God said to Noah,
“The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.”
Furthermore, God says,
“What has been, that will be; what has been done, that will be done. Nothing is new under the sun! Even the thing of which we say, “See, this is new!” has already existed in the ages that preceded us.”
Ecclesiastes 1:9,10 (New American Bible – Revised edition)
Often times, when we read the book of Genesis we feel that so much history is given in a “cliff notes” version that we come away feeling that we would like to know more. After all, God sums up nearly 1600 years of pre-flood history in a few short chapters.
Relationship determines revelation
The truth is, our relationship with God determines the degree of revelation we have of Him. The closer we are to God the better sense we have of what God is like, how He thinks, and how to view the world in relationship to Him. Moreover, as we become closer to God we start to have access to His mind through the Spirit of truth, therefore we begin to know what He knows. This is essentially how prophets operate. The Holy Spirit, which is simply the Spirit of God, not only shows them the future but can also show them the past. I believe this is the spiritual mechanism through which Moses wrote the book of Genesis. Moses had, through the Holy Spirit, access to the memories of God and simply wrote down what God Himself remembered.
We should understand that, because nothing is new under the sun, the story of Noah is reflected everywhere in the scriptures due to the fact that what people did after the flood is essentially the same things they did before the flood. What we see happening today is a rerun of what has happened before.
Genesis: pure revelation
Moses wrote the book of Genesis by pure revelation. God simply revealed to Moses, by giving him access to His mind, all that happened before the flood. Therefore, because we are filled with that same Spirit, it is theoretically possible for us to know, or at least get a sense of the greater story of the antediluvian world, through that same Spirit of Truth.
This is important because the things that are happening now, in our current age, are nothing new. All that is taking place now happened, to a large extent, before the flood. The reason that judgement is coming now is that we are doing, by and large, the same things that brought judgement upon the Earth in the days of Noah. God does not change and what brought Him to the point of destroying the earth about 4359 years ago is bringing us to the brink of destruction today.
Arks signal judgement
To me, it is a telling sign that full-scale replicas of Arks are being built around the world. Though people may have differing reasons for building these Arks, I believe they are a sign like the original Ark was.
What I am about to write is how “I” understand what may have happened in the days of Noah. I do not claim what I write is scripture. However, I do believe there is an element of inspiration which may explain what actually happened. I leave it to you to judge.
Perfect In His Generation
Noah was found by God to be perfect in his generation. In a time when men corrupted themselves beyond measure, Noah found grace. From the perfection of the Garden, mankind descended into such abominations that God Himself actually repented that he created man in the first place. Through idols, men and women worshiped demons. Such idol worshipers even sacrificed their own children to prototypes of Moloch and Chemosh, atrocities that had never even entered the mind of God. Thus, our Father purposed in His heart to destroy the very creation He had said was very good.
However, before doing so, God spoke to Noah to build an Ark . The Ark being both a symbol and a means as a means of salvation for all those who would hear God’s message of repentance. After Noah received the word of God that the world was about to end, he began to proclaim it to all those who would listen for the scriptures state that grandson of Methuselah was a preacher of righteousness. With a conviction and anointing borne of the Holy Ghost, Noah, like John the Baptist, cried aloud against the sins of a people who had fallen from grace and forsaken God.
A message initially received
Some, who believed Noah’s message, repented of their sins and earnestly sought the forgiveness of God. Noah’s warning of impending judgement caused them to believe and it was counted to them as righteousness. With one heart and one soul they joined Noah in his divine mission to save humanity from judgement to come.
To be sure, most of those who heard Noah’s message mocked it saying, “all things continue as they have from the beginning of the world and we need fear nothing this mad man says.” Others said, “We are not so bad as Noah says and, by the way, there is no God and even if their were He has forsaken this world long ago and takes no interest in the affairs of men.” Still others jeered, “Noah, you are a fool and you speak a false vision of your own imagination. You build a boat on dry land far from any water and want us to believe that God has sent you? You are a lunatic.”
They believed Noah’s message
Yet, those who believed joined Noah in building the Ark. It was a gigantic undertaking and believers gave freely of their time and money to help realize the vision that God gave His prophet. Building progressed, in difficult times and through much hardship, under the watchful eye and direction of Noah. Soon a frame began to take form and the outline of a mighty ship began to take shape. In fact, Noah and his follower finished the Ark in little over 20 years. Hundreds and sometimes thousands of the faithful labored to build the Ark believing that the end of the world was near. People, who believed Noah’s message, sold lands and houses to provide for God’s work. Soon, the cult of Noah (as detractors called it) and the ship they built was known and talked about throughout the earth.
