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I taught my daughter her Bible lesson today. We have been teaching her out of the A Beka Book Bible series from Pensacola Christian College. The author listed for this lesson is Fannelle Shepperson. Today’s lesson was about Noah and the flood. The lesson was fine until I came to the part where Noah builds the ark, where it says, “You can be sure the crowds came to watch. ‘Hey, Noah,’ they cried, ‘are you building a new house, or store, or barn?’ Very calmly, Noah said, ‘No, I’m building a ship….I’m building it because God told me to…’” In their telling of the story, Noah then relates the reason for the boat. He then told the people, “He has commanded me to build this ship, called an Ark, to warn you and to try to make you realize that the judgment of the Flood is coming. But He also love you, oh, so much, and if you will turn from and be sorry for your sins, and come into the Ark when I get it finished, you will be safe and protected from His anger and punishment of the Flood. Please listen and pay attention to God’s message.”
The lesson then states the people made fun of Noah. Later on, when the animals were arriving, the lesson states that the people continued to mock. Then it says, “As the last pair of animals disappeared from view into the huge ship, Noah came to the door and again begged the people, ‘Please listen to the Lord’s message—the world is going to be covered over with water and everything will be destroyed…The only place of safety is in this Ark! I plead with you to come in before it is forever too late!’ The crowd only laughed and hurled more insults at Noah.” Then came the week of no rain, where the lesson states that the people kept coming back every day to mock Noah and beat on the sides of the Ark.
Now I know it is common belief that Noah preached to the people the entire time he built the ark about the coming judgment, pleading with people to be saved. But is this what the Bible really teaches? Let’s look at the Biblical account.
The flood account is told from Genesis 6:5-9:29. The part that discusses the events leading up to the flood is told from Genesis 6:5-7:24. From these passages, we can see the following:
1. God never told Noah the invite was for everybody. The Bible specifically states in Genesis 6:17-18, “Behold, I, even I am bringing the flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall perish. But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.” That seems to be pretty clear that God’s plan was to save eight people, and eight people only.
2. The Bible says nothing about Noah warning anybody about the flood. The only thing that even comes close is in II Peter 2:5 where the Bible calls Noah a “preacher of righteousness.” Noah was 500 years old before God said anything to him about a flood, so this isn’t proof that he warned anybody about the flood.
3. Matthew 24:37-39 (and the parallel passage in Luke 17:27) states that the people living on the earth at the time of the flood “did not understand until the flood came and took them all away…” It seems unlikely that they would not understand that God wanted to destroy them, if Noah had been warning them the entire time he was building the Ark. And there’s another thing: how long did it take to build the ark? The lesson for my daughter states that it took 120 years. Genesis 5:32 says Noah was 500 years old when his kids were born. Genesis 7:6 says Noah was 600 years old when the flood happened. So it would seem that 100 years would be the maximum amount of time.
4. Some would argue that God always allows for people to be saved from judgment. The biblical teaching on hell would indicate otherwise. A concrete biblical example would be the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. The angels came to get Lot out of Sodom. Genesis 19:12 says that the invitation was for Lot and his family only. The people in these cities were never warned. In the same way, it is possible that the people in Noah’s day were not warned of the judgment to come.
5. When God wants people to be warned about judgment, He usually says so. Jonah was sent to warn the people of Nineveh of impending judgment. His message is found in Jonah 3:4. The people repented, and God stayed his judgment. It is possible that if enough people in Noah’s time had repented, God would not have sent the flood.
Were the people warned about the flood? Well, they were probably warned that something was up, given the fact that Noah was building this huge boat. Did Noah tell them about the flood? It’s possible, but the Bible doesn’t say. Was it God’s plan for more than eight people to be saved from the flood? According to the Bible: no.
Here’s a tip: if you are preparing lessons to teach people biblical truth, don’t add to the information given in the Bible and say that is what the Bible says. You can say, “Maybe this happened.” or “such-and-such is possible” but don’t say, “The Bible says X happened…” if the Bible doesn’t say it.
Words of Truth 
>Thank you for writing this. I was getting ready to teach on this story this morning and wasn't able to find where it says they mocked him… apparently, because it's not in the Bible. Wow.
I love this.
>No problem. Glad I could help. I was fuzzy on that very topic, and that's why I studied it. Interesting, no?
Thank you for sharing this. I have often wondered how people from far away would make it to the Ark.
I’ve been looking into this also, and while I have not yet found anything to prove the idea that Noah preached to the people, and that the people mocked him, I haven’t found anything to the contrary, and I find it slightly difficult to believe that so many people would say something like that with absolutely no evidence whatsoever to support it. It could be that they say that because considering the things going on around that time in scripture, it is very possible. I noticed that you only quoted old testament scripture, and I was wondering if you have looked into any references to the flood in the new testament, or even the psalms? Since I’m looking into this myself, would you like me to post anything else I find on the subject here?
I “only quoted old testament scripture”? Maybe you didn’t read the whole thing, because I quoted II Peter 2:5 AND Matthew 24:37-39 (and referred to the parallel passage in Luke 17:27). And i would welcome any contributions you would have, so long as you are open to constructive criticism, since I will let you know if I disagree. Thanks for the contribution!
Yes i noticed you quoted from the new Testament.
I just wanted to converse .
I think the knowledge of the coming destruction was widely known in no different then it is today.
Million even billions know of an “end of the world” judgment coming.
But they simply refuse to believe it.
We Can surmise that this guy Noah was mocked because in the face of the public unbelief .he believed and this is proven by the Action he took.
Which is a deadly serious lesson for many professing believers who say they are but dont Do anything.(fake belief doesnt build arks or save)
One thing the world had at that time was Age… Noahs grandfather’s name shows his great grandfather also knew of the coming destruction… He named noahs grandfather Methuselah which loosly means.. When he is dead it shall come.. And he went on to live. Longer then any other..Showing how patient and merciful God is. But point is, the knowledge of coming destruction was by noahs 600th birthday… Common ( but unbelieved) knowledge for some 2000 years..
Just like today…
Good article. Thanks for writing it.
thank you for posting this, I am preparing a message for a retirement center I speak at and I am going to speak on Noah and was wondering if it said that he was made fun of in the Bible or if he warned people as I have heard alot of preaching preaching from the pulpit that these things happened as if it was gospel so thank you.
I remembered hearing about these un-truths when I was young. I searched online because I thought that they changed the bible and omitted somethings just come to the realization that people over time added to the Word of God. I will forever read the Word for myself and stick with what the Word says only! Thank you so much!
DeShana: Thanks for your comment! I do want to clarify that I’m not saying these things DIDN’T happen, I’m saying the Bible doesn’t say they happened. There’s a difference. I just want to be clear about this. It is possible that people mocked Noah for building the ark, but the Bible doesn’t say they did, so we should not say the Bible says they did. That’s all I’m saying: don’t say the Bible says something that it doesn’t say.
2 Pet 2.5 states that Noah was a preacher….Romans 10:14-15 reveals the purpose of a preacher….to reveal truth to others so that they too could be saved…..God was not willing that any should perish….
Yes, I believe I quoted that verse in the original post. However, you err in assuming that preaching is always to offer salvation. Case in point: Jonah was a preacher, but his message was not one of salvation. Also Jeremiah.
It was after God trained them they all was to snatch from the fire it is the commision given to all by God and not just the disciples- Go out into the world preach and teach the gospel-
Um. No.
