the scripture that I'll bring
before you this morning is found in Matthew chapter 24 the chapter
that we read and verses 37 to 39 Matthew 24 verses 37 to 39 but as the days of Noah were
so shall also the coming of the son of man be For as in the days
that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying
and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into
the ark, and knew not until the flood came and took them all
away, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. Now the
great subject which we have before us this morning in the words
of our text is the coming of the Son of Man or the second
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. It should be pointed out that
here in Matthew 24 the Lord is dealing with two questions which
were put to him by four of his disciples. All his disciples
had pointed out to him the beauty and the magnificence of the buildings
of the temple and of Jerusalem. Master, see what manner of stones
and what buildings are here. That's how it's put in Mark's
Gospel. and the Lord tells them all that
the temple and the city is to be destroyed and Jesus said unto
them see you not all these things verily I say unto you there shall
not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown
down And then we read in verse 3, and as he sat upon the Mount
of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately. And it's
Mark who specifies which disciples they were who came to him privately. There was just four of them.
In Mark 13, verse 3, and as he sat upon the Mount of Olives
over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew
asked him privately. Now Matthew gives us slightly
more detail concerning the questions that they asked. Tell us, when
shall these things be and what shall be the sign of thy coming
and of the end of the world? No doubt the disciples thought
that the temple would last until the end of the world. They thought
that the destruction of the temple must mean the end of the world
and the day of Christ's second coming. And so the Lord deals
with both of these things, the destruction of the temple, which
was fulfilled in A.D. 70, and his second appearing
at the end of the world. The first part of the chapter
is dealing principally with the destruction of the temple and
of Jerusalem, and it's been fulfilled. The Lord gave an indication as
to the time when this should happen. Verse 34, Verily I say
unto you, this generation shall not pass, till all these things
be fulfilled." And so it came to pass, within about 30 years
of the writing of this gospel, with about 40 years of Christ
uttering these words, it came to pass. And the Lord informed
his disciples that a sign would be given, so that those who believed
his word would know that the destruction of the city was imminent. and they could then flee to the
mountains. That sign that was to be given
was what both Matthew and Mark called the abomination of desolation. Verses 15 and 16 of this chapter,
When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation spoken
of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, whoso readeth
let him understand, then let them which be in Judea flee into
the mountains. The Lord's reference there is
to Daniel chapter 9 where we also read of the cutting off
of the Messiah but not for himself. The abomination of desolation
is in that same passage following on from the cutting off or the
death of the Messiah. And it's Luke who explains exactly
what is meant by the abomination of desolation. If you turn to
Luke 21 and verse 20, he says, And when ye shall see
Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation
thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judea
flee to the mountains, and let them which are in the midst of
it depart out, and let not them that are in the countries enter
thereinto." And so, according to Eusebius
and other historians, not a single Christian perished in the destruction
of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, because they'd been forewarned
by Christ. Now, concerning the second coming
of Christ, however, at the end of the world, there shall no
sign be given. There is no indication as to
the time. It will be sudden. This is what
Christ is saying here. But of that day and hour knoweth
no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But
as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the
Son of Man be. For as in the days that were
before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving
in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and
knew not until the flood came and took them all away, so shall
also the coming of the Son of Man be. The Lord Jesus speaks
of the suddenness of his return in other places, in Revelation
for example. He says four times, I come quickly,
he's speaking of the suddenness of his return, I come quickly.
