The Warning's Given by God
in
The Days of Noah
                                                                                             By Pastor F. M. Riley
                                                                                             January 23, 2019
     "And as it was in the days of Noe, 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, up until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all," Luke 17:26-27
Introduction
     I make no claim to being infallible.  I have made mistakes before, and
I may have made one again.  If time reveals that I have made a mistake, then I ask in advance, the forgiveness of my brothers and sisters in Christ, and certainly your prayers for me.   What am I talking about?  Just read on.......
The Days of Noah
     These days were the 600 year period of time, from the birth of Noah to the day he entered into the ark, and the flood began.   See Genesis 5:28-32 and 7:11.  
     During that time mankind on the earth continued to increase, just as it had before the birth of Noah.  And as the population on the earth increased, mankind became more and more wicked.  In the days of Noah, every kind of sin and wickedness our readers see, and can think of, which is happening in the world today,  was happening among mankind, on the earth in the days of Noah.  How do I know this?  Because my Lord said so; ".....as it was.....so shall it be.....,." and my Lord does not lie!   
     The sin, wickedness, and outright evil became so bad, that the Lord God said, ".....My Spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years," Genesis 6:3.  
The Two Warnings
     This Scripture contains the first of two warnings given to mankind before the flood in "the days of Noah."  
     [1]   This first warning has nothing to do with the lifespan of man.  I am well aware that some today claim that God was reducing the lifespan of mankind to 120 years.  Such a "yarn" is unscriptural and unbelievable, for after the flood upon the earth, there were still men of God who exceeded the 120 year limit by many years.  Look at Genesis 11:10-32 and see this truth for yourself.
      This 120 year period was indeed a warning to mankind on the earth that they had only 120 years more to live before God's righteous judgment would be poured out upon them.   I would emphasize to our readers that our gracious and merciful Lord God, NEVER brings judgment upon mankind, neither individually nor nationally,  without giving advance warning.  God gave all of mankind living on the earth at that time a 120 year advance warning of judgment to come.  
     [2]   Then as the end of that 120 year period approached, the Lord God gave a second and final seven day warning to mankind, "For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth," Genesis 7:4.  
     Dear readers, at any time during that period of 120 years, or even during the final seven day period, anyone on the earth could have repented and called upon God for mercy, and there is no doubt in my mind that it would have been granted.  But they refused to repent, or to ask God for mercy, and therefore came under the judgment of God. In this present repetition of "the days of Noah," there are people living today who are so hard hearted and wicked, that they would rather die, and spend eternity in Hell, than to call upon the Lord for mercy and salvation.    Compare Revelation 9:20-21.   
     The inspired Word records that only one man had stayed true to the Lord in the midst of all the apostasy and wickedness preceding the flood,  "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord," Genesis 6:8.  
      "And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before Me in this generation," Genesis 7:1.  
     I would point out that there is nothing said in the inspired Word about Noah's family being righteous.  But because Noah was a righteous man,  God then had mercy on his family.  Compare Acts 16:30-31.   
     Men!  Your spiritual relationship to God effects your entire family, whether some realize it or not.   
The Repetition of the Days of Noah
     We today, according to the Lord Himself, are living in a repetition of "the days of Noah," Luke 17:26.  
     In 70 A.D., the Jewish people were driven from their homeland by the Roman armies, and scattered into all the nations of the world.  They came to be referred to as "the wandering Jews."  And this was the situation of the Jewish people for 2,000 years.  
     Then in the month of August, 1897 Theodor Herzl issued a call for his Jewish people all over the world to come together at the First Jewish Congress, held in Basle, Switzerland, for the stated purpose of seeking out a homeland for the Jewish people, so that once again they could have their own nation and "home"  among the nations of the world.  As far as I know, nothing was accomplished at that First Jewish Congress, other than to stir a longing in the hearts of the Jewish people to be reunited as a nation and people  in their own land again.
     Three years after that First Jewish Congress was the turn of the century;  1900.  Many of our readers are familiar with the history of the 20th century; the 1900's.  Just a brief glimpse.....
