a place to live, because there was still water on the surface of the whole earth, and returned back to the ark. After waiting seven days, Noah again released the dove from the ark. This time the dove returned in the evening and brought a fresh olive leaf in its mouth. And Noah realized that the water had subsided from the earth and greenery had appeared on it again. After waiting seven more days, Noah again released the dove, and it never returned to him. And Noah opened the roof of the ark and saw that the ground was already dry.

Noah leaving the ark

Then, by the command of God, Noah left the ark with his entire family and released all the animals that were with him.

And Noah built an altar, that is, a place for making sacrifices, and offered a thanksgiving sacrifice to God from all clean animals and birds for his salvation.

Noah brings a sacrifice of thanksgiving to God for salvation

God mercifully accepted Noah’s sacrifice and blessed him and his sons and promised that there would never again be such a flood to destroy all life on earth for the sins of people, that is, there would never be a global flood. As a sign of this promise, the Lord pointed to a rainbow in the clouds, which since then has served as an eternal reminder to people of this God’s promise.

NOTE: See the Bible, in the book. "Genesis", ch. 4 , 17-24; 5; 6 , 1-22; 7; 8; 9 , 1-17.

Conversation about the flood

An objection to the flood from non-believers is that it is impossible for the whole earth to be under water at the same time, as the Bible says. But, as the English explorer Arthur Hooke points out: “the scientist Dr. John Murray found that if the surface of the earth were turned into a plane, there is so much water in the seas, which in some places reach six miles deep, that it would be enough , - to cover the entire earth with a simultaneous universal depth of two miles."

But the flood may not have been, in the full sense of the word, universal. We must remember why the Lord made the flood: The Lord saw that the wickedness of men was great on earth, and that their thoughts were evil for all time... And the Lord said: I will destroy from the face of the earth the people whom I have created. (Gen. 6 , 5 and 7). Consequently, we can imagine the flood in the form of a flood that covered only the space of the earth inhabited by people, but we do not know at all how large this space was at the time of the flood. At the same time, we may not be confused by the fact that the Bible several times speaks of the flood as spreading “over all the earth.” The Bible and all religious literature, which has only the human soul as the object of its concerns, often calls the earth and even the universe only the region of human habitation, and even only the region of a certain human culture, ripe for the influence of the Holy Scriptures. Byzantium, raised on the Bible, called the Mediterranean basin the Universe, which is why it called its emperors “lords of the universe” and gave the title of ecumenical to the Patriarch of Constantinople.

The wide prevalence of the legend about the flood indicates that the flood was an event that engulfed all of humanity, and it was preserved in the memory of many branches of the human race. The same researcher Arthur Hooke reports that the Chaldeans, Phoenicians, Babylonians, Phrygians, Syrians, Persians, Greeks and even Armenians - they all had, more or less, consistent legends about the flood. The Phrygian narrative, for example, mentions Enoch as having foretold the flood, and reports that he wept and prayed for the fate of the bitter, unrepentant inhabitants of the antediluvian world. An ancient Phrygian coin was found, with a crude image of an ark, and the letters "N-0" on one of its sides, undoubtedly referring to Noah. Next we discover that India and China have records of the flood and that during the flood, he was saved someone with seven people in his family. The Mexicans had a legend about a man who made a ship to escape an impending disaster.

In addition, it should be noted that on the basis of scientific (geological) excavations it was established that there is in the ground thick layer of clay, silt layer, which does not contain any remains of organic animal life. This layer sharply separates layers stone age(Paleolithic), from subsequent layers: neolithic, bronze And iron age. The French scientist Mortilier called this layer hiatus, i.e. break. This silty layer from the bottom of the sea, it is believed that it occurred under the influence of a global cataclysm, that is, the land sank below the level of the ocean, the waters of which flooded the entire earth, all the mountains. As Moses says: "and all the fountains of the great deep were opened"(Gen. 7 , 11), and then mentions rain. Moreover, these silty layers cover with a thick layer all of Europe, North Africa and Western Asia, up to the high mountains. Scientist Cuvier That’s what I called these deposits, this thick muddy layer, Deluge (Deluge) - flood.

