Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the LORD said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. (Ge 6:5–8)

But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. (Mt 24:37–39)

Complacency: a feeling of contentment or self-satisfaction, often combined with a lack of awareness of pending trouble or controversy.

In 1680 a comet passed so close to the earth that it was visible during the daylight hours. Terror gripped the people as they feared impending doom.  The comet passed by and back out into space.  A scientist, William Whiston, using the calculations of Edmund Halley, and working backward, noted this same comet had passed by before in 2342 B.C., which, at the time, was believed to be the date of the great flood.

Whiston argued that the gravitational pull of the comet unleashed waters from above and below the earth, causing a natural disaster.  Whiston didn’t deny divine judgment; instead he saw that God had placed the comet on this path back in eternity.

The people treated Noah’s Ark building with skepticism and complacency, much like today’s warning of climate change, global warming and the fires currently ravaging Australia. God may have hoped that man would take better care of the planet, but alas, in foreknowledge new that we would become complacent and do nothing.

As in the days of Noah, we will repeat history.