And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.
The waters stayed at their height upon the earth for one hundred and fifty days, for five long months remaining like a boundless lake fifteen cubits above the highest mountains. They came from rain falling forty days and forty nights joined with the breaking up of the crust of the earth and the fountains of the great deep, water from beneath uniting with water from above until they bore up the ark as a great sea. They destroyed every refuge outside the ark, sweeping away houses, idol temples, forests and gardens and leaving not a living person or animal alive outside, so that only eight persons were saved. This prevailing was God's judgment when wickedness was great and every imagination of the heart only evil continually, when the measure of iniquity was full, probation ended and mercy no longer spoke. Through it all the ark rode safely as a refuge, shut in and preserved by God's own hand, a pattern that as it was in the days of Noah so faithful warners will be protected at the coming of the Son of Man.
Duration and Historical Setting
The waters prevailed upon the earth for 150 days, staying at their height for five long months, rising fifteen cubits above the highest mountains and covering the earth like a boundless lake. That duration marks the length of the prevailing, during which the flood drowned those who had mocked while the ark carried its occupants safely through. The buried and preserved remains of people, animals, and trees far larger than those now living are evidence that the antediluvians perished in that flood. The same flood is an example of judgment on moral pollution from appetite indulged to gluttony and drunkenness, and a warning that increasing present sins will bring certain punishment.
The account belongs to a real historical flood with a literal Noah, affirmed as divine Scripture. Christ refers to Noah as a literal person and the flood as a fact, and the days of Noah prefigure the age before He appears in the clouds.
The prevailing waters came from rain falling forty days and forty nights joined with the breaking up of the crust of the earth and the fountains of the great deep. Torrents descended from heaven while hidden waters burst forth with force that threw stones into the air, and water from beneath united with water from above to form a great sea. That cleansing by water foreshadows the last great day, when fire from heaven will unite with fire stored in the earth to purify the earth by fire. The rising water entered houses, swept away idol temples, groves, palaces, costly pleasure works and places of idolatry, uprooted idolized trees with the inhabitants, buried them under masses of rubbish and earth, threw up rocks concealed under the earth over the loveliest places, destroyed fruitful trees, shady avenues, forests and gardens, formed deep gorges and seamed and cleft rocks, and turned the lovely home given to man into a broken, uneven surface and frightful solitude. The ark itself had been built on dry land and looked as singular there as a steamer set on land for repairs, needing no immense iron standards to bear its weight, because the joined waters bore it up.
The prevailing came after a 120-year probation in which Noah and his helpers built the immense ark on dry land and preached all the more earnestly amid universal scorn and ridicule. The obedient were distinguished from the disobedient by the standard of God's law, the dumb animals and all other living creatures quietly entered two by two under invisible leadership and were housed, and then God shut believers in and shut the world out. After the door was closed one week passed as a testing time with no rain, fully revealing the mockery of unbelievers who were not impressed, did not humble themselves, and made light of Noah and his family. Then rain began falling gently at first and steady rain set in, increasing in power until every living thing outside was destroyed, not a living person or animal left alive, and destruction was complete. The judgment came when men exceeded the bounds of long-suffering and the limits of grace, the measure of iniquity was full and probation ended, so God interfered to vindicate His law and authority, repress unrighteousness, limit life, and sweep the wicked race from the earth.
Extent of Flood Destruction
The waters covered the earth and destroyed its former landscape, reshaping the land by their force, burying people, animals, trees and treasures, breaking up its beautiful surface and leaving it under a greatly increased curse. They poured down in torrents until they prevailed upon the earth, rising to the tops of the highest trees and mountains until the whole world became a world of water. The account belongs to God's destruction of the people of the earth by the great Flood, and the buried vast forests whose remains later became coal fields and sources of oil still testify to the life that existed before it and to the truth of God's word.
The rising water entered houses and swept away idol temples, palaces, groves, costly pleasure works and places where men had set up idols and worshiped the works of their own hands. Trees men had idolized were uprooted with the inhabitants and thrown into the boiling seething waters, while wrecks of palaces and temples tossed upon the waters amid tempest, thunder and sharp lightning. Places of idolatry were filled and buried under masses of rubbish and earth, and rocks concealed under the earth were thrown up above it over the loveliest places men had adored. Fruitful trees, shady avenues, beautiful forests and gardens were utterly destroyed, and deep gorges and seamed and cleft rocks of varied shapes and structures were formed, turning the lovely Eden-like home God had given man into a broken, uneven surface and a frightful solitude that stands as evidence of judgment.
