Genesis Flood Universal or local
1 THE GENESIS FLOOD: UNIVERSAL OR LOCAL? The question of the historicity and the character of the Genesis Flood has been a topic of great controversy for many years. The mighty Flood of Genesis is of great importance to the Christian, it speaks plainly concerning the sovereignty of God in the affairs of men and in the processes of nature. ... ” However, the extent of the flood is of utmost importance. There are two basic ideas on the extent of the flood; first, the universal flood theory, and second, the local flood theory. The writer of this paper is strongly of the opinion that the Genesis Flood was universal, and rejects the local flood theory. ... Our interpretation of the flood story will depend on great measure on how we understand the inspiration of the Bible’s historical narratives. ... 2 The story of the flood seems to have been so well known that it became one of the popular “books” in the ancient cuneiform libraries. ... One broken fragment from Sumeria, speaks of the flood sweeping over the land and ‘tossing the huge boat about.’ There have been several variations to the flood story, among these non-biblical accounts of the Flood some of the most ancient are those circulated in the regions now called Mesopotamia. ... The flood narrative is important to Jewish and Christian traditions, it is mentioned both in the Apocrypha and Psuedepigrapha, in Hellenistic and Rabbinic writings, and in the church fathers. ... The examination of the evidences of the flood helps us to better understand the concerns of all the various cultures. The flood has great importance to Jewish tradition, the narrative of the flood can be found in the Book of Jasher, commencing in chapter 5 verse 9. ... 3 Having ascertained the importance of the flood to all religions and cultures, the main point of controversy now needs to be addressed. Was the Genesis Flood, a local flood, or was it universal? A careful study of biblical data reveals the fact that the flood lasted for 371 days, or a little more than one year. That the flood continued for more than one year is entirely in keeping with the doctrine of its universality but cannot be reconciled with the local-flood theory. “While there may be a difference of opinion among Christian scholars as to the general depth of the flood, there can be no question as to its duration.” One of the most obvious starting points when it comes to researching sources in the story of the flood is chronology. ... 7:12 that the flood prevailed for 40 days and 7:24 which tells us that the waters increased over the lands for 150 days. ... Perhaps the most important piece of internal evidence for the universality of the flood is the statement of Gen. ... ” Obviously if only one high mountain were covered with water, the flood waters to maintain such a depth, would have had to reach a similar depth everywhere else on the planet because of the force of gravity. 4 “Scripture informs us that the flood attained its maximum, mountain-covering depth in six weeks, and continued to cover ‘all the high mountains that were under the whole heaven’ for an additional sixteen weeks.