Understanding the Kingdom of God: As it was in the Days of Noah
As His ministry progressed, Jesus was questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God would come. They liked the idea of a time of peace and prosperity when the wolf would lie down with the lamb and each of them would sit under their own fig tree in the kingdom of God. But the carpenter from Nazareth Who had become a controversial, itinerant teacher, did not present Himself as the conquering King Who would sit on David's throne. Jesus had already claimed to be Israel's King and had identified Himself as their Messiah through prophetic signs, miracles, teachings, and preaching.
The Spiritual Nature of the Kingdom
Jesus starts to address their questions on the kingdom in order to correct their false perceptions. He explained that the kingdom of God would not come by keeping the Law and observing signs; it would come by faith in Him. He warned that they would not be able to discover God's kingdom through their own knowledge, wisdom, clever calculation or mysticism. However, these Pharisees needed to know that the spiritual part of the kingdom does not come with observable signs but through faith in Christ, in Whom are the words of eternal life.
No one can enter the Millennial Kingdom of Christ on earth unless they are born of the Spirit. For those who believe, the earthly part of the kingdom will take place at the end of the Great Tribulation. Believers in this Church dispensation have already entered the spiritual kingdom through faith in Christ. We who believe during this Church age will be raptured before the Great Tribulation and will return with Christ at the end - to set up His kingdom.
The Parallel of Noah and Lot
Jesus taught His disciples many things that would happen during the dreadful 'Day of the Lord' which would precede His coming, earthly kingdom. In Luk 17:26-30, we read: "And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man." The return of Christ to set up His kingdom will be preceded by a time of unsurpassed wickedness and evil. The days of Noah were written about in Genesis 6 where we read: "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 the days of Noah, in the days of Lot, life was good. The economy was prospering, people were buying and selling, marrying and giving in marriage. When Lot went to his sons-in-law to warn them to flee, they laughed at him, life was so prosperous and peaceful. But on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.
Comparison of Biblical Warnings
| Period | Daily Activities and State of World | The Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Days of Noah | They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage. The wickedness of man was great. | The flood came and destroyed them all. |
| Days of Lot | They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built. Life was prosperous and peaceful. | It rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. |
Eschatology and the Great Harvest
Scripture teaches that the earthly kingdom of God will be set up on earth after apostate Israel has been punished in the Day of the Lord - the time of 'Jacob's Trouble'. One sign of Christ's appearing at the end of the Tribulation will be an unprecedented rise in evil. As the Great Tribulation advances through its pre-determined course, the evil in the world will progressively increase.
People look for the Lord’s return in the bad times, but not the good times. Peace and prosperity will return, and people will stop looking for the coming of Yeshua. During those times of peace the Church needs to be about its business of bringing in the fields white unto harvest, the great harvest prophesied by the Feast of Tabernacles ingathering at the return of Yeshua. I believe there will be a Pax Americana that will facilitate this global end time harvest, just as in the age of the apostles there was a Pax Romana that allowed believers to travel to the edges of the known world unmolested, to evangelize.