Archaeology – Proving the Truth of Scripture – Part 1
Noah’s Flood
Evidence for a World-Wide Flood.
Many times, when you share your faith with others and the topic of Noah’s flood comes up people ask, “How can you be sure that the flood actually occurred on the earth? Isn’t that just a story in the Bible to scare you?” At this moment you must have an answer for them that includes practical evidence for your faith. The Apostle Peter said, “Always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear” (1 Peter 3:15). Therefore, do you have scientific and historical evidence that you can point to that can prove the veracity of the testimony of Scripture? If you can’t, here is some of the evidence you should know. Remember, this is only a small portion of the evidence for the flood. I hope that this study will motivate you to do your own research on this topic.
1. The testimony of Jesus.
I think the first and the most powerful and important evidence for the flood is simply the testimony of Jesus. Jesus referred to the flood of Noah several times during His ministry. He warned, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming” (Matt. 24:36-42). In addition, Jesus warned His followers again at another time, “And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed” (Luke 17:26-30). These statements make it clear that Jesus believed in the historical accuracy of the flood and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Either you believe the testimony of Jesus, or you reject it. But, if you can’t believe Jesus, who can you believe? The statements made in Genesis 6-8, reveal that this flood was a direct judgment of God upon this world. But the testimony of Jesus is not our only evidence.
2. Flood legends from around the world
One piece of evidence that I believe is very powerful is the fact of the flood legends in almost every culture around the world. Researchers have cataloged over 300 legends from every continent in the world. How could this be with all these people groups being separated by vast oceans and continents? However, this evidence is exactly what you should see, especially after the dispersion of the people from the Tower of Babel. Each family and language group would have carried the account of the flood with them to their new homes. Though these many stories of the flood differ greatly, and have probably morphed over time, they all still recount the basic fact of the event of a flood, a large boat, and the people who were saved from the judgment of God. These stories of the flood are found in the historical writings of Assyria, Babylon, Asia Minor, China, India, Persia, and even the Cherokee Indian people here in the United States. I believe this evidence gives strong confirmation that all these people groups originated from one family, that was preserved through this cataclysm of the flood. If you would like to read more on this topic, check out these links: https://answersingenesis.org/the-flood/flood-legends/flood-legends/ or https://www.nwcreation.net/noahlegends.html
3. Sedimentary rock covers most of the earth’s crust
Another powerful evidence is that over 70% of the entire earth’s crust consists of what is called sedimentary rock. The rest of the earth’s surface consists of volcanic, igneous, or metamorphic rock. Why is this an important fact? It’s important because sedimentary rock is laid down by moving water, layer by layer. Sedimentary rock is simply sediment or silt which is material moved by water. One leading scientific journal defines sedimentary rock in this manner, “Sedimentary rock was originally formed, in almost all cases under water, usually by deposition after transportation by water, with various sources. These sources would be rivers or floods of any kind. Sedimentary rocks are made up of pieces of rock, or other material, which have existed somewhere else, and have been eroded, or dissolved, and redeposited in another location.” To read more on this topic see: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/geology/sedimentary.htm Therefore, if 70% of the earth’s crust is sedimentary rock, then 70% of the earth’s crust has been moved by water and redeposited from another place. This is exactly what you should find if there was a global flood as described here in the Bible.
4. Mt. Everest contains sedimentary rock that also includes marine fossils.
One of the most interesting facts is that sedimentary rock is visible near the top of Mount Everest. Scientists have also found fossils of marine creatures at these high elevations. See the evidence in this video found at: https://creation.com/media-center/youtube/marine-fossils-on-mount-everest. The obvious question is, how could this be? The only answer is that Mount Everest was at one time under water. This is how the sedimentary rock would have been formed, and the marine animals would have been fossilized. You must remember that during the flood the Scripture tells us that the entire topography of the earth’s surface was changed. The Psalmist declared, “The mountains rose; the valleys sank down to the place which You established for them” (Ps. 104:8 - NAS). These are the very facts you should see if there was a global flood.
5. Mount Ararat was once submerged by water
Similar to Mount Everest is the evidence of Mount Ararat. The twin mountains of Ararat sit right next to the Iranian-Turkish border. The Bible declares that this is where the Ark came to rest after the flood receded. How can you be sure that these mountains were once underwater? Because of the presence of pillow lava formed on these mountains. According to US geological society, pillow lava is formed when basalts erupt under water. Consequently, when volcanic eruptions take place underwater, they cool very quickly, and pillow lava is formed. If pillow lava is found at the 10,000 to 12,000-foot level of Mount Ararat, this means that this mountain was once underwater. How could that be? This fact could only occur because of a global flood. See below for a picture of this pillow lava.
Below is the geologic description of Mount Ararat by Clifford L. Burdick.
