Noah's Prophecy (Shem And Japheth)

A few random thoughts following the "Fallen Angels, Nephilim, And The Shem" piece published about an hour ago.

I recalled Genesis 9:27 that reads, "God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant." I then cross-referenced this with Genesis 10:2 that says, "The sons of Japheth were Gomer and Magog and Madai and Javan and Tubal and Meshech and Tiras" and Isaiah 66:19 that reads, "I will set a sign among them and will send survivors from them to the nations: Tarshish, Put, Lud, Meshech, Rosh, Tubal and Javan, to the distant coastlands that have neither heard My fame nor seen My glory. And they will declare My glory among the nations."

Not exactly sure what I'm getting at (if anything) by bringing that up. Just another observation. As I dug a little deeper, however, I began to see what I believe to be another connection in this web of truth that's being revealed as the rest of the world spins out of control.


NOAH'S PROPHECY (SHEM AND JAPHETH)


Yes, Noah spoke words of prophecy. This was news to me. I wondered if this might have any connection to the things presented in this forum so I decided to sniff around a little bit. Noah's Prophecy is provided to us when he speaks to his sons. Instead of making an observation regarding Ham, Noah makes the following pronouncement:

Genesis 9:25-27 - - "Cursed be Canaan: a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren And he said Blessed be Yahweh the Elohim of Shem: and Canaan shall be his servant. Elohim shall enlarge (Hebrew: yapth ‘persuade’) Japheth and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem: and Canaan shall be his servant."

This verse has been quoted as an explanation of the subjection of Africa, and the slavery associated with that subjection. However on examination this verse has nothing to say about Africa. It must be pointed out that it does not say "Cursed be Ham" either. And, in any case, Ham’s descendants include Cush and from Cush comes Nimrod and the building of Babel and Nineveh, which are not in Africa.

So who is Canaan? In Genesis chapter 10 we are told who Canaan’s descendants are and also where they live. Canaan’s sons are Sidon and Heth, and the Jebusite, Amorite, Girgashite, Hivite, Arkite, Sinite, Arvadite, Zemarite and the Hamathite. It notes that afterwards they spread abroad. However, the land of the Canaanite was defined as being from Sidon (near Gerar) to Gaza and From Sodom to Lasha. So the subject of the curse is firmly located in the land of Canaan, later occupied by Israel, sometime called Palestine and now again called Israel.

We see that the scriptures are concerned with that small area of land at the bridgehead of the continents in the Middle East. This passage is solely concerned with the national struggles over the Land of Israel.


SHEM AND JAPHETH IN ISRAEL


Having established these verses are about events located in the Land of Israel, we can re-examine what is actually said. Verse 26 is quite remarkable. It says that through Shem would come the blessing of Yahweh Elohim. This is remarkable for this was said by Noah before the birth of Abraham. Even though it was formally recorded by Moses later, we have now some 4,000 years of history showing that indeed from Shem are the people of The Book. We also have the undoubted history of the occupation of the land of the Canaanites by the Israelites and their subjection of those people called the Canaanites. And just in case we missed the point of who Shem is, Genesis Chapter 11 continues with the descendants of Shem to Abraham and in Chapter 12 Abraham is given an updated version of the blessing.

When we come to what Noah says regarding Japheth (verse 27) we see something even more remarkable. In the Hebrew there is a play on the name of Japheth, which means "expansion." It says "Japheth (expansion) the Mighty Ones shall enlarge and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem," but the word "enlarge" yapth also means "entice" or "persuade," and is translated as that in 1 Kings 22:20.

Chapter 10 identifies Japheth as Gomer and Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech and Tiras. Gomer’s sons included Togarmah, and Javan’s sons include Tarshish, Kittim and Dodanim. And it says, “and by these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands” (verse 5). In other words, the descendants of Japheth at that time established many nations to the edges unlike the Hamites and Shemites who stayed in the Middle East area.

This list of names reads like the list of nations in Ezekiel chapter 38! And it is quite remarkable that Ezekiel 38 predicts, just as Noah did, that Northern Gog’s bands (or the Japhethites) would with "hooks" or by persuasion be brought into the Land of Israel/Canaan! The prophet Daniel, who calls Gog the "king of the North," implies the persuasion at "the time of the end" will come after another party styled "the king of the South" had "pushed at" the occupants of the Middle East.

