There are many today who vehemently deny that the Flood of Noah’s day was global, universal, worldwide, and devastating. Christians rely on the biblical record (Genesis chapters 7 & 8), since it is God who gave Moses the revelation of the Flood, and what it meant. And Jesus confirmed the factual nature of this revelation. Therefore we can simply ignore the naysayers, and believe the Lord Jesus Christ.
We should also note that in the corrupted Greek translation of the Hebrew Tanakh (the Septuagint or LXX), many changes have been made to the words as found in the Masoretic Text. Also Brenton’s translation is not strictly according to the Greek, but includes several interpretations (some of which are incorrect). The biblical record shows that:
1. The Flood was a judgment against sin, evil, corruption and wickedness throughout the earth. This is clear from Genesis 6. God said that He would absolutely destroy every living creature on the face of the earth, and that is exactly what happened, since everything was beyond redemption. The non-canonical book of Enoch gives us insight into "the angels which kept not their first estate", but produced Nephilim (giants) on the earth through unlawful intercourse with human women.
2. Noah was the only man who was found righteous before God, and he was also a preacher of righteousness. Which means that he warned people about the coming judgment, but no one paid any attention. Rather, they probably scoffed, while carrying on with their sinful ways (as will also be true before the Second Coming of Christ).
3. Ir is God who gave Noah the blueprint for the construction of the Ark, as well as the details about who should be in the Ark, and what preparations should be made to remain in it for one year (including the food supply). God also asked Noah to bring his wife, and his three sons and their wives, into the Ark, for a total of "eight souls".
4. Noah was six hundred years old when he entered into the Ark (Gen 7:11). In fact we are told with precision that it was on the 17th day of the 2nd month of the 600th year of his life that he and his family entered into the Ark. (The LXX gratuitously changed that to the 27th day). According to chronologer James Ussher, the date of Creation was 4004 BC. From the Creation to the Flood, there was a period of 1656 years (Anstey). Therefore the historical date of Noah’s Flood has been computed to be 2348 BC (4004 -1656), but others have postulated other dates. That was about 4,370 years ago.
5. It rained for 40 days and 40 nights after Noah entered into the Ark, but at the same time, huge amounts of subterranean water gushed out from under the surface of the earth, so that in the end the water stood 25 feet above the tops of the mountains (Gen 7:20). (Forty days is significant in Scripture as a period of probation and testing. We see it repeated over and over again).
6. The waters prevailed on the earth for 150 days (5 months) and the Ark rested (on Mount Ararat) at the end of that exact period (Gen 7:24; 8:4).
7. Then the waters receded for another three months (Gen 8:5)
8. After another 40 days, Noah opened the window of the Ark (at the top) and sent out a raven (an unclean bird) to check the conditions outside (Gen 8:6,7). He also sent out a dove (a clean bird) at the same time, but the dove returned to the Ark (Gen 8:8,9). Presumably the raven found plenty of food and did not need to return.
9. After another 7 days Noah again sent out the dove, and this time she returned with an olive leaf in her mouth, signifying that the flood waters had abated significantly (Gen 8:10,11).
10. After another 7 days he sent out the dove, but this time she did not return (Gen 8:12)
11. The Bible says that in the 601st year, in the 1st month, on the 1st day of the month, the surface of the earth was dry (Gen 8:13) but it was on the 27th day of the 2nd month of that year that the ground itself was dry enough to allow Noah and all the occupants of the Ark to exit (Gen 8:14), at which time God commanded them to exit. Thus Noah was within the Ark for EXACTLY 365 days (one year)!
12. God blessed all the creatures which were within the Ark, and commanded that they “breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth” (Gen 8:17).
13. Then Noah built an altar and sacrificed whole burnt offerings of every clean animal and bird (Gen 8:20). Since the time of Abel, this is how those who believed God (and were justified by His grace) also anticipated the coming of the Lamb of God, who would take away the sin of the world (John 1:29) and Himself become a whole burnt offering.
14. Finally God made a promise to never curse the ground again “for man’s sake”, and that the seasons would remain as long as the (present) earth remained (Gen 8L21, 22). The rainbow (which is presently being perverted by sexual perverts) was to be a sign to mankind and God would not use another Flood against humanity. But that did not preclude the future judgment of the earth with fire, in preparation for the New Heavens and the New Earth. God also made a covenant with Noah (the Noahic Covenant) which is significant and which followed his sacrifices.
