The Flood of Noah’s Day and You

[Music] in a land Far Far Away there lived a wise old man and one day God spoke to this wise old man and he told him it was going to rain in fact it was going to rain so hard that it would flood the entire Earth he also told this a wise old man that he would need to build a boat put himself his family and animals in it in order to survive well the wise old man listened to God he built the boat put his family and animals in it they all survived and they

lived happily ever after you know for many people today that's the story of Noah and the flood they view it as just some nice story something perhaps that we tell our children at bedtime but is that how the Bible presents this account as some fictional account some Parable or what real meaning does it have for us today well that'll be the basis of our talk today we're going to examine in detail the account of knowing the flood and upon conclusion we'll see that this account has significant meaning for you and me living today we're going

to examine three main points in our discussion first how the destruction of that ungodly world of Noah's day sets a pattern for the time in which we're living in second we'll examine like no and his family what qualities you and me need to have in order to survive this system's end and then third how we personally personally do not want to miss the purpose of the flood account so that's what we'll develop this morning first I invite you to open your Bibles to Genesis chapter 6 and it's really here in Genesis chapters 67 and 8

where we find the Bible record of Noah and the flood now if I were to ask you and pull the audience connected here this morning how many of you believe that the account really uh that the flood really did occur that it was a real historic event now probably most of us would raise our hand that yes we have confidence in the Bible's account of the flood and we'd point to perhaps uh various factors for the reason we answer first and foremost is because the Bible presents this account of knowing the flood is fact uh

there's numerous details found here in Genesis 67 and 8 that really uh help prove that the Bible's record is true also there's Bible writers outside the Genesis account that referred back to no and the flood writers such as Daniel a Peter even Jesus who as we know had an eyewitness view when he was in the heavens when the flood account occurred and so he too referred to in the gospel accounts to Noah and the flood so the Bible presents this as a fact but beyond that we may also look at scientific evidence uh geology and

uh the fossil records support the flood account excavations all over the world have uncovered bones of thousands of buried animals interestingly not only have these bones been found on the tops of mountains but they're the remains of animals that would normally not heard together a geologist have found carcasses of tens of thousands of animals onar throughout Northern Siberia into Alaska that are not native to that area what do many of these geologists and scientists conclude that at one time the Earth was deluged or covered in water outside the Bible record the scientific record there's also

flood Traditions see so great was the flood of Noah's day that accounts have been P passed down from generation to generation amongst ancient peoples and cultures the March 1st 2002 Watchtower which is published by Jehovah's Witnesses made this statement regarding flood Traditions so practically all ancient peoples have a legended that their ancestors survived a global Deluge then it lists all these different flood legends that uh have been passed down even down to our day says what does this prove the similarities cannot possibly be coincidental the combined evidence of these Legends corroborates the Bible's ancient testimony

that all humans descend from the survivors of a flood that destroyed a world of mankind so obviously the way the Bible presents this account of Noah and the flood we can have confidence in it it's a real historical account the Bible supports it the Bible Canon supports it science supports it and also even mankind themselves and the fact that they never forgot flood Traditions have been passed down from generation to generation but now that brings us uh to our first main point we said that we consider or first question how the destruction of that world

of Noah's day sets a pattern for the time in which we're living in today Jesus made it very clear that there would be a similarity between that pre flood world of Noah's day in our time the time in which we're living in invite you to open your Bibles to Matthew chapter 24 and we'll read verse 37 Matthew 24:37 and notice here the words of Jesus he said for just as the days of Noah were so the presence of the son of man will be so you notice here Jesus said there be this this parallel this

pattern that just as the days of Noah were so the presence of the son of man will be so let's consider what conditions in Noah's time we're like have you ever stopped to think for a moment how many people might have died in the flood sometimes we may think in our minds well maybe it was a couple thousand people maybe as many as 10,000 it's true that the Bible doesn't really give us a number that died in the flood but it does make an interesting statement at Genesis 61 says now it came about that when

men started to grow in numbers on the surface of the ground when they started to grow in numbers so for the Bible to make a statement like that there must have been a fair population of people a quite large population of people that were alive there in that pre flood world and it only stands to reason because sometimes we forget onethird of all human history onethird of it took place prior to the flood there's not a lot recorded in the Bible about that time but we do know that 1,656 years passed from the time of

