Genesis 6 Sickness

In thinking on this commentary, it occurred to me that Genesis chapter 6 came into view when Khaled Mashal, former leader and a founding member of Hamas, called for war not just against Israel but against the entire world. He demanded that all of the Muslim nations surrounding the Jewish state come together and begin attacking in all-out jihad.

But he said it wouldn’t stop there. The entirety of Islam must take over the world, using all the violence, death and mayhem that could be mustered. The holy prophet Muhammad had long ago ordered such an action to fulfill Allah’s wishes, Mashal says. Those wishes included world conquest so peace and joy could then reign on earth.

This brought into view thoughts that I believe are most relevant at this moment regarding God’s prophetic timeline. Here are Jesus’ words predicting how things will be when He next intervenes into the affairs of wicked, rebellious humankind:

“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” (Luke 17:26).

So what was going on that caused the Lord to completely destroy all flesh on earth except for Noah and his family? Genesis provides the answer:

“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” (Genesis 6:13).

Can we doubt with any degree of certainty that, over the past years, we’ve witnessed developments hinting strongly that the world is becoming like it was in those antediluvian times? Can we doubt that we’re seeing corruption that seemingly rivals that of the days of Noah? Just within the past two weeks or so, we’ve seen growing violence, as understood from the words of Mashal, who wants all-out jihad not just against Israel but against all people who resist Mohammad’s call to Islamic world domination.

A former Muslim terrorist who is now a Christian was the first to expose the contents of Mashal’s demand for increased jihad. Brother Rachid, as he is called, gave the following as some of the Hamas founder’s desires.

1. To show anger, especially on October 13, 2023, in Muslim countries and also among Muslim Diaspora around the world; he called it “the Friday of Al-Aqsa flood.” He said this will send a message of rage to Zionists and to America.

2. He asked for financial help from all Muslims around the world to help with their money. He called it “Financial Jihad.” He asked Muslims to give to the fighters of Gaza in order to compensate them for the destruction.

3. He asked for political pressure from Muslim leaders and Muslim nations to stop Israel’s military invasion of Gaza.

4. The most important thing: He asked all Muslims around the world to carry Jihad by their souls; to fight and be martyrs for Al-Aqsa. He wants Muslims to fight against the Jews, starting with Muslims who live in the countries surrounding Israel: Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt (but also other countries), to go to the borders and try to enter, each by his own means. He said: This is the time for Jihad to be applied on the ground rather than just in theory.He asked the Mujahedeen to go in long caravans to spill their blood on the land of Palestine. (“Hamas Leader Calls for Global Muslim Uprising In ‘Day of Rage’ On Friday, Report Says,” Tyler Durden, Zero Hedge, October 11, 2023)

The Genesis 6 sickness spreading by the likes of Mashal and other wicked minions are front and center at this advanced moment on God’s prophetic timeline:

Scenes of indescribable horror in which infants and babies were slaughtered — with some beheaded — in the kibbutz of Kfar Aza in southern Israel by Hamas terrorists were reported by international media on Tuesday morning.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) took dozens of foreign reporters to witness the site of the massacre on Tuesday. Charred homes stood in the background as smoke wafted in the air and the bodies of dead civilians and terrorists still littered the ground.

The journalists, under the protection of dozens of Israeli soldiers, toured the site with cameras rolling.

“It’s not a war,” Gen. Itai Veruv, head of the IDF’s Depth Command, told reporters. “It’s not a battlefield. You see the babies, the mothers, the fathers in their bedrooms, in their protection rooms, and how the terrorists kill them … It’s a massacre.”

The scene recalled some of the darkest chapters in Jewish history. Israeli officials have called Hamas’ surprise invasion of Israel over the weekend — in which Kfar Aza was one of the hardest hit areas — one of the largest massacres of Jews since the Holocaust. (“‘It’s a Massacre’: Babies Reportedly Slaughtered by Hamas Terrorists in Kibbutz Avatar”; By Algemeiner staff)

The Genesis 6 sickness has infected not just those who would wage atrocities against the Jews. The evil has spread to every culture on earth—including our own here in America. (Consider, for example, the many millions of babies in their mothers’ wombs who have been murdered through abortion, their bodies torn apart in the process.)

I believe Jesus’ “days of Lot” prophecy (Luke 17:28) spoke to the way things are in America today just before the Rapture. It is the Lord’s prophecy of coming destruction on a specific locale, like Sodom and Gomorrah in those ancient times. Thus, His “days of Noah” (Luke 17:26) prophecy was about the way things are quickly developing worldwide—as witnessed by Mashal’s call for global jihad. Violence, indeed, is filling the whole earth!

Dr. David Jeremiah addressed to some extent this matter recently:

A rainbow. Animals marching two-by-two. A famous boat ride.

This is the happy picture so many of us have from childhood of the biblical story of Noah. But the message behind the story is much more serious—a depiction of God’s judgment raining down on a sinful world… with a critically important prophetic connection!

Jesus warns His followers, including you and me today:

So… are we living in those “days of Noah?”

The short answer is yes—our world today is just like Noah’s before the flood.

Jesus warns His followers, including you and me today:

“But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be” (Matthew 24:37-39).

Just like the ark that Noah was building could have been seen for miles, the warning signs for this generation are all around us. The clouds are gathering. Distant thunder is rumbling. And the door to salvation stands open. For now.

