NOAH’S ARK:
One day God will burn up this earth and our universe with fire and he’ll replace it with a new earth and a new heaven. But the word of God, which is our Holy Bible, will not perish. The word of God will endure on earth and in heaven forevermore. Every single word in the Bible, every punctuation mark, is there for a reason, sometimes known only to God. The Bible is the truth of God and it contains his covenant promises. The eyes of God roam to and fro across the earth to fulfill his promises because the Lord our God cannot lie and he also does not make any mistakes. In the book of Revelation, chapter 22, in verses 18 and 19, God gives us an ominous warning of impending doom for anyone who dares to add or detract from his word in any way, shape or form. God is speaking in the above verses specifically about the book of Revelation but, by association, we can assume God will also do the same thing to anyone who adds or detracts from any of the other 65 books of the Bible because they’re all equally the word of God.
Revelation 22:18-19 – For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
Hebrews 11:7 – By faith, Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.
2 Corinthians 5:7 – For we walk by faith, and not by sight.
Even if you’re a believer who thinks God is only referring to the book of Revelation with this warning you can’t deny that God simply does not like it when someone alters the content and meaning of his word by adding words, removing words or by twisting or disbelieving the words that God has written. For a believer to not believe every word in the Bible is like slapping God in the face. It’s like spitting in God’s face. It’s like calling God a liar to his face. A believer who does not believe every word in the Bible, as it is written, cannot please God. The primary goal of every believer is to please the God who made us. It’s as simple as that. Even if a lukewarm believer doesn’t receive all the plagues mentioned in Revelation it’s just common sense to expect that the Lord will punish the disobedient in some way for doubting God. The Scriptures confirm that believers who do not please God will have their works burned up by fire when they stand before the bema judgment seat of Jesus Christ on the last day.
Genesis 7:11-12 – In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was on the earth forty days and forty nights.
Matthrew 24:37-39 – (Jesus speaking) – But as the days of Noah were, so also will be the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will be the coming of the Son of Man be.
1 Peter 1:25 – But the word of the Lord endures forever.
In the book of Genesis God goes to great lengths to explain how he created the earth, the universe, and man. God uses four whole chapters, Genesis 6-9, to explain to us how he destroyed all flesh that he had created with a great flood because of man’s great sin. The flood covered the whole earth. God saved only Noah, his family, and selected animals in an ark so man could start over on the earth. Noah’s Ark is such an incredible story that nonbelievers are incredulous. That’s to be expected because nonbelievers have no spiritual discernment. Unfortunately, many believers also don’t believe that the story of Noah’s Ark happened as it is written in the Bible. They think God is laying it on a bit thick or lying altogether.
Please listen carefully to me. God speaks the plain truth and nothing but the truth. It’s who God is and what God does. God doesn’t change and God doesn’t lie. If believers don’t know that by now then they don’t know God. Believers who don’t believe in the story of Noah’s Ark are wise in their own eyes. They think they know better than God or that they can interpret what God means. The Scriptures says we’re to walk be faith and not by sight so we need to start living it. Scripture also says we’re to trust in what the Lord says and we’re not to lean on our own understanding. Nonbelievers and believers who do not believe every word that God says are fools in the eyes of God. The truth of God is spiritually discerned by the believer and the revelation of God is self-evident to all believers who are in true fellowship with Christ.
Genesis 7:23-24 – So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive. And the waters prevailed (covered) on the earth one hundred and fifty days.
Luke 17:26-27 – (Jesus speaking) – And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: They ate, they drank, they married wives, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.
Hebrews 10:31 – It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
In the book of Genesis God gives us a brief summary of his salvation plan for man without going into great detail. For nonbelievers, and some believers, who cannot accept the plain truth of God as it’s written, it’s up to them to study God’s word and do their own due diligence so that they can believe what God says is the truth. The Bible is the inerrant word of God and all the evidence you need to prove it is right there in the word of God. All you need to do is study the Bible for knowledge, understanding and wisdom and you will learn the plain truth of God. God encourages man to taste him to see that he is good and true so why not take God up on his offer instead of believing the lies of Satan and evil men? The onus is not on God to make us believe. The onus is on us to believe by seeking the truth of God’s word for ourselves. Those who profess their doubts about the story of Noah’s Ark are showing their profound ignorance, foolishness and faithlessness before the Lord of creation, all the host of heaven, and righteous believers on the earth who know the truth. All believers should be prepared to educate those who deny any part of the story of Noah’s Ark.
Isaiah 54:9 – For this is like the waters of Noah to Me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth, so have I sworn that I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you.
Genesis 6:18-19 – But I will establish My covenant with you (Noah); and you shall go into the ark – you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. And of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring two of every sort into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female.
Psalm 18:30 – As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is proven.
