Really? A Global Flood and a 950-Year-Old Man?
This article is an exploration into the waters of the global flood while delving into its deeper meaning.
Agnostic’s Ark
Trying to wrap your head around the account of 950-Year-Old Noah, a global flood, and the first-ever floating zoo can be more difficult than herding a pair of feral cats with sharp claws and lightning-fast reflexes. I say that very tongue-in-cheek, not to poke fun at it, but to show how impossible it seems to be. But here’s the thing, to be a Christian, you don’t have to believe in Noah’s Ark as a historical event.
By God’s grace, if the flood was not a historical event, Christians who got it wrong and believed that it actually happened are forgiven. But, if it actually happened, Christians who missed the mark and mistook it as a mere symbolic story, they are also forgiven. You see, God’s forgiveness is all about His grace – a gift from God that no one can earn or deserve. That means, when a Biblical Christian make a mistake in their beliefs and actions, they will still find forgiveness in God’s grace.
To unpack that, being a Christian doesn’t require a literal belief in the account of Noah and a global flood. Regardless of a person’s errors or mistakes, the love of Jesus and God’s forgiveness is available to all who place their faith in Christ.
While it may seem hard to imagine putting all your eggs in the Jesus basket, it is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that this can be done. Having faith in Christ provides believers with a true hope and assurance that they will be reconciled to God. In fact, Christians draw strength, comfort, and confidence from the fact that God is in control of their lives.
This gives believers the perseverance to continue to follow Jesus, even when the path is challenging. Through the power of God the Holy Spirit and their faith in God the Son, Jesus, they know that they will be forgiven by the grace of God the Father, regardless of their mistakes or disobedience. This demonstrates the love, mercy, security, and forgiveness that the one and only Triune God offers to all who place their faith in Him.
Myth or Historical Event?
Is it possible that the story of Noah and the flood holds more truth than we originally thought? For me, there’s too much evidence to believe that the account of Noah and the flood is merely just a myth. It may or may not be a Gospel truth, but I think at the very least, it has a flood of truth flowing through it. Such as:
- The flood is present in a great many cultures around the world that had no contact with each other. This indicates a common shared experience and not just some myth invented by a single culture.
- Geological evidence, such as the discovery of marine fossils on mountaintops and high-altitude regions, supports the possibility of a global flood.
- From a more secular and scientific perspective, the end of the Last Glacial Period (ice age), estimated to be around 11,700 years ago, corresponds with the time when human populations were expanding and developing agriculture in various parts of the world. So, the massive melting of ice caps and glaciers caused a significant sea level rise, as well as a significant change in rainfall patterns. This would have had a pretty profound impact on human civilization via floods.
But, If the account of Noah’s Ark is too impossible for you to wrap your head around, don’t worry. While the story can be taken literally or symbolically, its true worth extends far beyond fact. Rather, its value is within the lessons it teaches and the timeless truths that it delivers. Such as a warning of impending judgment and the requirement of righteousness to be saved from the outcome of that judgment.
However, no one is righteous and through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, He took our sins upon Himself as if they were His own, He was judged as if He were guilty, He died as a substitutionary sacrifice to atone for those sins, and He took the full weight of God’s wrath as punishment as the outcome of that judgment.
Because of that, those who place their faith in Jesus and rely on His work, Christ’s perfect righteousness is credited to them as if it were their own, and they will be judged as if they were not guilty.
Through the narrative of the flood, we can explore themes of judgment and mercy, salvation and redemption, and the enduring testament of God’s love.
The Floodgates of Destruction
Before God’s hand reached out and dragged me to Jesus, it was hard to reconcile the idea of a loving God with the magnitude of destruction that occurred in the flood. If you’re anything like I was, I had to keep in mind the reason for the flood.
Genesis 6:1-8 tells of the “sons of God”, which some people interpret as fallen angels/demons. The narrative goes that these beings had children with human women, and those kids were the powerful Nephilim. The presence of the Nephilim was like a poison in the veins of humanity, unleashing a tidal wave of unprecedented wickedness and corruption that ate away at the very fabric of society and left behind a wasteland of sin.
