There is something that Jesus mentions about the last days that everyone likely knows, but it seems that very few understand:
“For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. “For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, they were marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so shall the coming of the Son of Man be. “Then there shall be two men in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left.” Matthew 24:37-39
The days of Noah were some evil days. The Earth was populated with ten generations of men, from Adam to Noah (Noah being the 10th generation from Adam). The average natural lifespan of these generations was 900 years – many generations overlapped previous generations. Each man had many sons and daughters throughout their lifetime, so there were many, many people populating the Earth. Looking back through each generation’s years since the Bible tells us how old they were when they had their sons and then how old they were when they died, you can easily create a timeline from Adam to Noah and, consequently, the flood. According to the Bible, the flood happened 1,656 years after Adam was created. You can imagine how many people could have been born in that time.
So, in that 1,656 years, what had men done that caused God to want to destroy the Creation?
5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7 And the LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.
Genesis 6:5–8.
Think about that: “every intent of the thoughts of man’s heart was only evil, continually.” There was nothing good in the heart of any man save one. How close do you think we are to that today? How fast do you think we are headed there? It is famous worldwide, and even the church believes that the world can improve and become a better place. I submit that no way that can happen as long as sinful pride and selfishness remain on the planet. Pride and selfishness are decaying agents, not creative agents. The world will continue to descend into the place of absolute evil that caused God to destroy the earth thousands of years ago until God steps in again.
Do we have the timing? Not the day or hour – nor will we ever know the details to that level of specificity. However, there is hope. In Genesis 18, we are told that the angels of the Lord informed Abraham about his coming son Isaac and were also sent to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Verse 22 picks up where the angels have just left Abraham:
“Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham was still standing before the LORD. And Abraham came near and said, “Wilt Thou indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? “Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; wilt Thou indeed sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it? “Far be it from Thee to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from Thee! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly? ”So the LORD said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place on their account. ”And Abraham answered and said, “Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord, although I am but dust and ashes. “Suppose the fifty righteous are lacking five, wilt Thou destroy the whole city because of five?” And He said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there. ”And he spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose forty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it on account of the forty. ”Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak; suppose thirty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there. ”And he said, “Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord; suppose twenty are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the twenty. ”Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once; suppose ten are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the ten. ”And as soon as He had finished speaking to Abraham the LORD departed; and Abraham returned to his place.”
Genesis 18:22-33
The Lord will not destroy the earth as long as righteous people are in it. He is longsuffering so that no one is left without the opportunity to be saved. Abraham lobbied the Lord to save the cities if as few as ten righteous people could be found within them, and the Lord agreed!
As Christians, we should echo the words of Paul. He said, “Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord—for we walk by faith, not by sight—we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. Therefore also we have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.”
2 Corinthians 5:6-9
We long to be absent from the body and at home with the Lord. But the Holy Spirit uses our gifts to increase the citizens of Heaven – and God is nothing if not zealous for those he loves. We should have a longing to see the lost be found and celebrate it like the homecoming it is. Every. Single. Time.
Know that the world is headed toward the days of Noah and not the increasing moral standards that the world tries to convince us all is coming. These things should not stress a Christian or cause gnashing of teeth by the body – they are a clear indication of the existence of the last days and a marker to confirm that we are, indeed, in the season of Christ’s return!
Look up! Be ready! Save as many as you can!
Your brother in Christ,
Duane
