How many people were on the earth before the flood? We know that before the flood the population “began to multiply on the face of the earth” (Gen 6:1). And we know that with this rapid multiplication of the population, the wickedness of mankind not only multiplied but increased in severity. We don’t know how many people were on the earth when the flood began, but we know that only Noah and his immediate family survived. They numbered eight people.
Before the flood God partnered with Noah in warning the pre-flood world:
2 Peter 2:5 “….and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly…”
Was this partnership a failure because only eight people survived the flood: No. It was God’s plan to start the human experience all over again using Noah’s descendants:
Genesis 9:19 “These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was populated.”
How many people are on the earth at this time? There are over seven billion people on the earth at this time. But there are very few who are obedient to God and Christ. That does not mean that the preaching of righteousness should end. Noah continued to preach righteousness until the doors of the ark closed. The church has the same responsibility at this time.
Like Noah it is not our responsibility to determine how many “be saved from this perverse generation” (Acts 2:40). The greatest teacher that has ever lived was clear-eyed when he evaluated the response to his work. He stated:
Luke 10:16 “He who hears you hears Me. He who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent me.”
This Sabbath Mr. LeBlanc will be holding a public Bible Study in Sacraments, California. Past attendance indicates there will be between 50 and 60 people who will attend. Mr. LeBlanc will present God’s truth clearly and concisely. He has asked the church to pray that attendees will hear and heed his words. He believes that among those who have attended prior Bible Studies there are those who are struggling to come to grips with God’s truth. God has commanded us to support these efforts in these end times:
2 Thessalonians 3:1 “Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified just as it is with you.”
Please remember Mr. LeBlanc’s request to pray for this upcoming Bible Study, that nothing hinders.
You can’t miss all of the reviews of the events of 2014 that are in the mass media at this time. Running simultaneously with the reviews are the prognostications. These cover numerous projections as to what the year 2015 will bring. The value of these prognostications certainly is questionable, but it happens every year. The projections for 2014 last January may have achieved a 50% correctness. But you have to ask, are gas prices in America over $4.00 per gallon as projected? We know they are around $2.00. Has America extracted itself as scheduled from Iraq? America has been drawn back into a wider conflict centered in Iraq in the last 6 months.
Have the ten best stocks to buy in 2014 proven out? Is the sale of old and new homes up or down in your area? 2014, as most years in the past 20 years, has proven to be unstable, which can be disconcerting to us. In fact, many poles and studies published in the US reflect a society anxious about the instability of our world. We all, most likely, have experienced this angst because of personal experiences or the observing of world events.
However, no matter how disconcerting this world can get, we can predict one thing for sure: God’s church will continue to exist. Speaking of the church that Christ founded, Christ said, “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt 16:18).
Psalm 34:19 points out that the afflictions of the righteous will be many. This understanding may come to mind when we think of anxiety and trials individual Christians may suffer. However, the church as a body also is attacked and persecuted, but Christ makes it clear the church will exist in 2015 and beyond because it has a central role in God’s plan. It is the mother of us all (Gal 4:26). As the mother, it provides various supports for the lives of God’s people.
In speaking to the ministry when he was leaving Militus, Paul called the Elders together and charged them concerning their responsibility to the flock stating, “Therefore, take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to shepherd the church of God which he purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after themselves. Therefore watch and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone with tears” (Acts 20:28-31). As the mother the church is, through the ministry, to continually protect God’s people from false ministers who seem especially numerous in these times.
Another reason Christ has promised the Church will survive until the end is the church, like a mother, is charged with feeding the flock at all times (1 Peter 5:2, “feed the flock).
A third necessity for the continued life of the church is to assist the flock in watching (Matt 24:42). By sorting out the trends of this end time and calling attention to the meaning of events, the church is giving God’s family the food that is needed in due season (Matt. 24:45). This enables the church to stand separate from this world so that it does not suffer the curses of the end time along with the world:
Luke 12:37: Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.
These are just a few reasons why Christ, through his power, has determined that his small flock shall continue on against all odds in these end times. These functions the church provides to God’s people are all given so it will continue to spiritually thrive and fulfill Luke 12:32:
Luke 12:32: “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.”
We are approaching Atonement, and it appears Satan is working overtime to create hindrances to observing this important festival. Everyone in the church can understand why he hates this day, but as we draw closer to its fulfillment his wrath is gaining in force. Remember the admonition that, as the time grows short, his wrath will increase.
Today we learned America has its first case of ebola showing up in Texas–the victim carried it to America on an American bound flight from Liberia. If you recall the damage Satan did to Job, you realize such plagues are in his arsenal of mass destruction along with other weapons such as weather disturbances, evil uprisings, conflicts and offenses.
One lesson overlooked in the book of Job discloses the evil Satan wishes to bring on God-fearing people. Those things he brought on Job demonstrate the hatred that he harbors toward those who worship God. He even used the weakness of Job’s wife, who along with Job had suffered great loss, to cause family conflict. And not stopping there, he exploited individual weaknesses to turn friend against friend.
However, as always, Satan’s ploy worked against himself. We know that Satan was the accuser of God, having turned 1/3 of the angels against their creator as he spun his web of false accusings and rebellion amongst the angels. In order to demonstrate the depth of the corruptness that abides in Satan, God allowed “the father of lies” to vent his vicious attacks upon Job, a man in whom Satan could find nothing wrong. Thus Satan’s character of perfect hatred and destructiveness became a dominant theme in the book of Job, and should be a warning to us all–because we know Satan still prowls about looking for those he can destroy. He has not changed.
The day of Atonement is a day of fasting, which is a day to reflect deeply on the fact this world is subject to Satan. However, the High Day also assures us this destructive and hate-filled individual (along with his minions) will be banished from ever ruling on this earth again as he rules in the affairs of this entire world today. Let’s make this Fast Day a day of strong appeal to God, beseeching Him with all our hearts to remove this evil empire, casting it into the black hole of banishment. We know God will allow it to erupt again for a short time at the end of the Millennium to try those living in the Kingdom. Then the world will be rid of it forever.
From the example in the book of Job, we can be certain that when God steps back, great upheaval is going to erupt in this world. That arsenal of Satan’s will be turned loose against all mankind. Let’s make sure we are, every day, living with God’s protective hand covering our lives.
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