I agree wholeheartedly Steve Um. No!
Very good point because when your preaching God will drop something in your spirit to help someone or to rebuke someone i dont believe the preacher said the bible say; i hear it too, bible didn’t say but when your preaching Things drop in your spirit that’s all am saying
Dear Christian,
I challenge you to watch this short, but very provocative video clip regarding the morality of your God’s act of killing so many little children in Noah’s Flood. If after watching this video clip you can still assert that your God and your belief system is good and moral, I will strongly and sincerely recommend that you see a mental health professional.
Dear Non-Christian. Thank you for commenting. I have a question for you in return. You criticize my God and my belief system, implying that they are bad and immoral. I would like to know where you think morality came from. You see, I have a concrete set of standards of right and wrong as given in the Bible. You may have heard of some of them, such as “don’t murder, don’t have sex with anyone who isn’t your spouse, etc. If you have an unmoving set of concrete standards, I’d like to know where they come from, because if you don’t, you have no right to refer to anybody else’s standards as immoral.
As for the video, I could only get through a few minutes of the speaker’s mocking tone dripping with sarcasm before I had to shut it off. Although I will say this: for the two minutes I did listen to him, he seemed more concerned with debunking the comments of Dennis Prager that he did with debunking the Biblical account itself. Thank you for commenting.
Dear nonsupernaturalist~
It’s not that our God and our belief system are not good and moral; it’s that some people do not know Scripture. They isolate verses and passages that appear to support their view while ignoring those that don’t.
God desires that all come to a saving knowledge of Him so that they can dwell in eternity with Him because He cannot abide with sin. The people of the world, except Noah and his family, were utterly wicked, and they passed on their wicked ways and wicked worship to their kids, who, in turn did the same thing. Had God allowed this to continue, no one would have come to Him. Therefore, in His sovereign wisdom, He knew He had to destroy the wickedness and start over, which He did. Now, the next criticism is that, along with the adults, God destroyed children and babies, which is true. However, biblically, there is an age of accountability before God (e.g. Jn. 9:21, 23; Heb. 11:24) for one’s sins/choices which is around the age in which children are no longer under their parent’s sway, about the time when men go to war. Those who had not yet reached this age were not accountable to God and, therefore, are with Him now and will be for eternity.
I will pray that you will repent and come into a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ who died for you. Then you will be able to rightly interpret Scripture (I Cor. 2:14, Jn. 16:13).
1 Peter 3:18-20–read it from any of the fragments and you will see that Noah preached to the Antediluvians. It’s sad that most translators added hades/hell. I taught greek 36 years before retiring two years ago. I say this, not to brag but to make a point. Any second year greek student could read 1 Peter 3:18-20 and would conclude that Noah preached. A genuine bible student without a greek education understands that Christ did not go to hades to preach to the spirits of Noahs day. Christ through the Spirit through Noah.
I agree: Noah preached to the people of his day. I don’t think you can be a righteous man and not stand up for what is right, even if you’re the only one.
But my original post stated in point #2 that Noah was a preacher of righteousness. What it does NOT say is that Noah warned people about the flood specifically, or that he invited them onto the ark, something that the Bible says God did not tell him to do.
I have to agree with you I can not find that Noah told people to change as in todays standards a preacher may just be preaching your going to hell if you don’t change your ways and that teaches nothing . also this will blow your mind do you know God nor Jesus ever talked about suicide it not in any bible of the face of the earth so that word is a man made word , crazy how preachers teach not the truth lol But I will say this we are in the last days on this earth if planet x is real it will be the start of the end and Jesus will return and he will be in a very bad mood , so much hate and bickering about does one believe in God / higher power or not ,evil has complete control now on the earth , My knees will bend and I am a sinner and I pray I will make it to the new world I am so looking forward to playing with a man eater Lion . Have a blessed day and God bless you your very wise person and you kept your cool more than the preacher man . Pun intended one lost black sheep is more special than the whole herd .
You’re right, they never talked about suicide, but they did mention murder as a sin, and suicide is a Latin word that means “a killing of oneself”.
We have been in the last days since about 90AD when Revelation was written by the Apostle John. I firmly believe that Jesus Christ could return today, or He could wait a few more centuries. Wouldn’t shake my faith. Every time I think, “This world can’t get much worse,” it does.
Don’t forget that the Bible states clearly that not everything happened is written in it, because some wasn’t recorded, if he didn’t warn the people, then Jesus wouldn’t have make reference to the people that as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the Messiah.
THANKS YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS ARTICLE! I recently decided to study the Bible for myself, and when it got to the story of Noah, I kept anticipating the verse where it’d say “and people laughed..” but to my surprise I finished the chapter and NOTHING! Which then brought me here, and I’m glad I found it. Your Matthew 24 reference and the fact that in Gen 6:18 God only mentions his family and the animals to enter the ark is confirmation for me. It’s unreal how we learn things from others and take it as truth. I’m aware that it plausible it happened but it wasn’t stated!
Maybe God did it like that because of the fallen angels mingling with the women.
I’ve never taken a position on Genesis 6:1-4 other than to say that angels don’t have physical bodies, and therefore cannot have sex with human women.
There is no scriptural evidence to say that angels do not have physical bodies, in fact scripture teaches the opposite. in Hebrews 13:2 it makes it very clear that you would have no way of knowing whether you are talking to an angel or human.
Then there is Genesis 19:5 where the men in Sodom wanted to have sex with the angels(not knowing they were angels) that were there for Lot, meaning they(the angels) were mistaken for flesh and blood humans by the men of sodom.
Then there is Genesis 6:1-4 which makes it very clear that angels can indeed mate with women, and actually did, but by doing so they are turned their backs on God who says in heaven there is no marriage(Matthew 22:30), notice in matt22:30 it says angels in heaven(no reference of what fallen angels can do). but it no where says that they are physically incapable of having sex.
There are many more passages that point to angels having physical bodies. be careful not to have preconceived notions when reading scripture and just read it how it is. it is very clear and not authored for confusion.
Actually Scripture seems to indicate that Angels are able to take on physical form at times, but for most of their existence they are “ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation.” Angels are shown over and over in the Bible to be spirit beings. Fallen angels (demons) are referred to as “unclean spirits.”
Matthew 8:16, Luke 7:21, Ephesians 6:12.
The Bible is not authored for confusion, but that doesn’t prove that angels are physical beings simply because they appear in physical form. God also appears in physical form to Abraham and to Joshua, but that doesn’t mean that He is always a physical being.
The Bible does make reference to angels taking the form of a human, so it is possible
Can you name a time when a fallen angel took physical form? Because if God didn’t like the activity of Genesis 6:1-4, then it couldn’t have been a holy angel.
Noah was building the ark people seen him building it so obviously he would of told them because he was a righteous man. He would of shared his faith. 2 Peter 2:5 calls him a preacher of righteousness. The ark was huge he built it exactly how God asked . Even with all the animals there would of been plenty of room if people took heed to his probable warning. In fact, men have heard warnings from many prophets over the ages, yet they usually ignore the warnings and are caught off guard by the judgment that follows. The entire history of the nation of Israel testifies to this truth.
Furthermore, Matthew 24 goes on to record Jesus Himself warning our world of another coming judgment, His Second Coming. Nevertheless, Jesus says the world will be caught off guard when He returns:
Matt. 24:37 “For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah.
