Which One Is Different From The Others?
Many times, in the Bible, the seventh in a series is different from the previous six.
In the creation of Adam and his environment, God had 6 days of the work of creation plus 1 day, the seventh, as a day of non-work. In the commandments that God gave to Israel, He gave the weekly sabbath. This was a command to work for 6 days to be followed by a special day, a seventh day, to cease from work. This pointed to Christ who was to come. The sign was not pointing to itself.
In the agricultural calendar that Moses gave to the nation of Israel, there were to be 6 years of normal planting and harvest plus 1 year of letting the land sit while it was not used.
In the conquest of the land of Canaan in about 1410 BC (Josh 6), the army of Israel was to march around the city of Jericho once daily for 6 days while the people were silent. The seventh day was different, however. They were to circle the city 7 times on this special day. The priests were to blow rams' horns. Then all the people were to shout with a great shout. The walls of the city fell down flat and the army took the city.
Some see 7 millennia of human government on this planet. Six thousand years are failed experiments in governing the earth. The seventh one is different. This millennium is ruled by Christ Himself. It is one thousand years of near paradise in an almost perfect environment.
A very important item in the realm of prophecy is the 70 weeks of Daniel (Dan 9:24). These prophetic “weeks” must be years. 69 of these prophetic weeks had passed at the time of Christ, 2000 years ago. There remains the 70th week. This is another set of 7. According to the pattern since the world began we might expect to see that the final year in the set of 7 is unique.
It certainly appears so.
“And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so will it also be in the days of the Son of Man:” (Luke 17:26 NASB)
I think the main thing that the Lord is saying here is that the judgment came upon the world the same day that Noah entered the ark. Or Noah entered into his safe place on the very day that God's judgment fell. The same thing was said about Lot in his situation in Sodom (Luke 17:28-30).
Secondarily, there is something significant about the days of Noah being equal to the days of the conditions of the coming of the Son of Man. There are many precise dates given in the account of Noah. I will point out two.
The first is more obvious. Both Noah and Lot were rescued on the very day that the judgment of God fell on their world. Both were not intended to be a part of the judgment of their day. If this is supposed to be a parallel to the coming of Jesus, it suggests that the people of God, the Church, will be removed from the earth on the very day that the judgment falls.
This could fit well with the idea that God will rapture the Church out of the earth and then a 7 year Tribulation will commence after that. But there is a problem with that logic. There is no reason to assume that Daniel's 70th week is 7 years of judgment. While this is the popular teaching, the Scriptures suggest otherwise. This is an assumption. Assumptions may happen to be correct but there is no reason to think the Bible text supports this idea. However, the Days of Noah suggest something else.
As I said earlier, the account of the Days of Noah contain some very precise dates. This is not for no reason. God's judgment did not fall while Noah was preparing the ark. The judgment of God did not fall until Noah and his family were safely sealed inside the ark. The rains came on that same day. The rains lasted for 40 days and 40 nights. 40 often speaks of judgment. It is possible there was more than rain as we know it that fell from the sky. “The floodgates of the sky were opened.” Not only were there rains but the fountains of the great deep opened up.
Judgment did not come until the day that Noah entered the ark. He exited the ark exactly 1 year and 10 days later. When Noah left the ark, everything was right again. All evil (that necessitated the Flood) was gone. God's judgment lasted 1 year and 10 days, not 7 years. Noah was kept safe and hidden in God's care for 1 year and 10 days.
The rains lasted 40 days (Gen 7:12).
After 150 days it was noticed that the flood waters had receded (8:3).
After 7 1/2 months the tops of mountains were visible (8:5).
After 10 1/2 months everything looks dry (8:13).
At 1 year + 10 days God gave the command to exit the ark (8:14-6).
In any case, none of these is 7 years long.
The 70th week of Daniel is 7 years long. The judgment of God is relatively short. It is not 7 years long. The last 7 years are not fun for many people. It is a time of “birth pangs”, persecution, and nature gone wild.
The Days of Noah were about 370-375 days long. Could the Days of the Son of Man also be 1 year in length?
“And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so will it also be in the days of the Son of Man:” (Luke 17:26 NASB)
If this is true, it makes the Rapture/Resurrection/Wrath of God at about 6 years into the 70th week of Daniel or about 1 year from the very end. That's a lot longer than I want to go into this difficult time. But wanting it to be so and teaching that it is so does not make it so.
The most important thing about the Days of Noah being like the Days of the Son of Man is that God's people do not suffer the wrath of God no matter what other inconveniences and persecution they may face.
June 15, 2026