Down to Earth But Heavenly Minded

I started writing this article last Fall and finished and published it today.

Look around you. What do you see? I am not talking about the immediate surroundings but what is going on not only in our nation, but in the world.

My grandson posted on Facebook yesterday a page from a book that was written back in 1989 by Ralph Epperson. The title was, “The New World Order.” I vaguely remember reading it, or at least parts of it. In the writing of this book, the author was trying to predict what it was going to be like in this New World Order that was coming. I don’t know if he is correct in some things he wrote about, but I believe what is happening is we are moving toward a One World Order. People are talking about it as The Great Reset. I just finished republishing two papers by Charles Stanley. He entitled one paper “As it was in the days of Noah.” And the other was “As it was in the days of Lot.” They were about the days when the Lord will return and what the world will be like. I believe we are living and seeing those days forming in the days that are before us. This is what this message is all about. The Bible tells us what it will be like just before the Lord returns.

Let us start out by looking at some scripture and then ask ourselves if this is happening now. First, we will look at the days that we just referred to, The Days of Noah, and the Days of Lot.

This is a quote for Got Questions Ministry on this subject:

“The biblical account of Noah begins in Genesis 6. Approximately 1,600 years had passed since the creation of Adam and Eve (Genesis 1:26 and 27). As the earth’s population exploded in number, it also exploded with evil. Long forgotten was the righteous sacrifice of Abel (Genesis 4:4) as “the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). Verses 11 and 12 say, “Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.” However, “Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord” (verse 8).

When Jesus described the events that will surround His second coming, He said, “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all” (Luke 17:26 and 27). Jesus was pointing out that, although the people of Noah’s day were totally depraved, they were not the least bit concerned about it. They were carrying on the events of their lives without a single thought of the judgment of God. Noah is described as a “preacher of righteousness” (2 Peter 2:5), meaning he had spent years warning his friends and neighbors what the Holy God was about to do. No one listened.

The depravity and ungodly lifestyles of the entire world at that time were enough to cause the Lord to “regret that He had made man” (Genesis 6:6). Many scholars believe that part of the need to destroy every human being except Noah and his family was the sin mentioned in Genesis 6:1 to 4, when “the Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them.” As evil reproduced and overtook the world, the most merciful act God could perform was to start over.

It is interesting that God allowed Noah nearly one hundred years to complete the building of the ark. Through all that time, God patiently waited (1 Peter 3:20). Scripture seems to imply that Noah preached to the people of that time about what was coming (Hebrews 11:7). They did not believe Noah and were content with their wickedness and idolatry. Their hearts were hard and their ears dull. No one repented, and no one cared to seek God.

Jesus said that the world will be much the same before He returns to set up His earthly kingdom (Matthew 25:31 to 33). He warned us to “be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” 2 Timothy 3:1 to 4 gives us a clear picture of the state of the world before Jesus comes and most likely also describes the world in the days of Noah. That verse says, “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.” It is becoming increasingly obvious that, to understand what the world was like in the days of Noah, we only need to watch the evening news.”

Now for the Days of Lot.

In Luke 17:28 to 30, the Lord said this: “Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all, — so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed.”

The Lord here is telling us that man will go about business as usual. But in these following verses, it tells us they scoff at the coming because they want to keep doing their ungodly deeds. In 2 Peter 3:3 we read, “knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires.” And again, in Jude verse 18, they said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.”

Before going on with this writing, I need to tell you that my wife just interrupted this writing to have me deliver some cookies she just baked. In case you are wondering why I am telling you this, it is because of what I just seen and what it made me think of. It is the fall of the year here in Minnesota, and the animal kingdom is preparing for the winter. I saw three squirrels busy hiding nuts for the upcoming cold months. It made me think they know things are changing, but man has a blind eye to what is going on right in front of them.

I was reading the book of Romans this morning and while reading the first chapter; it made me think of Sodom and Gomorrah. The cities that Lot lived in. I asked myself how Christian can live in an environment like that, but then I thought about every city in the United States or in the world. As far as that goes, they are all like these two cities. Here is what I read in Romans:

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.” “Therefore, God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.”

“For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.”

“And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.”

Note what it said at the end “… Not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.” Those that are giving their approval to this evil deed are as guilty as those that are practicing them. This means that those that are passing laws like same sex marriage and transgenders using the same rest room are as guilty. They are showing their approval.

