Jeff Kinley. As It Was in the Days of Noah. Harvest Prophecy, 2022.

The title of As It Was in the Days of Noah comes from one of Jesus’ prophecies about the end times:

Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. (Luke 17:26-27)

This book is worth taking a look at though I would preface my review with a couple of caveats. The author is a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary and represents the typical end-times prophecy interpretation of what Christianity Today once called the Dallas-Moody Axis. It teaches cessation and pre-tribulation rapture. In other words, God no longer (or very rarely) does miracles any more, and Christians are going to be removed from the earth before the antichrist begins his reign. Your reviewer is skeptical about both of these things.

Another time Jesus compared the last days to Noah was in Matthew 24:36-39:

“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man…”

Now the book says that this is distinct from the rapture (138), yet this passage goes on to describe what is generally seen as being the rapture:

Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. (Matthew 24:40-42)

Notice that this is addressed to believers, the “day your Lord is coming,” and back in verse 29 this is described as happening “after the tribulation of those days.” After means “after,” not before. The Greek is no different. And verse 40 begins with then, which also suggests something happening no earlier.

In the long run this is a minor quibble, but the problem could be that some Christians in those days fall away because they see the antichrist and experience the tribulation but are not prepared for it. I suppose it would be nice if I were wrong, but the pre-tribulation rapture seems to be wishful thinking.

Having said all that, the main thesis of the book does make sense. The worldwide flood was a disaster, the greatest disaster the world has experienced in its history. Human behavior was so bad that God saw fit to only save eight people from the deluge. Now the Bible does not say too much about what was so evil about the times, but a few hints are dropped.

Indeed, I give Kinley credit for discussing the Nephilim mentioned in Genesis 6 less dogmatically than he deals with future prophecy:

When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown. (Genesis 6:1-4)

There are several different interpretations as to who or what the Nephilim were. The term is also used to describe the Canaanite and Philistine giants like Goliath. At any rate, they were evil. Genesis goes on to say:

The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. (Genesis 6:5-8)

There is, then, some hint of the wickedness to include sexual immorality along with general defiance of God. Kinley notes at least two Talmudic interpretations say that the sins of that time included the sin of Sodom.

In Luke 17 after Jesus compares the time of His return to the days of Noah, He then compares it to Sodom:

Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all— so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. (Luke 17:28-30)

So Jesus saw some kind of connection between Noah and Sodom here.

So does Kinley, and this is the strength of his thesis. He details different behaviors that the Bible calls sin that we see in our world today: Yes, it includes adultery, sodomy, rape, and other sexual sins but also violence, lawlessness, atheism, idolatry, false religion, terrorism, and greed to name a few. In other words, our world is looking more and more as though it might have the potential of being continually evil as it was in Noah’s time. It is a warning worth heeding, regardless of when Jesus will return.

There is a tension in end times prophecies. In the same teaching in Matthew 24, Jesus tells us two things that seem to contradict:

And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:14)

For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. (Matthew 24:21-25)

The church in the latter days will be strong and vigorous, able to finally reach the entire world with the true story of salvation through Jesus Christ. At the same time, it appears, that even the elect, the chosen believers, will be greatly oppressed.

Prophecy tends to focus on one or the other, on the evil in the last days or the gospel finally reaching everyone “and then the end will come.” Pre-tribulation dispensationalists tend to see the pessimism of the end times. No doubt it will be bad. There is sometimes a sense of giving up. “Let’s get raptured out of here and let the end-times Jews figure things out. There’s nothing we can do about it.”

No, let us pray as Jesus instructed us. Let us be alert. Let us finally “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation…” (Mark 16:15). Jesus is our ultimate Ark. Let us “be strong and of good courage,” looking forward to His coming—not as a mere escape, but to declare and experience His glory.

And the Lord said…But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord. (Numbers 14:20-21 KJV)