GOING BACK TO THE ORIGINS TO LEARN THE WAY

1 CHOICES AND CONSEQUENCES Genesis 3

2 GOOD, BUT NOT ENOUGH Genesis 4

3 WELL ABOVE AVERAGE Genesis 5

4 WHAT DOES YOU DO WHEN IT RAINS Genesis 6

5 SINGING IN THE RAIN Genesis 7

6 WHAT ALWAYS COMES AFTER A STORM Genesis 8

7 SPIRITUAL RETIREMENT EXISTS Genesis 9

8 WHEN TO GO UP IS DOWN Genesis

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CHOICES AND CONSEQUENCES

MARCELO AUGUSTO DE CARVALHO

TOP

GENESIS 3

- God created the world in such a beautiful way for the purpose that man might be happy in it, for he was the reason for such creation. It was God's plan that in the midst of this perfect garden man would develop his highest capacities, becoming more and more like his Creator.

- For this, God sought to develop in this son of his the greatest capacity that a created being can possess: free will, that is, the ability to choose. He determined to Adam and Eve that they could eat of all the trees in the garden, except the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If they wanted to continue in Eden, they would have to give this proof of faithfulness to God.

- Of course, consciously they never wanted to betray God by listening to Satan. But one day distancing Eve from her husband, she soon found herself watching the forbidden tree. With deep curiosity he contemplated it, wondering in thought why God had forbidden them even to touch its fruit. Almost reading his thoughts, Satan answers him through the serpent: "This is how God said, Shall ye not eat of the whole tree in the garden?" Look how clever he was: he did not ask if it was unlawful to eat from that tree, for this might arouse suspicion and Eve would have remembered briefly God's warnings. He put God as a Being who was being rigorously closed, very them. Seeking to know who it was that spoke, for she had never heard that voice, Eve felt even more surprised to realize that a serpent was speaking to her. This charmed her by making her to talk to the devil himself. "No, only this one cannot eat, for if we eat we will die," replied Eve. Then came the lie that spans the centuries and is being preached by Satan to this day: "Surely ye shall not die." What did he mean by that? That there was and is no consequence for someone who decides to sin by rebelling against God. He stated categorically that God had only threatened, but when he saw that his children had sinned, he would be permissive, forgiving them a new chance. Then he attacked for good: God will not kill you because He knows He is being unjust. He is hiding the knowledge of evil, for He knows that they will be equal to Him if they sin. He knows they can be even wiser and he doesn't want that. That is why you have plenty of reasons to eat of this fruit.

- Excited by such thoughts, Eve took the fruit and ate it. It felt very good, seeming elevated to a new atmosphere, superior to the one it was in. He took some to Adam. Upon seeing her, Adam read in a few seconds the story of his wife, as well as her fate. he knew he would die. But he didn't want to part with her. Loving her more than God, he joined her in the forbidden banquet. What strikes us most is that the biggest argument that led him to make this decision was the thought that it was quite likely that there was really no consequence for sin. God had said they would die if they ate the fruit, but Eve had eaten it, she was alive, with a much more stimulating look than before there in front of her. He ate and waited for his luck. I ask: Were there consequences? The answer is obvious.

- The first consequence was the FEAR OF GOD. Without any explanation, they felt naked, rushed to get dressed, and when God called them, they fled. Sin separated them from God, and yet brought them untold spiritual misery.

CONSEQUENCES OF SIN

- God found them and told them what the other consequences would be:

the woman would suffer greatly when she gave birth to a child, and would in all ages be massacred by male domination.

Man would now work not only for pleasure, but would have such a weariness that it would shorten his days of life.

The Earth would produce thistles, thorns and pestilences making her life very difficult, coming to times of drought and hunger' humanity.

Nature would be upset. She who had been made to serve man, would always be a constant aggressor, often uncontrolled.

The serpent itself would be an example of this; she would stop flying to crawl, becoming cunning and treacherous, as well as hated by all animals, especially man.

Did this happen? I would just like to exemplify such prophecies of God by showing one of them— the chaos in which nature has stood.

- All animals were created perfect, but sin completely altered the way they behaved, such as the cockroach. She lays her eggs in a capsule, shaped like a handbag; each capsule contains 40 eggs. Going through the metamorphosis, cockroaches are born without wings, which gradually grow, each time the insect changes chitin; however, it takes a long time to reach full development (12-18 months). In addition to filthy, they cause damage, gnawing and spoiling fabrics, book covers, etc. They love living in dirty places like sewers, pits and toilets. But even in the cleanest houses there can be cockroaches, because some species do not feed on the food that humans use. For example, the brown band cockroach prefers to live in dark and warm places like the television set, eating the gum and insulating material. He doesn't go out at night in search of food and doesn't need water. The newborn cockroach can live a week without feeding, and the adult can live months without food, as long as it has access to water. 30 a

- In addition to a disgusting character, the cockroach as well as so many other animals have become so harmful to man, that they kill him by hostility or poisoning in many varied ways, making them pests difficult to control. Since man left the garden of Eden, a means of pest control has been sought, arriving at a good controller, at least at first—DDT, discovered in l939. At this time it seemed to be won the fight against the insects that devoured the leaves and sucked the sap. However, the use of massive amounts of DDT in the plantations not only killed the pests, but also the pollinating insects. The poison sterilized the eggs of insect-eating birds and made the eggshells of predators thin. The unexpected result was the survival of the strongest individuals of the insect species that the chemical was supposed to destroy. Such insects also became more physically resistant to the poison, having to be doubled and tripled the dosage of poison. The result was that traces of the poisonous product appeared in milk and fish, and wildlife began to die.

- Another curious fact was that once the people of Borneo Island decided to exterminate their biggest disease cause on the Island – the mosquito that causes malaria – which caused thousands of deaths worldwide. Since malaria was transmitted by insects, they resorted to DDT because this poison kills quickly, being sprayed thousands of liters of it all over the distant island. The mosquitoes died, and to prevent others from appearing, the dedetization proceeded. Not everything, however, went as expected. There are millions of cockroaches in Borneo; and there are also many geckos called geckos, which devour cockroaches, preventing them from becoming excessively numerous. DDT did not kill the cockroaches, but it left them stunned and allowed them to be easily caught by the geckos. The DDT of cockroaches also stunned the geckos, making them easy prey for cats. After some time the cats also became ill as a result of ingesting the contaminated geckos, and began to die. With this, the millions of rats that existed in the forests no longer had enemies and began to invade the villages and towns. It was a terrible situation! To control the rats thousands of cats were brought in from other countries, which were parachuted into all parts of the island in order to devour the rats. Since the rats had not ingested DDT, these cats remained healthy, making the number of rats their natural, but malaria reappeared, due to the suspension of DDT sprays to kill the mosquitoes.

We have seen here an example of the ecological imbalance as well as the degradation of the original nature of animals. But of course there are many other examples of the result of the result of sin that we will not dwell on, but only mention a few for us to reflect: diseases, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, super-high temperatures as well as too low, tidal waves, volcanism, droughts, etc. Results of sin that afflict man's life with cause the death of thousands all over the planet, created to be the perfect home of man.

- But, I would like to analyze with you the 3 main consequences of sin on man, so that we arrive at its significant conclusions: sin has a high price, just as God's love for us is of incalculable value and greatness.

THE SINFUL NATURE OF MAN

God created man with a nature similar to His perfect, with noble aspirations and high purposes. There was nothing in man's way of acting, thinking, or choosing that was not holy, coherent, and honest. Man was as perfect in his sphere as God himself was in his. But sin changed all this; that nature became rebellious to God, defiled itself with all sorts of imperfections. Analyzing the human situation, Jesus said: "For from within the hearts of men evil designs, prostitution, thefts, murders, adulteries, avarice, malice, deceit, lust, envy, blasphemy, pride, madness, proceed: Now all these evils come from within and defile man" Mark 7:2l. All that could be opposed to God's disposition was in what became the nature of man. That is why it is so natural for him to sin, even though he knows that such an attitude will have serious consequences.

It is amazing to analyze the influence of this nature in our life!

1) WE ARE BORN WITH IT.

- Since Adam sinned, his nature has been deformed, passing on to all his descendants this deficiency. All the children of the world are carriers of this evil. When we see a beautiful baby we never imagine that he is a sinner, being so beautiful and innocent. But he already has in himself an enormous potential for sin. It's hard to imagine and accept, but we may be looking to a marginal future, unscrupulous murderer, or dangerous burglar. This is what David said, "I was born in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me" Psalm 51:5.

We have all been struck by his evil influence, and it is no use wanting to say no: there is no way to hide from him.

While few of the world's 3,000 species of mosquitoes carry disease, those that do are responsible for malaria, yellow fever and certain sleeping sicknesses—diseases that have claimed the lives of millions of people at all times. When the insect attacks us, it injects into our skin a substance that prevents blood clotting. some people are so sensitive to this chemical element that mosquito bites leave coin-sized marks on the skin.

An entomologist found that dark clothing attracts more mosquitoes than light clothing. Their experiments also reveal that carbon dioxide and other elements expelled in blood respiration initially attract the mosquito. Other scientists claim that dark-skinned people attract more mosquitoes than light-skinned individuals, and that women are attacked more than men. They also found that mosquitoes look for more people who smell like soap. This could lead us to think that in order not to be attacked by mosquitoes, the ideal would be that we were not so clean, male and wear light clothes, in addition to not breathing! But such features would only diminish the attacks, as they attack LESS such people.

* Someone may have come from an excellent family, be raised by great Christian parents, study in the best schools, yet have the sinful nature. And if he does not control it, his life will be completely destroyed, despite all the good education he has received.

2) THIS WEAK NATURE CONTROLS EVEN OUR WILL.

- We all know that killing, stealing, tampering with and a world of other things is wrong to do. But this nature feeds on these sins, and like drugs, it will lead the sinner, against his own will, to commit such sins in order to satiate himself. This is what the apostle Paul said of himself in Romans 7:14-23: "For we well know that the law is spiritual: yet I am carnal, sold into the bondage of sin. Because I don't even understand my own way of acting, because I don't do what I prefer, but what I hate... For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, there dwells no good: for the desire for good is in me; not, however, to do so... But if I do what I don't want, it is no longer I who does it, but the sin that dwells in me. For as far as the inner man is concerned, I delight in the law of God; but I see in my members another law which, warring against the law of my mind, makes me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members."

3) SUCH A NATURE TAKES AWAY THE JOY OF LIFE, THE DEVELOPMENT OF POTENTIALITIES, THE CONTINUATION OF A CAREER, AND EVEN THE PLEASURE OF EXISTING.

- This is exactly what David said of himself when he gave vent to this fallen nature, committing adultery with Bathsheba, and murdering his husband-Uriah. He described this experience thus: "As I have silenced my sins, my bones have grown old by my constant groans all day. For thy hand weighed day and night upon me; and my vigor became dry of drought" Psalm 32. 3 and 4.

- Scientists have for years been studying the chemical constitution of the glue of the barnacle, a small marine animal that clings to rocks and the sides of ships. Hardened, this glue cannot be dissolved by any substance known to man. It adheres to any surface, keeping it intact under the most extreme temperatures and pressures. Barnacles that lived thousands of years ago can still be found attached to rocks and other surfaces.

The ships are constantly cursed with barnacles. A cargo ship can accumulate up to 15 tons of these tiny animals in 2 years, resulting in a large loss of speed. The accumulation of barnacles in just 6 months can decrease fuel efficiency by 40 percent. In order to remove the plague, a ship often needs to be cleaned in dry dock by means of jets of sand. Incredible is that once attached to some surface, the barnacle remains there for the rest of existence.

* This is sin: it takes over our lives, taking away from it all the strength and energy that God has given us to live: the pleasure of a good marriage, of having beautiful children, of owning a house, cars, a good job, and a promising career.

4) THIS NATURE IS HUMANLY INDESTRUCTIBLE.

- One of the animals considered by various public health entities to be the most dangerous 'man's health is the rat. He founded colonies in all the habitable regions of the temperate zones, eats the same food as man, and has the habit of getting a ride on all means of transportation. The common rat harbors large amounts of lice and fleas that can transmit bubonic plague, typhus and many other diseases. Sometimes it invades cities in waves, devouring all available food. The mouse is capable of gnawing on lead, cement and aluminum, not to mention wood, carpets etc.

Through the food attacked by rats, it is easy to catch the ichterohemorrhagic spirochetosis. It is also an early host of Trichinella as well as the well-known ticks. The spread of this plague throughout the civilized world occurred by a long process, knowing that they reached the Western world, or at that time Central Europe, by the invasion of the Vandals, who lived on the shores of the Baltic, and the Huns, who came from the Asian plateau. They went to France, then to England, and finally by ship, they reached all parts of the globe. In Brazil, it is known that as early as 1540 they tormented European settlers. Today, the ratio of rats per inhabitant of the Earth is incredibly frightening: the country that has the most rats is China—35 per inhabitant, a number that leads to 35 billion rats. They like China because their favorite dish is rice, and this country is the number l producer of this food in the world. In the largest city in the interior of São Paulo, Campinas, it is known that there are 5 rats for each inhabitant, and the largest rat in the world was found in the Tietê River, in São Paulo.

Being such a great threat to man, the public authorities insistently seek to combat this plague, but it has already been concluded that it seems to be indestructible. Poisoned baits, hunting cats, mousetraps and other natural enemies have already been used in their combat, but nothing has been able to control the increase of their population on Earth. It is even believed that if there is a global destruction of the planet by nuclear bombs, the only surviving living being of such a catastrophe will be the mouse.

* As indestructible as the rat is sin. We can put all our concentrated energy into overcoming this weakened nature, and yet we will be swept away by it. Abstinences, promises, willpower, everything will be in vain.

5) MANY INSIST ON TRYING TO FIGHT IT BY THEIR FORCES.

- They try to get rid of this nature, only to find out that they are doing like the dog that wants to get rid of the fleas that attack it, scratching itself.

Have you ever seen a dog or cat in these conditions? It seems that the dog never ceases to scratch itself. He tries to sleep, and soon wakes up to scratch himself. He wants to eat and has to stop after every bite. The scratching relieves momentarily the itching, but the fleas there continue. This all happens because there are more than l000 species of fleas, and usually each one has its preferred type of animal.

Even people can be molested by fleas, which prefer human blood to everyone else. In the sixteenth century the people sometimes wore a fur collar, to attract and trap fleas, and the ladies of society, by the years of l800, carried with them a little stick finished by a few claws, to relieve the itching produced in the back by fleas. Today human fleas are no longer so common, but they are found in all warm-blooded animals, including those that spend much of their lives in water. The fleas that torment beavers and a certain species of rats even live underwater, in air bubbles that lie between the dense fur of these mammals. So they stay warm and lean all the time.

Its mouthparts function as suction needles; the legs are very long and allow jumps to great heights (45cm). The strength of these insects is extraordinary, which can move weights 100 times greater than that of their own body.

Because of its ability to jump, it is very difficult to catch a flea. It has along the sides small spicules that protrude backwards and help it penetrate between the dense fur that covers the leather of the animals. The strong hind legs give the insect the strength it needs to get around and avoid capture.

* As sure as it is useless for the dog to scratch trying to get rid of fleas, it is us trying to get rid of sin. In the words of Jeremiah we learn this truth from the following example: "Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Then you could do good by being accustomed to doing evil." Jeremiah 13:23.

6) AS SIN BRINGS TO EVERYONE SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES IN LIFE, MANY TRY TO HIDE IT FROM OTHERS. THEY TRY TO HIDE THEIR TENDENCY TO DEPRAVED SEX, OR THEFT, LYING, AND SO MANY OTHER SINS. AS A RESULT, FOR A LITTLE WHILE HE MANAGES TO DECEIVE SOME, BUT HE IS SOON DISCOVERED AND WORSE IS HIS SHAME BEFORE SOCIETY AND HIMSELF. THESE TRY TO DO LIKE THE OSTRICH.

