Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. (2 Peter 3:4)

Such are the words of the “scoffers” concerning which the apostle Peter warned the disciples of Asia Minor. The apostle then observes, “This they are willingly ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished” (vv 5–6). Peter makes it clear that the post-diluvian world is very different from the one God originally spoke into existence, as that world “perished” when it was overflowed with water. We have seen the devastating effects of local floods like the one that submerged thousands of homes along the banks of the Mississippi in 1993 and the flood that buried three-quarters of New Orleans in the aftermath of Katrina. Many of us saw first-hand the devastation caused by the flooding of the Doe River in January 1998. Imagine what kind of effects this great Flood must have produced when the heavens were opened for forty days and nights and the fountains of the deep were broken up (Gen. 7:11–12).

Observation alone tells us that something catastrophic happened at some distinct moment in the earth’s past. “Fossils of plants and manmade tools show that at one time the African desert was covered with luxuriant vegetation and was inhabited by man” (The Global Flood of Noah, p. 27). Fossil remains in the frozen tundra of Siberia and Antarctica alike testify to the fact that these wastelands were once enjoyed tropical climates. The Bible also shows a clear difference in the world before the Flood and the world after it in the life spans of the patriarchs. The average age of the patriarchs before the Flood (excepting Enoch) is 912 years, while that of the post-diluvian patriarchs (up to Abraham) is reduced to 263 years.

Contrary to the teachings of many, this world will never be the same as it was when God created it. God has never promised to restore the earth to its former state, but He has promised rather to utterly destroy it (2 Pet. 3:7). Peter assures us that the Lord will surely keep His promise, for which reason we should live our lives with the realization that this world is not our home, looking always forward to the “new heavens” and “new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness” (vv 8–13).

After reading the text listed below, see if you can answer the following questions. 

Non-trivial Questions (Genesis 8:1–9:29)

1. Which bird did Noah send first from the ark?
   
2. When Noah sent the dove the second time, with what did she return?
3. What is the first thing we read of Noah doing after he came out of the ark?
4. What would be the token of God’s covenant not to destroy the earth by flood?What occupation did Noah assume after the Flood?
5. Which sons were blessed for showing kindness to their father?