Page 329

Cleaning House

Many people think that although the world has problems,

things will get better by themselves but the Bible has many
scriptures in it that show how God will have to intervene
in order to save the world from total destruction by the
forces of evil:

"The nations were angry with you, but now the time
of your wrath has come. It is time to judge the dead
and reward your servants. You will reward your prophets
and your holy people, all who fear your name, from the
least to the greatest. And you will destroy all who
have caused destruction on the earth."
(Revelation 11:18) (New Living Translation)

"Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth.
The former things will not be remembered, nor
will they come to mind."
(Isaiah 65:17) (New International Version)

"But God has promised us a new heaven and a
new earth, where justice will rule. We are really
looking forward to that!"
(2Peter 3:13) (Contemporary English Version)

WHEN THE TIME IS RIGHT - JEHOVAH WILL
"CLEANSE" THE EARTH.

Can we “clean house” without removing the rubbish,
the garbage, the decaying matter, the offensive sludge 
and the dangerous debris?

Good House cleaning requires complete removal
of all dangerous, toxic, and offensive matter.

GOD WILL SEND HIS SON TO CLEAN UP THE EARTH

"...At the time that God has already decided,
he will send Jesus Christ back again."
(1Timothy 6:15) (CEV)

¹⁹ "Now it's time to change your ways! Turn to face God so
he can wipe away your sins, pour out showers of blessing
to refresh you, ²⁰ and send you the Messiah he prepared
for you, namely, Jesus. ²¹ For the time being he must remain
out of sight in heaven until everything is restored to order
again just the way God, through the preaching of his holy
prophets of old, said it would be. ²² Moses, for instance, said,
"Your God will raise up for you a prophet just like me from
your family. Listen to every word he speaks to you. ²³ Every
last living soul who refuses to listen to that prophet
will be wiped out from the people.'
(Acts 3:19-23) (Message Bible)

"But who will be able to stand up to that coming?
Who can survive his appearance? He'll be like the
strongest lye soap at the laundry."
(Malachi 3:2) (MSG)

IT WILL BE LIKE CLEANING OUT THE 
GARDEN - ROOTING OUT “THE WEEDS”

"For the upright shall dwell in the earth, and the
righteous shall remain in it. But the wicked shall
be cut off from the earth, And the treacherous
shall be rooted out of it."
(Proverbs 2:21,22) (NIV)

"The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are
angels. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they
will "WEED OUT" of his kingdomeverything that causes
sin and all who do evil."
(Matthew 13:36-41) (NIV)

"As the "WEEDS" are pulled up and burned
in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age."
(Matthew 13:14) (NIV)

THE EARTH WILL BE SWEPT CLEAN OF ALL EVIL

"Just a little while longer, and the wicked ones
will be no more; though you look for them,
they will not be found. But the meek will
inherit the earth and enjoy great peace."
(Psalm 37:10,11) (NIV)

"...This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed
from heaven in blazing firewith his powerful angels.
He will punish those who do not know God and do
not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be
punished with everlasting destruction and shut out
from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of
his power on the day he comes to be glorified."
(2Thessalonians 1:7-10) (NIV)

"I have come to bring fire on the earth,
and how I wish it were already kindled! "
(Luke 12:49) (NIV)

"On the wicked he will rain fiery coals and burning
sulfur; a scorching wind will be their lot."
(Psalm 11:6) (NIV)

What is the wise thing for us to do now?

"In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now
he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he
has set a day when he will judge the world with justice
by the man he has appointed. He has given proof
of this to all men by raising him from the dead."
(Acts 17:30,31) (NIV)

Page 328

Is Our Life Predestined?

Many people believe in predestination. While it is true that God can see
things in the future that we cannot see, our actions are not predetermined.
Many people erroneously think God made us to follow a set path to either
success or failure. The truth is that we do have choices and the choices we
make will take us on a set path. If we do not like the path we are on, we
must make the effort to get off that path.

How do we find the right path?

