“Narrow is the road but People Are Walking into Noah’s Ark Now a second time”
The phrase “narrow is the road” is reminiscent of a biblical reference, specifically Matthew 7:14, where it says, “But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
The mention of “People Are Walking into Noah’s Ark Now a second time” suggests a repetition of a significant event from the Bible, where Noah’s Ark served as a vessel for the preservation of life during a flood.
In a metaphorical sense, a journey or a path that is challenging or restricted, and people are willingly undertaking it for a second time, perhaps suggesting a cycle of challenges, redemption, or renewal. The use of biblical imagery adds depth and meaning to the statement.
Chris Moen
Chris Moen currently serves as associate pastor of the combined Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo, Michigan, congregation of the Church of God, a Worldwide Association.
Discussing the time near His return to earth, Jesus declared, “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” (Luke 17:26-27).
It appears people thought they were living normal lives during the time Noah lived, just before the Flood. They were oblivious to the impending disaster. So what was Jesus talking about?
Who was Noah?
The Bible says that “Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations” and that he “walked with God” (Genesis 6:9). Noah had three sons, who were named Shem, Ham and Japheth.
When God brought a universal flood upon the earth to destroy all mankind, only Noah and his family were spared. Peter states that God “did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly” (2 Peter 2:5).
These eight people included Noah, his wife, their three sons and their sons’ wives (Genesis 6:18).
Widespread violence in the days of Noah
Since Jesus said that the last days would parallel the society of Noah’s day, we can look further into God’s Word to learn what He meant. The book of Genesis explains what conditions were like at that time.
Not long after God placed human beings on earth, mankind refused to follow the good and beneficial instructions of God that would have led to stable, happy lives. Instead, they quickly headed toward self-destruction.
Following Adam and Eve’s example of rejecting God’s instructions, humanity became increasingly hostile and corrupt. By the time of Noah, “the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5).
Because of this, God said that He was “sorry” that He had created mankind (verse 6) and told Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth” (verse 13).
God’s grieving was not sorrow for making a mistake. God doesn’t make mistakes. God gave His human creation the freedom to choose between right and wrong (Proverbs 1:29-31), and He was grieved in His heart to see how far humanity had fallen from what He originally intended.
What was the meaning of Jesus’ reference to the days of Noah?
Jesus referred to the days of Noah when He was describing what conditions would be like just prior to His return. His point was that people would be unaware of His return to judge mankind. Sadly, the vast majority of the earth’s inhabitants will be living ungodly lives in a world filled with violence when this monumental event occurs.
In His Olivet Discourse (Prophecy) found in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21, Jesus described what would be happening on earth before His second coming. The signs of the end of this age include lawlessness abounding, the gospel of the Kingdom being preached and Jerusalem being surrounded by armies (Matthew 24:12-14; Luke 21:20). For further study of Christ’s teaching about the signs of His return, see “Understanding the Olivet Prophecy.”
Noah lived in perilous times
During the days of Noah, it seems God gave humanity 120 years to change its evil ways. God said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years” (Genesis 6:3).
The 120 years of Genesis 6:3 refers to the time God’s longsuffering would continue with that generation (Barnes’ Notes on the Bible). During those 120 years, Noah preached a warning message, and God waited patiently for heartfelt reform (1 Peter 3:20).
Unfortunately, the people didn’t respond. They didn’t care. They continued to live their lives the way they pleased. They ignored God, and the longer they persisted, the more unsound their reasoning became and the harder it became for them to change.
Romans 1:21 documents this lamentable process: “Although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”
Living in this evil society that refused to repent, Noah alone found favor in God’s sight as a “righteous” person (Genesis 7:1). We’re told that he was “moved with godly fear” and built an ark “for the saving of his household” as God had instructed him (Hebrews 11:7). “Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch,” said God (Genesis 6:14).
Because of the widespread violence in the world at that time, God decided to repopulate the earth through this faithful man and his descendants (Genesis 6:17-18).
Violence today
The apostle Paul confirmed that before Christ’s return the world would have perilous times, filled with pleasure-seeking, materialism, immorality, violence, idleness and a rejection of the things of God (2 Timothy 3:1-5).
A major reason for God’s bringing the great Flood was that the earth was filled with violence (Genesis 6:13).
