(The Last Days and the Lord's Coming) Like the Days of Noah and Lot — Zac Poonen

So we will continue our study on Last days in the second coming of Christ. We were looking at Matthew chapter 24 when The disciples asked him When is this temple going to be torn down? verse 2 and 3. And when will you return?

What is the end at the end of the age? So he replied to both those things and He the first thing he said we looked at that last time was How there'd be a tremendous amount of deception in the last days.

And that is a theme that He brings forth again and again in this chapter and Paul repeats it in 1 Timothy 4 and 2nd Thessalonians 2. I also want to show you another passage in 2nd Timothy 3 in this connection speaking about the last days, especially 2nd Timothy chapter 3 verse 1.

Deception and Persecution in the Last Days

But realize this that in the last days Difficult times will come or as the Living Bible says it's going to be difficult to be a Christian in the last days. Why is it going to be why is it difficult going to be difficult to be a Christian is it because There's going to be a lot of persecution Against Christians that will also be there.

But more subtle than persecution the devil comes like a lion he's called a roaring lion in 1 Peter 5 and a dragon in Revelation 12 and also a serpent in Genesis 3 and Revelation 12 so when he comes as a Lion that's in persecution and when he comes as a serpent that is deception.

These are the two weapons of Satan persecution and deception to prevent people from following Jesus. So when it says here in chapter 3 verse 1 that it's going to be difficult in the last days to be a Christian.

Persecution is one of the things he mentions it towards the end in verse 12. All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. But he's speaking more about deception this persecution mentioned in verse 12 and deception in verse 13.

Evil men and imposters will proceed from bad to worse. Deceiving and being deceived. They'll deceive others and be deceived themselves. So persecution and deception two things mentioned in verse 12 and 13 are gonna be very Prevalent in the last days Facing Christians and so when it says difficult times will come.

It's not primarily referring to persecution. It's referring to deception and Then he says in verse 2 onwards how men and this is talking about believers. People who claim to be Christian believers who claim to be Christians sitting in the churches Will primarily be lovers of self now there are four types of lovers mentioned here.

Lovers of self lovers of money and verse 4 lovers of pleasure and Lovers of God. Four types of lovers. And only one of them is right. True Christian must be a lover of God. But instead of being a lover of God he's going to be a lover of himself.

His own rights his reputation his honor. One of the proofs of that is we get so easily offended. Only one who loves himself gets offended. One who doesn't love himself, but loves God never gets offended with anything that another person says or doesn't say with anything that another person does or Doesn't do we get offended because we get hurt.

Our self life gets hurt by the way somebody treated us by what we heard somebody said about us behind our back. We love ourselves so much and who worry who are we talking about now unbelievers. No, so-called believers who have never understood what it is to take up the cross and put self to death.

See because in the last days is going to be very little preaching about the cross and death to self life it's almost unheard of in most churches today and never heard of in Christian television and. So when there's no preaching against death on death to self.

Self is going to flourish in the lives of many Christians. They won't even know that you cannot follow Jesus if you love yourself. They'll think you can love yourself and follow Jesus and look at the multitudes of Christians who get offended and hurt and Don't even feel that that's a terrible sin.

They say well somebody did that to me. I have a right to be hurt exactly because you're an unbeliever. You're not a disciple of Jesus. That's why you've got a right to be hurt if you were a disciple of Jesus.

You have no right to be hurt. Jesus was never hurt and they called him Prince of Devils. They spat on his face. They did all types of things. What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus? There are very very few Christians who are going to take up the cross in the last days and follow him and so it's going to be very difficult to be a true Christian because We are surrounded by people who claim to be Christians who claim to be filled with the Spirit who claim to speak in tongues extra and who get hurt and get offended or Are disturbed because their name was dragged in the dust and Jesus taught us to pray our Father who art in heaven.

Hallowed be thy name forget about your own name. But the last days Christians are going to be more concerned about their name. For example, I'll tell you do you know how much the name of Jesus is dishonored in India today?

But that doesn't disturb most people who call themselves Christians, but if their name Was dragged in the mud by somebody once Boy, that would really disturb them or if their little pretty daughter's name was dragged in the dust boy.

