EVIDENCE NOAH’S FLOOD REALLY HAPPENED
I. GEOLOGICAL FINDINGS SUPPORT THE FLOOD
IF THERE HAD BEEN A FLOOD, WHAT EVIDENCE WOULD WE EXPECT TO FIND? SIX EVIDENCES:
A. Evidence #1—FOSSILS HIGH AND DRY
Fossils of sea creatures high above sea level due to the ocean waters having flooded over the continents.
We find fossils of sea creatures in rock layers that cover all the continents. For example, most of the rock layers in the walls of Grand Canyon (more than a mile above sea level) contain marine fossils. Fossilized shellfish are even found in the Himalayas.
1. In 1967 Geological Magazine featured an article "The Highest Fossils in the World" which tells that some of the first successful expeditions (by the Swiss in 1956 and Americans in 1963; the first confirmed successful attempt to reach the summit was of course that of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953) to the summit of Everest brought back geological samples which contained fossilized crinoids (deep sea flowers!)
2. And sea creature fossils on nearby peaks: “Lhotse’s [27,940ft peak] most defining aspect is its striking peak on the south face which has been reported as encompassing a variety of marine fossils….”
3. The Burgess Shale formation in the Canadian Rockies, elevation 6,700ft: “These fossils merit special interest for several reasons: They were buried in an underwater avalanche of fine mud that preserved exceptionally fine details of the structure of their soft parts.”
4. Trilobites are found high on the Rocky mountains. Fossil sharks have been found in Colorado (near Vail), elevation 7847ft.
5. Appalachian Mountains at Sideling Hill, Maryland (2,310 ft):
“Marine fossils are present within the black silty shale.”
6. Andes Mountains: “Scientists have found fossils of whales and other marine animals in mountain sediments in the Andes, at altitudes of more than 5,000 feet.”
7. Dolomites have been reported near the summits of Europe mountains, at an elevation of 10,300 ft.
8. Ural Mountains: “Located in western Russia, the Ural Mountains were once at the sea bottom, which explains the high quantity of marine fossils found in the area.”
9. Papau New Guinea and Indonesia: “Dr Bridget Ayling went in search of 400,000-year-old clams in the tropical jungle of Papua New Guinea, where tectonic forces have lifted marine fossils to 3,937ft above sea level. With the help of villagers, she collected more than 10 of the giants…”
10. HOW COULD WATER OVERFLOW THE HIGHEST MOUNTAINS? Before the Flood the earth terrain was much flatter. A depth 0f 7500 feet of water could have covered the tops of the mountains. After the Flood, God raised the mountains and lowered the valleys. “Ps. 104:6-9; “The waters were standing above the mountains.
At Your rebuke they fled…The mountains rose; the valleys sank down to the place which You established for them. You set a boundary that they may not pass over, so that they will not return to cover the earth.” NASB.
B. Evidence #2—RAPID BURIAL OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS
We find extensive fossil “graveyards” and exquisitely preserved fossils. For example, billions of nautiloid fossils are found in a layer within the Redwall Limestone of Grand Canyon. This layer was deposited catastrophically by a massive flow of sediment (mostly lime sand). The chalk and coal beds of Europe and the United States, and the fish, ichthyosaurs, insects, and other fossils all around the world, testify of catastrophic destruction and burial.
C. Evidence #3—RAPIDLY DEPOSITED SEDIMENT LAYERS ACROSS VAST AREAS
We find rock layers that can be traced all the way across continents—even between continents—and physical features in those strata indicate they were deposited rapidly. For example, the Tapeats Sandstone and Redwall Limestone of Grand Canyon can be traced across the entire United States, up into Canada, and even across the Atlantic Ocean to England. The chalk beds of England (the white cliffs of Dover) can be traced across Europe into the Middle East and are also found in the Midwest of the United States and in Western Australia. Inclined (sloping) layers within the Coconino Sandstone of Grand Canyon are testimony to 10,000 cubic miles of sand being deposited by huge water currents within days.
D. Evidence #4—SEDIMENT TRANSPORTED LONG DISTANCES
We find that the sediments in those widespread, rapidly deposited rock layers had to be eroded from distant sources and carried long distances by fast-moving water. For example, the sand for the Coconino Sandstone of Grand Canyon (Arizona) had to be eroded and transported from the northern portion of what is now the United States and Canada. Furthermore, water current indicators (such as ripple marks) preserved in rock layers show that for “300 million years” water currents were consistently flowing from northeast to southwest across all of North and South America, which, of course, is only possible over weeks during a global flood.
E. Evidence #5—RAPID OR NO EROSION BETWEEN LAYERS
We find evidence of rapid erosion, or even of no erosion, between rock layers. Flat, knife-edge boundaries between rock layers indicate continuous deposition of one layer after another, with no time for erosion. For example, there is no evidence of any “missing” millions of years (of erosion) in the flat boundary between two well-known layers of Grand Canyon—the Coconino Sandstone and the Hermit Formation. Another impressive example of flat boundaries at Grand Canyon is the Redwall Limestone and the strata beneath it.