Certainly, it was the persuasion of World War I that brought Britain (a Japhethite from the "isles") to occupy the "tents of Shem" or the Middle East area and subject the Palestinian/ Canaanite to rule until the Israelis declared Independence (The Shemites) in 1948. Not only that, but Britain and their allies still have military bases in the Middle East, placing them firmly in the "tents" or dwelling place of Shem. But the occupation by Japhethites was already well established. There is an Orthodox Christian quarter in Jerusalem, and it has been there for hundreds of years.

The passage says also that the Canaanite would be Japheth’s servant. There is no doubt looking at Middle East politics of the last 100 years that the Northern Gentile nations have had an inordinate amount of power over the fate of the Canaanite or Palestinian. Some examples include the capture of Jerusalem in 1917 and the Balfour Declaration, the British sponsored Partition plan of 1947-48, the numerous United Nations resolutions regarding Israel and even the Suez invasion by Britain and France in 1956. More recently there are the European attempts to broker peace and determine the Canaanite’s fate. We have even the Americans proposing a “roadmap to peace”, really a road into the tents of Shem!

Here's where things get really interesting. It is to be noted that an order of events is implied. First Canaan was to be cursed, and that happened, due to their own wickedness, then Shem is to subject Canaan, as the Israelites did after coming out of Egypt until the Babylonian captivity. Then Japheth is to be persuaded to come into the tents of Shem, as the European has since Alexander the Great to make "Canaan" his servant. The ultimate fulfilment of Noah’s prophecy will, of course, come with the fulfilment of Ezekiel’s prophecy in Chapters 38-39.

In conclusion, this prophecy of Noah is about the Land of Canaan or Israel. Those who occupy it as "Canaan" are cursed. For it is only through specific descendants of Shem that blessing comes, and it is the role of the Gentile nations, the Japhethites, to be persuaded to occupy the tents of Shem and subject the Canaanite.


SHEM AND JAPHETH IN THE LATTER DAYS


In some translations, the "men of renown" may be more accurately rendered as "the people of the shem." What, then, is the "shem"? Zecharia Sitchin writes: "The persistence of biblical translators to employ 'name' wherever they encounter 'shem' has ignored a farsighted study published more than a century ago by G. M. Redslob…in which he correctly pointed out that the term shem and the term shamaim ('heaven') stem from the root word 'shamah,' meaning 'that which is highward'" (The 12th Planet, pp.147-8).

The shem was also closely linked with fire and a stone; the shem, thus, was a "highward fire-stone." It is, in other words, apparently a reference to a meteorite. This is strongly corroborated by the fact that: "Shems were particularly associated with something called 'an-na,' which meant 'heavenly stone,' a term that was also used to define a shining metal. The use of the word shem in respect of its ‘shining’ aspect is apparent in the alternative name for Prince Utu, brother of Inanna…His epithet was Shem-esh: the Shining One" (Laurence Gardner, Genesis of the Grail Kings, p.120).

So, what we have here is that the shem was a "heavenly shining fire-stone" while the Nephilim, i.e. the offspring of the Fallen Angels (also called the "Shining Ones"), were the "people of the shem."

Yahweh was to be the Mighty One of the Shemites. Shem means "name" or those of the name. However, though Japheth was not the seed, the Japhethites had an important role in Yahweh’s purpose with the Earth. Genesis says of Japhethites that by them were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands. Historians locating the names place Japheth in Europe. Truly from the Japhetites we have empire builders, those that "expand" as Japheth means, and make their dwelling in the tents of others. Alexander the Great, was a Macedonian (a Japhetite), and he led the Greeks! The Romans arguably are Japhethites and they conquered Britain!

It is Japheth in recent history that has marked the lines on the map and carved up the world between them. In 1815, the "Big Four" determining the fate of nations were Russia, Austria, Prussia, and Britian. In 1918, at Versailles, the great powers ordering the world were the United States, Britain, and France. Russia, of course, being in revolution. The post World War II world was shaped at Teheran, Yalta, and Potsdam by the U.S., Britain, France and the USSR, and they kept on shaping the world through the new United Nations, specifically, the Middle East. All these are Japheth fulfilling their role assigned at the beginning of the post Flood era, around 2500 BC. As Daniel writes, “the Most High rules in the kingdoms of men” (Daniel 4:17).

In the period from 1798 to 1948, there was an intensive focus of great European power involvement in the Middle East. This involvement was indeed that of a considerably enlarged Japheth, the Europeans, physically occupying the tents of Shem, the Middle East, and in the process subjugating the inhabitants of Canaan, called Palestine.

