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The earth of Noah's day before Genesis chapter 6 was very different from our present world today. From scripture we can learn that there were no seasons and no times of hot or cold. The earth was a perfect temperature year round and instead of having a "planting season" and a time of "harvest" fruit and vegetation grew year around. I believe that the curse that God placed upon the ground when he kicked Adam and Eve out of the garden was a command for weeds and thistles and thorns to grow among the fruitful. But all vegetation still grew year around an all over the earth.

In the creation account in Genesis chapter 1, we find that God divided the water above the sky from the waters below the sky in equal amounts. That is, there was just as much water surrounding the earth in the upper realms of the atmosphere as there was in the oceans and lakes and streams upon the earth. This water above the sky, called by many scholars the "vapor canopy," caused a greenhouse-type effect upon the earth and dispersed the sun's energy and warmth in an even and controlled manner over all of the earth. This explains why Adam and Eve, though created naked, did not get severe sun burn or skin cancer because this vapor canopy blocked the harmful UV rays and evenly dispersed the direct sunlight. This also explains why there were a lack of seasons as every part of the globe, including what is now the ice caps of the North and South Pole, were green with vegetation and warm and pleasant. It had never rained before the time of Noah and the Flood and instead the scriptures say that God caused "a mist" to come from the ground periodically to water the earth. The entire earth was a lush garden and deserts were unknown. The large amounts of plant life were needed because scripture teaches us that before the Flood, all animals and man were vegetarians, and it was not until after the Flood that God placed a fear of man in the animals and allowed man to eat meat. Before the Flood, human beings did not fear the tiger or lion because they were vegetarians. All of humanity and the animal kingdom existed in perfect harmony. The garden-like earth, constant temperature, and vegetarian diet increased the life span of human beings dramatically. It was very common for men and women to live 700-800 years! One man, Methuselah, became the oldest man that ever lived by dying at the ripe old age of 969! Of course, he did not have to deal as we do with seasonal allergies or the sicknesses that come from temperature changes. The next time you sneeze, you can thank the evil men and women who lived in this perfect environment for your allergies!

Unfortunately, despite having it better than they realized, the majority of men did not serve God or live according to His righteousness. The scriptures paint a sinful picture of the society that developed during this time. Genesis says that the earth was "corrupt" and "filled with violence." Man had decided to settle disputes and problems his own way and wars were rampant. It says that the "wickedness of man was great" and that men's thoughts were on evil continually. Unrighteous living consumed their thoughts and desires. Jesus said in Matthew chapter 24 that in the days of Noah, marriage meant nothing to the people, and they were constantly entering and breaking the sacred covenant of marriage. Fornication and sexual activity outside of the vows of a marriage relationship were rampant and the people lived to eat and drink and party. The motto of the day was "whatever feels good, do it!" And it was this rebellious and disobedient behavior that caused to decide to destroy the entire earth and start over! During this time, there are only three men mentioned as righteous: Abel, Enoch, and Noah. Abel was murdered by his brother Cain. Enoch was taken up and translated into the heavens because he pleased God so much. And it was to Noah that God spoke and revealed His plans to destroy the perfect, garden-like world.

Noah was 480 years old when God spoke to him the first time. He was married, but did not have kids yet. Can you imagine how he felt as the voice of God told him that the entire earth was going to be destroyed by a great flood and then God began to give him instructions to build a large floating craft by which his family could be saved. The Hebrew word for "ark" here simply means a large square chest or box. Noah's boat, or ark, was actually quite different from most of the drawings that we see today. It did not have a curved front or a mast. It was little more than a huge box. It was to have three stories or levels and rooms were to be built throughout each story. One level would be for all of the human beings that boarded the boat. One level would be for the animals that God would choose to save, and the last level would be for wheat, hay, straw, and vegetables that Noah was to gather together to feed his family and the animals for their time upon the ark.

