Did God reveal the plan of salvation within the parable of Noah’s flood? Is this what Yeshua/Jesus was pointing back to when He spoke in Matthew 24:37 “as of the Days of Noah, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be”?
For the past several years and even up to recently the Spirit has given me great peace in understanding not only the fulfillment of prophesy, but also it’s ongoing fulfillment; particularly that both His salvation and wrath/judgement go equally together. We are given a good depiction of such through Noah and the ark, and looking forward to the cross of Christ.
To begin, I would like to bring forth a quote from “Full of Eyes“:
“As John tells us, the crucifixion of Jesus Christ IS the judgment of the world. As our Lord and our God hangs, clothed in our shame and agony, on the cross of Calvary the world is being judged; as the lifeblood of the Author of Life is driven from His veins by the olive press of divine wrath, all nations and peoples are crushed under the indignation and burning anger of YHWH; and as the body of the Word in whom all reality subsists is rendered formless and void in the abyss of our exile, “all the earth is consumed” in the perfection of Holy vengeance.
Yes, Judgment Day happens at the cross, and the world ends in the fires of immaculate wrath on Calvary….The true Armageddon, the true slaughter of the nations, the true judgment of the world takes place in His own flesh on the cross of His sovereign love.
If we recognize the glory of God in Christ….if we recognize the just damnation of all that opposes God in the just love of God that reveals God to be the one who bears that damnation in our place….if we recognize and receive God as THIS ONE….then our Judgment Day happened on Calvary and we stand reconciled, under the fear-quieting song of God’s love for us in Christ (Zeph. 3:17). But if we refuse God at the cross….if we oppose this revelation of God in mind, heart, and deed….then the eschatological Judgment that appeared in God’s flesh on Calvary still awaits our flesh in the future….May none who read this fail to see and to savor and to sing in all of life the one true God as He is savingly declared to us in the slain and risen Son.”
Many different theories are inserted ambiguously in the context surrounding “as in the days of Noah” to include, the return of Nephilim hybrids and giants. Many also use such text propelling such fulfillment 2,000 years in the future from when it was initially spoken. While, I do not completely dismiss the thoughts on the Nephilim, the context and message brought forth at the time did not have anything to do with such. It had to do with two major points:
1.) Abiding in Him as the safe “ark” while those “outside” face His wrath and divine judgement.
2.) The specific audience He was speaking to, warning of the coming judgement upon Jerusalem
At the time of Noah, God had warned him of the impeding judgement that was to come upon the earth, and to build an ark. This was the only means of escape for Noah and his family, in which there was only one door to enter. (Gen 6:16)
When God was instructing Noah how to build the ark, he was instructed to coat the ark with “pitch”, a type of material used for waterproofing. However, what I found to be absolutely amazing about this, was that the typical Hebrew word for “pitch”, was not used, but rather the word “kaphar” meaning “to make atonement”:
♦Genesis 6:14Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; make rooms in the ark and coat it with pitch inside and out.
◄ 3722. kaphar ►
Strong’s Concordance
kaphar: appease
Original Word: כָּפַר
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: kaphar
Phonetic Spelling: (kaw-far’)
Definition: to cover over, pacify, make propitiation
cover over, atone for sin and persons by legal rites 
I found a wonderful exposition on this topic:
“Many interpreters have noted the Hebrew word in Genesis 6:14 is not the common one for “pitch, (zettet),” but kapher meaning “to cover.” Nowhere else in the Old Testament is it rendered “pitch.” Everywhere else it is translated “to make atonement.” By covering it inside and out with “pitch” the ark was waterproofed. We have been protected from the wrath of God by the perfect covering that comes from Jesus Christ. Our shelter from God’s wrath is found only beneath the blood of Jesus. 1 John 1:7 says, “if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.” “Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds” (Titus 2:14).”
This video also does a terrific breakdown of Genesis 6:14, bringing even more revelation to what Yeshua was pointing to when He related back to the days of Noah. Please take 11 minutes to watch before proceeding on, it really is amazing!
Through the Ark, Noah and his family experienced salvation, while on the outside of the ark, those experienced the wrath of God. When we look forward, bringing our eyes to the cross, we can see both God’s salvation and His wrath poured out; and as such is both the “Year of the Jubilee” (salvation) and the “Day of the Lord”(wrath).
