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Author: Mr. Kenneth Frank | Faculty in Theology, Living Education

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Estimated reading time: 8 min., 40 sec.

Did you know that Jesus referenced the great flood of Noah’s day to describe the world’s unrepentant state before His Second Coming?

There are vital lessons for our day from Jesus’ relating this story. Skeptics today question whether this flood ever occurred, stating it was legendary or merely symbolic. Others may accept its reality but challenge whether the flood was universal or only local. There is a direct and conclusive way for Christians to verify the details of this Genesis account: by closely reading the New Testament. This Digging Deeper delves into the New Testament’s reference to this dramatic story to motivate humanity to heed Jesus’ warnings about world conditions before His return.

The first passage that mentions the flood in NT

The great flood of Noah’s day (sometimes referred to as the “Genesis Flood” or “Noah’s Flood”) is mentioned in six New Testament passages. The first is: “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:36-39 KJV throughout).

Notice that Jesus affirms that such a flood actually occurred and that it took them all away. This story was quite familiar to His listeners since He did not have to recount the entire drama. Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words states that the Greek word translated flood is: “kataklusmos (G2627), ‘a deluge’ (Eng., ‘cataclysm’), akin to katakluzo, ‘to inundate,’ 2 Peter 3:6, is used of the ‘flood’ in Noah’s time, Matthew 24:38, 39; Luke 17:27; 2 Peter 2:5” (e-Sword 13.0). Noah’s Flood was a cataclysmic deluge of the entire planet. Many Jews of the time thought the flood prefigured the day of judgment to come.

The King James Study Bible comments on these verses: ” … we are given a comparison to the days of Noe (Noah and the Flood), which illustrate and prefigure the condition of humanity at the time of Christ’s return. The last generation, like the one of Noah’s day, is pleasure-oriented and self-gratifying by eating and drinking. The reference to marrying and giving in marriage may refer to carrying on the normal course of life without heeding the impending judgment” (Tecarta Bible App).

As in Noah’s day, people will be unprepared for the destruction to come due to neglecting God’s warnings. R.C.H. Lenski in his Commentary on the New Testament wrote: “In the days preceding the deluge men were wholly unconcerned (ἦσαν with an indefinite subject). They spent the 120 years which God had fixed as the limit of his grace ‘eating (πρώγειν, “to munch,” audible eating, used in John 6:54–58) and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage’ as though no judgment were impending. These are neutral actions that are not sinful in themselves; but they obtain a sinister significance when the total disregard of God’s warnings is observed which underlies this conduct. These men should have repented in sackcloth and in ashes” (Bible Analyzer 5.4.1.22).

The second passage is:

“And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all” (Luke 7:26-27). When He said it “destroyed them all,” Jesus considered it a universal flood since He used it as a historical precedent for massive destruction of the world’s population at His return resulting from open sin. The NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible notes: “Ancient Jewish sources depicted Noah’s generation (Ge 6:11–13) and Sodom (Ge 18:20; 19:4–9), sometimes together, as the epitome of evil. The point here is that they thought only of life as usual, and sudden judgment took them by surprise (Ge 7:21–23; 19:24–25)” (Tecarta Bible App).

Sudden destruction will catch most people unprepared at Jesus’ return. R.C.H. Lenski in his Commentary on the New Testament described the people of Noah’s day: “They disregarded absolutely all warning and lived on as though the warnings meant nothing. The four verbs which are without connectives are dramatic, all are imperfect tenses to express customary actions. It is a masterly description of that blind, secure, unbelieving, ungodly generation of Noah’s day, whose successors are with us now and shall fill the world when the Son of man comes” (Bible Analyzer 5.4.1.22).

The third passage is:

“By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith” (Hebrews 11:7). The KJV Study Bible notes: “Noah was asked by God to do in faith things that were incongruous with his former experience. He had never seen rain (Genesis 2:5), and yet God told him to build an ark because of a coming flood (Genesis 6:13–17)” (Tecarta Bible App). The NKJ Study Bible adds further: “Noah had never seen (v. 1) the flood God revealed to him. Yet he believed God in spite of this and heeded His warnings. His faith not only saved him from the deluge but also from God’s judgment, for He became an heir of righteousness” (Ibid.).

The fourth passage is:

“Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 3:20-21). The Holman KJV Study Bible explains: “Noah and his family were saved by water, or brought safely through the floodwaters, whereas the wicked were destroyed (Genesis 7:22-23). Baptism in the NT corresponds to this OT event in that both involve breaks from past lives and a fresh start and entrance into new life” (Tecarta Bible App).

The fifth passage is:

“And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly” (2 Peter 2:5). The NKJ Study Bible comments: “Noah is called a preacher of righteousness because his righteous life put to shame the immoral lives of his neighbors. Noah’s building of the ark would certainly have given him the opportunity to explain the coming judgment and to invite people to repent and believe in God. But his entreaties fell on deaf ears, just as the truth of Christ’s atonement fell on the deaf ears of the false teachers of Peter’s day. Such indifference and unbelief brought the ungodly of Noah’s world to certain destruction” (Tecarta Bible App).