And again here in Matthew 24, at verse 42, Watch therefore,
for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this,
that if the good man of the house had known in what watch the thief
would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his
house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready, for
in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of Man cometh." Sudden
and unexpected, like a thief in the night. Peter says in his second epistle,
but the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night. Sudden, unexpectedly. Now, there
are some who imagine that because the Lord uses the analogy of
a thief, the Lord is going to come back secretly and take his
church out of the world, in what they call the Rapture. Now, this
is a very erroneous view, to put it mildly. And it's a view
which arose as recently as the 19th century. When the Lord returns, that will
be the end of this world. That will be the end of this
present evil world. Peter goes on to say, But the day of the
Lord will come as a thief in the night, in the which the heavens
shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall
melt with fervent heat. The earth also, and the works
that are therein, shall be burned up. Now this is not exactly a
secret coming of Christ, is it? It's with a great noise! It's the end of the world. But doesn't it say here in Matthew
24 about some being taken and others left? Well yes it does. But this is speaking of the wicked
who are taken away in judgment as can be plainly seen from the
context. They knew not until the flood
came and took them all away. So shall also the coming of the
Son of Man be. Then shall two be in the field,
but one shall be taken, and the other left. Those who are taken
are the wicked, who are taken away in judgment. Just as the
wicked were all taken away in the flood. And as it was written
of Caesar and the Roman Empire, it was taken away in judgment.
to Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 7. For the mystery of iniquity
doth already work, only he who now letteth will let until he
be taken out of the way. A reference to Caesar, who was
preventing the full manifestation of Antichrist. It was a prayer of the psalmist.
let the sinners be consumed out of the earth and let the wicked
be no more in his high priestly prayer in John 17 the Lord had
prayed that his church would not be taken out of the world
John 17 verse 15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out
of the world but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil Why would
he then come, contrary to his own prayer, and take them out
of the world? No. And in this connection, of
course, there is the notion of the Great Tribulation, which
it is said will be a period of great hardship and persecution,
either before or after the so-called rapture. Now this notion springs
from an erroneous interpretation of verse 21 of this chapter.
For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning
of the world to this time, nor ever shall be. But this verse is obviously speaking
of the impending siege and destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. That's clear, again, from
the context. It's equally clear that the Church
itself must pass through great tribulation in all ages. We read
of Paul and Barnabas in the Book of Acts. They returned again
to Lystra and to Iconium and Antioch, confirming the souls
of the disciples and exhorting them to continue in the faith
and that we must, through much tribulation, enter into the kingdom
of God. And this has proved to be the
case in the subsequent history of the Church. Just read Foxe's
Book of Martyrs, or the history of the Waldensians, as Charles
Breed says concerning the Lord's people. The Prince of Darkness
have ever sought to possess them. Sin has ever laboured to overcome
them. Cruel wars have deluged the nations
with blood. Fiendish ingenuity has devised
its tortures indescribable for the hapless sons of men. Martyr
fires have blazed greedily around their helpless victims. Sufferings
and imprisonings, penalties and persecutions, and sorrows and
perplexities, tribulations and death, like raveling wolves,
have followed the saints of the Lord down the ages." That's so
true and obvious to anyone who reads anything of church history
or indeed of secular history. We might add that the suffering
and persecutions continue to this present day. Under, for
example, communism and Islam. And even under our so-called
modern democracy. The Lord's people are being persecuted. The book of the Revelation reveals
to us the Church of God in its entirety. These are they which
came out of great tribulation and have washed their robes and
made them white in the blood of the Lamb. We note this too while we're
on the subject of erroneous views concerning the Lord's return.
