NOAH, THE ARK, AND THE FLOOD

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Intro: Tour of the Creation Museum in the Spring of 2017 – I was so excited about seeing a life size reproduction of Noah’s Ark I could barely contain myself…also the chance to see it with Carol and the grandkids was a great joy to me!

About The Ark Encounter Exhibit (arkencounter.com or creationmuseum.org (no “www.”:

When you first approach the Ark Encounter exhibit and parking lot, you see what at first looks like a huge building in the distance:

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Ark Encounter features a full-size Noah’s Ark, built according to the dimensions given in the Bible. Spanning 510 feet long, 85 feet wide, and 51 feet high, this modern engineering marvel amazes visitors young and old. Ark Encounter is situated in beautiful Grant County in Williamstown, Kentucky, halfway between Cincinnati and Lexington and right off I-75.

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Hill family in front of the Ark entrance (ramp leading to entrance on side of Ark; observe how tiny people look in the background by the long pipes).

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Close ups for scale – pictures of the hull and the bow.

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There were many fascinating exhibits and theories about various ways that Noah’s family fed, housed and otherwise cared for some 34,000 land-dependent species as well as the family.  The exhibit that really stayed with me was the door. 

Noah was a real person.  “Noah’s” flood really happened, and the Ark was a genuine masterpiece of ship building as it was designed by God to save the required animals and birds, and Noah and family from the flood.

SPS: Today we’re going to learn why it’s important to think about Noah, the Ark and the flood as we approach the Feast of Trumpets.

One reason why we know that Noah, the Ark and the flood was real is because Jesus Christ Himself authenticated their reality. [Tell story of Jesus’s disciples asking Him what the sign would be of the end of the age, and His return].

(Mat 24:36)  "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.

(Mat 24:37)  But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

(Mat 24:38)  For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,

(Mat 24:39)  and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

The Feast of Trumpets “…commemorates the blowing of trumpets that will precede and herald His return. Seven angels with seven trumpets are described in Revelation 8 – 10 heralding world-shaking events.  Christ will return with the blowing of the seventh trumpet (Revelation 11:15) – [UCG Fundamental Beliefs – The Festivals of God].

Jesus Christ will appear just as suddenly as the flood came that God brought upon the world in Noah’s day.

It’s so important that we reflect on the times we live in, and how we are living in these times – I think you know why, but due to our constant struggle with our human nature it’s important that we remind ourselves constantly of Jesus Christ’s warning in Matthew 24.

Let’s peek again at: (Mat 24:38)  For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,

The point here is that the people of the earth were living there every day normal lives – but what they considered to be normal or acceptable behavior was detestable to God.

There are a few key verses to consider in Genesis 6:

[NLT] (Gen 6:5) - The LORD observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil.

Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible, Abridged by Ralph Earl (Copyright 1967 by Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City) states the following:

“The very first embryo of every idea, the figment of every thought, the very materials out of which perception, conception, and ideas were formed were all evil; the fountain which produced them, with every thought, purpose, wish, desire, and motive, was incurably poisoned.

There was no interval of good, no moment allowed for serious reflection, no holy purpose, no righteous act.”

The NKJV titles a section of NT scripture “Godlessness in the Last Days” – turn with me to 1 Timothy 3:1 (we will read through verse 5).

(2Ti 3:1)  But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:

(2Ti 3:2)  For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

(2Ti 3:3)  unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good,

(2Ti 3:4)  traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,

(2Ti 3:5)  having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!

(NLT) - (2Ti 3:5)  They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!

Larry Walker wrote a Beyond Today blog on May 12, 2006, titled “End Time Scoffers Seek to Discredit the Bible” with an excellent insight into this scripture.  Mr. Walker points out “…the failure of religion in the latter days has allowed unbiblical and anti-biblical claims to gain acceptance.

Sadly, even some theologians discount the power of God. I listened with incredulity to a well-known theologian and author categorically in a PBS interview that the disciples had ‘some kind of spiritual experience,’ but Jesus was not literally resurrected.”