“This article presents a geologic survey of the observations made during the 1966 expedition to Mt Ararat sponsored by the Archaeological Research Foundation (ARF) of New York. Eastern Turkey consists of a relatively barren undeveloped area. Tectonically it is very active, and unstable structurally. The region has been folded, faulted, and intruded with basic types of volcanic rock, such as andesite and basalt. Mt. Ararat is 17,000 feet high, and at its greatest height perhaps measured nearer 20,000 feet. Evidently the cover rocks were Paleozoic and Mesozoic limestone, and in places like Mt. Ararat were domed up by rising magma which burst through channels along fault lines. During the Flood period at least three blankets of basaltic or andesitic lava were extruded over the original Ararat which may have only been about 10,000 to 12,000 feet high originally. Much of the lava is in rounded blocks called pillow lava, having a conchoidal appearance indicating it flowed out from the fractures while under water. After subsidence of the floodwaters, almost the whole northeast side of the mountain blew up forming the Ahora Gulch. Rock fragments and ash from this eruption cover about 100 square miles. Greater Ararat is covered with an ice cap down to the 14,000-foot level. This cap is hundreds of feet thick and divides into 12 “fingers” or glaciers. An analysis of five rock samples is given and also a list of fossils found by Abich.”
https://www.noahsarksearch.com/The_Explorers_Of_Ararat_1945-1974_Clifford_Burdick.pdf
6. The enormous number of fossils found around the world at the highest elevations
One of the most convincing pieces of evidence of a global flood are the multitude of sites around the world where you find enormous numbers of fossils buried in the ground. How are fossils formed? Here is an explanation given by Dr. Henry Morris, in “The Genesis Record.” He wrote, “Fossilization requires rapid burial of a plant or animal. The massive numbers of fossils worldwide are clear evidence of a quick massive burial during a cataclysm that killed these animals. The fossils give evidence that these animals were killed suddenly.” He adds, “The massive worldwide coal deposits also lend further proof to the sudden destruction of immense primordial forests.” He explains that, “Coal is formed when trees, plants, roots, bark, or any vegetation are buried by water and sediment… The burial of this vegetation by sediment causes compaction, which squeezes out the water, and over time, through the chemical processes of decay, coal is formed. Coal is actually fossilized, decayed vegetation or peat,” which is found all around the world.
Do you realize that there have been hundreds of millions of fossils that have been found all over the world? This immense number of the fossils around the world is clear evidence of this great cataclysm. Fossils have been found in every part of the world. Below is a fossilized fish found in the Himalayan mountains hundreds of miles from the nearest ocean.
Then you have huge graveyards of plants and animals all mixed together in enormous burial grounds. One example are the coal fields of Montceau-les-Mines near Autun in France. They have found nearly 300 species of plants, and 16 classes of animals that represent 30 species. What could explain the sea, land, and lake creatures that have been found buried together in one massive deposit? This find is obviously consistent with a global flood where all these animals and plants are buried together and compacted by sediment to form fossils. See this link for further reading on this topic. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24989233
Scientists have found these huge fossilized graveyards all over the world on every single continent. Sometimes these graveyards are found on very high plateaus, where all of these animals obviously were trying to escape the rising waters of Noah’s flood.
Let me give you a couple of examples of these finds by paleontologists. First, in Agate Springs, Nebraska there is a fossil graveyard that contains over 9,000 animals buried together. They have found hundreds of rhinos, three-toed horses, camels, giant wild boars, birds, plants, trees, sea shells, and fish all mixed together.
Another example is the Ashley Phosphate Beds in South Carolina that cover roughly a 40-square mile area. This example is truly amazing because in this layer of sediment are mixed remains of human bones together with land and sea animals, dinosaurs, plesiosaurs, whales, sharks, rhinos, horses, mastodons, mammoths, porpoises, elephants, deer, pigs, dogs, and sheep. This catalogue of fossils from the phosphate beds was given in the records of Major Edward Willis who displayed them at multiple expositions (Willis, “Fossils and Phosphate Specimens,” 1881.) In addition, Professor F.S. Holmes (paleontologist and curator of the College of Charleston’s Natural History Museum) described the fossil graveyard in his report to the Academy of Natural Sciences. He wrote, “Remains of the hog, the horse and other animals of recent date, together with human bones mingled with the bones of the mastodon and extinct gigantic lizards.”
If you would like to watch a short YouTube presentation on this enormous graveyard, see this link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNlBh4qNBXg
These enormous graveyards are also found in Tanzania, Belgium and Mongolia which reveals there was at one time a massive catastrophe that killed vast populations and trapped them in a fossil graveyard of sediments and debris. This is exactly what you would expect to see if there truly was a global flood as recorded in Genesis. These are examples that should give you real evidence to base your faith upon that the testimony that God’s Word is true, and that there was a great worldwide flood in the days of Noah.