That is the trick. We probably will not find it on our own - we need help:

”²³ I know, O LORD, that a man's life is not his
own; it is not for man to direct his steps.”
(Jeremiah 10:23) (NIV)

It takes a lot of wisdom to accept this. If we want to find the right path,
we should ask God for help and follow the advice the Bible gives:

⁷ "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone
who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who
knocks, the door will be opened.”
(Matthew 7:7-8) (NIV)

And even more importantly:

¹³ "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate
and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and
many enter through it. ¹⁴ But small is the gate and narrow
the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
(Matthew 7:13-14) (NIV)

Why would Our Savior advise us to look
for the right path if we are predestined?

Surely he must know that we can change paths
at will or he would not talk as if we could!

¹⁶ "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
(John 3:16) (NIV)

Jehovah has become angry with us numerous times because
we start off on His approved path and fall away from it:

¹⁰  That is why I was angry with that generation,
and I said, 'Their hearts are always going astray,
and they have not known my ways.'
(Hebrews 3:10) (NIV)

Yet some people can use the “predestination” theory as an excuse
to be lazy and stay on the wrong path even though they know they
are on the wrong path. It takes effort to find the right path. It is not
easy sometimes to find it and stay on it. Yet it is worth the effort:

¹⁸ "If only you had paid attention to My commandments!
Then your well-being would have been like a river,
And your righteousness like the waves of the sea.
(Isaiah 48:18) (New American Standard Bible)

People actually think that Jehovah created us and then just abandoned us.

Is that true, or did we abandon Him?

Despite the Bible's warnings not to add to, nor take away from the
words of the Holy Scriptures, some translators and copyists have
altered and changed the wording of various scriptures in order to
support the Trinity Dogma.  Some have even added entire verses
that were not part of the original text.  Even God's name, Jehovah,
was removed to obscure the distinction between God and Jesus.

Historical scholars agree that the prophets wrote Jehovah’s name almost
7,000 times in Old Testament in the original ancient Hebrew. When the
Bible was translated into English, the translators laboriously removed
Jehovah’s name and substituted the word “GOD” or “LORD” throughout.
While most Bibles such as the popular NIV does not have Jehovah’s name
mentioned at all, they missed four places in the King James Bible:

¹⁸ That men may know that thou, whose name alone
is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.
(Psalms 83:18) (King James Version)

Also Exodus 6:3, Isaiah 12:2 and Isaiah 26:4.

For many centuries now, priests and ministers have been teaching that
God either “does not have a name” or “does not need a name”.

Is that a good idea?

¹ And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you. 
² If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to
give glory unto my name, saith Jehovah of hosts, then
will I send the curse upon you, and I will curse your
blessings; yea, I have cursed them already, because ye
do not lay it to heart.
(Malachi 2:1-2)  (American Standard Bible)

Moses was the first to ask God what His name was.

What did God say to Moses?

¹⁵ And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou
say unto the children of Israel, Jehovah, the God of
your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is
my name forever, and this is my memorial unto all
generations.
(Exodus 3:15) (ASV)

The American Standard Bible is one of the few Bibles that Has
Jehovah’s name restored where it was originally written. That is how
we know that God’s name is Jehovah - He picked it out Himself!

By turning away from false gods, such as Christendom’s
nameless lord and accepting Jehovah as our God and our
Father, we receive His blessings and protection:

¹ Jehovah is my shepherd; I shall not want. ² He maketh me to lie
down in green pastures; He leadeth me beside still waters. ³ He
restoreth my soul: He guideth me in the paths of righteousness
for his name's sake. ⁴ Yea, thou I walk through the valley of the
shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; Thy rod
and thy staff, they comfort me. ⁵ Thou preparest a table before me
in the presence of mine enemies: Thou hast anointed my head with
oil; My cup runneth over. ⁶ Surely goodness and lovingkindness
shall follow me all the days of my life; And I shall dwell in the house
of Jehovah for ever.
(Psalms 23:1-6) (ASV)

And what about the stubborn people who
continue to ignore and disobey Jehovah?

