The days before the flood shed tremendous light on the days in which we are now living, and Jesus in His discourses on end-time events, also mentions many precedents found at the time of the Antediluvians. It is stated clearly in God’s word that history repeats itself, and when we look at the historical context we see that the fulfillment of Christ’s prophecies is not in the distant future, but are coming to pass even as we speak. Thus, it is important for us to study and learn from the mistakes made by the folks of Noah’s day, so that when the coming fire-storm arrives, we will have positioned ourselves intelligently in Christ. Let’s read:
Matthew 24:37 But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
There are several important observations and many lessons to extract, and if we were to apply them in our own experience we may avoid the pitfalls which caused almost the whole earth to perish.
[1] We should never look to the popular, majority opinion for conviction of truth and duty. Back then it was not the majority in the right, it is also not the majority that is currently in the right, and according to the Bible, it will never ever be the majority in the right, for the truths given by God will never become popular or mainstream. Thus anyone who is looking to popular, mainstream opinions for guidance, is in for a huge disappointment, and will be forever lost,
If a different course is not pursued. When Noah was preaching his message he was regarded as a fanatic, and just so it will be as the closing scenes of earth’s history begin to unfold. The majority will be inclined to dismiss the prophecies in the books of Revelation and Daniel as being fictional, and most people will also doubt any possibility of their fulfillment. Let’s read:
Genesis 7:1 And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.
7 And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.
Matthew 7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find
it.
Matthew 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.
1st Corinthians 1:26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.
Genesis 19:4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter:
5 And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.
12 And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place:
13 For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the Lord; and the Lord hath sent us to destroy it.
14 And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.
15 And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.
2nd Peter 3:3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
Just as there were scoffers in Noah’s day, there will also be a multitude of scoffers in our day, and this is because science as we know it almost never brings the God-Factor into the equation, for God has been essentially banished from our reckoning through the teaching of the theory of evolution. As far as the antediluvians were concerned, nature was bound under fixed laws, which could not change. Rain had never fallen, and the laws of physics, of gravity and buoyancy, together with the recurring seasons had been in place for hundreds of years. Added to this, there wasn’t any historical precedent for what was being predicted by Noah, therefore the scientific community generally shrugged off the warnings of God’s servant as fringe fanaticism in its worst form.
This leads us to our second point:
[2] “Fixed laws” of nature have been put in place by God, so that the human family would not have to constantly worry about tomorrow, or whether the sun will rise in the east and set in the western sky. These laws which govern the natural world are not only supervised by God, they originated with Him, and therefore can be turned upside down, inside out at a moment’s notice if He so chooses. It is only because of His merciful and consistent nature why physical and natural laws have been kept in place for centuries, but when human probation will have been closed, there will be sudden, and unexpected reversals of what we now depend on as being the norm. And for those who may not yet know it, there is a doctrine known as Intelligent design. Let’s read:
Genesis 1:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was
so.
16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth.
Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
2 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.
3 There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.
4 Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,
5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his
chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.
6 His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.
Psalm 104:1 Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty.
2 Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:
3 Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind:
4 Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire:
5 Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever.
6 Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment: the waters stood above the mountains.
7 At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away.
8 They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys unto the place which thou hast founded for them.
9 Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over; that they turn not again to cover the earth.
10 He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run among the hills.
13 He watereth the hills from his chambers: the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works.
14 He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth.
19 He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down.
20 Thou makest darkness, and it is night: wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth.
21 The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God.
24 O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.
25 So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts.
26 There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein.
27 These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season.
28 That thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good.
29 Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.
30 Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.
31 The glory of the Lord shall endure for ever: the Lord shall rejoice in his works.
32 He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth: he toucheth the hills, and they smoke.
33 I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.
For instance, we now know that the earth rotates on its axis once every 24 hours to give us our 24hr cycle of day and night. But The Lord will have us to understand some fundamentals pertaining to this cycle, because that uniform rotation was originally set in motion by God, and it is kept in motion, not by “mother nature”, but by Father God. And even though we have observed the consistency of this rotation for millenniums, and have come to depend on it for calendars, commerce, and paychecks, yet the earth does not run on automatic gears, but is instead a “standard shift”, complete with reverse gear, if God so chooses. This important fact needs to be considered by the scientific community so as to correct the erroneous conclusions held by some, that nothing, and no one can stop the earth in its tracks. This is what is described in the Bible as being false science. Let’s read:
Isaiah 40: 18 To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?