F. Evidence #6—MANY STRATA LAID DOWN IN RAPID SUCCESSION
Rocks do not normally bend; they break because they are hard and brittle. But in many places we find whole sequences of strata that were bent without fracturing, indicating that all the rock layers were rapidly deposited and folded while still wet and pliable before final hardening. For example, the Tapeats Sandstone in Grand Canyon is folded at a right angle (90°) without evidence of breaking. Yet this folding could only have occurred after the rest of the layers had been deposited, supposedly over “480 million years,” while the Tapeats Sandstone remained wet and pliable. [From Answers in Genesis]
IN SUMMARY, many previously unexplainable geological features – such as quick-frozen mammals, coal formations, overthrusts, extinction of dinosaurs, submarine canyons, fossilization of large numbers of animals and plants, polystratic trees, pre-Cambrian void, etc., can be easily explained if the Flood is taken into account.
PART II: THE FLOOD ACCOUNT IS REASONABLE
1. The size of the Ark as an ocean-going vessel was appropriate for a global catastrophe and it’s proportions almost identical to many contemporary ships.
2. The Ark had 101,250 sq. ft. of floor space, 1 ½ million cubic feet, equivalent to 569 railroad box cars.
3. Taxonomists estimate there are less than 18,000 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. If we doubled it to allow for extinct species and added extras for ‘clean’ animals, we’d have 75,000. The average animal is about the size of a house cat. They would only fill 310 railroad cars or 54% of the ark, leaving plenty of roof for food, water, Noah, his family and baggage!
4. The Bible relates a very reasonable account. Compare that to other flood accounts: The German account says the flood happened because a girl broke her pitcher; the African Pygmies said it happened because a man cut open a tree; the Tuvinian (N. of Mongolia) said it occurred because a giant frog moved! The Batak of Sumatra said, “The earth once rested on the three horns of the giant snake Naga Padoha, who grew tired of its burden and shook it off into the sea.” http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/flood-myths.html
I’m glad we got the Bible account, that it was because of sin that God allowed it to happen, and that He caused the vapor canopy over the earth to collapse and the water contained below earth’s crust to be ejected and the combined waters covered all the mountains to a depth of 20 feet!
PART III: UNIVERSAL FLOOD LEGENDS
One of the strongest evidences for the global flood which annihilated all people on Earth except for Noah and his family, has been the presence of flood legends in the folklore of people groups from around the world. And the stories are all so similar. Local geography and cultural aspects may be present but they all seem to be telling the same story. (John Morris)
Legends have been reported from nations such as China, Babylon, Mexico, Egypt, Sudan, Syria, Persia, India, Norway, Wales, Ireland, Indonesia, Romania, etc.—composing a list that could go on for many pages (see Perloff, 1999, p. 167). Although the vast number of such legends is surprising, the similarity between much of their content is equally amazing. James Perloff noted of the 200 flood legends he analyzed:
95 % -- the flood was worldwide;
88 % -- a certain family was favored;
70 % -- survival was by means of a boat;
67 % -- animals were also saved;
66 % -- the flood was due to the wickedness of man;
66 % -- the survivors had been forewarned;
57 % -- they ended up on a mountain;
35 % -- birds were sent out from the boat;
13 % -- the survivors offered a sacrifice;
9 % -- exactly eight people were spared
7% -- a rainbow was mentioned (p. 168).
[Legends of the Flood, Eric Lyons and Kyle Butt]
The story reconstructed from non-biblical sources would say: “Once there was a worldwide flood, sent by God to judge the wickedness of man. But there was one righteous family which was forewarned of the coming flood. They built a boat on which they survived the flood along with the animals. As the flood ended, their boat landed on a high mountain from which they descended and repopulated the whole earth.” This is amazingly similar to the Genesis account!
PART IV: PRESENCE OF THE ARK ON MT. ARARAT
1. At about the 14,000 ft. level on Mt. Ararat in Turkey, there is a very large wooden boat-like structure buried beneath many feet of ice and snow.
2. A boat-like structure has been mentioned as being on Mt. Ararat by explorers and historians of several civilizations beginning as early as 700 B.C.
3. During the 1800’s this structure was observed by many local explorers including numerous Turkish authorities who gave the structure official government recognition in the news media.
4. In 1955, a filmed expedition recovered wood from the structure nearly 35 feet below the surface of an ice pack. The recovered wood, subjected to numerous types of dating tests, revealed an age range of from 1,200 to 5,000 years old.
5. Early in the decade of the 70’s, American spy plains and weather and military satellites photographed the structure on Mt. Ararat.
6. The only specific historical source that can be used to identify this artifact is the Genesis account of the Ark. Whatever is up there, it’s thousands of years old, large, wooden, and hand-tooled. If its not Noah’s Ark, what is it?
