As It Was in Noah’s Day, December 1
            
            
              And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of
            
            
              the Son of man.
            
            
              Luke 17:26
            
            
              .
            
            
              From age to age the warnings which God has sent to the world by
            
            
              His servants have been received with ... incredulity and unbelief. When
            
            
              the iniquity of the antediluvians moved Him to bring a flood of waters
            
            
              upon the earth, He first made known to them His purpose, that they
            
            
              might have opportunity to turn from their evil ways. For a hundred
            
            
              and twenty years was sounded in their ears the warning to repent, lest
            
            
              the wrath of God be manifested in their destruction. But the message
            
            
              seemed to them an idle tale, and they believed it not....
            
            
              Scoffers pointed to the things of nature—to the unvarying succession
            
            
              of the seasons, to the blue skies that had never poured out rain, to the
            
            
              green fields refreshed by the soft dews of night—and they cried out,
            
            
              “Doth he not speak parables?” In contempt they declared the preacher
            
            
              of righteousness to be a wild enthusiast; and they went on, more eager
            
            
              in their pursuit of pleasure, more intent upon their evil ways, than ever
            
            
              before. But their unbelief did not hinder the predicted event....
            
            
              Christ declares that there will exist similar unbelief concerning His
            
            
              second coming. As the people of Noah’s day “knew not until the flood
            
            
              came, and took them all away; so,” in the words of our Saviour, “shall
            
            
              also the coming of the Son of man be.”
            
            
              Matthew 24:39
            
            
              .
            
            
              Solemnly there come to us down through the centuries the warning
            
            
              words of our Lord from the Mount of Olives: “Take heed to yourselves,
            
            
              lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunk-
            
            
              enness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares,”
            
            
              “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy
            
            
              to escape all these things....”
            
            
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