THE GHOST OF NOAH Matthew 24:36-39
When is the Lord coming back? Are there any signs that let us know it is near?
Strictly speaking, there are no “signs” connected with the rapture of believers, which is the first phase of the return of Christ; the coming of the Lord into the air for His saints is always proposed as the imminent hope of the Church (Philippians 3:20; 1 Thessalonians 1:10). “Signs” only have to do with His return in power and glory, to reign as the Son of Man; but seeing that the coming of the Lord for His people must precede His coming with His people, it follows that if the signs of His return in glory are shaping themselves visibly before our eyes and tell us that His return is not far off, the rapture must be that much nearer.
I heard about a little boy who was out playing, having a great time. Right in the middle of his play he stopped and asked, "What time is it?" Somebody said, "It’s 4 o’clock."
The little boy said, "It can’t be. Momma told me to be home by 4 o’clock and I’m not at home." He had lost track of time; and so have many of us!
The Lord declared in our text that conditions on the earth at the time of His return will parallel conditions on earth in the days of Noah. Luke 17: 28-32 indicates that the days before the Lord’s return will also parallel the day of Lot. Noah lived in a pornographic society; lot lived in a perverted society. Both are hallmarks of our day.
A young boy was playing in his grandmother’s house near a large grandfather clock. Noontime was approaching, and when both hands of the old timepiece reached 12, the chimes began to ring.
As he always liked to do, the boy counted each gong as it sounded. This time, however, something went wrong with the clock’s inner mechanism. Instead of stopping at 12, it kept right on chiming--13, 14, 15, 16 times.
The boy couldn’t believe his ears! He jumped to his feet and ran into the kitchen, shouting, "Grandma! Grandma! It’s later than it’s ever been before!" In his excitement, the youngster expressed a truth we all would do well to consider.
It is later than it’s ever been before--in the history of the world. With each passing hour, the words of James 5:8 take on added significance - “…the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.”
His coming is both comforting and sobering. It is reassuring to know that the day our Savior will come for us may be near. But at the same time, we must honestly ask ourselves, "Am I living in a way that will bring His commendation?"
The Disciples had asked Jesus, "What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world [age]?" (Matthew 24:3). Their question was very plain: "How can we know when you are coming again?" Christ had plainly told them that He would come again. He said, "I will come again" (John 14:3).
But how could they tell when He was coming? They wanted to know. They wanted a sign. Christ gave them many signs. But the greatest sign that His coming is drawing near was given when He said, "But as the days of Noe [Noah] were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be" (Matthew 24:37).
Dr. M. R. DeHaan wrote this: “Jesus says, if you want to know the signs of my coming, study the days of Noah before the flood. When conditions which existed before the flood are repeated, then know that it is near.”
Let us examine the days of Noah as mentioned in our text, and let us see how near the Lord’s coming is.
“As the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”
I. It was a time of SELFISH DEVOTION
“eating and drinking” - men were living for the flesh. They were living to satisfy their fleshly appetites.
Men were lovers of their own selves! Men were so full of self that they had no room for God.
They were so busy with activities that they had no time for God. Today our minds are so crowded with activities that God has been crowded out. We have little or no time for God in our schedule.
We are so concerned about where or what we are going to eat and drink. Some of you this morning have already given thought to what you are going are where you are going to eat after church.
We have let earthly concerns deaden us to spiritual things.
Mark 4:19, “ And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.”
We can become so engrossed in the common things of life such as eating and drinking that we lost sight of that which is important.
People in Noah’s day did not eat and drink to stay alive, they lived for eating and drinking. Today again the average man of the world loves for his appetite. People today are more interested in the physical than they are the spiritual.
We are lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. It has been said that Americans drive more that 350 billion miles a year in pursuit of pleasure.
The world has gone crazy for pleasure. Only a small percentage of the citizens of our cities attend church services regularly, but they jam pleasure resorts by the hundreds.
II. It was a time of SHAMEFUL DEPRAVITY
“marrying and giving in marriage”
Now turn with me to Genesis 4:19, "And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah." The emphasis on marriage in Noah’s day, spoken of by Jesus, went so far that people began marrying more than one wife. Lamech was the very first man in history to break God’s law and marry a second wife.
Divorce was almost unheard of when I was a child. It was very uncommon. It was a great shame, a scandal, back then. But divorce has grown so that no one seems to notice any more. In fact, many young people don’t even bother to get married now. They just move in together and live together.