Adam to the time of the flood now it's interesting to note some scientists have done some calculations on how many people could have been living in that pre flood world of Noah's day and there's a variety of calculations that are out there that scientists have tried to do but these two scientists based their estimates on the fact that each family had six children each so that is assume the first family Adam and Eve had six children three families that could be established from these had six children each nine families resulting from these had six children

each and so on these two scientists used an average figure of 90 years per generation now we know people lived much longer than 90 years back then but this is what these two scientists use 90 years per generation they said one can calculate that there were some 18 Generations in the 1,656 years from Adam to the time of the flood at the end of 18 Generations the total number of people calculated on this basis is equal to 774 million now we preface this by saying these are just two scientists right theorizing doing some calculations uh

but it helps to get our mind to understand that this Deluge the lives that were lost in the flood it didn't impact just a a small region of the world or a community of people where a few thousand might have died no Millions lost their life in this flood but now that brings us to the question why did Jehovah choose to destroy that world of people at that time well very simply put that ancient world was destroyed because of its extreme wickedness the wickedness have been manifest from the time that our first parents Adam and

Eve were kicked out of the Garden of Eden now remember their son Cain out of a jealous rage killed his brother Abel and you go forward in the Bible record it talks about Enoch and how bad conditions were during the time in which he was living in well why had wickedness began intensifying so much in that time leading up to the flood well the Bible gives us an answer turn your Bibles to Genesis chapter 6 Genesis chapter 6 and we want to read together here verses 1-4 and notice here the reasons why wickedness was intensifying

in that pre flood world of Noah's day says that when men started to grow in number on the surface of the ground and daughters were born to them verse two continues the sons of the true God began to notice that the daughters of men were beautiful so they began taking his wives all whom they chose then Jehovah said my spirit will not tolerate man indefinitely because he is only flesh accordingly his days will amount to 120 years verse four continues it says the Nephilim were on the earth in those days and afterward during that time

the sons of the true God continued to have relations with the daughters of men and these bore Sons to them they were the mighty ones of Old Times the men of Fame you notice here the picture that bring up on the on the screen which illustrates uh what this scripture here verses 1-4 was referring to you notice there first it talks about these sons of the true God that began to notice the daughters of men well who were these sons of the true God these were actually angels that materialized human bodies and came to the

Earth just to gratify their own sexual desires to have relations with the daughters of men at Jude Jude 6 they're described as angels that did not keep their original position but forsook their own proper dwelling place now have you ever thought for a moment what it meant for an angel to materialize a human body the Bible reference book Insight on the scriptures under Nephilim explains Angels cannot create new life but it says knowing the construction of the human body and being able to materialize lived in these human bodies and cohabiting with women brought forth children

so did you catch that that they knew the construction of the human body and were able to materialize now we know that human body is made from the elements of the Earth right we're made of dust those angels knew the construction of the human body now they could not give it the Breath of Life only Jehovah could do that but understanding that power that these demons these Angelic creatures had helps us to appreciate our question why wickedness was intensifying so much during that time remember they came to the Earth just to gratify themselves sexually uh

they Reed Havoc violence upon the Earth if another human would have tried to kill them or stop them from continuing in their Wicked Ways these Angelic creatures could just materialize a new human body and continue continue right along going in their wickedness and ungodliness so from a human standpoint they were virtually Unstoppable so Jehovah knew he needed to take this power away from them now as these angels married women at that time they produced unnatural offspring of Mighty Men uh look there in verse four they're referred to as Nephilim that were on the earth in

those days and we saw that in those in the picture we just saw these Nephilim who were basically bullies tyrants their name means Fellers or meaning that they caused others to fall down so they too contributed to this fact of wickedness intensifying this violence that was upon the Earth so with wickedness intensifi so much we can see why Jehovah issued that judicial decree in the heavens there at the end of verse three where he would limit man's days to 120 years now Jesus gives us another perspective on the type of people that lived back there