There were also those, even though they did not hold with all that Noah taught, who thought that his message had some merit. Some people recognized that there was indeed great evil in the earth. However, most could simply not swallow the tall tale that Noah told of how the end of all flesh was at hand. Building a boat in the middle of nowhere far from water in anticipation of a great flood that would destroy all civilization was a bridge too far for most. It seemed to be the general consensus that the story Noah told was, at best, a delusion of a crazed old man and perhaps, even worse, a scam meant to bilk weak-minded individuals out of their time and money. To most, these “Noahites” had no minds of their own and slavishly believed and did whatever Noah told them.
God is not slack concerning His promise
Those who worked upon the Ark generally believed that as soon as the Ark was completed the end of the world would come. Surely, they reasoned, God was holding back His judgement until such time as the His chosen could float to safety. It was assumed by many and those “in the know”, that when the last peg was fastened and the hull completely pitched within and without, the flood would surely come, drowning all unbelievers while at the same time lifting up the faithful to safety. As the Ark neared completed the sense of expectancy grew and people worked even harder. A boat, bigger than any ever attempted, stood as a silent witness to all the world that God was about to judge the sin.
The day came when everything was completed. Everyone praised and thanked God that they had been counted worthy to take part in such a great and holy salvation. The faithful gathered their belongings and made preparations to enter the Ark before the end of the world came. Faith rose to a fever pitch. Expectation of divine wrath was so thick a sense of foreboding permeated everyone in the movement. A great feast was called and people gathered together to celebrate the completion of the vision of God and to receive word from Noah when they should board the Ark ahead of the great flood.
When will these things be?
After the feast, people gathered to hear the words of Noah. Noah stood and gave a dramatic message of about the sins of the world and how mankind had grieved God. God’s prophet thundered that YHWH would visit His judgement upon the unjust and recompense them for their iniquity. Those present hung upon Noah’s words as if they were the oracles of God. Then someone demanded, “when will all these things be?” Noah replied, “no man knows the day or hour of His judgement. The time is short and we must all remain steadfast and believe God’s word”. That isn’t the message people expected, but waiting a few more days didn’t seem unreasonable. The important thing was that, when judgement did come, they would all be safe.
The Ark completed
Noah and his people completed God’s Ark . A boat, of magnificent proportions, sat on flat earthen plain. Many, who saw the Ark wondered inwardly, “what if what Noah says is true?” Days, then weeks, then months passed with no sign of judgement. People began asking Noah when the vision that He saw would come to pass. Always Noah replied, “ours is not to know the times and seasons but to wait patiently until His word is fulfilled”. After that Noah, invariably, would speak about the sins of the world and the need for repentance. However, as time wore on, believers patience began to wear thin.
In time, some began to openly say that Noah’s preaching of repentance forestalled the coming judgement altogether. Others advanced a theory that God only meant the Ark as a “symbolic” threat of a “potential” judgement. However, Noah’s message about judgment never wavered and God’s prophet insisted that their would be a literal flood.
As in the days of Noah
One year passed then two. Some, who only joined near the end of the project, left. They felt relieved that the judgement Noah spoke of did not come to pass. Truth be told, some people joined the work only out of fear, thinking it was better to be safe than sorry. When things didn’t turn out as predicted, they simply returned to their previous occupations.
Those who stayed with Noah, believed that God must be giving others more time to repent. They spoke of God’s mercy and compassion, thinking God waited for more to repent and join them in the Ark.
God is slow to anger
Then the first decade passed; still no judgement. Detractors nicknamed the Ark “Noah’s Folly.” Many mocked and jeered that little group of “end of the worlders”. True to form, Noah never wavered from his message. Noah’s faith helped the resolve of those who followed him. However, as the years marched on, people started to leave the group in ever-increasing numbers.
Believers gave many excuses. Some had to help family members with their crops while others needed to bury their fathers. In fact, the cares and worries of people’s lives seemed to grow as fear of disaster passed. People suggested the flood wasn’t a “worldwide event” at all, but only a “localized” inundation.
God’s judgement tarried
The more time passed without judgement the more people invented alternative explanations of what God’s message really meant. Noah would hear none of what he termed “unbelief”, chiding those around him for their little faith. Nevertheless, people suggested that Noah was getting senile for, after all, he was over 500 old.
People lived a long time before the flood, therefore they were a patient lot. However, after 50 years their confidence in Noah started to wear thin. Whereas there had, at times, been thousands who believed, now only a few hundred remained. Even Noah’s detractors ceased to care about those “crazies” who had built a huge boat on dry ground. The Ark was clearly last centuries news.
Noah, a preacher of righteousness
Noah, to the consternation of his followers, remained married to his doctrine of what God was about to do and would not hear of or entertain any alternate theories or explanations of what God meant. People began to say that Noah was inflexible, unteachable, and stubborn. Obviously, some thought, while Noah’s message may have symbolic relevance, it was not literally going to happen. Some who left even started to speak ill of Noah making all types of accusations against him and his family. Rumors circulated about mismanagement of funds causing the faith of the those that still believed to grow cold.
