Before the Deluge

Larry Kirkpatrick 25 May 2002 Mentone Seventh-day Adventist Church

When we hear of the deluge, we think of the flood in Noah's day. There was a time just before that flood -- just before that deluge -- when the humanity of planet earth was less and less restrained. The Holy Spirit would not always strive with men. And we are told that down near the end, they would gather outside the ark and laugh at poor old Noah. But there are two cleansings of the earth, the first was a figure for the latter; the cleansing by water was only an antitype for the true, the cleansing of the earth by fire at the end, when all heaven's investigations had been completed. Peter wrote of this time at 2 Peter 3.1-15:

3This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour: Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation . . .

Does life seem as if its becoming more dificult these days? Does it seem that an increased intensity grips the world? It does to me. And I wonder. Could it be that it actually is hardening? That an intensity is gripping our world in a way it hasn't since the weeks preceding the flood? Could it be that the prupose of all these hard things in the world and in our own individual lives today is to fit us up for translation? Could we be approaching a fresh window of opportunity for heaven to finish the work of the thid angel and take us home at last to heaven?

Please, let's turn to Matthew 24 and look at a few things.

Jesus' disciples at one time asked Him, when shall these things (the destruction of the temple and the end of the world) be? And what will be the sign of Your coming?

His answer told them of many things. There would be numerous developments. They would hear of wars and rumours of wars . . . but the end would not be yet. There would be catastrophies in the natural world, famines, earthquakes, pestilences . . . but according to our Lord, those were but the beginning of sorrows.

There would come a time when His people were delivered up before the nations for their faith and murdered for what they believed. All the nations would hate us for the sake of Jesus' name. There would be a colossal final apostasy when in the crucible of that swaying age, many would be offended, many would betray one another, and hate one another. There would come an age when it seemed that all the walls would come down and the church fall.

There would come a time when false prophets would arise and deceive many. And it says em>many false prophets would arise then and do that. Where are they? Are there no false prophets in our age?

It says that at that time because the love of iniquity would abound, the love of many would wax cold. But he who endured at the end would be saved.

Later in the chapter it says that the sign of the Son of man would appear in the heavens at a time when it would be too late for anyone to do anything about it. That's the thing with signs. Certain kinds of signs always come after the fact. You can't set your prophetic watch by them. By the time you see Jesus coming in the clouds and say, ah yes and oh no! This was one of the signs! It will be too late.

But we are to know when things are near, even at the doors.

I want to propose to you today that signs come in several types. And that Jesus answered the disciples question in a way we might be surprised about. But first, the different kinds of signs. There are, we might say, a variety of signs, including the "Out-there" signs.

Out-There Signs

An "out-there" sign happens out in the world. Jesus spoke of the wars and rumors of wars. He also mentioned earthquakes and natural disasters, in other words, things that are out of our direct personal control. These are the "out there" signs.

It's interesting that so often we Christians focus on the "out there" signs. We keep looking for something out there that will show us its time to prepare or that a major prophetic development is coming. Really, the out there signs were the ones that Jesus said "these thins are the beginning of sorrows, and fit "the end is not yet" category.

Jesus mentioned these, but He didn't encourage us to put any excessive bit of attention and sleepless nights into them. There are whole "ministries" that focus on the "out there" signs. Not that we should ignore such signs. But sometimes we give them more attention in relation to other kinds of sings than is probably fruitful.

In-the-Church Signs

The next kind of sign's I'll call the "In-the-church" signs. These have been of particular interest to some of us who are tuned-in to the latest issues faced by the church or that are perculating through it, usually to our considerable consternation. These are signs which strike me as being far more telling than some of the others. After all, if God's people can hasten the second coming, they can doubtless slow it down. And our spiritual condition is plugged into this equation some way. So when we read here in Matthew 24 about "then shall many be offended and, and shall betray one another," I get interested.

Among these signs which apparently take place in the church is the arrival of false prophets. False prophets are most effective when working on religious people -- church people. They can work outside the church too. What is interesting is that Jesus speaks of "many" false prophets, who deceive "many."

And could it be that when He says, "because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold," Jesus is speaking also of what happens in the church? I may hope not. But the evidence of my eyes says, no, probably that was exactly what He was talking about. We preachers are serving up to much soft-serve stuff. We haven't fed our people the way we are supposed too. We are getting the happy baptisms, too fast, too automatic, some with almost no preparation. And I hear about people who smoke or people who drink being joined to the church. And I am amazed. Is this the same church I read about in Revelation 14:12 who keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus? Lord help us. The signs in the church show us that we are in an accelerating state of decay. We have to bring that to a grinding halt within our sphere of influence and give our Lord room to work.

It is these signs which have alerted me that we are much closer to the end than probably we have thought. Jesus will come soon. But this doesn't mean we are to abandon the church; much the opposite. Now is the time to come up to her help. Now we need to be faithful within and bring along those who will also commit themselves to being faithful within.

After-the-Fact Signs

Then there are the "After-the-fact" signs. Now here are some thing that are actually identified with the word for "sign." These are very serious. Just one problem though. When we see these come to clear fulfillment it will be too late to make a difference for us. You wonder why that is.

