The Days of Noah 1

The Days of Noah

Matthew 24:35-39

35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. 37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

Mark 13:32–37

32 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. 34 It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. 35 Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning—36 lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. 37 And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!”

Luke 21:34–36 ““But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.””

INTRODUCTION

The two great problems in the world today are lack of knowledge and lack of interest. We should not be unaware of or cold to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and the end of this age. History is coming to a climax. It would be ungodly to set a date as to when Jesus is coming again. No one knows when the Lord Jesus is coming again. The Bible does teach, though, that we can know what the days will be like when Jesus Christ does return.

Jesus said that they will be like the days of Noah.

Matthew 24:35-39

“Eating, drinking, marrying and giving in marriage” speaks of lack of concern. “And they knew not” speaks of lack of knowledge. Lack of knowledge and lack of concern are the two major problems that will mark the last days just before Jesus comes again. If we want to know what the days of Noah were like, then we must go back to the book of Genesis.

When we apply the days of Noah to our day, we then understand why this age is ripe for the Lord Jesus to return. There are seven signs, or marks, of the days of Noah that we find in the book of Genesis.

These signs tell us what the days of Noah were like and help us to compare them to the days in which we are living.

1) DAYS OF SECULAR VIEW (Genesis 6:5-6)

The word “imagination” in this passage in Genesis comes from a Hebrew root that means “to fashion as a potter.” The people in Noah’s day were trying to mold society by philosophy.

New Age philosophies today are rampant.

Some New Age philosophies are taught from pulpits by preachers and teachers who no longer hold to the faith of Christ.

(1) They teach strange doctrines.

(2) They deny the Bible.

(3) They mock the blood atonement of Christ.

(4) They do not recognize the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

(5) Many once-great denominations have turned worldly.

The faith that was delivered to Adam, the truth that the martyr Abel died for, and the truth that was revealed to Enoch the prophet receded rapidly in the days of Noah. Adam understood the blood atonement because God made for him coats of skins. We are living in a day and age like this.

Secularism in America and in the world today has taken over the arts, the sciences, philosophy and education. There is only one accepted prejudice and bigotry in our world today and that is the bigotry against a Bible-believing Christian.

2) DAYS OF SCIENTIFIC PROGRESS

The days of Noah had reached a pinnacle in knowledge and achievement. In the early chapters of Genesis, we find men of renown known as Nephilim. Genesis 6:4 They had great intellects.

There were great cities in the days of Noah. Genesis 4:17 This was not just a village but a metropolitan city. There was an industrial revolution in the days of Noah. Genesis 4:22 They were making tools and machinery. Man, who had been driven from Paradise because of his sin, was now trying to create an artificial paradise of intelligence, wisdom and fire. Noah’s day was a day of technological advancement. The ark that God instructed Noah to build was an engineering miracle. It was a three-story vessel that was 450 feet long and 150 feet wide. Oceanographers and sailors tell us that it was about the same proportion and size as many modern ocean liners. The ark had to be built strong enough to withstand the greatest storm in history. Our day is also a day of technological and scientific advancement. The lives of parents and grandparents of many older Americans began with a horse and buggy and ended up with the splitting of the atom. We have seen men walk on the moon. Today’s scientists are now involved with genetic engineering. We now have virtual reality.

3) DAYS OF SOCIAL PLAGUES (Genesis 6:11-13) a)

The days of Noah were days of great violence. They had not turned their scientific knowledge into good. Our day is also a day of great violence. In modern times, we have had two world wars. We live in a day of a possible world war 3 , rebellions, upheavals, kidnappings, and needless murders and assaults. People today are filled with violence and revenge. Genesis 4:23-24 This passage tells of a man who was consumed with a spirit of revenge. His name is included in the Scriptures as typical of many in that day who were filled with the spirit of violence and revenge. Since 1960, violent crimes in America have increased more and more. Crimes against women are epidemic today. Prison overcrowding is common today. Churches have compromised themselves out of existence. School violence is unprecedented today. We have taken prayer and the Ten Commandments out of schools and raised a generation with refined intellects and undisciplined emotions. Teen suicide has increased to unprecedented levels. There was a plague of divorce and multiple marriages in Noah’s day.

i) Genesis 6:1-2

ii) Matthew 24:38

Bible commentators tell us that “marrying and giving in marriage” refers to a multiplicity of wives.

Genesis 4:19

Lamech introduced polygamy into society. One of the social plagues of our day is abortion.