¹⁰ In just a little while, the wicked will be no more;
though you look carefully at his place, he will not
be there. ¹¹ But the meek shall inherit the land and
delight themselves in abundant peace.
(Psalms 37:10-11) (ESV)

Page 327

GOD'S   PROMISE   FOR
A NEW EARTH
 

Many people say that they believe in God, but they do
not know what to expect from Him. People pray to God
when they want something, without knowing who He is
and what He wants from us.

What does God want from us?

¹ And God spake all these words, saying, ² I am Jehovah
thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of
the house of bondage. ³ Thou shalt have no other gods
before me.
(Exodus 20:1-3) (American Standard Version)

What does Jehovah promise us in return?

"But God has promised us a new heaven
and a new earth, where justice will rule.
We are really looking forward to that!"
(2Peter 3:13) (Contemporary English Version)

But most people living today think that the world is going
to continue on in its present state indefinitely. They mostly
believe that the only sure way to escape the evils of this
world is to die and go to Heaven.

"Jesus not only expected a new heaven and new earth,
he also predicted that difficult times would precede the
last days (Mark 13:5-13)."
--The Covenant Companion,
January 1999 issue, pp 10-13.

Why would our Savior think that?

"Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth.
The former things will not be remembered, nor will
they come to mind."
(Isaiah 65:17) (New International Version)

How will we know when this is going to happen?

This is what our Messiah, himself foretold:

⁶  You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to
it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen,
but the end is still to come. ⁷ Nation will rise against
nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be
famines and earthquakes in various places. ⁸ All these
are the beginning of birth pains.
(Matthew 24:6-8) (NIV)

Are there other signs?

"You can be certain that in the last days
there will be some very hard times..."
(2Timothy 3:1) (Contemporary English Version)

"The "Son of Man" was going to return in due time through
the mysterious agency of the Father, who alone has the last
word (Mark 13:32-37). Not even the Son knew precisely
when the end would come."
--The Covenant Companion,
January 1999 issue, pp 10-13.

What else will happen?

"...At the time that God has already decided,
he will send Jesus Christ back again."
(1Timothy 6:15) (CEV)

³⁶ "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the
angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
(Matthew 24:36) (NIV)

"The end of the age remained a significant concern
for the early church... Both Jesus and Paul made it
clear that Christians should always be ready for the
return of Christ and the coming of the kingdom."
--The Covenant Companion,
January 1999 issue, pp 10-13.

"Our expectations are as earthly as those of ancient Israel.
We take to heart Jesus’ solemn warning...(Mark 13:32)."
- -The Covenant Companion,
January 1999 issue, pp 10-13.

"The prophecies of ancient Israel and the early
church...assure that in God’s own good time
the forces of evil will be utterly destroyed and a
"new heaven and new earth" will established.
This is an expectation hope..."
-The Covenant Companion,
January 1999 issue, pp 10-13.

Most nominal Christians who do believe in the “End of
This World As We Now Know It”, think "Jesus will be
coming back to gather all of those who accepted him as
their savior and take them up to Heaven."

But what does the Bible actually say?

"For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I
will make, shall remain before me, saith Jehovah, so
shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall
come to pass, that from one new moon to another,
and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come
to worship before me, saith Jehovah. And they shall
go forth, and look upon the dead bodies of the
men that have transgressed against me..."
(Isaiah 66:22-24) (American Standard Version)

Perhaps faith in Jesus is just not enough.

What else is required?

³ Seek ye Jehovah, all ye meek of the earth, that have
kept his ordinances; seek righteousness, seek meekness:
it may be ye will be hid in the day of Jehovah's anger.
(Zephaniah 2:3) (ASV)

Is this a good thing or a bad one?

"For yet a little while, and the evildoers will be no more;
though you look with care where they used to be, they
will not be found. But the meek shall inherit the earth
and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace."
(Psalm 37:10,11) (Amplified Bible)

Inherit the Earth? Not Heaven?

