Jess Whitlock
…there were heavens from of old, and an earth compacted out of water and amidst water, by the word of God; by which means the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished…” (2 Pet. 3:5-6 ASV).
The flood waters of Noah’s day have been constantly under attack by the atheists, infidels, and skeptics of Bible inspiration. (Of course, this especially applies to the first eleven chapters of Genesis). As a student at Oklahoma Christian College (OCC), now OCU, one of my professors argued that the flood of Noah’s day was just a local flood. Many advocate that the flood of Genesis 6-9 was a small, local flood limited to the Mesopotamian Valley, and not a world-wide deluge.
I know the flood of Noah’s day was universal. Consider some of the universal descriptions found in the Word of God. “And Jehovah saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth…and the earth was corrupt before God…for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth…I do bring the flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is in the earth shall die.” (Gen. 6: 5, 11, 13, 17, all emphasis mine – jlw). I once read these and a few other passages to a group of fourth and fifth grade students and asked if the whole earth perished in that flood, or only a portion? Every student responded saying, “the whole earth.”
I know the flood of Noah’s day was universal. Only eight souls were saved by (through) water. Listen to this, “”And every living thing was destroyed that was upon the face of the ground, both man and cattle, and creeping things, and birds of the heavens; and they were destroyed from the earth, and Noah only was left, and they that were with him in the ark” (Gen. 7:23). Count up those aboard the ark and you discover only eight souls. Peter writes, “and spared not the ancient world, but preserved Noah with seven others…” (2 Pet. 2:5). Do the math! Following the events of Genesis 9 you will not read of one person that lived on earth prior to the flood that was still living. Not the first one. If there had been one area of dry ground, we would have learned about such survivors! Genesis 10 will continue the Genesis narrative by listing the posterity of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
I know the flood of Noah’s day was universal. God spoke to Noah saying, “Make thee an ark of gopher wood…” (Gen. 6:14). Consider the size of the ark. The ark was 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high (Gen. 6:15). Most Bible students believe the cubit to be 18 inches, the shortest of all measurements is 17.5 inches. Using the smallest cubit, the size of the ark would have been 438 feet long, 72.9 feet wide, and 43.8 feet high. The late Dr. Henry Morris with a Ph.D. in Hydrology and Hydraulics observed: “It can be shown hydrodynamically that a gigantic box of such dimensions would be exceedingly stable, almost impossible to capsize. Even in a sea of gigantic waves…” Why would God demand such a structure to be built, if Noah and his family only needed to evade a local flood? All they would have to do would be to make a move to high and dry ground. Countless others would have done the same thing, and if not, why not?
I know the flood of Noah’s day was universal. There exists hundreds of salt lakes and inland seas such as the salty Caspian Sea. The Caspian Sea is landlocked and has been shrinking in size for many centuries. Lake Van is located southwest of Ararat and Lake Urmia are good examples of high elevated, landlocked lakes. The Gobi Desert in central Asia contains many leftover, salty lakes that continue to shrink in size. In America we have the Great Salt Lake surrounded by desert. In the Andes, there is Lake Titicaca (12,500 feet above sea level, covering more than 300 square miles), at one time much larger and known for its high salt content. Similar salt water lakes exist throughout the world. The geological evidence speaks eloquently of a world that at one time in the past was inundated with flood waters.
Peter and Jesus knew the flood of Noah’s day was universal. “And as were the days of Noah, so shall be the coming of the Son of man. For as in those days which were before the flood…the world that then was, being overflowed with water perished…” (Matt. 24:37-38; 2 Pet. 3:6).
Unbelievers continue to scoff at God and His Word and say that the account of Noah and the flood is only a myth! We can honestly say that the unbelievers have mythed the boat; all who mythed the boat when Noah entered into the ark perished in the flood. Make sure your faith in God and His inspired Word does not fail you, otherwise you will myth heaven in the ages of eternity!
