The belief that Genesis 6:3 refers to 120 years of preaching is not merely an Adventist position it is a reformation position Genesis 6:3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always (d) strive with man, for that he also [is] flesh: yet his days shall be an (e) hundred and twenty years. (d) Because man could not by won by Gods leniency and patience by which he tried to win him, he would no longer withhold his vengeance. (e) Which time span God gave man to repent before he would destroy the earth, (1Pe_3:20). (Geneva Bible Notes) My spirit shall not always strive - It is only by the influence of the Spirit of God that the carnal mind can be subdued and destroyed; but those who wilfully resist and grieve that Spirit must be ultimately left to the hardness and blindness of their own hearts, if they do not repent and turn to God. God delights in mercy, and therefore a gracious warning is given. Even at this time the earth was ripe for destruction; but God promised them one hundred and twenty years’ respite: if they repented in that interim, well; if not, they should be destroyed by a flood. (Adam Clarke) Factor in Matthew Henry and John Gill who comment in similar fashion we find more than one witness. 2 Peter 2:5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; 1 Peter 3:20 When once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
Posted on: Fri, 24 Oct 2014 08:53:40 +0000