Noak's Ark Existed!

Before discussing the great Genesis flood, I wanted to talk about Noah's ark. This seems to be another one of those touchy subjects that non-believers will try to use to debunk the Bible. Let me present some facts in support of the Bible along with the pertinent Bible verse. 

"Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch. And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third decks. And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die. But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. And of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring two of every sort into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. Of the birds after their kind, of animals after their kind, and of every creeping thing of the earth after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive. And you shall take for yourself of all food that is eaten, and you shall gather it to yourself; and it shall be food for you and for them.” (Genesis 6:14-21 NKJV)

First thing is first: how long is a cubit? Well, there are two answers to that. Typically, a cubit was based  on the distance from the elbow to the fingertip. This, of course varies slightly. There are two cubit measurements that appear in the Bible. The first "short" cubit is about 17.5 inches long, while the less common "long" cubit is about 20.4 inches long. Using the short cubit as our reference, Noah's ark would have been measured approximately 437.5 feet long, 72.9 feet wide, and 43.8 feet high. The ark was instructed to have 3 decks, spaced 15 feet apart, giving the ark a total surface area of 95,700 square feet. This is approximately the size of 522 train cars. In the book, The Genesis Flood by Henry Morris and John Whitcomb, they calculate the ark's occupancy capacity to be 125,000 animals. Based on the information the Bible provides us, there were less than 17,600 species; God instructed to have two of each, one male and one female. This brings the total of 35,200 animals. In addition, God instructed to have 5 of each clean animal so now this brings the total occupancy to approximately 79,000 animals. 

This is well within the limits of the Ark's capacity. Curious fact: there is a British battleship, the HMS Deadnought with very similar proportions to Noah's Ark. This brings me to my point: just because you don't understand how this event could have been possible does not mean it idid not happen. There is much that humanity did not understand about the physical world we live in thousands of years ago. Now, modern technology allows us to "rule the world" (at least our own little private universes) with our smartphones. 

The Bible goes on to say how the Ark rested on Mount Ararat. There is, in fact, the remnants of a vessel encased in ice and snow. Chinese researcher Yeung Wing-Cheung says he's 99% sure it is the ark, based on a few facts, one of those being carbon dating, which dates the vessel to be approximately 4,800 years old, correlating with the Biblical timeframe. Also, the 8" wide plank beams assembled in "tenons" (a common practice in place prior to nails). In addition, the interior of the hull has compartments, which is consistent with the housing of animals. 

In the words of Jim Daly from Focus on the Family, "Seeing proof is a bonus, but it shouldn't be the basis of our faith. We've already had numerous discoveries which confirm the accuracy of the Bible, including Nehemiah's Wall, the Dead Sea Scrolls, excavations at Hazor demonstrating the city was in fact, burned just as Joshua described...proof that the Hittites existed though many believed they were a Biblical legend. If Noah's Ark has been found, great! It just adds to the richness of our biblical history and knowledge, but isn't the basis of my faith. 

As King David has said, "the Heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands." -Pslam 91:1

In other words, I have all the proof I need when I look at the glorious creation greeting my eyes every day, the miracle of life, and the unmistakable presence of God I carry within my heart."

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