The destruction in Noah's day was a cataclysm, while the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 was only a catastrophe, and the difference is significant. The Noachian Flood reshaped the entire surface of the earth, ended civilization worldwide, and cost many millions of lives. In scope it was orders of magnitude greater than the destruction of a single city, or even of an already defunct, highly corrupt nation such as Judah in AD 70. For this reason Christ, in Matthew 24:36-39, ties the coming of the Son of Man to the days of Noah and not to the fall of Jerusalem. As people were eating, drinking, marrying, and unaware until the flood came and took them all away, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. The Flood is a type of the day of the Lord's vengeance, the Day of the Lord. Because the event Christ points to is of cataclysmic, worldwide scale, the preterist claim that His coming was fulfilled in AD 70 cannot stand. Jerusalem's fall was only a type of the greater destruction yet to come.

During the cataclysm of Noah's Flood, the enthroned God, whom we know as Jesus Christ, oversaw events from His cloud, presiding over the destruction of a violent and corrupt civilization worldwide. For the better part of a year, He virtually obliterated the ante-Diluvian world, leaving little evidence of its existence, while simultaneously terraforming a new world. Vast currents of water shaped plains and carved out landscapes like the Grand Canyon, as He directed rebuilding almost immediately after destruction. Enthroned on His cloud, He orchestrated this dual process, viewing restoration as concomitant with destruction. When the clouds finally scattered, and Noah set foot on terra firma, the geography and topography were substantially different, marking the emergence of a new world. As it was in Noah's day, so it will be on the day when the Son of Man comes, with Christ spending a year in His cloud during the Day of the Lord, destroying and creating virtually simultaneously, protecting those He chooses, and displaying precise selectivity in His righteous judgment.

Before the return of Jesus Christ, a cataclysmic event will unfold, marked by great tribulation unlike anything seen since the world's beginning, nor ever to be seen again. This time of unparalleled horror will bring destruction and war beyond human experience, threatening the very existence of all life. Immediately after this tribulation, cosmic disturbances will terrify humanity, with the sun darkening, the moon losing its light, the stars falling from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shaking. Men's hearts will fail from fear of what is coming upon the earth. The Day of the Lord, as described, is a process culminating in Christ's return, a day of darkness and gloominess, of clouds and thick darkness, where a great and strong people will bring devastation, leaving the land desolate. Fire will devour before them, and a flame will burn behind, with the earth quaking, heavens trembling, and celestial bodies dimming. The Lord will give voice before His army, for the day is great and very terrible, and who can endure it? Yet, amidst this cataclysm, Christ's love shines as He intervenes to prevent total annihilation, offering hope and redemption as the sign of the Son of Man appears in heaven, heralding His return in power and glory.