First of all, what is an ark? The word “ark” is an Old Testament term for a boat. In those days there were no ocean-going vessels and all boats were small and never moved out of the sight of land. Noah’s Ark was the first ocean-going vessel ever built and was by far the largest ship ever constructed at that time. When God instructed Noah to build the ark he gave the measurements in cubits. There were four types of cubits in those days so the length given to Noah was anywhere from 18″ to 22″ long. That means the ark was between 450 ft. and 510 ft. long; about one and a half football fields in length. The ark was 75 ft. to 91 ft. wide; a little more than half the width of a football field. The ark was 41 ft. to 45 ft. high; about the height of a four story building.
Now imagine three levels, or decks, within the ark. We’re talking about 1.5 million cubic feet of total space; which is equal to the capacity of 570 standard railroad stock cars. It took Noah and his three sons more than 120 years to build the ark. I’m sure Noah employed many contract laborers on the ark and of course God was the paymaster. So when the Bible talks about Noah’s Ark don’t dismiss it as some little wooden boat. This was one of the greatest construction projects in the history of the world up to that point in time. Let your mind’s eye envision a massive ocean container ship, oil tanker or grain ship and you have some idea of the monumental size of Noah’s Ark and the tremendous effort it took to build it.
1 Peter 3:18-20 – For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.
Matthew 19:26 – (Jesus speaking) – But with God all things are possible.
2 Peter 2:4-5 – For God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly.
The next thing to take note of in Genesis is that God took two of every “kind” of animal on the earth, not necessarily every species. God took what he wanted to take and left the rest. I feel confident feel God didn’t take every kind of animal on earth but it doesn’t really matter one way or the other. Dinosaurs, for example, existed before the flood and God may have left them off the ark. Either way, it goes without saying that God probably took only juvenile animals to save on food as well as space in the ark. Let’s take elephants for example. Why would God put a bull elephant on the ark weighing several tons when a juvenile male elephant one tenth the size of an adult would accomplish his purpose just as well?
You get the picture. God doesn’t tell us everything he knows; just what we need to know. God drew all the animals to the ark himself and they came calmly and in an orderly fashion. I’ve no doubt that once the animals entered the ark they went into some sort of deep sleep much like a bear goes into hibernation during the winter. Never lose sight of the fact that God knows how to do everything and God can do anything he wants to do because with the Lord our God nothing is impossible . Instead of doubting God start accepting God at his word and then seek to find out how God accomplished his will if you have any questions.
2 Peter 3:5-6 – For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished; being flooded with water.
1 Peter 3:15 – But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.
God himself shut the door on Noah’s Ark before the rain started. We know it rained for forty days and nights and that the water on the earth ended up about twenty feet higher than the top of the highest mountain on earth. Detractors say there’s no way there could be that much water on earth. God explains in Genesis 7:11, that he broke up the fountains of the great deep. Scientists now know that there is a tremendous amount of water trapped in the earth’s crust so God simply brought all that water to the surface in order to flood the earth. Scripture also confirms that there are fresh water volcanoes in the bottom of the oceans pouring millions of gallons of water into our oceans.
Noah’s ark floated for roughly ten months before it finally ran aground on Mt. Ararat, in modern day Turkey. The physics students at the University of Leicester in England decided to test if Noah’s Ark could actually have floated with two of each animal on earth at that time. The students were shocked by their findings. They found that Noah’s Ark could have easily handled all the kinds of animals God said he put on the ark. We should never ever doubt the word of God. God always speaks the plain truth. God cannot lie. God always does as he pleases.
Psalm 14:1 – The fool has said in his heart, that there is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abdominal works, there is none who does good.
Proverbs 12:15 – The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who heeds counsel is wise.
Psalm 33:11 – The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations.
When the topic of Noah’s Ark comes up be ready to defend the word of God with the facts I’ve just provided. In fact, I bring up Noah’s Ark as one of the proofs of God. Ocean-going vessels are required to meet certain engineering specifications in order to be seaworthy. If they’re not built right they’ll sink in rough seas. Man has only known about this for the last 150 years or so as we’ve begun to built these massive ships. It just so happens that the dimensions God gave Noah for building the ark meet those necessary construction specifications perfectly. God has established every physical law in the universe and God knows everything there is to know about his creation. One other thing; when you build a vessel out of wood you can only build it up to a certain size. If you build it any larger the vessel will fail structurally. It just so happens that Noah’s Ark was at the very upper limit of what is possible for a vessel made of wood. This fact further emphasizes that the construction of Noah’s Ark was God’s doing and that God guided the ark safely through the flood.
Hebrews 11:6 – But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Proverbs 3:5-6 – Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.
Hebrews 11:1 – Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
The story of Noah’s Ark and the great flood is one of the central themes of the Bible and the story is mentioned in several other books in the Bible. God originally told the story of Noah and the great flood to Moses, who recorded it in the book of Genesis. The prophet Isaiah also mentions Noah and the great flood as does the Apostle Peter. The teachings of Jesus Christ as recorded in the gospels of Matthew and Luke also include a reference to Noah and the great flood. Anyone who denies the Bible story of Noah’s Ark is calling Moses, Isaiah, Peter and Jesus Christ himself all to be liars. Jesus Christ cannot lie because he is God. Those who deny the story of Noah and the great flood are rejecting the Lord who made them. Woe unto them when they stand before God on the last day to be judged.