The prevailing destroyed every refuge outside the ark, so that not a living person or animal outside was left alive. People fleeing to trees and mountains and animals climbing high ground were all swept together into the flood, and the unbelieving inhabitants who had refused warning and mocked Noah were swept away into the boiling deep. Those who had mocked begged for admission and clung to the ark but were washed away, because God had shut in only those who believed His word, and only eight persons were saved while the immense ark rode safely upon the troubled waters. Their disbelief did not prevent fulfillment, for the scoffing world was submerged despite unbelief, and those urged to find refuge who refused perished in the waters.
The height reached by the waters was known and remembered afterward. The dwellers on the plain of Shinar disbelieved God's covenant that He would not again bring a flood upon the earth, with many denying that God exists and saying the Flood came by the operation of natural causes, while others who believed a supreme being had destroyed the antediluvian world rose up in rebellion against Him with hearts like that of Cain and complained of that destruction as arbitrary severity instead of gratefully remembering His mercy to Adam and His gracious covenant with Noah. To secure safety in case of another deluge they planned to carry a tower to a much greater height than was reached by the waters of the Flood, thinking to place themselves beyond all possibility of danger, and by ascending to the region of the clouds they hoped to ascertain its cause. The whole undertaking was designed to exalt still further the pride of its projectors and to turn the minds of future generations away from God into idolatry.
Reasons for Divine Judgment
The prevailing for a hundred and fifty days came because wickedness was great in the earth, every imagination of the thoughts of the heart was only evil continually, and the earth was corrupt before God and filled with violence. Before the flood people rejected God and His law, pursued selfish pleasure and pride, and filled the earth with violence and crime, with selfishness and violence and crime prevailing, with debased passions and indulgence of appetite provoking judgment, until God could bear their wickedness no longer. Iniquity had become so common that it no longer shocked the senses, secret societies worked violence in darkness, and men formed them to work in darkness to do violence, while despising the truth kept continually before them by Seth, Enoch, Noah, Methuselah and others. God had surrounded them with the precious things of earth because He loved them and the world before the flood far exceeded the present world in beauty, grandeur and loveliness, but they turned those blessings into a curse by using them to gratify pride and glorify themselves, so He destroyed them and the earth because of human sinfulness, violence and corrupting works that defiled it. Without the curse of sin corrupting the earth it would still be a happy place, but every place inhabited by human beings is debased with sin, and through the flood God cleansed the earth of its moral pollution after its inhabitants became corrupt and violent.
That moral pollution came especially from indulgence of appetite, with gluttony and drunkenness as prevailing sins that inflamed the passions and led to other crimes and to widespread corruption, violence and crime. Indulgence of appetite is among the most flagrant sins of the fallen race, resulting in the greatest amount of human woe, and God has tested His people since the fall just where He tested man before the fall. The world’s indulgence of appetite and debased passions had provoked the judgment by which God poured a flood of waters upon the earth to wash the world from its moral pollution.
The prevailing waters punished ingratitude for gifts and disobedience to and transgression of law, and they would not have come if men had repented after the one-hundred-and-twenty-year message through Noah that God would send waters upon the impenitent. Men were ungrateful for His gifts and disobeyed His law, transgressed God’s law, despised the truth kept before them, used blessings to gratify self and pride and to glorify themselves, and set up idols and worshiped the works of their own hands in groves, palaces, costly pleasure works and places of idolatry. Torrents of rain descended from heaven and the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the waters rose until they covered the land, uprooting idolized trees with the inhabitants and sweeping them away with groves, palaces and costly works made to satisfy pleasure lovers. Places where men had set up idols were filled with masses of rubbish and earth, rocks concealed under the earth were thrown up above it covering the most lovely places men had adored, fruitful trees, shady avenues, beautiful forests and gardens were utterly destroyed, and deep gorges and seamed and cleft rocks of varied shapes with caverns and channels worn by cataracts were formed. The lovely Eden-like home God had given man was turned to a broken, uneven surface and a frightful solitude that stands as evidence of judgment for not observing God’s law and as a witness to God’s wrath in the upheaval of waters from the great deep. The unbelieving wicked antediluvians perished for their wickedness because they disobeyed God, whereas obedience to His word would have spared them, and doing right saved Noah who kept and taught the commandments, for no one can presume on mercy while continuing in sin or transgressing even one law.
