1. When the world became wholly corrupt, what did God determine to do? "And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth." (Genesis 6:13)
2. What provision did the Lord make for the preservation of righteous Noah? "Make an ark of gopher wood; rooms shall you make in the ark, and shall pitch it within and without with pitch. And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die. ... But with you will I establish my covenant; and you shall come into the ark, you, and your sons, and your wife, and your sons' wives with you." (Genesis 6:14,17-18)
3. Had there ever been anything to indicate the possibility of a flood? "The Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth." (Genesis 2:5)
4. In obeying the command of the Lord to make an ark, what grace did Noah manifest? "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith." (Hebrews 11:7)
5. After the ark was completed, and Noah and his family had gone into it, what wonderful thing took place to convince the people of the truth of what Noah had preached? "And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood. Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creeps upon the earth, there went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah." (Genesis 7:7-9)
6. How long after this before the flood began? "And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth." (Genesis 7:10)
7. Was it possible then for Noah to do anything more for the people? "And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him; and the Lord shut him in." (Genesis 7:16)
8. How long did it rain? "And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights." (Genesis 7:12)
9. What besides rain from heaven helped to make the flood? "In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened." (Genesis 7:11)
10. How extensive was the flood? "Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished." (2 Peter 3:6)
"And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bore up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth. And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters. And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered. Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered. And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth, and every man: All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died. And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark." (Genesis 7:17-23)
11. How long did the waters remain at their height? "And the waters prevailed upon the earth a hundred and fifty days." (Genesis 7:24)
12. How long did Noah have to remain in the ark? "In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened." (Genesis 7:11)
"And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; which returned not again unto him any more. And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry. And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried. And God spoke unto Noah, saying, go forth of the ark, you, and your wife, and your sons, and your sons' wives with you." (Genesis 8:12-16)
13. When Noah came out what did he do? "And Noah built an altar unto the Lord; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the Lord smelled a sweet savor." (Genesis 8:20-21)
14. What did the Lord say about floods in the future? "And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth." (Genesis 9:11)
15. What pledge did he give to confirm this promise? And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh." (Genesis 9:12-15)
16. What peculiar force is there in the expression, "I do set my bow in the cloud? "And He that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone; and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald." (Revelation 4:13)
"As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spoke." (Ezekiel 1:28)
17. Then how strong was the assurance that there should never be another universal flood? God has pledged His own glory that it shall not be.
18. Will this earth never be destroyed by any means? "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up." (2 Peter 3:10)
19. What word has decreed this? The same word that created the earth in the beginning, and that destroyed it once by a flood. (2 Peter 3:5,7)
20. Why will this destruction take place? "And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all." (Luke 27:26-27)
21. What description have we of the wickedness that shall be in the last days? "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." (2 Timothy 3:1-5)
22. Will the earth be filled with violence as it was before the flood? "Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good." (2 Timothy 3:3)
23. Who alone will be saved from the destruction that comes because of this wickedness? "The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness has surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings? He that walks righteously, and speaks uprightly; he that despises the gain of oppressions, that shakes his hands from holding of bribes, that stops his ears from hearing of blood, and shuts his eyes from seeing evil; He shall dwell on high: his place of defense shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure. your eyes shall see the king in His beauty; they shall behold the land that is very far off." (Isaiah 33:14-17)
Notes:
From the flood, and the time just before it, many lessons are drawn for us. We are told that "as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man." (Luke 17:26)
The wickedness of man will be just as great before the coming of the Lord, as it was in the days before the flood. To many this seems incredible, but if it were not so, God would not destroy the earth. Men will be lovers of their own selves, and utterly indifferent to the welfare of others, except as the welfare of others may contribute to their own selfish gratification. They will be incontinent and fierce, and so, through sensuality, violence will fill the earth as it did in the days of Noah. (See 2 Timothy 3:1-7)
Many think that the spread of civilization and the general diffusion of knowledge will be an effectual bar to any such moral degeneration. But these very things, which may be instruments of the highest good, will be what will bring the world to the condition that it was in before the flood.
The Egyptians were the wisest people in the ancient world, yet their idolatry was of the grossest character. The Greeks were the most intellectual people who ever lived; it is doubtful if the civilization of the present day is equal to that of ancient Greece; and it is certain that in the fine arts and in scientific knowledge they were far superior to any nation now in existence. And yet they were heathen, and their worship was often characterized by the grossest licentiousness.
No; intellect never can keep a nation from moral degradation. In fact, it was their knowledge, or rather their trust in their own wisdom, which led to their ruin.
"Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things." (Romans 1:22)
Nothing but humble faith in Christ, can keep any soul from ruin.
The elements that will result in bringing this world into the degraded state that existed before the flood, are working today.
• First, men are trusting to science, and to their own wisdom.
• Second, many who occupy the highest positions, are teaching that evil is a necessity, and that there is in reality no such thing as evil, but that what we call evil is only a lesser form of good.
This position was taken by Professor Fiske, of Harvard College, in a lecture in Oakland, last summer. Anyone can figure out the result of such a theory, if it should become general; and the fact that such men hold it is evidence that it would not require a miracle to make it general.
• Then there is Spiritualism, a cardinal doctrine of which is that there is no atonement, and that every man is his own judge, and is amenable to no one but himself; that his own heart is the only tribunal before which he is to be judged.
Read (Mark 7:21-25) and (Galatians 5:19-21), and you will find out what will result when men follow the natural promptings of their own hearts.
Now bear in mind the fact that the corner-stone of Spiritualism, namely, a belief that man is by nature immortal and cannot die, is part of the faith of the mass of professed Christians, and you will see how the way is prepared for all to accept the teachings of Spiritualism, as soon as Satan shall present to them the forms of their dead, whom they believe are really alive.
This is but the barest outline, yet the reader can see from it how easily men may be led into the grossest sins. At the same time they will talk of virtue, and will actually think that they are working for the up-building of humanity. Such power has Satan to blind those who do not receive the love of the truth.
It is becoming quite common to say that the flood was limited in extent. Such a statement is directly contrary to the express declarations of Scripture. Peter says that: "The world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished." (2 Peter 3:6)
And the word of God has decreed that the heavens and the earth which followed the flood, shall be destroyed by fire. The flood, then, must have been as extensive as the heavens and the earth which now exist, and as the destruction at the last day. To limit the flood to a small portion of the earth, is virtually to deny that "the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also, and the works that are therein shall be burned up." (2 Peter 3:10)
It is, in fact, to place one's self among the scoffers who say: "Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation." (2 Peter 3:4)
Let all take heed how they receive the word of God.--Signs of the Times, February 3, 1888--Lesson 6 - Sabbath, February 11--Genesis 6:13 to Genesis 9:15.
E.J. Waggoner