Are you saying that the unbelievers weren't warned in the days of Noah before the flood, or are you saying that they simply weren't prepared because they didn't take heed to the warnings?
I merely pointed out that at the time of the flood, God told Noah before the rain started and God told Abraham that He was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrha.
I know Noah had 120 years in which to build the ark (during which time he preached righteousness) and 7 days warning before the rain started.
I do not know the timeframe between when God told Abraham and when the fire and brimstone fell on Sodom/Gomorrha. I know the angels told Lot and Lot told his sons in law and his wife and daughters. So Lot was given minimal notice.
However, even before Noah there was Enoch who warned
Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints (Jude 1:14). God has always given warning.
Live4Him3 said:
If you're saying that they weren't warned, then I vehemently disagree.
For one thing, God's Spirit strove with men during the 120 years that it took to make the ark, and Peter referred to that timeframe as "when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing".
Yes, in agreement concerning God's Spirit striving with mankind. And I believe God's Spirit continues to strive with unbelieving mankind in our day and time, as well as throughout all of past history, and will continue in the future. The Holy Spirit also works within the believer to teach and bring God's Word to remembrance.
I also believe Noah warned all he could reach concerning the coming flood.
However, Noah was specifically told by God that the rain would start in 7 days (Gen 7:4). I do not see that God told anyone else. And I am uncertain whether Noah had any time to warn others as he probably took that 7 days to get himself, his wife, his sons and their wives packed up, and into the ark in the timeframe God had given.
Live4Him3 said:
Peter also said that Noah was a preacher of righteousness, so there's that to consider as well.
My point was that the Lord spoke directly to Noah and to Abraham. Were these the only believers at that given time? Lot was a believer, although he was entangled with the affairs of this life.
Noah? yes, he was a preacher of righteousness. He was building the ark ... did folks ask him about that and he explained to them?
As far as Abraham? Abraham was still in the plains of Mamre the morning after God's judgment, so Abraham did not tell the folks of Sodom/Gomorrah. The angels told only Lot and Lot told his sons in law. Did Lot tell others? I do not know.
Live4Him3 said:
Are you suggesting that unbelievers aren't aware of these prophesied signs as well?
I know that many of them are because I've warned many of them of exactly these things myself.
I mean, what makes one an "unbeliever" anyway?
Isn't it not believing what you've been told or forewarned of?
In our day and time, we have the written Scriptures and it is our (the believers') privilege and responsibility to speak God's Word to others.
Back in the days of the flood and the judgment on Sodom/Gomorrha, God spoke directly to Noah and Abraham and it was their privilege/responsibility to preach to others. We know that Lot was a righteous man (2 Peter 2:8) who sat in the gate of the city. Did Lot preach at the gate? If so, not one citizen in the city believed.
God uses the
foolishness of preaching to save them that believe (1 Cor 1:21). What must be believed, first and foremost, is the gospel of Christ.
Live4Him3 said:
Anyhow, like you said, as I watch what is transpiring in the world today (and in the past), I am not fearful because I recognize that everything is going down exactly as God foretold it would. I am, however, fearful for those who aren't prepared for the same, and that is why I've spent so much time seeking to warn them over the years.
yes. and, again, the gospel is first and foremost ...
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it [the gospel]
is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth (Rom 1:16).
.