in the in the time of Noah turn with me to Matthew chapter 24 and we'll read verses 38 and 39 M Matthew 24 38-39 now we just read verse 37 earlier in our discussion but notice here Jesus continues in verses 38 and 39 now remember Jesus was in the heavens when the flood occurred so he had an eyewitness View and he knew what was recorded here in the Bible Book of Genesis about the violence the Demonic influence the sexual perversions but he helps us to appreciate there was another CL class or type of people that

were also contributing to the ungodliness the wickedness of that time verse 38 he says for as they were in those days before the flood eating and drinking men marrying and women being given in marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ark and they took no note until the flood came and swept them all away so the presence of the son of man will be so do we begin to see the classes or types of people that were living in that world of Noah's day you had those very Wicked very violent Angelic creatures those

demons those Nephilim uh but now Jesus writes here about people that were just wrapped up in the day-to-day cares of Life the uh wanting to make a a comfortable life for themselves you notice here on the picture on the screen um when it says as G as Noah tried to preach to to them or to warn to warn them about that coming flood you can see their their faces right they laughed at him they ridiculed him for the type of a message that he was declaring but even though these people in this picture might not

have been as violent as those demons and those Nephilim they might have been classified as good people back then but still as Jesus said they took no note and as a result they too lost their life in that flood thank you for that picture so in examining the world and conditions that existed in the time of knowing his family we see it was marked by violence right uh sexual perversions uh demonic influence uh then we see how there there were those that were this pervasive apathy that was prevalent back then these people just wrapped up

in the day-to-day cares of life that they took no note to that warning message that was being declared to them now think back to the words that first scripture we read about jesus' words remember he said there' be this parallel this pattern he said just as the days of Noah were so the presence of the son of man will be so we just examine the world of Noah how it was marked by those four prevalent factors do we see those same four elements in the world in which we're living in today how about violence do

we see a world filled with violence absolutely the media reports on violent acts that occur on a daily basis uh violence has taken on a whole new level even in recent weeks with the unrest in the world then he had the sexual depravity remember those angels that left the Heavenly realm just to come to the Earth to gratify their own sexual desires that we see people with that same mentality today do we not we see a sexual abuse on the increase rape um other sexual type uh um wickedness and ungodliness going on even pornography where

individuals can now watch and gratify themselves as the Angels did right on their own personal devices or in the privacy of their own home so that same attitude and lustful desire in which people today seek out these perversions is no doubt the same as those angels did back there in Noah's day how about that third element the Demonic influence remember we spoke about how those angels materialized and came to the Earth to live amongst humans now although no longer able to do that Jehovah took that power away from them we see the demons are still

very active within society today we see their influence within the PO Politics the commercial system how about the entertainment industry how many Prime Time movies or TV shows are about the occult or have spiritistic overtones how many movies are about people that are half human half Angelic that have superhuman Powers see even though the Angels can't materialize they're still very active similar to Noah's day and then how about that fourth element that pervasive apathy the attitude of people would you say people have that same attitude as they did back back there in Noah's Day Jesus

said they were too busy eating drinking getting married uh getting married and uh and not wanting to give heed to that warning message Noah was giving absolutely we see that when we go to their doors and we try to bring the Bible's message to them and many have no time for that in fact they may ridicule us for spending our time what they feel is wasting our time at trying to preach to them and to others so we've taken that pre flood world of Noah's day and we've held the world in which we're living uh

today right up to it and we see the tress of jesus' words just as the days of Noah were so the presence of the son of man will be the Apostle Peter doesn't leave us to wonder about the parallel between these two times Noah as they in our day if you'll turn to Second Peter chapter 3 we'll read verses 5-7 2 Peter 3: 5-7 he said for they deliberately ignore this fact that long ago there were heavens and an earth standing firmly out of water and in the midst of Water by the word of God

and that by those means the world of that time suffered destruction when it was flooded with water referring to the days of Noah but now notice here the parallel verse 7 he says but by the same word the heavens and the Earth that now exist are reserved for fire and are being kept until the day of judgment and of destruction of the ungodly people so you notice here what Peter he makes that parallel right he says just as Jehovah destroyed that world of Noah's day because of its wickedness its ungodliness he wiped it Cain the

