Scripture urges us to be prepared for the end of our life whether it is caused by the return of Christ or by our death.
The question of eternity is… when Christ returns will he find us asleep at the switch and reclined in leisure, or will He catch us diligently working to fulfill His Great Commission to make disciples and teach them His Word?
I found out that “it is not difficult in our world to get a person interested in the message of the gospel; it is extremely difficult to sustain the interest. Millions of people in our culture make decisions for Christ, but there is a dreadful small rate that lives as Christians!
Many claim to have been born again, but the evidence for mature Christian discipleship is slim.
So let me link the days of Noah and the days of Lot with our days!
In Genesis 14:8 And the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out and joined together in battle in the Valley of Siddim… We have 5 cities lived in that time…Which God destroyed according to Genesis 19:24 Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens. 25 So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.
The question is what did they do before they got destroyed?
Let us turn to Luke17:26 And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: 27 They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; 29 but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.
I’m going to give you 4 parallel signs of the days of Noah and lot, linked to our days indicating the soon return of our lord Jesus Christ our savior!
1. There was personal prosperity
Matthew 24:38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,
This is a sign of prosperity… you cannot start building, planting, selling, buying, Marring and giving in marriage if there is no economic prosperity!
But what really got me is that they were mocking the warning of Lot, Genesis 19:14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, “Get up, get out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city!” But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking. They mocked him, why?
Because they looked around and everything was just fine… no sign of abnormality!
Genesis 13:10 And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar. So they mocked and scoffed!
Even peter calls Noah a preacher of righteousness, in 2 Pet 2:5. When you walk upright with God, and walk in righteousness… you are a target for scoffers.
They will be like… are you kidding? You need to be strong today otherwise people will step all over you, you need to defend yourself forget about Mr. nice guy! There is no God you’re brainwashed!
2 peter 3:3 knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, 4 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 creation.”
Look at what Jesus thinks about scoffers…Matthew 24: 48 But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, 50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, 51 and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
When we see earthquakes, tsunamis, big terrorist attacks, and natural disasters… people get religious and start to talk about the coming of the lord… But when these disasters cease…they stop talking about Jesus and start mocking and joking!
Remember the black day (Melbourne’s fire), remember Queensland’s flood, and remember the earthquake in Christchurch NZ that destroyed churches amongst other buildings!
There were over 50,000 people in these 5 cities so people thought it’s impossible that they will perish just like that!
So building, selling, planting, eating, and drinking draws attention away from the day of the lord… that’s why Jesus said in Mark 13: 32 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is.
Hence, we have a big impact when prosperity and Matthew 24:6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. 10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved.
These 2 tracks will collide… when that happens then comes the ultimate sign of the coming of the lord Jesus Christ… so stay awake church, stay alert, don’t get taken by surprise! No one except Noah and Lot expected this destruction… And that shows that things were very normal, and when things are very normal and prosperity is preached, people worry about eating and drinking, marring and giving in marriage, sawing and planting, and business is as usual… its then when Jesus will come!
2. The appeal to public promiscuity
Public indiscrimination of having same sex marriage, or mingling sexual partners...etc.
This was the concept of people’s mindset back then…. Appeal to connect with the iniquity, whatever the perversion of the flesh be part of it and accept it…. It’s part of us and this is who we are, you can’t be the ODD ONES!
What kind of perversion was there back then?
Genesis 6:4 There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.
The Bible talks about Giants, in Genesis and 2 Samuel 21:16-22 there was 5 giants.
Some parts of giant bodies were found in many places “land stone river-Texas” foot of a giant and dinosaurs were found, the hand of human prints shows that it was 22 inches long… 12-15 feet (20 inches longer than your hand and mine). A Skeleton was found in a mine in Italy (11-15 feet tall).
My point is this….
In the day of Noah…they were busy and obsessed with giants, and in the day of Lot… they were obsessed with homosexuals. Today we are obsessed with vampires, alleged aliens and UFO’s, so today; people have an obsession with any kind of twisted DNA and ideas of aliens mixing with human beings!
And if you’re interested about my opinion on aliens… I do believe they exist but I call them demons!
1Timothy 4:1Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, 3 forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.
3. The pressure to conform to perversion
Where the abnormal seems to be normal, right has become wrong, and evil has become good!
There are some crazy things happening today!
• If you to protect the unborn, then you are women hater.
• If you say marriage is between man and woman, then we are homophobic.
• If you say that jihadist are bad to our society and we must protect ourselves from them, then we are Islamophobic.
• If you are to criticize the government, then you are racist.
• If you say that Jesus is the only way, then you are a intolerable Christian.
Church, there is tremendous pressure on all the believers to conform to the world and accept everybody the way they are… and to compromise the righteousness and the holiness of God, and to forsake the laws and the ways of God to please people!
Imagine this with me, how could a true believer who absolutely knows the word of God conform to the things which are hated and are an abomination to God? It’s impossible and cannot be done!
Paul said in: 1 Thessalonians 2:4 But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts. 5 For neither at any time did we use flattering words, as you know, nor a cloak for covetousness—God is witness. 6 Nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, when we might have made demands as apostles of Christ.
