Noah’s days and the last days
The day the flood began, God caused the great deep’s fountains and the sky’s floodgates to burst open (Genesis 7:11). At the end of the flood, God closed the deep fountains and the sky’s floodgates as he restrained the sky’s rain (Genesis 8:2). The fountains of the deep were subterranean chambers containing much of the water that flooded the planet. During the flood, water was coming from above and below.
The Hebrew word for “fountains” is “ma’yan,” a denominative in the sense of a spring. The English translation of the word can be “fountain,” “spring,” or “well.” The Hebrew word for “deep” is “tehowm.” It can be either a masculine or feminine noun that comes from the root word “huwm.” The translation of the word can be “deep,” “depths,” or “deep places.” The usage of the word can be for the deep subterranean waters, as in the flood. It can be of deep-sea abysses — a river’s depth, or even the abyss below. In Genesis 7:11, the text reads, “the great deep’s fountains burst open.” The Hebrew word for “burst open” is “baqa`.” The word, in the Niphal perfect form in this verse, means “to cleave, be split or torn open, or break into.” Genesis 7:11 and 8:2 mention “the floodgates of the sky,” a phrase in which “windows of the heavens” would also be an accurate translation. The Hebrew word for “floodgates” is “arubbah,” meaning a lattice, window, or sluice. This word’s usage can also be for a lattice opening where the smoke escapes from a chimney. The Hebrew word for “sky” or “heavens” is the masculine noun “shamayim,” translated as “heaven,” “heavens,” or “air,” depending on the context.
It is evident from these Hebrew words that this water’s action occurred with a great deal of sudden force. The word picture here is of the deep’s fountain springs that were underground before the flood rushing upward in such a violent way that they shattered what held them as the planet began to flood. Simultaneously, the waters above came down from above as smoke goes up from a chimney in the opposite direction. One can only imagine the terrified reaction of those who had previously mocked Noah’s warnings of a life-destroying deluge as water rapidly flooded the world from above and below. There was nowhere to go, nowhere to hide, and no time to react. While it took 40 days for God to flood the world, the immediate effects alone were catastrophic.
Although we looked at 2 Peter 3:3–7 earlier when we studied the extent of the flood, there is more to see as we observe the text again. Remember that Jesus said the days leading up to his return would be as the days of Noah were (Matthew 24:37–39). The Apostle Peter prophesied that mockers would come with their mocking in the last days, following after their lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming?” For ever since the fathers fell asleep in death, all things continue as they were since the beginning of creation.” They are willfully ignorant that by the Word of God, the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, through which God destroyed the world at that time by flooding it with water. His Word is reserving the present heavens and earth for fire, kept for Judgment Day and ungodly people’s destruction. From this text, we learn that the Genesis flood’s waters are responsible for the earth’s current geological makeup. We also learn that the mockers mock not because of a lack of evidence or superior intellectual argument. They do so because their lusts create a desire for willful ignorance. Peter prophesies their attacks will center around opposition to the doctrines of Genesis and the return of Christ. Sadly today, many professing Christians mock the literal grammatical-historical view of Genesis and the futurist view of Bible prophecy that includes Christ’s literal, physical return. That is to say nothing of the lost world’s outright rejection of Christ and His Word.
From Genesis to 2 Peter to Psalms, our Father weaves truth together all over His Word. God established the earth upon its foundations to not totter forever and ever or move out of place. The deep sea covered the earth as with a garment so that the waters were standing above the mountains. They fled from his rebuke. At the sound of his thunder, they hurried away (Psalm 104:5–7). There are virtually hundreds of flood traditions, stories from nations of every continent about a great flood. That suggests that the extent of the flood was global for people to be aware of it worldwide throughout history. There are some minor variations in flood accounts, but all ancient cultures’ testimonies to a flood provide overwhelming evidence for its validity. Some may say it does not matter whether one believes the flood was local or global. While it may not be a salvation issue, it is a biblical authority issue. Either the Bible says what it means, or it does not. Either the Bible can be trusted, or it cannot. Is it any wonder that so many people doubt the Bible today when many of the people teaching it do not take it for it says either? If we cannot trust what the Bible says about history, on what basis do we trust what it says about the future, eternity, or even Christ?
