As It Was in the Days of Noah

The Lord then tells the disciples that the last days before He comes again will be like it was during the days before the flood in Noah’s time. Life continued as normal until the day the Noah entered the ark and the rains and flooding began. This reminds me of the teaching of Peter.

2Peter 3:3-4 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.

Many teachers emphasize the corrupt morals and violence that filled the earth in the days of Noah. I believe that application to be valid as well, but it seems to me that apathy and unbelief of judgment to come are the primary reference.

The next thing Jesus describes in Matthew’s account regarding His coming is a picture of two people working in a field; one is taken away and the other left. Or two women are grind at a mill; one is taken away and the other left. He then follows that with a statement to watch or be vigilant because the hour of His coming is unknown. This is one of the most confusing sections of this teaching to me. I have often heard it used in teaching about the rapture, but I don’t really think that is the context. Since it flows in context with the comparison to the days of Noah, I tend to think this is a picture of those who are taken away in judgment while others are left to enter and enjoy the kingdom.

The admonition to watch and be prepared is valid to believers both preceding the rapture and preceding the second coming. Whichever way you view it, the message is one of encouragement to believers and of warning to unbelievers. The believer has nothing to fear and everything to gain both at the rapture and the second coming. The unbeliever needs to realize that once Jesus returns, his/her eternal judgment is certain—just as it was with the people that perished in the flood.