Genesis History (Noah): An Ark of Salvation

This morning we’re continuing, if you happen to be visiting, a study on the subject of Genesis. And today we happen to be in Genesis chapter 6. We’re going to basically be covering one chapter. Genesis chapter 6 and chapter 7 overlap. And we’re continuing our study dealing with Noah today. It’s the Ark of Salvation. Now because this is such a big study and it’s so important, I’m really breaking it up in two. In this presentation we’re going to talk a little more about the ark. And you know, I could go on for weeks dealing with just the subject of Noah, and the ark, and the flood. And in our next presentation we’ll talk a little more about the flood.

I want to read something to you I thought was interesting. “The company library of the Atlantic Mutual Insurance Company in New York City has one of the most complete sets of records of maritime disasters outside of England. The completeness is so legendary that someone once asked Atlantic if it had a record of Noah’s Ark. In due time the inquire received this information.” This is what they had on record at this insurance company in New York City. “Built 2,448 B.C., gopher wood, pitched within and without. Length 300 cubits. Width 50 cubits. Height 30 cubits. 3 decks. Cattle owner Noah and sons, last reported stranded on Mount Ararat.” Now you know, we’re laughing because we think that an insurance company that records maritime disasters would actually have a record of Noah’s flood. But they’re just doing their job, because it’s real. Many people believe that the story of Noah and the flood and the ark is a fable. It’s a fairy tale. It’s something that we would incorporate in nursery rhymes and children’s stories. And people have a lot of fun illustrating the idea of Noah and this boat. And of course, you’ve always got the giraffe and the elephants sticking out. People think it’s a story, a fable, like Mother Goose. But, indeed, it’s a very real event that can be seen not only in the person sitting next to you, we’re all related to Noah, it can be seen in the geology, and it’s seen in the cultures and the histories of virtually every people around the world.

One reason that I take the story of Noah very seriously is because I believe in Jesus. Amen? I believe in God’s Word. Jesus spoke of Noah and the event of the flood as a fact, not a fable. You can read about it in your Bibles in Matthew 24:37-39. And one reason we are considering this story of Noah today, is because Jesus tells us that we should. He tells us the story of the ark and the flood is there as a reminder of what is coming in the future. So we do well to reconsider the events of Noah and the flood. Matthew 24:37-39, Jesus said, “But as in the days of Noah were so also will the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark. And he did not know until the flood came and took them all away. So also will the coming of the Son of man be.” Now is the second coming a real event that we should look forward to and anticipate? Christ tells us that what happened to Noah was just as real and it happened as a sign, a symbol, for what the future holds.

Open your Bibles now with me, please. There are three arks that are mentioned in Scripture. Of course Noah’s ark that we are getting ready to consider. And in Noah’s ark there was life saved. An ark means a box. A chamber. It’s a structure that… It’s a container. That’s the best definition for an ark. Then of course, you’ve got the ark that baby Moses was placed in. And then the ark of the covenant that the law or the Word of God was placed in. A savior in one ark, the Word of God in another ark, and the saved in the ark of Noah. It’s an interesting combination, these three arks that you find in the Bible. Now sometimes people get the two confused in interesting ways. Someone once was preaching about the rocks in the ark. And someone thought they were talking about Noah’s ark. And they thought they had the story all wrong. People get confused.

Genesis chapter 6. We’re going to take up where we left off. Beginning with verse 5. A little review if you were not here for our last study. When the sons of God, the descendents of Seth that worshiped the Lord, began to intermarry with the daughters of men, the descendents of Cain, they lost their distinctive worship and reverence for God. And soon, because they were unequally yoked, the whole earth became corrupt. Verse 5, “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth. And that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” All the day, perpetually. Now that does not mean that the people who lived before the flood, the antediluvians, ran around with machine guns shooting everybody they saw. It does not mean it was one constant orgy. What it means is that the thoughts of men’s hearts were very much like they are today. People were entertained by violence. Would that be true of our day and age? Yeah. If you scan the TV, go to the average movie—I’m not recommending you do this. I don’t go to movies, but I do go to Taco Bell.

So I know what’s in the movies. They advertise whatever the latest movies are at Taco Bell. And people are entertained by violence. How many would agree? On television, murder, violence, shooting, is very commonplace. You know, before the fall of Rome people were being entertained by an increasing number of gladiatorial combats. It started with one or two people fighting on special occasions. It got to where hundreds were fighting on a weekly basis. Because they needed more blood and more carnage and more violence to maintain that level of excitement and entertainment. And I can’t help but wonder if we are drifting in the same trend today. The thoughts of men’s hearts were only evil continually means selfish continually. Somebody observed once that the most popular magazines 50 years ago were Look and Life. And now the magazines are Glamour and Self. We’ve become a very introverted, self-worshiping society. Evil, selfishness, violence. Jesus said that people married and gave in marriage, the sanctity of marriage, and adultery became very commonplace. All these factors seem to be pointing to our generation. And that’s why the Lord said, “As it was in the day of Noah so will it be when the Son of man comes.”

