<p>24:39&nbsp;<i>And they did not realize until</i>- The implication is that they did &ldquo;know&rdquo;, but tragically too late. In the moment of their condemnation they saw it all, so clearly; just as the process of condemnation so often results in men &lsquo;knowing Yahweh&rsquo;, but all too late. They will proclaim blessing on Jesus as Messiah next time they see Him, i.e. at judgment day (Lk. 13:35). But all too late. This is the basis for the gnashing of teeth in anger with oneself which :51 speaks of.</p><p><i>The flood came-&nbsp;</i>Gk.&nbsp;<i>erchomai</i>. This is effectively the same word as used in :38 about Noah &quot;entering&quot; or 'coming into' the ark (<i>eis-erchomai</i>). The coming of the flood represents the coming of Jesus to the world-<i>erchomai</i>&nbsp;is so often used in the context in that connection (24:30,42,43,44,46,48; 25:6,10). The 'coming in' of Noah into the ark (cp. the response of the faithful to the call to go out and meet the returning Lord Jesus) is essentially the coming of the Lord, even if His public 'coming' may be a few days after the 'coming' to the believers. Keil translates Dan. 9:26,27:&nbsp;&ldquo;The city, together with the sanctuary, shall be destroyed by the people of the prince who shall come, who shall find his end in the flood; but war shall continue to the end, since destruction is irrevocably decreed. That prince shall force a strong covenant for one week on the mass of the people, and during half a week he shall take away the service of sacrifice, and borne on the wings of idol abominations cp. Ps. 18:10, where the true God is also borne on wings shall carry on a desolating rule, till the firmly decreed judgment shall pour itself upon him as one desolated&rdquo; (<i>Commentary&nbsp;</i>&nbsp; p. 373). Antichrist&rsquo;s destruction with&nbsp;<i>the</i>&nbsp;flood note the definite article comfortably connects with the Lord&rsquo;s usage of the flood as a symbol of the latter day judgment upon His enemies (Mt. 24:39). The person spoken about will be involved in war until the end of his days; he will die at the end of his military campaign against God&rsquo;s people. This was certainly not true of Titus in AD70.</p><p><i>And took them all away. So shall the coming of the Son of Man be</i>- The 'coming' of the flood represents the 'coming' of the Lord; just as the unbelieving world were 'taken away', so :40 continues that theme, that one shall be &quot;taken&quot; and another left. The 'taking away' of the one in the field is therefore 'taking away' in condemnation rather than the snatching away of the faithful to meet the Lord. The Greek&nbsp;<i>airo</i>&nbsp;definitely means to be taken&nbsp;<i>up</i>. Upward movement into the air is definitely in view. It could be that the Lord has in view the responsible. Those who respond to the call and want to go and meet their Lord will be confirmed in that by being caught up to meet Him (1 Thess. 4:16,17). Those who delay, the foolish virgins who go to buy oil, will all the same be gathered to judgment by being snatched away- but just a short time later.</p>