The Flood

There came a time when the wickedness of man became exceedingly great:

Genesis 6:5: “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.
6 And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
7 And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.”

We have already talked about the Nephilim, so I will not repeat that discussion here. What we see is that mankind had become incredibly depraved. According to verse 5, every single thought, hope, and dream of man was pure evil. Mankind had become completely corrupt. This grieved the Lord to such an extent that he decided to annihilate all living creates off the face of the Earth.

Noah, however, found grace in the eyes of the Lord. God decided to spare Noah and the animal kingdom, so He commanded Noah to build the Ark:

Genesis 6:13: “And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
14 Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.”

The Ark’s builder was Noah. It was to be constructed out of gopher wood and coated inside and outside with pitch. Nobody knows what gopher wood is, or even what that particular Hebrew word means; in all likelihood it refers to either an extinct type of tree or some sort of long-lost lamination process. But we do know the boat was a wooden vessel; after all, it was made of gopher wood, not gopher metal.

The Ark was to contain rooms (“…rooms shalt thou make…”). These rooms would contain the animals, living quarters for Noah’s family, and the supplies that Noah needed to make the voyage. I think it’s possible that Noah may have taken some other things as well. The Bible does not say this, but I imagine that Noah would have taken along as much of the Old World as he could – things like books, scientific knowledge, and anything else that could help him establish a new life in the new world. After all, he knew that God was about to destroy the entire world. When Noah got off the Ark the only things he would have with him are the things that he brought along. The future of civilization depended entirely upon him and his family. Any knowledge that he did not take with them would simply be lost.

Could you imagine what it would be like to be told that all life on Earth was going to be destroyed except for you and your family, and that it would be your job to rebuild afterward? How would you handle such a monumental task? In a very real and literal way the survival of all living creatures would depend on you. How would you like to have that job?

It is not known if Noah had help building the Ark or if he did all of the work himself. Also, since almost all knowledge of the pre-Flood world has been lost, there’s no way to tell what tools he used to build it. What we do know is that Noah was charged with the responsibility for building the Ark and Noah executed that charge faithfully. According to Genesis 6:3, Noah had 120 years in which to build the Ark. It is fairly certain that it took Noah all 120 of those years because I Peter 3:20 says that the Lord withheld His judgment until the Ark was done.

Genesis gives us the exact dimensions of the ark:

Genesis 6:15: “And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breath of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.”

The Ark was 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. It had a total floor space of 100,000 square feet, a volume of about 1.4 million cubic feet, and a cargo capacity of 15,000 tons. Tests have shown that the Ark’s dimensions would have given it incredible stability. It could have stayed afloat in even the most unruly seas.

Boats larger than the Ark were not built again until the end of the 19th century. It is truly an enormous ship, and is one of the largest wooden vessels of all time. To put it into perspective, the Titanic was only 300 feet longer than the Ark. Even by today’s standards it would be considered a mid-sized cargo ship.

Genesis 6:16: “A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.”

The Ark was to have an exterior door and three floors. It was also to have a window that measured 18 inches on each side. Having only one window and one door would probably have added to the hull’s integrity and strength. After all, the Ark had to stay afloat in very rough seas. The boat did not need sails or a rudder because it wasn’t trying to go anywhere – all it needed to do was keep floating and not capsize or break apart. The dimensions the Lord specified would enable it to accomplish exactly that.

Genesis 6:17: “And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.
18 But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee.
19 And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.
20 Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.
21 And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them.
22 Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.”

Noah was commanded to bring into the Ark fowls, cattle, and creeping things. (Notice that he did not have to go and find them; verse 20 tells us that they would come to him. Also notice that aquatic animals such as fish were not included.) He was to have on board two of every kind – one male and one female (although further details are given in the next chapter). These “kinds” are not necessarily the same thing as species today. For example, it’s quite possible that Noah just brought on board one type of dog, and that dog gave rise to all of the breeds that now exist. This would have dramatically reduced the number of animals that he would have brought on board.

