THE FLOOD -
UNIVERSAL OR LOCAL

The case is very strong for a worldwide flood.

The actual reality of The Flood cannot be questioned, not only did The Flood destroy 'all life', except fish and the eight persons (Noah and his family), it lasted 371 days, and there is no other story so widely recorded and repeated in the stories of ancient peoples all over the world, than that of a judgement Flood.

The stories of The Great Flood and a boat throughout the cultures on earth are common, although only The Bible records a moral perspective provided in the true event. Both Jesus and Peter spoke of it, Peter, implying of its great scope and vastness, said the whole earth was destroyed by Flood and the next time it will be destroyed by fire. Peter warns those who scoff and are rebellious today, that just as the ancient world was destroyed by a deluge of water, this present world also is heading for a time of judgement and the destruction of the ungodly.

Noah was a just man and obedient to God. He did preach to the people around him, although no one knows where he actually lived. Noah was blameless in the midst of wickedness as was Enoch, seventh descendant from Adam.

Corruption had become so great in Noah's time; it overwhelmed the whole earth. Every wickedness of mankind was practiced, deeds of violence were everywhere. Godlessness and rebellion prevailed throughout the world. Godlessness is the outlook and lifestyle that does not acknowledge God. The godless are judged for this. The human race is in rebellion against God through disobedience, unbelief and selfishness but to righteous Noah, God announced His decision to destroy mankind, including animals and birds, for He was grieved at the choices human beings had selfishly made.

God commanded Noah to build a craft that was to God's specifications, as a means for his family to escape The Flood that He was about to bring upon the earth. The ark was 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high. The ark's purpose was to float and not to be navigated. Noah and his family were kept safe in the ark.

The Bible records the world was judged of God by a universal catastrophe, of an entire Flood that covered all the earth. The cause was sinful humanity. As a moral being God will not permit sin to exist unchecked. After multiplied generations wickedness dominated the heart of mankind. This situation caused God to feel sorrow and He was filled with pain. God does not enjoy judgement, but justice is a moral necessity.

The waters from above and below killed everything that had breath except for Noah and his immediate family. God also kept the animals safe in the ark. The animals that entered the ark were a pair of each unclean animals (predators and scavengers) and seven pairs of each clean animals (usually for food). God brought the animals to Noah. When all entered the ark, God Himself sealed the door.

Genesis 1:6-8 "6 And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water. So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. God called the expanse sky."

The earth from the time of its creation was surrounded by a canopy of water until the times of The Flood. The water vapour canopy recorded in Genesis 1, fell to earth as earthquakes released the subterranean waters. The great weight of the released waters resculptured the surface of the world thrusting up mountain ranges and depressing seabeds. Tremendous upheaval of the ocean floor caused by great earthquakes produced subterranean water to burst forth. The fossils found in the water-laid strata prove the fact of the flood being of cosmic proportion.

Genesis 2:5,6 "For the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground".

At the beginning of Creation, the ground was watered by mist and underground streams, not rain, for God had separated the waters above and below.

Genesis 1:9 "Let the waters under the sky be gathered to one place
and let dry ground appear."

Prior to the flood there was not any rain. The earth apparently was one landmass with water surrounding the earth before The Flood. Not only did The Flood come about by rain for the first time, but from the subterranean waters.

There is no doubt that God worked a miracle in causing The Flood, similar to the creation of the world but redistributing its contents into land masses and oceans, foreordained and set in motion at the beginning of the original creation.

Genesis 7:11. "The spring of the great deep burst forth and the floodgates of the heavens were opened".

The subterranean waters sprang up from the inside of the earth before the rain began. This description indicates that the earth's crust broke up as well as gigantic sprays of water, gas and air-all penetrating the canopy, triggering it's down pour of water. This ended the water canopy that encircled the earth beneath. This was for the protection from the elements, especially ultra-violet radiation from the sun that added to the ageing of people.

Genesis 7:19 "all highest mountains covered"

The Bible records that the waters rose above all high mountains to a depth of at least twenty feet and the ark itself during the flood drifted 500 miles if Noah lived in the Mesopotamian Basin and settled up high on the side of Mt. Ararat in modern day Turkey, legitimately presenting the enormity of this Flood. Mt. Ararat is 17,000 feet high.

