With the exception of the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ on earth and all that he accomplished before ascending to the Father, there is arguably no single event in history that has had a more comprehensive impact on the entire planet than the flood recorded in Genesis 6–8. The following is a brief survey of the canonical importance of the flood and some evidence that it was global, and not local.
Eleven Implications from the Genesis Flood
Moses’s account of the flood reveals several significant truths about God.
First, God observes human behavior and is keenly interested it. God saw that the earth was corrupt and filled with wickedness and that every inclination of the human mind continually was to do evil (Gen. 6:5, 11). However, God also saw that Noah was the only man on earth who was righteous and walked with God (Gen. 6:9, 7:1).
Second, God is grieved by humanity’s wickedness but shows favor to those who are committed to walking with Him like Noah did (Gen. 6:5–12).
Third, God pronounced to Noah that he was going to destroy every living thing on the earth with a flood, with the exception of Noah and his family, along with every type of creature on the earth. Therefore, God sets apart those who are wicked for destruction (Gen. 6:13) and sets apart those who are righteous to be delivered from destruction (Gen. 6:14–18). And this is true beyond Genesis, as one of many ways the prophet Isaiah depicted God’s future judgment was through “flood language” (cf. Isa. 8:5–8; 28:17).
Fourth, as the Creator, God assumes the right to judge the wicked and uphold the righteous. Moreover, he answers to no one as he does so. The entire earth and everything in it belong to him. Consequently, everyone is accountable to him (Ps. 24:1; Ps. 115:5; Eccl. 12:14; Dan. 4:35).
Fifth, although humans alone are created in God’s image, God values all living creatures who have the breath of life in them (Gen. 6:19–21). God also demonstrated this truth after the flood in the covenant He made with Noah (Gen. 9:12).
Sixth, God demonstrated his grace when he provided Noah, and his family, a way to be saved from the flood by instructing him to build the ark. Thus, the God who pronounces judgment is the God who provides a way to be saved for those who trust and obey him (2 Pet. 2:5).
Seventh, the flood account reveals God’s patience with sinners. Even though the text does not reveal how long it took Noah and his family to build the ark, building a three-deck ark that was 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet tall surely took some time to complete. The apostle Peter highlights how patient God was with the people in Noah’s day as he mercifully withheld immediate judgment. Instead of immediately destroying the wicked, God graciously gave them an opportunity to repent during the time it took Noah to build the ark (1 Pet. 3:20). Therefore, people should be wary of taking lightly the window of opportunity God has given them to respond to His mercy and grace.
Eighth, Peter also points out in 1 Peter 3:20 that the waters of the flood are a depiction of one’s salvation by grace through faith just as believer’s baptism is today. Likewise, the author of Hebrews observes, “By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith” (Heb. 11:7).
Therefore, ninth, the flood account demonstrates that righteousness comes by faith, not by works. And tenth, God uses the obedient demonstrations of the faith of the righteous to condemn the unrighteous.
Eleventh and finally, the end of the flood foreshadows a day when the people of God will no longer be affected by the consequences of God’s judgment on the unrighteous. Noah and his family were in the ark for about a year. But God remembered Noah and his family, and the day came when they were finally able to walk on dry ground once more (Gen. 8:1, 15–18).
A World-Wide Flood
From God’s salvation of Noah in the midst of judgment, we learn a great deal about God, his world, and the enduring promise of grace to those who repent and believe. At the same time, Scripture also bears witness to the geological and geographical realities of a flood that covered the earth.
Among Old Testament and geological scholars, there are those who argue that if the flood occurred it must have been a regional event and not a global one.[1] However, scriptural evidence indicates it was global, and scientific evidence supports this claim. The clearest passage indicating the flood was global is Genesis 7:19–23:
1. For example, Lorence G. Collins, “Yes, Noah’s Flood May Have Happened, But Not Over the Whole Earth,” Reports of the National Center for Science Education, vol. 29, no. 5, accessed July 10, 2023.
19 And the waters prevailed so mightily on the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered. 20 The waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits deep. 21 And all flesh died that moved on the earth, birds, livestock, beasts, all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth, and all mankind. 22 Everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died. 23 He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens. They were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ark. (ESV)
Whatever one believes about the expansiveness of the flood, Moses’s all-encompassing language indicates it was a global flood. Furthermore, on a practical note, if the flood was regional, why didn’t God just instruct Noah to take his family along with the animals and move to a safe region while God destroyed the people and animals where Noah lived? It makes no sense to build such an enormous vessel for a flood that was regional. Noah and his family could have traveled quite a distance to safety during the long timespan required to build it.
Geologists associated with Answers in Genesis, as well as others, have provided several findings that not only fit well with the biblical account of the flood but also only make sense when one recognizes it was global. For instance, fossils of sea creatures exist where there are rock layers high above sea level on every continent. Extensive fossil “graveyards” of various types of creatures around the world evidence a sudden, catastrophic global event. Rapidly deposited rock layers can be traced across and between continents. The sediments in these rock layers were transported long distances by fast-moving water. Many were bent without fracturing, indicating they were deposited and folded while they were still wet and pliable. Furthermore, there is no evidence of millions of years of erosion between rock layers.[2]
2. “Worldwide Flood, Worldwide Evidence,” Answers in Genesis, accessed July 10, 2023. (There are several links to other articles within this article that expand upon these above points.)
Finally, a recent discovery of ringwoodite rock about 400 miles below the earth’s surface traps water within it. If it only holds 1% water within it, that would mean it holds three times more water than what the oceans hold on the surface of the planet.[3] If this is true, then it is interesting given Genesis 7:9 and 8:2 state that the “great deep” burst forth and then closed. It should be no surprise to believers that the physical evidence corresponds to the biblical record.
3. Rain Jordan, “Ocean Under the Crust: Massive Water Formation Found Beneath the Planet,” Nature World News, April 2, 2023, accessed July 10, 2023; and Julia Rothchild, “Is there An Ocean Below Your Feet?”, Smithsonian Science Education Center, accessed July 10, 2023.
Conclusion
Our earth still shows the sign of this extraordinary and cataclysmic judgment even as the Bible clarifies the many lessons the flood teaches. In a culture that is becoming more a-theistic each year, the flood teaches that the creator God both sees and judges sin. But every bow in the sky after the rain also teaches that God is merciful with sinners, delaying the judgment they deserve, and giving them time to repent (2 Pet. 3:9). One day God will again judge the whole earth—not with water but with fire—and he has made provision that all who taken refuge in the son will be preserved for a new heavens and earth.