One hundred and twenty years, that is how long the door was open, that is how long the Lord gave all of the inhabitants of the earth to repent and come to Him. Now of course Noah did not build the door first, but the analogy is the same, the door was open for all to come in repentance to God, yet only eight souls were on the ark the day the Lord shut the door, (Gen. 7:16) and killed all flesh that breathed air on the entire planet.
Those are very frightening words if you stop and contemplate them, “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.” (Gen. 6:13) God does not play games in this area, He means what He says, and He only and ever says what He means. When the door of the ark was shut it meant time was up, no one could open that door, and that same door is looming before us today, the call has gone out, all who will repent and come to Him, calling Him Lord, devoting their lives to Him will be safe from the storm that is approaching, (1 Thess. 4:17) those who will not will be left behind. There is not going to be a second rapture.
When Jonah was sent to Nineveh, the people recognized the Word of God that was spoken to them, they even put sackcloth on their animals, (Jonah 3:8) that is how much they repented, that is how much they feared. One hundred years later though, the entire city and all that were in it were destroyed, repentance is no more hereditary than salvation is. Almighty God used Noah to warn the people of that day, He used Moses, Jonah, many have been called to warn, and there are many who are doing the same work for Him today.
Much wisdom and spiritual discernment is needed in this day in this area, for Christ said that many would come in His name, (Matt. 24:5) that false christ’ would appear, and sadly many have been and still are being deceived. Social media and all of the electronic venues available to us today are prime breeding grounds for lies and misrepresentations, there are as many misguided souls as there are deceivers. Without prayer, especially in this day, you will be led astray, “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.” (Matt. 24:24)
Our adversary is extremely subtle, he will come right up to the truth every time, and then veer off just enough to turn it to his advantage, he is not just a liar, he is the father of them. To make it even more difficult, he is the god of this world for now, (2 Cor. 4:4) he is the prince of the power of the air, (Eph. 2:2) I do not know to what extent he is able to control and manipulate the elements of this planet, but I know he can. To those who are not spiritually discerning the visible signs can at times be difficult to interpret, and being human, the more of those destructive forces we see, the less they draw our attention. If a major flood arrives in a particular place, we pay rapt attention, if it continues for an extended period of time, not so much. We can become callous very quickly.
That too is not only the downfall of many men, but the plan of Satan. “How many years has he been working on that ark, and not even one dark cloud.” Plague, pestilence, famine, earthquakes in divers’ places, the most ever this, the most disastrous that. Many are becoming used to seeing calamity on a daily basis, and like the sin in our lives, we tend to just skim over it, to see it as normal, not a major factor.
Half of the virgins were left behind, (Matt. 25:10) only one of the lepers came back to praise His name, (Luke 17:15) only eight souls went on the ark, hundreds of thousands if not more died that day. “But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.” (Mark 13:32) But the wise man will be able to discern the times. The door is preparing to close, the marriage feast is about to begin, make sure you have your invitation and gift ready.