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(2Pe 3:1)  Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder),

(2Pe 3:2)  that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior,

(2Pe 3:3)  knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts,

(2Pe 3:4)  and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation."

(2Pe 3:5)  For this they willfully forget:

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[We are warned to beware lest there be in any of us an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; to exhort one another daily while it is called TODAY lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.  For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, while it is said ‘TODAY, IF YOU WILL HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS AS IN THE REBELLION] that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water,

(2Pe 3:6)  by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water.

Now I think we’ve seen some pretty good descriptors of what the world is like and was like when God brings and brought destruction on the earth.

(Gen 6:6)  So the LORD was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart.

(Gen 6:7)  And the LORD said, “I will wipe this human race I have created from the face of the earth. Yes, and I will destroy every living thing—all the people, the large animals, the small animals that scurry along the ground, and even the birds of the sky. I am sorry I ever made them.”

(Gen 6:8)  But Noah found favor with the LORD.

(Gen 6:9)  This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God.

(Gen 6:11)  Now God saw that the earth had become corrupt and was filled with violence.

(Gen 6:12)  God observed all this corruption in the world, for everyone on earth was corrupt.

(Gen 6:13)  So God said to Noah, “I have decided to destroy all living creatures, for they have filled the earth with violence. Yes, I will wipe them all out along with the earth!

(Gen 6:14)  “Build a large boat from cypress wood and waterproof it with tar, inside and out. Then construct decks and stalls throughout its interior.

(Gen 6:15)  Make the boat 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high.

(Gen 6:16)  Leave an 18-inch opening below the roof all the way around the boat. Put the door on the side, and build three decks inside the boat—lower, middle, and upper.

(Gen 6:17)  “Look! I am about to cover the earth with a flood that will destroy every living thing that breathes. Everything on earth will die.

(Gen 6:18)  But I will confirm my covenant with you. So enter the boat—you and your wife and your sons and their wives.

(Gen 6:19)  Bring a pair of every kind of animal—a male and a female—into the boat with you to keep them alive during the flood.

(Gen 6:20)  Pairs of every kind of bird, and every kind of animal, and every kind of small animal that scurries along the ground, will come to you to be kept alive.

(Gen 6:21)  And be sure to take on board enough food for your family and for all the animals.”

(Gen 6:22)  So Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded him.

What if Noah gave up half-way through building the Ark?  What if Noah chose to believe that God really didn’t mean exactly what he said, and never completed the Ark, and never walked through that door into the Ark?

(Joh 10:9)  I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.

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Noah was called by God, and he listened to His voice.  He refused to participate in the continuous godlessness of the antediluvian world.  He built that Ark following God’s instructions, and he entered that door he built into its side.

Like Noah, we have been called out of the world.  The flood came suddenly upon the world, but it was no surprise to Noah!  He was prepared!  How prepared are we?  Are we ready TODAY for the coming of Jesus Christ?  

It rained for 40 days and 40 nights, and the floodwaters covered the earth for 150 days (Gen 7:24). God remembered Noah (Genesis 8:1), and the waters gradually receded from the earth and the Ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat five months after the flood began (Gen 8:4). Two and half months later the mountain peaks became visible, and after another 40 days Noah released a Raven that never returned.  He later releases a dove three times; the first time the dove flies back with nothing – still too much water on the earth, the second time it returns with an olive leaf in its beak, and third time it decides its moving out of the Ark for keeps!  Finally, twelve and one-half months after the flood began God tells Noah and his family to leave the Ark.

Noah didn’t take things into his own hands and leave the Ark immediately after the dove returned with the olive leaf…he waited on God.  Noah chose to listen to God’s voice; he chose to obey God and finish building the Ark and bring in all the animals as God required along with his family.  Noah chose to stay in the Ark until God said it was time to leave the Ark and live on dry land once again.  Noah chose to obey God.  Noah chose to listen to His voice.  Noah chose to follow God’s instructions exactly, entering that door in the side of the Ark and then closing it for twelve and one-half months.

