CLUE #1 – POINTING TO THE END
THE GREAT FLOOD – GENESIS 6
The Purpose of God’s Eternal Plan is “Perfection”. He is maturing and perfecting His people into His image, ultimately to live in Perfect harmony with Him and with one another, in a New and Perfect heaven and earth.
Each and every chapter, verse and word in the Bible, when viewed within this context of God’s Eternal Plan of Perfection, begins to make perfect sense.
This process of “Perfecting His Elect”, sometimes referred to as sanctification, comes through many forms of trials, tribulations, persecutions, temptations. The Great Flood of Noah’s day is one example of this process.
The Book of Daniel puts it this way, “and there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation”, and “many will be purged, cleansed and refined. but the wicked will coninute to act wickedly“.
Daniel 12:1-13 gives us an accurate, albeit abbreviated, summary of what is coming:
1. Verse 1. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people,
2. everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued. Verse 2. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt. Verse
3. Verse 3. And those who have insight will shine like the glow of the expanse of heaven,
4. and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. Verse 4. But as for you, Daniel, keep these words secret and seal up the book until the end of time; many will roam about, and knowledge will increase.” Verse 5. Then I, Daniel, looked, and behold, two others were standing, one on this bank of the stream and the other on that bank of the stream. Verse 6. And someone said to the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream,
5. “How long will it be until the end of these wonders?” Verse 7. And I heard the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream, as he raised his right hand and his left toward heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever that
(a) it would be for a time, times, and half a time; and as soon as they finish smashing the power of the holy people, all these events will be completed. Verse 8. But as for me, I heard but did not understand; so, I said, “My lord, what will be the outcome of these events?” Verse 9. And he said, “Go your way, Daniel, for these words will be kept secret and sealed up until the end time.
6. Verse 10. Many will be purged, cleansed, and refined, but the wicked will act wickedly; and none of the wicked will understand, but those who have insight will understand.
7. Verse 11. And from the time that the regular sacrifice is abolished and the abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. Verse 12.
(a) Blessed is the one who is patient and attains to the 1,335 days! Verse 13. But as for you, go your way to the end; then you will rest and rise for your allotted portion at the end of the age.”
Books have been written, movies have been made and plays have been created about ‘Noah and The Ark’. Is it true, a legend or a myth?
Once you get past the dramatic effects, the playwright’s imagination, the stage drama, the literary license and production embellishments, there is a truth to be seen and a lesson to be learned. But the whole truth will only be found in the Bible.
The Bible gives great detail about Noah, his life, his family and his homeland. We get details about the reasons for the construction of The Ark and even greater detail about The Ark, itself.
We can find many lessons from the account of Noah’s life, his relationship with God, the people of the earth, about God’s intentions for His Own creation, about faith and obedience to God’s Word and the cost of rebelliousness and sin toward God.
Who would have thought that we could find answers to a 21st Century quandary from an ancient, 4,800-year-old, event?
By all accounts, our twenty-first century world is full of the same “wickedness of man” was which prevalent during Noah’s days. “Every intent of the thoughts of man’s heart was only evil, continually”. A careful, prayerful study of God’s Word regarding the Last Days should lead you to see the concurrence of events pointing to the breaking of the breaking of the 6th Seal of the Tribulation judgment and the imminent return of Christ.
Jesus tells of these concurrent events in the twenty-fourth chapter of the book of Matthew and concludes His narration with the warning, “For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah.” (Matthew 24:37)
I. JUST LIKE IN THE DAYS OF NOAH Genesis 6:5, tells us, “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Verse 6. The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. Verse 7. The LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.
a) There can come a point when sin is so great, that God will blot out all mankind. We may have reached that point, again.
Verse 8. “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. 9 These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God. 10 Noah became the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.”
b) You can find favor with God, and He will consider you as “blameless”.
However, the Bible tells us that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” and that we can only be made Righteous “by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus”.
Genesis 6:11 “Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence. Verse 12. God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth. Verse 13. Then God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth. Verse 14. “Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; you shall make the ark with rooms, and shall cover it inside and out with pitch.“
c) God always makes a way of escape for the Righteous.
Genesis 6:18, says, “But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall enter the ark, you and your sons and your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. Verse 19. “And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. Verse 20. “Of the birds after their kind, and of the animals after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive. Verse 21. “As for you, take for yourself some of all food which is edible, and gather it to yourself; and it shall be for food for you and for them.” Verse 22. Thus, Noah did; according to all that God had commanded him, so he did.”
d) Prepare to endure to the end, for it is the one who endures to the end who will be saved!
Genesis 7:1, tells us, “Then the LORD said to Noah, “Enter the ark, you and all of your household, for you alone I have seen to be righteous before Me in this time. Verse 2. “You shall take with you of every clean animal by sevens, a male and his female; and of the animals that are not clean two, a male and his female; Verse 3, also of the birds of the sky, by sevens, male and female, to keep offspring alive on the face of all the earth. Verse 4. “For after seven more days, I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights; and I will blot out from the face of the land every living thing that I have made.” Verse 5. Noah did according to all that the LORD had commanded him.
e) Only those God sees as Righteous will be able to enter the Ark of His salvation, which is The New Covenant of His Blood,
II. OF THAT DAY AND HOUR
“No one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” Matthew 24:36
a) No one knows the day or the hour.
Verse 38. “For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, verse 39, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so, will the coming of the Son of Man be. Verse 40. “Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Verse 41. “Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left.”
b) “For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. Matthew 24:37
Matthew 24:42 “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. Verse 43. “But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. Verse 44. “For this reason, you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.”
c) You must be Ready for His Coming
III. CHRIST OR JUDGMENT
Hebrews 10:26, warns, “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, verse 27, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES. Verse 28. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Verse 29. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?”
a) “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.”
“For we know Him who said, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY.” And again, “THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.” Hebrews 10:30
b) The Christian’s covenant duty, as we wait for Christ’s return, is to ‘endure to the end’ and to ‘overcome evil with good’.
c) “It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God”. (Hebrews 10:31)
Hebrews 10:32. “But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings, verse 33, partly by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated. Verse 34. For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one. Verse 35. Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. Verse 36. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.”
d) Keep your confidence in Christ and on His promises, for you have a need of endurance.
Hebrews 10:37, instructs, “FOR YET IN A VERY LITTLE WHILE, HE WHO IS COMING WILL COME, AND WILL NOT DELAY. Verse 38. “BUT MY RIGHTEOUS ONE SHALL LIVE BY FAITH; AND IF HE SHRINKS BACK, MY SOUL HAS NO PLEASURE IN HIM.”
e) God gives a warning that in these Last Days,
IV. THE PROVING OF YOUR FAITH
The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who, according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, (1 Peter 1:3)
- Verse 4. to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,
- verse 5. Who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed IN THE LAST TIME.
- verse 6. In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, verse 7, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the 12of Jesus Christ; verse 8, and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,
- verse 9. Obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your soul
“But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.”
a) DO NOT SHRINK BACK
This, therefore, is how we prepare and conduct ourselves until “The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”
IF YOU UNDERSTAND GOD’S PURPOSE AND MEANING OF THE FLOOD AS DESCRIBED IN THE BOOK OF GENESIS, YOU WILL UNDERSTAND THAT WE ARE NOW N THE FINAL DAYS OF THE FINAL WEEK BEFORE JESUS RETURNS, USHERING IN THE “GREAT AND TERRIBLE DAY OF THE LORD”.
PREVIOUS: THE TRUTH BE KNOWN – The Main Point, Ch. 3.
NEXT: THE TRUTH BE KNOWN – Clue #2, Pointing To The End, Ch. 5
Whitestone Fellowship 