The Days of Noah

Matt. 24:37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

Matthew's Record of The Days of Noah

Now that we have a good understanding of the background leading up to this statement by Jesus, we will have a better understanding of what is being said.

36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

What day and hour did no man know? In the context, it has to be the coming of the Son of man in the clouds of heaven. Only the Father knew the exact time of the coming judgment upon Jerusalem, its temple, and supporting system. We know this because it is the last great event mentioned by Jesus. We also know this because of Jesus’ next statement.

37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

No one knew the time of this coming, but the Father. However, Jesus gave them indications of what its character would be. Jesus compares the coming of the Son of man, with the days of Noah. As stated at the beginning, Jesus does not leave us to guess what this means. He tells us the meaning of this statement.

38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

He begins by speaking of the days of Noah before the flood, i.e., before the judgment fell. They were “eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage.” Now, how weird or unusual is that? Not at all, right? That is life going on as usual, with nothing out of the ordinary. The days of Noah before the flood were normal, just as the days before the destruction of Jerusalem were normal. Everything was normal, until the day that Noah entered the ark. The import of Jesus’ statement is that life would seem normal until God had preserved His saints. Once His saints were out of harm’s way, then the judgment would begin to fall. Jesus had promised them, that when the judgment fell upon Jerusalem, not a hair of your head shall perish.[Lk. 21:18] In other words, they would be excluded from the falling judgment.[1 Thess. 5:9] The lesson here is separation — the separation of the righteous from the wicked, the saint from the sinner, the wheat from the tares.

Speaking of the tares and wheat, this idea of separation was the exact point of the parable Jesus told concerning them. After He told the disciples this parable, He then explained it. In the conclusion, He stated,

Matt. 13:40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

In the parable, the command is given to allow the tares to grow together with the wheat until the time of the harvest. In verse 40, Jesus says that the tares are gathered together and burned in the fire, at the end of the age(aion, not kosmos). So the end of the age was considered the time of the harvest. Notice, Jesus was specific in telling them which age the tares would be gathered together, this age. What age is this age? It was the age in which Jesus and the apostles were living in at that time. What age was that? It was the age of the Law. Jesus was born “under the law,”[Gal. 4:4]. Jesus lived and operated in the Age of the Mosaic Law, so “that he might redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.”[Gal. 4:5] We see the near demonstrative pronoun, this, at work here again, pointing to that present generation, not a far off, future one.

Luke's Record of Days of Noah

Luke's account of Jesus' saying concerning the days of Noah is basically the same as Matthew's, except it is in a different setting. Luke's account of the Olivet discourse seems to be divided between chapters 17 and 21.

In Luke 17:20, we see the Pharisees demanding of Jesus "When the kingdom of God should come?". Jesus' answer to them reveals what they were thinking. He said to them,

"The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you."

Jesus clearly answers them, that the kingdom of God does not come "with observation." That is, it does not come with visible displays of earthly power and glory, or pomp and circumstance. The kingdom was not going to be visible "Here" or "There". Jesus states the Kingdom of God is not outside of you, but within you, i.e., within your heart and spirit. The Pharisees taught and were looking for a physical, worldly kingdom, whereby they might rule from Jerusalem over the nations with their Warrior-King Messiah. Jesus would not agree with their concept of the kingdom, and hence just one more reason for them to reject Him as the Messiah of Israel.

Jesus then turned to His disciples, and said,

24 For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day.
25 But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation.

When the Son of man has His day, i.e., comes in His Kingdom and judgment on His enemies, it will not be a localized event, where one can say "Look here" or "Look There". It will be evident to all, just as a lightening strike cannot be hid, but is seen from one end of heaven to the other. Although the destruction was a localized event, just like when lightening strikes a specific spot on the ground, its effects were seen and felt from one end of heaven to the other. However, before He can make His kingdom known to all, He must suffer many things, and be rejected of "this generation".

Jesus then moves onto His example of the days of Noah.

26 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.
27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.

