As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
Matthew 24:37 NIV
Jesus told His disciples that on the day that He returns the world will be in the same state as it was in the days that Noah lived. What were those days like, and do they bear any resemblance to the days that we now live in?
The first thing to notice in Genesis 6 is that God saw that rebellion had so multiplied on the earth that every thought and intention in man’s heart was completely evil. Evil is the polar opposite of the righteousness of God. Instead of thinking God’s thoughts and walking in His ways, humanity had firmly decided to do their own thing, in their own way. God was still speaking through Noah who was the only righteous person left on the earth. But no-one was prepared to listen. God’s Word was still being preached but people were so intent on their own pleasures that they didn’t heed the warning of the coming flood, but carried on in their own merry way. 2 Peter 3:3 warns us that “in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires.” Man’s truth will be prominent and God’s Word ignored. 2 Timothy 3:2 describes these last days like this:
“People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy”
When people love and pride themselves on their ability to decide what is right and wrong for their own lives and for society at large they are in danger of being people of the last days. When hearts become so confidently self-focused and self-centred that people reject the Word of God and will not heed the warnings of the coming judgement then they will scoff at Gods Word and mock the Christians who preach it. Ultimately, they will reject the only refuge that is available. In Noah’s day it was the flood, in our days it is the Salvation that can only been found in Christ.
The next thing to notice in this chapter is that these were days of God’s grace. Genesis 6:8 tells us that “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.”
Where sin abounds, grace also abounds. Because Noah set himself to worship God, God kept Noah throughout the years that he was building the ark, being scoffed at and mocked by all who passed him by. He continued to be a preacher of righteousness even though no-one listened to him and he had no converts at all. Imagine preaching for 100 years and never seeing a single person come to Christ!
God’s grace keeps us from being defeated by what the world would call failure. Noah was a success in God’s eyes because he did what God told him to do. The people of the day mocked, scoffed and ignored the crazy old man preaching about something that had never happened on earth before. But the only one that Noah listened to was God. He played to an audience of One, and that was the only One worth playing to.
God’s grace also kept Noah throughout the days of the flood. He and his family were safe, provided for and protected within the ark. There is a coming judgement that no-one on earth has ever experienced before. Evil will be dealt with forever and those who have ears that want to listen to what God is saying will heed those warnings and be saved in the ark of Jesus Christ.
Those who refuse to listen will see it. Like the people in Noah’s day, they will be so sure that this whole “preaching righteousness” thing is just a joke, or an emotional crutch for poor deluded people to lean on. They may have run to the highest peaks when the waters rose, but there was no escaping the flood. They listened too late and so they saw and experienced God’s judgement. Likewise, there will be no hiding place outside of Christ for those living in the last days.
God’s amazing grace, steadfast love and everlasting mercy has prepared the way of Salvation, but it is man’s own choice that will decide whether to accept or reject it. Don’t be like those in the days of Noah. Listen to God and obey His voice today while there is still time.
Song amazing grace with new chorus my chains are gone I’ve been set free.
