Fulfillment

All prophecy in the Bible points to, and is fully met, in the book of Revelation. Revelation is the culmination of God's plan for His people. From the moment Adam and Eve ate the fruit, exercising their choice to say "no" to partnership with God, God has been executing a plan to restore all that was lost...His royal family...all He called very good. God is amazingly brilliant in how He goes about restoring His family. Because God chose to relate to mankind in love, He has committed to free will. The events in Revelation are the final strokes of God's masterpiece design to reach the most people, at the deepest heart level, with the least intense means necessary, without ever violating free will! Only God could put something like the plan in Revelation together. His ways are brilliant and beautiful...but also terrifying to anyone not confident of where they stand with Him. They are DESIGNED to be terrifying to the lost, because God desires none be lost.


The prophecy given to Noah way back at the beginning, that he should build an ark, a place of refuge, to survive a coming flood, actually pointed to this generation! That sounds like a stretch, but it is plain to see if you know where to look:


Daniel 9:26 “And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a FLOOD (emphasis mine), And till the end of the war desolations are determined.


Matthew 24:36-39 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. But as the DAYS OF NOAH (emphasis mine) 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.


Daniel was told the end comes "with a flood." This same word could be translated an "outpouring of wrath." The intense events of the last 7 years of natural history will not ease upon us, they will suddenly rise up like floods waters. A flood comes overnight, and if you don't have a boat, you are in trouble. What seems like high ground before the flood is suddenly underwater and is no longer even a place to stand. Heaven assures us...one more flood is coming. This last flood is not of water, but of intensity, confusion, the maturing of selfishness and wickedness, the resulting widespread death, and for those with eyes to see, glory!


We are supposed to be building an ark. This ark isn't symbolic, it is real. The ark is a praying Church that establishes cities of refuge...arks...pockets of mercy...lands of Goshen...where the coming flood won't touch. High ground that is really high.


The prophet Joel described the hammer and gopher wood used to build this new ark:


This is the flood (it is quite terrible):


Joel 2:1-12 Blow the trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; For the day of the Lord is coming, For it is at hand: A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness, Like the morning clouds spread over the mountains. A people come, great and strong, The like of whom has never been; Nor will there ever be any such after them, Even for many successive generations. A fire devours before them, And behind them a flame burns; The land is like the Garden of Eden before them, And behind them a desolate wilderness; Surely nothing shall escape them. Their appearance is like the appearance of horses; And like swift steeds, so they run. With a noise like chariots Over mountaintops they leap, Like the noise of a flaming fire that devours the stubble, Like a strong people set in battle array. Before them the people writhe in pain; All faces are drained of color. They run like mighty men, They climb the wall like men of war; Every one marches in formation, And they do not break ranks. They do not push one another; Every one marches in his own column. Though they lunge between the weapons, They are not cut down. They run to and fro in the city, They run on the wall; They climb into the houses, They enter at the windows like a thief. The earth quakes before them, The heavens tremble; The sun and moon grow dark, And the stars diminish their brightness. The Lord gives voice before His army, For His camp is very great; For strong is the One who executes His word. For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; Who can endure it? ("How do we endure it?" is the question)


This next passage is how the ark is built. This is describing the night and day praying and worshiping Church, David's rebuilt tabernacle, drawing in all people with ears to hear, and crying out to God in agreement that turns away wrath and establishes a blessing instead:


Joel 2:12-20 “Now, therefore,” says the Lord , “Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm. Who knows if He will turn and relent, And leave a blessing behind Him— A grain offering and a drink offering For the Lord your God? Blow the trumpet in Zion, Consecrate a fast, Call a sacred assembly; Gather the people, Sanctify the congregation, Assemble the elders, Gather the children and nursing babes; Let the bridegroom go out from his chamber, And the bride from her dressing room. Let the priests, who minister to the Lord , Weep between the porch and the altar; Let them say, “Spare Your people, O Lord , And do not give Your heritage to reproach, That the nations should rule over them. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’ ” Then the Lord will be zealous for His land, And pity His people. The Lord will answer and say to His people, “Behold, I will send you grain and new wine and oil, And you will be satisfied by them; I will no longer make you a reproach among the nations. “But I will remove far from you the northern army, And will drive him away into a barren and desolate land, With his face toward the eastern sea And his back toward the western sea; His stench will come up, And his foul odor will rise, Because he has done monstrous things.”


This is how Jesus described the ark:


Luke 18:6-8 Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”


The ark we are supposed to build is constructed BEFORE the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord, but many have no idea a flood is even coming. There is much building to do. The building of this ark requires the first commandment be first:


Mark 12:30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.


Loving God wholeheartedly is what it takes to start pounding the gopher wood together. Loving Him with all my heart and soul...being fascinated with him and not with earthly entertainment is the beginning. Then I add my strength...my money, my time, my possessions. Loving Him with my mind means I connect all this with His written plans... then I will be constructing an ark right where I live. First in my home, then my church (this is not optional, since Jesus is returning for the church), then my city.


A flood is coming... for real. Jesus said only a fool would let things like eating, drinking, buying, selling, building earthly things, marrying, etc. get in the way of building the ark. It is time for me to really make the first commandment first!