A. Overall Lesson Objective

B. Learning Competencies

C. Lesson

When the Genesis Flood was over, it was not over in a modern sense of post-storm periods because we have no situation that is comparable. After a high category typhoon or lethal Tsunami or major volcanic eruption, a local region is affected by loss of life or property. Within a few days or a month, regular weather patterns return and people begin the recovery process. Sometimes recovery can last a decade. In contrast, when the Flood was over, the bulk of the waters had entered the deepened sea beds; parts of the earth were dry to the ark inhabitants; sheet flows had probably stopped. However, channelized flows (flows of water channeled by local topography) continued with local catastrophes that covered thousands of square kilometers for a given incident. They were happening around the world. Volcanism was still present; many lands continued to be unstable and subject to significant geologic events; the climate was changing. This lesson discusses the period, which probably went until the days of Job and Abraham, although the more dramatic effects were probably small by that time.

Channel flow between terrain features on the new continents continued to shape the land in dramatic ways. When big flows are constricted by terrain, they speed up—able to carve valleys, some of the world’s largest canyons, and major river beds. But, the water was still full of debris, sediments, and rocks. Flood stages for the Mississippi, the Yangtze, the Nile, or the Amazon are not comparable because they would dwarf in comparison. Furthermore, at this stage the constricted waters were actually forming those major features we know today. The process was often ferocious. Rains and storms continued; heavy snows would be ramping up in mid- and northern latitudes in the first century after the Flood. The Ice Age was starting, and its eventual retreat (a few centuries away) would yield another bout of water erosional events. None of this process is orderly or necessarily predictable, because events were dependent on topography, the types/density/hardness of sedimentary rock, and weather changes during a time of climate change. These things and continued drying conditions meant local water levels or those in lowlands and river basins were in a state of change. Local people, as they multiplied and migrated, would not be aware of coming changes or associated dangers. Neither would any living creature or bird. Periodic seasonal changes would be present but with wider temperature changes than those experienced before the Flood. This exacerbated the impact of the ice age, complicating living conditions in many mid- and northern- latitude locations. [Research note: Ice age, post-Flood]

Land changes had not ceased. Volcanism, especially at magnitudes far over levels recorded in modern history, would have been a significant factor in large regions. In dry climate areas, like the area in the SW United States, large lava fields are on the surface and often over sedimentary rock and sand. Earthquake activity would be lessening but still occurring as large continent-sized regions had been recently lifted and sea beds deepened. Pressures in the crust of the earth were no doubt still settling. The effects would go on for centuries.

With sedimentary rock distributed unevenly, this is the period when high water tables and a still-draining/drying earth, in combination with limestone and other water-soluble minerals, would form underground areas known as ‘karst.’ This kind of sub-terrain would be the location for developing caves, underwater aquifers, sink holes, springs, and underground rivers.

As surface waters over land became smaller but also more constricted, gorges, canyons, bluffs, steep faces along rivers would be carved. The latter parts of water drainage would form many of the features that we call beautiful today. Plains and plateaus would be more settled in size and composition, but would now be subject to erosional effects from post-Flood weather—even after the bulk of the water had drained off the continents. Drier regions would begin to appear after a few centuries; deserts would appear as time progressed ; drying processes along with climate would have deeper effects as time moved on.

Surface conditions would be unevenly suitable for sustainable life. Foliage would develop rapidly where loose sediments were arable, but not rapidly enough to prevent wide-scale erosion that would accompany denuded lands subject to erosion. Saplings would take decades to mature and only in the areas where conditions were suitable. On the 30% of the land mass, which was going to be covered with ice, no foliage was possible until the ice retreated.

Since mats of vegetation were probably grounded in many locations as flood waters stranded them on the new continents, seeds of various types would be located at random. Large scale forests and foliage—with densities, sizes, and maturity to support habitat—were probably not present for quite a while, and only in areas where they could get a foothold. Grasses and wild grains would quickly recover and be a primary food source. Then, of course, climate change would have had an immediate effect on what germinated and survived the first few seasons. Climate will be discussed next.