[Story of your boating trip out of Long Beach with family, and 30’ waves that were the “tale end” of a tropical storm]

I can’t imagine the ferocity of the waves that Noah and his family endured during those forty days and nights that the flood gates opened from below and above the earth.

Noah entered in the door to the only physical means of his salvation from the fatal flood, and we enter through the door, Jesus Christ our Redeemer, the only source of our eternal salvation!

(Act 4:10)  let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole.

(Act 4:11)  This is the 'STONE WHICH WAS REJECTED BY YOU BUILDERS, WHICH HAS BECOME THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE.'

(Act 4:12)  Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

It would be crazy to abandon ship!  This world is coming very close to the antediluvian period.  We’ve got to keep building that Ark, our overcoming, we need to follow God’s instructions precisely, and we need to stay in that Ark during hard times and not abandon our faith in God.

The waters prevailed on the earth 150 days, and then:

(Gen 8:1)  Then God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the animals that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided.

God did not forget Noah – he remembered Noah, and Strong’s Concordance identifies the word as H2142 – (zaw – kar’), wherein the primitive root means to mark, as to be recognized.

God began to cause the waters that covered the earth to recede in a gradual way.  He had a purpose.  He was creating a new physical environment or habitat capable of sustaining man and animal.

God does not forget us, and as He promises He will never leave nor forsake us.

Let’s look at Isaiah.

(Isa 54:9)  "For this is like the waters of Noah to Me; For as I have sworn That the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth, So have I sworn That I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you.

(Isa 54:10)  For the mountains shall depart And the hills be removed, But My kindness shall not depart from you, Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed," Says the LORD, who has mercy on you.

(Isa 54:11)  "O you afflicted one, Tossed with tempest, and not comforted, Behold, I will lay your stones with colorful gems, And lay your foundations with sapphires.

(Isa 54:12)  I will make your pinnacles of rubies, Your gates of crystal, And all your walls of precious stones.

(Isa 54:13)  All your children shall be taught by the LORD, And great shall be the peace of your children.

(Isa 54:14)  In righteousness you shall be established; You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; And from terror, for it shall not come near you.

(Isa 54:15)  Indeed they shall surely assemble, but not because of Me. Whoever assembles against you shall fall for your sake.

(Isa 54:16)  "Behold, I have created the blacksmith Who blows the coals in the fire, Who brings forth an instrument for his work; And I have created the spoiler to destroy.

(Isa 54:17)  No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, And their righteousness is from Me," Says the LORD.

Our heritage brethren is the new heaven and new earth, and unlike in Noah’s time, and unlike the heaven and earth that will be replaced with the new heaven and earth, it will last forever and ever, and God willing, so will we!

IN SUMMARY

I hope that today you learned why it’s important to think about Noah, the Ark and the Flood as we approach the Feast of Trumpets.

Noah:

(Heb 11:7)  By 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.

(Gen 6:8)  But Noah found favor with the LORD.

(Gen 6:9)  This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God.

(Gen 6:22)  So Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded him.

The ARK

The Ark’s door reminds us of the only door we should go through to be saved, and that door is Jesus Christ.

(Joh 10:9)  I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.

(Act 4:12)  Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

Jesus Christ is our door to salvation.

The Flood

(Mat 24:38)  In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat.

(Mat 24:39)  People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes.

(Mat 24:42)  “So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming.

(Mat 24:48)  But what if the servant is evil and thinks, ‘My master won’t be back for a while,’

(Mat 24:49)  and he begins beating the other servants, partying, and getting drunk?

(Mat 24:50)  The master will return unannounced and unexpected,

(Mat 24:51)  and he will cut the servant to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

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Conclusion:

Let’s watch our attitudes and strive to have a godly attitude like Noah.

Let’s maintain a close relationship with God.

Let’s strive to do exactly as He says, and by the grace of God receive the heritage of the LORD!