The Days of Noah

 A popular YouTuber made the following statement along with a question:

I get emails, literally by the hundreds, from people telling me the Nephilim story, the story of the Bible. We get dozens of comments in the comment section, dozens and dozens of emails saying, "It's all in the Bible. All you have to do is read the Bible." All I have to do is accept the name of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, on and on and on. Multiple times. Hundreds of times. Thousands of times. What I'm commonly hearing people says is, "It's all in the Bible! It's all right there in the Bible. You just gotta read the Bible." Now ... I am asking an innocent, honest question. Don't get offended and don't run away thinking you are being insulted or offended in any way. This is just questions and answers time at the roundtable. Now my question is, "If all of the answers are in the Bible, and everything is in the Bible, you just have to put faith in the Bible ... okay. Now, I am looking at the planet. I am seeing for myself that I would think it would be safe to say that at this point in time society ... around the world, and across the board, are possibly at their darkest times right now. Maybe. Possibly. Alright. That is just from my observation of watching the different countries around the globe and their interactions with each other, what they are doing to each other, what's being done to each other, what's happening to all of our societies today across the board, and I'm seeing the absolute darkest of times. I've seen a lot of evil go down. A lot of very, very, bad people in power. And I don't see any change coming to that anytime soon. So my question would be to people who lay faith in the Bible ... if everything is right there and it is so simple, how come nothing's changing? That's my honest question. Why is nothing changing? There is literally, possibly, hundreds of millions of people who read and put their faith in the Bible and I know many of them. Many of them are my friends. I love them, respect them, and would protect them with my life. But, my honest question is, "Why is nothing changing for the better?"

My question to this gentleman would be simple. Have you read the Bible? If he had, he may have come across Acts 17:11. It says, "Now the Bereans were more noble-minded than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true." It is my observation that he has never read the Bible. Because if he had, then he would know not to take people's word at face value that they are correctly interpreting the scriptures. Like a Berean, he should read the Bible for himself. The conclusion he makes that comes across in his question is that the world should be "changing for the better." What "better" looks like, he never defines and is open to interpretation. If he would read the Bible he would notice that the "darkest of times," the evil going down, and the "very very bad people in power" are foretold by the Bible.

Interestingly, he mentions the Nephilim. The Nephilim briefly appears in Genesis 6. Just after their mention, we read, "The 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 time. The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them (Genesis 6:5-7).” The wickedness and evil that God saw caused Him to say that He regretted making humanity. So much so, that He flooded the entire earth destroying all of mankind. What does this have to do with the YouTuber's comments about the state of the world? 

In Matthew 24, Jesus Christ was talking about His Second Coming and that nobody would know the day or the hour. However, He did say something about the condition of the world at that time. "But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark ... (Matthew 24:36-38)" Jesus said that at the time He would come it would be "as it was in the days of Noah." If God flooded the globe because of the wickedness and evil in it at the time, that means that there will be wickedness and evil in the world at the time Jesus Christ returns. This confirms what the gentleman was lamenting over regarding things not appearing to get better in the world. They are not supposed to be getting better. Unfortunately, they will get worse as time goes on. 

2 Timothy 3:1-5 says, "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people." Nothing is changing for the better because the Bible isn't geared towards changing the world for the better. The Bible is about God's plan of salvation for mankind through faith in Jesus Christ. The Bible predicts times will be bad. That is a good thing from a salvation point of view because when the world falls apart people turn toward God and hopefully will believe in the Lord. Furthermore, one day there will be a new heaven and earth. The only question is will you be there or not?

 

 

Spiritual Welfare

"They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven." Acts 1:10-11

According to an article titled, "The Problems with Public Welfare," one of the problems is that "It undermines personal responsibility and incentive in the poor to help themselves." The argument is that paying someone who is unemployed or underemployed incentivizes them not to look for work. Why look for a job when you are paid not to look for one? But, I am not here to discuss the details of public welfare, but how it resembles a problem within the Christian church. Since the moment Jesus Christ ascended to heaven, as recorded in the first chapter of Acts, the End Times became a hot topic. It seems that each time there is a newsworthy event Christians pour through the scriptures to find a verse that supports their belief that the event signals the return of Jesus Christ. Whether it is a political leader rising to power, a natural disaster, an astrological oddity, unusual animal behavior, you name it, Christians respond by "looking intently up into the sky" expecting the Lord to return. In general, there is nothing wrong with this behavior. After all, it was Jesus Christ who said, "When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near (Luke 21:28)” referring to our response to various signs and wonders. However, I see a segment of the Church that appears to have forsaken their personal responsibility to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ in favor of expecting Jesus to step out of the clouds and return every time something happens. It has led to a sort of apathy amid Christians. Rather than using these events as a catalyst to engage the culture with the message of Jesus Christ, they disengage and become of no earthly good. 

