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Some fifty years ago, shortly after my eighteenth birthday, I believe the Lord may have given me a rather interesting revelation from the Book of Genesis. Up until I wrote this article in 1997, I had only shared this little Scriptural gem with a few people. Whether or not it is true or not, I will leave for you the reader to decide. Being the curious soul that I am, I used to wonder about something which occurred during the time of the Great Flood which overcame the Earth during the days of the Patriarch Noah. Maybe you have too. Following is the verse from that story which initially sparked my interest:

"And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth."


While I have always believed that the Book of Genesis is meant to be understood in a literal sense, including six literal days of Creation, as I point out in other articles, I also believe that some of the things which Moses wrote about may have deeper spiritual implications, which only a few people really understand. For example, I suspect that the previous verse may possibly be a prophecy. Regarding the Six Days of Genesis, please refer to my article called "Adaptation, EVILution and the Six Days of Genesis".

Let me ask you a question. Have you ever wondered why Noah sent out a raven before he sent out the dove? Have you ever been curious about what happened to the raven, being as we are not clearly told of its ultimate fate in Genesis? I know that I have; or at least I did. Well, I thought that I had fully understood this interesting mystery years ago. However, to my pleasant surprise, it wasn't until I began writing this article in 1997 that I realized that there may be even more to this story than I could ever have possibly imagined. It is truly fascinating! So let's talk about the dove first. Following are the key verses from the story:

"Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground; But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark. And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark; And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth. And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; which returned not again unto him any more."


Using my tried and proven research method of comparing one Scripture with another -- which I highly encourage all of my readers to do -- we can easily deduce that the dove in the story represents the Spirit of God. This is easy to prove by verses such as the following:

"And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:"


"And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him:"


"And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him."


If the dove in the Genesis Flood story symbolizes the Spirit of God, then what might the waters possibly represent? Again, by comparing Scripture with Scripture, we can easily discover the answer in the following verses which describe the nations and peoples of the Earth as waters and seas:

"But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked."


"And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;"


"And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues."


The meaning of the Ark which the Lord had Noah and his sons build is simple enough to deduce. The following two verses which are found in the New Testament reveal that the Ark actually signifies the Salvation of God, as we see here:

"By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith."


"Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water."


At this point, we can put together the different pieces of our Scriptural puzzle. First of all, if the Ark represents God's Salvation, then in order to maintain continuity with our interpretation, we can assume that Noah symbolizes God the Father Himself. In fact, a very interesting description of Noah's birth can be found in the Book of Enoch. Consider the following excerpt from that ancient text:

"And after some days my son Methuselah took a wife for his son Lamech, and she became pregnant by him and bore a son. And his body was white as snow and red as the blooming of a rose, and the hair of his head and his long locks were white as wool, and his eyes beautiful. And when he opened his eyes, he lighted up the whole house like the sun, and the whole house was very bright. And thereupon he arose in the hands of the midwife, opened his mouth, and conversed with the Lord of righteousness. And his father Lamech was afraid of him and fled, and came to his father Methuselah. And he said unto him: ' I have begotten a strange son, diverse from and unlike man, and resembling the sons of the God of heaven; and his nature is different and he is not like us, and his eyes are as the rays of the sun, and his countenance is glorious. And it seems to me that he is not sprung from me but from the angels, and I fear that in his days a wonder may be wrought on the earth. And now, my father, I am here to petition thee and implore thee that thou mayest go to Enoch, our father, and learn from him the truth, for his dwelling-place is amongst the angels.'" Book of Enoch 106:1-8

I believe that the fact that Noah sent out the dove three times is very significant. It has occurred to me that the first instance of Noah sending forth the dove symbolizes God the Father sending forth His Spirit to plead with the people of the ancient, evil world of Noah's day. However, as we all know, those people -- the waters -- resisted the conviction of the Spirit of God. Thus God's Spirit returned unto Him, just as the dove returned to Noah.

You may recall that in Genesis chapter six, God declares that His Spirit will not always strive -- that is, contend with or plead a cause with, from the Hebrew word "diyn" -- with man. The Lord specifically gave humanity one hundred and twenty years to repent. Sadly, due to their own foolish wickedness and unbelief, this did not occur; and all those people of the antediluvian era were drowned, and did not receive the Salvation of the Lord. Consider these verses:

"And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years . . . And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them."


