No
Fear
As in The Days
of Noah. . . .
What is God waiting for? When one considers all the heartache, misery, and injustice continuously taking place around us, it's
a wonder that God doesn't just end the whole thing, wipe the slate clean, and start all over again. In fact,
many through-out the centuries have used this very argument to try to explain away God's existence.
However, the fact is, there is a God and as He looks upon the sin prevalent in the world today, His
natural inclination is to pour out His wrath upon us. Yet, He holds back because the Bible says that God:
"is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to
repentance" (2 Pet. 3:9).God, through His longsuffering, has chosen to temporarily hold back His wrath in order to give you and I
time to repent. But sooner or later, this "period of grace" will end as the world-wide social trends we see
today progress to a point where they become the last straw that breaks the camel's back.His inevitable judgment should [not] come as a surprise. God's wrath has already been poured out once upon
the whole world during the days of Noah. At that time, the human race had progressed to a state very
similar to where we are rapidly heading toward. And as we continue down this path, it is only a matter of
time until God will have no choice but to pour out His wrath again. Therefore, we must take heed and
consider the days of Noah as a warning of what lies ahead.
Jesus Christ, describing His second coming (which coincides with God's judgment upon this Earth) said:
"But as the days of Noe [Noah] were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days
that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the
day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall
also the coming of the Son of man be" MATTHEW 24:37-39.In Noah's day, the sinful behavior that brought down God's wrath was displayed by the entire
population (except Noah and his family). And of the many characteristics describing their sinful condition
at that time, one in particular stands out as you read Christ's warning - THEY HAD NO FEAR OF GOD!
Friend, go back and read MATTHEW 24:37-39 again. Do you notice how casual they were right before the
flood? Now keep in mind as you read it that God had given them ample warning. For the 120 years that it
took Noah to build that ark, he was out there every day warning them, telling them to REPENT, and yet
Jesus said they "knew not until the flood came, and took them all away[.]" They simply did not fear God!
First of all. . .n They did not fear God's hatred of sin
In describing the days of Noah, the Bible says: "And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great
in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil
continually" (GENESIS 6:5). "And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for
all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth" (GENESIS 6:12).The days of Noah were dangerous, hard to bear, troublesome, harsh, fierce, and even savage. All these
descriptions can be summed up into one word - PERILOUS. The same word the Bible uses to describe the
days we live in: "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be
lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful,
unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those
that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form
of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." II TIM. 3:1-5
Nineteen sinful behaviors are used to describe the conditions during the last days. Read the following
list and see if these sound familiar.1) "lovers of their own selves" - selfish; self-centered; unconcerned about others
- reckless; headstrong; stubborn
2) "covetous" - desires material things; greedy; driven to possess more things
3) "boasters" - swaggerers; blow their own horns; talk about themselves
4) "proud" - considering themselves above others; haughty; refuse to admit when wrong
5) "blasphemers" - slanderous; swearing; reviling; foul-mouthed; dirty jokes
6) "disobedient to parents" - disrespectful toward elders; headstrong; hard to control
7) "unthankful" - ungrateful; take things for granted; think the "world owes me"
8) "unholy" - no interest or desire to keep separated from sin
9) "Without natural affection" - showing more affection toward materialistic things, animals, etc. than
toward people
10) "trucebreakers" - will promise anything but will not honor commitments, breaks promises
11) "false accusers" - slanders; destroys the character of others
12) "incontinent" - no self-control; no self- discipline; no self-restraint
13) "fierce" - savage; cruel; wild; impetuous
14) "despisers of those that are good" - those who mock or have contempt for good people
15) "Traitors" - no convictions; changes sides for personal advantage or gain
16) "heady"
17) "highminded" - full of self; proud; puffed up; worship intellect
18) "lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God" - sensual; pleasure seeking; self-gratification is their
god; not willing to submit to God; please themselves rather than God.
19) "Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof" - being religious on weekends, but
living like the devil the rest of the week; having an outward religious display but experiencing no
real life-changing power from God. The Bible teaches no one to be religious, but to have a
personal relationship with God.Today we see these 19 behaviors through-out society. And the worst part is they are carried out without
any regard to God's fearful, ever-watching eyes. Many, if not most, today do not fear God's hatred of sin,
and the fact is, they're playing with fire - LITERALLY! Jesus said: "And fear not them which kill the body,
but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him [GOD] which is able to destroy both soul and body
in hell" (Mat. 10:28).
Describing the judgment that will come upon mankind when God's longsuffering finally runs out, Jesus
warned: "The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all
things that offend, and them which do iniquity [SIN]; And shall cast them into a furnace of
fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth" (Mat. 13:41).
No doubt Noah saw many in his day blatantly sin in God's face, so many in fact that God had to end it
all. It's amazing that these activities continued during the construction of the ark when God's warning had
already taken place. Obviously. . .n They had no fear of God's warning
In spite of the 120 years (Genesis 6:3) that Noah spent warning those around him (another example of
God's longsuffering), no one else came on board with him and his family! Some, perhaps, thought he was
crazy for claiming that a flood was on its way. The Bible predicts a similar attitude will be present during
the last days: "Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after
their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep
[died], all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation." II PETER 3:3-4
Many today ridicule the idea that Jesus is coming back and that the world will end in God's judgment.
