IMPLICATIONS OF THE DESTRUCTION OF
THE EARTH WITH WATER

Primary Bible Passages: Genesis 7:1-24

Key Verse: Genesis 7:11

Memory Verses: II Peter 3:6

Lesson Aim: to provide greater insight into the impact of the flood upon the earth and all subsequent mortal existence.

Preparatory Daily Bible Readings:

Monday: Genesis 7:1-24
Tuesday: II Peter 3:1-18
Wednesday: Genesis 1:1-31
Thursday: Ecclesiastes 3:14, Hebrews 1:10-12
Friday: Genesis 8:1-19
Saturday: Psalm 104:5-9
Sunday: John 3:1-36

LESSON OUTLINE

I. THE EARTH RESHAPED BY THE NOAHIC FLOOD.

A. As a result of the Flood, land area decreased greatly.

1. Since the origin of water on day one of Creation (Genesis 1:2), the total volume on earth’s water, including that in all oceans, seas, rivers and other reservoirs, both above and below earth’s surface, including ice forms and all water in the atmosphere, has remained constant. Earth currently has no less water than at the height of the Noahic Flood. The First Law of Thermodynamics (heat energy), scientifically known as the "Law of Mass Conservation," says that matter cannot be created or destroyed. The Second Law of Thermodynamics, scientifically known as the "Law of Energy Conservation," says matter can be changed in state, but that the change will, in time and by nature, always be degenerative.¹

Both of these laws of thermodynamics are confirmed in scripture. The "Law of Mass Conservation" is confirmed in Ecclesiastes 3:14 which affirms, "...whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it...." The "Law of Energy Conservation" is confirmed in Hebrews 1:10-12.

2. In order for the earth’s water to completely cover earth’s surface to a minimum depth of "fifteen cubits" [22 feet] (Genesis 7:20), the supply, which neither increased nor diminished during the Flood (nor before or since), had to be substantially rearranged.

a. Prior to the Flood, a vast amount of water was stored in "the firmament" (water canopy), which is called "the waters which were above the firmament." (Genesis 1:7) Imagine a layer of water in suspension approximately 11 miles above earth’s surface. An enormous amount of water would be required for such a thing, and all of the water which once constituted the firmament came from the supply which now forms oceans, seas and other terranean and subterranean reservoirs. The firmament waters fell during the Flood and are now held in these reservoirs.

b. Prior to the Flood, another enormous amount of water was stored in "the fountains of the great deep." (Genesis 7:11) This was the vast inter-connected subterranean water system by which the earth was watered prior to rain, which originated with the Flood.² (Genesis 2:5) Such a world-wide network would require an astounding amount of water. During the Flood, most of this underground water was released to earth’s surface. (Genesis 7:11)

3. It is not difficult to postulate that a great and very dramatic lowering of sea level would occur, if enough water were taken out of current ground-level supplies to again form the firmament and the fountains of the great deep. Such was the case prior to the Flood. Imagine the additional land which would be exposed by a drop of 5,000 feet in sea level! Vast areas now under oceans and seas were once hugh forests of lush vegetation and filled with wildlife, as confirmed in the fossil record.

Couple these considerations with further implications of the "greenhouse effect" produced by the firmament. The firmament would have prevented the polar caps as well as deserts. Thus, prior to the Flood, the whole land mass of earth, which was vastly greater than it currently is, was inhabitable, covered with far denser flora of much larger size than anything in the post-Flood era. The same can be said of fauna. It is not difficult to explain vast fossil fuel deposits (made from plants and animals) such as oil, coal, peat and natural gas in such far-reaching places as the Arctic circle and the American desert. Apart from an interpretation of the geological evidence in light of pre-Flood and Flood conditions, it is impossible to reasonably account for such phenomena. For example, how could such a vast accumulation of plants and animals have been buried and transformed into massive oil fields in Siberia and in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, where perpetually cold weather conditions prohibit such extensive flora and fauna, apart from an era of time in which such life flourished there and an event which suddenly buried these organic beings? This precisely the scenario reported in the early chapters of Genesis and today’s physical evidence supports such a scenario. The same evidence repeatedly refutes the evolutionary hypothesis.

