The Bible records that “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make thee an ark of gopher wood…to keep them alive” (Gen 6:11-20).
Approximately four thousand years ago, God had caused rain to pour down for forty days and forty nights. Consequently, flood water surged the earth and destroyed it. Today, this incident has been proven to be true by archaeologists.
The Lord Jesus Christ said, “And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all” (Luk 17: 26-27). These verses warn us that the floods at the time of Noah is a foreshadowing of events to occur before the Lord Jesus Christ’s second coming, that God will destroy the world once again due to the sinful acts of worldly people.
People during Noah’s time were destroyed because in the eyes of God, all flesh had “corrupted his way upon the earth”. Therefore, He will “destroy them with the earth”. However, God is merciful and He wants everyone to be saved. Hence, He had commanded Noah to build an ark and to preach righteousness so that those who believed, repented and submitted to Him would be able to enter into the ark and be saved.
2 Pe 2:5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;
1 Pe 3:19-20 19By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; 20Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
Eight souls were saved from the great flood in the days of Noah. Today, is the end of men almost at hand or has God prepared a place of salvation for them as He did during Noah’s time?
(A) Is The End Of Man Near?
This question is correlated with the degree of sin committed by worldly people. Today, all people in the world are the descendants of Noah’s three sons. They try to implement their own perfect ideologies within the world to actualise a prosperous, and peaceful society. However, in the eyes of God, their sins are immense and their ways are corrupt. It would seem that the end of man is near if we refer to the Bible which records the great disasters and various sins worldly people will commit in the last days.
Rev 9:20-21 20And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:21Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.
Rev 18:1-5 1And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. 2And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. 3For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. 4And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. 5For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
i. Worshiping Idols And Using Sorcery
1 Co 10:19-20 19What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing? 20But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.
To perform sorcery is to perform deeds for evil spirits to bewitch worldly people. These people mislead others into believing that their power comes from God.
These two acts are ways in which men serve as the devil’s minions willingly and resist the true God. They are enemies of all righteousness as they pervert the right ways of God.
Jer 10:14-15 14Every man is brutish in his knowledge: every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them. 15They are vanity, and the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.
Acts 13:6-10 6And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus:7Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God. 8But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith. 9Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him, 10And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
Worldly people worship idols as their gods. They bow down and humble themselves before the works of their own hands. God will not forgive them.
Jer 50:38 A drought is upon her waters; and they shall be dried up: for it is the land of graven images, and they are mad upon their idols.
Isa 2:8-9 8Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made:9And the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself: therefore forgive them not.
The Bible records, “therefore, behold, the days come, that I (the true God) will do judgment upon the graven images of Babylon: and her whole land shall be confounded, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her” (Jer 51: 47, 52) and “For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee (the true God) shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted.” (Isa 60:12).
As such, for a world that will not fear the true God but worships idols, the only end is to be cut off.
ii. Committing Murders
Men will be lovers of themselves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal and despisers of good at the end of times.
2 Tim 3:1-3 1This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good
In the last days, men will not have any regards for others.
Isa 33:8 The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth: he hath broken the covenant, he hath despised the cities, he regardeth no man.
Today, even the dearest of parents, children, siblings or spouses will fight over insignificant matters constantly. Men may resort to cruel measures and violence (including murder) if their love is unreciprocated. Countries compete in the building of combative weapons on the guise of total defence. Inventors invent the most destructive weapons to receivehonour and financial gainsat the cost of men’s lives. According to the Bible, “Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes” (Rom 3:15-18).
iii. Committing Adultery And Fornications
God forbids us from committing adultery. This commandment is one of His Ten Commandments.
Exo 20:14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.
God judges fornicators and adulterers.
Heb 13:4 Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.
When the Israelites abode in Shittim, they committed harlotry with the daughters of Moab. They also bowed down to idols. Consequently, God destroyed twenty four thousand Israelites in His anger.
Num 25:1-9 1And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab. 2And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods. 3And Israel joined himself unto Baalpeor: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel. 4And the LORD said unto Moses, Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before the LORD against the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may be turned away from Israel. 5And Moses said unto the judges of Israel, Slay ye every one his men that were joined unto Baalpeor. 6And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 7And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation, and took a javelin in his hand; 8And he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel. 9And those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand.
During the time of Noah, the sons of God saw the beautiful daughters of men so they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose. This incurred the wrath of God and caused a major disaster.
Gen 6:2-3, 5-7 2That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. 3And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. 5And 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. 6And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 7And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
In our current era, worldly people are becoming more and more immoral. Women like revealing their bodies, and men have eyes full of adultery.
2 Pe 2:14 Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:
Men and women interact without restrictions and draw near to each other casually, treating great sins like illicit sexual relations and adultery as part of their lifestyles. However, we know that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by fire because they were mired in adulterous relations. Hence, our world which increases in adulterous relations daily will not escape God’s judgment.
Jud 1:7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
iv. Committing Theft
The meaning of theft is not limited to the simple act of stealing items belonging to another but it also includes all unlawful acts to appropriate the goods or money of others. For example, businessmen may sell imitation goods but pass them off as real goods. They may be dishonest in weighing and measuring goods. They may also falsify business accounts for illegal benefits. Such misdemeanours are worse than those who commit simple theft.
