Was the Flood of Noah’s Day Really Global
The Noachic flood occurred more than 4,000 years ago. So there are no eyewitness survivors on earth to tell us about it. However, there is the written record of the catastrophe, which states that the flood waters covered the tallest mountain of that time.
The historical document reads, “The deluge went on for forty days upon the earth … and the waters overwhelmed the earth so greatly that all the mountains that were under the whole heavens came to be covered. Up to fifteen cubits (about 6.5 meters) the water overwhelmed them and the mountains became covered” (Gen 7:17-20).
Some wonder if the story of the whole earth being covered by a flood is a myth or, at least, exaggeration. Not at all! Indeed, to some extent, the earth is still flooded. Sea water covers about 71% of the earth’s surface. So in reality the flood water is still there and, if glaciers and polar ice-caps were to melt, the sea level would rise to cover cities like New York and Tokyo.
Geologists studying the landscape of the northern United States believe that as many as 100 ancient catastrophic floods once washed over the area. One such flood is said to have roared through the region with a wall of water 600 meters high travelling at 105 km an hour – a flood of 2000 cubic kilometers of water, weighing more than a trillion tons. Similar findings elsewhere have led some scientists to think that a global flood is a distinct possibility.
For those who believe the Bible is God’s word, though, global flood is more than a possibility: it is a fact. Jesus said to God, “Your word is truth” (John 17:17). The apostle Paul wrote that God’s will is that “all sorts of men should be saved and come to an accurate knowledge of truth” (1 Timothy 2:3,4). How could Paul teach the followers of Jesus the doctrine of truth if God’s word contained myth?
Not only did Jesus believe that the flood took place but he also believed that it was global. In his great prophecy about his presence and the end of this system of things, he likened those events to the time of Noah (Matthew 24:37-39). The apostle Peter also wrote about the flood waters in Noah’s day: “By those means the world of that time suffered destruction when it was deluged with water” (2 Peter 3:6).
If Noah was a mythical figure and the global flood a fable, the warning of Peter and Jesus for those living in the last days would be meaningless. Instead of serving as a warning, such ideas would befuddle a person’s spiritual senses and endanger his chances of surviving a tribulation greater than the Noachic flood (2 Peter 3:1-7).
In speaking about His abiding mercies for His people, God said, “Just as I have sworn that the waters of Noah shall no more pass over the earth, so I have sworn that I will not become indignant toward you nor rebuke you.”
As surely as the Noachic flood did overwhelm the earth, so God’s lovingkindness will be with those trusting in him (Isaiah 54:9).
Bro Nelson Anyal (Kisumu, Kenya)