Estimates of the number of animals that would have been on board range from a few thousand to 16,000. It’s important to remember that the animals did not necessarily have to be enormous, full-grown adults; juveniles would have worked just as well. Studies have suggested that only about half of the Ark’s space would have been needed for the animals, leaving the other half for food, water, supplies, and even other people.

As it turned out, there were only eight people on board the Ark: Noah, his wife, his three sons (Shem, Ham, and Japheth), and his sons’ wives. These eight people were charged with caring for the most amazing zoo that ever existed. It would have been quite a feeling to know that the only surviving animals in the entire world were the ones that were on the Ark with you! If you accidentally stepped on an animal that species would be wiped out permanently.

Caring for the animals would have been a challenge, but Noah did have one big advantage: in his day all animals were vegetarians. Animals and people did not become carnivores until after the Flood.

For answers to a few other technical questions:

How Did Noah Fit All the Animals on the Ark?
According to the Bible, the Ark had three decks (floors). It is not difficult to show that there was plenty of room for 16,000 animals (the maximum number of animals on the Ark, if the most liberal approach to counting animals is applied), assuming they required approximately the same floor space as animals in typical farm enclosures and laboratories. The vast majority of the creatures (birds, reptiles, and mammals) were small (the largest only a few hundred pounds of body weight). What’s more, many could have been housed in groups, which would have further reduced the required space.

It is still necessary to take account of the floor spaces required by large animals, such as elephants and rhinos. But even these, collectively, do not require a large area because it is most likely that these animals were young, but not newborns. Even the largest dinosaurs were relatively small when only a few years old.

What Did the Dinosaurs Eat?
Dinosaurs could have eaten basically the same foods as the other animals. The large sauropods could have eaten compressed hay, other dried plant material, seeds and grains, and the like.

How Were the Animals Cared For?
We must distinguish between the long-term care required for animals kept in zoos and the temporary, emergency care required on the Ark. The animals’ comfort and healthy appearance were not essential for emergency survival during one stressful year, where survival was the primary goal.

Studies of nonmechanized animal care indicate that eight people could have fed and watered 16,000 creatures. The key is to avoid unnecessary walking around. As the old adage says, “Don’t work harder, work smarter.”

Therefore, Noah probably stored the food and water near each animal. Even better, drinking water could have been piped into troughs, just as the Chinese have used bamboo pipes for this purpose for thousands of years. The use of some sort of self-feeders, as is commonly done for birds, would have been relatively easy and probably essential. Animals that required special care or diets were uncommon and should not have needed an inordinate amount of time from the handlers. Even animals with the most specialized diets in nature could have been switched to readily sustainable substitute diets. Of course, this assumes that animals with specialized diets today were likewise specialized at the time of the Flood.

How Did the Animals Breathe?
Based on two decades of research, nothing more was needed than a basic, non-mechanical ventilation system. The density of animals on the Ark, compared to the volume of enclosed space, was much less than we find in some modern, mass animal housing used to keep stock raised for food (such as chicken farms), which requires no special mechanical ventilation.

It is reasonable to believe that one relatively small window would have adequately ventilated the Ark. Of course if there were a window along the top center section, which the Bible allows, all occupants would be even more comfortable. It is also interesting to note that the convective movement of air, driven by temperature differences between the warm-blooded animals and the cold interior surfaces, would have been significant enough to drive the flow of air. Plus, wind blowing into the window would have enhanced the ventilation further. However, if supplementary ventilation was necessary, it could have been provided by wave motion, fire thermal, or even a small number of animals harnessed to slow-moving rotary fans.

What Did Noah and His Family Do with the Animal Waste?
As much as 12 U.S. tons (11 m. tons) of animal waste may have been produced daily. The key to keeping the enclosures clean was to avoid the need for Noah and his family to do the work. The right systems could also prevent the need to change animal bedding. Noah could have accomplished this in several ways. One possibility would be to allow the waste to accumulate below the animals, much as we see in modern pet shops. In this regard, there could have been slatted floors, and animals could have trampled their waste into the pits below. Small animals, such as birds, could have multiple levels in their enclosures, and waste could have simply accumulated at the bottom of each.

