Scripture: Genesis 7:12-22; Romans 5:8-11
Jesus said, “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man” (Matthew 24:37).
In reading Genesis 7:12-22, we see that God looked on the earth and saw that it was corrupt. And the earth was corrupted because all the people had corrupted themselves.
Genesis 6:5-8 tells us, “The LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The LORD regretted that He had made human beings on the earth, and His heart was deeply troubled.” The LORD vowed He would wipe out all life from the earth He had made, all the humans as well as all the animals. But there was one human who had found favor in the eyes of the LORD … Noah.
So God told Noah of His plans. Genesis 7:13 – God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh is come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence through them. I’m going to destroy them along with the earth.”
Verse 7:4, the LORD God says, “Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for 40 days and 40 nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made.”
This revealing of His plans is one way the LORD God Almighty shows His great love for those who love Him. Amos 3:7 tells us, “Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing His plans to His servants the Prophets.”
All through the Old Testament as well as in every Book of the New Covenant, prophecy points to the last days of the world as we know it. Most of us have been over this ground many times before and know that one of the greatest signs of the last days being ushered in is the return of the Jews to their homeland. Israel is the fig tree Jesus pointed to in His Olivet Discourse, that when the world sees the tree blossom, we know the time is near.
The modern-day nation of Israel came into being on May 24, 1948, fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah 66:8 – “Who has ever heard of such things? Who has ever seen things like this? Can a country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment? Yet, no sooner is Zion in labour, than she gives birth to her children.”
Zionism began in earnest toward the end of the 19th century. But it took the world fighting two great wars to finally bring into being a nation for the Jews of the world to call their own – and on the very land of their birthright. God told us His plan through His prophets, and He brought about its fulfillment at the very moment He had planned it.
Much of the end-times prophecy in the Old Testament has to do with the nation of Israel. The End Times could not begin until Israel had been brought back into being. And it did happen in a day, just as the prophecies said it would.
As we revisit God’s plan to destroy the first world, we see that He relents from destroying all flesh. Indeed, His promise to Noah was that he, his sons, and all their wives would be saved, alongside two of every living creature.
Here’s an interesting little bit of the Bible for you: While we may have the notion that Noah had to go into all the world and round up two of every kind of animal, the Bible tells us God actually commanded the animals to come to Noah. You know how difficult it is to round up cattle, horses, or even cats. Once they get the sense you want them to do something, they tend to do the opposite, and it takes patience and a good deal of skill to get animals to do your bidding. And that’s domestic animals. Imagine how difficult it would be to wrangle the wild beasts!
But in Genesis 6:20, we learn that the LORD tells Noah that He, the LORD, will bring the animals to Noah. “Two of every kind of bird, of every creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive.” Noah had already invested 120 years in building the ark. With time of the essence, God Almighty took charge of getting the animals to the ark before the rain began.
The significance of this part of the story is that God never taxes us with more than we are capable of enduring or doing. Please keep this thought in mind as we go through the rest of this message.
So, when all things were in place, when the ark was built, when all the animals were safely in place in the ark, then and only then did the LORD God unleash the fury of His wrath in the form of the Great Universal Flood.
The waters of the flood covered the earth for 150 days, and then the ark came to rest on the earth once more, and eight human beings got off the vessel, faced with the task of starting over with practically nothing. Try to imagine the trust Noah must have had in order to come through such a tribulation and the faith the eight had to have to face the daunting future as the only people left on planet Earth.
Noah offered a sacrifice, and the LORD responded to it. God vowed to Noah that never again would He curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from the time of childhood. Never again would God destroy all life by a flood. Genesis 9:12 – “And God said, ‘This is the sign of the covenant I am making between Me and you and every living creature with you — a covenant for all generations to come. I have set My rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.”
One of the most interesting signs of the end times is that this covenant, an unbreakable promise from God Almighty, has been co-opted by a godless society. Meanwhile, the LORD continues His part of the covenant — rainbows still appear in the sky after rainstorms. But as in the days of Noah, the wicked hearts of human beings, tempted and prodded by the evil one, have corrupted all they see as godly, including this beautiful covenant sign. As we have said before, the rainbow of God is basically seven colors with myriad shades blending from each color to the next. Seven being the number of God, this is not surprising. The number of evil man is six, according to various passages of the Bible. The co-opted rainbow of the godless consists of six solid colors. As everything else Satan attempts to usurp from God, it is so much less beautiful, so earth-bound. So not of God.
Wickedness appears to have returned to the earth, as bad as it was in the days of Noah. At the beginning of Chapter 6, starting with verse 4, we read, “The Nephilim were on the earth in those days – and also afterward – when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown. The LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become …”
It is well established that the ‘sons of God’ in this context were none less than the angels who had fallen with Satan, and they were corrupting the human beings which God had made in His own likeness.
In today’s world, the Nephilim appear to be at it again. This time, they are corrupting God’s creation in several ways never seen before in our history. Transgenderism, transhumanism, and something called the singularity … the union of human flesh with sentient or conscious computers.
