that moved on the Earth perished. God caused a great wind to stop the fountains of the Earth and end the rain. Noah noticed the waters began receding. He sent out a raven, which flew to and fro until the waters dried up, and a dove, which returned to the ark without finding a resting place. The different flight ranges of the birds allowed Noah to estimate the distance to dry land. The raven could fly up to 100 miles, while the dove flew about 50 miles, helping Noah determine that dry land was somewhere between 25-50 miles away. Seven days later, Noah sent out a dove again. This time, it returned with an olive leaf, signaling that the waters had receded. After another week, Noah sent out the dove again, and it didn’t return. At this point, Noah knew they were near dry land.
DURING THE 120 YEARS Noah began building the ark during the 120-year warning period, but he also had a family. He balanced the immense responsibility of prepar- ing the ark with the joys and chal- lenges of fatherhood. In order to succeed in life, it’s essential to have a plan. God always has a plan: He has a 7,000-year plan for mankind, and He also had a detailed plan for Noah and the Ark. God gave Noah explicit instructions: The Ark was to be built from gopher wood, cov- ered inside and out with pitch. God provided measurements, described the ark’s contents and told Noah to bring his family, as well as two of ev- ery unclean animal, and seven pairs of each clean animal (showing that Noah knew about clean and unclean meats). God also set a specific time- frame for boarding the ark (Genesis 6:14-7:10). Noah followed these instructions faithfully, and as a result, he was abundantly blessed.
THE FLOOD There are different interpretations of the cubit measurement—either 18 inches or 24 inches. If Noah used the larger cubit (24 inches), the ark’s dimensions would be equivalent to about 553 train freight cars, each 13 feet high, 50 feet long, and 9 feet wide—ample space for all the ani- mals and provisions. The flood began with 40 days and nights of rain after Noah closed the ark. The Bible also mentions that the fountains of the great deep were “broken up,” indicating violent erup- tions from beneath the Earth, not a gradual flooding (Genesis 7:11). The flood covered the entire Earth, rising 15 cubits (approximately 30 feet) above the highest mountains. This clearly shows it was a glob- al flood, not a localized one. Water is self-leveling, so if it covered the highest mountains, it would have leveled the whole Earth. The Bi- ble makes it clear: The Flood was worldwide, and every living thing
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