Genesis 6
5-8 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
And it repented the LORD that HE had made man on the earth, and it grieved HIM at HIS heart.
And the LORD said,
I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth ME that I have made them.
But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
9-10 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
11-12 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
(violence: seeking what you want without consideration of what your action will do to another person)
And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
(corrupt: changed from the original; changed from that intended)
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before ME; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
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II Tim. 3
1-5 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
They will come to us saying, Jesus is Lord, but they deny the power of specific scripture to rule over them. In such cases they show us that Jesus is not their Lord for they will not obey what the Word says but change it to mean something else. Thus they do exactly what the people did in the days of Noah when they corrupted their way and perverted their way from that which God originally intended. By such they bring destruction from God, the Wrath of God, upon themselves.
What Paul is speaking of happens in the churches who take on an image of the world, approving the flesh of man by their removal of portions of scripture and end up looking like the world and standing for almost nothing. This is ... the apostate church ... which the apostle Paul said had to come before Jesus returned.
II Thess. 2 (NASB)
Let no one in any way deceive you, for it (the day of the Lord) will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.
Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things?
And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed.
For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. Then that lawless one will be revealed
The ONE restraining the man of lawlessness was Jesus, THE WORD, the scriptures.
As soon as scripture, even a portion of scripture, was removed, the restraint which held lawlessness back from the churches was removed so antichrist could move into the churches and lawlessness could reign inside the churches as we are seeing today.
For such as this we see the wrath of God appointed upon this world before the complete destruction of this present heaven and earth.
Has God appointed HIS children to wrath? No. I believe the church who clings to scripture will be saved from the great tribulation. As God delivered Noah, a righteous man who lived in the midst of a very sin filled world, God has HIS way of delivering those who show a love for HIM, for the scriptures.
Has God appointed the apostate church to wrath? I believe HE has. I believe they will go through the great tribulation if they are still alive on this earth when the wrath of God, spoken of in Revelation 8-16, comes upon this earth.
Then for all, good and evil, there is the judgment seat of Christ.
II Cor. 5:9-11 Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of HIM.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men;
Hopefully those of you reading this now are clinging to scripture regardless of that which people in churches around you are doing.
But if you are sitting there among them as they are disobeying scripture and changing scripture, it is very dangerous for you.
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