Upon whom the ends have come

“Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:11, 12, NKJV).

The Bible is filled with accounts of God’s people that point to future events and that hold keys to helping us understand present truth. In fact, some of those accounts foreshadow last-day events with surprising detail, providing us a broader foundation for understanding the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation clearly.

Without violating an individual’s freedom of conscience, God can perfectly steer the events that will happen in the last days, events that He revealed to the prophets. Some of these important stories are obvious, because the New Testament refers to them specifically in describing last-day events: Sodom and Gomorrah, the Flood, and so on. Others require careful thought and exploration in order to mine from them the truths that have been given to us in the Word of God.

During the next couple of weeks, we will be searching through a number of key stories in order to see what they might have to say about events such as the Second Coming, the investigative judgment, the final crisis, and more. And, through it all, we find Christ as the center, for He must be the foundation as well as the end goal of all our prophetic endeavors.

I. THE WRATH OF THE LAMB

"I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, 13 and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. 14 The heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.

15 Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 16 They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it?" Revelation 6:12–17. 

Consider the details of these people’s response to seeing last-day events suddenly play out. What do you notice about their response?

It is interesting to note that the lost are not crying out, “What is this?” or “Who is behind this?” They appear to know what is happening. They refer to Jesus as the Lamb, which would require knowing something of the story of Christ. They also seem aware that “the great day of His wrath has come,” and that they are caught in a hopeless position: “Who is able to stand?” (Revelation 6:17, NKJV).

Prior to the end, the gospel is carried to every nation on earth (Matthew 24:14), and the three angels’ messages are delivered to the entire planet. And yet, there will be people who are caught off guard—not for lack of information but because of their refusal to believe and to obey. This will be the reason that such people are lost in the last days.

"But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him". Matthew 24:36–44. 

What lessons does Jesus tell us we should be drawing from the story of Noah?

Jesus points to the story of the Flood to warn us that His second coming will come as a surprise to many. As with the Second Coming, the Flood did not come as a surprise to the world because of a lack of information. Noah preached for 120 years to a world that refused to believe. All were told what was going to happen. They just didn’t believe.

Meanwhile, many people assure themselves that the passage of long periods of time means that the prophecies are false. Using the Flood story as context, Peter writes “that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation’ ” (2 Pet. 3:3, 4, NKJV). As each year passes, this sentiment will only grow.

In each person’s own experience, the second coming of Jesus (or in some cases, the third coming) is never more than a moment after death, and we all know how quickly life goes by. How might this perspective help us deal with the “delay”?

II. NOAH'S EVANGELISM

Peter reminds us that many will be unprepared for Christ’s return because they “willfully forget” (2 Peter 3:5, NKJV) what happened at the Flood. Today, even though the world has a collective memory of a great deluge (an astonishing number of global cultures tell the story of a devastating flood, from the ancient Greeks to the Mayans), the story of Noah is today perhaps one of the most ridiculed of the Bible’s accounts. As predicted, the world is willfully setting the story aside as a myth, no matter how clearly and explicitly it is depicted in the Old Testament and referred to numerous times in the New Testament.

"When human beings began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. 3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend with[a] humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.”

4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.

5 The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. 6 The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. 7 So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord". Genesis 6:1–8. 

What were the moral conditions that led to the Flood? What parallels exist between the two times?

There is another important lesson for God’s last-day remnant people that emerges from careful study. Hebrews 11:7 tells us that Noah “prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith” (NKJV).

Imagine preaching for more than a century with nothing to show for it but your own family in the ark. If Noah had been a modern evangelist, we might be tempted to write him off as a failure: decades of preaching and what would appear to be no results.

Fortunately, at the moment, many parts of the world are very responsive to the three angels’ messages. Evangelistic outreach—the preaching of our unique remnant message—is proving incredibly effective in many places, and many are coming to know the Lord. We have not yet reached the point where there are no results, although we have been told the moment is coming when “probation will close, and the door of mercy will be shut. Thus in the one short sentence, ‘They that were ready went in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut,’ we are carried down through the Saviour’s final ministration, to the time when the great work for man’s salvation shall be completed.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 428.

Until then, we have a work to do as a church.

What does Noah’s public ministry prior to the Flood teach us about how the great controversy works? In what ways do we play the same role today?

How can we learn not to get discouraged if our personal evangelistic efforts don’t seem to be bearing much fruit for the moment? Why must we continue our efforts? ("Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true John 4:37.)