And this is one of the most profound Scriptures, Genesis 6:6, “And the Lord was sorry that He made man.” That ought to cause you and I to shudder. “The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth and He was grieved in His heart.” You know, if anything ought to bring us to tears it’s when God is brought to tears. God was sorry that He made man. Here He designed this paradise and He made these creatures that He loved desperately, in His own image, and they had turned to what He hates the most. Evil, selfish, continually. So the Lord said, with a broken heart, “I will destroy man whom I have created.” Sounds like Jesus weeping over Jerusalem. “I’ll destroy him from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” Does that do to you what it does to me?

To hear God say that He regrets that He created our world? But you know, God so loved the world that He said, “I’m not going to completely destroy them. Because then the devil would be right. Then the devil would look like he’s right. It would look like My creation is a failure.” The reason God continues to save a remnant is because the devil wants to destroy and disrupt God’s original plan. I’ve got news for you. If you ever want to know how it’s going to end up, it’s going to end up like it started. God began with a paradise and these perfect creatures, made in His image, living in bliss. It’s going to end that way. God is going to restore paradise. God is not going to let the devil completely turn over and obliterate His plan. God is going to bring it to pass.

So God needed to wipe the slate and start… But He didn’t start completely. He still used the original world, and He still used the original people. He said, “I’m going to prove that this planet and these people can be holy.” And so He decided to clean the world from all that was defiling. The Bible says He’s going to destroy it all. Verse 8, “But Noah…” Now Noah is brought up earlier in verse 5 during the genealogies. “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” Why did Noah find grace? Was it because Noah was better than other people? You know, the Bible tells us that grace is unmerited favor. But if you read on it tells us that Noah was unique. He walked with God and he was perfect in his generations. So did Noah find grace because he was good enough to find grace?

No, there’s another verse I think that bears this out. 1 Peter 5:5, “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.” If you read the book Patriarchs and Prophets, and I recommend that you do, in the chapters that deal with Noah and the flood it tells us that the people who lived before the flood had become a very selfish, violent, and proud people. Noah was humble. He walked in humility with God. It doesn’t say Noah was sinless. He obeyed God. But why did he find grace? Because a humble heart invites the grace of God. And the humility of Noah, in this wicked, proud generation, got God’s attention. He said, “I can work with him because he’s open. He’s humble.” God resists the proud, but He shows grace unto the humble. So Noah was a man that God set aside. He looked down and He said, “I can use him.” And he chose Noah.

Now there’s several characteristics that we find out about Noah. First of all, keep in mind that, though Noah could not necessarily communicate with Adam, Noah could communicate with Methuselah. Now how long did Methuselah live? 969 years. A lot of people know that number. It’s interesting. You ask how long Adam lived and a lot of people don’t know that number. It’s 930 years. Ask how long Noah lived… You know, Noah lived longer than Adam. But people know how long Methuselah lived. Look at this. Of the 969 years that Methuselah lived, his life overlapped the life of Adam 243 years. How well could you get to know somebody who talked face to face to God in 243 years? And the life of Methuselah overlapped the life of Noah 600 years. Methuselah lived all the time Noah was alive and he died just before the flood.

As a matter of fact, I understand the word, the name, Methuselah means when I die it will come. Isn’t that interesting? His name means when I die it will come. Of course, Methuselah was the son of Enoch. His father walked with God. I believe Methuselah walked with God. There were some godly people back then. But only a handful got on the ark. Some died and some were caught up. They were translated. That’s interesting because those things will be repeated at the very end.

The Bible tells us that Noah was a preacher. Now in the last days, God needs people who are willing to be preachers. I’m so thrilled when I see people like Mike who come to the Lord and they decide not to just sit on their heels but to get the message out in a very dynamic way. But Noah was someone who brought his preaching into his occupation. And if that’s the case, everybody here, man or woman, child, aged, you can be a preacher in your own respect. It does not say that Noah was a pastor or a congregation. Did you catch that? But he was a preacher of righteousness. You can read about that in 2 Peter 2:5, and it says, “He did not spare the ancient world, but He saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly.” Noah mixed his ministry with his occupation. Now the Bible tells us Noah was a man of faith. That was in our Scripture reading, of course. Noah was a man of faith. And he mixed his faith with his works. He mixed his word with his occupation, and he mixed his faith with his works. James 2:17, “Thus also faith itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” And we read there in Hebrews where it says, “By faith, Noah, being divinely warned of things not seen, moved.” You know what real faith does? Real faith is not just mental activity. Real faith moves you to do something. Show me your faith without your works, I’ll show you my faith by my actions.

