Though God commanded Adam and Eve to procreate, their descendants soon had to suffer his judgment in the form of the Global Flood.
The biblical account of Noah and the Flood can be seen as a parallel with 2 Peter 3 where heaven and earth were destroyed simultaneously by flooding, which provides evidence that its reach was global.
Table of Contents
1. Creation
According to Genesis, God completed His creation of our world in six days. During that time he created both heaven and earth as well as all living beings on both. Additionally, day separated from night and light was formed; eventually humans and women were formed, along with instructions from Him for them to “replenish and subdue the earth,” taking care of plants and animals while being fruitful and multiplying in abundance.
Scholars generally accept that Genesis 1’s creation account should not be read literally. They assert that its days do not correspond with 24-hour days but instead correspond with eight billion year periods since the Big Bang; yet this solution still does not address sequence issues within its story.
Example: It does not explain why God created the sun and moon on the fourth day if they already existed, or why he ordered them to separate day from night and give light onto earth if these tasks had already been fulfilled on day one.
Other scholars, like Karl Barth, maintain that the creation story does not accurately describe what occurred at the beginning of history. According to them, words such as day and night in the creation story are poetic metaphors while its Hebrew word for sun/moon/light differs. This may suggest that its story was written with limited scope; adding some features later.
However, this theory poses the danger of falling into occasionalism. Occasionalism refers to the belief that all events occur solely due to God and that there are no genuine secondary causes causing certain things to occur – which undermines His power while leading some people to think He won’t punish their sins. Such views should be avoided because they threaten Christianity as it undermines omnipotence while potentially leading to people thinking He won’t punish sinners who commit acts against Him.
2. Flood
Genesis 6-9 presents us with the story of Noah and the Flood from Genesis 6, depicting God sending a global disaster to wipe out life except those protected in an ark. He did this to punish mankind’s wickedness which included idolatry, murder and blasphemy as well as moral chaos causing disease, poverty and violence to rise rapidly throughout human society.
Some have attempted to argue that the Flood was local rather than global, but this interpretation misreads Scripture. When Scripture mentions “all” animals at any one time, this refers to all populations at that moment in history – the word used is identical with “eretz” from Genesis 1:1 which describes earth itself.
Floodwaters destroyed all forms of life on earth, from sea life to land animals. Two unclean animals for each clean animal placed on Noah’s Ark while seven unclean creatures stayed behind after its passage; yet his sending out two birds indicates there may have still been land-dwelling animals post-Fluvial.
Water covering the highest mountains around the world is clear evidence of global flood. Lasting over one year and lasting several thousand miles away from Mount Ararat, this global event could not possibly have been local. If it had been local however, then surely its Ark would have arrived somewhere other than Mount Ararat?
Another argument supporting the universality of the Flood can be seen from its need to exterminate all corrupt animal life, in order to keep them from interfering with regenerative processes on Earth.
The Bible is an interrelated narrative and the Flood plays a key role. This tale of judgment and rescue points forward to Jesus Christ as its central figure; thus resembling his redemption story found in the Gospels. However, events on the last day will differ significantly both in means and outcome from that of Noah’s Flood; being more cleansing-orientated while recreation will likely occur on that final day than during Noah’s time.
3. Exodus
The Book of Exodus recounts God’s rescue of Israel from Egyptian slavery and their subsequent formation of an intimate relationship. It forms part of the Pentateuch, or “first five”, books of the Bible, where we find tales such as Ten Plagues, Passover and Parting of the Red Sea.
This passage also introduces us to Moses, one of the key Old Testament prophets. Moses served as an intermediary between God and the people of Israel – including negotiations for their freedom with Pharaoh; passing along God’s laws through them; and plead on their behalf when they wronged Him – making him an incredible example of courage, wisdom, and humility.
But Exodus goes further than that. It narrates a story of God being grieved at how wicked humans have become on Earth and thus why the Book of Exodus begins with Genesis 6:5 which reads: ‘The LORD regretted creating human beings on the earth; this grieved Him greatly.”
Exodus 10:20 in the Bible also speaks about this phenomenon, proclaiming: “Because I have seen the wickedness of Egypt’s people, I have sent this plague upon them.
At this juncture, God determines to destroy all the gods of Egypt and free his new nation from their tyranny. Yahweh decides that only Israel can serve him exclusively and thus become God’s chosen nation on Earth.
Archaeological discoveries have confirmed many elements of this biblical story, yet these incredible finds cannot prove all elements to be accurate. Unfortunately, archaeological finds cannot address all questions regarding how many people left Egypt with Moses and the Israelites; for instance, in Song of Miriam (our oldest biblical text on Exodus) it refers to “an am” leaving Egypt, not specifically how many left as an exodus cohort; another source (Priestly Source, 400 years later) mentions a specific number: 603,550 males left Egypt.”
4. Revelation
Revelation is one of the most contentious books in Scripture. Many readers find themselves struggling to accept that a God who is good and beautiful could order acts of violence such as the flood, its extermination by Great Flood, and conquest of Canaan. Such episodes, along with His command to sacrifice his only son in an unnecessary crucifixion for salvation clash with their perception of a loving and kind deity.
The book of Revelation was written for Christians to warn them about God’s judgment against those who reject his grace and turn away from him. It draws parallels between Noah’s flood and future destruction as an indicator that his judgment applies equally across humanity and earth.
Jesus commands John in Revelation chapter one to record “all that has been, is and shall take place” (Revelation 1:1-3). This arrangement does not serve to give an accurate picture of end-time events; rather it serves to remind us that God’s judgment will arrive when its time has come and we must prepare accordingly.
While some scholars have proposed that the seven heads and crowns on the scarlet beast in Revelation 13 represent different Roman emperors, most believe that Christ himself is its king – consistent with Biblical accounts of His return as King – and it shows that Revelation was not written as an historical document but as an account of how his churches were faring spiritually at that moment in time.
Preterists approach Revelation from its first-century setting, believing that most of its events have already taken place. Futurists read it as foretelling the end of this age with its seven trumpets and bowls of wrath; idealists see symbolic pictures representing timeless truths such as good triumphing over evil.