     Exactly 20 years after Herzl had called for a homeland for his wandering Jewish people, the First World War ended, with the Ottoman Turks having been driven out of the holy land.  But instead of turning the land of Palestine, as it was then called, over to the Jewish people, that land was placed under the control of Great Britain, and it remained that way for the next 30 years.  Then on August 31, 1947, the United Nations voted to end the British Mandate over the holy land, and allow the Jews to reestablish their own nation again.  This vote of the U.N. was exactly 50 years to the day, after Theodor Herzl had told his people in that First Jewish Congress, "Within fifty years we will have our own nation again."  
     The influential leaders of the Jewish people wasted no time, forming a provisional  government to handle all the necessary details, and the very next year on May 14, 1948, the modern nation of Israel was established.  Once more the Jewish people had a nation of their own; a place they could call "home."   
      Notice these truths carefully.......   "3" is the number in the Bible signifying "resurrection."  The three years from 1897 to 1900.
     "20" is the number in the Bible signifying "redemption." The holy land was redeemed out of the hands of the Ottoman Turks in 1917, exactly 20 years after Theodor Herzl started the ball rolling for his people.  
     "30" is the number in the Bible signifying "blood."  When Israel became a nation again in 1948, they were immediately attacked by the Muslim nations around them, and they have had to fight to keep their nation from 1948 right to this present day.   
     "50" is the number in the Bible signifying "a Jubilee; the Jubilee."  Israel was reestablished as a nation exactly fifty years after Theodor Herzl called for the Jews to reestablish their own nation again.  Leviticus 25 clearly states that the fiftieth year shall be a "Jubilee" year.  During the Jubilee year, all slaves were to be set free.  The Jewish people had been in bondage to the Gentile world system for 2,000 years, but in 1948 they became a free people again in their own ancient homeland.  Glory to the Lord God of Israel, whom, without apology to any reader, I confess as my God and my Savior.   
But Even Greater Truths
     Most, or perhaps all, of my readers are ernestly and eagerly looking for the SOON coming of our Lord Jesus to resurrect and rapture all true believers to Heaven and to glory, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Titus 2:11-15.  
     Before the terrible judgment of the flood in "the days of Noah," our compassionate and merciful God gave to mankind upon the earth a one hundred twenty year warning of judgment to come,  Genesis 6:3.    
     Now tell me dear readers, how many years is it from 1900 to 2020?
The answer is glaringly obvious; 120 years!  Didn't the Lord give a 120 year warning in "the days of Noah" before the flood?  Didn't the Lord say in Luke 17, ".....as it was....so shall it be...?"    
     All true believers who seriously study Bible prophecy know that the coming of our Lord is very near, even if we don't yet know the exact day.  Now here is Bible PROOF that the coming of our Lord is very near.  The Lord God has graciously given to people living today, a 120 year warning, exactly like He gave to the people living before the flood.
     Hallelujah!  Glory to God!  Praise the Lord!  "Even so, come, Lord Jesus," Revelation 22:20.  
     But let's not stop here!  Before the terrible judgment of the flood, the Lord God also gave a seven day warning to righteous Noah, Genesis 7:4.
Now the Lord did say, "...as it was...so shall it be..."  Then I fully expect God's people [true believers] to receive a seven day warning before the rapture occurs and the terrible judgment of the Tribulation begins.  
     I know!  I know!  How I do know!  I have had "professing Christians" quote to me Matthew 24:36 over and over again.  Sadly, most of them don't even know what the Scripture actually and literally says.  In the context of the Lord's coming, and the Tribulation beginning, the Lord said, "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but My Father only," Matthew 24:36.  
     Dear readers, this entire Scripture was spoken by our Lord in the present tense.  You readers who are Greek scholars check it out for yourselves.  This Scripture is in the present tense in both the English translation and the Greek text.  
     Yes, I am emphasizing this point.  The Lord Jesus never said that the "day and hour" could never be known.  He simply said, that at that time, no man knew the day and hour when the Lord would come again.  
