DONâT MISS THE BOAT
Iâve been thinking and talking a lot about Noah lately.
I have to believe that the days we are living in are eerily reminiscent of his moment in time.
âThe Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the timeâ â (Genesis 6:5).
Now let me paint you a picture: for 120 years the people of Mesopotamia went about their daily lives having never even seen rain, passing by this crazy man hanging off the side of the ludicrously large boat he was building, yelling about an imminent flood that would cover and destroy the entire Earth.
Every blow of his hammer and very drag of his saw echoed throughout the land sounding a call to ministry and repentance.
I can almost audibly hear the foul godlessness and the vulgar mocking of their unbelief. When I close my eyes, I can see them walking by hissing their repulsive, sarcastic profanity. In the same scene, I can also see an unbothered Noah diligently hammering away, meeting them with the truth and grace he had been equipped with, confident in the work to which God had called him.
NOAH LIVED IN PERILOUS TIMES!
Unfortunately, the people didnât respond. They didnât care. They continued to live their ungodly lives the way they pleased. They ignored God and the longer they persisted, the more unsound their reasoning became and the harder it became for them to change.
Romans 1:21 documents this lamentable process: âAlthough they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.â
Living in this evil society that refused to repent, Noah alone found favor in Godâs sight as a ârighteousâ person (Genesis 7:1). Weâre told that he was âmoved with godly fearâ and built an ark âfor the saving of his householdâ as God had instructed him (Hebrews 11:7). âMake yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch,â said God (Genesis 6:14).
The apostle Paul confirmed that before Christâs return the world would have perilous times, filled with pleasure-seeking, materialism, immorality, violence, idleness and a rejection of the things of God (2 Timothy 3:1-5).
A major reason for Godâs bringing the great Flood was that the earth was filled with violence (Genesis 6:13).
Consider the age we live in. Thereâs been an alarming increase in global violence just in the past 10 years. A silent form of violence is perpetrated around the world by deliberate abortions of innocents. Each year about 44 million abortions are performed globally (âGlobal Abortion Rates, 2008â).
Indeed, things are changing in the world. Jesus Christ said, âFor out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemiesâ (Matthew 15:19). We are currently living in an age where these vices are becoming more commonplace.âWeâve seen a fairly steep upward trajectory in the total of terrorist attacks and fatalities worldwide,â said Gary LaFree, STARTâs director. âWe are convinced that a big chunk of this is real change in the world.â
The Flood of Noahâs day, like the destroying fire of Lotâs day, became an enduring example of punishment for disobedience.
The apostle Peter echoed Jesusâ connection between these two events, explaining that God âdid not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodlyâ (2 Peter 2:5-6; compare Luke 17:26-30).
Paul also warned that the Day of the Lord will come âas a thief in the nightâ (1 Thessalonians 5:2).
Jesus said that end-time events would parallel those in the days before Sodom and Gomorrahâs destruction. What were those conditions, and why is it important?
Jesus Christ said that societies at the end of the age would parallel those in the days of Noah and Lot (Luke 17:26-30). Regarding the time of Lot, Jesus said, âThey ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them allâ (verses 28-29).
SODOMâS EVILS DESCRIBED!
From the creation, Paul explained, mankind quickly began drifting away from Godâs ways (Romans 1:20-25). As mankind went astray, men and women began to exchange the wholesome, God-ordained use of sex for vile and shameful passions (verses 26-27). Paul also listed a number of other sinful behaviors that humans began practicing as they turned from God (verses 28-31).
Likewise addressing sexual immorality, the apostle Jude said that Sodom and Gomorrah, âhaving given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fireâ (Jude 1:7).
SCOFFERS WILL COME!
Noah, the prophet of God, was very likely mocked and ridiculed for preaching ârighteousnessâ (2 Peter 2:5). The Bible reveals that in the end times, prior to Christâs return, people will also ignore warnings to repent. As Peter notes, âScoffers will come in the last days, ⌠saying, âWhere is the promise of His coming?ââ (2 Peter 3:3-4).
This catastrophic event which annihilated mankind initially flowed not from revenge, but from a broken heart, Godâs spirit was grieved.
What was grieving the Creatorâs heart?
Genesis 6:5-7
5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6 And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
7 And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
If the Bible is correct in stating that earthâs entire population was thinking only about evil constantly, certainly those evil thoughts would have included sexual promiscuity and all kinds of perversions. Noahâs generation was living in a world without any moral compass or restraint. Godâs magnificent creation of man became a story gone horribly wrong. The flood demonstrates that God, though patient, will not tolerate sin forever.
We are living on a planet that is intoxicated with its own sexual pursuits and perversions. Noahâs generation deleted God from the human mind, erasing him from their collective conscience and culture. This disregard for their creator explains the moral corruptness found in his day. Many Christians believe that humanity is entering its last days. Similar to Noahâs time weâre witnessing a systematic removal of God from our culture. All over the world the Christian ideal is being choked out. The human race has made self-gratification king, along with being lovers of self. Read 2 Timothy Chapter 3:1-5 this biblical passage summarizes the state of humanity!
There was relentless mocking from those who would spend decades mocking Noah and his family as they built a giant ark in the middle of dry land.
However, we know how that story ended. After the last of the animals and Noahâs family were safely on board, God shut the door. (Gen. 7:15) Put another way, if Genesis 6 were a recipe, it would be two parts human wickedness, and one part Godâs wrath, cooked to full strength, and delivered at the perfect time!
Just as it will be in this generation. We are, once again, at another fullness of time. We are at the convergence of the varying prophetic streams (geopolitical, technological, economic, religious, political, and militarily) who are all merging at the right time and right place, to fulfill all the things the Bible says will come to pass. And we (the watching believers) are increasingly becoming isolated (and targeted) for our worldviews. Even our friends and family are beginning to turn their backs on us as we become anathemas to a culture bent on normalizing wickedness. However, God has promised to us an open door that no man can shut (Rev. 3:8), that is until He shuts it.
At the Rapture of the Church, our faithfulness will likewise be vindicated, and the earth-dwellers will very soon one day wake up to âsudden destruction.â So as you see the world coming apart at the seams, hold fast and remember. (Hebrews 10:23-25, 37)
Todd Hampson âNoah seemed crazy until the rain started. But soon, the world was covered by violent water like a massive boiling pot. Please donât ignore the conditions that are screaming at us that the Lord is real, that time is short, that judgment is coming, and that Jesus paid it all. It doesnât matter what your past is, or how hard you have run from God. Today is the day of salvation. Jesus paid it all. Please come to him now! You too can have hope, clarity, and joy in the midst of these increasingly disruptive world conditions. He promises to never leave us.â
I believe that we are living on the very threshold of eternity.
I believe that the rain is coming.
Please, donât miss the boat. Get on the arc now!
AS IN THE DAYS OF NOAH!:
https://www.rapturecountdown.com/as-in-the-days-of-noah/
God bless you
Bro
Keegan
Watchman in the wilderness
Mywebsite : www.rapturecountdown.com
Pastor JD talks about holding on to hope in the soon return of Jesus despite the potential for our lives to become increasingly more difficult.