Consider the age we live in. There’s been an alarming increase in global violence just in the past 100 years. Wars in the past 90 years killed more people than during the previous 500 years combined (“War and Conflict”). An estimated 203 million people were killed by wars just in the 20th century (Matthew White, Historical Atlas of the Twentieth Century, 2010, “Deaths by War”).
Between 170 and 360 million people were killed by governments in the 20th century, apart from war. Recently, more civilians have been dying in armed conflicts than combatants themselves, accounting for 90 percent of casualties since 1945. Just in the last decade, war has claimed the lives of an estimated 2 million children and has disabled another 4 to 5 million children.
A silent form of violence is perpetrated around the world by deliberate abortions of innocents. Each year about 44 million abortions are performed globally (“Global Abortion Rates, 2008”).
Globally, the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) has documented more than 125,000 violent terrorist attacks since 1970 (“2013 Terrorist Attacks”). Martha Crenshaw, a START board member, reported, “Sadly, it seems to be increasingly acceptable in certain belief systems to kill as many members of the other religious community as possible. Moral restraints seem to be eroding” (CNN.com).
Indeed, things are changing in the world. Jesus Christ said, “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies” (Matthew 15:19). We are currently living in an age where these vices are becoming more commonplace.
“We’ve seen a fairly steep upward trajectory in the total of terrorist attacks and fatalities worldwide,” said Gary LaFree, START’s director. “We are convinced that a big chunk of this is real change in the world.”
“Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts”
Indeed, things are changing in the world. Jesus Christ said, “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies” (Matthew 15:19). We are currently living in an age where these vices are becoming more commonplace.
Substantial research on our Western culture has demonstrated the correlation between media violence and youths exhibiting violent behavior in society. Studies show that in the United States a typical child will view more than 200,000 acts of violence, including 16,000 murders, on television before the age of 18. Television programs display 812 violent acts per hour. A recent study found that 15 percent of music videos contain interpersonal violence. Still another modern source of violent exposure is access to the Internet and video games (“The Impact of Media Violence”).
As the violence of this age increases, God’s message becomes more fitting: “There is no truth or mercy or knowledge of God in the land. By swearing and lying, killing and stealing and committing adultery, they break all restraint, with bloodshed upon bloodshed. Therefore the land will mourn; and everyone who dwells there will waste away” (Hosea 4:1-3).
God taught respect for life in the days of Noah
After the Flood, human history began again through Noah’s family. God then reinforced the special significance and sanctity of human life.
Addressing Noah and his sons, God said, “Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man’s brother I will require the life of man. Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God He made man” (Genesis 9:5-6).
Following this decree, God pointed to the rainbow as the sign of a covenant that He would never again destroy all the inhabitants of earth with a flood (verses 15-16).
Had God’s instructions to respect life been followed throughout history, it would have had the effect of upholding the sanctity of human life. Now, as in Noah’s day, we’re seeing a growing culture of flagrant disregard for human life demonstrated by unrestrained anger, disrespect for others, abortion, wars and governments killing their own citizens.
Examples for us
The Flood of Noah’s day, like the destroying fire of Lot’s day, became an enduring example of punishment for disobedience.
The apostle Peter echoed Jesus’ connection between these two events, explaining that God “did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly” (2 Peter 2:5-6; compare Luke 17:26-30).
Throughout human history there have been many evils committed. Why, then, didn’t God punish every generation of humanity for its sinful behavior? One reason is that God is longsuffering and merciful to His creation (Exodus 34:6-7), not delighting in the destruction of the wicked (Ezekiel 33:11). In His wisdom, sometimes God chooses to show mercy (Romans 9:15).
Even though all people have sinned and do sin (Romans 3:23), only God can determine when an entire society or nation has violated His laws to a critical point where He will tolerate no more. It was in God’s perfect judgment that He destroyed the world during the days of Noah, allowing it to serve as an example for all mankind to learn from.
To learn more about the similar societal conditions that led to the sudden destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in Lot’s day, please read the article about Sodom and Gomorrah.
History often repeats
In Noah’s day, the time of punishment came when God “saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5).
A risk that people take when rejecting God’s merciful call to repentance is that their hearts can become hardened. God says, “In accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who ‘will render to each one according to his deeds’” (Romans 2:5-6).
The first time God brought His judgment on the earth, it was by a great flood of water. The next time God punishes the whole earth, it will be at Christ’s return, when He will “render His anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by His sword the LORD will judge all flesh” (Isaiah 66:15-16).
