Matthew 24:37
in Matthew 24As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And as were the days of Noah, so shall be the coming of the Son of man.
KJV
But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
⋯
This verse in Matthew 24
Commentary
16 notes on this verseIt is asked here, how it was said above, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, &c. when here only tokens of peace are spoken of as what shall be then? We must suppose, that after the wars and the other miseries which shall waste the human race, shall follow a short peace, offering rest and quiet to approve the faith of the believers.
This site's exposition
in the days of Noah
on Matthew 24:37-39
Jesus compares his coming to the days of Noah, and the likeness lies in ordinary life, with people "eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark". Genesis says that world was wicked, and here the stress falls on people who "were oblivious, until the flood came and swept them all away."
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
A commentator
Apostolic ConstitutionsApostolic Constitutions (Book VII), Section 2, XXXII · Written before 380.
proposed
For in the last days false prophets shall be multiplied, and such as corrupt the word; and the sheep shall be changed into wolves, and love into hatred: for through the abounding of iniquity the love of many shall wax cold. For men shall hate, and persecute, and betray one another. And then shall appear the deceiver of the world, the enemy of the truth, the prince of lies, [2 Thessalonians 2:3-12] whom the Lord Jesus "shall destroy with the spirit of His mouth, who takes away the wicked with His lips; and many shall be offended at Him. But they that endure to the end, the same shall be saved. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven;" [Isaiah 11:4; Matthew 24:1-51] and afterwards shall be the voice of a trumpet by the archangel; and in that interval shall be the revival of those that were asleep. And then shall the Lord come, and all His saints with Him, with a great concussion above the clouds, with the angels of His power, [Matthew 16:27] in the throne of His kingdom, to condemn the devil, the deceiver of the world, and to render to every one according to his deeds. "Then shall the wicked go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous shall go into life eternal," [Matthew 25:46] to inherit those things "which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man, such things as God has prepared for them that love Him;" [1 Corinthians 2:9] and they shall rejoice in the kingdom of God, which is in Christ Jesus.
(Verse 37 onwards) Just as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. It is asked how the following is written: For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be famines and earthquakes; and now they should remember those things that are signs of peace. But it is to be considered, according to the Apostle, that after wars, and strife, and plagues, and famines, and earthquakes, and other things by which the human race is devastated, peace will soon follow, which promises tranquility to all, so that the faith of believers may be confirmed, whether they may hope that the judge will come after the evils have been completed. For this is what we read in Paul: When they shall say, peace and security, then sudden destruction shall come upon them, as the pain of a woman in labor, and they shall not escape (I Thess. V, 3).
Watch for your life's sake. Let not your lamps be quenched, nor your loins unloosed; but be ye ready, for ye know not the hour in which our Lord cometh. But often shall ye come together, seeking the things which are befitting to your souls: for the whole time of your faith will not profit you, if ye be not made perfect in the last time. For in the last days false prophets and corrupters shall be multiplied, and the sheep shall be turned into wolves, and love shall be turned into hate; for when lawlessness increaseth, they shall hate and persecute and betray one another, and then shall appear the world-deceiver as Son of God, and shall do signs and wonders, and the earth shall be delivered into his hands, and he shall do iniquitous things which have never yet come to pass since the beginning. Then shall the creation of men come into the fire of trial, and many shall be made to stumble and shall perish; but they that endure in their faith shall be saved from under the curse itself. And then shall appear the signs of the truth; first, the sign of an out-spreading in heaven; then the sign of the sound of the trumpet; and the third, the resurrection of the dead; yet not of all, but as it is said: The Lord shall come and all His saints with Him. Then shall the world see the Lord coming upon the clouds of heaven.
A commentator
John ChrysostomHomily on the Gospel of Matthew 77 · Written in the 5th century.
proposed
And that thou mayest learn by another thing also, that the silence is not a mark of ignorance on His part, see, together with what we have mentioned, how He sets forth another sign also. "But as in the days of Noah they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that the flood came, and took all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be." And these things He spake, showing that He should come on a sudden, and unexpectedly, and when the more part were living luxuriously. For Paul too saith this, writing on this wise, "When they shall speak of peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them;" and to show how unexpected, He said, "as travail upon a woman with child." How then doth He say, "after the tribulation of those days?" For if there be luxury then, and peace, and safety, as Paul saith, how doth He say, "after the tribulation of those days?" If there be luxury, how is there tribulation? Luxury for them that are in a state of insensibility and peace. Therefore He said not, when there is peace, but "when they speak of peace and safety," indicating their insensibility to be such as of those in Noah's time, for that amid such evils they lived in luxury. But not so the righteous, but they were passing their time in tribulation and dejection. Whereby He shows, that when Antichrist is come, the pursuit of unlawful pleasures shall be more eager among the transgressors, and those that have learnt to despair of their own salvation. Then shall be gluttony, then revellings, and drunkenness. Wherefore also most of all He puts forth an example corresponding to the thing. […]
The Medieval Church1 voice
As confirmation of the truth of His words, He draws upon the events that occurred at the time of Noah. Just as then there were those who scoffed at the construction of the ark until the disaster came upon them and destroyed them all; so …
9 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church1 voice
But as in the days of Noah, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Above the Lord set forth the uncertainty of the hour of his coming; now he adds a similitude. And first he sets it forth; secondly, he expounds …
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
One is taken - Into God's immediate protection: and one is left - To share the common calamities. Our Lord speaks as having the whole transaction present before his eyes.
