“But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 38For 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, 39And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:37-39).
Jesus gave us a huge glimpse of what the last of the last days would be like, by telling us they will be like the days of Noah. All we need to do is go back to the book of Genesis and read about it for ourselves. I want to share eight points with you of some of the similarities that can be found between Noah’s generation and ours.
- “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD” (Genesis 6:8). Do we not live in the age of grace? We are a people that found grace in the eyes of the Lord. We are the body of Christ. Jesus, our Lord, is full of grace and truth. Acts chapter four says that great grace was upon all the believers. This is what we preach, “The gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24).
- Life will go on as usual. Jesus said there will be eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage up to the coming of the Lord. I know our world seems to be falling apart. America seems to be heading for disaster. I can sometimes picture the whole world living in terror and poverty, yet to paraphrase what Jesus said, things are going to be like they have been all along. I suppose there will be regions in this world that will suffer worse than others, but for the most part there will be the ongoing of life as usual for many.
- Noah knew the flood was coming but the wicked did not. “But ye brethren are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you as a thief” (I Thessalonians 5:5). We are children of light, and if we walk in that light, we will have a strong sense in our spirit as the day of the Lord approaches. I think it is the consensus of many Christians today that we are in the last of the last days. Noah was building a ship and every timber he put in place spoke to his generation that judgment was coming, but no one but his family heeded the warning. Saints, do not be surprised if this world will not see the signs of Christ’s return.
- Noah had a call. In the midst of such great wickedness, there came a call from God to Noah to prepare for the coming calamity. There came a call to warn his generation to flee from the coming wrath. Church, I believe the call is intensifying every day that we need to put away all that distracts us and preach to our society the gospel of Jesus Christ. In the midst of all the chaos, if you listen, you will hear His voice speaking to you. It’s a voice that does not fit in with this world.
- Noah was part of a great minority. There was Noah and his family and then there was the rest of the world. Today, it is the church of Jesus Christ and then the rest of the world. Noah was an outcast in his generation. You could say that he was kind of a strange man, consumed with preaching righteousness and building a huge ship which had absolutely no value to anyone’s eyes except Noah and his family. The church today must be a peculiar people consumed with our Lord Jesus. This minority, you and I belong to, is hated by this world and no government will be passing any laws that demand we be respected and given special rights.
- Building the ark was an act of faith. Saints, let this sink in. Noah was building the very thing that would save him. You could say he was working on his salvation with fear and trembling. I am not denying that we are saved by grace and not of works. Salvation is a free gift but Ephesians 2:8 also says we are saved “through faith.” Through means in one side and out the other. For Noah that meant putting the first timber in place and working on that ark until the last bit of pitch was pressed into the joints. For you and me, it means being determined to make it all the way to the end of this path we are walking.
- Noah built the ark in the presence of a sin gripped world. One of the signs of the last days is that iniquity shall abound. Babies today are murdered before they ever get out of the womb, not just here in America but all over this world. Sexual sin of every kind is being encouraged and promoted in our generation. Noah built the ark in a time when “the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). Yet he built the ark to completion. He built something the world never understood. They couldn’t shut him down. Jesus said that the gates of hell will not prevail against His church. Saints, we may be amidst a wicked people but we cannot be shut down. Christ’s church will prevail. She must be a testimony in this generation.
- Noah was a preacher of righteousness. According to Peter’s second epistle, Noah was a preacher of righteousness. The word righteousness means equity. Equity means impartiality and fairness. By this definition, Noah didn’t necessarily go around telling everyone how sinful they were. Although I do believe man needs to know he is a lost sinner before he can get saved. What Noah was preaching is the same thing we preach today. He was preaching grace. He was telling his generation that judgment was coming, but they could escape. Come and help build the ark. Whosoever will, come on the ark and be saved from the coming judgment. This must be our cry. We are in the age of grace. God is not impartial. Let us call to all around us and say flee from the wrath to come.
One final thought about Noah and the ark. When Jesus walked this earth, there was one concern He had “…Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8). Jesus didn’t ask if there would be holiness or righteousness or love; He asked if there would be faith. Of course, all these things are wrapped up in faith. When God looked down on men in Noah’s generation to see if He could find faith, He saw a huge ship with no large body of water around. Every time God saw that ark, it was a testimony of Noah’s faith. That ark shouted up to heaven, I BELIEVE IN YOU GOD, I OBEY YOU OH GOD, I LOVE YOU LORD. When Jesus comes will your life be a testimony and a monument of faith that declares I BELIEVE IN YOU GOD?