The people rejected Noah’s one-hundred-and-twenty-year warning, nearly all thinking they were right and Noah was wrong, claiming to know more than God’s faithful servant, branding him a fanatic and enthusiast, and laughing and mocking God’s message through him as parables. They closed their ears to truth, explained away truth by false science, called his warning of rain where no sign had ever existed foolishness, walked contrary to God’s Word which stirs rebellion and brings God’s displeasure, forgot God’s admonition and warnings, and kept to plans and inventions of iniquity and routine work, pleasure-loving and learning without regard to the Bible. They fell asleep in carnal security amid rioting and godless pleasure, put afar off coming judgment, were urged to find refuge in the ark but refused, and the great majority perished and drank those waters. Their unbelief and scoffing did not prevent fulfillment, for the rain came and the flood submerged the scoffing world despite disbelief in Noah’s warning. The floodwaters that overwhelmed the earth showed that nature’s order is not beyond God’s authority, for the same God who had kept waters within their bounds could allow them to overflow and bring the warned-of destruction.
The judgment came when men exceeded the bounds set by God’s long-suffering and exceeded the limits of grace, when the measure of iniquity was full, when the Spirit of God was withdrawn from that sinful generation, when probation ended and mercy no longer spoke and the last call of mercy was closed. It proves it is possible to go so far in sin and disgraceful transgression that destruction becomes necessary, after a probation of one hundred and twenty years in which Noah and his helpers built the immense ark and preached all the more earnestly amid universal scorn and ridicule, after the obedient were distinguished from the disobedient by the standard of God’s law, after cattle and all other living creatures entered two and two without a visible leader and were housed, after God shut believers in, and after a one-week testing time with no rain that fully revealed the mockery of unbelievers, then steady rain set in until not a living person or animal outside was left alive perishing in sins. God interfered to vindicate the honor of His law and authority, to repress the increase of unrighteousness, to limit human life, to prevent men spoiling one another in continual disobedience and defiance of His law made known to the Noachian world, to cut short iniquity, and to wash and cleanse the earth from its moral pollution. That flood was an act of mercy to the world and parallels the final destruction of those who reject God’s grace and the incurable, when the holy will remain holy and the filthy will remain filthy.
Safety Inside the Ark
Through the whole prevailing the immense ark rode safely upon the troubled waters as a refuge for Noah and his family and for the obedient creatures gathered with them. God Himself shut in those who believed His word, and shut out the world that refused warning, so that those inside were preserved by His power under protecting care and guided by a divine hand. Outside every refuge was destroyed, for the torrents poured down until they broke up the beautiful earth, destroyed lofty trees, entered houses, swept away idol temples, and rose to the tops of the highest trees and mountains. The unbelieving inhabitants who had mocked Noah were swept together into the boiling deep, whether they fled to trees and mountains or begged for admission and clung to the ark, and they were washed away while those left without wished they had a place within.
The dumb animals and fowls quietly entered two by two under the invisible leadership of God and were housed in the ark before the rain fell. Cattle and every other living creature to be preserved came without a visible leader as a sign, and after they entered two and two the word was given and the hand of God closed the door. The hardened inhabitants were not impressed, did not humble themselves, made light of Noah and his family, and then perished outside so that not a living person or animal outside was left alive.
The ark had been prepared on dry land during the 120-year probation, and there it looked as singular as a steamer set on land for repairs. It needed no immense iron standards to bear up its weight, for the fountains of the great deep were broken up beneath and the windows of heaven were opened above, and the waters from beneath and from above joined to form a great sea that bore it up. It was God's means, built under His direction, to save all who would hear the warning, believe, enter, and turn from prideful self-importance and deeds of unrighteousness. Only eight persons believed and were saved, while unbelief did not prevent fulfillment and the evil-doers who did not repent were swept from the face of the earth.
While the waters stayed at their height for five long months, rising fifteen cubits above the highest mountains, the ark was tossed about apparently at the mercy of wind and wave. Those inside often felt they must perish, and it was a trying ordeal for them. Noah's faith did not waver because he was assured the divine hand was upon the helm.
Lasting Physical Evidence
The prevailing of the waters for one hundred and fifty days buried and preserved people, animals, and trees far larger than any now living, leaving evidence that the antediluvians perished in the Flood. Vast forests were buried at that time, whose remains later became coal fields and sources of oil, and these preserved traces testify to the life that existed before the Flood and to the truth of God's word. That burial and preservation was intended to provide evidence for the inspired history, though it could be misused by explaining it in ways that deny God.
The seamed and cleft rocks, deep gorges, caverns, and channels worn by cataracts formed in that overthrow remain as evidences of that destruction. The time-worn rocky walls, smooth polished rocks, regular layered formations, open caverns, deep channels worn by mighty cataracts, and rocks of every conceivable shape seen in grand mountain scenery have stood since that Flood, washed with its mountain torrents, and carry the mind back to that destruction. The lovely Eden-like home given to man was thereby turned into a broken, uneven surface and a frightful solitude that stands as evidence of judgment.
The inspired record of the one hundred and fifty days also provides the inspired history needed to understand the great changes in the earth and the remains of creatures from before the Flood. Geology alone cannot establish when those remains existed.
