01.03. Through the Flood

3 Through the Flood
By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith (Hebrews 11:7).

And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of Man (Luke 17:26). In the antediluvian history of the earth, wickedness reached a pinnacle in the seventh generation of the godless line of Cain. No record is given of the generations of Cain beyond the seventh. Seven is the number of perfection, indicating the completeness of what is in view; and, with the seventh generation, man’s cup of iniquity became full. Thus, the genealogical record of Cain’s lineage terminates at this point, and the next event, insofar as the Record is concerned, is judgment.

In the genealogical record of Adam through Seth the person listed in the seventh generation was removed from the wickedness and corruption on the earth. Enoch, the seventh from Adam, was translated into heaven. The number seven once again shows the completeness of what is in view. Enoch, typifying the one new man in Christ, sets forth the basic truths very early in the Book of Genesis that:

1. The Church will be removed when it is complete.

2. The Church will be removed when wickedness reaches a pinnacle.

3. The Church will be removed before judgment falls upon the earth dwellers.

Enoch was translated into heaven in the 987th year following the creation of Adam. This was sixty-nine years before the birth of Noah, who was born in the 1,056th year following the creation of Adam. The Flood came upon the earth in the 600th year of the life of Noah, which was the 1,656th year following the creation of Adam (this would be approximately 2319 B.C.). In the framework of Hebrews, chapter eleven the many years separating Enoch from either the birth of Noah or the Flood are skipped over entirely. There is no event in this chapter between God’s dealings with Enoch and His dealings with Noah. Insofar as the Record is concerned, once God completed His dealings with Enoch, terminating with Enoch’s translation, then God began to deal with Noah relative to the coming time of judgment, with a view to events beyond this judgment. This sets forth the truth that once God completes His dealings with the Church, He will remove the Church from the earth -- as Enoch, via translation -- and will then turn to Israel and begin to deal with this nation once again. God’s dealings with Israel, as His prior dealings with Noah, will center around the nation during the coming time of judgment, with a view to events beyond this judgment.

God dealt with Israel in time past. During the present age Israel has been set aside, and God is currently dealing with the Church. However, the day is coming when the Church will be removed, and God will once again deal with Israel. God does not deal with both Israel and the Church at the same time in the sphere of activity on the earth during Man’s Day. God dealt with Enoch over a period of time, Enoch was translated, then God dealt with Noah. Thus will it be in God’s present and future dealings with the Church and Israel.

Noah, the tenth from Adam, passed through the time of God’s judgment in a place of safety and came out unharmed on the other side. Ten is the number of ordinal perfection, signifying the complete group. The number ten points to all the generations allotted to man during Man’s Day. These generations must come to pass before judgment falls. Noah, typifying the nation of Israel, sets forth the basic truths very early in the Book of Genesis that:

1. Judgment is coming, and this time of judgment will come at the very end of Man’s Day.

2. Israel and the Gentile nations will pass through this time of judgment.

3. Israel will pass safely through this time of judgment in a place prepared by God, but the Gentile nations, outside this place of safety, will suffer destruction.

Heavenly and Earthly Callings

Enoch and Noah both possessed a calling. Enoch’s calling was heavenly, and Noah’s calling was earthly. Enoch possessed a higher calling than Noah. Enoch warned others concerning impending judgment, and he was removed from the earth and taken into heaven before judgment fell; but Noah was warned, and his lot was to remain on the earth during the time of judgment.

Christians (typified by Enoch) and Israel (typified by Noah) both possess a calling. One is heavenly, and the other is earthly. Christians are in possession of a heavenly calling (a higher calling), not yet realized; and Israel is in possession of an earthly calling, not yet realized. The earthly calling possessed by Israel can be relinquished by individual Jews, but not by the nation as a whole, for this calling is associated with the unconditional terms of the Abrahamic covenant which God established with Abraham and his progeny through Isaac and Jacob -- the nation of Israel. Individual Jews out of the nation can disassociate themselves from the earthly calling by becoming partakers of the heavenly calling; but, to so do, they must become Christians. Jews, by becoming Christians, relinquish their national identity. Through this act they separate themselves from the old creation in Jacob (Isaiah 43:1) and become new creations in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17; cf. Galatians 3:26-28; Ephesians 2:11-15). They, thus, are separated from the earthly calling and become partakers of the heavenly calling.

