Two Times the Earth was Covered Completely by Water

The Great Flood was an event that most likely everyone in the world today knows the story about it.  What many people may have not known is the Great Flood was the second time that the Earth was completely covered with water.  This is important to know because this gives information that there is enough water even today if the depth of the oceans were not as deep and the earth's topology on land was different. 

The first time the Earth was completely under water is when God comes in Genesis 1:2 to move over the surface of the Earth, which is covered in water, to first separate the water and create land, Genesis 1:9. 

From the scriptures, prior to the Great Flood, the earth did not have rain.  Many Biblical Scholars and Creationist have theories, based on Genesis 2:5-6, that the Earth had:

1. A Green House climate with mist as a source of water, and
2. An atmosphere where the barometric pressure was much higher.

Where Did The Water Come From?

Two Scriptural passage are too often overlooked when dealing with the Great Flood as the source of the Water.  In the beginning after what is often discussed as the Gap Theory, the entire Earth was covered in Water before God moved on the Earth to restore it. 

In Job 38:4-8 the angels shouted for joy at the foundations of the earth so the Earth had to be absolutely beautiful but something changed, which the Gap Theory expresses the theory the Earth changed from consequences caused between the war God had with Lucifer.  The Earth remained baron until God moved and recreated the Earth, where the Earth could have been formless and void for billions of years to prove Lucifer couldn't create anything.

There is also an interesting verse that has been overlooked in all Biblical Commentaries, that this author has read, dealing with source of the ocean, which is Job 38:8 where God announced there are doors for the seas which the water busted forth.  This "bursting forth", indicates a great amount of water, and also notice that "from the womb" indicates a birth (a creation) from God.  This is not a reference dealing with the Great Flood, but lets us know that God created the seas where God had the waters come from them.  In Revelation 21:6 there is something similar where God has created a spring that the water of life flows.

In Genesis 1:2, the scripture informs us the entire Earth was covered in water.

In Genesis 1:6, the scripture informs us that God separates the water and puts water in the sky, "vault from the water above it".  Today we know that the sky always has moisture in it, even when we do not see clouds.  When there is storms, the sky can contain great amounts of water.  Recently, there is scientific research stating there are vast oceans of water, that are larger than the oceans on the surface, which are in the Earth being stored in a plasma state in what is called ringwoodite.

The other parts of the water where separated into seas or what we call oceans.  Notice in verse 10, that there was no land at this time where God created the land.

Therefore, the entire Earth was changed from being covered in water to containing land, which then enabled God to continue with the rebirth of the Earth and the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve.  This water was always present, is still present and at that time was used later as the source of the Great Flood.

Noah

In Genesis 6, we learn that the Earth was full of corruption, but God found favor in Noah.  There was something particular about Noah, and his family, that is identified in one of the scriptures.  In Genesis 6:9 the scripture speaks about "perfect in his generations", where the actual Hebrew word "perfect" is "tamiym" which means without blemish, sound, healthful, without spot or unimpaired is used to describe Noah's family. 

The question to ask ourselves is why did God want us to know this about Noah and Noah's family?  Many Biblical Scholars state this reference is identifying a problem that was occurring during this time period on the Earth, which Noah's family was not affected.  The problem is identified later in the Book of Genesis as the Nephilim, and is also confirmed in several other scriptures in the Old and New Testament, which is discussed in detail in the Nephilim topic. 

Genesis 6:2 and 6:4, informs us that the Nephilim were a hybrid type of human-being that was the offspring of the intermarrying by the Fallen Angels and Earth born women.  The Nephilim were "mighty men that were of old, the men of renown", which we might think of as similar to a sport's champion or war hero.  The Nephilim were only men and of additional height.  A scriptural reference regarding height is 1 Samuel 17 which is dealing with Goliath, who was a descendent of the Nephilim and from the tribe of Gath, at over 9 feet tall. 

Many Biblical Scholars believe the reference to "perfect" meant the mixture of the fallen angel's sexual fornication had not happened to anyone of Noah's genealogy, which is what the "perfect in his generations" inference is indicating. 

After the fall of Adam and Eve, God made the first announcement of many that began to reveal a plan that there would be a seed to of the woman, that would be a reconciliation, restitution and forgiveness.  The seed of the woman is a pointer to the virgin birth of Mary, through the Holy Spirit.  The seed is also a biological misnomer and impossibility because a woman requires the seed of the man.  Genesis 3:15 mentions the seed of the woman and also the seed of Lucifer. 

Many Biblical Scholars have the theory that the Nephilim was part of Lucifer's plan to affect the Bloodline to the Messiah.  God was not going to allow this to happen and have the bloodline tainted and blemished with anything dealing with Lucifer.

More on the Nephilim Reference

The Nephilim infiltration was an attempt to stop the entire plan of God along with the further corruption of mankind.  Many Biblical Scholars believe the infiltration of the Nephilim was over the entire Earth and this was the primary reason for the Great Flood.  Unfortunately, many Christians are taught the Great Flood happened because of sin only, which is partially true but it was more than that.

