Is God really in control?
The world feels like it is poised for self destruction—precariously far past the “point of no return.”
How easy it is—even for Christians—to become discouraged or fearful of what we now witness.
I won’t pretend to fully understand the circumstances we face in our world today. Tragedies can feel overwhelming. Situations can often seem beyond our control, beyond our belief—sometimes, even beyond our faith. We sense our vulnerability, here on this little speck in the universe.
But as Christians, we must remember that there is One who holds us dear, One who holds all—and who holds everything all together.
In what otherwise may appear to be some random chaos—exploded into being without any particular plan or reason—we must be able to recognize that there is a clear pattern that exists. It is a pattern of God’s own purposes, evident throughout time.
If we were not held by God’s own purposes, life on this planet would eventually implode. Even the private, inner world within each one of us becomes too fragile to live within, when we live without knowing the assurance of God’s purposes.
But the pattern is holding this world. And it is holding you.
I have heard some refer to it as a gigantic puzzle, a woven tapestry, or a masterful painting. But I choose to call this process—framed within biblical time frames—as the patterned path of the flood.
That’s basically my fancy title for a series of major events which can easily be categorized as being of biblical proportions. These events are so huge and life altering, that they often defy our natural logic. They may even invite outright skepticism.
You can believe it, or simply choose not to. But there is a pattern of God’s purposes, that are brought about through these events.
Do you want to see it?
Patterns of this size and scope can’t be discerned here at street level. We must be taken to place of greater elevation—high above our own self important thoughts and feelings, and far above our own immediate interests and attitudes. We must be elevated high enough and long enough to see what God sees and knows.
Is this possible? Yes, with the Holy Spirit’s presence—and the Bible. Our Creator has allowed us to see this world through His eyes.
Come and take a look along with me.
“A Psalm of David.”
“The earth is the LORD’S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.
Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place?
He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.”
(Psalm 24:1-5)
“The earth is the Lord’s,” and His purposes are “established” upon the pattern of the flood. Throughout the Bible, the flood-like event always presents in a similar form or sequence:
-There is always a forewarning.
-The warning is believed and heeded—or disbelieved and disregarded.
-The coming flood is always connected to the storm.
-The storm of circumstances steadily grows stronger, until the purposed flood comes in suddenly.
-The flood fulfills a promise from God.
-The flood brings destruction to the disbelieving and disobedient hearers.
-The flood brings the end of the former things and ushers in a new era, or dispensation.
The Flood of Sin
We all recognize the Biblical account of Adam and Eve in Genesis, and the fall of mankind into sin. To use the concept of a flood here, may seem to be a stretch at first.
But the pattern of the flood is there. Sin, as it was unleashed upon the earth, clearly had flood-like characteristics.
“And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”
(Genesis 2:16-17)
The warning was made clear. God had made it plain to Adam what he could and could not do. And the danger of disobedience was made obvious. Certain death would be the result.
Our first glance at Genesis might be confusing. Perfect people, living in a perfect world. But by the third chapter, we see Adam and Eve listening to the serpent—the devil. And in their action of eating the fruit, they are agreeing to oppose God.
But why? Why would they wreck their relationship with their Creator?
A storm was brewing.
“And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.”
(Genesis 2:18, 22-24)
Here we see the woman, Eve, purposed by God to be the helper for the man, Adam. She had been taken out of man to be joined with him. God had purposed that “man shall leave his father and mother” (our first authority figures) and “cleave” (cling) to his wife.
That word “cleave” means to catch, join to, and keep close. “Cleave unto his wife.” Can you sense the transfer of authority in these words? God had purposed for man to cling to his life partner—his helper, who was created and purposed because of the man.
The signs of the impending storm were subtle, at first. But no doubt, the storm was brewing—one misperception and one misdirection at a time. A sighing breeze of discontent. A small cloud overhead of disbelief. A growing shadow of selfishness.
Cue the serpent. Satan purposely speaks to the woman, rather than the man—the helper, rather than the head. Eve does not step away to allow her husband to respond, but instead engages with the enemy.
