Local Flood in Noah’s Day?

During a debate, a young-earth Creationist once asked an old-earth Creationist, “Do you believe in a global Flood?” The old-earth Creationist responded, “I believe in a universal Flood.” “What do you mean by ‘universal’ Flood?” the young-earth Creationist asked. The old-earth Creationist replied, “It flooded Noah’s little universe – You know, the valley that he lived in.” To which the young-earth Creationist responded, “Then tell Noah to move!” Does the Bible favor a “local” flood or a global flood? Here are a few points to consider: The Bible indicates that the mountains arose, and the valleys sank down (Ps 104:5-9 ; Genesis 8:3-8), so the mountains were smaller until after the Flood. This means that the valleys in existence before the Flood were probably not very big either. How then could there be such a thing as a “local” flood? If that were the case, it would be more like a small lake, not a flood! Another point is that, if the earth’s surface were smooth, the water in the oceans would cover the earth 8,000 feet deep. Before the Flood, there was probably less water, since it had not rained (although a mist is mentioned in Genesis 2:6, and there were seas -- Genesis 1:10). So how do we end up with enough water to cover the earth 8,000 feet deep if it were just a local flood that filled in a little “valley”? The Bible also indicates that the highest mountains of the day were covered with 15 cubits of water. If the highest mountains were covered, that doesn’t sound like a local flood to me! Also, there is evidence that pressure caused water under the earth’s crust to erupt in a large geyser, which shot straight up into the sky, mixing with the torrential rain which caused the Flood. (see Walt Brown’s book, In the Beginning.) This would cause the earth to flood with water. This is consistent with Genesis 7:11 which says, “In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.” There is also geographic evidence for a global Flood. We will get into detail on some of this later. For now, suffice it to say, all over the world, there are canyons with their grooves and strata layers; petrified clams in the closed position, some even found on mountains; petrified trees, both upright and upside-down, that permeate various layers of strata, etc. For each of these, the evolutionist has his own interpretation of how it “should” be and why it is that way, according to their theory of evolution; but when these are examined closely, and within the context of God’s Word, it can be seen that it supports the Flood much better. One last thing: For at least the span of two years after the Flood (Genesis 11:10), all the genealogies recorded in Genesis used the Flood as a reference point. For example, Genesis 9:28 says, “And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years.” This indicates that the Flood was a pretty big event. Many, many years later, people were still talking about the Flood. (David [Ps. 29:10], Jesus [Mt. 24:38-39], and Peter [2 Peter 2:5] all mentioned the Flood. David lived at least 1000-some years after the Flood, Jesus lived 2,000 years after it, and Peter lived at least that much after it, according to chronologists!) This suggests that it was such a big thing that it was passed down through the generations, and when the genealogies (in Genesis) were written, they made sure that it was in the records, too. Another point along these lines is that almost every nation in the world has its own form of a Flood story. The amazing thing, though, is that the basic facts are the same as the Biblical account, even though the names have been changed and the stories vary (being permeated with myths). This is evidence for a global Flood, since the stories are found all over the world. 2Pe 3:5-6 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished… All of this is consistent with a Global Flood, not a local one. Note: Most of the content contained in this post is taken from the Seminar Notebook by Dr. Kent Hovind. For more information, see his Creation Seminar #6.