"THEN I saw a new heaven and a new earth... God will
wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be
no more, neither shall there be anguish nor grief nor pain
any more, for the old conditions and the former order
of things have passed away.
(Revelation 21:1,3,4) (AMP)

What kind of Earth will it be?

⁶ And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard
shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion
and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
⁷ And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall
lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
⁸ And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and
the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den. ⁹ They
shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth
shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover
the sea.
(Isaiah 11:6-9) (ASV)

Page 326

Jehovah's People - Then and Now

Present-day Israel has many problems, just like the rest of
the world but at one time, the ancient Israelites were the most
prosperous and well-protected people in the whole world.

What separated the ancient Jews from the rest of the whole world?

The ancient Jewish people not only worshipped Jehovah
exclusively, but they were the only people who did! As
time went by, they gradually fell away and began worshiping
other gods. Every time that occurred, bad things happened
to the Jews.

Was this God’s punishment?

Not always! But it would seem like a punishment when
Jehovah withdrew His protection and favor.

It is perfectly true that Jehovah has punished people before.

For example:

“And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth,
and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only
evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he made man on
the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said, I
will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth;
both man and beast, and the creeping thing and the fowls of the
air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.”

(Genesis 6:5-7) (King James Version)

Jehovah created all of us with a free will. We think and do whatever
we want to do! We have the freedom to choose to do good things or
bad things with our life. Most of Noah’s relatives chose to do evil.
Therefore, Jehovah had decided, at first, to destroy all of the evil
people in existence on the earth. If it were not for the righteous
Noah, all of mankind would have been exterminated.

“And God looked upon the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all
flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah,
The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with
violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth.”

(Genesis 6:12-13) (KJV)

As we know from reading the Bible account, the earth was
flooded and every living thing drowned, except for every
living thing on the ark. This was punishment indeed.

So mankind was given a second chance. The earth was brought
back to peace and harmony, for the people who survived the flood
respected Jehovah. Noah, his sons Ham, Shem, Japheth and their
wives had children and mankind began to flourish again.

Then what happened?

8 Then a new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power in
Egypt. 9 "Look," he said to his people, "the Israelites have become
much too numerous for us. 10 Come, we must deal shrewdly with them
or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join
our enemies, fight against us and leave the country." 11 So they put slave
masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built
Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh.
(Exodus 19:4-5) (New International Version)

When Jehovah decided the time had come for the Israelites to
leave Egypt, the Pharaoh would not allow them to leave. Jehovah
bestowed ten plagues upon all of Egypt to persuade the Pharaoh
to change his mind. Every Israelite and Egyptian experienced the
plagues first hand and knew where they came from. When the
Israelites came to the Red Sea, Jehovah parted the waters so they
could cross. The Egyptians met with disaster! All of the Israelites
experienced these miracles first hand. The whole fifteenth chapter
of Exodus is a victory song the Israelites sang in celebration.

Jehovah provided His freed people with food and water
in the wilderness for forty years. Jehovah even made a
new covenant with his chosen people:

“YOU yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, that
I might carry you on the wings of eagles and bring YOU to
myself. And now if YOU will strictly obey my voice and will
indeed keep my covenant, then YOU will certainly become
my special property out of all the [other] peoples, because
the whole earth belongs to me."

(Exodus 19:4-5) (New World Translation) www.watchtower.org

So what happened soon after Moses went up the mountain
to receive the Ten Commandments from Jehovah?

“Jehovah now said to Moses: ’Go, descend because your people whom
you have led out of the land of Egypt have acted ruinously. They have
turned aside in a hurry from the way I have commanded them to go.
They have made a molten statue of a calf for themselves and keep
bowing down to it and sacrificing to it and saying: “This is your God,
O Israel, who led you up out of the land of Egypt.”’”

(Exodus 32:7-8) (New World Translation) www.watchtower.org

The people who experienced a long string of miracles actually
made an idol to worship right under the nose of Jehovah.

Why a calf?