They have no fear of God, and some are even proud of it! In Noah's day they didn't fear God nor take
heed to His warning. But judgment came anyway: "Whereby the world that then was, being over flowed
with water, perished" II PETER 3:6.
Many scientists agree that the world was flooded by water 4500 years ago (the time of Noah).
Native Armenians have reported many sightings of the ark atop Mt. Ararat over the centuries. In
1955 French mountain climber Fernard Navarra sighted a "black wooden barge (ship)" entombed
within an icy glacier. After climbing down a 35-foot crevasse within the ice, he came upon the huge
object that he estimated to be at least 50 tons of timber. He brought back a piece of the rock hard
wood (no trees are within 150 miles of Mt. Ararat) and had it tested for Carbon-14 dating.
Incidently, Navarra did not reveal where the wood came from, yet the reports returned indicating the
timber was possibly 4500 years old!How frustrating it must have been for Noah to have his warnings "fall on deaf ears". With their lack of
fearing God, those around him simply refused to listen to him. Perhaps they even thought his message was
too negative or offensive. In any case, they refused to repent, change their rebellious ways, submit to God,
and live their lives according to His ways. Friend, today God is giving us a warning. His Word clearly
describes the coming judgment. Like in Noah's day, He's giving us time to repent. But time is running out.
It ran out for them, it will run out for us, and then it will be too late! Jesus Christ warned: "Strive to
enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.
When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand
without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto
you, I know you not whence ye are" (Luke 13:24-25).The door of opportunity is still open. Thanks to God's mercy and longsuffering it hasn't closed yet! And
until it does, God "commandeth all men every where to repent" (Acts 17:30). He's holding out His hand
and saying: "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool" (Isa. 1:18).But friend, be warned, God will not be as reasonable once that door closes, because once it does, He will
say: "BECAUSE I HAVE CALLED, AND YE REFUSED; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;
But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and WOULD NONE OF MY REPROOF: I also will laugh at your
calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as desolation, and YOUR
DESTRUCTION COMETH AS A WHIRLWIND; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they
call upon me, BUT I WILL NOT ANSWER; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: For that
they hated knowledge, and DID NOT CHOOSE THE FEAR OF THE LORD" (Prov. 1:24-29).History is repeating itself as mankind collectively fears God less and less, and blatantly sins against Him.
It's only a matter of time until once again the cup of God's wrath will fill to its brim and destruction will
come upon all mankind (Rev. 16:1). But there is still hope! God is still as merciful and gracious as ever, once
again giving man time to REPENT and TRUST the "Ark of Salvation" - Jesus Christ. ARE YOU ON BOARD?
"The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness, but is longsuffering to
us-ward, NOT WILLING THAT ANY SHOULD PERISH, BUT THAT ALL SHOULD COME TO REPENTANCE"
(2 Pet. 3:9). "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER
BELIEVETH IN HIM SHOULD NOT PERISH, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). "For God hath not
appointed us [the saved] to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ" (I Thess. 5:9).
IF You were to die today, are you 100% SURE
you would go to Heaven? The Bible says
YOU CAN BE SURE (1 John 5:13).BUT FIRST, you must realize that what keeps
you from going to Heaven are your sins, because:
"...your iniquities [sins] have separated
between you and your God," Isa. 59:2.
In fact, in God's eyes YOU ARE A SINNER: "For
all have sinned, and come short
of the glory of God;" Rom. 3:23.
And Jesus, referring to sinners, said that He:
"shall send forth his angels, and they shall
gather out of his kingdom all things that offend,
and them which do iniquity [sinners];
And shall cast them into
a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing
and gnashing of teeth." Mat. 13:41-42SECONDLY, you must realize that there is
NOTHING you can do to save yourself and earn
Heaven: "For by grace are ye saved through
faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the
gift of God: Not of works, lest any man
should boast." Eph. 2:8-9 Baptism, good deeds,
church membership, self-righteousness are all
examples of good works that cannot save you,
because: "Not by works of
righteousness which we have done, but
according to his mercy he [Christ] saved
us," Titus 3:5.THE ONLY WAY you can get saved
is through Jesus Christ. He said: "I am the
way, the truth, and the life: no man
cometh unto the Father, but by me."
(John 14:6) THAT'S WHY: "...while we were
yet sinners, Christ died for us."
(Rom. 5:8-9) THEREFORE: You must REPENT
(change your mind); admit that you are a Hell
deserving sinner and can't save yourself. And
call upon Christ, and Him alone, to save you.
"if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord
Jesus [REPENT], and shalt believe in thine
heart [TRUST] that God hath raised him
from the dead, thou shalt be saved." Rom. 10:9SEND THE LIGHT
P.O. Box 815
Fargo, ND 58107
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