- Ostriches are sociable birds, often living in large groups. At the time of procreation, they join into small families, composed of one male and two or four females. These lay their eggs in the ground, without having prepared any nest, and many lay in the same place, the male being in charge of hatching the eggs. Incubation takes 7 weeks. The eggs hatch partly with the heat of the sun, and partly by incubation. The common ostrich is about tall, short-winged, unfit for flight, but it's a great runner.6 a2 a2,5 metros

However, what calls us the intention for this bird is its extreme foolishness. When in danger, the ostrich runs all flustered, becoming exhausted soon, because it arrives very fast at the speed of per hour. Tired, though, he stops and hides his head in the sand, (getting it logical with his whole body out of the hole) as if he were safe.90 quilômetros

7) EVEN WORSE IS THAT IT BLINDS US SO THAT WE DO NOT SEE THE SOLUTION OF THE PROBLEM.

- The alkaline lakes of the Great Rift Valley in East Africa sustain very little wildlife because their waters are deadly to most species. However, two species of one of the most beautiful birds in the world survive in these lakes – the largest flamingo and the smallest. They have special nozzles, designed to harvest food from water. But it is very dangerous to have your meal in the lake, especially to the puppies. The lake has a soda that when attached to the legs of the chicks, they have little chance of survival because they can no longer keep up with the group. However, if they reach fresh water the soda can be dissolved. But it is amazing to note that puppies are not intelligent enough to fetch water in order to get rid of such a substance.

Sometimes we see people sinking into sin. For us the solution is so simple, but for them it is difficult to see it. It is that sin has blinded them to such an extent that they suffer, but do not see how they can solve it. ROMANS 1.20-32.

We see here the terrible malignancy of sin. We understand now a little better why God did not want us to experience such a reality.

BUT IS THERE A SOLUTION TO SIN? HOW CAN I END THIS ENORMOUS PROPENSITY TO EVIL THAT AFFLICTS ME ALL THE TIME?

1) IMMERSE YOURSELF IN THE WATER OF LIFE.

- The pangolin is a mammal that inhabits Asia and Africa. It feeds mainly on ants. But what interests us about him is his curious way of hygiene. He could clean himself with his huge tongue, but often lets the ants do the cleaning. Sitting on an anthill, he opens the scales that cover his body and lets the ants clean up all the interstices. Then the animal heads to a nearby river or dam, dives for a moment, and the ants drown.

* We need to stop wanting to fix ourselves. If we really want to be free from sin we need to go to Jesus. He will cleanse us of all evil, for He is the water of life. We will stand as the leper healed by Him.

2) BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF THE BLOOD, OF JESUS' DEATH ON THE CROSS FOR YOU.

- Bill Haast is the director of the Miami Serpentarium, USA, the largest producer of snake venom worldwide, used in the production of antidotes as well as in treatments for rare diseases such as Lou Gehrig's disease. For this, Haast handles hundreds of deadly snakes to extract their venom. He has been bitten by his snakes more than 100 times, and on two occasions has almost died. But he has been injecting small doses of snake venom into his veins for a long time, and in this way, his blood has become a valuable antivenom. It is said that at least 20 people have already been saved by his blood. Some refer to him as the "Man with the Golden Blood."

Far more powerful is the blood of Jesus. It has already been adapted to combat all human diseases. For this he died, but rose again showing the effectiveness of his power. Now it is enough to trust that if applied to our life, this blood will transform our living. Do you believe? Ask Jesus today, right now, to save you from sin. He will change you completely, bringing you the joy you have been waiting for.

3- DAILY AND ETERNAL DEATH.

- Adam and Eve did not die instantly, but began to die from the moment they ate of the forbidden fruit.

- Today death is the most certain fact that will occur in our life. We know nothing of our future. Anything can and cannot happen. But 1 thing is more than certain is already sadly expected: we will die.

Our life can be compared to Death Valley.

Death Valley in the U.S. was so named because of its intense heat and lack of water. The highest temperature ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere, 56 degrees C, was recorded on a parched summer day in this valley. It is said that in summer, the average temperature there exceeds the mark of 49 degrees C.

- The pioneers called them that because they believed that no kind of life could sprout there. However, although it rains very little, one can find in this valley a surprising variety of animal and plant life.

- Because it was so scabrous, the early settlers avoided the valley. Until in 1933 it became a national park.

- We all struggle each day against the adverse environment, now subject to the slavery of decadence. This struggle involves sorrow, pain, sweat, and yet everything is nothing but vanity, for death achieves its triumph in due course.

Worse, this process occurs to all people, and can be instantaneous or very fast in many cases. I Corinthians 15:55.

- There are about 3,000 different types of jellyfish in the world. They are found in every ocean on Earth.

- Many are dangerous for bathers, but none are as harmful as the sea wasp, which lives in the waters of Australia and Southeast Asia.

- She has small tentacles that shoot poisonous darts at her victims. When her prey or enemies pass by, she fires her harpoons, which explode and penetrate the convict's skin.

- She is so dangerous that even after she is dead, her tentacles remain active. (Even if they are separated from her body.)

- Your darts are deadly. It is only in diameter, but there are reports of human death occurring in just 8 centímetros3 minutes after the bite.

- And there is no way to avoid the verdict of the sea wasp sting.

What would be the causes of death? Doctors can conclude only about the most apparent causes, but due to the complexity of the human body, there are many causes never imagined that lead us to death.

- There are even those who die of fear.

- It has long been known that animals can die when placed under heavy strain. Under this strong pressure, the heart is in danger.

- There's the healthy tension, like when you look up and see something falling.

- But every tension causes an additional effort of our organism, and if in this case it falls far short of the body's capacity for resistance, death is certain.

- All the excitement that tension causes in our body is produced by adrenaline in the blood. This substance is so powerful that if it is required for too long and with excess, it can destroy the heart muscles causing death.

But despite the pain and sadness, the longing for loved ones, the death of the righteous is even rewarding. Such a death can produce life in other hearts. Isaiah 61:11.

- Every autumn the forest floor becomes a gigantic dump, useful for plant life.

- The accumulation of rubble averages fifteen to fifteen hundred pounds per acre in the U.S. alone.

- In tropical jungles the average annula reaches five thousand kilos per acre.

- Petals, tiny branches, seeds, pieces of bark, fruits, feathers and carcasses of animals are added daily to cover the soil. As this material rots, it enriches the soil. In this way, the forest produces its own fertilizer.

- A detailed examination of the forest material reveals that it is full of life. The microscopic plants and animals that lie on an acre can exceed Earth's human population by more than a million for every inhabitant.

- These organisms attack the rubble in various ways to release the basic substances in the fallen material. This process makes the soil very rich, making lush vegetation bloom.

One of the most admirable miracles of the Creator is the way He produces beauty even through death and decomposition. God can turn the death of a righteous person into fertile ground for the salvation of others.

George Miller prayed for the conversion of a friend for 53 years, and it was no use. After his death, the friend was so impressed by ES that 3 months after the event he converted to Miller's God.

Death, however traumatic, does not despair the believer, for he has the hope of resurrection in Jesus.

- There are many historical trees. There is on the island of Ceylon, the Bo tree, which is said to be 2,000 years old. According to tradition, it was planted in 288 BC. The oak of Allouville in France is a thousand years old. The trunk has a circumference and has a chapel inside. The oak of 10 metrosAutrage, also in France, was considered the largest tree in Europe, dating back to the time of the Druids. It was slaughtered in the nineteenth century.

- Calthorpe oak in York County, England, measures in height and trunk in diameter. The oak of 45 m25 mMontavail, near Saites, France, is 2,000 years old; the excavated trunk, in diameter, encloses a room from height to circumference.10 m4 m10 m

- Dedenung eucalyptus in Australia is the tallest tree in the world, with height and diameter. Its roots extend in a radius of . The canopy begins at a height. Their age is at least 3,000 years.150 m10 m50 m100 m

- The holy pine of Karasaqui, Japan, was planted in 640 of the Christian era. It is visited annually by 100,000 pilgrims.

- The sycamore tree of Izmir, Greece, is formed by 2 trunks that join above ground. Tradition states that Homer wrote under his forehead, the verses of the Iliad. It is more than 3,000 years old.4 m

- It's amazing to compare the years of life we have in this world with the years of many trees. They have a lot of vitality. But, like us, one day they also die. But for us is the promise of Job. 14.7.

- When a tree is cut down almost at the base of its trunk, we always expect it to die. But often, to our surprise, when we least expect it, we notice some branches that have grown almost imperceptibly, and that have already produced very green leaves. Despite the enormous destruction, that tree managed to win and is coming to life again.

God's promise is: even if our life is cut off, there is hope, for it will still be renewed, and its shoots will not cease. We will live eternally with Him in Heaven.

Appeal: before the reality of death, but also the certainty of the resurrection in Jesus, let us take our time to love our loved ones. It will do no good to desire their company after they pass away. It will be too late.

- It was late summer and Sundi's relatives, who lived in the swallows' houses in the garden, would soon be heading south. Her little wing couldn't heal so quickly to keep up with them, but with the help of a kind vet she improved quickly and could soon stand on a perch and chirp for the other swallows. Soon the swallows broke off—so people thought. Sundi was one day put outside and put a tape recorded with her chirps to make her feel at home. Suddenly, 10 swallows appeared and perched on a thread chirped at her. Sundi was placed in the little houses of swallows and the others flew around flying close to her and chirping excitedly, as if they were inviting her to accompany them on their journey south. Sundi stretched his legs and tried it, but he couldn't fly; she flew and fell to the ground. The swallows were gone and Sundi continued to heal.

- She tried to fly, over and over again. Each day improved a little and soon could fly to . Then, one day, he flew against the wall during his flight exercises. She was wounded internally and died silently in her cage.3 metros

- Sundi had been a member of the family that had cared for her for only 40 days. She had given it her all in her attempt to fly. Some of God's children on earth are with us for a short time, but they give us so much joy that we look forward to the joy we will have when we meet them again in the resurrection.

PLEA

Friend, vibrate with the hope of the resurrection, for He, Jesus, has guaranteed us this right.

SOURCE

Patriarchs and Prophets. Brazilian Publishing Cover, Tatuí SP. Ellen G. White (1927-1915).

Youth Inspiration. Casa Publicadora Brasileira, Tatuí-SP, Brazil. Editions from 1977 to 2005.

Pr. Marcelo Augusto de Carvalho April 1997 São Paulo Brazil

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GOOD, BUT NOT ENOUGH

MARCELO AUGUSTO DE CARVALHO

TOP

GENESIS 4. 1-15

300 YEARS ON THE SEABED

Stockholm, summer 1628. On the sunny 10th of August, a cheerful crowd gathered to watch the newest galleon of the royal fleet, the VASA, be thrown overboard. It was one of the largest ships of its time: it had 64 guns, ten sails and three masts (the largest, of ). When the breeze filled the sails, thousands of people on the beach greeted the galleon advancing into the bay.50 metros

He was majestic, and built to be Swedish glory, winning the battles of the crown.

The numbers of Vasa:

Height:52.5 meters to the top of the main mast

Length: 69 metros

Total area of candles: 1 275 metros quadrados

Armament: 64 guns, 48 of them with gunpowder charge12 kg

Crew: 145 sailors and 300 soldiers.

The Vasa was commissioned by King Gustav Adolf II to impose his power in the Baltic. A powerful armada, the king reasoned, would protect the supply lines for the war then underway against the Poles, and allow it to block important Polish ports such as Danzig (now Gdansk). The Vasa was an instrument and expression of grandiose plans. And it was the most expensive, largest, and most powerful ship of its time.

A thousand oaks were felled for the construction of the hull. The entire boat was luxuriously adorned by more than 700 Baroque statues depicting imperial lions, Old Testament prophets, Roman emperors, heroes of Greek mythology, mermaids, angels and demons. Contrary to what occurs in modern architecture, in Vasa the function was subjected to form to promote the glorious image of Gustav Adolf II.

Suddenly, the cries of joy turned to a murmur of horror. A breath of wind made Vasa stick to the left. The ship still managed to straighten out, but only to tip over again, now with water entering through the cannon holes in the hull. Majestically the Vasa sank with sails, flags and bronzes, carrying 50 men and women. He travelled on his only journey. 1 300 metros

It was the largest fiasco in Swedish naval history. The shipyard masters, the captain and the pilot were arrested as soon as they were saved from the water. But an inquiry was subsequently suspended without pointing to responsibility.

In 1956, treasure hunter Anders Franzén accomplished the unthinkable; discovered the Vasa and, with the help of the Swedish government, took it from the bottom of the bay and brought it intact to the surface. The ship and the 25,000 objects found on it, exquisitely restored, can be seen today in Sweden's most visited museum — the Vasa Museum.

Why did Vasa sink?

During the three years of construction, the escalation of the war with Poland and the proximity of a war with Germany induced the revision of the plans. The ship already had shape when Gustav Adolf decided to hastily increase it. It was not easy, since the masters of works of the time did not design the structure of the ships and did not have the means to calculate their stability. Trial and error, talent and experience were the foundation of the industry. In addition, the Dutch master builder, Henrik Hybertsson, had died a year before the Vasa was completed and responsibility for the work was handed over to Hybertsson's widow and an assistant and brother.

The king decided to add a second floor to the Vasa to double its firepower from 32 to 64 cannons—which accounted for a quarter of the firepower of the entire Swedish fleet. With this, the space destined to the ballast was reduced, limited to hold 121 tons of stones. It was less than half of what the manuals sent.

Gustav Adolf's ambition therefore sealed the Vasa disaster. But it wasn't just the king's fault. Pilot Joran Mattson revealed at the inquest that the Navy's most influential man, Vice Admiral Klas Fleming, and Vasa commander Captain Sofring Hansson personally accompanied the stability tests.

In these tests, thirty men ran several times across the stern deck to see if it became unbalanced. But they soon had to be stopped, for on the third lap the ship entered dangerously. That is, it was clear that something was not going well with Vasa. But the authorities were silent and took no action.

Three days after the sinking, the Council of the Kingdom authorized the rescue of the cannons from the Vasa. Vice Admiral Fleming, the same one who had been silent about the stability tests, managed to recover several. Many tried to rescue objects from the Vasa, until in 1950, naval engineer, treasure hunter and archival scholar Anders Franzén decided to do so altogether.

Divers operating water cannons would dig tunnels underneath the hull, sticking steel cables into them to lift the ship. In August 1959, after 300 years, Vasa broke free from the bottom.

Eighteen times the operation was repeated, moving the Vasa gradually into shallower waters. Before the last and final suspension, the hull had to be restored in order to float. It still took divers two years to plug thousands of holes — opened by nails disintegrated by rust. The broken stern was rebuilt and the 64 openings for the cannons in the hull were replaced with waterproof hatches. On April 24, 1961, televisions around the world and thousands of people watched Vasa return gloriously to the surface—bringing with it an intact piece of the seventeenth century.

More than 14,000 fragments of pieces were recomposed. But the biggest problem was preserving the wood out of the water after 300 years of immersion. Wet wood contracts and cracks when exposed again to hot, dry air. The Vasa would break entirely if not carefully treated. At first, he was moistened by sprays. At the same time, the challenge of removing water from 1,100 tons of wood was overcome by injections of polyethylene glucose (PEG). This substance penetrates the wood and expels the water.

The treatment lasted 18 months for the oak and a year for the soft woods. For 17 years, the ship was impregnated inside and out until saturation. In 1979, finally, the hull was dried. But the ship remains fragile. In the museum, the air is kept at 60% humidity and the temperature at 20 degrees. The light has to be dim. All the delicacy is little for a piece of the seventeenth century to reach eternity. Superinteressante Magazine September 1994.

THE WORLD COLLECTS FAILURES

- Box office failures, architecture failures, political failures, etc.

But the Bible also presents emeritus disappointments, but of far more universal consequences than in show business.

The most curious case is that of Cain!

Adam and Eve, the most perfect human beings in history, had just come out of the hands of the Creator. They were perfect in physical, psychological, social, and moral health.

Even with the entry of sin into their lives, we have no doubt that they were much more balanced than we are today.