The sixth and final passage is:

“For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished” (2 Peter 3:6). In his Days of Praise article for February 5, 2018, John Morris wrote, “Peter uses extraordinary language. The word ‘overflowed’ in today’s verse translates the mighty Greek word katakluzo, from which we get our word ‘cataclysm’ …In the Greek New Testament, this word is only used to refer to Noah’s Flood (see Matthew 24:38-39; Luke 17:27; 2 Peter 2:5) …” This is the word described earlier in this article. The NKJ Study Bible additionally notes: “The scoffing teachers would choose to overlook events such as creation and the Flood. The people of Noah’s time did not believe in Noah’s warning because they had never experienced a flood.” (Tecarta Bible App).

To summarize the importance of the words of Jesus and the New Testament apostles, Henry Morris in his Days of Praise article for January 30, 2018 wrote: “This is what Jesus said, and what He believed, and therefore, those who are truly His disciples must also believe this. The destructive effects of the Flood can still be seen today not only in the biblical record, but also in the abundant evidences of cataclysmic destruction in the rocks and fossil graveyards all over the world. To refuse this evidence, as do many modern intellectuals, can only be because they ‘willingly are ignorant,’ as Peter said in referring to this testimony (2 Peter 3:5).”

Christians need only go back to the New Testament’s affirmation in the first century that the flood was real and globally destructive. Contrary to what some claim, there is ample biblical and geological evidence of a global flood. Faith in the words of Christ Who inspired the New Testament settles the matter satisfactorily for those who claim to be His disciples. Jesus referenced the flood account to warn people not to avoid His call for repentance as people did in the time of Noah. Believers who heed God’s word and respond like Noah will find ” … grace in the eyes of the LORD” (Genesis 6:8).

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Kenneth Frank was born and raised in New Jersey, USA, and attended Ambassador College, graduating in 1973. He served in the Canadian ministry from 1973-1999, after which he returned to the USA to pastor churches in Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina for 15 years. Having earned a BA degree from Ambassador College he later earned a MA degree from Grand Canyon University before being assigned to the Charlotte office to teach at Living University, now Living Education. Currently, he teaches the Survey of the Bible course to the on-campus students and writes the Digging Deeper column for our online Bible study program. He is married, has four children, and seven grandchildren.

Author: Mr. Kenneth Frank | Faculty in Theology, Living Education

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Estimated reading time: 8 min., 40 sec.

Did you know that humans are unable to understand the rich meaning of the Bible unless God opens their eyes to it?

Try as they might, people can read and reread the sacred text and yet never grasp the deep, underlying instruction from God’s Holy Book. They may discover surface details but the deeper truths of Scripture must be unlocked to trusting minds. The NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible explains: “Without the Lord’s intervention, we will miss the wonderful treasures in the word” (Tecarta Bible App). Bible readers must discover the frame of mind that God requires of inquirers. This Digging Deeper searches for this key to understanding.

Our primary text is: “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law” (Psalm 119:18 KJV throughout). Notice that it is a prayer request from a believer who already had sufficient spiritual insight to recognize that he was still missing the even deeper significance of Scripture. He realized he was impeded from beholding wondrous things. That impediment was sin. Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible elucidates: “The Holy Scriptures are plain enough; but the heart of man is darkened by sin. The Bible does not so much need a comment, as the soul does the light of the Holy Spirit. Were it not for the darkness of the human intellect, the things relative to salvation would be easily apprehended” (e-Sword 13.0).

A spiritual prognosis will specify what needs attention. Joseph S. Exell’s The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary details the human condition further: “I. That man by himself cannot see wondrous things. The Hebrew phrase is, ‘Unveil mine eyes;’ implying—1. That man is spiritually blind (Revelation 3:17; Job 11:12). (1.) By sin (Ephesians 4:18). (2.) By reason of ignorance. (3.) By reason of self-conceit (1 Corinthians 8:1-2). (4.) By reason of prejudice and disaffection (Luke 16:14; 2 Corinthians 4:4). 2. That man is not only thus naturally blind, but lacks that divine light which can alone reveal and illuminate the sacred mysteries. Man is both blind and in the dark. His therefore is ‘gross darkness.’ 3. That this blindness and darkness are universal. The Psalmist’s case before his prayer was not the exception, but the rule” (e-Sword 13.0).

Looking closer

Taking a closer look at some words used in our text will expand our understanding. The word open has the sense of “unveil.” The Dake Reference Bible notes that the Hebrew word is “galah (H1540), unveil; uncover; remove that which hinders sight (Psalm 119:18; Numbers 22:31…)” (Bible Analyzer 5.4.1.22). Dake’s illustrative verse, Numbers 22:31, comes from the account involving Balaam when his donkey spoke to him. The LORD had to open Balaam’s eyes to see an angel standing with a drawn sword causing him to bow his head and fall flat on his face in submission. Balaam had been blinded by his willfulness and sin.

