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Chapter 139: The Blessings and Curses Predicted by Noah were Prophesies of the Future
ANOTHER MYSTERY WAS FULFILLED AND PREDICTED IN THE DAYS OF NOAH: which you may not know. It is this: in the blessings Noah bestowed upon his two sons, and in the curse pronounced on his son's son. The Spirit of prophecy did not curse the son who had been blessed by God along with his brothers. But because the punishment for the sin would follow the entire line of the son who mocked his father's nakedness, he directed the curse to begin with his son. In what he said, he predicted that the descendants of Shem would retain the property and homes of Canaan, and that the descendants of Japheth would eventually seize the property that Shem's descendants had taken from Canaan's descendants; and they would plunder the descendants of Shem, just as they had plundered the sons of Canaan.
Listen to how it has occurred. You, who are descended from Shem, invaded the land of the sons of Canaan by God's will and took possession of it. It is clear that the sons of Japheth, by God's judgment, have in turn invaded you and claimed your land. It is written: 'And Noah awoke from the wine, and knew what his younger son had done to him; and he said, Cursed be Canaan, a servant; a servant shall he be to his brothers. And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. May the Lord enlarge Japheth, and let him dwell in the houses of Shem; and let Canaan be his servant.' Thus, as two peoples were blessed—those from Shem and those from Japheth—and as the descendants of Shem were decreed first to possess Canaan's dwellings, and the descendants of Japheth were predicted to later receive the same possessions, with Canaan's people handed over as servants to both; so Christ has come with the power given to Him from the Almighty Father, summoning men to friendship, blessing, repentance, and unity. He has promised, as has been shown, that there will be a future possession for all the saints in this land. Therefore, all people everywhere, whether bound or free, who believe in Christ and recognize the truth in His words and those of His prophets, know that they shall be with Him in that land and inherit everlasting and incorruptible good.