Crombie (1988) in his book "Anzacs, Empires and Israel's Restoration," presents an account of this involvement of the European powers in Israel, with a focus on the significant outcomes of the ANZAC involvement there. Crombie points out that at no time was it in the European powers' intent to help establish the state of Israel and that their involvement was due often self interest. However, he argues that from the point of view of an evangelical Christian who literally believes in a Messianic return to Jerusalem, many actions of the European powers had consequences that incrementally put us on the path to the end times and Second Coming.

Crombie shows how Evangelicals, mostly of the British Commonwealth, who believed in the establishment of the state of Israel, actively influenced events. Initially, people such as Joseph Mede, Samuel Lee, and later the Baptist Minister James Bicheno, wrote articles predicting the restoration of Israel as a prerequisite for the return of Messiah. Missionary societies even went so far as to persuade Britain to set up a consulate in Jerusalem, which finally occurred in 1838.

Though Crombie does not mention it, John Thomas' work "Elpis Israel" would have contributed. By the mid 1800's, these ideas became so influential they affected even the Anglicans. As it seemed Britain was to be drawn into the Middle East to protect her interests, people such as Lord Palmerston, began proposing plans for a Jewish homeland. The British interest in the Bible prompted archaeological expeditions, which, in turn, prompted interest in the Bible. At this time, it was the British evangelicals that were encouraging Jews to begin the work of restoration. In fact, it seems they were leading and influencing Jewish thinking.

Gilbert (1998) in "Israel: A History" states that the most quoted and influential source of the ideal of a Jewish nation was the British writer George Eliot's book "Daniel Deronda" of 1876 that inspired many Jews. Eliot had been inspired by evangelical thinking, which had been inspired by a return to a literal understanding of the role of the Jews in the prophecy of the Bible, which was due to the rejection of Catholicism. In the wholehearted embracing of the ideal of a Jewish homeland by the sons of Japheth and their active support for a nation which was not their own, that of Israel, we see them ideologically "dwelling" in the tents of Shem.


SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE OF DWELLING IN THE TENTS OF SHEM


So, which is it? Is "shem" synonymous with "name" or "shining ones" or "a heavenly shining fire stone" or all of the above?

If we are to always employ the word "name" wherever we come across "shem" in the Bible then it seems that through the Japhethite empire, building Yahweh’s name and spreading His message has been the primary purpose, and that it has been spread to all the isles of the Gentiles. To the Japhetites, was given the task of conquering to make evangelizing "the name" and spreading of His Word possible.

Could this be related to the Great Commission? If so, perhaps the reason for me writing about this now is because we are almost at the point where the Gospel has been preached to every living creature. Why is that significant? Because Jesus said Himself that the end will not come until everyone has heard the Gospel!

Mark 16:15 - - "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature."

Matthew 24:14 - - "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come."

On the flip side, if we are to always employ the word/phrase "shining ones" or "a heavenly shining fire stone" and think of the Fallen Angels and/or Nephilim wherever we come across "shem" in the Bible then it seems that perhaps through the Japhethite empire, Satan has been building his corrupt, worldly empire, orchestrating historical events throughout generations in order to foster the type of conditions he needed to allow for the eventual appearance, rise, and rule of the Antichrist (him in human form on this planet). In that sense, if we are to interpret things this way then maybe God is trying to tell us that this process is almost complete, and that the Antichrist's appearance in the world is imminent!

If you really want to blow your mind, consider how we also spent some time discussing the dual nature of things found in the Bible especially in regards to the various end times prophecies. Now, with that fresh in your mind, it's not too hard to see Noah's prophecy as having a future dual fulfillment - - that is, that it can refer not only to the imminent completion of Jesus's Great Commission and the resulting beginning of the end, but also the imminent appearance of the Antichrist and the beginning of Daniel's 70th Week!!! Isn't it absolutely amazing that with all this talk of our "true origins" having their "ancestral roots in stars" we are studying the very passages of Scripture that gave us a clear understanding of how the history of the nations of the world would unfold!?! Only in God's perfect timing and unfathomable nature does something like that ever happen!

Quite a lot for us to contemplate, but I believe we're on to something here. To quickly recap, this remarkable pronouncement (Noah's Prophecy) is the first recorded prophecy of Holy Scripture by human lips (the proto-evangelium was a prophecy uttered by the divine mouth directly), and speaks of the Lord God of Shem. It is the first time that God identifies Himself with a particular man. The children of Ham and not Japheth were the first civilizers and masters of the world. The cradle of culture stood in Egypt, Phoenicia, and Babylon. The day when the sons of Japheth would come to the front was much later. The "enlargement" promised to Japheth did not begin until the Persian Cyrus began his conquering career which started the political and militaristic hegemony of the Aryan race until our present day.