Of course, for believers, all this evidence is not needed, because they know that the Almighty Lord God, having created heaven and earth, could certainly flood all dry land with the waters of the flood.

Life of Noah and his children after the flood

The sons of Noah who came out of the ark with him were Shem, Ham and Japheth.

Noah began to cultivate the land and planted a vineyard. When he made wine from grape juice and tasted it, he became drunk, because he did not yet know the power of wine, and having opened himself, he lay naked in his tent. His son Ham saw this, he disrespected his father, went and told his brothers about it. Shem and Japheth took clothes, approached their father so as not to see his nakedness, and covered him. When Noah woke up and learned about the deed of his youngest son Ham, he condemned and cursed him in the person of his son Canaan, and said that his descendants would be in slavery to the descendants of his brothers. And he blessed Shem and Japheth and predicted that the true faith would be preserved in the descendants of Shem, and the descendants of Japheth would spread throughout the earth and accept the true faith from the descendants of Shem.

Noah lived 950 years, he was the last to reach such a great old age. After him, human strength began to become scarce, and people could only live up to 400 years. But even with such a still long life, people multiplied quickly.

Everything that Noah predicted to his sons came true exactly. The descendants of Shem are called Semites, these include, first of all, the Jewish people, they alone retained faith in the true God. The descendants of Japheth are called Japhetids, and these include the peoples inhabiting Europe, who accepted faith in the true God from the Jews. The descendants of the boor are called Hamites; these include the Canaanite tribes that originally inhabited Palestine, many peoples of Africa and other countries. The Hamites have always been subordinate to other peoples, and some remain savages to this day.

9 , 18-29; Ch. 10 .

The Babylonian Pandemonium and the Dispersion of the People

The multiplied descendants of Noah lived together for a long time in one country, not far from the Ararat Mountains, and spoke the same language.

When the human race became numerous, the evil deeds and strife between people increased, and they saw that they would soon have to disperse throughout the entire earth.

But before they dispersed, the descendants of Ham, drawing others along with them, decided to build a city in it as well. tower, like pillar, reaching up to heaven, so that he may become famous and not be subject to the descendants of Shem and Japheth, as Noah foretold. They made bricks and got to work.

This proud idea of ​​people was displeasing to God. So that evil would not completely destroy them, the Lord mixed the language of the builders so that they began to speak different languages ​​and ceased to understand each other. Then people were forced to abandon the construction they had begun and scatter across the earth in different directions. Japheth's descendants went west and settled throughout Europe. The descendants of Shem remained in Asia, the descendants of Ham went to Africa, but some of them also remained in Asia.

The unfinished city is nicknamed Babylon, which means mixing. The whole country where this city was began to be called the land of Babylon, and also the Chaldean.

People who settled across the earth gradually began to forget their kinship, and separate, independent peoples or nation, with its own customs and language.

The Lord saw that people learn more from each other evil deeds than good ones, and therefore he caused a confusion of languages, and divided people into separate nations and gave each nation a separate task and goal in life.

NOTE: See the Bible in the book. "Genesis": ch. 11 .

The emergence of idolatry

When people dispersed throughout the earth, they began to forget the invisible true God, the Creator of the world. The main reason for this was sins that remove people from God and darken their minds. There were fewer and fewer righteous people, and there was no one to teach people the true faith in God. Then a wrong belief (superstition) began to appear among people. People saw many wondrous and incomprehensible things around them, and instead of God they began to worship the sun, moon, stars, fire, water and various animals, make images of them, worship them, make sacrifices and build temples for them or temples. Such images of false gods are called idols, or idols, and the peoples who worship them are called idolaters, or pagans. This is how idolatry appeared on earth.

Soon almost all people became pagans. Only in Asia, in the descendants of Shem, was there a righteous man named Abraham who remained faithful to God.

Abraham

Abraham lived in the country of the Chaldeans, not far from Babylon. He was a descendant of Shem and, with his entire family, retained true faith in God. He was rich, had a lot of cattle, silver and gold, and many servants; but had no children and grieved about it.

God chose righteous Abraham to preserve the true faith, through his descendants, for all mankind. And in order to protect him and his descendants from his native pagan people (because among his native pagan people it was more likely to learn idolatry), God appeared to Abraham and said: “Get out of your land and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you.” I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you and make your name great. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed", that is, in this people - in its descendants, over time, the Savior of the world promised to the first people will be born, Who will bless all the nations of the earth.

