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January/February 2003 Issue

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|GN44|

Noah and Our Time-A Sobering Parallel

Jesus Christ used the example of Noah to reveal attitudes that would predominate near the end: "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" (Matthew 24:37-39).

This is history and prophecy working together.The meaning is clear:The problem with people in Noah's day would prevail again just before Christ's second coming. Back then God seemed far away, virtually unconcerned about human activities on earth, and life appeared to go on as it always had.This is also the mind-set of the end time (2Peter 3:3-6), with people unconcerned as to their true spiritual condition and blind to God's impending judgment.

The key to the example Christ gave is to understand that people can be so concerned about the cares of this life that they neglect to seek their Creator (Matthew 6:33; Luke 21:34-35). It happened before, and it is happening again.

The apostle Paul commented to Timothy about other ungodly attitudes and activities that would characterize the last days: "But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come. 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 pleasures rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power" (2Timothy 3:1-5).

This perfectly describes the dominant attitude and outlook of our age. Such attitudes will prevent the vast majority of humanity from believing God and the biblical warning signs until all havoc breaks loose. Like the people in Noah's time who laughed at him and ridiculed his building of an ark, the end of this age will come when the overwhelming majority is unprepared.

(Adapted from the booklet Are We Living in the Time of the End? Download or request your free copy at www.ucg.org or from any of our offices listed on page 2.)

 

The Time of the End - The End of What?

The Bible speaks of "the time of the end." But exactly what will come to an end? Jesus Christ contrasted "this age" with "the age to come" (Matthew 12:32).The word translated "age" in this passage is the Greek word aion (from which we derive the English word eon), signifying "a period of indefinite duration . . . marked by spiritual or moral characteristics" ( Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, 1985,"Age").

Paul contrasted the age "which is to come" (Ephesians 1:21) with the world we know, which he called "this present evilage" (Galatians 1:4). Spiritually and morally, this age and the age to come are opposites.

To properly understand the two, we must realize that this is not God's world. God is not the author of the broken homes, shattered marriages, violence, racial and ethnic hatred, governmental corruption, greed, pollution, depression, disease and persecution and the resultant suffering we see around us. Paul pinpoints the cause of these sorrows: "the god of this age"(2Corinthians 4:4), none other than Satan the devil.

How great is the influence of this being? The apostle John tells us that "the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one"(1 John 5:19).All of humanity is influenced by the thinking, attitudes and actions of this wicked being and his evil cohorts, the demons. John further warns that Satan's deceptive power is so great that he "deceives the whole world"(Revelation 12:9).

Satan's influence is as immense as it is pervasive.Odd as it may sound,one of Satan's greatest areas of influence is religion, where his ideas, not God's, dominate. Paul warns Christians of Satan's deceptive power even within Christianity: Just as "Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light," so do his representatives masquerade as "ministers of righteousness" and "apostles of Christ" (2Corinthians 11:13-15).

Paul warns those who would live godly lives that they must constantly struggle against unseen spiritual influences dominating the world around them. "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 . . ." (Ephesians 6:12).

Under Satan's influence, the world has its own "wisdom" (1Corinthians 1:20-29), a way of thinking that considers the God of the Bible and His way of life as "foolishness" (1Corinthians 2:14). As a result, mankind does not recognize that it is man's collective rejection of God and His ways that has brought the suffering and sorrow that permeate the world.

When Scripture mentions "the time of the end" or "the end of the age," it is referring to the coming end of the present evilage.This age-in reality the age of Satan- will draw to an end, to be replaced by the age of God's rule over and guidance of all of humanity.

This age to come-when, as the Bible explains, the Kingdom of God will govern the earth-will be ushered in by Jesus Christ at His return.To better understand this major prophetic theme and these events, be sure to request your free copies of the booklets The Gospel of the Kingdom, The Book of Revelation Unveiled, The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy and You Can Understand Bible Prophecy. They will help you better understand the unimaginably better world God has in store beyond our present age.

(Adapted from the free booklet Are We Living in the Time of the End? Download or request your copy at www.ucgstp.org, or from any of our offices listed on page 2.)
 
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The End of the World: What Does the Bible Say?

The End of the World:
What Does the Bible Say?

For centuries people have read the Bible and concluded that the world will come to an end. But will it? If so, how? What do the Scriptures teach about the end of the world?

by Noel Hornor

Nearly two millennia ago the disciples of Jesus of Nazareth asked Him a question that has intrigued people ever since: "What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?" (Matthew 24:3, King James Version).

People in every generation since have wondered about this. Will the world literally end? If so, how? Why? And when? What does the Bible really say about this crucial and disturbing question?

Religious people aren't the only ones asking these questions. In recent decades people from many walks of life have expressed concern about the possibility of the end of the world as we know it. Politicians, educators and scientists foresee the potential destruction of our world from a number of causes-including nuclear warfare, environmental disaster, planetary pollution, overpopulation, killer diseases and collision with a comet or asteroid.

Potential devastation from the sky

Although some of these possibilities are unlikely, others present a real threat. Based on the increasing number of gigantic impact craters discovered in recent years, scientists believe that a collision between earth and a killer asteroid is inevitable.

What would be the result of such a violent encounter? "An asteroid only a kilometer across would create cosmic havoc by impacting on the earth," writes Michio Kaku, professor of theoretical physics at City College of New York. ". . . The shock wave would flatten much of the United States. If it hit the oceans, the tidal wave it created could be a mile high, enough to flood most coastal cities on earth" (Visions: How Science Will Revolutionize the 21st Century, 1997, p. 317).

Read the full article at www.gnmagazine.org/issues/gn44/world.htm


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