A Consumption Determined Upon the Whole Earth
Posted by israeliteindeed on December 3, 2011
The Lord Jesus said the end of this world and His coming will be as the days of Noah were.
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. (Matt. 24:37-39)
Noah worked out his own salvation with fear and trembling for 120 years. It isn’t as though he saved himself, for it was the Lord who gave him the plan of salvation by which he and his family could live. But when Noah was warned by God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, he prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. (Heb. 11:7) God shut him in the ark at the end, just before destruction came, and watched over that family for their good–BUT, had Noah not dedicated his life to obeying the instructions God gave him for salvation, he and his family would have been finally destroyed with everyone else.
Contrary to the example of Noah, there are many professing “Christians” today who are not moved with fear at the warnings of God, but have been lulled into carelessness by teachers who tell them what their itching ears want to hear. They are in the gravest of eternal dangers. How many warnings in the Scriptures have you passed over, being told by some teacher that the warning does not apply to you? Be not deceived, dear reader. Every warning in Scripture is for you. Paul wrote that the Old Testament was written for our learning, upon whom the ends of the world have come (I Cor. 10:1-12), and the entire New Testament was written and preserved for us as well. The warnings of Jesus are not merely for the Jewish people, and the writings of Paul for only Gentiles–this is another lie designed to rob the fear of God from men. This lie has people avoiding the Scriptures that they ought to simply obey.
When Jesus said to cut off the offending hand or foot rather than risk eternal fire (Matt. 18:8), He meant it, and He meant you to heed the warning and remove from your life the things that are making you stumble.
When Jesus said whoever denies Him before men will also be denied before the Father in heaven (Matt. 10:33), He meant it, and He meant you to heed the warning and unashamedly stand for Him in word and deed.
Paul himself taught that what counts is the keeping of God’s commands (I Cor. 7:19) and only those who patiently continue in doing good will receive eternal life (Rom. 2:6-11). His message agrees with the teaching of Jesus.
How did Noah condemn the world?–by preparing an ark. Christian, if you spend your life obeying the Lord by preparing an ark, you too will condemn the world. By your fear of God and obedience to Him, you demonstrate that the world is without excuse. If Noah could fear the Lord and obey His instructions for salvation, so could everyone else. If Noah could stand out as a preacher of righteousness before his ungodly neighbors, and if Noah could reject the eat, drink, and be merry mentality; so could everyone else (2 Pet. 2:5).
The difference between Noah and his neighbors was that Noah feared the Lord and heeded His warnings, while his neighbors didn’t fear the Lord nor harken to His warnings. If you do as Noah did, the world will feel condemned, and they will hate you for it. They wish you would run with them in the same flood of dissipation [intemperance, indulgence in sensual pleasure, wasteful consumption, amusement] they run in, and they will speak evil of you for your careful obedience to God (I Pet. 4:4); nevertheless, deny yourself and follow Jesus, knowing that the ark you are preparing will be to your deliverance in the day of wrath.
I Peter 3:20 says the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah while the ark was preparing. What was God waiting for?–He was waiting for the people to repent of their wickedness at the preaching of Noah. I believe the longsuffering of God is waiting today for the last few people to repent at the preaching of modern-day Noah’s, and get on board the only way, truth and life there is. But unfortunately for many, 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. (Eccl. 8:11) They mock, “Judgment is coming?–You’ve been saying that for 100 years!” And even professing Christians mock at the righteous who are laboring in the narrow way, denying themselves and following Jesus. They jeer, “You think you can earn your salvation! You think Jesus died in vain!” Their view of Jesus is that He delivered them from the eternal principle of reaping what is sown, so they can continue to do abominations without judgment! (Jer. 7:10) Woe to them!
Today, God has His Noah’s before this modern wicked generation. God has given instructions for salvation, and the Ark in which man can be saved is Jesus Christ. The instructions include repentance toward God (turning away from everything God calls sin) and faith toward Jesus (trusting that Jesus is your salvation, and therefore following Him and doing what He says to the end.) Jesus taught that if a man obeys the Word of God, he will be saved from destruction, but if he doesn’t obey, he will be destroyed when the flood of judgment arrives (Matt. 7:21-29). Listening to the Word of God is not enough; without obedience to it, a man is only deceiving himself to think he will be saved (James 1:22-25). Going to church, doing some good things, visiting Christian blogs, etc., cannot save you–you must, by faith, carefully obey the instructions of God if you want to be saved. By faith Abraham obeyed (Heb. 11:8).
While the Lord Jesus can come on any day and require the soul of any man (Luke 12:20), the Bible clearly teaches that there is a day coming when the Ark of salvation will be shut for good and the whole earth will be consumed. Final salvation and final destruction will arrive on the same day. Don’t be deceived by the Left Behind lies of some teachers, who say you will have seven years to repent after the rapture. Jesus has stated emphatically that the end will come as in the days of Noah. The same day Noah entered the Ark, destruction fell; and the same day Lot left Sodom, the wicked were consumed (Luke 17:26-27). When Jesus appears with power and glory, He will gather His saints to Himself and destroy the wicked.
Peter wrote the following about the end of this world:
But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us,not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.
Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?…Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless. (I Pet. 3:7-14)
Indeed, in the face of such warnings, what manner of persons ought you to be? Are you a mocker, living carelessly as the day approaches, or are you like Noah, diligently preparing for the day that will surely arrive?
Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord GOD of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth. (Isa. 28:22)
God bless you.
