THE GENESIS FLOOD: THE RAINBOW PROMISE

(Message by Tanny Keng)

1. The Genesis Flood

a) The book of Genesis describes a great flood which destroyed the world. Only four women and four men survived. The four men were Noah, and his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and the women were their wives. The question occasionally arises as to whether this flood was universal or local. Did it cover Planet Earth entirely, or the vicinity of Mesopotamia only?

b) Memories of a great flood are world-wide. Those originating in the vicinity of Mesopotamia are closest to the Genesis account (for example the second tablet of the Babylonian Epic of Gilmesh). It is moot as to whether a world-wide or local flood is indicated by these facts. We must rely on the Genesis account.

c) Various statements in the Genesis account show the flood to be universal. Here is one of the statements and see what light it sheds on the question.

2. The Rainbow Promise

a) God promised that he would never flood the earth again. To this day the rainbow reminds us of this good promise (Genesis 8:20-22, 9:11-17). If this promise was about a local flood, then God has broken it. Many great floods have happened since. On a planetary scale however, the waters are under remarkable control. We recall that in the beginning the waters of our world were in chaos, before God divided them and gathered them together (Genesis 1:1-2, 6-10). This planet is a watery world. Under the earth, in the deep, upon the poles, and in the sky, there is an unimaginable quantity of water.

b) The dry lands of our planet and the creatures who dwell in those lands, live only by the grace of our Lord Jesus, who "holds everything together" according to the ancient promise (Colossians 1:16-17). No more will he unleash those waters upon his creatures. Never before had he done it, either, because God had forewarned Noah "of things not previously seen" (Hebrews 11:7). The flood Noah survived was unique in world history. Surely that means more than an all-time record for local floods. 

The End ...