When we read the first two chapters of Genesis we see that when God first created this world it is was beautiful. There was peace and harmony among all living creatures, and everything was perfect. In verse 17 of chapter 2 we see that God gives a simple test to Adam to prove his loyalty to Him – don’t eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He could eat of the fruit of every other tree of which there were plenty, just not that one.
Adam failed this test and surrendered his prince hood of this world to Satan (John 12:31; 14:30). At this point God had the right to destroy mankind and this world. However, the Son of God offered Himself as a sacrifice so that all who believe and obey Him may have eternal life, while those who reject and disobey Him will receive eternal death (3 John 11; Matt. 25:33-46). We read in Joshua 24:15, “choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
Nobody is perfect, for “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” (Rom. 3:23.) But those who love and wish to obey God will receive the Holy Spirit, and even more so in the last days. In Acts 2:17, 18 we read that in the last days God will pour out His Spirit upon His servants and handmaidens. These people will be filled with the fruit of the Spirit which is - love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance (Gal. 5:22, 23). These people are also described as keeping God’s law, which can be summed up with – love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. (Rev. 14:12; 22:14; John 14:15; Luke 10:27).
Yet there is a very different picture painted of those who are in the other group. They will be – selfish, greedy, boastful, conceited, insulting, disobedient to parents, blasphemers, ungrateful, irreligious, unkind, trucebreakers, slanderers, whorish, fierce, hate the good, traitors, reckless, swollen with pride, they will love pleasure rather than God, and the corrupt rich will become richer by pressing people into labour for them without proper pay (2 Tim 3:1-5; James 5:4). Does this sound familiar to you? It does to me!
God’s Spirit will not always strive with mankind to try to bring them to Himself (Gen 6:3). And by constantly rejecting God’s love, offer of salvation, His leading, His Word, and doing what we know to be wrong, we are driving the Holy Spirit away and grieving Him to the point where He never comes back to us again (Eph. 4:30). This is why there will be such a marked difference between the Godly and the ungodly in the last days. As Scripture tells us many times, just before Jesus Christ comes a second time there will only be two groups of people – the obedient and the disobedient (Matt 25:31-34, 41, 46).
So if we put a few of the above facts together we can make a picture. Currently there are 3 groups of people – obedient, disobedient, and those wavering in the middle. But, as we come closer to the time of Jesus Christ’s second coming, this middle group will be shrinking. It also means that the Holy Spirit will be withdrawn from many people who have grieved Him, leaving them totally in the control of Satan and is evil ways.
So what can we expect for the future? Well, until Jesus Christ returns wickedness will increase in severity and quantity. Not a nice picture, but being forewarned means we can be forearmed.
Until next time – remember, safety first!