Our Blind, Blind World

By David Ettinger

No Eyes to See
An acute blindness is permeating the world. A thick darkness is descending upon the hearts and souls of the human race, though to most, the sun is shining brightly.

This swelling darkness is not something that can be grasped with the mind or deciphered by the eye, but only sensed by the spirit. What spirit? Everyone possesses one of two spirits, that of the world or that of God (1 Corinthians 2:12). The spirit of the world sees that which is flesh; the spirit of God sees that which is of Him.

The blindness descending upon our planet is satanic and undetectable to those with worldly spirits. To followers of Jesus Christ, this should come as no surprise; it is exactly what Jesus said would happen.

Jesus’ Vision of the End Times
Chapters 24 and 25 of Matthew is known as “the Olivet Discourse” because Jesus gave us a staggering look at the end-times while He and His disciples sat upon the Mount of Olives (v. 23).

Just previous, they had been walking through the Temple complex in Jerusalem when the disciples called their Master’s attention to the magnificent buildings towering above (v. 1). Jesus replied, “Do you see all these things? Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; everyone will be thrown down” (v. 2). The group made its way to the mount, where the disciples asked Jesus, “Tell us, when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” (v. 3).

Jesus then unfolds the astonishing panorama of events characterizing the final seven years of this era of human history. That time will witness spiritual deception (vv. 4-5); worldwide warfare (vv. 6-7); famine and earthquakes (v. 7); persecution and execution of Christians (v. 9); apostasy and the escalation of false prophets (v. 11); increased wickedness (v. 12); unprecedented persecution of Israel (vv. 15-21); false miraculous signs that will deceive the world (v. 24); and cosmic disturbances (vv. 29). This will culminate with the return of Christ and the Rapture of the Church (vv. 30-31).

Yet, despite all these unparalleled cataclysmic occurrences which will be ongoing, the unbelieving world will be clueless of the coming calamity – specifically, the judgment of Christ which will send them to their eternal destinies. Jesus describes this unique time:

As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man (Matthew 24:37-39).

We are quickly approaching that frightening time.

As It Was in the Days of Noah
What did Jesus mean by the phrase “As it was in the days of Noah,” and how is it related to His second coming?

Noah’s Ark riding on a swell after the Great Flood

As the Lord explains, both eras have in common the fact that people were/will be eating, drinking, and marrying. Nothing negative should be read into this. The eating and drinking described here is not gluttony and drunkenness, but simply that which is necessary for life. The same of marriage; no negative connotation implied.

The point is that at the time just before Christ returns to the earth, people will be going about normal business completely unaware that judgment is about to fall. The same held true in the days of Noah. The world had 120 years to repent of their evil (Genesis 6:3), but refused. They continued with life as usual, oblivious that a deluge would soon wipe all life from the earth.

It happened once; it will happen again.

Today’s Blindness
Today’s world is every bit as blind and oblivious as in the days of Noah. Western society is sinking ever deeper into the slime of godlessness.

Perhaps the biggest peddler of our cultural decay is the entertainment industry. Television continues to accommodate an insatiable audience with heaping servings of sexual perversion, obscene language, heinous depictions of violence, and the exaltation of “alternative” gender lifestyles. The music industry wallows in the same muck, its melodious hawkers strumming similar chords of moral depravity.

In politics, lawmakers endorse “compassionate” measures supporting same-sex marriage, abortion, and transgender rights. In education, academic institutions strive to banish all traces of God and the Bible from the classroom.

Religiously, Christianity is ridiculed, reviled, and repressed, while a deceived world regards the vast majority of Islam as “peaceful” and Muslim terrorism as but the domain of a “handful” of extremists. In sports arenas, impassioned fans worship their home team, rejoicing when they win, and spewing venom when they lose. But where is the passion for those who suffer from the horrors occurring around the globe?

And all along the world continues to hurl itself into the sludge of its own destruction, blind to the fact that the Son of God is preparing His return to planet earth. Just as it was in the days of Noah, so today’s earthly inhabitants live in blissful ignorance of the flood of judgment about to overwhelm them.

But the flood has not hit yet, and there is still time for some to get into the ark. However, people cannot get in if they are unaware it exists. As never before, those who love the Lord must sound the alarm to a spiritually sightless planet.

Pray that God will give you compassion for the lost, boldness to speak the truth, and opportunities to bring sight to this blind, blind world.

David Ettinger is a writer/editor at Zion’s Hope, Inc., and has written for Zion’s Fire magazine since its inception in 1990.

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