If a man named Noah began building an ark today, people would doubtless think he had gone around the bend. I do not mean the Ark Encounter built by Ken Ham in Kentucky. I do not fault Ham for building and using the Ark for family purposes. It is his method of bringing the gospel close to many unbelievers. But if someone claiming to be a modern-day Noah began to build a real ark today, the world would be in laughter.
On the evening of October 30, 1938, radio listeners across the US heard a shocking report of mysterious creatures (aliens) and terrifying war machines moving toward New York City. The hair-raising broadcast was not a real news bulletin but Orson Wells adaptation of the H. G. Wells science fiction novel, The War of the Worlds. It jokingly slipped through the radio waves and set some of the country in panic mode. Some called it a “magnificent fluke.”
It appears that this world is getting ready for a world-shaking event that will not be a fluke. It is obvious that our technology has reached and far exceeded a nuclear age poised to destroy this small planet. It is just waiting for some deranged oligarch to “push the button” and get it started.
I work hard never to be a date setter for the Second Coming of our Lord. Peter’s words speaking of the coming “day of the Lord,” like God’s words to Noah, appear more significant today than ever. With his words, who needs a date. The signs of the times are everywhere, and so are the mockers.
“Knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, 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.” For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” (2 Peter 3:3-8).
Translation! Time means nothing to God. Events are what are important to Him. “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (v. 9). All that are designated to come to Him will come to Him. But to us time is an issue. Humanity has enough technological knowledge and power to completely control or destroy the world of the living. Humanity has all the concentrated Adamic ingredients for world tyranny. We may be teetering perilously close to worldwide human government control. We witnessed a glimpse of this possibility during the Covid pandemic of 2020 which clearly demonstrated that a few can control the many under the fear of the impending hammer of death.
Though Noah is not here, and he is not building anything, Christ’s second coming may be very, very close. In Noah’s time – like today – the wickedness of man was epidemic, and every thought was only evil continually. God’s response was the destruction of all living things (Gen. 6:7). It is extremely possible that we are there again. It is quite possible that the earth is snared in the web of Paul’s words to the Romans.
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. Therefore, God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason, God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise, also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them” (Romans 1:18-32).
It appears that this is an accurate description of precisely where we are today worldwide. None of this is a fluke. This is truth from God’s word. And it is not like we are going to be there one day. We are there!
If word got out that Noah had begun building his ark today, would it be classified as extreme disinformation, or propaganda issued by a government organization to a rival power or the media? It is not disinformation that one of the major signs for Christ’s return is from His own words, “But as the days of Noah were, as also will the coming of the Son of man be. For the days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark and did not know until the flood came and took them all away” (Matthew 24:37-38).
If we go back and look carefully at Genesis 6, we quickly understand that the marriages talked about there were not normal. They described an invasion of evil angels into the world of humans and sadistic appalling marriages taking place changing the genetic makeup of the world of humans. The plan was for Satan to attempt to keep the seed of the woman, the Lord Jesus Christ, from coming into the world. Why? Because God had told the woman that her seed (the Lord Jesus Christ) would crush the head of the serpent. In other words, God said that Christ was going to kill Satan. Satan’s unnatural invasion was to prevent this event from happening.
No! I do not know the time of Christ’s coming. This is private info for the Father alone. But I do know that the time is closer now than when we first believed. “Therefore, we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:9-10).