Pro 20:10 Divers weights, and divers measures, both of them are alike abomination to the LORD.
Pro 21:6 The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a vanity tossed to and fro of them that seek death.
If government officials were to make false reports to claim more incentives, collude with businessmen to reap profits or make use of opportunities to collect bribes, what then distinguishes them from thieves?
Isa 1:23 Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.
Although corrupt officials are heavily punished in many countries, corruption still becomes more prevalent by the day. Just as the Bible records, “The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net. That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth his mischievous desire: so they wrap it up” (Mic 7:2-3).
As the world is now a nest of thieves, God says that He will destroy it without reserve. What then will be the future of man?
Zec 5:1-4 1Then I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a flying roll. 2And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits. 3Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth: for every one that stealeth shall be cut off as on this side according to it; and every one that sweareth shall be cut off as on that side according to it. 4I will bring it forth, saith the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name: and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.
Isa 28:22 Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord GOD of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth.
What Is The Future Of Man?
We know that the end of man is at hand as the sins of worldly people increase by the day. Furthermore, great disasters that the Bible predicts to occur in the last days are being fulfilled one by one today. Worldly people thirst for peace, but sin has caused the world to lose peace! Indeed, those who are wicked will never have peace.
Mat 24:29-30 29Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 30And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Isa 48:22 There is no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked.
The Bible records that the sore judgments (the great tribulations) include sword, famine, noisome beast, pestilence and great earthquakes.
Eze 14:21 For thus saith the Lord GOD; How much more when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast?
Rev 16:18-19 18And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. 19And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
The great tribulations concern the great-war and its subsequent famine and pestilence. It is the war of Armageddon as prophesied in Revelations.
Rev 16:12-16 12And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. 13And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. 15Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. 16And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
The breakout of the great-war is directly correlated with the abomination of desolation. This tribulation will be so great that it has not been seen since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.
Mat 24:15-21 15When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) 16Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: 17Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: 18Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. 19And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! 20But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: 21For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
In the last days, Satan shall be released from his prison and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the world, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. Men will exalt themselves above God, speak against Him, persecute His church and deny His existence.
Dan 11:36-37 36And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done. 37Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.
Rev 20:7-8 7And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 8And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
Eze 38:1-3 1And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 2Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, 3And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
Eze 39:1-2 1Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: 2And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
Through a beast that shall come up out of the earth, the devil will deceive men and make war with the saints and to overcome them. The devil will give the beast his power, his seat and his great authority over all tribes, tongues and nations.
Rev 13:2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
Rev 13:7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
When great tribulations strike, the world will become a wilderness.
Joel 2:2-3 2A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations. 3A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
And the people shall be as the burnings of lime: as thorns cut up shall they be burned in the fire (Isa 33:12); and the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground (Jer 25:33).
God will punish the wicked for their iniquity. He will make a man more precious than fine gold.
Isa 13:11-12 11And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. 12I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
The Lord Jesus Christ said, “And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved” (Mat 24:22). This is the fate of the world that is unbelieving, adulterous, and sinful.
Did God Prepare A Place Of Salvation For Worldly People?
God is merciful as He gives worldly people the opportunity to walk in His way before He executes punishments. For example, He had prepared an ark for worldly people during the time of Noah and told Noah to preach righteousness to everyone so that those who chose to repent could enter into the ark to avoid the destruction of the world.
Gen 6:14-20 14Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. 15And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. 16A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it. 17And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die. 18But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee. 19And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. 20Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.
God has prepared a place of salvation for worldly people before the end of days. The Bible records, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse” (Mal 4:5-6). The great and dreadful day is the day when the Lord Jesus Christ comes to judge the earth again.
Elijah was the prophet who caused drought on the land for three years and a half, and subsequently caused rain to pour down again. This signifies that the true church that enables men to believe and to receive the Holy Spirit will emerge again during the last days, exhorting worldly people to turn to the true God. The Bible records, “And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads” (Rev 7:2-3).
The seal of God refers to the Holy Spirit.
Eph 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise.
“And I saw another angel ascending from the east…” (Rev 7:2) reveals that prior to the great tribulations, the true church of God will appear from the East. This true church with the Holy Spirit that appears in the east is “for a shadow in the day time from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain” (Isa 4:5-6).
God not only promised that they are able to receive everlasting life, He also promises those who keep the word of His patience will be kept from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world to try them who dwell upon the earth (Rev 3:10). The Bible clearly says that tribulations will only befall “those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads” (Rev 9:4).
The True Jesus Church is the ark of the last days which appears in the East according to promise.She is built upon the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, with the Lord Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone. She is like Noah, doing according to all that God has commanded.
Eph 2:20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
Gen 6:22 Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.
Those who believe in the true church will be saved. They are those who can hear the Lord Jesus Christ’s voice. God will seal their foreheads with the seal of the Holy Spirit.
Jhn 20:21-23 21Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. 22And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: 23Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.
Luk 10:16 He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.
Mat 18:17-18 17And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. 18Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Those who repent and receive water baptism after hearing the Word will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Miracles and wonders will follow them, proving that the Word they preach is indeed God’s words of grace.
Eph 1:13-14 13In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 14Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Mak 16:20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
Acts 14:3 Long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in the Lord, which gave testimony unto the word of his grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands.