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Pastor Scott L. Harris
Grace Bible Church, NY
January 24, 2010
Mockery in the Last Days, Pt. 1
2 Peter 3:1-7
Introduction
We have been studying the book of 2 Peter for a while now, and in the last several weeks I have been warning you about the dangers of false teachers as well as trying to describe what they are like. The danger of false teachers cannot be stressed enough. Why? Because as Jesus described them, they are “the blind leading the blind, and they both fall into the pit” (Matthew 15:14). They offer something that seems close to the truth, yet it is not the truth. It is their own musing and opinions instead of an exposition of the word of God. There are millions upon millions upon millions of people going to hell because they follow the heresy of these deceivers. I have mentioned several groups and individuals that teach false doctrine, and we could spend a lot of time going over each of these groups and pointing out their specific errors, and I will be doing more of that in the future, but there is a better way to protect you in the present and future than making a long catalog of these heretics. You need to be able to discern the truth for yourself by learning the truth. That is my goal. (See: There Shall Be False Teachers; (See: Description of False Teachers and Defense Against False Teachers).
There is a story about a young boy in China that very much wanted to learn to carve jade. His grandfather was a famous artist in carving this semi-precious stone, so one day the boy told his grandfather of his desire to follow in his footsteps. The grandfather was of course pleased, but he was also wise. He told the boy to come back the next day and they would begin his training program. The boy could hardly sleep that night, and the next morning he was at his grandfather’s bright and early. The grandfather told him to sit on a stool in a corner and then told him to hold a piece of jade that he then gave him. The then grandfather left and did not come back till late that afternoon. When he returned, the boy asked him when he would begin to learn to carve. The grandfather said it was too late today, they would begin tomorrow. The next day the same thing happened and the same thing happened each day for more than a week. The boy was told to sit in a corner and given a piece of jade and then the grandfather would leave. Finally, one morning the boy took his usual place, but was becoming very agitated over the situation and wanted to know when the grandfather would begin to teach him how to carve. The grandfather quietly told him that he would teach him once he thought the boy was ready. The grandfather gave him another stone and was just about to leave the room again when the boy called out, “Grandpa, what are you doing? This stone is not jade!” Then the grandfather said, “Now you are ready”
You see, the best way to know if something is fake is to know the real thing is so well than anything that differs from it is easily recognized. That is our goal. We need to know the truth of God so well that we can easily discern anything that deviates from it. This is what Peter will do throughout the remainder of this epistle. 2 Peter 3 warns us about mockers that will come in the last days, and they are already present and very active, and then he will remind us of what is true. Turn to 2 Peter 3:1.
A Reminder to Remember – 2 Peter 3:1-2
“This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles.” To paraphrase, Peter says this is the second time he has written to them, and He wants to cause them to remember the truth as was taught by the holy prophets of old, in the commandments that the Lord Jesus Christ gave, and which were taught to them by the apostles.
Peter pays them a great compliment here in verse 1. He says that he wanted to stir up their “sincere minds.” The word here for sincere literally means “sunlight opinion” meaning a mind that when its thoughts are exposed to sunlight are found to be pure. There are no falsehoods in them. We need to have this same type of mind. We need minds that do not contain falsehoods, lies or half-truths. We need to have thoughts that are pure. We need understanding that has been shaped by a relentless pursuit of the truth. Do you have a mind like that? Or is your mind easily swayed by the opinions of men?
Debates can be very interesting to listen to and I have heard many of them over the years. I still consistently find that in a good debate that the truth of Proverbs 18:17 is demonstrated. “The first to plead his case seems just, Until another comes and examines him.” It is easy to be swayed by the first person’s opinion until the opposing arguments are presented. Do you listen and agree or disagree with the speaker depending on whether friend or foe, or do you maintain a discerning mind to carefully think through the arguments given and compare them with the truth? It is not always easy, in fact it is sometime very difficult to figure out the truth, but we must be those who pursue truth before making a decision and taking action.
Peter complimented those he was writing to because they had “sincere minds,” for they were found to be pure, but we also find here that Peter was trying to “stir” up those minds. He wanted to get them active, functioning and being diligent to pursue truth. That is one of the goals I have this morning. I want you to have your brain in gear and think in the pursuit of truth.
