Noah's Ark And The Worldwide Flood

NOAH'S ARK AND THE WORLDWIDE FLOOD

Copyright 1994 - 2008 Endtime Prophecy Net

Last Updated : July 23, 2006

A Closer Look At What Really Happened

-----------------------------------------------------------------
User 1 And in order for the Ark to have been the ONLY thing
showing above the waters, it would have had to have been on
Mt. Everest

User 2 And the tallest peak in the Ararat Mountains is a
volcano that didn't exist at the projected time of the Ark.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

I found the above quoted material to be rather
interesting... Perhaps in their attempt to discredit the
Bible, these two fellows are overlooking a few things. For
example, if one reads Genesis 7:10-8:14, no where will it be
found saying that the mountains of Ararat were the ONLY
thing showing above water at that time. This is something
which this fellow is interjecting to support his position.
Genesis 8:4 is merely focusing on the area of the world
where the Ark is believed to have come to rest & not
necessarily saying that it was the only visible peak. The
above quotes paint a very distorted view of things. They
give the impression that there must have just been one
lonely peak (Mount Everest) sticking out of the water. Since
it is being assumed that it was the highest peak at the
time, the erroneus deduction is made that Noah's Ark should
have been drawn to it like a magnet, and settled upon it.

Now, if one slows down a bit & take the time to look even
closer at Genesis, they will discover a few interesting
things. For example, in Genesis 7:11 we are told that the
rains began on the 17th day of the second month of Noah's
600th year of life. It rained for a period of 40 days &
nights.... well over a month straight. And it wasn't just
torrential rain. We are told that the fountains of the deep
were broken open. This can be understood in several ways. It
could mean that God ripped open the Earth to release the
vast amounts of water stored in it. Another possibility is
that 'fountains of the deep broken up' is referring to the
worldwide ocean being divided into separate bodies of water.

Following the assumption that the Earth was once one
undivided land mass, as evidence seems to indicate, and as
many Bible scholars & scientists believe, it could mean that
it was at the time of Noah's Flood that God broke up or
divided the Earth physically into its current continents.
This would have caused great earthquakes, tidal waves, etc.
Between the two events, torrential rain & the reshaping of
the Earth's oceans and land masses, the entire Earth was
once again swallowed up by water, totally inundated, just as
it was when the Lord first created it. There was no land in
the beginning, just one vast dark ocean. Again, this is only
speculation on my part as none of us really know for sure
since we weren't there at the time.

In Genesis 7:24 thru 8:1-2 we are told that God caused the
rains & fountains of the deep to stop after the first forty
day period. We are also told that He then calmed the waters.
The word used here is 'assuage.' The translators of the
Bible were very careful and prayerful about their choice of
words. Assauge means to calm. So in all likelihood, this is
referring to the fact that God calmed the might waves, the
tsunamis. He did two things in these verses: He stopped the
rain & other sources of water, & He also calmed the waves.
The continents had been divided or broken up by this time in
order for the calming to have occurred. It is also possible
that some of the world's current mountain chains were formed
at this time. As Christians, we have always assumed that the
mountains we see today were the very same ones created in
the first chapter of Genesis. In all honesty, we really
don't know that for sure. Genesis 7:19-20 just seems to
indicate that the highest hills & mountains of that time
were covered by some 20-30 feet of water (15 cubits).
Exactly how high they were, we really don't know for sure.
All we can assume is that when God broke up the fountains of
the deep, whether it was the division of the Earth's
continents and oceans, or the breaking open of underground
lakes and rivers, in either event, it must have resulted in
the formation of some new land formations. Consider the
beauty, magnificence & power revealed in Yosemite Park by
the huge & mysterious granite monoliths.

[NOTE: Another view which is also quite plausible, is that
the Earth was actually slowly divided into its current land
masses beginning in the days of Peleg, 100-110 years AFTER
the Flood. This is believed to have happened after God had
confounded the people at the Tower Of Babel by giving them
different languages & then causing them to divide into
different nations of people all over the super-continent at
that time BEFORE the Earth began to slowly be divided by
rift valleys which eventually resulted in our present-day
continents. Just looking at a globe reveals how nicely the
world's land masses could have fit together at one time like
a giant jigsaw puzzle.]

Now, the word 'assauge' doesn't mean to be drawn back, to
abate. For the waters to gradually be drawn back to their
borders, whatever they may have been then, it took another
150 days as these verses bear out..and even after that, it
took until the 2nd month of the following year (Noah's 601st
year of life - Gen. 8:13-14) for the Earth to be completely
dried up. This could be referring to the fact that after
having so much water on the Earth for 150 days, there must
have been a lot of very thick layers of mud which had to be
dried up, basically sun baked. It seems likely that it was
also at this time that the world's great valleys, mesas &
canyons were also carved out while the mud was still soft.
Their current-day features certainly seem characteristic of
a worldwide flood...especially if seen from space. It is
also quite likely that it was at this time that all of the
fossilized layers were created as well as the frozen
specimens quickly swept & frozen in Siberia. The neat layers
in places like the Grand Canyon surely attest to a slow even
settling of the waters worldwide. To this day we are
witnesses to God's mass burial of His former creation in
layer after layer of earthen sun-baked tombs hardened by
time & pressure.

