THE UNIVERSAL FLOOD

Primary Bible Passages: Genesis 7:17-24

Key Verse: Genesis 7:20

Memory Verses: Psalm 104:5-6

Lesson Aim: to show that the noahic flood was universal and unparalleled in all of history.

Preparatory Daily Bible Readings:

Monday: Genesis 6
Tuesday: Genesis 7
Wednesday: Genesis 8
Thursday: Genesis 9
Friday: Psalm 104:5-6
Saturday: Matthew 24:37-39, Luke 17:26-27
Sunday: II Peter 3:1-18

LESSON OUTLINE

I. NO HISTORICAL PARALLEL TO THE FLOOD.

A. At God’s appointed time, two great geologic phenomena occurred.

1. All the fountains of the deep were broken up. (Genesis 7:11)

"The fountains of the deep" were massive underground reservoirs of waters. The Hebrew word for "deep" is tehom (teh-home') meaning "an abyss; a surging mass of water; a subterranean water supply."¹ At Creation, God had separated "the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament." (Genesis 1:7) Since there was no rain prior to the Flood, God used the heat in the core of the earth to place this water under pressure, forcing it to the surface as rivers and streams which flowed to the surface reservoirs² of oceans, seas and lakes, then back to the under ground reservoirs. The pre-Flood underground waters appear to have been interconnected by a massive conduit system of tunnels and caverns³ which God called "the deep." To begin the destruction of the earth, God broke up this huge underground water supply, releasing it to the surface of the earth, a process which continued for 40 days and 40 nights.

2. The second enormous geologic phenomena triggered by God to initiate the great Flood was the collapse of the firmament, or water canopy, which surrounded the earth. (Genesis 7:11)

There is some reason to believe that the firmament was a solid shell, between ten and 20 feet thick, encasing the earth at approximately 11 miles up where the current heat sink exists.⁴ Whether it was solid or a vapor, a tremendous amount of water was stored in this canopy. Imagine water in solid form 10 to 20 feet thick completely covering the earth at its surface, then consider how much more water would be needed to encase the earth at 11 miles out. Surely all of the water encased in both polar caps combined would be far from sufficient to form such a "firmament."

During the first 40 days of the Flood, God released all of the waters of this "firmament" onto the surface of the earth. The water canopy collapsed. Somehow God appears to have pressurized "the deep" to the point of explosion. As it erupted, immense quantities of volcanic dust would have shot skyward into the firmament providing the nuclei for condensation. Heat and great turbulence would have ensued, collapsing the firmament, which fell to earth in torrents of rain unparalleled in all of history.⁵

3. Just how God did these things is not fully explained in the Bible. The fact that He did it is stated concisely in Genesis 7:11. "In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened."

This great Flood was not the result of ordinary processes or extraheavy rains. With the current configuration of the earth, if all of the moisture in the entire atmosphere were suddenly precipitated, it would amount to only two inches world-wide.⁶  On the other hand, if the earth’s surface had no irregularities at all, the current waters in the oceans and seas along with underground and atmospheric waters would cover it to a depth of about two miles.⁷ Since the earth with its atmosphere is essentially a closed system having neither gained nor lost in its volume of water since Creation, it is obvious that the location of its water has been substantially rearranged. As the following lesson will explore, the Flood radically reshaped the face of the earth. Otherwise no land area would ever have emerged from the waters of the great Flood. The flatter surface of the pre-Flood earth coupled with the total absence of ice, which currently contains vast amounts of water, allowed the waters in earth’s system to cover it completely to a depth of approximately 22 feet above the highest mountain. The ensuing ice formations which inevitably followed the collapse of the canopy coupled with the formation of great mountain ranges and deep oceans, both of which occurred during the year in which the Flood waters covered the earth, placed earth’s water and land in essentially its current configuration.

B. From the beginning of the Flood, its waters increased in depth for 40 consecutive days (Genesis 7:17), then continued at this maximum depth for another 110 days. (Genesis 7:24)

1. Genesis 7:19-20 say the Flood waters continued to a depth of 15 cubits above the highest mountains. The Ark was 30 cubits high with an apparent draught of approximately 15 cubits (about 22 feet).⁸  Thus, the Flood waters world-wide were sufficiently deep to float the Ark above the highest obstruction. Since water quickly seeks its own level, the covering of all high mountains assured that every other thing had been previously covered as the waters rose.⁹

It has been argued that the inhabitants aboard the Ark would not have had sufficient oxygen to survive since some mountains such as Mt. Everest exceed 28,000 feet. As later study will verify, pre-Flood mountains were not high enough to make oxygen a consideration. Even if they were, atmospheric pressure depends on elevation relative to sea level. The air column above the raised sea level during the Flood was just as high as the water. Thus, the sea level atmospheric pressure would not have varied from its current level regardless of how high the Ark rose.¹⁰

2. The fact is that the Flood was of sufficient depth and duration that "All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died." (Genesis 7:22)

II. THE ENTIRE EARTH COVERED BY THE FLOOD.

A. Vigorous objection to the belief that the Noahic Flood was universal has long been raised.

1. Those who subscribe to the concept of evolution deny the Flood because it systematically refutes their theory of origins. The Flood provides very plausible answers to much of the natural phenomena currently observable, answers which contradict uniformitarian interpretations. Even though all modern scientists must admit that all parts of the earth were once covered with water, many refuse to believe that coverage occurred once in a great catastrophic, universal Flood.

