Ramblings on the Universal Flood
This hub certainly is not for everybody. The die-hard atheist will not profit from this.But for those that have an interest in Scripture I hope this will strengthen your faith in the God of Heaven.
With the apparent discovery of the Ark. these are just various thoughts and ramblings on the topic pf the universal flood. We begin where else, but in the beginning.
Genesis chapter 7:11 brings us to the beginning of the flood. Now chapter 7:11--"In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the same day were all the fountains of the deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened". Water began to cover the earth from two sources. Waters from under the sea and waters from the heavens. Remember in Genesis 1:7 that God divided the waters above the firmament from the waters below the firmament. The earth apparently was enveloped in a watery canopy.
This would have given the pre-flood world a very different make up than today. There would have existed a universally mild and pleasant climate. It has been discovered that there have been tropical plants once thriving less than two hundred miles from the South Pole. The land, no doubt, would have been more extensive and flat with a lack of rugged mountains and deep canyons. The fact of the canopy of water also would help to explain the long life of those men listed in chapter 5. Radiation would have been drastically reduced.
As the fountains of the deep were broken up spewing sand and water high into the air breaking the canopy above, the floods quickly rose. Let us take a look at the events and timeline of the flood. The flood began on the 17th day of the second month (7:11). Rain continued to fall for 40 days (verse 12). Water prevailed another 110 days (verse 24). The waters remained 74 days (8:5). Noah waited 40 more days before sending out the raven (8:6, 7). Seven days passed before Noah sent out the dove (8:12). It took another seven days for Noah to send out the dove and have it not returned (8:12). 29 more days elapsed, then another 57 days came and went before the removal of the covering (8:14). That makes a total of 371 days that Noah and his family spent on the ark.
It has often been questioned, was the flood a universal flood or just a local flood? Simply put, it had to be universal. If it had been a local flood there would have been no need for an ark. Noah could have just moved to higher ground. The flood is also compared to the universal coming judgment of fire (II Peter 3:6-10). There is much evidence of marine fossils in mountains throughout the world. And lastly, if it was a local flood God lied to Noah. Genesis 9:11, "And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall ALL flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth".
How could the ark possibly carry Noah, his family, and all those animals? In Genesis 6:14-16 we are given the dimensions of the ark. In today's measurements the ark would have been 450 feet long x 75 feet wide x 45 feet high.
This is equal to 97,200 square feet. Put another way, it covers the square footage of more than 20 standard college basketball courts lined beside each other. Its cubit feet would equal 1,500,000 cubic feet.
Taking that a step further, that would equal the cubic footage of about 522 train stock cars. It is estimated that about 35,000 individual vertebrates were on the ark. Taking sheep as the average size, 240 animals could have fit into one standard double decked stock car. That means that it would take two trains hauling 73 cars apiece to accommodate the animals on the ark. That also means that there was space equal to a total of 376 unused cars on the ark. There was more than enough room!
God makes His covenant with Noah in chapter 9:8-17. The bow over the earth marked a signed covenant (verse 13). God would never send a world wide flood again upon the earth. We can still see the signature of God today as we look through the raindrops and see the prism of the sun on the other side.
Other than what we find in Genesis, Revelation 4:3 and Revelation 10:1 are the only other references to the rainbow in the Bible. The rainbow is seen as "round about". The Greek word "kuklothen" is used which can be translated, "from the circle". In o Arather words, it would seem that what we see today is only a partial glimpse of the bow. The rainbow in Heaven will completely encircle the throne of God and stand as an everlasting promise.
Now, to conclude my ramblings--don't miss the video on the apparent discovery of Noah's Ark atop the mountains of Ararat