The world was a sky of indigo. Nature as well as the cycle of life was at the height of its normality. There were no big cities, poverty, slavery, pornography, violence, drug trafficking, weapons warfare, kidnappings, crimes, not even inappropriate TV shows or shows that could corrupt his character. Everything in the world influenced people to be better than they were.

AND THEIR CHILDREN WERE THEN BORN INTO THIS ATMOSPHERE.

1- Eve cherished the hope that this son would be the promised Deliverer.

But his eager yearning for a speedy fulfillment of the Gospel promise would soon find a very bitter disappointment.

Eve saw her son as a "gift from God," as are all children to their parents.

2- They grew up in that almost perfect environment, at the gates of Eden.

Each had his profession. God respects individuality.

3- Cain was a good man:

He believed in the existence of God/ in the need for a Savior/ in the need for worship/ was apparently obedient. So what was your problem?

- The offering included both fruit and animal sacrifice. God does not accept obedience by half. He wants totality.

- Cain was not repentant, and regarded that sacrifice as a favor to God. Only repentance can re-establish the sinful and Creator relationship. God doesn't need anything that's ours. He is God. We are the ones who need Him.

- Cain knew that without blood there is no remission of sins. We need to believe in the blood, in the death of Jesus in our place. ELLEN G. WHITE: "All false religion is based on the same principle—that man can rely on his own efforts for salvation. Some claim that the human species needs, not redemption, but development—that it can perfect itself, rise and regenerate itself." PATRIARCHS AND PROPHETS 69.

- He had a secret spirit of resentment and rebellion. His way of obeying was one of frank defiance of divine sovereignty. What has motivated us to obey God?

- He wanted to earn salvation by his personal merits.

- He felt that it would be advantageous for him to live on good terms with the Godhead. It was convenient for him to appease and evade divine wrath by an offering.

- Cain wanted to offer God what he thought was most right, not what God had asked of him. God does not accept our personal opinions when we serve or worship Him. The famous "I think so" is not meant to serve Him or to worship Him. He does not accept "the music we like," or the "worship we like" to worship Him. Worship is nothing more than a gift to Him. We never give a gift to others that we appreciate, but that the person appreciates. Would we do this to him?

4- The altar and sacrifice of both brothers were made at the gate of Eden, in the presence of the divine glory that was there, and of the cherub angel that guarded its entrance. PP 80.

Abel's offering was full of faith (he believed the sacrifice would save him), confession (he accepted that he was a sinner), and obedient works (he did what God asked of him). An unreserved obedience.

- What God accepted, in fact, was not the sacrifice, but to Abel. When we believe and obey Him, God accepts us again. It re-establishes the relationship.

5- Cain noted the absence of a visible sign of God's pleasure and His acceptance of his offering. God openly said that through fire he had accepted the offering. God speaks!

- Cain did not experience pain from sin, nor did he feel the need to examine himself, nor to pray for light and forgiveness.

- Cain exemplifies an unrepentant sinner whose heart is not broken by correction, but who becomes even harsher and more rebellious.

- He didn't hide his frustration, displeasure, and anger.

* EMPTY ALTARS: Cain selected the perfect stones for the altar/ cut down trees to bring the wood to be burned/ brought the best fruits of his labor. Big boy, very good boy. But not enough. He didn't want the blessing because it would make him obedient. He just wanted to carry out orders to deflect divine wrath. I didn't want any change of heart!

• ISN'T OUR ALTAR ALSO EMPTY?

6- God spoke to Cain as to a spoiled child.

- The question "why" sought to induce Cain to recognize that his wrath was illogical. Hasn't our anger, disappointment, or frustration at God's acts in our lives been illogical? Or the result of our own misconduct?

- With mercy and patience, God was giving him a new opportunity.

7- God is not unjust, much less capricious. He has a high ideal for his children, and is content only with total obedience. But he is content. It is not intransigent, insatiable. He happily accepted Abel.

- Sin (temptation) (sinful nature) is haunting everyone's life. But it's not impossible to beat him. We need to master it, by the power of ES.

8- Cain planned to do evil to his brother. Abel had advised him to do what was right, and his behavior reproved Cain's attitude. For this he is accused of murder. Every time we plan someone's evil, we are as homicidal in God's eyes as Cain was.

- The enmity between the servants of God (good) and the servants of Satan (evil) has now seen itself for the first time in its most horrible form.

* IMMATURITY IN RELATIONSHIPS.

Cain couldn't live with the idea that others might be different from him. That his brother had his own opinions and conduct independent of his own was too unbearable for him. How to resolve the issue? Annihilating the intruder!

Roberto: young business administrator, starting his career. He worked in a large multinational. He was very talented, he had been efficient in his studies, and such a character trait marked his work now. He had many dreams, audacious plans with his career. But something tormented him: his boss. In his eyes, the old administrator of his section was very archaic, sometimes grumpy, and seemed to see the problems and their solutions. The months passed until Roberto couldn't take it anymore. He got rid of the boss: he asked for a transfer. What a relief he felt as he reached the new room. Now, he thought, that I got rid of the "mala" I will prosper. But he soon realized that things wouldn't be quite like that. In that section I was in the same position with another admin, and would have to share tasks, opinions, and responsibilities with that one. Nothing could be worse. Roberto did not like the individual, could not bear to divide power, much less share ideas. What to do? I have to get rid of the comrade! First he went on to boycott him. Then to detonate him to his superior, pointing out any defect of the colleague, or interpreting his actions in an always malicious way. Until finally, in a direct way, he accused the young man of being the reason for the failure of the section.

- In God's eyes, this is MURDER, and WILLFUL.

- OSTRAS act much better than we do. When they perceive the presence of the small grain of sand that bothers them, they treat the intruder until they turn it into a pearl.

9- Just as He spoke to His parents, so God spoke to Cain: by means of a question. The divine touch!

- Cain boldly denied his guilt. "The Lord is mistaken." God sees all things. He can never be wrong when He judges or rebukes us. Do you have the courage to say that He is wrong?

- Disobedience had led to murder, to lying, and now to stubborn opposition to God. One sin will always lead us to more degraded others.

- We are our brother's tutors. All who are related to us, find themselves within our circle of acquaintances, or in need of our help, have the right to expect something from us. We should not take advantage of them. Their well-being and ours are inseparable. God keeps a record of his saints and will unburden them. His blood will cry out to God against those who do them harm. In fact, in the world there is only one cry stronger than theirs: "The blood of Jesus." Devotional Bible Commentary, F.B. Meyer, 15. Ed. Bethany.

10- Now God had to accuse him.

- "What have you done" shows a perfect knowledge of all human acts, intentions, motivations, and excuses. Would you have the courage to think that it is possible to hide something from Him?

- The author and maintainer of life cannot remain silent in the face of the silent cry of a faithful martyr. God has always done and will always do justice for all the innocent blood pouring out in this world. How can I defend myself before God for a crime committed against a child of God? (Crime includes false testimony, hatred, not rendering help, etc.)

- Abel was killed by a close relative, just as Jesus was killed by his brothers, whom he came to save.

11- For the first time a divine curse falls on a man.

- Cain was banished to a less fertile region.

- Perhaps God would no longer allow him to earn his living by working the earth. He could no longer be a successful farmer. Sin always brings us a curse, inability (to run our family, success in the job) and makes us fugitives (from family, friends, boss).

12- The divine sentence converted Cain's cruelty into despair.

- Even though he deserved the death penalty, a patient and merciful God gave him one more opportunity to repent of being converted. But he didn't.

- He had the courage to complain that his punishment was harsher than he deserved.

- No words of pain came out of his lips! No regrets!

13- His guilty conscience warned him that he deserved to die and that henceforth his life was in danger.

- Instead of staying in a prison, he would be cut off from all happy and normal association with his neighbors and, by his own choosing, also from God.

14- "Seven times" - this indicates a very severe punishment on anyone who killed Cain.

- The Sign of Cain. EGW tells us, "Any man, whether minister or layman, who seeks to direct the reason of any other man, becomes an instrument of Satan to do his work, and bears the sign of Cain before the sight of the heavenly universe." CBASD, vol. , pp. 1101.7 A

- Sparing the life of the first murderer, God taught the entire universe what it would have been like if He allowed the sinner to live forever. God's patience only made the sinner bolder and more challenging. Fifteen centuries later was the result of this patience: the whole corrupted Earth. By shortening life God was freeing the world from the evil influence of the rebels. PATRIARCHS AND PROPHETS 73.

16- The rebellious sinner always goes away from everything, like the prodigal son.

A KNIFE USUALLY REMAINS STABBED AFTER DEATH, THROUGH THE RESULTS IN HIS FAMILY!

17- At this time it may well be that Cain was already married.

- He married one of his sisters. There is no problem with this, for man at that time enjoyed almost perfect health. So close to the days when they ate from the tree of life, there were no blood problems. Today we cannot marry relatives because our body is so weakened that it makes the countless problems possible for the future children we all know. Genetically speaking, the poor or deficient characteristics of those involved are highlighted, as are the good ones as well. There is a great risk, and if it were practiced today, there would be a greater number of madmen, feeble-minded and congenitally deformed individuals than the present one. The world has been better, pp. 22. Harry Baerg.

- Another demonstration of divine love to the disobedient Cain: it allowed him descendants.

- His town was nothing more than a fortified camp to protect his family. Perhaps he didn't have much confidence in the protection God had assured him. Or a desire to defy the curse that had condemned him to live a wandering life, always moving from one place to another.

- The world's first city was founded by its first assassin.

- In this way Cain twisted the divine plan for man to live in the midst of nature. How many evils at present are in direct consequence of the unnatural gathering of human beings in the great cities, where the worst instincts of man predominate and where vices of every class flourish. In the cities man becomes an opponent of God and lives very badly.

18- Lamec was the first man to pervert marriage, this only 5 generations after Cain.

- And he did so on the simple whim of converting the lust of the eyes and flesh into the principle of a spouse's choice. The names of Lamec's women suggest sensual attraction. Ada- "adornment", and Zila- "shadow". What is your criteria for choosing a boyfriend, fiancé or spouse?

- Much less did he present the pretext that his first wife would not give him children to marry another woman.

22- The name of Tubalcain's sister, Naamah, meaning "the beautiful," or the "pleasant," also reflects this worldly mentality of the Cainites who sought beauty rather than character as the main attraction in women.

23 We see that a sin always leads to others, and always more and more depraved.

- The Force of Heredity: Lamec was as cruel as his ancestor Cain.

- Lamec's coldness and immense cruelty is incredible: he killed for childish reasons, for totally solvable problems.

- In the condition of the antediluvian world, the whole universe can contemplate the results of the administration that Lucifer had endeavored to establish in Heaven, rejecting the authority of Christ, and setting aside the law of God. In those men every emotion, impulse, imagination, and thought was in total conflict with the divine principles of purity, peace, and love. They saw that Satan was a great liar. PP 74.

- Therefore, as step by step His great plan advances to complete fulfillment, God has with Him the sympathy and approval of the entire universe. PP 74.

SOURCE: CBASD, vol. 1, pp. 250-256.

OUTLINE

1- WHOEVER RECEIVES EVERYTHING DOES NOT PRODUCE ANYTHING.

2- GOD RESPECTS INDIVIDUALITY, AND DOES NOT ACCEPT MASSIFICATION OR EVEN PATERNAL COERCION OVER OUR PROFESSIONAL CHOICES.

3- GOD DOES NOT ACCEPT OBEDIENCE BY HALF. WANTS TOTALITY. BUT IT'S NOT INSATIABLE.

3- EACH AND EVERY SACRIFICE REQUIRES RENUNCIATION OF OUR OWN WILL AND OPINIONS.

3- OUR MOTIVES DETERMINE THE QUALITY OF OUR OBEDIENCE AS WELL AS THE LORD'S ACCEPTANCE.

3- OUR WORSHIP DOES NOT DEPEND ON WHAT WE THINK OR LIKE, BUT ON WHAT HE ASKED US TO OFFER. OF THE GIFT HE WANTS TO WIN.

4- ALL SINCERE OBEDIENCE FINDS THE ANSWER AND THE DIVINE BLESSING. WE WILL ONLY HAVE DIVINE FIRE IN LIFE IF WE ARE OBEDIENT TO ITS COMMANDS.

5- WHY DOES MY ALTAR REMAIN WITHOUT FIRE IF I LIVE IN COMMUNION?

6- ANGRY WITH GOD, BUT FOR NO REASON. WE ARE SPOILED.

7- EITHER YOU MASTER YOUR CHARACTER, OR YOUR SINS WILL MAKE YOU SILLY!

8- IMMATURITY IN RELATIONSHIPS.

9- DO YOU HAVE THE COURAGE TO SAY THAT GOD IS WRONG WHEN HE REBUKES YOU?

10- CONSEQUENCES: INCAPACITY FOR LIFE AND ALIENATION OF THOSE WE LOVE

17- A KNIFE USUALLY REMAINS STABBED AFTER DEATH, THROUGH THE RESULTS IN HIS FAMILY!

18- What is your criteria for choosing a boyfriend, fiancé or spouse?

SOURCE

Patriarchs and Prophets. Brazilian Publishing Cover, Tatuí SP. Ellen G. White (1927-1915).

Youth Inspiration. Casa Publicadora Brasileira, Tatuí-SP, Brazil. Editions from 1977 to 2005.

Pr. Marcelo Augusto de Carvalho 1997 São Paulo SP Brazil

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WELL ABOVE AVERAGE

MARCELO AUGUSTO DE CARVALHO

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GENESIS 5

1- The Bible never tires of presenting our NOBLE ORIGIN: the likeness of God. This is the basis of our self-esteem. We don't need to feel minor or misfit for not fitting into the standards that the media and fashion impose and force on us. You can and should be happy with your face, your body, your intelligence, and your talents.

2- We were CREATED PERFECT (physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually speaking), sexual (sexual identity and procreative ability), as well as blessed by Him. Compared to God's ideal, we are all very abnormal people today, with many disturbances in all areas of our mediocre existence.

- Despite this noble origin, the lives of the Sethites show that we all inherit a sinful nature. Although they were God-fearing, they were marked by Adam's sin. Remember: What is born of the flesh, is flesh.

3- The ability of heredity has always been a mark on beings created by God, especially in the human being. There is no possibility for an evolution of the human race.

4- Throughout his life (almost a thousand years) Adam faithfully sought to OPPOSE the wave of MAL. Yet few paid attention to his words. He was often accused of having brought to the human race the consequences of sin. Patriarchs and Prophets pp. 78.

- His life was one of sorrow, humility, and contrition for fear of death. But as he contemplated for nearly a thousand years the results of sin, he realized that there was mercy on God's part in ending a life of suffering and sorrow. Patriarchs and Prophets, 79.

* Have you seen God's mercy in the events and situations of your life, or do you only live complaining about your fate?

5- WHAT WAS THE WORLD LIKE IN THE DAYS BEFORE THE FLOOD?

- Half of the earth's waters rested on the firmament in the form of a vast blanket of invisible water vapor. This produced the "greenhouse" effect much more efficiently than the current system does.

- By this system, the earth enjoyed a uniform and gently warm climate year-round on its entire surface.

- The almost constant temperatures prevented the development of strong winds and storms.

- Rain, as we know it, was impossible, and the indispensable circulation of moisture for the growth of vegetables was made by the rivers of springs and by the daily and low fog. Genesis 2:6-10.

- In these conditions trees and vegetation grew all over the land.

- The topography was bland and beautiful because the current mountain ranges give evidence of extreme youth, probably formed after the flood.

- The oceans were much smaller, occupying perhaps half the earth's surface.

- There was only 1 continent, huge, surrounded by waters.

- The mantle of steam in the atmosphere contributed greatly to longevity as it filtered out the lethal radiations that bombard the surface from space beyond the atmosphere. These rays have a lot of heat and are the main cause of mutations and other activities that produce the deterioration of meat in living beings. Creation or evolution, pp. 54. Henry Morris.

WHY DID THEY LIVE SO LONG?