4. The potential to sudden destructions
It took Noah 100 years to build the ark, and the bible said in Matthew 24: 38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
In the days of Lot the bible said in Luke 17:28 Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; 29 but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed. So there are parallels happening now as it happened in their days too…
People of old both Noah and Lot’s days were surprised at the type of judgment that took place!
Noah’s day’s… water covered the earth Genesis 7:19 And the waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth, and all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered. 20 The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered.
Lot’s day’s… fire and brimstones destroyed the 5 cities.
Lets talk about the lives that were lost… the earth was populated in both days, only 8 survived in Noah’s days and 3 in Lot’s days!
One of the signs of the coming of the lord is that there must be a separation between God’s people and the world… just as the Bible tells us:
? The separation of sheep and goats (Matt 25:31-33)
? The separation of good and bad fish (Matt 13:47-48)
? The separation of wheat and tares (Matt 13:24-30)
? 5 wise virgins from 5 foolish virgins (Matt 25:1-13)
? The profitable from none profitable servant (Matt 25:14-30).
Notice that all these are in the same field living together same net, and same estates!
Church we must stay clean, pure, and holy, our lord tells us in Matthew 24:43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. 44 therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
Matthew 26:41 Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Mark 13: 33 Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. It means to stay alert with signs and times; you must study the bible and watch of the signs of Jesus’ return.
So many prayer worries in Israel didn’t see the birth of Jesus coming, or even his death… Joseph Mary’s fiancé was a just man and righteous man, verse 24 Matthew 1 being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, he didn’t see it coming! He didn’t watch the signs of Jesus birth but he was a man of prayer!
But the Wise Men from the East in Matthew 2:1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”
You can pray but not be watchful, same thing can happen to us Christians today if we don’t pay attention! Jesus said pray and watch!
When we show people the events that take place today and match them with the Bible prophecies… people will respond, your family will get the message, someone will go on their knees!
Don’t be like Lot’s wife who looked behind… don’t look back, don’t turn back, don’t backslide, just move forward and keep your eyes focused on Jesus Philippians 3:14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
What is the Day of the Lord?
The Day of the Lord is a Day of Judgment, and Wrath.
When is the Day of the Lord?
The Date of the Day of the Lord is unknown; the time of the Day of the Lord is After the Rapture.
We must be spiritually Awake, We must be Self-Controlled, Choose to be a person of faith and Love, Choose to be a person of hope, choose to share the good news!
The Day of the Lord will be coming as a thief in the night.
Are you ready?
Matthew 24:40 show us what it will be like when the Lord comes... Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.
Zephaniah 1:14 The great day of the Lord is near; It is near and hastens quickly. The noise of the day of the Lord is bitter; There the mighty men shall cry out. 15 That day is a day of wrath, A day of trouble and distress, A day of devastation and desolation, A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness, 16 A day of trumpet and alarm Against the fortified cities And against the high towers.
1 Samuel 2: 9 He will guard the feet of His saints, But the wicked shall be silent in darkness.
I think that when the lightning and thunder hit, they will knock the power supply worldwide, darkness will cover the planet, and peace will be taken from the earth.
All of this will cause panic. Power will be out and phones and TV’s will be down, there will be communication outages; things that work by power may be out of order for weeks or months. This will result to tremendous panic, havoc, hunger, looting, riots, wars and more.
Revelation 2:26-29 says, “And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations—‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron; they shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels’—as I also have received from My Father; and I will give him the morning star. He who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Jesus is seeking the true church that pleases Him as the first church did in Acts 2:42: “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and in prayers.” They continued in doctrine, fellowship, breaking bread, and praying.
If you are here today and have never received forgiveness for your sins that is offered through Jesus Christ, praise the Lord for his patience and the opportunity you have this evening to enter into a relationship with Him by recognizing your need for a Savior because you have sinned against God by doing things that are wrong or by not doing things that you should have.
You can receive His forgiveness tonight and receive the salvation that He offers by repenting of your sin and confessing “with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believing in your heart that God raised Him from the dead.”
Don’t test the Lord’s patience. While He is abundantly patient, the rapture and the beginning of the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night at time when you do not expect it.
Don’t be left behind to experience the day of wrath and judgment. Become a child of the day by receiving Christ as Savior.
Invite Jesus into your life…
Pray this prayer after me:
Almighty Father, I know and acknowledge that I am a sinner. I repent, right now, of all my sins, and I am asking You to forgive me. You said in Your Word, “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved”. And so I am calling on the name of Your Son, Jesus, to come into my heart and be my Savior. You also said, “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from
the dead, you will be saved” . I believe with my heart that Jesus died for my sins and was raised from the dead so that I may have eternal life. I confess Him right now as my Lord.
In the name of Jesus I submit this prayer. Amen.
If you are a Christian, don’t be a spiritual sleepwalker.
Be alert and have self-control making the most of every opportunity as you guard your heart in faith and love and protect your mind with the sure hope of your salvation through Jesus Christ.
