†. Gen 6:17 . . For My part, I am about to bring the Flood-- waters
upon the earth-- to destroy all flesh under the sky in which there is
breath of life; everything on earth shall perish.
Some think the Flood was merely a local even rather than a worldwide
deluge. But that's not the way Genesis describes it. The author quotes God
saying; to destroy "all flesh under the sky" and: "everything on earth" shall
perish.
If the Flood were to be local, then it would only be necessary for Noah and
his family and the animals to simply migrate to a different region rather than
go to all the trouble of building an ark. No. The idea of localized flooding is
totally unacceptable because "the sky" is everywhere.
Ironically, and perhaps even humorously, many of the people arguing for a
localized Flood are convinced it's a myth anyway so I have clue where they
see the point of arguing its extent.
The word for "waters" is from mayim (mah'-yim) which is a plural noun that
can be used either in a plural sense as here in Gen 6:17, or in a singular
sense as in Gen 21:14. Just exactly how much aquatic life died in the flood is
hard to tell. If the seas were diluted with too much fresh water, then the salt
water species would not do well. Same problem would apply to the fresh
water varieties of life. Too much salt, and they could perish. Some species of
sea life are adaptable to both fresh water and salt, e.g. sockeye salmon and
sea-going cutthroat trout.
This raises an interesting question. At one time the whole earth was covered
with water until such a time as God deformed the crust at Gen 1:9 to make
high ground. Was that water sea water or fresh? I would say sea because
sea water contains every element required for the creation of life.
So then, were the waters of the Flood fresh water or seawater? I would
venture to guess fresh, so that the resulting dilution of the waters of the
oceans would probably (just guessing) leave them with enough salt
percentage to support sea-dwelling creatures but not enough salt
percentage to kill off the creatures of lakes, streams, and rivers.
†. Gen 6:18 . . But I will establish My covenant with you, and you
shall enter the ark, with your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives.
Biblical covenants may include stipulations for all parties involved; and then
again may stipulate responsibilities for only one of them with the other
simply being along for the benefit. At this point in time, God didn't reveal
any details about the covenant that "I will establish" until after the Flood was
over.
†. Gen 6:19-20 . . And of all that lives, of all flesh, you shall take two
of each into the ark to keep alive with you; they shall be male and
female. From birds of every kind, cattle of every kind, every kind of
creeping thing on earth, two of each shall come to you to stay alive.
Fortunately Noah didn't have to go on safari to round up his passengers.
The Bible says two of each shall "come to you." There was plenty of time
for them to make it because Noah was 120 years building the ark and getting
it ready. Since the animals selected were cooperative and docile, then the
smaller beasties could hitch rides on the larger ones and thus save themselves
some steps.
A man named Dave Kunst walked across today's world in just a little over 4
years from June 1970 to October 1974. Kunst walked a total of 14,450
miles, crossing four continents and thirteen countries, wearing out 21 pair of
shoes, and walking more than 20 million steps. That was an odd thing to do,
but does prove it can be done in a relatively short time; so 120 years was
plenty enough for all the critters to make it on over to Noah's place in time
for the Folly's maiden voyage. If the ark were to launch in 2012, critters
would have been on the move towards it since 1892 --eleven years before
the Wright Brothers historical flight --and probably reproduced many times
along the way since there are not all that many species that live to see 120
years of age.
But how did they cross oceans? In the past that was doubtless a thorny
theological problem. But with today's knowledge of the geological science of
plate tectonics, the answer is as simple as two plus two. We now know that
continental land masses can be shifted, and in point of fact the dry parts
brought so close together as to form one single super continent.
We also know about magma hot spots and pressure points that can raise the
earth's crust like a service elevator. Subduction also plays a role; pushing
sea beds up above sea level and made to form land bridges; thus expediting
migration. Normal geological process take thousands of years to accomplish,
but when you factor in the Bible God's participation in the Flood event, it's
no problem at all for He who has absolute power over not just the earth's
geological processes; but all the rest of nature's processes too.
Actually the Earth's mantle is one continuous (albeit fractured) mass
anyway, although its profile is so irregular that dry land sticks up above sea
level at various high spots; which is a good thing because if the mantle were
smooth, the world would be quite flooded all the time. In point of fact, if the
Earth's mantle were perfectly smooth, like a billiard ball, there's enough
water present even today to cover the land to a depth of 9,000 feet of
water. That would be equivalent to a global ocean approximately 1.7 miles
deep.