- The original vitality with which the first man was endowed;

- Superior piety and intelligence;

- The remaining effect of the fruit of the tree of life;

- The superior quality of the atmosphere, all the living conditions and food they possessed;

- For this reason, Adam saw 8 generations (he saw his octobe born).

- And remember: this list omits many patriarchs who lived at that time, presenting only the main ones for the biblical narrative. Patriarchs and Prophets, 81.

- "And he died" - the death sentence had not been a vain threat. Death is a persistent reminder of nature and the result of disobedience to God.

Our God does not play, not even in His promises, much less in His warnings. Let us treat His counsel with fear and trembling, or else we will pay dearly for our mistakes.

5- 21- HOW WERE THE ANTEDILUVIANS AND LIVED?

- They have reached the high moral and intellectual standard.

- Great physical strength (20 times more than us) and mental.

- Unparalleled advantages at any time to have religious and scientific knowledge.

- They developed prematurely and grew in their capacities for centuries, reaching far greater development than any other man in another era. (They had many years to do so.)

- They had Adam and Eden to teach the past stories and prove them.

- Those who feared the Lord received direct instructions from Christ and His angels.

- They could sacrifice at the door of Eden, and there they received instructions from God.

- Memory so capable that it did not lead to the need for books for the storage of information. Patriarchs and prophets, 79-80

- All this made them more responsible as more culpable in the face of so many more opportunities they had than the following generations. That is why God was quite right to destroy them so abruptly. (Just as there was no Savior who died for Lucifer and his angels, for especially He had not even 1 reason to speak what He presented about divinity, for He served in front of Him.)

22 Enoch learned from Adam's lips all the past biblical stories. He was faithful to God.

- He was strong-minded and highly cultivated, extensive knowledge, and had special revelations from God.

- He spent a lot of time in solitude, in meditation and prayer.

- Through angels, he learned of the flood, the plan of redemption, the events of the coming generations, and the Second Coming of Christ and the end of the world.

- He preached all these messages in the land where Cain's sons lived.

The greater and more insistent his labors, the more constant and fervent his prayers were. Do you increase or decrease your fellowship in the face of the accumulation of work?

- He did not merely understand God's constant presence in his life, or even seek only a continual effort for holy obedience, but remained in a close relationship with God. How deep (or superficial) is your Christianity?

- But when Methuselah was born to him, he understood in the father-son relationship the immense and deep love of God and the trust of a needy son in his father. As never before, he was even more drawn to God, to the point of being qualified for translation.

- His walk with God consisted in contemplation of the Creator and in working for sinners. Patriarchs and prophets, 81-82.

- "300 years" - he was faithful and walked with God not for 1 week of prayer, for some years he spent in an Adventist school or college, or even in that period when the pastor visited him, there were good programs in the church, or the similar life went very well. He walked for a long time—300 years with God. It was very persistent.

* Many young people say they have had great passions. They stayed with someone during Valentine's week or during the month of a beach vacation. This is not love1 Summer love does not satiate the hunger of emotions. Love needs a long time to develop in our immature and selfish nature. Is it difficult for you to walk with God for at least 1 day?

- "Sons and daughters" - the state of marriage is in accordance with the strictest life of holiness, whether of lay people or of great servants of God of professional work.

24- WHY DID GOD TAKE HIM? Because people thought there was no reward in serving God and leaving sin, for the end of all was the same: death.

Many watched his transfer. Others sought him out, but didn't find it. Patriarchs and Prophets, 83.

* As a model of virtue, Enoch "seventh after Adam" appears in sharp contrast to the seventh generation of Cain-Lamec—a murderer and adulterer. How much purer are you in the midst of your generation?

* From the human point of view Enoch was considered a lonely man, but Enoch proved that whoever walks with God is never alone. Henry Morris. Even though you go to college away from your family, you are the only Christian in the home, and even if you convert you may lose your dearest friends, you are not alone. He found a great Friend, the best of all, the greatest and most complete Being in the Universe.

SOURCE: CBASD, vol. 1, pp. 257-260.

OUTLINE

1- IN THE IMAGE AND LIKENESS OF GOD – this is the basis of our self-esteem

2- TODAY WE ARE ALL ABNORMAL – unbalanced in our personality.

3- WE BELIEVE IN HEREDITY, NEVER IN EVOLUTION.

4- Adam- life of sorrow (saw the results of sin: degradation and death). BUT HE SAW THAT DEATH WAS AN EXPRESSION OF GOD'S LOVE. HOW DO WE SEE LIFE?

5-21 THE ANTEDILUVIANS; THE MORE, THE LESS.

22- ENOCH – TOO BUSY NOT TO PRAY.

23 GOD LOVES ME AS I LOVE MY SON.

23- 300 YEARS WITH GOD x SUMMER LOVE.

24- THERE ARE REWARDS FOR CHILDREN NOTE 10: ETERNAL LIFE. Just as He has a high standard, God also has high rewards for such an effective following.

24- WOULD YOU BE CHOSEN BY GOD AS THE SEAL OF QUALITY OF YOUR GENERATION?

24- WHOEVER WALKS WITH GOD, EVEN ALONE, IS VERY WELL ACCOMPANIED. (All angels protect him, all unfallen beings root for him, and he still has the greatest Person in the universe by his side.)

PLEA

Live above average.

SOURCE

Patriarchs and Prophets. Brazilian Publishing Cover, Tatuí SP. Ellen G. White (1927-1915).

Youth Inspiration. Casa Publicadora Brasileira, Tatuí-SP, Brazil. Editions from 1977 to 2005.

Pr. Marcelo Augusto de Carvalho 2002 São Paulo SP Brazil

4

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN IT RAINS?

MARCELO AUGUSTO DE CARVALHO

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GENESIS 6

4- Adam was twice the height of a man of our day. Its weight reached 1 ton and it had a capacity 20 times greater than that of a modern man. Considering all the interbreeding that occurred at that time—marriage between brothers and sisters, and then between cousins in the next generation (Setites with Setites, Cainites with Cainites)—the lineages could have presented different characteristics when they came together again (when the sons of Seth married the daughters of Cain many centuries after the separation). The children of these marriages could be considered hybrids, possessing an unusual vigor. Imagine being a giant at a time when the average height reaches ! The world was once better, pp 24. 4 m

5- How sinful were the antediluvians? ARE YOU LIKE THEM? EVALUATE:

WRONG USE OF TALENTS: They had many rich gifts, but they used them to glorify themselves, and turned them into a curse, fixing their affections on the gifts instead of the Giver.

BUILDING AN EMPIRE: They employed gold and silver and other wealth in building dwellings, striving to outdo each other in beautifying them.

LIVING FOR PLEASURE: They sought only to satisfy the desires of their proud heart.

PLEASURE IN CONTEMPLATING SIN: They slackened in scenes of pleasure and ungodliness.

HUMAN IDOLATRY: They glorified human genius, and worshipped the works of his hands.

LACK OF RESPECT FOR MARRIAGE AND FAMILY: Polygamy was widespread.

LIMITLESS IN RELATIONSHIPS: Whoever coveted the women or possessions of his neighbor, took them by force, and men rejoiced in their actions of violence.

EVERY DAY CONTINUOUSLY were evil. Not in a passing form, and not in isolated cases, but the whole society was evil, for they willingly ignored the word of God. God knows what the difference is between a sincere sinner who often fails than a rebellious, unrepentant sinner who does not wish to be transformed.

They denied the existence of God, practicing the worship of Nature.

In the woods WORSHIPPED THEIR GODS.

THEY CLOTHED THEIR DIVINITIES WITH HUMAN ATTRIBUTES AND PASSIONS, and thus their norm of character degraded into the likeness of sinful humanity. So they corrupt themselves.

THEY DELIGHTED IN THE DESTRUCTION OF THE LIVES OF ANIMALS; and the use of flesh as food made them all the more cruel and bloody, until they came to regard human life with astonishing indifference. Patriarchs and prophets, 88-90

6- God's repentance does not presuppose a lack of prior knowledge on his part or variability in His nature or purpose.

It refers to the pain of divine love occasioned by human sinfulness.

God, in His immutability, changes His position with regard to man who also changes His position.

This pain of His indicates that in spite of everything, God never hates man.

The total destruction of the human race and the other living beings of the planet is described here.

• GOD IS ALWAYS JUST WHEN HE JUDGES US AND FINDS US AT FAULT. Sooner or later, the effects of human wickedness would have exterminated the men of the earth. Through the flood, God only hastened the inevitable results of sin.

Here we see mercy in the midst of wrath. God has promised to preserve and restore mankind.

"Grace" - an undeserved merciful favor, which God bestows upon sinners.

How much God loved man in his fallen state: He promised a Savior, kept a succession of faithful men for centuries to preach and warn sinners, the ES contended day by day with them, gave them centuries of opportunities for repentance, another 120 years of mercy, and now the promise to save all the righteous there are.

* His faithful followers can be sure that God will accept them, just as he accepted Noah; and it will also preserve them in the midst of the calamities that will befall in the last days, and will provide them with security in the coming judgment.

THREE EXPRESSIONS DESCRIBE NOAH:

RIGHTEOUS: righteousness, honorability, and virtue. THERE IS A PATTERN, BE IT THE DEFAULT.

AMONG CONTEMPORARIES: To be just in the time of Noah required a man to resist with boldness and firmness evil attractions, subtle temptations, and painful debauchery. But he was a man of strong convictions, upright in actions and thoughts. He was constant in his religion. Are you better than your generation? (Many condemn great men of God of the past because they made too many childish mistakes for us today, or did not achieve ideals that for us are now so simple. But they overcame the difficulties of their day, and God will judge us also within our social and temporal context. Every 1 in their time). DO NOT EXITE GOD'S SECRET AGENT!

WALKED: 69 years after Enoch was transferred Noah was born, but his example was imitated by this new patriarch. THE CHRISTIAN LIFE SPENDS YEARS WITH GOD.

11- "In the sight of God" - corruption applies in a special way here to idolatry, and the sin of perverting the worship of God.

* God has never accepted and will never accept that His worship, established by Him, is increased, "improved" or humanized by man.

They practiced evil in a public and blatant form, openly affronting the Creator.

We should never be interested "as I see" spiritual things. We are sinners, so our judgment for spiritual facts is always distorted. We need to be concerned about "how God sees the situation."

12- He's always looking here. He never forgets us.

The conditions and events that have occurred on earth are the special object of God's investigation.

That is why the destruction of sinners was not an arbitrary act on God's part, but the result of careful study and authoritative conclusion.

God saw that not only the Cainites, but also all the Sethites were corrupted.

13 - God speaks to his servants.

His plan presented to Noah was undoubtedly expressed also in the heavenly councils earlier.

* God does not accept any kind of violence, which is why he was so peaceful among us. IT WILL DESTROY THOSE WHO ARE VIOLENT AT HOME, AT WORK, AND WITH ANIMALS.

THE ARK

The ark was to be planned in such a way that it was guaranteed not so much mobility as the carrying capacity and stability in floating.

The ark had 3 floors, each one high, a window around the entire roof, ensuring ventilation and lighting, and a side entrance door to the ark on the second floor.5 m57 cm

The dimensions: around length, width and length.150 m25 m16 m

The total capacity of the ark was approximately 426. cubits - the equivalent of 522 vehicles suitable for transporting animals of the usual standard on our modern roads.720 m

The sides built with square trunks juxtaposed and laminated, carved and attached firmly to the frame. There was no concern to build a light boat as there is no need to launch it into the water; the water would come to him. What faith Noah had—to build the ark on dry land!

The wood used was that of cypress, and to waterproof bitumen was used in order to withstand the pressure of the water.

"Compartments" - cells or nests for the animals - were made.

Would it be possible to fit so many animals in the ark? - Noah took 1 pair of filthy animals and 7 pairs of clean animals. Of course, the sea creatures were not counted. Experts estimate that there are fewer than 18,000 species of mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians in the modern world. Assuming that the biological species are equal to those mentioned in Genesis, and assuming that the average size of the species is that of a sheep (estimate with a wide margin of safety) we see that the capacity of the ark far outweighed its purpose. An appropriate vehicle can transport about 240 sheep, so 150 of these vehicles would be enough to transport 36,000 animals of this size. That's one-third the size of the ark. There were ample spare compartments for about 1 million species of insects, for pantry, for the accommodation of Noah and his family, for many who would like to enter to save themselves, and even for many animals now extinct. Creation or evolution, pp. 65. Henry Morris.

And besides, only the life forms originally created by God were placed on the ark. Interbreeding animals were represented there by their original species.

What did the animals eat for all the time spent inside the ark? 1- It may be that the population of rodents, birds and insects was controlled by wild animals. 2- It may be that the animals were all quite young, making it easier to control them. 3- It may be that they hibernated. The world has been better, pp 30.

Noah must have stored a large amount of hay, grains, seeds, nuts, nuts and fruits on the upper floor of the ark, and even seeds for further planting.

There were to be openings in the floor of the barn through which hay could be thrown to the lower floors. Often, what was wasted by one animal was taken advantage of by another.

The droppings passed through the dais that allowed it to pass to the lower floor. There, bacteria, insects, rats and shrews would act by aerating the waste, allowing its natural decomposition and transforming it into an odorless substance. The heat generated would help to keep the birds and animals comfortably afloat. The world was once better pp. 31.

Incredible is that studies done prove that the size of the ark, coupled with its shape (rectangular, with its front and back flattened like a shoebox) made it almost impossible to sink even in the worst storm. It is thus shown that the great architect of the boat was not really Noah, but the Creator.

• FAITH ALWAYS REQUIRES A LOT OF COURAGE. COURAGE TO ACCEPT A CALLING, TO ACCEPT BAPTISM AND CHANGE ALL LIFE, QUIT FRIEND JOB TO FOLLOW IT, BUT IT IS WORTH IT.

Would you have the courage to find improper or doubtful the means by which God has chosen to accomplish your happiness, security, and salvation?

Interestingly, the largest boats manufactured in Egypt many centuries after the flood were 3 times smaller than Noah's ark. God always has great solutions, plans, and dreams for us. He's not narrow-minded, small, or petty.

Why did Noah take so long to build such a boat? - Nowadays, with all the technology we have, a ship of common size and capacity takes on average 5 years to build. Even though they did not possess such technology, the men of that time were much stronger, smarter, and more capable than we are today. The big problem is that the size of the trees and their thickness and hardness (as hard as the firmest rocks) as well as their preparation was very difficult. Patriarchs and Prophets, 91.

GOD'S DREAMS WILL ALWAYS BE GREAT FOR US, MUCH BIGGER THAN WE DESIRE, PLAN, OR ARE ABLE TO EXECUTE.

GOD'S DREAMS ALSO TAKE A LONG TIME TO EXECUTE, FOR THEY ARE IMMENSELY GREATER THAN WE ARE, AND WE ARE NEVER READY TO EXECUTE THEM.

17 The flood was a divine punishment, not a natural event.

18 The sons of Noah had not even been born yet, but they were already included in this promise.

None of his ancestors waited that long to have children. He only came when he was 500 years old. Perhaps for all these years he had even given up hope of having them.

* On many occasions God prepared His chosen servants for times of crisis by guiding them through long periods of scarcity so that they could learn to have patience and trust in Him.

The birth of his children would be for Noah a sign of the certainty that the flood would come. Thus, for 20 years, he went on by faith until they were born, and continued with their help in his holy mister.

The greatest missionary work to be done is to be done in the home.

22 He was obedient in everything.

His relationship with relatives who had come to be similar to the damn Cainites in no way influenced his decision to be obedient to God.

* It was 120 years of faithful work. How long can you stay faithful to God's work?

Methuselah, Lamech, and their sons assisted in the construction of the ark. Patriarchs and Prophets, 91.

* All that he possessed, Noah employed in the execution of the ark. Patriarchs and Prophets, 91. How much have you invested in God's work?

When it rains, in general, we are afraid of what might happen.

Noah had an attitude that deserves our attention. He trusted in the Lord's promises. He rested in them, prepared for the rain, engaged in the cause of his God, and for this reason he was saved. What do you do when it rains?