The Day of the Lord began when Jesus was crucified.
♦Mal 4:5Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the COMING OF THE GREAT AND DREADFUL DAY OF THE LORD(YHWH).
The passage from Malachi was fulfilled through John the Baptist, who prepared the way for the Lord.
♦Mark 9:11And they asked Jesus, “Why do the scribes say that ELIJAH MUST COME FIRST?” 12He replied, “Elijah does indeed come first, and he restores all things. Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected?
♦Luke1:17AND HE(John) WILL GO BEFORE THE LORD IN THE SPIRIT AND THE POWER OF ELIJAH, TO TURN THE HEARTS OF THE FATHERS TO THEIR CHILDREN, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—TO MAKE READY A PEOPLE PREPARED FOR THE LORD.”
Individually each one faces the Day of the Lord when the wrath of God is upon them, this is being outside of the ark:
♦John 3:36Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.”
♦Mat 25:46And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
♦Romans 1:18The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness.
The wrath of God comes upon all those who reject Yeshua/Jesus, so the Day of the Lord is a continual fulfillment, as judgment has been ongoing.
At the same time that the “Day of the Lord” came, the “Year of the Lord”, or the “Year of the Jubilee” was proclaimed . Yeshua/Jesus came and proclaimed the “acceptable year of the Lord”(Isa 61:2), which had to do with the Sabbath Jubilee in the release of debt, the release of slaves, restoration of the land (access to the Kingdom), and inheritance (eternal) through the rightful heir, as the Kinsman Redeemer.
♦Luke 4:18“The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed, 19to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19) The acceptable year of the Lord.–The primary reference was to the year of Jubilee, when land that had been mortgaged returned to its owner, and debts were forgiven, and Israelite slaves released (Leviticus 25:9-10). It was to our Lord, as it had been to Isaiah, the type of the “year” of the divine kingdom.
What is highly significant about the Sabbatical Jubilee, is that it pointed to the completion of 70 weeks in Daniel’s prophesy (Daniel 9:24). The Sabbath Jubilee was a count of 7 x 7 years which equals 49 and would be celebrated the 50th year(Lev 25:8); much like the count of the omer of 7 completed sabbaths to the Feast of Pentecost(Lev 23:15, Acts 2:1).
If you are also familiar with the passage from Matthew 18:22, when Peter asked Jesus how often we should forgive our brother, Jesus answered 70 x 7, which would equal to 490. The number here is not a literal number, but used symbolically to represent “forgiveness of debts”, and the number 490 is symbolic to the “70 weeks decreed” by Daniel. When Yeshua proclaimed the “acceptable year of the Lord”, not only was this an ultimate fulfillment of such, but was a direct reference to what Daniel had spoke pertaining to “reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness”; which is what His death brought on the cross.
Truly all debts are set free, that brings in everlasting righteousness through the safety of our Ark of Salvation. Yet, lest we forget, that both His redemption and wrath/judgement go together:
♦Isa 63:4For the day of vengeance was in My heart, and the year of My redemption had come. 5I looked, but there was no one to help; I was appalled that no one assisted; so My arm brought Me salvation, and My own wrath upheld Me.
If a “faithful servant” becomes an “unfaithful servant , he will be cut asunder and given the portion of the unbelieving wicked:
♦Mat 24:48But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; 49And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; 50The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, 51And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
This person believes that they can do as they want, take Yah’s grace for granted, and not have the fear of the Lord within them, thinking they have “eternal security” while continue to live wickedly. They believe they are safe in the “ark” but are drowning with the rest of the wicked.
Given the context and timeframe that Jesus made the statement in Matthew 24, “As the Days of Noah”, not only was He pointing to Himself as the only means to escape, as He is the only door by which we can be saved (Joh 10:9), but the coming wrath upon Jerusalem in 70AD/CE.
♦Luke 21:22For these are the days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written.
In the Book of Daniel, chapter 9, concerning the prophesy of the seventy weeks, in verse 26 it states that after the death of Messiah, the city(Jerusalem) and the temple will be destroyed, that it’s end shall come like a FLOOD.