Nearly 85 years since the first ax felled the first gopher tree, Noah’s last followers left. They did not say goodbye, or thank him, or give a reason, but quietly slipped away during the night. The remnant of a once great movement camped out beside an enormous boat built on dry land.
Those who believed were sometimes disobedient
These were difficult days for Noah. He still felt the message that God had given him so many years ago was absolutely true. Noah felt he failed in his mission as none who had initially believed, except his family, remained. All that he knew to do now was maintain the ark as best he could and wait. Noah felt badly that his sons and their wives endured ridicule every time they went to market. Since God spoke to him, Noah never felt so badly as when former believers mocked and ridiculed him.
Though Noah felt the presence of God, his Lord had not spoken to him for many years. Even when He did speak it was always the same message of judgement. Noah had even given up looking for signs that might tell him when God was going to fulfill His word. Noah simply resigned himself to waiting, if necessary, for the rest of his life.
The end of all flesh
Ninety nine years went by and then something peculiar began to take place. It was not a voice from heaven but more of a “knowing”. Noah found himself gathering supplies in great abundance. His sons began to clean the ark. Everyone busied themselves inspecting the boat inch by inch, making sure it was properly pitched within and without.
Noah, storing grain and other food stuffs in the Ark, moved his family and their belongings inside too. No one said much, yet they went about their daily business as if moved by some invisible hand. People no longer paid attention to anything the old man did or said and all these preparations went unnoticed.
Animals of every kind, both clean and unclean, began showing up at the ark. First a few creatures, then many. Of their free will, the great and small boarded the ark two by two. Taking little notice of Noah, animals simply filed, male and female, into the cavernous hull of the boat. As a few turned into hundreds, then thousands, Noah and his family knew it was the hand of God.
God shut the Ark
Suddenly, one day, no more animals came. God said, “it is time, the end of all flesh has come before me, enter thou into the Ark”. Noah, as if moving in a dream, took his family and entered the Ark. As the last person stepped inside, the huge door, lifted by the hand of God Himself, closed with a thud. Noah looked first as his wife then at his sons and daughter-in-laws but, for once, found no words to say. After a hundred long years the day of judgement arrived. Noah assumed from the beginning that he had built the ark to save people. However, God filled the Ark to the brim with animals of every kind and just his family.
Throughout all the ark no animal made a sound. As Noah walked through the hull he found that every animal, large or small, slept. Noah even tried to wake a sheep but the animal, though still breathing, did not stir. Noah’s wife made dinner that night as a great stillness settled upon the whole Earth.
Yet seven days
For seven days Noah prayed and waited in the ark. Pacing on the deck and looking towards heaven Noah asked God “what now?. God answered, “peace be still”. On the third day something strange seemed to be happening in the sky. Since Noah’s youth, the sky always looked the same, blue and unbroken as far as you could see. Today, however, the Sky seemed to fill with mist.
On the 6th day, Noah woke at his usual time, but the sun did not rise. The sky, no longer blue, looked black as the smoke of furnace. Tremors ran through the Ark shaking the utensils from off the table on to the floor. Wind blew from the east in cold gusts, carrying a hint of moisture.
The first drop of rain
On the seventh day after God had shut the ark, Noah felt something completely new. Noah immediately put his hand to his head feeling the first drop of rain. Tasting it Noah exclaimed, “it’s water!” Looking around in surprise, Noah half thought someone splashed him, but no one was there. Then another rain drop hit and another. As Noah looked up the deluge began in earnest. Soon water danced on the deck around him drenching Him to the bone. Noah just stood there motionless as the rain came down. Noah had always assumed that the flood would come from the ocean but coming from the sky? He never expected that!
Coming to his senses our hero staggered into the Ark and closed the deck door tightly behind him. Wide eyed, every family member looked at the soaking wet patriarch in astonishment. Flashes of light followed by deafening crashes from the heavens broke like mighty waves upon the Ark. Noah and his family clung to each another, praying desperately that God save them from a world gone mad.
Though they heard Noah, they were sometimes disobedient
Those, who were sometimes disobedient to the word of God, felt the rain too. First a little, then a lot, then a torrential downpour that made them run into their houses and hide. The very Earth seemed to tremble as the drops of water fell like mighty sheets to the ground. People, who once followed Noah, fought their way to the Ark, but the door was shut. Desperately pounding on the hull they cried for mercy, however, no one inside the Ark could hear them over the peals of thunder breaking incessantly above their heads.
Mortal terror gripped every soul in the world as nature convulsed in agony around them. After a hundred years the end of all flesh finally came with a ferocity not born of this world. Few realized that the madman with a big boat was right all along. Most, as the water rose, cursed God. Those who used to follow Noah along with the unrepentant perished in the great flood.
God says,
“By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.”
1 Peter 3:16,20
And,
“So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noah 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.”
Matthew 24:33-19
Finally, God says,
“If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.”
Mark 7:16