By Pastor Hal Mayer
Noah and the Second Coming of Jesus [1]
Dear Friends,
Welcome to Keep the Faith Ministry. Thank you for joining me again this month. There has never been a more important and fascinating time to be alive. As prophecy unfolds in our own day, we are compelled to consider what the Bible tells us about the future. Without the Bible we would be like a ship without a rudder, tossed about by every wave of fantasy or fanaticism that comes along. We would probably be like most Christians who don’t have a clue about what is about to come upon them. But we must not be arrogant just because God has given us so much light. That’s what happened to the Jews.
We have the privilege to walk humbly with God like Noah. And if we do, He will carry us through the coming mega-storm safe and sound. The Bible is our anchor. It is the one book that can show us how to walk with the Almighty day by day. It is your privilege to give Him your whole heart, and let Him show you how to never lose your peace even when your patience is tested severely. If you want safety in the coming tempest, you need what the Bible has to offer, a guidance system so that you can navigate the coming crisis.
But before we get into our message for today, I want to thank you sincerely for your prayers for Keep the Faith. I believe that prayer and faith is what keeps us going.
I have good news. Our website now has a web store up and running. You’ll find the link on our home page. You can order all our previous sermons and books, music CDs, etc. And don’t forget that we are now on Facebook and Twitter. And for those of you who don’t know it, when you make a gift to Keep the Faith Ministry, you get our insiders report which updates you on thrilling things going on at Keep the Faith each month.
Also, I want to share with you that at Highwood we are organizing a very special project that I would like you to know about. As you probably know, Highwood is God’s residential Health Retreat in Victoria, Australia, nestled in the mountains surrounded by beautiful forests near Melbourne. God continues to work miracles there. Guests continue to come to receive the healing that Highwood has to offer and they go away amazed by what God does with them. Recently, we had a session with nine health guests, our largest group yet. That was challenging to our limited staff. But they got through it.
But we have a problem. Our therapy department is one of the most important aspects of Highwood’s program. It is in the therapy department where our therapists help relieve pain. It is in the therapy department that our secular guests often open their hearts and start asking questions about God. It is in the therapy department where our fearful and stressed visitors begin to feel peace and rest.
But we are finding that our therapy department is not really designed right. It was built with a separate men’s department and a women’s department of the same size and mostly the same equipment in each. But since there are fewer men than women that come through the program, the men’s department isn’t used efficiently while the women’s department is woefully inadequate.
Imagine what it is like for our female therapists to work in cramped quarters with more guests than space available. There are some other structural challenges as well. So, in order to solve the problem we have decided to remodel our therapy department. We won’t have to increase the size of the building like we first thought. But if we can reorganize it so that we have the space divided by treatment category rather than by gender, we can use the space much more efficiently. We believe that this is what God wants us to do. And we hope to do it around the end of the year during the holiday season when we don’t have a session in progress. Though we’ll have to redo the plumbing and electrical, and put in new partitions, we believe that this would give us far more time with our guests in one of the most important places where we can reach their hearts.
This project is estimated to cost about $150,000 AUD, but with volunteer help and the blessing of God, we believe that we can keep it to a minimum. We are hoping that you, our listeners, would be willing to help us with this important project. We aren’t asking for help with operations. That has to take care of itself. We are asking for help with the things that will make God’s work at Highwood more effective in the long run. Please consider what you can do to help with that project. Of course, we need your regular support for Keep the Faith and its work of reaching souls, but perhaps the Lord would lay it on your heart to help His work at Highwood with an extra gift at this time. If so, please use the envelope that is enclosed with your monthly CD, and remember that God needs men and women to help Him by partnering with us to win souls in Victoria and throughout Oceania. Also, if you have building skills you may be interested in volunteering for this project. Please let us know.
Today we are going to look again at the experience of Noah in this final installment on his life. Maybe you’ve never thought about it, but I have wondered what it was like when Noah came out of the ark. Imagine his thoughts and feelings! How was the earth different? What practical problems did he have? Most of all, what principles can we learn about the end of time and the earth made new?
So, let us begin with prayer. Our Father in Heaven, thank you for our Savior who promises to take us through every storm in our lives, especially the final storm that will come upon Your people in the last days We need Your Holy Spirit in our lives. We need Your truth to sanctify us like the heroes of the Bible. We need experiences that will mature us into what You want us to be. We need Your power to overcome the evil one. It is hard to imagine that many will depart from the faith like in Noah’s time and that only a few will be saved. But we want the faith and fidelity of that man, Noah. His loyalty to You put him in the crucible and matured his character. That is what we want today. Please grant our earnest prayer. In Jesus’ name, amen.