There are many spiritual lessons which can be learned from the Flood and its aftermath. There are also many other scientific lessons, and for those who have not read The Genesis Flood by Whitcomb and Morris, it is well worth reading to see the Flood from the perspective of scientists who are Christians and fully believe the account.
We should also note that in the corrupted Greek translation of the Hebrew Tanakh (the Septuagint or LXX), many changes have been made to the words as found in the Masoretic Text. Also Brenton’s translation is not strictly according to the Greek, but includes several interpretations (some of which are incorrect). The biblical record shows that:
1. The Flood was a judgment against sin, evil, corruption and wickedness throughout the earth. This is clear from Genesis 6. God said that He would absolutely destroy every living creature on the face of the earth, and that is exactly what happened, since everything was beyond redemption. The non-canonical book of Enoch gives us insight into "the angels which kept not their first estate", but produced Nephilim (giants) on the earth through unlawful intercourse with human women.
2. Noah was the only man who was found righteous before God, and he was also a preacher of righteousness. Which means that he warned people about the coming judgment, but no one paid any attention. Rather, they probably scoffed, while carrying on with their sinful ways (as will also be true before the Second Coming of Christ).
3. Ir is God who gave Noah the blueprint for the construction of the Ark, as well as the details about who should be in the Ark, and what preparations should be made to remain in it for one year (including the food supply). God also asked Noah to bring his wife, and his three sons and their wives, into the Ark, for a total of "eight souls".
4. Noah was six hundred years old when he entered into the Ark (Gen 7:11). In fact we are told with precision that it was on the 17th day of the 2nd month of the 600th year of his life that he and his family entered into the Ark. (The LXX gratuitously changed that to the 27th day). According to chronologer James Ussher, the date of Creation was 4004 BC. From the Creation to the Flood, there was a period of 1656 years (Anstey). Therefore the historical date of Noah’s Flood has been computed to be 2348 BC (4004 -1656), but others have postulated other dates. That was about 4,370 years ago.
5. It rained for 40 days and 40 nights after Noah entered into the Ark, but at the same time, huge amounts of subterranean water gushed out from under the surface of the earth, so that in the end the water stood 25 feet above the tops of the mountains (Gen 7:20). (Forty days is significant in Scripture as a period of probation and testing. We see it repeated over and over again).
6. The waters prevailed on the earth for 150 days (5 months) and the Ark rested (on Mount Ararat) at the end of that exact period (Gen 7:24; 8:4).
7. Then the waters receded for another three months (Gen 8:5)
8. After another 40 days, Noah opened the window of the Ark (at the top) and sent out a raven (an unclean bird) to check the conditions outside (Gen 8:6,7). He also sent out a dove (a clean bird) at the same time, but the dove returned to the Ark (Gen 8:8,9). Presumably the raven found plenty of food and did not need to return.
9. After another 7 days Noah again sent out the dove, and this time she returned with an olive leaf in her mouth, signifying that the flood waters had abated significantly (Gen 8:10,11).
10. After another 7 days he sent out the dove, but this time she did not return (Gen 8:12)
11. The Bible says that in the 601st year, in the 1st month, on the 1st day of the month, the surface of the earth was dry (Gen 8:13) but it was on the 27th day of the 2nd month of that year that the ground itself was dry enough to allow Noah and all the occupants of the Ark to exit (Gen 8:14), at which time God commanded them to exit. Thus Noah was within the Ark for EXACTLY 365 days (one year)!
12. God blessed all the creatures which were within the Ark, and commanded that they “breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth” (Gen 8:17).
13. Then Noah built an altar and sacrificed whole burnt offerings of every clean animal and bird (Gen 8:20). Since the time of Abel, this is how those who believed God (and were justified by His grace) also anticipated the coming of the Lamb of God, who would take away the sin of the world (John 1:29) and Himself become a whole burnt offering.
14. Finally God made a promise to never curse the ground again “for man’s sake”, and that the seasons would remain as long as the (present) earth remained (Gen 8L21, 22). The rainbow (which is presently being perverted by sexual perverts) was to be a sign to mankind and God would not use another Flood against humanity. But that did not preclude the future judgment of the earth with fire, in preparation for the New Heavens and the New Earth. God also made a covenant with Noah (the Noahic Covenant) which is significant and which followed his sacrifices.
There are many spiritual lessons which can be learned from the Flood and its aftermath. There are also many other scientific lessons, and for those who have not read The Genesis Flood by Whitcomb and Morris, it is well worth reading to see the Flood from the perspective of scientists who are Christians and fully believe the account.
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