That would disturb them but let the name of Jesus be dishonored throughout the country doesn't bother them. You think such people are disciples of Jesus? No. Far from it, but they sit in churches. They claim to be born again.

They claim to love the Lord that is the Amazing thing that devil has done deceiving them that they love themselves from top to bottom head to foot and they think they're disciples of Jesus. So we can only warn you nobody can change you from being a lover of self if you don't want to be free from it.

Love of Money, Pleasure, and Entertainment

Yourself, but let me warn you there are three types of lovers who are not lovers of God. One is a lover of self. The other is a lover of money. Look at the multitudes of Christians who think they can love God and love money at the same time multitudes of believers and it's in this connection it says it's going to be difficult to be a Christian in the last days because you'll be surrounded by such people and you will be infected by their sickness the infection of love of self the infection of love of money and It'll be difficult to be a Christian because that infection will come to you unless you're really strong and resisting it.

And the third is lovers of pleasure. The great God that many Christians worship today is the God called entertainment. They are more interested in entertainment they say we got to relax life is so tense we need entertainment and very often it leads to polluted a defiled sexual stimulated entertainment.

Do you think such people are disciples of Jesus? The sad thing is some of them think they are because they go to a church. They sing the songs. They're gonna burn in hell. There's no doubt about it one day.

They'll wake up and discover that. But not many people preach about it. You can't be a lover of pleasure and lover of God at the same time. That's why Christians who you know, I remember days 50 years ago no Christian ever watched movies.

There was no television it was disgraceful for a Christian to watch a movie, but today almost all Christians watch movies and They it's gone down the standard of movies. They watch down and down and now it doesn't even disturb them.

You see the reason in the last days is going to be very difficult to be a true Christian. Because you'll find very few people who live up to the standards of God's Word the standards of discipleship. I'll tell you this.

If you don't look at Jesus and the standards of God's Word. You can be a part of this church CFC and you'll find it very difficult to be a Christian. Because a lot of people around you don't have those standards.

We're living in a day of decline in the best churches that decline is there among the young people particularly. Decline the standards of God's Word are no longer Taken seriously. So if you're a serious young person who wants to follow the Lord my advice to you is don't look at the other young people around you.

Look at Jesus. Look at the standards of God's Word. Forget about the others around you and say follow the Lord and that's going to be difficult because it'll be very you'll be walking a very lonely path.

There won't be many people who want to go with you. Then it'll be difficult to be a Christian. Says in verse 3. There's gonna be a lot of gossiping. Look at the number of Christians who gossip and don't even think that that's unchristian.

You know backbite against people just spend that time talking evil about somebody else. If that person's son or wife came along there that immediately stopped which proves that you're a gossip. So there are many things like that, you know.

A Form of Godliness Without Its Power

The interesting thing is all these people who have these qualities mentioned here of Lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful Unholy, unloving, iniquitous and so on the whole lot of them lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God all of them verse 5 Are still going to hold on to a form of godliness.

I mean if these people were outright worldly that would be okay. Because we say they are worldly people. No. But these people are gonna hold a form of godliness means they're gonna talk about holiness and they're gonna talk about righteousness.

They're gonna talk about victory over sin and you'll be thoroughly deceived. These guys are talking about victory over sin and holiness and righteousness and they're watching dirty movies on the side.

Can you imagine greater deception than that? I mean if they're out outright in the world, okay. But they're gonna hold on to a form of godliness, but have denied the power of godliness. They're take they've taken up with other supernatural powers, you know, look at the multitudes of Christians.

We're just waiting to have some preacher lay hands on them and make them fall down. What's the use of that? I want power to live a holy life. Not to fall down you can get drunk with whiskey and fall down.

You don't need the part of the Holy Spirit for that. But you want the part of the Holy part of the Holy Spirit you need that you want to be holy. So here are people in the last days. We're gonna have a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof and It says here avoid such men as these first five.

I Don't want to fellowship with such people. I Don't care if some people say that you're very exclusive brother. Well, I am exclusive from such people because the Bible says avoid. Such men as these who hold to a form of godliness and are more interested in talking about Movies and entertainment and even their religious Activity is centered around entertainment.