III. THE STORY OF SODOM AND GOMORRAH

There is another key Old Testament story to which Peter makes direct reference when describing last-day events: the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. The cities of the plain were legendary for their wickedness and became the first example of population centers destroyed by fire from heaven.

"For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment; 5 if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; 6 if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; 7 and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless 8 (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— 9 if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment. 10 This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh[c] and despise authority.

Bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to heap abuse on celestial beings; 11 yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not heap abuse on such beings when bringing judgment on them from the Lord". 2 Peter 2:4–11

"Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord at one time delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day. 7 In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire. 8 In the very same way, on the strength of their dreams these ungodly people pollute their own bodies, reject authority and heap abuse on celestial beings". Jude 5–8.

"You are a true daughter of your mother, who despised her husband and her children; and you are a true sister of your sisters, who despised their husbands and their children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite. 46 Your older sister was Samaria, who lived to the north of you with her daughters; and your younger sister, who lived to the south of you with her daughters, was Sodom. 47 You not only followed their ways and copied their detestable practices, but in all your ways you soon became more depraved than they. 48 As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, your sister Sodom and her daughters never did what you and your daughters have done.

49 “‘Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. 50 They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen". Ezekiel 16:46–50.

Note all of the details. What were the moral conditions that led to the destruction of these cities, and what parallels exist today?

The warning offered to the last-day people of this planet through the account of Sodom and Gomorrah is plain: eventually, the wicked will also be destroyed by fire, as described so clearly in Revelation 20. Sin is remarkably deceptive in that it blinds us to the state of our own hearts, veiling our transgressions under a layer of self-approval, while the wickedness perpetrated by others often remains obvious to us. In the same chapter that God talked about how much love He had poured upon His nation, He also has to warn the nation that, while it did not commit the very same sins (Ezek. 16:47), it has actually become more wicked than Sodom.

Israel had been “playing the harlot” (Ezekiel 16:41), committing spiritual adultery. Imagine the surprise of God’s people when they heard that they were more wicked than people who were legendary for their wickedness.

This is nothing new, not just with ancient Israel but with all humanity. In Romans 1:18–32, Paul presents a long list of human evil that could have been written based off of today’s newspapers. Paul’s description of Gentile sin was not intended to create feelings of superiority among the Jews but so that God’s people finally could understand the seriousness of their own sins. Nathan did the same thing when he spoke to David: he told the story of a rich man who stole a lamb from a poor man. This story “greatly aroused” David’s anger (2 Samuel 12:5, NKJV), because the injustice seemed obvious; even then, it took Nathan’s declaration, “You are the man!” (2 Samuel 12:7, NKJV) to make David see himself in the story.

It is important to remember that the Bible is not primarily addressed to the outside world but to God’s own people. When we see the heinous sins of others described in a passage such as Revelation 13 or 17, it is a warning that we, too, can fall into the same trap.

Prior to devouring the wicked with fire from heaven (as He did with Sodom), God raises them from the dead and allows Satan to work with them for a short while (Revelation 20:7–9). What reasons can you think of that this would be a necessary last step before God sets everything right?

IV. THE JUDGE OF ALL EARTH

Just prior to the destruction of Sodom, there is a curious story that takes place on the plains of Mamre. God, accompanied by two angels, appears to Abraham. When Abraham sees them, he invites the heavenly visitors to a meal, and it is at this point that God promises that Abraham and Sarah will have a son who would lead to the Messiah. Jesus, indeed, came from the line of Abraham (compare with Gal. 3:16). Then the story suddenly turns to the matter of the wicked cities of the plain.

"Then the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? 18 Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. 19 For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.”

20 Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous 21 that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.”

22 The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the Lord. 23 Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?”

26 The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”

27 Then Abraham spoke up again: “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, 28 what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five people?”

“If I find forty-five there,” he said, “I will not destroy it.”

29 Once again he spoke to him, “What if only forty are found there?” He said, “For the sake of forty, I will not do it.”

30 Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?” He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”

31 Abraham said, “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?” He said, “For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it.”

32 Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?". Genesis 18:17–32. 

What do we learn from these verses about the character of God and the way He ultimately plans to deal with evil on our planet?

God does not owe us an explanation, but He chooses not to veil His motives and plans from the human race. “Surely the Lord God does nothing,” the prophet Amos tells us, “unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7, NKJV).

Before God destroys Sodom and Gomorrah, He declares that the only right thing to do is inform Abraham of what is about to happen, about what he can soon expect to be witnessing.