The ark was to be 300 cubits long by 50 cubits wide by 30 cubits high. Taking the standard cubit which was approximately 18 inches in length, that means that it was approximately 450 feet in length, 75 feet in width, and 45 feet high. In the 1950s, ship engineers used advanced math principles and computers to calculate the ideal proportions for a floating barge so that it would not capsize. Without going into the mathematical ratios and tonnage information that they discovered, you should know that the ark's dimensions are in direct correlation with the ideal width, height, and length ratios for the most stable watercraft! God knew what He was doing long before man became smart enough to figure it out! The old saying is that the Titanic was built by supposed professionals and the Ark was built by an amateur who had faith enough to go by the plan of God! Even today, there are people who are content to listen to whatever the current opinion of humanity on how to live their life and what to believe about evolution, salvation, marriage, raising their kids, and Godly living! But I will choose to follow God's plan! I'm not going to die waiting for man to get smart enough to learn what God has known all along! I'll choose to obey the Word of God and get a head start!

The ark was to be made out of "gopher wood" or cypress as we know it today. This wood was lightweight and extremely durable and before steel was invented, it eventually became the most prized wood from which to build ships. The ark was coated on the inside and the outside with bitumen or "pitch" which hardened into a weather-tight, water-proof shell. It was built with only one long window across the top of the third level which was to be built a cubit below the beginning of the gently sloped roof. Where it was placed, the window would prevent Noah and his family from seeing the carnage and great loss of life in the flood waters and to only look toward the sky and heaven!

The ark was built somewhere in present day Iraq or Syria and, realizing that the continents only drifted apart after the flood and were still together in one large land mass, that placed the location of the building project in the extreme center of the land and literally hundreds of miles from any ocean. It also placed him in the largest populated area on the globe.

Noah did not shy away from the responsibility. He did not allow the fact that he was the only one on the face of the earth that loved God to cause him to waver. He did not allow the fact that he did not have any children dissuade him. The scriptures say that Noah began to do "all that the Lord commanded him." The scriptures say that he "moved with fear" and "prepared an ark to the saving of his house" although when he started that house was only him and his wife. The scriptures also say that he became a "preacher of righteousness" and began to preach to the masses of people who traveled all over to see the spectacle of the crazy man building a massive boat in the middle of the earth and miles away from water! He was laughed at and ridiculed, but he did not allow that to deter him from his purpose or his preaching. He continued to serve the Lord and poured his life without measure into preparing to survive the coming destruction. He had no help and no confirmation from God. In fact God did not speak to him again until after the ark was finished, but Noah was living by faith! He knew what the word of God had said, and he was determined to obey it! Can I tell you that there are many Christians that will stand in judgment with Noah one day!? How many people have given up on serving God because they did not feel what they thought that they should feel, or went through a "dry spell" spiritually? Noah did not hear the voice of God for over a century, and yet despite massive ridicule and hard work, kept serving God and kept preaching! I don't know if I could keep preaching if I only had God speak to me every hundred years or so! The reason that God did not speak again to Noah was that the message had not changed! It was after that Noah had completely obeyed the first command of God that God spoke to him again! If it's been a while since God spoke to you or gave you direction in your life, maybe you need to check back and make sure that you have completely obeyed what God last spoke to you! Noah didn't have the attitude like so many Christians do today: "well, I didn't like that commandment, so I will wait for another one!" But God is not going to speak to you again until you obey the first Word! When you are in a drought spiritually, you keep doing what you know to do! Don't give up! God still loves you, it's just that the message that he wants you to obey and tell others hasn't changed!

Twenty years after the beginning of the building project, three sons were born to Noah. As they grew up, they began to help daddy on the project. They and their brides would be the only converts that Noah and his wife won to God after 120 years of preaching! Let me ruin a good sermon by just mentioning a thought here. I have heard many Christians say things like "the Lord is coming back soon and this world is an evil place, and so I don't know if I want to raise children or a family in this kind of atmosphere." If you really have faith, then the wickedness of the world shouldn't bother you! It didn't bother Noah, because he was obeying the commandments of the Lord and building an ark of safety so that his family could be saved! I'm not worried about raising a family in this sinful world, because I have spent my life building a relationship with God that is one day going to deliver me! I plan on raising my children in this thing! I have found an ark of safety in the Holy Ghost that I intend to keep building on until this thing winds up!

