A detailed study on Noah’s flood and how the Bible clearly teaches that this was a worldwide flood. Answers important questions such as; how did Noah get all of the animals on the ark? What evidence can we see that this was a worldwide event?
Required Resource:
DVD - Flood Geology - https://answersingenesis.org/store/product/flood-geology/
Watch DVD: Flood Geology - Chapter: Flood Initiation (1 minute and 49 seconds long)
Was the flood of Noah's day a worldwide flood?
Most scientists and some Christians do not believe in a worldwide flood. But we know from Biblical history that the answer is yes.
Read Genesis 6:7-13.
Notice carefully how the passage reads, there is no doubt that the flood was worldwide. Wait, there's more.
Read 7:18-23
We are told that the mountains were covered by more than twenty feet. Because water always seeks its own level, how could the mountains only be covered in one local area without also covering the mountains in all adjoining areas. But there's more.
Read 9:11-15.
After the flood God made a promise not to destroy the earth with a worldwide flood ever again and as a sign He gave Noah a rainbow. If that promise was real, why would there still be local floods today all over the earth? God's promise to never send a local flood would be a lie. Think about this: it had been 1600 years since creation when Noah's flood occurred. Man had spread out and explored, built cities and had left the local area, so a local flood would not have wipe out mankind.
Read Luke 17:26-30. Jesus knew that the flood killed all mankind.
Read 2 Peter 3:3-7. Peter warned of scoffers and how they forgot God's judgement.
Here are some interesting questions for people who believe that the flood in Noah's day was local. Why did Noah have to take birds on the ark? They could have flown to a safe area. In fact, why did Noah have to take any of the animals? They could have migrated to areas not affected by a local flood. Why did Noah even bother with an ark? God could have told them to move away because He was going to destroy the people of that area with a flood. Why do some people refuse to believe in a worldwide flood? Because of man's sinfulness, people do not want to believe what God has plainly written in His Word.
What can we see now that tells us of a worldwide flood in the past?
Watch DVD: Flood Geology - Chapter: The Present is not the Key to the Past. (2 minutes and 51 seconds long)
Why would God kill all of those people?
God is a holy God. His holiness demands judgement. There is a good probability that as people saw Noah building the ark he would also tell them about God's judgement that would come and plead with them to repent. A wolrd wide flood would always remind and warn people of God's judgement.
Mount Everest is over 29,000 feet above sea level. Did the flood cover Mount Everest?
It is quite probable that the major mountain ranges formed during the flood. We can't be 100% certain but most creationists believe that at the time of creation there was one landmass and when the "fountains of the deep" burst opened to release water to cover the earth, the continents broke away from the landmass and became the continents that we see today. Most of the major mountains were formed when the continents pushed against one another during the flood. The mountains that the flood covered were smaller at the start of the flood.
Where did all that water come from?
Many creationists believe that there was a water canopy above the earth which God released.
Read Psalm 148:4
And the water below the earth.
Read Genesis 7:11; Psalm 24:1-2; 136:6
Did the flood create coal?
Watch DVD: Flood Geology - Chapter Coal (2 minutes and 57 seconds long).
When did Noah's flood happen?
4,400 years ago, based on Biblical history.
Are there any historical accounts outside of the Bible to verify the history of the Bible?
Yes, other cultures have the same story of Noah and a worldwide flood. This is called historical collaboration. There are about 270 cultures that have the story of a Noah's flood, some of which are: Peru, Cherokee Indians, China, Russia, India and Greece. The flood legend of China records that Fuhi, his wife, three sons and three daughters escaped a great flood and were the only people alive on earth. A flood story in Hawaii records that Nu-u and his family escaped a global flood by building a great canoe and filling it with animals. Only he and his family were left alive. Some details were lost in most of the legends; for example, the birds being sent out or landing on a mountain. But the most important information was kept: God's wrath and judgement upon a world of sinful people, a worldwide flood, a favored family, an ark built and animals saved. It's great when history points to the truthfulness of the Bible.
Watch DVD: Flood Geology - Chapter Rock Layers (3 minutes and 34 seconds long)
Is there any evidence of a pre-flood era?
