Noah ... week IV
Matthew 24: 36-39
36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 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; 39 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.
I hope you’re sitting down.
I stressed for days before I brought these lessons to the class. I was convinced that this is exactly what the Word of God was teaching, I had done my research, read and re-read the Word, checked out the original words (Hebrew/Greek) and still I was left with the same understanding.
I am not sure, though I have my suspicions, why we have not been taught these lessons. I have grown up in Church. I have done Bible studies, and attended Bible studies for years, and yet I feel cheated. Have we been taught ‘down to’ because we are not able to understand the great truths of God’s Word, are we looked at as imbeciles who have to only be feed with milk? I want some meat and I want it now!
The Bible tells us that as new Christians we are spiritual babes, and we are. We are a little unsteady on our feet, we get worked up easy, we get knocked over easily, we like to be warm and comfortable, we like the familiar, and we love that bottle of milk. Given a piece of steak- we would probably choke to death. That’s why babies aren’t feed T-bones. But I’m not a baby- and I want some meat. I need something to chew on, to fill me up, to help me grow… and I want it now!
The Word of God is both milk for babes and meat for growing Christians. You can not live on milk for very long. Well, actually you could- but the result would not be good. Spindly, gaunt, hallowed eyed, weak, sickly, generally in poor health – that’s what would result if you tried to live off only milk for a few years. (Hmmm, I think I’ve seen some of these people). That’s why babies need to be introduced to cereals, vegetables, pastas, fruits, etc… and eventually duck and deer meat if you’re from Cape Island. They need to grow strong. We need to grow. You might have thrown away your bottle already… now its time to throw away your sippy cup!! NOW!!
The milk issues are the easily digested ones- they are the foundation that we lay, and then build on. There is one God, Jesus is the son of God, Jesus was born of a virgin, He was born sinless and lived a sinless life, Jesus gave His life on the cross as payment for my (our, your) sin, Jesus died and rose again bodily 3 days later, Jesus ascended into Heaven and now sits at the right hand of God….
The meat issues are the harder ones …. Spiritual warfare and the armour we wear, personal will versus God’s will, eternal security, everlasting hell fire and damnation, living holy lives pleasing to God, sanctification, justification and righteousness…
1 Cor 3: 1 Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3 You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly?
Hebrews 5:11 We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. 12 In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! 13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
Hebrews 6 1 Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death,[a] and of faith in God, 2 instruction about cleansing rites,[b] the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And God permitting, we will do so.
Our oldest daughter has done something this week that I have not done, nor has my mother endeavored to do, and I’m quite sure that Grammie and Nanny never did. She ate Porcupine meat. She said it tasted very good. A little prickly though (no not really- it was good). The month before she ate octopus. We (me, Mom, Nanny and Grammie) have never even tried these meats.
The Word of God is like that. It’s Meat.
Like meat, some of it is delicious, good tasting, enjoyable- that T-Bone I mentioned before, some of it is tender- a good ol’ corned beef and cabbage stew, some meat is marbled- a little juicy fat mixed in, some meat is tough or dry. The porcupine and octopus would fall into that category for me- a little hard to chew… and quite a different taste than what I’m used to.
Some of the meatier issues we are going to cover will be that way for you. You may need to stew over them- get them broken down into softer pieces; or you may need to chew on them for a while before you can digest it. But please, don’t spit them out… unless it’s a piece of grizzle (that’s how we say it and spell it on Cape Island, I’m sure it’s not right!)
That said, I should add that some things do need to be spit out- anything that is unbiblical, not sound doctrine, contrary to the Word of God needs to be spit out, and quickly with lots of force! The Bible tells us that we need to test the spirits to see if they are from God (Citation needed) and to check what we are being taught. Ultimately , that is your responsibility. As a teacher it is also my responsibility to you. I am held by God to a higher standard
James 3:1 Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.
Please know that I take this seriously, but at the same time any, ANY, teacher can be wrong. Run away from anyone who claims they cannot be in error, run and run quickly. A teacher who cannot be wrong, a teacher who cannot be questionned is a false teacher, and you need to flee as quick as you can.
There will be no defence as you stand before God giving account of yourself by saying “But
that’s what Nancy taught me” … sorry, that won’t help you one bit. So you need to know that when you are being taught something, ultimately you need to discern from the Word of God if it is correctly interpreted. Be a Berean- search and study.
Acts 17: 11 Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
So back to our question … what did Jesus mean when he said:
Matthew 24: 36-39
36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 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; 39 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.
As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
I don’t know about your teaching, but I’ve always been lead to believe that it meant that people were having a good time, eating and drinking (partying no doubt) having big weddings and not paying any attention to God’s message of salvation. The following verse (38) seems to allude to the fact that was happening in Noahs day.
