“And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered” (Genesis 7:19).
This text calls to mind the colourful illustrations used in Christian literature and Bible books written for children to teach them the reality of the world-wide catastrophe known as the Great Flood. Yet it is an event that is important for adults also to understand, for its significance in understanding the ways of God as revealed in the history of the world.
The flood was sent by God to the earth several thousand years ago because of the rejection of the knowledge of God and world-wide capitulation to wickedness.
“And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). Because the flood is a powerful example of the truth that God intervenes in the affairs of men to judge sins, the great flood has been called a myth. Some truths are inconvenient to Humanist thinking.
However, closing one's eyes to reality does not change it. The flood has left its mark on the whole planet for those who are willing to consider plain evidence. God intended people to be able to see the scars of this judgment long after to know how much He hates sin. The evidence can be observed both on the surface and under the surface in the many geological formations of the earth. Not all people and not all “experts” or scientists interpret geological phenomena as the result of great ages over millions of years. A better explanation is the flood.
Anybody with internet access can find lots of good science to explain the geological facts we observe in terms of Noah's flood. Simply Google words like creation science and Mount St. Helens together. You will see that modern cataclysmic events reveal how a world-wide flood gives a very satisfactory explanation of the Grand Canyon without the passage of millions of years. It is also true that flood traditions have been handed down in many diverse cultures the world over.
The Bible tells us that world conditions in the days of Noah and the flood that followed are a pattern to be repeated in these last days. The same moral and spiritual ruin was foretold by Jesus to happen again, and it is not hard to see these prophecies being fulfilled in our own time.
The world will not be destroyed again by water, but God does promise to intervene by earth-shaking events that will also lead up to the Second Coming of the rightful King, Jesus Christ. These things are made known beforehand so concerned people will be able to escape the terrible events foretold in the Book of The Revelation, the Apocalypse. We still live today in a time of opportunity, a day of salvation when anyone who is willing to turn to Jesus Christ in faith is promised forgiveness of sin and eternal life.
Ian Kurylyk is pastor at Summerside Fundamental Baptist Church.
