Ecclesiastes 8

“Then I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of holiness, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done. This also is vanity. Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. Though a sinner does evil a hundred times, and his days are prolonged, yet I surely know that it will be well with those who fear God, who fear before Him.” Ecclesiastes 8:10-13 (NKJV)

Late Winter/early Spring of 2011, I had just arrived in Israel when news broke that the citizens of Egypt were rioting in Cairo.  By the time I left Israel, Egypt’s leader Hosni Mubarak had been deposed, and a defacto government run by the Muslim Brotherhood was forming.  But it did not stop there.  In what would later be called “Arab Spring” (the period of time between late 2011-2014), the leaders of Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen were ousted.  Syria and Bahrain went into civil turmoil, the governments of Kuwait, Lebanon, and Oman changed, and Morocco and Jordan implemented constitutional reforms.  Judgment day had come for Middle Eastern dictators! One of the things that puzzled Western political analysts for decades was how the people tolerated totalitarian authority for so long!  Was there truly a God who judges sin?  And if so, why did He wait so long?

“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9 (NKJV)

Yes, God is gracious and merciful, but there is a time appointed when His Justice must eclipse Grace and Mercy, or else He is not holy.

“Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.” Acts 17:30-31 (NKJV)

Will men and women heed the warnings of the Bible?  Only time will tell. But, sadly, many will be wooed into believing they have more time to repent, only to be caught off guard by events that have been predicted for thousands of years.  Not just non-believers but church attenders as well.  Surrender to Jesus while there is still time!  

“As for you, son of man, the children of your people are talking about you beside the walls and in the doors of the houses; and they speak to one another, everyone saying to his brother, ‘Please come and hear what the word is that comes from the Lord.’ So they come to you as people do, they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they do not do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their hearts pursue their own gain. Indeed you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument; for they hear your words, but they do not do them. And when this comes to pass - surely it will come - then they will know that a prophet has been among them.” Ezekiel 33:30-33 (NKJV)