“By faith, he moved with Godly fear, and he prepared an ark to the saving of his household.” Now how does that relate to us today? How many of you believe that Jesus is coming soon? Are you moved by that truth? Are you… Do you believe that so much that it influences and affects your tangible daily decisions? How do you think that Noah invested in the building of the ark? If he’s smart, he ran his credit cards all the way up and took out a lot of loans, right? Then they had a hard time collecting. Don’t repeat me on that. I’m teasing, please. I just realized that some of you might say, “Pastor Doug said…” No, don’t do that. That was just my warped sense of humor kicking in. Noah invested his means in building the ark because he believed that it would have long term benefits to not only saving himself, but to saving much life, to saving his family. Are you investing in building an ark? You know, our sermon is An Ark of Salvation. Not only is Jesus, of course, an ark of salvation, His church is like a ship in this world and it is an ark of salvation. And we should be investing in helping people get on board before the storm comes. Amen? The Bible tells us that if Christ is in the boat, we’ll make it through the storm. So Noah, he acted on his faith.

The Bible tells us that Noah’s faith and his message was not popular. How popular do you think it was when Noah began to build this edifice that was obviously designed to float, within and without, lined with pitch, on dry land, during the time when it had never rained before? You remember in an earlier study it says that up to that point, until the flood, it never rained. But God caused a mist to come up from the earth and water the ground. And Noah is preaching to this wicked generation, “Repent. Turn. Humble yourselves. Join me in this project of saving much life. There’ll be room for you.” And they were mocking him. I believe there probably, when he first began preaching, that folks said, “You know, he’s right. It is a wicked generation.” The Spirit of God was striving with people. But they resisted the preaching of Noah and as time went by… You know how it is. Ecclesiastes, I forget what verse it is, but I’ll quote it, “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the hearts of the sons of men are fully set in them to do evil.” If God had brought the clouds a few years before He brought the rain, and if there was this constant view of evidence of impending judgment, the people might have repented out of fear. But God wanted them to believe the word of Noah. A lot of people are going to repent when Jesus comes, when they see Him coming. But it’s too late then. Probation will have closed.

And so, because as time went by the birds kept singing, the sun kept shining, the bounties of the earth were abundant from year to year, and the earth back then was nothing like it is today, people began to say, “You know, it doesn’t look like a flood’s coming. It’s taking him forever to build the ark.” One reason it took so long, God said, “My Spirit will not always strive with men.” As a matter of fact, I’ve got that Scripture coming here. “Yet his days shall be 120 years.” God was not outlining that the lifespan, this is Genesis 6:3, he’s not outlining that the lifespan was going to be 120 years. He’s saying that from the time that God declared He was going to bring judgment on the earth, and He called Noah, until the flood, there would be 120 years. Why did God give him 120 years? One thing, He’s merciful. God is patient. Sometimes we abuse His patience, and we presume that He never will bring judgment. Another reason it took 120 years, is because Noah was building this massive vessel using trees that had a grain that was so tight it resembled stone in nature.

Can you imagine cutting down trees that did not grow but they were created? Think about that. Probably most of the trees that Noah incorporated were not trees that grew. You wonder what the rings would look like in trees like that. You know, the growth rings? Because if you’ve got a perfect climate, the rings in trees are because of the variations in climate during the year, you wonder what the tree grain would look like. And you’re not looking at trees that grew. You’re looking at trees that were spoken into existence. And even with their superior strength, I read in Patriarchs and Prophets, it took extraordinary effort for them to work this gopher wood, which was what we probably call Cyprus now. And that’s virgin Cyprus that came from the hands of God. Probably nothing like anything in the world today. And it took a long time to build this massive vessel. He probably had to support himself also, while he was… A self-supporting worker you might say. He’s building the ark and trying to maintain an occupation to feed the family. It took a long time. But he did not grow discouraged. He continued following the Lord.

He was mocked. 2 Peter 3:3, 4. Do people mock us because of our faith today? “Knowing this first that there will come in the last days scoffers walking after their own lusts and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.’” As generation after generation went by the people continued to mock Noah and his sons for their project. Probably folks that were involved. Believed at first but they got tired of the ridicule. What was it that made Peter deny Jesus? The ridicule of the people around. Do you have the kind of faith where you will firmly believe in the imminent coming of the Lord in spite of the ridicule? “Oh yeah, Y2K. Uh-huh. Tell me about it. Jesus is coming again. Nothing happened. All things continue as they were from the beginning. Stock market goes up and it goes down, it goes back up. Life goes on. Eat, drink, and be merry.” Will you continue to cling to the belief and the imminence of Jesus’ coming when people mock and scoff your faith that He’s coming? You’ve got churches that continue to set dates and they create a sensation for a while and then it dies out again. But friends, it’s going to happen. And you know, when it does happen it will be too soon for most people. The Word of God does not fail. Jesus said, “I will come again.” And He will come again. And there’s going to be a storm before He comes. And the same way we should not be detoured or discouraged or depressed because people scoff and mock the reality of His coming.

Now when we deal with that Scripture that said, “Man’s days will be 120 years…” I want to go back to that again. There is a passage… Turn in your Bibles to 1 Peter 3:18-21. During this 120 year period of time when Noah was preaching to the wicked, the Spirit of God was striving with them. They did not watch Noah start to build the ark and immediately begin to mock him. I think many were convicted. But as time went by, they resisted the Spirit’s urging. Listen to… This Scripture is often confused. 1 Peter 3, I’m reading verses 18-21, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit.” Now this is talking about the Holy Spirit that brought Christ back to life. “By whom…” Now here, “by whom,” is it talking about by the Spirit or by Jesus?

