The Eve Of Time

Matthew 24:36-44

The Day and Hour Unknown

“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; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him."

As I think about what has happened in this world this past year, I am remembering the song, sign of the times, by Prince. He talked about everything that was going on in the world at that time, and how it should have been a wake up call to us all. I realize that song is still relevant, because the same things are happening today, with some more unbelievable things added to the mix: war, crime, disease, illicit drug use, poverty, famine; now add sex trafficking and slavery, earthquakes and tsunamis, monster storms, increased hatred and apostasy, signs in the heavens, 'stars' (meteorites) falling from the sky, near misses from visiting asteroids, strange weather patterns and unusual occurrences around the world. If these are not the signs of the times that we live in, then it is certainly a very realistic simulation.

We are in the eve of times, the times prophesied in the bible by God's servants, the prophets, and also from Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He told us that we must vigilant and be like watchmen ourselves, to interpret the times that we live in. He told us ahead of time what the world would be like at the end, so that His people, His children, would not be in the dark and miss the time of His visitation. "As in the days of Noah......"

When the world faced total destruction in the past, the Lord was gracious to warn the wicked people living in the land that the Lord would punish them and destroy them, but if they repented and sought His face, His presence in their lives, that He would save all those who were willing to be saved. Now, all the righteous people had already died and disappeared from the face of the earth, all except Noah and his family. He had His servant, Noah preach for over a hundred years to the people that passed by, as He built the ark with his sons, and prepared for the flood, yet no one would listen. They laughed at Him and rebuked Him, and they kept on doing what they wanted to do because it gave them pleasure, it made them feel important, and they believed they were in charge of their own destinies.

Yes, the devil had deceived them completely, and so they kept on doing evil; war, crime, fornication and adultery, hatred of each other, stealing from each other, worshiping themselves and false gods; selfishness was rampant, and there was very little love lost between them. So, when the ark was completed, they marveled that these 8 people in all the world would believe in such a fairy tale: water from the sky that will flood the earth? Nothing had ever happened this way before and they did not believe it would happen at all.

But then, Noah and his family moved into the ark, and then, something truly strange started to happen. All types of birds came from the sky, and all types of animals walked from the plains and into the ark. As far as the witnesses could tell, Noah did not invoke a spell to charm these animals, they just came out of their own free will. What was even stranger is that while some of the animals got into the ark, some waited outside and surrounded the ark, as if to protect it.

Then, something strange and wondrous happened again, as the doors of the ark started to close themselves. Some of the people watching, I imagine, got a strange feeling in the pit of their stomachs at this scene; if they did feel something, it wasn't enough to get them to believe in this judgment of God or in the flood.

It was only when the clouds began to form and the sky opened up and rain came down by the buckets full, and the earth began to move with gushing waters that quickly flooded the plains and their homes, did they begin to fear and realize the truth, but it was already too late.

I am urging everyone to choose to see the world as the Lord sees it; this world needs a cleansing and a new start. The enemy of us all, satan, must be stopped and He and all of his followers must be defeated. True peace and love cannot rule in the earth until evil and the corruption that evil brings is destroyed. We live in a battleground, between the forces of good and evil, and I am happy to say that good won the war 2000 years ago when Our Lord Savior, Jesus Christ died on the cross. He was the answer to all of humanity's problem, our fallen human nature.

His gift of salvation is freely given to everyone who will receive it, and He will never turn away even the least of those seeking His face. Once everyone of His children are found and delivered into His arms, then He will deal with the devil and his followers, those who would reject the sovereignty of the Lord Jesus Christ over their lives.

He will deliver His people from the judgment that is coming upon the earth, by taking them to a place of safety and refuge while He puts the devil until His heel, and He will wait patiently for the last ones, the ones that come to Christ during the time of tribulation, the time of sorrow and testing, as expressed in the book of revelation. Then, He will unleash His full wrath upon the unbelievers and haters, and He will bring about a new kingdom on the earth, where love, compassion, and wisdom will abound in peace and joy.

Please, don't try to dismiss the signs of the times, don't reject the word of God and His Holy Spirit, as He knocks on the door of your heart. You know that strange feeling at the bottom of your stomach? That is His warning, He is asking you to stop believing in the devil's lies, and begin to seek the truth about life, about yourself, about God. Don't let the 'powers that be' that strut themselves about on the earth deceive you into believing that God and Jesus Christ are just myths, fairy tales to tell to people when you want them to be 'good'. You cannot be 'good' enough to escape the judgment that is soon coming. Every bad thought or action you have ever had or done will be accounted for by God, and if you are not covered by the Blood of the Lamb, if your name is not listed in the Book of Life, you will not be saved from eternal judgement.

Please listen to Him calling you from His heart, and let His grace and mercy cover your sins, your heartaches, your fears and anxieties, your bitterness, your selfishness. You have to understand that there is no one on the earth worthy to receive His goodness; we are all sinners and we all deserve the second death into the lake of fire, but Jesus loves us so much, that He sacrificed himself so that we can spend eternity with Him, in love, in peace, in happiness, in His perfect image of ourselves.

Harden not your heart, and begin to seek His face, ask Him to prove himself to you; He can handle any challenge that you bring to him. Don't doubt that He will answer you, so when He does, believe the answer that He provides, and surrender your life to Him.

Prayer of Salvation

Lord,

I repent for trying to be master of my own life. I change my mind about who I want to be in charge of my life. I turn from my useless and unproductive thoughts that I am the center of my universe and choose to believe in the living God who created everything, including me (Acts 14:15). I have lived without a purpose but now I will live to hear and obey You, God (Jn. 5:19, 20,30).

I confess with my lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in my heart that God raised Him from the dead. I believe that God so loved the world He sent His only Son Jesus to shed His blood to wash away the barrier of sin (Jn. 3:16)

I receive You, Jesus as MY Lord and Savior (Jn. 1:11,12).

I welcome You, Holy Spirit, into my life to rescue and empower me and to restore me to intimacy with my heavenly Father (Acts 2:38).

If you just confessed this prayer, you are saved! I welcome you into the family my (brother/sister) I pray for peace, joy, and happiness in your life as you allow the Lord to love you and bless you and give you assurance of everlasting life with Him forever and ever......PRAISE GOD!

May the Lord keep you and Bless you this day....AMEN