Remember, in Matthew 12:38-41 Jesus said,

"But He answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here."

Matthew 16:4 calls it a "wicked and adulterous" generation. Mark 8:12 has Jesus asking, "Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation." Luke 11:30 has, "For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation."

Those are interesting. Did the Ninevites see Jonah come out of the mouth of the whale? We are not told so. But Jonah did create a sensation as he went through the streets of Nineveh, after he had been in the belly if the whale for three days, and there was repentance in the city. Jesus would actually walk out of the tomb in the sight of Jerusalem, but there would be little repentance in that city. He would give them extraordinary evidence of His divinity, but the sign would escape them.

Apparently they were to draw the parallel with Jonah the prophet themselves. He would give a sign. But it was for those who would discover in the parallel cause for faith. Those wearying themselves doing evil doubtless would miss it. Thus, to an evil and adulterous generation no sign was given. Just the resurrection, the ultimate of signs. For many, that sign would not be enough. Jonah said to the Ninevites, "Your time is up." Jesus came at the close of the 490 years set aside for Israel. The Jonah sign of Jesus was, at least almost was, what we might call an after-the-fact sign. By then many had already sealed their doom by rejecting Messiah. The nation would have three more years, and the city of Jerusalem close to forty more. But the arrival of Jesus showed the time was at hand. Judgment was come.

In Matthew 24 we have a truly after-the-fact sign in the arrival of the Son of Man again at the second coming. Verse 30 says that after the cosmic signs (the earthquake, dark day, and the falling of the stars), the next sign in the sky is the appearance of Jesus coming in the clouds of heaven. And when He is seen, what do the people do? They mourn. The tribes of the earth that is. God's own are waiting for Him. The point here is, the groups have been sorted. All the shaking is done. One group, the obedient, are in the kingdom, one group, the disobedient, are out of the kingdom. But there is the sign in the sky. After-the fact.

There are examples of this kind of sign too. There is the puzzling aspect of Isaiah's son given as a sign of the Messiah who would be born 700 years later. Hard to see how helpful that sign was for the folks in Isaiah's day. But the sign was given, it was projected for the future, and it came just as God said. But the generation in whose hearing it was spoken of in was long gone.

In-Here Signs

The last kind of "sign" we'll call the "In-here" type. By this I mean in our own hearts. The universe today by no means sees the human race at its best. We are more depraved than ever before. The combined impact of 6000 years of sin weighs ever more heavily upon us. If all we had to contend with was the impact of the various media upon us, that in itself would be well nigh overwhelming. Alas, we have everything to deal with, undiluted. So what's in here to serve as a sign?

Consider these lines from 2 Timothy 3:1-9, 13:

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; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was. . . But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

We understand from 2 Thessalonians 2 that the Holy Spirit is being withdrawn from the world. And there are many out there who have only been held in check this long because the Holy Spirit was doing it. But when the deranged in our society are no longer under the restraint of the Holy Spirit, the only thing that can protect us is the supernatural shielding of those who follow God.

Luke 21:25-32 also has insight for us:

And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. And He spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled.

There is a lot of violence out there. I don't need to tell you that. Most of police work involves responses to domestic disturbances. People are having ever more trouble living together. It is spiraling. There are many people out there being led into more and more weirdness. And a lot of it in religion's name, too.

A pastor friend of mine in Norway told me of an event that happened there not long ago. Through the years he had a friend who was a layman, a very interested worker in God's things. But over time people who knew this fellow became concerned. He kept being told things by an audible voice. It was becoming more and more insistent. Eventually, a well-known Adventist lady died and the funeral was held, I think this was in Oslo. Well, the voice told this fellow that he was supposed to go there and raise her from the dead. He was extremely nervous for he knew that this was really different. Btu the voice was insistent.

According to my pastor friend, this other fellow was there. Numerous people were there, including many non-SDAs. Eventually things had all but concluded and they were going to take the coffin away. Suddenly this fellow stood forth. With great intensity he called her to rise, to resurrect, to come out of the grave. Everyone was locked in silence. Nothing happened. Nothing at all. Everyone was embarrassed. And finally in that moment this fellow realized that yes, it had been an evil spirit speaking to him, urging him onward to fanaticism. Only after this failed resurrection-attempt did he come clear. But these kind of crazy things are happening here and there with increasing frequency. Our world is coming unglued.

How easily are we deceived?

When we consider the depravity of our own hearts, it is already a miracle that we are not the perpetrators of varied screaming behaviors of those who, unrestrained fight God.

All these things were to be expected, just before the deluge. As you will surmise, we have in mind the second deluge, the cleansing of the earth by fire.

At the end.

In conclusion, what do we offer today? Can't offer you immediate relief. But I can remind you that God promises that relief is coming. The Calvary of heaven is entering the battle. Might it be that before long, we will see the face of Jesus, touch His nail-scarred hands? Might it be that what was supposed to happen already -- the return of Jesus -- will be what our eyes see?