They're not interested in Bible study. They are they're interested in music. More than Bible study music has never made a man spiritual till today Bible study has made people holy. Why is it people Christians today are more interested in music than in?

Bible study because Bible study is not entertainment and their God is entertainment and So they come to a church that go to a church which entertains them you see they feel guilty about going to the Places of the worldly rock music shows and all but they want that entertainment.

So they the churches that provide that It never leads them to a holy life never leads them to take up the cross and die to themselves and give up sin and overcome Sin and follow Jesus but entertainment so I mentioned this this is all part of that deception of the last days.

See what all Paul says about this is going to be in the last days. We're living in those times. These things were written 2 ,000 years ago, and we're seeing it fulfilled in our time around us. I Want you to also see here what Jesus said about?

The Days of Noah and the Coming of Christ

In go back to Matthew 24. It says here in Verse 38 verse 37. For the coming of the Son of Matthew 24 verse 37 and 38 for the coming of the Son of Man Will be just like the days of Noah now. What is the before we go to the next verse?

Let's turn to Genesis 6 and see something about the days of Noah. Because Jesus said the last days are going to be like the days of Noah. Then I want to read that and see what the days of Noah were like Verse 1.

You see a number of things Happen in the days of Noah. You just look at them one by one. First of all men began to multiply or chapter 6 Genesis 6 verse 1 there was a tremendous population boom in the days of Noah.

Lots and lots of babies were born in the population of the earth increased at a very rapid rate. Jesus said it's going to be like that in the last days. We see it happening in our country and everywhere and Then It speaks about the sons of God now the sons of God.

There were no born-again sons of God those days that have people could be born-again sons of God only after the days of Jesus. But the sons of God is an expression that is used in Scripture. To refer to Angels I'll show you Job chapter 1 verse 6.

The Sons of God and the Interpretation of Genesis 6

There was a day Job 1 verse 6 Job there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord and Satan also came among them. Those were angels. The reason is the word son Speaks of a direct creation of God.

All human beings are not direct creations of God. They are Born into the world through the principle of reproduction that God put into Adam and Eve. God did not create each man and woman on this earth.

They were born through the principle of reproduction all the billions of people on earth. But the angels were not born through a principle of reproduction. There is no reproduction each angel was created individually by God.

The millions of angels and anything any you know moral being Created directly by God is called a son of God. And that's why if you turn to Genesis 5. Well Let me before you go to Genesis 5. Let me show you a verse in Luke chapter 3 and you'll understand it in Luke chapter 3 you see the genealogy of Mary.

Luke chapter 3 you see the genealogy of Mary Jesus himself. Luke 3 23 Jesus was about 30 years of age being supposedly the son of Joseph who was The son-in-law should be son-in-law there of Eli. This is Mary's genealogy.

Joseph genealogies in Matthew chapter 1. Whenever you see a word in italics In the NASB it means it was not in the original Greek, but somebody put it in to try and Make meaning to that sentence what is written in there is supposedly the son of Joseph the of Eli.

They put in son. It should have been son-in-law, and then that means that is the Eli was the father of Mary and Then his genealogy goes all the way you see the last verse. Who was the son of Enos the son of Seth the son of Adam who was the? son of God.

In what way? Because he was a direct creation of God. So any direct creation of God is always called a son of God, and that's why when we are born again We are called sons of God because we are a direct creation.

I mean I didn't become a child of God because my father was a child of God. No God Directly made him a son of God and made me separately a son of God. It's a direct act. Those who were born it says in John chapter 1 verse 12 and 13 not of the will of the flesh nor the will of man.

But were born of God. So that's why we're called sons of God. It's an expression for a direct creation of God. It's not just a question of saying I want to follow Jesus. God does a work in me and does a work of creation puts a new nature inside me which I can never do.

That's what it means to be born again a lot of people who call themselves Christians. They're not really born again like that. God has not done a creative work in their heart. Because they have never seriously taken the matter of being a disciple of Jesus they've never repented of their sins.