If we understand the scriptures are right, the Lord is not going
to set up a millennial kingdom here upon this earth at, before
or after his second appearing. The earth also, and the works
that are therein, shall be burned up. That's what the Scripture
says. Again Peter says there in the
third chapter of his second epistle, But the heavens and the earth,
which are now by the same word, are kept in store, reserved unto
fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. I would remind you of the words
of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he spake before Pontius Pilate,
my kingdom is not of this world. There is to be no third temple,
no millennial kingdom on this earth, at least in a literal
sense. Now before we go on to consider
more specifically the words of our text, I would just like to
mention one other thing, generally, concerning the second coming
of the Lord Jesus. We've spoken of the suddenness
and unexpectedness of Christ's second coming. But the Apostle
Paul did say that there was something which had to happen first before
the Lord was to come again. He wrote to the Thessalonians,
again in that chapter 2, Thessalonians chapter 2, Verse 2, that ye be
not soon shaken in mind or troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word,
nor by letter, as from us, as that the day of Christ is at
hand. Let no man deceive you by any means, for that day shall
not come. except there come a falling away
first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition,
who opposeth and exhorteth himself above all that is called God,
all that is worshipped, so that he as God sitteth in the temple
of God, showing himself that he is God." Now I don't want
to go into great detail here, suffice to say that here is a
prophecy concerning Antichrist and it has been fulfilled and
it is yet being fulfilled The falling away or the apostasy
is Roman Catholicism, the seeds of which were already there in
the days of the Apostles. For the mystery of iniquity does
already work, Paul wrote to the Thessalonians. The power and
influence of the Bishop of Rome increased due largely to the
importance of the capital city of the Empire. Now this is that
man of sin and son of perdition, the Pope of Rome, was fully and
finally revealed as Antichrist. When the Roman Empire was taken
out of the way, the Pope had assumed power to himself within
the professing Church, the Temple of God. And then he took to himself
all the power of the Roman Emperor, the civil power, as well as the
ecclesiastical power, calling himself Pontifex Maximus, a title which means the greatest priest. And it was a title which belonged
to the Roman Emperor, the pagan Roman Emperor, Pontifex Maximus. The Bishop of Rome is that wicked. And this papal antichrist must
continue until the second coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ, whom the Lord shall destroy whom the Lord shall consume with
the spirit of his mouth and shall destroy with the brightness of
his coming, even him whose coming is after the working of Satan,
with all power and signs and lying wonders. Or consider the
power of the Romish priest. Why, he takes the wafer, And
with his hocus-pocus, he turns it into the very body and blood
and divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, what a sign! And what a lying wonder! And how many millions, how many
billions have been deceived by that blasphemous fable and dangerous
deceit? Much more, of course, could be
said on this subject. I just wanted to point out that that
which Paul said should happen before the return of the Lord
Jesus Christ has happened. So let us press on then. But
as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the
Son of Man be. For as in the days that were before the flood,
they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage
until the day that Noah entered into the ark and knew not until
the flood came and took them all away. So shall also the coming
of the Son of Man be. In other words, the day of Christ's return will
be just like any other day. No sign, no warning will be given
other than that which is given in the preaching of the Gospel.
The Lord Jesus says in Luke's Gospel, and take heed to yourselves,
lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with serviting
and drunkenness and cares of this life, and so that day come
upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come
on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. For
how many will be taken unawares in that day, taken away out of
this world as in a snare. But as the days of Noah were,
so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the
days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking,
marrying, giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered
into the ark and knew not, until the flood came and took them
all away. So shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. The Lord
here compares the day of his return, or the days prior to
his return, to the days of Noah, as the days of Noah were. So
what was it like in the days of Noah? I would suggest seven comparisons. If we turn to Genesis chapter
six, where we have the divinely inspired record of those days.
We read there in the first verse, "...and it came to pass, when
men began to multiply on the face of the earth, there was
an increase in the world's population." Now that in itself is not a bad
thing. In fact it's a good thing, contrary to what the Malthusians
such as Bill Gates and Klaus Schwab say. When God created
the first man and the first woman he said we read and God blessed
them and God said unto them be fruitful and multiply be fruitful
and multiply population increase is a good thing it's a blessing
of God what is bad is an increase of
the wicked and of evil to us When the wicked are multiplied,
transgression increaseth, we read in the Proverbs. With an
increase of population, there must now inevitably be the increase
of wickedness. For man is born a transgressor,
being fallen in fallen Adam. Adam transgressed the commandment,
and all who are descended from him by natural generation are
by nature transgressors of the law of God. We read in Genesis
5 verse 3 and Adam lived 130 years and begat a son in his
own likeness after his image. A sinner begets a sinner. And so we should not be surprised
that with an increase in the population comes a proliferation
of sin. But we should note the rest of
that verse there in Proverbs. Proverbs 29 verse 16 When the wicked are multiplied,
transgression increaseth, but the righteous shall see therefore. And so it is written in the Psalms,
Wait on the Lord, and keep his way, and he shall exhort thee
to inherit the land. When the wicked are cut off,
thou shalt see it. And so this is the first thing
that we noticed concerning the days of Noah. There was an increase
in the global population and it came to pass when men began
to multiply on the face of the earth. Secondly, there was scientific
progress. There were advances in civilization
and culture and in every field of human endeavor. We read of
this progress and development in Genesis chapter 4. There was urban development.
