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                                C O P | N E T
                                       

				    
			    A Sunday School Lesson
				College Level


			       THE ARK OF NOAH

"And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son
of Man, They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage
until  the day that Noah  entered the ark,  and the  flood came and destroyed
them all." (Lk 17:26,27)

That is how  Jesus Christ referred to  the ark of Noah  in the Old Testament.
So,  what's the story  of ark?  Is  it real or is  it  a legend?   Up to what
extent does the dimensions of the ark (the length, width and height) coincide
with those in the Bible, and with the modern design of ships?


			       THE ARK'S LOAD

Noah was ordered to  take animals "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" (Gen 6:20).  There were animals that could be left outside
the ark, e.g.  sea creatures, and  amphibians.  On that  basis, the number of
creatures that must be kept in the ark could be restricted.


				 DIMENSIONS

Length : 300 cubits
Breadth: 50 cubits
Height : 30 cubits

The length is  six times the breadth (width),  the same scale used for modern
ship building.



			      THE ARK AERATION

God ordered Noah to make a roof for the ark,  and finish it  to a cubit above
for a window. (Gen 6:16).  The  surface of that window  was 2460 square feet.
In such a way, the air is to  enter the ark from  one side, pushing the waste
air from the opposite side.


			DID THE FLOOD REALLY HAPPEN?

It has been scientifically proven that the flood had indeed occurred:

     1. Prof. Leonard Woolley  discovered a layer  of ground, 8 feet wide, of
even pure soil, in the area  of Keldanians, which  was precipitated by water.
A  similar discovery by Prof.  Langdon in the area of  Kish, was made and was
dated to be before Abraham's civilization, between 3400 and 3200 B.C.

     2. The Book of Genesis explains how the flood occurred: "On that day all
the fountains of the great deep were broken up and the windows of heaven were
opened."  (Gen 7:11b).  When the  flood was over, it  says, "The fountains of
the deep and  the windows of  heaven  were also  stopped,  and the rain  from
heaven was restrained.  And the  waters receded continually from the  earth."
(Gen 8:2,3a).  That is exactly   what happened: The   sea floor rose and  the
earth  level descended, and accordingly  the water rushed  the earth carrying
with it the ark in the direction of Mid-Asia, until the  ark settled over the
mountains   of Ararat.  The  reverse exactly  took  place when  the flood was
over.  These changes were detected  in  the earth's crust  where  part of the
broken crust slipped over the  other part.  That is  what is called Upheaval,
where recent layers of ground is found  underneath older ones.  Two upheavals
of that kind were  detected: the first when the  fountains of the  great deep
opened, and the second when the water receded.

     3. The Russian pilot Viladimer Riskovedsky found the ark embedded in the
snow over the top of Ararat in Armenia.

The ship consists of:
  1. hundreds of upward and downward rooms, some too big (for large animals),
     some  with high roofs (to accommodate  animals like  giraffes), and some
     surrounded by iron bars (for wild animals).
  2. The ark has one door in its side. (Gen 6:16)
  3. It is made of gopherwood. (Gen 6:14)
  4. The dimensions comply with those mentioned in the Bible.

  
		      OTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE FLOOD

+ The  flood continued for 40  days upon the  earth and remained 150  days (a
  total of approximately 6+ months). (Gen 7:17,24) 

+ God  shut Noah in the ark  and Noah opened it  after it  was all over. (Gen
  7:16, 8:13)

+ God established a covenant with Noah that he shall  never destroy the earth
  with the flood again, and gave him the rainbow as a sign. (Gen 9:11-13)

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