What about the dinosaurs? Did they go aboard with Noah too? It's very
doubtful. Paleontologists are pretty sure the Jurassic era was over and
gone by means of a mysterious mass extinction way before the entrance
of human life.
It's believed by some that during the Permian period, 96 percent of all
marine species and more than 50 percent of all other species disappeared.
Later, at the end of the Cretaceous period, it's believed that another 1/3 of
plant and animal species, including the dinosaur guys, went extinct.
So what about the carnivorous animals that came aboard with Noah-- the
lions and tigers and hawks and eagles and meerkats and alligators and
crocodiles? No problem. According to Gen 1:29-30, all manner of animal
life survived on a vegetarian diet in the past; including Man.
Some skeptics have objected that a wooden vessel the size of Noah's ark
couldn't be built because the timbers required for its structural strength
would have been so massive that Noah would never have managed to
construct it. But the ancients were far more ingenious than most people
living today realize. For example, nobody yet has really figured out how the
Egyptians built the pyramids nor how the people of Easter Island cut,
carved, and moved all those big stone heads around. And the Egyptians
aren't the only ones to mystify us. There are ancient stone structures around
the world that seem impossible to be erected by human hands prior to the
age of heavy construction equipment; but nevertheless, there they are.
FAQ : Why bother to construct a floating menagerie when God could easily
create the original creatures all over again after the Flood subsided?
That would require God to renege on a very important blessing.
†. Gen 1:26 . . And God said: Let us make man in our image, after our
likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over
the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over
every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
†. Gen 1:28 . . And God blessed them, and God said unto them: Be fruitful,
and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion
over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living
thing that moveth upon the earth.
God had to leave a remnant of earth's original fauna intact in order to make
good on that blessing. Islam's Allah reserves to itself the right to abrogate
anything and everything it says; but the Bible's God is a person of integrity
who does not crawfish. His word is immutable.
In addition, creating a second animal kingdom would require God to break
the sabbath that He established for Himself at Gen 2:1-2. [cf. Ex 20:8-11 and
Ex 31:16-17]. In other words: the cosmos was finished, just as He said, and
creation's God ceased from His works, and hasn't made anything new for it since.
Cont.
/
upon the earth-- to destroy all flesh under the sky in which there is
breath of life; everything on earth shall perish.
Some think the Flood was merely a local even rather than a worldwide
deluge. But that's not the way Genesis describes it. The author quotes God
saying; to destroy "all flesh under the sky" and: "everything on earth" shall
perish.
If the Flood were to be local, then it would only be necessary for Noah and
his family and the animals to simply migrate to a different region rather than
go to all the trouble of building an ark. No. The idea of localized flooding is
totally unacceptable because "the sky" is everywhere.
Ironically, and perhaps even humorously, many of the people arguing for a
localized Flood are convinced it's a myth anyway so I have clue where they
see the point of arguing its extent.
The word for "waters" is from mayim (mah'-yim) which is a plural noun that
can be used either in a plural sense as here in Gen 6:17, or in a singular
sense as in Gen 21:14. Just exactly how much aquatic life died in the flood is
hard to tell. If the seas were diluted with too much fresh water, then the salt
water species would not do well. Same problem would apply to the fresh
water varieties of life. Too much salt, and they could perish. Some species of
sea life are adaptable to both fresh water and salt, e.g. sockeye salmon and
sea-going cutthroat trout.
This raises an interesting question. At one time the whole earth was covered
with water until such a time as God deformed the crust at Gen 1:9 to make
high ground. Was that water sea water or fresh? I would say sea because
sea water contains every element required for the creation of life.
So then, were the waters of the Flood fresh water or seawater? I would
venture to guess fresh, so that the resulting dilution of the waters of the
oceans would probably (just guessing) leave them with enough salt
percentage to support sea-dwelling creatures but not enough salt
percentage to kill off the creatures of lakes, streams, and rivers.
†. Gen 6:18 . . But I will establish My covenant with you, and you
shall enter the ark, with your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives.
Biblical covenants may include stipulations for all parties involved; and then
again may stipulate responsibilities for only one of them with the other
simply being along for the benefit. At this point in time, God didn't reveal
any details about the covenant that "I will establish" until after the Flood was
over.
