Matthew 24:37-39
...'But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man
be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and
drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into
the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall
also the coming of the Son of man be.'
So what was it like in the days of Noah,
before he entered into the ark? ...Genesis
6:5,11,12 ...'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. The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled
with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for
all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.' ... So the earth in the days of Noah was full
of people who did not know God, who walked after their own flesh, in the lusts
of the flesh with evil, corrupt and violent ways. At this moment when God saw
this great wickedness, He repented and was sorrowful that He had made man ... Genesis 6:6 ...'And it repented the LORD that
he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.' ... We cannot imagine the anguish of our
loving Heavenly Father when He looked down upon the earth and saw no one
(except Noah) living a Godly life. It was so bad that God said ... Genesis 6:13 ...'The end of all flesh is come
before me.' ... God will only bare
with people's wicked ways for so long, before Judgment comes upon them.
Let's just stop and pause for a moment and
think about the number of people who were saved in Noah's day. Man lived for a
long time before the flood, like Methuselah, who lived for 969 years! So the
population of the earth would have been quite large, into many millions, and
yet only 8 were saved!Just think about that, only 8 people truly
trusted in God and followed His will. There must have been many others who
believed in God and 'in their own eyes' served God, but just as Jesus said in Matthew 7:21-23 ...'Not every one that saith
unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth
the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day,
Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out
devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto
them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.' ... The same would have been true for many
people in Noah's day. They would profess to be God's people, but in fact they
were still walking in the flesh, living a life of sin and not obeying God's
Commands.
Afterall, God said that man would have 120
years from the time He proclaimed that He would destroy the earth with the
flood ... Genesis 6:3 ...'And
the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is
flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.' ... Noah would have preached to many people
during these years, while the ark was being built, but even though many may
have been professing to follow God, they would not open their ears and hearts
to the truth and the warning that Noah gave, and therefore perished in the
flood. Matthew 24:12 And because iniquity
shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
So do the same conditions exist in our world
today? Well, take a look around you, and you will see a world full of evil,
corruption and violence. I believe we are living in that time which Jesus
prophesied about. A time when the world would be in the same state as in the
days of Noah. God's Spirit is still striving with man, to convict him of sin
and to turn to God and obey Him and keep His ten commandments. But as that
verse in Genesis 6 says ... 'My spirit shall not
always strive with man.' ... God will give
everyone a chance to turn to Him with all their hearts, but if they choose to
ignore the promptings of the Holy Spirit and the warnings from God's Word, then
His spirit will be withdrawn and true will the verse become that says ... 'He that is unjust, let him be unjust still:
and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let
him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.'(Revelation 22:11) ... Once the door to mercy
is closed, they who are holy will remain holy, and they who are filthy will
remain filthy.
Today, we find the majority of people in the
world choosing the 'broad way' that leads to destruction, because the way to
eternal life is too narrow for them. They say that you don't need to keep God's
Commandments. They say that we can worship God any way we like. They say that
it is ok to like the things of this world. They say that we need to include
people from different faiths. They say that it is ok for active homosexuals to
take part in and lead church worship. They say many things that are clearly
contrary to the Word of God. Why? Because they walk after the flesh rather than
the Spirit. And because they have closed their hearts to the promptings of the
Holy Spirit and are heading for destruction. The constant indulgence of sin
that existed in Noah's day, exists today, and notice one thing about what Jesus
said ...
Matthew 24:38 ...'For
as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in marriage.'
What is the significance with this? Is it a
sin to be eating and drinking and marrying? No, but this verse shows that the
people of the world then lived for themselves and did not live for God, also
they ignored the warnings from Noah and carried on in their worldly lives as if
nothing was going to happen. This is the state we find the world today. God's
true people around the world are warning the rest of this world that the day of
judgment is coming, and that we should be obeying God and keeping His
commandments and following in Jesus' footsteps. The end time message has been
preached for over 100 years, but is the world listening? No! The majority of
people are ignoring the warning signs, just like in the days of Noah. Mankind
is too blinded by the pleasures of this world to be able to read the signs and
heed the warning.
What about Bible prophecy? Is the professing
church studying this? No! Compared to the number of professing Christians in
the world today, very few are interested in Bible prophecy, and very few are
searching the scriptures daily to find out the truth. Many are deceived into
thinking that God's grace covers their continued worldly living in sin. Oh how
great the number of people that have turned the grace of God into a license to
sin. Oh how great the number of people who think they are headed for the
Heavenly Kingdom but in reality are heading into the fire! But Christ, with the
door of mercy still open, sends His messengers throughout the world to convict
the world of sin and through the promptings of the Holy Spirit, some will heed
the warnings and turn to Him. But as in the days of Noah, the majority will
scoff at the warnings and ignore the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
2 Peter 3:3
.....'Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers,
walking after their own lusts.'
Then the cry will go out from Heaven saying "he
that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be
filthy still."
Remember, only 8 people were saved in the days
of Noah, and Jesus confirmed that only few will be saved in the end ... Matthew 7:14 ...'Because strait is the gate,
and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.' ... Will you heed the warning? Will you start
preparing yourself and others for that 'great and dreadful day' when our Lord
returns? Will you be with the saints at the end when Jesus returns?
Revelation 14:12
...'Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the
commandments of God,
and the faith of Jesus.'
Pastor Rolando Ramos
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