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-For today’s prophecy update, I’d like to draw your attention to, and have you turn to the Gospel of Matthew and the 24th chapter verses 36-44.

Matthew 24:36-44 NIV "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. (37) As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. (38) 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; (39) 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. (40) Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. (41) Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. (42) "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. (43) But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. (44) So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

-Before we get into this, I have to humbly confess that this particular prophecy is one of the most difficult, if not the most difficult for me to talk on. -I’m speaking of-course about the prophecy concerning gay, or same-sex marriage, as it is now called, and as in the days of Noah, it was called. -This because it’s now risen to the level of warranting our full attention by virtue of the prophecy we just read having come from Jesus Himself.

-I would suggest to you that the recent declaration by our U.S. President concerning gay marriage has brought this prophecy to the forefront. -I’ll take it a step further and submit to you that not only is this prophecy now “front-page,” if you will, it’s also an indicator of how close we are. -So much so, that Jesus warned us by way of an association with Noah, and what it was like in his day, right up to the day, they entered the ark.

I happened upon an interesting website called Gay Christian Movement Watch, which from what I gather is directed more towards those who consider themselves gay, and fancy themselves Christian. To quote pastor Chuck Smith, though in a different context, they are like grape nuts, they are neither grapes nor are they nuts. Well, be that as it may, this website, which as far as I can tell is spot on, quotes Janet Folger, the president of Faith2Action, in her article titled “How same-sex marriage points to the end of the world.” “Folger recounts how what we are seeing happen now before our very eyes is the beginning fulfillment of what Jesus said would happen before his return. Moreover, the people had sunken into such a perpetually degenerative moral condition that these things were celebrated and viewed as normal.” http://gcmwatch.wordpress.com/2008/06/24/gay-marriage-the-days-of-noah-return/

A different article on the same website documents what I see as capturing the very essence of what Jesus was describing concerning the days of Noah when they write that, “His intent, speaking of Jesus, was to inform His audience that at His return the conditions of the world would mirror Noah’s days and the days of Sodom and Gomorrah.” The article goes on to quote the Midrash Rabbah Genesis, which is a specific form of rabbinic literature of ancient Judaism commentaries of the Hebrew Scriptures. It is based on the interpretation of the Torah (Old Testament). It speaks about the subject of same-sex marriage during the days of Noah. The rabbis wrote in the Midrash Rabbah Genesis that the flood in Noah’s day was primarily triggered when males starting writing marriage deeds with other males, what’s interesting about this is that based on the account of Midrash Rabbah Genesis, same-sex marriages not only took place during the days of Noah, they were actually legal during the days of Noah. http://www.gcmwatch.com/4361/jesus-the-days-of-noah-and-same-sex-marriage

-Fast-forward to our day, and in so doing it begs the question of whether or not we are now witnessing the same exact thing happening now. -I don’t think we all have to be rocket scientists to figure this out, when it would just stand to reason that what’s happening is a fulfillment of this. -Furthermore, if what we see transpiring is what Jesus was prophesying, then we need look no further as to how close we are to the rapture.

-Perhaps you’ll indulge me for just a moment as I round a corner and talk about another aspect of this that is often overlooked, and understated. -Can you imagine how much this must grieve the heart of a loving God Who created us as male and female? This I believe breaks God’s heart. -The reason I point this out is, we can get the impression that God is angry, when the reality is instead of shaking His fist, it’s breaking His heart.

I’ll take it a step further and suggest that not only is God not shaking His fist at the homosexual, it’s the homosexual that is shaking his fist at God. I think Franklin Graham said it ever so beautifully this way: "In changing his position from that of Senator and Candidate Obama, President Obama has, in my view, shaken his fist at the same God who created and defined marriage. It grieves me that our president would now affirm same-sex marriage, though I believe it grieves God even more.”

-Would to God, that we would be as David, a man after God’s own heart, in that our hearts would break with that which breaks the heart of God. -If we’re really honest about it, we’d have to admit that none of us have ever won even one to Christ by picketing and protesting, even boycotting. -That’s not to say that we don’t take a stand for righteousness, but it is to say that we may be going about doing the right thing in the wrong way.

Romans 2:4 NIV Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?

There’s a story that’s told, having taken place many years ago that I think illustrates this ever so beautifully, it goes like this; “A man goes running into a bar and wants to borrow some money to purchase a baseball bat. When asked why, he told them he had just left a meeting at the church and wanted to purchase a bat and beat the speaker up. His friends calmed him down with a libation or two and he forgot about his quest. A few weeks later he retuned to the bar and wanted to borrow money to give to a man who was speaking at the same church. His friends asked why the change and he responded, ‘The last time I wanted a bat was because the speaker at the church told me I was going to hell and he looked like he was glad I was. This week the man speaking told me that I was going to hell and then cried.’"

-I’ll bring today’s prophecy update in for a close by simply and humbly asking two questions, both of which we can all answer before the Lord. -First, does knowing we’re living in “the day’s of Noah,” fill our heart with a joyfulness, or a fearfulness anticipating the closeness of the rapture? -Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, does seeing the wickedness in our day, like the days of Noah, fill our heart with hate, or with love?