And Adam is strangely quiet. He offers no defense for Eve. No second opinion for her to consider, in light of the serpent’s lies. He gives no warning. He offers no reminder of the truth, that would have countered the misinformation.
Obviously, something had gone very wrong, in that very first relationship. Clearly, Adam was not clinging to his wife as he should have been. He was not the strong “glue” that should have bound them together. Eve, who was created to be her husband’s helper, was now found usurping the man’s role as head of the relationship.
She made the decision. Adam offered no strength for her to fall upon, but merely complied.
We can’t help but imagine what brought them to that tree in the first place. No doubt, they stopped and stared at it often. And as the smell of the fruit permeated their senses, their minds were permeated with a question. “Why can’t we eat this fruit?”
They were there at the tree of knowledge of good and evil—right where they never should have been. The winds of their willfulness had begun to blow much earlier on, as they forgot their roles given to them by their purposeful Creator.
And at just the right moment, the serpent was ready. The weather was just right for a picnic.
Sin was soon brought upon the entire world. Like a flood. But it was the brewing storm of disobedience that had slowly brought it in.
The relationship between God and man was now fractured. Humanity would be left with only the uncertainties of a Sin-cursed world. And the Sin that now flooded upon the world would prove every bit as devastating, as the flood that was to follow.
Fast forward 1500 years.
The Literal Flood of Noah’s Time
Chapter 6 of Genesis begins to lay out the details of a troubling storm of wickedness descending over humankind.
“And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.
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.”
(Genesis 6:1-2, 5, 7)
Often, people have a hard time justifying this part of the Bible in their own minds and hearts. On the surface, it seems that God is cruel here. But try to see this though His eyes.
Imagine how wicked the world must have become for its Creator to regret that He had ever made mankind. Think about the horrific crimes that were committed upon little children.
Try to feel the heartache, the sense of betrayal and utter disappointment God must have experienced, and the sense of loss He would have to endure, at bringing them all to their end. Surely, it broke God’s heart to have to destroy every living thing.
But what broke His heart even more, was watching mankind destroy themselves. And this is exactly what they were doing. By this time, mankind had become so wicked that the earth was “filled with violence.”
“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.
Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.
Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.”
(Genesis 6:13-14, 22)
God deemed it necessary to take this drastic measure. He would rid the earth of wickedness, and also save the handful of good people that were left.
Noah and his family were the only people left on the earth who were living for God. They would be protected, and also appointed to carry out God’s purpose on the earth.
Noah was given a monumental task to build an enormous boat, at God’s direction. The dire warning had been given to him that all living creatures—except for those found within the ark—were destined to perish in a great flood.
The mounting storm clouds of humanity grew more evil and more violent—darker and more unstable by the day. We can only imagine how long it would take to build this huge, wooden, three-decked structure, using only the hand tools of Noah’s time.
It would be virtually impossible to hide such a massive construction project from his neighbors. The great “boat build,” in and of itself, certainly should have provided sufficient warning for the onlookers living all around.
No doubt, Noah and his family were constantly harassed by the questions. And they were all regarded as completely insane. Surely, no one was listening to this crazy man who had supposedly heard from God, about some unheard of disaster. After all, up until that time it had never even rained upon planet earth.
I almost find myself feeling sorry for Noah’s generation. But then I recall their wickedness, their violence upon themselves and their children, and their continuous never-ending thoughts of evil. Undoubtedly, they took no thought for repentance. They had become unreachable, untouchable and unredeemable.
God alone would have the power and the presence to stop the madness. Except for those safely kept within the ark, every man, woman and child would soon die. Even earth’s animals would be wiped away. It is tragic beyond our understanding.
But in the final analysis, we can believe that God was merciful. Planet earth had just experienced its first reset. Noah’s descendants would grow and flourish.
This literal, great and terrible flood had served to flood the earth with God’s purpose.
On and on, the generations of time would pass. And generations of humanity would once again fill the earth. Some would choose to live for God, and some would choose to live for themselves. Sin’s ugliness marred the earth once again.