In verse 2, Peter reminds them of the basis for knowing truth which is that which God has revealed to men. Earlier in this series of sermons when we were examining the end of 1 Peter 1, we spent some time discussing the Bible as The Basis for Belief – 2 Peter 1:16-21. Peter makes it clear that the word of God is the foundation of truth. However, for the Bible to do you any practical good you will have to know what it says and remember it.
Do you remember the things that happened in the Old Testament? Paul says they were written down for our instruction (1 Corinthians 10:11). Do you remember the prophecies that were made and have already been fulfilled? Peter said earlier (1 Peter 1:20,21) that they did not come as an act of human will and their fulfillment is the proof that they were from God (Deuteronomy 18:20-22). Do you know which prophecies are yet to be fulfilled? Those are the promises that give us hope in the present.
Do you remember what you were taught concerning the commandments that the Lord Jesus Christ gave to us? Keeping them is the way that we practically demonstrate our love for Jesus (John 14:21). Do you know and remember the foundations for fact, the basis for belief, the tenets for truth? If not, you had better get on a crash course and learn those things quickly because foolish mocking is coming, and is in fact it is already here, and it will seek to sway you from the truth to the detriment of your spiritual health and possibly your eternal soul.
Foolish Mocking
2 Peter 3:3-4 “Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.’”
Foolish Mocking! Why do I say foolish? Because Psalm 14:1 says, “The fool has said in his heart, ‘there is no God.’ They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds.” A proper definition of a fool is the one that has rejected God and His revelation, and that is what these mockers have done and are doing. These mockers are fools in that sense. Verse 3 is not really so much a statement on an eschatological view – what will happen in the end times – but is rather a statement of rejection of the revelation of Scripture, the promises of Christ, and ultimately the rejection of God Himself. You can imagine the mocking tone they would use in making the statement in verse 3, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.”
Do not take a reference here to “creation” to mean necessarily that is what they believe, and even if they do hold to a “creator being” it is not the God of the Bible. That is one of the major weaknesses of the Intelligent Design (ID) movement. While their honesty in recognizing true science from speculative and philosophical “science” is welcomed, many of them still have their souls at risk because they refuse to acknowledge the God of the Bible as the intelligent designer who created all things. Without Jesus Christ as their redeemer they are still under God’s condemnation as much as the atheistic and agnostic mockers.
The mocking described here is done in the same vein as the soldiers that mocked Jesus with the Crown of Thorns and the purple robe at his trial. A crown and the purpose robe were props to mock Jesus being King of the Jews while they spat upon Him, ridiculed Him, maltreated Him and beat Him. It is no wonder that in Philippians 3:18 Paul describes these same kind of people whose minds are set on earthly things as “enemies of the cross of Christ.”
These foolish mockers refer to the promise of His coming. There are many passages in the Old Testament which speak of the Messiah coming to punish the wicked and set up His kingdom in a restored Israel as well as events that occur after that when a new Heaven and Earth will be created. The following Old Testament examples are just a sampling.
Jeremiah 30:3, “For, behold, days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel and Judah.’ The Lord says, ‘I will also bring them back to the land that I gave to their forefathers, and they shall possess it.’”
Isaiah 13:9-13, “Behold, the day of the Lord is coming, Cruel, with fury and burning anger, To make the land a desolation; And He will exterminate its sinners from it. 10 For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not flash forth their light; The sun will be dark when it rises, And the moon will not shed its light. 11 Thus I will punish the world for its evil, And the wicked for their iniquity; I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud, And abase the haughtiness of the ruthless. 12 I will make mortal man scarcer than pure gold, And mankind than the gold of Ophir. 13 Therefore I shall make the heavens tremble, And the earth will be shaken from its place At the fury of the Lord of hosts In the day of His burning anger.”
Isaiah 40:9-11, “Get yourself up on a high mountain, O Zion, bearer of good news, Lift up your voice mightily, O Jerusalem, bearer of good news; Lift [it] up, do not fear. Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!” 10 Behold, the Lord God will come with might, With His arm ruling for Him. Behold, His reward is with Him, And His recompense before Him. 11 Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, In His arm He will gather the lambs, And carry [them] in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing [ewes.]”
