Hale-Bopp comet and the days of Noah:
Just a thought to remind us of our current status....The last time the Hale-Bopp crossed our vision on this planet  was during the days of Noah:

HALE-BOPP - LAST SEEN BY NOAH? A comet discovered in July 1995 has now become bright enough to be
easily seen with the naked eye, even from urban sites, and will remain
easily visible to northern-hemisphere observers through April 1997. The Hale-Bopp Comet orbits and is still approaching, the sun, with its
closest approach (perihelion) occurring tomorrow night, April 1, 1997.
Daniel W. E. Green of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
stated that the latest orbital calculations indicate that the Hale-Bopp
comet last passed through the inner solar system about 4210 years ago.
An Arutz-7 correspondent noted that according to the ancient Jewish text
Seder Olam Rabah, the comet's previous appearance was approximately the
same year that Noah began building the ark.

Well. we also know that Noah went into the ark some seven days before the flood came, and God shut the door.  April of 1997 to April of 2004 is seven years.   So I think we Noah's have been sitting in our arks during those years.  But now it is a year later.   Say what?   Well, Jesus gave the unfruitful fig tree another year of grace to become fruitful before it was to be cut down.....and also the wise and foolish virgins fell asleep because the bridegroom "delayed" His coming.  It was normal for bridegrooms to arrive on the scene about 11:30 p.m., for the surprise capture of the bride.  But in the parable it says "at midnight", the bridegroom came, which woke them up.  They fell asleep because they all expected Hm to come at 11:30 p.m., and He didn't.   It is also intriguing that God shut the door for Noah, and in the wise/foolish virgin parable, they were horrified to find when returning with their oil that the "door had been shut".  John sees this door opening in heaven, and the "come up hither".   The Philadelphia church has the promise of this door being open for them, and are told to not let any man take their crown.
What crown?   I think it is the crown of righteousness, which Paul says will go to himself and "all those who love His appearing".
    Did God give a day (or year) of grace to folks who saw Noah go into the ark for 7 days?   Abraham was careful in his approach to God, when he suggested that "far be it from you, to judge the righteous with the wicked?", and so the countdown began about how many would be saved from the cites of Sodom/Gomorrah.  We know our God, and our Lord and Saviour, to be good, and merciful, and "not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to salvation"- he gave Israel until 70 a.d. to repent before the temple destruction took place.  I think our God and our Saviour Lord Jesus, are more than fair in dealing with mankind.  I think we are right now in a period of time of "terminal grace", the last call of Noah out of the still-open door of his ark.  What think ye??????
His bondservant and your sister, Arlene