If we take a closer look at the Book of Genesis involving Noah and apply a critical eye we see that (in the emerging out of the Ark) from Noah and his sons the human family started out anew. The new beginning promised well. God entered into a covenant with Noah, declaring that the Earth should not again be destroyed by a flood. Thus, did the Lord set the heart of His creatures at rest. Then, we learned that "God blessed Noah and his sons"; that He caused the fear and dread of man to fall upon every beast of the field, and "delivered" all the lower orders of creation into his hands. Further, we discovered that man was now vested with the sword of magisterial authority, the principle of human government being ordained and instituted by God Himself.

After such a merciful deliverance from the Deluge, after witnessing such a solemn demonstration of God’s holy wrath against sin, and after being started out with full provision and Divine assurance, one would have supposed that the human race, ever after, would adhere to the path of righteousness - - but, alas! The very next thing we read is that "Noah began to be a husbandman, and he planted a vineyard: and he drank of the wine and was drunken, and he was uncovered within his tent" (Genesis 9:20, 21).

Scholars tell us that the Hebrew word here for "uncovered" clearly indicates a deliberate act and not a mere unconscious effect of drunkenness. The sins of intemperance and impurity are twin sisters (evokes the twin towers act of judgment upon this nation on 9/11 we looked at in connection with this series of articles, no!?!). No wonder the Psalmist was constrained to cry, "What is man that thou art mindful of him?" What a contrast there is between this section of Genesis and the last that we considered! Who would have imagined such a tragic sequel? How evident it is that truth is stranger than fiction?

Genesis 9 brings before us the inauguration of a new beginning, and as we study and ponder what is recorded there, our minds revert to the first "beginning" of the human race, and careful comparison of the two reveals the fact that there is a most extraordinary resemblance in the history of Noah with that of Adam. There are many similarities, but for our purposes we'll only look at one. Adam had three sons - - Cain, Abel, and Seth (the last of which was the one through whom the promised Seed came). Here again the analogy holds good, for Noah also had three sons - - Japheth, Ham, and Shem (the last mentioned being the one from whom descended the Messiah and Savior).

That got me thinking. If there is a dual nature to understanding the meaning of "shem" then what a perfect opportunity this would present Satan (Lucifer "The Light Bearer") to present himself to the world in the form of the Antichrist as a decendant of Shem - - just like Jesus Christ Himself! Now I know why they call it the "Great" Deception.

Plus, almost immediately after Adam’s fall a wonderful prophecy was given containing in outline the history of redemption (Genesis 3:15); and almost immediately after Noah’s fall, a remarkable prophecy was uttered containing in outline the history of the great races of the earth. Thus, does history repeat itself. Hmmm, we saw that too by our extensive review of Ecclesiastes 1:9 in previous articles!

The occasion of Noah’s prophecy is worth our attention. The setting of it is a remarkable one. The terrible fall of the illustrious patriarch and the wonderful prediction he uttered concerning the future history of the three great divisions of the human family are placed in juxtaposition. The fact that the Holy Spirit has thus joined these two together is a striking illustration of the truth that God’s ways are different from ours. The devout student of the Word has learnt that not only are the very words of Scripture inspired of God, but that their arrangement and order also evidence a wisdom that transcends the human.

Noah’s prediction contains an outline sketch of the history of the nations of the world. The great races of the Earth are here seen in their embryonic condition: they are traced to their common source, through Shem, Ham, and Japheth, back to Noah. The nature of the stream is determined by the character of the fountain - - a bitter fountain cannot send forth sweet waters. The type of fruit is governed by the order of the tree - - a corrupt tree cannot produce wholesome fruit. Noah is the fountain, and what sort of a stream could flow from such a fountain? Read again the sad recital of Noah’s fall and of Ham’s wickedness and then ask, What must be the fruit which springs from such a tree? What must be the harvest that is reaped from such a sowing? What will be the history of the races that spring from Noah’s three sons? What can it be?

A history that began by Noah abusing God’s mercies; a history that commenced with the head of the new race failing, completely, to govern himself; a history that started with Ham’s shameful impropriety can have only one course and end. It began with human failure, it has continued thus, and it will end thus.

Here then is the answer to our question: Why is Noah’s prophecy, which sketches the history of the three great races of mankind, linked to Noah’s fall? The two are joined together as cause and effect, as premise and conclusion, as sowing and harvest!


I THINK THERE'S EVEN MORE WE'RE TO TAKE FROM THIS TODAY...