The sun, moon, and stars being extinguished, (probably not those of our system only) the sign of the Son of man (perhaps the cross) will appear in the glory of the Lord. They shall gather together his elect - That is, all that have endured to the end in the faith which worketh by love.
But as the days of Noe were,....
The popish religion doth, in effect, set up a false Christ; the Pope comes, in Christ's name, as his vicar, but invades and usurps all his offices, and so is a rival with him, and, as such, an enemy to him, a deceiver, and an antichrist. [3.] These false Christs and false prophets would have their agents and emissaries busy in all places to draw people in to them,
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Noe - The Greek way of writing “Noah.” See Gen. 6–9. The coming of the Son of man would be as it was in the days of Noah: 1. In its being sudden and unexpected, the “precise time” not being made known, though the “general” indications had been given. 2. The world would be found as it was then.
There are verses in this passage which are often much misapplied. “The coming of the Son of Man” is frequently spoken of as being the same thing as death; the texts which describe the uncertainty of his coming are used in epitaphs, and thought suitable to the tomb. But there is no solid ground for such an application of this passage. Death is one thing, and the coming of the Son of Man is quite another. The subject of these verses is not death, but the second advent of Jesus Christ. Let us remember this.
There are verses in this passage which are often much misapplied. “The coming of the Son of Man” is frequently spoken of as being the same thing as death; the texts which describe the uncertainty of his coming are used in epitaphs, and thought suitable to the tomb. But there is no solid ground for such an application of this passage. Death is one thing, and the coming of the Son of Man is quite another. The subject of these verses is not death, but the second advent of Jesus Christ. Let us remember this. It is a serious thing to wrest Scripture and use it in any but its true meaning. The first thing that demands our attention in these verses is the awful account that they give of the state of the world when the Lord Jesus comes again. The world will not be converted when Christ returns: it will be found in the same condition that it was in the day of the flood. When the flood came, men were found “eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage” absorbed in their worldly pursuits and utterly regardless of Noah’s repeated warnings. They saw no likelihood of a flood; they would not believe there was any danger. But at last the flood came suddenly and took them all away. All that were not with Noah in the ark were drowned: they were all swept away to their last account, unpardoned, unconverted and unprepared to meet God. And our Lord says, “ So shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.” Let us mark this text, and store it up in our minds. There are many strange opinions current on this subject, even among good men. Let us not flatter ourselves that the heathen will all be converted and the earth filled with the knowledge of God before the Lord comes; let us not dream that the end of all things cannot be at hand because there is yet much wickedness both in the church and in the world.
As the days of Noah - they were eating and drinking - That is, they spent their time in rapine, luxury, and riot. The design of these verses seems to be, that the desolation should be as general as it should be unexpected.
The words behind it
14 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ὥσπερ | hosper | As [were] | G5618 → | 36 times |
| γὰρ | gar | for | G1063 → | 1039 times |
| αἱ | hai | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἡμέραι | hemerai | days | G2250 → | 389 times |
| τοῦ | tou | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| Νῶε, | noe | of Noah, | G3575 → | |
| οὕτως | houtos | so | G3779 → | 208 times |
| ἔσται | estai | will be | G1510 → | 2333 times |
| ἡ | he | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| παρουσία | parousia | coming | G3952 → | 24 times |
| τοῦ | tou | of the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| υἱοῦ | huiou | Son | G5207 → | 377 times |
| τοῦ | tou | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἀνθρώπου. | anthropou | of Man. | G444 → | 549 times |
ὥσπερAs [were]
hosperG5618 →36 times
γὰρfor
garG1063 →1039 times
αἱthe
haiG3588 →19766 times
ἡμέραιdays
hemeraiG2250 →389 times
τοῦ<the>
touG3588 →19766 times
Νῶε,of Noah,
noeG3575 →
οὕτωςso
houtosG3779 →208 times
ἔσταιwill be
estaiG1510 →2333 times
ἡthe
heG3588 →19766 times
παρουσίαcoming
parousiaG3952 →24 times
τοῦof the
touG3588 →19766 times
υἱοῦSon
huiouG5207 →377 times
τοῦ<the>
touG3588 →19766 times
ἀνθρώπου.of Man.
anthropouG444 →549 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Hebrews 11:7By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in godly fear built an ark to save his family. By faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes…
it leads to
- Genesis 6:13
Then God said to Noah, “The end of all living creatures has come before Me, because through them the earth is full of violence. Now behold, I will destroy both them and the earth.
- 1 Peter 3:20
who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In the ark a few people, only eight souls, were saved through water.
- Ezekiel 14:14
then even if these three men—Noah, Daniel, and Job—were in it, their righteousness could deliver only themselves, declares the Lord GOD.
- Luke 17:26
Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man:
- Romans 4:13
For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world was not given through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.
- Genesis 6:13
Through
2 Peter 2:5if He did not spare the ancient world when He brought the flood on its ungodly people, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, among the eight;
it leads to
- Hebrews 11:7
By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in godly fear built an ark to save his family. By faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes…
- 2 Peter 3:6
through which the world of that time perished in the flood.
- Jude 1:14–15
Enoch, the seventh from Adam, also prophesied about them: “Behold, the Lord is coming with myriads of His holy ones
- Hebrews 11:7
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies13
On this verse
About Matthew
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 14 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Gospels; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions (Book VII), Section 2, XXXII; Didache, The Didache, Chapter 16; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Matthew; Jerome, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Jerome, Commentary on Matthew; John Chrysostom, Homily on the Gospel of Matthew 77; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Matthew and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Matthew.