As It Was, So It Is

In Luke 17: 26-30, Jesus said, "As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of Man...likewise also as it was in the days of Lot...even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed."

I. As It Was."As it was in the days of Noah..." What were the days of Noah like? What characterized the days of Noah?

A. Immorality.We read in Gen. 6:2 that the "sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair and they took them wives of all which they chose."

1) While some believe that these "sons of God" were fallen angels that came to earth and married human women, I believe that the sin here is that men of the godly line of Seth who had been instructed in the ways of God had begun to intermarry with the women of the ungodly line of Cain who had gone in their own rebellious way. By doing so, the men of the godly line committed spiritual adultery and compromised their righteousness.

2) It seems from the wording that these men were practicing polygamy; marrying many wives instead of following God's original plan of one man and one woman for life.

B. Depravity. Gen. 6:5 says that "God saw the wickedness of man was great in the earth, that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil, continually."Every imagination; only evil; continually. What a depraved state, where there has ceased to be ANY good in their thoughts and imaginations! They had become "only evil" and were living in that manner continually. They were wicked Every Day, All Day.

C. Ferocity. Gen. 6:11 & 13 both declare that the "earth was filled with violence." From one end of the population to the other, violence reigned. Hosea 4:1-4 describe a time where men "break out" and where "blood toucheth blood." Men were breaking out of all restraint and restriction and were completely out of control. Blood was being shed to the point that figuratively speaking, the blood flowing from one city reached out until it "touched" the blood flowing from the neighboring city. Such was the violence that filled the earth in Noah's Day.

As It Was...in the days of Noah and As It Was in the days of Lot.What were Lot's days like?

The principle sin of Sodom was Perversion; homosexuality. In the words of Paul in Romans 1:27, "men leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly."

AS IT WAS...II. So It Is.

In 2 Timothy 3:1-5 Paul described conditions on the earth in the "perilous times" of the "last days." All of the sins discussed above from the days of Noah and Lot are found in this list along with many other sins.Immorality- "without natural affection" which includes not only adultery but perversion and sodomy.

Depravity- "blasphemers, unholy, despisers of those that are good.
"Ferocity- "fierce" (anemeros in the Greek meaning savage or untamed),
"incontinent" (with no self control, uncontrolled and uncontrollable),
"trucebreakers" (refusing peace, implacable, heartless, unrelenting).

Look around Friend! What about the World we live in today? Our world is immersed in immorality, depravity, ferocity and perversion.Our own beloved nation, America, is flooded with SIN as it was in Noah's day. Immorality abounds in our society. Few consider fornication and adultery to be wrong behavior. Immoral sex is portrayed and promoted on TV, in movies & videos, in music, in magazines, and on the internet. Depravity floods mankind. Men are devising more and more extreme methods of wickedness and filthiness. Pedophiles molest young children and demand the legal right to do so. Homosexuals practice their lifestyle openly and boldly demand the legal rights of marriage including the adoption of children. Sickening pornography pervades the internet and destroys the minds and lives of men and women across the world. Jesus Christ is blasphemed, His Holy Word is despised, the Holy Ghost is reviled. Ferocity characterizes our entire world. Think of the uncontrolled rage of mankind. Road rage has become so common that we hardly think of it anymore. Domestic violence abounds where sometimes husbands, sometimes wives, and often children are abused sexually, verbally, emotionally, and physically. We are constantly shocked by the incidents of mass murder on college campuses, in high schools, in places of business, in homes and even in churches. Who can hear without tears the reports of the savage killing of parents by children or of children by parents? We live in a Society Gone Wild! When you add to this staggering ferocity the horror of terrorism- man killing man without conscience you can easily understand that AS IT WAS in the days of Noah and Lot, SO IT IS today.

I strongly believe that the next major event on the prophetic calendar is the Rapture of the Church. Jesus himself will "descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord." (1 Thess. 4:16,17) Paul said, "behold I show you a mystery, we shall not all sleep (die), but we shall all be changed, in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trump for the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed." (1 Cor. 15:51,52)

The Cry of Jesus was always: WATCH and BE READY.Are you ready? Is your heart right with God? Are you "on fire" for the Lord? Is the light of your experience shining brightly? Is there oil in your vessel?Are you lost without God? Are you playing church? Are you lukewarm and indifferent? Are you backslidden? Have you turned your back to the Lord and your face to the world? Has bitterness soured your soul? Has Busy-ness blinded you eyes? Has worldliness chilled your heart? Have you lost your desire for God's House, God's Word, and God's Spirit?"Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come" (Matthew 24:42)