They just come and sit in a church and sort of ooze into what they think is Christianity. But that's not son of God. So when it speaks here in Genesis 6 about sons of God is speaking about these angels and these angels.

They don't have any sexual ability. The Bible says Jesus said in Matthew 22 That in the resurrection we'll be like angels in the sense that there won't be any marriage. There won't be any sexual function in heaven in the resurrection body.

There won't be any marriage. The angels do not have any sexual ability. But you know that angels can be tempted because Lucifer the head of the angels we don't know what's his real name, but anyway, let's call him Lucifer.

Pornography, Lust, and Spiritual Bondage

He was tempted in his heart to be proud to exalt himself. We read about unclean spirits evil spirits who are filthy and. So here were angels in heaven good angels who? They didn't learn a lesson from the fall of Lucifer years earlier.

And they looked at these daughters of men. They looked at some pretty women on earth. And they lusted after them. They saw that they were beautiful and When they says they took themselves wives of themselves of what they choose a woman.

An angel can't marry a woman. What it means is they possessed human beings In order to satisfy their lust because they don't have sexual ability. How to satisfy that lust? They possessed men and Made those men filled with lust.

And then these angels could satisfy their lust on pretty women. It was like getting pleasure through somebody else having pleasure. You know internet pornography is like this. The people who watch it don't get any pleasure themselves.

But they get the pleasure through seeing somebody else getting pleasure. The sons of God look at the daughters of men and Want to lust after them and somehow have pleasure Through somebody else seeing somebody else having pleasure.

It's internet pornography. Gonna be plenty of it in the last days. So when I see it I'm not surprised. I know there are evil spirits behind it and That's why people who watch pornography Gradually the more they watch it on you know CDs and DVDs and internet.

The resistance the natural resistance that we have wears thin you know you. You yield and yield and yield to temptation. Gradually that natural resistance. It doesn't happen immediately, but over a period of time.

I mean if you just watch it once it's still sin. But what happens when you watch it once you've got an addiction you want to watch it again. It wears thin thin thin thin thin thin. Finally it snaps and an evil spirit gets in Spirit of lust and that that person is possessed with an evil spirit.

He's addicted. It's really serious. Well you know the number of believers who just play the fool with this. That's exactly what the devil wants them to think ah this is not serious. Just enjoy yourself.

You'll be okay. Look at all the other people in the world are doing it their Minds are destroyed. They have awful dreams at night and later on in life. When they get married their married life will be a havoc.

They will never enjoy sex in married life. They'll be forever lusting and they won't be happy in their marriage. The devil's got long-term plans and He starts off with his pornography young people in their teens.

Go into it because the devil never tells him where this is going to end. Did the devil tell Eve where her little act of seeking some pleasure from a tree would finally end with her first son murdering her second son and All the subsequent problems that came now the devil never tells anybody the future.

It just says enjoy yourself now. Forget the future. That's the sin of Esau. The Bible says make sure there's nobody like Esau in your midst who for a little morsel of meat a bowl of soup Sacrificed his birthright.

Our birthright is to be like Jesus Christ. That's my birthright to have a mind like the mind of Christ pure humble loving. To have speech like the speech of Christ. That's my birthright to Be here to have an attitude towards women money everything exactly like Jesus had.

That's my birthright. But I can throw away that birthright for a bowl of soup. What's a bowl of soup. Something that satisfied my bodily need now like Eve gave up her birthright to walk with God in paradise for the sake of a little thing that would satisfy her bodily need now and Pornography is like that something that will satisfy your bodily need now.

And what do I throw away? Fellowship with God eternity in heaven. I don't want all that. That's all in the future. You don't realize what a terrible price people are paying. Internet pornography is leading millions into the lake of fire.

It's written here. It's last days. Plenty of it look at the look at what goes on in all the internet cafes in every country in the world. That never was such a thing, I mean, I'm sure people have read pornographic books 50 years ago, but it's never so widespread.

Absolutely widespread sex. It's gonna be a big crazy thing in the last days. It says here that that's what the days of Noah were like and the Lord said when he saw this verse 3 Genesis 6 3. My spirit is not going to keep on striving with men forever.

