IN THE DAYS OF NOAH
Jesus tells us that immediately prior to His coming back, society will be just as it was in the days of Noah (see Matthew 24:38-39). Notice that Jesus doesn’t mention a single sin in this description. We all know it’s not a sin to eat or drink proper beverages, or to get engaged or be married. Nor is it a sin to buy, sell, plant or build. There’s nothing wrong with any of these things and Jesus isn’t condemning these activities. Rather, He’s showing us these everyday happenings, as if to say, “That’s what life will be like when I return. It will be like any other ordinary day, when people aren’t expecting something to happen.”
So, what is Jesus saying about these ordinary scenes? Simply put, He is describing people who had determined to reject God’s warnings of judgment. Remember, Noah prophesied to his society for a hundred and twenty years, warning that total destruction was coming. But, as Scripture says, “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil” (Ecclesiastes 8:11).
This is exactly what is happening today. There has been a frenzy of buying and selling, eating and drinking, planting and building. Multitudes are obsessed with personal gain, and they turn off any negative message that might hinder their pursuits.
A godly woman wrote to me about a conversation she had with an elderly Jewish woman. This Holocaust survivor told her, “What is happening in America today reminds me of what happened in Germany during Hitler’s rise to power. All the warnings were ignored. I was only a child, but I still remember the huge parties that continued into the night even after Hitler started jailing Jews and shipping them off to the gas chambers.
“I remember the older Jews saying, ‘It can’t happen here, not in an educated, civilized society like Germany.’ Just a few weeks later, those same people were being pushed like cattle into rail cars headed for the concentration camps. They had thought the good times and prosperity would last forever.”
The warning cry has once again gone out to the Lord’s Church: “Jesus is coming! The Bridegroom is on His way. Adorn yourself, and be ready to go out to meet Him. Look up, for redemption is nigh!” Yet, even so, Jesus warns that people will ignore the call. They will be going about their business, giving no thought to His coming, ignoring all the prophetic signs. This premeditated apathy will be the very sign that He is coming!
So, what is Jesus saying about these ordinary scenes? Simply put, He is describing people who had determined to reject God’s warnings of judgment. Remember, Noah prophesied to his society for a hundred and twenty years, warning that total destruction was coming. But, as Scripture says, “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil” (Ecclesiastes 8:11).
This is exactly what is happening today. There has been a frenzy of buying and selling, eating and drinking, planting and building. Multitudes are obsessed with personal gain, and they turn off any negative message that might hinder their pursuits.
A godly woman wrote to me about a conversation she had with an elderly Jewish woman. This Holocaust survivor told her, “What is happening in America today reminds me of what happened in Germany during Hitler’s rise to power. All the warnings were ignored. I was only a child, but I still remember the huge parties that continued into the night even after Hitler started jailing Jews and shipping them off to the gas chambers.
“I remember the older Jews saying, ‘It can’t happen here, not in an educated, civilized society like Germany.’ Just a few weeks later, those same people were being pushed like cattle into rail cars headed for the concentration camps. They had thought the good times and prosperity would last forever.”
The warning cry has once again gone out to the Lord’s Church: “Jesus is coming! The Bridegroom is on His way. Adorn yourself, and be ready to go out to meet Him. Look up, for redemption is nigh!” Yet, even so, Jesus warns that people will ignore the call. They will be going about their business, giving no thought to His coming, ignoring all the prophetic signs. This premeditated apathy will be the very sign that He is coming!