In the Beginning, Lesson 5: The Flood: The World That Then Was

Welcome to Authorized Sword Ministries. This is Lesson Five of our course In the Beginning: The Truth About Creation. Today's lesson is called The Flood: The World That Then Was.

We're glad you're back.

In Lesson Four we saw that God made living things after their kind, and that the fossils do not show the long chain of in-between forms Darwin expected. Today we ask a simple question. If there really was a worldwide Flood in the days of Noah, what would we expect to find? And does that match what the rocks and the nations still show?

Our Key Verse

"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:"
— 2 Peter 3:5-6 (KJV)

Peter said people would be "willingly" ignorant of the Flood. It is not that the evidence is hidden. It is that many would rather not see it.

Part One: What the Bible Actually Says

A Global Flood, Not a Local One

Genesis does not describe a regional rise of a river. God said:

"And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die."
— Genesis 6:17 (KJV)

And then we are told how far the waters went:

"And the waters prevailed exceedingly 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 7:19-20 (KJV)

"All the high hills, that were under the whole heaven." "The mountains were covered." That is the whole earth. The Flood began when "all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened" (Genesis 7:11). It rained forty days, and the fountains of the deep poured out far longer than that. When it was over, only Noah and those with him in the ark were left alive on the land:

"…and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark."
— Genesis 7:23 (KJV)

Jesus Treated Noah as History

This is not a parable. The Lord Jesus pointed back to Noah as real history, and He used those days to warn us about His coming:

"But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be."
— Matthew 24:37-39 (KJV)

Luke records the same warning: "the flood came, and destroyed them all" (Luke 17:27). If we trust Jesus to save us, we can trust Him about the days of Noah.

Peter also calls Noah "a preacher of righteousness" and says God "spared not the old world," but "saved Noah the eighth person," bringing in "the flood upon the world of the ungodly" (2 Peter 2:5). Hebrews says Noah prepared the ark "by faith," "to the saving of his house" (Hebrews 11:7). Eight souls were saved. The Bible is not embarrassed by this account, and neither are we.

Part Two: What We Would Expect to Find

Dr. Andrew Snelling of Answers in Genesis has set out six geologic evidences we would look for if the Genesis Flood really happened, and he acknowledges the work of Dr. Steve Austin of the Institute for Creation Research on the same points. We will walk through them in plain language, and we will keep the claims tied to those sources.

1. Sea Creatures High Above the Sea

If the ocean flooded the continents, we should find fossils of sea creatures in rock layers that now sit high above sea level, on every continent. That is exactly what we find. Snelling notes that most of the rock layers in the walls of Grand Canyon, more than a mile above sea level, contain marine fossils, and that fossilized shellfish are even found in the Himalayas. In a later article in the same series he points to marine fossils in the Kaibab Limestone at the rim of Grand Canyon, some 7,000 to 8,000 feet above sea level, and to fossil ammonites in limestone beds in the Himalayas of Nepal. Geologists agree those creatures were buried under ocean waters. The question is how those ocean deposits got so high, and over so much of the earth. A global Flood answers that question.

2. Rapid Burial of Plants and Animals

Fossils do not form slowly on the forest floor. A plant or an animal has to be buried quickly, or it rots. We find extensive fossil "graveyards" and fossils preserved in fine detail. Snelling points, for example, to a layer in the Redwall Limestone of Grand Canyon with a vast number of nautiloid fossils, buried in sediment that was deposited catastrophically. He also points to chalk and coal beds, and to fish, marine reptiles, insects, and other fossils around the world that testify of sudden destruction and burial. That is what we would expect from a watery catastrophe, not from quiet ages of gentle silt.

3. Sediment Layers Spread Across Vast Areas

We find rock layers that can be traced across huge stretches of land, even from one continent toward another, with features that point to rapid deposit. Snelling gives examples from Grand Canyon, such as the Tapeats Sandstone and the Redwall Limestone, and the chalk beds that can be followed from England across Europe and beyond. Slow, local rivers do not lay down the same kind of layer across a continent. A global flood of water can.

4. Sediment Carried Long Distances

Those widespread layers had to get their sand and mud from somewhere. Snelling notes, for example, that the sand for the Coconino Sandstone in Grand Canyon appears to have been carried from far to the north, and that current indicators in the rocks show water moving consistently across vast areas. That is the kind of transport we would expect from fast-moving flood waters, not from a quiet desert stream.

5. Little or No Erosion Between Layers

If millions of years passed between one layer and the next, we would often expect to see deep, uneven erosion, valleys cut into the layer below, soil, and the marks of a long-exposed landscape. Instead, we often find flat, knife-edge boundaries between layers, as if one was laid down after another without a long wait in between. Snelling points to flat contacts in Grand Canyon, including the boundary between the Coconino Sandstone and the Hermit Formation, where the supposed "missing" millions of years have not left the erosion we would expect.

6. Many Layers Laid Down, Then Folded While Still Soft

Hard, brittle rock tends to break when it is bent sharply. In many places, though, whole stacks of layers are folded, even at sharp angles, without the breaking we would expect if they had already been stone for ages. Snelling points to the Tapeats Sandstone in Grand Canyon, folded at a right angle without evidence of breaking, which is what we would expect if the layers were still wet and pliable when they were bent. That fits layers laid down in rapid succession in the Flood, then folded before they fully hardened.

