Jesus said in Matthew 24:37, "For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah.”  And in Luke 17:26 He said, "And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man”. 

In Noah’s day no one listened to Noah and his warnings about a coming flood.  Most thought he was crazy, and even more so as he began to build the ark.  In that day there was much godlessness and corruption on the earth.  In Genesis 6:11-12 it states:  “Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence.  God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth.”

People were going about their daily lives with little or no concern about any warnings fromGod and His displeasure with their actions.  It was business as usual with complete disregard for deteriorating morals and virtues.  

The earth has become decadent and immoral and with problems just like in the time of Noah.  Today many people go about their daily activities, not heeding any signs of the Second Coming or the urgency and pleas to change their ways and come to Christ.  Many signs of the End Times seem to be coming true in our lifetime.  Yet, many people are willing to believe false prophets and ignore the biblical prophecies that were made about the final showdown between good and evil.  

In the past there has been interest in the Ark built by Noah, mainly in attempts to find where it landed after the flood.  There has not been much interest in building or creating replicas of Noah’s Ark…UNTIL recently.  Following is information on three such construction projects that have been in the news.

NOTE:  The story you are about to read was written in 2011 and describes the three full-scale Noah’s Arks located in Hong Kong, Kentucky and in the Netherlands.  The Ark Encounter Theme Park opened in early July, 2016, in Williamstown, Kentucky.  Information following is an update on the ark built and completed in 2011 in the Netherlands.     

The Ark in the Netherlands is moored in Dordrecht, located some 60 miles south of Amsterdam.  It is now a popular tourist attraction with an interactive museum and event center.  It draws as many as 3,000 visitors a day.  Builder and designer Johan Huibers had hoped to sail it in 2012 to   the Summer Olympics held in London, England.  Because of several issues (political, government regulations, construction, etc.), it was not permitted to go.  

Plans were made in 2016 to transport the Ark by barge 5,000 miles across the Atlantic ocean to Brazil for the 2016 Summer Olympics.  It would then continue on to other parts of South America and to the USA.  However, there has again been a change to the travel itinerary for the Ark of Noah.  Because of terrorism, political events, concern over personal safety, the Zika Virus, and other reasons, it has been decided to postpone the voyage to Brazil. When it does sail, there are plans for the voyage to be broadcast on the internet for the world to follow its journey.

REPLICA OF THE ARK BUILT IN HONG KONG

Hong Kong is the site of the first actual size replica of the ark and was opened to the public in July of 2011.  Construction began in 2004.  It was built per the dimensions of the Ark in the Book of Genesis:  300 cubits long (approximately 450 feet), 50 cubits wide (approximately 75 feet), and 30 cubits high (approximately 45 feet).   In the planning stage for seventeen years, the project was mainly funded by an evangelical Christian, billionaire Thomas Kwok and his two brothers. 

The ark is part of a Christian theme park and is strategically located on Ma Wan Island.   The idea of the ark was conceived by a young girl.  According to the manager of the theme park, Mathew Pine, “She drew a little picture and her dad took it to the government. The government officials loved it and from there on the architects and the engineers developed the plan”. 

The Ark contains exhibits of rare animals and shows animated films that depict how the original ark could have been built and how it might have been ventilated.  Also featured is a garden with seventy pairs of real-size replicas of animals.  

REPLICA OF THE ARK IN KENTUCKY

There is a similar project underway to build a life-sized Noah’s Ark on eight hundred acres in Williamsburg, Kentucky, near Interstate 75.  Construction began in 2014 with expected completion in 2016.   Fund-raising is on-going to complete the project, 

The Christian ministry organization, Answers in Genesis, is the driving force behind the project.  They want to show the world that the story of the flood found in the Book of Genesis is not a fable, but an historical truth.  Plans are for the project to be authentic inside and out.  According to a project manager,  “The message here is, God’s word is true.”

The $29.5 million religious theme park will be called the Ark Encounter, and the ark will be its main attraction.   Plans for the actual building of the ark are to be done by a team of Amish builders from Indiana.  The structure will measure approximately 500 feet across, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high, and is modeled after the measurements in the Bible.  As reported in the New York Times, “The theme park will also include a one hundred foot Tower of Babel, a first-century Middle Eastern village and a journey through the Old Testament, with special effects depicting Moses, the ten plagues, and the parting of the Red Sea.”

Plans are for the park to have a petting zoo for children, along with live bird and animal shows. A play area for kids will include zip-lines and climbing nets—all Bible-themed.  Presentations of animal acts and the various exhibits will include a Gospel message and will relate the Bible story of creation.

REPLICA OF THE ARK BUILT IN THE NETHERLANDS

Johan Huibers of the Netherlands has completed a replica of Noah’s Ark that has the same measurements as the Ark in the Book of Genesis, and it is SEAWORTHY! 

In 1992 Huibers had a dream that convinced him he should build an ark.  He had no specific plans or drawings, just the will to build it.  “I asked God every day, ‘Give me the ideas—how to do it’. And God gave them to me day by day, so it was very easy,” he says. 

This huge replica is the length of one and a half football fields and is as tall as a five-story building.  It weighs 2,970 tons and is built with Swedish pine, to follow as closely as possible God’s command to Noah to build the Ark of resin (gopher) wood.  God had commanded Noah to build an Ark with these measurements:  300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide and 30 cubits high.  Huibers project took four years and three months to complete.  It was built by only five people: Huibers, two of his children, and friends; only one of them was a carpenter!   Huibers himself invested more than $1.6 million in the project.

When building the Ark, Hubert calculated one cubit to be the average length of a man's forearm. These are some numbers that describe the size and capacity of the Ark he built:

• 450 feet: Length of the boat
• 3 stories: Height of the boat
• 75 feet: Width of the boat
• 14,000: Number of trees it took to build the ark
• 1,500: Number of people the ark can hold
• 3,000: Number of tourists who visit it per day on average
• $11,000: Cost of one life-size plastic elephant replica on the ark

The ark is stocked with replicated pairs of animals to depict those that were aboard the original ark.  They were designed and created in the Philippines. They are placed in containers, along with a few live animals. As noted above, Huibers reportedly paid $11,000 for one reproduction of an elephant!  There is also a live aviary, where birds can fly in and out from the top of the ark.  The inclusion of live animals enhances the reality of the project.

When asked why he wanted to complete this project, Huibers explained that he is concerned that people today don’t know who God is.  They may have a Bible in the home, but it is just there, not being read.  He hopes his project will encourage people to start caring about God again and return to reading the Bible.  He believes that God has all the answers that are needed today.

In GOD’S OTHER WAYS© He is bringing this story from the Bible to the world.  Could God be reminding us of what Jesus said in Matthew 24:37 and Luke 17:26?