In this modern-day world that we live in, many continue to be lulled into a
false sense of security that unrealistically says the world is “ok” and that
this invisible Savior that Christians believe in, is not coming to rapture
them out of this sinful world. Many non-believers say the fulfillment or
manifestations of prophecy given by many generations of “old folk” have not
come to pass. Some scoff and say, “Where is the promise of this Messiah’s
coming?” Is it in the Bible, in the weather patterns or signs in the sky, is
it in Christian people’s lives–where is this promise? Where are the signs
and what does the Bible say about the signs of His coming?
In II Peter 3:4 the word of God says, “And saying, Where is the promise of
his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they
were from the beginning of the creation.” There is a generation today very
much like the people of old, they heap scorn and ridicule on the message of
the gospel; the man or woman of God who may be the messenger has been made
the butt of jokes, and yet they themselves live in lust. Talk about the pot
calling the kettle black–how ludicrous can one get? It is obvious that
these false teachers will be destroyed as the enemies of God in the Day of
Judgement! The ridiculous implication of this question is: There is no
Second Coming; we can live any way we want.
This is, of course, in direct opposition to all that the Bible teaches
regarding the Second Coming of Christ as the ultimate fulfillment of the
prophecies of the Old Testament. All things continue as they were, they
said, God won’t bring judgment upon the living and the dead. They
persistently ignore one obvious fact. The fact is, all things are not the
same; God destroyed the world in judgment once, and this confirms rather than
disproves the warning that He will do it again (vss. 5-6). What God has
promised, He is able to perfom. We need to rest on the measure of faith God
has given us and take Him at His word–He will bear fruit just as He has so
many times before. Creation was by the Word of God. God called into
existence the sky, the dry land, and the water by His Word (Genesis 1:6-7,9),
and the world will only continue to exist by the Word of God (Colossians
1:17).
If you examine the obvious: the almost willful acts of detriment to the
environment by man, churches that are powerless in the community, the ozone
layer, increased acts of war, a loveless society that abandons and abuses
children and kills unborn babies, escalating crime rates, an icreased number
of those professing to be homosexual, incarcerating people for praying in
public, and ignoring the needs of the homeless and hungry people. The
evidence is man seems to be causing self-destruction to the human race. I
believe all of these are signs exclaiming that the return of the Messiah is
imminent. I believe II Timothy 3:1-5 explains it this way, “This know also,
that in the last days perilous times shall come.. (2) For men shall be lovers
of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to
parents, unthankful, unholy, (3) Without natural affection, trucebreakers,
false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, (4)
traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
(5) Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof; from such
turn away.”
Some of these same things were going on in Noah’s day and God repented that
He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart (Genesis 6:6)
God sought to destroy man and beast but Noah found grace in the eyes of the
Lord (Genesiss 6:8). God was pronouncing judgment on the earth, which meant
that man was doomed to death. Man was given 120 years after this warning
before the judgment of the Flood actually came. The implication with the use
of Gopher wood is the same, as the description of the basket Moses was placed
in–he became a deliverer of his people or a likeness of Jesus. I am sure
during the 120 years many scoffers made Noah the butt of many jokes but being
warned of God to build the ark to save his family, Noah walked by faith and
not by sight.
We too, like Noah, should be sensitive to the voice of the Lord warning us of
His “Second Coming.” Jesus, Himself, compares the days of Noah and of Lot in
Luke 17:26-30, to the time when He would return in judgment with power and
glory. In those earlier days men went about their ordinary pursuits without
thought of God. It will be the same when Christ comes to set up the kingdom.
The world is condemned already. However, Jesus has made the way for us to be
an heir of the righteousness, which is by faith.
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