Re: The Flood in Mat 24:38-39

From: Dick Fischer (dickfischer@earthlink.net)
Date: Sun Nov 02 2003 - 12:08:01 EST

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    Mike DePangher wrote:

    >Dear Vernon,
    >You have cited Mat 24:38-39 as evidence of the universality of Noah's
    >flood. I quote the passage here in fuller context for everyone's ease of
    >reference:
    >
    >NAU Matthew 24:37-42 37 "For the coming of the Son of Man will be just
    >like the days of Noah. 38 "For as in those days before the flood they were
    >eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that
    >Noah entered the ark, 39 and they did not understand until the flood came
    >and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 40 "Then
    >there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be
    >left. 41 "Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and
    >one will be left. 42 "Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which
    >day your Lord is coming.
    >
    >The extended passage clearly argues primarily for the element of surprise
    >in both the flood and the coming of the Son of Man. However, since vs 37
    >specifically says that "the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the
    >days of Noah" and vss 40-41 say that at the coming of the Son of Man 50%
    >of all people will be "taken" and 50% will be left behind, we would have
    >to conclude that Matthew is claiming that 50% of the people were killed in
    >Noah's flood and 50% survived. Am I missing something?

    You (and Vernon) have missed the "Nephilim" in pre-flood Genesis 6:4 who
    are also mentioned in post-flood Numbers 13:33. If they are on both sides
    of the flood according to the OT, who else might have survived? So if you
    take it literally, the flood was NOT universal.

    Dick Fischer - Genesis Proclaimed Association
    Finding Harmony in Bible, Science, and History
    www.genesisproclaimed.org



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