The Days of Noah

Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.

(Luke 17:26-27)

Meditation

Just as the flood of Noah was a worldwide event so will be the conditions leading up to the seven-year wrath of God called the Tribulation. The whole world of Noah’s day was ‘eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage’ just as they always had been doing. Their lives were filled with corruption and violence. Then Noah and his wife, his three sons and their wives entered the ark and God shut the door behind them. That is a symbol of the rapture. They were being saved from God’s wrath. I know the word ‘rapture’ is not in the Bible, but neither is the word ‘Trinity’ and we have an entire doctrine around it because it’s true.

In the hundred years that Noah was building the ark he was preaching to the wicked and sinful people about what was coming. However, they would not listen or believe. Once the door to the ark was shut, they were going to have to face God’s wrath, just as the people of our day will, if they are left behind after the rapture. This passage cannot be describing what’s going to happen just before the second coming of Christ at the end of the Tribulation. That seven-year period will hold suffering and destruction, the likes of which have never been seen before. Such that if God doesn’t put an end to it there is nothing left alive.

It’s unlikely that people will be living an ordinary life in the midst of the destruction of the world, when just surviving will be foremost in their daily lives. It is said there has always been death and destruction and people still manage to live normal lives. True, but none of those instances has God’s wrath been involved. Right now, we cannot even imagine how terrible it will be to experience those days. If we are followers of Jesus, we won’t have to. Our Lord Jesus Christ is coming first, not to step foot on Mt Olive and judge the world, but to meet us in the clouds. If Jesus only comes as far as the clouds, it still can’t be called the Second Coming. Make sure that you heed the warnings to be waiting and watching so you’ll hear the Lord’s call to, “Come up here!”

Prayer Time

Heavenly Father, your greatness outshines everything else in the universe; nothing else compares. You are the origin of truth and we look to your honest promise for our protection. We praise and worship you for the prophetic warning to be ready for your Son’s return. We are waiting for that day as patiently as we can, Lord. Give us the zeal to spread the gospel to every unbeliever we encounter, because you love them just as you love us. You don’t want anyone to fail to understand what the salvation offered by Christ Jesus will mean for them. Don’t let us fall into the mindset that this day will never come, as some have concluded already. Your timing is not our timing and this day cannot come until the last person who is to be saved comes to you. We long for this day, but we have loved ones who do not believe yet. Lord soften their hearts and help them see the truth. Even still, Lord Jesus, come quickly! It’s in his precious name, we pray. Amen!