I don’t know about you, but the Genesis record fascinates me. At a time in earth’s history when many Christians are throwing out the creation story and the story of the flood as fictional, and substituting the fanciful speculative explanations of “modern science,” I’m finding an increasingly personal sense of faith in the biblical record. Though I have never doubted what the Bible says, there is something to be said for researching the available scientific evidence to understand and explain what happened at creation and the flood. Often it is possible to see in the very evidence that scientists use to spin their imaginary web of falsehoods, that which instead supports and explains the Genesis record. The scientists are so determined to come up with an explanation that avoids the Bible record that they turn light into darkness, truth into error. The scientists think they are so smart. They think that the Bible record is not worth considering and that there is another explanation for how things happened in the distant past. The Bible says their foolish hearts are darkened. Romans 1:21
Let us not forget what Jesus told us about the days of Noah. He said, “And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.” Luke 17:26. That is also saying that Noah’s experience is a prophecy about our times. Yes, the wickedness of the world now is the same as it was then. But the story also gives us deeper insights into the experience of God’s people at the end of time.
When Noah went into the ark he was the object of derision for his pessimism about the end of the world. They taunted him and persecuted him with ridicule, misuse and generally made his life miserable. To those people, it was a doomsday message and they weren’t interested in changing their corrupt lives or living righteously like Noah. They were having too much fun. Like Sodom on the night before it was destroyed, these people thought that life could never change, so they rejected the truth of God’s prophet, God’s word.
Listen to this statement from the Signs of the Times, April 1, 1886. Speaking of the time of Noah, the author says, “That generation had their day of opportunity and privilege while Noah was sounding the note of warning of the coming destruction; but they yielded their minds to the control of Satan rather than of God, and he deceived them, as he did our first parents. He set before them darkness and falsehood in the place of light and truth; and they accepted his sophistry and lies, because they were acceptable to them, and in harmony with their corrupt lives, while truth that would have saved them was rejected as a delusion.”
Today it is the same spirit that dwells in the hearts of many Christians and worldlings alike. Today people willingly accept lies instead of truth because it is in harmony with their corrupt lives.
As their homes and their cities were destroyed by the flood, so will the cities of our day be destroyed by the plagues. Why then do people move into the cities? The cities are full of concentrated wickedness in the extreme. It is in their DNA and they potentiate wickedness and sin. The cities are targets of God’s justice. It isn’t wise to live in the city.
When the flood came, the noise of the tempest must have been frightening to the inhabitants of the ark. Remember it was a global cyclone, or a series of cyclones with accompanying tornados. There were earthquakes, erupting volcanoes, jets of water blasting hundreds of feet up in the air throwing great rocks and trees around. It quickly destroyed homes, cities and everything else on the face of the earth. Perhaps Noah and his family felt the earth moving underneath the ark in violent upheaval before the ark began to float. The animals were terrified, and perhaps even Noah wondered if he would survive.
The tempest was a time of trouble such as never was. Noah went through it. He felt it and heard it personally. God’s people will also see and feel the tempest too. But God will carry them through it also.
Noah had confidence in God and he certainly reassured his family that God would look after them, for He had promised, and surely He would fulfill His promise. God’s true people will also have their confidence in His protecting care tested too in their time of trouble such as never was, but they will trust Him fully.
You may remember that the Bible tells us that the sun was reduced to one seventh of its original strength at the time of the flood. Isaiah 30:26 says of the new earth: “the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.”
Because of the changes in the sun and the moon, the earth’s magnetic field was greatly reduced. The atmosphere also dramatically cooled. This likely caused the overwhelming upheavals of nature. Water poured from the heavens in huge amounts globally. Huge earthquakes and volcanic eruptions broke up the surface of the earth and caused explosions of terrific force. Cyclones and tornadoes of a magnitude that makes today’s category five storms pale in comparison, wreaked havoc on beautiful palaces of the antediluvian inhabitants. Enormous hailstones fell and powerful sheets of lightening did their work of destruction. All of this was happening at once on a global scale at the time of Noah’s deliverance.
Now listen to the description of what happens to the earth at the time when God’s people are delivered at the second coming. I think you will see that it was much like the time of the flood. It is from Great Controversy, page 636 – 638. I’ll read just parts of it. “It is at midnight that God manifests His power for the deliverance of His people… Everything in nature seems turned out of its course. The streams cease to flow. Dark, heavy clouds come up and clash against each other. In the midst of the angry heavens is one clear space of indescribable glory, whence comes the voice of God like the sound of many waters, saying: “It is done.” Revelation 16:17
“That voice shakes the heavens and the earth. There is a mighty earthquake, “such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.” Revelation 16:18. The mountains shake like a reed in the wind, and ragged rocks are scattered on every side. There is a roar as of a coming tempest. The sea is lashed into fury. There is heard the shriek of a hurricane like the voice of demons upon a mission of destruction. The whole earth heaves and swells like the waves of the sea. Its surface is breaking up. Its very foundations seem to be giving way. Mountain chains are sinking. Inhabited islands disappear. The seaports that have become like Sodom for wickedness are swallowed up by the angry waters… Great hailstones, every one “about the weight of a talent,” are doing their work of destruction, Verses 19, 21. The proudest cities of the earth are laid low. The lordly palaces, upon which the world’s great men have lavished their wealth in order to glorify themselves, are crumbling to ruin before their eyes… Thick clouds still cover the sky; yet the sun now and then breaks through, appearing like the avenging eye of Jehovah… Fierce lightnings leap from the heavens, enveloping the earth in a sheet of flame. Above the terrific roar of thunder, voices, mysterious and awful, declare the doom of the wicked.”