Noah "planted a vineyard: and he drank of the wine and was drunken, and he was uncovered within his tent" (Gen. 9:21). As we read these words we are reminded of the Holy Spirit’s comment upon the Old Testament Scriptures - - "For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning" (Romans 15:4). What then are we to "learn" from this narration of Noah’s sad fall?

First, we discover a striking proof of the Divine inspiration of the scriptures. In the Bible human nature is painted in its true colors: the characters of its heroes are faithfully depicted, the sins of its most prominent personages are frankly recorded. It is human to err, but it is also human to conceal the blemishes of those we admire. Had the Bible been a human production, had it been written by uninspired historians, the defects of its leading characters would have been ignored, or if recorded at all, an attempt at extenuation would have been made. Had some human admirer chronicled the history of Noah, his awful fall would have been omitted. The fact that it is recorded and that no effort is made to excuse his sin, is evidence that the characters of the Bible are painted in the colors of truth and nature, that such characters were not sketched by human pens, that Moses and the other historians must have written by Divine inspiration.

Second, we learn from Noah’s fall that man at his best estate is altogether vanity, in other words, we see the utter and total depravity of human nature. Genesis 9 deals with the beginning of a new dispensation, and like those which preceded it and those which followed it, this also opened with failure. Whatever the test may be, man is unable to stand. Placed in an environment which destruction had swept clean; a solemn warning of the judgment of Heaven upon evil-doers only recently spread before him; the blessing of God pronounced upon him, the sword of magisterial authority placed in his hand, Noah, nevertheless, fails to govern himself and falls into open wickedness. Learn then that man is essentially "evil" (Matthew 7:11) and that naught avails but "a new creation" (Galatians 6:15).

Third, we learn from Noah’s fall the danger of using wine and the awful evils that attend intemperance. It is surely significant and designed as a solemn warning that the first time wine is referred to in the Scriptures it is found associated with drunkenness, shame and a curse. Drunkenness is a sin against God, for it is the abusing of His mercies; it is a sin against our neighbors, for it deprives those who are in want of their necessary supplies and sets before them an evil example; it is a sin against ourself, for it robs of usefulness, self-government and common decency. Moreover, drunkenness commonly leads to other evils. It did in Noah’s case; Noah’s sin gave occasion for his son to sin.

Fourth, in Noah’s sin we learn our need of watchfulness and prayer. A believer is never immune from falling. The evil nature is still within us and nothing but constant dependency upon God can enable us to withstand the solicitations of the world, the flesh, and the devil. "Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall" is a concept that every saint needs daily to take to heart. Neither age nor character is any security in the hour of testing. Here was a man who had withstood the temptations of an evil world for 600 years, yet nevertheless, he now succumbs to the lusts of the flesh. And this is one of the things which is written for "our admonition" (1 Corinthians 10:11). Then let us not sit in judgment upon Noah with pharisaical complacency, rather let us "consider ourselves, lest we also be tempted" (Galatians 6:1). No experience of God’s mercies in the past can deliver us from exposure to new temptations in the future.

Finally, Noah’s fall utters a solemn warning to every servant of God. It is deeply significant that following this prophecy, recorded in the closing verses of Genesis 9, nothing whatsoever - - save his death - - is recorded about Noah after his terrible fall. The last 300 years of his life are a blank! "But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection; lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway" (1 Corinthians 9:27).

Let's close with this appropriate prayer today:

"Dear Lord, I pray that you will not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions. Please think of me according to Your mercy and for Your goodness' sake, O Lord. Lord I turn from all of those sins that I committed and I ask for Your help in washing the memory and thoughts of that sin completely from my mind. Please restore me to faithful obedience to Your Word, and fill me with Your Holy Spirit anew, so that I may keep Your commands all the days of my life. Lord Jesus, I invite you into my heart anew today, and I ask forgiveness for all of my sin. Jesus, thank you for dying for my sins and for forgiving me of them through your shed blood for me on the cross. Please take away all the sinful 'old things' in my heart that defile me, and replace them with the 'good things' that you desire to grow in to my life. Please wash away all the sinful crud and tendencies toward evil and replace them with a hunger and thirst for your righteousness. I need your help, Lord God, in living this new life in Christ. Please send your Holy Spirit afresh into my life to help me, heal me, lead me and transform me. I also pray that your shed blood washes over me, protects me, and that I am counted worthy to escape the things that are coming upon this world in the form of your righteous judgment. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen."

RECOMMENDED READING:
Noah's Prophecy
The Messianic Hope Of Israel

Posted in: America In Prophecy,How Close Are We?,Israel And Middle East,Nature And Environment,Political Signs,Spiritual Deception,Truth From The Fringe