Recently, Pope Francis promoted both concepts.
The Daily Mail wrote on March 2:
“Pope Francis has warned that mankind is facing a second great flood caused by climate change unless leaders act to fix corruption and injustice. The 84-year-old said that, in the story of the great flood in the Bible, God used his wrath to punish injustice and ‘clean up’ the world. He then added that humanity is facing another ‘great deluge, perhaps due to a rise in temperature and the melting of glaciers. [That is] what will happen now if we continue on the same path,’ he said…
“While discussing justice, Francis brings up the example of the biblical flood which destroyed the world except for Noah – who was deemed virtuous enough to survive. The flood itself may have been a myth, Francis says, but it is used as an example to show how God uses wrath to punish injustice and right wrongs in the world.”
The Pope’s belief that Noah’s Flood was or might have been a myth is reflected by the common false understanding of scholars who do not accept the reliability of the Bible.
For instance, we read in the Wikipedia Encyclopedia:
“Although the story of Noah… has become the most well-known flood myth in Western culture, it shows the influence of earlier narratives from Mesopotamia… [There is a Babylonian] account of a great flood, [and we possess now] several versions of the Mesopotamian flood myth; the version closest to that in [the Bible] appeared in a 700 BC Babylonian copy of the Epic of Gilgamesh… [It is] preceded by the similar Sumerian creation myth—the oldest surviving example of such a flood-myth narrative… A worldwide deluge, such as the one described in Genesis, is incompatible with modern scientific understanding.”
However, we are not interested in the “understanding” of God-denying scientists and scholars, whom the Bible calls “fools.” Rather, we do believe in the authenticity of the Bible, and our belief is based on facts.
For proof, please read our free booklet, “The Authority of the Bible.”
In addition, the existence of many different and independent accounts of a worldwide flood proves the real occurrence of such a flood… and not the opposite.
Let us notice what the Bible says about Noah’s worldwide Flood.
In Genesis 6:7-8, 12-13, we read:
“So the LORD said, ‘I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.’ But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD… So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, ‘The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth.’”
Genesis 7:4, 17-23, continues:
“‘For after seven more days I will cause it to rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and I will destroy from the face of the earth all living things that I have made’…
“Now the flood was on the earth forty days. The waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. The waters prevailed and greatly increased on the earth, and the ark moved about on the surface of the waters. And the waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth, and all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered. The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered.
“And all flesh died that moved on the earth: birds and cattle and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man. All in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, all that was on the dry land, died. 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.”
Clearly, according to the biblical record, Noah’s Flood was not just a local occurrence, but worldwide. It covered the whole earth and destroyed “all living things which were on the face of the ground.” Only Noah and those in the Ark were spared. This means that the “intellectual” idea of the Pope and others that the Flood might have been a myth is false and unbiblical.
In addition, God promised that He would never again bring a worldwide Flood on this earth.
Genesis 9:11, 15 states:
“‘Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth… I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.’”
This means, the Pope’s speculation that a worldwide Flood could occur due to climate change is false and unbiblical as well.
Is there more biblical proof that Noah’s Flood was not a myth, but real?
Jesus believed in it and spoke of it as a fact.
We read, for example, Jesus’ words in Matthew 24:37-39: “‘But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days of Noah 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 will the coming of the Son of Man be.’”
The early apostles accepted the account of Noah’s Ark as HISTORICAL FACT. Paul wrote in 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.”
Neither did Peter doubt the historical accuracy of Noah’s Ark. He spoke about the “days of Noah” in 1 Peter 3:20, “…while the ARK was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.”
Also note 2 Peter 3:5-6 (New International Version):
“[Scoffers] deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed.”
The Flood was real, and it covered and destroyed the entire earth, and all people and land animals died except those who were in Noah’s Ark.
The story of Noah’s Flood is not a myth. It is true, and Jesus, Paul and Peter believed that it was factual.
We stated the following in our Q&A, “Is the Biblical story of Noah’s Ark based on fact, or is it mere fiction or folklore?”