     But the Lord God did give to Noah a seven day warning before the flood came, and then the Lord also said, "...as it was...so shall it be."  This tells me that true believers who are seriously watching "the signs of the times" [Matthew 16:3] will be given a seven day warning before the Lord comes to rapture us into Heaven's ark of safety.  Oh glory to God!  Hallelujah!  Praise the Lord!  
Yet One More Point to be Considered
     Many believers today are expecting the Lord to come at any minute, due to the "signs" the Lord told us to watch for, coming to pass right before our eyes today.  But if 1900 to 2020 is actually our 120 year warning, then it doesn't appear that the Lord will come before another year has passed.  I know of one true believer who almost broke into hysterical crying, when I told her about about the 120 year warning.  She can hardly stand this wicked world any longer, and wants so badly for the Lord to come.  And so do I, and many others of God's people.    
      A few months ago the Sun became totally dark in broad daylight for a few seconds.  As I write we have just seen another "blood moon" occur, Luke 21:25-26.  
     Then just yesterday I received a report that  the World Peace Plan which has just been drawn up, and which contains a special "covenant" for Israel [Daniel 9::27], will be voted on in the United Nations on April 9th of this year.  That date will be just twelve days before the Jewish Passover, Abib [Nisan] 14  on April 20th this year.  But April 9th will also be Tuesday, the third day of the New Year on the calendar the Lord God Himself gave to Israel in Exodus 12.
     Folks, these are all "signs" of the imminent coming of the Lord to resurrect and rapture His people to glory.  
     And am I telling my readers that we have to wait another year?   Absolutely not!  Why not?  I'm so glad you asked!
     Because, in telling His disciples about the "signs" of His coming for us [parousia], the Lord also said, "And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened," Matthew 24:22.   Glory to God!  
     Dear readers, I do not know, nor make any claim of knowing the actual "date" when the Lord is coming.  But I do know it is close, and since the Lord Himself said the time has been shortened, it could easily be the Spring of this present year; 2019.  
     Also since it is very clear that the arrival of 2020 will complete a  period of 120 years, just as the Lord God gave mankind a 120 year warning before the flood, we living today have had our warning.   This Spring [Song of Solomon 2:8-13], or no later than the Spring of next year, our Lord is coming for us!   Are you ready?  
Conclusion
     In this study, I think I have given our readers plenty to study,   meditate on, and pray about.  I would like to meet every reader in Heaven after the rapture.  Please don't disappoint me.  
     Dear readers, you may have only days to witness to your lost loved ones, friends, and neighbors, and seek to win them to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Don't waste your time with things of this world, that we are all going to leave behind when the rapture occurs.  Live every day for the Lord, and if you haven't been, do it now!  
      If any reader is unsaved, or have doubts about your salvation, please, please, read John 3:3-7, 3:16-18, 3:36, 5:24, 14:6, Acts 4:12, 16:30-31, 20:21, Romans 10:8-13, Ephesians 2:8-10, and many other similar Scriptures dealing with the subject of salvation.  Believe what you read, and act upon it by your  humble prayer directed towards God, and you shall be saved!  
     May our gracious Lord God add His blessings to this study.  
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Dear readers,
     Some unknown person is using my phone number to make calls  to some of our readers.  They may or may not be pretending to be me.  I have no idea who it is that is doing this, or what they are saying to those they reach using my number.  I just want our readers to be aware that this is happening, and make sure if you receive a phone call from my number, that it is really me that you are speaking with.  I have not authorized anyone  to speak for me.  I am perfectly capable of speaking for myself.  
     I do list my phone number on each of my Bible studies.  I am well aware that today this leaves me wide open to "idenity theft."  However, I am trusting the Lord to protect me, as I seek to send forth the great truths of His Word to His people, and to lost seeking souls.  I have no intention of changing my Bible study ministry unless I receive the Lord's leadership to do so.    Pray for me, and God bless you all.
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     My personal contact information:
POSTAL.......Pastor F. M. Riley, 14275 Co. Rd. 8120, Rolla, MO 65401
EMAIL.........francismriley34@gmail.com
PHONE.......573-202-6493  
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