OUTLINE

5- SINNERS AND SINNERS. What kind are you?

7- GOD IS ALWAYS JUST WHEN HE JUDGES US AND FINDS US AT FAULT

8- HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT THAT TODAY, IN THE EYES OF HEAVEN, YOU CAN BE THE NOTE 10? His faithful followers can be sure that God will accept them, just as He accepted Noah; and He will also preserve them in the midst of the calamities that will come in the last days, and provide them with security in the coming judgment.

9- WHAT IS YOUR STORY? WHAT DO AJOS WRITE ABOUT YOU?

JUST righteousness, honesty, and virtue. THERE IS A PATTERN, BE IT THE DEFAULT.

AMONG CONTEMPORARIES: To be just in the time of Noah required a man to resist with boldness and firmness evil attractions, subtle temptations, and painful debauchery. But he was a man of strong convictions, upright in actions and thoughts. He was constant in his religion. Are you better than your generation?

WALKED: THE CHRISTIAN LIFE SPENDS YEARS WITH GOD.

11- "In the sight of God" - corruption applies in a special way here to idolatry, and the sin of perverting the worship of God.

* God has never accepted and will never accept that His worship, established by Him, is increased, "improved" or humanized by man.

13- God does not accept any kind of violence, which is why it was so peaceful among us. IT WILL DESTROY THOSE WHO ARE VIOLENT AT HOME, AT WORK, AND WITH ANIMALS.

14- The Ark He is not narrow-minded, small or petty. GOD'S DREAMS WILL ALWAYS BE GREAT FOR US, MUCH BIGGER THAN WE DESIRE, PLAN, OR ARE ABLE TO EXECUTE.

GOD'S DREAMS ALSO TAKE A LONG TIME TO EXECUTE, FOR THEY ARE IMMENSELY GREATER THAN WE ARE, AND WE ARE NEVER READY TO EXECUTE THEM.

Noah built the ark on dry land! FAITH ALWAYS REQUIRES A LOT OF COURAGE. COURAGE TO ACCEPT A CALLING, TO ACCEPT BAPTISM AND CHANGE ALL LIFE, QUIT FRIEND JOB TO FOLLOW IT, BUT IT IS WORTH IT. Would you have the courage to find improper or doubtful the means by which God has chosen to accomplish your happiness, security, and salvation?

* It was 120 years of faithful work. How long can you stay faithful to God's work?

* All that he possessed, Noah employed in the execution of the ark. PP 91. How much have you invested in God's work?

When it rains, in general, we are afraid of what might happen. He trusted in the Lord's promises. He rested in them, prepared for the rain, engaged in the cause of his God, and for this reason he was saved.

PLEA

What do you do when it rains? Trust and obey God, at any time!

SOURCE

Patriarchs and Prophets. Brazilian Publishing Cover, Tatuí SP. Ellen G. White (1927-1915).

Youth Inspiration. Casa Publicadora Brasileira, Tatuí-SP, Brazil. Editions from 1977 to 2005.

Pr. Marcelo Augusto de Carvalho, 2002 São Paulo SP Brazil

5

SINGING IN THE RAIN

MARCELO AUGUSTO DE CARVALHO

TOP

GENESIS 7

IT NEVER RAINED, BUT THERE WAS CLEAR EVIDENCE THAT NOAH WAS RIGHT. WHY DIDN'T THE PEOPLE BELIEVE HIM?

Remember, no one goes as far in sin as those who once had the light but resisted the compelling Spirit of God.

- Many people, when they heard Noah preach, received the warning; but they did not repent of their sins, for they did not want to leave them. Once impressed, but because of the ridicule of the wicked, they decided to remain rebellious, becoming worse than they already were and went even further in sin. Patriarchs and Prophets pp. 92.

Remember, most are only right when they are on God's side. Far away with the idea that the majority is always with the voice of reason and common sense!

Many professed to be worshippers of God, but represented divinity through idols, stating that through these they could obtain a clearer conception of the Creator. These were the main opponents of Noah's preaching. Idolatry, as always, blinded them to His majesty, power, and character, and to the holy and unchanging nature of His commandments. They then came to declare that His law was no longer in force, that it was contrary to His character to punish transgression, that the foretold judgments would never come to them, and they firmly believed that Noah's words were pure delusion. Patriarchs and Prophets, 92.

- They reasoned that Nature is above the God of Nature, and that its laws are so firmly established that God Himself cannot change them. Patriarchs and Prophets, 93.

- They claimed that if there was any truth to what Noah said, the men of fame - wise, prudent, scientific - would be on their side and understand this question. Patriarchs and Prophets, 94.

VERY FEW WERE ON NOAH'S SIDE.

1- God sees and recognizes and rewards our sincere will to serve Him.

- Some of Noah's carpenters believed the message but died before the flood; while other of the converts apostatized. Many of the believers kept up the faith, and died triumphant! SDABC, vol. . pp. 1102- EGW.7 A

2- Noah knew how to distinguish the 2 classes, showing that this distinction did not begin with Moses.

DINOSAURS

3- Why weren't the dinosaurs taken on the ark?

They became monstrous beasts: in the beginning animals lived on herbs. As the geographical aspects of the land changed, animal and plant life also changed to find suitable conditions in their new habitat. This adaptation to the environment was more characterized when deserts, polar regions and rocky mountains emerged. After the fall, the physical characteristics of the Earth gradually changed. For example, lakes and ponds became large swamps, and in these stagnant waters reptiles found an ideal home. Another consequence was the formation of thistles, spines, jaws and recurved beaks of birds and carnivorous animals. These occurred by mutation, probably in stages. At first, defensive weapons, then means of survival, enabling these animals to devour their victims to survive. But Satan went even further. Through hybrid crosses in the various species, genetic changes occurred, which reinforced by interbreeding, produced some of the antediluvian monsters. Satan has succeeded in populating the world with myriads of confused, grotesque, fierce, giant, and stupid species. Example: among dinosaurs, Triceratops had 3 horns and a shield over their shoulders. Stegosaurus had bony plates along its back, as well as a tail full of tips.

Many animals were extremely clumsy in appearance and survived only because there were no carnivores large enough to attack them. Satan sought to confuse species and create numerous varieties. This was done by amalgamation, that is, the union of 2 races to produce offspring. Such crosses often produce descendants of exceptional length and vigor. Example - the poultry farmer crosses 2 chickens to produce hybrid offspring that, in turn, will be superior to their parents.

Gigantism: at first, it seemed that the larger creatures had an advantage over the others, and as a result, successive generations grew in stature. There were before the flood dragonflies whose open wings mediate and butterflies with wingspan. A flying reptile, the Pteranodonte, was the size of a small airplane, with wings that extended to . The Diplodocus of , the Brachiosaurus, of and the Brontosaurus, of , the ostrich-elephant of height could easily lift a small horse and devour it. Over time, the gigantic size became a disadvantage. Proof of this is that many post-flood animals that have reached high stature have not been able to survive because they do not adapt to the climatic conditions and general changes that have occurred. The world was once better, pp 13-22.78 cm70 cm9 m29 m27 m22 m4 m

INVARIABLE LAW: COLD ACCORDING TO BLANKET

4- For 7 days the faith of Noah and his family would be tested inside the boat before it rained.

Incredible: God is so kind to us that before He tastes to us He presents in an educational way His methods and goals for the afflictions He allows in our lives! He is too fair to us.

5- Faith and works always go together.

There is no better or worse age to serve the Lord. It's always time to do it.

6- 600 years and still interested in being obedient to God.

Do you know why you have accepted Jesus as your savior, why you must go to church, live in fellowship, the reason for your faith?

7- Noah knew why he should enter the ark and take refuge.

9-Now Noah made his last solemn appeal. With an anguished desire, he requested that everyone seek refuge in the boat, but only to hear them galhofa and derision. Suddenly silence came over the moldy mob:

- By a supernatural impulse, the animals entered the ark.

The rumble of a rushing wind was heard, and behold, the birds were gathering from all sides, darkening the sky by their quantity.

What a contrast: the mute beasts of the field obeyed their Creator while the intelligent beings refused salvation!

Philosophers were called upon to explain the singular occurrence, but in vain. Now, no explanation was needed, for Noah had already announced that everything was taking place by the power of God.

The unrepentant sinner always tries to explain God's miracles as natural means. Who is he to do it!?

Many were afraid, but the impression was only momentary. PP 94.

A flash of dazzling light was seen, and a cloud of glory descended from heaven and hovered before the entrance of the ark. The massive door, which was impossible for those inside to close, slowly spun in its place by means of invisible hands. PP 95. God protects and shields his faithful followers.

TIME WILL TELL WHO WAS RIGHT

For 7 days the faith of Noah and his family was tried, for the said rain did not come.

It was a time of triumph for the people out there. When a Christian suffers for his faith, the wicked think themselves justified in their ways, but time will tell who made the best choice.

11 On the eighth day, black clouds spread across the sky. The murmur of thunder and the flash of lightning followed. Soon, large drops of rain began to fall. PP 95.

The waters seemed to come from the clouds in great waterfalls. God caused that mantle of water to burst over the firmament by pouring it completely onto the earth. This is one of the explanations of why we have today 3/4 of the planet formed by water.

The rivers broke their limits, flooding the valleys.

Jets of water erupted from the earth, hurling massive stones many feet into the air; and as they fell, they buried themselves deep in the ground.

The first things to be destroyed were the splendid buildings and the beautiful woods and gardens in which the people had placed their idols—destroyed by lightning bolts of heaven.

The altars used for human sacrifices were totally overthrown.

The terror and cry of animals and men was indescribable.

Satan, compelled to remain in the midst of the furious elements, feared for his existence. He uttered imprecations against God, accusing Him of injustice and cruelty.

Many of the people also blasphemed God, and if they could, they would remove him from the throne of power.

Others stretched out their hands to the ark, begging for entry there.

Some tried to get into the boat, but its firm structure resisted their efforts.

Others clung to it until they were swept away by the raging waters or crushed by its collision with the rocks and trees.

The animals outside threw themselves at the man, as if expecting help from him.

Many tied their children and themselves on top of powerful animals, knowing that they would seek to save their lives by climbing to the highest points of the earth.

Some tied themselves to tall trees at the top of the mountains; but these were uprooted, being bolded to destruction full of living beings.

Men and animals fought each other for a place until each other were swept away.

The heavy ark shuddered at each fiber. The cries of the animals inside expressed fear and pain, but angels were commissioned to guard it. God guards those who trust in Him. pp. 96-97.

16 The door closed a few days before the day of God's chastisement. In the last days the door of grace will also be closed just before the Second Coming of Christ. It will be closed. God's patience has limits. Am I within the deadline of this patience? Will I be inside or outside this merciful "door"?

17- The ark was built away from a river, sea or ocean, to show that it would be washed away by the rains. This is why Noah was so ridiculed. What faith he had! Do you believe in "God's crazy plans" for your life?

The description of the verse. 20 shows that the flood was not a local phenomenon occurring in the Mesopotamian valley, but a universal one.17 a

The same elements used to destroy the wicked were also used to guard Noah and his family.

For God there is never a lack of resources to save his children.

God never fails to use our gifts to work out our sanctification. God kept Noah, but he was the one who made the boat. Faith and works.

In Noah's day, men mocked the exhortations about the coming Flood; today, men scoff at the record of the historical Flood. Nevertheless, Jesus said, "The flood came and destroyed everyone." Luke 17:27.

The record of the Flood in Genesis gives every indication that it is a narrative made by an eyewitness, written originally by Noah and his sons, and later collected by Moses in his book.

Excessively abundant rain for 40 days and nights- something entirely impossible in the present weather conditions. The only source of such great rain can only have been the "waters over the firmament." Genesis 1:7.

20- Height corresponding to that of submersion of the ark—half its height—so that it could float freely over the top of the highest mountains, all now submerged.

It is evident that past verses show that the flood was universal. But it would be enough for one (omitting all) of the high mountains to be covered with water for the flood to be absolutely universal, for water necessarily seeks its own level, and does so very quickly.

The world almost seemed to have returned to its first condition. Genesis 1:2.

There wasn't enough water to cover the land. In the current atmosphere there is enough water vapor to produce a depth of less than two inches. But there is plenty of water in today's ocean basins, enough, as one would see if the topography were slightly redistributed. If the Earth's crust were leveled to form a smooth ball, the waters of the oceans would cover it with a depth of almost 3. ! Naturally these oceans now contain the immense amounts of water that arose from the "fountains of the great abyss" and descended the "windows of the heavens" during the Flood. Creation or evolution, pp. 69-71. Henry Morris. 500 mYou and I can trust what the Bible says and reports.

24- The compute is made with months of 30 days.

For 150 days it continued to rain and send water from the great crevices of the earth's crust, although it was not now as constant and torrential as in the first 40 days.

The same water that drowns other men only lifts the child of God closer to his home.

When the highest refuges of lies and pride are submerged and the whole panorama is covered in a monotonous expanse of perplexity, God says to the soul, "Enter the ark," meaning that we shall enjoy intimate communion?

When God closes a door behind us, no power can break it, no key is able to open it, no crowbar can tear it off. Devotional Bible Commentary, F. B. Meyer, 16. Ed. Bethany.

PLEA

Noah could sing in the rain because he was obedient to the Lord. What about you?

SOURCE

Patriarchs and Prophets. Brazilian Publishing Cover, Tatuí SP. Ellen G. White (1927-1915).

Youth Inspiration. Casa Publicadora Brasileira, Tatuí-SP, Brazil. Editions from 1977 to 2005.

SDABC - Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary. Brazilian Publishing Cover, Tatuí SP.

Pr. Marcelo Augusto de Carvalho, 2002 São Paulo SP Brazil

6

WHAT ALWAYS COMES AFTER A STORM?

MARCELO AUGUSTO DE CARVALHO

TOP

GENESIS 8

AFTER THE STORM COMES LIFE – NEVER LOSE HOPE

A fascinating universe, populated by small and strange beings, gathers in the swampy areas after the rains. There are thousands of species of insects, molluscs, amphibians, birds and some mammals specially adapted to the fight for survival in an extremely fragile and fleeting ecosystem.

On the surface develops an incredible ballet of ephemeral drawings drawn with the tip of their paws by the veliidae, bedbugs whose structure of the long legs allows them to walk on water. Curled in the leaves of water lentils, small insects of the lepismatid group, with an elongated body and fringed tail that resemble silver fish, warm themselves to the sun's rays, while being lulled by the gentle sway of the waves caused by the beetles in their incessant search for food. Scattered a little further, a few tiny periscopes appear out of the water: they are the abdominal conduits that allow nepid bedbugs and the aquatic scorpion to breathe. And further down, the mystery of the unknown: a plethora of ignored organisms and ruthless creatures that shape a unique and fascinating universe.

Ponds, tanks, dikes, canals, ponds, swamps, floods, mangroves or swamps: there are many names to designate these small bodies of water that perhaps constitute the manifestation of nature that most draws the attention of man. And the most remarkable feature of these places is the enormous biodiversity they accumulate in such a small space. We must not forget that life arose in water, approximately 3.5 billion years ago. And there it remained for millions of years, until it began to colonize the land. Today, many life forms of these wetlands are unable to live on dry land, while others need these peculiar ecosystems to develop some phase of their existence.

The reason for such an accumulation of beings so distinct from each other is in the composition of water. Although they often present a clean and crystalline appearance, the marshes are far from having pure water. Pure water cannot keep living organisms inside for long, unlike natural waters, which are rich in gaseous and solid substances. Among the gases, oxygen and carbon dioxide stand out. Other matters of great importance are nitrates, sulfates, chlorites and phosphates, as well as minerals such as sodium, potassium, iron, magnesium and calcium. Its greater or lesser abundance conditions the presence of a certain flora and fauna. In the waters poor in calcium it has been proven that no snails or other aquatic molluscs survive.

The lack of purity of the swamp waters does not mean that they are contaminated. On the contrary: its elements are natural impurities that favor the proliferation of life. There are, however, other substances, such as oils, detergents and other residues typical of certain human activities that artificially dirty the waters, that is, contaminate them. Thus, the volume of life they can welcome is inversely proportional to their degree of pollution: the more contaminated the waters, the fewer organisms they contain.