Matt. 24:38 “For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,
Matt. 24:39 and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be.
Notice, the world will be surprised by the Second Coming despite the Bible’s many warnings (often repeated by preachers throughout the centuries) that this event will lead to judgment for the ungodly. If Jesus’ warnings will be ignored before His Second Coming, then certainly Noah’s warnings could have been ignored by his world before the flood.
Rich, I agree with most of what you wrote. But the point behind my post was that the Bible does not SAY that Noah warned people. It doesn’t say he invited anybody on the ark. I personally believe he didn’t invite anybody since God didn’t tell him to…God said, “I will save these eight people.”
Thank you for explaining this principle! I was doing a study of Genesis on my own, and realized that assumptions can be construed as facts very easily, and very mistakenly (a Google search by which brought me to this post). I fully agree that the Bible should never be morphed to fit our own standards and perceptions, and we shouldn’t add anything to what has been Divinely inspired. However, one reason for the specific argument that Noah wasn’t, in fact, mocked–or, at least, mocked unbearably–is the historical/geographical circumstances of his situation. I’ve learned of this from Halley’s Bible Handbook, which I encourage you to look up for further insight. Not only does it refrain from claiming that the Bible ever mentioned such a thing, Halley explains that the social conditions of Noah’s time actually translated to water travel and boat making being very common practices. So not only should we never add to God’s Word, we should also consider historical facts before trying to analyze the Bible.
Don’t forget Hebrews 11:7 (ESV)
“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.”
I didn’t read all the comments above, but did not find “Hebrews”. It says he condemned… what does this mean… I think we can infer some things here. The boat was huge… the “wicked” people would have seen it and must have thought Noah was being ridiculous and asked questions and then what else would people do except make fun of him… but I agree that we need to clear as teachers – and say, must have. We can not know for sure.
The reason I think this is important is because of Genesis 6:22 – Noah did it… even though it was difficult and took a lot of hard work and time and people would have thought and probably said he was nuts.
Keep on discussing and studying – God bless.
It is uncertain what Noah specifically said that made him a preacher of what is right and just. Thus the world of religion is divided. Did he or didn’t he say this or that? One certainty is this: in the resurrection of the righteous during the 1000 year judgement day Noah will rise, accept Christ and be saved and then he will tell all listening on God’s new earth [2peter3:13] and above in heaven what he did say and what he did not.
You’re right that we don’t know WHAT he preached, but I believe that he preached to people before the flood of their need for repentance (NOT inviting them onto the ark, though). There is biblical precedent for people repenting and not being judged (Nineveh) as well as NOT repenting and being judged (God telling Abraham if there are at least 10 righteous people in Sodom that He would not destroy it).
As far as Noah “accepting Christ” in the millennium? No. Noah is already saved based on his trust in Christ, the future messiah of all mankind. People only get one chance to trust in the Redeemer, and that chance ends at the moment of death.
So anyone not knowing about God is doomed? How bout all the non-jews that lived that heard nothing of God? Noah never heard bout the messiah? nor did david-they will -psalm110:1
Noah preached righteousness for CENTURIES before the flood but God made a covenant with Noah because he alone walked with God.His contemporaries ate drank married bought sold and never gave God a passing thought. Thus we do not know the name of a single person who perished.The name of the wicked one will rot.
No. The Bible is clear that no person has an excuse because we are all sinners and we all have knowledge of God (Romans 1:19-21).
Noah never heard about the Messiah? Why do you say that? God foretold the coming of the Messiah to Adam in Genesis 3:15. Noah had faith in God and this faith is what saved him (Hebrews 11).
David definitely heard of the Messiah, because He was also foretold to Abraham (Genesis 12:3), Jacob (Gen 49:10), Moses (Numbers 24:17) AND David (2 Sam 7:12-16, Psalm 2, Psalm 110).
paul says that these matters were a mystery or hidden from generations past and peter says that angels were desiring to know so the seed of genesis #;15 was unknown and thats why satan was roving and walking about teh earth in jobs time to find teh seed and destroy it…..people by the millions knew nothing of the messiah and will during a 1000 year longDAY of judgement…those who practiced good at the conclusion of that day to a resurrection of life and those that practiced evil during that day a resurrection of jusgment or damnantion…no man ascended to heaven before christ —john 3;13
we don’t know what it was called before moses. but those that believed were faithful to God and sacrificed to him. this would have carried them over to Christ. so when Christ descended into hell for 3 days he would have preached the gospel to the faithful and those that accepted it would have been saved and rose with him to heaven when he ascended.
1Pe 3:19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
first reference to christ: Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
they probably had some idea something was coming…
This is exactly what I was taught as a Mormon, but it is wrong. God’s Word teaches that all relevant Scripture must be taken into account (reconciled) when formulating doctrine (2Ti 3:16), so lifting I Peter 3:19 out of the whole counsel of God (Act 20:27) will lead to a false conclusion. The verse that the LDS Church ignores is Hebrews 9:27, which says, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” In other words, there is no second chance; once a person dies, his or her eternal destiny is sealed. What this means, then, is that whatever Christ preached in I Peter 3:19, it wouldn’t have been the good news of the gospel unto salvation but of judgment.
If you reread your comments, you will see that they are not in agreement. If Christ preached to the “faithful,” as you have written, then they would have already “accepted it” and would have already “been saved.” Therefore, there would have been no reason for Christ to “[preach] the gospel” to them.” In addition, if they were “faithful,” then they wouldn’t have been in “prison” at all but in Abraham’s bosom (Luk 16:22). Also, II Peter 2:4 tells us that those in hell were the “angels who sinned” who were in “chains” and “reserved for judgment,” so we know that they were not given the opportunity to accept the gospel message, which also goes against your conclusions.
If you are a Mormon, or even if you are not, please take God at His eternal Word. The Bible declares that Christ is the only Shepherd (Heb. 13:20) and the only Mediator (1Ti 2:5) between God and man. The Bible declares that Christ, alone, is the head of His church (Eph 1:22, 5:23; Col. 1:18), not any man, and that salvation comes through Christ, alone (Joh 14:6, Act 4:12), not though any group/religion/organization. Any other teachings are the commandments of men (Mat 15:9), false prophets and false teachers (2Pe 2:1).
Scripture says that we need to be born-again (Joh 3:3-6) in order to be saved from a burning and tortuous hell/lake of fire, paying the penalty for our own sins for eternity, and to be freed from the bondage of governing sin, and Scripture tells us how to do this: John 1:12, Acts 3:19, 10:43, and Romans 10:9, 13. As Romans 4:3a says, “God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar.”
What you wrote is exactly what I learned as a Mormon, so I just went with that, but I realize that I might have taken it too far, so please forgive me if I made incorrect assumptions about your salvation.
How about Genesis 18: 1- 16.
Meaning what?
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Thank you, i also want to find the verse saying noah invited people or they mocked him, but i couldnt find anything in the bible. i was going to teach that lesson on wednesday.
Thank you for this very informative post and your responses to so many. I too was preparing to address Noah and just wanted to be certain of this same question. Reading the comments was very enlightening. To see so many that are mislead in their understanding of the scriptures and fundamental doctrines was a little disturbing. Thank you for you sound and loving responses. he.she that has an ear let them hear. Bless you and your ministry.
Thanks for the encouragement!
That is terrible. As a former school administrator, I’ve never been a fan of Abeka. Did you contact Abeka regarding their incorrect handling and teaching of God’s Word.