Warning for Last Days
As in the days of Noah so it is now and so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man, with wickedness and overwhelming iniquity increasing until destruction comes suddenly upon those absorbed in ordinary life and unaware of what is approaching. Violence, reveling, drunkenness, pleasure-loving, amusements, gains, traffic, moneymaking, dishonest practices, luxury, extravagance, wine-drinking, rioting and godless pleasure prevail, minds are diverted from eternal realities, and iniquity becomes so common that it no longer shocks the senses. People go on eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, working routine work, pursuing pleasure and learning, boasting that all things remain as they were from the beginning, putting afar off coming judgment, sleeping in carnal security and in blind deluded slumber, even in the church following the practices of the world while ministers cry peace and safety. They forgot admonition and warning, made light of Noah and his family, laughed at those who aroused them as fanatics and enthusiasts, were not impressed by the dumb animals quietly entering two and two under invisible leadership, did not humble themselves, mocked and derided during the week after God’s hand closed the door when no rain fell, and then were swept away when rain began gently and increased in power until every living thing outside was destroyed and not a living person or animal was left alive. That judgment came after 120 years of warning and building amid universal scorn and ridicule, after the obedient were distinguished from the disobedient by the standard of the law, after cattle and all other living creatures were housed and God shut believers in, proving men had exceeded the bounds of long-suffering and the limits of grace so that God interfered to vindicate His law, repress unrighteousness, limit life, and prevent continual disobedience and defiance.
The flood that drowned those who mocked, while the ark carried Noah and his family safely through the 150 days the waters prevailed, is a pattern for the final deliverance of God’s people. Those who warn the world of coming judgment and remain faithful will be protected from the wicked, as Noah was preserved in the ark God had prepared for him in the days of the great deluge, and so God will be the refuge of His believing ones when everything in nature is convulsed in destruction and calamity, including those who refuse the beast’s decree and mark.
The cleansing of the earth by water foreshadows its coming purification by fire. The waters that covered the earth for 150 days came by water from the heavens uniting with water in the bowels of the earth, and in the last great day fire from heaven will unite with fire stored up in the earth to purify the earth by fire. At their height the flood waters covered the earth like a boundless lake, compared with the sea of fire that will cover the earth, a sea of fire that cannot be quenched by any human devising. As God preserved the ark by miracle of power, so in the final destruction He will preserve the New Jerusalem and its faithful inhabitants, after admonitions to inhabitants corrupting their ways and ruining human beings, to answer misery and anguish and physical suffering and the cries of humanity going up to Him from India, from Africa, from China and from many places, and to avenge His own elect who cry to Him day and night, and He will avenge them speedily.
The ark remaining afloat through the overwhelming waters, borne on the deep through the 150 days the floodwaters prevailed and covered the earth, provides an image of the Word of God surviving the storms that threaten to destroy it.
Time is very short and probation will end as the ark was closed, so the short time left is for preparing to enter the city of God. Unbelief could not stop the judgment in which those who rejected Noah drank those waters for 150 days; nearly all thought themselves right and Noah wrong, claimed to know more than God’s faithful servant, closed ears to truth, explained it away by false science, called rain where no sign had existed foolishness and his words parables, laughed and mocked, walked contrary to the Word in rebellion, helped build without believing the startling message, failed to cleanse from wrong principles and to overcome temptation to do and say things contrary to God’s mind and will. After long forbearance God vindicated His authority in His own time when wickedness became so great that a crisis came, after 120 years to turn from sin were rejected and despised, when the measure of iniquity was full and the boundaries of mercy were passed and the last call of mercy was closed; though the wicked say their way is hidden, He beholds all works, answers the humiliation, fasting and prayer of His people by appearing as avenger to the wicked and protector of the righteous even after prayers long seemed unheard, by terrible things in righteousness, when the holy will remain holy and the filthy will remain filthy. The Old World perished in the waters, marked by prevailing selfishness and violence and crime, and the same evils prevail as the close of this earth’s history approaches with calamities, earthquakes, floods and disasters by land and by sea increasing; God looks upon the world today as then and sends His messages as He sent them in Noah’s days. Therefore none are to follow the majority to destruction nor honor multitudes, festivities and self-pleasing above the Word, but to be found on the side of the loyal and true when Christ comes, to humble self under God, serve one master, accept Christ, live in obedience to all the law, wake up and get ready lest it be everlastingly too late, take position for righteousness and truth, search Scripture concerning Christ soon coming to take those who loved Him and waited for His appearing, give account for wasted time and money, and work earnestly to save perishing souls by proclaiming a crucified and risen Saviour.
