"As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it also be in the day when the Son of Man returns." Matt 24:37Jesus gives that warning sign in his famous prophecy of the end of the age (Matt 24 and parallel passages), where he also spoke about famines, plagues, earthquakes, and 'wars and rumors of wars,' all happening in diverse places (world-wide). Since most of those indicators have manifested throughout history, are Jesus' apocalyptic words of any help in identifying the approach of the end of the present age?
Jesus concludes his end times discourse by comparing the final days and events with the period preceding the Deluge that catastrophically marked the end of the previous age or aion. He points out that those coming days will resemble the time leading up to the great Flood, giving as examples that people then were 'eating and drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage,' until the very day Noah boarded the ark. One suspects that those routines of life got interrupted by people pausing to regard the spectacle of old Noah getting his entourage aboard a strange vessel parked in the middle of high ground. Typical of human nature, there must have some boisterous jeering going on all the while. The 'for instances' recorded in the gospels seem intended to illustrate that life was going on as it always had; it was another, regular day in the antediluvian world. Apparently, then, there were no warning signs of impending doom. Or, there must have been some, but, typically, most people preferred to ignore them, clinging to the illusion that ignorance is bliss. Verse 39 (first part) states "and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away." They did not understand. How about that? The end of their world came apparently out of nowhere, as far as the majority were concerned.
While numerous commentators, both professional and amateur, have pointed to the descriptions in Matt 24 as 'proof' that we are presently living in the 'end times,' many others have summarily debunked them with the obvious observation that there have been earthquakes, plagues, famines, and wars almost continuously, somewhere or other on the planet ever since the days of Jesus. Hence, they argue, 'Why worry?' Repeatedly, since the days of Jesus, people have recalled his 'Olivet discourse,' and warned of impending doom... yet we are still here, waiting for Messiah.
A few astute students have noticed that there were other characteristics about the 'days' (meaning probably a few years) before the Flood that could find parallels in today's world scene. Clearly, we're not talking about eating, drinking, or marrying. No, it seems things were so bad that God regretted ever putting mankind on Earth (vs 6). Genesis 6:5 states: "Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." Verse 11 goes on to state "... the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence." Now there's some data we can see reflected in today's news! Again, the skeptics could argue that this is just business as usual on planet Earth, so not to worry. This argument looks valid superficially, but fails to see the full, implicit sweep of those sparse verses. Other esoteric writings, such as, particularly, the Book of Enoch, elaborate on the deplorable state of human affairs on the earth at that time. In fact, they go on to make the remarkable report that there were non-human races present on the earth, who were engaged in equally (if not more) deplorable activities. Even the Bible refers, fleetingly, to these interlopers as 'Nephilim' and giants (vs. 4) as many scholars have noted. And it seems quite apparent that these unsavory activities were, indeed, taking place world-wide; hence, God determined to destroy the entire planet, not just a region... as in actual fact, folkloric myths around the world can attest.
How does that jibe with today? Since about the start of the 20th century, the world has become a global community; people in one place are almost immediately aware of what goes on in another place. Culture (such as it is) can be instantly dispersed around the globe via modern technologies. By means of satellites and telecommunications, we are instantly aware of earthquakes, famines, wars, etc. wherever they erupt. So, while these disasters may have always existed somewhere, it is only recently that we can account for them as global events. Modern air transportation makes it almost inevitable that a disease outbreak in one place can quickly spread to far-off places, as happened dramatically with the case of 'SARS' a few years ago. That ease of dispersion is the main reason behind the paranoia behind the possibility of 'bird flu' (H5N1 strain) spreading among humans. So, we have the pandemics ('plagues' in Bible terms) such as HIV/AIDS, and regional famines. But there's much more.
Once again, evil forces are afoot to subvert a natural, productive world for all mankind, and to destroy the planet. If anyone thinks this is an extreme allegation, I respond that they need to consider the inevitable outcome of the various policies (both of intent, and of default) currently pursued by governments world-wide in the face of environmental crises. If you believe that global warming is indeed caused by human sources, then it is reasonable to expect that altering human activities could reverse the greenhouse effect. Yet the main culprits behind atmospheric pollution show no serious signs of any desire to change behavior-- nor do the governments with the authority to demand change. Regardless of whether climate change is due to human action or not, it is clear that continued, unabated pollution of the environment has already caused extinction of some species, and can only lead to further disasters and ultimately, environmental collapse.
As my other essays have argued, there is a covert cabal of uber-wealthy, self-centered controllers who are propelling the whole world with all possible dispatch towards a New World Order, wherein they hold absolute rule over the masses of humanity. To achieve this self-serving end, they are prepared to resort to whatever plan is expedient, regardless of the deaths, destruction, and suffering that may result. A perfect example right before us is Iraq. Hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians have been killed and injured; millions have been displaced; the infrastructure is in ruins; the Iraqi gene-pool is corrupted by the reckless use of depleted uranium weapons... all for what? To please the lust for blood, oil, and mayhem of G.W. Bush and his insane henchmen, is about the only answer that makes 'sense,' if one can label it as such. It is clear that the game is not really just an American predilection. Cohorts like Tony Blair, John Howard, Nicholas Sarkozy, Israeli Knesset members, and so on, demonstrate that the coordination of the conspiracy is handled at a global level.
