A. Overall Lesson Objective

B. Learning Competencies

C. Lesson

It is easy to read the verses on the Genesis Flood and not seriously consider the forces involved that deluged and shaped the earth. While the following discussion in this lesson is an interpretation of the types and magnitudes of the forces involved. God clearly states He commanded the start and the stop to key elements that were used to initiate as well as bring the Flood to an end. He used the characteristics of earth’s substances and the laws He made that govern them to accomplish the destruction of all land-dwelling vertebrates and mankind outside the ark (His stated objective).

So, consider the magnitudes and types of forces at work in terms of key verses in Genesis 7 and 8 that were covered in the last lesson. Genesis 9:11 states that such a flood will not occur again that will destroy earth as this one did. 8:21-22 says essentially the same thing. Review these verses. The Genesis Flood is one of two dominant earth-changing events from a biblical creation world view.

Note: The first event is the Fall of man. The Fall changed aspects of the earth and processes throughout the universe. The Flood, on the other hand, re-arranged the earth’s surface.

The forces of the Genesis Flood were so powerful that we cannot find examples of similar magnitudes. The following paragraphs provide a general description of forces, but one must remember that they affected the whole of the earth’s surface. The catastrophe was most assuredly worldwide in scope, involving forces of water, tectonics (earth plate movements), and atmospheric forces (rain and wind).

God speaks of a water depth above the highest mountain peak at the peak of the Genesis Flood. While we have no record of how high the highest mountain was before the Flood, let us assume a modest height of 2000 meters. (Lesson 9 will cover more about mountains ‘pushed up’ as a result of the Flood.) That would mean that the floodwaters would be a little more than 2000 m. The waters would have been, of course, global, which is specified by God’s command. The release of this much water from two sources—the fountains of the deep and the extraordinary waters above released as rain—combined to produce flood waters that were both turbulent and erratic. Even assuming a linear increase in flood waters during the 40 days, this requires about a 20 m per day increase that would include large tsunami-type waves that are full of sediments and debris that would tear at and pulverize anything in their path. Giant waves of water would wash back and forth over disappearing land areas until they were completely submerged. This is most certainly an abnormal flood event.

Many people envision or have developed media showing storm waters in an open sea, but this was not the water condition for the Genesis Flood because of the large biomass (foliage consisting of destroyed forests and other plant life) mixed with sediments that were forcefully lifted or moved by rising waters. In addition, products from extensive volcanic activity would be added to the mix. The turbulent result, amplified by the effects of speed, changing direction of currents, and excessive wave action, would cut through or demolish anything in its path. Huge volumes of plant material were also buried at this time that resulted in coal seams that are prevalent around the globe today. Multiple layers of sediment were laid down quickly at the beginning through the peak of the Flood.

This is the violent period that also yielded the fossil record that we have today. Many fossils show just how rapidly the burial took place, as people have found fossilized soft tissue, ichthyosaurs giving birth, animals eating animals, dinosaur eggs laid in the open, and running straight-line tracks of animals seeking escape from violent rising waters. This will be discussed further in lesson 9.

The Bible notes a ‘prevailing’ period of the waters to day 150 of the Flood. This is extraordinary! The length of time for high flood waters for modern-day floods is one of the heaviest influences on loss of life and loss of property (some things can be recovered in short duration events). This amount of time of ‘prevailing’ Flood waters would ensure nothing was living or recoverable in a sense that we understand from the most dramatic of floods in modern history. Even with relatively static conditions (no more rain or water from the fountains of the deep), the recovery of anything after such a lengthy flood period, discounting any other forces, would be minimal. At this point, the desired aim of God was reached: no land creatures or people with the breath of life survived outside the ark.

The receding period of the Flood was just as catastrophic as the earlier period. These waters were accompanied by an unprecedented level of volcanic and earthquake activity that continued for some time. As with the beginning period of the Flood, the volumes and speeds of waters are beyond the scope of any present-day occurrences. The interplay of receding waters with new lands that were rising or sinking (vertical tectonics) would yield an obvious result: destructive turbulent currents full of debris that was lifted from higher land. We will consider the geologic forces in the next subsection. Even without significant changes in land elevation or location of higher terrain, the sizes of water movements were up to hundreds of kilometers wide and with depths that breached any topography for a few months. Mountain tops could be seen after another couple of months, but interfering terrain would make matters worse—not better. Flood waters would be increasingly channeled, which results in higher speeds and forces that would, again, remove anything in the paths of fast moving turbid waters.

The receding waters were highly changeable from relative calm to eddies, intervening currents, and rapid changes in water direction. Many of the regional changes were dependent on local depths of waters, the height of the new ground, and the consistency of the emerging topography. The most violent part of the receding period is documented in terms of time from Genesis 8:2-11, but the full receding period was longer as residual waters continued to empty smaller and more confined regions on their way to lower elevations, large rivers, and eventually the seas. Those flows would remain heavily laden sediments and rocks. How does one compare these forces when nothing like this global water catastrophe had ever happened, and God promises it won’t happen again?