2. Many "theological" people contend that the Noahic Flood covered only a local area, probably the Mesopotamia Valley.

B. The overwhelming evidence is that the Noahic Flood was universal.

1. The wording throughout Genesis 6-9 is ideal to describe a universal Flood but totally inappropriate to describe any flood of a local nature.

a. Whereas the Hebrew word sheteph (shay’tef) would be best used  to describe a local flood,¹¹ the Hebrew word mabbuwl (mabbool’) is used exclusively to describe the Noahic Flood.¹²

b. Genesis 7:19 says "all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered." This statement conclusively denies the Flood to have been local.

c. The Flood covered all the high mountains. (Genesis 7:20) As previously indicated, such depth would insure that all lesser heights were covered.

d. All air-breathing life died. (Genesis 7:22-23) That statement says the Flood was world-wide.

e. No local flood lasts 150 days (Genesis 7:24) and then takes another seven months to clear.

2. The purpose of God in bringing the Flood was to "destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth." (Genesis 6:7) If the Flood was local, God’s plan was frustrated.

3. Only Noah and his family survived the Flood. (Genesis 9:1,19)

4. The building of a craft the size of the Ark was totally superfluous and unnecessary if the Flood was local. The Ark was much too large to accommodate a mere regional fauna.¹³ Migration to higher ground would have been a much more reasonable approach to survival. ¹⁴

5. In referring to the Noahic Flood the New Testament uses the Greek word kataklusmos (kat-ak-looce-mos’) meaning "an inundation"¹⁵ rather than plemmura (plame-moo’-rah) the word for a local flood.¹⁶

6. God promised never to send another flood like the Noahic Flood. (Genesis 9:11,15) If the Noahic Flood was local, God has repeatedly broken His promise.

7. Later Bible writers, including Peter, believed that the Flood was universal. (II Peter 3:6)

8. Jesus Christ personally confirmed the historicity and universality of the Flood. He said the Flood "took them all away" (Matthew 24:37-39) or "destroyed them all." (Luke 17:26-27)

 

FOOTNOTES

1. Strong, James, Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary, New York: Abingdon Press, 1958, reference 8415.

2. Hutson, Lester, Survey of Bible History, Creation through the Fall, Houston: Berean Publications, 1993, pages 66-75.

3. Morris, Henry, The Genesis Record, Grand Rapids: Baker, 1776, pages 194-195.

4. Baugh, Carl, Panorama of Creation, Oklahoma City: The Southwest Radio Church, 1989, pages 46-49.

5. Morris, pages 196-197.

6. Whitcomb, John C., Jr. and Morris, Henry, The Genesis Flood, Phillipsburg, New Jersey: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co., 1992, page 121.

7. Whitcomb, John C., Jr., The World That Perished, Grand Rapids: Baker, 1978, page 40.

8. Ibid., page 45.

9. Whitcomb, and Morris, pages 1-2.

10. Whitcomb, pages 45-46.

11. Strong, reference 7858.

12. Ibid., reference 3999.

13. Morris, page 200.

14. Whitcomb, and Morris, page 11.

15. Strong, James, Dictionary of Words in the Greek New Testament, New York: Abingdon Press, 1958, reference 2627.

16. Ibid., reference 4132.

SUMMARY

Humanity has no experience with which to compare the Noahic Flood. Its magnitude so far eclipses any catastrophe known to mankind that it is impossible to personally relate it to anything. The worst natural disasters, the bloodiest of wars, the most awesome human-engineered disasters, including the Holocaust, pale into insignificance when compared with the Flood. No other disaster has come close to the Flood in terms of magnitude, impact on all material things and scope of influence.

At God’s appointed time, the Flood started with a great world-wide eruption of the fountains of the deep. Prior to the Flood, no rain had ever occurred on earth. The earth was watered by an elaborate underground system of vast reservoirs interconnected by tunnels and various other types of conduits. Surface water, especially from the large surface seas, lakes and rivers drained downward into the extensive underground bodies of water. Heat from the core of the earth heated these waters and pressure rose forcing the waters back to the surface as mighty artesian rivers and springs. The underground water system appears to have been evenly dispersed assuring ample seepage water to uniformly support large, flourishing flora and fauna on the entire land surface on earth, which was considerably larger than the post-Flood land mass. To begin the Flood, God somehow ruptured this underground water system.

A rise in the heat of the earth’s core could have fractured the earth’s mantle and crust causing the large plates which now exist and caused continuing volcanic and seismic activity. The exact means of the break-up of the fountains of the deep is not given; the fact that they were is stated unequivocally and is confirmed in the fossil record with massive evidence of world-wide catastrophe everywhere. The great fractures in the earth’s mantle and crust would have shot huge columns of water, lava and volcanic dust for miles into the sky. Enormous heat would have been released causing indescribable turbulence. Whereas prior to the Flood there had been almost no wind and no storms, the eruptions from "the deep" would have generated storms and tremendous weather disturbances of all sorts. Water gushed forth suddenly, flooding everything. Large land areas vanished; much land area was permanently lost.