4. A natural connotation of the Flood is that the bringing of the great reservoirs of underground water to earth’s surface in concert with the dumping of the suspended canopy waters raised the sea level substantially. Vast land areas were flooded where they have remained under seas and oceans ever since. This may explain why coastal waters for many miles out to sea are traditionally rich in fossil fuel deposits. These areas appear to have once been covered with rich flora and fauna.

B. The Flood produced massive changes in the contour of the earth.

1. As previously stated, if the surface of the earth was completely smooth, with no rises or depressions, there is enough water on earth’s system to cover it to a depth of about two miles.³ In its current configuration, if all of the water in the atmosphere were precipitated to earth’s surface, sea level would rise less than two inches.⁴

Since the total volume of earth’s water has neither increased nor decreased since the Creation, it is obvious that for earth’s water to cover its surface during the Flood to a depth of 22 feet above the highest mountain, the configuration of earth’s surface at that time had to be radically different than it currently is. Since the firmament was not formed again after the Flood and neither were the fountains of the great deep reconstructed, the Flood waters had to be stored elsewhere, otherwise the earth would still remain flooded.

2. The scriptures explain that during the Flood, God greatly increased the depths of the oceans and seas and raised the height of great mountain ranges.

Genesis 8:2-3 records the fact that during the Flood, the rain stopped and the subterranean reservoirs ended their overflow. Land began to appear. This emergence of the continents and the current basic configuration of land and water areas continued for more than seven months. By the end of the Flood, the earth’s surface configuration was much as it is today. In the years since the Flood, only topical and localized erosion, plate shifting, earthquake and volcanic reshaping has occurred.

Psalm 104:6-9 explains that God deepened the seas and raised mountains as His means of establishing the current land\oceans ratio. Based on the 22 feet depth of the Flood waters, in earth’s pre-Flood configuration, the oceans and seas had to have been shallow and the mountains back then could not have exceeded 6,000 to 7,000 feet.⁵ This Psalm is discussing earth’s waters. It explains that at a point in time, God placed them within limiting shorelines. This Psalm is not a reference to the Creation. The original oceans did not cover previously existing mountains as verse 6 states these to have done and the original oceans were not bound by a perpetually limiting decree as verse 9 states of these. This Psalm is a clear reference to the Flood. A literal rendering of the poetic language of verse 8 is that "the mountains rose, and the valleys sank down."⁶ This Psalm is explaining that during the year of the Flood, the earth was in a continuous state of aggressive flux. The great mountain ranges were lifted thousands of feet above sea level; not slowly over millions of years, but by a sudden and stupendous work of God.⁷ Ocean floors plunged. Waters streaming down from these rising continents and mountain ranges, with awesome turbulence into these sinking seas, would carve great valleys, gorges and canyons, many extending far out to sea. One of the best known is the submarine canyon extending out some 300 miles to the deep sea floor from the mouth of the Hudson River.⁸ Proponents of the evolutionary hypothesis have no plausible explanation for mountain building, known scientifically as orogenies.⁹

3. During the Flood, the crust of the earth seems to have been distorted, fractured, elevated, depressed and contorted in almost every conceivable way. Great volcanic and seismic upheavals spewed huge quantities of materials skyward. These were probably liquid rocks and magma along with steam. There must have been great earthquakes, which would trigger huge world-wide tidal waves (tsuna-mis).¹⁰ As the crust of the earth cracked and split, as geologic research finds it to be today, molten rock would flow up from the mantle to form such hugh rock formations as the one stretching for more than a thousand miles along the shores of Canada and Alaska.¹¹

4. It is hard to comprehend the raging action of the Flood waters. Even a local flood can cause tremendous damage. The waters of one hurricane slamming ashore can completely erode wide strips of beach.

