Matt. 24:37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

Greetings Family,

Jesus is drawing a parallel in this verse of how the conditions were in the days of Noah to how they will be when He returns. He goes on to say that people would be eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage and did not know that Gods judgement was coming until Noah had entered the ark and the flood came. I believe that there is a very timely and sobering message for us in 2008.

To understand better the depth of what Jesus was saying, we have to look back to Genesis and read alittle more about Noahs day.

Gen. 6:5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

6:6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

6:7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

Whenever I read this particular verse, I shudder to think that God was about to destroy His creation. Thank God for the next verse.

Gen. 6:8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

Aren't you glad that you and i have found grace in the eyes of the Lord! Don't get me wrong. I'm certainly not comparing myself to a great man like Noah. I'm simply saying I am so thankful that God gave me the opportunity to be redeemed from the judgement that is coming on this world.

Back to the subject. Why was God so grieved with man that He had made that He would even consider totally destroying His own creation? He goes further in the 13th verse.

Gen. 6:13 And God said unto 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.

Remember the verse in Matt. 24: 37 that we started with said that the days when the Son of Man returns would be like the Days of Noah. This is the part that I would l like to discuss. We can all see that our present world is filled with hate and violence. Not only in middle eastern countries, Africa, Russia, and Asian countries but even here in America we see the level of antipathy and hatred growing with each passing day. What will be the solution? I believe we can find the answer in the next verse.

Gen. 6:14 Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.

In the midst of all the violence and corruption of that day, God called a man out and gave him the blueprints for an ark of redemption. Likewise, in our day, we have an ark of redemption, Jesus Christ. Not only does the ark picture Jesus Christ but also the Body of Christ. Notice that the ark was to be "pitched" within and without. The Hebrew word used for pitch here is the same word used for atonement.

Jesus gave a warning to his disciples in Luke 21 when He was describing the Judgements that were coming on the world.

Luke 21:36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

Getting back to the ark and the redemption from the flood, I believe there is a hidden message for us here in 2008 when we look at the animals that boarded the ark. There were on the ark all kinds of animals present. From beast to fowl to creeping things, they were all present and accounted for. Think about this for just a moment. There were some animals on the ark that were natural enemies of one another. There were lions and there were gazelles. There were wolves and there were rabbits. And yet they lived for 6 months together and did not devour one another.

I know some of you are thinking, what does this have to do with the gospel? This is the point that I would like to drive home. If being in the ark represents being in Christ, then just like the animals back there had to have their nature changed, we have to do the same to truly "be in Christ". Notice what Paul says to the Galatians when he is talking about the fruits of the Spirit.

Gal. 5:13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.

5:14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

5:15 But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.

5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

Paul says here that we have been called to freedom. Freedom from what? Freedom from that beastly nature that causes us bite and devour one another.
How is this possible? By walking in the Spirit. Paul gave us a promise that if we would do this, WOULD NOT FULFIL the lusts of the flesh.

God bless