The nation as a whole, however, cannot act in the same manner as individual Jews. Israel has forfeited her right to rule from the heavens, the heavenly calling has been taken from Israel, and "blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in" (Matthew 12:22-45; Matthew 21:1-43; Matthew 23:13; Matthew 23:37-39; Romans 11:25). Not only has Israel forfeited this right, but the national conversion of Israel will not occur until Christ returns to the earth at the end of the Great Tribulation (Romans 11:26). The nation’s salvation at that time will be in conjunction with an earthly calling, not a heavenly. Israel, like Noah, has been warned; and the nation’s lot will be to remain on the earth during the coming time of judgment.

The two ways of escape from the destruction of the Tribulation, along with the judgment of the Gentile nations at the termination of the Tribulation, are dealt with by our Lord in the Olivet Discourse. This account in Matthew 24:1-51 and Matthew 25:1-46 is one connected discourse comprised of three separate sections: The first section is Jewish (Matthew 24:4-31), the second section is Christian (Matthew 24:32-51, Matthew 25:1-30), and the third section is Gentile (Matthew 25:31-46). In the Jewish section the escape from the wrath of the Tribulation is earthly: "Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains" (Matthew 24:16). In the Christian section the escape is into the heavens: "Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left... Then all those virgins arose...and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage [the ’marriage festival,’ which occurs in heaven]" (Matthew 25:7; Matthew 25:10). In the Gentile section no way of escape is provided. The Gentiles who survive the Great Tribulation will be gathered before the Son at His return and judged in accordance with their treatment of Israel during the Tribulation (Matthew 25:31-46).

Israel, the Covenant, and the Tribulation The Tribulation comprises a seven-year period (Daniel’s Seventieth Week) which is divided into two equal parts of three and one-half years each. The event which marks the beginning of the Tribulation is a seven-year covenant established between the man of sin (the Antichrist, the false Messiah) and Israel (Daniel 9:27). The ratifying of this covenant will appear, to those who dwell upon the earth at that time, to be the solution to the major problems created in the Middle East by the sons of Isaac dwelling in the midst of the sons of Ishmael. Land boundaries will be established to the satisfaction of both Arab and Jewish interests, and Israel will be allowed to rebuild her temple with a restoration of the Levitical system. Israel will then find herself at peace in the land under a restored Mosaic economy (Daniel 9:27; Daniel 11:39). But the true nature of this covenant as seen by God is, "a covenant with death," an "agreement with hell [’sheol’]" (Isaiah 28:15; Isaiah 28:18).

The ratifying of this covenant between the man of sin and Israel will, at first, appear to bring about Israel’s long-awaited Messianic Era. But, after three and one-half years, in the midst of Daniel’s Seventieth Week, the man of sin will suddenly break his covenant, and a time of trouble "such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be" will follow (Matthew 24:21). It is only after this time of trouble -- after the Great Tribulation -- that Israel’s true Messiah will appear. He will then build the true Temple, and usher in the true Messianic Era (Ezekiel 39:25-29; Ezekiel 40:1-49; Ezekiel 41:1-26; Ezekiel 42:1-20; Ezekiel 43:1-27; Ezekiel 44:1-31; Ezekiel 45:1-25; Ezekiel 46:1-24; Ezekiel 47:1-23; Ezekiel 48:1-35; Zechariah 6:11-13; Zechariah 14:1 ff). Thus, dark days lie just ahead for Israel, between now and the time Israel will acknowledge, "Blessed is he [Jesus] that cometh in the name of the Lord" (Matthew 23:39).

The overall scope of the Tribulation, with particular emphasis on the last three and one-half years, is given in Matthew 24:4-14. Matthew 24:15-31 of this chapter reveal events which will occur exclusively during and at the end of the last three and one-half years. The "end" in Matthew 24:6, Matthew 24:13-14 has to do with the end of the Tribulation. This end is not signaled by wars, rumors of wars, etc. (Matthew 24:6), but the end comes only after the gospel of the kingdom has been proclaimed in all the world by the 144,000 Jewish evangelists of Revelation 7:11, and Revelation 7:14 (Matthew 24:14).