But despite warnings, people do not expect judgment. Noah’s neighbors did not expect a flood—and neither do yours.

Deep down, most people—if they give any thought to eternity at all—tend to think they will have a chance at the last minute to say or do the right thing to secure their place in God’s kingdom.

But the Rapture doesn’t work that way. It will be instant and irreversible.

And on that day, when God shuts the door as securely as He shut the door on the ark, no amount of knocking, pounding, or pleading will open it.

This is why you and I must be ready.

And why we must do everything possible to give our families, our friends, and our world every opportunity to enter in now—before it’s eternally too late! (Dr. David Jeremiah, Turning Point, October 12, 2023)

(I highly recommend Dr. Jeremiah’s new book on the Rapture: The Great Disappearance. You can find it at Davidjeremiah.org.)

Here is how to be ready before that ark door closes—the only way to be Rapture ready:

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9-10).

—Terry

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Words “But God” Comfort Us Amid World Chaos

The words of Ephesians 2:1-10 provide immeasurable comfort for us. After the Apostle Paul describes our previous woeful condition as being “dead in trespasses and sin” and states that we were by nature “children of wrath” (2:1-3), we read these amazing and reassuring words in verses 4-5:

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.”

But for God intervening in our lost fallen condition, we would remain spiritually dead and without hope of eternal life. Because of Jesus, we have forgiveness of sins and the anticipation that He’s coming soon to take us to glory.

As I have looked at world events following the massacre of Israeli citizens on October 7, 2023, I see many other “but God” scenarios that remind us of His sovereign control of world affairs.

As I write this column, Israel has been on the cusp of a multifront war for over a week. The seemingly imminent invasion of Gaza has not yet happened. Each morning, I anticipate news of an assault on Gaza, but all remains quiet apart from continued skirmishes and the bombing of Gaza.

We know that deadly wars will erupt throughout the world after the Rapture, which will be far more deadly than those of the twentieth century. So many current conflicts could rapidly lead to the scenario pictured in Revelation 6:3-4 and 8, but God remains in control of when the second rider will increase warfare on the earth with astronomical numbers of death as a result.

For most of 2023, I have read warnings of how NATO’s involvement in the war in Ukraine could easily lead to a nuclear attack from Russia, but God continues to limit Putin’s response in spite of his many threats against the United Kingdom and the U.S.

For over a year, China has appeared on the verge of invading Tawain, which many say will lead to a devasting war between America and China. But God continues to hold back this doomsday scenario.

Sensing the weakness of the Biden administration and his depleting of our military resources, Kim Jong-Un of North Korea repeatedly defies America with its test firing of rockets. He has also recently threatened both South Korea and America. But God.

Over twelve years ago, I read a book detailing how America was on the verge of a great economic collapse. Since June 1, 2023, we have added two trillion dollars to our debt, bringing it to a staggering thirty-three trillion, and it continues to grow exponentially with no end in sight as our President pledges tens of billions of dollars in support for Ukraine and Israel. But God has somehow kept us from economic devastation, one that would have far greater consequences than the Great Depression of almost a hundred years ago.

When His disciples asked Jesus about the restoration of a kingdom to Israel, He responded with these words, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority” (Acts 1:6-7). It’s God the Father who sovereignly determines the timing of how things will play out in these last days (see also Matthew 24:36).

The Father will determine when He sends Jesus to get us and bring us home, even as we pray that it happens soon.

Until then, we watch events in Israel, wondering what might happen next as we scan through both legitimate and fictitious news items looking for such clues. We expect that a more intense war will erupt in the coming days or weeks, but we don’t know if it will be limited to Hamas or expand to a much larger confrontation. We hear repeated threats from Iran against both Israel and America, but God remains in control of what they will do.

As we wait, we find great reassurance from the following biblical promises:

1. The “man of lawlessness” cannot make his grand appearance on the world’s stage until after the Rapture (2 Thessalonians 2:3-8).
2. The Rapture must occur before God’s devasting wrath falls upon the world (1 Thessalonians 5:1-10).
3. The Lord will give us glorious and imperishable bodies at His appearing to take us home (1 Corinthians 15:47-55; Philippians 3:20-21).
4. God will most certainly judge the wickedness, violence, and lawlessness we currently see all around us (Psalm 37:1-20; Revelation chapters 6-18).
5. God will surely restore a glorious kingdom to Israel at His Second Coming (Acts 1:6-7; Jeremiah 30:3, 33:223-26; Amos 9:14-15; Zephaniah 3:20).
6. We will reign with Jesus as coheirs of His kingdom for one thousand years and then for all eternity (Romans 8:17; Ephesians 1:14; Revelation 2:25-27, 5:9-10).
7. There’s coming a day when the words of Revelation 21:4 will ring true for all of us who know Jesus as our Savior.

In the meantime, we continue to watch the convergence of signs that tell us the Rapture is ever so close. I know many of you face much affliction and sorrow and, as a result, yearn for Jesus’ appearing. Please know that the Lord sees your pain, and someday, He will not only comfort you but also reward your faithfulness to Him in the midst of your suffering.

There’s an old hymn titled “When We See Christ” written by Esther Kerr Rusthoi, which has brought great comfort to me in the past (and still does). The chorus ends with these words, “One glimpse of His dear face all sorrow will erase, So bravely run the race till we see Christ.”

-Jonathan