And so after the ark was built, then Noah and his sons began to gather hay and foods and store it in the ark. I can imagine the ridicule that Noah got: "well, it's built now but it still has not come a flood!" "Hey Noah, where is the water?" But Noah and his family kept stocking the ark. And so it was 120 years after Noah had began to build the ark, that God spoke to him again and said "Noah, I'm about to bring the animals into the ark. It's time for you and your family to get on board, because in seven days, I'm going to cause it to 'rain' water from the sky and destroy every sinful thing on the earth. Growing up in Louisiana with animals I have learned that dogs and chickens and such have a God-given ability to detect a coming storm long before humans can tell. We used to know when a terrific thunder storm was coming hours before we could see the thunderheads because our poodle would be under the couch and refuse to come out. And so God began to lead a representation of every animal species that could not survive in water toward the ark. For seven days, animals marched into the ark, a male and female of every species that was not suitable for sacrifice, and six pairs and a seventh male of every species that was suitable for sacrifice.

Many God-less, and faith-less critics have laughed at this part of the story, but their criticism only reveals their stupidity. Of the six classes of zoology, only three would have had to be upon the ark: Mammals, Birds, and some Amphibians. Because most Fish, Insects, and microorganisms could survive in and on the water. Within the Mammal Class, there are seven orders, of which the seventh, the whales, would not have to be upon the ark. In the Bird Class, there are six orders, of which the third order which is web-footed animals that live on the water would not need to be upon the ark. When you realize that only one pair of each species was represented upon the ark, that is, there were only a pair of dogs, not two cocker spaniels, two poodles, two great danes, etc..., then in the Mammal class there are 43 genera with 543 species that would need to be upon the ark. In the Bird class, there are 74 genera with 2,372 different species that need to be on the ark. In the Amphibian Class there are only two orders, and 10 genera, but because of the many Amphibians that can live in water, such as the sea turtle, frogs, etc... there are only 316 species that would need to be upon the ark. That is by my calculation 3,231 species that would need to come upon the ark with the vast majority being unclean animals of which there would only be a pair. If we take the number of dinosaur species that we have currently found and double it just to make sure that we have a fair number, and add that to the total of existing species above, then by the realization that most dinosaurs were quite small and that the average size of the dinosaurs were the size of a sheep, we have room for a pair of every species of animal upon the earth on ONE LEVEL of the ark! It would be stinky and loud, but it worked! It is much simpler to believe simple Bible accounts rather than concoct your own theories to match whatever theory that is currently in vogue in science.

Sadly, even though they could see the animals coming into the ark, nobody else got on board. I'm sure that there was flicker of questioning in someone's mind about whether or not this was truth, but no one responded, and when on the seventh day, God suddenly shut the door, and the rain began to fall, only eight people, Noah and his wife and his three sons and their wives were on board!

The rains began to fall in what is our mid September. Noah was 600 years old. God caused the vapor canopy over the earth to collapse onto the earth. At the same times, the scripture say the "fountains of the deep broke up." That is, the basins of the sea began to rise forcing the miles of water up onto the land. People and animals began to head for higher ground in a panic, but the ark began to float and rise. It rained steadily for 40 days and 40 nights until the water began to cover the entire earth. It was not a local event. The scriptures say that the waters rose 15 cubits or 22 1/2 feet over the highest point of Mt. Ararat. That means the water was high enough to cover the entire earth. People who say that the flood was only a local event in one region of the earth, contradict the scripture! In fact all civilizations upon the earth have a "Great Flood" story! All that were upon the earth died lost except those who were in the ark. I'm sure that when the rain began to fall and the waters began to rise that people began to repent and cry out for mercy, but it was too late! Once the door had been shut upon the ark of safety, the time of mercy was over!

The earth was never the same again. The vapor canopy had collapsed and the process of evaporation and precipitation had begun. The caps of the earth froze over and only the middle areas of the earth had growth of vegetation year around. The four seasons came into effect and the resulting sicknesses abounded. To get the water off of the earth, God lowered the basins of the sea and caused the land mass to split apart and collide with each other, forming mountain ranges and our modern day continents. These areas of continental drift gave birth to volcanoes and great earthquakes and often bring destruction even today. A fear of man was placed within the animals and man and many animal species became meat eaters. The life span of man greatly decreased to under the 100 year mark. Many of the larger animals known today as dinosaurs could not get enough food to eat and thus died off into extinction. The flood water currents had caused great changes in the earth and had covered large amounts of animals and plants with silt and dirt. In some places near the surface of the silt bed, the bones of these animals were perfectly recorded and preserved as what we know today as fossils. Where the large amounts of animals and plants were gathered together and covered with larger amounts of silt and dirt, the pressure of the earth formed them into organic masses now known as oil pockets. The earth as we know it today still bears the scars of the Great Flood!

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Before I close, I would like to remind you of the words of Jesus found in Matthew 24:

"As the days of Noah were" so shall the earth be before Jesus Christ comes again! Our world is truly filled with violence and unrighteousness. Everybody is choosing to do whatever "feels good." The majority of men's thoughts and hearts are on evil continually, and they party it up and disregard the vows and laws of marriage by committing fornications and divorces at will. If ever a generation has mirrored Noah's day, it is this present time! We truly are living in the times of the end!

But God is not going to destroy the earth with water this time! It will not be rain falling from heaven that brings the judgment. From our text in Peter and many other scriptures throughout the Bible, we know that God will destroy this world by fire! Peter said it like this:

This world will go through a cleansing! And God is going to set up a new heaven and a new earth. The new earth will be a reversal to the beautiful environment of the Earth of Noah's day but without the sin and wickedness. The prophet Isaiah tells us that the fear of man will be taken away from the animals and that they will become vegetarian so that the "lion will lie down and eat hay with the lamb" and "the child will play in the viper's den." (Isaiah 11:6-9; 65:17-25) There will be peace upon the land and Jesus Christ will rule and reign upon the New Earth!

I want you to realize that Jesus said the circumstances of his second coming would be very similar to the "days of Noah!" I want you to realize that God did not destroy the world the first time without providing an ark of safety, a way of escape for the righteous that loved Him! Even though God gave the blueprints, it was up to man to build the ark of safety! It was soon after the ark of safety was built that the end came!

Listen to this preacher! Is it any coincidence that Jesus Christ came to earth to establish a plan of salvation and a way that man could be saved from the Wrath of God? Is it any wonder that after Jesus died and rose again, He left His spiritual kingdom in the hands of His disciples? You see Jesus gave the blueprints to the Apostles and they built the Apostolic church from those blueprints! The Apostolic church was to be the ark of safety in which the family of God can run and escape the fiery ruin of this world! The foundation was laid upon the Day of Pentecost, and the church has been built by the life-long efforts of Godly men and women! We are nearing the end of the period of mercy! It's time to get on this ark of safety!

There were other boats and floating vessels in Noah's day that men had built. No doubt as the rains began to come down, many men gathered together in their boats of safety and felt sure that their creation could survive the deluge! But their own efforts to create salvation could not survive the waves of destruction! There are other doctrines of men that claim the ability to bring salvation, but only the doctrine of the true Apostolic church will enable you to survive the coming destruction of this world! Only the church founded upon the doctrines of Jesus Christ and his disciples will last! They are the only blueprints given by God whereby we can be saved!

What God used for destruction last time, He now is using for salvation. I Peter 3:20 tells us that just like the water destroyed the evil in Noah's day, so does water baptism now save us by removing our sinful pasts! It is no coincidence that Peter preached that the Holy Ghost on the Day of Pentecost was the prophesied Spirit of God that was to be "poured out" upon the world! It is no coincidence that Jesus said that the Holy Ghost would be like "living water" flowing through us and upon us! It is no coincidence that the Holy Ghost outpouring was prophesied as the "latter rain!" Just as rain was used to destroy the earth in Noah's day, God is now using the rain of the Holy Ghost to bring salvation from the coming destruction of fire! You better be aware of other teachings by men of other formulas for salvation, because only the blueprints that God gave will result in Salvation! There is only one ark, the Apostolic church, and there is only one door, the saving grace of Jesus Christ! The ark has been prepared, you are hearing the preaching of righteousness today, now the choice is up to you: will you get on board and stay on board?!?

The prophet Isaiah prophesied of our day when he said:

Isaiah lived well after the flood of Noah's day, so he can only be referring to the future destruction of the earth! It's time for the people to come into the ark of safety of the Apostolic Church! It's time to repent of our sins, be baptized in the name of Jesus, and receive this precious Holy Ghost! It's time to enter into the chambers of the ark before Jesus Christ shuts the door!

Noah's not alive today, but God has sent a preacher with a Word from God! I've been ridiculed for the way that I live, and I have been laughed at for putting so much effort and time into this ark of safety, the Apostolic Church! To people who have never seen the rain of the Holy Ghost, my prophecies that they can have the Holy Ghost too, if they will only be willing to change their lifestyles and make this ark their home and priority seem as foolishness! But I will not quit preaching truth! Even if I go through a dry spell spiritually, I will not quit living this glorious truth! I will not give in to the persecution and ridicule of others who do not understand my commitment to this ark of safety! God's Word has spoken, and I know that there is a judgment coming! You may laugh as I spend my life trying to obey the blueprints that God has given me! Call me crazy and foolish if you want to for my separated lifestyle! Laugh at me for searching these blueprints to see if there every detail is taking care of and for my not caring if following the Word and commandment of God makes me different from the rest of the world! I am moving with fear of God's Word! And I am preparing an ark for the saving of my house! My priority is being saved and I know that the only way to be saved is to follow the blueprints from God! If not one other person in my family lives this way or believes, I will not waver, because I am driven by faith that what God has said will happen!

Somebody needs to get the resolve of Noah today! Somebody needs to get a fierce determination deep down within you that no matter what, you know that this Word is truth, and that you will be righteous! The world will one day burn with fire! It will be destroyed! God could have just killed every living thing upon the earth and started over, but in His love and mercy, He wanted to provide salvation for those who will follow His plan! What a merciful opportunity that we have to obey this glorious Word! This ark of safety is built upon wood, but it is the wood of a cross! It may look heavy, but in actuality it is light! Jesus said that we must take up our cross and follow Him! He also said that He would never put more on us than we can bear! He said that His yoke is easy and His burden light! This cross is not a horrible thing to have in your life, but is actually light to those who are really sold out to Jesus Christ! It's when you try to carry the cross and the weights of this world at the same time that it seems as if this cross is heavy! It's time to sell out to Jesus Christ and get on board this ark of safety! It is durable and it is the only thing that will save you from the fires of destruction! This ark of safety has only one view and that is of the heavens! If you are living your life with a constant eye upon the desires and temptations of this world, then you are truly upon the ark of safety! If you are on the ark, then the only world that you should see are the lost souls standing outside the open door! The only movement toward the world that a child of God should be making is to compel others to come through that door! But you cannot go into the world and become like one of them to bring them through the door! You can only preach from inside the ark and hope that they will make the step of safety through that door!

I hurts to realize that the whole third level of the ark was for people to be saved and yet only 8 people entered within! There is plenty of room for those who would believe and be saved, but you must obey the blueprints and enter into the ark!

You see the true ark of the church is fire proof. Paul said

In context, Paul was talking about our relationship with God and building a temple of the Holy Ghost! What are your priorities today? Are they fire proof? Are they eternal things that can last through the fire, or are they wood, hay, and stubble? What is your walk with God made of today!? Can it make it through the fire of trials that God allows to happen? Is your walk with God made of such that can stand the tests and fire? If you can't make it through a fiery trial now, then how will it stand in the fire of judgment? My priority must be upon things that can survive the fire!

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I close with this: I want you to realize that the Holy Ghost was only poured out on the Jewish people at first! It was not until God gave a vision to Peter of clean and unclean animals that he preached to the Gentiles and that they were able to receive the Holy Ghost! In the vision that God gave Peter in Acts chapter 10, the clean animals represented the Jewish people and the unclean animals represented the Gentiles. God told Peter to go preach to the Gentiles by saying "what I have now called clean, don't you call unclean."

It was as the clean and the unclean animals were entering into the ark, that signaled that the door was about to shut! The ark of this Apostolic church has already been built! And God has brought many of the clean (Jewish people) and the unclean (Gentile people) into this ark of safety! The door is still open, but you ought to realize that it will not be for long. That God is pouring out His Spirit upon the Gentiles, the unclean, means that we are living in the time of the end and God is about to shut the door of mercy and grace! Now is the time to enter in that door if you are on the outside. If you have already stepped into this ark of safety, then now is the time to get your eyes off of the appeal and persecution of this world and get your eyes on Jesus! Stay with this ark, for it is the only way to salvation from this world's fiery end! The ark has been prepared, now it's your choice, will you get on board?