Topical Studies
What the Bible says about
Response to God's Warning
(From Forerunner Commentary)
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Jeremiah 11:7-8
Jeremiah alone carries this solemn warning from God Himself ten times! Mankind, it seems, has a tragic flaw in its character, so strong that it drives him to gamble away his life—and perhaps his loved one's lives—despite strong warnings from a truly trustworthy and authoritative Person. Somehow people manage to convince themselves that they know better (Proverbs 16:25). This message is of special importance to God's children. At this point, we should worry less about preparing to escape the end times' painful calamities than to take warning about preparing for God's Kingdom, which is far more important than avoiding the rigors of persecution, the pains of disease, the pangs of hunger, the fear of earthquakes, or the panic and deprivations of warfare. As real as those events are—and they are coming—they are nothing compared to losing out on the Kingdom of God because we failed to heed the Bible's exhortations while distracted by other things that burned up our time and energy. Indeed, the overwhelming majority of those now laboring under the weight of indebtedness have done just this. At the time when they could have heeded the warnings, their minds were consumed by their desires to make even greater profits while the getting was good. Jesus warns in Matthew 24:37-39: But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. This failure to self-discipline responsibly has been mankind's practice from the beginning. At Christ's return, people will be engaging in everyday life as if it would go on without change today, tomorrow, and forever. We, however, have been warned by truly trustworthy and authoritative persons. Jeremiah 30:7 warns that just ahead is the time of Jacob's Trouble, a time so disastrous that no other period in mankind's history can equal it. It would be wonderful to escape it because God chose to grant us that blessing (Zephaniah 2:3), but to lose out on the Kingdom of God would be a tragedy of far greater proportions. Massive changes in the earth's political, economic, and religious configuration are coming. Wars will be fought on a scale never seen before, and weapons of mass destruction, held in abeyance since 1945, will be used. The ball is in our court. Now is the time to show God that: -
We have taken His warnings seriously. -
We love Him and His way of life. -
We appreciate all He has done for us and given us. -
We are loyal and intensely desire to be like Him and His Son. -
Through prayer, study, and submission, we are ready and willing to give our all as living sacrifices to be in His Kingdom. Will we responsibly submit to Paul's appeal in Romans 13:11-14? And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts. Let us diligently and responsibly conform our lives to the image of Jesus Christ so that we might share life with Him forever.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Change and Responsibility
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Zephaniah 2:1-3
Looking at this in the light of the larger context, God prophesies judgment—only not just on Assyria but on the whole world. With this thought in mind, chapter two opens with an appeal to God's people to gather together. This is not merely a plea to congregate, which may indeed be implied, but it is not the main thrust of the advice given here. Rather, it is to gather one's thoughts, to meditate, to pull things together in one's mind, to think about their consequences on the nation, on the individual, on one's loved ones. God wants us to consider these things as a first step toward repentance, so he says, "Change direction, turn to righteousness and perhaps you will be hidden during His anger." "Perhaps" might throw a person into discouragement or doubt, but God is not playing with our emotions. The measure of doubt expressed concerns whether men will repent. We must never forget that God is a God of salvation. He is a God of deliverance. It is His desire to deliver and to protect, and certainly He is never without means to save. Nothing is too hard for Him, if we give Him a chance, which is why it says, "Seek the Lord now, before the destruction comes." This is the warning: "Watch, but don't just stand there passively! Gather your thoughts and think about the implications of this. Where is it leading?" He is appealing to us to respond.
John W. Ritenbaugh
A Place of Safety? (Part 3)
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Luke 17:26-32
Jesus draws on the stories of Noah and Lot to warn that, even though life seems to be relatively normal, when God brings the judgment, it will be sudden and complete. Because God is just, there will be indicators and warnings. But when He decides that the time is ripe for Him to intervene, it will happen with breathtaking speed. If we are warned to flee, we dare not linger or look back, like Lot's wife.
David C. Grabbe
Where the Eagles Are Gathered
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