When Jesus tells us that
His Coming will be
"As the Days of Noah "
He is not teaching
a pre-trib Rapture of the His Church.
If you look closely at those verses
( and their context ),
you will see that the passage is saying
the opposite.
****
Let's take a look at the passage,
and then discuss it further:
In Matthew chapter 24
verses 37 through 39
we read:
But as the days of Noah were,
so also will
the coming of the Son of Man be.
For as in the days
before the flood,
they were eating and drinking,
marrying and
giving in marriage,
until the day that Noah
entered the ark,
and did not know
until the flood came
and took them all away,
so also will
the coming of the Son of Man be.
This passage is clearly referencing the Return of Christ.
And in context,
we can see WHEN this is to occur.
Earlier in Matthew 24:21
Christ warns of the coming tribulation,
saying
For then there will be great tribulation,
such as has not been
since the beginning of the world
until this time,
no,
nor ever shall be.
And continuing in verse 29 through 31
He says,
Immediately after the tribulation of those days
the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from heaven,
and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
Then
the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven,
and
then
all the tribes of the earth will mourn,
and
they
will see the Son of Man coming
on the clouds of heaven
with power and great glory.
And He will send His angels
with a great sound of a trumpet,
* cue sound effect *
and
they will gather together His elect
from the four winds,
from one end of heaven to the other.
Now let's look closer at the reference Jesus is making
when mentioning Noah's flood.
The Flood is representing God's wrath.
And Jesus is clearly stating that this wrath occurs
at "the coming of the Son of Man".
He states for a second time
that He is talking about His return.
In verse 39,
where He says,
and did not know
until the flood came
and took them all away,
so also will
the coming of the Son of Man be.
And again,
in context,
that is AFTER the Great Tribulation.
Not before.
This passage is NOT saying....
God is going to put the believers in Heaven
while His wrath pours out on the earth.
Noah and his family in the ark
does represent the believers.
However,
it should be noted that
they did not leave the earth.
They were protected by God
( by way of the Ark He told them how to build ),
So they could endure
and
survive this time of wrath.
It was all around them,
but they were spared.
God provided them a way
through this time of destruction.
Jesus has just told us
in Verses 29 - 31,
that the gathering of the elect occurs
after the tribulation of those days.
Jesus is warning that His "Coming"
and the wrath of God
will catch the unbelievers off guard.
Because they are in darkness.
As we see in
1st Thessalonians chapter 5
verses 2 through 4
For you yourselves know perfectly
that the day of the Lord so comes
as a thief in the night.
For when they say, "Peace and safety!"
then sudden destruction comes upon them,
as labor pains upon a pregnant woman.
And they shall not escape.
But you, brethren,
are not in darkness,
so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.
Also, it is because,
the unbeliever will be diluted into believing
the LIE.
2nd Thessalonians 2:11
And for this reason God will send them strong delusion,
that they should believe
the lie,
And even believers are warned ( repeatedly )
to be Watching
to be Alert,
so as not be caught off guard.
1st Thessalonians 5:6
tells us,
Therefore let us not sleep, as others do,
but let us watch
and be sober.
And in Luke 21:34
we are warned,
But take heed to yourselves,
lest your hearts be weighed down
with carousing,
drunkenness,
and cares of this life,
and that Day
come on you
unexpectedly.
The warnings are clear.
If you are not paying attention,
and do not know what the Bible teaches
about the End Times,
you could be "surprised" -
as when an unexpected thief shows up.
If you are alert and watching,
you will Not be Surprised.
You will instead find yourself rejoicing
as know the return of Jesus is about to occur.
I'll close with Luke 21:28
Now when these things begin to happen,
look up and lift up your heads,
because your redemption draws near.”
AMEN!
*
Youtube Video Version of this Post =
-- Saved by Grace,
Andrew Cross
"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,
not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some,
but exhorting one another,
and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.Hebrews 10:23-25
