Who is “they” referring to in Matthew 24:38?
Is “they” referring to Noah and his family or the people of the world?
Matthew 24:38
NKJV - 38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark.
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Tim Maas
In the larger passage containing the verse cited in the question, Jesus was discussing the conditions that would precede His return at the close of the age, and comparing them to the state of the world in the time preceding the Flood recounted in Genesis 6-8. In Genesis, no one paid any attention to Noah's warnings of the destruction and death that the Flood would bring, or of the opportunity that the Ark represented to save themselves (as Noah and his extended family would be saved). Instead, everyone else (represented by the "they" to whom Jesus was referring) went about their normal (sinful) lives until they were suddenly overtaken and killed by the Flood, with only Noah, his three sons, and their wives, surviving. Jesus' return will occur in a similarly unexpected manner, with only those who have heeded His words being prepared and saved through their faith in Him.
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