The "beginning of sorrows [’travail,’ ’birthpangs’]" (Matthew 24:8) has to do with Israel during the coming Tribulation, not today. The time when Israel will experience this travail is given in Revelation 12:2 : "And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered." The Greek word translated "travailing" in this verse is a cognate form of the word translated "sorrows" in Matthew 24:8 (both words carry the same basic meaning). The woman in Revelation 12:1-17 is Israel, and the time during which Israel will experience this travail is in that part of the book dealing with the Tribulation.

The Book of Revelation divides itself into three main sections: "...the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter [’after these things’]" (Revelation 1:19). "The things which thou hast seen" are set forth in chapter one. This chapter presents Christ in all His glory as He will appear when He returns to the earth to reveal Himself to Israel and to smite the Gentile nations and rule them with a rod of iron. Chapters two and three set forth "the things which are." The seven Churches in Asia point to the complete Church Age, which covers a 2,000-year period. (Note the significance of the number "seven" as it is used in connection with these Churches.) This age will end with the Church in the condition of the Laodicean Church -- neither cold nor hot, but lukewarm. "The things which shall be after these things" are set forth beginning with chapter four and continue throughout the remainder of the book.

The third section of the book begins with the statement, "After this [’After these things,’ i.e., After the Church Age] I looked, and, behold a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter [’after these things’]" (Revelation 4:11). The word "hereafter" in Revelation 1:19 and the words "after this" and "hereafter" in Revelation 4:1 are translations of the same two Greek words -- meta tauta -- which literally mean, "after these things." Thus, there can be no question concerning where the third part of the book begins.

John, hearing a voice "as it were of a trumpet" speaking to him, and being taken from the earth into heaven (Revelation 4:1-2) immediately after the Church Age (Revelation 2:1-29, Revelation 3:1-22), sets forth the future experience of the Church, typified in Hebrews 11:5 and Genesis 5:24 by Enoch -- a removal from the earth before judgment falls. The scene in heaven which John saw in Revelation 4:1-11 and Revelation 5:1-14 will be the same scene which the Church will see yet future. The Tribulation begins in Revelation 6:1-17 and terminates with the return of Christ and judgments associated with His return in chapter nineteen. Then, Genesis 21:1-27, Genesis 22:1-21 deal with events beyond the Tribulation.

The basic, important point to remember in properly understanding the Book of Revelation is its threefold division. By its own internal evidence there is nothing from chapter four forward which has to do with events either before or during the Church Age. From this point, all events occur beyond the Church Age -- "after these things." The Church will be in heaven, removed from the earth before the Tribulation occurs (Revelation 4:); and Israel will be on the earth, passing through her greatest time of suffering when the Tribulation occurs (Revelation 7:4, Revelation 12:1 ff). The Covenant Broken

Matthew 24:15-31 describes conditions leading into and during the Great Tribulation, which will immediately follow the time of peace and prosperity which Israel will pass through during the first three and one-half years of the complete seven-year Tribulation period. The event which marks the beginning of the last three and one-half years of the Tribulation will be the breaking of the covenant previously established between the man of sin and Israel. Note that the first recorded, overt act in connection with the man of sin breaking this covenant has to do with the temple (Matthew 24:15). This desecration of the Holy of Holies in the temple appears to be the manner in which he will actually break the covenant. This has been enlarged upon in the Book of Daniel (cf. Daniel 8:11-14; Daniel 9:27; Daniel 11:30-31; Daniel 12:11-12). The only conclusion to which one can be drawn by these repeated references connecting the breaking of this covenant with the temple is that the original terms of the covenant will apparently, at least in part, have to do with the temple -- the center of religious life in Israel throughout the history of this nation, terminating with the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem in 70 A.D. by Titus and his Roman legions.

It appears that through this covenant the Jews will be allowed to rebuild their temple, which means regaining access to the temple site for Israel. And this will be no small task, for a Mohammedan mosque has stood squarely on the temple site since the seventh century A.D. This Moslem shrine -- the Dome of the Rock -- is not just another mosque, but it is the third most holy place in all the world for the followers of Islam (after Mecca and Medina). However, the day is coming when a Jewish temple will stand once again on the original temple site. It can stand nowhere else and satisfy the demands of God’s instructions to the children of Israel through Moses (Deuteronomy 12:10-14).