The Bible is veiled to those who do not have “eyes to see.” Until one submits to God in repentant obedience the meaning of sacred text remains veiled. We need to pray for insight beyond our abilities. The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges explains this word open: “Natural sight is unable to discern the mysteries (cp. Psalm 119:27) of Divine revelation; hence this prayer for the removal of the veil from his eyes. Cp. 2 Kings 6:17 (a different word); Ephesians 1:17-18” (e-Sword 13.0).

The apostle Paul’s conversion illustrates this process: “And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized” (Act 9:17-18). From that point on, Paul had “eyes to see.” He became one of the most effective first-century apostles, writing 14 of our New Testament books employing this spiritual insight.

The word behold in Psalm 119:18 means “discern, or see clearly”. The author asks God to enable him to understand God’s revelation as He intends. In His first recorded sermon, Jesus said one of the reasons for His ministry was the “recovering of sight to the blind” (Luke 4:18). He will cure spiritual myopia.

The word wondrous too has special significance. The Ultimate Cross-reference Treasury defines this word as “the wondrous, spiritual, truths that lie hid beneath the letter” (e-Sword 13.0). Bible readers will discern surface teachings, but to grasp the deeper issues submissive prayer is required. The ESV Study Bible states that the wondrous things are: “Probably the wondrous works recorded there and what they reveal of God himself (cf. v. 27; Ex. 3:20; Josh. 3:5; Ps. 78:32; 145:5)” (Tecarta Bible App).

The need for spiritual discernment

Some cross-references are enlightening: “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man” (1 Corinthians 2:12-15).

Paul’s declaration about comparing spiritual things with spiritual refers to employing Scripture to interpret Scripture – one of the most important Bible study principles. These verses explain a major problem people have in reading the Bible today: they try to read it using man’s wisdom instead of seeking God’s wisdom provided by the Holy Spirit. Without that, the words of Scripture are foolishness to them because they are spiritually discerned. This accounts for much of the biblical skepticism not only among the general public but even among biblical scholars today.

The word law at the end of our primary text does not refer only to God’s Old Testament legislation. The Hebrew word torah has the broader meaning of instruction or teaching. The Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary expounds it as: “The wonders of the law, not only its deep mysteries, but its practical truths, proceed ‘out of’ it only to the spiritually enlightened” (e-Sword 13.0). This is what it takes for “rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). Unless we discern properly, we are apt to misinterpret Scripture and attempt to apply it in ways not intended by the Author. Our primary text explains how Bible readers should discern the meaning of biblical truths to properly apply its teachings to their lives.

The need for communication with God

Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible explains God’s law as: “Out of the written word; out of the Scriptures. The word ‘law’ here is used to denote ‘all’ that God had revealed to mankind; all that is contained in the volume of inspiration. The truths taught here are:

(1) That there are deep, hidden, secret things in the word of God, which are not perceived by the natural man;

(2) That those things, when understood, are suited to excite wonder, or to fill the mind with admiring views of God;

(3) That a special illumination of God is necessary that man may perceive these things; and

(4) That the proper understanding of these things is connected with prayer, and can be hoped for only in answer to prayer” (e-Sword 13.0).

This brings forward another vital key for Bible study. Before beginning one’s daily Bible reading and study, students should pray that God will unfold its significance before the reader’s eyes. David Guzik’s Enduring Word Commentary elaborates: “In order to keep God’s word, must we not pray to understand it? What then is this prayer? Not – give me a plainer Bible – but open my eyes to know my Bible. Not – show me some new revelations beside the law – but make me behold the wonders of the law (Bridges)” (e-Sword 13.0). So many clamor today for “clearer, more modern” translations of the Bible when the chief problem is their spiritual blindness caused by sin. Our standard classic English Bible is clear enough to those who ask God to open their spiritual eyes. 

The Pulpit Commentary carries this thought further: “To how many the Bible is all dark and dull, incomprehensible in many parts, and void of interest in others! It is because the films of sin and prejudice have rendered their eyesight dark and dull. Let their eyes be but opened, and they will behold, not, as now they do, mere words, but wondrous things out of God’s Law” (e-Sword 13.0).

With a submissive mind willing to respond to what is read, God will surely enlighten the reader to what is required to deepen one’s relationship with Him. Such readers will receive life through God’s Word (Psalm 119:17). Bible study should be life-giving. Far too many never experience the word as God intends. Readers need to pray for open eyes so that the blinder of sin will be removed. Once Christians are in a harmonious relationship with Christ, spiritual blindness can be cured by this sincere request: “Open Thou mine eyes.”

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Kenneth Frank was born and raised in New Jersey, USA, and attended Ambassador College, graduating in 1973. He served in the Canadian ministry from 1973-1999, after which he returned to the USA to pastor churches in Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina for 15 years. Having earned a BA degree from Ambassador College he later earned a MA degree from Grand Canyon University before being assigned to the Charlotte office to teach at Living University, now Living Education. Currently, he teaches the Survey of the Bible course to the on-campus students and writes the Digging Deeper column for our online Bible study program. He is married, has four children, and seven grandchildren.