But to be fair, while the “sons of God” and the Nephilim may have played a part in the corruption of humanity, we humans were not merely passive victims, but active participants in our own downfall. We basically opened the floodgates of our own demise by disobeying God’s commands and pursuing our own desires.
As the saying goes, it takes two to tango, and in this case, both the Nephilim and humans played a role in the events that led to the flood.
The wickedness and corruption were so great, that God brought about the Flood to baptize the earth and start anew.
God’s Mercy & Grace in Choosing Noah & His Family
Because of this corruption, the world was a dark and terrifying place, consumed by wickedness and sin.
But by God’s sovereign work in Noah, Noah received the gift of faith. This faith, given through God’s grace, enabled Noah to obey God’s command and build the ark. By acting on his faith, Noah condemned the world’s unbelief and stood out as a righteous man in the midst of the pervasive wickedness of corrupted humanity.
It was by God’s gift of grace that He chose to show mercy on Noah and his family by choosing them to be saved from the flood. And it was through Noah’s faith, gifted by God that he was able to obey God’s command to build the ark. Because Noah was truly saved by God, God provided the strength Noah needed to persevere in faith and endure the many hardships and trials during their time building the ark and while riding out the storm.
The Enduring Testament of God’s Love
The flood, as an act of judgment, may seem difficult to reconcile with the idea of God’s love. However, It cannot be overemphasized that God’s judgment is always rooted in His love.
The flood, while a seemingly drastic measure, was an act of love, aimed at cleansing the earth of the extreme wickedness and corruption that had overtaken it.
Just as how someone who loves kindness cannot tolerate cruelty toward others, God who is perfect and holy cannot tolerate sin or rebellion. God’s perfect justice includes perfect judgment and the punishment of sin. If God were to ignore sin and allow it to go unjudged, it would be a compromise of His own perfect character and undermine His own holiness.
And at the same time, because each person has sinned by missing the mark of God’s perfect standard, we would each be declared guilty in His perfect judgement. It doesn’t matter your race, your nationality, your wealth, your politics, your gender identity, your sexual orientation, whether or not you’re a law-abiding individual, whether you’re a murder, a thief, or if you’re as wretched a person as I. We are each in need of redemption and forgiveness as we are all guilty for missing the mark of God’s perfect standard.
And just as God provided a way for Noah and his family to be saved, He offers salvation to each of us through faith in Jesus. In the person of Christ, you can see the complete manifestation of God’s nature, including the full expression of God’s love and justice. Jesus suffered and paid the penalty for our sins, making a way for us to be forgiven, and offers each person the free gift of salvation through Jesus.
We see throughout the Bible that God’s love provides a way for His people to be reconciled to Him through a path of redemption and forgiveness. The Holy Spirit convicts people of their sins and irresistibly draws them to repentance, working in their hearts and minds so that they can respond in faith to God’s call to salvation through Christ.
Hope & Salvation in Christ
The people in Noah’s time were consumed by their everyday activities while disobeying God’s commands and pursuing their own corrupt desires.
Regardless if the account of Noah’s Ark is true, God’s love is expressed through His judgment of evil. Sadly, today’s world is filled with people so consumed with their own pursuits that they fail to care that Jesus will return and render a just verdict. That sadness, is not just extended to unbelievers, but to those who also claim to know Him — Those who ignore the call to be a light, to share the Good News of Jesus, and to those who call out sin as if somehow salvation is achieved through the work of human effort and abstaining from sinful behavior. No! Salvation is solely by God’s grace through your faith in Christ.
While the story of Noah can be taken literally or symbolically, its true worth extends far beyond any factual accuracy. Please learn from the story and know that Jesus will return. Examine your beliefs and consider turning away from any disbelief you may have.
Jesus is the only one who has ever lived a truly sinless life amidst the pervasive wickedness of corrupted humanity. Only by God’s mercy and grace, as shown through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, can anyone be forgiven and saved from the destructive consequences of sin.
Don’t wait until it’s too late, turn to Jesus today, knowing that true hope and salvation are through Him alone. I urge you to turn to Christ. Only through faith in Christ will you find the true strength and perseverance needed to face the storms of life and find salvation.