By the Spirit, let me tell you why. Some people think this verse here means by Jesus. He also went and preached to the spirits in prison. Some people believe that after Jesus died on the cross He went down to a place called Hades and He preached to the people who lived back in the days of Noah to give them a second chance. How many of you have heard that? As a matter of fact, is it the apostles creed that some churches read, and says He went and preached to those in hell and rose the third day? Is that what it is, the apostles creed? I used to go to a Methodist church and they’d read that every week. Apostles creed has some good things in it, but that’s an error. Jesus did not go anywhere preaching anything after He died on the cross. This is a misunderstanding. It’s telling us that by the Spirit of God He preached, the same Spirit, He preached back in the days of Noah. What’s that talking about? Remember where we read here, in Genesis 6:3, “My Spirit will not always strive with men. But I’m going to strive, I’m going to preach, through Noah, a preacher of righteousness, for 120 years.” “Spirits in prison. What does that mean, Doug?” It’s talking about people imprisoned by sin. That’s what the Bible calls it. People who are liberated. Jesus came to set the captive free.

Exodus is salvation from slavery. It’s talking about the people who were imprisoned by sin back in the days of Noah. The Spirit preached to them. It’s not saying Jesus went to some dungeon somewhere, to give the people from Noah’s day a second chance. Would that be fair? That contradicts every other teaching of the Bible that says it’s appointed unto man once to die, then judgment for your life. Doesn’t say you’re going to get another chance to hear the gospel. What will people think if pastors tell everybody, “Well, if you don’t respond to the altar call while you’re alive, Jesus will come and preach to you after you’re dead?” And why would He only do that for those who lived before the days of Noah? Why not the people who lived between the time of Noah and Moses? Or the time of Moses and Jesus? It’s an absurd teaching that is spread through many, many churches. That Jesus did not die on the cross, He just went through a metamorphoses so He could go preach to people who were in hell. It doesn’t make sense, friends. It’s a misunderstanding of the Scriptures. It’s telling us by the same Spirit God preached to the people living back in the days of Noah. And it gives you the verses where it says, “My Spirit will not always strive or preach.” Is that clear to everybody now? I wanted to make sure I nailed that real good before I move on.

Now let’s talk more about the ark. This is fun. Noah’s ark. People question whether it was something really built. How big was the ark? Well, these are averages, because it’s based on cubits. According to the Bible, Noah’s ark was a large barge constructed of Cyprus wood and sealed with bimutin. Now we’re not sure whether he used tar. Let me tell you why. Where do the oil fields come from in the world today? From the flood. All of this copious vegetation that existed… As a matter of fact, even the evolutionists agree that in the ages of the dinosaurs, the vegetation was so much more prolific than it is today, there must have been more oxygen. You can find these fossils of enormous ferns as big as coconut trees in Siberia of all places. The earth obviously, from the fossil record, went through a radical change in climate. It used to all over the world, it used to be like a lush garden. These large masses of animal and vegetable life were covered and compressed and through the pressure and the heat, they are turned into oil. That’s where you get oil and tar. So when the Bible says Noah pitched the boat in and out, that word pitched there can be translated to mean many things. He may not have used tar. All it means is he sealed it with something that was waterproof. We don’t know what he used. It might have been the resin of a tree, or something they concocted from a fruit or a plant. But they used some very durable—obviously, because the boat wasn’t 40 days and 40 nights. Our next study we’ll talk about it. Almost a year it was floating. And so it had to be some very thorough sealant. So they built it and they sealed it. Let me go on.

The dimensions of the ark we’re talking about. It had… It was about 450 feet in length, 75 feet wide, and approximately 45 or 50 feet high with three interior decks. The decks were probably not all 15 feet. They probably had a larger deck and then two smaller decks to accommodate some of the larger animals. When full it probably had a capacity of 43,000 tons, and a draft of about 25 feet. A window appeared to be constructed around the top. Now the Bible says a window, one cubit. And you’ll often see these little cartoon pictures of the ark where, you know, everybody’s sticking out one window of a cubit. It’s telling us that the window would be a cubit high, but it went all the way around the ark. The reason for that was that it was supposed to allow light to admit, and through convection it had a natural ventilation—which you would obviously need with all those critters in there—of the interior. So the light that came in from the window, one cubit all the way around the top, allowed light to light all the chambers. It sort of had like an atrium in the middle.

That made it possible for them to throw the food down from one location like they used to do in the old barns and feed the animals. And so there was probably an atrium through the middle that allowed ventilation, that allowed access to the animals, and it allowed light to admit all the chambers. Which you also find supported by Patriarchs and Prophets. The ark was the largest seagoing vessel known before the 20th century, and its proportions are amazingly similar to the large ocean liners of today. Its total deck area was the equivalent to the area of about 20 standard college basketball courts, or 36 tennis courts. The world had to wait until 1844 before the ark size was exceeded in ship building when the Italian liner Itura was built.