Every living thing that moved on the earth perished. Some insect life, for example, the praying mantis' eggs can remain dormant up to four years until the right conditions arrive, then they are hatched. It is also known that the frog can be sustained in dry creek beds for many seasons. The Flood did accomplish God's stated purpose. God who created mankind is a moral being, who will judge, for the sake of justice and because of His holiness.

God promised Himself and mankind, never again would He send another worldwide flood to destroy His creation. God set a rainbow in the sky, the sign of the covenant for all perpetual generations, and established a covenant with all of mankind through Noah. The rainbow would be the sign and a reminder of the covenant. A rainbow in the sky was never seen before the flood. The rainbow is an arc of colours, reflected by the sun's rays passing through raindrops and was established in aftermath of The Great Judgement Flood. The covenant was also made with His Creation continuing the Laws of Nature.

God commanded that mankind is not to take the life of another human being, for it is more sacred than an animal's life. Animals may be slain for eating and sacrifices to God only, but no slaying of humans is allowed, for mankind is made in the image of God. Murder caused abomination amongst mankind to spread.

Because of The Flood mankind now traces its origin to Noah. Though mankind still had the image of God, it was marred for evil has remained in their hearts. After the Flood when the eating of meat was evident, it showed the degeneration of mankind from the position man once held with the animal world by naming and living with them.

Noah believed God in circumstances that appeared ridiculous. Noah obeyed God even though ridiculed by his local and extended neighbours. Judgement clearly divides humanity into the saved and the lost.

During the period of the 40 days of rain and the result of flooding in the finality of Judgement, God was gracious in His protection of Noah and his family to begin anew the generations of mankind. Even though all people are descendants from Noah, Noah was himself a descendant of Adam and Eve. The line of descendents from Adam to Noah ended at the time of the flood. The peoples of the earth then continued from the three sons of Noah, finalized by being catorgorised according to nationality and languages.

The world is now populated today by the descendants of Noah's three sons, Shem, Ham and Japeth. Ham's descendants were the nations of Canaan, Arabia and Africa, Shem's descendants were the nations of Assyria (from among which came Abraham and the Hebrews) and Japeth's descendants were the nation of Asia Minor and Europe.

By saving righteous Noah and his family from destruction of The Flood, God gave humanity a chance to start afresh. Like Adam, Noah and his family were told to be fruitful and multiply. Never again would God destroy all the earth with water, He promised always to provide annual seasons for mankind.

Not only The Bible but also texts of early history have proved that human life lived to an advanced age in the pre-flood era. Both attest to the age of humans in general began to decline immediately after the flood.

The Flood is an example of the judgement to come at Christ's Second Coming. The significance in the symbol of the ark is seen as corresponding to the redemption offered to believers by Jesus Christ. Mankind's intelligence still argues that there was not a world wide Flood, but only a local one, yet agree on a world wide melting of ice at the end of an ice-age period. Scientists agree about the volcanic eruptions as told in the Bible.

If the Flood was local, righteous Noah would have just traveled with his family to another country. If the flood was local why did it last over a period of a year? If the Flood was local, it would not have been required for unclean and clean animals and birds to be kept protected in the ark and released after The Flood. If The Flood was not global, there would be no need for an ark, the animals could be relocated by God instead of being kept in an ark on top of the water.

This disastrous Flood that mankind had brought upon themselves, left evidence in the fossil record and rock strata. Scientists turned to The Bible for acknowledgement of the Flood when early geologists observed many thousands of feet of sedimentary rocks in mountains including volcanic activity throughout Europe.

Ignoring The Flood as being divine intervention is not facing reality. The world was deluged and destroyed. All the people were overcome by The Flood and perished. That same Word of God which brought destruction on the wicked by water in Noah's day will bring fiery destruction on the world that exists today.

The final destruction of the world to come in the future, is given the same explanation for judgement. The Flood is mentioned both in The Old Testament and the New Testament.

The evidence is enough to establish the truth, the genuineness and the authenticity, proving that the extent of the flood was global.

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