Joel 3:18, And it will come about in that day [the day of the Lord] That the mountains will drip with sweet wine, And the hills will flow with milk, And all the brooks of Judah will flow with water; And a spring will go out from the house of the Lord, To water the valley of Shittim. 19 Egypt will become a waste, And Edom will become a desolate wilderness, Because of the violence done to the sons of Judah, In whose land they have shed innocent blood. 20 But Judah will be inhabited forever, And Jerusalem for all generations. 21 And I will avenge their blood which I have not avenged, For the Lord dwells in Zion.
Ezekiel 11:17 “Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “I shall gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries among which you have been scattered, and I shall give you the land of Israel. “‘ 18 “When they come there, they will remove all its detestable things and all its abominations from it. 19 “And I shall give them one heart, and shall put a new spirit within them. And I shall take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, 20 that they may walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances, and do them. Then they will be My people, and I shall be their God
Daniel 7:13-14, “I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him. 14 “And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations, and [men of every] language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.”
Isaiah 65:17-19 “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. 18 “But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem [for] rejoicing, And her people [for] gladness. 19 “I will also rejoice in Jerusalem, and be glad in My people; And there will no longer be heard in her The voice of weeping and the sound of crying.”
The New Testament also has multiple prophesies about the return of Jesus. Here are four of them.
John 14:1-3 “Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you ; for I go to prepare a place for you . 3 “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, [there] you may be also.
Matthew 25:31-32 “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne, And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats;’
Philippians 3:20-21, “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; 21 who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.”
Revelation 22:7, “And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book.”
Is it any wonder that I call this “foolish mocking.” The very mocking of these people will seal their doom. But equally as sad, or maybe something that just increases the tragedy, is that this is “Forgetful Mockery.”
Forgetful Mockery
2 Peter 3:5-6 “For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water.”
They do not lack evidence of God’s faithfulness to His promises, so that cannot be blamed for their ignorance. They are foolish and ignorant in their mockery because of their own desire to be so. They either fail to recognize the truth that is in front of their faces, and/or they chose to forget what they already know. Other translations bring out this sense of willful action. The KJV translates this as “they are willingly ignorant,” the NKJV as “they willfully forget,” the NIV as “they deliberately forget,” and Young’s Literal as “this is unobserved by them willingly.” What is it that they willfully ignore or forget? The word of God and specifically the Genesis flood.
Scripture is absolute in its proclamation that there was a worldwide flood in the days of Noah. The flood account itself is covered in Genesis 7-8. The basic facts of the flood from Scripture are as follows.
Sources of Water – Genesis 7:11-12, “In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the same day all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the floodgates of the sky were opened. Remember from Genesis 1:6-10 that after God created the earth on the first day, He put an expanse between the waters above and below with that expanse between becoming “heaven.” And it was not until the third day that God gathered together the waters below so that the dry land would appear. (See: The Days of Creation) There was plenty of water above and below to cause a flood.
The Time Lengths – *Began the 17th day of the 2nd month when Noah was 600 *Rained for 40 days – Genesis 7:12 *The waters rose and covered the mountains and prevailed for 150 days. (Total 150 days) Genesis 7:17,19,24 *The waters receded for 73 days – Genesis 8:5 (223 total days) *Opened the window of the ark after another 40 days – Gen. 8:6 *Earth dry on 1st day, 1st month of Noah’s 601st year (313 days) *They left ark on 27th day, 2nd month of Noah’s 601st year for a total of 1 year and 10 days in the ark.
The Extent of the Flood
- Water rose to be 15 cubits (about 22 feet) above “all the high mountains” (7:19,20) and stayed at that level until the 150th day (7:24 cf 8:4 & 5). You cannot stack water, so this could not have been a local flood
- All land animals “whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, died” except those on Ark (7:22-23). You cannot kill “all flesh that moved on the earth” in a local flood. This was a worldwide catastrophic event.
(See: God’s Judgment & Grace – Genesis 6-9)
Additional Biblical Support
Noah and the historicity of the flood are attested by several other Biblical writers. These include the following
Isaiah 54:9 – “For this is like the days of Noah to Me; When I swore that the waters of Noah Should not flood the earth again . . . ”
Jesus spoke about Noah and the flood in His ministry. Matthew 24:37-39 records Jesus saying, “For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. 38 “For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, they were marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so shall the coming of the Son of Man be. (See also: Luke 17:26-27).