The Babylonians and Assyrians recognized the pre-flood era as a source of superior literature. One Babylonian king recorded that he "loved to read the writings of the age before the Flood". In 1891, Mrs. Culp of Morrisonville found a gold chain in a chunk of coal as she was stoking her kitchen stove. A manufactured gold thread was discovered in 1844 embedded in granite. In 1885 miners in Austria broke open a block of coal and found inside a small metal cube. The edges were perfectly straight and sharp and the sides flat. A deep groove had been cut all around the middle of the cube. There was no doubt that the cube was machine-made and seemed to be part of a larger mechanism. All of these items had to have been made before the flood because how could you put things inside of coal and granite?
Teacher: google search pre- flood artifacts images - print some examples of pre- flood artifacts.
Ask: How large was the ark?
God commanded Noah to build an ark 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high. With these dimensions, the total volume of the ark would have been 1.45 million cubic feet and with three decks it would have had a total deck area of 98,800 square feet, which is the size of 20 standard basketball courts. The total weight: 14,500 tons.
Watch DVD: Flood Geology - Chapter: Canyons (2 minutes and 56 seconds long).
How could Noah back in that time build an ark that was 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high?
First… God told Noah to build an ark, but Noah and his sons probably supervised the building of it. They would have needed to hire workers to lift the huge beams that the ark had to have had. People before the flood had the skill and ability of sawing and drilling. A few centuries after the flood, the Egyptians were sawing and drilling granite. The people in Noah's day were more capable than you might think. Remember, people back in Bible times were just as smart and creative as we are today. We have more stuff like cars and computers, but that's an accumulation of knowledge over time. Each generation takes the knowledge from the previous one and builds on it.
How did Noah fit all the animals on the ark?
God did not bring 2 of every land dwelling animal, but 2 of every kind.
Read Genesis 6:20
Example: God did not bring Noah a Red Tail Hawk, a Broad Wing Hawk and a Golden Eagle, only one hawk. God did not bring Noah a Tiger, Lion and a Bobcat, only one cat. It has been estimated that Noah only had to bring from 9,000 - 16,000 animals on the Ark. And knowing the size of the Ark, there was plenty of room for the animals and the necessary food.
Watch DVD: Flood Geology - Chapter: Rapid Speciation (3 minutes and 21 seconds long).
Is there any evidence of humans being buried by a worldwide flood?
In 1971, a rock collector found some bones recently exposed by a bulldozer in hard sandstone in the state of Utah. What he found was the lower half of two human skeletons. This collector with another team of researchers excavated further and found the skeletons of ten modern humans that were buried under fifty-eight feet of rock hard sandstone. These skeletons have the appearance of being washed into place, rather than being buried as in a grave. It seems obvious that these 10 people were buried rapidly by some kind of massive flood. These skeletons indicate rapid burial in water and mud which later turn into stone; something only a flood could do.
Is there something today that we can see to show us how a worldwide flood could have affected the earth, but on a smaller scale and more recently?
Watch DVD: Flood Geology - Chapter: Mount St. Helens (2 minutes and 58 seconds long).
Where did all that water go after the flood?
Read Genesis 8:3
Simply put, the waters from the flood are in the oceans that we see today. God formed the ocean basins, raising the land out of the water, so that the floodwaters returned to a safe place.
Read Psalm 104:5-8
It is very possible that there was one super continent before the flood and that continent broke apart during the flood. During that process the ocean basin sunk down as the continents moved away from each other. Also, there are massive amounts of water under the earth.
Are there evidences of a worldwide flood? Something we can see today?
Yes, there is evidence of a worldwide flood that is visible today. There are vast rock and mud deposits, burying billions of land and sea creatures along with much of the vegetation. The animals, many of whom turned into fossils are found in many rock layers and even on top of mountains; something only a worldwide flood could do. Masses of buried plants turned into huge deposits of coal and oil. The earth's crust has massive amounts of layered sedimentary rock, sometimes miles deep. These layers of sandstone, limestone and shale laid down by water were once soft like mud, but they are now hard stone. Some of these layers extend across continents that only a global flood could accomplish. There are also volcanic rock layers extended over much of the earth that are often mixed in with the sedimentary layers and often with evidences of vast volcanic eruptions under water.