The waters stayed at their height upon the earth for one hundred and fifty days, for five long months remaining like a boundless lake fifteen cubits above the highest mountains. They came from rain falling forty days and forty nights joined with the breaking up of the crust of the earth and the fountains of the great deep, water from beneath uniting with water from above until they bore up the ark as a great sea. They destroyed every refuge outside the ark, sweeping away houses, idol temples, forests and gardens and leaving not a living person or animal alive outside, so that only eight persons were saved. This prevailing was God's judgment when wickedness was great and every imagination of the heart only evil continually, when the measure of iniquity was full, probation ended and mercy no longer spoke. Through it all the ark rode safely as a refuge, shut in and preserved by God's own hand, a pattern that as it was in the days of Noah so faithful warners will be protected at the coming of the Son of Man.
Duration and Historical Setting
The waters prevailed upon the earth for 150 days, staying at their height for five long months, rising fifteen cubits above the highest mountains and covering the earth like a boundless lake. That duration marks the length of the prevailing, during which the flood drowned those who had mocked while the ark carried its occupants safely through. The buried and preserved remains of people, animals, and trees far larger than those now living are evidence that the antediluvians perished in that flood. The same flood is an example of judgment on moral pollution from appetite indulged to gluttony and drunkenness, and a warning that increasing present sins will bring certain punishment.
The account belongs to a real historical flood with a literal Noah, affirmed as divine Scripture. Christ refers to Noah as a literal person and the flood as a fact, and the days of Noah prefigure the age before He appears in the clouds.
The prevailing waters came from rain falling forty days and forty nights joined with the breaking up of the crust of the earth and the fountains of the great deep. Torrents descended from heaven while hidden waters burst forth with force that threw stones into the air, and water from beneath united with water from above to form a great sea. That cleansing by water foreshadows the last great day, when fire from heaven will unite with fire stored in the earth to purify the earth by fire. The rising water entered houses, swept away idol temples, groves, palaces, costly pleasure works and places of idolatry, uprooted idolized trees with the inhabitants, buried them under masses of rubbish and earth, threw up rocks concealed under the earth over the loveliest places, destroyed fruitful trees, shady avenues, forests and gardens, formed deep gorges and seamed and cleft rocks, and turned the lovely home given to man into a broken, uneven surface and frightful solitude. The ark itself had been built on dry land and looked as singular there as a steamer set on land for repairs, needing no immense iron standards to bear its weight, because the joined waters bore it up.
The prevailing came after a 120-year probation in which Noah and his helpers built the immense ark on dry land and preached all the more earnestly amid universal scorn and ridicule. The obedient were distinguished from the disobedient by the standard of God's law, the dumb animals and all other living creatures quietly entered two by two under invisible leadership and were housed, and then God shut believers in and shut the world out. After the door was closed one week passed as a testing time with no rain, fully revealing the mockery of unbelievers who were not impressed, did not humble themselves, and made light of Noah and his family. Then rain began falling gently at first and steady rain set in, increasing in power until every living thing outside was destroyed, not a living person or animal left alive, and destruction was complete. The judgment came when men exceeded the bounds of long-suffering and the limits of grace, the measure of iniquity was full and probation ended, so God interfered to vindicate His law and authority, repress unrighteousness, limit life, and sweep the wicked race from the earth.
Extent of Flood Destruction
The waters covered the earth and destroyed its former landscape, reshaping the land by their force, burying people, animals, trees and treasures, breaking up its beautiful surface and leaving it under a greatly increased curse. They poured down in torrents until they prevailed upon the earth, rising to the tops of the highest trees and mountains until the whole world became a world of water. The account belongs to God's destruction of the people of the earth by the great Flood, and the buried vast forests whose remains later became coal fields and sources of oil still testify to the life that existed before it and to the truth of God's word.
The rising water entered houses and swept away idol temples, palaces, groves, costly pleasure works and places where men had set up idols and worshiped the works of their own hands. Trees men had idolized were uprooted with the inhabitants and thrown into the boiling seething waters, while wrecks of palaces and temples tossed upon the waters amid tempest, thunder and sharp lightning. Places of idolatry were filled and buried under masses of rubbish and earth, and rocks concealed under the earth were thrown up above it over the loveliest places men had adored. Fruitful trees, shady avenues, beautiful forests and gardens were utterly destroyed, and deep gorges and seamed and cleft rocks of varied shapes and structures were formed, turning the lovely Eden-like home God had given man into a broken, uneven surface and a frightful solitude that stands as evidence of judgment.