Now here is an important point to consider: Gen. 8:4 is
where it says that the Ark rested upon the mountains of
Ararat in the SEVENTH MONTH. Does it mean that the Ark
literally sat upon the mountains at this time? Upon solid
dry ground? Well, not necessarily so. From closer reading of
these verses, it can be understood that the meaning of the
word REST here might be that the Ark CEASED MOVEMENT, it
became STILL. Up until that time, it was undoubtedly being
buffeted all around by mighty waves. But once the torrential
rains & mighty waves had stopped after the first forty days,
Noah felt confident enough to send out first a raven, and
then the first dove to see if it was safe yet...but it
wasn't. The main point of emphasis here is that, after the
first forty day period, when we are told the Ark settled
upon the mountains of Ararat, there was still no dry land to
be found by the dove. Thus it returned. This seems to add
weight to the understanding that the Ark settling meant it
stopped moving, it became calm IN THE WATERS which covered
the mountains of Ararat. Before the reader jumps to
conclusions and cries 'Blasphemy!' please consider what the
Bible says next:

The Bible does not contradict itself. One verse will be
further explained by another verse, or another set of
verses, either in the same chapter, the same book, or in
another book. Well, if the Ark didn't literally sit upon the
solid ground at this time, when did it happen? If you read
the very next verse, it says that the tops of the mountains
were not seen until the TENTH MONTH. That is where we find
the answer. Apparently, once the waters had been calmed, the
Lord had the Ark remain in a more or less stationary
position over the mountains of Ararat while the waters were
receding for a few months...some 70-75 days to be exact. It
was then that it actually became anchored on the mountains
of Ararat...but even then, it still required about another
75 days for the waters to completely recede to where the
Lord wanted them.

Gen. 8:5 tells us that the top of the MOUNTAINS were first
seen on the first day of the tenth month. Notice that it is
plural. No where does it specifically say that ONLY the top
of one mountain, or that ONLY the mountains of Ararat were
exposed at this time. It just says 'mountains.' Obviously,
if the water level was lowered evenly, as they must have
been, then depending on the elevation of the mountains of
that time, some would appear simultaneously, & some before
others, all around the world...including Mount Everest.

So the argument that some Bible debunkers like to use is
totally false & unfounded. The scene of a worldwide ocean
with one little peak sticking out of it (Mount Ararat),
which Noah's Ark just happened to come upon, is a distortion
of the truth. As I have pointed out, there were undoubtedly
many mountaintops appearing at the same time, some before
others. In confirmation of these amazing events, consider
the startling discovery that was made decades ago, & which
has been known for at least centuries if not longer. An
ancient boat which closely fits the description of Noah's
Ark was found preserved in glacial ice in the summit of
present day Mount Ararat. 'Ararat' is actually the Hebrew
word for Armenia, an ancient country located in what is now
the junction of the Soviet Union, Iran & Turkey. If this
boat is indeed the Ark of Noah, and it seems highly likely
that it is, in complete fulfillment of the Biblical record,
then it is from this tall peak that the Lord chose to
fulfill His own purposes in allowing Noah and his
descendants to slowly repopulate the Earth. According to the
apocryphal Book of Enoch, the place where Noah's ark landed
was at the time also known as Mount Lubar. I haven't yet
been able to verify this piece of information, but am
providing it in case someone else wishes to research this.

As stated previously, it was about one 100 years after the
Flood, in the days of Noah's descendant Peleg that,
according to some, the Earth was divided into its different
nations and tongues. Please see Genesis 10: 25 & 32.

[NOTE: Whether it was actually one cataclysmic event during
the Flood which divided the continents, or a slow gradual
process which began some 100 years later during the days of
Peleg ( and which continues to this day), is a minor issue
and should not be used as a point of contention amongst
Christians. No matter how you choose to understand it, there
is abundant fossil evidence to point to a worldwide Flood,
as well as to the fact that at one time thousands of years
ago, the Earth was comprised of one great land mass which
stood above the waters & which was later divided by the
Lord--either during the Flood, or in the days of Peleg.]

In conclusion, the Bible is infallible. It does not
contradict itself. It presents an accurate clear record of
the Earth's history for those who really take the time to
study and read it...and it really takes God's spirit, and a
personal desire to understand some things before they will
be revealed to you. Many people who try to refute the Bible
have never even read it, or at least they have not read it
carefully and prayerfully with an open heart. They read it
with a closed heart and closed eyes, so that all appears
contradictory to them. If we read the Bible with an already
biased opinion, we will never see the wonderful truths in
its pages. If there is any contradiction, it is clearly in
our own understanding of God's word, and not in the Bible
itself. If you ask to see the truth, God will not fail
you...but you have to be willing to see it first. And if
there are things our carnal minds cannot grasp, then for the
time being, we have to just accept them by faith as being
the truth until such time as the Lord gives us the
understanding we need.

Having now provided the Biblical evidence, I leave it up to
each reader to form their own opinions based on what I have
presented above. Whether you agree or disagree with my
summation of the events, is entirely up to you. My primary
goal in writing this is to present what I think is a
plausible explanation of the events of the Genesis flood
based on a direct reading of the scriptures, with the hope
that it will inspire others to come to accept the veracity
of God's Word.