The danger of toxic or explosive manure gases, such as methane, would be alleviated by the constant movement of the Ark, which would have allowed manure gases to be constantly released. Secondly, methane, which is half the density of air, would quickly find its way out of a small opening such as a window. There is no reason to believe that the levels of these gases within the Ark would have approached hazardous levels.

Alternatively, sloped floors would have allowed the waste to flow into large central gutters. Noah’s family could have then dumped this overboard without an excessive expenditure of manpower.

The problem of manure odor may, at first thought, seem insurmountable. But we must remember that, throughout most of human history, humans lived together with their farm animals. Barns, separate from human living quarters, are a relatively recent development.

While the voyage of the Ark may not have been comfortable or easy, it was certainly doable, even under such unprecedented circumstances.

(taken from www.answersingenesis.com)

After the Ark was ready, the Lord commanded him to board it:

Genesis 7:1: “And the Lord said to Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.
2 Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.
3 Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.
4 For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth.”

A week before the Flood occurred the Lord gave Noah some last-minute instructions. Noah was to have seven pairs of every clean beast, two pairs of every unclean beast, and seven pairs of every bird. The purpose of this was to make sure that they did not become extinct.

Also, notice that the reason the Lord spared Noah and his family is because he found Noah to be righteous. His righteousness spared him and his family from the judgment that destroyed the rest of mankind. In a like manner, our own salvation through Jesus Christ will spare us from the final judgment of the lake of fire.

Genesis 7:5: “And Noah did according unto all that the Lord commanded him.
6 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.
7 And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.
8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,
9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.
10 And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.”

The Bible states that Noah did everything that the Lord commanded him. This is quite a testimony! Would it not be amazing if the Lord could say the same thing about us? It is no wonder that the Lord found him to be righteous; when the Lord gave him commands they were obeyed.

The Flood happened when Noah was six hundred years old – which, when you account for the fact that people before the Flood lived 12 times longer than we do, would be equivalent to about 50. Just as God had said, the animals came to Noah and boarded the Ark two by two – male and female.

Genesis 7:11: “In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broke up, and the windows of heaven were opened.”

The water that created the Flood came from two sources: a vast source of water deep underground (the “fountains of the great deep”), and a vast source of water in the sky (the “windows of heaven”). One thing we do know is that when the world was originally created it was quite different from what we see today. Genesis 1:9 tells us that on the second day of creation the Lord created the sky to separate the waters under the sky from the waters that were above the sky. Today, of course, there is no vast ocean of water in the sky, but apparently in the ancient world this did exist. This layer of water would have protected the Earth against ultraviolet rays much more effectively than the ozone layer does today, which would have extended human life and greatly slowed down the corruption of the human genetic code. It could also have acted to moderate both temperature and weather, since apparently it never rained before the Flood – meaning there were no tornadoes, no floods, no hurricanes, and no devastating thunderstorms. However, when this layer of water collapsed onto the ground it would have been truly devastating. It would be like having the entire Pacific Ocean fall out of the sky and smash into the ground. Nothing could have survived that – and nothing did.

Genesis 7:12 “And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
13 In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah’s wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark;
14 They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort.
15 And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life.
16 And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the Lord shut him in.”

It would appear that both the animals and Noah’s family boarded the ark on the very day that the Flood occurred. The Bible gives an exact day – the 600th year of Noah’s life, in the second month, and the 17th day. It is possible to use the chronologies in the Bible to pinpoint the time between Creation and the Flood. If you add up the years in the genealogies, the Flood happened when the world was 1656 years old:

Verse	Event	Age of the Earth
1:1-31	Creation	0
5:3	Seth born when Adam was 130	130
5:6	Enos born when Seth was 105	235
5:9	Cainan born when Enos was 90	325
5:12	Mahalaleel born when Cainan was 70	395
5:15	Jared born when Mahalaleel was 65	460
5:18	Enoch born when Jared was 162	622
5:21	Methuselah born when Enoch was 65	687
5:25	Lamech born when Methuselah was 187	874
5:28	Noah born when Lamech was 182	1056
11:10	Shem born when Noah was 502	1558
7:6	Flood when Noah was 600	1656