We think in terms of a single volcano erupting. What if the volcanoes are in a line under water, like the ridges we have discovered in the center of some oceans? What if they occur for hundreds of miles along a line on dry land? What if they erupt in groups within a short period (within months)? Consider the terminology from Haggai 2:6 and Hebrews 12:26-27, where God speaks of shaking the earth. It is an accurate description. Movement of large parts of the earth’s thin surface occurred, because that is what a literal shake would do when the crust is rigid but the interior is not. This would awaken the volcanic activity on a much wider scale than we have ever seen or recorded. The lines of volcanoes may also have been in the same places where the fountains of the deep were first opened. Maps of ridges of active or dormant volcanoes around the world—both on dry land and on the ocean floors—show significant levels of activity. Such a level of activity has never occurred since then.

As receding floodwaters became locally shallow, more volcanic events took place on newly emerged land, which would lead to greater deposits of volcanic material in the atmosphere. Earthquakes would continue to bend, fold, and jostle sediment layers that were still relatively pliable. As events increasingly occurred on dry land (land only recently emerged from flood waters), large areas of sediment would be further affected by pyroclastic (volcanic) flows or overridden with lava. Indeed, this can be found in many places, where lava flows have overridden sedimentary rock and sands. Other volcanic areas would have been submerged, so large amounts of heat would be deposited in the oceans. Warmed waters would have significantly affected weather.

Ejected volcanic materials (mostly ash) reaching the atmosphere from hundreds of volcanoes would have dramatically reduced the sunlight reaching earth surfaces. We know that volcanic forces yield large quantities of material that stay in the atmosphere for some time. A single large volcano anywhere in the world can reduce average global temperatures by nearly a degree Celsius. What about 1000 eruptions? What if the activity stays at a peak for several years then lowers gradually over 40-50 years? It is the effects of this level of activity over decades that leads to the Ice Age.

There are physical reasons for having no sizable opening in the ark except for a large door on the side, which the Lord shut Himself. There is a reason why the ark was completely covered. (The family of Noah had to take part of the covering apart near the end of the ordeal to see the earth). The God-ordained rain and the fountains of the deep were restrained, but residual storms, along with wind-driven waves that were introduced as part of God’s plan to cause the floodwaters to recede, would have been sizable. The atmosphere was probably very unstable from the volcanic activity and the heat in the ocean waters. Ash and gases would have occasionally been dangerous as the material would land on the ark later in the Flood. The conditions were good for triggering large storms with heavy episodes of lightning, hail, rain, micro-bursts with extreme gusty winds, and water spouts. A closed vessel was essential for survival during the receding period as well as early in the Flood.

Wherever the ark drifted, it started at a target area, or ‘ground zero.’ It was a formerly well populated land mass but also destined for complete destruction. The natural forces in that area would be as bad as anywhere else on the globe. The forces were gigantic by current standards and the effects were global. The receding period was just as notable as early stages of the Flood. The forces acted together but without predictability. As water receded, newly emerging lands would funnel water full of debris that could carve the new landscape. As some areas of land got higher and/or the local sea level dropped, the erosive power of the draining waters would mount. Instability in the atmosphere, the added heat from volcanic activity, and the God-ordained wind would have made the receding period of the Flood very dangerous in most locations. While the situation would be unpredictably turbulent, there would also be lulls within the activity.

With these forces in mind for the Genesis Flood, the early grounding of the ark at higher altitude saved it from treacherous conditions that would still exist at lower elevations. Nevertheless, the last part of the voyage was as dangerous and tumultuous as the first part. Meanwhile, the earth surface was undergoing the closing period of a catastrophe.

It should be clear that the ark was not a giant life raft in placid waters, waiting to peacefully beach on a new paradise as some children’s material would suggest. Even after grounding, the noise from periodic but smaller weather and water events in the region would have been loud. Noah’s family would remember the cities and people they once knew who were now dead. As conditions quieted, they still dared not leave the ark until God said “go”. They had reason to obey when you consider the forces at work. When God promised He would never do this again, it meant more to the small crew than today’s casual reading might register. The impact of the Genesis Flood lasts through Scripture, as you can see when you read 2 Peter 3:6 and Luke 17:26-27, since God means for the reasons, the suddenness, and the results to be a reminder of the coming return of the Lord Jesus Christ.

D. Assignment

Find pictures and physical facts on the following things as assigned: Grand Canyon (USA), marine and whale fossil graveyard in Chilean desert, the dinosaur burial in Inner Mongolian desert, and ichthyosaur fossils (all these can be researched online at the creation.com site or other biblical creation ministry sites). Secular sites have information, but the interpretation of the evidence will be entirely different. Get the factual data on these locations or subjects as assigned.

E. Learning Activity

With instruction and materials provided by the teacher, put a thick mixed volume of water and flour or dirt in a tray with sides but let the surface dry for several hours or a day. A slight crust will be formed. Using Haggai 2:6 as the guide, shake the tray and observe what happens to it.

🦕 CT? Discuss this example as similar in type to the earth being shaken at the time of the Genesis Flood. What do you observe is possible when this is applied to large layers of sedimentary rock on most of the land surfaces we have today?

F. Concluding Assessment

The forces at work during the Genesis Flood are unique in human history and far exceed the levels of force in floods or volcanic activity in modern history.