About two thousand years ago, our Heavenly Father sent forth His Spirit a second time. As we learned earlier, that time it abode upon and dwelt within Jesus Christ in all its fullness. In other words, as I explain in other articles, while Jesus is the Son of God, during the time of His ministry on Earth, He was given the full Power and Authority of His Father. He was not literally God the Father, as some Christians seem to erroneously believe, but as I said, the Spirit of the Father abode in Him.

It is very similar to when a president takes an overseas journey. During his absence, the nation's vice president assumes the power and the authority of the president. To what extent, I am not certain, being as I do not possess in-depth knowledge of such matters. But the point is, he is not literally the president. He is still the vice president. However, he temporarily has the privilege of exercising the powers and authority of the president. Once the president returns, the vice president resumes his normal duties. So it was with Jesus, in my view. Following are some additional verses which substantiate this point:

"For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him."


"For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;"


"For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily."


At any rate, this time when the Son -- who is represented by the dove in this allegorical interpretation -- returned to His Father -- who is represented by Noah -- He possessed glad tidings. Just as the dove in Genesis returned with an olive branch in its beak when Noah sent it forth the second time, in similar fashion, Jesus returned to Heaven some two thousand years ago, having accomplished His purpose. That purpose was to restore peace between God the Father and the human race, as we can determine by the following verses:

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."


"These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."


"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:"


"But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father."


"And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."


"And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:"


As the previous verses clearly reveal, through His Sacrifice on the Cross, Jesus repaired the breach between God and man, and made it possible for each one of us to enter a peaceful relationship with God the Father again. Of course, the key is that we must receive Christ as our Lord and Savior, and recognize His Sacrifice as the only means of Atonement for our sins.

In contrast, similar to those wicked people who resisted the conviction of God's Spirit in the years leading up to the Genesis Flood, over the past two thousand years, there have been many people who have stubbornly rejected Christ, and who continue to resist God's Spirit pleading with their hardened hearts today. As in the days of Noah, God's Spirit is still striving with rebellious men. For these people, His words of peace are a sword which pierces their hearts; as we see by the following verses:

"Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword."


"Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:"


"He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad."


"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."


In light of this allegorical revelation that I am sharing with you, I find it particularly interesting that in the Gospels, Jesus specifically references the Great Flood that occurred in the days of the Patriarch Noah. Consider these verses:

"But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be."


"And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all."


Returning to the Genesis account of the Flood, as we have seen, on one final, third occasion, Noah -- who represents God in our allegory -- sent out the dove to test the waters. This time, however, the dove did not return. Thus, Noah knew that the waters had receded to a sufficient level, so that he and his family could soon leave the Ark.

Exactly how does this part of the Genesis account fit into our interpretation? Quite simply, we know that following His Resurrection from the dead, Jesus spent forty days on the Earth -- the same number of days that it rained during the Genesis Flood -- bearing witness to His followers. Then He returned to Heaven, no more to be seen by His followers. It is from that wonderful place that He now reigns with His holy Father. Furthermore, the Book of Revelation informs us that someday, when we abandon our tabernacle of flesh, we too will dwell with Him and His Father in the presence of His Spirit forever and ever, as we see by the following verses:

"And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes."


"And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God."


Isn't that wonderful? Perhaps you are wondering exactly when these marvellous events occur. To discover the answer, we simply need to interpret the second half of what I believe is a prophecy -- or perhaps an allegory -- that is hidden in the story of the Genesis Flood. Let me share with you once again the very first verse I quoted concerning this mystery:

"And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth."


If the dove represents the Spirit of God and Jesus Christ, then the raven must then symbolize Satan, the Devil, and the spirit of antichrist. So why is it that we hear nothing more concerning the raven in the rest of Moses' account regarding the Flood? Is it perhaps because the raven never returned to the Ark? As it turns out, just as this raven in the Book of Genesis has been going to and fro throughout the Earth until the waters of the Earth are dried up, in the Book of Job we discover that Satan has also been walking to and fro in the Earth. Consider this verse:

"And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it."