Hebrews 11:7 states about Noah, “By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.”
Peter comments about the flood not only here in 2 Peter 3:5-6, but also earlier in his letter. In 2 Peter 2:5 Peter said concerning God’s past judgments on the wicked, “and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly.” Even earlier in 1 Peter 3:20 he said, “the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through [the] water.”
In all of these passages Noah and the worldwide flood of that time are affirmed. To deny the Genesis flood is to also deny the veracity of the prophet Isaiah, the apostle Peter, the writer of Hebrews and Jesus Himself.
Non-Biblical Support
There are many other sources outside the Bible that also support the historicity of the Genesis flood. I want to mention a couple of them today along with a few examples, and then next week I want to get more in depth about this because the lies of the mockers have led so many astray in our own land by denying the Genesis flood. If you cannot believe Genesis, then how can you believe the rest of the Bible? The mockers attack on Noah and the flood is also an attack on Jesus since He presents it as an actual event. If the claim of the mockers is true and there was not a universal flood, then Jesus cannot be believed either.
The two extra areas of study that lend strong support to the fact of the Genesis flood are the fields of geology and paleontology in science and flood mythology around the world. This morning I am going to concentrate more on the mythologies that occurs in other cultures and next week I will focus on geology and the study of fossils. I actually like all these fields of study because I have had a love for history since Jr. High School and still read history for recreation, and my undergraduate degree is a Bachelor of Science with study in a multitude of fields of science.
World Mythologies:. Almost every culture has some kind of flood mythology including South America, Asia, Polynesia and Africa. Often that mythology includes the escape of eight people by a boat or some other method. Let me briefly describe a few of them to you from different areas of the world.
Gilgamesh Epic: One of the oldest written accounts is from some cuneiform tablets dating to about 650 B.C. found in ruins of the ancient library at Ninevah. Fragments of the story have been found on tablets dating back to perhaps 2,000 B.C., and those would trace to older oral histories. In part of the epic Gilgamesh meets Utnapishtim who had becomes immortal after building a boat to survive the Great Deluge that destroyed mankind.
Similarities between this flood account and Genesis include: It was global; it was due to man’s sin and intended against all mankind; The hero of the story was righteous in comparison to the rest of mankind; The hero was directed to build a multistoried boat with at least one window and the structure was to be covered with pitch; Only a limited number of humans survived along with all species of animals; Heavy rain was a source of water for the flood; Birds were released after the flood to test if the land was dry enough yet and both accounts include a dove and raven, though Gilgamesh also includes a swallow; Both boats came to rest on a mountain and both heros offered a sacrifice after they got out of the boat and were blessed by God. There are also serious differences in the two accounts, but the similarities are significant and show a common source.
Sir James G. Frazer (Folk-Lore in the Old Testament, vol. 1, Macmillan & Co., London, 1919) records the story among the Masai tribe of East Africa about a man named Tumbainot who was righteous. The world was heavily populated in those days, but the people were sinful and God finally resolved to destroy mankind, except Tumbainot found grace in His eyes. God commanded Tumbainot to build an ark of wood and enter it with his two wives, six sons and their wives, and some of animals of every sort. When they were all aboard and provisioned, God caused a great long rain which caused a flood, and all other men and beasts drowned. After a long time the rain stopped, and Tumbainot let loose a dove to ascertain the state of the flood. The dove returned tired. Several days later he loosed a vulture and he determined the flood was receding. The ark grounded on the steppe, and when it was dry its occupants left the ark. Tumbainot saw four rainbows, one in each quarter of the sky, signifying that God’s wrath was over
The Miao tribe who of southwest China had a tradition that because of wickedness of man, god sent a flood to destroy the whole world. However, a righteous man named Nuah and his wife Matriarch, along with their three sons, Lo Han, Lo Shen, and Jah-hu survived by building a very broad ship and embarked on it with pairs of animals. Even more interesting, the Chinese character for a boat is a vessel with eight people inside it, which is the same number as the Mio tribe tradition and in the Biblical account.