Now a number of skeptics, when they hear about the dimensions of the dark… And incidentally, we don’t know how long the ark was. It was probably larger than 450 feet, because the Bible says cubits. Now we don’t know whether they’re using the Egyptian or the Babylonian cubit. The cubit is the distance between the elbow and, I think, the first knuckle. Someone might correct me. But it’s supposed to be approximately 18 inches. The people who lived before the flood, were they bigger or smaller? Probably bigger. They lived 900 years. Which would make their forearm what? Bigger. Would they be using an Egyptian or Babylonian cubit before there was an Egyptian or a Babylonian? Probably not. So we’re not exactly sure how long it was. It may have been 500 feet. All we know is there was plenty of room on that mammoth vessel. Not only for the creatures, but for many, many people.

A number of the skeptics also have said no ship… Some engineer one time did this study. He claimed to be an engineer. And he said, “The ark has got to be a myth because there has never been a wooden vessel over 300 feet. You cannot build a wooden ship over 300 feet.” An engineer said that and everybody repeated it. It’s not true. It’s a myth. Any of you ever heard that before? They say because when a large ship, made of wood, gets on the crest of the ocean swells, they have to bend and it would snap in the middle as it was straddled by these different ocean swells. It’d be too much stress. That is a hoax. It’s not true. They have made ships for years that were that big.

I found something in history. I’ll admit, I first heard this listening to the History Channel. I thought, I’ve got to find out if this is true. I looked it up in history books and it’s true. There was a man named Ching Ho, a Chinese sailor…[end of tape] …who led the largest naval fleet for thousands of years. And you almost never hear about him in history, because the records were largely destroyed. Let me just… Bear with me as I read this to you. And this debunks that myth about the ship couldn’t be any longer than 300 feet. “Ching Ho was born in Kunyang, in the Yuning province in China in 1371. He was captured and sent to the Chinese army under Chutai in 1382. There he helped Chutai become emperor. They named Yolong of the Ming dynasty. In thanks, Ching Ho was made the grand imperial eunuch and his name was changed to Zeng He.

Young Lo,” you still with me, “chose Zeng,” who’s also Ching He, “to head a series of naval expeditions to ports all over the Indian ocean.” I’ll just call him Ching Ho to simplify things. “…had diplomatic, scientific, and commercial goals while traveling farther than any other admiral in history at the time. He visited more than 35 countries during his voyages. Zeng took more than 100 ships and about 28,000 men in this armada of exploration around the Indian ocean.” That’s a big fleet. “In his grand fleet,” sent by the Ming dynasty, “the largest vessels were the treasure ships, 444 feet in length.” More than one of them. And it doesn’t say they sank. More than all of Columbus’ ships put end to end. The fleet visited most of southern Asia. And then it goes on to say he died. Because of the change in Chinese government, they had an isolationist view, and they destroyed most of the records of his expedition. But some have been retrieved. A ship, wooden ship, 444 feet. So they did have these very large vessels. Have you ever seen the Spruce Goose? They said that you couldn’t make an airplane that big out of wood. It’s a myth. It’s just not true. Engineers can do it. So when you hear that argument, don’t fall for that please.

The scale of the ark I think is very interesting. Now this next picture I’m going to show you is probably the closest thing I have to what the ark actually looked like. It did not look like a motor home that floated. It probably looked very much like a warehouse that floated. Keep in mind that the ships that are built today, and I’ve got a picture here of the modern ship, they are designed with hulls because they are going somewhere. They are designed for speed to go a destination horizontally. The ark was only designed to go vertically. You understand that? It didn’t matter whether it was bobbing backward or forwards, side to side. It was designed for stability in a storm.

Now I found something else here in history I thought was very interesting, dealing with the scale of the ark. There was a Christian ship builder who lived during the 17th century in Holland. His name was Peter Jansen. He reasoned that if God had designed the ark—obviously Moses as a shepherd probably knew very little about ship building. Living in in the deserts of Midian? I don’t think so—If God had designed the ark, then it should probably be an ideal plan. So this ship builder built a ship on the same scale as Noah’s ark, but obviously not nearly as big. But to the same proportions. Six times as long, and as wide, and the height was one tenth over the length. Though it was ridiculed while under construction, it was later found, after launching it, that it would carry one third more freight, would sail faster, and was much more stable than the old design. And today, with little variation, all modern ships and tankers are built on the same general scale as Noah’s ark. Isn’t that very interesting to consider? God knew what He was doing. Amen?

Something else that people often misunderstand when it talks about the ark. The Bible tells us that God told Noah that He would bring the animals into the ark. Some people misunderstand that to think that Noah went on a big old rodeo roundup. And he had to go for years and years and try and capture these creatures. God brought the creatures to the ark. As a matter of fact, I believe that was probably one of the most supernatural signs. When suddenly the heavens grew black with these birds, and all these forests began to part as these creatures, great and small, began to thunder their way to this ship led by some divine hand. God worked all this out.

