Noah's
Flood
The Mountains of Ararat (Gen 8:4-5) -
Click
for larger image (172K file)
We were
all stunned by the massive destruction and loss of life resulting
from the tsunami that hit the Indian Ocean on December 26, 2004.
But imagine an event thousands of times more powerful. Has such
a great catastrophe ever happened?
Noah's
Flood would have certainly been the greatest catastrophe of
all time. It destroyed the world of the Antediluvians. It undoubtedly
altered our entire planet.
What
Caused Noah's Flood?
Asteroid Eros
No one knows for certain what actually caused Noah's Flood.
It is difficult to imagine a world wide flood and therefore
many people believe that the Great Flood was nothing more than
a severe rainstorm that resulted in a local flood. The Bible
seems to describe vast worldwide destruction that eliminated
all land life on the earth. Here are a few examples from Scripture
that describe the degree of destruction that resulted from the
Flood (emphasis added):
Gen.6:13, 17 (NKJV) 13 And God said to Noah,
"The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth
is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will
destroy them with the earth. 17"And behold, I Myself
am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under
heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything
that is on the earth shall die.
Gen. 7:23 - 24 (NKJV) 23 So He destroyed
all living things which were on the face of the ground: both
man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They
were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were
with him in the ark remained alive. 24 And the waters prevailed
on the earth one hundred and fifty days.
It is certainly difficult to comprehend how a rainstorm could
destroy the earth. However, as the Scriptures tell us, this
is no ordinary rainstorm. This rainstorm lasted 40 days and
40 nights, covering the entire world with water including the
tops of all mountains and conditions lasted 371 days. Obviously,
this is not consistent with what we know about meteorology.
We will examine some possible causes of a world wide catastrophe
such as Noah's Flood.
In the early 19th century, the Biblical account of the flood
raised serious questions among the scientific community. Due
to the Biblical description, arguments resulted in which Charles
Lyle’s view of uniformatarian geology became the accepted theory.
The flood was commonly accepted as fact until around the early
to mid 19th century. Churches commonly taught that the flood
was a world wide catastrophe. After uniformatarianism became
accepted as fact, more and more churches began to teach that
the Genesis Flood was only a local flood and not a world wide
flood. Today, this is still common teaching in many churches.
However, the uniformatarian model did not consider the possibility
of worldwide catastrophes. Recent discoveries have begun to
reveal a past much different than the uniformatarian model presents.
A past dominated by catastrophes.
Is It Possible Comets or Asteroids
Caused Noah's Flood?
Some have suggested that asteroids or comets may have caused
Noah's Flood. The impact of comet Shoemaker-Levy on Jupiter
demonstrated the destructive force of a comet impact. The realization
of such astronomical catastrophes has gained the attention of
the scientific community. Recent studies have revealed the devastating
effects of asteroid and comet impacts upon the earth. This is
combined with a growing number of large asteroid or comet impact
sites discovered on the earth. New evidence from computer modeling
suggests that these impacts resulted in sudden, large changes
in the earth, similar to what the Bible proclaims. The flood
description given in Genesis chapters 7 and 8 reveal that one
of the sources of water were the springs of the great deep.
Although there are several interpretations of this scripture,
it is also considered to be an indication of volcanism and from
the description in Genesis, volcanism on a large scale. Also,
from the Genesis account we see the sudden appearance of water
that essentially pours out of the sky like a waterfall (floodgates
of heaven). The following is the account of the flood from Genesis:
Gen. 7:11 - 12 (NKJV) 11 In the six hundredth year of
Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month—on
that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth,
and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. 12
And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.
Gen. 7:18 - 23 (NKJV) 17 For forty days the flood
kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted
the ark high above the earth. 18 The waters rose and
increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface
of the water. 19 They rose greatly on the earth, and
all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered.
20 The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth
of more than twenty feet. 21 Every living thing that
moved on the earth perished—birds, livestock, wild animals,
all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all mankind.
22 Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its
nostrils died. 23 Every living thing on the face of the earth
was wiped out; men and animals and the creatures that move along
the ground and the birds of the air were wiped from the earth.
Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark.
From the flood description in Genesis, we are told of a world
wide flood that destroyed all land life upon the earth. Genesis
doesn't describe a local flood at all. Is there any evidence
of a great catastrophe that could have destroyed all life on
the earth?
A Brief Overview of Asteroid and Comet Impacts
Known Asteroid Impact Sites
As we learn more about our earth it has become evident that
it has been greatly impacted by asteroids of comets in the past.