Abraham was seventy-five years old at that time. He obeyed the Lord, took his wife Sarah, his nephew Lot and all the property that they acquired, all his servants, and moved to the land that the Lord showed him. This land was called Canaanite and was very fertile. The Canaanites lived there at that time. This was one of the most wicked peoples. The Canaanites were descendants of Canaan, the son of Ham. Here the Lord again appeared to Abraham and said: “All the land that you see I will give to you and your descendants.” Abraham built an altar and offered a thanksgiving offering to God.

After this, the land of Canaan began to be called promised, that is, promised, since God promised to give it to Abraham and his descendants. And now it's called Palestine. This land is located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea, and the Jordan River flows through its middle.

When the herds of Abraham and Lot multiplied so much that they became crowded together and incessant disputes began to occur between their shepherds, then they decided to disperse amicably.

Abraham said to Lot: “Let there be no discord between us, since we are relatives. Is not the whole earth before you? Separate yourself from me; if you go to the right, then I will go to the left.”

Lot chose the Jordan Valley for himself and settled in Sodom. But Abraham remained to live in the land of Canaan and settled near Hebron, near the oak grove of Mamra. There's about Mamri oak, he pitched his tent and built an altar to the Lord. This Mamrian oak still grows in Palestine, near the city of Hebron.

Melchizedek blesses Abraham

Not long after Lot settled in Sodom, the neighboring king of Elam attacked Sodom, destroyed the city, and took captives both people and property. Lot was among the captives.

Abraham, having learned about this, immediately gathered his servants (318 people), invited his neighbors to help, caught up with the enemy, attacked him and recaptured all the booty.

When Abraham returned, he was greeted with triumph. Melchizedek, that was priest of the Most High God And King of Salem, brought to Abraham as a gift bread And wine and blessed him.

Nothing is known about Melchizedek - his origin and death. Name Melchizedek Means king of truth: word salim Means world. Melchizedek prefigured Jesus Christ: just as Melchizedek was both priest and king, so Jesus Christ is High Priest and King. As for Melchizedek, neither the beginning nor the end of his life is indicated - he seemed to alive forever, - so Christ is the eternal God, King and High Priest; and we call Jesus Christ High Priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek. And just as our Lord Jesus Christ gave us His body and blood, that is, St., under the guise of bread and wine. communion, so Melchizedek, prefiguring the Savior, brought bread and wine to Abraham, and, as the eldest, blessed Abraham.

Abraham reverently accepted Melchizedek's blessing and gave him a tenth of his spoils.

NOTE: See the Bible, in the book. "Genesis": chapters 12, 14, 15, 16, 17.

The appearance of God to Abraham in the form of three strangers

One day, on a hot day, Abraham was sitting under the shade of an oak tree, at the entrance of his tent, and saw three strangers standing opposite him. Abraham loved to entertain strangers. He immediately stood up and ran to meet them, bowed to the ground and began calling them to him to rest under a tree and refresh themselves with food.

Appearance of God (Holy Trinity) to Abraham

The wanderers came to him. According to the custom of that time, Abraham washed their feet, served bread, immediately prepared by his wife Sarah, served butter, milk and the best roasted calf and began to treat them. And they ate.

And they said to him: “Where is Sarah your wife?”

He answered: “Here, in the tent.”

And one of them said: “In a year I will be with you again, and Sarah your wife will have a son.”

Sarah, standing behind the entrance to the tent, heard these words. She laughed to herself and thought: should I have such consolation when I am already old?

But the stranger said: “Why did Sarah laugh? Is there anything difficult for the Lord? At the appointed time I will be with you and Sarah will have a son.”

Sarah was afraid and said: “I did not laugh.”

But he told her: “No, you laughed.”

Abraham then realized that these were not simple wanderers, but that God Himself was speaking to him.

Abraham was 99 years old at this time, and Sarah was 89.

NOTE: See the Bible in the book. "Genesis": ch. 18, 1-16 .