Now not only did God bring the creatures, some people say, “Well, how did he fit these big creatures on the ark?” It doesn’t say they were all mature adult creatures. The average creature, though there are hundreds of varieties, are no bigger than a sheep. When you think of all the big and small creatures in the world. We always picture the ark—you’ve got your elephants, you’ve got your giraffes, there’s the hippos, you know, we’ve got these big lions and… On all the pictures of the ark you see these big creatures. The average animal that God made is smaller. Another misunderstanding is that God had to take two of every variety of every type. What I mean by that is, you can’t just have two wolves. You’ve got to have two dachshunds, two beagles, two Labrador retrievers. No. There were two dogs. How many humans did God start with? Look around you. Do we have variety today? All came from two. In the genes of the original was a great deal of potential variety. God did not need two Siamese cats, and two calico cats, and two… You would never have had room for all the varieties. Inherent in the breeding potential of all these early varieties was a great deal of potential for diversity.

He did not bring them two by two. You know that song we all sing? “Animals came walking two by two, hurrah.” You know that? Two by two. We always sing that song two by two. And I always like to stand up and let people know it doesn’t say that. The Bible tells us that He made a distinction. There were male and female. That duality was consistent. But the amounts of creatures were different, varying whether or not they were clean or unclean. Genesis 7:2, 3, “You shall take with you seven of each clean animal, a male and his female. Two of each of the animals that are unclean, a male and his female.” Now notice this. “Also seven of the birds of the air, male an female.” Whether they’re clean or not, the birds came in sevens. And I’ll explain that in a minute. Now when it tells us the clean animals were taken in seven, I’ve studied this.

I’m giving you a little trivia. I hope you enjoy this. A little deeper study into this because you’ve heard of Noah’s ark before. Some have wondered, when it comes to sheep, cattle, goats, you don’t have seven rams and seven ewes all cooped up together. They don’t marry that way. You’ve got one ram and seven ewes—or six ewes. For a total of seven. You’ve got one bull and six cows. See what I’m saying? With some of those clean animals. But that’s not necessarily true of all of them. There may be some domestic animals where it was a male and a female, they were monogamous and they went on the ark that way. I’ve heard all kinds of studies. Some said there were seven male sheep, seven female sheep, a total of fourteen sheep. Others have said one male, six females, a total of seven. And you can read it either way in the original. I don’t know. My personal opinion is the animals, where you had one bull, seven cows, that’s how—or six cows—that’s how God put them on the ark.

But the clean animals came in larger proportions. Why? One reason is only clean animals can be offered to God. First thing Noah did when they got off the ark was they offered sacrifice. There would have been an extinct species if they had been allowed to offer the clean animals. Another reason I want to emphasize this is because people think the distinction between clean and unclean is a Jewish law that God gave to Moses, and that God doesn’t care whether or not Christians eat unclean animals today. That’s bologna. Pardon the pun. It’s not true. Noah’s stomach, it’s like your stomach. Because he was your great, great, great, great, great, great, grandfather. And if God made a distinction between clean and unclean animals to be offered to God and your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, you don’t want an unclean offering in your temple either. Amen? And I think it’s strange even the Muslims and the Jews still abide by this. And Christians think that our bodies can eat scavengers. So he made a distinction in the clean and the unclean.

Why did all the birds come by sevens? And most birds are monogamous. Two geese mate for life. And likewise with the ducks, and many eagles, and many of the other birds. What do you think helps pollinate the new vegetation life? Birds help pollinate. Not just hummingbirds. The other thing is without birds around, you know how quickly insects multiply? And after the flood if you didn’t have an abundance of birds… Were the birds on the ark? You would be very thankful that they were on the ark with all those animals. Because all the creeping things were on the ark. Not only did they have the animals, there were bugs on the ark. How God brought two beetles, two mosquitoes—I wish that the mosquitoes would have been eradicated there on the ark. But how God did it, I don’t know. You notice it talks about the creeping creatures and the flying creatures.

It never mentions the swimming creatures because, obviously, they were in water. You know, we have trout. You might wonder, “How did they survive the flood with all this sediment that was turned up?” Got a little creek by our home up in Covelo. And in the summer when it’s flowing clear, you see these little mountain trout that are there. They’re not very big. But in the winter, it rains so hard it floods. The water just churns like a milkshake. And rocks are rolling. And you think no fish are going to survive. And sure enough, next summer there’s a little trout there. And you think, “How did these crawdads and trout survive?” And God has a way of protecting them. I don’t know how they do it. But enough of these sea creatures survived the incredible turmoil of the sediment from the flood to perpetuate the species after things settled down and the water cleared. Before the flood we believe the water was probably all fresh water. The flood turned up the great salt mines of the earth and there’s a large element of saline. You know the salt water in the earth, the content of salt in the ocean is very similar to the content of salt in your body. Evolutionists love that. “That means we came from the oceans.” No. It’s the same as the content of salt in your tears. And when God says that He was sad that the world was wicked, the ocean became filled with tears. It’s like He washed the world in tears. You ever think about that? So people like to sometimes twist the lessons I think God has for us.