The prevailing destroyed every refuge outside the ark, so that not a living person or animal outside was left alive. People fleeing to trees and mountains and animals climbing high ground were all swept together into the flood, and the unbelieving inhabitants who had refused warning and mocked Noah were swept away into the boiling deep. Those who had mocked begged for admission and clung to the ark but were washed away, because God had shut in only those who believed His word, and only eight persons were saved while the immense ark rode safely upon the troubled waters. Their disbelief did not prevent fulfillment, for the scoffing world was submerged despite unbelief, and those urged to find refuge who refused perished in the waters.
The height reached by the waters was known and remembered afterward. The dwellers on the plain of Shinar disbelieved God's covenant that He would not again bring a flood upon the earth, with many denying that God exists and saying the Flood came by the operation of natural causes, while others who believed a supreme being had destroyed the antediluvian world rose up in rebellion against Him with hearts like that of Cain and complained of that destruction as arbitrary severity instead of gratefully remembering His mercy to Adam and His gracious covenant with Noah. To secure safety in case of another deluge they planned to carry a tower to a much greater height than was reached by the waters of the Flood, thinking to place themselves beyond all possibility of danger, and by ascending to the region of the clouds they hoped to ascertain its cause. The whole undertaking was designed to exalt still further the pride of its projectors and to turn the minds of future generations away from God into idolatry.
Reasons for Divine Judgment
The prevailing for a hundred and fifty days came because wickedness was great in the earth, every imagination of the thoughts of the heart was only evil continually, and the earth was corrupt before God and filled with violence. Before the flood people rejected God and His law, pursued selfish pleasure and pride, and filled the earth with violence and crime, with selfishness and violence and crime prevailing, with debased passions and indulgence of appetite provoking judgment, until God could bear their wickedness no longer. Iniquity had become so common that it no longer shocked the senses, secret societies worked violence in darkness, and men formed them to work in darkness to do violence, while despising the truth kept continually before them by Seth, Enoch, Noah, Methuselah and others. God had surrounded them with the precious things of earth because He loved them and the world before the flood far exceeded the present world in beauty, grandeur and loveliness, but they turned those blessings into a curse by using them to gratify pride and glorify themselves, so He destroyed them and the earth because of human sinfulness, violence and corrupting works that defiled it. Without the curse of sin corrupting the earth it would still be a happy place, but every place inhabited by human beings is debased with sin, and through the flood God cleansed the earth of its moral pollution after its inhabitants became corrupt and violent.
That moral pollution came especially from indulgence of appetite, with gluttony and drunkenness as prevailing sins that inflamed the passions and led to other crimes and to widespread corruption, violence and crime. Indulgence of appetite is among the most flagrant sins of the fallen race, resulting in the greatest amount of human woe, and God has tested His people since the fall just where He tested man before the fall. The world’s indulgence of appetite and debased passions had provoked the judgment by which God poured a flood of waters upon the earth to wash the world from its moral pollution.
The prevailing waters punished ingratitude for gifts and disobedience to and transgression of law, and they would not have come if men had repented after the one-hundred-and-twenty-year message through Noah that God would send waters upon the impenitent. Men were ungrateful for His gifts and disobeyed His law, transgressed God’s law, despised the truth kept before them, used blessings to gratify self and pride and to glorify themselves, and set up idols and worshiped the works of their own hands in groves, palaces, costly pleasure works and places of idolatry. Torrents of rain descended from heaven and the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the waters rose until they covered the land, uprooting idolized trees with the inhabitants and sweeping them away with groves, palaces and costly works made to satisfy pleasure lovers. Places where men had set up idols were filled with masses of rubbish and earth, rocks concealed under the earth were thrown up above it covering the most lovely places men had adored, fruitful trees, shady avenues, beautiful forests and gardens were utterly destroyed, and deep gorges and seamed and cleft rocks of varied shapes with caverns and channels worn by cataracts were formed. The lovely Eden-like home God had given man was turned to a broken, uneven surface and a frightful solitude that stands as evidence of judgment for not observing God’s law and as a witness to God’s wrath in the upheaval of waters from the great deep. The unbelieving wicked antediluvians perished for their wickedness because they disobeyed God, whereas obedience to His word would have spared them, and doing right saved Noah who kept and taught the commandments, for no one can presume on mercy while continuing in sin or transgressing even one law.