♦Daniel 9:26And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; AND THE END THEROF SHALL BE WITH A FLOOD, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
Now, I kid you not, but the exact Hebrew word used for “cut off” leads me directly to this passage:
♦Genesis 9:11And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.
Pretty uncanny don’t you think?
So, not only did Yeshua point back to this prophesy in Daniel earlier on in Matthew 24, but specifically stated that the gospel shall be preached in all the world and then “the end shall come”(with a flood), which was directly pointing to the destruction of Jerusalem.
From my blog “The Barren Fig Tree“:
Jesus spoke that the gospel shall be preached in all the world and then the end shall come.
Matthew 24:14And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
This was not speaking of the whole world as we know of today, but what was accomplished through the disciples, throughout the Roman Empire. It was the end of an age, the end of the Old Covenant coming to completion. In fact, the next verse from Matthew 24, speaks that when they see the abomination of desolation that those in Judea should flee to the mountains. This actually took place, as the Christians at that time fled from Judea to Pella. The abomination of desolation was not some unclear event, but was the surrounding Roman armies to destroy Jerusalem, and we are given clear insight to this in Luke 21:20-21.
Luke 21:20And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. 21Then 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.
There is no need to guess or speculate what this pointed to, and was a spoken prophesy from Daniel 9 and 12, in which Yeshua brought forth, warning the disciples of what was to come. Within the NT writings, Paul gives us insight stating that the gospel was preached “in the whole world”, “to every creature under heaven”, and “made known to all nations”.
♦Col 1:5For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of THE GOSPEL; 6WHICH IS COME UNTO YOU, as it is IN ALL THE WORLD; AND BRINGETH FORTH FRUIT, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth
♦Col 1:23If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of THE GOSPEL, which ye have heard, and WHICH WAS PREACHED TO EVERY CREATURE WHICH IS UNDER HEAVEN; whereof I Paul am made a minister;
♦Rom 10:16But they have not all obeyed THE GOSPEL. For Esaias(Isaiah) saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? 17So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. 18BUT I SAY, HAVE THEY NOT HEARD? Yes verily, THEIR SOUND WENT INTO ALL THE EARTH, AND THEIR WORDS UNTO THE ENDS OF THE WORLD.
♦Rom 16:25Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my GOSPEL and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, 26But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, MADE KNOWN TO ALL NATIONS for the obedience of faith:
Is that a coincidence, that several years after Paul wrote these letters that the siege of Jerusalem began, with it’s culmination in the summer of 70AD, on the ninth day of Av? The temple was destroyed on exactly the same day it had been destroyed by the Babylonians six and a half centuries earlier. Would this not bare a true witness to the very words that Yeshua spoke concerning such?
Yeshua was warning them that just as those had been warned by Noah, those in such a generation would see destruction come on them suddenly as they had rejected their time of visitation.
♦Luke 19:43For the days will come upon you when your enemies will barricade you and surround you and hem you in on every side. 44They will level you to the ground— you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.”
This is why Yeshua/Jesus also mentions within Matthew 24, pertaining to Him “coming in the clouds”(Mat 24:30), as this was symbolic allegory that pointed to judgement:
♦Isa 19:1This is an oracle concerning Egypt: BEHOLD, THE LORD RIDES ON A SWIFT CLOUD; He is coming to Egypt. The idols of Egypt will tremble before Him, and the hearts of the Egyptians will melt within them. 2“So I will incite Egyptian against Egyptian; brother will fight against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.
Quick insert here: Take a look at verse 2, of which I have underlined. Do you notice some similar language used in Matthew 24:7/Luke 21:11?
Mat 24:7Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
Ellicott’s Commentary Matthew 24:7
(7) Nation shall rise against nation.–Some of the more memorable of these are recorded by Josephus: one at Seleucia, in which 50,000 Jews are said to have perished (Ant. xviii. 9, ?? 8, 9); others at Caesarea, Scythopolis, Joppa, Ascalon, and Tyre (Wars 2:18); and the memorable conflict between Jews and Greeks at Alexandria, under Caligula, A.D. 38, of which we learn from Philo. The whole period was, indeed, marked by tumults of this kind.