Does that sound similar to the destruction of the world at the time of Noah? Of course it does. God gave us the story of Noah so that we may understand something about the second coming of Christ and the deliverance of His faithful people.
When you read about an earthquake or volcano, do you automatically think of the flood? When you see the mountains jutting up from the earth, does it remind you of the wickedness of the earth that brought on the tempest that destroyed all things and changed the face and nature of the earth? When you see great canyons and huge rocks lying naked on the surface of the earth, does it make you think of the coming destruction of the earth at the second coming? It should.
For five long months Noah and his family, the true church, were tossed about by the wind and waves. Perhaps that is the length of time that the church will be tossed about and persecuted during the final spiritual storm. The Bible doesn’t directly tell us, but the suggestion is there. It will be relatively short, but very intense, much like the mega-storm in Noah’s day.
But eventually as the waters began to recede, angels guided the ark to a protected spot amid several mountains that were relatively close together. This calmed things down inside the ark, for it was no longer tossed by the wind and the waves.
The water receded through evaporation as the sun warmed the earth again. The Bible says, “God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged.” So the wind accelerated the evaporation process. But not all the water was taken back into the atmosphere. The vast and deep oceans that were created by the flood were capable of holding much of the water that could not go back into the atmosphere. The oceans also greatly reduced the surface land mass.
Eventually, Noah wondered if it was dry enough to go out of the ark. So he opened the window in the ark and let out a raven. He was looking for some sign, some evidence that God’s word was being fulfilled. But the raven could not find a place to land so it just flew back and forth from the ark. Some time later, he sent out a dove, but again it had no place to land, so he waited again. On the second attempt, the dove brought back an olive leaf, which brought great joy to Noah and his family. No doubt the angels guided the dove to do this so that Noah would know that life was returning to the earth. The third time the dove was sent out it did not return.
Genesis 8:5 says that “in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen.” It was still almost five months until Noah would come out of the ark. This was a time of anxious waiting. There was apparently no communication from heaven, so Noah just had to wait. And God’s people during the final crisis will also have to wait on God. They will have anxiety, but their confidence in God will be strong.
No doubt Noah was so anxious to look outside the ark that he may have looked out the window, but all he could see, perhaps were the tops of the mountains. The ark was gradually descending below the mountain peaks as the water receded. But Noah had no choice but to sit and wait for instructions from the Lord to come out of the ark. The same is true of God’s people during the time of trouble when in their hiding places or dungeon cells. Their faith will be tested like Noah’s was.
Later, Noah removed the top or covering of the ark, and when he looked around the earth looked dry. But it still wasn’t time to depart. Likewise, God’s people will see little signs, or tokens that deliverance is near, but they will still have to wait. Their patience will be tried.
Finally, an angel came down to the ark and opened the door for Noah. Imagine a flash of light hovering over the ark. And then the huge door begins to swing open. I don’t know about you, but I suspect that the same angel that closed the door now opened it. We do not know whether this angel was Christ himself, but it could well have been. It was certainly at His command. But I like to think that perhaps it was Michael, the archangel himself, who released Noah from the ark.
Then “God [Christ himself, who was always the communicator between God and man] spake unto Noah, saying, Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons’ wives with thee. Genesis 8:16. What a thrilling day that must have been! Noah was free again! What a relief!
Likewise, when God’s people are delivered, their faces light up and their countenances are changed. Listen to this from Great Controversy, page 639. “A marvelous change has come over those who have held fast their integrity in the very face of death. They have been suddenly delivered from the dark and terrible tyranny of men transformed to demons. Their faces, so lately pale, anxious, and haggard, are now aglow with wonder, faith, and love. Their voices rise in triumphant song: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.” Psalm 46:1-3
Noah rejoiced when he came out of the ark and so will God’s people when they come out of their hiding.
So, let us understand the sequence before and after the flood, which is parallel to the end of time and the second coming. God had said to Noah before the storm, “Come thou and all thy house into the ark…” Genesis 7:1. He says to His people in the last days just before the final storm, “Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.” Isaiah 26:20. This is exactly what He did with Noah as the prophetic type.
Then, after the storm, which is a representation of the tempest of judgment and destruction that will come upon the world at the time of the second coming, God tells Noah to come out.
When Christ returns, He opens their doors and calls forth his faithful ones. When God’s enemies are neutralized, God’s people will also be called out of their hiding places, no more to fear, but to praise and glorify their Redeemer, just as Noah did when he came out of the ark.
