Day of the Lord"
The closer we look at Scripture, the more evident it is that its words are constantly inter-linked, both by means of direct quotation and allusion. The" day of the Lord"contained elements of all the previous 'days' of God's manifestation in the affairs of men. It was be the time when " the
words of God were fulfilled" (Rev. 17:17), when " all was fulfilled" (Lk. 21:22,32) - presumably referring to the prophetic word. It is therefore fitting that there are many Old Testament historical backgrounds to the prophecies which relate to the Lord's return. Firstly we need to familiarize ourselves with them, which this Section does by picking out some of the more obvious ones.
The flood as A TYPE OF THE LAST DAYS
It is a commonly stressed theme throughout Scripture that the days of Noah are a type of the last days of AD70. The clearest is in Mt. 24:37: " As the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the son of man be" . It is generally understood among us that the events of AD70 and the " coming" of the Lord then, point forward to that as the last days. Thus it is not surprising that 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:- 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, through it's links with the new Heavens and earth of Is. 65, 2Cor 2:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. ... 19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. destruction of theLord's return. So it is clear the second coming, the destruction of Jerusalem ie the old covenant, (the old heavens and the old earth) and the establishment of the new Covenant (the new Heavens and the new Earth. We're one and the same event. Culminating in Christ's Kingdoms establishment in ÀD 70,
- 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.
- Dan. 9:26 describes the Romans in AD70 destroying " the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood" , the LXX implying with a sudden flood, as in Noah's time.
- Is. 54:9 describes the judgments on Israel being " as the waters of Noah" . The end of the flood, the end of Israel's judgments, therefore is the samessame event as the second coming.
- 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.
- 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 years suffering of Israel which culminated in AD70 was typified by the flood .
The five month tribulation of Rev. 9:10 is also of some relevance here.
Thus the state of Israel in AD70 was typified by the world of Noah's time.