Amen!!
I also study this recently in response to my wife questioning me on it…It never dawned on me that Noah didn’t preach repentance and offer a chance of escape. So I studied the scriptures and like you found no evidence for Noah preaching salvation from the flood for those who would believe. I also found no evidence that Noah was mocked because of it. HOWEVER, I did find a place in a religious book that does talk about it…the Quran. I was shocked. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noah_in_Islam
Thank you for that. I get angry at some of the children’s bible that says Noah preached to try and persuade people. I believe had Noah done that he would have disobeyed God. Why are some so disappointed in ehat the bible says they have to add or take away. From what I read that is a dangerous thing.
I have really learnt. Thank you Sir.
Praise the Lord that someone is sifting fiction from truth. I an 71 years old – this is the first time I realised that the bible doesn’t say that Noah was mocked when he was building the ark. Why are children presented with untruth when they are being taught the bible? That untruth has sat with me my whole life. What a scam!
Good article which caused me to question like the Bereans in Acts 17.
Here are some scriptures to consider that Noah did warn the people and they mocked him.
Hebrews 11:7
By faith Noah, after being divinely instructed by God about the things he could not yet see, was moved with fear and prepared an ark for the salvation of his house; through which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
2 Peter 3:3
Knowing this first, that in the last days there will come mockers, walking according to their own personal lusts,
Jesus says they end will be like Noah’s.
Matthew 24:37-39
37. Now as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it also be at the coming of the Son of man.
38. For as in the days that were before the Flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark;
39. And they were not aware until the Flood came and took them all away; so shall it also be at the coming of the Son of man.
good points….
I agree with your post brother! Recently I discussed this with the Pastor of the church um attending and he says Noah preached to the people to repent and enter the Ark. He had no scripture so I searched the scriptures myself like I always do. I found that Noah was the ONLY man that found grace in the eyes of the Lord and ONLY him and his family were chosen to enter the Ark. everyone else would be destroyed. I don’t know how long it took Noah to build the Ark but I bet it wasn’t near as long as anyone would guess. I won’t speculate because I believe in scripture on scripture for my faith as well as yours. Only scripture brings faith and faith pleases God! There are a ton of heresies being taught so PLEASE search the Bible (KJV) and see what this saint the Lord. I believe Noah was indeed a preacher of righteousness as the Bible says. I believe he preached before the flood and after the flood but NOT about the flood. The Ark itself was a testimony against the world. Noah was NEVER to,d to bring others into the Ark.
most likely it took him about 100 years to build the ark, stock it and get all the animals aboard. we can go by his age. he was 500 when it started and 600 when he entered it and the flood came.
The Bible doesn’t say he was 500 when God spoke to him. It says he was 500 when he started having sons (which bears out given the ages in Genesis 5:32, 9:28-29, and 11:10). Given the fact that God told Noah to take all three sons AND THEIR WIVES, I would put the maximum time at around 70 years, but it was most likely much shorter (like 20 years or less).
The fact is that the Bible never says how long it took to build and fill the ark.
its a little confusing as in Gen 5:32 it says he was 500 years old. but then in chronological order in Gen 6;3 its say God said there would only be 120 years till the end of mankind/flood. then it says in Gen 7:11 it says he was 600 years old when the flood hit and he was safely in the ark.
then we have Gen 6:13 when God says he actually told noah what was going to happen. which was after he 3 sons were born. at best he could have had 1 son per year but more like 2-3 years between them. this makes noah 502-508 years old when the warning came to him.Gen 6:14 then God told him to make the ark. Gen 6:22 say noah did as he was told.
i suspect he started as fast as he could if not immediately so that would have given him about 92-91 years to build it, stock it and get the animals on board. if he waited till his sons were of ages to help and be married thats 16-18? years old that might have cut it down to 74 years to build it and stock it and get the animals on board.
a galleon(about 1/3 of the ark in length) with much more modern tools and more workers(150) took about 2 years to build in olden times. noah at best was working with only 8 people and much more primative tools.so a ship 3 times longer x 2 years = 6 years
but they only had 5% of the help which means about 95% longer time to build or another
5.7 years so 11.7 years. i’ve no problem doubling that because of the primitive tools and methods to 23.4 years to build the ship at the earliest. then we have to consider they had other things to do all the while like making a living, maintaining their buildings, livestock crops etc…that could easily double the time another 23.4 years for 46.8 years which left them with about 45 to 27 years to stock it and get the animals on board…
Again, it’s important to make sure you aren’t making the Bible say something it doesn’t actually say. First of all, the Bible isn’t always written in chronological order. For instance, Abraham died when Jacob and Esau were 15 years old, yet Abraham’s death is mentioned (Gen 25:7) before their birth (Gen 25:26). Also, Shem outlived Abraham by 30 years, but his death is mentioned before Abraham’s birth.
Secondly, the Bible never says that “God said there would be only 120 years til the flood.” What it says is “Then the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.”. We don’t know if that is referring to the time until the flood (possible, especially given that God could have said this 20 or even 120 years before Noah’s 500th birthday), or the post-flood lifespan of humans (by the time Shem died, the max age of humans became 120 years). Either way, it’s not helpful in determining how long it took to build the ark.
I agree that God told Noah after his sons were born, but I would go farther and say it is extremely likely that God told Noah after his sons were MARRIED.
The solid answer to the question “how long did it take Noah to build the ark” is “The Bible doesn’t say.” But we can speculate and make logical guesses. I’ve given my reasons for my guess of much less than 100 years.
Another point: where does the Bible say that Noah built the ark using just labor from his family? He could have hired people. But yeah, I would have no problem if someone said 50-70 years from start to finish.
well in the spirit of this thread we can’t say noah hired anyone to help as that would be adding to the bible. IF he did hire helpers that would open up a whole lot of other speculations and a can of worms. here is a site that puts it at 65 years for the building of the ark using math and the actual physical work of 4 men moving a lot of lumber:
https://www.icr.org/article/how-could-noah-have-built-ark-all-by-himself
agreed on the abraham, esau and jacob thing but i could find no reference to shems
actual death being mentioned before abraham was born. it does mention that he lived 500 years after the flood and of course died at the end of that but there is no death account in Genesis i could find. do you have a verse for that?
thanks BTW for having a site where we can discuss these things…
Hi Steve… I too disagree that angels are the sons of God mentioned in Genesis 6… But my comments have lead to being called a dual creationist… Am I alone?
Exactly! I was just reading Genesis 7-8 and am shocked to find zero mention of Noah crying repentance. None of people mocking him. Where are these stories coming from?
It is good to hear what the bible says instead of what people think. Thank you.
I believe that if someone walked up to the ark and told Noah that they did not want to perish and they believed him then I don’t think that Noah would turn them away and that they would be welcome on the ark
I agree. It’s the same thing we see today. The world is wicked and getting worse, but anyone can repent and call upon God at any time up to the point when Jesus appears to bring an end to all things.
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Genesis 6:5 has this for us to ponder.
5 “The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.”
…”every inclination…only evil all the time”.
We have to trust that God knows who will repent and who will not. He doesn’t cause them to be unrepentant, but He knows from the beginning who will and who will not.
The men who came to the door of Lot’s home were so perverted they didn’t want Lot’s daughters when he offered them in an effort to spare the men/angels.