We could talk about the tower of Babel, where all of the families of earth would then be scattered. Or the faith of Abraham, through whom all the nations of earth would be blessed. Or the budding nation of Israel, held captive for 400 years in Egypt, and finally set free—led by Moses to their promised land.
But a flood of immeasurable magnitude was destined to crest the horizon. Though its prophetic warnings were far reaching, few would even notice its coming.
For it came wrapped in swaddling clothes.
The Flood of Righteousness
“When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.
When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him…”
(Matthew 2:9-11a)
The coming Flood of Righteousness was destined from the first of time.
It came falling—flowing forcefully onto open floodplains—out and over the dry, desert spaces. Down into the deep recesses and hidden places.
It would reach the furthest of lands, without borders or boundaries. Over and under, around and through it traveled—into the crevices of every heart.
It would overtake the crowds, as many people joyfully jumped into its waters. Its strength, purpose and promise gathered and united, until it became one mighty torrent.
It was Life and Light and Love, without limitation. God had reached down to humanity—clothed in humanity. The Christ had come—born as a baby. The King of Heaven had humbled Himself, before the least of us.
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor;
he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”
(Luke 4:18-19)
He was not afraid to be seen as a Servant. All that He would say, do and become was to woo us to Himself. To saturate us with Himself.
And yet, all the while, a storm was brewing. Menacing. Angry. Envious. Overflowing with self-righteousness. They might kill anyone who opposed them.
Even God Himself would suffer at their hands. They nailed Him to a cross of shame, thinking that would stop the flood. They thought they had silenced Him—all those stabbing statements of His, that made their skin crawl.
But the flood would not be silenced. It would not be stopped.
“Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
(Isaiah 53:4-6)
People had seen Him, touched Him, and were changed by Him. And word went far and wide that He had risen from the dead. The resurrected Christ had been seen by hundreds of His disciples. To them, He imparted the Great Commission, gave the Promise of the coming Comforter, and ascended into the clouds, up to Heaven.
All of Jerusalem was in an uproar. Threats would ensue. People would soon be imprisoned. But nothing could stop the flood. It wouldn’t die down.
Great floods are like that. They just keep on coming. Moving things, disturbing things—reshaping the very landscape of lives, hopes and dreams. Touching and changing everything in their path.
And then, for a while, there seemed to come a calm, as a quiet uneasiness settled in over the city—like some woeful weight of repercussion. As priests, prefects, and Roman authorities seemed to breathe a short-sighted sigh of relief. But it wasn’t over.
A full fifty days passed. Jesus’ disciples had gathered, on the day of the feast of Pentecost. And suddenly, in that upper room, God’s fire of Glory met with awaiting hearts.
“And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
(Acts 2:1-4)
And just as suddenly, the floodgates burst asunder, gushing out upon the open streets. The disciples preached, in the many languages of all who gathered there. Men fell before the powerful words, stunned with amazement. Three thousand were saved the very first day.
And out poured a torrent of testimony. It scattered through all the regions, out into a weary world. It was Love unleashed. Life and liberty for anyone who longed to be touched by it. Cleansed by it. Breathed upon by it.
The body of Christ was born, right then and there. Like a flood. Upon those floodplains of time. Forever to be His.
It was a new beginning, that also marked the beginning of the “end times.”
The Flood of God’s Judgement and Fulfillment
Think about where we are today. Nearly 2,000 years have passed since our Lord’s resurrection, and the Holy Spirit’s outpouring at Pentecost. Now we stand at the opposite end of the church spectrum. Once again, we see the earth filled with wickedness, just as in Noah’s day.
To many Christians, it is apparent that the church age is now rapidly coming to its conclusion. Our Lord is nearly at the door, and we stand upon the threshold of eternity.
“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”
(1 Thessalonians 4:16-18)
We are His long-awaited bride, and He comes for us.