The life of the unborn, and even newborn, is devalued in many sectors of our society today.

Genesis 6:11 The world had become corrupt in Noah’s day, and it is corrupt in our day.

4) DAYS OF SEXUAL PERVERSION (Genesis 6:5)

Genesis 6:5 does not mention what “evil” was. In the New Testament, the Lord Jesus gives us further insight into the days of Noah represented in Genesis 6:5. Luke 17:26-30 In this passage, the Jesus links the days of Noah with the days of Lot. In the days of Noah, there had been a sexual revolution; and there were days of sexual perversion. Lot lived in the city of Sodom; this is the city from which we get the word “sodomy,” which speaks of sexual perversion. Leviticus 20:13 Today’s world is filled with sexual perversion. The vile diseases that often accompany these sins are not necessarily the judgment of God, but the built-in results of these sins. Romans 1:27 “Meet” in this passage means “fitting.” If mankind were to follow God’s laws concerning marriage, these diseases would disappear. God’s plan is one man and one woman till death do them part. With the consequences of these sins, the innocent often suffer along with the guilty. When God judges, He does so with specificity.

Romans 1:24, 26, 28 A “reprobate mind” is a mind that cannot think straight. Many question in today’s society whether or not we are born with homosexual tendencies,

but God would never cripple someone and then blame them for limping. These tendencies come out of the heart, which is deceitfully wicked and sinful.

(a) Urges toward incest.

(b) Urges toward adultery.

(c) Urges toward violence.

(d) Urges toward drunkenness.

(e) Urges toward kleptomania.

We are born sinners, and we need to be born again. The entertainment industry has made sexual perversion seem fashionable.

5) DAYS OF SELFISH PROSPERITY (Ezekiel 16:49-50)

Some believe that God must be pleased with America because of the prosperity we have in this nation.

America may be prosperous, but not every nation is prosperous. America is an island of prosperity and perversion, ensconced in an ocean of need. It was the same in the days of Lot and Noah as it is today; they, too, were days of selfish prosperity. Ezekiel 16:49-50 Sodom was proud. Sin that used to cower and hide now struts. Sodom had “fullness of bread;” they had more than they needed. There was an abundance of idleness. The people had a short work week. At the height of their prosperity, the fire and brimstone fell.

Jude 7

We should not be lulled to sleep by a soaring economy and think that everything is okay.

6) DAYS OF SOLEMN PREACHING

God never sends judgment without first sending a warning. Genesis 6:13 God sent a proactive warning in the days of Noah. Noah not only built the ark, but he also preached. 2 Peter 2:5 Noah preached with the wrath of God in the foreground and the ring of hammers in the background.Enoch, a near contemporary, also preached a warning. Jude 14 The preaching of that day did not penetrate the hearts of the people. They were marrying and giving in marriage, eating and drinking. They had their technology, their culture, and their entertainment. They saw themselves as rich and needing nothing. Our generation, too, has been warned. There has been much faithful preaching. The last days are marked by solemn preaching.

7) DAYS OF SUDDEN PANIC (Genesis 6:17)

Just when everything seemed to be going fine and the round of life continued, there was sudden panic in Noah’s day. The day may have begun bright and fair. Then some clouds began to gather. But the rains came suddenly and cataclysmically. Genesis 7:1 God brought Noah and his family into the ark and God shut the door. God shut Noah in and shut the others and the water out. The heavens and the earth opened and water and rain came forth. Those who had been laughing at and mocking Noah were no doubt filled with panic as the rains came and the water began to rise. Scripture indicates that prior to the flood, it had never rained on Earth before. The Earth had been moisturized by a canopy of vapor.

CONCLUSION

a) We have an ark of safety; His name is Jesus.

i) If you will place your faith in Him, He will transform your life.

b) Does it cost to follow Jesus?

i) When Noah drove the last nail into the ark, he may have had nothing left.

ii) But when he came out of the ark, he had inherited the Earth.

iii) It pays to serve Jesus.

c) We need to be born again, not just a church member.

i) Jesus is the ark of safety, and He will save you if you put your faith in Him - do so today.

d) Do you know Jesus personally? If not, you can pray to Him today by asking Him to come into your life.

e) Call upon Jesus today. Repent (turn) from your sins, and turn to Jesus. Ask Him to forgive you of your sins, and acknowledge Him as Lord of your life.

i) Romans 3:23

ii) Romans 10:9-10

iii) Romans 10:13

iv) Acts 16:31

v) John 3:16