While the letters AI have a certain meaning among cattle and pig producers, they are also used to identify something called Artificial Intelligence. This past week, a news story spoke to the idea that a computer is now able to carry on a “real” conversation with a human being. In order for conversation to happen, there have to be two beings who have consciousness and self-awareness. A computer, with consciousness and self-awareness, is said to be ready now to join together with a human being – the singularity, according to scientists, has arrived.
It seems to me that this quote singularity unquote is nothing less than a demon in the machine.
Science is happily handing over to Satan the next generation of computers. Now, where have we heard that before? Demons united with humans? Hmm. As in the days of Noah ….
What I am about to say may seem off-track but is indeed relevant to this message which, remember, is titled “SAVED FROM GOD’S WRATH.”
On Friday, I attended the funeral of a most beloved colleague. This minister was one of God’s finest disciples. In the midst of great troubles of his own, he was always quick to help someone else. His kindness was legendary. But it was his amazing witness and testimony about Jesus Messiah that was truly amazing. He never stopped telling people about the Gospel, the Good News of redemption in the risen Christ.
Our minister friend looked so forward to the Rapture. He fought the good fight against illness for years, I think, in looking for the Blessed Hope. I could say, “Sadly, he missed seeing it,” but there is nothing sad about going home to Jesus. He is now in the arms of His Saviour but is still waiting for the Rapture because that’s when the dead in Christ will rise and receive their new bodies before any of us who may be left on earth when it happens. Talk about “Blessed Hope!”
I tell you that in order to take us to the meat of this message. Remember the paragraph from earlier that God never taxes us with more than we are capable of enduring?
As our friend was, many born-again Christians have been waiting with excitement for the Rapture, some for years now. And as we see all the signs increasing almost exponentially daily, it seems excitement is growing to a fever pitch among those of us who love and believe in Jesus Christ.
Many of us believe the Rapture is so close that it could come at any moment now. Still, from time to time, I need to be reminded that I am not going to be Raptured (whether alive or dead) for anything I have done for the LORD; rather, I will see Jesus because of what He has done for me.
Once in a while, especially while undergoing some kind of pain or illness, the thought will cross my mind, “Am I worthy to be counted in that number?” The answer is a definite and resounding “No, I am not!” But the war that has gone on for my soul has been won by my Saviour, and I rejoice in the knowledge that He saved me from my sins. Not only that, but being God, He also is saving me from His wrath that is coming on the wicked of this world, just as surely as the flood came on the wicked of Noah’s day. Proof?
Romans 5:9 “Since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath, through Him!” In my Bible, there is an exclamation point at the end of that sentence. WE SHALL BE SAVED FROM GOD’S WRATH … the wrath that is coming on the whole world to try the inhabitants of the earth (Rev. 3:10).
My friends, that is really good news … the best that ever was!
As we prepare to celebrate the Resurrection of our Pascal Lamb, our Yeshua, Jesus, Lamb of God, we do well to reflect once again on what His death on the cross accomplished for all humankind.
Even though we are wicked at heart, the Blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God, covers our iniquity completely. God’s wrath ‘passes over’ us, just as the blood of the lamb on the door lintels of the Israelites in Egypt allowed God’s Angel of Death to pass over their houses the night before the Exodus. Apostle Paul calls it justification, a word that means ‘shown to be right or valid.’ Through justification, we are washed clean in the sight of our Holy God. Justification is not the same as justice. We have not received justice … for if we had received justice, we would all perish. “For all have sinned, and the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).
The shed blood of the innocent Lamb of God justifies our salvation in Christ and makes us fit for heaven. As the hymn lyric says, “Even the vilest of offenders their Jesus will see,” when they are justified by Jesus in the Holy Spirit and believe in the saving grace of the God Who made us in His own dear image.
To God be the glory, great things He hath done
So loved He the world, that He gave us His Son,
Who yielded His life, an atonement for sin
And opening the floodgates that all may go in.
Refrain:
Praise the LORD, praise the LORD, let the earth hear His voice,
Praise the LORD, praise the LORD, let the people rejoice.
O come to the Father through Jesus the Son
And give Him the glory, great things He hath done.
O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood —
To every believer, the promise of God.
The vilest offender who truly believes
That moment from Jesus a pardon receives.
Refrain:
Great things He hath taught us, great things He hath done,
And great our rejoicing thro’ Jesus, the Son.
But purer and higher and greater will be
Our wonder, our transport, when Jesus we see!
If you haven’t yet given your heart to the Son of God, I beg, yes, beg you to pray that God will open the eyes of your heart to the following:
- Admit you are a sinner – and turn away from that sin.
- Believe Jesus is LORD of your life – that He gave His life for you.
- Call upon the Name of Jesus – and ask for His forgiveness.
Get hold of a Bible and begin reading the Gospel of John, then Romans, then Hebrews. After that, go to Genesis and begin there and read through to Revelation. One more thing: REJOICE – YOU ARE NOW BEING SAVED BY THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB OF GOD.