The Greek word for “deluged” is a specialised term used only for the Genesis Flood. That is: katakluzō/κατακλύζω, literally “downwashing”—where we derive the word “cataclysm”. Like Jesus, Peter uses the reality of the Flood to warn about the equally real judgment to come…Peter says that the scoffers “deliberately overlook” the Flood. They are morally culpable for their wilful ignorance of the Flood because it left such overwhelming evidence that they have no excuse.

First published – Creation Update Oct 2025

[Creation Ministries International] CMI teaches that the Bible is real history. One important aspect is the global Flood of Noah’s day. Genesis teaches it; Jesus and the Apostles confirmed it. It also explains most of the rocks and fossils and obliterates millions of years. And without millions of years, evolution is impossible—not that it would be possible even if millions of years were granted.

Not surprisingly, a global Flood on Earth has been a major target of atheists and their compromising ‘churchian’ allies. (But they don’t mind huge floods on Mars, where there’s not a drop of water.) We should therefore be prepared to defend a global Flood along with the rest of the faith (1 Peter 3:15), as well as refute arguments against it (2 Corinthians 10:4–5).

What Does Genesis Say?

Genesis spends four whole chapters on the Flood and its aftermath. This coverage suggests that it’s important. God piles up the universal language to make it as clear as possible that it’s worldwide, not local. The Hebrew word for ‘all’ or ‘every’ (kol/כֹּל) appears 72 times in the four chapters of Genesis 6–9.

Also, Genesis 7:19 contains a double-all construction: all (kol) the high mountains under the whole (kol) heaven were covered. Just by itself, the double kol removes any possibility that the Flood could be local.

Moreover, Genesis grounds the Flood in real history. Genesis 7:11 times its beginning to a particular day in Noah’s life. Compare Luke, well-known for his meticulous historical-geographic accuracy, he also times John the Baptist’s preparation for Jesus’ ministry to a particular year (Luke 3:1). If we accept Luke as history for narrowing down a year, a fortiori (how much more) must Genesis be history for timing the Flood to a day.

Furthermore, Genesis times events during the Flood, and the end of the Flood, to a day—about a year later. No local flood lasts a year!

What Did Jesus and the Apostles Say?

Jesus explicitly said:

Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. (Luke 17:26–27).

That is, Jesus affirmed the Flood, the Ark, and Noah all as real. Since He also said “Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35), He clearly affirmed the whole Genesis Flood account.

He also used it as a warning of a coming judgment. If Jesus didn’t really believe the Flood was real, then He would be ‘crying wolf.’

His chief apostle, Peter likewise affirmed the Flood. In 1 Peter 3:20–21, he talks about God’s patience in the likely decades when Noah built the Ark. However, he says that only eight people were saved on it—just as Genesis says: Noah and his wife, and their three sons and their wives. Then Peter connected the real history of the Ark to the Christian ordinance of water baptism.

In his next letter (2 Peter 3:3–7), Peter prophesies about future “scoffers” following their own sinful desires and denying Christ’s return. They “deliberately overlook” two foundational truths. The first was that God created the world out of water. The second was the global Flood:

The world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word, the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

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