Yes, God knows who will and who won’t repent. But the Bible doesn’t say He uses that information to make HIS choice. “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” Grace is by definition, undeserved.
Exact truth!! The bible does not say Noah warned the people the flood was coming. I was taught by various religions that Noah warned the people.I believed the lie I was taught my whole 55 years of life until I read the story of Noah myself from the Bible. Noah DID NOT warn the people. I’d also be interested in your religions beliefs and teachings.This article you wrote is absolute truth !!! Amen!!!
I am curious what your thoughts are on what 1 Peter 3;19-20 says
“Through the Ruach He also went and preached to the spirits in prison. Long ago they disobeyed while God kept waiting patiently, in the days of Noah as the ark was being built. In that ark a few (that is, eight souls) were brought safely through water”
Thank you for creating a place to discuss what God’s word says.
This is really apt
There doesn’t appear to be any warnings or invitations directly given by Noah, but it would be hard to imagine that he didn’t. and i don’t mean to be crude but an example would be we know he went to the bathroom but it doesn’t mention that even once. but its quite likely he did…yes?
Yes, I would imagine that Noah, as a “preacher of righteousness” would have been warning people about the consequences of their sin for most of his life. I could totally see that Noah would be warning people of impending judgment, especially after being told in Gen 6:17 that God was going to destroy everybody. So for the unspecified number of years that it took for Noah to build the ark, he would have most certainly warned people of their sin and their need to repent, with the hope that perhaps God would add them to the “eight souls”, but the Bible never says Noah invited people, and while he may have warned people, it was not his place to invite anybody on the ark of God.
I view Noah’s ministry like Jonah’s ministry in Nineveh (preaching not salvation but impending destruction only), with the difference being that Nineveh repented, and Noah’s world did not.
agreed…i forgot to mention the mocking too…not spoken of but probably done..
i am formerly of iowa myself steve. mondamin about 20 miles north of council bluffs…
howdy neighbor!!!
I agree as well. It’s incredibly likely that Noah was mocked. If you notice in my original post, I never say Noah was NOT mocked, just that the Bible does not claim he was. It’s dangerous to say “The Bible says X” when it does not.
Doesn’t Genesis 6:3 refer to God giving man 120 years to change their ways or face judgment?
See point 3 in my post. Short answer: that’s not what Genesis 6:3 says. The verse is ambiguious and the meaning is unclear. But it can NOT mean “120 years to build the ark” unless God said this to Himself at least 20-50 years before telling Noah.
I’m interested to know what denomination you are
I am interested to know what is your biblical denomination
If you click on the “About Me” page you’ll see I’m a Baptist.
Oh I am new here so I didn’t know how it works, I’m also a Baptist…. Wow this conversation has been going on for over 10 years. isn’t that something!
is it possible that God only mentioned Noah’s family “eight people” being on the boat because he already knew the others would reject the warnings… I do not think that is a logical clue to say that Noah didn’t warn ppl to get on the boat… and yes I understand that there is no actual evidence of Noah inviting people on the boat, but at the same time we can’t use God‘s foreseeable knowledge as a clue to think Noah didn’t invite anyone on.
No. God doesn’t act based on what we choose. He has His own reasons and plans from eternity past. He specifically told Noah the first time He is recorded to have spoken to Noah in Gen 6:18 that this box He wanted Noah to build was to hold a bunch of animals and EIGHT PEOPLE. He even specifically mentioned which people.
If I invite you over to my house, along with your spouse and three children, I would be very upset if you also brought 12 other people that I did NOT invite. I think you’re missing the point of the flood as given in verse 5: “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”
In 2 Peter 2:5, we are told that Noah was a “preacher of righteousness,” a pretty lofty title if he taught only his wife and his sons and their wives. In fact, the word “preacher” in Thayer’s is defined as “God’s ambassador, and the herald or proclaimer of the divine word,” and what we are told that he preached was “righteousness,” which would have certainly included, as it does today, the salvation message, not just moral living. Although Scripture doesn’t explicitly say that Noah warned people of the upcoming flood, it is a solid, logical conclusion given what we are told about him in this verse.
I never said he taught only his wife and his sons and their wives. I said those were the only people God told to take on the ark. Noah lived for 500 years before God mentioned the ark to him. He lived 350 years after the flood.
Sorry. I wasn’t taking issue with your comment. I was just giving a response to the general question being asked about whether Noah did or didn’t warn people.
I think it is likely that he did warn people about the coming flood but not including an invitation to get on the ark, but rather simply an admonition to repent of their sins.
What would have been the point of warning them “about the coming flood” and warning them to “repent of their sins” if “an invitation to get on the ark” was not implied, was not a possibility? In fact, I would argue that it is precisely the case. In Romans 15:4, Paul tells us that those things written before are for our learning. We understand the comparison between what took place during Noah’s time is what will happen at the end of this age. As the ark was a type of Christ, we know that, although God tells believer’s to specifically to prepare for the end, as He did Noah and his family, we also understand that the wicked who are still in sin and rebellion against God and have rejected His plan of salvation can, until the end, receive God’s gracious invitation of salvation and receive Christ (get on the ark), so while Scripture doesn’t specifically mention the actual invitation to the wicked in Noah’s time, the fact that he was a “preacher of righteousness” very much implies it.
P.S. ….as does the analogy between salvation in Noah’s time and the time in which we are living.
What would have been the point of warning them about the coming flood? The same point that we have when we warn people about their own coming judgment: to get them to repent and turn to God. On the ark or not, if the wicked people had repented and trusted in the coming messiah they would now be in heaven instead of hell.
Romans 15:4 was written to believers, not unbelievers. You can draw many parallels between the flood story and salvation, but categorically stating that Noah invited other people onto the ark when the Bible never says he did that (and it specifically states WHO was to come on the ark). Currently we are commanded to share the gospel, to tell people how they can be saved from the coming apocalypse, but God never tells Noah to do that.
Also, did you read my third point which quotes the Lord Jesus who tells us that the people living in Noah’s day did not know the flood was coming…
And again, saying that Noah was a preacher of righteousness does NOT mean that he invited people onto the ark. Jonah was also a preacher of righteousness, and he just wandered through Nineveh telling them they were about to be destroyed. There was no salvation in his message. There was no promise of mercy. Only judgment was preached to them, and because enough of them repented God stayed his hand. Who knows if God would have done the same if the people in Noah’s day had repented, but they didn’t. Also, Noah lived for 950 years. The period of time between when God said “Build an ark” and when they got off the ark was no more than 100 years(and probably much less). That means that even removing the flood time from his life, Noah had about 830 years that he could have been preaching to people (from say 20 years old).
I’ll have something posted tomorrow night.
Okay. I think we are having a miscommunication. To begin, your first paragraph agrees with the exact point I am making, that Noah would have given them the salvation message so they “would now be in heaven instead of hell,” so I’m not sure why you are taking issue with what I wrote. Secondly, my comment about Noah inviting people onto the ark was meant only in the context of an invitation for salvation, an invitation to repent of their sin and to receive God, which is what a “preacher of righteousness” would do, the word “preacher” meaning one who heralds and proclaims divine truth (Thayer’s). I didn’t mean it as an open door for just anyone to come in because I don’t believe for a second that the wicked people, any of them, were on the ark.
I’m not sure of the point you are trying to make about the “people living in Noah’s day [not knowing] the flood was coming,” so I would appreciate clarification. Also, you gave a lot of numbers regarding Noah, saying that he had 830 years to preach, your point, I assume, is that no one responded to his message in all that time. First, Scripture doesn’t say when Noah became a preacher of righteousness, and secondly, that no one received Noah’s teaching doesn’t mean anything other than the people were, in the LORD’s eyes, evil: “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man [was] great in the earth, and [that] every imagination of the thoughts of his heart [was] only evil continually” (Gen 6:5). Jeremiah preached for 40 years to God’s people, yet there was no fruit, no change in them. This doesn’t mean he didn’t preach the truth, only that the hearts and minds of the people were hardened against God and none so more than those who perished in the flood, those whom Noah would have taught the whole truth, not just condemnation but the way of salvation to escape it. Isn’t this the whole point of God’s Word, that sinful man is eternally doomed to hell but God, in His mercy, has provided a way to escape this end and calls everyone to repent and turn to Him for salvation? If God “so loved the world” as we read in John 3:16, then wouldn’t His love extended to the wicked upon the Earth in the form of a salvation message and not just a condemnation message?
II Peter 3:9 tells us that God is not willing that any should perish, so as far as Jonah goes, he did eventually “cry against it” (Jon 3:4) and “…the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them” (v. 5). There are only two possibilities: Either the people of Nineveh didn’t know God, and Jonah would have had to give them a reason for his warning (the salvation message), or Nineveh did know God, so Jonah didn’t need to give them the salvation message because they already knew it and clearly understood the reason for Jonah’s cry against them. You wrote, “There was no promise of mercy.” You are absolutely right, but as you know, we can understand truth through implication. The very fact that God commanded Jonah to cry against Nineveh to drive them to repentance rather than just destroying them without warning is the very definition of “mercy.”
My point was that you seem to be conflating eternal salvation with salvation from the flood. Noah would have preached about eternal salvation but not “repent and get on the ark with me” because that wasn’t God’s plan.
“People living in Noah’s day not knowing the flood was coming” I was referencing Matthew 24:37-39 “For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and THEY DID NOT UNDERSTAND until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be.” This passage clearly shows that the people of Noah’s day either weren’t told or didn’t understand the message about the coming flood.
With all due respect, there is no difference, whatsoever, between “eternal salvation” and the lesson we are to glean about “salvation from the flood.” As Paul wrote, “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope” (Rom 15:4). God provides numerous examples of physical salvation in the OT to give us a picture and an understanding of spiritual salvation in the NT, and such is the case of the story of Noah. As I wrote, Noah is called a “preacher of righteousness” (2Pe 2:5), a “preacher” being one who “heralds and proclaims divine truth” and “righteousness,” referring to “integrity…purity of life,…correctness in thinking, feeling, and acting” (Thayer’s). In addition, he was also a type of Christ, so to claim that this “preacher of righteousness,” this “Christ,” if you will, would not have included the salvation message as he was preparing for the end of the world and mankind makes no biblical sense at all.
Except for Noah and his family, the entire population of the world was wicked (Gen 6:5, 7, 13, 17), so what you are suggesting is that those people who died in their sins by the wrath of God are somehow going to be with Him in eternity. I’m sorry. How does that even make sense to you given the fact that the entire biblical message, from Genesis to Revelation, is that man needs to repent of his sin and turn his life over to God in order to receive salvation and in order to escape the wrath of God? Nowhere is there any example or teaching, stated or implied, that supports what you are saying. However, there are scores of examples that prove that if someone dies in their sins, they will perish in an eternal hell forever. There is no third group of people. One is either saved, in the ark/Christ, or one is not, and John 3:36 tells us that, if one does not have the Son, the wrath abides on him, which means that if one was not in the ark when the end came, just as if one is not in Christ when the end comes, they would/will endure the wrath of God.
You wrote, “Noah would have preached about eternal salvation but not “repent and get on the ark with me” because that wasn’t God’s plan.” Where is your proof, the exact verse, that it wasn’t “God’s plan” for them to “repent and get on the ark”? You’re telling me that it isn’t God’s plan that sinful mankind repents and turns to Him in order to be in Christ (the ark)? That IS God’s plan, His ONLY plan, His plan from eternity to reverse the consequences of mankind’s sin against Him.
Using the phrase “THEY DID NOT UNDERSTAND” to support the idea that the wicked destroyed in the flood will somehow be given a second chance is not biblically sound for the many reasons I’ve given in addition to the fact that it contradicts Hebrews 9:27, which teaches that once someone dies, that’s it. There is no second chance. The first time God destroyed the world and wicked mankind, for one to be saved from God’s wrath, one had to be in the ark. The next time God destroys the world and wicked mankind, one must be in Christ. There will be a world full of people who don’t really understand what is happening to them “until” God’s wrath is poured out upon them, but because God has given every person both external (Psa 19:1-4) and internal (Rom 2:14-15) witnesses, as well as “preachers of righteousness” to tell them the truth, man is, as God says, “without excuse” (Rom 1:20).
Physical salvation is not always representative of spiritual salvation. The Apostle James was spiritually saved, but not physically saved from Herod’s sword. Many righteous people in the Old Testament were killed even though they were serving God (Luke 11:47).
In your last comment you said it makes no sense to claim that Noah (as a type of Christ) “would not have included the salvation message as he was preparing for the end of the world and mankind.” So if physical salvation is not possible then it makes no sense to preach about spiritual salvation? Is that what you’re saying? Because if that’s the case, then we shouldn’t witness to people who have terminal diseases, right? Why is it so hard to think that Noah could be a vocal preacher of righteousness, telling people to repent of their sin, in the hopes that God would change His course of action (as He did at Nineveh) without inviting them on the ark?
You stated “Except for Noah and his family, the entire population of the world was wicked (Gen 6:5, 7, 13, 17)” That’s not what those verses say. They do say that man was wicked, and that God was about to judge them but in NONE of those verses does it state that “the entire population of the world was wicked except for Noah and family.” Consider this: Lamech and Methuselah were both alive while Noah was building the ark. Are you saying they were wicked? A better verse for you to prove that everyone else was wicked would be Genesis 6:1 where it says “…you alone I have seen to be righteous before me in this time.”
No, I never said that people who died in their sins were going to be spiritually saved. I seriously question your reading comprehension if you think I said that.
Where is my proof that it wasn’t God’s plan for people to repent and get on the ark? Genesis 6:18 where God revealed His plan to save exactly eight people. Eight specific people. And God told Noah which people, and to collect food (6:21) specifically for those eight people.
Again your reading comprehension fails you. I never said that the wicked will somehow be given a second chance. I agree with everything you said there about people only being able to trust in Christ while they’re alive on earth, and after that they are judged with no second chance. I quoted Matthew 24 and then commented that this shows they were either not informed or did not understand the message. I said nothing about them getting a second chance.
I just read your comments and will get back with you, but I would, first, like to be clear about something. You wrote, “I seriously question your reading comprehension if you think I said that.” I might misunderstand what you have written just as you might misunderstand what I have written, but I think that bringing that to the other person’s attention can and should be done in a civil manner. I’m not going to converse with someone who has to prove his point by taking pot shots at me, and I will extend you the same courtesy. If this is agreeable, then I will respond to your post tomorrow.
With all due respect, your first paragraph does not rightly reflect what I said. We are discussing the details of the physical Flood and what they represent spiritually, not whether people who are spiritual do or do not die. I won’t repeat what I wrote, only referring you back to my first paragraph and what we are to learn from the OT types and shadows that foreshadow the person and work of Jesus Christ in the NT.
