Our Story
(Introduction to the book A Flood of Hope, by founder and author Robert L. Wright, MTS, PhD)
Since we were little children, we have heard the story of Noah and the Ark. We loved hearing about the great flood and, in particular, about all the animals coming to Noah in twos and sevens. Perhaps our fascination is that part of little children that loves animals and water. We also love rainbows. This story has all the makings of a Grimm Fairy Tale. The seemingly innocuous story, with its beautiful images and pretty pictures, somehow belying the dread and sorrow hiding just beneath the surface. While this may be perfectly fine for a children’s fable, it does great injustice to a story as compelling and insightful as the story of Noah, the great deluge, and the promise it offers to all of God’s creation.
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The most significant difference should be obvious: this story is demonstrably true. This book will provide evidence that the epic tale of Noah and his splendid ark did happen. More importantly, it will be demonstrated that the message it conveys to us is as important today as it was to Noah, the persecuted prophet, thousands of years ago.
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In Genesis, the Lord says, “This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth” (Genesis 9:12-13).
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Interestingly, the Lord specifically grants this covenant to “perpetual generations.” This sign was not just given for Noah, those with him, or even those who knew him, but for everyone, even in the furthest reaches of time. It is a sign for all humanity. It is a story for believers and non-believers alike.
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How much of our time is consumed with worrying about a flood? There are times when we may worry about a flood. It might inconvenience us, it might cause our basements to flood, it might even prevent us from getting where we want to go if roads are washed out. But we do not typically worry that it will cover our houses or that it will cause us or our loved ones to be in danger, and we certainly do not fear that it will cover the entire earth. So, this promise can seem a little foreign to us.
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There are other floods we do worry about. Psalms 18:4 reads, “The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.” Psalms 69:2 reads: “I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing. I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me.” As believers, we can relate to these floods. They are genuine to us. They trouble us and those we love.
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The Savior himself referred to these spiritual floods in Luke 6:48 when He spoke about the man building his house upon the rock: “He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.”
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The promise of the bow, then, is also a reminder to us that the Lord has promised us that by keeping His commandments, by being obedient, by building our house upon the rock, He will remember His promise and never allow us to perish. The power of this promise can only be accessed by believers if the events it describes are true and we have reconciled our beliefs to accommodate this truth.
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The story of the bow is important because it is our story. The bow is a promise made to every believer and to their families. We must understand it to take advantage of this amazing covenant. And once we understand it, we must stand for it. In a world intent on drowning out a still, small voice with a cacophony of misinformation and misrepresentation, we must remember, stand, and defend. While evil forces may encourage others to adopt the bow as a symbol of their choices, we can be the guardians. As you will see, it is not simply a beautiful, colorful symbol, it is a token. This token represents a profound opportunity to understand the nature of God’s creative power and how He is revealed in the physical evidence of this great deluge left behind. An understanding of the reality of the flood and its evidence encompasses all aspects of science and its anti-Bible counterfeit…scientism.
In today’s society, with the emphasis on scientism and secularism, it can be challenging for some to accept the sufficiency of scripture. There is so much emphasis on what anti-Bible advocates call “hard science.” For a non-Christian, the anti-God assumptions that much of mainstream thought embraces have created a hostile environment for faith. Sufficiency of scripture implies a source of stable, consistent truth. Because relativism has infiltrated every aspect of society and is at the core of secularism, there is animosity towards anything absolute, and in particular, anything with permanence.
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The softening of any heart is a matter for the Spirit, so finding a non-threatening way to explain the reality of an eternal God, His compatibility with us, and all scientific observation are the crux of the matter. An important companion to this discussion of the flood is the related discussion of evolution. The agenda that drives opposition to the truth of the global flood is, at its heart, an argument for an earth that is billions of years old. These billions of years are then utilized to propose an anti-God narrative for creation and evolution. An evil alliance exists between evolutionary theory and those that oppose the biblical flood. And it is an alliance that has exacted actual harm on the society of believers.
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