You must understand that all of this is a repetition of what happened back in the days of Noah. America is being flooded with a whole generation of young people who have never known the joy of a happy home. The breakup of the home is the greatest single factor behind the rise in crime, drug use, alcoholism, and sex perversion. No other factor has contributed more to the destruction of our culture.
Never before in history since the days before the flood, has this condition existed so generally, and it is undoubtedly this that the Lord referred to when He said, "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,” (38).
We have seen the deterioration of the family more in our generation than in all the centuries of history.
There was a time when many wedding days consisted of two young people, both Christians, both entering the relationship with purity. They were marring with the intentions of saying faithful to each other and would stay married till death parts them.
What % of marriages begin and end in such a way today? This was and still is God’s plan.
Today we have the unholy union of men marrying men and women marrying women and then having surrogate children to raise who will grow up and likely do the same
I don’t care how common such occurrences are, it is still sin. It is just another sign, that the ghost of Noah is alive and well with us today.
A teacher was working with a grammar lesson and she said to one of her students, "Willie, what is it when I say ’I love you, you love me, he loves me?’"
Willie replied, "That’s one of those triangles where somebody gets shot."
Well, it used to be a situation where somebody would get shot-with a gun. Today it’s a situation that gets shot with a television camera. Television refers to adultery, to sex outside of marriages, 13 times more frequently than it mentions intimacy between a husband and a wife.
There was a time when adultery, fornication, homosexuality, or any type of premarital or extramarital sex, was overwhelmingly viewed as wrong, immoral, and sinful. What was once considered sinful is now considered normal and even defended.
What should be abhorred is today glamorized!
III. It was a time of STRONG DELUSION
“knew not until the flood came”
The God of this world hath blinded men to glorious gospel of Jesus Christ.
They considered not-did not lay Noah’s warning to heart, till it was too late to profit by it: so it is today.
They were deluded about the danger of the flood.
Why didn’t they know? They saw the Ark. They knew why it was being built. They heard Noah preach about the coming judgment. But they just didn’t listen.
They were unconcerned about judgment and Hell. They thought little about sacrificial blood as a picture of atonement. So, naturally, they “knew not until the flood came, and took them all away” (Matthew 24:39).
It’s almost unbelievable that they knew not, that the people in the time of Noah didn’t know it was going to rain because they had had somebody telling them that for 120 years. Noah was a preacher of righteousness. He preached righteousness and judgment. He gave them a very large sign of coming judgment by building a massive boat, an ark.
The ark was the symbol and the sign, a 120 years in building, that God was going to bring a devastation to drown the world, and it says until the flood came and engulfed them, they didn’t realize it. They just went on eating, drinking, marrying, giving in marriage. In other words, they went on with the routines of life, literally ignoring the preaching of judgment, literally ignoring the sign and the symbol of the coming flood. So will it be in the day of the Second Coming of Christ.
Hard to imagine but such is the blindness of the human heart.
A. Satan blinds
B. Sin blinds
Conclusion:
I remember a preacher who was preaching on the Second Coming. He was one of those guys who believed that you shouldn’t have any notes, you ought to preach strictly off your head, and he forgot his point. All he could remember was, "Behold, I come quickly...behold, I come quickly."
He knew it should have jogged his mind so he said it about five times, and nothing happened. The final time he thought, "If I hit the pulpit real hard and say, `Behold, I come quickly,’ maybe something will jar lose and I’ll remember."
Well he did just that and instead of he knocked the pulpit over and fell in the lap of a lady in the first row.
Quickly he apologized.
She said, "Why are you apologizing? You warned me eight times you were coming."
Jesus is coming, and He has given us the signs of his coming.
Are you ready for His coming?
1. There is a Comfort In His Coming
To the faithful, the promise of the coming of the Lord is wonderful. If you fear His coming, you need to get saved! His appearance is something you should long for and would love to see at any time.
In southern England there is a village with the curious name of Tiptoe. It seemed natural to call it that because years ago before paved streets and sidewalks were installed, the muddy condition of the lanes in that area often made it necessary for the people to walk on tiptoe. The child of God who walks the streets of this life faces a similar situation. He is to go forward on the tiptoe of expectancy because he is waiting for Someone who is coming very soon!
2. There is a Caution In His Coming
To the Lost, the promise of His coming is a warning! Are you ready for His coming?
