“As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matthew 24:37)
Dear friends, recently my family and friends and I had the opportunity to visit a replica of Noah’s Ark in Williamstown, Kentucky. One can only marvel at what work Noah did and what catastrophic events the people of the antediluvian (pre-Flood) world experienced. It would seem that this world-scale event, which took place about 4,500 years ago, has sunk into the past and no longer has anything to do with us. However, Christ warns us that just before His coming, the world will be like in the days of Noah before the flood.
What characterized this time? The world was full of evil, lawlessness, and moral decay. Moreover, people did not want to know God. But according to 2 Peter, chapter 2, verse 5, Noah was a preacher of righteousness. He preached to the people about the righteousness of God. But they did not want to walk in His ways.
Just picture that he preached to the people, warning of the coming disaster for a hundred years while he was building the Ark. And as a result, no one got converted? Today we would say that it was unsuccessful evangelism. But God was with Noah, and the world did not want to hear anything about God.
What does this tell us about the end times before the coming of Christ? Lawlessness and sexual immorality will only increase on earth. We are already witnessing this. Due to increasing lawlessness, love grows cold in many, which, in turn, leads to apostasy from the faith. False teachings lead many souls astray from the path of truth. People trust feelings, experiences, and what would flatter their ears – positive sermons or messages – rather than what the Bible says. Bible studies are considered to be boring and uninteresting. According to public polls, Christians are reading the Bible less and less and, as a result, do not know the Scriptures. There are fewer and fewer genuine believers. The number of people who identify as believers is decreasing every year. In Noah’s time, only his family was among those who found favor in the sight of God.
At the same time, we know that the Gospel must continue to be spread, warning people about the coming Judgment of all mankind and that Jesus Christ is the very door to this Ark of Salvation, and they have a chance to enter by it.
We recently remembered the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. His resurrection marks a new life, not only in this life but in eternity, to which we aspire. His words are addressed today to us and to the whole world: “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved …” (John 10:9).
Let’s remember the days of Noah!
Max Volkov in Christ