Just Like the Past

In Noah’s day there was much evil on the earth. Wicked-ness and corruption was rampant. Violence reigned in the
streets. “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). God decided to put an end to the wickedness by sending a flood and making the earth new again. Yet there were a faithful few, comprised of Noah and his family, that still loved and obeyed God, and were righteous in God’s eyes. God made a covenant, or promise, with Noah and his family. God promised to save them from the flood. After the wickedness was destroyed, God sent a rainbow to be a continual reminder of the covenant between himself and all those on the earth that He would never again destroy the world by flood.
The Bible describes the last days of earth’s history similar to Noah’s day (Mt. 24:37). “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 (II Tim. 3:1-4). The evil and wickedness described in the Bible is very much reflected in the status of our society today. Many have forgotten God and have made evil and wickedness part of their daily lives.
In Mt. 24:6, 7, the end of the world is described with “wars and rumors of wars,” “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places”. As we look at current events, our world could very much be headed in the same direction.
Yet just as in the days of Noah, God has given special promises to those who are faithful to Him in the last days. This time, wickedness and sin shall never rise again. God will save and grant eternal life to those who believe in Him. “And 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… Behold, I make all things new…” (Rev. 21:4, 5). In times of strife and destruction of the last days, we have the promise that God will save us and put an end to all wickedness forever.
Ly Lan Nguyen