Noah preached to the people of his time that God would give them one hundred and twenty years in which to repent of their sins and find refuge in the ark, but they refused the gracious invitation. Abundant time was given them to turn from their sins, overcome their bad habits, and develop righteous characters. But inclination to sin, though weak at first with many, strengthened through repeated indulgence and hurried them on to irretrievable ruin. The merciful warning of God was rejected with sneers, with mockery and derision; and they were left in darkness to follow the course that their sinful hearts had chosen. But their unbelief did not hinder the predicted event. It came, and great was the wrath of God which was seen in the general ruin. {4T 308.3}

Noa forkyndte folket i sin samtid, at Gud ville give dem et hundrede og tyve år til at omvende sig fra deres synder og finde tilflugt i arken; men de afslog den nådige indbydelse. Der blev givet dem rigelig tid til at omvende sig fra deres synder, overvinde deres slette livsvaner og udvikle en retfærdig karakter. Men tilbøjeligheden til synd, som til at begynde med var svag hos mange, styrkedes ved at blive tilfredsstillet gang på gang og drev dem fremad mod uigenkaldelig ødelæggelse, Guds nådige advarsel blev forkastet med hån. spot og latterliggørelse og de blev overladt til i mørke at følge den vej, deres syndige hjerter havde valgt. Men deres vantro afværgede ikke den forudsagte begivenhed. Den indtraf og stor var Guds harme, som den viste sig i den almindelige ødelæggelse.