†. Gen 6:19-20 . . And of all that lives, of all flesh, you shall take two
of each into the ark to keep alive with you; they shall be male and
female. From birds of every kind, cattle of every kind, every kind of
creeping thing on earth, two of each shall come to you to stay alive.
Fortunately Noah didn't have to go on safari to round up his passengers.
The Bible says two of each shall "come to you." There was plenty of time
for them to make it because Noah was 120 years building the ark and getting
it ready. Since the animals selected were cooperative and docile, then the
smaller beasties could hitch rides on the larger ones and thus save themselves
some steps.
A man named Dave Kunst walked across today's world in just a little over 4
years from June 1970 to October 1974. Kunst walked a total of 14,450
miles, crossing four continents and thirteen countries, wearing out 21 pair of
shoes, and walking more than 20 million steps. That was an odd thing to do,
but does prove it can be done in a relatively short time; so 120 years was
plenty enough for all the critters to make it on over to Noah's place in time
for the Folly's maiden voyage. If the ark were to launch in 2012, critters
would have been on the move towards it since 1892 --eleven years before
the Wright Brothers historical flight --and probably reproduced many times
along the way since there are not all that many species that live to see 120
years of age.
But how did they cross oceans? In the past that was doubtless a thorny
theological problem. But with today's knowledge of the geological science of
plate tectonics, the answer is as simple as two plus two. We now know that
continental land masses can be shifted, and in point of fact the dry parts
brought so close together as to form one single super continent.
We also know about magma hot spots and pressure points that can raise the
earth's crust like a service elevator. Subduction also plays a role; pushing
sea beds up above sea level and made to form land bridges; thus expediting
migration. Normal geological process take thousands of years to accomplish,
but when you factor in the Bible God's participation in the Flood event, it's
no problem at all for He who has absolute power over not just the earth's
geological processes; but all the rest of nature's processes too.
Actually the Earth's mantle is one continuous (albeit fractured) mass
anyway, although its profile is so irregular that dry land sticks up above sea
level at various high spots; which is a good thing because if the mantle were
smooth, the world would be quite flooded all the time. In point of fact, if the
Earth's mantle were perfectly smooth, like a billiard ball, there's enough
water present even today to cover the land to a depth of 9,000 feet of
water. That would be equivalent to a global ocean approximately 1.7 miles
deep.
What about the dinosaurs? Did they go aboard with Noah too? It's very
doubtful. Paleontologists are pretty sure the Jurassic era was over and
gone by means of a mysterious mass extinction way before the entrance
of human life.
It's believed by some that during the Permian period, 96 percent of all
marine species and more than 50 percent of all other species disappeared.
Later, at the end of the Cretaceous period, it's believed that another 1/3 of
plant and animal species, including the dinosaur guys, went extinct.
So what about the carnivorous animals that came aboard with Noah-- the
lions and tigers and hawks and eagles and meerkats and alligators and
crocodiles? No problem. According to Gen 1:29-30, all manner of animal
life survived on a vegetarian diet in the past; including Man.
Some skeptics have objected that a wooden vessel the size of Noah's ark
couldn't be built because the timbers required for its structural strength
would have been so massive that Noah would never have managed to
construct it. But the ancients were far more ingenious than most people
living today realize. For example, nobody yet has really figured out how the
Egyptians built the pyramids nor how the people of Easter Island cut,
carved, and moved all those big stone heads around. And the Egyptians
aren't the only ones to mystify us. There are ancient stone structures around
the world that seem impossible to be erected by human hands prior to the
age of heavy construction equipment; but nevertheless, there they are.
FAQ : Why bother to construct a floating menagerie when God could easily
create the original creatures all over again after the Flood subsided?
That would require God to renege on a very important blessing.
†. Gen 1:26 . . And God said: Let us make man in our image, after our
likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over
the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over
every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
†. Gen 1:28 . . And God blessed them, and God said unto them: Be fruitful,
and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion
over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living
thing that moveth upon the earth.
God had to leave a remnant of earth's original fauna intact in order to make
good on that blessing. Islam's Allah reserves to itself the right to abrogate
anything and everything it says; but the Bible's God is a person of integrity
who does not crawfish. His word is immutable.
In addition, creating a second animal kingdom would require God to break
the sabbath that He established for Himself at Gen 2:1-2. [cf. Ex 20:8-11 and
Ex 31:16-17]. In other words: the cosmos was finished, just as He said, and
creation's God ceased from His works, and hasn't made anything new for it since.
Cont.
/
