If you are unfamiliar with the story of Noah and the flood described in Genesis, to give you a quick summary, during the times on Noah, a chosen and righteous man, people were leading very sinful lives.
“Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” Genesis 6:5-9
God was disappointed how corrupted the earth and the people have become and decided to destroy the earth “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth.” Noah was the only man who found grace in the eyes of the Lord and God entered into a covenant with Noah, a promise, where Noah and his family would be saved. The Lord asked Noah to build the ark with very specific instructions and measurements and Noah’s family and “every living thing of all flesh, two of every kind, shall enter the ark”. Noah took several decades to complete the ark. It is not clear in the Bible how long it took Noah to build the ark, however from the time frame presented it is estimated around 120 years.
During that time people were asking questions, wondering what he is doing, laughing and mocking him, because no one believed this would happen. God was very patient with people and gave people time to repent, to realize their wrongdoings and to come back to Him. However, this didn’t happen and only Noah’s family entered the ark. When people realized Noah was right and the flood came, it was too late to enter the ark.
“So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive. And the waters prevailed on the earth one hundred and fifty days.” Genesis 7:23-24
Why this story is important now? Because in Matthew 24: 37-39 we see:
“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 that 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.”
The second coming of Christ is compared to the times of Noah, especially the attitude and the awareness of people. People were so busy with their lives, “eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage”, the thought of everything coming to an end was like a fairytale, impossible to happen. But, with God anything is possible.
We live in very dark and difficult times, especially difficult to the naked and unaware eye as everything around us is strategically packaged and sugar coated by the enemy. We have to be mindful of what we are consuming, because the devil and his demons will not come to us in a form that we think they will come. Everything around us from education, politics, entertainment, traditions and even food is tainted by the god of this world with an attempt to lead us astray and to worship him unintentionally. We have to be so intentional in our ways and daily living, rejecting the worldly matters to not fall into deceptive traps designed to lead us astray and in to sin and to open doors to the demonic oppression. By living in this way we are very often perceived as weird, introverted, not enjoying life and going against the current. However, those in Christ see the rest of the world as carefree and unaware of the hidden traps. We have been warned about this:
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.” 1 Peter 5:8-10
Most people are not concerned at all about the direction this world is heading towards to and they don’t have a clue on what or rather who is coming. Satan carefully placed his devices and agendas in our world to blind the minds and eyes of the people. The sad part is that people are not aware of Satan’s devices and they fall for it even in the church community. The “brainwashing” or conditioning started many centuries before, slowly replacing spiritual awareness into teachings of evolution, theories like people coming from the monkey or earth coming from a big bang. Through layers of “knowledge” and complicated theories using intelligent words, people started believing in something complicated because it sounds intelligent, rather than a simple fact that the world is God’s creation.
With that, religion replaced the need of personal and intimate relationship with God and different dominations, theories and rituals complicated things further. There are so many people who don’t know what to believe and don’t believe in the Bible because it sounds impossible to human logic. People ignore the messages believers are trying to convey and they make us look crazy that we see those sigs. This world is really trying to convince people that the events that are happening around us are not biblical but the result of climate change, economic problems, politics and coincidences. They believe the war in Israel is just a political conflict about the land , nothing to do with God’s word found in the Bible. And I must say, those agendas are doing their job because majority of people I speak to have no clue it’s biblical at all.
The world system is lying to everyone, yet people are falling for it, entangling themselves into unhealthy debates, conflicts and false sense of security. All those wordily systems within politics, entertainment industry, economy are designed to use people as energy harvesting tools for demonic entities to be worshiped. Everything is carefully designed, planned and “performed” to the masses to keep people bound, in fear and to be manipulated.
All this to take us away from the truth, which is the word of God and to keep us in chaos. People are so blind and under a spell that nothing seems to be working to wake them up. No evidence from the Bible, no wordily events and disasters, no fear of God’s judgement, no fear of their soul future. It is even harder when those blind people are your close family and everything you say seems to be falling on deaf ears. This frustration grows in me, especially since there is so much confusion about religions and about the Bible even within Christian community.
People will be really taken as a surprise when Jesus comes back. That is why the second coming of Christ is described as a thief in the night:
“For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.” 1 Thessalonians 5:2-4
Before Jesus returns however, we will see the rise of the Antichrist. From the book of Daniel, we know that Antichrist will be accepted by many, as people lack spiritual discernment:
“And in the latter time of their kingdom,
When the transgressors have reached their fullness,
A king shall arise,
Having fierce features,
Who understands sinister schemes.
His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power;
He shall destroy fearfully,
And shall prosper and thrive;
He shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people.
“Through his cunning
He shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule;
And he shall exalt himself in his heart.
He shall destroy many in their prosperity.
He shall even rise against the Prince of princes;
But he shall be broken without human means.” Daniel 8:23-25
Notice the characteristics of the Antichrist, who will be powerful, probably handsome with “fierce features”, he will be cunning who understands sinister schemes. Therefore he will come nicely packaged and because of exterior and nice words, people will fall for it. That is why it is so important to know the word of God and test everyone and everything. Don’t allow yourself to fall into any traps especially at the end. Satan often uses “nice packaging” as he knows we are flesh that is led by the eyes. Everything that is beautiful, popular, tempting and sounds and tastes nice, has to be tested.
