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. 21 And all flesh died that moved upon the earth" ... "and every man: 22 All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died. 23 And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.
These passages of scripture reveal the results of the decisions made by those who worked on building the ark, after God had given a probationary period of 120 years to the antediluvian world. The world at this stage of its history was arrayed in rebellion against God, and the principles of righteousness were being trampled in the streets, and because of this God had to bring a flood upon the earth to eradicate those who were living in blatant violation of His just laws. After God had given the specifications for the building of the ark to faithful Noah, the lumber needed for its construction was too heavy for one person to bring from the forest, and for this reason, and also because of the need for assistance in its erection, Noah had to employ very many workmen to help him.
These workmen not only assisted with the construction of the ark, but they were apparently witnesses to the many sermons that were preached by Noah pertaining to the coming deluge, for the Bible tells us that Noah was a preacher of righteousness and coming judgments. Let's read:
2nd Peter 2:4 For" ...... " God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; 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.
Noah and his family who believed the word of God pertaining to the rain which had never before fallen upon the earth, acted on their faith by going into the ark of safety and staying there until the door of mercy was forever shut to those who refused to obey the voice of God. We can just imagine the ridicule and mockery that was heaped upon that one family as they packed up all their belongings that had been acquired over several hundred years, to go and lodge in the ark with animals, birds and creeping things. And even though it was the most universally weird thing to do, and although the overwhelming majority of the approximately seven billion people of that time railed on that one family for doing what they thought was the unthinkable, yet they were saved by grace through faith in God who had spoken. Let's read:
Genesis 8:1 And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark" ..... 15 And God spake unto Noah, saying, 16 Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee. 17 Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.
What is most disconcerting about this whole incident is that many of the workmen who helped in the building of the ark, perished in the waters of the flood, for although they labored with hammers and nails to bring the project to completion, and although they listened to Noah's preaching for many years, yet that one final decision to enter the ark was never made, and because of this, many of them are lost forever.
This incident shines a beacon of warning to Christians in our day who are facing not a watery flood, but a fiery deluge that God has warned the inhabitants of the world about for thousands of years. And like some of the workmen in Noah's day, many Christians have helped in the actual building of the church, with charitable contributions, preaching and prayers for the sick. Some have even helped in the conversions of others, but in the final analysis, many of us would be weighed in the balances and found wanting, simply because of that one important decision to obey the commandments of The Lord, that has been evaded for different reasons. According to the scriptures, very many Christians will be lost forever, just as it was in the days of Noah, because they would have attempted to gain an entrance to heaven through their own conceived methods, not following the plainest instructions of God. Let's read:
Matthew 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Even now the call is being made to those Christians who still sit in spiritual darkness to come out of Babylon and utterly reject the erroneous teachings that lull the masses into a false sense of security, and very many are now in the valley of decision, mulling over the decision of what course of action to pursue. God in His great mercy has repeatedly stated what must be done to avoid the fiery deluge, and although there may be many to mock and ridicule what is generally thought to be unpopular, yet any sincere and honest hearted person who believes may even now be saved. The simple instruction to keep all of God's commandments through the power of the indwelling Christ is a prerequisite for entering the ark of safety in our day, and the warnings and admonitions are given in the plainest language possible, so that all who so desire, may be saved when Christ comes. Let's read:
Revelation 14:9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: 12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
Revelation 22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
It is therefore imperative that the decision to follow Christ all the way, by obeying all of His commandments and trusting in Him, should be made by everyone desiring to be shielded in the coming days of vengeance, for there is now a fearful departure from the laws of God, and insults and ridicule are being heaped upon those who dare to differ with mainstream theology which embraces fanciful interpretations of scripture, and smooth sermons that do not trouble the conscience, nor call sin by its right name. As the history of this earth is drawing to a close, we are counseled to make that one, all-important decision to obey God's voice in keeping all of His laws, including the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. We therefore end with a word of caution from the book of Joel pertaining to this very issue, and it is the will of God that our decision to serve Him wholeheartedly be made without delay. Let's read:
Joel 3:13 Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe" ... "the vats overflow; for their wickedness is great. 14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. 15 The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. 16 The Lord also shall roar out of Zion and utter his voice" ...... "and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people" ....
May The Lord add His blessing to the study and practice of His every word. God bless!