Gen. 8:13-20
In the book of Revelation, God shows how, after the Battle
of Armageddon, he will make the world new in preparation for the
Millennial Kingdom. There, Jesus will rule and reign as King of Kings
and Lord of lords, and we who have trusted Him as Savior will rule and
reign with Him.
Here, we see a new world wear something similar is going
on. Just as God will pour out His wrath on a terribly sinful world
during the Tribulation Period, here He has just finished judging the
world with the flood.
We can see other comparisons, which have been discussed in
previous verses. Most notably, of course, the fact that the last days
will be as in the days of Noah. The most important thing in these
verses, however, yes that Noah and his children were all followers of
God who - in a very short time - wound up seeing that worship of God
virtually vanish from the world.
As it was, for now Noah built an altar to worship the Lord
for bringing him and his family through the terrible flood. He
recognized God's provision and protection in the terrible ordeal through
which the world had come.
While the flood shows God's judgment, then, and the art is a
type of how God will protect us from his wrath, we can see in Noah's
attitude a type of the tribulation saints who survived - if any - and
the aJews,God's chosen people, who will survive to populate the
Millennial Kingdom. Because, these people will initially be very
grateful for what God has done for them, and yet their descendants will
find it just as hard to fathom ourworld as those after the flood found
it hard to fathom the world before the flood.
This is easy to understand because the devil will not have a
part in the Millennial Kingdom, because he will be bound a thousand
years and unable to bother the inhabitants, just as his demons will not
be able to bother them. However, those born during the tribute during
the Millennial Kingdom will still have a sim nature nature. They will
need to call upon the Lord Jesus Christ to save them from there sins. In
the same way, Noah and his descendants needed to realize that God still
had not yet sent the promised Redeemer and that they needed to trust
him to save them from their sins. So it was that Noah built his altar,
recognizing that only through God's work could he see Heaven.
It is also worth noting that it took the ground time to dry out. Noah waited till the effects (the water) of God's wrath were completely gone. When Jesus saves us from our sins, he removes them comlpetely, so His wrath does not abide on us anymore. The physical effects may still be there - scars from brawls if one fought often with people, perhaps damaged relationships, etc. - but we know that God will restore all things in Heaven, and here on Earth He can take what we have to give Him and make something wonderful out of it.
And, it was immediately after the ground was dry that Noah made this altar and worshipped God. In the same way, the moment we are saved we should be praising God and wanting to grow in Him, recognizing that he has cleansed us from every sin and stain.
