{"id":13806,"date":"2016-04-03T17:10:58","date_gmt":"2016-04-03T17:10:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.watchmanmedia.org\/?p=13806"},"modified":"2017-05-27T17:40:16","modified_gmt":"2017-05-27T17:40:16","slug":"as-in-the-days-of-noah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/watchmanmedia.org\/?p=13806","title":{"rendered":"As in the Days of Noah"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-14408\" src=\"https:\/\/watchmanmedia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Big_Ark_in_Dordrecht_3-1-1024x482.jpg\" alt=\"Big_Ark_in_Dordrecht_3-1\" width=\"1024\" height=\"482\" srcset=\"https:\/\/watchmanmedia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Big_Ark_in_Dordrecht_3-1-1024x482.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/watchmanmedia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Big_Ark_in_Dordrecht_3-1-300x141.jpg 300w, https:\/\/watchmanmedia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Big_Ark_in_Dordrecht_3-1-768x361.jpg 768w, https:\/\/watchmanmedia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Big_Ark_in_Dordrecht_3-1-1536x722.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/watchmanmedia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Big_Ark_in_Dordrecht_3-1.jpg 1637w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/em><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Does our wicked generation have any precedent in biblical history? Comparisons with Noah\u2019s day are hard to deny. Judgment is coming\u2014of that we can be sure. How should a believer react?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be\u201d (Matthew 24:37).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Regardless of how you interpret the prophecy of Matthew 24, Christ\u2019s reference to the rebellion and judgment in Noah\u2019s day is a sober warning for people today.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The New Testament explains how Noah responded to the evil of his time: \u201cBy faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith\u201d (Hebrews 11:7).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Noah obeyed God by building the Ark, and he trusted God even while the rest of the world was rebelling against their Creator.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">His obedience and actions provide us with an example of great faith. Noah built the Ark just as God commanded, and then by faith he and his family went through the one door of the Ark to be saved from God\u2019s watery judgment on a sinful world.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Genesis account pictures salvation. Just as Noah and his family went through the Ark\u2019s only door to be saved, so too we need to go through the one \u201cdoor.\u201d Jesus said, \u201cI am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture\u201d (John 10:9).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">As we look at our Western culture today, Christians see many similarities to the wicked days of Noah. Genesis 6:5 records: \u201cThen the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.\u201d Think about what we observe in our Western culture:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Wickedness is increasing as people ignore the things of God and abandon His original created purpose for marriage.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Millions of human beings are being murdered in their mothers\u2019 wombs \u2013 and it is legal to do so. In America alone, around 58 million children since 1973 have been killed by abortion, making the Holocaust pale in comparison.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">People increasingly worship nature rather than the God who created the world, just as described in Romans 1:18-23. In Colorado in 2013, after an elk was shot and killed, people gathered for a vigil for the elk, even holding hands and singing \u201cAmazing Grace\u201d in a eulogy. Yet on the same day in the U.S., nearly 4,000 children were murdered in their mothers\u2019 wombs, with hardly a word said.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Atheists are becoming increasingly aggressive and intolerant as they mock Christians and try to demonize those who adhere to the Christian faith.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Members in our churches, including many Christian leaders, are compromising God\u2019s Word in various areas and watering down its authority.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The government-run education system has eliminated the Bible, prayer, creation and the Creator God from the classroom. Meanwhile, legislators and judges protect anyone who teaches the anti-God religion of evolution. Nativity scenes, crosses and Ten Commandments displays have all but been removed from public places.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">While we live in a time of great wickedness, God is longsuffering. We read in 2 Peter 3:9: \u201cThe Lord \u2026 is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.\u201d But He is not going to remain silent. As in the days of Noah, the time will come when God closes the door of salvation and brings judgment to deal with mankind\u2019s rebellion.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Judgment already<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">God is already judging our Western culture, per Romans 1: \u201cFor the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of me\u201d (Romans 1:18). One sign that God is turning a culture over to judgment is seen in Romans 1:24\u201326 concerning homosexual behavior as God \u201cgave them up to vile passions.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> The homosexual movement is swamping our Western nations. As a result, God is withdrawing the restraining influence of the Holy Spirit on these rebellious countries, including the U.S.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Romans 1 also teaches us that those who rebel against God actively \u201csuppress the truth in unrighteousness\u201d and have essentially \u201cchanged the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man \u2013 and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things\u201d (Romans 1:18, 23). They have \u201cexchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever\u201d (Romans 1:25).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In fact, Romans 1 accurately describes our modern world, which is becoming more like Noah\u2019s generation every day.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Our response<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Just as God warned Noah\u2019s generation of coming judgment yet provided an Ark of salvation, we need to warn people today of coming judgment: the final judgment by fire. Our rebellious generation needs to know that God has provided an \u201cArk\u201d of salvation, the Lord Jesus Christ. As our \u201cArk of salvation,\u201d He is the one \u201cdoor\u201d through which everyone must go to be saved.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">None of us knows when Christ will return. God\u2019s Word tells us, in the context of His Second Coming and final Judgment, \u201cBeloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us\u201d (2 Peter 3:8\u20139).<\/span><\/p>\n<p>There is no time to delay. We need to take advantage of every opportunity to share the Gospel, warning people to repent before it\u2019s too late. That\u2019s the reason Answers in Genesis is building <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.arkencounter.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">a life-size, evangelistic Ark:<\/a> <\/span>to point a rebellious people to the modern-day Ark of salvation, Jesus Christ. That\u2019s the most important message we could ever share.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a9<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"> <a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/answersingenesis.org\/culture\/as-in-the-days-of-noah\/\" target=\"_blank\">Answers in Genesis<\/a> <\/span>on October 1, 2013; last featured January 10, 2016<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"pdfprnt-buttons pdfprnt-buttons-post pdfprnt-bottom-left\"><a href=\"https:\/\/watchmanmedia.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F13806&print=pdf\" class=\"pdfprnt-button pdfprnt-button-pdf\" target=\"_blank\" ><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/watchmanmedia.org\/wp-content\/plugins\/pdf-print\/images\/pdf.png\" alt=\"image_pdf\" title=\"View PDF\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/watchmanmedia.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F13806&print=print\" class=\"pdfprnt-button pdfprnt-button-print\" target=\"_blank\" ><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/watchmanmedia.org\/wp-content\/plugins\/pdf-print\/images\/print.png\" alt=\"image_print\" title=\"Print Content\" \/><\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Does our wicked generation have any precedent in biblical history? Comparisons with Noah\u2019s day are hard to deny. Judgment is coming\u2014of that we can be sure. How should a believer react? But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be\u201d (Matthew 24:37). Regardless of how you [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":14408,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-13806","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-birth-pains","8":"wp-image-borders","9":"entry"},"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/watchmanmedia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Big_Ark_in_Dordrecht_3-1.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4bgnN-3AG","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/watchmanmedia.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13806","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/watchmanmedia.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/watchmanmedia.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/watchmanmedia.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/watchmanmedia.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13806"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/watchmanmedia.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13806\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14678,"href":"https:\/\/watchmanmedia.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13806\/revisions\/14678"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/watchmanmedia.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14408"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/watchmanmedia.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13806"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/watchmanmedia.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13806"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/watchmanmedia.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13806"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}