Notice in Genesis 6:11-12 the part that states "the earth was filled with violence" and then reiterates the point that "the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt", where there can be no confusion that it was the entire earth.  There also cannot be any question on the catalyst because of the scriptures verses that proceed these in Genesis 6:2 and Genesis 6:4.  The entire "earth" is mentioned and not a geographical region.

The New Testament Confirms

Regarding the time before Jesus Christ's return there is also the information, in Matthew 24:38, that people were carrying on with normal things in their lives and had not understood the purpose, with the warning about as the times of Noah was conveying. 

The world will have other witnesses before the return, just as the time before the Great Flood had:

• The witness of Methuselah where God will send the Two Witnesses during the Tribulation Period.
• The witness of Noah building the Ark for 50 to 100 years where those who saw it had to have known the reasoning, albeit didn't believe it.

The comparison given by Jesus Christ in Matthew 24:37-39, "as the days of Noah", informs the reader to understand the scriptural text of Genesis 6 and other passages.  God is always very precise in the scriptures, and is using the period of Genesis 6 for a reason for us to understand.  God could have used many other horrible times in history, such as wars and famines but God specifically used the times of Genesis 6.

Throughout history, there world is replete with continuous wars, devastations of countries and even genocides against Israel.  There is a belief that there are good people who will eventually change the whole world into a place without wars, crime and prosperity for everyone.  This is impossible, according to the scriptures, until Jesus Christ rules the entire earth after His Second Coming, Revelation 2:27 for the Millennial Kingdom followed by eternity.

The scriptural conclusion is the Great Flood had two major evil problems:

1. The world was full of evil in everyone with there was an exception with Noah and his family.
2. There was the Nephilim problem.  Note that this is the first global outbreak of the Nephilim in history, as there was another after the Exodus event when Israel as a nation has to fight many battles against them when going into the Promise Land.  This was the reason why Joshua was instructed to kill everything breathing in the Promise Land when Israel was entering.

Local Flood? No

There are some people who believe the Great Flood in the Book of Genesis was only a local flood in one geographical area on the earth.  This cannot be true as Genesis 7:4 informs us that the Great Flood was over the entire earth.  Also, on Genesis 7:23, informs us that every living creature that walked on the earth, "face of the earth", died, which means all the creatures that were on the land died.

In Genesis 8:4, the Ark of Noah rests on the mountains of Ararat.  A local flood would have only let the Ark rest on possibly hills after the waters left and not a mountain.  Using the directions that Noah and his family left off of the Ark, the location of the mountains (notice it is plural) is most likely in modern-day Iran's Zagros Mountains.  This is discussed further in the Ark of Noah.

After the Great Flood, God makes a covenant with mankind by the token of the rainbow that He will never destroy "all living creatures" by water in Genesis 8:21.  The world has had many floods that have killed and destroyed large areas but they were never over the entire world.  If the Great Flood was a local flood, then that would make God a liar and someone who could not be trusted because there have been many catastrophic local floods throughout history. 

As previously stated, it is important to note that God states all creatures that were on land.  It does not reference the creatures in the oceans or fresh water lakes, which is important to understanding and having faith in believing the Great Flood and Ark history.

Science Confirms

Science does confirm the Great Flood for these reasons and many others:

1. Fossils can only occur with a rapid burial and covering by primarily ice, dirt and tar so that the creature:
   (a) can be preserved, or
   (b) its features left in the imprint of the materials it was quickly buried inside of. 
   When a creature dies and is exposed to the surface of the earth or close to the surface, then it will experience rapid decay or be consumed as a food source. 
2. Fossils are found everywhere on the earth including very remote places where the creatures could not have existed in today's ecology.  This indicates there was a different ecology when the creature went through fossilization. 
   (a) There are fish fossils on the tops of mountains.
   (b) There are land fossils on the bottoms of oceans.
3. There are scientific theories that state that the Great Flood also caused an ecological * radical change from what the Earth is like today.  During the process of the Great Flood, there is the theory that there was a water vapor canopy surrounding the earth.
   (a) The water canopy would account for the long-life spans noted in Genesis, by its protection from Cosmic Radiation. 
   (b) The water canopy would create a sort of greenhouse affect over the entire planet that allowed tropical vegetation types of paradises everywhere on the earth including the North and South Poles.  Note that even today there is water vapors in the sky but the theory is about a very thick layer which was also potentially held in place by a higher atmospheric pressure, which also enabled Pterodactyls to fly.
   (c) When this water canopy was taken away, which was also part of the contributing factors of increased water on the earth, this caused the North and South Poles to suddenly go from 90 Degree Fahrenheit or greater to subzero temperatures.
   (d) The tropical environment prior to the Great Flood also would explain the Dinosaurs having enough plant food sources, with the rapid plant growth that could sustain large Dinosaurs.  Also, this explains tropical plant fossils found in areas that is impossible for it to grow in today's ecology. 
   (e) As an additional example, of many, is Wooly Mammoths are being found frozen in Siberia with vegetation still in their mouths which indicates a rapid burial and change in the environment's temperature that have been estimated to be a change of over 100 negative degrees.
4. There are fossil graveyards which point to creatures getting "caught up" together in water flow to sink and be buried together.  This includes both animal and plants.
5. There are fossils of sea creatures above sea level, such as in mountains, where they could never have been swimming before their death, even with earth plate tectonics as a potential contributing factor that could only account for some areas and not all areas.
6. There are widely diverse fossil mixtures that conflict with them being together when they were alive.  In other words, while the animals were alive, they would not have been in close proximity to one another, yet they are found as fossils next to one another.
7. When the Great Flood waters dissipated, there were fish that were covered quickly in mud in areas of the earth that would become land.  Fish fossils are difficult to find because they will disintegrate quickly or be eaten by other creatures.  The quantity of fish fossils found in mountains and on dry land goes back to point #1 in this list.
8. Evidence of sedimentary rock exposed across continents show evidence of turbulent water flowing over them.
9. There are coal and oil deposits in regions of the earth that have been frozen waste lands, such as Antarctica, which indicates these areas had to have vegetation to form the coal in the past. This is part of the evidence that leads to the Canopy Theory.
10. There are submarine canyons in the deeps of the oceans that indicate a strong water flow rate.  This points to the scripture that the fountains of the earth being open from the deep in Genesis 7:11.
11. Along with the submarine canyons there are also mountain ranges in the oceans that can only be explained by the effects of a Great Flood.
12. The Grand Canyon shows evidence that it was formed rapidly and fossils of fish and others can be found at the canyon walls. 