The people rejected Noah’s one-hundred-and-twenty-year warning, nearly all thinking they were right and Noah was wrong, claiming to know more than God’s faithful servant, branding him a fanatic and enthusiast, and laughing and mocking God’s message through him as parables. They closed their ears to truth, explained away truth by false science, called his warning of rain where no sign had ever existed foolishness, walked contrary to God’s Word which stirs rebellion and brings God’s displeasure, forgot God’s admonition and warnings, and kept to plans and inventions of iniquity and routine work, pleasure-loving and learning without regard to the Bible. They fell asleep in carnal security amid rioting and godless pleasure, put afar off coming judgment, were urged to find refuge in the ark but refused, and the great majority perished and drank those waters. Their unbelief and scoffing did not prevent fulfillment, for the rain came and the flood submerged the scoffing world despite disbelief in Noah’s warning. The floodwaters that overwhelmed the earth showed that nature’s order is not beyond God’s authority, for the same God who had kept waters within their bounds could allow them to overflow and bring the warned-of destruction.
The judgment came when men exceeded the bounds set by God’s long-suffering and exceeded the limits of grace, when the measure of iniquity was full, when the Spirit of God was withdrawn from that sinful generation, when probation ended and mercy no longer spoke and the last call of mercy was closed. It proves it is possible to go so far in sin and disgraceful transgression that destruction becomes necessary, after a probation of one hundred and twenty years in which Noah and his helpers built the immense ark and preached all the more earnestly amid universal scorn and ridicule, after the obedient were distinguished from the disobedient by the standard of God’s law, after cattle and all other living creatures entered two and two without a visible leader and were housed, after God shut believers in, and after a one-week testing time with no rain that fully revealed the mockery of unbelievers, then steady rain set in until not a living person or animal outside was left alive perishing in sins. God interfered to vindicate the honor of His law and authority, to repress the increase of unrighteousness, to limit human life, to prevent men spoiling one another in continual disobedience and defiance of His law made known to the Noachian world, to cut short iniquity, and to wash and cleanse the earth from its moral pollution. That flood was an act of mercy to the world and parallels the final destruction of those who reject God’s grace and the incurable, when the holy will remain holy and the filthy will remain filthy.
Safety Inside the Ark
Through the whole prevailing the immense ark rode safely upon the troubled waters as a refuge for Noah and his family and for the obedient creatures gathered with them. God Himself shut in those who believed His word, and shut out the world that refused warning, so that those inside were preserved by His power under protecting care and guided by a divine hand. Outside every refuge was destroyed, for the torrents poured down until they broke up the beautiful earth, destroyed lofty trees, entered houses, swept away idol temples, and rose to the tops of the highest trees and mountains. The unbelieving inhabitants who had mocked Noah were swept together into the boiling deep, whether they fled to trees and mountains or begged for admission and clung to the ark, and they were washed away while those left without wished they had a place within.
The dumb animals and fowls quietly entered two by two under the invisible leadership of God and were housed in the ark before the rain fell. Cattle and every other living creature to be preserved came without a visible leader as a sign, and after they entered two and two the word was given and the hand of God closed the door. The hardened inhabitants were not impressed, did not humble themselves, made light of Noah and his family, and then perished outside so that not a living person or animal outside was left alive.
The ark had been prepared on dry land during the 120-year probation, and there it looked as singular as a steamer set on land for repairs. It needed no immense iron standards to bear up its weight, for the fountains of the great deep were broken up beneath and the windows of heaven were opened above, and the waters from beneath and from above joined to form a great sea that bore it up. It was God's means, built under His direction, to save all who would hear the warning, believe, enter, and turn from prideful self-importance and deeds of unrighteousness. Only eight persons believed and were saved, while unbelief did not prevent fulfillment and the evil-doers who did not repent were swept from the face of the earth.
While the waters stayed at their height for five long months, rising fifteen cubits above the highest mountains, the ark was tossed about apparently at the mercy of wind and wave. Those inside often felt they must perish, and it was a trying ordeal for them. Noah's faith did not waver because he was assured the divine hand was upon the helm.
Lasting Physical Evidence
The prevailing of the waters for one hundred and fifty days buried and preserved people, animals, and trees far larger than any now living, leaving evidence that the antediluvians perished in the Flood. Vast forests were buried at that time, whose remains later became coal fields and sources of oil, and these preserved traces testify to the life that existed before the Flood and to the truth of God's word. That burial and preservation was intended to provide evidence for the inspired history, though it could be misused by explaining it in ways that deny God.
The seamed and cleft rocks, deep gorges, caverns, and channels worn by cataracts formed in that overthrow remain as evidences of that destruction. The time-worn rocky walls, smooth polished rocks, regular layered formations, open caverns, deep channels worn by mighty cataracts, and rocks of every conceivable shape seen in grand mountain scenery have stood since that Flood, washed with its mountain torrents, and carry the mind back to that destruction. The lovely Eden-like home given to man was thereby turned into a broken, uneven surface and a frightful solitude that stands as evidence of judgment.
The inspired record of the one hundred and fifty days also provides the inspired history needed to understand the great changes in the earth and the remains of creatures from before the Flood. Geology alone cannot establish when those remains existed.