Again, here we see the description of normal society, until the day that Noah entered the ark. Life went on as it always had until Noah entered the ark, i.e., until the saints of God were secured from the coming judgment. Once His saints were secure in the ark, then the flood came and destroyed them all. Here again we see the point is that of the separation of the righteous from the wicked.

To add to this picture, Jesus includes the imagery of Lot's deliverance from Sodom.

28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;
29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.
30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.
31 In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back.
32 Remember Lot's wife.

This gives us the same conclusion as the days of Noah did. Those of Sodom were living life as usual. However, in the same day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. The lesson is the same in both examples, i.e., the separation of the righteous to safety, from the judgment upon the wicked. Jesus stresses the urgency of the moment with the warning, that if you find yourself on the rooftop, don't go back down to grab your things. Also, if you happen to be out in the field working, don't turn back to grab your belongings. Jesus' point here is to make your exit in haste, don't turn back to collect your stuff. Your stuff is not worth the price of your life. Remember what happened to Lot's wife, who did turn back.

Jesus repeats the urgency of the moment when He gives them the signal that the judgment is about to fall. In Luke 21, Jesus states,

20 And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.
21 Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto.

Jerusalem being surrounded by armies was the sign that the disciples were to flee to the mountains for safety, which they did. During the actual war with Rome, many Judeans living in the countryside fled to Jerusalem, thinking that the sturdy walls of the city would protect them. They did not know of the warning of Jesus, not to enter into Jerusalem. They did not know they were entering the furnace of fire, whereby most would be destroyed.

As if these two examples were not enough, Jesus goes the extra mile to make His point.

Luke 17:34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.
35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

The following comments on the above verses, also apply to those found in Matthew 24:40-41. The point of Jesus in these verses is the same in the examples given of the days of Noah or the days of Lot. The point is that of SEPARATION. I know when I was dealing with these verses years ago, I was trying to figure out if the one taken was raptured, or taken in judgment. It finally dawned upon me that I was looking at it in the wrong light. Again, I was forcing my own eschatology upon what I was reading, instead of letting it say what it was saying. One day I realized that what it was saying was so simple, I was tripping all over myself, missing it.

This passage follows directly after the example that Jesus gave of the days of Noah and the days of Lot. Once I understood what those examples were trying to convey, these others were self-explanatory. All of these were examples given by Jesus to emphasize to His disciples that the day will come, when the Son of man comes in power and glory, that He will make the separation of the righteous from the wicked. He will separate the wheat from tares.

Matt. 13:41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Jesus was telling His apostles, that there would be tares among the wheat, but not to worry. At the time of the harvest, i.e., the end of the Age of the Law, He will gather out of His kingdom all that offend and do inquity. The wheat would be gathered into the barn, where it would be stored in safety, while the tares would be gathered together into a furnace of fire. What is really interesting about this language, is that Jesus is telling us what that furnace of fire will be. Through the prophet Isaiah, we hear,

Isa. 31:9 And he shall pass over to his strong hold for fear, and his princes shall be afraid of the ensign, saith the Lord, whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem.

This prophecy spoken by Isaiah, is directed against Israel for trusting in the flesh, instead of the Lord their God. They would be gathered into the furnace which is Jerusalem, and consumed by the fire, which is Zion. This can be viewed in several different ways. I prefer to view it as a divine hint that Christ would gather together all those who had rejected His message of the kingdom and salvation. Gathered into one place, Jerusalem, where the fire of God's throne from heavenly Mount Zion was cast down, and consumed the city, it inhabitants, and its temple.[Rev. 8:3-6]

What happened to the wheat?

The Ekklesia of Messiah escaped Jerusalem’s downfall by being obedient to the warnings of Jesus almost forty years previous. When the Ekklesia in Judea saw Jerusalem surrounded by armies [Luke 21:20], they fled Jerusalem and Judea, going to the mountains of Pella in the Transjordan. According to Eusebius, the Jerusalem Church escaped the city’s destruction by heeding a prophetic revelation given before the war began.