While flowing waters still shaped the newly risen lands, volcanism continued to add heat to the oceans and huge volumes of gases or ash to the atmosphere for the first centuries after the Flood. The volcanism slowly waned, judging from recent volcano history. Consider estimating the effects of hundreds of active volcanoes that were present at the start of the period. The blocked sunlight had a dramatic effect, because the sun’s heating effects were severely disrupted. Surface temperatures on the new continents were cold or dropped quickly. The combination of warm oceans, which were full of heat that drives evaporation for precipitation, would have triggered super storms for centuries until the ocean temperatures dropped and land temperatures warmed. Not all areas would be affected equally.

Large, repeating, and intense frontal boundaries that we do not see today would have swept over the new continents—driven by the latent heat of the warmed oceans. The amount of moisture and the intensity of the low-pressure areas, fueled by enhanced evaporation over the warm waters, would have produced conditions for high precipitation rates. Modern-day typhoons, hurricanes, and storm patterns, by comparison, are much less intense. Their strengths are limited by the amount of heat available in the ocean waters, which is much less now compared to conditions in the aftermath of the Flood. [Research note: How did the flood affect weather?]

These weather extremes triggered the single Ice Age that probably, as estimated by creation scientists and specialists, did not reach a maximum for about 500 years after the ark landed. In a world-wide sense, the conditions were perfect for the development of heavy snow and ice in mid and upper latitudes (far South or North) or rain elsewhere. Layers of ice, as compressed as we find them today on Antarctica or Iceland, for instance, are not like rings of a tree that mark years. They mark storm events, which were prolific. Other areas affected included the highest mountains of several continents (such as the Andes or the Himalayas), where low temperatures and high precipitation rates (higher than what we see today) would be common for a few centuries.

Estimates by biblical creation scientists and specialists point to a period of 200 years past the peak of it for the Ice Age to retreat and overall climate conditions to finally settle (about 700 years after the ark landed). Another round of water-created topographic features, which are often protected today because of their beauty, would be formed as run-off with debris, and ice would be released from smaller flood events as the Ice Age rapidly retreated for those two centuries. Many canyons were formed during the period.

The pre-Flood climate may have been more uniform than today’s, though we cannot be certain. But in any case, the rapidly developing post-Flood Ice Age from the warmer oceans had significant effects on the weather compared to both before the Flood and today. This would have affected where various plants were able to sprout and flourish. In turn, the uneven development of foliage would affect where living things would more easily survive and reproduce. [Reference note: ice age]

It is not complicated to see that the living environment for living creatures and humans was changed during the post-Flood period. The topography was new; water locations had changed and were changing; new mountains presented new geographic barriers; some places were harder to populate.

God meant for repopulation to take place and commanded it. Depending on where people began to migrate, however, they would be unaware of global changes from the Flood—especially the coming Ice Age. It would cause substantial changes in land that was livable and cause changes in the boundaries of coastal regions. The changes were happening slowly enough so that succeeding generations would not necessarily have the same living conditions or be able to live in the same general locations.

Sea levels substantially dropped as the ice sheets got larger and thicker. After a few more centuries, the sea levels were rising at the retreating stage of the Ice Age. Coastline and coastal river settlements, then, had long-term risks that could not have been predicted by inhabitants. Rivers and streams were very high after the Flood. Lakes were common. Many of these water sources were still changing during the first centuries after the Flood. These were also affected by the passage of the Ice Age and settling climactic conditions.

We don’t think of these challenges in our relatively static environment, but the post-Flood world for several centuries was not so static. When it appeared static for a local people for a generation, it might not be for succeeding generations. There is a natural resistance to move if things are good, but sometimes there would have been no choice. If shelter, water, and food were changing, migration became important. The ice sheets and areas nearby them (over one third of the land area) were not very habitable and forced this issue where people lived close to them or by the sea, where sea levels were changing.

Large creatures were challenged. The pre-Flood foliage was gone. The soils were re-arranged. So large living creatures, who demanded a high daily consumption of food, would be struggling at best. Grasses, which are quick to grow, help a lot of things, but they were starting and would not satisfy the needs of a multiplying population of large creatures. They would have to move frequently. None of this considers the effects of the colder climate and the coming Ice Age. It was not a friendly time for animals or birds. Behavior patterns were severely disrupted. And, God had decreed that they would now be a source of food for humans. Some birds and creatures would have quickly become targets for food in a fast-growing population.