Listen to this statement from Maranatha, page 290. Speaking of those who have been hidden in the caves and dens of the earth because of the tempest of violent persecution for their fidelity to the Law of Jehovah, particularly the Sabbath commandment, it says; “But deliverance comes to the people of God. To their enemies God will show Himself a God of just retribution. From the dens and the caves of the earth, that have been the secret hiding places [or chambers] of God’s people, they are called forth as His witnesses, true and faithful.”
I hope you can see the multiple parallels here. Noah was hidden in the ark, safe from God’s vengeance on the wicked. Many of God’s people will be hidden in the dens and caves of the earth, safe from the vengeance of the wicked. Like Noah, they are called forth to a new earth. Christ opens their doors and they are set at liberty.
Some are in prisons, but kept safe by holy angels. Their dungeon doors are opened by the command of Christ and they are set free. Many are hidden in the chamber of the grave, safe until the resurrection of the righteous. Christ will command these to come forth and will open their doors also.
And there is yet one more parallel. Christ opens one more door. He brings the redeemed to the Holy City, the New Jerusalem. He opens that massive gate and welcomes the redeemed into His glory. What a day that will be! I want to be there, don’t you?
God uses the symbol of a door in Noah’s ark to teach us about the doors He will open for us. The door on Noah’s ark is a fantastic prophetic illustration of the experience of the last generation with Christ. He knows how to protect you from the evil one. But He also knows when to call you out of your hiding chamber. He will open the door.
But did you know that in order for you to be there on that day when Christ opens the door of the Holy City for you, you must open the door of your heart to Him now, just like Noah did as He walked with God every day of his life. You can do it by the power of God. It is indeed possible.
When Noah came out of the ark, he was so thankful to the Lord that his first impulse is to express his love and appreciation for God’s protection through the crisis. His first act was to offer a sacrifice of each kind of clean beasts and fowl.
Here again is a symbol of the redeemed that will have the door of the New Jerusalem opened to them. They too will be so thankful that they will do something very special. Listen to these words from Early Writings, pages 288, 289. It is a ceremony of rejoicing that takes place outside the New Jerusalem. “Then I saw a very great number of angels bring from the city glorious crowns—a crown for every saint, with his name written thereon. As Jesus called for the crowns, angels presented them to Him, and with His own right hand, the lovely Jesus placed the crowns on the heads of the saints. In the same manner the angels brought the harps, and Jesus presented them also to the saints. The commanding angels first struck the note, and then every voice was raised in grateful, happy praise, and every hand skillfully swept over the strings of the harp, sending forth melodious music in rich and perfect strains. Then I saw Jesus lead the redeemed company to the gate of the city. He laid hold of the gate and swung it back on its glittering hinges and bade the nations that had kept the truth enter in. Within the city there was everything to feast the eye. Rich glory they beheld everywhere. Then Jesus looked upon His redeemed saints; their countenances were radiant with glory; and as He fixed His loving eyes upon them, He said, with His rich, musical voice, ‘I behold the travail of My soul, and am satisfied. This rich glory is yours to enjoy eternally. Your sorrows are ended. There shall be no more death.’ The redeemed host bow and cast their glittering crowns at the feet of Jesus, and then, as His lovely hand raised them up, they touched their golden harps and filled all heaven with their rich music and songs to the Lamb.”
Friends, Noah’s joyful sacrifice there by the ark in thankful praise to God for his loving and protecting care is but a faint prophetic symbol of the great joy that the redeemed will have when they are finally with Jesus in their heavenly home. He only had animals by which to sacrifice in his great joy. But the faithful will have crowns to place at Jesus’ feet and harps to sing His praises.
No doubt Noah looked around him in wonder. What had happened to the earth he knew? Where had all those magnificent trees gone? All the beautiful gardens and rolling hills had vanished. Gone were the abundant flowers and orchards. And there was a chill to the air that had not been there before. Everything was so different. Even the atmosphere seemed thin and left him feeling somewhat breathless upon exertion.
Before the flood the atmosphere was perfect for maintaining long life. You may remember that there was a hyperbaric atmosphere, which probably facilitated a perfect burn of calories in the system. The plants had a perfect nutritional configuration so that the cells of the body could maximally use the life-sustaining nutrition. The whole ecosystem was perfectly balanced with nothing to undermine absolute and perfect health.
Let us consider though what Noah experienced after he came out of the ark. The earth had taken a major turn for the worse. Everywhere there was desolation. Now huge rocks jutted up through the surface of the earth. Instead of a gentle rolling surface, the earth had huge mountains that climbed high toward the sky, and deep canyons that plumbed the depths of great ravines. The crust of the earth underneath its verdant surface had been broken up by the elements and now the “skeletons of the earth” were exposed in many places.
