We can begin our examination of this issue with God's proclamation to the prophet Noah.Genesis6:13 ASV "And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth." Genesis6:17ASV"And I, behold, I do bring the flood of waters upon this earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is in the earth shall die." Points to note here: the wickedness of man has become,in the eyes of the creator,a global problem requiring a global response. Later the apostle Peter invokes the historical account as a warning to those who doubt Jehovah God's ability/willingness to act decisively to bring an end to the present corruption of our global civilisation 2Peter3:5,7.As you read Peter's words recorded at the cited passage do you get the impression that he thought of the flood as a local event?
Another consideration would be the preparations that Noah were instructed to make.Genesis6:14-16ASV"Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. 15And this is how thou shalt make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. 16A light shalt thou make to the ark, and to a cubit shalt thou finish it upward; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it." Thus the creator outlined decades of work for his servants.Much of which seems superfluous if we understand the deluge as a local event.Why not simply have Noah and his family migrate from the targeted locale?The local fauna esp.the birds could likewise evacuate the area.
Finally we can examine the Bible's description of the event itself:
Genesis7:17NASB"Then the flood came upon the earth for forty days, and the water increased and lifted up the ark, so that it rose above the earth. 18The water prevailed and increased greatly upon the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water. 19The water prevailed more and more upon the earth, so that all the high mountains everywhere under the heavens were covered. 20The water prevailed fifteen cubits higher, and the mountains were covered. 21All flesh that moved on the earth perished, birds and cattle and beasts and every swarming thing that swarms upon the earth, and all mankind; 22of all that was on the dry land, all in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, died. 23Thus He blotted out every living thing that was upon the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky, and they were blotted out from the earth; and only Noah was left, together with those that were with him in the ark. 24The water prevailed upon the earth one hundred and fifty days." Points to note:The flood is described as covering all of earth's tallest mountains by at least twenty two feet.The flood brings and end to all terrestrial life outside of the ark.The waters of this flood kept rising for one hundred and fifty days,very unlike any local flood in recorded history.Genesis8:5NASB"The water decreased steadily until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains became visible." This is after eight months.
Interestingly there are flood legends native to cultures globally many of which bear such uncanny parallels to the Bible's account that in would be unreasonable to postulate an independent origin to them,rather it seems more likely that in these we have echoes of a spectacular event etched in humankind's collective memory.This too seems to point to a global event.
Another consideration would be the preparations that Noah were instructed to make.Genesis6:14-16ASV"Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. 15And this is how thou shalt make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. 16A light shalt thou make to the ark, and to a cubit shalt thou finish it upward; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it." Thus the creator outlined decades of work for his servants.Much of which seems superfluous if we understand the deluge as a local event.Why not simply have Noah and his family migrate from the targeted locale?The local fauna esp.the birds could likewise evacuate the area.
Finally we can examine the Bible's description of the event itself:
Genesis7:17NASB"Then the flood came upon the earth for forty days, and the water increased and lifted up the ark, so that it rose above the earth. 18The water prevailed and increased greatly upon the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water. 19The water prevailed more and more upon the earth, so that all the high mountains everywhere under the heavens were covered. 20The water prevailed fifteen cubits higher, and the mountains were covered. 21All flesh that moved on the earth perished, birds and cattle and beasts and every swarming thing that swarms upon the earth, and all mankind; 22of all that was on the dry land, all in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, died. 23Thus He blotted out every living thing that was upon the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky, and they were blotted out from the earth; and only Noah was left, together with those that were with him in the ark. 24The water prevailed upon the earth one hundred and fifty days." Points to note:The flood is described as covering all of earth's tallest mountains by at least twenty two feet.The flood brings and end to all terrestrial life outside of the ark.The waters of this flood kept rising for one hundred and fifty days,very unlike any local flood in recorded history.Genesis8:5NASB"The water decreased steadily until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains became visible." This is after eight months.
Interestingly there are flood legends native to cultures globally many of which bear such uncanny parallels to the Bible's account that in would be unreasonable to postulate an independent origin to them,rather it seems more likely that in these we have echoes of a spectacular event etched in humankind's collective memory.This too seems to point to a global event.
No comments:
Post a Comment