As in the days of Noah: warnings for our days.

Jesus Christ said that the events of the end time would be similar to those of the time of Noah. How were these conditions and why should we worry? 

Speaking of the time near his return to Earth, Jesus said: “As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They ate, drank, married and married, until the day Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all ”(Luke 17: 26-27).

It seemed that people believed they were living in normal times at the time of Noah, just before the Flood. They ignored that the disaster was approaching. What was Jesus talking about then?

Generalized violence

Since He said that the last days would be a parallel to the society of Noah's time, we can investigate further in God's Word to understand what He meant. The book of Genesis explains what the conditions of that time consisted of .

Shortly after God put human beings on Earth, mankind quickly headed for their self-destruction. Following the example of Adam and Eve who rejected God's instructions, humanity became progressively hostile and corrupt. In the time of Noah: "The Eternal saw that the wickedness of men was much on earth, and that every design of the thoughts of their hearts was continually only evil" (Genesis 6: 5).

Therefore, God said that “He repented of having made man on earth and it hurt in his heart” (v. 6) and said to Noah: “I have decided the end of every being, because the earth is full of violence because of them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth ”(v. 13).

God was not lamenting for having made a mistake. God does not make mistakes. God gave his human creation the freedom to choose between good and evil (Proverbs 1: 29-31), and he felt saddened in his heart, seeing how far mankind had fallen from what was originally intended.

Living in dangerous times

It seems that God gave mankind 120 years to change their evil ways. God said: “He will not contain my spirit with man forever, because he is certainly flesh; but their days shall be one hundred and twenty years ”(Genesis 6: 3).

The 120 years of Genesis 6: 3 refer to the time when God's patience would continue with that generation ( Barnes's Notes on the Bible ). During those 120 years, Noah preached a warning message, and God waited patiently for his heart to be reformed (1 Peter 3:20).  

Living in a perverse society that refused to repent, only Noah found favor before God, as a "righteous" person. We are told that he was moved by faith and "fearfully prepared the ark in which his house was saved" (Genesis 7: 1; Hebrews 11: 7). Because of the widespread violence that prevailed at that time in the world, God decided to repopulate the world through this faithful man and his descendants (Genesis 6: 17-18).

Violence today

The apostle Paul said that before the return of Christ the world would live dangerous times, with seekers of pleasures, materialism, immorality, violence, laziness and rejection of the things of God (2 Timothy 3: 1-5).

One of the main reasons for God to bring the great Flood was that the Earth was full of violence (Genesis 6:13).

Let's analyze the time in which we live. There has been an alarming increase in global violence just over the past 100 years. Wars in the last 90 years have killed more people than during the previous 500 years. It is estimated that in the twentieth century alone, 203 million people died from war (Matthew White, Historical Atlas of the Twentieth Century , 2010, “Deaths from war”).   

Between 170 and 360 million people were killed by governments in the twentieth century, apart from the war. Recently, in armed conflicts there have been more victims among civilians than among the combatants themselves, adding up to 90 percent of victims since 1945. In the last decade alone, the war has claimed the lives of an estimated two million children and It has disabled four to five million more children.

A silent form of violence is carried out in the world by the deliberate abortion of innocents. Every year around 44 million abortions are performed worldwide.

Globally, the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism has documented more than 125,000 violent terrorist attacks since 1970. Martha Crenshaw , a member of that consortium, reported: “Unfortunately, it seems to be increasingly acceptable in certain systems of beliefs, kill as many members of other religious communities as possible. It seems that moral restrictions are being erased (CNN.com).

In fact, things are changing in the world. Jesus Christ said: "For from the heart come evil thoughts, homicides, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false testimonies, blasphemies" (Matthew 15:19). We are currently living in a time when these vices become more common. Gary LaFree , director of the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, said: “We are seeing a definitively upward trajectory in total terrorist attacks and deaths worldwide. We are convinced that much of this is a real change in the world. ”

In truth, things are changing in the world. Jesus Christ said: "For from the heart come evil thoughts, homicides, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false testimonies, blasphemies" (Matthew 15:19). We are currently living in a time when these vices are becoming more common.

Several investigations of our western culture have demonstrated the correlation between violence in the media and young people with violent behavior in society. Studies show that in the United States, a typical child sees more than 200,000 acts of violence, including 16,000 murders on television, before the age of 18. Television shows show 812 violent acts per hour. A recent study found that 15 percent of music videos contain interpersonal violence. And there is still another modern source of exposure to violence that can be found on the Internet and video games.