This can be used to calculate the year that the Flood happened. The calculation goes like this:

11:10	Arphaxad born when Shem was 100	1658
11:12	Salah born when Arphad was 35	1693
11:14	Eber born when Salah was 30	1723
11:16	Peleg born when Eber was 34	1757
11:18	Reu born when Peleg was 30	1787
11:20	Serug born when Reu was 32	1819
11:22	Nahor born when Serug was 30	1849
11:24	Terah born when Nahor was 29	1878
11:32, 12:4	Abraham born when Terah was 130	2008
12:4	Abraham enters Canaan was 75	2083

Abraham left Haran until the Exodus exactly 430 years to the day. (Ge 12:10, Ex 12:40, Gal 3:17)	2513
Exodus to start of Temple, 479 years (1 Ki 6:1, in the 480th year or after 479 years)	2992
Start of Temple to division of the Kingdom, 37 (Solomon reigned 40 years, 1Ki 11:42, temple started in his 4th year)	3029
Division of the Kingdom to final deportation about four years after Jerusalem fell, 390 whole years plus part of one year (Eze 4:4-6)   Final deportation in 584 BC	3421

Hence date creation = 584 + 3421 – 1 = 4004 BC

(That is, the date of deportation (584 BC) occurred when the world was 3,421 years old. 3421 years before 584 BC is 4005 BC; need to subtract a year to deal with Ezekiel 4’s partial year.)

So, if creation happened in 4004 BC, and the Flood happened 1,656 years after creation, then the Flood would have occurred in 2348 BC. If creation happened in October (which is a topic for another time), then the Flood would have happened in December.

As a side-note, notice that verse 16 says that the Lord shut Noah in. Noah was not the one that decided when the door should be closed; it would seem that the door was closed by the hand of God. This would make sense, as when the door was closed all hope was forever lost for everyone standing outside the Ark. When God closed the door all hope was forever gone.

Genesis 7:17: “And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lifted up above the earth.
18 And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters.
19 And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered.
20 Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.
21 And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man:
22 All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died.
23 And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.
24 And the waters prevailed upon the earth a hundred and fifty days.”

Here we are given details of the Flood itself. The storm raged for 40 days and nights, and the flood waters covered the entire planet for 150 days. The flood waters rose above the highest mountain to a height of 23 feet, and it was so severe that everything except for aquatic life died. All birds and cattle died; all animals and insects died; and the entire human race died. The only survivors were those who were on board the Ark.

Genesis 8:1: “And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged;
2 The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained:
3 And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated.
4 And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.
5 And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen.”

Here the Bible talks about the end of the Flood. Notice that the Flood did not just slowly die down; the Lord acted to put an end to it. He did this through the creation of a wind, which calmed the waters. He closed the fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven, and He allowed the waters to recede.

Where did all of the water go? It actually didn’t go anywhere. It’s still here! About 75% of the planet is covered by water. The only reason the entire planet is not underwater is because the Lord formed ocean basins to contain the vast amounts of water that we find on the planet today. (If the basins were smoothed out the planet would still be flooded.) By creating these basins He drained the water off of the rest of the planet, which allowed the mountains to re-emerge.

It took quite a bit of time to drain the water: the Flood started in the second month with a storm that lasted 40 days, but the tops of the mountains weren’t seen until the tenth month. Once the initial storm was over (which only lasted a little over a month), Noah and his family spent the rest of the time waiting for the water to calm and then recede.

Genesis 8:6: “And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made:
7 And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth.
8 Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground;
9 But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark.
10 And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark;
11 And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf plucked off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.
12 And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; which returned not again unto him any more.”

