407、一般来说，一个教会的状态是这样：随着时间流逝，它背离真信，直到最后完全没有了信；这个时候，就说它“荒废”了。那些被称为“该隐”的人当中的上古教会就是这种情况，大洪水后的古教会也是这种情况，犹太教会同样是这种情况。主降临的时候，犹太教会竟荒废到对主一无所知的地步，他们甚至不知道主要降世拯救他们，更不知道对祂的信。初期基督教会，即主降临后所建的教会又是这种情况；如今该教会已彻底荒废，以至于信在那里荡然无存。然而，教会的某个核心始终存在，尽管那些在信方面荒废的人不承认这个核心；上古教会就是这样，其“余剩”一直保存到大洪水时期，并在大洪水之后继续存在。教会的这种余剩被称为“挪亚”。
New Century Edition
Cooper(2008,2013)
[NCE]407. The state of a church in general is such that over time it tends to ebb away from true faith and finally terminate without any faith. When faith is gone, the church is described as devastated or ruined. That is what happened in the earliest church among those called followers of Cain. It occurred also in the ancient church, which followed the Flood. It occurred also in the Jewish church, which was so utterly devastated at the time of the Lord's Coming that they did not know anything about him or the fact that he was coming to save them; still less did they know anything about faith in him. It occurred also in the early [Christian] church — the first church following the Lord's Coming — which today is in such complete ruins that no faith remains.
Even so, a nucleus of the church always remains in existence, unrecognized by those whose faith has been destroyed. A remnant of the earliest church, for example, survived until the Flood and continued on after it. That church remnant is called Noah.
Potts(1905-1910) 407
407. The state of a church in general is thus circumstanced. In process of time it departs from the true faith until at last it comes to be entirely destitute of faith, when it is said to be "vastated." This was the case with the Most Ancient Church among those who were called Cainites, and also with the Ancient Church after the flood, as well as with the Jewish Church. At the time of the Lord's advent this last was in such a state of vastation that they knew nothing about the Lord, that He was to come into the world for their salvation, and they knew still less about faith in Him. Such was also the case with the primitive Christian Church, or that which existed after the Lord's advent, and which at this day is so completely vastated that there is no faith remaining in it. Yet there always remains some nucleus of a church, which those who are vastated as to faith do not acknowledge; and thus it was with the Most Ancient Church, of which a remnant remained until the time of the flood, and continued after that event. This remnant of the Church is called "Noah."
Elliott(1983-1999) 407
407. It generally happens with the passage of time that the Church reaches a state when it retreats from true faith and at length ends up with no faith at all. And when faith is no more the Church is said to be vastated. This was what happened to the Most Ancient Church among those called Cainites. It was also what happened to the Ancient Church which came after the Flood, and to the Jewish Church too, which had been so vastated by the time of the Lord's Coming that they did not even know anything about the Lord's coming to save them, still less anything about faith in Him. It was what happened yet again to the Primitive Church - the Church established after the Lord's Coming - which at the present time has been so vastated that there is not any faith there. Nevertheless some nucleus of the Church always remains, although those who have been vastated as to faith do not acknowledge that nucleus, as with the Most Ancient Church, a remnant of which remained up to and survived beyond the Flood. That remnant of the Church is called Noah.
Latin(1748-1756) 407
407. Ecclesiae status in genere se ita habet quod temporis tractu recedat a vera fide et tandem in nullam desinat; cum nulla, dicitur quod vastata; ita se habuit cum Ecclesia Antiquissima apud eos qua 'Cainitae' dicti; ita quoque cum Ecclesia Antiqua quae post diluvium; ita quoque cum Ecclesia Judaica, quae ita vastata fuit tempore Adventus Domini ut non scirent aliquid de Domino, quod venturus ad salvandum eos, minus aliquid de fide in Ipsum: ita quoque cum primitiva Ecclesia seu quae post Adventum Domini, quae hodie ita vastata est ut non aliqua fides: tametsi semper aliquis nucleus Ecclesiae manet, quem ii qui quoad fidem vastati sunt, non agnoscunt; sicut etiam ab Antiquissima Ecclesia mansit residuum usque ad diluvium et continuabatur post diluvium, quod residuum Ecclesiae vocatur 'Noah.'