Chapter 13: As the Days of Noe Were
As we have mentioned before, Jesus was seen by many witnesses after He rose from the dead. He was seen for forty days, and then ascended into heaven. His followers were instructed to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit, who would guide them into all truth and give them the power and boldness to preach the gospel to all nations. Jesus said to them:
“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Matthew 28:18-20).
The lone reason why this world still exists today is for the preaching of the gospel, for “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). God wants everyone everywhere to hear the Gospel and be saved, and now, nearly 2,000 years later, there are people who still have not heard anything about Jesus.
The entire purpose of this treatise is so that you, the reader, can hear the Word of God and believe, and be saved.
So what is next? Jesus is coming back. We do not know when this will be for sure, but we know that “this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come” (Matthew 24:14). When He does come back, He will pour out His wrath on the world that largely rejected His offer of eternal life.
But He did say something else about His return: He said that shortly before His return, the world would be like in the days of Noah:
But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For 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, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. (Matthew 24:37-42)
Noah warned people of the impending destruction of the world, but they largely blew him off. They were living daily life without God. If you also remember, the world was filled with violence (Genesis 6:11). Looking at Cain’s descendants, they were into entertainment (Genesis 4:21), advancing technology (Genesis 4:22), and justifying wrongdoing (Genesis 4:23-24), all without a care of who God is, rejecting the promise of the coming Savior.
As Noah, however, we should not be concerned as much with any of the types of things that Cain’s descendants were doing as much as we should be trusting God’s provision of salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ, watching for His return, and telling the world the hope of the gospel. There is a storm coming: this time not of rain, but of fire. We need to be on the ark with Jesus, because we do not know when He is going to shut the door.
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