Because of their reduced extent, these masses are extremely fragile. "It is true that these wetlands are threatened, but of all of them, it is the temporary ponds that are most at risk." They form in regions characterized by periods of heavy rainfall and high temperatures, which causes rapid evaporation and causes their cycles to develop very quickly," explains Jesus Dorda, a biologist and researcher specializing in herpetology and ichthyology at the National Museum of Natural Sciences in Spain.

Examples of species associated with marshes are the common frog and, above all, the runner toad, which proliferate especially in these tanks, Dorda adds. Their short existence means that at any moment, usually after a heavy downpour, there is an authentic concentration of these amphibians, in a clearly opportunistic strategy with which they avoid predators that would constitute a serious threat to the species.

Excluding these temporary wetlands, the inhabitants of the natural wetlands and artificial tanks of the same region are identical, except for exotic animals introduced by man. In addition, all these spaces are colonized in a similar way.

The earliest of all are flying insects: species such as mosquitoes and other dipterans are the first to arrive, followed soon after by dragonflies and beetles.

The wind and some animals—insects, birds, amphibians, and small mammals—are the proper means of transportation for eggs of other insects, such as copepods, a type of freshwater and saltwater crustaceans, to reach a tank. Soon after come other crustaceans and molluscs, which still arrive as eggs on the paws of dragonflies and scarlets.

Unlike what happens in other wetlands, such as large lakes – where one can speak of a stratification in their forms of life, as they occur in surface or deep waters – small bodies of water have a single substrate, since they are usually shallow. It is appropriate to speak here of what scientists call surface film; that is, the surface of the waters. Its function in the flooded world is equal to that of the skin on the human body, isolating and separating the body of water from the atmosphere, harboring extremely specialized life forms, such as mosquito larvae, to name just one well-known example.

But if we delve a little below the surface, an authentic universe of strange creatures will open before our eyes in which invertebrates are the main characters.

We will see the ferocity of ditiscides, beetles adapted to aquatic life, true battleship submarines, when they corner cyclops, mites, fleas-d'water or small notonectids, bedbugs whose backstroke resembles a rowing boatman. We will observe the diving spider, which when building its nest invented the autonomous scavenger thousands of years ago. Along with them, water scorpions and other swimming beetles form a closed ecosystem in which everyone relates and in which there are prey and predators, with a rigorous ecological pyramid established.

The base is occupied by microscopic beings: protozoa, ciliates, hydras and the components of plankton. And at the apex, vertebrates such as frogs, salamanders and frogs, among amphibians; ducks and geese, among the birds, and some small mammals. In the marsh, each species occupies its precise place, just as it does in any other habitat, such as the Atlantic forest, the African savannah or the oceans.

Of the various segments in which one can divide the animal life associated with the flooded areas, that of the small invertebrates is undoubtedly the most passionate. Here lies the kingdom of insects, whether adults or those in larval form.

The queen of all of them is the dragonfly, which is completely linked to these ecosystems, where it finds refuge because it has a development cycle coincident with the ponds. Thus, during the winter, Anax parthenope are in a larval state under water.

In the spring they metamorphose to the imago phase, the preamble of the adult state, to which they arrive when summer is already well advanced. In this season live the adults, who reach on average 40 days.

Most dragonflies lay their eggs on the stalks of plants, although some species spawn on clay or directly in water. The incubation period is extremely variable and ranges from the four to five days of Pantala flavescens to 200 days of Aeschna nigroflava, although most mature between 30 and 40 days. On hot summer days the larvae begin to move. Then, over the course of 13 steps, they will change their integument—the membrane that surrounds them during the process of metamorphosis—as they develop.

The larvae are extremely voracious and feed on mosquito larvae, small invertebrates, tadpoles and, in their last stages before leaving the water, even catch small fish.

When they reach maturity, the larvae climb up the stalks of the plants and once out of the water remain motionless, firmly clinging to a branch, until they dry the body. The exchange, which in most species happens at night, begins with the detachment of the pectoral integument. Through them come out in the first place the back and the voluminous compound eyes, shortly after appear the complete head and the paws and, finally, the wings and the long abdomen.

In the world of mangrove invertebrates, in addition to the dragonfly, two other species occupy the position of great hunters: the nepids, a type of stink bug similar to the praying mantis, and the aquatic scorpion. Narrow-bodied and long, with large, black eyes protruding from one end and long, thin legs, nepids have the first pair of legs similar to that of the praying mantis. From the end of the belly comes a small, thin tube, which emerges from the water and through which it breathes. He is also an expert and fast swimmer, still able to walk through the bottom of the marshes, where he becomes an infallible hunter attacking prey that can reach his own size.

The aquatic scorpion prefers the waters with silt or clay in the background, where it hides its massive, brown-colored body. Endowed with large and powerful forelegs, he swims with vigor to approach his victims and then dominates them with ease.

The ditisques, beetles that have adapted to life in the water, are other great predators of the ponds. Beetles that have exchanged their primitive terrestrial life for aquatic life, they constitute more than 2,000 species, divided by diverse aquatic environments, such as mountain currents, groundwater and certain maritime coastal zones, although they demonstrate a clear preference for stagnant fresh waters.

Skilled hunters, it is common to see a group of ditches devouring a fish fry, a batrachian or a river crab. On the other hand, they have a surprising defense mechanism, which consists of a series of holes that cover their body longitudinally and through which they expel a fetid liquid.

Their adaptation to water is also curious: relatively often one can contemplate ditisques carrying a voluminous bubble of air on the back of the abdomen while diving. It is the continuation of the bubble of air that they keep under their éliters – two small corneal pieces that cover their wings – and that allows them to breathe as if they were carrying diving cylinders.

But this biological diversity is extremely fragile, since as an ecosystem almost completely closed in on itself and with reduced space, any environmental change directly affects them. Thus, pollutants, sewage and variations in environmental conditions can lead to the destruction of these authentic biological crucibles that are the lagoons.

Such is the world of the flooded, a universe full of life within reach of our hand, but so extraordinarily fragile that we can destroy it with the same ease with which we pluck a branch of lily-from the swamp from its tranquil surface.

Superinteresting, December 1993.

HE NEVER FORGETS ANY OF US.

1- Although there may be many floods in our lives, God has not forgotten us. It's easier for a woman to forget her little boy!

In order for the lands to emerge from the waters, the continents had to rise and the ocean basins had to be rewarded on a gigantic scale. Salt. 104. 6-9.

2-5 The underground deposits emptied when the water that filled them leaked to the surface, leaving large hollow caves in the crust just below the surface.

This condition mentioned above was unstable and could not last long. The heavy materials underlying the old areas of terrain one day began to sink, squeezing laterally, at the bottom, the lighter sediments of the adjacent basins, pushing them upwards, then forming continents and mountain ranges. To some extent the land and water areas of the antediluvian world may have switched places, thanks to the Flood, with the difference that the areas covered by the waters are now much more extensive. Job 12:15.

It seems that it was a mighty gale that ravaged the whole world, accompanied by electrical phenomena – Genesis 8:1 and Psalm 104. 7 - That moved the trigger of the mechanism that disrupted the unstable balance and put into action the pro-lifting forces.

Such a wind was probably caused by the large temperature difference between the polar region and the equatorial region, produced by the removal of the thermal vapor mantle.

The resulting gigantic waves, as well as the accumulation of water, may have created additional force imbalance, enough to kick-start tectonic movements. Once initiated, they continued until they reached the current equilibrium between the continental areas and the maritime areas. Creation or evolution, pp. 72.

Noah's home, according to Babylonian tradition, was at Phhara, on the Euphrates, about northwest of the site of Eden. Thus, after voying a few or more, beyond the place from which it had departed, the ark rested on the peak of one of the mountains of Armenia, in Ararat, about north of Nineveh. This mound has a height of . At its foot is the city called Naxuana, which claims to possess the tomb of Noah, and its name means: "Here Noah settled." Bible Manual, 74.112 km800 km322 km5.610 m

That date became the "day of resurrection" for the earth. Many years later, the anniversary of this date took place on the day that Christ was resurrected. In the seventh month of the calendar year, the first of the religious year, on the 14th of that month, Easter was celebrated. Christ, our Passover, died on this day, but rose again on the third day, that is, on the 17th day of the seventh month of the civil calendar! What a beautiful spiritual symbol.

There is evidence of the truthfulness of the biblical account. Several expeditions have already gone up Ararat in search of the ark; many saw it, made records, but as in a crime film, all the evidence was mysteriously lost. It seems that God wants us to believe without seeing concrete evidence. However, satellite photos show 2 large pieces of wood on the mound. It is believed that it can only be the ark, for in this mountain of eternal snows, the only way there could be such a large piece of wood there can only have happened by what the biblical account says. On this hill there are no species of trees because its surface is very cold. The ark must have broken into two parts due to a great earthquake on the mountain some time past. You can believe the Bible.

6-12 The dove returned, but the crow, a scavenging bird that doesn't care about filth, didn't return. A week later, Noah sent the dove again, which brought a new olive leaf, indicating new seedlings or new branches of the vigorous tree that is the olive tree were already beginning to bloom again on the mountainside.

Noah's window was facing only upwards. He didn't see the waters, so he sent birds.

WINDOW: PLACE TO SEE THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. WHERE IS IT TURNED?

The dove and the raven came out the same window, just as a son of God and a misguided and stubborn son can come from the same family. But the former cannot find satisfaction in that which satisfies the other, and takes his flight back to God. Psalm 116:7. Devotional Bible Commentary, F. B. Meyer, 16. Ed. Bethany.

13- 16- Noah spent in the ark a period of 1 year and 17 days. He entered the ark on the^1st of the second month of the year 600 of his life, and only left there on the 27th of the second month of the following year.

The ark was the refuge in the time of danger. It was the means of salvation for the faithful; outside of it there was no security. So it will be when the world comes to the last days for the sudden coming of Jesus. Those who desire to be saved must avail themselves of the resource that God has prepared for their salvation.

Have you used the means of salvation God has left you or refuse to accept the divine plan, putting your security in vain things?

Remember: the ark was not a very comfortable place; there were many animals inside, who howled, screamed, groaned, and even smelled bad. But it was the best place in the world to be at that time.

Your church may not be a very pleasant place, but this is the means God has chosen to sanctify your faith.

16- When the ark rested on the mountains of Ararat, a tedious lapse of waiting began that lasted more than 7 months. How often could Noah have felt that God had forgotten the lonely ark and its occupants on that mountain. But faith and patience are twin virtues. Noah was not presumptuous like Saul, who did not wait for the Lord's command to sacrifice before battle. He had learned to trust God and wait patiently as a result of his 120 years of preaching and building the ark.

Do you know how to wait, to trust entirely in the Lord? Psalm 37. 3-7.

18- An angel came down from heaven and opened the door of the ark.

20 Noah's first act was to hold a service of the Lord. He expressed gratitude for being preserved, as well as again showing his faith in the savior symbolized in every sacrificed animal. He was grateful as well as quite generous, as he had very few animals to offer.

What is our attitude after we come out of a hellish storm of trouble? Do we worship, give thanks, renew our covenant of faith with God, tithe the blessings we receive?

21 God's satisfaction with Noah's conduct and the way He accepted his offering show us how wonderful our God is.

He's not insatiable, grumpy, unhappy. His ideals are high, but He can be satisfied. It is enough for us to be totally obedient. We are not a burden to His life. He looks at us with love and affection, feels pleasure when we seek Him, and sees us as a soft smell to His august face.

It is necessary, it is essential that there are intercessors. By the attitude of Noah (now the general representative of the human race), God promised that He would never again destroy the earth by a Flood of waters (this does not include local floods). As by the sin of the first man the earth was cursed, by Noah's sacrifice the earth was thus blessed.

Many misfortunes can be avoided, and many blessings poured out, if there are men of prayer today who intercede for the people. Are we these intercessors? Isaiah 59:16.

"The thoughts" - intentional modality of perverted thought that translates into action, tendencies that are inherent in man.

22 There would be no more flood, and no interruption in the cycle of the seasons.

The world after the flood was very different from the one in which Noah and his family had known before the cataclysm. The lands were desolate and obstructed. The air moved in the form of strong and sometimes violent winds. The slope of the mountain where the ark had rested had frozen. Dark clouds seemed to threaten more rain and flooding. But at least the earth had been cleansed of the wicked hordes.

Changes: the current hydrological cycle has been gradually established, with the energy of radiation serving to extract water from the oceans, by evaporation, and the winds to take it inland, where it condenses forming clouds and falls in the form of rain or snow, to finally run back to the seas through rivers and channels.

The animals, now awakened from their long rest, were taken out and instructed to be fruitful and multiply in the earth. From Ararat, they spread out locating the environments conducive to their specific natures and needs. Creation or evolution, pp. 86.

CONSEQUENCE OF THE FLOOD.

The most important of these are fossils. The sedimentary rocks were deposited by flowing water in layers known as strata. These sediments contain the fossils – remains of animals that had lived on the earth's surface. Many of these species have become extinct. Often, but not always, they are found in more or less regular order.

Only a catastrophic death and burial can explain most fossils, and there was only one adequate catastrophe in breadth, variety, and intensity: the Flood narrated in Genesis.

PLEA

The only security in the face of a catastrophe is to trust in the One who can solve it, God.

SOURCE

Patriarchs and Prophets. Brazilian Publishing Cover, Tatuí SP. Ellen G. White (1927-1915).

Youth Inspiration. Casa Publicadora Brasileira, Tatuí-SP, Brazil. Editions from 1977 to 2005.

SDABC - Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary. Brazilian Publishing Cover, Tatuí SP.

Pr. Marcelo Augusto de Carvalho, 2002 São Paulo SP Brazil

7

SPIRITUAL RETIREMENT: DOES IT EXIST?

MARCELO AUGUSTO DE CARVALHO

TOP

GENESIS 9

God has a special blessing for those who are faithful to Him.

1- Blessing similar to that of Adam - to bear fruit and fill the earth; Noah was now the progenitor of all humans after the Flood.

It lacked a part of the previous blessing—world domination. This was lost after sin.

2- Sin had weakened the bond of subjection on the part of animals to the will of man. From then on, only by force would man dominate the animals. Nature would depart more and more from man.

Animals always withdraw when human civilization advances over its habitat. And when attacked, they flee, or fight back, they do so only by the natural instinct of survival.

A partial human dominion we see in the domestication of certain animals, in the taming of certain wild animals, and in the combat of beings harmful to human survival.

Looking at Noah at the powerful rapacious beasts that came out of the ark with him, he feared that his family, of only 8 people, would be destroyed by them. But God sent him an angel with the assurance message. Vrs2. PP 105.

How God cares about our feelings! Are you sad desperate, worried? He will surely come to comfort you.

3- It was not the first time that men would eat meat, for the impious antediluvians were carnivores, but for the first time God authorized such a diet.

God allowed it because it was an urgent need, since all stock of food was to be at an end after 1 year in the ark, and also for the purpose that man would live less to sin less.

But there were specific restrictions: never eating dead animals (decomposing corpses in the field or in the water), nor unclean animals (eaters of the dirt of the world).

Noah knew this distinction all too well. And only when it was forgotten did God then promulgate for Moses again these clear laws of food, recorded in Leviticus 11.

4- It was forbidden to eat flesh with blood, much less of living animals, in order to avoid cruelty and secularization of sacrifices.

God foresaw that man would think that by participating in the vital liquid, his own vitality would be reinvigorated and prolonged.

5- It emphasizes the value of human life in the sight of heaven. God would be personally engaged in avenging the shedding of human blood, by means of punishments.

animal:

man: warning against suicide and homicide. Man cannot give his life for this he has no right to take it away unless God asks him to do so.

6- God would avenge every murder; not directly, but indirectly by placing the judicial power in the hands of man.

"Spill" - voluntary murder and not accidental killing; implies homicide.

By the judicial power God would control the enormous wave of evil.