We do not have to become geologists to see the pattern. A worldwide Flood would bury countless living things in water-borne sediment, spread layers over vast areas, move material long distances, leave little time for erosion between those layers, and leave stacks of still-soft rock that could be bent. That is the evidence creation geologists say the earth still shows.

Part Three: Memories of the Flood, and What We Will Not Use

If only eight people came off the ark, and if their descendants later scattered from Babel when God confused the languages, we would expect nations around the world to carry some memory of a great flood. Answers in Genesis notes that stories of a worldwide flood are found in historic records all over the world. They cite Duane Gish's report of more than 270 such stories, many of them sharing similar themes, though the details have often been changed as they were passed down. We will not lean on any one legend as if we had checked every detail ourselves. The broad fact is enough, and it fits what Genesis 11 would lead us to expect. The Bible's account is the true record. The scattered stories are what we would expect when real history is remembered, and then slowly mixed with error.

We also need to say, clearly, what we will not use. Creation Ministries International warns against Ron Wyatt's claims to have found Noah's Ark, and against his other archaeological claims, which have not been substantiated. We will not use them. They also warn against the idea that woolly mammoths were "snap-frozen" during the Flood, and against the old vapour-canopy theory. We will not use those either. There is so much good evidence that we do not need weak or retracted arguments.

The Ark Is a Picture of Salvation

The Flood is not only a lesson about rocks. It is a warning, and it is also a picture of grace.

"But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD."
— Genesis 6:8 (KJV)

God told Noah to make an ark, and Noah believed God and built it. When the judgment came, the only safe place was inside that ark. Peter says those eight souls were saved by water, and that baptism is a like figure, pointing us to the resurrection of Jesus Christ:

"…eight souls were saved by water. The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:"
— 1 Peter 3:20-21 (KJV)

The ark did not save because the wood was magic. It saved because God provided it, and because Noah and his family went in. The Lord Jesus Christ is our Ark. Judgment is real. Grace is real. The door is still open.

"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."
— Romans 10:9 (KJV)

After the Flood, Noah built an altar and worshipped. The same God who judged the old world is the God who saves all who come to Him in Christ.

A Simple Step for This Week

• Read Genesis chapters 6 through 9 slowly, and notice how often the Bible says "all" and "every" and "the whole heaven."
• If someone says the Flood was only a local story, kindly show them Genesis 7:19-20 and Matthew 24:37-39.
• Thank God that, in the days of judgment, Noah found grace, and that grace is still offered today in Jesus Christ.

A Prayer

Lord, thank You for telling us the truth about the world that then was, and about the Flood. Thank You for the grace Noah found, and for the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our place of safety. Keep us from willful ignorance, and make us ready for the day of Your coming. In Jesus' name, amen.

In our next lesson, we will look at the first man, Adam, and at the Last Adam, Jesus Christ.

This is Authorized Sword Ministries. God bless you.

Sources

All sources were opened and checked on November 10, 2026.

1. Six geologic evidences for the Genesis Flood, including marine fossils high on the continents (Grand Canyon; shellfish in the Himalayas); fossil graveyards and rapid burial (including nautiloids in the Redwall Limestone); sediment layers spread across vast areas; sediment carried long distances (including the Coconino Sandstone); little or no erosion between strata (including the Coconino–Hermit contact); and strata folded while still pliable (including the Tapeats Sandstone). Andrew A. Snelling, "Geologic Evidences for the Genesis Flood," Answers in Genesis, 18 September 2007, acknowledging Steve Austin, Grand Canyon: Monument to Catastrophe (Institute for Creation Research, 1994), pp. 51–52. https://answersingenesis.org/the-flood/geologic-evidences-for-the-genesis-flood/
2. Further detail on marine fossils high above sea level: Kaibab Limestone at the Grand Canyon rim about 7,000–8,000 feet above sea level; marine fossils in the Redwall Limestone; fossil ammonites in Himalayan limestone in Nepal. Andrew A. Snelling, "High & Dry Sea Creatures," Answers in Genesis. https://answersingenesis.org/fossils/fossil-record/high-dry-sea-creatures/
3. Further detail on fossil graveyards, including the Redwall Limestone nautiloid bed extending across a large area of northern Arizona and into southern Nevada. Andrew A. Snelling, "The World's a Graveyard," Answers in Genesis. https://answersingenesis.org/fossils/fossil-record/the-worlds-a-graveyard/
4. Flood stories in historic records around the world; Duane Gish, Dinosaurs by Design, cited for more than 270 such stories, many with similar themes; chart adapted from B. C. Nelson, The Deluge Story in Stone, Appendix 11, 1931. Monty White, "Flood Legends," Answers in Genesis, 29 March 2007. https://answersingenesis.org/the-flood/flood-legends/flood-legends/
5. Arguments we will not use: Ron Wyatt's claimed Noah's Ark (described as a natural geological formation) and other unsubstantiated Wyatt claims; "snap-frozen" woolly mammoths during the Flood; the vapour-canopy theory. Jonathan Sarfati, "Arguments we think creationists should NOT use," Creation Ministries International, 7 February 2006 (and later updates on the same page). https://creation.com/arguments-we-think-creationists-should-not-use