Death of Sodom and Gomorrah

Leaving Abraham, God revealed to him that He would destroy the neighboring cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, since they are the most wicked cities on earth. Abraham's nephew, righteous Lot, lived in Sodom.

Abraham began to beg the Lord to have mercy on these cities if fifty righteous people were found there.

The Lord said: “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, then for their sake I will have mercy on the whole city.”

Abraham asked again: “Perhaps five righteous people will not reach fifty?”

The Lord said: “I will not destroy if I find forty-five righteous people there.”

Abraham continued to talk to the Lord and beg Him, decreasing the number of righteous people until he reached ten; he said: “Let the Lord not be angry, what will I say one more time: maybe there will be ten righteous people there?”

God said: “I will not destroy even for the sake of ten.” But in these unfortunate cities the inhabitants were so evil and corrupt that not even ten righteous people were found there. These wicked people even wanted to abuse the two Angels who came to save righteous Lot. They were ready to break down the door, but the Angels struck them with blindness and took Lot and his family - his wife and two daughters - out of the city. They told them to run and not look back, so as not to die.

Flight of Lot and his family from Sodom

And then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah and destroyed these cities and all the people in them. And he devastated the whole place so that in the valley where they were, a salt lake was formed, now known as Dead Sea, in which nothing living can live.

Lot's wife, when she ran away from the city, looked back at Sodom, and immediately turned into a pillar of salt.

By the fact that Lot's wife looked back at Sodom, she showed that she regretted leaving her sinful life - she looked back, lingered, and immediately turned into a pillar of salt. This is a strict lesson for us: when the Lord saves us from sin, we need to run away from it, not look back at it, that is, not linger and not regret it.

Dead Sea today

NOTE: See the Bible in the book. "Genesis": ch. 18 , 16-33; 19 , 20.

The Sacrifice of Isaac

A year after God appeared to Abraham in the form of three strangers, the Lord’s prediction was fulfilled: Abraham and Sarah had a son, whom they named Isaac. Abraham was then a hundred years old, and Sarah was ninety. They loved their only son very much.

When Isaac grew up, God wanted to raise the faith of Abraham and teach through him to all people the love of God and obedience to the will of God.

God appeared to Abraham and said: “Take your only son Isaac, whom you love, go to the land of Moriah, and sacrifice him on the mountain that I will show you.”

Abraham obeyed. He felt very sorry for his only son, whom he loved more than himself. But he loved God most of all and believed Him completely, and knew that God would never wish anything bad. He got up early in the morning, saddled the donkey, took with him his son Isaac and two servants; He took wood and fire for the burnt offering and set out.

On the third day of their journey they came to the mountain that the Lord had indicated. Abraham left the servants and the donkey under the mountain, took fire and a knife, and laid the wood on Isaac and went with him to the mountain.

When they were walking together up the mountain, Isaac asked Abraham: “My father, we have fire and wood, but where is the lamb for sacrifice?”

Abraham replied, “The Lord will provide for Himself a lamb.” And they both walked further together and came to the top of the mountain, to the place indicated by the Lord. There Abraham built an altar, laid out the wood, bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. He had already raised the knife to stab his son. But the angel of the Lord called him from heaven and said: “Abraham, Abraham! Do not raise your hand against the boy and do nothing to him. For now I know that you fear God, because you did not withhold your only son for Me.”

And Abraham saw a ram not far away, entangled in a bush, and sacrificed it instead of Isaac.

The Sacrifice of Isaac

For such faith, love and obedience, God blessed Abraham and promised that he would have as many descendants as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore, and that in his descendants all the nations of the earth would receive blessings, that is, from his lineage the Savior would come peace.

The sacrifice of Isaac was a type or prediction to people about the Savior, who, being the Son of God, would be given by His Father to die on the cross, as a sacrifice for the sins of all people.

Isaac, being a prototype of the Savior two thousand years before the Nativity of Christ, prefigured, by the will of God, Jesus Christ. He, just like Jesus Christ, resignedly went to the place of sacrifice. Just as Jesus Christ carried the cross on Himself, so Isaac carried the wood for sacrifice.

Isaac - a prototype of the Savior

The mountain on which Abraham sacrificed Isaac was named Mount Moriah. Subsequently, King Solomon, at the direction of God, built the Jerusalem Temple on this mountain.