Pagans commonly worshiped a golden calf as a tribute
to the god of nature named Baal (BAY-al). In fact, the
Israelites repeatedly turned to idol worship and away
from Jehovah many times over the centuries!

While visiting Jerusalem, once the pride of Jehovah,
with his disciples; Jesus once lamented:

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the killer of the prophets and stoner of
those sent forth to her, - how often I wanted to gather your
children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks together
under her wings! But YOU people did not want it.”

(Matthew 23:37) (NWT) www.watchtower.org

So what was to be the fate of the city of Jerusalem?

“Departing now, Jesus was on his way from the temple, but his
disciples approached to show him the buildings of the temple.
In response, he said to them ‘Do YOU not behold all these things?
Truly I say unto YOU, By no means will a stone be left here upon
a stone and not be thrown down.’”

(Matthew 24:1-2) (NWT) www.watchtower.org

Sure enough, by 70 A.D., only 37 years after Christ died,
Jehovah withdrew His protection for His beloved city and
the city of Jerusalem fell to the Romans. The destruction
of the temple was so thorough that there was not a stone
left upon another stone when they were finished.

The Jewish nation of Israel was rebuilt many times. The
Israelites of today are no longer the chosen people of
Jehovah because they chose to reject Him and His son
a long time ago. In turn, Jehovah withdrew His blessings
and protection - and it shows!

To this day, most Jewish people around the world are
waiting for the Messiah to appear, not realizing that Christ
has already fulfilled his role as the Messiah and is ready to
return to the earth again soon to take over rule of the world,
just as he was prophesied to do many centuries ago. Messianic
Jews at least recognize Jesus as our savior but they are no better
off than their mainstream Christian brethren since they worship
the same nameless lord.

Who are Jehovah’s people now?

According to the World Book Encyclopedia:

"Jehovah’s Witnesses are Christians who use the Watch Tower Bible
and Tract Society as their governing body. They took their name from
the American Standard version of the Bible, Isaiah 43:12: Ye are my
witnesses, saith Jehovah, and I am God.” Jehovah’s Witnesses are
a religious society of ministers who give exclusive devotion to
Jehovah, and keep His command to preach “this good news of the
Kingdom” (Matthew 24:14). They believe that God’s war of Armageddon
will rid the earth of all wickedness in this generation. The modern
organization was started in Pennsylvania in the 1870’s by Charles Taze
Russell. The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society was incorporated in
1884 with Russell as president."

From: World Book Encyclopedia 1963

Of all of the religions in the world, only Jehovah’s Witnesses are
named after the God of our universe, Jehovah. There is no other
religion on the face of the earth at any time in the earth’s history
that can make that claim. Only the ancient Hebrews and later,
the Christians led by Christ acknowledged Jehovah as being the
one true God. This knowledge is being proclaimed worldwide by 
over seven million of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

As the only true religion on earth, the members take their
responsibilities seriously.

Their responsibilities include:

·        Representing Jehovah in a respectable way

·        Conduct that is pleasing to Jehovah

·        Teaching Bible Truth

·        Ongoing learning experience

·        Meaningful missionary work in every country around the world

The missionary work is the means for acquainting people
with the work of Jehovah’s Witnesses and to fulfill the
Biblical prophecy and orders from Jesus Christ himself
to preach “this good news of the Kingdom”:

Page 325

A WARNING MESSAGE

THAT MOST PEOPLE WILL IGNORE

Just Like in Jeremiah's Day

Jeremiah was given a commission by Jehovah God,

to warn the people of a coming destruction.  But
Jeremiah was also told in advance that no one
would listen to him! 

"When you tell them all this, they will not listen to you."
(Jeremiah 7:27) (New International Version)

So then - why did Jeremiah have to preach a warning message? 
Why did Jeremiah persist in preaching for fifty years knowing
in advance - that no one would listen to him?

Why ?

Because Jehovah God is just - and will not destroy
anyone without a prior warning.