Warning for Last Days
As in the days of Noah so it is now and so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man, with wickedness and overwhelming iniquity increasing until destruction comes suddenly upon those absorbed in ordinary life and unaware of what is approaching. Violence, reveling, drunkenness, pleasure-loving, amusements, gains, traffic, moneymaking, dishonest practices, luxury, extravagance, wine-drinking, rioting and godless pleasure prevail, minds are diverted from eternal realities, and iniquity becomes so common that it no longer shocks the senses. People go on eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, working routine work, pursuing pleasure and learning, boasting that all things remain as they were from the beginning, putting afar off coming judgment, sleeping in carnal security and in blind deluded slumber, even in the church following the practices of the world while ministers cry peace and safety. They forgot admonition and warning, made light of Noah and his family, laughed at those who aroused them as fanatics and enthusiasts, were not impressed by the dumb animals quietly entering two and two under invisible leadership, did not humble themselves, mocked and derided during the week after God’s hand closed the door when no rain fell, and then were swept away when rain began gently and increased in power until every living thing outside was destroyed and not a living person or animal was left alive. That judgment came after 120 years of warning and building amid universal scorn and ridicule, after the obedient were distinguished from the disobedient by the standard of the law, after cattle and all other living creatures were housed and God shut believers in, proving men had exceeded the bounds of long-suffering and the limits of grace so that God interfered to vindicate His law, repress unrighteousness, limit life, and prevent continual disobedience and defiance.
The flood that drowned those who mocked, while the ark carried Noah and his family safely through the 150 days the waters prevailed, is a pattern for the final deliverance of God’s people. Those who warn the world of coming judgment and remain faithful will be protected from the wicked, as Noah was preserved in the ark God had prepared for him in the days of the great deluge, and so God will be the refuge of His believing ones when everything in nature is convulsed in destruction and calamity, including those who refuse the beast’s decree and mark.
The cleansing of the earth by water foreshadows its coming purification by fire. The waters that covered the earth for 150 days came by water from the heavens uniting with water in the bowels of the earth, and in the last great day fire from heaven will unite with fire stored up in the earth to purify the earth by fire. At their height the flood waters covered the earth like a boundless lake, compared with the sea of fire that will cover the earth, a sea of fire that cannot be quenched by any human devising. As God preserved the ark by miracle of power, so in the final destruction He will preserve the New Jerusalem and its faithful inhabitants, after admonitions to inhabitants corrupting their ways and ruining human beings, to answer misery and anguish and physical suffering and the cries of humanity going up to Him from India, from Africa, from China and from many places, and to avenge His own elect who cry to Him day and night, and He will avenge them speedily.
The ark remaining afloat through the overwhelming waters, borne on the deep through the 150 days the floodwaters prevailed and covered the earth, provides an image of the Word of God surviving the storms that threaten to destroy it.
Time is very short and probation will end as the ark was closed, so the short time left is for preparing to enter the city of God. Unbelief could not stop the judgment in which those who rejected Noah drank those waters for 150 days; nearly all thought themselves right and Noah wrong, claimed to know more than God’s faithful servant, closed ears to truth, explained it away by false science, called rain where no sign had existed foolishness and his words parables, laughed and mocked, walked contrary to the Word in rebellion, helped build without believing the startling message, failed to cleanse from wrong principles and to overcome temptation to do and say things contrary to God’s mind and will. After long forbearance God vindicated His authority in His own time when wickedness became so great that a crisis came, after 120 years to turn from sin were rejected and despised, when the measure of iniquity was full and the boundaries of mercy were passed and the last call of mercy was closed; though the wicked say their way is hidden, He beholds all works, answers the humiliation, fasting and prayer of His people by appearing as avenger to the wicked and protector of the righteous even after prayers long seemed unheard, by terrible things in righteousness, when the holy will remain holy and the filthy will remain filthy. The Old World perished in the waters, marked by prevailing selfishness and violence and crime, and the same evils prevail as the close of this earth’s history approaches with calamities, earthquakes, floods and disasters by land and by sea increasing; God looks upon the world today as then and sends His messages as He sent them in Noah’s days. Therefore none are to follow the majority to destruction nor honor multitudes, festivities and self-pleasing above the Word, but to be found on the side of the loyal and true when Christ comes, to humble self under God, serve one master, accept Christ, live in obedience to all the law, wake up and get ready lest it be everlastingly too late, take position for righteousness and truth, search Scripture concerning Christ soon coming to take those who loved Him and waited for His appearing, give account for wasted time and money, and work earnestly to save perishing souls by proclaiming a crucified and risen Saviour.