God did not send the earth destroying flood because man was having too good of a time (OK- I was brought up in a Baptist church, And some would probably think that would be reason enough, but really :o) [ps: I love my church family, and I side more with Baptist doctrine than that of most other denominations, but we do have a reputation as being a little bit dry and ‘stick in the mud’ ish. No one has ever accused the Baptists of being too rowdy, too lively, too party-minded… So I feel I can make fun of us just a little here.]
Hopefully you saw from the previous lessons how the flood was a result of fallen angels mating with human women to produce a race of Nephilim. The flood was a result of world-wide demonic activity.
I believe that Jesus is telling those with ears to hear that in the days preceeding His coming we will witness increased and world-wide demonic activity. That just like it was in the days of Noah when demons were literally roaming the earth and accepted by the people, we will experience something very similar in the days leading up to Christ’s return.
Have you choked on that piece of steak yet?
Chew it for a while. Chew, chew, chew, …….. chew.
People will think I’m crazy. I’m OK with that. I know why I believe this. I’ve done my homework and I continue to research.
Think about this for a moment.
We live in a world that has been primed to accept demonic activity.
We have been being primed for several generations now.
Remember Satan is subtle… he’s had 6000 years to experiment with mankind to see what works and what doesn’t work. Sometimes a gradual approach accomplishes the most, it lulls us into a false security. We get comfortable with an idea, we begin to lose the original inhibitions we had the first time we heard/saw it, others accept it and we feel pressure to ‘fit in’ with our peers- with our culture and society. This approach works so well for Satan, no wonder he continues to use it on us… will we ever learn?
When I was growing up we had 2 channels on TV (on a clear day). One of the popular ‘kids’ programs was Bewitched- you all remember it- Samantha Stevens had married a mortal, but she had supernatural “witch” powers that she used to help her sometimes bumbling husband Darren. She cast spells, could transport herself to other places and see what was happening at his work, in his meetings etc. It was always funny and everything always worked out for the best, and everyone was better off because of her. The moral of the story for our generation was ‘ nothing bad comes of witchcraft- it’s a good thing’. It was not portrayed as evil, satanic, wrong, bad… it was a kids program and kids (and adults) ‘religiously’ (pardon the pun, I couldn’t help myself) watched it every night/ or week. It is still on TV in re-runs I believe.
Some of you will think I’m making a mountain out of a mole hill. I wish I were.
I heard an interesting statement a couple of weeks ago and I can’t get it out of my head. “What one generation tolerates, the next will embrace”.
That is so terrifying- and so true.
We tolerated witchcraft as a kids program, something cute. We tolerated Jack Tripper as a gay man in Three’s Company (he wasn’t really, but it introduced the agenda to main stream America- as funny and harmless)…
Satan’s goal is to expose us to his doctrines and indoctrinate us with his message… the message of death.
Look around you. 10 years ago would you have believed that we would be welcoming the trash that is on TV into our very living rooms – TV, movies, video games, books- whatever method is available Satan will use.
Here’s a few of the ones that came to mind that espouse the doctrine of demons- some outright, others more covered, more subtle, but in all it is there.Of course there are the obvious satanic influences that anyone can see: Harry Potter being first and foremost. Closely followed by the Twilight Series. Think also of the supernatural programs like- Medium, Supernatural, Hereos. Not to mention the flagrant spiritualist like Crossing Over with John Edwards and the very New Age Oprah.
Whether or not you know it you, and your kids are being influenced to accept demons and demonic activity.
Remember the craze of Pokemon cards… and what were the other ones? - Digimon I think… the kids sucked them in readily and we as parents were their enablers. Kids playing with demonic cards is not fun.
We have come to the point where demonic influenced ideas, programs, games, ideals are so entrenched in our culture that we spurn anyone who stops and points it out. We say things like “It’s harmless”… “It’s only a ______ (insert the proper noun here… game, book, toy…etc)… “I don’t really believe in ________ (insert the proper noun here…. Vampires, wizards, superheroes….etc), “what harm can it do?”; “Everyone else plays, reads, watches… it”… and my favorite… “I know the difference between real life and this ‘fiction’”.
Please wake up.
Lately I’ve been thinking about the big picture. We get so consumed with the day to day world that we live in, that we fail to see the big picture.
Do you think that the world is only what you see? Only what you experience? Does the world just go along, day to day to day, on its merry way? Do things just happen because they do? Sometimes I think that’s how I have lived my life… tomorrows another day, the world will continue on just like it always has… but more and more I am beginning to see that there are players in this world that I have not even considered yet alone understand or comprehend.
We know from the Bible that Satan was always active in the past… he tempted Eve, he entered Cain to kill his brother , he encouraged Nimrod to build the Tower of Babel, he directed Herod to kill all boys under 2 so that the Messiah would be lost, he asked for John the Baptist’s head on a platter, … he established peoples and religions for his diabolical pleasures, he acted in secret and through world powers and principles, through the world’s systems of business and finance and governments… do we think that Satan has stopped?