Famines.–Of these we know that of which Agabus prophesied (Acts 11:28), and which was felt severely, in the ninth year of Claudius, not only in Syria, but in Rome (Jos. Ant. xx. 2). Suetonius (Claud. c. 18) speaks of the reign of that emperor as marked by “continual scarcity.”
Pestilences.–The word is not found in the best MSS., and has probably been inserted from the parallel passage in Luke 21:11. It was, however, the inevitable attendant on famine, and the Greek words for the two (?????, and ??????, limos and loimos) were so like each other that the omission may possibly have been an error of transcription. A pestilence is recorded as sweeping off 30,000 persons at Rome (Sueton. Nero, 39; Tacitus, Ann. xvi. 13).
Earthquakes, in divers places.–Perhaps no period in the world’s history has ever been so marked by these convulsions as that which intervenes between the Crucifixion and the destruction of Jerusalem. Josephus records one in Judaea (Wars, iv. 4, ? 5); Tacitus tells of them in Crete, Rome, Apamea, Phrygia, Campania (Ann. xii. 58; xiv. 27; xv. 22); Seneca (Ep. 91), in A.D. 58, speaks of them as extending their devastations over Asia (the proconsular province, not the continent), Achaia, Syria, and Macedonia.)
♦Jer 4:13Behold, HE ADVANCES LIKE THE CLOUDS, his chariots like the whirlwind. His horses are swifter than eagles. WOE TO US, for we are ruined!
♦Nahum 1:3The LORD(YHWH) is slow to anger and great in power; the LORD(YHWH) will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. HIS PATH IS IN THE WHIRLWIND AND STORM, AND CLOUDS ARE THE DUST BENEATH HIS FEET.
Not only did “coming in the clouds” point to judgement, but also the complete transfer of the Kingdom of God from physical to spiritual, “kicking out the bondwoman and her son”(Gal 4:30), as Mat 24:30 correlates to Daniel 7:13:
♦Daniel 7:13In my vision in the night I continued to watch: And I saw One like a Son of Man COMING WITH THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into His presence. 14And HE WAS GIVEN DOMINION, glory, and kingship, that the people of every nation and language should serve Him. HIS DOMINION IS AN EVERLASTING DOMINION(KINGDOM) THAT WILL NOT PASS AWAY, AND HIS KINGDOM IS ONE THAT WILL NEVER BE DESTROYED.
Jesus told the Pharisees that they would SEE HIM coming on the clouds of heaven:
♦Matthew 26:64″You have said it yourself,” Jesus answered. “BUT I SAY TO ALL OF YOU, from now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN.“
The Pharisees were going to see the kingdom TAKEN from them, and their DESTRUCTION that came roughly 40 years later after this was spoken. It was the judgement of Jerusalem and the temple etc. It was the coming wrath of God, which the Pharisees whom Jesus said they would see Him coming, saw the destruction of Jerusalem, and the end of the physical kingdom(old covenant).
♦Mat 21:43Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.
Josephus also states in “Wars of the Jews” the impeding judgement/wrath that was about to fall on Jerusalem:
“Besides these [signs], a few days after that feast, on the one- and-twentieth day of the month Artemisius, [Jyar,] a certain prodigious and incredible phenomenon appeared; I suppose the account of it would seem to be a fable, were it not related by those that saw it, and were not the events that followed it of so considerable a nature as to deserve such signals; for, before sun-setting, chariots and troops of soldiers in their armour were seen running about among the clouds, and surrounding of cities. Moreover, at that feast which we call Pentecost, as the priests were going by night into the inner [court of the] temple, as their custom was, to perform their sacred ministrations, they said that, in the first place, they felt a quaking, and heard a great noise, and after that they heard a sound as of a great multitude, saying, “Let us remove hence” (Jewish Wars, VI-V-3).
♦Mat 22:7The king was enraged. He sent his troops to destroy those murderers and burn their city.
The final siege of Jerusalem under Titus came to completion in the summer of 70AD, on the ninth day of Av. The harvest of their destruction came to pass as they were hewn down and thrown into the fire. Those who abided in the “Ark” were able to flee that wrath.
There comes a time when that Ark door is shut, and many carry on eating and drinking and making merry thinking sudden destruction will not come upon them. They did not know their time of visitation.
So, enter in while you still have the opportunity:
♦Joh 10:9I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
