As In The Days of Noah

The following article comes from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association website:

                 

As In the Days of Noah

By Chuck Smith   

As we watch the downward spiral of our society today, we realize that a powder keg is ready to explode. Something has got to change.

We look at the deteriorating moral values in our nation–the divorce rate, abortion, pornography, drug addiction and child abuse. We witness what has transpired in the homosexual community. We are shocked at the violent crimes, the drive-by shootings and the terrorism that plagues our world. What is the world coming to? Is the end near?

What will be the signs of Jesus’ coming and the end of the world? This was the very same question Jesus’ disciples asked. Jesus’ answer to them and to us is found in Matthew 24:37-39: "As the days of 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 [Noah] 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."

Genesis 6:5 tells us what was going on in the days of Noah. “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.” As we look at our world today, we see the parallel–the movie industry corrupting our values, television defiling our homes, children’s video games teaching violence–all these are polluting people’s minds until the thoughts and the imagination of man’s heart is continually evil.

We read in Genesis 6:11 that “the earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.” Pick up the newspaper and you will see the hostility that fills the earth. Our nation’s morality has sunk to the place where Ruth Graham once said, “If God doesn’t judge America, He will need to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah!”

I would say that the world right now is very much like it was in the days of Noah. Jesus pointed out that in Noah’s day, the people were totally oblivious to the coming judgment of God. They were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage. It was pretty much business as usual. There was no awareness that the judgment of God was about to fall upon them. They did not realize anything was wrong until Noah went into the ark and the rain began to fall.

People today do not realize how ripe the world is for judgment. God is trying to shake us from our lethargy and wake us up. We see a worldwide financial crisis, disasters, earthquakes, hurricanes, fires, floods, famines and the AIDS epidemic. But try to suggest to a worldly person that these indicate the beginning of sorrows and God’s judgment, and they will laugh at you. The world may acknowledge their belief in the existence of God, but they live as though God does not exist. There is a total lack of fear of a holy and righteous God.

The Prophet Isaiah said, “Woe unto them who call evil good, and good evil” (Isaiah 5:20). Speaking of the future woes that are coming upon the earth, the angel proclaims in Revelation 8:13, “Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!” A day of reckoning is coming.

We see prophecies rapidly fulfilled before our very eyes. I believe the current economic crisis–and it’s not just a crisis here in America but a worldwide crisis–is going to force a joining together of the nations, a one-world union as prophesied in the Book of Revelation. It’s going to be moving in that direction. And as we look at the situation in Israel, we see their concern about the need to defend themselves against the possibility of a nuclear attack from other nations. Who and what can save us? Increased knowledge can’t save us. The government can’t save us. Neither can science nor Greenpeace save our planet.

So what does America need today? Rather than the homosexual community coming out of the closet, we need godly parents who will go into the closet and pray for their children, for their families, for the school system and the community. We need a spiritual revival to sweep our land. I believe more could be accomplished for good if we gathered together for times of prayer. Without a spiritual awakening, let’s face it, our nation is through. We need to realize that the only hope is to pray and to teach morality from a biblical base; that the Bible is the only true basis for morality.

We need men and women in our Congress and Senate who love God and fear Him. We need God’s people to humble themselves and pray, and seek God’s face and turn from their wicked ways. You see–we’re either part of the problem or we’re a solution to the problem!

The only hope for the future is the coming again of Jesus Christ. Only Jesus can save us. This is what Jesus is talking about in Matthew 24, the day of the Lord’s coming, the day of the establishing of the Kingdom of God. He said, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days … they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:29-30).

This will be the day when, according to the Book of Revelation, “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away” (Revelation 21:4). The day when “He [that is, Jesus] shall judge among the nations. … nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” (Isaiah 2:4).

As we face the conditions of the world today, we see the same conditions that existed in the days of Noah. We realize that judgment is not far off. So let us pray that God will draw our hearts unto the things of the Spirit and free us from the bondage of corruption that holds the world in its grip. And let us pray–as God’s people–to have a real heart and concern for our families and for our nation–for a spiritual revival in our land. As we see the deteriorating condition of the world around us, it should be a wake-up call for us to live godly, righteous, holy lives, placing our minds, hearts and priorities on eternal values.

May the Lord be with you and bless you. May the Lord’s hand be upon you to guide you. May His Spirit inspire you to a greater commitment to Jesus than you’ve ever had before, as we look forward to that glorious day of the Lord and the establishment of His Kingdom on the earth.

