AS IT WAS IN THE DAYS OF NOAH
3rd Installment
Yeshua stated in Matthew 24:37-39, “But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.” Today, we want to consider some questions. What saved Noah? Did Yahweh save Noah? Well, of course He did. Did Noah’s faith save him? Yes, of course it did. But what really saved Noah? If Noah had not put some good working effort to his faith and built the ark, would Noah have been saved from the Flood? No, he would not have been saved. Noah put his faith in God into building the ark. If he had not demonstrated his faith by building the ark, Noah would have been required to swim like the rest of sinful mankind. And nobody can swim for one year. Would Noah and his family’s physical life been spared if he had disobeyed Yahweh’s word and not built the Ark? No. He would have perished and we wouldn’t be here. We need an ark.
Noah preached about the coming calamity for many years, some say up to 120 years before, at least as long as he was building the ark. His family may not have believed him while he was preaching and building. His neighbors may not have believed him while he was preaching and building. No one may have believed Noah while he was preaching and building. No one may have believed, UNTIL IT BEGAN TO RAIN. By then, of course, it was too late to repent, for the door had been closed and sealed shut by Yahweh Himself. Folks, we need an ark today. You can only prepare for catastrophe before it strikes, because once it hits, it’s too late. It’s like the Feast of Trumpets, you don’t know the day or the hour, but you must have your righteous garments and feast prepared before the trumpet sounds. If you wait until the trumpet sounds to get your garments and food in order, you’re too late, the Feast has begun, and you weren’t ready to go in to the Feast. One of these soon coming Feasts of Trumpets, on the first day of the seventh month, will be the Last Trumpet, when Yeshua will arrive back on earth. If you are not ready before He gets back, it’s too late, you will suffer loss, you will not be allowed into the Feast.
The Last Trumpet, the Feast of Trumpets, declares the resurrection from the dead. 1 Peter 1:3-21, “Blessed be the Mighty One and Father of our Master Yeshua Messiah, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Yeshua Messiah from the dead, 4to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5who are kept by the power of Yahweh through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
6In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Yeshua Messiah, 8whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.
10Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, 11searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Messiah who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Messiah and the glories that would follow. 12To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things which angels desire to look into.
13Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Yeshua Messiah; 14as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; 15but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
17And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay (sojourn) here in fear; 18knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19but with the precious blood of Messiah, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. 20He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you 21who through Him believe in Yahweh, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in Yahweh.”
Right now we only have a partial revelation of Yeshua. We still look through a dark glass into the Spirit. Our inheritance has been reserved for us, we do not have it now. Our salvation is ready and waiting for us upon Yeshua’s return to earth to be fully revealed to us and to the world. Our salvation is now only partially revealed, we are not completely saved yet. No human is, not until we receive our inheritance, our incorruptible bodies that will never be capable of dying again. What we have now is a promise, or covenant, of salvation, we have a salvation reservation, waiting to be revealed in full at the end of the end of time. All the prophecies of salvation and Yeshua’s Kingdom are for us, those alive at the end of time. No one has received salvation yet, all the ancient saints are waiting for us to join them in the Kingdom, so we can all receive our inheritance together. The New Covenant, the Renewed Covenant, the Last Will and Testament of Yeshua HaMashiach has not been opened and read in open Judgment Day Court of Heaven, yet. We don’t get our inheritance described in His Will, until the Judge and heavenly jury of men say all requirements of the Covenant have been met or filled full. That can’t happen until Yeshua returns to earth in fulfillment of all the Fall Feasts. We experience some of Yahweh’s grace today, through the blood of Yeshua, but we haven’t yet experienced the end of that grace, the salvation of our souls. That day is fast approaching though, it’s the day we are looking forward to. Are you prepared? Is your ark ready? You have to exhibit some faith by getting ready for Judgment Day on earth, before it gets here.
We are walking into the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ right now, today. The four horsemen of the Apocalypse have been released. We see the wars, famine, plagues, and earthquakes on the daily news. We’re here folks, are you ready? Are you ready to instantly leave your job, your church, your family, your life, to enter the Feast of Trumpets when you hear that Last Trump? I pray you are. Yahweh is looking for the willing and obedient remnant to accomplish His work in these last days. I hope we all are part of His remnant. But you must get prepared to survive physically as well as spiritually. There are many websites that sell survival gear and food. Even the TV preacher Jimmy Bakker at www.jimbakkershow.com sells emergency food buckets. Get what you can today, soon there may not be any good stuff left to buy. You need water and water filters, like Jimmy sells. If you have a well, get a hand pump installed immediately. Get out of the big cities if you can, even if you have to camp out in a tent on a little piece of dirt outside the city, do it. Like Yeshua said, we haven’t seen anything yet. It’s exciting watching the Kingdom of Yahweh being born on earth, but the birth pangs are beginning to hurt, and they are going to get a lot more painful before it’s all over. But our hope is in Him. Whatever idea He gives you for survival, do it. You don’t want to have to defend your home in the city against your hungry neighbors, just to eat a few crumbs of bread, but if you stay, be prepared to defend yourself to the death.
Oh yeah, I wanted to let you know why we don’t know when Yeshua is returning to earth. In my ongoing studies of Bible chronology, I’ve recently discovered that Yahweh is using at least five different calendars in the affairs of Messiah and man to accomplish His will on earth. Thanks Father, now at least I know why I’m so confused. First, we have Yahweh’s Divine lunar calendar of 354.367044 days a year, no intercalations, or leap months at all, based solely on the true conjunction of the new moon. Second, we have the civil Luni-Solar calendar Yahweh gave to Moses in Exodus 12, which ends up one day behind the Divine calender, when they wait for the first sighting of the moon to declare day 1 of the new month. Third, we have the Redemption Calendar of 350 days per year for the Sabbatical Years and Jubilees. That’s great, but there are many, many years that Yahweh does not reckon to Israel on this calendar, like the 15 years between Ishmael’s conception and Isaac’s birth. Fourth, we have the true solar calendar of man of 365.25 days per year, which we can relate to with our Gregorian calendar. Fifth, we have the Messiah’s calendar of exactly 354 days per year, with alternating 30 and 29-day months, which Yeshua has been walking out since creation. And you thought you had problems. This explains why there are so many seemingly conflicting teachings about the biblical calendar, jubilees, and sabbatical years. Depending on what calendar you’re looking at, Yeshua could return on Feast of Trumpets on one calendar and Passover on another calendar. This is also another means by which Yahweh can seem to shorten the days for the sake of the elect. So, without a significant boost in income and computing horsepower, I probably will not be able to sort this out and build the ultimate day-by-day 2.3 million-line biblical chronological calendar spreadsheet, before Yeshua returns. This brings a whole new meaning to the command to number our days.
Gene Benjamin II
April 16, 2011 CE