As the earth convulsed during the Flood, not for a few days but for more than a year, its face was literally reshaped. The hydraulic action of the raging water currents washed away huge areas and deposited them elsewhere. As turbulent waters washed away vast land areas, they then transported the eroded material in suspension, depositing it in the process, especially at junctions with less rapidly moving currents of water.¹² Most people are not aware of the massive power of turbulent water and the magnitude of siltation. For example, it is believed that the Appalachian system of mountains is the uplifted and eroded remnant of a great geosynclinal (sedimentary deposited) trough, in which a thickness of some 40,000 feet of sedimen rocks was deposited.¹³ The vast deposits of sedimentary rock, which are commonly found world-wide, and which are the prime source of fossils, are not the result of millions of years of gradual settling. Animals and plants do not die and lie on the ground or an ocean floor for long periods of time, delaying decomposition as they wait to be covered and fossilized. Unless covered very quickly, they decompose, leaving no trace of their existence. The multitudes of fossils found in sedimentary rock by modern excavators are the result of massive movements of waters which buried them very quickly with silt, which is precisely what the Flood did. Evolution resorts to absurd suppositions in its effort to explain fossils, their initial rapid encapsulation and the massive amounts of flowing water which would have been essential to their formation, especially of such world-wide magnitude as seen in the fossil record.

5. Adding to the chaos of the Flood was the rapid formation of vast sheets of ice.

Prior to the Flood, the green-house effect had prevented ice, even in the polar regions. That all ended when the water canopy fell. Immediately, temperatures plunged at the north and south polar regions. Large numbers of animals were frozen intact, some with undigested food in their stomachs. These testify that the polar regions were once lush tropical forests and of a sudden world-wide catastrophe which the Flood surely was.¹⁴ The ice-age had been initiated.

Whereas before the Flood, temperatures had been very uniform world-wide, preventing strong wind currents and storms, the fall of the firmament initiated great wind movements. As temperatures plunged in some areas and rose in others, great storms were inevitable. The connotations of such temperature differentials, unstable atmospheric conditions and volcanic activity are awesome.

II. THE MOST CATASTROPHIC EVENT TO EVER OCCUR IN THE ENTIRE HISTORY OF THE WORLD.

A. The ramifications of such an event as the Flood are astounding.

1. Mountains became ocean floors, and ocean floors became huge sedimentary mounds known by such names as the Colorado Plateau (Utah, Arizona and parts of Colorado and New Mexico) all of which is almost a mile high, the Tibetan Plateau covering more than 750,000 square miles at three miles above sea level and there are many others.¹⁵

2. As the earth convulsed, tremendous heat and pressure were generated, sufficient to form great oil fields, coal deposits, diamonds and other organic matter products within hours.

3. All current physical phenomena are reasonably and easily explain able in light of the great Flood following the special Creation. Such phenomena as the Grand Canyon, high mountain ranges, deep and massive layers of sedimentary rock, igneous (fire produced) rock, fossils, fossil fuels, glaciers, huge fossil graveyards thousands of feet above sea level on high mountains, great fossil fuel deposits in locations like the polar regions where limited flora and fauna can exist, fossil evidence of the simultaneous existence of multiple species supposedly totally separated in time by huge geological ages and all other natural evidence makes perfect sense when viewed in light of divine Creation and the Noahic Flood.

B. The apostle Peter said, "...the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished." (II Peter 3:6)

1. Indeed it did! When the implications of the Flood are considered, it is not difficult to understand Genesis 7:22 which says, "All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died."