22 It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:
25 To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.
Joshua 10:12 Then spake Joshua to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon.
13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies”….. “So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.
14 And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man.
Our Stock market opens at 9:30 am each morning, and on this particular day traders and investors are gathered together by the thousands on wall street, eager to begin another round of money-making. But in their excitement, they fail to observe something unusual is taking place. For some unknown reason, the clocks on wall street have stopped at 9:00 am. One trader notices the phenomena, and the news quickly spreads, because every other physical and digital time-keeping device is also stuck at 9:00 am. Scientists and astrologers are immediately called upon for explanations, but to no avail. Then, in utter desperation they send for Stephen Hawkins, but he in turn tells them to go ask “Mother nature”. And it gets worse, for without warning, every clock and time-keeping device begin to simultaneously move backward. At this point, Wall-Street becomes like a church, where all traders are on their knees, not asking for money, but begging for mercy. Let’s read:
2nd Kings 20:8 And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the Lord the third day?
9 And Isaiah said, This sign shalt thou have of the Lord, that the Lord will do the thing that he hath spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees, or go back ten degrees?
10 And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees.
11 And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the Lord: and
he brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down in the dial of Ahaz.
[Patriarchs And Prophets pp. 96>97] The world before the Flood reasoned that for centuries the laws of nature had been fixed. The recurring seasons had come in their order. Heretofore rain had never fallen; the earth had been watered by a mist or dew. The rivers had never yet passed their boundaries, but had borne their waters safely to the sea. Fixed decrees had kept the waters from overflowing their banks. But these reasoners did not recognize the hand of Him who had stayed the waters, saying, “Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further.”
As time passed on, with no apparent change in nature, men whose hearts had at times trembled with fear, began to be reassured. They reasoned, as many reason now, that nature is above the God of nature, and that her laws are so firmly established that God Himself could not change them. Reasoning that if the message of Noah were correct, nature would be turned out of her course, they made that message, in the minds of the world, a delusion—a grand deception.
They manifested their contempt for the warning of God by doing just as they had done before the warning was given. They continued their festivities and their gluttonous feasts; they ate and drank, planted and builded, laying their plans in reference to advantages they hoped to gain in the future; and they went to greater lengths in wickedness, and in defiant disregard of God's requirements, to testify that they had no fear of the Infinite One.
This leads us to point #3, for God will provide for earth’s inhabitants, right up until the day that our probation closes.
[3] God continued to provide for the antediluvians right up until the day of the flood. Similarly, when the other storm that is now brewing is about to burst, God will provide the necessities of life right up to the very last. This aspect of God’s providence often causes folks to believe that He will not keep His promises of judgment, and as a result, many are induced to mock and scoff at His warnings up until the very last day. But it is because of His mercies why we are not consumed, and therefore we should be very careful never to take His grace for granted. Let’s read:
Ecclesiastes 8:11 Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.
Isaiah 28:21 For the Lord shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act.
22 Now therefore be ye not mockers”.... for I have
heard from the Lord God of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth.
Genesis 8:22 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
[Patriarchs And Prophets pp. 96>98] It was not multitudes or majorities that were on the side of right. The world was arrayed against God's justice and His laws, and Noah was regarded as a fanatic. Satan, when tempting Eve to disobey God, said to her, “Ye shall not surely die.” Great men, worldly, honored, and wise men, repeated the same. “The threatenings of God,” they said, “are for the purpose of intimidating, and will never be verified. You need not be alarmed. Such an event as the destruction of the world by the God who made it, and the punishment of the beings He has created, will never take place.