entire Earth he says so too they will today we know Jehovah will do that today by means of uh his power and we know the Bible refers to that day that great day of God the almighty when he'll wipe this earth clean as that day of of Armageddon so we see that parallel then right just because uh the simple fact that Jehovah saw the need to destroy that world because of its ungodliness he'll do the same today uh in the world in which we're living in but now that brings us to our next main point

what do you and I need to do to survive this system's end see what was it about knowing his family that you and me can imitate well there's much that we can learn from examining Noah's life if you turn with me to Hebrews chapter 11 Hebrews chapter 11 and we'll read verse 7 and as we read read this I see if you can pick out the quality that was prevalent in the life of Noah and his family Hebrews 11:7 it says by faith Noah after receiving Divine warning of things not yet seen showed Godly fear

and constructed an ark for the saving of his household and through this Faith he condemned the world and he became an heir of the righteousness that results from Faith now what quality stands out to you that was evident in knowing his life and his family's life Faith right they had outstanding faith and you notice here their faith wasn't just a matter of believing notice the picture Noah's Faith moved him to action right the scripture here in Hebrews says that he constructed an ark think of what a task that must have been you know the ark

was 437 ft long 72 feet wide and 43 feet high and remember Noah wasn't a professional AR Builder right he couldn't just call a local hardware store and say well you know drop off some timber here to the local uh area and I'll start building this Ark there was a lot of work to that think of all the work to cut down the trees to shape that Timber so it would fit together to be watertight Beyond building the ark think of all the work involved his faith moved him to do uh planting crops harvesting crops

for all the animals that would be housed in that Ark not to mention the food that would be needed to feed him and his family Noah's Faith moved him to action thank you for that picture he constructed that Ark but you know that wasn't all that Noah and his family did uh his faith was also evident second Peter 2:5 refers to Noah as a preacher of righteousness Noah's Faith was evident in that he and his family put God's will first in their life see they kept focused on their commission Jehovah had told them that they

would need to build the ark and to preach and warn the others of that time and that's what they did they put their focus on what Jehovah told them to do their Commission Now think of the contrast Noah and his family must have been to the rest of those living back there in Noah's day remember how Jesus said they were eating and drinking and marrying now does that mean that those things that those people of that time were engaged in were wrong well not necessarily those are quite normal activities of life but we need to

remember that those weren't normal times see the end of that system that flood was coming coming so that wasn't the time to be involved to put their attention their energies into those things you see that would be like you and I today uh suppose that you were rushed to an emergency room right a serious medical condition is wrong with you you rush to the emergency room you're in there in the emergency room and the doctors and nurses Are all uh working on you they're hooking you up to machines trying to figure out what's wrong your

life here hangs in the balance and imagine if that moment someone walks in and says hey have you ever thought about maybe pursuing a new career you know I've got an opportunity here a job opportunity that really you could make some good money and live a comfortable life or if someone came in and said you know have you ever thought about higher education you know there's some nice colleges and universities that you could pursue to really get a a good education and uh make a nice little Nest Egg for yourself see if they tried to

do that in that situation you'd look at them like they were crazy right that isn't the time to be thinking about those things your life you're there in the emergency room your energies need to be focused on self-preservation well friends we are not living in normal times we're living in what the Bible calls the last days so just like Noah and his family we need to have that strong faith faith backed up by works putting God's will will first in our life another aspect to Noah's faith is that he had courage to be different from

the rest of society back then notice an interesting statement made about no and his family at Genesis chapter 6 and verse 9 Genesis CH 6 and verse 9 says this is the history of Noah Noah was a righteous man he proved himself faultless among his contemporaries Noah walked with the true God you notice the Bible here makes it interesting the way it phrases this it says Noah was a righteous man he proved himself faultless among his contemporaries not in the sight of his contemporaries or from their Viewpoint Noah and his family were probably the odd

