Universal Flood

Four Arguments for a Universal Flood

I believe there is a lot of biblical evidence pointing to a global flood, and no biblical evidence pointing to a local flood. It is argued that the Hebrew word for “earth” simply means “land” and in some contexts refers only to the land of Israel. That is true. However the flood account doesn’t just say that the earth/land was flooded. It says

“all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered. The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than fifteen cubits.” (Gn.7:19-20)

1) The description is as universal as it can be. If Moses desired to communicate a world-wide flood, what kind of language could he have possibly used beyond 

“all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered. The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than fifteen cubits”?

2) If it were a local flood, why the ark? Why not just send Noah to a dry place during that time?

3) God promised Noah that he would never again flood the whole earth. But if it’s a local flood, it seems that promise was broken because many times there have been local floods since then.

4) According to 1 Pe.3:6-7, Peter warns of the universal judgment that’s coming when Christ returns and states that it will be like Noah’s flood. So if the flood was local, that would leave room for Judgment Day to be local, and for the destructions of the heavens and earth after the Second Coming to be local. Then people in the United States wouldn’t have to worry about Judgment Day because it’s only for the Middle East.

There’s really no reason to assume a local flood other than pressure from unbelievers who do not accept the authority of Scripture. When there is a conflict between Scripture and scientific theories, we should adjust our understanding of science to fit the Bible, not the other way around—especially in cases like this, where the Bible is clear and straightforward, and the science is sketchy to say the least (trying to piece together mountains of data and speculate about what didn’t happen thousands of years ago). If you want to know what happened back then, just trust what God says. He was there.