NOTE: See the Bible, in the book. "Genesis": ch. 21, 22 .

Isaac's marriage

Sarah, Abraham's wife, died when she was 127 years old. Abraham himself felt weak in health and decided to marry his son Isaac, but not to a Canaanite woman, but to a girl from his tribe. Isaac was then forty years old.

Abraham called his eldest servant Eleazar and said to him: “Swear to me by the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I live, but you will go to my homeland, to my tribe, and bring a bride from there.” Isaac my son."

Eleazar took an oath and immediately set off. Then it was the custom for the groom to give gifts to the parents for the bride; the richer the bride was, the richer the gifts (veno) were.

Eleazar took with him various expensive things and ten camels as gifts and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Harran, where Nahor, Abraham's brother, lived.

Approaching the city, Eleazar stopped at a well. The day was approaching evening, when women usually come to draw water. Eleazar began to pray to God, he said: “Lord, God of my master Abraham, send her today meet me and show mercy to my master. Behold, I stand at the spring to which the daughters of the city dwellers go to draw water. Let her girl who, in response to my request, tilts the jug and gives me something to drink, will say: “Drink, I will give your camels something to drink, too,” will be appointed by You for Isaac.”

Rebekah gives Eleazar a drink

Before Eleazar had time to finish his prayer, a beautiful-looking maiden came down to the well with a jug on her shoulder, scooped up some water and went up.

Eleazar ran to her and said: “Let me drink a little water from your pitcher.”

The girl said: “Drink, my lord.” And immediately she lowered the jug from her shoulder onto her hand and gave him water.

When Eleazar got drunk, the girl said: “I will also draw for the camels until everyone has drunk.” She immediately poured water from her jug ​​into the drinking bowl, and ran again to the well to draw water, and drew it for all his camels.

Eleazar looked at her in amazement and silence.

When the camels stopped drinking, Eleazar took the gold earring and two wrists in his hands and gave them to her, and asked her: “Whose daughter are you? Tell me, is there a place to sleep in your father’s house?”

This girl's name was Rebekah, she answered: “I am the daughter of Bethuel son of Nahor. We have plenty of straw and feed and a place to stay for the night.”

Eleazar knelt down and thanked God that He had heard his prayer.

Rebekah ran to her house and told her mother and everyone at home about everything.

Eleazar distributes gifts

Rebekah had a brother Laban, he immediately ran to the source and said to Eleazar: “Come in, blessed of the Lord. Why are you standing here? I have prepared a house and a place for the camels.”

Eleazar entered the house. Laban unsaddled the camels and gave them straw and feed. They immediately brought water to wash the feet of Eleazar and the people who were with him, and offered them food.

But Eleazar said: “I am Abraham’s servant. I will not eat until I have told my deed.” And Eleazar told in detail why he had come and how, through his prayer, the Lord gave a sign about Rebekah. When he had told everything, he asked: “Now tell me, do you intend to show mercy and truth to my master or not?”

Laban and Bethuel answered: “This matter has come from the Lord, and we cannot contradict you. Behold Rebekah is before you: take her and go; let her be the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has said.”

The Father blesses Rebekah on her way to Isaac

When Eleazar heard their words, he bowed to the ground with gratitude to the Lord. Then he took out gold and silver things and clothes and presented them to the bride, her brother and her mother.

Isaac meets Rebekah

The next day, Eleazar asked to be allowed to go home. But Rebekah’s brother and mother began to persuade him to stay for at least ten days.

But Eleazar answered: “Do not hold me back, for the Lord has made my way prosperous.”

Isaac introduces Rebekah to his father Abraham

Then the parents called Rebekah and asked her: “Will you go with this man?” Rebekah said, “I’ll go.” Then her parents blessed her and sent her on her way.

When Eleazar with Rebekah and his companions rode up on camels to Abraham’s tents, Isaac met them.

And Rebekah became Isaac's wife. Love for Rebekah consoled Isaac in his sadness over the death of his mother, Sarah.

NOTE: See the Bible, in the book. "Genesis": ch. 23 And 24 .

