The worldwide flood of Noah’s time changed the appearance of the world forever! Second Peter 3:6 says that “…the world that then was PERISHED…” (EMP, mine). The world that Noah and his family stepped off on after their time on the ark looked nothing like the one they had lived on prior to the deluge. What physical evidence can we look at today to see that the world was covered by water? Let’s look at some of the evidence that would appear to have been left by the flood, but since no one alive today saw the pre-flood world, it is all speculation.
First, ninety percent of the earth’s surface is covered by sedimentary rock. This is the type of rock that is formed by water. Sandstone, limestone, conglomerates, etc. are all present in very large quantities on the surface. When we build a new road through the mountains and cut clefts and expose rock layers, most often they are sedimentary. This type of rock is so common, it is very likely that most people have never seen any other type of rock. Now the skeptics say that some of these rocks could not be formed in a flood, but they still say that water was necessary, and during the floodwater, we had plenty!
Second, the abundance of fossils is another strong evidence for a worldwide flood. This has been one of my favorite hobbies over the past 15 years, and my basement shows it. I have huge rocks containing evidence of life from the past from all over the United States and am fascinated by their existence. Fossil formation requires very unique conditions. An animal must be buried in mud or sand very rapidly to get away from the decomposing effects of bacteria and other decomposers. We all know what happens to a tree that falls over in the woods — it rots! Yet, the rock out of which I blasted the basement for my house contains huge numbers of tree fossils, all sizes, laying at all angles, and leaving a very nice impression in the sandstone rock surrounding it. How could this happen on such a huge scale? — especially since today the process of fossil formation does not happen often at all. Well, I believe that the sudden covering of the earth with water, and the erosion that would have accompanied it, would provide the unique conditions needed for fossil formation.
Third, the volcanic activity around the world gives evidence of the flood. The “fountains of the great deep” were broken open. This would have caused vast exposures of the interior layers of the earth to surface, hence giving great amounts of volcanic activity. The earth is ringed by active volcanoes even today, giving the evidence of a very dynamic disturbance on the surface of the earth, the Flood.
Fourth, geologic unconformities give evidence of the flood. A geologic unconformity is an area where the rock strata do not show the expected or predicted structures, vast areas of “older” rock sitting on top of “younger” rock, in the overthrust vaults, a rock strata that nowhere on the surface of the earth is “complete” as geologists predict. Where did the missing layers go? What about polystratic fossils — those fossils that span several layers of the earth’s structure? How could a tree stand for millions of years without decomposing?
Fifth, what about the coal, oil and natural gas that is being found today? Would not burial of vast amounts of plants and animals by a flood before they rotted be a reasonable explanation? Well, I for one believe that these and many, many other evidences support the account of a worldwide flood that destroyed the world.
[Editors Note: Every external evidence to the Bible that calls for a Divine Designer as opposed to happenchance confirms the biblical account of origins and strongly denies atheistic evolutionary theory. Brother David P. Everson’s ongoing series on external evidences continue to promote faith in God and in his Holy Word, the Bible. I hope that you are enjoying these articles as much as I am.]