The earthquakes were so violent that the earth’s axis had tilted 23 degrees. This axis tilt changed the atmosphere. Scientists point out that change in the earth’s axis today can affect weather in small ways. When there is a major earthquake, like the one in Japan more than a year ago, the earth’s axis can tilt further. In that case, it was between 10 and 25 centimeters (or between 4 and 10 inches). That axis adjustment can change weather and climate, they say.
Wikipedia Article on Axial tilt [2]
NASA: Japan quake shortened Earth’s day, shifted axis [3]
Wikipedia Article on 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami [4]
Can an earthquake shift the Earth’s axis? [5]
There are two things to think about concerning this. If a huge earthquake today can cause an adjustment in the earth’s axis by only 10 to 25 centimeters, how big does the earthquake have to be to adjust it by 23 degrees? Let’s do the math. One degree change to the tilt of the axis of the earth would mean moving it by around 110 kilometers, or 68 miles. There are 100,000 centimeters in a kilometer. So one degree of change in the earth’s axis is worth 11,000,000 centimeters. That’s only a one-degree change. So, if the Japanese earthquake shifted the axis of the earth by 10-25 centimeters, that really isn’t much considering the size of the earth.
But, if during the flood, the earth’s axis was moved by 23 degrees, how many centimeters would that be? This means that the earth would have moved by 253 million centimeters. That’s up to roughly 25 million times the disruptive power of the Japanese earthquake. That’s 25 million times, my friends. That is unfathomable. That kind of seismic power is unimaginable. Perhaps there are other factors that were involved in the tilting of the axis that I do not know, but just running the numbers in this fashion gives you an idea of the incredible magnitude and destructive force of the mega-earthquakes that roiled and broke up the earth. The whole earth must have seemed to come apart at the seams. And when it all came to rest, everything was different. Friends, the ark would never have survived had not the angels protected and guided it.
The breaking up of the earth in Noah’s day when the wicked were destroyed by water is a prophetic type of the breaking up of the earth when the wicked are destroyed by the brightness of His coming.
Here is the second thing to think about concerning the tilting of the axis. Remember, before the flood the earth was of similar climate from the North Pole to the South Pole. In other words, no matter where you were, the temperature and climate were essentially the same. This was because the earth was in a different relationship to the sun. After the flood, once the axis tilted, the climate was different. Scientists today suggest this very thing when they talk about the effect of large earthquakes on the axis tilt. And there may have been other factors that changed the relationship of the earth to the sun as well, such as an adjustment in the juxtaposition of those two celestial bodies. While we don’t know for sure, we can be certain that a 23-degree change in the earth’s axis made quite a difference in the climate from one part of the earth to another with the greatest extremes in the polar and equatorial regions of the earth.
Other things were really different after the flood too. In fact there is an interesting statement in Selected Messages, Vol. 3, and page 289.
Speaking of the time of the flood, the author says, “the curse pronounced upon man and the earth and every living thing has made strange and wonderful changes. Since the Flood the human race has been shortening its period of existence. Physical, mental, and moral degeneracy is rapidly increasing in these latter days.”
What were these “strange and wonderful changes?” The air was not as dense and it did not oxygenate the body so perfectly as before. The plants and flowers would still be beautiful though smaller and less brilliant. The fruit was still good, but not as good as it once was. The nutritional configuration would still sustain life, but not as effectively. Now there were vast differences in temperature, in the atmosphere and in the ecosystems.
Before the flood the sun’s cosmic radiation could not penetrate inside the atmosphere like it does now because the magnetic field was much stronger and denser and deflected all the cosmic radiation. These were far-reaching changes that had taken place to shorten men’s lives. Yes, man was permitted to eat the meat of clean animals after the flood, and this would especially shorten his lifespan. But other things also were different; that effected man’s age. For instance, cosmic radiation would bring on age and feebleness much sooner. A lower level of nutrition in the vegetable and fruit kingdom would also bear some responsibility for the shorter lifespan. Also disease would affect him too. All of this would eventually bring down man’s lifespan to 70 years, perhaps somewhat longer if by reason of strength.
Before the flood, trees were much larger, but now, they were buried under the surface of the earth to become fossil fuels that God stored away so that many centuries later, man could use those fuels to sustain life and make it more convenient.
Trees, flowers and plants were much larger and more beautiful, but they too were gone. Even the animals and reptiles were considerably larger but were buried under the huge trees as they fell on them during the flood.
Consider what scientists are saying about a monster snake that once lived upon the earth. The Titanoboa, as it is called, was quite a creature. “A fierce, coldblooded predator,” they say, “it dominated a world of giant creatures 58 million years ago.”
This monster snake fossil was found in a coal mine in northern Colombia not too long ago. This area of Coombia is rich with fossils. In fact it is one of the most important fossil deposits in the world. The Smithsonian magazine says that it provides “scientists with a unique snapshot of the geological moment when the dinosaurs had just disappeared and a new environment was emerging.”