Sure, we've always had wars somewhere on Earth, but never before have we had such strong 'rumors of war.' For a time, the US administration was threatening North Korea with all kinds of force, including war, it was rumored, unless they suspended their nuclear ambitions. Hardly had that crisis been defused when the US decided that, despite a completely botched entanglement in Iraq and Afghanistan, it was time to invade Iran. This time, they denied the rumors; but the denials simply fueled more speculation. The rumors, in fact, are part of the arsenal of global, governmental terror used by the conspiracy to coerce nations and move events towards their desired goals. Truly, we live in a world of 'wars and rumors of war' as never before.
While crime ('evil'), too, has always existed in our midst, in the last century it has gone global, often by design. Drug cartels traffic their deadly commodities internationally, raising billions of dollars of criminal gains. To the incredulity of some innocent onlookers, the slave trade has revived in a big way, with trafficking of children and women as sexual slaves, and even men as indentured laborers. In defiance of UN accords, weapons are traded indiscriminately; land mines and cluster bombs are broadcast by the millions; children are forced to become killer-soldiers; and on it goes. In the 'developed countries,' unscrupulous people claw their way to the top of corporations and governments. Contrary to popular, Western belief, corruption of public officials is not something that mainly happens in third-world 'banana republics;' it has become part of everyday business in the Western world, too. Multinational corporations have tried to legitimize their tactics by embedding lobbying in the halls of power, but this just proves that the difference between criminals and businessmen is a pin-striped suit. Behind all the petty crime, and the organized crime, and the crime that pretends to be legitimate national and international business, there are always the nefarious, deceitful, mysterious agents of the NWO/Illuminati/Zionism, profiting from both sides of every struggle.
It is becoming pretty well known that the Illuminati draw their leadership from the members of 12 (some say 13) families or dynasties, who control virtually all banks and many transnational, mega-corporations, from behind the scenes. Interestingly, there are some investigators who believe that the present generation of these secretive controllers trace their ancestry back to the inter-married descendents of the Nephilim. This sounds like an incredible theory, and I have serious doubts about it; but there is no doubt that these families can be very selective in whom they are allowed to marry, as if intent on preserving some special blood-line. I mention it only to indicate that there may be additional, hidden parallels to the time of Noah than we can see on the surface.
Using their power over the mass media and entertainment industry, the dark forces have been steadily ratcheting up the level and explicitness of violence in our leisure distractions. On the one hand, they vigorously deny any link between their theatrical violence and the enacted aggression that manifests in real life... and yet they pour billions of dollars into highly contrived advertising because they know full well that the audio-visual imagery does, indeed, affect human behavior! Meanwhile, the masses sit mesmerized daily, for hours of voluntary mind-conditioning. As long as violence is happening to someone else, somewhere distant, we just turn off the TV and leave it at that. When we or someone in our family becomes involved in the horror of war or violence, then we learn its true, evil dimensions.
We have to understand that there are only two ways to live: either we sincerely embrace moral values, basic equality and inherent rights for all persons, and equitable sharing of resources... or else we continue on the present, insane path of denial, deception, hypocrisy, Darwinian corporatism, and see where it leads. The so-called Powers that Be have long-ago decided to pursue the latter, self-centered avenue with vigor, and it appears that nothing (short of miracles) can stop them now. They attained their rank and power by exercising every dirty tactic they believe in, and they are determined to drive this planet full speed into a collision with destiny. Every government is corrupt, beholden to the international, corporate, banking elite; pretending to uphold laws while simultaneously profiting from illegal activities now vital to the economy. The media are corrupt collaborators, pretending to report news while shaping it to advance the corporate agenda. Our religious leaders, for the most part, are also part of the problem, focusing the attention of their flocks on relative nonsense while lobbying the governments to persist in their worst policies. If you were God, looking at the state of affairs on this pathetic planet, what hope would you have that decent people could wake up, admit the situation, and somehow restore godly order, on their own power?
In summation, I would say with little hesitation that the world is essentially in the same state today as it was in the days of Noah, prior to the Deluge. And (as I've described in other essays) numerous traditions indicate that, once again, the solution to the mess we're in will appear as another global catastrophe, the 'hand of God,' if you will, that will bring the present age to an abrupt conclusion. Some readers will consider that to be bad news. All things considered, I'd say, on the contrary, it is not just good news, but inevitable news. A true Christian should be happy to foresee the destruction of an evil and perverse generation. A non-believer should take some comfort at the prospect that the universe operates according to rational laws, so that unbridled self-serving greed and immorality are not forever rewarded, but there are consequences for every action. We look forward to the next few years with mixed emotions.
[To clarify for atheists: I am not saying that Christians should either sit back and drift with the current, or else (as some US Evangelicals) promote and lobby for the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem in foolish, deluded hopes of hastening the hand of God. The point is that we can trust the words of Jesus. If he compared our time with the run-up to the Flood, then we would be wise to take it as a solid prediction. It is time to prepare our souls, not bow down to Zionist ambitions for renewed temple worship.]