Do we not realize that today, maybe especially today, Satan is active in world affairs- in the not so visible realm. Because God has a plan of salvation, Satan has a plan of destruction.
Things do not happen by chance.
There are those who manipulate world affairs to suit their goals. Satan always has willing subjects, power hungry players who willingly cooperate in order to gain what they seek. They ‘nudge’ us into believing certain things, doing certain things, going a certain way. And often times, we are like sheep (have you heard that somewhere before- let me tell you we have a lot in common with sheep- I know I have sheep) we just go away with the flock, being herded here and there… following along with our head down, just grazing as we go, following the sheep in front of us.
They nudge us by using education … by using media… by using celebrities… by using popular culture. Think about what we are being taught … for several generations school children have been taught that they are a product of chance … just blobs from the primordial sludge… they are here by chance, there was no loving creator who formed them and made them into who they are… there is only this life, no afterlife and certainly no eternal life in Heaven with a loving God.
The schools are now teaching that we need to worship Mother Earth- maybe they don’t spell it out so clearly by using the term “Worship”… but the theology is certainly there for those who care to look and listen. We are being taught that we are ruining this planet, that human life is the problem, that nature comes first, we have to sacrifice for ‘her’.
Look for a minute at the millions, actually billions that are poured into space exploration each and every year. All the while children die by the thousands each day from hunger and curable disease. The scientific community has for decades been searching the stars for planets which harbour life forms. They tell us that there has to be life out there, with all the hundreds of millions and billions and trillions of universes and planets that are out there, there has to be one on which life exists.
Have you ever stopped to ask yourself why are they looking so hard for extra-terrestrial life? Why? How will it help us, how will it effect us… why do they search for it so hard and at such a great cost?
Have you ever stopped to think about the whole UFO phenomena … now granted, a lot of the sightings are government planes or experimental crafts … and are not aliens etc.
But are they all? If angels interbred with human women- where did they come from? They came down from the sky. Many cultures have a ‘gods came down to earth’ story.
*( I need to insert a little blurb here- for some reason (poor teaching again) we think that Satan and the legions of angels that followed him are presently in Hell, or at least in the pit. Does the Bible actually teach that? NO. There are demons chained in Tartarus today- this ties in with the Noah story, and I hope to get to it later on… but these are not Satan and the fallen host. Where does the Bible tell us that Satan and the fallen angels dwell today….he is called the prince of the power of the air, Eph 2:2)
Ephesians 6:11-12 [11] Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. [12] For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Revelation 12:9 The great dragon was hurled down -- that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
Satan’s present day abode, and that of his minions, is the heavens. When he and his followers come t earth, they come down! They do not come up from the pits of hell.
Here are a few cultures that have a ‘gods came down from the heavens to earth’story in their history: Egyptians, Chinese, Hindus, Mayans, Sumerians and of course the people of Noah’s day in the Bible.
What are ‘they’ preparing us to accept?
If the days before Jesus returns are going to be like that days of Noah, filled with demonic acitivity, we have to be prepared so that we will accept it without too much questioning. And we are. We are being prepared in ways we don’t even realize.
The unstable ecomonies of the world … just a coincidence?
The ‘global community’ education… just a coincidence?
The search for extra-terrestrial life on other planets … just a coincidence?
The announcement of a “Space Embassador” from the UN …. Just a news release in error?
The increase of UFO sightings… just a coincidence?
The rise in environmental worship … just a coincidence?
The “Mother Earth” teachings…. Just a coincidence?
The genetic experiments, ie., cloning, stem cell research, genetc mutations… just a coincidence?
The devaluing of human life ie., abortions, euthanasia… just a coincidence?
These things may seem like random acts. They are not. Remember I said that I had not really been living like there were other players in this game… that life just went on day by day by day. Same old, same old.
But start putting the pieces together … we are told that just before Jesus comes demonic activity will increase, a one-world government will be set to come into place, there will be a one world currency…
The demonic activity has been increasing for a while… the TV shows, the movies, the games (Oiuja, Pokemon, Digimon, Tibia, …) the earth worship, vampires, popularity and main stream promotion of wizards and witches, UFO sightings, psychic readings, holistic health- therapeutic touch, reiki, reflexology; charms and crystals, feng shui, mystics, drug use (* drugs play such a big part in the occult- maybe another lesson here!), having a population dependant on drugs (pharmaceuticals), biblical illiteracy, tolerance of other false religions, “open mindedness”.
As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
Be smart.
This doesn’t just mean that people will be partying and having fun and not listening to the message of salvation. Oh, if only that was all it meant. Be ready, be wise, look around you and see through the smoke screen… there’s more happening than you may be aware of.
Think. Watch. Listen. Learn.
Just as there were in Jesus’ day there are people who:
“Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. Matt 13:13
For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’ Matt 13:15
Instead, be wise, read the Word, study His Word, ask for wisdom and discernment so that you may be:
Matthew 13:16But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.
Please have seeing eyes and hearing ears … and be blessed!
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