One of the most famous accounts in the entire Bible is that of Noah’s Ark. Genesis chapters 6 through 9 detail how God was determined to destroy man from the face of the earth because of his great wickedness, but Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. God instructed Noah to build an ark, and thereafter the earth was flooded, thus destroying wicked humanity from off the face of the earth.
Some, however, have scoffed and mocked the idea of a worldwide flood in Noah’s day. They assert that it was merely a localized or regional event, which, over the centuries, had been exaggerated to the scale of a global deluge. Here is a sampling of some of the evidence from the Scriptures and science to show that the flood of Noah’s day was indeed a worldwide flood.
A WORLDWIDE FLOOD – EVIDENCE FROM THE SCRIPTURES
#1 – The Ark
God commanded Noah to build an ark, a huge boat that was 300 cubits long, or approximately 130 metres (Genesis 6:15). It would have been 30 cubits tall, or about the height of a 4-storey HDB housing block (Genesis 6:15). It would have been a massive construction project, undertaken in a time before modern machinery and tools. If the flood was only a regional event, why go through all the trouble to build such a huge boat? Why not just leave the region, since God gave mankind a 120 year “grace period” anyway (Genesis 6:3)?
#2 – The Animals
God commanded Noah to bring two of every kind of flying and land animals onto the ark – those considered clean were to be brought on by sevens (Genesis 6:19-20; 7:2-3). The purpose of bringing them onto the ark was to keep them alive (Genesis 6:19-20), because during the flood, “all in whose nostril was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died” (Genesis 7:22). If the flood was not a worldwide flood, why was it necessary to preserve examples of every kind of flying and land animals on the ark?
#3 – The Apex
Any primary school child will know that water always flows downhill, that water fills up the lower parts of a container before the upper parts. The Scriptures record that during the Flood, the waters “prevailed exceedingly upon the earth, and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered. Fifteen cubits (i.e. approximately 6.85 metres) upward did the waters prevail, and the mountains were covered” (Genesis 7:19-20). In other words, according to Scripture, the apex of the flood waters were several metres above the hills and mountains. If the flood was only a localized event, then how was it possible for water to cover “all the high hills under heaven”?
A WORLDWIDE FLOOD – EVIDENCE FROM SCIENCE
#1 – Fossils of Marine Life on Mountains
If there was indeed a worldwide flood, we would expect to find fossils of marine life not just in the oceans or along seashores, but also well above sea level – including mountain ranges. Marine fossils have been found in the highest mountain ranges, such as the Himalayas. How did these fossils get there? There must have been a Global Deluge that covered all the hills and the mountains.
#2 – Fossil Graveyards
Fossilisation is not a common process. Usually, when a plant or animal dies, it decomposes and breaks down, whether through scavenging animals, insects, or other natural processes. For fossilisation to occur, the plant or animal must be rapidly buried and deprived of oxygen, thus halting the decomposition process. Yet, all across the world, we find fossil graveyards – each with numerous, well-preserved examples of large animals. Why did the remains of these large animals not decompose? Why were they not eaten by scavengers? They must have been rapidly buried under tons of water and mud and earth and soil – as would have happened during a Global Flood.
#3 – Flood Legends
Globally, across people of different cultures, languages, and religious backgrounds, there exist “flood legends”. It has been estimated that the number of such flood myths number in the 200s, in countries as varied as China, Egypt, Mexico, India, etc. In 95% of these legends, there was a worldwide flood; in 88%, a particular family was saved; in 70%, salvation came through a boat. The sheer number of flood legends worldwide can be explained most logically by 1) a worldwide flood; 2) the scattering of people across the world in the aftermath of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9). If the flood of Noah’s day was only a regional event, then why are there flood legends in cultures and societies globally?
CONCLUSION
We can be reassured from both Scripture and Science that there was indeed a worldwide flood in Noah’s day. Seeing that this is the case, we want to also remember that the apostle Peter likened the coming Day of Judgment to the Global Flood (2 Peter 3:3-7). There were people in Noah’s day who scoffed at the possibility of a worldwide flood; there are people today who mock the idea of God judging all humanity. There were people in Noah’s day who did not repent and died in the Flood; there will be people at the Second Coming of Christ who will be sentenced to eternal suffering in Hell. There were people in Noah’s day who found salvation on the ark; there will be people on the Day of Judgment who will be ushered into everlasting life.
The question for us then is: do we believe in the worldwide flood? If we do, then we ought to believe in the Day of Judgment as well.
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