As In The Days of Noah

Jesus told His disciples that deception, wickedness, and tribulation would come upon the earth prior to His second coming.  These teachings are recorded in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21.  At one point Jesus said this, “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of man.” (Mt 24:37). Expanding on that statement He said that people were eating and drinking, marrying and carrying on life as usual right up to the very last day, unaware that God’s judgment was about to fall. They were unbelieving of judgment and ignorant of it until the very day that the rains came and they were taken away.

We might raise the question, “Did the people of Noah’s day know that the flood was coming, that judgment was imminent?” Were they ignorant because they were not forewarned, or were they ignoring God’s warning, disbelieving that anything would change the course of the world to which they were accustomed?

The answer to that question is found in the account of the flood, in Genesis 6. Over a long period of time the wickedness of mankind grew ever greater, until every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time (Gen 6:5). That is true of today, the last days before God’s next judgment. I am afraid that we do not fully realize how wicked and evil the hearts of mankind have become, similar to the days of Noah. One particular evil is singled out, the daughters of men were marrying the sons of God, and Nephilim were being born (Gen 6:2). All this wickedness led God to say that His spirit would not put up with man forever, therefore his days are limited to 120 years (Gen 6:3). That was a prophetic pronouncement that judgment was on the horizon, to be unleashed and fulfilled 120 years from the time when it was proclaimed. This pronouncement was most likely known to all mankind, through Noah, or through other spokesmen, because it came down through the ancient historians and is recorded for all mankind to know. And history proved the prophetic pronouncement of judgment to be accurate, fulfilled by God right on schedule.

As in the days of Noah, God has a time frame for fulfilling his warnings of impending judgment upon this generation, the warnings made clear for all to see in the prophecies of Revelation. And it just may be that the same 120 year time-frame is part of the meaning of the phrase, “as in the days of Noah.”  Part of the reason for such a long warning period is that God is patient, not wanting any to perish, but everyone to come to repentance (II Pet 3:9).

God revealed to John the apostle that there would be seven trumpet warnings leading up to Jesus Christ coming in judgment. The seventh trumpet is the actual outpouring of His judgment upon the whole earth. This judgment, like the flood, is a transition into a new era, a new time period in His redemptive plan, namely, the Millennial Kingdom. These seven trumpet warnings are not judgments of God to be meted out during the Great Tribulation, as many have taught for over 150 years. If we allow history to interpret prophecy rather than presumption and conjecture, we may come to understand that the time span of the trumpet warnings is similar to the days of Noah. The trumpet warnings of revelation have been occurring for over 100 years.¹ The first trumpet was World War 1, the second trumpet was Word War 2, the third trumpet was Chernobyl, the fourth trumpet was climate change, and the fifth trumpet was the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein. The sixth trumpet is yet to sound, which will be the build up to Armageddon, masterminded by the lawless one who leads a large Arab army against Israel.

If the time-frame of 120 years is a legitimate component of Jesus’ statement, “as in the days of Noah”, then we have a possible time-frame of His warnings leading up to the second world judgment. If this time-frame is accurate then we must realize that both tribulation and judgment are imminent, right at the door. World War 1 began in 1914, and the other four trumpet warnings occurred throughout the twentieth century. If the coming of Christ in judgment upon the eighth beast alliance and the lawless one (aka Armageddon) occurs 120 years after the beginning of the trumpet judgments, that would place it about 2034. The final judgment, the seventh trumpet/bowl judgment will follow immediately after the battle of Armageddon. Christians will be rescued from that great outpouring of God’s wrath, being gathered up to meet the Lord in the air when He returns. But we, the Church, will be here through the trumpet warnings and the extreme tribulation of the last few years leading up to Christ’s return. Part of that extreme tribulation will be ever increasing wickedness, the destruction of America, and the rise of the eighth beast and the oppressive buildup to Armageddon.

We need to understand the prophecies of Revelation accurately so that we can be ready to stand firm in faith when tribulation comes.

¹  The trumpet and bowl judgments are discussed at great length in my book, Right At The Door.