After the flood waters started receding from the ground, Noah ran a series of tests to see if he could leave the ark. The test consisted of releasing two birds – a raven and a dove. When the dove returned with an olive leaf Noah knew that trees were growing once more and that the Flood must finally be over. The next time he released the bird it did not come back. The great Flood had finally come to an end, and there was once more life upon the surface of the earth.

However, even though he knew there was life on the earth, he was not yet ready to leave the ark. One more thing needed to happen first.

Genesis 8:13: “And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry.
14 And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried.”

This passage gives us a timeline of events. The Flood began on the in the 2nd month and 17th day of Noah’s 600th year, and the ground finally dried in the 2nd month, 27th day, and 601st year. This means the Flood lasted one year and ten days. That is also how long Noah’s family spent in the Ark with all of the animals.

>Genesis 8:15: “And God spake unto Noah, saying,
16 Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons’ wives with thee.
17 Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.
18 And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him:
19 Every beast, every creeping thing, every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark.”

It is interesting to note that Noah did not leave the Ark when he finally decided the ground was dry. He waited for the Lord’s command to leave, and when that command came he left, bringing with him every other living creature that was on board the Ark. The Lord commanded the remaining living creatures to repopulate the Earth, and they did so, giving rise to the amazing variety of life that still remains to this day. Every living human being is a direct descendant of Noah, and every living animal is a descendant from a pair of creatures that were on board the Ark. That is an amazing fact to think about.

Genesis 8:20: “And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
21: And the Lord smelled a sweet savor; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.
22 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”

The remainder of the passage is a covenant between the Lord and mankind. (This covenant is often called the Noahic Covenant.) The Lord makes a number of promises, one of which is that as long as the earth lasts He will never again destroy every living creature.

Of course, one day the earth will be destroyed in fire and then made new. But a disaster like the Flood will never happen again. Until the very end nature will continue on as normal, bringing seasons and the rising sun.

Genesis 9:1: “And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.
2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.
3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.”

Here we see one of many changes that happen after the Flood. When the Lord created mankind He gave them only plants to eat. All living creatures were created to be vegetarians – which makes sense when you realize that in the beginning there was no death, and all of creation was intended to live forever. There is no room for carnivores if everyone and everything is immortal. Plus, before the Flood mankind lived in harmony with the animal kingdom. Men and animals did not hunt or fear each other.

Now, however, things are different. The Lord put the fear of man into animals; the early, close relationship was gone. Now men could eat animals for food. This is not a guilty pleasure, but one the Lord gave to us freely and urged us to enjoy with gratitude.

Genesis 9:4: “But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.
5 And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man.
6 Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.”

Here the Lord establishes human government, and charges mankind with the pursuit of justice. The crime of murder is to be met with capitol punishment, which mankind is authorized to carry out against the guilty party. No more would God try criminals personally and execute the sentence against them, as He did with Cain. Now mankind was to judge the guilty and carry out their sentence. This is why the state may execute criminals – the Lord gave them that responsibility.

Genesis 9:7: “And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.
8 And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying,
9 And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you;
10 And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth.
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.”

Here the Lord makes a promise, not only to all of mankind but to all of creation. The Lord promised that He would never again destroy the entire world in a flood. The terrible and awesome event that destroyed the whole world would never be repeated. Noah and his sons did not have to fear a flood that would destroy all life on the planet. What just happened would never happen again.

Now, the Lord did not promise to never destroy the Earth. The day will come when it will be destroyed, but this time it will be destroyed by fire. That will happen in the great judgment, when the Lord puts an end to the ways of this world and ushers in a new world, and with it a new age of righteousness.

Genesis 9:12: “And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:
13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
14 And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:
15 And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.
16 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.
17 And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.”

After promising to never again send a Flood to destroy all life on Earth, the Lord gave mankind a token of the covenant. That token, of course, is the rainbow. It is amazing to realize that the incredibly beautiful rainbow was given as part of a promise from God – a promise that, no matter how it may seem at the time, the rain will stop and the flood waters will abate. The great Flood will never happen again.

Tags: the flood , theology