Isn't God's Word absolutely wonderful? Isn't it amazing the way that these different verses connect together like one great CrossWord puzzle? The Bible is about the Cross, and it is also about the Word. However, unless one takes the time to diligently follow the breadcrumbs -- Jesus is the Bread of Life -- and interprets the clues, he will never figure it all out. God has already given us the clues, as well as many of the answers that we desire. It just requires the Wisdom and the Understanding of His Spirit to make sense of it all. Even then, it will still take a long time, if ever. I have been working at it for over fifty years now, and I am still far from figuring it all out, because the mysteries of God's Word are just that profound. Consider the following verses:

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."


"Which doeth great things past finding out; yea, and wonders without number."


"O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!"


So, if the raven -- which symbolizes Satan -- is destined to fly to and fro throughout the Earth until the waters -- that is, people -- are dried up, all we have to do is to find out exactly where the waters dry up, in order to determine the final fate of the raven, and thus of Satan himself. We find a very clear answer in the twentieth chapter of the Book of Revelation, as we see here:

"And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season . . . And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever."


So you see, when the very last evil people -- or waters -- are destroyed off of the face of the Earth at the Battle of Gog and Magog -- which follows the Millennial Rule of Jesus Christ -- that is when the raven -- or Satan -- meets his doom. The waters -- or people -- are dried up when God sends forth Heavenly Fire down upon them to consume them when they surround the Camp of the Saints. Afterwards, as a reward for his wicked, rebellious deeds, Satan -- the evil, black raven -- is cast into the Lake of Fire, where we are told he is tormented forever and ever. It is at this point in time when this hidden allegory that is found in Genesis is completely fulfilled.

In thinking about how the Lord apparently ends the Battle of Gog and Magog rather quickly by sending some kind of Holy Fire to consume the enemies of the Saints, even as they stand upon their feet, I am reminded of the following amazing verse that is found in the Book of the Prophet Zechariah:

"And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth."


I have shared this verse on previous occasions in a different context. If it weren't for the fact that this Holy Fire comes from God Himself, I would say that it sounds very much like a nuclear strike, in which people are literally vaporized as they stand on their feet. Whether or not this verse is really associated with the destruction that occurs at the Battle of Gog and Magog, I am not certain. I suspect that Zechariah is describing a different event, which I believe I discuss in the article called "The Triumphant Touchdown of Jesus Christ".

So there you have it. That is the amazing allegory which I discovered in the Book of Genesis so many years ago. You can take it for what it is worth, according to your own faith.

But you will be happy to know that we aren't quite done yet. Allow me to share another small Scriptural tidbit with you which you may find interesting. It is related to our current story. As I mentioned earlier, most Christians know that Jesus is called the Bread of Life. Here are a few verses for your consideration:

"And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."


"And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst . . . I am that bread of life . . . Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you."


"Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together."


"For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together."


"But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."


What some of you may not realize is that the village where Jesus was born -- that is, Bethlehem -- means "house of bread" in Hebrew. It is the words "beth lehem". In similar fashion, the name Bethel means "house of God", and is derived from the Hebrew "beth el". So the Bread of Life was born in the House of Bread. I don't believe that this is a coincidence; do you?

If we consider that many of the things which occurred during the Old Testament era were types and foreshadows of things to come in the New Testament, we can also conclude that the Manna which the Lord provided for the children of Israel as they wandered during the forty years in the wilderness, was symbolic of Jesus' body which was broken on the Cross for our benefit. In other words, the Manna represented a type of salvation; although in that case, it was physical salvation, and prevented them from dying of starvation.

We have already seen that waters sometimes symbolize people in God's Word. Noah was also an archetype of God from the perspective that his actions resulted in salvation for the world. We could have all been wiped out, and that would have been the end of the story thousands of years ago. However, we are told that "... Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD." -- Genesis 6:8. So let me ask you something. How many people were saved from the Great Flood? The Scriptures make clear that the answer is eight. That is, Noah and his wife, and his three sons and their wives. Consider the following verses which verify this point:

"And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood . . . And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died. And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark."


"And God spake unto Noah, saying, Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee. Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth. And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him:"


"Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water."


Please go to part two for the conclusion of this article.

⇒ Go To The Next Part . . .

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