Sir Frazer also recorded the Transylvanian Gypsy story of the flood. Due to sin all living things were going to be drowned, but one man was told to take a wife, gather his kinfolk, and build a boat on which to save them, animals, and seeds of trees and herbs. The man did all this. It rained a year, and the waters covered everything. After a year, the waters sank, and the people and animals disembarked.
The Maori of New Zealand also have a flood story related to the neglect of their creator, Tane, but in this one two men and some women survive on a raft built with a house on it and provisioned with food. The rain lasted four or five days and then stopped, but the waters still rose. After the waters began to thin, the earth had been much changed by the flood, and the people on the raft were the only survivors.
Flood stories are not just common among tribes that lived near water, but also those that lived far inland. Dr. John D. Morris has collected more than 200 of these flood stories, originally reported by various missionaries, anthropologists, and ethnologists. He analyzed these and found that though differences between them could be substantial, there were also many common elements. 95% have a global flood. In 88% there is a favored family. Animals play a part in 73% and they were also saved in 67%. In 70% the survival is due to a boat. The flood id due to the wickedness of man in 66% and also in 66% there was a forewarning. In 57% the survivors landed on a mountain. 35% have birds sent out. And those these final figures are much smaller, they are still very significant. The survivors offered a sacrifice in 13%. A rainbow was mentioned in 7% and in 9% there were specifically 8 people saved.
Dr. Morris writes, “Anthropologists will tell you that a myth is often the faded memory of a real event. Details may have been added, lost, or obscured in the telling and retelling, but the kernel of truth remains. When two separate cultures have the same “myth” in their body of folklore, their ancestors must have either experienced the same event, or they both descended from a common ancestral source which itself experienced the event.”
He continues, “The only credible way to understand the widespread, similar flood legends is to recognize that all people living today, even though separated geographically, linguistically, and culturally, have descended from the few real people who survived a real global flood, on a real boat which eventually landed on a real mountain. Their descendants now fill the globe, never to forget the real event. But, of course, this is not the view of most modern scholars. They prefer to believe that something in our commonly evolved psyche forces each culture to invent the same imaginary flood legend with no basis in real history. Instead of scholarship, this is “willful ignorance” of the fact that “the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished” (II Peter 3:5,6).
Finished Mockers
Next week I will take up the evidence from science, especially geology and paleontology. Let me conclude this week by quickly answering the question why would otherwise intelligent people willfully deny the evidence put before them? Peter gives us the clue in 2 Peter 3:7 where he tells us what the finish of the mockers will be. “But the present heavens and earth by His word are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.”
Peter says that just as the flood was used by God in the days of Noah to destroy the ungodly, a day is coming when the same thing will happen, except this time it will be by fire instead of flood. The coming judgment by fire is as sure as the flood. In the effort to distance themselves from the certainty of judgment, they strive to deny it by ignoring the evidence of God’s judgment in the past.
Where are you at today? Are you one of the mockers? Then God have mercy upon your soul so that you will recognize who God is and respond to the love He has shown you in His Son Jesus Christ. You need to repent and get your life right with God today.
Are you one of the many that has been deceived by the mockery that so prevalent today? You do not have to be deceived any longer. If you’re interested in this subject I would be more than happy to point you to many books to increase your knowledge in this area. You need to grow in your relationship with God and let Him be who He says He is. You need to learn to take Him at His word. It is true!
If you have heard this before, then rejoice over the reminder that God has moved in the lives of men and that He continues to do so today. Rejoice that by His grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for sin on our behalf on Calvary, we can be forgiven and made righteous before Him.
Sermon Notes – 1/10/2010
Mockery in the Last Days – 2 Peter 3:1-7
Introduction
False teachers are ___________- the blind leading the blind into the pit – substituting the truth with error
The best protection is being able to discern the ___________ for yourself by learning the truth
When truth is well known, any variation from it is easily recognized as _________
A Reminder to Remember – 2 Peter 3:1-2
“Sincere minds” = sunlight opinion. Fully exposed and found to be _________.
