FEATURE
Flood of Noah’s Day
OVER 4,350 years ago, according to the Bible’s historical record, the floodgates of the heavens were opened and a deluge overwhelmed the entire earth. Ungodly, violent humans and all those who were so indifferent that they refused to take note of God’s warning were destroyed. The Flood was survived only by righteous Noah and his family, eight persons in all, along with a limited number of each kind of animal life, in a huge ark built at God’s direction.—Ge 7:1-24.
The fact that the Flood really occurred is verified by a number of Bible writers. (Isa 54:9; 2Pe 3:5, 6; Heb 11:7) The strongest evidence, however, is the testimony of Jesus Christ himself, who was an eyewitness in the heavens. (Compare Joh 8:58.) He pointedly said: “In the days of Noah, . . . the flood arrived and destroyed them all.”—Lu 17:26, 27.
The account of the Flood is far more than a story. Jesus Christ indicated that it has prophetic significance. In his prophecy about “the conclusion of the system of things,” he made specific reference to “the days of Noah.” He pointed to the Flood as a warning example of a greater destruction to come during “the presence of the Son of man.”—Mt 24:3, 37-39.
Could the Ark Have Held All the Animals? It is true that encyclopedias refer to over a million species of animals. But Noah was instructed to preserve only representatives of every “kind” of land animal and flying creature. Some investigators have said that just 43 “kinds” of mammals, 74 “kinds” of birds, and 10 “kinds” of reptiles could have produced the great variety of species of these creatures that are known today. The ark had about 40,000 cu m (1,400,000 cu ft) of usable space—ample for the passenger list
Where Did the Floodwaters Go? Evidently they are right here on earth. Today there is about 1.4 billion cu km (326 million cu mi) of water on the earth. It covers more than 70 percent of the globe’s surface. The average depth of the oceans is 4 km (2.5 mi); average elevation of the land is only 0.8 km (0.5 mi) above sea level. If the earth’s surface was smoothed out, it would all be covered with water to a depth of 2,400 m (8,000 ft)
Flood Legends. Samples from six continents and the islands of the sea; hundreds of such legends are known
Reconstruction of a frozen mammoth uncovered in Siberia in 1901. After thousands of years, vegetation was still in its mouth. Some see in this, as well as in such other things as marine fossils found on high mountains, convincing evidence of a sudden, catastrophic global flood