In the beginning the world was in chaos. There was no form, no function, no order, "Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths." GOD was not pleased with what He saw and created the heavens, the earth, and all living things. "GOD said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. GOD saw that the light was good, and GOD separated the light from the darkness." The creation plan was orderly, achieved step by step; following each step GOD stood back, enjoyed what He had accomplished, and called it good. From this story of the beginning of time until today, light is the symbol of goodness, of Christ, "I am the Light of the world. Anyone who follows Me will never walk in the darkness but will have the Light of Life." And conversely, darkness is depicted as evil.
Mankind could not hold onto that light and sin entered the world. Following the Fall of Adam and Eve mankind survived for several generations. Once again chaos reared its venomous head and evil overcame the world. Mankind was so wicked, GOD could not look upon His creation, "When the LORD saw that man’s wickedness was widespread on the earth and that every scheme his mind thought of was nothing but evil all the time, the LORD regretted that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. Then the LORD said, ’I will wipe off the face of the earth: man, whom I created, together with the animals, creatures that crawl, and birds of the sky—for I regret that I made them.’" However, GOD’s disgust with mankind did not take away His love for the Creation or even mankind. GOD had mercy on Noah, and his family was spared to carry on GOD’s plan for the world. For several more generations the population grew and again certain areas became vile in GOD’s site. The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their inhabitants except for Lot and his daughters, were annihilated in a storm of fire and brimstone. To this day no one knows the exact locations of these cities nor has any archaeological digs found remnants of them. It is as if they never even existed.
These were all tragic circumstances. But we must wonder: Just how wicked had these people become that the Creator was so sickened by their actions He completely eradicated them from existence? How chaotic had the world developed to so thoroughly appall the GOD of love? "And we have come to know and to believe the love that GOD has for us. GOD is love." The people had become wicked and GOD amassed His divine judgment upon them.
Do you reckon they had any advance warning this destruction was going to happen? "Then GOD said to Noah, “I have decided to put an end to all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence because of them; therefore I am going to destroy them along with the earth. Make yourself an ark"... And Noah did this. He did everything that GOD had commanded him." We know it took Noah some time to build this big old boat and to collect all the animals. There is also some thought there had been no rain on the earth until this time; it was watered by underground sources. Humankind is a curious lot. We would have to suppose when Noah began building, the people would have gathered around and inquired what he was up to. Scripture says Noah "did everything that GOD had commanded him." Do you imagine Noah warned them of the coming catastrophe? Wouldn’t any good neighbor warn another of a coming disaster? Abraham tried to talk GOD away from destroying Sodom and Gomorrah. The angels of the LORD gave the cities ample opportunity to repent; even Lot, in his own perverse way, attempted to dissuade them of their wicked intention. Yet they continued on with their faces turned against GOD.
Over the past few months several horrendous natural disasters have occurred in the world. In Myanmar a devastating cyclone has killed as many as 128,000 people, tens of thousands are missing. Anywhere from 1.4 – 2.5 million people are either homeless or in desperate need of aid. Yet their government is hindering any form of international effort to provide aid to these people. Aid which is reaching the country is being commandeered by the military and either hoarded or sold. An earthquake of 7.9 magnitude hit Sichuan, China; death tolls are 12,000 or more and 80% of the homes and business in the area are completely destroyed. The Chinese government is playing down the destruction, but videos smuggled out tell a different story. In the south central United States on February 5th and 6th, 50 tornadoes touched down causing 58 deaths and several more injuries. Then on May 7th through the 9th 57 more tornadoes were reported in a swath from Mississippi to Maryland killing at least one person in Greensboro,North Carolina. These twisters were accompanied by high winds, torrential rains and severe hail storms. We quickly place the blame on climatic changes caused by global warming or some other scientific phenomena.
"Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and they will deceive many. You are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, because these things must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines, epidemics, and earthquakes in various places. All these events are the beginning of birth pains." Are all these disasters a warning of the coming of the end of time? That is not for us to know; only GOD has that answer, "these things must take place, but the end is not yet."
While watching the news reports of some of these disasters, I was taken aback by what some of the victims were saying, "If we had only had more warning, we could have been better prepared." I do not know what type of warning system Myanmar has for alerting their people to the impending dangers of approaching cyclones, but I imagine many people were aware of it. As of now, there is no way to accurately predict when an earthquake is going to hit, or how strong it is going to be; so the people in China and other earthquake zones throughout the world are at the mercy of natural forces. Our tornado warning system in this country is beyond compare. Week before last when the storm system which spawned all those tornadoes was barreling across the Midwest and into the East coast, the television was constantly broadcasting updates and warnings. Tornado watch areas were continually scrolling across the bottom of the TV screen. In the Greensboro area the television stations preempted regular programming and ran a continual broadcast, tracking the storms. Just how much warning do we need?
Do all these disasters indicate Jesus is coming soon? If He is coming when will it be; will we have any warning? Just as those people in Sichuan, China did not realize an earthquake was coming until the ground began trembling we will not know Jesus is returning until He steps out on the clouds. "For the LORD Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet of GOD!" Is that going to be sufficient warning?
How wicked was the world in the days of Noah, or how despicable were the people of Sodom and Gomorrah? Are we close today, how close? GOD is in control of all this chaos. He originally created the world out of chaos, re-created it after Noah, and will do so again if need be. Are we going to be able to avoid the calamities of the coming times? No! What are our options? The key word is preparation, "Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and they will deceive many."
The tornado alert sirens are screaming, the TV news forecasters are calling out flood and Hurricane warnings; are we listening, "If I had only had more warning..." But by the love of GOD we are given that warning and can be ready for the impending disaster. "The eleven disciples traveled to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had directed them. When they saw Him, they worshiped, but some doubted. Then Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Our warning system is, "Go, therefore, and make disciples." GOD’s creation design was perfect, what have we done with it? If we are in need of more warning, if for some reason we are unsure, then remember these words of Jesus, "I am with you always, to the end of the age." That is sufficient warning to avert us from any disaster. The storm clouds are building and Jesus Christ IS coming; maybe on the next cloud that passes by.
IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, THE SON, AND THE HOLY SPIRIT...AMEN