According to the Book of Daniel, this temple will be completed and sacrifices will begin to be offered during the first year after the man of sin establishes his covenant with Israel. By comparing Daniel 8:11-14 with Daniel 12:11-12 we find that Israel will have her temple with a restored Levitical system of worship seven months and ten days after the beginning of Daniel’s Seventieth Week, or, at the most, within seventy-five days after this time. In Daniel 8:13-14 there is a 2,300-day period which marks the beginning of the reinstitution of sacrifices in the rebuilt temple, and this period ends with the sanctuary being cleansed following "the transgression of desolation" and the treading under foot of the "sanctuary" and the "host [ministers of the sanctuary]" (cf. Daniel 9:27; Daniel 11:31; Daniel 12:11; Matthew 24:15; 2 Thessalonians 2:4; Revelation 11:1-2). These 2,300 days are 220 days short of the complete 2,520 days of the seven-year Tribulation. This is seven months and ten days short of the complete seven years. However, there is a seventy-five-day period between the end of the Tribulation and the actual beginning of the Millennium (Daniel 12:11-12), and the 2,300 days which carry one back to the beginning of the "daily sacrifice" in a rebuilt temple may terminate at the end of the seventy-five days preceding the Millennium rather than the end of the Tribulation itself.

Regardless of how one views the time when the 2,300 days will end, Israel will be re-established under the Mosaic economy with a restored sacrificial system in a rebuilt temple for over two and one-half years before the man of sin breaks his covenant. During this time many in Israel will believe that the Messianic Era has at last been ushered in. In 1967 when Israeli soldiers captured the Old City of Jerusalem during the Six-Day War, Gen. Shlomo Goren, chief rabbi for the Israeli army, stood in front of the Wailing Wall (believed to be a surviving piece of the temple built following the Babylonian captivity) and cried, "We are entering the Messianic Era for the Jewish people..." If a religious leader in Israel, echoing the sentiments of many individuals throughout the nation, felt this way through gaining access to only the outer area of a destroyed temple, think how like-minded Jewish people will feel after gaining access to the inner area and actually rebuilding their temple and once again offering sacrifices.

In the midst of the Tribulation, with the breaking of the covenant established between the man of sin and Israel, the man of sin will enter into and desecrate the Holy of Holies -- the dwelling place of God among His people during the days of the tabernacle and the temple of Solomon. According to 2 Thessalonians 2:4, he "as god" is going to sit "in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God." This act will signal the beginning of the Great Tribulation, and the Israelites are told that when they see this occur, they are to immediately flee from Jerusalem and Judaea into a specially prepared place in the mountains (Matthew 24:16 ff).

Israel’s Flight The place to which the Israelites flee will apparently be in Moab (Isaiah 16:4). Moab is to escape from the hand of the man of sin (Daniel 11:41). The rock city of Petra, a natural fortress, is in Moab, and this city is believed by many to be the place to which Israel will flee. However, it is idle speculation to state that Israel will flee to Petra. We are only told that Israel will flee to a "place prepared of God" -- which may not even be in existence before that day -- and in this place the Israelites will be protected and cared for during the Great Tribulation (Isaiah 26:20-21; Revelation 12:6; Revelation 12:14).

Immediately after the Israelites in Jerusalem and Judaea flee into this specially prepared place, Jerusalem will be destroyed, and the final period of time during which the city will be trodden under foot by the Gentiles will begin (Luke 21:20-24; cf. Daniel 9:26; Isaiah 27:10; Revelation 11:1-2). The Great Tribulation will then engulf the earth, and this period of time will progressively become so intense that "except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved; but for the elect’s [Israel’s] sake those days shall be shortened" (Matthew 24:21-22).

In understanding exactly what is meant by shortening the days during this time, bear in mind that the number of the days cannot be changed. There will be a full 1,260 days (three and one-half years) constituting the Great Tribulation. "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people [the Jewish people]." These are set days, comprising a full 490 years of 360 days each, and they must all come to pass (cf. Daniel 9:24; Daniel 12:11-13; Revelation 11:2-3; Revelation 12:6; Revelation 12:14; Revelation 13:5). But the days themselves can be shortened, exactly as Scripture elsewhere states. Revelation 8:12 records a time when a "third part" of the sun, moon, and stars will be "smitten," shortening the day and night by one-third; and Amos 8:9 records a time when the sun will "go down at noon," shortening the day and night by one-half.

