“For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water.But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” 2 Peter 3:5-7 NKJV
As we approach the anniversary of the flood of Noah, one of the things I like to remind people of is that in reality, the flood was only the first of two judgments this world is to experience according to the Word of God. The second judgment is, of course, the tribulation period which will last for seven years and end when Jesus returns to this earth the second time. This is what the apostle Peter is referring to in the passage above when he tells us that the earth was judged first by water, and in the future tribulation it will be by fire.
Many bible scholars have long felt that there is sufficient evidence to support the proposition that the coming tribulation begins in the fall of the year. Years ago when I first met Chuck Missler and began to study his teachings, one thing he said which has always stuck with me was “your most fruitful investigations will be to probe the insights of the Jewish calendar”. Another thing he said was that in the Bible, “pattern is prologue”. Considering those comments as I studied the flood of Noah, it occurred to me that it is entirely possible that we are being given a clue as to when the tribulation period might actually begin.
“Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure,’ “ Isaiah 46:9-10 NKJV
I would be the first to say that I am sure someone could write an entire book expounding these two verses from the prophet Isaiah. This is my “go to” passage when someone tells me we don’t need to study the Old Testament anymore because we have the New Testament to rely on. In my opinion, nothing could be further from the truth for there is so much to be found in the stories of the Old Testament, especially as it relates to the future of this world in general, and the Church in particular. Paul even discussed this in his letter to the Corinthian church when speaking about all that happened to the nation of Israel during their history.
“Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” 1 Corinthians 10:11 NKJV
Typology is the term used to describe the study of past events as a picture revealing the truth of a future event. In essence what this means is that many of the events in the Old Testament were actually a picture of what was going to occur in the future. Many scholars see the rapture of Enoch, which occurred just before the flood of Noah, as a type or pattern of the rapture of the Church, which will also happen just before the start of the final period of God’s judgment of an unbelieving world.
Other examples would be the story of Abraham being told to sacrifice his only son Isaac, and God providing a lamb as a substitute. Or Joseph, sent by his father to visit his brothers and being “killed” in a sense by his imprisonment in Egypt only to reappear as second only to Pharaoh as ruler in Egypt. Also, there is Jonah, being thrown overboard allowing the others to survive while he suffers the punishment of God's wrath in the belly of the whale for three days and three nights. There are many more, but hopefully these are enough for you to understand what is meant by the study of typology.
One of the reasons many watch for the feast days of Israel to arrive is the amazing “coincidence” of numerous major events in Israel’s history which have taken place on those particular days over the past 5000 years. It would seem that God, by intent, has chosen to reveal Himself by orchestrating events to occur on the anniversary of many special days throughout Israel’s calendar. Since these occurrences are, according to the odds, almost impossible to explain it would seem that we are faced with the inescapable conclusion that not only is God at work, but He has chosen certain days to do certain things.
"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.” Matthew 24:37-39 NKJV
I talked last week about the time of the flood, and the fact that the Bible states clearly that life changed dramatically the day that Noah entered the ark and God shut the door. We also know that the flood, or judgment began seven days later so the question for today is this, could it be possible to identify the day when the tribulation will begin by looking at when the world was judged by God at the time of the flood of Noah as a typological event? If so, the Bible tells us clearly that the flood began on the seventeenth day of the second month, which is Cheshvan 17 on the Jewish civil calendar.
“In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.”
Genesis 7:11 NKJV
Many of you know the fall feasts occur during the first month of Tishri, beginning with Rosh Hashanah which began September 23 this year. As the Jewish calendar is lunar rather than solar, each month begins with the first sighting of the new moon. If the new moon is sighted as it should be this October 23, then the seventeenth day of the second month, the anniversary of the flood, should be on November 9 of this year. Also, and possibly more significant to the Church, the tenth of the month, or the day God shut the door of the Ark is November 2.
“For I am the LORD, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob. Malachi 3:6. NKJV
Now considering the fact we know that God has allowed many events to occur on the same day of the year throughout history, and He has clearly stated that He does not change, is it possible that by knowing the exact day the flood began we can assume the next judgment of the world could begin on the anniversary of the first judgment? I believe our answer to that could certainly be “why not”? It would follow the pattern that God has already established, and might, in light of other passages of scripture, be logical when we know that Jesus talked of His return at the end of the age by referring to the time of Noah and the flood.
As we see in the passage from Matthew 24, when Jesus was talking to the disciples about the end of this age, He specifically mentions the time of Noah and the flood and tells them that the two events will be similar. The obvious question for us is, however, “how similar”? Jesus does go on to describe the lifestyle of the world at the time of the flood, but could there be other similarities as well? Some may not know that this was not the only time Jesus talked about the flood of Noah during His ministry, so why not look to the other?
Some time before the Olivet Discourse, Jesus was teaching in Jerusalem and was asked a question by the Pharisees concerning the coming kingdom. In the course of discussing that subject, He looked to His disciples and used the flood of Noah as an illustration much the same as He would later do in the Garden.
"And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: "They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Luke 17:26-27 NKJV
In light of the state of the world right now, and the events which many believe are building up to an "apocalyptical" type of event, is it possible we are fast approaching the beginning of that period of time which the Bible tells us so much about? It would probably not surprise anyone who makes it a point to study current events with regards to biblical prophecy, yet as we have seen in the past, the patience of God towards His people could best be described as longsuffering. Yet even God has foreordained a point in time when His judgment will fall on an unbelieving world, and as many believe, it could be very close.
While I want to make it clear that I am not predicting anything, considering the facts outlined above I couldn’t help but ask myself a few interesting questions.
Was the flood of Noah and the judgment of the world a typological event?
Most certainly. Peter makes it clear there are two judgments of an unbelieving world, one already accomplished and one more in our future.
Could the tribulation period begin on the anniversary of the flood of Noah?
Why not? We can see that God has orchestrated past events to occur on the same day throughout Israel’s history and God Himself has said He doesn’t change.
Is it possible the rapture of the Church could occur seven days before the start of the tribulation mimicking the day God shut the door of the Ark?
Absolutely. Yet because the rapture is an “imminent” event it could obviously occur at any time. I do, however, find it interesting that Paul described the rapture in nautical terms as we have mentioned before referring to the full number of gentiles “coming in” and God also waited until the ark was full and then shut the door.
Again I am not trying to set dates or predict anything other than to point out the possibility that history will repeat itself exactly as it has done before which the Bible clearly reveals. As always, though, considering what is promised to occur the question we must all ask ourselves is are we ready for that time to arrive? If you have never opened the door of your heart to Jesus and made the decision to accept His gift of eternal life spent with Him, I would urge you to do it right now. You can do that by simply praying this prayer and asking Him to come in.
Dear Father in heaven, I believe in your son Jesus. I believe that He died on the cross for my sins, that He rose up from the grave, and that my sins are forgiven. Forgive me of my sin, help me to walk with you, and thank you for saving me. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
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