In other words. God says my Holy Spirit will speak to men. Once twice thrice they go to a church. They listen. They listen. They listen, but the Lord says I'm not gonna speak to them forever. A Day will come when I'll say to them Go and do what you like.

I've given up on you because he's flesh. I'm not gonna strive. I'll tell you some of you who may be playing the fool with some sin in your life. And nobody in the church can catch you because you do it all alone.

That's fine. But the I want you to hear the word of the Lord. He says my Holy Spirit will not strive with you forever. That's it. A Time will come and the Holy Spirit will say finish go and do what you like.

The Conflict Between Human Will and God's Will

Like somebody said to those who say to God Thy will be done in my life. He opens heaven's doors to them and those who say my will be done. God says, okay go where people go my that's how Satan you know, the origin of Satan is I will I will I will my will my will my will my will.

That's how the origin of Satan and The person who says I don't want your will I want my will it's finally gonna end up where Satan ends up. The great conflict is between my will and God's will. I want to show you that in Isaiah 14.

Isaiah 14 we read of the fall of Satan and We see here. This is how Satan the Perfect angel became a devil. What did he say? I want you to listen to this in Isaiah 14 and verse 13. And notice this phrase that comes so often.

Five times read carefully and see a little phrase that comes five times. You how have you fallen verse 12 it's referring to Lucifer. You've fallen down. Why did you fall Satan? Because you said in your heart I will I will I Will verse 4 I will I will.

That's how he became the devil. I Will I will I will my will my will my will my will. God says, okay do your will go to hell. And that's why it says the next verse he was cast down when Jesus came from heaven.

You know what? He said John 6 38. There you see the difference between sin and holiness. John 6 38 Jesus said I've come from heaven. Not to do my will but the will of my heavenly Father. That is holiness.

I Don't do what pleases me. I Do what pleases my father. What did the devil say my will my will. I want to do what I feel like doing. You see if that's why we got to teach children. That's why I always say if you don't break that stubborn self-will of that two-year-old child you got.

Before he becomes three four years old. He you're training a child for hell. You know all these soft fathers and mothers. Oh darling. Don't do like that. There's no place for darling over there. Gotta break that stubborn self-will which he got from the devil.

Otherwise, you're grooming that child for hell. He'll be a pain in the neck for you that son or daughter when he's when they're teenagers and. Because you've been so soft on them and one day they land up in hell when it's too late and you may be in heaven.

But your children will be in hell. I don't want one of my children in hell. That's why I decided my boys. I'm gonna break that stubborn self-will of them when they are young. That's the thing that needs to that's why the first commandment for children is honor your father and mother children obey your parents.

So my will my will my will leads to hell and Lord not my will not my will but I will be done leads to heaven. Jesus was tempted in all points exactly like us and it says in Romans 15 and verse 3. Romans 15 and verse 3 Christ never pleased himself.

He never sought his own pleasure. He sought the father's pleasure. This is what it means to be a disciple. So the Lord says come back to Genesis 6. My spirit will not always strive with man. That means strive strive means he's where I believe the Holy Spirit strives with us when we speaking to us in a meeting.

You know, you're sinning you're living in sin and the Holy Spirit speaks speaks to you warns you urges you Exhausts you encourages you to give up your sinful life and you stubbornly say no no no no more in the meeting.

You'll say yes, and then tomorrow you go and do the same old thing. And come back again another meeting the Lord speaks to you. Come on. Give it up. Give it up. Give it up. And you don't listen. You know one day the God will say my spirit's not gonna strive always with this person.

I'll try with some of the others, but I'm gonna give up on this person. It's terrible. That's when the devil's take over. Demons take over that person. I don't want that happen to me or to any member of my family.

That's why I say parents pray for your children. Don't take it lightly. That they don't have a fear of God. Don't take it lightly that they're not serious about being disciples of Jesus pray for them.

When was the last time you fasted for your unconverted children? Are you serious about their conversion? We're living in the last days. Anyway the Lord said in those days you know men lived up to 900 years and all that.

But he said okay, I'll give them 120 years more. You see hundred twenty years was a very short time in those days. I Mean in terms of today's time it may be ten years or so. That's it. I'll give them another eight or nine years and then he during those 120 years he Looked for a man Who.

