THE DAYS OF NOAH

THE DAYS OF NOAH

We are told that when Jesus comes again to rapture (harpazo) us home, that it will be like when it was in the days of Noah. This passage, frequently cited to by Biblical scholars and writers, indicates that it was a sign of the end times and as such, should be a condition that should alert us to the coming of the Lord.

Matthew 24:37-41

** American Standard Bible

King James Version

³⁷And as were the days of Noah, so shall be the coming of the Son of man. ³⁸For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, ³⁹and they knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall be the coming of the Son of man. ⁴⁰Then shall two men be in the field; one is taken, and one is left: ⁴¹two women shall be grinding at the mill; one is taken, and one is left.

³⁷But 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. ⁴⁰Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. ⁴¹Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

These verses tell us that when the Son of Man appears again, people will be eating and drinking, marrying and giving up in marriage just as they did right up to the day when Noah went into the ark. Everything was normal, in other words, for those who were unaware of God’s intentions. However, for Noah and his family, it was clear that the time was coming when God would bring all of creation to an end.

Looking at the story of Noah contained in Genesis 6, the condition of the world was vexatious to the Lord. He looked down from His throne in heaven to find that corruption had filled the world. The perfect creation of His hands had become everything He did not intend.

Genesis 6:1-13

** American Standard Bible

King James Version

¹And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the ground, and daughters were born unto them, ²that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all that they chose. ³And Jehovah said, My spirit shall not strive with man for ever, for that he also is flesh: yet shall his days be a hundred and twenty years. ⁴The Nephilim were in the earth in those days, and also after that, when the sons of God came unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them: the same were the mighty men that were of old, the men of renown.⁵And Jehovah saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. ⁶And it repented Jehovah that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. ⁷And Jehovah said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the ground; both man, and beast, and creeping things, and birds of the heavens; for it repenteth me that I have made them. ⁸But Noah found favor in the eyes of Jehovah. ⁹These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, and perfect in his generations: Noah walked with God. ¹⁰And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. ¹¹And the earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. ¹²And God saw the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth.¹³And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

¹And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, ²That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.³And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.⁴There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. ⁵And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.⁶And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. ⁷And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.⁸But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. ⁹These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. ¹⁰And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.¹¹The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. ¹²And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.¹³And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

These were days that brought sorrow to the heart of God. As we look at this passage we see that giants walked the face of the earth as angels had mated with God’s creation thereby corrupting the flesh that God had created. This was the age of the Nephilim, and the age of men of renown. We now wonder if this was a time when many of the great ancient monuments were built such as the pyramids of Egypt, the Sphinx, Stonehenge, Easter Island and others. There are a number of ancient wonders that we cannot explain so we wonder if mighty men constructed these wonders.

Whatever the result, ultimately there was a judgment upon all of mankind. Previously, God had granted man long life but He then decided that life should be limited. Consequently, the term of man’s existence upon the earth after this would be one hundred twenty years. I know it sounds like a long time to us but in comparison to what man had been given, it was a dramatic reduction. Men would now be limited to a lifespan that was 1/8 of what it had been. For us, it would be like being told that your life would be over at ten years of age.

Many people concentrate upon the fact that everything would be “normal” before the end. However, I think that Jesus meant much more than just that. Otherwise, that is what He could have said. Instead, He gave us a metaphor stating that it would be like the “days of Noah”. So, what were the days of Noah like?

According to Genesis 6:5, God saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth. We hate to contemplate it but does wickedness run rampant today throughout the earth? As we look upon God’s creation and the moral fiber of the people who inhabit this earth, can we honestly say that we must please God?

Do we murder children such as those who offered their children in the fire to Molech? We don’t do such a thing. Instead, we offer our children to the god of greed, the god of mammon, the god of convenience and of money. We have aborted (murdered) 43 million babies since the decision in Roe v. Wade was written. Do you wonder how many babies have been murdered in China for the sake of population control or the desire to have male children? What about other nations through the world? Hitler had nothing on us. He only murdered 6 million Jews. He could have learned a thing or two from Planned Parenthood.

Do we see the love of money corrupting our lives? Does greed drive our spending habits? Our desire for instant gratification, for funding purchases we cannot afford, is bankrupting our nation and our families. People now routinely live beyond their means but it is not always because they want the new car or the new plasma screen TV. Today, it may be because they wanted a home they could not afford but someone was willing to talk them into a subprime loan. Then, when the loan adjusted, they could no longer pay the mortgage. Now we have a mortgage crisis but not to worry, the government will bail us out. It’s only money.

The homosexual lifestyle is now not just protected, it is celebrated. Preachers cannot preach the Word of God from the pulpit because of condemnation of the homosexual or gay lifestyle. As I write this, I wonder if I am committing a hate crime. I do not hate homosexuals; I simply believe that the lifestyle choice (that’s right, choice) is wrong. I believe in the Word of God but that Word condemns this lifestyle. Why? It is not natural and with it come consequences. Why do they not teach our young people that the gay lifestyle will result in disease and possibly suicide? HIV and its destruction of the immune system has become something to cure, not to avoid.