2. Let every student be warned that the destruction of the world by the waters of the Flood is a foreshadow of the coming destruction of the world by fire. (II Peter 3:6-7) All who are outside the ark of safety, who is Jesus Christ, shall perish. (John 3:16,36)

 

FOOTNOTES

1. Morris, Henry M., Scientific Creationism, El Cajon, California: Master Books, 1985, pages 18-19.

2. Morris, Henry, The Genesis Record, Grand Rapids: Baker, 1976, pages 194-195.

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

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

5. Whitcomb, pages 38-39.

6. Ibid., page 38.

7. Ibid., page 39.

8. Whitcomb and Morris, pages 124-126.

9. Ibid., pages 130-142.

10. Ibid., page 122.

11. Ibid., pages 127-128.

12. Ibid., pages 144-145.

13. Ibid., page 139.

14. Baugh, Carl E. and Wilson, Clifford A., Dinosaur, Orange, California: Promise Publishing, Inc., 1987, pages 93-100.

15. Whitcomb and Morris, pages 150-153.

SUMMARY

The Noahic Flood was by far the most catastrophic event to ever occur in the entire history of the world. It literally reshaped the face of the earth.

It is important to know that a fundamental law of physics, which is observable and without exception, is the "Law of Mass Conservation." This law, which is verified in Ecclesiastes 3:14, says that matter cannot be created or destroyed. As applied to water, the fact is that since God initially created water on the first day of Creation, the total volume of earth’s water has neither increased nor decreased. There is just as much water on earth today as there was at the height of the Noahic Flood. It is only because God relocated earth’s water that it does not continue to totally submerge the earth.

Prior to the Flood, the land area of the earth was far greater than it now is. Mountains were not higher than 7,000 feet and seas were shallow compared to post-Flood depths. A great percentage of earth’s water was suspended above the earth in the water canopy. Another great percentage of earth’s water was in an enormous reservoir system beneath earth’s surface. Most of this water is currently in earth’s oceans, seas and great lakes. Only enough water to raise sea level about two inches is suspended in the atmosphere. It is not difficult to imagine how much the removal of the firmament water plus the pre-Flood subterranean water would lower earth’s sea level. Such a drop of many thousand feet would surely expose vast areas of land and increase earth’s land in proportion to its water by a large percentage. Of course, when the firmament water fell to the earth and joined the water flowing out of the earth from the underground system, the whole earth with its low-lying mountains and shallow seas, was flooded to a depth of approximately 22 feet above its highest landmark. Had the earth been totally flat, the Flood waters would have been more than 10,000 feet deep.

To clear the earth of the waters of the Flood, God didn’t annihilate them; He simply rearranged them. He lowered the depths of the oceans and seas and raised land areas including great mountain ranges. Thus, the waters of the Flood are all still on earth in our oceans and seas.

The deepening of earth’s oceans and the raising of land elevations and high mountain ranges created spectacular side-effects. As mountains rose thousands of feet within a few days or months (Mount Everest is close to 29,000 feet and many mountains exceed 14,000 feet), sea and ocean floors plunged thousands of feet. One can hardly imagine the mighty rushing of the waters in their plunges to equalization. Erosion cut away existing mountain and land areas sweeping them in suspension with untold tons of silt and the bodies of multiplied millions of plants and animals to totally new areas where they were dropped in huge sedimentary deposits as the rushing currents slowed or merged with other slower-moving currents. More siltation covered these again and again to depths often thousands of feet thick. The far-reaching fossil graveyards of today were formed. In the intense heat and pressure, fossil fuels were formed in great deposits, fuels such as oil, peat and coal. Diamonds and other gems formed. Since there had been an even temperature and climate world-wide prior to the Flood, lush forests full of wildlife inhabited all parts of the globe, including the polar regions and desert areas of today. This accounts for the vast organic ruins and products found commonly today in remote places where flora and fauna, the vital ingredients of fossils and fossil fuels, are extremely sparse. The existence of these remains and organic products is undeniable proof that flora and fauna once abounded in these places.