Now, just think what the Smithsonian magazine said there. They said that the dinosaurs just disappeared at a certain geological moment, and a new environment emerged.” Isn’t that incredible? They actually admit that it was all at once; and that they were replaced with a different ecosystem. They have just described what took place at the flood, though they would never consider such an event as the cause.
Listen to more of what they say. The place where these fossils are is the “only window on a complete ancient tropical ecosystem anywhere in the world.” So, what they are saying is that this fossil dig is an excellent and rather complete look into what the ecosystem was like before the flood. Of course, they say it is 58 million years old. But that is just their foolish speculation. Scientists don’t read the Bible, so they have to use their own human imagination to come up with the age of things. Yes, they use so-called scientific tools, like carbon dating to guess at the age of something, but their carbon dating system is incompatible with the antediluvian world because carbon dating is dependent on the cosmic rays of the sun penetrating the earth, which didn’t happen before the flood. So when they say something is 58 million years old, they are really saying that they don’t believe God. They are admitting that they are ignorant of the truth. They are making a great mistake in the basic premise of their calculations.
But a Christian who believes the Bible record doesn’t have to make such mistakes. God clearly tells us what happened, not in every detail, but in the basic principles, which explain the existence of the large creatures, trees and other fossils that they find.
How Titanoboa, the 40-Foot-Long Snake, Was Found [6]
Smithsonian Channel Video: Titanoboa Monster Snake [7]
Wikipedia Article on Titanoboa [8]
What scientists say was as old as 58 million years, is really only about 4000 years old. These animals like the monster snake Titanoboa certainly died in the flood like most other creatures that were not in the ark, instantly crushed by trees, rock and debris, from one of the earthquakes.
Think about this. Do you think God needed these dead animals so that the fossil record would continually pose documentation of the flood before the wicked imaginations of unbelieving men? Of course He did.
Here it is from the book Education, page 129. “Before the Flood the development of vegetable and animal life was immeasurably superior to that which has since been known. At the Flood the surface of the earth was broken up, marked changes took place, and in the re-formation of the earth’s crust were preserved many evidences of the life previously existing. The vast forests buried in the earth at the time of the Flood, and since changed to coal, form the extensive coal fields, and yield the supplies of oil that minister to our comfort and convenience today. These things, as they are brought to light, are so many witnesses mutely testifying to the truth of the word of God.”
So, the scientists will never be able to say that they didn’t have the evidence for the flood. It’s all there. In other words, when they face the creator, they will be left without an excuse for their unbelief.
On the other hand, we have the privilege to use the fossil record as the strongest evidence for the great deluge described in the Bible. Listen to this statement from the book Christian Education, page 192.
“Relics found in the earth do give evidence of conditions differing in many respects from the present; but the time when these conditions existed can be learned only from the Inspired Record. In the history of the flood, inspiration has explained that which geology alone could never fathom. In the days of Noah, men, animals, and trees, many times larger than now exist, were buried, and thus preserved as an evidence to later generations that the antediluvians perished by a flood. God designed that the discovery of these things should establish faith in inspired history; but men, with their vain reasoning, fall into the same error as did the people before the flood,—the things which God gave them as a benefit, they turn into a curse by making a wrong use of them.”
Now, let us think about that spectacular snake for a minute. The Titanoboa is estimated to be between 40 and 50 feet long (roughly 13 Meters) and weighted more than a ton – nearly 2500 lbs, (more than 1100 Kilograms). He was as long as a school bus and as heavy as a small rhino. This is more than the size of 20 men put together. The thickest part of its body would be nearly as high as a man’s waist. These antediluvian titans were enormous, and this was the rule, not the exception.
But so are the other animals discovered in this region. Turtles as big as 5 and a half feet long (almost 2 Meters), which is twice the size of manhole covers and almost 70% larger than the largest Amazon river turtles that exist today. There are ancient crocodile specimens over 12 feet (nearly 4 meters) long. They also found seven-foot-long (2 meter) lungfish, which is “two to three times the size of their modern Amazon cousins.”
In fact, though many of these fossils resemble the various creatures that are around in the world today, they were much, much larger overall. This tells us that though there is some variation within each species, there hasn’t been some sort of gradual evolutionary process that makes the species fundamentally different than it was before the flood, or as the scientists like to say, in all of those 58 million years. Their own findings deny their conclusions. Remember, even the scientists say that the deaths of these animals happened all at once. There hasn’t been a lot of change to the species since then. The animals may be smaller and less magnificent than they were, but they are still the same animals.
Listen to what these paleontologists say about the vegetation. “The trees had wider leaves…” While the scientists speculate that it was because there was more rain back then, it is certainly the opposite. Before the flood there was no rain, so God made the leaves larger so that more moisture would condensate on the leaves at night and be absorbed by the plant.