Your second paragraph also misrepresents what I wrote, so, no, that is not what I am saying. In fact, I was saying the exact opposite, that this “preacher of righteousness” would have absolutely shared the salvation message with the people. As to your comment, “Why is so hard to think….without inviting them on the ark”? It is “hard to believe” because it doesn’t make sense that Noah or anyone would preach the salvation message without there being a possibility that his audience could receive the message and be invited on the ark. I would ask you the question, what would have been the point of Noah “telling people to repent of their sin, in the hopes that God would change His course of action” if their being able to receive salvation/invited on the ark was NOT a possibility? Did Jesus or Paul or anyone else, even once, warn people to repent without the possibility of being able to receive Jesus/get on the ark being a possibility? You wrote, “…in the hopes that God would change His course of action (as He did at Nineveh) without inviting them on the ark?” I never stated or implied that God would “change His course of action” with the entire world “as He did at Nineveh,” only that individual people could escape God’s coming judgment on the world by turning to God, resulting on their being on the ark/being saved in Christ.
In the third paragraph, you wrote, “…but in NONE of those verses does it state that ‘the entire population of the world was wicked except for Noah and family.’” Please tell me how you can read this chapter and these verses and come away with the idea that even one of the world’s population, except Noah and his family, was righteous in the sight of God. In fact, the word “man” (adam, H120) in verses 5 and 6 actually means “collective man, mankind.” In addition, the phrase “all flesh” (H3605, H1320 respectively) is used in verses 12, 13, and 17 and means “the whole,…every,…totality” of “all living beings,” of “mankind.” With regard to Methuselah and Lamech, yes, they “were both alive while Noah was building the ark.” However, because we know that God destroyed “all flesh” (totality of mankind) and that God never pours His wrath upon the righteous, which Methuselah and Lamech most certainly were, then the only conclusion we can simply and logically and biblically reach is that Methuselah and Lamech died sometime before the ark was finished.
With regard to paragraph four, I was apparently wrong in my understanding of what you were saying, so I apologize for that.
You cited Genesis 6:18, 21 as your proof that “it wasn’t God’s plan for people to repent and get on the ark.” What you are saying, then, is that it wasn’t God’s plan for all people to be saved, to be in Christ. As a believer, how can you believe this, given it is the entire message of God’s Word, repeatedly detailed from Genesis to Revelation? We are taught in 2 Timothy 3:16 that “all Scripture” is to be considered when formulating biblical truth, which certainly includes the two verses you have cited; however, it also includes other relevant verses, verses which you have not included to reach your conclusion. Two verses I cited before, John 3:16 and 2 Peter 3:9, are just two of many examples that attest to the fact that everyone ever created is loved by God and has the opportunity to receive salvation. No one, including those during Noah’s time, is exempt from God’s love and provision, so it makes zero sense that Noah would have only proclaimed a message of condemnation and not a message of salvation, the invitation, by which to get on the ark. By this, then, we know that it very much was “God’s plan for people to repent and get on the ark,” meaning that the two verses you cited, Genesis 6:18 and 21, cannot mean what you think. There may be other reasons, but the simple reason may just rest in the fact that our Sovereign God is omniscient and knew that no one was going to repent and receive His gracious offer of salvation and had Noah prepare accordingly.
Let me give an example of how Scripture can be forced to say something that isn’t true because God’s omniscience isn’t taken into account. I was a Mormon for over 40 years, and the verse they use to prove that we existed as spirit beings in a preexistence before being born physically is Jeremiah 1:5a: “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee.” Of course, we know that the Bible never teaches that we first existed as spirits, so what does this verse mean? It just means that God is all knowing, that He knew all about us before we were conceived, and the same reasoning can be applied to God’s instructions to Noah.
Finally, you commented on Matthew 24 saying that “this shows they were either not informed or did not understand the message.” It can also mean something else. It can mean that, although mankind was given the gospel message to turn to God for forgiveness and salvation before it was too late, they chose to ignore the message about how to receive spiritual life for eternity, preferring to busy themselves taking care of their daily, physical lives. As the Word says, man is “without excuse” (Rom 1:20b), so the reasons that they were either “not informed” or “did not understand the message” cannot stand because, obviously, if these were the only two options, they would have an excuse contrary to what Paul wrote.
Steve~
I responded to your comments on July 12, but I haven’t heard back from you. Perhaps you have just been busy, so I was just wondering when you might be able to post something. Thanks.
I hope you are seeing my comments in paragraphs rather than a vertical line of words.
I am able to see your replies as paragraphs. If you are seeing my replies as a vertical line of words I can just email you my response.
Your response comes to my email in paragraphs. It’s when I post on your site that it shows as vertical words. As long as we are both reading paragraphs, I guess we’re okay.
You said it yourself… 2nd Peter references Noah as a preacher of righteousness. You seem to over look that the only repentance is IN Christ Jesus, which would have been back then equivalent to repentance could have only been IN the ark….
And in regards to you getting upset if I brought 12 more ppl to your dinner invitation, my response is thank God that your not God lol…. So again I say, if we are using God not specifically telling Noah to invite people to the boat as a clue that he indeed did not invite ppl on the boat holds no water (pun not intended) but what we do know from scripture is that Jesus gave us directions and how to spread the word, Such as the parable of the sower in Matthew 13 it is not our job to determine which soil is good and which soil is bad, it’s are job to spread the seed.
I’ll have something posted tomorrow night.
Apples and oranges. I’m talking about the repentance that leads to the salvation of souls and you’re talking about repentance that leads to being saved from physical death.
Comparing the preaching of Noah and the supposed invitation to the ark with the witnessing that we are supposed to be doing to unbelievers is an analogy, and like every analogy, it breaks down at some point. If Noah HAD been told to invite people, and if one person HAD responded, they would have been saved from physical death. But when WE who ARE told to invite people to salvation get a positive response, that person is NOT saved from physical death, but is given eternal life by God, and they may even be asked to die for Him.
My point in writing this article, which you have not refuted, is that the Bible does NOT say Noah warned anybody or invited them onto the ark. You can imply, assume, and form conjectures and guesses, but the Bible does NOT say he invited anybody, so we should not definitively say that it does. Because it doesn’t.
Taking your second paragraph first, I think you are confusing me with someone else because I am not upset, and I didn’t say anything about your bringing 12 more people to dinner. As to your soil comment, yes, we are to spread the seed, but Scripture does say that we can determine “which soil is good and which soil is bad” (e.g. Mat 7:20). Also, how do you expose the works of darkness (Eph 5:11) if you cannot determine which works (soil) are dark? How do you know with whom not to yoke yourself (2Cor 6:14-18) if you cannot determine which people/groups are ”bad”?
As to your first paragraph, if I am understanding you, you are saying that there were people other than Noah and his family who were in the ark because, as the ark is a type of Christ, the wicked, being “IN the ark” would be the equivalent of being “IN Christ Jesus.” As we know, the Bible gives some wonderful types and analogies to express Jesus and salvation, but we must always be careful that when we make connections, even ones that sound good and logical on the surface, that we don’t do so at the expense of other Scripture, and with all due respect, I think that is what has happened here.