The map (shown below) shows the location of known asteroid impact
sites all over the world. Movies, such as DEEP IMPACT and ARMAGEDDON
have demonstrated the destructive power of asteroids and comets
to the general public. Recent super computer models produced
by Sandia National Laboratories demonstrate mathematically,
the destructive power unleashed during such impacts. This has
brought to light the Scriptures given in Genesis. The bombardment
of large asteroids or comets upon the earth (particularly into
the ocean) could unleash unimaginable amounts of rain, and hail
falling upon the earth steadily for periods described in the
Bible. Although it may take more than one impact to produce
the world wide flood conditions described in t he scriptures,
asteroid or comet impacts could most certainly cause the flood
conditions given in the Bible. The energy released from these
impacts would result in severe geological reactions including
volcanism, rapid tectonic plate movements (continental drift),
and magnetic field reversals. Resulting tsunamis could indeed
cover the tops of mountains from displaced water.
Known Asteroid Impact Sites (click
to enlarge)
What Damage Would We Expect
From a Comet or Asteroid Impact?
Seven-tenths of a second after the impact of a 10-km diameter
comet into the ocean, its explosive power would be the equivalent
to 300 gigatons of TNT (far exceeding the explosive power of
all the nuclear weapons in existence during the Cold War). The
comet itself would be almost instantaneously vaporized, along
with 300 - 500 cubic kilometers of water. As a result of the
explosion, high pressure steam would rise into the atmosphere
and would return to earth with unimaginable weather conditions.
A rain storm would be a poor description of the results. The
use of the term "flood gates of the heavens" as given in Genesis
becomes a very good description.
Asteroid Impact into the Ocean
The impact of a 10-km diameter asteroid on land would cause
a catastrophe beyond our ability to envision. Global earthquakes
with ground waves 10 m high would result. The earth's core would
be disrupted, possibly producing magnetic reversals. Plate movement
would be accelerated, opening cracks 10-100-km wide in the earth's
crust, and causing rapid mountain-building and worldwide volcanism.
The impact of a number of asteroids over a short period would
have even far greater destructive results. Such catastrophes
would indeed bring about the destruction that the Bible proclaims.
Now its your turn to destroy the earth - Click
here to run impact simulation
Excellent paper by James Marusek on what to expect in the way
of damage from an asteroid or comet impact: Comet
and Asteroid Threat Impact Analysis
Solar System Catastrophes
Discoveries on the planet Mars also reveal the possibility
of severe flooding. Although it is still debated whether the
liquid was lava flow or water, evidence is very suggestive of
water. Mars may in fact turn out to be a very good model to
study the effects of catastrophes on a planet. The planet has
been heavily impacted by asteroids and probably comets as well.
Comet impacts could account for all the mysterious water on
Mars. Recent imagery from the Mars Global Surveyor reveals rapid
flooding, just what we would expect from a comet impact. If
the Genesis Flood was caused by asteroid impacts, it could have
affected the entire solar system.
For further hypothesis on these types of catastrophes, visit
the following web sites: James
Marusek ’s web site on the flood theory and Tom
Van Flandern's exploding planets hypothesis .
How Long Ago Did the Flood Occur?
One of the principle arguments today on a Genesis Flood is
time scale. How long ago did the flood occur? Most theologians
accept a period between 6000 to around 5,000 years ago. Some
extremes have been placed at 200,000 years ago (this is outside
of scripture, due to the chronologies given in the Bible). It
has frequently been asked; "How would a world wide catastrophe
effect our measurements of atomic time scales"? Due to
the non linear effects of such catastrophes, chronological measurements
derived from atomic dating would be greatly altered. The following
articles provide excellent back ground information on this subject.
Potassium
Argon Dating - Andrew A. Snelling Ph.D.
Ice
Core Analysis - Larry Vardiman
Links to Flood Models and Resources
Asteroids are not the only flood model, other models have been
proposed. The asteroid model still doesn't account for the necessary
water to cover all the mountains. Dr Walter Brown presents his
hydroplate flood model and Donald Patten explores the possibility
of close passes of Mars to the earth, due to an exploded planet.
(Understand these are just interesting theories and no one has
succeeded in proving what really caused Noah's Flood.)
Dr
Walter Brown's hydroplate theory
Tom
Van Flandern
Imapct
by James Marusek
The
Great Flood of Noah by Lambert Dolphin
A
Universal Flood by Dr. David Livingston
Exploding
Planets and Ancient Catastrophes by Chuck Missler
Catastrophy
Models
Sandia
National Laboratories
