CIM Briefing Papers
C.I.M. OUTLINE #27
FACTS ABOUT THE FLOOD
I. Introduction: The first 12 chapters of Genesis are attacked
more than any other passage in the Bible. It is very
important for believers to be assured that this is no less
the Word of God and is important for our instruction. We
must not be tempted to prostitute ourselves to a higher
authority than Scripture.
II. The Extent of the Flood
If the science of geology did not exist, and we only had
Genesis chapters 6-8., what would we conclude from a normal
reading of Scripture about the extent of the Flood? There
is little doubt that a universal Flood is meant.
Regardless, some evangelical scholars still postulate that
the Flood was a local event.
A . The Local Flood Theory
1. The local Flood theory received a boost when the
famous archaeologist, Sir Leonard Wooley thought he
found proof of the Biblical Flood when he found an
eight foot thick layer of water-deposited strata
under the city of Ur covering a still more ancient
civilization. Despite proof to the contrary, many
still believe this discovery. (This flood layer,
it was later discovered, did not even cover the
entire city!)
2. Objections:
a. There would be no need for an Ark (definitely
not an Ark the size of the one described in
Genesis 7).
b. The Biblical language is universal.
c. This view seeks accommodation with the
conclusions of modern geology
B. The Flood was Universal
1. The main objections are its supernaturalism and the
fact that it contradicts the conclusions of modern
uniformitarian geology.
2. Support:
(a) The language of the Bible is universal. "all
the high mountains under the entire heavens",
"Every living thing", "all mankind", "Only Noah
was left, and those with him in the ark."
(b) The tradition is universal. A catastrophic
flood seems to be found in the collective
memory of all ancient peoples. Some 270 of
these stories have been cataloged. What is
interesting is the fact that the closer you get
to Asia Minor, the closer the details are to
the Biblical account!
(c) The size of the Ark. It is an ocean-going type
of vessel befitting a global catastrophe.
(d) It explains the geosphere in terms of Biblical
revelation. The huge extinction of animal and
plant life told by the fossils speak of
catastrophe.
(e) The Duration of the flood. They remained in
the Ark for a whole year!
(f) It ignores the testimony of the apostle Peter.
II Pet. 3:3-7. Peter is speaking in global
terms.
(g) It ignores the stated purpose of the Flood--to
destroy all of the human race.
(h) The Covenant God made with Noah after the Flood
would be meaningless if the Flood had just been
a local event.
III. The Cause of the Flood (Genesis 6:1-4)
The Bible speaks of the Flood as being a judgement from God
due to wickedness on the earth. IF THE FLOOD WAS INDEED
GLOBAL THEN THE SIN MUST HAVE BEEN OF THE MOST HEINOUS
NATURE!
A. The Spiritual or Supernatural Reasons for the Flood
Genesis 6: 1-4 is one of the most puzzling passages in
the entire Bible. The major questions of
interpretation are: Who are the "daughters of men",
the "sons of god", the "nephilim", and the "heros of
old"?
Four views:
1. Mixed marriage view
a. Explanation: The "sons of god" were the
righteous line of Seth; the "daughters of men",
the unrighteous line of Cain. The sin which
gave rise to the judgement was the sin of
intermarriage between the godly and ungodly.
b. Objections:
(1) This view hardly explains the severity of
the Flood?
(2) "Sons of god" in all other occurrences
means "angels. Job1:6, 2:1, 38:7; Ps.
29:1, 89:6; Dan. 3:25.
(3) "men" means the same things in verse 2 as
it does in verse1.
(4) The Bible does not say that angels are
sexless. Angels in heaven do not marry:
the same as people. Matt. 22:30, Mk.
12:25, Lk. 20.35-36. Angels are spoken of
as being male (Michael and Gabriel) and as
female (Zech. 5:9)!
(5) It does not explain the offspring
produced.
(6) It runs roughshod over the passages in I
Pet. 3:19,20; IIPet. 2:4,5; Jude 6.
(7) None of the sons of god were on the Ark.
(8) The contrast is between the "sons of god"
and the "daughters of men" not between the
sons of Seth and the daughters of Cain.
(9) If the "sons of god" were godly, why did
they do what is ungodly?
2. Immorality-polygamy view
(a) Explanation: A powerful, elite took for
themselves multiple wives. There are
parallels of this in ancient near-eastern
literature.
(b) Objections:
(1) It gives too much emphasis to creation
myths and not enough to Scripture.
(2) Again, does this explain the severity of
the judgement?
3. Demon-possession View
(a) Explanation: This unholy union resulted in
demon-possessed men.
(b) Objection:Use of the term "sons of god in
other OT passages does not refer to demon-
possessed men.
4. The Corrupt Race (Seed) View
(a) Explanation: Angels (spirit beings) left
their proper spheres (the spirit world), took
on bodies of men and cohabited with the
daughters of men. This unholy union
threatened to destroy the Seed through which
the Deliverer would come. Apparently the
"nephilim were some sort of hybrid. As a
result, the earth was filled with violence.
(1) it explains the severity of the flood.
(2) It agrees nicely with the theme of Genesis
which demonstrates the sovereignty of God
in preserving purifying "the seed" as
Satan tries to corrupt and destroy it. The
marriage of fallen angels to daughters of
men somehow corrupted the seed of man,
perhaps causing some kind of genetic
mutation. Noah and his family were chosen
perhaps because their blood-line remained
untouched.
(3) It does justice to the text.
(4) It explains a difficult passage in I Pet.
3. and Col 2:15, I Tim. 3:16, and explains
why women should cover their head! ICor.
11:10.
(5) It is an ancient universal tradition that
the gods once visited this earth in the
form of men, i.e. the titans of mythology.
"More and more we are finding that mythology
in general though greatly contorted very
often has some historic base. And the
interesting thing is that one myth which
occurs over and over again in many parts of
the world is that somewhere a long time ago
supernatural beings had sexual intercourse
with natural women and produced a special
breed of people." Francis A. Schaeffer
(6) It has strong support from extra-biblical
literature-- the psuedopigraphic book of
Enoch and the book of Jubilees. The New
Testament writers were familiar with these
books. Jude quotes from Enoch and Peter
alludes to it.
(7) It was the universal interpretation of the
early church fathers until the 5th century.
(b) Objections:
The major objection to this view is angelic
spirit-beings co-habiting with humans. It is
a hard interpretation, and is hard to explain
philosophically, i.e. the mind-body problem.
B. Natural Causes of the Flood
Some explanations offered:
1. A rapid shifting of the Poles.
2. The collapse of the vapor canopy surrounding the
earth.
3. Volcanism and earthquakes.
4. The shifting of the earth's crust.
5. An extra-terrestrial body passing close by the
earth.
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