Someone wants to know, “How did the dinosaurs fit in the ark?” How many times have you heard that question? First of all, “Doug, do you believe the dinosaurs existed?” Yes. I believe they coexisted with man. I told you I’ve been to that park, I’ve showed you pictures earlier, where I’ve got my footprint right next to a human footprint which is in the same strata a few feet away from multiple dinosaur footprints. I believe that they coexisted. And people build this whole house of sand of evolution on dating methods. If you take away the dating method, it falls. The dating methods that they use are very, very, undependable. And the evolutionists do not even agree with themselves. So why don’t we have these large dinosaurs today? Well first of all, I personally believe—some Christians disagree with me. They think the dinosaurs were all bad, and they were big, and so God didn’t put them on the ark. Be careful what you say. God said two of every creature. And if He says two of every creature, that means two of every creature. Right?

These would be the creatures that He created. Some things may have been amalgamated before the flood. They probably did not have pit bulls on the ark. People rebred them later. People get upset. All the pit bull lovers come to me after I say that. Pit bulls are to me Exhibit A of something that’s an amalgamation. A mule is an amalgamation. Mules cannot reproduce. Very rarely. You get a mule from a donkey and a horse. There may not have been some of these amalgamations, but I believe there were some very large reptiles that God made before the flood. And I believe that they were all on the ark. Probably because He didn’t take the great big brontosaurus and some of these large creatures. But the eggs, or very small specimens. Why did they not live afterward? Could be that, I mean, if you began to multiply with your family and there was a wild tyrannosaurus rex running around after the flood, you probably would have rendered them extinct pretty quickly. Another thing, and this is a good theory that I’ve heard. Something radical happened to the atmosphere during the flood.

The heavens were broken up, the Bible says. We never had the same kind of prolific vegetation. Some creationist scientists believe that the atmospheric pressure of the world changed, which changes the size of the creatures, and the oxygen content. These very large dinosaurs, who maybe did not need such lungs before, could not oxygenate their tissues afterward when there was less oxygen or less pressure in the atmosphere, and they died off. Everything became dwarfed. Look at the fossils. Everything was bigger. The lions were bigger. The dogs were bigger. The mastodons, everything, the pachyderms, they were all bigger before the flood. Something happened to the environment that dwarfed everything, including you and me. Amen? We’re going to grow up, the Bible says in Malachi, after we get back to glory.

Important thing I want you to know—and you know, I have not read right through, but I wanted to spend more time actually reading. All the instructions that God gave Noah about the ark, the Bible says, Noah found grace. How many of you would like to find grace for the next storm that’s coming? God destroyed the world last time with water. Peter tells us the next time it’s with fire. And He makes a new earth. Except you’re born of the water and born of the Spirit, you cannot enter the kingdom of God. You have to be born of the water, born of the fire. Jesus baptized in fire at Pentecost. The world was washed in water. Baptized, Peter says, back in the days of Noah. It’s going to be washed in fire next time. In the same way, Jesus said, we ought to remember Noah because it’s going to be a symbol for what happens in the last days.

The Bible says Noah obeyed God. God is going to redeem a people that are saved by grace, but they obey. A lot of people are stopping with the grace part. The Bible says Noah was saved by grace, but he obeyed. Say, “Amen.” Just make me feel better. Even if you don’t believe it. You at least can acknowledge it’s true. It’s very consistent here. First of all, we read, “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” And the next verse says, “He was a just man, perfect or blameless in his generation and he walked with God.” You can go on to chapter 6, verse 22, the last verse, “Thus Noah did according to all that God commanded him.” Noah obeyed God. Then you can go here to chapter 7, verse 5, “And Noah did according to all that the Lord commanded him.” The Bible says in the last days the dragon is especially infuriated with the people that keep the commandments, obey, do, the commandments of God. We, like Noah, are going to be saved by grace. Nobody’s going to get to heaven and boast. Noah was a sinner like you and me. But by the power and grace of God he humbled himself, he turned from his sin, and he did what he could to obey God. And we need to be a people who are willing to obey God and to prepare.

A very sober point that I need to close on. The Bible tells us that there came when everybody got on board. You can’t wait forever and watch. You cannot wait until the rain starts before you get on the ark. You cannot wait until the heavens part and you see the glory of Jesus before you repent. Now, days just like today, are the days to get on the ark, to get on board. Someday the door of salvation is going to close. One day Noah stood in the door of the ark and he pled with people to get on board. But you know what? They looked, and they saw the sun was shining. The birds were singing. The butterflies were flitting around. And they thought, “Not now. I mean, everything’s going okay. I’ve got plans. I’m eating, drinking, building, marrying. Why get on a boat and get cooped up with all these smelly creatures now?” Because the door was going to close. You can’t do it when it’s convenient for you. You need to do it when God asks you. And there are some here who still have not gotten on board with Jesus, and His people, because we’re waiting until a crisis comes. You don’t always have that kind of warning. Sometimes it happens suddenly, and you cannot always schedule when you’re going to repent. Because repentance is a gift of God. Amen? Genesis 7:16, “So those that entered, male and female, of all flesh, went in as God commanded him.” God’s commanded us to go into the ark. It’s an ark of salvation. “And the Lord shut him in.” Noah could not close this massive door. God did it. And no one else could open it.

