Like the Days of Noah: Are We Paying Attention

There is something almost ironic about what is happening right now in eastern Türkiye.

As people around the world debate whether we are living in the last days, researchers are drilling core samples into a boat-shaped formation near Mount Ararat that some believe could be the remains of Noah’s Ark.

The site is known as the Durupınar formation. It has been debated for decades. Some believe it could be connected to the biblical Ark. Others believe it is simply a natural geological formation.

We don’t know yet.

But researchers have begun deep core drilling at the site, collecting physical samples from beneath the formation for laboratory analysis. The goal is to better understand what is actually beneath the surface.

Just Like the Days of Noah

Jesus said:

“For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah.”
Matthew 24:37 NASB 1995

And again in Luke:

“And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man.”
Luke 17:26 NASB 1995

When we hear “the days of Noah,” our minds often go immediately to Genesis 6.

And for good reason.

“Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”
Genesis 6:5 NASB 1995

Genesis also tells us the earth was corrupt and filled with violence.

It was a dark time.

But when Jesus talked about the days of Noah, He highlighted something else that I think we sometimes overlook.

People were just living their lives.

They were eating. They were drinking. They were marrying. They were making plans.

Life was moving along like normal.

“For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be.”
Matthew 24:38–39 NASB 1995

Eating wasn’t the problem.

Getting married wasn’t the problem.

Going about everyday life wasn’t the problem.

Noah Believed God Before He Saw the Rain

Noah was different.

Hebrews tells us why.

“By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household.”
Hebrews 11:7 NASB 1995

I love that phrase:

“Things not yet seen.”

Noah didn’t wait until the first raindrop fell before deciding whether God was serious.

He believed God.

And because he believed God, he prepared.

Imagine what that must have looked like to everyone else.

Noah is building this enormous vessel while everyone else is carrying on with life.

They are working. Planning weddings. Raising families. Buying things. Making plans for next year.

And Noah keeps building.

Day after day.

He had received a warning from God, and he chose to live like God’s Word was actually true.

That may be one of the greatest lessons the days of Noah have for us.

The Danger of Normal

I think sometimes we’re expecting the end times to look so obviously apocalyptic that there will be no question about what is happening.

But that’s not necessarily the picture Jesus gives us.

There will still be dinners.

Weddings.

Business meetings.

Vacations.

Ball games.

Mortgages.

Retirement plans.

Kids going to school.

People will still be planning next weekend while eternity is approaching.

We can become spiritually asleep while remaining incredibly busy.

That’s why Jesus doesn’t finish this teaching by giving His disciples a date.

He gives them a command.

“Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.”
Matthew 24:42 NASB 1995

Be ready.

And Now They’re Drilling Near Mount Ararat

That brings me back to what is happening in Türkiye.

The Durupınar formation is roughly 515 feet long and has a distinctive boat-like shape. Researchers involved in the project have used geological surveys and other scanning methods to examine the site, and core drilling adds another way to study what lies beneath it.

Some researchers involved believe the formation could be Noah’s Ark.

That has not been scientifically established.

The formation has been debated for decades, and other scientists believe natural geological processes provide a better explanation.

The current testing may give researchers better information, but we shouldn’t turn preliminary findings into proof before the evidence is there.

My faith doesn’t depend on somebody pulling a piece of Noah’s Ark out of the ground.

I believe Genesis because I believe the Word of God.

But I still find the timing fascinating.

Here we are, nearly 2,000 years after Jesus warned that His return would be “just like the days of Noah,” and researchers are drilling into the earth near Mount Ararat trying to determine whether a massive boat-shaped formation has any connection to Noah’s Ark.

Maybe the Bigger Question Isn’t What’s Under the Ground

I’m interested in what those core samples reveal.

I really am.

If evidence of an ancient man-made structure were eventually discovered there, it would be fascinating.

But Christians shouldn’t become so focused on finding Noah’s Ark that we miss Jesus’ reason for talking about Noah in the first place.

Jesus wasn’t telling us about Noah so we would spend all our time searching mountains.

He was telling us about Noah because He wanted us to be ready.

The people in Noah’s generation had a warning.

Then one day the door closed.

The rain came.

And the opportunity to prepare was gone.

Jesus says His return will also come unexpectedly.

Not frightened.

Not obsessed with predicting dates.

Not interpreting every headline as a secret prophecy.

Because one day the world will wake up expecting another normal day.

People will go to work.

Plans will be made.

Meals will be eaten.

And according to Jesus, the Son of Man will come at an hour people do not expect.