The emphasis here is not vengeance, but rather justice based on careful recognition of the sacred character of the image of God in man, however tainted it may have been tainted by sin.

11 Some regions could be devastated and men and animals swept away by the thousands, but there would never again be a universal destruction of the earth by a flood.

12 This sign would develop faith in His promises, and at the same time show divine condescension to human weaknesses.

Man seeks signs, and God has provided them in His mercy and goodness.

13- The rainbow is produced by the refraction and reflection of sunlight through the drops of water in suspension. And it is only possible because the flood brought such conditions to the earth.

- Just as today it is physically impossible to raise water into the atmosphere in sufficient quantity for the production of a new flood of universal amplitude.

15 As the climatic conditions would be different after the flood, and in most of the planet the rains would take the place of that beneficial system of wetness before the flood, the Lord used a means to quiet the fears of men for every time it began to rain. He promised that He would remember His covenant with Noah.

The word of God is the basis of our faith and hope. In His promises we can rest.

17 The Earth, which had once been beautiful and perfect, now presented a picture of complete desolation.

Man received a lesson about the terrible results of sin.

The fallen worlds saw the astonishing end that awaits man when he obeys Satan.

18 The purpose of Moses to draw the attention of the Hebrews of his time to the unpleasant event described in the following verses, is that they should see and understand better that the Canaanites, whom they would soon encounter, were very deeply degraded and morally corrupt, from their origin, their first predecessor Ham.

The Bible is very clear: the origin of all nations are the 3 sons of Noah.

Even though he had been allowed to kill and eat animals, Noah realized that it was necessary to immediately cultivate the land and obtain food from it.

"A vineyard" - this does not mean that Noah planted only 1 vineyard. He must have produced a good crop to support the family, but only the vineyard is mentioned to explain the following events.

Noah did no harm in planting a vineyard, but in what he did with its fruit.

"Wine" - the juice of grapes, but in this case fermented.

Since drunkenness had been one of the sins of the antediluvian era, we must assume that Noah was familiar with the harmful effects of drinking alcohol.

Noah no doubt had no intention of drinking too much. But he drank. There are no limits to the one who places himself on Satan's enchanted ground. When you see it, it's gone too far.

The artificial heat produced by the wine impelled him to get rid of the clothes that covered him. He fell into the sleep of the drunks and lay stretched out anyway in his tent.

The love of drink can dust the preacher of justice!

Age and past spiritual victories are not a guarantee against defeat in the hour of temptation. Who could have imagined that a man who had walked centuries beside God, one of the few righteous of his generation, could fall before such a well-known temptation?

An hour of carelessness can tarnish the purest life and undo much of the good that has been done over the course of many years!

"Naked" - Prov. 20:1 - drunkenness deforms and degrades the temple of the ES, weakens moral principles and thus exposes man to countless evils. The mastery of both physical and mental faculties is lost.

It was there that Ham saw his father's nakedness. The word "saw" - means "to look closely".

Ham's sin was an intentional transgression. It may be that he had accidentally seen his father's shameful situation, but instead of being filled with pain at his father's need, he rejoiced in what he saw and delighted in propagating it. Thinking that his brothers would share in his pleasure, he hastened to tell them the news. But they responded in a very adverse way. They did everything to help cover their father's absence.

What do you feel when you see a brother committing sins? To God our attitude towards the misfortunes of others clearly reveals the tendency of our character and the destiny of our existence! If our brothers and sisters sin, let us not make a fuss or mention their faults, but cover them with the mantle of divine love!

It may also be that Ham had long shown a great carnal and rebellious tendency, but restrained until that date by the strength and moral authority of the father. Now, contemplating closely the evidence of his father's human weakness, he rejoiced, feeling free to give vent to all the carnal forces of his hitherto repressed desires.

Have you used other people's failures to justify your conduct?

Have you used the mistakes of others to become more challenging in the practice of evil?

This verse seems to show us that both father and son (dog and Canaan) had similar unholy inclinations, which manifested themselves not only in this incident, but also later in the practices of an entire nation.

23- Shem and Japheth did not participate in the perverted feelings of the little brother.

Have I participated with others in the inhumanity of destroying the life of a sinner?

The 3 children received the same paternal love, the same education, but in only 1 of them did sin manifest itself in a very marked way than in the others.

Even though they were raised in the same place and under the same conditions as Ham, Shem and Japheth showed an admirable spirit of decency and self-control.

24- Perhaps he knew what happened when he asked why he was almost naked and covered by a towel, perhaps.

25 It is not impossible that Canaan participated in his father's evil deed.

Noah spoke without hard feelings, but rather in a sense of prophecy.

It was a divine prediction revealed to Noah.

Probably Canaan already followed the sins of his father and these sins came to be a very striking trait in the character of his descendants.

26 By having Jehovah as his God, Shem would be the receptacle and heir of all the blessings of salvation that Jehovah gives to his faithful servants.

27- Expansion and prosperity of the Jafetite nations. when the gospel was preached in Greek-Jafetite language-Israel, descendant of Shem, even if subjected to Rome- Jafetite nation, came to be the spiritual conqueror of the Jafetites and thus, figuratively, received them into their tents.

Another example: Rahabba-Canaanite, was received into the fellowship of God's people. The same happened to the Canaanite to whom Jesus healed his daughter. But the Pharisees and scribes of Christ's time - Semites, were harshly reproved by the Savior.

In short: Dog would be a servant of the brothers, providing them with material and physical desires. The Camitas have not been concerned with science, philosophy and theology, but have pursued material interests. It has given many inventors and technicians, as well as workers and workers in general, and their religions are materialistic and carnal.

Without it would lead men to know and serve the true God. The Semites gave the Scriptures, and finally Christ Himself to the world.

Japheth would be blessed physically and mentally. The Jafetites gave science and philosophy to mankind, and in the Christian dispensation they are the successors of Shem in his spiritual function. Creation or evolution, pp. 95 and 96.

The prophecy would inevitably be fulfilled, not because of any artificial resources of coercion imposed by man, but because of the innate nature of each of the 3 racial trunks.

If today his parents analyzed his character, and could prophetically predict how Noah did, what would they say of his fate?

29 Even though he was a righteous and upright man who walked with God, he did not reach the spiritual stature of his great-grandfather, Enoch.

Before his death he came to see the growth of a new generation, but with sadness he beheld that it too was quickly following the wicked inclinations of the evil human heart.

SOURCE: CBASD, vol. 1, pp. 274-280.

AUXILIARY ILLUSTRATION (USE IF NECESSARY).

CONCRETE AND GLASS DISEASES – NO MATTER HOW STRONG OR BALANCED IT MAY BE, A MAN ALWAYS HAS WEAKNESSES THAT ONLY GOD CAN TREAT. HAS IT EVER BEEN TREATED?

Modern buildings with closed windows and artificial ventilation can be dangerous places for people. Poor quality air and toxic substances inside offices provoke allergies and respiratory infections.

There are people who have an allergy to work. Again and again they feel headaches, throat pains, get cold, miss work. Aversion to service? No, to the building. Since 1983, when the World Health Organization coined the term Sick Building Syndrome, these symptoms more akin to an office allergy have come to be regarded as occupational diseases. But the sick are not the people, but the buildings: the evils of the syndrome arise thanks to the contaminated environment inside. Buildings can be unhealthy places—and the fanciest, trendiest tend to be the most dangerous. The WHO estimates that a third of new and refurbished commercial buildings are sick. Inside, invisible, can live poor quality air with inadequate ventilation, toxic products released from carpets and plywood, cigarette smoke, sometimes cold temperature, sometimes too hot.

This dark setting for sensitive noses and lungs began to be drawn about thirty years ago, when the urban landscape was taken, mainly in developed countries, by the so-called closed buildings. Without windows that open to the outside world, on hot days, nor steam heating, on cold days, there is breathed air-conditioned air conditioning that comes out of autos distributed capillarily throughout the premises. "Closed buildings are potentially unhealthy environments for workers in the tertiary sector," says occupational physician Davi Rumel, a professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of São Paulo's School of Public Health. Rumel has spent the last two years in Canada, working on a team of studies on indoor pollution.

Rumel's group was headed by the Canadian Theodor D. Sterling, one of the first researchers to deal with closed buildings, still in the decade of list of diseases in buildings of this type is to leave the hair standing: headache; irritation, dryness, eye pain and tearing; constipation and nasal irritation; pain and irritation in the throat; difficulty breathing and feeling of oppression; fatigue; lethargy; dryness, itching and irritation on the skin; difficulty concentrating.50. A

The syndrome does not choose latitude or longitude; attacks closed buildings, large or small, in any country in the world. Although it was claimed that air control would make the indoor environment free of pollution and dirt, it all worked backwards. The Environmental Protection Agency in the United States has detected that the level of pollution inside some buildings is up to 100 times higher than on the street. Bringing the air into the building requires equipment to vacuum it, which includes a series of filters that retain dirt. But such filters are not changed with the ideal frequency, and so dirty that they stay become a full plate for the proliferation of fungi and bacteria. It is nothing more than the confirmation of a law of ecology: in any new environment with organic substrate conducive to the appearance of life, life will be created.

The distribution autos themselves are rarely cleaned, forming puddles of water inside caused by temperature differences – another moIho in the broth of microorganisms. The situation is made worse by the fact that the air is rarely fully renewed, as this means more energy expenditure, whether in cooling or heating, in the breaths of fresh air so that the temperature is constant inside. In this way, the smoke from a cigarette smoked on the first floor walks days inside the tubes, and can leave the toxic waste ten floors above. Serious the case becomes when the air intake is in absolutely inappropriate places, such as at the level of busy streets or near chimneys.

Such stories can have tragic endings, as happened in a hotel in Philadelphia, in the United States, in 1976. A group of legionnaires attending an American Legion convention fell victim to an outbreak of pneumonia, caused by a strange bacterium. Native to the earth, the bacterium found an environment conducive to surviving in the cooling tower of the ventilation system, where certain algae had proliferated. Because the air intake was located right next to the tower, a condition in which the bacteria were aspirated by the autos and spread through the hotel causing several deaths. Building materials and furniture embedded in new technologies are another problem. Instead of the old and well-known solid wood, plywood appeared as the raw material for tables, partitions and even doors. The boards of these woods are glued with glue based on formaldehyde resin, a highly toxic substance. It is easy to perceive the presence of this glue when the furniture has the intense and penetrating "smell again".

The same glue is used in the installation of carpet, which provoked in the United States an unusual episode. At the Environmental Protection Agency's offices in Washington, the weeks following the installation of a new carpet were an ordeal for employees, who suffered days of dizziness and burning in their lungs from the glue's formaldehyde. They complained until they convinced their environmental protector bosses to protect them from that punishment — and then a deal was struck to remove the new carpet.

Another material that was very fashionable, and turned out to be a beautiful nuisance, was asbestos. For several years, it was employed in buildings as an insulator, until the discovery that asbestos powder was carcinogenic. In addition to being banned in new construction, asbestos was torn from buildings in extensive and costly works. In some places, no reforms have even helped. In the headquarters buildings of the European Community in Brussels, there is still a level of 0.8 asbestos fibers per cubic centimeter of air threatening the health of bureaucrats, when the community's own rules set a limit of 0.0001 fibers per cubic centimeter. With no other remedy in sight, the fate of the sick building will be demolition. In addition to asbestos and formaldehyde, chemicals within the building itself trigger reactions. Substances detached from cleaning products and disinfectants can cause allergy in the most sensitive people. The ozone emitted by photocopying machines can cause headaches, dizziness and fatigue. Fluorescent lamps — used in ten out of ten offices — emit ultraviolet rays, which when chemically reacting with the suspended dust give rise to photochemical smog, a cloud of polluting smoke. As if the rosary of contamination to which closed buildings are subject were not enough, the distribution of space is another potential source of torture. Many enclosed buildings are huge buildings, where for economic reasons each and every square centimeter is used. Therefore, the workers gather, sometimes installed on huge floors, shredded by partitions separating people. The most unfortunate, who have been placed there in the middle, surrounded by screens, are so far from the windows that they do not know whether it rains or is sunny. The feeling of claustrophobia and isolation is inevitable. "I know people who leave the office to go 'take a breath' on the street," says doctor Davi Rumel, with a hint of irony.

There are those who try to save themselves from suffocation by taking a little air outside, but most people sensitive to this closure end up changing jobs or somatizing – this is when irritations and diseases in the eyes and airways arise. Even those who work near windows that do not open do not have, like others, the slightest control over the temperature, ventilation or lighting of their workplace. "It's a straitjacket," Rumel said. The central air conditioning system, when it distributes the air at the same temperature to all environments, ignores whether on one side of the building there is sun all day, heating that side, while the other gets colder. If there was decentralization, the folks on the hot side would simply open the windows, while the folks on the icy side would keep them closed. The drama of the enclosed building, for Rumel, is that no one can adapt the environment to personal needs. He himself, installed in his small, crowded room in the old Public Health building, is an example of how this balance can be achieved. From its window, on the first floor, you can see the trees of the immense garden. Although the summer afternoon of São Paulo is very hot, the window remains closed, because of the noise coming from the subway works on the avenue opposite. In this case, simply turn on the fan leaning against a corner to better withstand the heat. "In Alaska, it's even justified to build a closed building," Rumel rambles. "But I am against importing this into Brazil a country with a mild climate. " Although virtually all buildings have a cure, once the disease is diagnosed, it is more productive to prevent than to apply the drugs later. By then, most employees will have already suffered the symptoms and, worse, will have missed work much more than if they lived in a healthy environment. Specialists from the US company Healthy Buildings International, a forerunner in the diagnosis and treatment of sick buildings, seek the focus of diseases especially in the inadequate maintenance of facilities. In order to be able to live well in an office, a minimum of air per hour per person is advised. In one hour, the HVAC system should perform four to six total air renewals. The lighting should be equivalent to a 60-watt lamp located at a height, while the interior temperature should fluctuate between 20 and 24 degrees in winter, and between 23 and 26 degrees in summer. Better than that, just an open building. 34 metros cúbicos35 centímetros

The origin of evils

68% Inadequate ventilation (poor air circulation, inadequate fresh air supply, poor humidity and temperature control

10% External contamination (vehicle exhaust gas

5% Contamination of indoor environment (cigarette smoke, photocopiers

2% Building materials (glue formaldehyde)

15% Unknown cause

Superinteresting, February 1992.

SOURCE

Patriarchs and Prophets. Brazilian Publishing Cover, Tatuí SP. Ellen G. White (1927-1915).

Youth Inspiration. Casa Publicadora Brasileira, Tatuí-SP, Brazil. Editions from 1977 to 2005.

SDABC - Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary. Brazilian Publishing Cover, Tatuí SP.

Pr. Marcelo Augusto de Carvalho, 2002 São Paulo SP Brazil

8

WHEN TO GO UP IS TO GO DOWN

MARCELO AUGUSTO DE CARVALHO

TOP

GENESIS 10

It is an extraordinarily accurate historical document. In no other source is there a catalogue of ancient nations which has such antiquity and which covers as much as this. Therein lies the link between the historical nations of antiquity, and the prehistoric times of Noah and the antediluvians.

- Noah's family landed from the ark on Mount Ararat near the headwaters of the Euphrates. It seems that he migrated, back, in 804 kma southeasterly direction, and settled in Babylon, his home from before the flood. One hundred years later, it dispersed with the confusion of languages. Bible Manual, 80.

In a nutshell, here is the family tree of nations:

JAPHETH

- The Japhesites headed north and settled in regions around the Black and Caspian Seas (present-day Russia). They became the progenitors of the great Caucasian races of Europe and Asia.

Gomer: Cimmer, Germany.

Magogue: Georgia.

Madai: Average.

Javan: Ionia.

Tubal: Tobolsque.

Meshech: Muscovy.

Strips: Thrace.

- In general they are known as the white-skinned peoples, the Indo-Europeans.

WITHOUT

- The Semites stayed in the northern part of the Euphrates valley and its shores, giving rise to the Jews, Assyrians, Elamites and other peoples of the Middle East.

