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This past weekend my husband and I took our twelve-year-old grandson to the Ark Encounter and Creation Museum in Kentucky. I highly recommend both.
One thing that stood out to me was a sign which caught my attention. It read, "The Pre-Flood World was Exceedingly Wicked and Deserved to be Judged...Does Our Sin-Filled World Deserve Any Less?"
During the time of Noah, mankind had become completely depraved; evil in every intention and practice. The Bible tells us God was grieved with His creation, but there was one man and his family who had kept their focus on God. That man was Noah.
God instructed Noah to build a boat large enough to withstand the wildest waves and torrential storms; big enough to house a multitude of animals and Noah's family members until the rains were over and God's wrath had subsided.
According to Jesus' words in Matthew 24:37, "As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man," we are in the last days before God's judgment.
Tell-Tale Signs
Look around and you can see the signs. People are enamored with themselves; they are boastful and proud; abusive and disobedient to authority; ungrateful and unholy (2 Timothy 3:2).
Knowledge is increasing rapidly and in areas which should be off limits (Daniel 12:4). Additionally, there is much talk of a one-world government and coinage system (Daniel 2:41-42; Revelation 13), and talks of the third temple being built just as the Bible says it will be (Daniel 9:24-27).
Further, early church fathers believed in the correlation between the six days of creation and a six-thousand year timeline. For instance, Irenaeus said, "The day of the Lord is as a thousand years, and in six days created things were completed. It is evident, therefore, they will come to an end in the six thousandth year.” Against Heresies, 5:28
Finally, the last days technically began when Jesus left this earth, and ever since, we have been waiting for His return.
Paul, Peter, and James all believed they were living in the last days. Paul wrote in Romans 13:11, "Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed."
Peter said, "The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers (1 Pet. 4:7)."
And James wrote in his letter, "You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand (James 5:8)."
Conclusion
Though it is unmistakable we are living in the last days, there is something even more immediate deserving of our attention...are we ready for the big event?
Christ could return at any moment. We do not know the hour or the day He has chosen to stop the clocks of time as we know it, but it is going to happen. Therefore, you and I need to make sure we are ready by examining our lives for eternal assurance of our destination. In other words, have you and I personally made a decision to follow Jesus?
Just as in the days of Noah, people believed they had time. Matter-of-fact, they refused the countless opportunities God gave them to turn their lives around and follow Him. And because they refused, they perished.
Jesus said, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it (Matt. 7:13)."
Thankfully, if you are reading this blog, then there is still time. Don't wait to get your life in order. Jesus is coming back and I, for one, am keeping an eye on the skies.
Blessings,
Kristi