Presents the Tell it like it is! series of studies:

Revelation 2:17  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

John 15:26
But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

John 16:13-14
[13] Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. [14] He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

This Bible Study was originally written by Roger Christopherson,
 published at http://www.theseason.org/ 

Without the leading by the Holy Spirit, there is no understanding of the truths, for all the truth of the Scriptures are revealed to us by God's Spirit.

 Now here is our revised study of: Christopherson's Genesis 11.

Genesis 11:1 "And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech."

All people and nations of the earth[land] had the same language and understanding of speech. This aided in the forming of Nimrod's one world order.

Genesis 11:2 "And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there."

"Shinar" is the area where Iraq is located today. The migration of the early civilizations were to the east of Iraq.

Genesis 11:3 "And they said one to another, "Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly." And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar."

The idea of baking the brick was so that they could make lasting structures, and roadways. The "slime" is similar to asphalt of today. In the Hebrew text the word for slime was "bitumen",
[2564 chemar (khay-mawr'); from 2560; bitumen (as rising to the surface): -slime (-pit).] and considering the availability of petroleum in the Iraqi area today, and it's rich deposits, we see their was no shortages of material.

Genesis 11:4 And they said, "Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth."

In the Hebrew text, "let us make us a great name", reads, let us provide our own salvation." These are the same people that lived and remembered the great flood. All of the souls that lived through the flood and were on the ark were still alive during the life time of this committing of themselves to Nimrod. They knew the devastation that came upon the earth, and that it was caused by God.

They also knew that God had made a covenant with Noah that mankind would never be destroyed by flood waters again. However, they did not believe God, nor did they trust Him. They knew of Nimrod's mighty strength, and most of the people relied on him for security, as we read in Genesis 10:8-11. They trusted Nimrod. 

Note: This is not unusual for us flesh and blood men. Hitler and the Nazi's rose to power under the same conditions, protection, security, law and order. The Germans had faith in Hitler, that he would bring peace and prosperity, however they did not consider the cost.

The people of Nimrod's day just didn't believe in the covenants, and instructions that God gave after the flood, and they banded together for protection from the wild animals, and relied on their tower to offer them salvation from another flood. This was their means to have access to heaven. The term "a name" in the Hebrew text manifested their independence from God, and showed their reliance on Nimrod. Nimrod's Babylonian system is built upon a false hope of peace and salvation.

Genesis 11:5 "And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded."

God has told us in the Bible what man has to do to be saved, however, even today man is still trying to build his towers to reach his own false peace and salvation. They are trying to bypass the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ, and His shed blood on the cross. They reject God's plan for man, and substitute a religious routine and form called "religion", in it's place.

The term "came down" is an anthropomorphic description of God's interposition in the actions of men. This is the ascribing to God what belongs to human and rational beings, irrational creatures, or inanimate things.

Genesis 11:6 "And the Lord said. Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.

That thing "which they have imagined to do", is "Babel". Remember, the Hebrew word for the word "Babel", is "confusion". They turned the ways of God into confusion, and followed their own imaginations. They discarded the covenants and laws that God had given to Noah and his generations.

God is now going to teach them a little humility, and try to turn them back to Himself.

Genesis 11:7 "Go to, let Us go down, and confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech."

In the term, "Go to, let us go down" when used in other passages in the Hebrew text [18:21, Exodus 3:8], is always used in Judgment. It is used in contrast to man's commitment, or in verse four; "Go to, let us go up". It is God and the angels that performed this act of judgment. This was an miracle, for all people of that land were as one family, and of the same language. However, their unity will be divided by their languages.

Genesis 11:8 "So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build a city."

This word "scattered" is the used in Isaiah 8:9, and the reason for the scattering was to preserve the revelation contained in the Zodiac and the constellation. The signs in the heavens are the plan of God; and the promise of God to man of a coming Messiah. Remember, it was God's band of angels that did the scattering, and God planted the confusion through their languages.