The Prophet Zechariah

Zechariah - foretold the destruction of Phoenicia and Damascus and the Jews passing a test of courage and perseverance. He predicted the glory that shall come upon Jerusalem after rebuilding the [Second] Temple, as well as prophesying that all people will embrace the Jewish faith (Today, Christianity and Islam share many of the same core beliefs as Judaism). Zechariah is possibly a revered prophet in the Islamic Qur'an.

Zechariah was considered a prophet in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and traditionally is considered the author of the Book of Zechariah. He is the eleventh of the Twelve Minor Prophets. This particular prophet was from the Kingdom of Judah, and, like the prophet Ezekiel, was probably of priestly extraction (also known as the Kohen). 

According to Ezra 5:1 and Ezra 6:14, the father of the prophet Zechariah was Iddo, however according to Zechariah 1:1, Berechiah was the father of this ancient prophet, and Iddo was his grandfather. According to The Interpreter's Bible,

This discrepancy is best explained on the supposition that the words 'the son of Berechiah' did not form part of the original text of 1:1 - had they done so, it is very improbable that they would have been omitted in the Ezra passages - but that they are an insertion on the part of someone who identified the prophet Zechariah with Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah, who is mentioned in Isaiah 8:2, Berechiah in Zech. 1:1 being a corruption of Jeberechiah.

And yet a third possibility is Jehoiada [the priest] was his father:

"Then the Spirit of God came on Zechariah, son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood before the people and said," ~ 2 Chronicles 24:20

There is not any documentation about Zechariah’s life other than what may be inferred from the holy book. It has been speculated that Iddo was the head of a priestly family who returned with Zerubbabel (Nehemiah 12:4), and that Zechariah may himself have been a priest as well as a prophet. This is supported by Zechariah's interest in the Temple and the priesthood, and from Iddo's preaching in the Books of Chronicles.

Regardless of his mysterious beginnings, shortly after the Babylonia exile and King Cyrus allowing the Jews to return to Jerusalem, Zechariah began his prophetic ministry. He encouraged a spiritual renewal, imploring the people to turn from their evil ways and embrace the righteousness of God.

He was also instrumental in motivating them to rebuild the sacred Second Temple by revealing to them God's future plan for Israel. His instruction was met when the reconstruction of the [Second] Holy Temple was completed five years later in Jerusalem. 

He also foretold the destruction of Phoenicia and Damascus with precision. 

"The burden of the word of the Lord in the land of Hadrach, and Damascus shall be the rest thereof: when the eyes of man, as of all the tribes of Israel, shall be toward the Lord." ~ Zechariah 9:1

According to some Jewish rabbis, Hadrach was a place near Damascus. The prophecy is thought to relate to Alexander the Great conquering Syria, Damascus and all of King Darius’ treasure, which was laid up there and delivered into Alexander's hands. Christian scholars attest that Zechariah was foretelling the restoration of the land of Israel and the future appearance of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem in Chapers 9-14.

There is also a possibility of martyrdom where Zechariah is concerned. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus is quoted as stating that Zechariah, son of Barachiah, was killed between the altar and the temple:

"That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar." ~ Matthew 23:35

Although there is an indication in the Targum of Lamentations (Aramaic Bible) that "Zechariah, son of Iddo" was killed in the Temple, many scholars generally understand this as a reference to the death of a much earlier figure, Zechariah ben Jehoiada. As Abel was the first prophetic figure killed in the Hebrew scriptures, and Zechariah ben Jehoiada was the last figure killed in those scriptures, which conclude with 1 and 2 Chronicles, they represent the full historical scope of prophetic martyrdom. But whether this is the same Zechariah is still a debate among the theologians.

In Islam, the Qur'an mentions only 25 prophets by name, including a different Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist. Muslims believe that many prophets were sent to mankind to spread the message of God, including many not mentioned in the Qur'an. Therefore, although this particular Zechariah is not mentioned by name in the Qur'an, some scholars, including Abdullah Yusuf Ali have suggested that Qur'anic verses mentioning the martyrdom of prophets and righteous men are a reference to the slaying of [among others] Zechariah, son of Berechiah.

Zechariah is the ancient prophet who famously quoted, in reference to the End Times, the following words of God:

"Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it." ~ Zechariah 12:2-3