Like the Days of Noah - 119 Ministries

[Music] hello and welcome to another teaching from 119 ministries our ministry believes that the whole bible is true and directly applicable to our lives today if you would like to know more about what we believe and teach please visit us at testeverything.net if you enjoy this video don't forget to hit the like button and subscribe to our channel by hitting the button down below we hope you enjoy studying and testing the following teaching [Music] during his teaching in matthew 24-25 which has come to be called the olivet discourse yeshua or jesus compares the days leading up to his return to noah's time here's what he says matthew 24 37 for as were the days of noah so will be the coming of the son of man so the coming of the son of man will be like the days of noah what does that mean well we know that in the first century the story of noah's flood was a common analogy for god's final judgment peter makes the same comparison in his second epistle this theme is also found in second temple jewish literature outside the bible like the book of enoch so it shouldn't be surprising that yeshua used this ready metaphor to speak of the coming judgment but what was his point in making this comparison how are the days of noah illustrative of the coming of the son of man well as with anything regarding biblical prophecy and the end days there has been a lot of speculation some say that just as noah's time was marked by extreme wickedness so too will the end days be a time of wickedness and depravity often people will cite examples of the increasing evil and abandonment of morality happening in america and around the world to suggest that we're drawing near to the end others say that just as a great act of judgment marked noah's time that is the flood so too will the last days be marked by great acts of judgment often people will point to natural disasters happening around the world to suggest that our current generation must be the last still others go so far as to say yeshua's use of this analogy implies that fallen angels and the mysterious nephilim will reappear in the last days according to a common interpretation of genesis 6 1-4 many believe the nephilim to be the offspring of fallen angels and human women the book of enoch speaks about fallen angels in noah's day who taught humans about magic and weapons and led mankind into violence and promiscuity because of that some speculate that in the in days the fallen angels will reappear perhaps they will be perceived as aliens from outer space and they will lead mankind into all sorts of wickedness again moreover since the nephilim were apparently the result of an unauthorized mixture of seed that has fallen angels and humans we should expect to see something like this again as we draw near to the end often people will point to genetic experiments involving hybrid creatures as evidence that we're part of the final generation for more information on how we should think about the book of enoch see your teachings testing the book of enoch and the son of man in the book of enoch while it's certainly tempting to go down these roads of speculation we don't need to the key to understanding what yeshua meant by this statement is to read the passage carefully along with the following passages which make his point clear now this isn't to say that there is no validity to some of these parallels between noah's day and the final generation it certainly can't be denied that lawlessness will increase significantly before the time of the end and obviously the in days will involve judgment but yeshua used this analogy to noah's flood to make a different point it is the first of a few examples yeshua gives to demonstrate what he says a verse earlier however before we get there let's establish the overall context yeshua's olivet discourse is his teaching in response to the disciples questions in matthew 24 3. as he sat on the mount of olives the disciples came to him privately saying tell us when will these things be and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age yeshua had just finished prophesying of the destruction of the temple so their first question regarding these things focuses on the destruction of the temple but their second question focuses on the sign of the second coming and the end of the age yeshua's teaching throughout matthew 24 refers to jerusalem's destruction as well as the last days and his second coming but not in some strict chronological order the destruction of the temple is given as a prophetic foreshadow of the final tribulation to come as tim hegg writes yeshua's prophecy of the destruction of the temple to occur in the near future does not exhaust the eschatological significance of verse 5 and following but rather is a potent indication of the kind of tribulation that will mark the end of days and the eschatological events yet to come yeshua doesn't directly answer his disciples question regarding when these things will occur he does give warnings about what to look out for these warnings were certainly relevant to the generation of yeshua's day especially in light of the destruction of jerusalem in their time but these warnings are also relevant to every generation afterward as we draw nearer to the end of the age in response to his disciples questions yeshua warns about false prophets leading people astray wars rumors of wars famines earthquakes persecution lawlessness and so forth afterward finally the son of man will come on the clouds of heaven with power and glory but then yeshua makes the statement in verse 36 just prior to his comparison to noah's flood matthew 24 36 but concerning that day and hour no one knows not even the angels of heaven nor the son but the father only yeshua's point here is pretty straightforward nobody can predict his coming because nobody besides the father knows when it will be so any attempt at calculating a definitive date for the second coming is ultimately futile we simply can't know in light of yeshua's statement in verse 36 the signs he gives previously in this chapter are not meant to provide some timetable so that we can set dates and predict the timing of the end times instead the point is to prompt us to be alert and watchful at all times so that when certain signs do occur we'll recognize them the rest of yeshua's olivet discourse makes this clear so now we get to yeshua's comparison to noah's flood matthew 24 37-39 for as were the days of noah so will be the coming of the son of man for as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking marrying and giving in marriage until the day when noah entered the ark and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away so will be the coming of the son of man what does yeshua mean when he says the people of noah's day were eating and drinking marrying and giving in marriage he is saying that the people were simply living their daily lives they went about their regular business completely unaware that the flood was about to come and sweep them all away the point is this in the same way the masses will be caught by surprise in the end days they will be living their lives unaware that judgment is at hand again while there's no reason to doubt that lawlessness will increase in the end days that's not yeshua's point here after all there's nothing sinful about eating drinking and marrying these are the activities of ordinary life here's how dr craig keener puts it like the flood the son of man's coming would arrive as sudden and unexpected judgment without explicit warning jesus followers might recognize the completion of requisite signs but for outsiders events would continue as business as usual the point of the comparison is unexpectedness as well as sudden destruction as we keep reading this point becomes clearer matthew 24 40-42 then two men will be in the field one will be taken and one left two women will be grinding at the mill one will be taken and one left therefore stay awake for you do not know on what day your lord is coming again we see here that people will be going about their normal lives and that the coming of the lord will be unexpected therefore followers of yeshua must stay awake this is translated as watch in most other translations and it brings up the image of a night watchman at his post yeshua's followers are to be prepared for his coming watching for it yeshua continues with another example matthew 24 43-44 but know this that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into therefore you also must be ready for the son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect once again the point is straightforward the timing of yeshua's coming is unknown therefore we must always be ready yeshua goes on to give a parable comparing the time leading up to the second coming to a servant watching over his master's house matthew 24 45-51 who then is the faithful and wise servant whom his master has set over his household to give them their food at the proper time blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes truly i say to you he will set him over all his possessions but if that wicked servant says to himself my master is delayed and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth once again this parable contributes to yeshua's overall point he will come when the wicked don't expect him therefore we must not be like the wicked servant but like the faithful and wise servant this parable also further defines what being alert looks like we must be doing the work that our master called us to do we must serve our master faithfully by observing his commandments and serving others we must not have the mindset of thinking that we can get away with evil because we believe the messiah won't be returning anytime soon instead we should always be about our master's work from here yeshua gives the parable of the ten bridesmaids awaiting the bridegroom it's the same message the timing of yeshua's second coming is unknown therefore be watchful don't be like the foolish bridesmaids who didn't have enough oil in their lamps the next parable concerns the industrious servants versus the slothful servant a man goes on a journey and will return at an unknown time in the meantime he entrusts a portion of his money to three servants upon his return the master blesses the servants who wisely invested the money given them and condemns the servant who out of fear buried his portion this goes back to the idea that readiness for our messiah's return demands faithfulness to the work he called us to do finally yeshua concludes his teaching with a warning of the final judgment yeshua will reign as king and separate the sheep from the goats those who cared for the least of these that is the hungary the stranger the naked sick and imprisoned will inherit the kingdom those who neglected to care for the least of these will be condemned therefore we must be ready and watchful always serving our master by serving our neighbor truly i say to you as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers you did it to me peter reinforces yeshua's teaching in his second epistle in which he also appeals to noah's flood he says that scoffers will mock the idea of the second coming second peter 3 4 they will say where is the promise of his coming for ever since the fathers fell asleep all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation in the in days people will deny the very reality of the end days they will disregard yeshua's warnings and continue living as if there is no coming judgment in their view everything seems to be the same as it's always been so what's the point in serving god but to them the day of the lord will come unexpectedly like a thief and since they refuse to believe the gospel and live in accordance with scripture like the people in noah's day they will be swept away in god's final judgment so what lessons do we learn from these passages first as yeshua teaches us we are to be alert and watchful at all times as peter warns us we are not to be like the scoffer who deludes himself into thinking there will be no consequences for his actions instead we are to live our lives in accordance with the knowledge that we are accountable to god for how we live we are to spend our time doing the work our master gave us to do as peter puts it second peter 3 11 since everything will be destroyed in this way what kind of people ought you to be you ought to live holy and godly lives second we must not become discouraged as we await the arrival of our king just as the bridegroom was delayed messiah's second coming might be delayed from our perspective as well but there is a purpose in the waiting as peter says ii peter 3 9 the lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness but is patient toward you not wishing that any should perish but that all should reach repentance god is giving us time to repent because he desires that nobody should perish likewise we ought to have the same concern for others just as god's heart is for the unbeliever we should desire that all reach repentance proclaiming the gospel of our king is to be a top priority our messiah's end-time message echoed by the apostle peter is meant to inspire us to take action in the midst of those around us who are just going about their regular lives completely unaware of what's to come we ought to be mindful of the reality of god's judgment we ought to be focused on living holy lives and sharing the gospel with all who will listen now while some believers don't take seriously the warnings to be watchful others misinterpret what that means and miss the point of the warnings it is a sad fact that many believers who take an interest in studying the end days seem to neglect the things they're called to do with the information people's interests in the in days often leads to things like predictions of the future and date setting even though yeshua said no one besides the father knows the timing also rather than producing a sense of urgency to reach the lost many end time studies lead people to obsess over their speculations about aliens microchips and other such things it's all they want to focus on and while being prepared for emergencies is a good idea a lot of people also become obsessed with doomsday prepping and survivalism to such a degree that they isolate themselves from the world failing to be the light that people need to see as we've discovered the messiah's admonishment to be watchful entails faithful service to god and our neighbor that's what we need to be focused on as dr craig keener puts it being ready does not mean stockpiling food and weapons in the mountains being ready means that we are completely sold out to jesus and ready to testify for him no matter what our situation it means that we are ready to suffer for jesus in the short term because we realize that we will live forever with him in his presence it means that we will not take a mark of loyalty to the beast whether that is figurative or literal because we belong to a different master the lamb the coming of our lord yeshua the messiah draws near we as his disciples ought to live our lives accordingly may we be encouraged to stay awake and live holy lives desiring to bring the lost to repentance for god's glory stay awake for you do not know on what day your lord is coming we pray you've been blessed by this teaching and remember continue to test everything shalom [Music] it is because of you our generous supporters who make it possible to offer these high quality teachings completely free of charge if you feel led to support 119 ministries so that we can continue this effort please visit testeverything.net and click on the support 119 tab learn how you can partner with us to take the whole word of god to the nations [Music] you

Channel: 119Ministries

Views: 12,843

Rating: 4.9204893 out of 5

Keywords: 119Ministries, torah, bible, hebrew roots, Like the days of Noah, Matthew 24:37, sermon on the mount, what does “days of Noah” mean?, end times study, end days, prophecy, the second coming, the last days, rapture, revelation, apocalypse, Nephilim

Id: Wq300qdE9Uo

Length: 21min 13sec (1273 seconds)

Published: Fri May 21 2021