People are always influenced by the supernatural form and activity, and in the futuristic sense, all peoples of the earth will again be committed to supernatural powers, and those powers will be the powers Satan will be given by God, when he comes to earth as the false-christ.

Mankind will be looking for a man to rise from the human masses, and not the supernatural form of Satan, coming as the spurious messiah. Satan will come pretending to be the Messiah, and he will have lies, wonders and deception of a great magnitude.

Genesis 11:9 "Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth."

There is another parallel between Genesis and Revelation,
and this is brought out in Mark 13, and Acts 2. 
This parallel is in the way that the Holy Spirit of God caused the people of all languages of the earth to understand in the same tongue [language]. When the Spirit filled people spoke, there was no need of an interpreter, and there was no confusion in understanding in anyone's mind. Peter told us in Acts 2:14-21 that this is what the prophet Joel spoke of [in Joel 2:28-32], and Peter said that this will also happen in the last days.

The time is coming when all the peoples of the world will hear the words of the Holy Spirit spoken through God's elect, and they will understand even in the dialect of the area they were born. 

This time will come shortly.

Genesis 11:10 "These are THE GENERATIONS OF SHEM: Shem was an hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood."

Genesis 11:11 "And Shem lived after he begat Arphaxad five hundred years, and begat sons and daughters."

Genesis 11:12 "And Arphaxad lived five and thirty years, and begat Salah:"

Lets draw our attention to Luke 3:35-36; "Which was the son of Saruch, which was the son of Rague, which was the son of Phalec, which was the son of Heber, which was the son of Sala [Salah]." [35] Which was the son of Cainan, which was the son of Arphaxad,..." [36]

"Cainan" was added by the Kenite scribe, and injected here to deceive those who desire not to study. Cainan is no where in any original Massoretic text as being the father of Salah, and simply is in error. "It was glossed in from the Septuagint", which is a Greek literature form of the Old Testament Hebrew manuscripts. It was allowed to creep into the New Testament text, for there is no second "Cainan in any Hebrew text here or else where.

I Chronicles 1:18; "And Arphaxad begat Shelah [Salah], and Shelah begat Eber." Here again we see the error of Luke 3:36. The man Cainan appears fourth in the lineage from Adam, and is recorded Genesis 5:12.

Genesis 11:13 "And Arphaxad lived after he begat Salah fourhundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters."

Genesis 11:14 "And Salah lived thirty years, and begat Eber:"

Genesis 11:15 "And Salah lived after he begat Eber four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters."

Genesis 11:16 "And Eber lived four and thirty years, and begat Peleg:"

Genesis 11:17 "And Eber lived after he begat Peleg four hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters."

Genesis 11:18 "And Peleg lived thirty years, and begat Reu:"

Genesis 11:19 "And Peleg lived after he begat Reu two hundred and nine years, and he begat sons and daughters."

Genesis 11:20 "And Reu lived two and thirty years, and begat Serug:"

Genesis 11:21 "And Reu lived after he begat Serug two hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters."

Genesis 11:22 "And Serug lived thirty years, and begat Nahor:"

Genesis 11:23 "And Serug lived after he begat Nahor two hundred years, and begat sons and daughters."

Genesis 11:24 "And Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and begat Terah:"

Genesis 11:25 "And Nagor lived after he begat Terah an hundred and nineteen years, and begat sons and daughters."

Genesis 11:26 "And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran."

Genesis 11:27 "Now these are THE GENERATIONS OF TERAH: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot."

These again, are the genealogies of the scattering. The Generations of Terah continues through Terah's son Abram.  Abram's name is later changed to "Abraham". Lot is Abraham's nephew who will travel with him out of the city of Ur, in the land of the Chaldees.

Genesis 11:28 "And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees."

This is why Lot lived with his uncle.

Genesis 11:29 "And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram's wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah."

"Sarai" in the Hebrew language means "my princes"

Genesis 11:30 "But Sarai was barren; she had no child."

