Luke’s Gospel: Noah

What was the moral and social climate in those days and how will it be replicated in the Last Days?

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Many people, when they consider the stories of Noah and Lot, get distracted by details we cannot know and questions we can never answer.

If we take Jesus’ words as He spoke them, we can avoid those dead-end discussions. Jesus is talking about the future, not the past. Moral and social conditions prevalent in those days will return in the last days. When we see these things, we can know that Jesus is coming soon.

The Days of Noah
Jesus said this:
“…as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man…”

What was the moral and social climate in those days and how will it be replicated in the Last Days? The desires of the flesh were the driving issues in life: eating, drinking, and sex. The spiritual realities of life were deemphasized to the point of exclusion.

We live at the end of what is called Modernity, the modern age. The term many use is Post-modern. This is the age of the physical and the mental with the issues of spirituality shunted to the periphery. Officially, that is according to science, secular education, and contemporary philosophies, man is not a spiritual being at all. He is an animal.

This idea has so many expressions:
• There is no such thing as an eternal spirit.
• We (and everything around us) are the results of blind chance.
• There is no God, no judgment, no afterlife.
• The only reality is what we see and measure.
• Truth and morality are what we want them to be.
• Life has no meaning beyond the meaning we give it.
• We are creatures of instinct. Our physical urges cannot be controlled.
• Ends always justify any means necessary for self-fulfillment.
The results of such beliefs are everywhere. The Days of Noah have returned. It is more important for us to understand these things than to puzzle ourselves over how many animals there were in the ark, etc. Jesus is coming soon!

The Days of Lot
Instead of pouring out judgment on the whole sinful world, the Lord judged these two cities for their wickedness. Jesus said that these sins would also return in the Last Days, and they have. This is the age of pleasure.
• Whatever the body craves is the order of the day.
• Right and wrong do not enter into the consideration of celebrants today.
• Lust is the driving force, lust in all its forms and expressions.
• The creativity of man, which is a gift from God, has fallen so far that artists in all media compete to create the vilest entertainment. Corruption sells. Profanity pours from ruined hearts.
• Laughter is no longer a medicine for the soul; it is a device for the derision of all that is holy.
In the words of Isaiah, “…he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.”

He came. He’ll come again.
We must consider these unpleasant things. They, too are His story for the story does not end with the four Gospels or the Book of Acts. It continues into the Revelation of Jesus Christ, the last book in the Bible. His return will be a time of separation. Those who believe will be taken and those who do not will be left behind. Today we can see the extreme relevance of the ancient words of Jesus about the days of Noah and Lot. They have, indeed, returned. Let us be ready for we know that soon Jesus also will return as promised.

Scriptures:
Luke: 17:26-37
And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed. “In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise, the one who is in the field, let him not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife. Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. I tell you, in that night there will be two men in one bed: the one will be taken and the other will be left. Two women will be grinding together: the one will be taken and the other left. Two men will be in the field: the one will be taken and the other left.” And they answered and said to Him, “Where, Lord?” So He said to them, “Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together.”

Isaiah 59:12-15 NKJV
For our transgressions are multiplied before You, And our sins testify against us; For our transgressions are with us, And as for our iniquities, we know them: In transgressing and lying against the Lord, And departing from our God, Speaking oppression and revolt, Conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood. Justice is turned back, And righteousness stands afar off; For truth is fallen in the street, And equity cannot enter. So truth fails, And he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I want to be ready when You return. I want to be found faithful in the work You have given me to do. I see this world and its wickedness. Holy Spirit, help me to never be comfortable with the iniquity of this age. May profanity always wound my heart. May obscenities offend my spirit. May I weep over the moral state of the world around me, the injustice, the hate, and the pain and suffering they cause. May Your story always be on my lips. You are the only hope, Lord Jesus! Even so, Come, Lord Jesus! Amen.

Song:
Even So, Lord Jesus, Come
Words and Music: Terry MacAlmon
Even so, come Lord Jesus, come.
Even so, take Your Bride away;
How my soul longs to be with You my Lord.
Even so, even so, come Lord Jesus, come.

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About the Author

Full of passion for Jesus Christ, Stephen Phifer is a third-generation minister with more than three decades of experience as a pastoral artist, worship leader, and conductor.

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