Surely the Lord Jehovah will do nothing, except
he reveal his secret unto his servants the prophets. 
(Amos 3:7) (American Standard Version)

And Jehovah's servants spread the important message

"Son of man, I have made you a watchman... so hear
the word I speak and give them warning from me."
(Ezekiel 3:17) (NIV)

So too, today - Jehovah has sent his messengers
to warn mankind of an impending destruction. 
And they too were told by means of the Bible - that
the vast majority of mankind will not listen.

But They did it anyway!

"...so with God and Christ as witnesses, I command
you to preach God's message. Do it willingly, even
if it isn't the popular thing to do."
(2Timothy 4:1,2) (Contemporary English Version)

"But you shall speak My words to them whether they listen or not."
(Ezekiel 2:7) (New American Standard Bible)

So what was the message that most
of the peopleof the world ignored?

"And this Gospel - good news of the Kingdom Reign
shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto
all nations, and then shall  'the end' come."
(Matthew 24:14) (21^st Century King James)

This message was NOT popular in Christ's Day
and it is NOT popular now.

"If you think people are so hardened in sin that they will
hate you for preaching the Word, then read JEREMIAH."
-- R. L. Whiteside.

God's faithful messengers have never been popular. People
did not appreciate them or their message. They detested and
persecuted the messenger. Instead of becoming angry with
God who composed the message, they poured out their
wrath upon the faithful servant who delivered it. It has
always been so. Therefore, it should be no surprise today.

¹⁴ I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them,
because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
(John 17:14) (King James Version)

THE MAJORITY WILL NOT LISTEN

Our Messiah, himself, foretold that the vast majority
of mankind would be destroyed when he returns:

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and
broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many
enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road
that leads to life, and only a few find it."
(Matthew 7:13,14) (NIV)

What will happen to the ones who do not find it?

A GLOBAL DESTRUCTION

"This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from
heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish
those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord
Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut
out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power
on the day he comes to be glorified."
(2Thessalonians 1:7-10) (NIV)

"A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right
hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe
with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked."
(Psalms 91:7,8) (NIV) 

"Those slain by Jehovah will certainly come to
be in that day from one end of the earth clear to the
other end of the earth. They will not be bewailed, neither
will they be gathered up or be buried. As manure on
the surface of the ground they will become."
(Jeremiah 25:33) (ASV)

"For, behold, Jehovah cometh forth out of his place to punish
the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity."
(Isaiah 26:21) (ASV)

"For, behold, Jehovah will come with fire, and his chariots
shall be like the whirlwind; to render his anger with fierceness,
and his rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire will Jehovah
execute judgment, and by his sword, upon all flesh; and the
slain of Jehovah shall be many... And they shall go forth,
and look upon the dead bodies of the men that have
transgressed against me."
(Isaiah 66:15,16,24) (ASV)

"...Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver
them in the day of Jehovah's wrath; but the whole earth
shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy."
(Zephaniah 1:14-17 (ASV) 

"For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the
whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you
may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and
that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man."
(Luke 21:25-27,35,36) (NIV)

INSTEAD OF HEEDING THE WARNING
THEY MOSTLY RIDICULED AND LAUGHED

First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers
will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.
(2Peter 3:3) (NIV)

"In that day men will ridicule you; they will taunt you."
(Micah 2:4) (NIV)

"But remember... that the apostles of our Master, Jesus Christ,
told us this would happen: ‘In the last days there will be people
who don't take these things seriously anymore. They'll treat
them like a joke. These are the ones who are thinking only of
themselves. There's nothing to them, no sign of the Spirit!’"
(Jude 1:17-19) (Message Bible) 

JUST LIKE NOAH'S DAY - MOST  
IGNORED THE WARNING 

"For just as the days of Noah were, so the presence of the
Son of man will be. For as they were in those days before
the flood, eating and drinking, men marrying and women
being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into
the ark; and they took no note until the flood came and swept
them all away, so the presence of the Son of man will be."
(Matthew 24:37-39) (New World Translation) (WWW.Watchtower.org)

THE TIME OF IGNORANCE IS OVER