"Sarai" name will be changed later to Sarah, meaning simply "princes". It will be through Sarah, and Abraham that Abraham will be known as the father of many nations.

Genesis 11:31 "And Tarah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there."

Genesis 11:32 "And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran."

Abraham recognized the covenant that God made with Noah, and he followed the teachings and standards that came from God. Abraham was a righteous man before God, and this is why God wanted to separate Abraham from the rest of his family; for God will deal with Abraham individually.

Abraham believed God's teaching and followed His instructions to the point that Abraham did exactly what God said, and trusted God to provide the protection. That was Abraham's faith, for he knew that it was right, and believed and acted upon that belief. Abraham's actions were sustained by his confidence that if God said it, God would keep His word.

That is faith.

You show your genuine love for God when you study his Word, and follow the teaching in your everyday life. This pleases our Heavenly Father. You will be blessed by Him for your commitment.

 American Wisdom Series Editor's Note:  We are going to stop here in our "In the Beginning Study" to review some commentary from chapter 11 in an earlier study we published on the the first 11 chapters of Genesis.  I don't believe you will find much difference in the general opinion of these 2 authors, but to read another person's perspective of events that took place at the start of God's creation of our universe may prove helpful in your understanding of the beginning of both the first and the second earth ages Because if you don't understand what happened in the beginning you will not understand the remainder of Scriptural teaching

In chapter 10 we saw the sons of Noah begin to spread forth among the gentile nations, bringing with them their advanced knowledge, such as in astronomy, farming, laws, etc., and also their language, which of course was Hebrew, the first language.

Here is how the Fenton Bible translates Gen 10:5 concerning the sons of Noah:

Genesis 10:5
From these they spread themselves over the seacoasts of the countries of the nations, each with their language amongst the gentile tribes. (Fenton)

Genesis 11:1
And the whole earth('eretsHebrew776land) was of one language, and of one speech.

So all of the sons of Noah spoke one language.

[2] And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.

[3] And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.

So, they decided to make extremely hard (permanent) bricks and use "slime" to bind them together. Slime is bitumen or what we would call asphalt and is so tenacious today that detachment is almost impossible. It should have been plentiful if we remember where they were, in the oil rich country of Shinar, i.e. Iraq.

What is it that they are going to do with these "man-made" bricks? Build a bridge to the 21st century?

[4] And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

This was not a good idea!

[5] And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.

Gen. 11:5 And Jehovah came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of Adam had built. (The Interlinear Bible, Hebrew, J.P. Green )

Gen 11:6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.

We also see in this whole affair the first attempt (in this earth age) to unify mankind and bring about a New World Order. And today we see the last attempt to unify man and bring about a New World Order. Both attempts are made without our Father's inclusion. Therefore both are Babel. Therefore both will fail.

There is only one way to unify man and that is through the Lord Jesus Christ. May He soon return.

So our Father is about to teach a lesson to those who would promote "confusion". They are going to get a "taste of their own medicine", so to speak.

[7] Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.

And so it is that the diverse languages of man can be traced back to the 7 or so basic languages imparted to man at the Tower of Babel.

[8] So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth('eretsHebrew776land): and they left off to build the city.

This kind of reminds me of Jonah and the great fish for the simple reason that God will accomplish His purpose and His plan with or without the cooperation of man. The sons of Noah were to spread out from "the face of the earth" and they could have done it the easy way and trusted in the LORD. But NO!

You can also imagine that since verse 7 says "let us" go down, meaning God and the angels (the Host), that it wasn't too difficult to scatter them, i.e. "scare them away". The supernatural have a way about them.

[9] Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.

We as Christians must learn to "stand fast" with the gospel armor on and in place (Eph. 6) and trust in Him who has all power in heaven and in earth, and whom no "tower" of man can rise above.

The choice remains ours. It is really simple. In fact it is binary. We can choose to either follow God's way or man's way. The one brings rewards and blessings and eternal life while the other brings death. Man's "towers" to heaven may sound really wonderful, but they are never a good idea.

Proverbs 16:25
There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

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