Standing on the edge of the Gulf of Mexico, admiring the beauty and serenity of the cool water softly rippling over my feet, thoughts of judgment entered my mind.  Strange, I know, but give it a moment.  Ankle-deep in the water, I thought, “From whence did come this wonderful creation?”  (Okay, so maybe not in those exact words, but the idea is clear.) The obvious answer, of course, is God, but in that moment He led me deeper to ponder the specific cause of the ocean’s existence; judgment.  I don’t think many people give much thought to the origins of the oceans, but scripture gives reason for that.

…scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming?  For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as the were since the beginning of creation.’  For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. 2 Peter 3:3-6

I suppose that most people don’t give thought to the oceans’ origins because to do so would no doubt bring to mind the former wickedness of men and perhaps even one’s own present wickedness.  No one wants to think about judgment when they suspect that their behavior might warrant just that.  Truth is though, the oceans are a direct result of the world-wide judgment of a righteous God.  The account of Noah documents not only this, but much more.

Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.  And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.  So the Lord said, ‘I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.’  But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord…  And God said to Noah, ‘The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth…And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die. Genesis 6:5-8, 13, 17

The word of God does not return to Him void.

For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:10-11

As He has said before that He would judge the earth, and did, so He has yet appointed a day to judge the earth, and He will.  We have assurance of this by the resurrection of Jesus.

…He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained.  He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead. Acts 17:31

As uncomfortable as it may be to think about judgment, it is a fact of life that we will all be faced with in a span of time that grows shorter each day.  Sadly, most will be swept away, ignoring the warnings until it is too late.  Some believe that when judgment comes in the days of the Great Tribulation, they will be whisked away in a marvelous rapture and be delivered from the judgment.  They too will be unpleasantly surprised when they find themselves knee-deep in judgment after the time for their beloved rapture has come and gone and they yet remain.  A common misunderstanding of our Lord’s words in Matthew 24:36-42 lends itself to this belief.  Therein, Jesus says,

But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.  But as the days of Noah were, so also will be the coming of the Son of Man be.  For 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, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other one left.  Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other one left.  Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.

By those who hope for deliverance from judgment in a pre-tribulation rapture, to be “taken” is viewed as a good thing.  The direct context of the passage however, indicates quite the opposite.  In speaking of the great flood, Jesus plainly tells that those taken were taken away by the flood.  In other words, the ones taken were the ones destroyed.  “As the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.”  It will be unexpected by most and those who are unprepared will be taken away to destruction.

Returning again to the beauty of the oceans, though the waters themselves are reminiscent of judgment, their boundaries and their beauty speak of the abundant grace and mercies of God.

And the waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth, and all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered.  The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered.  And all flesh died that moved on the earth: birds and cattle and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man.  All in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, all that was on the dry land, died.  So He destroyed al living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air.  They were destroyed from the earth.  Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive.  And the waters prevailed on the earth one hundred and fifty days.  Then God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the animals that were with him in the ark.  And God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided. Genesis 7:19-8:1

Because of the judgment of God, the entire earth was flooded with water.  Because of the mercy of God, the waters were pushed back and confined to the places we find them today.  Hindsight clearly tells that it was not God’s intention to utterly destroy all creation at that time.   The same God that opened the floodgates of heaven and split open the fountains of the deep also closed those gates and fountains and sent a wind to dry the land and confine the waters.  Not only that, even before the judgment was enacted, there was a provision made for man by grace.  “As the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.”

In his day, Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.  In effect, the Lord in His sovereign wisdom had elected not to destroy Noah with the rest of his generation and so provided to Noah a means to be delivered through the judgment.  So too will it be in the coming of the Son of Man, that there will be those whom the Lord has elected not to destroy and to whom He has provided a means to be delivered through the judgment.

What if God, wanting to show his wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory, even us whom he has called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? Romans 9:22-24

Notice that the vessels of mercy were prepared by Him beforehand for glory whereas the vessels of wrath were only prepared (no doubt by their own wickedness, not by Him beforehand) for destruction.  “As the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.”

Noah was prepared beforehand for the impending judgment by a provision of grace.  Notably, there are two things that contributed to the manifest form of that provision.

And God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy the with the earth.  Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch.  And this is how you shall make it…” Genesis 6:13-15

Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did.  Then the Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation…” And Noah did according to all the Lord commanded him. Genesis 6:22-7:1, 5

The ark itself is the manifest form of the provision of God.  It came to be by both the divine command and by Noah’s obedience.  Tied together here are the Biblical themes of the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man.  Had the Lord not forewarned Noah of judgment and revealed to him the explicit details of His plan of salvation, Noah would have been destroyed with the rest of his generation.  Had Noah not obeyed all of the Lord’s command, there would have not been an ark to enter and he would have been destroyed with the rest of his generation.  It is a narrow path that leads to life.  “As the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.”

By the election of grace, there are some in this generation to whom the Lord is giving forewarning of coming judgment.  Consider, dear reader, if as you read this you are one of these individuals to whom the Lord is giving warning.  If so, take heed to what follows.  Just as the Lord revealed to Noah the explicit details of His plan of salvation, so also has He delivered to us those details today.

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1

“As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.  If you keep my commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.” John 15:9-10

In our day, Jesus Christ is our ark through whom we will be carried through judgment.  To be delivered, we must both enter and abide in the ark.  We enter the ark in much the same manner that our Lord created it.

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit (by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.)  There is also an antitype which now saves us – baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.  Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. 1 Peter 3:18-4:2

“And he who does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of Me.” Matthew 10:38

Our Lord Jesus entered life through death and so if we intend to enter into Him, we must also first die.  Therein is seen the beauty that the ocean represents, the waters speaking of life and new beginnings through death.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17

Death to self, the taking of one’s own cross, is how we enter the ark, but to abide there is another thing.  Death to self is merely asceticism unless it translates into life to the Body.  Jesus tells that to abide in His love, we must keep His commandments which He delivered to us from His Father.

And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment. 1 John 3:23

To love one another as God loved us, we must put aside our own lives to impart life to the other saints.

“As it was in the days of Noah, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.”  By the election of grace and his obedience to the commandment of the Lord, Noah, though he had to endure tribulation for a moment, was delivered through judgment.  So too will it be that by the election of grace and patient obedience in faith and love, the saints, though they must endure tribulation for a moment, will be delivered through judgment at the coming of the Lord.

It is at times wrongly assumed by some that the Old and New Testaments document the deeds of two distinct gods, a god of wrath in the Old and a god of love in the New.  The truth is, the same God is Lord of all.  Even as the oceans bear witness of the former judgment of God, they also speak of His grace and mercy.   The entirety of their witness is one that ought not to be ever forgot as the Lord has once again given testimony through the resurrection of His Son that there will yet be a day that He will judge the earth in righteousness.  If you understand these words, dear reader, as much as it depends upon you, don’t get caught in the rain.  Seek the Lord while He may be found for, “As it was in the days of Noah, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.”