The Days of Noah and Lot

Just as unprepared men were destroyed by Noah’s Flood, so unrepentant men and apostates will be overtaken by destruction when Jesus arrives.

Jesus compared the final years before his return to the time immediately preceding the Great Flood. “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be” when the Son of Man returns. Some interpreters take this as a prediction of the return of the same conditions that existed in Noah’s day, including the moral rebellion and violence that prompted God to send the floodwaters.

[Flood - Photo by Chris Gallagher (Leeds, UK) on Unsplash]

This common view misses the point. All periods of human history are characterized by immorality and violence. The fuller version of Christ’s saying is found in the Gospel of Luke. Jesus compared this final period to the days of Noah and to the days of Lot. Both analogies stress the same thing:

• “But of that day and hour knows no one, not even the angels of heaven, neither the Son, but the Father only. And as were the days of Noah, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. For as in those 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 they knew not until the flood came, and took them all away. Thus, will be the coming of the Son of Man” - (Luke 24:36-39).

• “<…> Likewise, even as it came to pass 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 from Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be after the same manner on the day that the Son of Man is revealed” - (Luke 17:26-30).

Since no one except God knows the timing of the final day, we must remain vigilant and prepared for its sudden arrival, which will come “as a thief in the night.” The analogy of the days of Noah illustrates this. Jesus said nothing about the return of gross sin, violence, or terrestrial upheaval in the final days of the present sinful age.

Men and women will continue in their daily routines: “Eating, drinking, marrying, planting, building, buying and selling.” This describes everyday life, not chaos or horrific sin. They will go about their business as if nothing unexpected would ever occur, despite the testimony of preachers of righteousness and the lessons of history. As the Apostle Peter warned his readers:

• “For if God spared not angels when they sinned, but cast them down to the Pit and committed them to chains of darkness to be reserved for judgment; and spared not the ancient world, but preserved Noah with seven others, a preacher of righteousness, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, having made them an example for those who live ungodly lives. And he delivered righteous Lot, sore distressed by the lascivious life of the wicked. <…> The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment unto the day of judgment” - (2 Peter 2:4-9).

• “Know this, first, that in the last days scoffers will come with scoffing, walking after their own lusts, and saying: Where is the promise of his coming? For since the day that the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this, they willfully forget that there were heavens from of old, and an earth compacted out of water and amidst water by the word of God, by which means the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished. But the heavens that now are, and the earth, by the same word, have been stored up for fire, being reserved against the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men” - (2 Peter 3:3-7).

The problem in Noah’s day was the failure of men and women to respond to the call of Noah for their repentance, just as many of us today ignore God’s gracious offer of salvation through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We live as if the judgment will never come, and too many will insist on doing so until the very last moment when destruction inevitably comes.

Christ’s analogy accurately portrays our foolish indifference to warnings of inevitable judgment, warnings from Scripture, History, and nature itself. Only Noah and his family believed God’s declaration about the future. Therefore, Noah prepared the ark, and he and his family were saved:

• “By faith, Noah, being warned concerning things not seen as yet, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house, through which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness, which is according to faith” - (Hebrews 11:7).

NORMALCY, NOT CHAOS

Nevertheless, the Flood did arrive for the rest of humanity, just as God predicted. Men did not listen to Noah’s warnings and chose instead to close their ears to his words. Likewise, the sudden arrival of the Son of Man will take many men by surprise. The coming conditions described by Jesus portray normalcy, not chaos.

In the account as recorded in Luke, Jesus declares that the Kingdom will not come “with observable signs” (‘paratérésis’). This translates the Greek word used by ancient medical practitioners for diagnosing diseases by observing symptoms, and for making careful observations of the movements of stars and planets.

We cannot calculate the timing of Christ’s return by looking for cosmic signs. When he does come, it will be like “lightning flashing out of the one part under heaven and flashing into the other part under heaven” - sudden, unmistakable, and visible to all men.

Jesus added the illustration of the days of Lot. Before the Son of Man arrives, people will conduct their regular affairs as if nothing catastrophic could ever occur. Yet in Lot’s time, fire fell suddenly from heaven and destroyed the city of Sodom. It will be the same on the day when Jesus appears “on the clouds.” We must not become too comfortable in this life, and we must be ready at all times for the sudden arrival of the Day of the Lord:

• “Lest at any time your hearts are overcharged with drunkenness and the cares of this life, and so that day comes upon (‘ephistémi’) you unexpectedly (‘aiphnidios’). For just as a snare, it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch, therefore, and pray always to be accounted worthy to escape (‘ekpheugō’) all these things” – (Luke 21:34-36).

The Apostle Paul uses this saying of Jesus in his first letter to the Thessalonians to make a similar point:

• “For you yourselves know accurately that the day of the Lord is coming as a thief in the night. For when they will say, ‘Peace and Security,’ then unexpected (‘aiphnidios’) destruction comes upon (‘ephistémi’) them as travail upon a woman with child, and they will certainly not escape (‘ekpheugō’)” - (1 Thessalonians 5:2-3).

The Greek term translated as “unexpected” (‘aiphnidios’) occurs nowhere else in the New Testament except in these two passages. The Day of the Lord will arrive when it is least expected, just as the thief strikes without warning. So, likewise, Peter warned of the sudden and unexpected arrival of the Day of the Lord and the hour of the judgment of all things:

• “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Seeing that these things are thus all to be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in all holy living and godliness, looking for and earnestly desiring the coming of the day of God, by reason of which the heavens being on fire will be dissolved, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? ” - (2 Peter 3:10-12).

During global catastrophes, even atheists believe something “apocalyptic” is imminent. However, in periods of peace and prosperity, we assume that life will continue as usual.

Jesus paints a picture of normalcy for the period prior to his return, not one characterized by cosmic catastrophes, unrestrained violence, or moral anarchy. The unprepared will be overtaken by his sudden appearance. Therefore, we must remain ever vigilant and prepared for that moment.

[Note: Text printed in small capital letters represents quotations of or allusions to Old Testament passages]

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SEE ALSO:

• Os dias de Noé e Ló - (Assim como homens despreparados foram destruídos pelo dilúvio de Noé, homens impenitentes e apóstatas serão tomados pela destruição quando Jesus chegar)

• Thief in the Night - (Paul does not provide detailed information about signs and seasons since the Lord will arrive like a thief in the night – 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3)

• Waiting for Jesus - (The Church of Thessalonica began to serve the Living God and wait eagerly for the arrival of His Son from Heaven – 1 Thessalonians 1:8-10)

• When Jesus Arrives - (The arrival of Jesus will be an event of victory and finality. It will include the resurrection, judgment, and the New Creation)