Soon—at any moment—the shout of the Bridegroom will come forth, just as the trumpet sound is blown throughout the atmosphere, unto all who await His coming. And we shall be changed in a moment—in the very blink of an eye. His church will be suddenly caught up, into the clouds—to be with Him, forever.
For nearly 2,000 years, a storm has been building—opposing God’s church, from its very inception. Persecution, trials and testing of our faith. Hate, slander, lies and deceptions of every kind.
“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.”
(2 Thessalonians 2:3-4)
The church finds herself in the midst of unthinkable deceptions and adversity. It is what the Bible foretold: a great “falling away.” The great apostasy has come to deceive the whole world, if that were possible. But it is not. God’s church still stands strong.
An evil flood is quickly forthcoming. With the antichrist soon to be at the helm, he will lead a new world order. It will be comprised of one religion, one currency, and one government. It will be a time of gross darkness and deception for the world.
But God is forever faithful to His word. The storm we are living in, right here and right now, is evidence that the world is about to experience yet another flood of change. It is imminent. On any given hour of any day, we shall arise to meet our Lord. We must, because everything is about to change forever.
These are words to trust in. And words to comfort one another with, as the time draws near.
“For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.”
(1 Thessalonians 5:2-4)
The children of darkness do not recognize the times they live within. But we are the children of light, able to see the flood that swiftly rises all around us.
Christ’s church is on the spiritual “ark,” and are appointed to leave right on schedule. Because the wrath of Almighty God will soon open the floodgates of judgement upon our world. It is inevitable.
“God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ”
(1 Thessalonians 5:9)
The bible speaks of this all-consuming flood of time, described in the book of Revelation, as that period of great tribulation. The earth has never experienced a time like it. And nothing shall ever be like it again.
The great tribulation will be a seven year span of judgements, poured out upon the earth. A deluge of destruction that will sweep across the landscape.
Much of the grass and trees will be destroyed by fire. The oceans will die. Great earthquakes, volcanic activity and brutal atmospheric conditions will cause any survivors to hide themselves within the earth. We might say our world will be going through a major facelift like nothing anyone has ever seen before.
But it is also a time of testing and ultimate salvation for the nation of Israel. It truly will be the very worst of times, but also the very best of times, as they final discover the realities of Messiah—Jesus, their King.
He proclaims,
“Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.”
(Matthew 24:35)
This is vitally important for us to remember. Christ’s words will stand, and are completely trustworthy.
The final flood is about to overtake the world. It culminates right at the conclusion of the great and terrible tribulation. And it rides upon the glory and majesty of Christ’s return.
The Flood of Christ’s Reign Upon the Earth
“For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”
(Matthew 24:29-30)
“The flood came, and took them all away.” How aptly put.
For our Lord and Christ is coming to overtake the earth with His reigning Glory. And we who will return with Him shall reign with Him, for a thousand years of time. No doubt, that first millennium will just be the beginning of an unimaginable eternity with the King of Kings.
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”
(Matthew 24:38-39)
The flood of God’s glory will be complete.
“They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.”
(Isaiah 11:9)
It will be an amazing time for any one of us who dwell beneath the Shadow of the Almighty. To reign with Him and to see Him as He is, is certainly more than anyone’s imagination can fathom.
So, you see it. Christ Jesus the King was, is, and forever will be in control. Complete control.
And you can join with Him here—right here and now—as we await His soon coming. Join yourself with Christ, and become one of the countless millions—the full assembly of the saints, from all of history—destined to reign in one Christ-ruled Kingdom.
Join your heart to Christ, and you will join with our collective hearts—the Church—the Body of Christ. Join the multitudes who have gone before us, with the cry of anticipation of His soon coming glory.
Soon, the Lord Jesus Christ will come—to take His rightful place.
He will come in like a flood. And for millions of people, it will be too late.
This is your time to jump into the flood of God’s purposes. Sticking a toe in is just testing God. And wading is indecisiveness.
You need to go in over your head. Do it now. Plunge into the cleansing water of Christ Jesus.
I beg you to jump in right now, while you still have the chance.