Subject: Alexandrian Allegory-The Flood.
Date: Wed, 10 Feb 1999 01:29:33 GMT
From:  (St.Athanasius)
Newsgroups: aus.religion.christian

In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, the One God, Amen. Peace and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

Dear NG'ers, This is the second in this series of allegorical interpretations of the Old Testament and how they teach us Christian truths.

No. 2 The Flood Story and how it points to Christian Baptism.

A quick reminder of the Flood and Noah. The world was sinful everywhere except for righteous Noah and through him his family. God asked Noah to build an ark from wood, to anoint it within and without (calk it) to make it waterproof. God sent two of every animal to Noah and the ark. Noah built a window at the top and his family (eight souls in all) entered the ark. There was one door in the side of the ark, all those who were saved entered by it and God sealed the door Himself. God made it rain (some say for the first time on earth) and the waters of the deep 'broke up' and the world flooded. All living creatures that had in them the breath of life were drowned except those in the ark. (Poor unicorns). The ark floated for a year and then the waters commenced to receed. Noah sent out a raven which flew and flew and did not return. Noah sent out a dove which flew and brought back an olive branch showing that the waters had receeded enough for new growth to be commencing. The ark finally rested on Ararat and Noah built an altar to God in thanks for His salvation. The animals spread again over the land, and all the peoples of the earth are truly brothers having now descended from Noah's sons, Shem, Ham and Japeth. God placed His rainbow in the sky as an eternal covenant that He would never send a world wide flood again to wipe out mankind totally from the earth.

The Christian allegorical understanding of this passage is as follows:

The Sinful world at the time of Noah.

The sinful world and her peoples had all gone against God, just as we too, prior to our baptism had disobeyed God. Sin reigned in our lives as it did in the peoples. Yet Noah, a man of deep faith trusted God and taught his family the fear of the Lord. God 'called' Noah and told him to build the ark.

The Ark.

The ark was constructed of wood and was to rise up above the waters for the salvation of the people covered by and in it. The wood of the ark allegorically points to the wood of the cross of Christ, which is the only means by which any may now be saved from the world of sin. The raising up of the cross for all to see is seen in the ark being lifted up before the peoples who were drowning. The calking (anointing) of the ark was done inside and out. This anointing is teaching us that Christians when they are baptized are anointed as well. They receive the mystery of Chrismation (anointing with the Holy Spirit through oil), and the Holy Spirit Himself anoints them internally through His cleansing work, thus sealing and protecting him for the future struggles of floating on the sea of sin. Giving him safety, grace and strength to remain 'watertight' to the worlds waves.

The Single Door closed by God.

After the animals were inside and Noah's family, God Himself sealed the door to the ark and then the rains came. This teaches us many things. First, the ark of salvation, (the Church of Christ) has only door of entry (Jesus Christ who said "I am the door")., there is not ANY OTHER way into the ark of salvation, but through that door. ALL others are thieves and robbers and have entered without bridal clothes and shall be asked by the King to leave the feast. The people walking freely into the ark points to the free will of mankind to choose to obey God's salvitic call (His call to them came first of course). The door being sealed by only God shows that the door of salvation is open and can only be closed by God at the Last Day, when time will end. No one knows exactly when that will happen, but when the door shuts, there shall be no others enter into the salvation of God.

Also, after the door was opened, the saved came out of the ark from the side. This points to Christ, when he was on the cross effecting the salvation of the world His side was opened and Blood and water poured forth. This points to the salvitic works or God, Blood and water, His Blood that washes away sins in the Holy Communion and the waters of baptism which cleanses from all sins. Just as the side of Adam was opened and Eve was taken from his rib, so too is Eve a picture of the Church/Bride who is taken from the side of her husband-Christ (The new Adam).

The Eight Souls who were saved.

The eight souls saved clearly picture to us that salvation is wrought in baptism (Covenantally not foreinsically) and is confirmed by the Apostle St Peter when he uses the allegory under inspiration to affirm, "And eight souls were saved through water, that is baptism." The raging waters around the ark teach us of the waters of baptism which wash us and cleanse us of all filth of sin just as the waters did then of all the sinful and disobedient sons and daughters.

The Raven and the Dove.

Towards the end of the time of the deluge, Noah sent out a raven to search the earth, this did not come back, thus indicating that it found nowhere to rest and died by drowning. After a while Noah sent out a Dove, which flew out and did return with an olive branch, thus indicating that earth was exposed and that new growth was commencing. This teaches us that the raven is the sins of the persons who are baptized. They go out from the person at baptism and do not return. They are gone forever and cleansed before God. The worst sisn of mancan and are washed away in the waters of baptism. The black raven allegorically is the sin in the baptized. The Dove which returns to the ark teaches us that the Holy Spirit in fact returns and abides within the newly baptized for he has been cleansed of his sins and entered the New Covenant with God. The olive branch shows that peace has come to that soul with God.

The Mountain of Ararat.

This teaches us that the newly baptized has arrived on the Mountain of God and is seated in the high places of salvation. The animals and people coming forth from the ark shows us the beautiful bounty of God and manifold blessings for His children in their relationship with Him. New life all over the new world springs from the one ark of salvation. This points us to the Church, which already is reigning with Christ and is seated on high.

Noah builds an Altar to the Lord.

Immediately after coming from the ark Noah and his family attend to the altar of God and there give thanks to God for His bountiful protection and Glory. This teaches us that immediately after baptism the newly baptized is then led straight to the Christian altar of the Lord where they give thanks (Eucharistos, even the modern Greek for thanks is efcharisto), and partake of the sacrifice of Christ of His Body and Blood which the lamb spoke. Thus salvation is continued and the blessed life in the Spirit of God has begun.

The Rainbow in the Sky.

God's promise/Covenant was shown when He placed the rainbow in the sky and said that never again would the world be destroyed by water/flood. This flood was a once only event, never to be repeated by God. This teaches us that Christian baptism is a once only event and is never to be repeated. God promises to work in that baptism and does, His promise should not be denied but simply believed in. Christians are baptized once for the remission of their sins.

I may have left out some minor details, but generally speaking this is an example of the allegorical method of (OT) Biblical interpretation by the famous Church of Alexandria, who boast such saints as Athanasius, Clement, Alexander, Didymus the Blind (who invented writing raised on wood 15 centuries before Braille).