Let us now return to the Word in Mt. 24:37-39 and see its true spiritual picture and its meaning for us today.
1A) The RELIGIOUS PEOPLES in Noah’s days which came from both the seed of CainAND from the seed of Seth did not fear God, were indifferent to Him, to His Word, ways and requirements for their life EXCEPT THE REMNANT from the seed of Seth. The peoples had ears but did not hear what God was telling them through Noah for many years. They were fully preoccupied with their self-interests, prosperity and pleasures of life and cared for nothing else. Corruption, wickedness and evil governed their lives. They might have shown outwardly signs of their “religiosity”, but in their “flesh” (spiritual wickedness and sinfulness) they were intolerable and an abomination to God!
Out of all these peoples on the earth, only Noah, a just man and perfect* in his generation found Grace in the eyes of the Lord. (Gen. 6:8,9) Noah and “his house” – his wife, three sons and their three wives, EIGHT PEOPLE altogether – were saved from the Flood. As we know, “eight” in the Scripture means a “new beginning” or resurrection.
*To be perfect in the Lord’s eyes means to “PRESS toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” All believers, who are thus minded, (Phil. 3:14,15) who are after the heart of God (Acts 13:22) are perfect in the Judgment and the eyes of the Lord, but not in their own eyes and self-judgment.
And God said unto Noah: “Make an ark of gopher wood; rooms you shall make in the ark, and shall pitch it within and without with pitch. And this is the design which you shall make it of…” (Gen. 6:14,15a)
So God instructed Noah to build an ark of gopher wood and gave him a precise design. Its design was not left to Noah’s imagination and ideas. God did the same later on with Moses when He gave him the precise design of His Tabernacle and of the Ark of the Covenant and of all the other furnishings; nothing was left up to the ideas or imaginations of Moses or other men.
1B) The peoples in our days are EXACTLY THE SAME as those in Noah’s days! They now include pagans and the religious people, believers, who live, believe and act in the same worldly ways not only outwardly in bodies, but in their souls. Such believers do not fear God, they are indifferent to His Word, ways and requirements for their life. They have ears, but do not hear what God says to them through the “Noahs” of today.
And God is once more asking the “Noahs” of today, those that are perfect* in this SECOND GENERATION of mankind and who walk with Him, to prepare their “Ark” according to His spiritual instructions and precise design! Nothing is left up to the ideas or imaginations of men. This means that we must “build our knowledge of the Lord” precisely as the Scripture says. (Jn. 7:38) We do not build the Ark of gopher wood, but of the Word of God, which is Christ, and “pitch it” within and without with the Holy Spirit, so nothing will defile the Ark from outside (world) or from inside (brethren, who don’t walk and live by the Spirit – Phil. 3:18,19).
Let us now see that OUR ARK IS CHRIST IN OUR SOUL WHERE WE HAVE CRUCIFIED OUR FLESH! (Gal. 5:24) It is not sufficient that Christ be in our spirit, which applies to all born-again believers, but that He would be present and ruling our SOUL. All His “Noahs” which are perfect (Phil. 3:15) and found Grace in His eyes, and their families, the Overcomers (His Remnant), the crucified ones, they all are building their Arks by crucifying their flesh and sealing every “nook & cranny” of their soul against all evil.
THIS IS THE PREPARATION FOR HIS COMING! They all will pass safely in their Arks through the floods of God’s pre-Tribulation Judgments and taken to the Throne of God. (Rev. 12:5, see more later) They will become a New Beginning for a brand New Mankind. All the other believers, soulish, carnal, uncrucified and disobedient ones, will be subdued to God’s Judgments of Fire and will be either CONDEMNED BY THEM OR REFINED THROUGH THEM – by the SPIRIT OF JUDGMENT and by THE SPIRIT OF BURNING. (Is. 4:4, see also Ez. 1:13; more later)
God is also causing these new Noahs and their families to start entering into their Arks as they are being made ready, so God might SHUT THE DOOR OF THEIR ARK behind them. (Mt. 25:10// Gen. 7:16) To “enter the Ark” means to “grow up into Christ in all things”, then to abide in Him and He abide in our SOUL (not only in our SPIRIT), to stay in the Ark and not go out. TO GROW UP INTO CHRIST MEANS TO ENLARGE HIS PRESENCE AND HIS RULE IN OUR OWN SOUL, TO PUT ON OUR NEW MAN! If believers are not growing up into Christ, they are not entering the Ark or they do not abide in Christ, they go out of the Ark, then men gather them and cast them into the FIRE and they are burned. (Eph. 4:15// Jn. 15:4a,6) There are no other alternatives.