Many of the fossils they find in this area are under large deposits of coal. So when the trucks and equipment have cleared the coal, the fossils can be studied. But remember that the coal is essentially made up of antediluvian trees that were buried in the deluge and petrified. In other words, these trees fell on these animals, and then the flood piled millions of tons of dirt and rock on top of them, entombing them just where they were, and leaving them to the discovery of researchers many centuries later. And in these huge pit mines in Northern Colombia, evidence of an ancient wilderness is everywhere. Under the coal there are vast fields of bone and perhaps tens of thousands of creatures, especially dinosaur and turtle.
Listen to this interesting statement from Christian Education, page 191. “But apart from Bible history, geology can prove nothing. Those who reason so confidently upon its discoveries, have no adequate conception of the size of men, animals, and trees before the flood, or of the great changes which then took place.”
So, even these large creatures that that scientists have unearthed in their study of fossils, give no real conception of their magnitude. Even in their guesstimations of the size of these creatures, these scientists cannot be correct. They could even be much bigger than they themselves suggest.
The point I’m trying to make is that when Noah and his family went into the ark, the animals that went in with him were much larger than the ones we have now. These were animals that would replenish the earth. But their offspring would be less and less vigorous and much smaller. After all, the perfect conditions that existed before the flood were now changed, and in the mercy of God, man’s life too would be shortened greatly, as well as his stature and intellect.
Why don’t we have similar living species today for all the fossils that are found, such as dinosaurs? The answer is that some creatures were not taken into the ark and the flood destroyed them.
Here is a statement from the Spirit of Prophecy, Vol. 1 page 78, that explains clearly what animals God brought into the ark and which ones he didn’t. “Every species of animals which God had created was preserved in the ark. The confused species which God did not create, which were the result of amalgamation, were destroyed by the flood.”
So, the antediluvians were into cloning, crossbreeding between species, and other genetic manipulations. The dinosaurs and other beasts were probably amalgamations, and perhaps they were the result of the giant intellect which God had bestowed upon man, but which he had perverted and used for self-exaltation. Making living animals by genetic manipulation is quite ego-boosting, even today. It makes men feel like they have enormous power.
From the book Conflict and Courage, page 34, we read the following statement. “Looking upon the world, God saw that the intellect He had given man was perverted, that the imagination of his heart was evil and that continually. God had given these men knowledge. He had given them valuable ideas, that they might carry out His plan. But the Lord saw that those whom He designed should possess wisdom, tact, and judgment, were using every quality of the mind to glorify self. By the waters of the Flood, He blotted this long-lived race from the earth, and with them perished the knowledge they had used only for evil. When the earth was repeopled, the Lord trusted His wisdom more sparingly to men, giving them only the ability they would need in carrying out His great plan.”
“The world today takes much satisfaction in talking of the progress of the age. But in this God does not delight. It may be said of the men of this time, as of those before the flood, They have sought out many inventions. In the antediluvian world there were many wonderful works of art and science. These descendants of Adam, fresh from the hand of God, possessed capabilities and powers that we never now look upon.”
Notice that they had accomplished many works of art and science. They were way beyond our scientists with their puny intellects today. Jesus told us that in the last days it would be the same as it was in the days of Noah. With all the cloning and genetic engineering that is going on today, it should not surprise us that the antediluvians were succeeding in creating great beasts through amalgamations that God did not create. These He did not bring into the ark. So, the fossil record is also a revelation of the wickedness of man in doing these things, and is a witness against them.
When Noah came out of the ark, how were he and his family going to survive in the new and rather hostile environment? God had not left Noah without support. No doubt Noah had stored seed for crops of various species of edible plants, but God had ordered things so that in many places there was topsoil that could grow plants for consumption, and though they would not be in a perfect atmospheric environment, and therefore wouldn’t grow as big, or even as nutritious, they would still support a shortened human life.
The earth had been devastated, but it was already beginning to sprout new life. Trees were starting to grow, though they weren’t as majestic as before, nor was their wood as hard as before, but they would provide shade from the heat of the sun, as well as building materials. Oh yes, the sun was now more penetrating because of the greatly weakened magnetic field, and there were extreme fluctuations in temperature that Noah had never experienced before the flood. Noah’s family had to develop clothing to withstand cooler temperatures. Perhaps they didn’t know it, but the earth was now tilted on its axis, and the sun was reduced to one-seventh its strength, creating vast fields of ice, called glaciers, which so-called “scientists” would later try to make out to be the remnants of the origins of the earth, billions of years ago. The moon was extinguished. It was still there at night, but now it was only a reflecting device. It was not a light on its own right. The violence of the storm had adjusted the juxtaposition of these two heavenly bodies and now there were a different sort of days and seasons. They weren’t as robust as before. For Noah there were new elements and challenges to deal with every day.
There were flowers too, but they weren’t so large and brilliant and diverse as they were before. But they still had beauty. The birds multiplied but they weren’t as large and colorful as they were before. And the same was true for the animals.
