<p>24:37&nbsp;<i>And as</i>- The similarity with Noah&rsquo;s days is logically linked to the Lord&rsquo;s word about not knowing the day nor the hour. In the digression about this, I suggest that the very last generation may in fact know the day and hour. And that would be similar to Noah. There is no indication that he knew exactly when the flood would come- until he was told right at the end of the period, that the time had come and he must enter the ark.</p><p><i>Were the days-</i>&nbsp;&ldquo;The days&rdquo; are parallel with &ldquo;the coming&rdquo; of the Lord. The scenario outlined earlier in these notes is of the Lord &lsquo;coming&rsquo; for the faithful, them consciously choosing to go to meet Him, and then their &lsquo;coming&rsquo; along with Him in judgment upon the unfaithful and Israel&rsquo;s immediate enemies. Therefore a period of time is made parallel with the Lord&rsquo;s &ldquo;coming&rdquo;. See on :36&nbsp;<i>That day</i>. The &quot;days of Noah&quot; may refer to the way in which God told Noah of the flood, but in Gen. 7:1,4 told him that now there were &quot;yet seven days&quot; until the flood actually came, and he must now enter the ark. The gathering of the animals was done within those seven days (Gen. 7:1-3). In this lies the similarity with the last days. We know the outline picture- that judgment will come, and there are reasons and signs of that. But only a few days before judgment breaks will the faithful be invited to go to meet the Lord, to enter the ark. And in that period the Gospel will be spread to all nations, the last final appeal will be made. Just as Noah filled the huge ark, which could have saved so many people, with any animal willing to agree to come on board. The shutting of the door of the ark would then directly correspond with Mt. 25:10; Lk. 13:25: &quot;The door was shut&quot;. Just as desperate people would've knocked on the shut door of the ark, so the unfaithful will knock on the door which the Lord has now closed. In this life we can knock on the closed door, recognizing our condemnation- and it will be opened (Lk. 11:7; Rev. 3:8). But after the Lord has 'come' in the sense of inviting us into the ark, to go forth and meet Him, the door will be shut.</p><p><i>Of Noah-&nbsp;</i>A number of passages describe the AD70 judgments of Israel in terms of the flood; which suggests that they also have reference to the last days:<br />- 2 Peter 3 is a clear example, describing the destruction of the Jewish system in AD70 as being by fire as opposed to water used in Noah's time. Yet the chapter also has reference, e.g. through its links with the new Heavens and earth of Is. 65, with the destruction of the present age at the Lord's return.<br />- Nahum 1 describes the coming judgements on Israel in terms of mountains and hills splitting, and there being a great flood; all Genesis flood language.<br />- Dan. 9:26 describes the Romans in AD70 destroying &quot;the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood&quot;, the LXX implying with a sudden flood, as in Noah's time.<br />- Is. 54:9 describes the judgments on Israel being &quot;as the waters of Noah&quot;. The end of the flood, the end of Israel's judgments, therefore typifies the second coming.<br />- In the light of this the Lord's parable about the man building on sand whose house was destroyed when the heavy rain came (Mt. 7:25,27) must have primary reference (as so many of the parables do) to the judgement on the Jewish house in AD70. Those who built on sand as a result of not hearing Christ's words were the Jews- also described as shoddy builders in Mt. 21:42; Acts 4:11; 1 Pet. 2:7; Mic. 3:10; Jer. 22:13.<br />- The flood waters were upon the earth for 5 months. The siege of Jerusalem in AD70 lasted for the same period, coming after 3 years of the Roman campaign against Israel which started in AD67. The three and a half year suffering of Israel which culminated in AD70 may well point forward to a similar period in the last days; in which case the flood would typify the final months of that period, during which the judgments will be poured out most intensely. The five month tribulation of Rev. 9:10 may also have some relevance here.</p><p>Thus the state of Israel in AD70 was typified by the world of Noah's time, which therefore looks forward also to the last days, in the light of the evident connections between that period and our last days which are made in 2 Pet. 3 and the Olivet prophecy.</p><p><i>So shall be the coming of the Son of Man</i>- This commonly used phrase (16:28; 24:27,30,39; 26:64) clearly quotes from Dan. 7:13: &ldquo;One like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven&rdquo;. This prophecy clearly speaks of the giving of the Kingdom to the Lord Jesus and His people at the end of the dominion of the fourth beast and its related horns. The prophecy could have been fulfilled in the first century- but it was rescheduled. This is another example of the conditionality in Daniel&rsquo;s prophecies which we discussed in an earlier digression. Dan. 7:13 speaks of how the Son of Man comes with the clouds of Heaven&nbsp;<i>before the Ancient of Days</i>&nbsp;and is given the Kingdom. What is in view is not so much the coming of Christ to earth but His coming to receive the Kingdom from the Father. Dan. 7:26,27: &ldquo;The judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it to the end. The kingdom and the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole Heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High: His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him&rdquo;. &ldquo;The Son of Man&rdquo; is here interpreted as &ldquo;the people of the saints of the Most High&rdquo;. The Son of Man, therefore, refers not just to the Lord personally but to all those in Him. Having chosen to go out to meet Him once they hear the trumpet call, they are snatched away to meet Him in the air and the Lord comes with them in judgment. This is the picture presented in 1 Thess. 4:16,17 and elsewhere. This is why His &ldquo;coming&rdquo; is parallel with a period of time- see on&nbsp;<i>The days</i>.</p>