The flood account (like the creation account) is integral to our faith, so I wanted to blog about it separately. Here are a few observations and couple of conclusions:
Some contend that the flood was local…huge, but a local event. But the text clearly wants us to accept that every living thing on the earth died if it wasn’t on the Ark. Some say that “every culture has a flood story” and that Noah’s account is simply ours. They go on to say “just because we have a flood story doesn’t make ours right”. Okay, I’ll bite… If every culture has a flood story….then there must have been a flood. So which one is correct? I accept the Noah account because it’s the one that Jesus referenced when in Matthew 24 and Luke 17. If you believe in Jesus, then you have to believe in what He said…and Jesus personally said “as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” Jesus is saying that the flood wasn’t only an event that wiped out all life except those on the Ark, it was a foreshadowing of how it will be when He comes back to take us to heaven. (Second coming). The Flood and the Second Coming are two cataclysmic events that are both caused by God. You can’t accept one and not the other.
Some people say that “there were two of every animal on the Ark”. Yes, and even more! look at all the animals that there were seven of! Some of those were to be eaten by Noah’s family as they lived on the Ark, others were to repopulate the earth. The text says there were at least two of every “kind”, and we understand that to mean “species”. It’s hard to deny evolution within a species, because we can see how different animals change and adapt to their environment. However, we never see the changes jump the species “line”. Dinosaurs don’t become birds, monkeys don’t become men. Evolution is limited to within the species, or “kind”. Maybe there is more variety of each species on the earth today: Noah had two horses, and now we have a variety of different horses….take the mule, for instance. We know there weren’t any mules on Noah’s ark because they are a cross between the donkey and horse.
Was there room for all these animals? First of all, accept that it happened, then you can wonder about how. God’s Word says this occurred, and that’s the most important thing. Maybe they were infant animals, and possibly they became dormant as they slept on the Ark. We don’t know, but the text doesn’t set out to explain how it happened, only THAT it happened.
Then finally, note in the creation account that there were two separate waters, one above and one below the sky. The outer layer could have filtered out some UV rays or other rays (that would throw off our carbon dating) and would have created a “greenhouse effect” on the earth. Perhaps the atmospheres would have been higher…which we now know leads to increased healing, and more energy. There would have been no need for rain, the whole earth would have been tropical. That would explain how there are great vast areas of desert where there once was lush vegetation. Couple this idea with the cataclysm of the flood and the resulting shifting of the earth’s plates, and you have our modern day earth.
Honestly, it doesn’t really seem far fetched at all to me. I know science hasn’t arrived at the place where they can prove all this yet…but just over 300 years ago they were convinced that the earth was flat, so excuse me for placing my trust in a “higher authority”. There’s nothing wrong with science, but it begins and ends in human understanding. Better to consult the creator if you want to know how and why it was built.
Okay, one more thing. Note that there was a single door on the Ark. The Ark was the only way to be rescued, and only those who passed through the door could be saved. Jesus refers to himself in the same way, as the “true gate” and the only way into heaven. (John 10:9). When the door is closed, it never reopens. From this we learn that entrance into heaven is by accepting Christ alone, and only while we are alive. There will be no “second chances” later after the door has closed. And, there aren’t any other religions or faiths by which we can be saved.
The only way in is through belief in and obedience to Jesus Christ.
Be blessed,
PR