Proverbs 18:17 – You must keep a _____________ mind
“Stirring up” – motivating to __________ diligence to pursue the truth
The __________ is the basis for belief – 1 Peter 1:16f
Remember Old Testament & its ________________ – 1 Cor. 10:11; 1 Peter 1:20-21, Deut. 18:20-22
Remember the ___________________ of our Lord Jesus Christ and keep them – John 14:21
Foolish Mocking- 2 Peter 3:3-4
Foolish according to _________________
The reference to “creation” does not mean they __________Biblical creation or even in a creator being.
They mock the promise of __________________ – Old & New Testament prophecies
Jeremiah 30:3 _______________________________________________________________________
Isaiah 13:9-13 _______________________________________________________________________
Isaiah 40:9-11 _______________________________________________________________________
Joel 3:18 ___________________________________________________________________________
Ezekiel 11:17 ________________________________________________________________________
Daniel 7:13-14 _______________________________________________________________________
Isaiah 65:17-19 ______________________________________________________________________
John 14:1-3 _________________________________________________________________________
Matthew 25:31-32 ___________________________________________________________________
Philippians 3:20-21 ___________________________________________________________________
Revelation 22:7 ______________________________________________________________________
Forgetful Mockery – 2 Peter 3:5-6
They do not lack _______________ of God’s faithfulness to His promises
They are foolish and ignorant in their mockery because of the ______________ to be so.
They ___________________ ignore the word of God and the evidence of the Genesis flood
Sources of water: Genesis 7:11-12 – Fountains of _________, floodgates of ___________.
On the second day of creation God placed an expanse (heaven) between _________above and below
On the third day of creation God gathered together the _________below allowing dry land to appear
The Time Lengths
Flood ___________17th day of the 2nd month when Noah was 600 – Genesis 7:6
Rains for _______days, with waters prevailing for __________days – Genesis 7:12,17,19,24
Waters receded for __________days before mountain tops are visible – Genesis 8:5 (223 total days)
Earth is _______ on 1st day, 1st month of Noah’s 601st year (313 days) – Genesis 8:13
They disembark the ark on 27th day, 2nd month of Noah’s 601st year – Genesis 8:14-19 (_____________)
The Extent of the Flood
15 cubits (~ 22 feet) above “____the high mountains” (7:19,20) & prevailing for 150 days (7:24 cf 8:4-5)
All land animals “whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, ____” except those on Ark (7:22-23)
Additional Biblical Support
Isaiah 54:9 __________________________________________________________________________
Jesus – Matthew 24:37-39; Luke 17:26-27 _________________________________________________
Hebrews 11:7 ________________________________________________________________________
Peter – 1 Peter 3:20; 2 Peter 2:5; 3:5-6 _____________________________________________________
Non-Biblical Support
The science fields of ___________ & paleontology (to be discussed next week)
Flood Mythologies around the world
Gilgamesh Epic
The ________ tribe of East Africa
The ________tribe who of southwest China
The Transylvanian __________ story
The __________ of New Zealand
Dr. John D Morris analysis of over 200 flood myths – 95% have a global flood. In 88% there is a favored family. Animals play a part in 73% and they were also saved in 67%. In 70% the survival is due to a boat. The flood id due to the wickedness of man in 66% and also in 66% there was a forewarning. In 57% the survivors landed on a mountain. 35% have birds sent out. The survivors offered a sacrifice in 13%. A rainbow was mentioned in 7% and in 9% there were specifically 8 people saved
Finished Mockers – 2 Peter 3:7
In the effort to ignore their ______judgement, they must disregard the evidence of God’s past judgement
KIDS CORNER
Parents, you are responsible to apply God’s Word to your children’s lives. Here is some help. Young Children – draw a picture about something you hear during the sermon. Explain your picture(s) to your parents at lunch. Older Children – 1) Write down all the verses mentioned. 2) Count how many times the word “mocker” is mentioned. 3) Talk with your parents about how to determine truth from error.
THINK ABOUT IT!
Do you know the word of God well enough to protect yourself from false teachers? Give some examples of mockers you have encountered? Look up additional prophecies of the Lord’s coming. Review the story of Creation in Genesis 1 & the Flood in Genesis 6-8. Are you aware of any other ancient flood myths? Look up some (www.talkorigins.org/faqs/flood-myths.html). Are you ready for Christ’s return & judgment?
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