As a thief in the night
So Jesus Christ’s warning in Luke 17 was that when He returns in great power and majesty to save an unsuspecting world, the vast majority of people will still be eating and drinking, focusing on their everyday lives, unaware of the dangerous times they’re living in.
Just like the people in Noah’s day, people in the end times will be ignoring the warning messages and rejecting God’s righteous ways (Matthew 24:37-39, 44).
In that context Jesus said, “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (verses 42-44).
Paul also warned that the Day of the Lord will come “as a thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians 5:2).
Scoffers will come
Noah, the prophet of God, was very likely mocked and ridiculed for preaching “righteousness” (2 Peter 2:5). The Bible reveals that in the end times, prior to Christ’s return, people will also ignore warnings to repent. As Peter notes, “Scoffers will come in the last days, … saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming?’” (2 Peter 3:3-4).
Jesus added, “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day [of Christ’s coming and God’s wrath] come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man” (Luke 21:34-36).
Will God get our attention before that time? Will we repent of our sins and turn to God? And when Christ returns, “will He really find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8).
The biblical record says that “Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD” (Genesis 6:8). God was merciful to this righteous man. Our hope is that you will likewise find favor with God when Jesus returns.
For more on how God first warns people before sending His punishment, and how people can survive God’s future wrath for mankind’s disobedience, see the articles “Purpose of Prophecy” and “The Wrath of God: How to Survive.”
by John piper
Jesus said his return was soon. So where is he? And why has the church had to wait for so long? It’s the question from a listener named Ron. “Pastor John, I’m writing from Switzerland and have been greatly blessed by your ministry. I have a question with regards to the New Testament belief that Jesus would come very soon. As I was studying with our children the need to evaluate prophets by biblical criteria the following thought hit me: The Bible says in Deuteronomy 18 that a prophet whose predictions don’t come true is not sent by God and that he should not be feared. However, in the New Testament we find repeated evidence of people whom we would call inspired who evidently believed — and sometimes claimed — that Jesus would come back soon, even during the writer’s own lifetime. Examples would be 1 Peter 4:7; Matthew 24:34; 26:64; 1 Corinthians 10:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:15–17; and 1 Corinthians 15:51. How can we still consider them authoritative while discarding modern-day messengers whose prophecies don’t materialize? I am a bit uneasy that at some stage our kids will tell us that Paul was wrong about 1 Corinthians 15:51 and so he’s not to be taken seriously. Do you have any suggestions as to how to deal with this tension?”
Yes, I do. It’s a large issue and has several layers. Each one needs careful, patient attention.
It’s fairly easy to comb through the New Testament superficially and gather a lot of texts together that seem to indicate a false teaching about how quickly the second coming of Jesus would happen. But if you take each one, each text or each group of texts carefully, patiently, and study it out with the help of those who have perhaps given more thought to it, what I have found is that there are explanations of how to understand those texts that do not impute error or false prophecy to what Jesus or the apostles taught.
Read Carefully
That’s my first suggestion. Don’t be superficial and simply gather a lot of texts together and impute to them something that they may not want to say. They may sound, on the face of it, incriminating about Jesus and his apostles, but individually, carefully, patiently studied out, you may find yourself regretting any conclusion like that.
Maybe the best thing I could do would be to just give five pointers to the kind of solutions you will find if you study these out.
Foreshadow
First, sometimes the events that are expected soon are not the very coming of Jesus, but things leading up to the coming of Jesus. Here’s an example: Matthew 24:33, “So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates.” Next verse, and this is the problem verse for a lot of people: “Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place” (Matthew 24:34).
“The long-expected Messiah has come, once for all, decisively, in his life, death, and resurrection.”
Now, notice carefully the phrase, “all these things” that are going to take place within a generation, does not include the actual coming of the Lord, because in the previous verse it says, “When you see all these things,” the very phrase of verse 34 used in verse 33, “You know that he is near,” not already here. The fact that these things will happen within a generation, these preparations for his coming, does not mean that his coming would happen in a generation.
He Is Near
Second, of course it does say when they happen, “he is near, at the very gates,” which leads to my second pointer: when the New Testament speaks of the Lord being near or at the gates or at hand, it is not teaching a necessary time frame for the Lord’s appearance. Rather, it’s saying that Christ, the long-expected Messiah, has come, once for all, decisively, in his life and death and resurrection, fighting the major battle.