God has established the time that it takes the earth to rotate, producing the length of the days and nights, and He can just as easily change this time if He so desires. He can increase the speed of rotation to correspond with the day and night being shortened by one-third in Revelation 8:12, and increase the speed even more as the Tribulation becomes more intense near the end to correspond with the day and night being shortened to one-half in Amos 8:9. This is apparently what will happen. The speed that the earth rotates will be increased to a sixteen-hour rotation, causing the sun to set in the early part of what is now our afternoon, and later increased to a twelve-hour rotation, causing the sun to set at what is now our noontime. By Faith Noah

During the 6,000 years allotted to man, during Man’s Day, the Noachian Flood has only one parallel -- that which it typifies. There was no comparable judgment during Man’s Day before the Flood; nor has there been a comparable judgment since the Flood. But Scripture records a judgment in the immediate future, at the very end of Man’s Day, which will once again affect the inhabitants of the entire world. Mass destruction on an unprecedented scale will occur. The cities of the nations will be reduced to rubble, and Gentile world power will be brought to naught. And just as Noah passed safely through this time of worldwide destruction in a specially prepared place during his day, Israel will also pass safely through the time of worldwide destruction in a specially prepared place during the coming day. (Note in this respect that the destruction in 2 Peter 3:6 cannot refer to the Noachian Flood, for the parallel here is a destruction by fire at the end of the Millennium [2 Peter 3:7, 2 Peter 3:10-12], not the Great Tribulation. The destruction in 2 Peter 3:6 refers back to the destruction of the primeval earth in Genesis 1:2. Thus, one must rightly divide the Word when studying about parallelisms between destructions past and destructions future.)

Noah believed God and acted accordingly. Note that, "By faith Noah..." Israel will act "by faith," and, as Noah, will be delivered from this time of destruction. God has told Israel to "flee into the mountains" when the nation sees a certain event occur, and, when this time arrives, Israel is going to act accordingly. Not only this, but Israel will be brought into the position where the nation will be forced to cry out to God for deliverance (Exodus 2:23-24; Exodus 3:7-8; Deuteronomy 30:1-3; Hosea 5:15; Hosea 6:1-2). Israel possesses the promise, "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not" (Jeremiah 33:3). And Israel during that coming day will claim this promise (note Jeremiah 7:26). Israel will believe God and act accordingly. Thus, the Israelites in that day, like Noah in his day, will act "by faith."

Israel, exactly as the nation did during Moses’ day, will cry out to the God of their fathers before their deliverance, but they will not realize that this One is the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ until the time of their deliverance. At that time they will see their Messiah, God’s Son, coming in all His glory. They, then, shall look upon Him "whom they have pierced." In that day one will ask, "What are those wounds in thine hands?" And the answer which Israel hears will be, "Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends" (Zechariah 12:10; Zechariah 13:6). The Israelites will then realize that the One Whom they rejected, ill-treated, and crucified in the past is the One Who, in answer to their cry, has come to deliver them.

When the Prophet like unto Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15-19; Acts 7:37) reappears to the house of Israel, the national conversion, resurrection, and restoration of the nation will occur. A nation will be born in a day, Old Testament saints will be raised from the dead, and, together with the living Jews, will be restored to the land of Israel, never to be uprooted again.

Two days lie just ahead for Israel: the darkest day in Jewish history followed by the brightest day in Jewish history -- the Great Tribulation, followed by Israel’s long-awaited Messianic Era. Israel must pass through the antitype of the Flood to reach the era beyond.

Concluding Thoughts:

The Word of God from beginning to end sets forth the clear truth that existing conditions will not continue in their present state indefinitely (2 Peter 3:3-13). We are rapidly approaching that time when major changes will occur. During Noah’s day activities continued uninterrupted up to a certain point in time. "They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage"; but suddenly -- the same day that Noah entered into the ark -- judgment fell. God intervened in the affairs of man, and conditions changed in a moment of time. The humanistic philosophies and endeavors of man were brought to naught, and the ensuing judgment "destroyed them all" (Luke 17:26-27).

As sure as judgment fell upon the earth during Noah’s day, it will fall upon the earth during the coming day. As sure as Enoch was removed before this judgment fell, the Church will be removed before the coming judgment falls. As sure as the nations experienced destruction during the coming day, the Gentile nations will experience destruction during the coming day. As sure as Noah passed safely through the time of judgment in a specially prepared place during his day, Israel is going to pass safely through the time of judgment in a specially prepared place during the coming day.

"As it was...So shall it be."