Objection: Where did the waters of the flood come from?
Answer: It is argued that the water in the deluge came from the clouds, and perhaps from the sea. These are, of course, the same – one cycle. Scripture uses language that is unique to this event – “all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened”. (Gen 7:11) The passage speaks neither of clouds nor sea. It speaks of the fountains of the great deep being broken up, and the windows of heaven opened. It is never said the water drained back into the sea, but that “the waters returned from off the earth continually.” (Gen 8:3) . It also ways that the fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained. Call that a “miracle” or what you will; certainly some very overwhelming outbreak of waters came from an extraordinary source. According to the narrative of creation in Genesis 1, what had already been created was one vast mass of waters, called “the deep.” It says, “And darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. (Gen 1:2) The unknown mass of waters which engulfed the earth is not stated, or the what the waters were that were above the firmament or expanse. The waters of the deluge must have come from either above or below the earth, not from on it. The ark was big enough. A vessel of more than 42,000 tons, being 450 feet long, 75 broad, and 45 high (135x23x14m) could easily have received the animals that did not live in water. Note by Sosthenes At JND’s time there were many things he could not have known.
- It is now known that many comets and their tails are made of ice. If the earth had gone through the tail of a gigantic comet then there would have been an enormous amount of water around for a limited period of time.
- It is also known that many planets and exoplanets, including the earth have an enormous amount of water in tier crusts. These were ‘broken up’, so the water could have been released on to the earth. However how the water disappeared would remain a mystery. But nothing is impossible to God.
- It has also been calculated that there were 35000 species on the earth at that time. The ark has been estimated to be just sufficiently large to accommodate 70,000 animals and provisions for them.
- At that time when the largest boats were sailing men-of-war, the idea of a boat that size was not conceived. Now in the days of supertankers the ark is a modest construction.