The first thing to consider is that Noah and his family didn’t become righteous or saved for being “IN the ark.” They were in the ark because they were, first, righteous (Gen. 7:1). In the NT, because the sequence of events happens so closely together, it might seem that they happen simultaneously, but they don’t. We are only “IN Christ Jesus” once we’ve been born again, forgiven and declared righteous. Then we are in Him, our ark.
The second thing is that nowhere is it written or even suggested that any people but Noah and his family were in the ark. All humans were divided into two groups: Noah/his family and the rest of humanity, all who were wicked. God never called any of the wicked by name as He did with Noah/family (Gen. 7:1). God never called the wicked into the ark as He did Noah/family (6:18, 7:1). God never mentioned the wicked with regard to being fruitful and multiplying as He specifically did with Noah/family (9:1). God never mentioned the wicked, as He did with Noah/family, when going out of the ark (8:15, 18). God never mentioned the wicked when establish His covenant with Noah/family (9:9). What God did do, however, was to judge the “end of all flesh” (6:13, 17).
Thirdly, I Peter 3:20 tells us specifically who, alone, was in the ark: “[The spirits in prison] Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, EIGHT SOULS WERE SAVED BY WATER” (emp. mine).
If I have misrepresented what you were saying, please let me know.
so am i to understand that some here think there were other people on the ark besides noah and his family? if so that would be incorrect.
You are exactly right.
No, I haven’t heard anybody saying that there were other people on the ark. The main thing that is being disputed here was if other people were INVITED, not if others were there. Nobody disputes it was only 8 people on the ark no matter what Darren Aronofsky says.
Good, as to an invite it doesn’t say either way whether one was extended or not. but if he was a preacher of righteousness odd’s are(using a little common sense)he said something during those 120 years to at least some people about what was going to happen. although the bible does suggest that it came on them unawares.i believe somewhere it says they were eating, drinking and marrying and then the flood was upon them.
as to the wicked that died during the flood being saved, it doesn’t really say that either. that is a unitarian universalism thing/theory of everyone will be saved.
Excellent insight. however in the current situation, which to me, feels like a similar event coming to humanity’s door, seems that people can still turn to God, accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Am I wasting time by trying to help people to salvation? My friends,my neighbors, my family members who don’t believe?it reminds me of the thief crucified with Jesus, that seemed spontaneous and with no notice; or the Nineveh where they seemed to be saved by God’s Mercy and Grace despite his original plan … alot to think about. I guess it is what God says it is but I pray for for every soul to feel God’s
Mercy and grace in these troubled times THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR INSIGHT
I absolutely love how you pointed out the additions made. Sometimes people in trying to make things flow or seem plausible (especially for kids), add on to God’s word. This should never be so! The Bible was an us never to add or take away from God’s word! Thank you
You are right that we are not to add to God’s Word but please consider something. In 2 Peter 2:5, we are told that Noah was a “preacher of righteousness,” a pretty lofty title if he taught only his wife and his sons and their wives. In fact, the word “preacher” in Thayer’s is defined as “God’s ambassador, and the herald or proclaimer of the divine word,” and what we are told that he preached was “righteousness,” which would have certainly included, as it does today, the salvation message, not just moral living. Although Scripture doesn’t explicitly say that Noah warned people of the upcoming Flood, it is solid, logical conclusion given what we are told about him in this verses.
Absolutely true thank you I remember when my wife shared this fact that the sctiptures do not teach specifically that God warned the wicked through righteous Noah with me. It was a real eye opener after being taught falsey by the cult religion Watchtower for years.
Obviously it was a ploy to have the followers do the same by knocking on empty doors seeking recruits therefore more donations.
Watchtower aside, do you honestly think that God would have called Noah a “preacher of righteousness” (2Pe 2:5) if he hadn’t preached to the wicked people of the world that they needed to repent and turn to God before the world came to an end? That’s kind of a lofty title for someone who would have only taught the other seven members of his family.
You’re right that he probably preached repentance to the wicked people of the world, but did he give them the warning about the flood? The Bible doesn’t say.
Also, when you say “only taught the other seven members” you make it sound like Noah died immediately after the flood when he actually lived another 349 years. Abram (yes, that Abram) was 53 years old when Noah died. There were significantly more than 7 other people alive for Noah’s post-flood years.
You are right. The Bible doesn’t say, but does that mean that we cannot draw sound conclusions based upon what we do know or what we can rightly assume? Do you think that preachers of righteousness today would preach repentance to the wicked of the world but not warn them about the end of the world? Of course not. That is illogical.
That Noah lived after the Flood is irrelevant. Reading 2 Peter 2:5, it is clear that Noah being called a “preacher of righteousness” is within the pre-Flood context. The phrases “spared not the old world” and “bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly” are not post-Flood sentiments.
this is excellent…thank you so much…need more Truth!!
The Bible is clear, Deut 4:2, Deut 12:32 Prov 30:6 and Rev 22:18-19, there are serious consequences to adding or subtracting from God’s word. However, the Lord gives much room for deep thinking and assumptions and as Paul clearly said, Gal 3:15 Brethren, I speak after the
manner of men; Though it be but a man’s covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto. Whatever was said here was not inspired by the Holy Spirit, but Paul believed it would be ratified in the end. God said in Malachi 3:6, I am the Lord I changed not. We can conclude that he has always dealt with sin and sinners in the same manner. Mat24:37. And as it was in the days of Noah they were eating and drinking and getting married, so it is in the days of Christ’s second return. All we need to do is view our current time and we can reproduce the historical events, The Church is preaching the gospel, souls are repentant, souls are backsliding, souls are being lost eternally and souls are being saved. likewise in Sodom, Lot stood at the gate of Sodom as a Judge, if you read the books of Judges you realized exactly what Lot was doing, the gospel of righteousness was being preached in Sodom, the angels asked Lot, do you have any others here that are saved, In Today’s world we have no less a scenario, homosexuality is a legal sin in spite of the gospel being preached. But Christ’s word should make the difference, As it was then, so shall it be now. The gospel was preached to them by Noah. Deut 6:6-8 shows how the gospel was maintained in that time, therefore if God revealed the Messiah to Adam, you can be certain that Noah knew of the Messiah and every ensuing generation.
BTW, the word preacher ( kerusso) in Greek in this case, means proclaimer of righteousness. Which is different from (euangelizo), which means spread the Gospel to others. Noah’s acts of faith proclaimed him as righteous. It does NOT mean that Noah went on some missionary journey throughout the entire world, preaching to the 9-10 billion people spread out over 8-10,000 miles. You’re telling me that Noah traveled around the world telling people of the impending doom and to get in his Ark? This missionary journey would have far surpassed anything that Paul ever accomplished. Also, Noah was too busy building the Ark to tell all 9 billion people on the earth. A similar boat in 500 BC took 300 man-hours to build. So, we can estimate it took 4 men (Noah and his 3 sons), about 75 years to build the Ark, give or take. This “missionary journey” would have so distracted Noah from his work, the Ark never would have been built.
Truly speaking I love this piece of work. I knew that by the grace of God, I will surely find something like this on the internet. Not this poor assumptions carelessly made by some preachers. Some even said Noah pleaded with people COME TO THE ARK..ENTER THE ARK.. Imagine this poor assumptions? God was interested in bringing the flood but in men repenting. The flood only came as a result of men not willing to repent.
I completely agree with you. At first I thought Noah warned the people because I watched this Bible cartoon movie as a kid. But when I got older and actually read the story I found out they were lying. The Bible never said that.