family on the Block the strange ones the ones putting their efforts into building that Ark and pre preaching this warning message see think of all the relatives that Noah must have had during that time all the acquaintances the neighbors and the pressure that must have been put on he and his family to conform to the lifestyle the entertainment the things that were common back there in that time of Noah in that pre flood world see but Noah knew it wasn't his neighbors it wasn't his relatives who would decide who would live or perish in that

flood he knew that was Jehovah and so he made sure there was a distinct difference between he and his family and the rest of society back then his faith moved him to to do that to give him the courage to do that well we do well to ask ourselves do we have that same type of courage to be different from this system in which we're living in you know Jesus said that his followers would be no part of the world but sadly some feel like they can dress like the world act like the world talk

like the world but still be no part of the system of things but we've all heard the illustration if it looks like a duck walks like a duck and quacks like a duck and guess what it's a duck so like noan and and his family we need to have that faith that courage to be different to be distinct to be separate from the rest of society a today even though it may not be popular to do so so in review we've seen the flood of Noah's day has great meaning for us today all right we

talked about how we can have confidence in the Bible's record it's a real historical account more than that we talked about how jesus' word said that the days of Noah would set a pattern for our time and we established how how true those words were and then finally here we just talked about that element of of faith those qualities that we need to have in order to survive this system's end but now that brings us to our third and final Point how we personally do not want to miss the meaning of the flood account now

what do we mean by we don't want to personally miss the meaning of the flood account well shortly after the flood a man by the name of nimrod came onto the world scene we'll see a picture here on the screen of an artist rendition of nimrod now who is Nimrod Nimrod was a wicked man but a person who had a very good knowledge of that destruction that flood that occurred and why Jehovah brought about that flood was because of man's ungodliness and wickedness but despite that knowledge Nimrod wanted to live a life in opposition to

God one of the things that it's uh believe that Nimrod was um responsible for was the Tower of Babel building a tower of a you see it there in the background of this picture which was a a structure High into the heavens and the Bible tells us he wanted to congregate a people to make a strong Nation but it's interesting the Jewish historian Josephus gives us another perspective on this wicked man Nimrod and why he might have built that tower that Tower of Abel uh Josephus writes he threatened to have his revenge on God if

he wished to inundate the Earth again for he would build a tower higher than the water could reach and Avenge the destruction of his forefathers thank you for that picture so did you notice that reason Josephus gave that may have been another reason Nimrod built that tower that he would build a tower higher than the water could reach so in other words Nimrod thought he could continue on in his opposition to God in his Wicked ways his ungodliness if God tried to destroy him by means of a flood well he would just climb on top

of that Tower higher than the water could reach he thought he could outsmart Jehovah God Nimrod was one who missed the purpose of the flood account see friends we don't want to be like Nimrod never do we want to have the attitude that we know better than Jehovah that somehow we can do what we want to do and still escape this system's end that we can ignore the Bible's laws and principles and still survive when Jehovah executes his judgment on this system in Armageddon if we did that like Nimrod we would be missing the purpose

of the flood account in conclusion I want you to first put yourself in the place of those Wicked people of Noah's day try to Envision yourself there in that world and and as those flood waters came and the rain fell and the water quickly began to raise past their ankles past their knees past their shoulders think of how crazed by fear and terrorized those Wicked people must have been at that time they realized that Ark was their only hope of survival and they missed out and as a result they and their families were going to

perish now try to put yourself in the place of Noah and his family and as they sat there in the ark Jehovah closed that door to the ark and they began to hear those raindrops on the roof and they began to feel that that Ark begin to shift as those flood waters Rose think of how thankful they must have been that they had followed everything Jehovah had told them to do just so and as a result they were going to survive you know friends Jehovah didn't have to inspire Moses to record the flood account in

the Bible but he did you know why this account no doubt strengthen Moses faith for the challenge he faced later in life and it can do the same for you and me today not only is this account a call to action but it's also a reminder that soon soon Jehovah will deliver Mankind from this world of unrighteousness you see Jehovah wants us to live forever that's why he's given us the width the breadth the height everything we need to build our lives for survival now he wants us to uh survive when he soon destroys this

ungodly World in Armageddon and that is why friends we take a great interest in the account of KN and the flood realizing it has significant meaning for us today