|
|
|
|
|
|
THE VITAL
DOCTRINE OF A GLOBAL FLOOD -
John D. Morris, Ph.D. |
| |
Few biblical teachings are as
controversial among evangelicals as that of the global
nature of Noah's Flood. If Scripture is our guide,
however, it could not have been just a local flood
covering the Mesopotamian River Valley, as taught by
most leading evangelicals today, but must have been
worldwide in extent and effect.
For instance, Scripture lists the primary mechanisms for
the Flood as the wrenching open of "the fountains of the
great deep" (Genesis 7:11). Such cataclysmic faulting as
Scripture indicates on the ocean floor (the great deep)
would trigger continual tsunamis racing onto the
continents. Similarly, "the windows of heaven were
opened" for six straight months. At the very least, the
"heavens" implies the atmosphere, signifying global
torrents of rain.
The depth of the flood waters, covering the tops of the
mountains, also implies a global flood, as does the
length of the flood over one full year. A mountain
covering, year long, tectonically-controlled flood could
not be a local flood.
If the flood was merely local, Noah could have easily
escaped it simply by migrating out of the valley. Nor
would there have been any need for an Ark. Animals
certainly lived in outlying areas, so representatives
wouldn't need to be rescued. Those restricted to the
valley could have migrated to safety. Why was Noah
commanded to build such an immense boat, a brutally
difficult task, if it was not truly needed?
The primary purpose for the Flood was the destruction of
all mankind. Population calculations indicate men had
increased in number far beyond the capacity of one
valley. Furthermore, Genesis repeatedly employs terms of
global extent to describe the Flood and its impact: "all
the high hills...the mountains were covered...all in
whose nostrils was the breath of life...everything under
the high heavens," etc. It seems like God went out of
His way to remove every possible excuse for thinking
that the Flood was only local.
After the Flood, God issued an unconditional promise not
to send another such flood. If the Flood was not global,
He has broken that promise, for there have been many
local floods since Noah's day. But God keeps His
promises. He cannot lie. The Flood must certainly have
been global in extent.
Why is this point important? If you ask an evolutionist
"Where is the evidence for evolution?" his answer will
most likely include the rock and fossil records. If the
Flood was global and geologically, tectonically
significant, it laid down the rock and fossil records of
the earth. "The world that then was, being overflowed
with water, perished" (2 Peter 3:6). If the true origin
of the rock layers and fossils is the Flood, they cannot
be the remains of ordinary processes acting over great
ages. On the authority of God's Word, the Flood was
global and restructured the earth's surface, thus the
earth is young. Few doctrines are clearer in Scripture,
which contains no evidence that points to an old earth.
There have always been challenges to Scripture from
within and without the church. My late father, Dr. Henry
Morris, kept in the flyleaf of his Bible a quote from
Martin Luther that motivated and encouraged him as he
unswervingly called the church to account for its
compromise. It has been used in these pages before, but
it bears repeating, for we all need encouragement and
motivation.
If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest
exposition every portion of the truth of God except
precisely that little point which the world and the
devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing
Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where
the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is
proved, and to be steady on all the battlefield besides,
is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that
point.
|
|
|
This page
is updated on April 20, 2009 |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
PRAISE THE ALMIGHTY
10 YEARS CELEBRATION
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
