The center object on the opposite page represents Noah’s Ark. This drawing is based on a detailed and convincing description by a man who claimed to have walked on the Ark twice in the early 1900s. His information has been checked in ways he could never have imagined. Every known detail has supported his story. We must emphasize, however, there is no proof the Ark exists, although there have been many alleged sightings. We must patiently wait for a verifiable discovery of this huge object.
The implications of a worldwide flood for the Earth sciences, for the theory of evolution, and for mankind generally, deserve the serious reflection of every thoughtful person. Earth has many features which scientists with evolutionary presuppositions cannot explain. But these features can be explained by a gigantic flood—the deadliest, most cataclysmic, and literally earthshaking event the world has ever experienced—which also formed deep ocean trenches, most mountains, and many other amazing features of Earth.
A detailed and scientific reconstruction of these events can now be made independently of Scripture. This reconstruction, based only on what is seen on Earth today, is explained in Part II, “Fountains of the Great Deep,” on pages 108–414. If you study both this explanation and biblical descriptions of the flood—two completely different perspectives—you may be startled by their agreement and the sheer power and violence of that event. Both biblical scholars and scientists have been surprised at how each perspective illuminates the other. After reading “Fountains of the Great Deep,” you will more deeply appreciate what the psalmist wrote 3,000 years ago: “The waters were standing above the mountains. At Thy rebuke they fled; at the sound of Thy thunder they hurried away. The mountains rose; the valleys sank down ... [so the waters] may not return to cover the earth.” (Ps 104:6–9)