Just imagine the disappointment that Noah felt when he realized what had happened, that the devastation was not just to the surface of the earth, but that the whole of nature had been changed and rebalanced. The God of heaven had spared him, and in mercy God had changed the whole arrangement of nature, so that man would not live as long.
God also told Noah that he could eat clean animals, which would also shorten his life even more. Listen to it from Counsels on Diet and Foods, page 373. “God gave our first parents the food He designed that the race should eat. It was contrary to His plan to have the life of any creature taken. There was to be no death in Eden. The fruit of the trees in the garden, was the food man’s wants required. God gave man no permission to eat animal food until after the flood. Everything had been destroyed upon which man could subsist, and therefore the Lord in their necessity gave Noah permission to eat of the clean animals which he had taken with him into the ark. But animal food was not the most healthful article of food for man… Soon after the flood the race began to rapidly decrease in size, and in length of years.”
Just imagine the wonder and amazement as Noah looked around him when he came out of the ark. Noah could see that it was now quite different. Life was going to be much more difficult now. That difficulty was actually a blessing from the Lord to keep man busy and occupied so that he could not use his imagination to exalt himself like before the flood. Man would have to labor very hard to get the ground to produce like it should. And all of nature was now toned down and would not be as productive as in the past.
But now let us turn our minds back to the parallels between Noah’s time and the end of the world.
Think about what it will be like after God’s people go through the final crisis. In fact, it will be radically different than it is today and for 1000 years afterward it will be one great scene of devastation. When Noah came out of the ark he saw the desolate and barren earth. When God’s people come out of their chambers, they too will see the desolate and barren earth. But their eyes will be fixed on Christ, as Noah’s was. Their hearts and voices will glorify Christ like Noah did when he came out of the ark.
But there is yet one more change to take place that contrasts what happened at the time of the flood when the wound was inflicted upon the earth. Isaiah 30:26 says that the wound is going to be healed. Let me read it to you again. “Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.”
The flood destroyed and changed the world. It was devastating. Afterwards, everything was smaller and less robust. The atmosphere and climate had changed, and man was now more at the mercy of the elements and had to protect himself from heat and cold. He had to eat food that was less nutritious. He had to deal with rain. So many things were different, and it was all going to decrease; his size, his intellect and length of life.
But with the redeemed at the end of the millennium the change will be the reverse of what happened in Noah’s day. The apostle John while in vision wrote the following words, “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea… And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.” Revelation 21:1, 5
When the millennium is over and the redeemed have all their questions answered about the Great Controversy between Christ and Satan, and after sin and sinners are no more, the redeemed will have the privilege of watching Jesus recreate the earth and the solar system and restore everything back to its original condition in much the same manner as he did the first time.
The earth will once again be a glorious place to live. It will offer a perfect environment for the most pleasant life. The earth will be tilted back to its proper axis. The relationship between the sun and the moon and the earth will be restored to their original places. The strength of the sun and the strength of the magnetic field will be back to its original power. The moon will be restored and become a light again.
The dense atmospheric pressure will oxygenate the living cells completely. All of it together will sustain eternal life. The plants, trees and flowers will be very large, lush and brilliant in color again. Animals and birds will be recreated in their original sizes and beautiful colors again. Everything will be put back in perfect order just the opposite of what happened at the time of the flood.
Don’t you want to see that happen? I certainly do. We are offered the opportunity to be with Christ as He speaks with His creative power and instantly vast species will appear. Watch Him as He creates the trees, shrubs and flowers all in perfect and magnificent beauty. Listen as He speaks birds into existence to fill the air with their songs, and fish to fill the seas with life. Suddenly every species of animal is there; none of them dangerous, none of them fearful, all of them peaceful and gentle. Just let your imagination run riot. Christ has things prepared for you that even your best and most imaginative and creative thoughts cannot comprehend right now. But it is guaranteed to fill you with awe and wonder.
Oh friends, you can be there, and you can have all that is offered to you. But you must prepare for the storm and tempest ahead. You must have your heart melted by the love of Jesus so that it is recreated in His image. You must turn over your unsanctified thoughts and feelings to Jesus. Let Him have anything in your life that isn’t right, your temper, your self-defensiveness, your evil surmising, your gossiping, your anger, lust or greed; all of it. All of your addictions; let Him have them; so that He can get you ready for what is coming and the reward of the righteous. Now is the time… please, please take advantage of it.
Let us pray. Our heavenly Father, Thank you for Jesus. Thank you for the story of Noah and what it reveals to us about the end of time. Please take our selfish hearts and give them Your love for others. Please give us Your presence so that we may always reflect Your character to others. Take away our private sins and forgive us of them all. Show us how to turn from them to live a new life in Christ. Give us your power that we may live for Jesus today and every day. In the end, please count us worthy to be delivered, like Noah and his family. In Jesus’ precious and holy name I pray, amen.