How do we know the world flooded?

Question

As the majority of the world hadn't been discovered until at least the 15th century, how is it possible to know that the whole world was flooded in the story of Noah?

Maybe there was similar weather as recently experienced in England, and the Tigris and the Euphrates burst their banks, flooding Mesopotamia, and much of the Middle East.

It would have seemed like the whole world to someone in those times, but it would have made no difference on a global scale.

It's just a thought I've been having.

ps And also the rainbow has been described as God's promise not to flood again. Is England's recent weather a broken promise?

Answer 1

I don't have an exact answer for you, but I have something that might interest you, and others here. A friend who studied plants, trees, etc, learned that there are mountain ranges in Oregon (USA) that have never been underwater. I have never looked into this because I keep forgetting, but if it is true, it is pretty good proof it never happened.

Answer 2

No one else survived the flood. In both the Old and New Testament, God's Word states that only Noah, his wife, his three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and their three wives, survived the flood. (Genesis 7:21; 1 Peter 3:20) The flood was worldwide. Genesis 17:12-20 states: "17 And the deluge went on for forty days upon the earth, and the waters kept increasing and began carrying the ark and it was floating high above the earth. 18 And the waters became overwhelming and kept increasing greatly upon the earth, but the ark kept going on the surface of the waters. 19 And the waters overwhelmed the earth so greatly that all the tall mountains that were under the whole heavens came to be covered. 20 Up to fifteen cubits the waters overwhelmed them and the mountains became covered." It is not unrealistic to think that the flood was world wide. After all, 71% of the earth's surface is still covered by water. It is also estimated that if the glaciers and polar ice caps were to melt, the sea level would rise, covering such cities as New York and Tokyo. Geologists studying the landscape of northwestern United States estimate that as many as 100 catastrophic floods once flooded the area. One such flood is said to have passed through with a wall of water 2,000 feet high, traveling at a speed of 65 miles per hour. This would be 500 cubit miles of water, weighing over 2 trillion tons. Certainly a flood of that magnitude could cover some of the mountains on the earth today. If you study each of the ancient cultures, you would find that each has it's own myth, story, legend, etc. about a great flood. Is it a matter of coincidence that the belief of a worldwide flood can be found worldwide? As a Christian, no doubt you believe in Jesus. He said, concerning the God's Word, the Bible, at John 17:17, "Your word is truth." Why would Jesus say such a thing if the Bible contained fictional myths and such? Jesus also likened the events of his presence and the end of the system of things to the events of Noah's day. (Matthew 24:37-39) Concerning the dove that brought back a piece of a branch of an olive tree, look at the account in the Bible at Genesis 8:6-12: "6 So it occurred that at the end of forty days Noah proceeded to open the window of the ark that he had made. 7 After that he sent out a raven, and it continued flying outdoors, going and returning, until the waters dried off the earth. 8 Later he sent out from him a dove to see whether the waters had abated from the surface of the ground. 9 And the dove did not find any resting-place for the sole of its foot, and so it returned to him into the ark because the waters were yet upon the surface of the whole earth. At that he put his hand out and took it and brought it to himself inside the ark. 10 And he went on waiting still another seven days, and once again he sent out the dove from the ark. 11 Later on the dove came to him about the time of evening and, look! there was an olive leaf freshly plucked in its bill, and so Noah got to know that the waters had abated from the earth. 12 And he went on waiting still another seven days. Then he sent out the dove, but it did not come back again to him anymore." From that account, we can see that Noah sent the raven first then the dove three times to see if the water level had dropped. The dove not returning showed that the earth was once again inhabitable.

Answer 3

It is a physical impossibility for the entire globe to have flooded all at the same time. In order for that to have happened there would have to have been a volume of water equal to 1/3 the volume of the Moon. A layer of water all over the earth six or seven miles thick. Even over the oceans, because all the water would simply rush immediately back into it. That's a heck of a LOT of water to try and account for. Where did it all go? I have asked a whole lot of folks about this indescrepancy and have YET to recieve a single viable answer to this one. So, NO! the Flood of the Bible simply did NOT occur.

Raji the Green Witch

Answer 4

First off, the world didn't flood, but the world as was known at the time flooded. Not a big difference, but an important one. There is sedimentary records (layers in the earth) stretching from the middle east to India that there was a flood that reached that far.

As far as God's promise, he promised not to destroy the earth again, no matter how wicked mankind got, but he never promised he would never let a flood happen again.

Answer 5

The History Channel runs a program about the flood - their theory is that an earthquake opened the connection between the Mediterranean and Black Seas, and the Black Sea region was flooded. They even mention your idea that, to the author(s) of the Bible, this would have seemed to be the whole world. At any rate, there is evidence of the earthquake, and ancient ruins have been found below the water line in the Black Sea.

Answer 6

I've wondered that too, and I'm also wondering...

If the rainbow is a sign that the world will not be flooded again, does that mean rain will not be the cause of a flood, but perhaps something else?

Perhaps flooding as a cause of global warming?

Answer 7

Exactly. if you live in a box and the box floods, your world floods. Plain and simple. Thing is, people should read beyond sentence meaning and think.
It would be seem to be a broken promise for those who believe in God. For me it's just global warming and general pollution that had to had some effect in the world. We should all be more careful with our mother Earth.

Answer 8

A couple of reasons. Every ancient culture has a flood story a world wide flood story right down to the American Indians.Growing up in a small town called Whittier,Cal,we had these beautiful hills I'd hike through as a kid catching snakes ,chasing Coyotes and at the top of these hills ,we would find sea shells.Now that is 30 miles from the Pacific ocean.When I grew up I bought a house in Chino Hills ,Cal. 60 miles from the ocean.As they built a new school they unearthed several whale fossils ,one that is on display at the Jr.High Library.So ,I think it's a pretty good bet.The Babylonians had their 'Epic of Gilgamesh' Flood story also.Up in the higher mountains(about 4000 ft. level ),my Dad and I were collecting rocks for his rock garden and found two fossils ,one of a fern and one of a fish impressed in solid rock.
It had never rained before the flood so no one had ever seen a rainbow.Besides,Britain is just fine.

Answer 9

Seashells have been found on the top of Mt Everest, the highest peak on earth. The layers of the Grand canyon were layed down by the flood. Have you ever seen one of those liquid square things with black and white sand in them?. You shake them up and the sands settle out in multiple layers. In the same way the layers of the Grand Canyon were formed as well as the layers under Spirit Lake at Mt St. Helens . A canyon was formed when a wash out occurred some time after the eruption. It looks like Grand Canyon and was formed in a matter of hours when the layered material of ash and dirt from the eruption damming up the canyon gave way and washed out. The same thing occurred with Grand Canyon but probably washed it out in a month or two. Oil and Coal are another proof of the flood. The tremendous pressure of all the water on the earth formed the oil and coal out of the dense vegetation and animal life that covered the earth prior to the flood. These are just a few of thousands of examples of evidence that the earth was flooded. Furthermore nearly every civilization on earth that left historical writings have written legends about the flood . No educated person believes otherwise.

No God did not promise he would not let floods occur on the earth again. He promised he would not totally destroy all life on earth again with a flood....Genesis 9:11 And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.

Cap'n Arlo

Answer 10

Science is finding the proof in the layers of the earths surface. They are finding a lot of the same type of fossils buried at the same depth at different places on the planet.

The rainbow is a witness to GOD that he will never again flood the whole planet, not just individual separate places.