On every continent we find fossils of sea creatures in rock layers that are high above sea level. For example: most of the rock layers in the walls of the Grand Canyon contain marine fossils. Those that are at the rim are 7,000 feet above sea level. There are fossil marine gastropods that have been found in limestone beds high in the Himalayan mountains up to 20,000 feet above sea level.
How did all the animals end up all over the world?
Watch DVD: Flood Geology - Chapter: Distribution of Plants and Animals (2 minutes and 45 seconds long)
How did Noah and his family care for all of the animals on the ark?
Studies of non-mechanized animal care show that eight people could have fed and watered 9,000 - 16,000 animals. Remember that this was a temporary, emergency care, not a long term situation that one would expect in a zoo. Noah probably stored food and water near each animal and drinking water could have been piped into troughs to each cage or stall. The use of self-feeders would have been relatively easy and probably essential. What about animals with special diets? Do captive anteaters require ants? No. Neither do most insect eating animals. Meat eating animals can live on vegetables. Animals that have a special diet can adjust their food for a certain time. The ventilation in the ark was necessary to bring in fresh air and to dissipate body heat. A basic, non-mechanical ventilation system was sufficient for the ark. The density of animals on the ark was less than we find in some modern animal housing used to keep stock that are raised for food, which often require no special mechanical ventilation. What about all the animal waste? Noah could have used sloped floors in the animal cages that would have allowed the waste to flow into large central gutters and then into collection pits, allowing gravity to do most of the work. Noah's family could have then dumped this overboard without an excessive amount of work. God may have caused most of the animals to hibernate, sleeping more and eating less.
Skit (optional)
SKIT
Make copies of the skit and hand out these for each kid that wants to be a speaking part of the class.
Ask 1 kid to play the teacher Mr. (or MS) Jones who stands in front of the "class".
Mr. Jones (who is standing in front of the class): Come in students and take your seats. My name is Mr. Jones and I am your new Sunday School teacher. Our first lesson will be on Noah's Flood. I know you have heard the story before, but today I would like to teach you something about Noah's Flood that you might not know.
Jenny - Should we turn to Genesis 6 so we can read the facts?
Mr. Jones - Oh yeah, just about forgot. Anyway, did you know that geologists discovered that Noah's Flood was a local flood, not a worldwide flood like many of you were taught?
Brandon - But look at chapter 6 verse 13. The Bible says, "for the flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth."
Mr. Jones - Yes, I know what the Bible says, but most scientists know that the flood was a local flood.
Britney - But Mr. Jones, in chapter 7 verse 20 says that the mountains were covered by more than twenty feet. How could the flood waters stay in a local area with water that high?
Mr. Jones - Well, there are some highly educated geologists who have studied this very carefully. They are certain that it was a local flood.
Matthew - But Mr. Jones, if Noah's Flood was just a local flood, why didn't the birds fly and the rest of the animals migrate to a safe area?
Sara - Why didn't God just have Noah move away to a different area?
Mr. Jones - Well, I don't know. I didn't think of that.
Sam - Mr. Jones, God promised Noah that He would never send a worldwide flood again and sent Noah a rainbow as a sign. But there have been local floods in the past and even today. Does that mean that God lied?
Mr. Jones - Of course God never lies, but I'm sure the scientists are correct when they tell us that Noah's Flood was local.
Loren - Have any of these scientists seen that this flood was local?
Mr. Jones - of course not, Noah's Flood happened 4,000 years ago. We know by science that this was a local flood.
Loren - That's my point, to make it science it has to be seen. Things in the past have to be presented historically not scientifically. We have a dependable historical text; it's our Bibles.
Tell Mr. Jones that he can sit down.
Tell kids that Mr. Jones will still believe in a local flood no matter how you logically and Biblically correct you present your case. There are some Christians that think if most scientists say something is true, they will believe as well. They think the facts just confuse the issue.