He has set in motion an end time process of gathering messianic people. He has fulfilled many end time prophecies. We are in the last days — we have been for two thousand years — and therefore Jesus is like a king in complete control, standing with his army outside the city, waiting to take it captive. Nothing can stand between him and that capture except his own choice.
That’s the way I think we should read something like 1 Peter 4:7, “The end of all things is at hand,” or James 5:8, “The coming of the Lord is at hand.” Or like Jesus says, he is at the gates (Matthew 24:33). That is, he has appeared. He has fought the decisive victory. He has shown himself sovereign and unstoppable in the resurrection. He has fulfilled vast amounts of Old Testament prophecy concerning the end time. He may step in whenever he pleases. That’s the way I think we should understand “near,” “at the gates,” “at hand.”
Coming Soon
A third kind of text uses the word “soon,” like in the book of Revelation where it says, “Behold, I am coming soon” (Revelation 22:12). Now, that Greek word tachu, “soon,” does not always or necessarily mean what we ordinarily mean by the word “soon,” that is, after a short space of time. Rather, it regularly means quickly, suddenly, unexpectedly, fast.
“Surely we should be very slow to impute to Jesus predictions about his coming in a certain amount of time.”
For example, it’s used in Matthew 28:8: it says of the women at the tomb, “So they departed quickly from the tomb.” That’s the word translated “soon.” We must always ask, Is the Scripture teaching that the Lord’s coming will be sudden, unexpected, quick, fast when it happens in that sense, rather than soon in the sense of say within twenty years?
The Time Is Unknown
Fourth, amazingly, the gospel writers taught Jesus did not know the time of his coming. Now, that in itself is a kind of problem, but that’s what it says, and we will deal with it: that the human nature of Jesus was not granted knowledge of the coming that the divine nature of Jesus had in some way, that mysterious thing is affirmed.
It says in Matthew 24:36, “Concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” Here’s the implication: that means surely we should be very slow to impute to him predictions about the coming in a certain amount of time. The Bible says he doesn’t know. What are we saying about him when we say he predicted them? Surely, he would not have said, “I am coming in this time frame” if he didn’t know. That’s not just a prediction problem; that’s a moral problem. We have a major moral issue that I am not going to impute to Jesus.
For example, when he says — Is this how we are going to solve the problems? — when he says in Matthew 16:28, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom,” what does that mean?
“‘Soon’ can mean that the Lord’s coming will be sudden, unexpected, quick, fast, rather than within twenty years.”
Here’s what’s remarkable. What’s remarkable about this saying is that it occurs in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, always immediately before the transfiguration. Peter, who was the one on the mountain with Jesus during the transfiguration, in his second epistle, treats this experience of the transfiguration on the mountain with Jesus as a preview of the second coming — a validation, we would say today a movie trailer, of the second coming (2 Peter 1:16–17).
You read that. You read 2 Peter 1:16–17, and you’ll see Peter takes the power and the coming of the Lord as a preview there on the Mount of Transfiguration, which means that what Jesus was saying was that some of his disciples, namely Peter, James and John, would not die before they glimpsed the second coming, or the coming of the Son of Man, namely in what they’re going to experience on the mountain six days from now.
When He Comes
Here’s my last pointer: when Paul uses the word “we” to refer to those who may be alive at the Lord’s coming — “we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:15) — I don’t think we should say Paul is teaching that he must be alive when the Lord comes, and that therefore the coming of Jesus must be within Paul’s lifetime. If Paul really meant to teach that when he used the word “we,” then what are we to make of his words in Philippians 1:20–23, where he says this?
It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose [life or death] I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.
That does not sound like an apostle who considers it part of his teaching that he cannot die before the second coming. No way. I think when Paul says, “We who are alive . . . until the Lord’s coming,” he’s simply referring to those who are alive at the Lord’s coming and is including himself in that in hope, in possible expectation, in general, but not with an intent to teach that Jesus therefore cannot come before he dies.
Those are my five pointers, but my main suggestion and the pointers are just that. It’s all they are. My main suggestion for Ron is that he be very slow to assume that the apostles and Jesus himself show themselves to be false prophets because of a quick and superficial reading of the New Testament. Be patient and be careful. There are answers to these seemingly problem texts.
