“For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly,” 2 Peter 2:4-5.
I was reminded of the almost universal scoffing that has greeted the Bible’s account of the flood of Noah as I read such headlines as:
Polish city urged to evacuate as floods batter central Europe
and saw the extensive region affected, covering areas in a number of countries in Europe.
The floods have been caused by a number of factors according to scientists.
The BBC reported the following: ‘The record rainfall seen in central Europe has been caused by a number of factors, including climate change.
Different weather elements came together to create a “perfect storm” in which very cold air from the Arctic met warm air from the Mediterranean.
A pattern of atmospheric pressure also meant that Storm Boris was stuck in one place for a long time.
Scientists say that a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, leading to more intense rainfall. Warmer oceans also lead to more evaporation, feeding storm systems.’
So say the scientists, who, despite all their learning and knowledge, know not the Lord or anything of His divine superintendence of all that happens in the world.
Pharaoh had to learn this truth the hard way.
“And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh; lo, he cometh forth to the water; and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me. Else, if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy houses: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they are. And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth. And I will put a division between my people and thy people: to morrow shall this sign be. And the LORD did so; and there came a grievous swarm of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants’ houses, and into all the land of Egypt: the land was corrupted by reason of the swarm of flies,”Exodus 8:20-24.
Last Days
At the close of this age, because of the nations’ increasing rebellion against the Lord, in a manner reminiscent of the defiance shown by Pharaoh, there will be manifestations of God’s power in judgment against wicked nations.
In Revelation 15:1, we read: “And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.”
There follows in the chapter 16 an account of the “vials of the wrath of God” being poured out upon the kingdom of the Antichrist, that region within the borders of the old Roman Empire. Those plagues will demonstrate the almighty power of God over the natural environment and the utter helplessness of man to do anything to stop or avoid such events.
The Saviour’s Prophecy
The Lord Jesus, when describing the end-time events to His disciples, said this:
“And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows,” Matthew 24:6-8.
“Famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes”, all these are under God’s control and He can use such as a judgment upon defiant and wicked nations.
Of course, men today do not believe this and will continue to reject the truth regarding the Lord revealed in Holy Scripture, until that moment “When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day,” 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10.
There is a lesson to be learned from the present disasters in Europe and the great distress suffered by tens of thousands there and it is as Nebuchadnezzar states it in Daniel 4:34-35.
“I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation: and all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?”
How foolish it is to dismiss this truth from our hearts and minds and live in defiance of it! How wise we would be to believe the words of the Psalmist:
“He ruleth by his power for ever; his eyes behold the nations: let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah,” Psalm 66:7.
The little Hebrew word, SELAH, carries the meaning, as C H Spurgeon puts it in his commentary of the Psalms: ‘Pause again, and take time to bow low before the throne of the Eternal.’
We would all do well to so contemplate the Psalmist’s words and act as CHS directs us.
Italy next to face storm after 21 killed in Europe floods
Rev Ivan Foster (Rtd)
20th September 2024