“And the waters prevailed upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered. Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered” (Genesis 6:19-20).
Many skeptics and some Christians alike have questioned where all of the water came from when God flooded the earth. I suppose that this is a question that is probably reasonable for anyone to ask, because that is a lot of water. It is exceedingly hard to imagine how every inch of the earth could be covered to a height of 15 cubits.
Let’s look at what God says caused the flood upon the earth. “And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth . . .” (Genesis 6:17). Just this one statement would be enough of an explanation if it were all we had, because the Almighty can do anything he wants to do. But, the Lord has given further information about where the water came from. “. . . the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened” (Genesis 7:11). This description of two great bodies of water, one in “the great deep” and the other in the “windows of heaven” tells where all of the water came from. It has also led to the theorizing about an earlier description of the earth in Genesis 1. “And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so” (Genesis 1:7).
Here is water above and below the firmament. The water above the firmament was probably water vapor, like our clouds today, but would have been much thicker. This “Vapor Canopy” as it is sometimes called, existed until the flood began and the windows of heaven were opened. This layer of water would have shielded and filtered the inhabitants of earth from many types of radiation from the sun. This filtering may have caused the long lifespans that people before the flood had, for today we know that radiation in the sunlight is a leading contributor to the aging process. With the breaking of the “windows of heaven,” this barrier was gone and indeed it is almost immediately after the flood that the age of mankind began to decrease to near what it is today.
The waters under the firmament or “great fountains of the deep,” were some type of subterranean water supply. This water, when it was released, would cause great destruction to the geological layers of the earth. That destruction combined with the erosion of the water pouring from the heavens, would indeed cause massive changes to the earth’s surface. This would cause Peter to say by inspiration that “the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished” (2 Peter 3:5).
How high was the highest mountain before the flood? I think it is possible to say that they may not have been as tall as they are today. To assume that the pre-flood world was exactly like today would be wrong. But, it is also possible that they may have been taller. We will never know this side of heaven.
These two sources of water at the bidding of the all-powerful God were enough to bring about the total destruction of the earth and all of its air-breathing inhabitants, save those on the ark. If we do not have faith in the ability of God to create the flood of Genesis, should we not think seriously about whether we believe he can save us for all eternity? Let us strengthen our faith and hold firm to the inspired words of God!