Let us also see that no individual believer will be able to build his own Ark and enter in and be saved from the coming Judgment. There cannot be “one-man” Arks. Minimum two or more living members of the Body of Christ (Mt. 18:20) are able to grow up into Christ and abide in Him, which means, to enter the Ark and stay in. Noah was not called alone, but Noah and his housewas called to enter in! While Redemption is individual, the Salvation is corporate.
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2A) When God said to Noah “The end of all flesh is come before Me” He meant first the spiritual flesh, which is man’s sinful nature, then the physical flesh. It is sin, evil and wickedness that God hated and not physical human bodies, which are neutral. This is also clear from Gen. 6:3 where God says “My Spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is (sinful) flesh;”
2B) The end of all sinful flesh is come before God also in these days. In this respect, the days of Noah are here! We must repeat the following fact and truth. The Lord shows clearly that the peoples involved in this Judgment of sinful flesh are not only pagans, but all the believers, who are not perfect* as Noah was; who walk, but not with God as Noah did; who are in their heart, mind and will the enemies of the Cross of Christ. (Phil. 3:18,19) These enemies of the Cross have never allowed the Cross to deal with their sinful nature whether they did it consciously or ignorantly because they were deceived; therefore, in their soul they are like unto pagans. Many Christians are in their nature and character worse than many good hearted pagans. This is a true paradox, but it is reality. Do you have your own experiences? I do… and they are not rare.
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3A) Then the Lord said unto Noah: “Come, you and all your house into the ark;” (Gen. 7:1a) “For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth…” (Gen. 7:4a) So Noah and his house entered the ark seven days before it started to rain.
3B) The Noahs of these days will also be entering their Ark seven years before the Great Tribulation begins when it shall start raining the Judgments of God upon the entire world and upon the rest of the Israel-Church. They are kept from the temptations and God’s Judgments that are to “try them that dwell upon the earth”. Those that live and walk in their natural soul (flesh), dwell upon the earth; those that live and walk in Spirit and whose sinful flesh was crucified, (Gal. 5:24) “dwell in Heaven” and have already received the crown, that is, their place in the Kingdom of Heaven and they are READY. These Overcomers are advised by the Lord to hold fast their crown that no man would take it from them. (Rev. 3:10,11)
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4A) And when Noah and his house and all the animals entered the ark as God commanded them, God shut the door behind them! (Gen. 7:16// Mt. 25:10)
4B) All the world, pagans and believers that had rejected or are rejecting their cross consciously or ignorantly, will find no reception with God, but a closed door. They shall be rewarded for their works. The works in Mt. 16:24 are the most important works of faith for any believer to be done faithfully and continually throughout his earthly life and the Lord will reward him chiefly for those works. (Mt. 16:27) Building of religious organizations, printing of religious literature and leaflets, attending religious services, singing and giving offerings shall not be rewarded as we might imagine or hope for. Why? All such works can be done by carnal believers, positive thinkers, theologians, etc.
Only a few, in comparison to the other multitudes, found the narrow way which leads to an open door to God. (Mt. 7:14// Lk. 12:32) These few have been crucified – circumcised in heart (Acts 7:51// Rom. 2:29) Circumcision points to the Cross. (Col. 2:11) As we know, Abraham received faith and was justified – redeemed – before he was circumcised, (Rom. 4:11) before he was led to his cross! This also proves that the redeemed believer has to be “circumcised in heart – crucified in the flesh of his soul” before he can be accepted into the Presence of the Holy Lord.
When these crucified believers, the wise virgins with OIL in their vessels, the Bride of Christ, the Remnant, the Man-child enter the Ark, the door will be shut. Again, God will shut the door and not the Remnant. When the other believers will then come and ask the Lord to open the door, He will tell them: “Verily I say unto you, I know you not.” (Mt. 25:10-12)
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To be continued next week in chapter 8 – part 7
brother Hanola
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