Have we forgotten that the world could have ended some time ago. That the last explosion of events -- happenings that will occur with rocketing speed -- could already have zoomed through a century ago?

The Author of our salvation will be the Finisher of the work. One truth received into the heart will make room for still another truth. And the truth, wherever received, quickens into activity the powers of the receiver. When our church members are truly lovers of God's word, they will reveal the best and strongest qualities; and the nobler they are, the more childlike in spirit they will be, believing the word of God against all selfishness.

A flood of light is shining from the word of God, and there must be an awakening to neglected opportunities. When all are faithful in giving back to God His own in tithes and offerings, the way will be opened for the world to hear the message for this time. If the hearts of God's people were filled with love for Christ, if every church member were thoroughly imbued with the spirit of self-sacrifice, if all manifested thorough earnestness, there would be no lack of funds for home or foreign missions. Our resources would be multiplied; a thousand doors of usefulness would be opened, and we should be invited to enter. Had the purpose of God been carried out by His people in giving to the world the message of mercy, Christ would, ere this, have come to the earth, and the saints would have received their welcome into the city of God. (Ellen G. White, Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 449).

And

The angels of God in their messages to men represent time as very short. Thus it has always been presented to me. It is true that time has continued longer than we expected in the early days of this message. Our Saviour did not appear as soon as we hoped. But has the Word of the Lord failed? Never! It should be remembered that the promises and the threatenings of God are alike conditional.

God had committed to His people a work to be accomplished on earth. The third angel's message was to be given, the minds of believers were to be directed to the heavenly sanctuary, where Christ had entered to make atonement of His people. The Sabbath reform was to be carried forward. The breach in the law of God must be made up. The message must be proclaimed with a loud voice, that all the inhabitants of earth might receive the warning. The people of God must purify their souls through obedience to the truth, and be prepared to stand without fault before Him at His coming.

Had Adventists, after the great disappointment in 1844, held fast their faith and followed on unitedly in the opening providence of God, receiving the message of the third angel and in the power of the Holy Spirit proclaiming it to the world, they would have seen the salvation of God, the Lord would have wrought mightily with their efforts, the work would have been completed, and Christ would have come ere this to receive His people to their reward. But in the period of doubt and uncertainty that followed the disappointment, many of the advent believers yielded their faith. . . . Thus the work was hindered, and the world was left in darkness. Had the whole Adventist body united upon the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, how widely different would have been our history!

It was not the will of God that the coming of Christ should be thus delayed. God did not design that His people, Israel, should wander forty years in the wilderness. He promised to lead them directly to the land of Canaan, and establish them there a holy, healthy, happy people. But those to whom it was first preached, went not in "because of unbelief." Their hearts were filled with murmuring, rebellion, and hatred, and He could not fulfill His covenant with them.

For forty years did unbelief, murmuring, and rebellion shut out ancient Israel from the land of Canaan. The same sins have delayed the entrance of modern Israel into the heavenly Canaan. In neither case were the promises of God at fault. It is the unbelief, the worldliness, unconsecration, and strife among the Lord's professed people that have kept us in this world of sin and sorrow so many years. (Ellen G. White, Evangelism, p. 696).

God is looking for those who will believe, who will, in the last burst of sorrows that comes upon us retain the capacity to reason from cause to effect. They will truly believe the word of God, they will act for the preservation of His church, they will uphold church order and discipline no matter what names they are called. The worldliness that says we mustn't speak out against anything, everyone has a right to impose their opinions on others and to lean upon the consciences of others, the unconsecration that refuses to contend for the faith delivered to the saints -- those are features that we need to cultivate in the positive rather than the negative.

For unbelief let us replace with belief.

For worldliness let us replace with godliness.

For unconsecration let us replace with consecration and commitment to our Lord, and For strife let us replace with order. Let us become responsible for those things God has called us to be responsible for, and get things right finally. Before the deluge.

If indeed, we are nearer that time than we may have supposed, if indeed, these eyes here present behold one day soon the face of Jesus, then let us now prepare. We stand in the hour before the deluge. The fire is coming. Jesus will help us prepare. His Holy Spirit will command the helm for us if we seek for it. Today then may we fix our eyes on the fact that our journey isn't quite over, but in order to finish we need to be about our Father's work. And let us beware the sign of our own heart. Let us consider where we have fallen and repent, and do the first works.

God grant us these things.

Pastor Larry Kirkpatrick is an ordained minister of the gospel. Since 1994 he has served in the American Southwest as pastor to several churches. He received his BA in Religion from Southern Adventist University in 1994 and a Master of Divinity from Andrews University in 1999 with a specialization in Adventist Studies. While in Michigan he was employed by the General Conference at the White Estate Berrien Springs branch office. More important than his scholastic preparation has been his immersion in the biblical and Spirit of Prophecy materials. He is author of the 2003 book Real Grace for Real People. Presently he serves as Pastor of the Mentone Church of Seventh-day Adventists, located near Loma Linda, California. Larry is married to Pamela. The couple presently live in Highland, California along with their two children, Etienne and Melinda.