WHAT REALLY CAUSED NOAH'S FLOOD?

July 2, 2005

"My Spirit shall not always strive with man" (Gen. 6:3).

"And God said to Noah, 'The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. . . .

I Myself am bringing the flood of waters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; and everything that is on the earth shall die'" (Genesis 6:13, 17).

Thus begins a story familiar to anyone possessing the slightest acquaintance with the Judeo-Christian tradition. Few legends of antiquity provoke more controversy than the story of Noah and the flood. It's almost amusing how positive some sound when discussing the subjects of the flood of Noah and how the world began. In their zeal, one would almost think them eyewitnesses. While we do not know enough to be dogmatic about how Noah's flood took place, we have enough information to make a good case that it followed the same principles involved in other Biblical examples of God's wrath.

Nothing in scientific fact refutes this Bible story although "scientific" philosophy may smile it to scorn). Individuals desiring further study will wish to obtain the book, The Genesis Flood, by John C. Whitcombe, Jr., and Henry M. Morris (Philadelphia: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company), a standard work and comprehensive defense of the Biblical story of the flood based on current scientific knowledge. The following account relates to the way in which such a flood could have occurred. Did God personally execute the antediluvians by drowning, or did they "run Him off," depriving themselves of His protection?

Creation

In order to understand what took place at the flood, we must first look at some of the details of creation.

On the second day, "God said, 'Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.' Thus God made the firmament [where the birds fly, v. 20], and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so" (Genesis 1:6,7).

Modern readers of these words can become confused as to their meaning, for while they seem to describe recognizable conditions on our earth, they fail to correlate with anything we see above us today.

Yet Genesis insists that during creation week God "sandwiched" the sky (as we know it) between two great bodies of water one on, in, and under the earth, and the other above that great heavenly expanse. Something upheld that canopy of water above the sky, screening the sun's harmful rays and diffusing light and warmth evenly upon the earth's surface, producing a "greenhouse effect," very unlike the one we read of in newspapers today.

Evidently the dual powers of the pre-deluge sun and moon exerted drawing power on this canopy, much as the sun draws tons of water into the skies today by evaporation, forming clouds. "A mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground" (Genesis 2:6). Water simply recycled in the area between these two great layers of water, much as it would in a terrarium.

The apostle Peter describes the old world as earth and sky, each in water and out of water (2 Peter 3:5), an enigmatic statement indeed to try to match with today's conditions, yet matching perfectly with the description of earth as it emerged from the Creator's hand.

The obvious question at this point is: What happened to all that water above the earth?

End part I

July 2, 2005

The Sun and Moon

The Bible speaks of a time yet future when God will re-create our battered world. "The light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the Lord binds up the bruise of His people and heals the stroke of their wound" (Isaiah 30:26).

In restoring the original creation, it appears that God will restore the moon's radiance until it is as the light of the sun. We may conclude from this that our moon was once a self-luminous body as bright as our present sun. Moon rocks gathered during space missions do not rule out their possible igneous origin.

Further, the light of the restored sun, much farther from the earth than the moon, will shine seven times brighter than now, suggesting that the pre-flood sun was seven times brighter than today.

It has been suggested that both moon and sun emitted exactly the right amount of heat in relation to their distance from the earth, the "vapor mantle", and each other to balance this great blanket of water above the antediluvian sky, in a constant stationary "orbit". This canopy, in turn, protected earth-life from the immense temperatures created by these giant generators, absorbing the heat evenly, and distributing just the right amount to maintain a perfect climate over the entire surface of the globe.

Meantime down below, humans fortunate enough to live in this lush paradise were taking it all for granted. Rather than thanking God, they turned from Him in an orgy of self-centeredness.

The Genesis Flood says this regarding the times: "The constant, almost monotonous repetition of [biblical] phrases depicting the utter depravity of antediluvian humanity has filled the minds of believers with a sense of awe and astonishment. Every statement seems calculated to impress upon its readers the idea of universal sin, not just the exceptional sins of this group or of that region, nor even of specific times or occasions, but rather the sins of an entire age and an entire race that had utterly corrupted its way upon the earth and was now ripe for the judgment of a holy God" (p. 18). And judgment came, but how?

Grieving the Holy Spirit

In a statement that, until now, seemed strangely out of place in the Scriptural account of the flood, God says regarding this world of universal evil, "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever" (Genesis 6:3).

The apostle Peter adds that the Holy Spirit "preached" to disobedient "spirits in prison" (lost humans) while God waited patiently for Noah to complete the ark (1 Peter 3:18-20). These and other references clarify the vital role of the Holy Spirit in antediluvian times.

Scripture depicts God as controlling and sustaining nature, not as an "absentee Landlord" but as a present Power working in and through natural law to sustain, protect, and perpetuate life. Here in the world before the flood, the adversary had won virtually a complete victory. But the Spirit remained, supporting nature and speaking in His characteristic "still small voice" to the peoples' inner consciousness, "waiting patiently." As Noah's steady hammer blows drove nails into the ark, the Spirit drove a question into human minds. "I wonder if he's right?"

But the undercurrent of conviction gave way to conformity, for surface public opinion held Noah in contempt. When the ark was completed only eight people believed God and entered. According to the "rules of the contest" and in harmony with His commitment to the free will of His creatures, God had no fair choice but to back off. The command went forth, "Release."

What happened next may not be known in its fullness this side of eternity. This work is not a scientific treatment of the subject. Rather, we are exploring whether the same principles operated at Noah’s flood as at other events historically understood as “acts of God.” We cannot conclude here; we can only theorize. Following are some ideas as to the way in which this disaster may have occurred.

Absent its energy Source, the moon ceased generating its own light, went out, and became a reflector of the sun. For the same reason the sun diminished to its present intensity, upset the balance supporting the water mantle, and contrary to the best "scientific" projections, rain poured down. Asteroid or meteorite activity may have played a part as well. The Bible also records a "breaking up" of the "great deep" at that time, suggesting great and powerful jets bursting forth from the waters on and under the earth's crust.

Whether God's withdrawal precipitated each of these effects, or whether, domino-like, release of the water canopy, asteroids or meteorites initiated further disasters, which God declined to prevent, we do not know. We do know that, due to the devastation and to atmospheric and other changes dating from that period, life on earth has not been the same since.

July 2, 2005

EGW states that more technology was lost in the flood then was possessed at the turn of the nineteenth century. This makes sense because at that time mankind was at the peak of his intellectual capacity.

Could it be that the antediluvian technological scientists somehow had a part to play in the great flood? This thought might also explain the seven last plagues....Are the great minds of our day somewhat responsible the coming calamity to our planet?