Rising sea levels presented an additional problem. The sea levels dropped initially due to the Ice Age, and some specialists estimate that the drop would have been in the order of 50m about 500 years after the Flood. However, the warming lands and cooling waters would reach a point when the melting of the ice sheets would prevail. During this ‘breakup’ of the Ice Age, lasting an estimated two centuries, there would be a steady increase in sea level.

Potential ‘land bridges’, where waters are now shallow, can be identified as connecting various land masses. There is good evidence to support the assertion that these were land bridges that linked neighboring lands. Rising sea levels at the end of the Ice Age would, in the end, submerge and so remove these bridges. Despite the rise, the Lord promised that the ‘proud waves’ have a boundary (Job 38:11). There will never be another inundation like the Genesis Flood. Disappearing land bridges 500-700 years after the Flood were just part of the settling process as the world exited the Ice Age.

So over land migration over the land bridges stopped. Animals that were larger would be closed off from the same routes. Thus, as speciation took place in the centuries that followed, it would be more driven by geography than before (having populations isolated from each other permits changes to develop based on information already in each group). In general, we now live in a relatively static condition, compared to the changes that took place from the Flood to the Ice Age to several centuries later.

A major mystery in popular studies from an evolution or naturalistic world view is the apparent extinction of so many varieties of plant and animal life. Theories abound but the evidence resists any consistent answer, especially when the uniformitarian view says that it occurred millions of years ago. With a biblical view of creation and the preceding discussion of the aftermath of Genesis Flood, however, a different picture is painted and solves some mysteries. Life was harsh during the first few centuries after the Flood. While creatures repopulated quickly and spread after exiting the ark, their long-term survival was threatened by both harsh conditions during those centuries and by being hunted.

Mankind had problems of its own with changing conditions (as cited in the previous section). They resisted disbursing until the Tower of Babel took place, which is covered in the next lesson. When groups eventually migrated away from ark’s landing location, the climatic changes during the Ice Age period affected them, too. Cave dwellings in many locations, for instance, were a safe havens but were generally not permanent settlements. In the stormy weather at mid- and north-latitudes, populations were probably forced to change locations. Under migrating conditions, animals are an obvious food source when there was not time to develop arable land.

If we grasp the truth of the Genesis Flood and give thought to the forces at work on land and sea in the post-Flood centuries, the world will appear quite different than the pre-Flood period. Today it is common to interpret earth features from the perspective of a long, uniform process, but problems, which are rarely mentioned, abound with this world view. We highly recommend changing glasses—look at the prominent features of famous landscapes and see the evidence of the period of the Great Flood. A review of high-altitude photographs or a plane flight is enough to realize that something dreadful happened. Indeed, it did. The tortured sedimentary rock, large areas showing water flow effects, plateaus that were once mountains, huge near-vertical canyons, high mountains pushed up thousands of feet in short periods, coal seams of catastrophically buried vegetation, fossil graveyards that show evidence of violent burial, remnants of volcanism from a violent age, topography affected by giant ice sheets, and dozens of other characteristics are signposts that cannot be removed: God shook the earth; He meant what He said in Genesis and reminds us of the event in 2 Peter 3:3-7. His mercy is just as evident in the post-Flood period because there are people on the new continents today. However, they come from the same surviving family that grew rapidly. The next lesson speaks of the post Flood period in terms of people, and how the Flood led to the next big event at the Tower of Babel.

D. Assignment

Read Genesis 9 and 10. Provide evidence from these chapters that show that the heart of man has not changed since the Fall of Man. Write out the assessment of God on the heart of man as found in the latter part of chapter 8.

E. Learning Activity

Collectively post the maps of glaciated areas during the Ice Age. Divide into teams.

🦕 CT? Use a world map with glaciated areas marked to discuss how your clan of people would survive when first located in the southern Ural Mountains in what is now called Russia. It is about 50 years after the ark landed. Your team is in charge. Here is the situation you face: Temperatures have dropped over the last 15 years. Snow is becoming intense. Planting and growing seasons are shrinking each year. Planting season is coming and food is low. It has been getting worse. What will you do? For those who say ‘move’, where will you go? There are four hundred people in your group and over half are women and children.

Compare results among the teams.

F. Concluding Assessment

Because of changing climate in harsh conditions on new landscapes following the Genesis Flood, the post Flood period was not easy for an expanding and migrating human population for several hundred years.