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Advent HOPE Sabbath School

Isaac Eliot

The Ark Enigma

So good to see all of you here this morning.

I want to start by thanking the folks that maintain the AudioVerse website.

For the folk, I'm not sure how many are involved, I will say that I've downloaded almost all of the sermons there and it's been good for me.

I've enjoyed listening to those different sermons that have been presented here at Advent Hope and it's been a blessing and I'm so thankful that that ministry is going on.

This morning I want to continue with some of the subject matter that we spoke about last time I was here and my sermon is entitled the Ark Enigma.

I'm going to ask you to open your Bibles to Luke chapter 17.

And we'll begin this morning with some Bible study and then I'll go into the sermon.

But I want to share a few things that I've been looking at in this passage, things that I've been studying.

Luke chapter 17, and let's start again in verse 22 if you would.

Luke chapter 17 and verse 22, the Bible says, and He said unto the disciples, the days will come when you shall desire to see 1 of the days of the Son of Man, and you shall not see it.

And they shall say to you, See here, or see there.

For as the lightning that lighteneth out of the 1 part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven, so shall also the Son of Man be in his day.

But first he must suffer many things and be rejected of this generation.

And as it was in the days of Noah, So shall it be also in the days of the Son of Man.

They did eat, they drank, they married wives, and they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark.

And the flood came and destroyed them all.

Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot, they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built it.

But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.

Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed." Now I've been studying this passage and I'm intrigued by the fact that Jesus used 2 stories to typify the time right before his coming.

Jesus illustrates the period right before his coming with these 2 stories, the stories of Lot and the story of Noah.

Now, I'm going to ask you to look at the passage again starting in verse 26, and I'm going to ask you this question, what was Jesus' intent?

What was His intent in this particular passage in saying what He says?

Notice in verse 26, "...as it was in the days of Noah, or Noah, 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, until the day that Noah entered into the ark and the flood came and destroyed them All.

Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot, they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built, but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom, Bible says it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.

Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed." Now please notice what Jesus is saying to us.

In the immediate verses, Jesus' intent is obvious.

Jesus is telling us that in these people's day, life was continuing as usual.

Life was going on as it had always had been.

People were making plans that would mature in the future and they were living life as though there was no end.

And then Jesus says, even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of Man shall be revealed.

Now, I don't know what picture comes to your mind when you consider the Second Coming.

I know we know all about the cataclysmic events.

We know all about the chaos and the signs that will portend his coming.

But you know it's interesting, it's very interesting that when Jesus describes what the time prior to his coming will be like, he almost gives us the impression that the multitudes of people will be living life just the way that they've always done.

Life will continue as it has always done.

I believe that before Jesus comes, people will still be going to Ontario Mills and they'll still be going out to eat at Olive Garden.

Life is going to continue just as it always had been, except of course for the righteous.

But there's something deeper here that I want you to see.

And I say this because Ellen White tells us in Christ Object Lessons, page 110, everything that Jesus says has a meaning beyond the superficial appearance every word of Christ has something deeper there's something beyond that the diligent Bible student will be able to discern through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Now look at the list again, look at this again and start in verse 26 with me.

As it was in the days of Noah, 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, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.

Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot, they did eat and drank, they bought, they sold, they planted and built it.

But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all." Now, notice the things that Jesus mentioned.

If Jesus wanted to portray the idea that life was just going to be its typical mundane routine, he could have repeated the exact same things, but he didn't.

In the time of Noah, he mentions 4 things.

They were eating, they were drinking, and they were marrying and giving in marriage.

When he comes to the time of Lot, The list changes slightly.

He says they're eating and drinking again, but now he says they were building and Planting they were buying and selling Now what tipped me off on this particular point was that when you go back to Genesis 6, the very reason why God wanted to destroy the antediluvian world was because of the abuse and the perversion of the marriage institution.

They did eat, they drank, they married wives, and they were given in marriage.

Now, these are the things that Jesus uses to characterize Noah's day.

Now, perhaps you're familiar with the word zeitgeist, like the spirit of the times.

Jesus is giving us a zeitgeist on Noah's day.

And in doing that, he gives us an idea of the prominent sins that were rampant in that time.

You know, as I've read the book Patriarchs and Prophets, you begin to get a feel for what was really going on.

Ellen White gives us the idea that the people of Noah's day were abusing these simple things eating and drinking marrying giving in marriage she says that they had begun to eat that which God had not given permission to eat they were eating meat before God had allowed them to do so.

She says that in so doing, they began to regard human life with astonishing indifference.

They began to take, if they coveted someone's wife, they took her.

Seems that polygamy was also going on in the time of Noah and It follows that with that rape and infidelity was also happening As I step back and I thought about it, you know, it's almost, it's almost a very, very similar parallel to our day.

We have an epidemic in this nation, don't we?

That's a similar experience that God's, that people are abusing the simple gifts of eating and drinking.

When you consider the divorce rate, I think I saw a Newsweek article from 2001.

Talking about the rate of infidelity that women, not men, but women are going through.

And I thought to myself, wow, you know, in saying these things, Jesus was giving us a deeper clue As to what the times would be like right before his coming Come down to the next part in verse 28.

I want to just touch on this briefly because this morning my Study is not on lot, but I want you to notice this in verse 28 again Likewise also as it wasn't the days of lot.

They did eat they drank they bought they sold they planted they build it Now there again is another snapshot of the time of Lot.

Another picture of what Lot's day was like.

When we think of Sodom and Gomorrah, I don't know what comes to your mind.

I used to think of this despised part of the city, you know, and it, you know, trash and garbage and filth and, you know, the red light district of a city, that would probably typify Sodom, but not really.

In fact, the Bible says It looked like the Garden of Eden.

And Sodom's sin, Sodom's sin was not what we would expect.

Keep your finger in Luke 17 and Turn with me to Ezekiel chapter 16 for a moment.

Luke chapter, I'm sorry, Ezekiel chapter 16.

Hope you're keeping your finger there in Luke.

Ezekiel chapter 16, I want you to look with me starting in verse 48.

The Bible says, "...as I live, saith the Lord God, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters as thou hast done thou and thy daughters.

Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom.'" Now notice what the Bible lists.

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The Ark Enigma

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