The mighty heat blasts from the great breaks in the mantle and crust of the earth soon began to create holes or "windows" (Genesis 7:11) in the firmament or water canopy which shrouded the earth. If it was a solid, frozen sheet of ice between 10 and 20 feet thick, as some contend, it is not difficult to imagine the chaos and havoc which its collapse would bring to the earth. A vast ocean of water completely encased the earth, apparently at approximately 11 miles up. Even if the firmament was not in solid form, the dust particles from the exploding earth were more than sufficient to precipitate this ocean of suspended water. Genesis 7:11 records the fact that it suddenly began to fall to earth’s surface in the form of unparalleled rain.

The collapse of both the fountains of the deep and the waters which were above was so massive that it took 40 days for either of the enormous supplies to be exhausted. As both emptied themselves to the surface of the earth, the waters continued to rise until every inch of the earth’s surface was covered to a minimum depth of 15 cubits, which is about 22 feet. This was the depth of the water above the highest mountain. Obviously the water in all other areas was much deeper. The waters were not calm. The turbulence resulting from the catastrophic explosions, eruptions and storms had to have been beyond anything ever known to man.

It must be remembered that the configuration of the earth prior to the Flood was much different than it is currently. The highest mountains appear to have been about 6,000 feet and the land area of the earth was much larger. Since the earth with its atmosphere is essentially a closed system neither gaining nor losing total volume of water since the Creation, it is obvious that the unlocking of the vast amounts of water held above the firmament and the underground reservoirs greatly raised earth’s sea level, thus reducing land surface. Were it not for the mountain ranges and deep oceans which formed during the Flood, the water in the earth’s system would cover the entire globe to a depth of approximately two miles.

Many deny that the Flood was universal, contending that it was a local flood covering the Mesopotamia Valley. The admission of the Creation and a universal, catastrophic Flood provides reasonable and adequate explanations for all physical phenomena. Such admission also demolishes most evolutionary positions. Most of those who so tenaciously subscribe to the theory of evolution refuse to consider a universal Flood as a possibility. They have declared such a possibility to be "off limits" or out of the realm of their consideration, regardless of the evidence.

There are many, many valid reasons to support the contention that the Flood covered the entire earth. It is an undeniable fact that the author of Genesis 6-9 could hardly have used more explicit language to describe a universal, world-wide Flood and to deny that the Flood under consideration was local. His use of a particular Hebrew word to describe this Flood while other Hebrew words describe lesser floods, puts the Noahic Flood in a class alone. The Genesis writer says the Flood covered "all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven." The Holy Spirit of God inspired these words. He was not under the illusion that the Mesopotamia Valley, which may not have existed at that time, was "the whole" world. God’s purpose in the Flood was to destroy man. A flood in just one local valley would have frustrated His plan. The Bible says "all that was in the dry land, died." Only Noah and those who were with him in the Ark survived. Such a description does not speak of a local flood. Furthermore, if the Flood had been local, an Ark, especially the size of Noah’s Ark, would not have been necessary. To avoid the Flood, Noah and those with him in the Ark would have needed only to migrate to higher ground. The New Testament speaks of the Flood as a great cataclysm, not as a local event. God promised that He would never again allow on earth a flood like the Noahic Flood. If that Flood was only local, God has repeatedly broken His promise. The crowning proof for all believers that the Flood was universal and not local came from Jesus Christ. He said that the Flood "took them all away" and "destroyed them all."

QUESTIONS

1. Describe "the fountains of the deep."

2. How was the earth watered prior to the Flood?

3. With what great geologic event did the Flood begin?

4. Describe the sudden geologic repercussions of the breaking up of the fountains of the deep.

5. How would the breaking up of the fountains of the deep affect the firmament?

6. Discuss the amount of water stored in the firmament.

7. Assuming the firmament to have been a thick layer of ice, describe the connotations of its break-up.

8. Contrast the 40 day rain of the Flood with any rain since.

9. Discuss the volume of water in the deep and in the firmament in light of 40 days being required to empty these reservoirs.

10. What was the maximum depth of the Flood waters?

11. How does the acknowledgment of a universal Flood impact the concept of evolution?

12. What do many "theologians" say about the Noahic Flood?

13. How does the Hebrew word mabbuwl connote a universal Flood?

14. Consider God’s statement of the extent of the Flood in Genesis 7:19.

15. If the waters of the Flood reached a depth of 22 feet above the highest mountain, what must be concluded about its depth in every other place?

16. What life outside the Ark survived the Flood?

17. How successful was God in His plans to destroy man from off the earth?

18. Discuss the futility of building the Ark, if the Flood was local.

19. Discuss God’s promise to never again send a flood like the Noahic Flood in light of the interpretation that the Noahic Flood was a local flood.