Like the "two men dressed in white," you want to say to these Christians, "why do you stand here looking into the sky?" Jesus Christ is going to return. His return will be like a thief in the night. There will be signs prior to His return. However, Jesus said, "But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only (Matthew 24:36)." Yet, here we are trying to determine the moment He returns even though He said no one knows. Interestingly enough, the last recorded earthly words of Jesus Christ were about this subject. When asked if He was going to restore the kingdom to Israel, Jesus responded by saying, "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:7-8)." The same mindset of the early Church remains today. They were focused on Jesus restoring the kingdom to Israel. Today, the focus is on His return. Yet, the message of Jesus remains the same. Preach the Gospel! There are millions, if not billions, of people on this earth headed to a Christless eternity in hell. Our mission as born again Christians is to be witnesses to the ends of the earth. If you believe that Jesus Christ's return is set to happen, that should light a fire underneath you to get out there and try to rescue people. The men in white said, "this same Jesus" will "come back." And we know from Scripture that "he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him (Hebrews 9:28)." Let us make sure that there are as many people waiting for Him when He comes as humanly possible. As much as we want to see our Savior, this is no time to get caught up in a form of spiritual welfare and leave our responsibility to be witnesses for Jesus Christ to others. Grace and Peace. 

Dereliction of Duty

"Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven (Acts 1:11)." Dereliction of duty is the failure to fulfill one's obligation. Christians are called Ambassadors of Christ in 2 Corinthians 5:20. An ambassador is an official representative to a foreign country. Jesus Christ instructed His followers to "go and make disciples of all nations." Therefore, it is safe to say that as Christians we are ambassadors of a "foreign country," the Kingdom of God, sent here to represent the Lord by making disciples through the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Yet, there seems to be an increasing focus on everything "End Times" that makes it appear that Christians are more concerned about Jesus returning and getting us out of here, instead of focusing on the lost and sharing the Gospel. I see a popular pastor promoting his book about the "Apocalypse." There are just as many Christians talking about an economic "collapse" happening in the near future. We are all familiar with the false prophets who have predicted the end of the world recently and yet we are still here. Plus, anytime there is a large earthquake or something happens in Israel or the Middle East, people act as if that particular event is the event leading to Jesus stepping out of the clouds. Now, don't get me wrong, Jesus did talk about signs of the End of the Age and how they signal our redemption being near, but I charge that there are way too many believers who seem to be derelict in their "duty" to share the Gospel and would rather keep "looking into the sky"waiting for the Lord's return.

Jesus said, "Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ, ' and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.  Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places (Matthew 24:4-7)." Do you recognize the brilliance of God in these words? There has never been a time in all of history, specifically since Jesus spoke these words, where there hasn't been false Christs deceiving people, wars and rumors of wars, nation rising against nation, kingdom against kingdom, famines and earthquakes in various places. I believe He said this so every generation of believer from the time He was on earth until His return would have a sense of urgency about preaching the Gospel. We know He can come back at any minute or centuries from now because the signs of His return are always present. Therefore, be about your duty of spreading the Gospel and try to get people saved. As a Christian you are prepared for His return regardless of when it happens. However, for those who don't believe in Jesus Christ the clock is ticking for them. If they were to die apart from a saving faith in Jesus Christ their eternal fate is sealed with no second chance! It is to their benefit that Jesus hasn't returned yet. Use the "signs" as a way to tell people about Jesus Christ and what He did the first time He was here so they can get saved and be ready for His Second Coming. I cannot wait for Jesus to come back, but I implore you to get your eyes off the sky and on to your fellow man. The angels have already said Jesus will come back and Jesus said not to be alarmed. Let us fulfill our duties and see if we can gather a few more people for Him when He does return.