Be at peace; fear not. Noah is a wild fanatic.” The world made merry at the folly of the deluded old man. Instead of humbling the heart before God, they continued their disobedience and wickedness, the same as though God had not spoken to them through His servant. Connection with God made him strong in the strength of infinite power, while for one hundred and twenty years his solemn voice fell upon the ears of that generation in regard to events, which, so far as human wisdom could judge, were impossible.
[4] Human probation will close permanently just before the coming storm hits. In Noah’s day, the door of mercy was closed seven days before the flood, and although we are not given any specific time-frame for our day, we can be certain that it will be a short period between the close of the investigative judgment and the coming storm. This will be confirmed by fearful convulsions of nature, and in quite unusual behavior manifested by birds,
and other members of the animal kingdom.
Just as their strange behavior heralded the coming flood, just so in our day will the same be repeated, for there are, and will continue to be, very strange occurrences and behaviors in the animal kingdom, which science as we know it, cannot account for. Let’s read:
Jeremiah 12:4 How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of every field wither, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein? the beasts are consumed, and the birds; because they said, He shall not see our last end.
[Patriarchs And prophets pp.97>98] The period of their probation was about to expire. Noah had faithfully followed the instructions which he had received from God. The ark was finished in every part as the Lord had directed, and was stored with food for man and beast. And now the servant of God made his last solemn appeal to the people. With an agony of desire that words cannot express, he entreated them to seek a refuge while it might be found. Again they rejected his words, and raised their voices in jest and scoffing.
Suddenly a silence fell upon the mocking throng. Beasts of every description, the fiercest as well as the most gentle, were seen coming from mountain and forest and quietly making their way toward the ark. A noise as of a rushing wind was heard, and lo, birds were flocking from all directions, their numbers darkening the heavens, and in perfect order they passed to the ark. Animals obeyed the command of God, while men were disobedient. Guided by holy angels, they “went in two and two unto Noah into the ark,” and the clean beasts by sevens.
The world looked on in wonder, some in fear. Philosophers were called upon to account for the singular occurrence, but in vain. It was a mystery which they could not fathom. But men had become so hardened by their persistent rejection of light that even this scene produced but a momentary impression. As the doomed race beheld the sun shining in its glory, and the earth clad in almost Eden beauty, they banished their rising fears by boisterous merriment, and by their deeds of violence they seemed to invite upon themselves the visitation of the already awakened wrath of God.
[5] The loud cry of the third angel of Revelation 14 will be the equivalent of Noah’s last call before the door of the ark was shut. God through Noah made it as easy as possible for anyone who so chose, to be saved from the flood. Even after all the birds and animals went in first, the door of mercy still lingered wide open. As a matter of fact, if anyone in that vast multitude had been doubtful of The Lord’s warnings, but had decided to walk through those doors, they would have been saved, even with all of their doubts.
Similarly, God is now making it as easy as possible for everyone to be saved, and as His final appeals go forth from a heart that yearns with pity upon a doomed planet, He implores us with solemn pathos, not to refuse His gracious overtures to save us. Even if we might not fully understand, or agree with the truths that are pertinent to our time, yet if we obey God’s voice, God will honor the act of obedience, and will save us in His kingdom. It is not necessary to understand all of the intricate issues associated with the Sabbath, or the mark of the beast, in order to obey God’s voice. God says to us, obey, and do not receive the mark, and that should settle it for us.
In accepting Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are pledging by His grace to walk in harmony with His wise laws and instructions. The issue at play in our day is the Sabbath of the 4th Commandment, which God has specified as the only sacred day of rest for every person. Thus, in accepting Christ as Lord and Savior, we do acknowledge that He is also Lord of the Sabbath, and as such, we should be willing to follow in His footsteps. We end with four passages of scripture coming from The Lord, encouraging and cautioning us to return to the original Sabbath day of rest, given to the human family at creation. Let’s read:
Genesis 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
Luke 4:16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
Isaiah 58:13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
Isaiah 66:22 For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain.
23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord.
24 And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.
He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear what The Spirit of God is saying to the churches.
God bless!