1
耶和華對挪亞說：你和你的全家都要進入方舟；因為在這世代中，我見你在我面前是義人。
2
凡潔淨的畜類，你要帶七公七母；不潔淨的畜類，你要帶一公一母；
4
因為再過七天，我要降雨在地上四十晝夜，把我所造的各種活物都從地上除滅。
7
挪亞就同他的妻和兒子兒婦都進入方舟，躲避洪水。
9
都是一對一對的，有公有母，到挪亞那裡進入方舟，正如神所吩咐挪亞的。
11
當挪亞六百歲，二月十七日那一天，大淵的泉源都裂開了，天上的窗戶也敞開了
13
正當那日，挪亞和他三個兒子閃、含、雅弗，並挪亞的妻子和三個兒婦，都進入方舟。
14
他們和百獸，各從其類，一切牲畜，各從其類，爬在地上的昆蟲，各從其類，一切禽鳥，各從其類，都進入方舟。
15
凡有血肉、有氣息的活物，都一對一對地到挪亞那裡，進入方舟。
16
凡有血肉進入方舟的，都是有公有母，正如神所吩咐挪亞的。耶和華就把他關在方舟裡頭。
21
凡在地上有血肉的動物，就是飛鳥、牲畜、走獸，和爬在地上的昆蟲，以及所有的人，都死了。
482. Until now nobody has known what the years and the numbers of years occurring in this chapter mean in the internal sense. People who stay within the sense of the letter imagine that they are no more than chronological years. But none of the content from here down to Chapter 12 is history as it seems to be in the sense of the letter, for every single detail contains something of a different nature. What applies to names applies to numbers as well. In the Word the number three occurs frequently, and so does the number seven; and in every instance they mean something holy or inviolable as regards those states which the periods of time or whatever else that is mentioned embody or represent. This applies as much to the shortest as to the longest time-intervals; for just as parts makeup the whole, so do the shortest make up the longest. For a similarity must exist in order that a whole may emerge satisfactorily out of the parts, or that which is largest out of that which is smallest.
[2] As in Isaiah,
Jehovah has now spoken, saying, In three years, according to the years of a hireling, the glory of Moab will be rendered worthless. Isaiah 16:14.
In the same prophet,
The Lord said to me, Within yet a year, according to the years of a hireling, and all the glory of Kedar will be brought to an end. Isaiah 21:6.
Here both the shortest as well as the longest time-intervals are meant. In Habakkuk,
O Jehovah, I have heard Your fame; I was afraid. O Jehovah, revive Your work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years do You make it known. Habakkuk 3:2.
Here 'the midst of the years' stands for the Lord's Coming. If the intervals are shorter this stands for every coming of the Lord, as when a person is being regenerated; but if longer it stands for the rising anew of the Lord's Church. It is also called in Isaiah 'the year of the redeemed', The day of vengeance was in My heart, and the year of My redeemed has come. Isaiah 63:4.
So too 'the thousand years' for which Satan is to be bound, Revelation 20:2-3, 7, and 'the thousand years' associated with the first resurrection, Revelation 20:4-6. These in no way mean a thousand years but the states associated with them. For just as 'days, as shown 'already, are interpreted as a state, so too are 'years', and the states are described by the number of the years. From this it becomes clear that periods of time in this chapter also embody states, for every Church experienced a different state of perception from the next, according to differences of disposition resulting from inherited and acquired characteristics.
