Ancient end times timeline

A hint of an ancient timeline

When one studies the ten generations from Adam to Noah, there is a hint of an ancient timeline that perhaps pertains to the very end of time that we find ourselves in right now.  We are nearly at the end of a 6000-year timeline since creation which early church fathers believed was the key to God’s creation week being replicated in terms of 1000 years = 1 day.  At the end of 6000 years (the sixth day), civilisation as we now know will come to a conclusion which will then usher in a final 1000 year millennial ‘Sabbath rest day’ for the earth and mankind.  The ancient timeline that I am talking about is revealed in the meanings of the names of four godly men in that first generation: Seth; Enosh; Enoch; and Noah.  That covers 1650 years until the flood which culminated in the first world-wide judgment by water.  We are about to enter into a second and final world-wide judgment by fire.  Could it be that these four ancient men show us a sequence that pertains to us right now as we enter into a final seven year period known as the tribulation?  I think so.

1. Seth

It starts with Seth whose name means ‘granted’ which is evident in the naming of Seth by Eve.¹  God had granted her another child to replace Abel who was murdered by his brother Cain.  This can be represented by the word ‘remnant’.  God works with the remnants and we see this continually throughout history with the Jews.  Seth was the one man that God used, the remnant, whose ancestor would be the Saviour Jesus Christ some 4000 years later who would crush the head of the serpent.²  Satan tries to obfuscate God’s plan of the promised Redeemer but to no avail because God granted Seth to be born.  Nothing can hinder God from doing what He pleases–He can use the few or many to accomplish His will.³  This gives us the first step in our ancient end times timeline.  Just as God used the remnant of Seth’s line to accomplish His purposes we know that Jesus tells us in Matt. 24:10 that many will turn away from the faith in that final seven year period because of the increase of wickedness and the increase of persecution of Christians.  There will be a remnant of course, there always has been.  The faithful ones, the ones who hold onto their faith and endure to the end will be saved.

2. Enosh

The next stage in the ancient end times timeline is the godly man, Enosh, whose name means ‘mortal’ or ‘frail’.  We learn in Gen. 4:26 that at that time there was a ‘revival’ in a sense with men beginning to call upon the name of the Lord.  Whilst there was only a remnant who trusted in God, God was able to bring about a revival.  Is this a harbinger of the end times to come that God will bring about a revival?  Many think so and I have always remained doubtful of an end times revival because of the Great Apostasy and falling away mentioned by Paul. ⁴  But we do know that there will be a revival in Israel as the Old Testament sacrificial system will be re-instituted and there will be a turning back to the old Mosaic Law⁵ started by the two witnesses, one of which is often predicted to be the ancient prophet Elijah. 

Malachi 4:5 says that the prophet Elijah will be sent by God before the great and dreadful Day of the Lord, right at the end of days.  He will have a restoration ministry in turning the hearts of the fathers to their children and vice a versa.  The extra-biblical book Sirach  says, concerning Elijah, that he will have a revival or restoration ministry.⁶  We also know that with great persecution will come great opportunity with the two witnesses in the first half preaching and proclaiming the Word of God.  Although they will be eventually killed by the Beast, there will still be 1260 days of ministry along with faithful Christians.

3. Enoch

The third link in the chain in our ancient end times timeline is the godly man, Enoch, whose name means “dedicated” which is another way of saying that he was faithful.  In fact he was so faithful or dedicated that God took him away and he was no more–a picture of the rapture to come of the faithful or perhaps the five wise virgins.  There is no doubt that the church will be decimated during this time of great trouble and persecution but the few faithful will escape the trouble and finally be raptured just before Christ returns in glory immediately after the tribulation of those days.⁷  This is something that we can look forward to because this is the time of our resurrection and receiving of our new bodies.  Further proof of the link between Enoch and the end times is that Enoch was a preacher of the final judgment to come as described in Jude 14-15.  He certainly knew about the end times.  Enoch was ‘raptured’ if you like or taken away after 365 years because he believed God.⁸

4. Noah

The final hint that these four godly men give of the seven year end times timeline is provided by Noah whose name means ‘comfort’ or ‘rest’.⁹  In the end when Jesus comes back after the remnant have survived, after the revival and great harvest of souls, after the rapture of the faithful, there will finally be rest.  Noah was the last man before world wide judgment came in the form of a flood.  When Jesus comes to finally defeat the beast and false prophet and the armies of the world at Armageddon there will be rest and comfort¹⁰ as we dwell with God in His holy city.

Rapture comes just before rest

To be able to get through to the end and find rest, the advice is repeated a few times in the book of Revelation:  “this calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints.”  We are headed for crazy times and these four godly men show us the way.  An important take-away to note is that the rapture occurs just before the rest which perfectly fits into the post-tribulational rapture theory.  Enoch is not the first godly man in the sequence but he comes just before Noah.  Food for thought.

Listen to a complete sermon on this subject in my Genesis series entitled “Four godly men” (Sermon #7).