“Skeptics have claimed the Ark could not possibly hold all those animals and provisions, but simple fact proves otherwise. The physical dimensions alone, as given in Genesis 6:15, stagger the imagination… The Ark had a capacity equal to more than 500 standard American railroad freight cars! That was equivalent to 175 modern one-bedroom apartments! No ship of such size was again built until the 19th century AD!…
“Only 40 percent of the animal kingdom lives on land, and 70 percent of all species of land animals are insects. The remaining 30 percent of the terrestrial animal kingdom are on… average the size of a rhesus monkey or a medium-sized dog. Most animals can be maintained in small confinement for long periods and remain healthy… Estimates of the number of land mammal, bird, reptile, and amphibian species on earth today total about 18,000.
“… only about half of the space on the three decks [of the Ark] would have provided plenty of room to accommodate all those animals. That left the other half of the ship for food and supplies and for Noah and his family…
“Today, many who profess to be ‘Christians,’ neither believe in the historical accuracy of ‘Noah’s Ark,’ nor in the return–or Second Coming–of Jesus Christ to this earth. Peter warned of such ignorance and denial of God’s Word, which will have serious consequences for those who are guilty of it. He wrote in 2 Peter 3:3-7: ‘… scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming?”… for they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.”
In addition, two Q&As explain that Noah and his family could indeed have built the ark https://www.eternalgod.org/how-was-it-possible-for-noah-and-his-family-to-actually-build-the-ark/, and how long it took for them to do so https://www.eternalgod.org/how-long-did-it-take-noah-and-his-sons-to-build-the-ark/.
We might also take note of the fact as to HOW God might have brought worldwide destruction through an all-encompassing Flood, based on the account in the Bible.
In our booklet, “Evolution—a Fairy Tale for Adults?”, we say this:
“Perhaps the most familiar worldwide destruction is the flood described in Genesis 7 and 8. Have you ever thought about what events must have occurred to cause such worldwide destruction? Quoting… from the book ‘In Search of Noah’s Ark,’ page 58, ‘…[Genesis 7:11] says, “On that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened”… The pressured waters below the crust suddenly erupted at a point of weakness. Collapse at one point would cause a chain reaction leading to similar eruptions at many other points around the world. The resulting atmospheric turbulence, combined with immense amounts of dust blown skyward from volcanoes, would begin condensation and precipitation of the canopy.’
“… many theologians and scientists state that a vapor canopy once surrounded the earth. Theologians refer to Genesis 7:11 where it says that the ‘windows of heaven were opened.’ They feel this is probably a reference to the pre-flood vapor canopy. Another reference to this canopy can be seen in Genesis 1:6-7, where we read that God made a firmament and divided the waters under the firmament from the waters above the firmament, giving reference to a water vapor canopy. This canopy, scientists explain, would have created a greenhouse effect. This seems to be confirmed in Genesis 2:5 where we are told that the antediluvian world was watered by dew or mist, not by rain. This dew would have been dependent upon humidity, saturation, temperature, dew point and condensation—all made possible through the water vapor canopy.
“Continuing now from the book ‘In Search of Noah’s Ark,’ citing from page 59, ‘We see the possible significance of the order of destruction mentioned in Genesis 7:11. Subterranean upheavals within the oceans, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes and the gushing forth of those waters triggered the opening of the windows of heaven, and the canopy waters poured upon the Earth as torrential rains for 40 days and 40 nights before slacking off to light rain for the next 110 days…’
“But what started the whole thing? Here is one possible answer from the same book. On page 62 it says, ‘We believe it’s plausible that a gigantic meteorite colliding with Earth could have jarred the Earth’s crust so tremendously that it set off the universal cataclysmic conditions necessary to have caused the rising of the sea beds, earthquakes, volcanoes and the collapse of the water canopy.’
“We understand, of course, that it was God who brought about the flood. But as He used water to destroy the earth’s surface, it is legitimate to ask what else, based on Biblical evidence, God might have used to bring about the results. And a meteorite hitting the earth is a possible answer, since God has used meteorites at other times as well to bring destruction on this planet…”
However God chose to do it, it is clear from the pages of the Bible that Noah’s Flood happened, causing worldwide destruction and the death of all people and all land animals, except for Noah and those in the Ark, and it is likewise very clear that God will never bring a worldwide Flood again on this earth, be it through “climate change” or otherwise.
We either believe the clear words of the Bible or the assumptions, speculations and “arguments” of people who think they can doubt God and know it better than God. But for us in the Church of the Eternal God and our corporate affiliates, we choose to believe God and follow Him.
Lead Writer: Norbert Link
