The story of Noah and the judgment at the end of the Bible are quite similar. Noah’s day was about the arrogance of ignoring God, and at the end of the Bible, that same arrogance of ignoring God resurfaces. Jesus told us this would be the case. When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. What was Jesus saying? The end will be like the beginning. Noah was building a boat for 75 years, but people had no need for a boat. Why? It had never rained on the earth, so no need for a boat. Today, people see the Gospel as boat building and have no need for it. Jesus told us to pay attention to Noah’s day where people ignored God until it rained.
Noah’s day was filled with life without a shred of a need for God. The generation of people in Noah’s day were as pagan as can be, and God knew proliferating this generation would only create more evil upon the earth. Can you imagine how disappointed God was when He discovered how bad life on earth had become with the people He created? Here is what God said about the generation in Noah’s day:
Genesis 6:5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
I believe there is a point in the human experience where there is no return or no redemption. Society gets to a point where their sinful lives are worshipped, and they want it no other way. In other words, there was no hope for the society of Noah’s day. We know that God is so merciful and so compassionate, and yet this society was destroyed by God, because redemption in any manner would not have worked. I believe that is the big idea behind people being judged by God. It is not about God’s judgment as much as it is about their lives judging themselves by going beyond the point of no return.
It hit me one day … why didn’t He have mercy on those people who died in the flood? What was it about them that made them any worse than some of the people who are alive today? I believe there was no hope for people who crossed the line of no return. There is a line and the death of every life in Noah’s day proved it. Even the mercy of God could not save them, because they were beyond even the help of God. In the Book of Revelation Chapter 16, judgment is falling upon people and the people know who and why they are being tormented, but they cannot bring themselves to repent. They would suffer the torment of God’s judgment rather than turn to Him and ask for mercy. That is a people who crossed the line of no return. I know most of us think God has no lines, but Scripture tells us differently:
John 3:18-20 There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed.
The big idea is revealed in these Verses too. Anyone who does not believe has crossed the line of no return with the mercy of God. This is why the Scripture says there is only one sin that is unforgiveable … the blaspheming of the Holy Spirit. That unforgiveable sin is unbelief … it is crossing the line of no return.
So, when Jesus said that the day of His return would be like the days of Noah, He was saying there will be people who willingly cross the line of no return. Our world is a mess, and I don’t believe it will ever return to what was considered normal. There will always be people as the Book of Jude says,
Jude 1:23 Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives.
Some will be spared crossing that line of no return and God’s mercy will win again sparing those from going too far into unbelief.
Challenging the Culture with Truth … Larry Kutzler