Are We Living in Days Like Noah’s?

Illustration by Viktor Miller-Gausa

Ken Ham
Chief Executive Officer
Answers in Genesis

I’ve traveled across the USA and other countries around the world speaking at conferences and in churches, and a number of people have made comments to me that can be summarized like this:

“The Western world is so permeated by moral relativism. Who would have thought generations ago that the worldview of the culture would be driven by such issues as gender, gay marriage, abortion, and so on? And whereas the church was once held in high esteem in the West, we now see an anti-Christian sentiment growing and Christian symbols being removed from public places. Once, the Bible was held in high regard in our government schools, but now it’s almost banned from such educational institutions. And so much of the church (including Christian educational institutions) has compromised God’s Word in Genesis and also supports antibiblical positions like gay marriage and transgender.”

After such comments, many people then say something like this to me: “Surely, the Lord must be coming back soon. We must be living in days just like those of Noah when there was so much rebellion.”

For all the ungodly behavior and rampant rebellion against God’s Word, I believe we are far from what it must have been like in Noah’s day.

However, even with the rampant evil we see in our Western world, I contend that our culture is far from that of Noah’s day. I would say that what’s happening in our Western world gives us somewhat of a small glimpse of what it may have been like in Noah’s day. But for all the ungodly behavior and rampant rebellion against God’s Word, I believe we are far from what it must have been like in Noah’s day.

Let’s read a description of what it was like in Noah’s day:

• “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5).
• “Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth” (Genesis 6:11–12).

And then we find out:

• “These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God” (Genesis 6:9).
• “They formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water” (1 Peter 3:20).
• “He did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly” (2 Peter 2:5).

It’s very obvious from all these scriptures that the whole world, except for Noah (and his family), had rebelled against God. Think about this for a moment. Can we even imagine a world where the entire population, except for eight people, totally rebelled against God? And as God’s Word describes, “Every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

I can’t even begin to imagine how bad it must have been! That’s why I stated I think we get maybe a small glimpse of what it must have been like when we look at our culture today. There are millions of Christians in the West and millions more in the rest of the world. Can we even begin to understand what it must have been like to have only eight people who believed God? I don’t think so.

And that brings me to a point I’ve contemplated many times. God places Noah in the godly hall of faith in Hebrews 11: “By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith” (Hebrews 11:7). We also read of Noah, “And Noah did all that the Lord had commanded him” (Genesis 7:5).

Just meditate on this for a moment. The entire population (except for Noah and his family) exhibited evil as they rebelled against God! Yet Noah obeyed God. I can’t even think about what sort of mocking, scoffing, and attacks he received for building the ark. In the face of such wanton disobedience, Noah trusted God, obeyed his Word, built the ark, and then went through the door of the ark with his family, believing God would do what he said he would—judge the unbelieving world of his day! What faith!

Oh, Lord! If in the face of such adversity from the entire world, Noah stood for you as he did, surely we can put up with the mocking, scoffing, and ridicule God’s people receive today and be prepared to do great things for you. Surely, we can stand for your Word without compromise and be prepared to be counted worthy of such persecution, whether it’s from the secular world or the church. Oh, Lord, please grant us faith like Noah had so we can be a witness for you that would result in the saving of many from the judgment to come.