As violence increases at this time, God's message fits better: “Because there is no truth, no mercy, no knowledge of God on earth. Perjuring, lying, killing, stealing and adulterating prevail, and homicide after homicide occurs. Therefore, the earth will mourn and all its inhabitants will be exhausted, with the beasts of the field and the birds of the sky; and even the fish of the sea will die ”(Hosea 4: 1-3).

Respect for the life

After the flood, human history began with Noah's family. God then emphasized the special meaning and holiness of human life.

When speaking to Noah and his children, God told them: “For I will surely demand the blood of your lives; I will demand it from the hand of every animal, and from the hand of man; from the hand of the man his brother will demand the life of the man. Whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood will be shed; because in the image of God man is made ”(Genesis 9: 5-6).

After this decree, God designated the rainbow as a sign of the covenant that He would never again destroy all the inhabitants of the Earth with a flood (vv. 15-16).

If God's instructions to respect life had been followed throughout history, this would have made the sanctity of human life respected. Now, as in the days of Noah, we are seeing a growing culture of flagrant disrespect for human life.

Examples for us

The flood of the days of Noah, and the destructive fire of the time of Lot, became an enduring example for disobedience. The apostle Peter repeated the connection that Jesus had made of these two events, explaining that God “... did not forgive the ancient world, but kept Noah, a preacher of justice, with seven other people, bringing the flood over the world of the wicked, and if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah for destruction, reducing them to ashes, and setting them as an example to those who were to live wickedly ”(2 Peter 2: 5-6; compare Luke 17: 26-30 ).

Throughout human history many evils have been committed. Why then did God not punish every generation of humanity for their sinful behavior? One reason is that God is patient and merciful with his creation (Exodus 34: 6-7), he does not delight in the destruction of the wicked (Ezekiel 33:11). In his wisdom, God sometimes decides to show compassion (Romans 9:15).

Although all people have sinned and sin (Romans 3:23), only God can determine when the whole society or nation has violated his law to the critical point that He will no longer tolerate it. It was in God's perfect judgment that he destroyed the world during the days of Noah, allowing this to be an example that mankind could learn from. To learn more about the similar conditions of society that led to the sudden destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in the days of Lot, please read the article about "Sodom and Gomorrah."

History repeats itself frequently

In the days of Noah, the time of punishment came when God "saw that the evil of men was much on earth, and that every design of the thoughts of their hearts was continually only evil" (Genesis 6: 5 ).

A risk taken by people who reject God's merciful call to repentance is that their hearts harden. God says: "But for your hardness and for your unrepentant heart, you treasure for yourself anger for the day of wrath and the revelation of God's righteous judgment, which will pay each one according to his works" (Romans 2 : 5-6).

The first time God carried out his judgment on earth, he did it with a great flood of water. The next time God punishes the entire Earth, it will be at the return of Christ, when “… behold, the Eternal will come with fire, and his chariots like whirlwind, to discharge his anger with fury, and his rebuke with a flame of fire. For the Eternal will judge every man with fire and with his sword; and the dead of the Eternal will be multiplied ”(Isaiah 66: 15-16).

He will come unexpectedly

The warning of Jesus Christ in Luke 17 was that when He returns with great power and majesty to save a world that does not expect it, the vast majority of people will be eating and drinking, focused on their daily routine, without awareness of dangerous times in that we are living Just like people in Noah's day, they will be ignoring the warning messages and rejecting God's righteous ways (Matthew 24: 37-39, 44).

Noah, the prophet of God, probably made fun of him and was ridiculed for preaching "justice" (2 Peter 2: 5). The Bible reveals that at the end of time, before the return of Christ, people will also ignore the warnings of repentance. As Peter notes: "... knowing this first, that in the last days mockers will come ... saying: Where is the promise of his advent?" (2 Peter 3: 3-4).

Jesus added: "Look also for yourselves, that your hearts not be filled with gluttony and drunkenness and the cares of this life, and come upon you that day [of the return of Christ and" The wrath of God "]. Because as a bond it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch, then, at all times, praying that you are considered worthy to escape all these things that will come, and to stand before the Son of Man ”(Luke 21: 34-36).

Will God get your attention before that time? Will we repent of our sins and turn to God? And when Christ returns: will he find faith on earth? (Luke 18: 8).