It is also important to notice that the Antichrist “shall exalt himself in his heart”, therefore he will be full of pride. And what do we have in the society theses days? People are so prideful and lovers of themselves:
“ For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” 2 Timothy 3: 2-7
That is why people will accept the Antichrist because he will not be representing anything different to what people already accept. The world that we live in is very superficial and focused on “nice packaging”, whether it’s with people, places, clothes, holidays, faces.. And people are trying to justify themselves and their decisions through different agendas like mental health, exclusion from the society, wanting to fit in, wanting to be accepted. The more people are exposed to specific environment, the more is accepted and people become numb to it. Notice how much the topic of transgenderism has grew in the last years. Few decades ago this was criticized and rejected, whereas now it’s promoted and glorified.
The hearts of people have become cold, which is another Antichrist characteristic, where “he shall be broken without human means”. People don’t have time for God because they are consumed with themselves and their lives. They really don’t understand that we are created beings and made by our Creator and it is Him who we are in service to. It is easier to reject the idea that there will be a judgement day and it’s better follow the teachings of the New Age and self manifestation. It is more enticing to know that you can create your own reality rather than you are relying on God’s will over your life. It’s this idea of self made, self loving, self achieving and selfish society. However the Bible reminds us that:
“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.” 1 Corinthians 6:9-10
“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” 1 John 2:15-17
The days of Noah are also a reminder to us that if we see any similarities, the second coming of Christ is getting closer. Just as 2 Timothy 3:2 reminds us “For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. ” We could pretty much describe our generation with those words. However, many people will argue how bad is bad? Where is the line? It’s not that bad… They will say this, because we are so used to this that nothing shocks us anymore. It’s like entering a room with a bad smell, first it is very obvious, then you get used to the smell and after a while you don’t smell it at all.
“And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.” Matthew 24:12
When we look at the word lawlessness – it means disregard of the law. What law would you ask? The law of God, otherwise known as the law of Moses. This is a moral law, a moral code that helps us to cohabit and live together in peaceful state. More on the law you can find in my other posts. The law helps us to know what is wrong, where are the boundaries, am I stepping into someone’s garden? The law helps us also to realize what is sin, for example that covertness, which is jealousy is wrong :
“I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.”” Romans 7:7
And what do we see in the society today? Through social media like Instagram or Facebook people are encouraged to compare, be jealous, strive for more, strive for success, physical perfection, materialism, more experiences, more clothes etc. Success is celebrated, achievements are celebrated and everyone assign this to themselves, growing more in pride and love for themselves.
“For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their own craftiness”; and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” Therefore let no one boast in men.” 1 Corinthians 3:19-21
The enemy is working hard to make sure we are so busy with the world, distracted, taking part in the rat race, striving for achievements and more knowledge, more beauty and more experiences, all so that we don’t have time for our Creator. Because if people knew those are the traps and tactics of the enemy, more and more people would be withdrawing from the system and various agendas, leaving those companies broke.
Another tactic of the enemy is fear and chaos. Those who are in business know that the best business idea is to come up with something that people are currently struggling with. An answer to the problem. This brings a lot of success. And this is how many corporate businesses operate, to first create a solution to the problem that is not there yet, therefore let’s create that problem, and now you already have a solution designed to that problem, which will guarantee success. Some of you might know the term Order out of Chas – The phrase “Order From Chaos” is loosely based on the latin phrase, “Ordo Ab Chao”, translated as “Out of Chaos, Comes Order”. This is often regarded as a means to impose totalitarian control over society, first by creating chaos through various forms of subterfuge, then using this as an excuse to institute order. I wouldn’t want to go into any political debates, however this is what we are experiencing in the society today, with political heads coming out with a solution of One World Order.
Fear is a tactic to help them to coerce people into obedience and action. It is also a way of the enemy to harvest any energy, as spiritual entities feed of our emotions. Notice how movies like IT and Monsters Inc show that those “monsters” feed of children’s emotions. I know many people will not understand or believe this to be true, however you cannot think in human terms when talking about the spirits. God created us for worship of Him and to have a dominion on earth. Nothing that God requires of us is physical, only worship, obedience to the law, truth and humility. He does not require money, statues, achievements and clothes. Similarly, what Satan wanted to steal from God is worship. Satan demanded worship from Jesus when he tempted Jesus during His 40 days of fasting. Therefore nothing physical is important and should be important to us. The Bible reminds us:
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12
Similarly our fight is not physical: “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.” 2 Corinthians 10:4-6
Let me remind you again, that “For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.” 1 John 2:16
The lust of the eyes can really deceive us, our flesh can really deceive us and of course the tactics of the enemy can really deceive us. Therefore our job is to do everything we can to not be deceived and to not deceive ourselves. When Jesus’ disciples asked Him what they need to be aware of, Jesus replied:
“Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you.” Matthew 24 : 3-4
Therefore let us “be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour”. Let us be aware of the times we are in at the moment and make sure you are on the right side.
By Dagmara Z.