“Furthermore, the members of the Jerusalem church, by means of an oracle given by revelation to acceptable persons there, were ordered to leave the City before the war began and settle in a town in Peraea called Pella. To Pella those who believed in Christ migrated from Jerusalem; and as if holy men had utterly abandoned the royal metropolis of the Jews and the entire Jewish land, the judgement of God at last overtook them for their abominable crimes against Christ and His apostles, completely blotting out that wicked generation from among men.” (Eusebius, The History of the Church, 3.5)

Just as the flood did not come until Noah and his family were safely inside the ark, and as judgment did not fall upon Sodom and Gomorrah until all of the righteous (Lot and his family) had fled, so Jerusalem was not brought to judgment until all of the Lord’s righteous ones were safely out of harm’s way. True to His words, not one hair of their head perished [Luke 21:18].

The Jewish historian, Josephus, lends his voice as a witness to the wickedness of that terminal generation, when he says,

“For it had brought forth a generation of men much more atheistical than were those that suffered such punishments; for by their madness it was that all the people came to be destroyed.” [Josephus, Wars, 5.13.6]

In the same paragraph, he states that those Jews of that last generation were far worse than the men who were destroyed in the fall of Sodom and Gomorrah.

In summary, we have seen that the statement concerning the days of Noah, is that of comparision to the coming of the Son of man, in judgment upon Jerusalem and its temple system. It portrays Judean society, going on with life as usual, proclaiming that they live in peace and safety[1 Thess. 5:3], not realizing sudden destruction was about to come upon them. The Ekklesia of Christ was safe from the falling Judgment, because they gave heed to His warnings to flee to the mountains. The wheat was within the safety of the barn, while the tares were gathered into the furnace of fire. The Days of Noah denote the separating of the Lord's righteous ones to safety, while those who refused His message of salvation and the kingdom, were brought to judgment.

Some however, have pushed the statement of Jesus well beyond the boundaries of His explanation. They go so far as to proclaim the return of the Nephilim, i.e., the giants of Genesis 6. They reason this due to the fact that these giants roamed the earth during the days of Noah. So if they existed during Noah’s days, and Jesus’ said the days before the coming of the Son of man would be like Noah’s, then it seems only logical. I also once held this opinion. However, as already said, this goes well beyond the explanation given by Jesus. Where Jesus gives His interpretation of what He says, it would be wise not to go beyond it.

The Unveiling of the Parousia

As a final point of interest between Luke’s account of the days of Noah and Matthew’s, we see this. After Jesus states the conditions of the days of Noah and Lot, He says,

“Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.”[Luke 17:30]

The word used here, revealed, is the verb form (apokalyptō) of the word used for the Revelation of Jesus Christ (apokalypsis). He is pointing to the time of the unveiling of the Son of man.

In Matthew’s account, after describing the days of Noah and Lot, Jesus says,

“. . . so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” [Matt. 24:39b]

Here in Matthew, the word used for “coming” is the unique word, Parousia, which points to the Kingly, Messianic Reign of Christ. In this we may deduce that the Revelation of Jesus Christ is also the unveiling of the Parousia of Christ.

When comparing the two accounts, we can only come to the conclusion that the Unveiling of the Son of man and the Parousia of the Son of man are the same event. What we see in the book of Revelation is the Unveiling of the Son of man, and His coming in His Kingdom Power in judgment upon Jerusalem, and bringing encouragement to His elect. The Parousia speaks of His manifesting His Kingly, Messianic Rule of the Kingdom of God.

We have already seen in the study of the Coming of the Son of man, that this coming is not the same thing as what we call the Second Coming. For the Coming of the Son of man is time restrictive, that is, it is always spoken of as occurring before that present generation would pass away. This places the prophecy of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, given to John on the isle of Patmos, as dealing with the demise of the Judaic state, both civil and religious. This is specifically typified with the destruction of the Jerusalem temple.

So in the final analysis, what we can see is that the coming of the Son of man, His Parousia and His Apocalypse, are all pointing to the same thing. They point to the prophesied judgment upon Jerusalem, its temple and the whole Judaic State. None of these speak of His Second Coming. This is a completely different event at a completely different time.