Preservation of the Promise
"I establish My covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth."
GENESIS 9:11
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Preservation of the Promise
The flood is truly death and the wrath of God; nevertheless, the believers are saved in the midst of the flood. Thus death engulfs and swallows up the entire human race; for without distinction the wrath of God goes over the good and the evil, over the godly and the ungodly. . .. The difference becomes apparent in this: those who believe are preserved in the very death to which they are subjected together with the ungodly, but the ungodly perish. Noah, accordingly, is preserved because he has the ark, that is, God's promise and Word, in which he is living; but the ungodly, who do not believe the Word, are left to their fate. This difference the Holy Spirit wanted to point out in order that the godly might be instructed by this example to believe and hope for salvation through the mercy of God, even in the midst of death. For they have Baptism joined with the promise of life, just as Noah had the ark. Hence even though the death of the wise man and of the fool is the same (Ecclesiastes 2:16)—for Peter and Paul die no differently from the way Nero and other ungodly men die later on—they nevertheless believe that in death they will be preserved for eternal life. Nor is this an idle hope; for they have Christ to receive their spirits. On the Last Day He will revive also the bodies of believers for eternal life.
GENESIS 9:11
+
Preservation of the Promise
The flood is truly death and the wrath of God; nevertheless, the believers are saved in the midst of the flood. Thus death engulfs and swallows up the entire human race; for without distinction the wrath of God goes over the good and the evil, over the godly and the ungodly. . .. The difference becomes apparent in this: those who believe are preserved in the very death to which they are subjected together with the ungodly, but the ungodly perish. Noah, accordingly, is preserved because he has the ark, that is, God's promise and Word, in which he is living; but the ungodly, who do not believe the Word, are left to their fate. This difference the Holy Spirit wanted to point out in order that the godly might be instructed by this example to believe and hope for salvation through the mercy of God, even in the midst of death. For they have Baptism joined with the promise of life, just as Noah had the ark. Hence even though the death of the wise man and of the fool is the same (Ecclesiastes 2:16)—for Peter and Paul die no differently from the way Nero and other ungodly men die later on—they nevertheless believe that in death they will be preserved for eternal life. Nor is this an idle hope; for they have Christ to receive their spirits. On the Last Day He will revive also the bodies of believers for eternal life.
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