Men began to live in cities. We read of the first city ever
to be built there in Genesis 4 verse 17. And Cain knew his
wife, and she conceived, and bare Enoch. And he builded a
city, and called the name of the city after the name of his
son Enoch. There were also developments
in farming and agriculture. Genesis 4.20 and Adar Bear Jabal. He was the father of such as
dwell in tents and of such as have cattle. There were cultural developments
such as musical instruments. And his brother's name was Jubal
and he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ. There was industrial development. Verse 22 of Genesis 4, and Zillah,
she also bared you, O Cain, an instructor of every artificer
in brass and iron. Industrial development. Now notice
that all this skill and all this knowledge was given to the descendants
of Cain, who was of that wicked one and slew his brother. See how good the Lord our God
is, even to the reprobates. The Lord is good to all, and
his tender mercies are over all his works. Oh, these were good
gifts which the Lord gave to the descendants of Cain. They
were useful and serviceable to man. And we know that every good
gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from
the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow
of turning. They were good gifts which the
Lord gave to the wicked descendants of Cain. and the disciples of
Immanuel are taught to follow their Heavenly Father's example
in this. Luke 6, verse 35. But love ye
your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again.
And your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children
of the highest. For he is kind unto the unthankful and to the
evil. But you know, ultimately, all
their skill and all their knowledge which they had received from
the Lord was not enough to save them from the judgment which
was to break upon their heads in the day of the flood. They
lacked the one thing which is needful. They lacked wisdom,
the beginning of which is the fear of the Lord. The descendants of Cain, all
of whom were taken away in the flood, lived for the things of
this world. Noah, who was of the godly line
of Seth, lived for the things of the world to come, as was
typified in his building of the ark. For these things we note
that in the second place there were advances in civilization
and in culture, in learning, in industry, in agriculture. in the days of Noah before the
flood came. The third thing we notice is that in the days that
were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying
and giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered into
the ark. Again, as in the case of population
increase, as in the case of progress and development in civilization
and culture, these are not bad things. Indeed, these are the
common gifts of God to all mankind. Psalm 104. Verse 14. He causeth the grass to grow
for the cattle, and herb for the service of man, that he may
bring forth food out of the earth, and wine that maketh glad the
heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread
which strengtheneth man's heart. eat and drink, these are good
gifts these are the blessings of providence and marriage itself
was instituted at the very beginning of man's creation Genesis chapter
2 verse 23 and Adam said this is now bone of my bones and flesh
of my flesh she shall be called woman because she was taken out
of man therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother
and shall cleave unto his wife and they shall be one flesh so Paul says in Hebrews marriage
is honorable in all and the bed undefiled and whoremongers and
adulterers but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge it's
interesting that the Lord here in Matthew 24 doesn't point to
the great sins of the day, but rather to the great blessings
which the ungodly enjoyed from God's hand. They were eating
and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage until the day that
Noah entered into the ark. Oh, they enjoyed all the blessings
of providence, but the God of providence was not in their thoughts. Psalms 10 verse 14, Or verse 4 rather, Psalm 10 verse
4 says the wicked through the pride of his countenance will
not seek after God. God is not in all his thoughts. Or as the margin has it, all
his thoughts are there is no God. They lived their lives without
God in the world. They enjoyed the gifts but gave
not thanks to the giver. they have forgotten the God who
created them and so judgment came upon them and so it will
be, so it will be when the Son of Man returns the wicked shall be turned into
hell and all the nations that forget God no doubt Those good gifts which the Lord
gave were abused in the days of Noah. I have no doubt about
that. Well, we know they were. These good gifts were corrupted
by men. We know, for example, that bigamy was introduced by
Lamech, the direct descendant of wicked Cain. And so the institution
of marriage was corrupted. Genesis 4 verse 19, And Lamech
took unto him two wives, the name of the one was Adar, and
the name of the other Zillah. Are we not witnessing in our
day a worldwide and almost universal corruption of the institution
of marriage, as in the days that were before the flood? Another
feature of the days that were before the flood was the universal
and complete corruption of the souls of men. Again there in
Genesis 6 verse 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. And it
repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it
grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy
man whom I have created from the face of the earth. Now here is total depravity.