Isaac's marriage is a great example for all generations. How often young people are mistaken when it comes to the most important issue in their lives - getting married. Some seek wealth, others seek physical beauty, others seek nobility, etc., and only a few seek reason And meek kind heart, i.e. inner, spiritual beauty. The first qualities are temporary and transitory, and the second, inner beauty, is constant and does not depend on changes in external circumstances.

The wrong attitude towards marriage occurs because people want to arrange their own happiness, without God, according to their own selfish whims.

Christian young men and women who want to get married must earnestly pray to the Lord, the Knower of the Heart, that He Himself, according to His will, would arrange their marriage and bless them with His grace, for without God’s blessing no one can arrange their happiness, good order in married life and true Christian family.

A good Christian family is a protection of pure morals, a soil for planting goodness in humanity, an instrument and means for the spread and establishment of the Holy Church of Christ on earth.

The family is also the basis of the state, as Filaret, Metropolitan of Moscow, says well about this: “in the family lie the seeds of everything that later opens and grows in the great family, which is called the state.”

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After the Flood ended, Noah left the ark with his sons. His sons were named Shem, Ham and Japheth.

Noah began to cultivate the land and grow grapes. He made wine from grape juice and, having tasted it, became drunk, because he did not yet know the power of wine. He lay naked in his tent and his son Ham saw it. He treated his father disrespectfully and told his brothers about it. His brothers Shem and Japheth took clothes, approached their father so as not to see his nakedness, and covered him. When Noah woke up and learned about the action of his youngest son Ham, he condemned and cursed him in the person of his son Canaan.

He said that his descendants would be enslaved by the descendants of his brothers. And he blessed Shem and Japheth and predicted that the true faith would be preserved in the descendants of Shem, and the descendants of Japheth would spread throughout the earth and accept the true faith from the descendants of Shem.

Everything that Noah predicted to his sons came true exactly. The descendants of Shem are called Semites; they include, first of all, the Jewish people, in whom alone the faith in the true God was preserved. The descendants of Japheth are called Japhetids, and these include the peoples inhabiting Europe, who accepted faith in the true God from the Jews.

The descendants of Ham are called Hamites; these include the Canaanite tribes that originally inhabited Palestine, many peoples of Africa and other countries.

The Babylonian Pandemonium and the Dispersion of the People

The descendants of Noah lived together for a long time in one country, not far from the Ararat Mountains, and spoke the same language.

When the human race became numerous, the evil deeds and strife between people increased, and they saw that they would soon have to disperse throughout the entire earth.

But before they dispersed, the descendants of Ham, drawing others along with them, decided to build a city and in it a tower, like a pillar, with a height reaching to heaven, in order to become famous and not be subordinate to the descendants of Shem and Japheth, as Noah predicted. They made bricks and got to work.

This proud idea of ​​people was displeasing to God. So that evil would not completely destroy them, the Lord mixed the language of the builders so that they began to speak different languages ​​and ceased to understand each other.

Then people were forced to abandon the construction they had begun and scatter across the earth in different directions. Japheth's descendants went west and settled throughout Europe. The descendants of Shem remained in Asia, the descendants of Ham went to Africa, but some of them also remained in Asia.

The unfinished city was nicknamed Babylon, which means “confusion.” The whole country where this city was began to be called the land of Babylon, and also the Chaldean.

People who settled across the earth gradually began to forget their kinship, and separate, independent peoples or nations with their own customs and language began to form.

The Lord saw that people learn more from each other evil deeds than good ones, and therefore he mixed languages, divided people into separate nations and gave each nation a separate task and goal in life.

The emergence of idolatry

When people dispersed throughout the earth, they began to forget the invisible true God, the Creator of the world. The main reason for this was sins that remove people from God and darken their minds. There were fewer and fewer righteous people, and there was no one to teach people the true faith in God. Then a wrong belief (superstition) began to appear among people.

People saw many wondrous and incomprehensible things around them, and instead of God they began to worship the sun, moon, stars, fire, water and various animals, make images of them, worship them, make sacrifices and build temples or temples for them.

Such images of false gods are called idols, or idols, and the peoples who worship them are called idolaters, or pagans. This is how idolatry appeared on earth.

Soon almost all people became pagans. Only in Asia, in the descendants of Shem, was there a righteous man named Abraham who remained faithful to God.