Basic HTML Version
Flood
53
Seven days were the family of Noah in the ark before the rain
began to descend upon the earth. In this time they were arranging for
[66]
their long stay while the waters should be upon the earth. And these
were days of blasphemous merriment by the unbelieving multitude.
They thought, because the prophecy of Noah was not fulfilled imme-
diately after he entered the ark, that he was deceived and that it was
impossible that the world could be destroyed by a flood. Previous
to this there had been no rain upon the earth. A mist had risen from
the waters, which God caused to descend at night like dew, reviving
vegetation and causing it to flourish.
Notwithstanding the solemn exhibition they had witnessed of
God’s power—of the unnatural occurrence of the beasts’ leaving
the forests and fields, and going into the ark, and the angel of God
clothed with brightness and terrible in majesty descending from
heaven and closing the door; yet they hardened their hearts and
continued to revel and sport over the signal manifestations of divine
power.
The Storm Breaks
But upon the eighth day the heavens gathered blackness. The
muttering thunders and vivid lightning flashes began to terrify man
and beast. The rain descended from the clouds above them. This was
something they had never witnessed, and their hearts began to faint
with fear. The beasts were roving about in the wildest terror, and
their discordant voices seemed to moan out their own destiny and
the fate of man. The storm increased in violence until water seemed
to come from heaven like mighty cataracts. The boundaries of rivers
broke away, and the waters rushed to the valleys. The foundations
of the great deep also were broken up. Jets of water would burst
up from the earth with indescribable force, throwing massive rocks
[67]
hundreds of feet into the air, and then they would bury themselves
deep in the earth.
The people first beheld the destruction of the works of their
hands. Their splendid buildings, their beautifully arranged gardens
and groves, where they had placed their idols, were destroyed by
lightning from heaven. Their ruins were scattered everywhere. They
had erected altars in groves, and consecrated them to their idols,