Why a Judgment?
 
Why does God have to judge the world? The heart of God was grieved when He looked into the hearts of men. In Genesis 6:5 the Bible says,"The wickedness of men was great on earth,and that every imagination of the thoughts of the heart was only evil continually." In Genesis 6:6 the Bible says..."And it grieved Him at His heart."Genesis 6:6. 
 
The Holy Spirit gets more specific about the fruit of the heart of man in Genesis 6:11."The earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence." God saw that excessive sin in the world leads to violence. The violence is spoken of in verse 11 because these two are synonymous with one another.God can only look at so much evil before He intervenes.
 
At that particular time God gave Noah the Revelation about destroying the world with a flood, He was still willing to give the world 120 years even though the heart of God was grieved. He was reluctant to judge right away.
 
Peter says that God is not willing that anybody should perish in 2nd Peter 3:9. Jesus Christ sees the horror and sorrow of this reality everyday. It is the last thing He wants to do. His heart is truly broken. Remember we were fearfully and wonderfully made by God. Psalm 139:14. 

In Genesis chapter 6 there is no doubt that there was idol worship because they did not listen to Noah's message. They were not interested in God. As a result the sin level lead to excessive violence.
 
This taught me something about God and my life. The more faith and reverence I give to Jesus Christ, the less I want to sin. I certainly don't want to be violent. Does that sound like the world we live in today?  People can either repent and turn to Jesus Christ, or sin, violence and confusion will be the end result.
 
God has indeed given mankind a lot of horizontal latitude to do what they want. One of the biggest mysteries of the Bible is that not even one person outside of Noah's family stepped forward to repent and go into the Ark. That makes me think.
 
I don't believe many people are going up in the rapture of the Church in retrospect to the population of the world. Most of the human beings I meet don't even care about their eternity.
 
The evil that ran rampant in the world must have been really intense, yet God was patient. The Bible says, "Which sometime were disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water." 1st Peter 3:20. 
 
It is my opinion that Noah received Revelation regarding the 120 years and the flood when he was worshipping God. Noah felt compelled to preach (Genesis 6:22). He obeyed all of the specific instructions about building the Ark and he went into immediate diligence after God gave him Revelation.That tells me something about the heart of Noah.This model also convicts me to do as much as I can now for the Lord before I go up in the rapture.
 
I am amazed at the response of Noah and his attitude. He really did look at the world with fear; however, he had a heart for the lost. His empathies was repent and turn to the One True God that created the universe.
 
When anybody talks about God I always look for the message. If it is off then I just go back to a simple devotion to Jesus Christ. Depending on the situation I might even explain to the person why their empathies is off in a nice way. We need to be focused on Jesus Christ and proclaim Him to a lost and dying world.
 
Noah's emphasis was right but the inhabitants of the earth misunderstood him. They were sinful and wicked. Their conscience was seared to the message. I think that is kind of ironic because they were living in the dispensation of conscience (the fall to the flood).
 
I have talked to a good amount of people about Jesus Christ and there did seem to be a searing of their conscience. "I don't think the Bible really means that," "I don't think Jesus is coming soon," or "I know people talk about Jesus Christ but that's not something that applies to me." It was the same way back in the dispensation of conscience. I don't think they wanted to hear Noah except for entertainment purposes.They just wanted to mock and laugh. 
 
God is showing mankind mercy today as the gospel travels around the world. He has given the regions of the earth some early warnings through natural disasters and the economy. People are also starting to get very concerned about war.
 
When the world shifts so far away into sin and violence, God has no other choice but to intervene. God is in perfect control because He is sovereign. World events match the prophecies of the Bible. We are getting really close to the rapture!
 
The story of Noah and the flood is centering around the heart of God, Noah's obedience and the hardness of people that inhabited the earth.The exact scenario is happening today. Jesus Christ loves people and desires to save them. God has sent His faithful servants to preach the gospel around the world. People are accepting Jesus Christ into their hearts but the world is still very hard toward God. History repeats itself.
 
When we give the gospel message to other people it has to come from our heart in a genuine and sincere way. I realize we are busy and live in a world of preoccupation but the recipient will know if we are giving the saving message of Jesus Christ from our heart. God will honor that approach because that is the same spirit that God has for mankind.
 
They may reject the message but they will almost always look at the messenger (that would be us). In this fast pace world I try and slow it down a bit.I try and have a heart to heart with somebody about the gospel. I will have to admit, since Jesus Christ is usually the last Person on their mind, it can be very difficult.
 
It was the same back in Noah's day. History repeats itself. Maybe we should pray that God will  share His heart with us so we can be more effective for Jesus Christ. The time left is so short.
 

Bob D.