Going back to what the scripture tells us about the last days before judgment comes. Again I will quote Got Questions:

“Scoffers have been present since the Garden of Eden. Satan’s first temptation of man was in the form of scoffing at God’s command: “Did God really say—?” (Genesis 3:1). Scoffers dominated Noah’s day (Genesis 6:5 to 8; Hebrews 11:7), leaving God with little choice but to destroy them all and start over with Noah, the only righteous man on earth. Scoffers refuse to believe the word of the Lord and set themselves up as their own gods (2 Chronicles 36:16). The psalmist warns against the digression that leads from casual association with wicked people to sitting “in the seat of scoffers” (Psalm 1:1, ESV), embracing their worldview—and sharing their fate.

Although scoffers have always been a part of this fallen world, Scripture seems to indicate that, as the Day of the Lord draws nearer, the scoffing will increase. Peter describes these scoffers as “following their own evil desires” (2 Peter 3:3) and questioning the second coming of the Lord Jesus (verse 4). Thousands of years have passed since Jesus ascended into heaven, promising to return for His faithful ones (John 14:1 to 4; Revelation 22:12). Scoffers point out the lapse of time and mock those who still wait and yearn for His appearing (2 Timothy 4:8; 2 Thessalonians 1:7).

Jude describes the scoffers of the last days as people who follow ungodly desires and create division in the church (Jude 1:18). They may even present themselves as church leaders, but they “do not have the Spirit” (verse 19). Paul goes into more detail about the condition of the world before Jesus returns: “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people” (2 Timothy 3:1 to 5). Scoffers will fit right in with such a crowd.

We already see an increase of scoffers in our world today, and several factors may be contributing to that rise. Constant access to media, the internet, and other forms of technology provide an open platform for anyone with an opinion, and scoffing at everything once thought honorable is a favorite pastime. Scoffers are emboldened on social media by others who can instantly approve of their mockery. Many people are educated beyond their intelligence, and this new world without moral boundaries is producing scoffers instead of thinkers. Many try to use scientific training to say that, since the reality of the Creator God cannot be proved by man’s understanding, God must not exist. In rejecting Scripture, mankind has lost its moral compass, leaving us with no way to determine right or wrong, good or bad, truth or lie. In this climate, anyone who claims to know the truth is a prime target for scoffers.

Arrogance leads to scoffing, much as it did before the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1 to 4). When people become puffed up with their own importance, they begin to challenge anything that threatens their high opinion of themselves. Once we have removed the idea of God from consideration, then anything goes. Scoffers have tried to redefine marriage, obliterate gender binarism, and create a fantasy world in which reality becomes whatever we feel it is. Not long ago, such a mindset was the definition of insanity. Now we are told it is the ultimate wisdom. Romans 1:21 and 22 has never been more relevant: “Although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools.”

The proliferation of scoffers is a sign of the last days. They profess themselves to be wise, but they are really fools (Psalm 14:1). Regardless of the eschatological timeline one prefers, we can all agree that the number of scoffers and deceivers is increasing rapidly, just as Scripture warned us it would (2 John 1:7). It is critically important that every Christian take seriously the commands to study and meditate on God’s Word (2 Timothy 2:15; Joshua 1:8) so that we won’t be led astray by the lofty-sounding ideas presented to us by scoffers (2 Corinthians 10:5).”

While I am quoting from Got Questions, there is some repletive stuff scripture, and I am not editing it out because it needs to be repeated so we see how important it to understand what is going on in the world today.

When Paul was writing to Timothy in the second letter he wrote, he reference to the scriptures, the Old Testament, when he wrote “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.”

What about the Virus and the Vaccine?

What about the flood of illegals coming into the country?

What about those that are running the governments of the world?

What about all the lying and cheating that is going on in the world?

What about all the suppression of the truth on social media?

These are only a few questions that are on the minds of many. These things are all evil and anyone with the right thinking can see it. This is all part of the big picture and all the pieces are falling into place. It all appears that God is allowing all this to take place to usher in the end of this age; the age of Grace. If you are one who can see what is going on and you do not know where you fit into all this, then let me tell you, you better start preparing for what is coming. Be smart like those squirrels I talked about earlier.

Now I am not talking about stocking up on toilet paper and gas, thou this is not a bad idea, but I am talking about preparing for the return of the Lord. Now I don’t care what your belief is as far as whether we will be out of here before the tribulation or if we will go through some or all of it, the point I want to make is making sure you are on the right side.

Just about every day I have been posting gospel messages on my YouTube, Bitchute, UgetTube, and Rumble channels, so if you what to know what I am talking about check them for yourself. The Lord has laid on my heart to do this because I truly believe that the end is very near. Please take this writing and this message very seriously. We are living in solemn times. And please don’t close your eyes to what is going on. The great lie has already spread, the lie that this One World Order is a good thing and that we should all embrace it. Do not believe it, it is a lie of the Devil. It sounds like “The Tower of Babel” all over again. Man trying to make himself out to be something when without God, he is nothing.

God Bless.

Irving Risch