I want to pause right here and read something from the book Patriarchs and Prophets, page 98. Patriarchs and Prophets, page 98. “Mercy had ceased its pleading for the guilty race. The beasts of the field and the birds of the air had entered the place of refuge. Noah and his household were within the ark. And the Lord shut him in. A flash of dazzling light was seen, and a cloud of glory, more vivid than the lightening, descending from heaven. And it hovered before the entrance of the ark. The massive door, which it was impossible for those within to close, was slowly swung to its place by unseen hands. Noah was shut in. And the rejecters of God’s mercy were shut out. The seal of heaven was on the door. God had shut it and God alone could open it. So when Christ shall cease His intercession for the guilty men, before the coming, His coming in the clouds of heaven, the door of mercy will be shut. Then divine grace will no longer restrain the wicked. And Satan will have full control of those who have rejected mercy.”

They will endeavor to destroy God’s people, but as Noah was shut in, so the righteous will be shielded by divine power. As it was in the days of Noah, it’s going to repeat itself. Except friends, the ark of salvation now is not a literal boat. The ark of salvation is Christ. Jesus tells us, John 10:9, “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved.” He is the only door. One day that door’s going to shut. And when that door shuts, the Bible says Christ will declare, in Revelation 22:11, 12, “He who is unjust, let him be unjust still.” The Spirit of God will no longer strive. “He who is filthy, let him be filthy still. He who is righteous, let him be righteous still. And he who is holy, let him be holy still. Behold, I am coming quickly. My reward is with me, to give to every man according to his work.”

Are you helping build an ark? Better yet, are you on board? Are you in that ark of salvation? God is going to shut the door. You know, there’s an interesting verse in the Bible. Jot this down because many of you don’t know it. Isaiah 26:20, 21, “Come My people. Enter your chambers and shut your door behind you. Hide yourself as it were for a little moment until the indignation is past. For behold, the Lord comes out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. The earth will also disclose her blood and will no longer cover her slain.” A time of judgment is coming and God is pleading with you and me to enter in and to shut the door. We need to be in Christ if we would be saved. He is the door, He is the ark of salvation. The church is the body of Christ. And so as the elementary first step to escaping the coming storm, get in the body of Christ. Amen? It’s the first stage of the ark you might say. But make sure that you are in Christ when that storm comes. Because the day is going to come when He declares, “The door is shut, the clean are clean, the filthy are filthy.” Michael will stand up and there will be a storm. A great time of trouble such as there never has been. And the only way that you and I are going to survive that time is if we are in the ark of salvation. If our lives are hid with God in Christ and you know that you are under the wings of the Almighty.

These lessons of Noah are not an interesting study of an ancient fable. It really happened back then. And Jesus said it’s going to happen again. Do you believe Him friends? I want to be in that ark of salvation when Christ comes. If that’s your desire, please reach for your hymnal. Our closing hymn is Under His Wings. 529. Let’s stand together as we sing this.

[Singing]

Before we sing the last verse, I want to extend an appeal. There may be some of you here today who have not yet made a decision to be part of God’s people, to be part of the body of Christ, to be in His church, as a very start. And you’d like to know more about how to do that. If you’d like to say, “Doug, Lord, I’d like to be in your church,” if you’d like to indicate that then we invite you to come forward. We’d like to talk to you and pray with you. There may be some of you who have not yet done the most important thing and that’s making sure that your life is in Christ, you are in that ark of salvation, you have gone through the door. And Jesus is the only door, He is the only name given among men whereby we must be saved. If you’d like to know more about how to have that assurance that you are in Christ, we invite you also to come. We’d like to have prayer with you. Perhaps you could talk with one of our elders who are up front here about that decision. But most of all, we want you to know Jesus is coming very soon friends. It is going to happen. The Bible tells us the sun may keep shining for seven days, even after the door of mercy is shut. We know right now it’s still open. Don’t procrastinate. Today if you hear His voice don’t harden your heart. Following our prayer if those who have responded would like to speak to the elders, we invite you to stay by and they’d like to pray with you.

Father in heaven, we want to thank you for the simplicity of this message. That it reminds us that the story of Noah is not a dusty part of history, but is a very real and vital truth that applies today. I pray, Lord, that these truths will come alive in our lives now as the Spirit again strives with men before probation closes. Help us to enter in through that door of mercy while that time of grace lingers. Please bless all of these people. And if there are any who are procrastinating the decision to get on board before the storm comes, I pray that You will wake them up and get their attention Lord, any way You see fit. That you might save us for eternity. Please bless us all according to our respective needs. Bless these people and their families. In our health, in our occupations, that we can be witnesses for You while we build an ark. These things we ask in Christ’s name. Amen.