Mark the words. Every. Only. Continually. That every imagination of the
thoughts of his heart was only evil. Continually. Well here
is the doctrine of total depravity, as it were, set before us, set
before our eyes. The human heart is the fountain
of all iniquity. Didn't the Lord Jesus say as
much in Matthew 15 verse 19? For out of the heart proceed
evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness,
blasphemies. Jeremiah tells us the heart is
deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know
it? Why, your own heart will even deceive yourself. So deceitful it is. And so when
sinners are called to repentance, they are called not only to forsake
their wicked deeds, but also their unrighteous thoughts. Let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord.
And he will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for he will abundantly
pardon. When a sinner is brought to repentance,
he's made to cry out for deliverance, not just from the sins of his
eyes or his hands or his feet, but the sins of his heart. Cleanse
thou me from secret thoughts, the psalmist prays. And again
there in Psalm 17, let the words of my mouth and the meditation
of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength
and my Redeemer. How did David pray when he was
under conviction of sin? Create in me a clean heart, O
God, and renew a right spirit. within me. The hearts of those upon whom
the Lord is willing to show his wrath, he hardens, as he did
Pharaoh's heart. The hearts of those, however,
who are the vessels of mercy, which he had aforeprepared unto
glory, he softens by his grace. And he opens to the truth of
his gospel, as he did Lydia's heart. Well, as there was a universal
corruption in the hearts of men before the flood, is there not
an almost universal corruption of the hearts and minds of men
in our day? You only have to look at the filth, the indoctrination
and the blasphemy which passes for art and entertainment and
even education in these days to witness the hardening of the
hearts and the depravity of the hearts of men. in this wicked
and degenerate age. Keep thy heart with all diligence,
for out of it are the issues of life. And fifthly, as there was a corruption
of the souls of men in the days which were before the flood,
so there was a corruption in the deeds and in the lives of
men which were before the flood. Indeed, it seems that the whole
of society had become corrupt Again, there in Genesis chapter
6, verse 11. The earth was corrupt before
God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked
upon the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had
corrupted his way upon the earth. 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. That 11th verse might be an epitaph
for our own day. The earth also was corrupt before
God, and the earth was filled with violence. There was a worldwide, global
apostasy from the God of truth and from the truth of God. A moral and a religious apostasy. And the earth was filled with
violence. The Lutheran commentator H.C. Leupold points out that
the word here translated violence properly means, and I quote,
high-handed dealing, violating the rights of others. This term
most correctly describes the form of moral corruption prevalent
in the earth. Men's rights were being trampled
upon. Dr. Gill says, and the earth
was filled with violence, with doing injury to the persons and
properties of men, with oppression and cruelty, by tyrannical decrees
and unrighteous judgments. And he goes on to say to Dr.
Gill, those men were very insolent and addicted to unjust actions. But as the days of Noah were,
so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. Matthew Henry
says in his commentary, note, when wickedness has become general
and universal, ruin is not far off. Sixthly, we must note this, that
there was yet in the days of Noah a remnant according to the
election of grace. There was yet a true church preserved
in the earth. There was Noah and his family. Genesis 6 verse 8. But Noah found
grace in the eyes of the Lord. Here is the sole reason why Noah
and his family were saved. Grace! Grace! Free grace! Sovereign grace! But Noah found
grace in the eyes of the Lord, and because of that grace that
was in his heart, he lived differently to all those who were around
him. Genesis 6 verse 9, these are the generations of Noah.
Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah
walked with God. you notice that we read of Noah
finding grace in the eyes of the Lord before we read of him
walking with God and so it is with all of God's elect we were reading last night at
home Ephesians chapter 2, and these verses, for by grace are
ye saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is
the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast, for
we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works,
which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
We are not saved by our good works, but we're saved for good
works. Noah was not saved by his good
works, but his conversation, his manner of living, declared
that he had found grace in the eyes of the Lord. It was an evidence
of his call by grace. He was saved in the same way
that all the elect of God are saved, by the work of the Son
of God on his behalf, through the redemption that is in Christ
Jesus. Noah was born a descendant of
Adam. He had a sinful nature just like
you and just like me. He was a transgressor by nature
even as others. He was not sinlessly perfect
and that's evident later on in Genesis by his drunkenness which
we read of after the waters of the flood had receded and he
began to be a husband when he planted a vineyard. He was not sinlessly perfect,
but he found grace in the eyes of the Lord. And all his sins
were covered. All his sins were atoned for
by the shed blood of the Christ who was to come. And as there was a remnant according
to the election of grace in the days of Noah, so there will be
a godly remnant in the earth throughout all ages, even until
the very last day. Oh, it may be a very small remnant,
a very small number, compared with the multitudes of Gog and
Magog, which compass the camp of the saints of hell, but it
is nevertheless a remnant according to the election of grace. And
then, seventhly, there was in the days of Noah the preaching
of the Word of God. As Peter tells us, 1 Peter 3
verse 18, For Christ also hath once suffered
for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God.
being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit,
by which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison, which
sometime were disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God
waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a-preparing, wherein
few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water." Now note this, there is no warrant
here for the Roman Catholic doctrine of Limbus Patria, or limbo. This is what they argue from
the 19th verse of 1 Peter 3, the spirit by which also he went
and preached unto the spirits in prison. No, what Peter is
saying here is that Christ, by his spirit or by the Holy Ghost,
was preaching to those souls, those spirits, who were disobedient
in the days of Noah, but who are now in the prison of hell. The Spirit of Christ was preaching
through the ministry of Noah. We're clearly told that Noah
himself was a preacher. Peter says again in his second
epistle that God spared not the old world but saved Noah, the
eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the
flood upon the world of the ungodly. While Christ was addressing sinners
through the faithful preaching of Noah, And by His building
of the Ark, as you know, Christ is still addressing the souls
of men through the ministry of His servants as they preach the
Gospel and by the godly lives of all those who are His in this
day of grace. As the days of Noah were, so
shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. And as we draw
to a conclusion, we see in Hebrews chapter 11 that Noah was warned
of God of things not seen as yet Hebrews
11 verse 7 by faith Noah being warned of God of things not seen
as yet moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house,
by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the
righteousness which is by faith. We too are warned of God in the
Holy Scriptures. and by the preaching of God's
Word of things not seen as yet these things which we've been
thinking about are not things which are not seen as yet the
second coming of Christ not seen with the natural eye but they
are seen by the eye of faith it's written in the Proverbs
a prudent man foreseeth the evil and hideth himself but the simple
pass on and are punished. If we are to be saved on that
great day of judgment then we need the same faith that Noah
had. Now have you been brought to
cry out like the Philippian jailer of old, what must I do to be
saved? What must I do to be saved? Well,
the same answer that was given to him is given to you. Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. The Lord Jesus Christ is, as
it were, the ark to which you must flee if you would be saved. He is the hiding place and He
is the only hiding place from the wrath to come and it is in
Him the man who is made spiritually prudent hideth himself and the Lord Jesus Christ who
is proclaimed to you this day in the preaching of the gospel
will prove to be the only place of safety on that last day that
great day of judgment just as the ark was the only place of
safety and security in the day that the flood came Top lady
puts it, complete atonement thou hast made, and to the utmost
farthing paid, what e'er thy people owed, how then can wrath
on me take place, if sheltered in thy righteousness and sprinkled
with thy blood? Oh, this was Paul's ardent desire,
wasn't it? That I may win Christ and be
found in him. not having mine own righteousness
which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ, the righteousness which is of God, by faith. May the Lord bless his word to
us each. May we each, one of us, by his grace, be found in
him on that day. But as the days of Noah were,
so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the
days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered
into the ark and knew not until the flood came and took them
all away, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.