You know if he didn't find a man he would have destroyed all of humanity. So he saw sexual evil was one of the things in the last days lust lust lust after pretty women and then the other thing it says in verse 5 the wickedness of man was great on the earth and Every one of his thoughts of his heart was evil.

That means man's thoughts was absolutely filthy. All the thoughts that went on through his mind. Unmarried people married people their thoughts were filthy filthy filthy filthy filthy. Perhaps some of them were religious just like Christians today.

They go to church. They sing songs where their thoughts are filthy filthy filthy filthy filthy filthy. The Lord saw that you know that the Lord sees people's thoughts. It says that the Lord saw That every thought of man was filthy.

Noah, Judgment, and Righteousness

These are people who have a form of godliness and imagine. It says in verse 6 the Lord was sorry. We're thinking of what Jesus said the last days will be like the days of Noah. The Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth.

Imagine God saying boy, I'm sorry that I ever created Adam now. We must remember that this is written in language for us to understand. God knows the whole future and In that sense, he doesn't have regret about anything he did but in human language for us to understand.

It basically what it means is God was terribly disappointed With the way these human wings were behaving for whom he had done so much good. He had given them Seasons and Sun and rain and health and everything just like he's given us but he sees him so thoroughly ungrateful.

Thoroughly ungrateful for all the blessings they got from him. Don't you think Christians are like that? I think the vast majority of believers are thoroughly ungrateful to God. For all the goodness that he has showered upon.

They come nominally to church and sing a few songs and put a little money in the offering box. But basically they live for themselves. It's really sad. God is disappointed. I Disappointed that he ever brought you to being born again.

This person is not like the other people. This person claims to be a believer. I brought him to the place of salvation. Once upon a time I even filled him with the spirit but look at him today. Every thought of his mind is just worldly and he doesn't live by my standards.

The Lord was sorry grieved his heart. I Believe that God is grieved With the behavior of many of his children on earth today. Terribly grieved. I Don't want to be in that number. I don't want to be one of those who brings even the slightest grief to my heavenly father's heart.

I don't care if the world thinks I'm Too super spiritual or whatever name they give me Holy Joe or whatever. They say I don't want to grieve My heavenly father's heart. I don't care if I'm different from all the other so-called Christians around me.

I don't want to grieve my heavenly father's heart because he's done so much for me. He gave his son to die for me that's why and That means something to me. I don't know whether it means that much to you, but it means a lot to me.

I don't want to grieve him. It says it grieved him in his heart. And finally the Lord said I'll just blot them all out. Verse 7. Everything but there was one man. He says I'm sorry that I made them were seven, but there was one man Who found favor.

One man whose thoughts were not filthy? One man who was not lusting after pretty women all the time. He was different, you know. This other thing it says here about the. In the King James Version it says the earth was filled with violence.

Violence. There was such a lot of violence it says in verse 11 corrupt and filled with violence. Violence means there was terrorism. People were killing each other they for a small fight they would take a dagger and kill them take stones and blow out their brains and Sex and terrorism and violence.

The days of Noah. Evil thoughts how to hurt others how to rape women and how to take advantage of pretty girls and this is the days of Noah and Jesus said to that I want to tell you 2 ,000 years ago. The world was not like that.

When Jesus was speaking in Israel, there was such a sense of reserve and modesty and there was no pornography those days and He and people would have listened him. What are you talking about? I can't imagine they'd have said a world where people are just People are okay.

I religious people. Yes, but religious people are gonna be filled with lust and pornography. Oh, no Lord. It can't happen. I Can quite imagine the disciples thing it can't happen. I can't imagine a world like that.

Can you imagine it today? Filled with violence. Hatred and the earth was corrupt, but God found one man. I Want to say to you my brothers and sisters If the last days are like the days of Noah, he's also looking for one man and one family.

It wasn't just a man to this family. It was his wife. We don't know much about Noah's wife, but I'm sure She was You know Considered unsociable By all the other ladies of her time. Because she was not interested in the type of things they were interested in she was not the stylish type like them.