God lingers with Abraham while the two angels go to the wicked city to call out those who will heed their warning. One cannot help but think of the prophetic angels who perform the same task in the last days, calling those of God’s people who live in Babylon to come out of her (Rev. 14:6–12, Rev. 18:1–4). As the final warning is being issued, God discusses with Abraham what is about to happen, and He willingly subjects Himself to the patriarch’s questions.

“‘Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked,’ ” Abraham comments, and then asks, “‘Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?’” (Genesis 18:25, NKJV). Abraham is not only examining the case of Sodom, but he is also examining the character of God. Likewise, before the end comes, God opens the books of heaven (Revelation 20:4, 11–15) and allows us to investigate the evidence before He finally brings fire down on the earth. That is, we will have a thousand years to get a lot of questions answered that, for now, remain unanswered.

Before the Lord will bring down final judgment upon the lost, He gives us a thousand years to understand what will happen to whom and why. What does this tell us about His character and about how open He is to scrutiny by created beings—beings fully dependent upon Him for existence—and who have no inherent right to know these things?

V. THE PRE-ADVENT JUDGMENT

The description of judgment found in Daniel 7 gives us a glimpse behind the veil—to an awe-inspiring opportunity to see how God is resolving the problem of sin while still redeeming those who wish to live in a covenant relationship with Him.

Read the description of the investigative judgment provided in Daniel 7:9, 10, 13, 14, 22, 26, and 27. What is the primary focus in the judgment? What is the verdict rendered at the end of the process? What does this tell us about the plan of salvation?

There is little question that the human race is judged by God. Ecclesiastes 12:14 assures us that “God will bring every work into judgment” (NKJV), and Paul reminds us that we do not need to judge each other, because “we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ” (Romans 14:10). God, of course, does not need records to know who is saved or lost, but angels—who have been examining the plan of salvation all along (1 Peter 1:12)—would naturally have questions. They were witnesses to the rebellion of Satan and saw a third of heaven’s angels expelled from heaven (Revelation 12:4)—and now God is bringing us into His presence. God opens the books and allows the saints to see everything.

The story of Abraham’s pleading for Sodom and Gomorrah—a type of the judgment—offers us some important insight into judgment. The sins of Sodom were obviously being investigated; God mentions that the wickedness of the city had given it such a reputation that the outcry against it was great (Genesis 18:20). But it was not only Sodom and Gomorrah that were investigated prior to their destruction. God also opened the door for Abraham to study whether or not God was acting righteously in His decision to destroy the wicked.

Meanwhile, who appears amid the heavenly judgment, in Daniel 7, but “the Son of man,” Jesus (Dan. 7:13; see also Matt. 20:28), whose appearance is the only reason why this judgment is “made in favor of the saints of the Most High” (Dan. 7:22, NKJV). His perfect righteousness alone gets His people through judgment.

Jesus told His disciples that they were in the world but not of the world. (See John 15:19, John 17:14–16.) How do we balance our responsibility to win the world with the need to keep ourselves “unspotted from the world” (James 1:27)?

Imagine standing in judgment with all your secrets exposed before our Holy God. What is your only hope at that time of judgment? (See Friday's study.)

CONCLUSION

“The high priest cannot defend himself or his people from Satan’s accusations. He does not claim that Israel is free from fault. In filthy garments, symbolizing the sins of the people, which he bears as their representative, he stands before the Angel, confessing their guilt, yet pointing to their repentance and humiliation, and relying upon the mercy of a sin-pardoning Redeemer. In faith he claims the promises of God...

“Satan’s accusations against those who seek the Lord are not prompted by displeasure at their sins. He exults in their defective characters; for he knows that only through their transgression of God’s law can he obtain power over them. His accusations arise solely from his enmity to Christ. Through the plan of salvation, Jesus is breaking Satan’s hold upon the human family and rescuing souls from his power...

“In his own strength, man cannot meet the charges of the enemy. In sin-stained garments, confessing his guilt, he stands before God. But Jesus, our Advocate, presents an effectual plea in behalf of all who by repentance and faith have committed the keeping of their souls to Him. He pleads their cause, and by the mighty arguments of Calvary, vanquishes their accuser. His perfect obedience to God’s law has given Him all power in heaven and in earth, and He claims from His Father mercy and reconciliation for guilty man.”—Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, pp. 583–586.

As you consider the stories we studied this week, what cautions do you find for your own life? What do these stories teach you about your hope in Christ?