What about drugs? We know that it is a devastating force that has destroyed many lives. And now drugs have so infiltrated our society and our culture that they appear in our drinking water. Young people no longer have to buy from the dealer on the street; they just raid the parents’ bathroom cabinet. Yes, there are those who need medication for various medical conditions but do we really need drugs to the extent that they exist in our nation? You don’t feel good – take a pill. Oh yeah, and wash it down with some hard liquor just to make sure the effect kicks in. You want to know why we don’t wipe out the drug trade. I think we could but there is too much money involved and too much money to be made.

Then there was the situation that astounded me. Hurricane Katrina descended upon New Orleans and leveled it. People responded in a way that made me proud to be an American. Supplies were shipped from all over the country. Companies, like mine, sacrificed to send food, water, blankets, and building supplies to our fellow Americans who were suffering. And guess what – it wasn’t good enough. People demanded soft drinks when water was offered to them. They believed that they were entitled to more. They were angry that their fellow Americans didn’t literally come down and rebuild their homes for them. I know that this was not the case with many of our citizens from New Orleans but this was the face that was presented on the news. And the result was resentment on the part of many Americans. All they saw was greed and a sense of entitlement.

Read your papers and you will see wickedness pervading our society on a daily basis. Watch our television and see what entertainment is offered. From “Girls Gone Wild” to shows that depict live sex to advertisements that sell products by promising sexual attraction, our nation wallows in its own filth. I like the way that Laura Ingram describes it – it is the “pornographication” of society.

In the second half of Verse 5, it is noted that “every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” I can only offer the foregoing examples within our society to show that everything we say and do seems to indicate that evil abounds. I watched a cartoon the other day for a couple of minutes to only turn away from disgust. “Family Guy” is something that comes on at all times of the day and because it is a cartoon, it will be attractive to children. I can also point out a plethora of other forms of “entertainment” that show how far we have sunk.

God gave us a great gift and that gift was the gift of procreation. Sex was meant to be a union between a husband and wife where they would experience a little of what it must be like to be joined as one. God saw it as a beautiful thing. However, man reduced it to recreation. No longer is it something to be treasured as a gift between husband and wife to be celebrated on the wedding night; it is pleasure and power and money. There are even those who try to justify pedophilia as a “spirit marriage”. We have seen on the news reports that children are having children and that middle-aged men, for the sake of their “religion” have multiple wives. Is this what God intended? I won’t get into children being sold as sex slaves and men traveling to Southeast Asia for sex tours with children. We found out that practices though despicable and contained in backwater countries now flourish in the Bible Belt of America.

Do you really want to make money? Appeal to the vices of man. Whether it is owning a bar, dealing drugs, loaning money at usurious interest rates, convincing young women to remove their clothing and filming them as they engage in vile acts or opening a casino (now very popular with our Native American tribes who have finally found a way to really scalp those who invaded their lands), I can personally guarantee that it will be successful and make you a lot of money. Yes, there are risks, particularly if you try an occupation that is against the law but remember the risk-reward ratio; more risk, the greater the reward and the less risk, the less reward. It is basic economics.

According to Verse 11, “the earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.” This word “corrupt” comes from the Hebrew word “shachath” meaning “decay” or “ruin” or “waste.” In other words the earth was garbage. Do you wonder how God now views His creation? Does He see what He saw six thousand years ago?

Finally, the earth in Noah’s day was filled with violence. As you read the news or watch cable news networks, what do you see? Violence fills our screens. We not only see it in society, we actually celebrate it. What do I mean by that? A good action movie will reap millions as people pour into the theaters to celebrate this type of entertainment. That is what I mean by we celebrate it. Think about what sport is becoming more and more popular in America. It is a phenomenon call “Ultimate Fighting.” I believe that there is a rage that is pent up in this country that is finding an outlet through violent television shows. While we have not reached the extent seen at the times of the gladiatorial games in Rome, we still have our own violent outlets.

Jesus said that it would be like the days of Noah. In the days of Noah, the earth was filled with violence and corruption. The only righteous person in all the earth was Noah and his family. As we look upon God’s creation today, can we honestly say that it is not corrupt or violent? The answer is no, we cannot. The earth today is filled with violence and it is thoroughly corrupt. It is now as it was then.

Depressing? Pretty much but just as God saved a remnant then, He will save His remnant now. Do not despair for the days grow shorter. The time is coming when the trump will sound and our names will be called and we shall find ourselves removed from this state that plagues us now. The King of Kings and Lord of Lords is coming and when He does, all of His children will finally be called home never to suffer corruption again. My brothers and sisters, keeping looking up for our redemption draweth nigh. Jesus, Mighty King and Victorious Lord is coming with a might shout. Yes, it’s real, it’s very real.

** A modern language quote is provided for readability together with the accompanying KJV version which is believed by many to be a more accurate representation of the original scripture.

Comments or questions may be directed to the author at jrhett58@yahoo.com.