As the waters cascaded off rapidly rising mountains into rapidly sinking seas and oceans, a multitude of geologic things was happening. Fossil graveyards and former sea beds were being elevated to become lofty mountain plateaus miles above sea level. The rushing waters were cutting gorges and canyons such as the Royal Gorge and the Grand Canyon, some reaching hundreds of miles out to sea such as the Hudson River Canyon. At the same time, the earth’s crust was breaking into the plates of today. As it cracked, volcanos and earthquakes shot ash and molten lava spewing into the atmosphere. Magma flowed through the cracks forming great rock formations miles thick and hundreds of miles long and wide. The earthquakes, volcanic explosions and uplifts generated vast world-wide tidal waves. We have no means of accurately calculating the amount of silt transported by such extensive movements and currents of water. Many silt deposits are known to be hundreds of miles long and more than 40,000 feet thick. It is believed that some are 100,000 feet thick.

While the earth convulsed from world-wide break-up of its crust and the conditions generated by this "breaking up of the fountains of the great deep," it was also losing its greenhouse effect produced by the firmament or water canopy. Prior to the Flood, the canopy had regulated temperatures world-wide, thus preventing storms and ice. The Flood ended that condition. Immediately the polar region temperatures plunged and the polar ice caps began to form. The Ice Age was initiated. The sudden radical changes in temperatures generated violent air movements. Suddenly the earth was racked with violent storms. These storms further churned the already turbulent waters and enhanced the hydraulics of erosion and siltation.

Not only does the Flood account for the current configuration of the earth, its continents, its fossil fuels, its fossil graveyards in unlikely places, its mountain ranges and deep seas and oceans, its canyons and gorges, its strata and all of its other geologic phenomena, it also answers how fossils were formed, something evolutionists cannot explain. Fossils cannot originate slowly. Unless the remains of plants and animals are quickly buried and encapsulated in a quickly solidifying rock formation, they decompose. Common observation confirms this claim. Contrary to the evolutionist claim that plants and animals died and settled to the ground or/and ocean floors where they were slowly buried over long periods of time, fossils were quickly formed. It is noteworthy that most fossils which have been discovered were formed at the same time. Many of the giant fossil graveyards of the world have produced a vast mixture of plant and animal fossils, many which evolutionists say never co-existed. Compared to the vast fossil remains discovered in all regions of the earth, very few fossils are currently being formed. Most were formed at one brief period in time and only the Noahic Flood is a vehicle adequate to explain their formation.

During the Flood, the earth indeed "perished with water." No living, air-breathing thing outside the Ark could possibly have survived. Yet, all within the Ark were safe. The Ark is a prophetic picture of Jesus Christ and the Flood is a prophetic warning that one day in the future, the earth will be destroyed by fire. As only those in Noah’s Ark survived the Flood, likewise only those in Jesus Christ by faith will survive the coming wrath of God.

QUESTIONS

1. On a scale of one to 1,000 how dramatically did the Flood affect the surface of the earth?

2. How much water does the earth currently have in proportion to the amount it had at the height of the flood?

3. Explain the First Law of Thermodynamics and show where it is confirmed in scripture.

4. Why didn’t earth’s waters cover the earth prior to the Flood?

5. When the waters of the firmament and the waters of the fountains of the great deep were released to the surface of the earth, how deep were the flood waters?

6. Why was there much more land on earth prior to the Flood?

7. How does the pre-Flood "greenhouse effect" account for vast deposits of fossil fuels in the Arctic circle?

8. How did God remove the waters of the Flood?

9. Explain how mountain ranges were formed.

10. Explain what happened to the earth’s water as mountains rose and ocean floors sank.

11. Explain the Biblical statement that the fountains of the great deep were broken up as it applies to the earth’s crust.

12. As the earth’s crust cracked, explain the seismic activity which was inevitable.

13. What is siltation?

14. Discuss the siltation of the Flood.

15. What is a fossil?

16. How are fossils formed?

17. Discuss the only plausible way to account for fossils.

18. How does the hydraulic action of the waters of the Flood account for the great canyons, gorges and many other dramatic geological features of the current earth?

19. Explain the impact of the loss of the firmament upon the earth.