Noah entering the ark.
Scriptures in Matthew 24, Luke 17, and 2 Peter 2, indicate that the story of Noah teaches about the return of Jesus:
Matt 24:37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.Those who deny the pretribulation rapture call attention to the fact that Noah "went through" the tribulation of the Flood. Also, they point out that as the wicked were destroyed in the flood, so too will the wicked be taken away at the end of the tribulation. I don't disagree with either point; that Noah survived the time of trouble, and that the wicked will be destoryed at the end of the tribulation. But those are NOT the only comparisons to be made.
Matt 24:38 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,
Matt 24:39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.Luke 17:26 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.
Luke 17:27 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.2Pe 2:4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
2Pe 2:5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;
2Pe 2:6 And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;
2Pe 2:7 And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:
2Pe 2:8 (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)
2Pe 2:9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:
The Bible emphasizes that the people are acting as if LIFE IS PERFECTLY NORMAL, "they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day" (Matt 24:28), that the world is taking NO NOTE of the COMING judgment.
But the great tribulation to come IS a time of judgment, and DURING that judgment, life will NOT be normal. Half the world will be killed as first a quarter of the people on the earth die, and then a remaining third die. Men will be tormented for five months with pain from the plague of the mark of the beast. Men will try to kill themselves, and not be able. There will be supernatural beings such as the antichrist and the two witnesses who both have the power to command fire to come down from heaven. This is NOT a description of life as normal.
Further, Peter speaks of deliverance; that God will "deliver the godly out of temptations" (2 Peter 2:9), and this is a statement about how Noah's experience is a comparison to how the pretribulation rapture will deliver the righteous before the tribulation.
What was Noah's experience? Was it like those saints of the tribulation who will face martyrdom and persecution? NO! Was Noah being persecuted by the wicked during the time of judgment? NO! Did Noah have to endure the tribulations of the judgment and swim hard or hold his breath underwater in the SAME ENVIRONMENT as the wicked? NO!
What was Noah's experience? As we will see, Noah went into the ark, the place where God was, and God shut the door behind him, and Noah floated above the waters which brought the judgment that came upon the world. Likewise, the pretribulation rapture will take believers up into heaven, through the "open door", to be in the place where Jesus Christ is, above the earth where the judgment will come upon the world.
Here are a few specific details of how Noah's example teaches about the pretribulation rapture.
God calls Noah into the ark, and 7 days later, the flood comes. So, Noah is a type of the rapture before the 7 year tribulation, at the end of which all of God's enemies are destroyed at Armageddon, like in the flood.
Genesis 7:1 And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.I understand verse 4 & 5 to mean that Noah obeyed, and went in when at the time and exactly when the Lord told him to which was seven days before the rain fell.Genesis 7:4 For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth.
Genesis 7:5 And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him.
Controversy arrives when people forget that Noah was the type to obey god, and they assume the "selfsame" day in verse 13 refers to the same day the rain fell. The only way you can assume that Noah went into the ark late, is if you assume that Noah did not obey the Lord for a period of seven days. Do you think it is realistic that Noah, after spending 120 years to build an ark, would disobey a direct command from God for a period of 7 full days right before the world was destroyed, in direct contrast to the scripture in Gen 7:5 "And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him."?
I think that the "selfsame day" in verse 13 refers to the action phrase at the end of verse 16, "as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in".
Genesis 7:13 In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark;In other words, "In the selfsame day entered Noah... as God had commanded him and the Lord shut him in."
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Genesis 7:16 And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in.
Note, back up in Gen 7:1, we saw that God calls to Noah from inside the ark, to come in, which is similar to "Come up hither" in Rev. And the door is also a strong symbol of the rapture.
Revelation 4:1 After this 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.The parallel gets even stronger when we realize Noah's ark is a type of heaven.Mat 25:10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
Noah's ark is like the ark of the covenant, in that God's presence is in both. Remember, God told Noah to "come into" the ark, indicating that God was in the ark. (Genesis 7:1) God's presence was also in the ark of the covenant:
Exodus 25:22 And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.The ark of the covenant is a symbol of heavenly things.
Hebrews 9:24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:Thus, the ark that Noah went into, like the ark of the covenant, is also a symbol of heaven, like that heavenly bridal chamber of the wedding. And Noah, entering the ark seven days before the flood, to be in the place where God was, and God shutting the door behind him, is a symbol of the pre tribulation rapture.
Remember, the seven days symbolize seven years, a day for a year. A day is for a year when considering a length of time of a judgment as shown from a type; see Moses and Ezekiel.
Num 14:34 After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise.Ezek 4:6 And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year.
Here is an interesting verse in the Noah story, if we consider that waters represent people from Rev 17:15.
Gen 8:13 And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth:As the first day of the first month of the calandar year, it supports the Feast of Trumpets rapture, as the Feast of Trumpets takes place on the first day of the 7th religious month, which is the first calandar month of the new year.Revelation 17:15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
Num 29:1 And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work: it is a day of blowing the trumpets unto you.Thus, if the waters represent people, and the waters "were dried up from off the earth" on a certain day, then that indicates the rapture on "the Feast of Trumpets".
Further, Christians carry the waters of the Holy Spirit. At the rapture, the waters being dried up from off the earth is like the "removal of the restrainer" in 2 Thess 2.
Hebrews 11:7 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.The verses in Matthew 24 & Luke 17 also contain some verses about who is "taken" and who is "left"; and there is also a parable about "where the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together". These verses also teach about the pretribulation rapture. See my commentary on Matt 24.1 Peter 3:20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
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