* Christian Scientists have proposed the "Canopy Theory" which states that the earth had a thicker water shield around the entire earth that created something like a greenhouse that gave a greater protection of life on the earth than today.  Additionally, in this theory, the atmospheric pressures were greater that along with the canopy gave the longer life spans noted in the Scriptures, allowed animals to grow larger and even permitted pterodactyls to fly.

Numerous Global Accounts

In many cultures around the earth, there are historical writings of a Great Flood occurring in the past.  In these historical writings and sometimes spoken traditions, they all have similar information. 

Normally, cultures in antiquity, may have legends and folklore but what makes the Great Flood story more prominent is the wide spread knowledge of it across the globe.  Furthermore, as an example of the uniqueness of a shared world-wide awareness, consider that Native American Indians would not have picked up the knowledge very easily from any other culture because of isolation.  This goes also for other cultures that were disconnected from other parts of the world and have the knowledge of a Great Flood.  Here is a list of what is shared in many cultures:

1. There is a family who was saved. 
2. People were forewarned that wickedness was the cause of the pending flood.
3. The flood was global.
4. The family exited the boat on top of a mountain.

This is a list of cultures by continent, which is not exhaustive, that have a shared history of a Great Flood:

How Long did the Great Flood Last?

From calculating the scriptural information and using the Hebrew Calendar, the Great Flood is presumed to have lasted approximately 370 days by the calculations shown below.  Note that Noah's family was in the Ark for seven days before the Flood started so some Biblical Commentaries will give a figure of 377 days of the Great Flood, which is incorrectly adding 7 days.

The 370 days are based on the month estimations shown below based on a 30-day Hebrew Calendar.  This author simply used the scriptural passages and a spreadsheet to total up the days, which might be different from some other commentaries on the Great Flood.

The following five points were used in the calculation:

1. Flood started on the 17th day of Cheshavan.  
2. The Calendar months of 30 days is used which is explained in the Biblical Year topic.
3. The Calendar designations of second month and tenth month is changed as explained in the Biblical Year topic. 
4. The changing of when the start of the year is designated does not matter as God gives us the numeric month indicators.  There are 12 months in the Calendar year for Noah's time-period.

When thinking about how long the Great Flood lasted, we can think of it lasting 12 months and 10 days, where the Calendar months of 30 days is used as explained in the Biblical Year topic.

Disclaimers when looking at other calculations found in books and the internet:

There are other Biblical Commentaries, from other authors, that have:

• Calculations that include the seven days that Noah and his family were locked in the Ark before the fountains of water broke up. 
• Calculations that are based on Noah's age
• Calculations done with months that are not 30 days.  
• Do not include the 40 days of waiting by Noah in Genesis 8:6, plus the extra 14 days of Genesis 8:10 and 12.

Other related topics

Could the Ark of Noah have actually taken all of the Species of the World and is the Ark going to be found? 

The Great Flood had the benefit of also burying and destroying the Garden of Eden so that the location with the Tree of Life could never be found. 

Some other links

https://answersingenesis.org/the-flood/global/worldwide-flood-evidence/
https://www.bibleinfo.com/en/questions/there-evidence-flood-was-global
https://biologos.org/articles/flood-geology-and-the-grand-canyon-what-does-the-evidence-really-say
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_flood_myths    

What to read next?

See: (a) Time and Time Travel, (b) Time Domains, (c) Kingdom of God, (d) Singularity and the Big Bang Theories, (e) E=mc²,  (f) Ten Dimensions of the Universe, (g) Age of the Earth, Periods that Developed Life, Heavens, (h) Gap Theory of Genesis 1:2 - Earth formless for billions of years