Elam: Persia.

Assur: Assyria.

Lude: Lydia.

Aram: Syria.

Arphaxad: Israel, children of Abraham.

- In general they are known as the sunburned peoples of the desert, the Arabs, Palestinians and Jews.

DOG

- The Camitas headed south into southern and central Arabia, Egypt, the eastern Mediterranean coast and eastern Africa. And Canaan and his descendants settled in the land that bore his name.

Cush: Ethiopia.

Mizraim: Egypt.

Pute: Libya.

Canaan: the Canaanites.

- They are generally known as the black, yellow-skinned peoples, the Egyptians, and the Canaanites.

THERE'S NO POINT IN HAVING TALENTS AND FAME IF YOU DON'T FULFILL GOD'S PLANS!

8-12: Nimrod.

- He was the most eminent leader of the 400 years between the flood and Abraham. Dog's grandson, born shortly after the flood, may have lived the entire period. He was a super entrepreneur.

- His fame as a "mighty hunter" came from him being the protector of the people, at a time when ferocious animals were a constant threat of death.

- In the ambition to control the multiplication and rapid dispersal of the race, he assumed the direction of the construction of the tower of Babel. After the confusion of languages, it seems that he continued the work of the city of Babylon. And he built 3 more nearby cities: Yereke, Akkad, and Calneh, and consolidated them into a kingdom under his rule.

- Babylon was long known as the "Country of Nimrod", and he was later immortalized as the god of this city.

- Still aiming to control the race that always dispersed, Nimrod headed further north and founded Nineveh, which along with Babylon, controlled the world for many centuries. Bible Manual, 81-82.482 km

- Nimrod defied God with his actions, seeking to obstruct the sacred divine purposes for the human race of his time and future. CBASD, vol. 1, pp. 287.

GENESIS 11.

1- A single language indicates not only the same language but also the absence of different dialects. There was the same pronunciation and vocabulary of this universal language.

- A common language is a powerful stimulus that promotes unity of thought and action. This makes us think that it is very good to have people who speak the same language in a Christian congregation, and not that many or all speak strange or different "tongues". This is the ideal plan of the Creator.

GIFT OF TONGUES: NOT AN ORIGINAL PLAN OF THE CREATOR, BUT THE RESULT OF HUMAN DISOBEDIENCE. PLAN B.

2- For some time the descendants of Noah continued to dwell among the mountains where the ark rested. However, the mountain regions of Ararat did not adapt well to agricultural purposes. And by increasing the number of people, apostasy determined the division. These apostates resolved to separate themselves from the worshippers of god, and so they traveled to the plain of Shinar. They were attracted to this place because of its beauty and soil fertility. PP 113.

- There they resolved to build a city, and in it a tower of such stupendous height that it was to fulfill these objectives:

make it a wonder of the world.

to prevent the people from spreading far away, in colonies.

To remain as a monument of the power and wisdom of its builders, perpetuating its fame until the last generations.

Ensure your safety in case of another flood. They believed that if the tower were to be at a higher height than the floodwaters reached, they would be forever saved from another catastrophe.

Ascending to the region of the clouds, they hoped to ascertain the cause of the flood.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING THERE? TOO MUCH CURIOSITY ALWAYS KILLS! THERE ARE PLACES WE DON'T NEED TO KNOW! IF WE WERE OBEDIENT, WE WOULDN'T HAVE TO ANSWER SO MANY QUESTIONS THAT WE USE TO HIDE OUR REBELLIOUS TEMPER.

3- The region of Babylon had almost no stones, but it had a lot of land to make tiles and bricks. These were dried in the sun or cooked on fire.

- Since that time, oil and its derivatives have been very common in the Persian Gulf, until the present day. Bitumen is so adhesive to bricks that it becomes almost impossible to detach the bricks from a building made in this way. CBASD 296.

4- Cities have always been obstacles to the original plan of the Creator. Why?

a) the concentration of human beings has always fostered idleness, immorality, and other vices.

b) cities have been hotbeds of delinquency, for in such environments Satan finds less resistance to his attacks than in rural communities, where people live in contact with nature.

CITIES

- Let us not be scattered - according to the Creator, men should preserve unity through the bond to true religion. When idolatry and polytheism broke this bond, they lost unity, religion, and the spirit of brotherhood.

Only true worship will unite all peoples, all people, all churches. This is the message of the 3 angels of Revelation 14. And when there is no right worship, there is division in God's church. CBASD, vol. 1, pp. 297.

God comes down to see! No secret is hidden from him.

The relative order that exists in today's society is due to God's moderating power among men. Satan's power is limited.

Am I the salt of the earth, the one for whom the ES moderates corruption and sin in the world?

God did not want to totally destroy mankind again. That is why he decided to repress sin before the situation reached the antediluvian dimensions.

- By the confusion of languages and the division of society into many groups, God prevented a global action of future rebellion. That is why, after Rome, He no longer allowed mankind to be controlled by a world emperor.

- The different languages and nationalities prevent the malevolent plans of men, but not those of God toward His people. Even in different languages and ways, the faith of Christians and correct worship unite them as brothers and sisters in the same language: Jesus Christ.

- Partially complete, part of the tower was occupied as housing for its builders.

- Other compartments, splendidly rigged and ornate, were dedicated to their idols. PP 113.

- But angels were sent to reduce such a work to nothing. As the tower was very high, it took men halfway through the structure who passed the message from the masons to the servers there at the base. Thus passing the warnings to each other, the language was confused.

- In their anger and disappointment, they reproached each other, to the point of contention and carnage.

- At these moments, lightning bolts from the sky broke the top of the tower, throwing it to the ground.

- Result: those who understood each other's speech came together in groups, some going to one side, and others to another. PP 114.

OFTEN THE ONLY SOLUTION FOR A CHURCH, FRIENDS, OR FAMILY IS RELATIVE SEPARATION.

- The confusion of languages occurred in the Fourth generation after the flood, 101 years after this event, and 326 years before Abraham's call. Bible Manual, 83.

- The work of the tower of Babel was temporarily suspended; soon he was restarted by those who remained in Babylon; the tower became the center around which the city of Babylon was built. Bible Manual, 83.

12- Before Noah, the average age of childbearing had been 117 years. After the flood it was 35 years. The same decrease occurred with the average total lifespan. Noah lived 950 years, without 600, and Noah's grandson, Arphaxad, only 438. And 9 generations after Noah, Nahor, Abraham's grandfather lived only 148 years. Why?

The tremendous climatic difference that occurred after the flood, directly affecting all aspects of the generation of human health.

MAN BEGAN TO USE MEAT AS FOOD. WE SEE HERE THE IMPORTANCE OF THE HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT AND THE BALANCED DIET THAT WE NEED TO ADOPT TO HAVE A LONG AND HEALTHY LIFE.

26- From the other biblical references to the chronology of Abraham's family, we understand that, in order of age, they came: Haram, Nahor and Abram, who was born when his father was 130 years old.

27- So far Moses narrates the history of mankind. From chapter 12 onwards he refers exclusively to the history of God's chosen family: Israel.

28- Decadence: for the first time it is reported that a son dies before his father!

LOOKING FOR THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE

Genesis 11:1-9.

In this tower of Babel called Earth there are about three thousand different languages . But exchange between peoples increasingly requires universal communication. And it has only been possible to date in specific fields, such as music and mathematics. The most far-reaching attempts were unsuccessful.

In the century 21, a requirement of a common language among peoples will be an imperative necessity. The mastery of a universal language to communicate will no longer be the privilege of only those who have greater access to culture. It has not yet been decided what this language will be. It is only known that it should have no borders, besides being thought for the next and not for this generation.

The UN has five official languages: English, Spanish, Russian, Chinese and French; and their translators do not account for the mountains of papers accumulated on their desks. Those who, because of work, are forced to travel through several countries, end up learning several languages. But this circumstance, in general, implies a very superficial knowledge. Defending oneself is not dominating. For this reason, it is even possible to write an encyclopedia with the errors of interpretation committed, including in the diplomatic area.

On his visit to Moscow last May, Spain's English-speaking Foreign Minister Fernando Morán made a gaffe. When a journalist asked him in English if he had dealt with the problem of dissident Andrei Sakharov with the Soviet authorities, he replied that "the subject of the Sahara was not included in the talks." Another example: a few months ago, the Spanish press published the news "food poisoning kills thousands of Turks." In reality, the victims were not Turks, but turkeys. They translated the word turkeys (in English, turkeys) by Turks (in English, turks). There are approximately three thousand languages on the planet. About a hundred are used by more than a million people. Half of the world's population communicates in Chinese, English, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Hindu and Portuguese. International trade, tourism, politics, scientific discoveries have forced the intercommunication between men and cultures and distinct linguistic areas. It is already necessary to introduce a language for humanity. However, this idea, of indisputable advantages, is not so easy to put into practice.

English, due to the political and economic predominance of the United States, has become an almost universal language. One in four inhabitants of the planet can understand themselves, more or less well, in this language. But the Chinese (more than a billion inhabitants) and the Soviets (277 million) refuse to get it right; and the two countries account for more than a quarter of the world's population. This circumstance led philologists to consider that only a new language would leave aside political and social connotations, since it would belong to everyone and to no one at the same time. It does not seem absurd, however, the implantation of a language invented when there are more than three thousand spoken. Years ago, the proposal was put forward to elect the Finnish or the nayatl (Aztec), to avoid resentment and power struggles. The suggestion, however, was not taken into consideration.

Attempts to manufacture an artificial means of expression are ancient. The first approximations produced catalogue-languages, useless for human communication. A good example of this is the invention of the Scotsman Dalgamo, composed of words divided into parts: n would be equivalent to everything that referred to living beings; in combination with the Greek letter eta would form the concept of animals; completed with the k, four-legged animals. But a living language is never so logical, so closed, so regulated. That is why the fantasy of a Frenchman named François Sudre, who in 1817 created the Solresol, a method based on solfege, did not triumph: C meant yes; defendant era and; mi became or etc. The word solasi, i.e. three ascending tones, would indicate ascent, and thus a variety of sentences would be constructed. This language would also allow singing, which excited many of Sudre's contemporary intellectuals; the poet Victor Hugo and Emperor Napoleon III were his unconditional fans. Solresol is today a simple curiosity of the History of Linguistics.

In addition to artificial languages, other attempts arose from the combination of living languages. In the year 1879, the German Monsignor Johan Martin Schleyer invented an original system, called Volapuk, which, at first, looked like a revolution. Similar in its structure to the Hungarian and Turkish, it achieved great success at the end of the last century. 316 grammars were published, translated into 25 languages; 25 magazines and 283 clubs were dedicated to the promotion of the language.

This diffusion, however, was blocked by Schleyer himself. During a congress, several delegates proposed introducing grammatical changes. Schleyer violently refused them, arguing that this was his language and had not authorized anyone to make modifications. How can a medium of expression be claimed to belong to only one person? This situation is even more incongruous when it comes to a universal language model.

Fortunately, many of the attempts at language creation did not go ahead. This is what happened to the Tutonic, a mixture of a bad Englishman and a bad German, born at the end of the last century and killed at the beginning of it. Several linguistic innovations also emerged, among them one made from the combination of classical Greek, Latin and Chinese. In the United States, the idea arose to promote a basic English, composed of 850 words; the idea did not prosper because its proponents forgot that it was the mother tongue of more than two hundred million people who would have a richer vocabulary, with expressions incomprehensible to practitioners of the reduced version.

Only Esperanto, one of the invented languages, will surpass one hundred years of life. Created by the Polish ophthalmologist Ludwig Leizer Zamenhof in 1887, it is formed by the synthesis of several European languages. All of his grammar comes down to sixteen rules, which ensures learning within a year. From comparative experiences, Esperanto requires one-third of the time needed to learn a language like French. Currently, it is employed, with varying degrees of perfection, by ten million people all over the planet. A large number of novels and plays were originally written in Esperanto, into which some ten thousand works of universal literature have been translated. Radio stations in Vienna, Warsaw, Beijing, Bern, Rome, Sofia and Zagreb broadcast programs in Esperanto. And the international telegraphy system accepts it as a means of communication along with living languages and Latin.

Despite everything, Esperanto has not achieved its goal and is not even on its way to doing so. Most living languages can be considered much more universal, even if they have slower learning. Some philologists have tried to explain the limited acceptance of Esperanto with phonetic reasons. They said that pronunciation was complicated for people from certain regions. For example, the inhabitants of the South Pacific would have enormous difficulty pronouncing groupings of letters such as sp, st, sch; the Chinese fight with the r, the Japanese with the l. But in what language does this not happen? Only when phonetics is taught from childhood is it possible to overcome this barrier.

The real reason lies in the fact that countries that have economic and political predominance impose their language on the areas in which they exert influence. That is why English has become the Esperanto of the Western world. Although its use is restricted to certain countries, such is its spread that, within a decade, young people from all the industrialized countries of the West will be able to communicate smoothly in this language. In fact, in the more developed nations of Europe, younger generations, with an average cultural level, practice it as a second language.

What is intended, however, is not a Western language, but a world one. And in large regions of the Earth one does not perceive any inclination by English. Therefore, the task still lies ahead of us to elect it universal language and to make the commitment to teach it as the first foreign language to all the children of the world. According to psychological and linguistic studies, the appropriate age to study a second language is around six years. Despite this, the children of the future will never become bilingual. Among other reasons why pure bilingualism does not exist. In cases where the father speaks a different language or the family has emigrated to another country, the child unconsciously establishes a separation between the two languages: the mother tongue is received with more emotion while the paternal or the new country allows him to think in a more mature and intellectualized way. The possibility of a linguistic conflict between the first and second languages between the vernacular and the foreign language can cause learning delays, especially if teaching starts early. It is also not possible to forget that the richness of thought goes hand in hand with that of language.

The Soviet dictator Stalin dreamed that when the world communist revolution was completed, all men would speak Russian. No one would be pressured to do so. But he was convinced that the communist ideal would establish such close ties in humanity that the various languages of the earth would result in a single one. Stalin's utopian desires aside, what is certain is that there are some examples of universal language in the field of culture and science. Think of music, mathematics, chemical formulas. All mathematicians and all chemists are able to understand the results of their colleagues' work, whatever the countries of origin. All musicians are able to write, read and interpret any score. We are beginning a new era in which a basis of understanding becomes more necessary than ever: the age of electronics, which will only reach fullness when all computers express themselves with the same language.

A team of American experts in Semiotics has begun to study a signaling system for the future. The method of identification should be understandable in any human language. It is a government program that aims to make all the inhabitants of the planet know how to recognize radioactive waste that the atomic industry houses under the surface. The person responsible for the project is Thomas Sebeok, president of the International Semiotic Association, specialized in the theme of animal and human communication.

To be able to talk to all the inhabitants of the Earth. Understand any foreigner. The old dream of humanity. In times past, the cosmopolitan language was Latin; with it were expressed the most cultured people, the statesmen, the Church. In the United States, a lot of importance is given to learning Chinese. Man conquered space and taught computers to speak, but he did not surpass the biblical story of the tower of Babel.

SuperInteressante, from Editora Abril (São Paulo/SP), in October 1987.

PLEA

As Christians, we know that God's will prevail forever. He wants nations to have barriers of access to each other, both geographical, language, culture, customs, etc. These barriers have limited the growth of evil and universal destruction. Therefore, God will retain his limits. We also know that these attempts point to a well-known period of ours: religious persecution. By standardizing humanity on one thought, it will become easier for persecutors to find dissidents and thus annihilate them. As Luke told us, when we know these facts we must lift our heads to heaven and wait for Christ's return for He will soon come.

SOURCE

Patriarchs and Prophets. Brazilian Publishing Cover, Tatuí SP. Ellen G. White (1927-1915).

Youth Inspiration. Casa Publicadora Brasileira, Tatuí-SP, Brazil. Editions from 1977 to 2005.

SDABC - Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary. Brazilian Publishing Cover, Tatuí SP.

Pr. Marcelo Augusto de Carvalho, 2002 São Paulo SP Brazil

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