Biblical History of Man: The Flood part 5

I may have deferred to the original text of the hydroplate theory last time so that you would get a good understanding of it, and so that you would see how it explains the evidence available, uses few assumptions, and makes verifiable predictions that are proven out.

But right now I will be reviewing that theory.  If you haven't read the material online, I recommend that you do.  The links are in the post immediately below this one.

Noah and his family have finished the building of the ark.  God has caused the animals who will join him on this "voyage" to come to him and they have entered the ark.  Then God closed the door.  Think about this.  God set the timetable.  He is the one who said that people have had 120 years to change their tune...the time of His patience is up.  No more.  And Noah will have no regrets about shutting those people out...because it wasn't him who made that final.  And I imagine that with God closing the door, that no one on the ark could have any second thoughts.

But it was seven days until judgment came.  I often wonder what Noah and his family had to experience in those seven days.  I'm sure he had to deal with all kinds of ridicule while he was building the ark, at first alone, and later with his sons.  But in these final seven days I can only imagine that things got a lot more difficult to deal with. 

But when that seventh day came, the neighbors had to shut up and eat their words. 

The hydroplate theory describes the rupture of the earth's crust and the fountains of the great deep gushing forth.  In a matter of hours, the rupture had completely circled the earth, opening wide both land area and sea floor. 

Waters from more than 10 miles deep in the earth exploded from the rupture and jetted into the air.  This would have continued  for the entire 40 days and 40 nights. 

But waters under such intense pressure are not without effect.  There will be erosion along the sides of the rupture.  This erosion, together with the pressure of the water, is going to add dirt and everything else that makes up the ground to the waters that end up in the atmosphere and fall as intense rain.  And we get the beginning of the sedimentary rock layers that were laid down in the flood.

As the rain continues, more and more sediment is laid down on the land as more and more water builds up on the land.  The land masses settle deeper in the water as the subterranean water is depleted.                    

Water still flows out from underneath the continents.  It continues to erode the sides of the original crack, and probably the bottom of the continental land masses as well.

As the gap between these land masses widens, the pressure on the rock under the subterranean water chamber is reduced.  Eventually the elasticity of rock takes over and the compressed rock springs upward. 

As this ridge rises, the continental plates begin a downhill slide.  As more weight is removed from the ridge, it rises more.  In fact, it will rise almost 10 miles.  The continental plates slide more.  There is still some water present that will allow them to slide for a while, but not for long.

This drifting phase came to an abrupt end when the lubricating water was depleted enough to cause the land masses to settle on the underlying land masses.  The massive forces behind the movement would cause buckling of the continents and major mountain-building as the plates are squeezed and compressed. 

Imagine placing a long model train on its track, then slowly lifting one end of the track until the train starts moving.  Continue to lift the track and the train speeds up.  Now, place a bumper at the end of the track.  As the engine hits the bumper, it comes to a complete stop.  But the cars behind continue to move and you end up with a buckled, tangled mess. 

The result of the moving continental plates causes  mountain-building perpendicular to the direction of the movement of the plates.

Friction of rock on rock underneath the continental plates created intense heat...enough to melt rock.  Magma is produced and the earth begins to experience volcanism. 

The rising of the ridge (which will become the mid-Atlantic ridge) on one side of the earth defines a shift in mass from one side of the earth to the other, and the Pacific basin deepens.  This causes cracks and faults around the edges of the basin as the sea floor drops.  Today we see the consequences in what we call the "ring of fire", and in the many volcanic islands that litter the Pacific. 

Recovery begins to happen after the movement ceases.  Land masses begin to come to equilibrium in their new location.  Waters gush from the newly exposed land, eroding the soft sediments and creating river channels and canyons.

The ark was grounded on one of these new mountain ranges.  As the water recedes, the land gradually dries, until, as the Bible tells us, the land was all dried up and the ark was opened and everyone disembarks. 

The time frame for this entire event is one year and ten days.  Can you imagine the catastrophic changes that happened to the earth in that time.  This was no mere heavy rain that caused the water levels to rise to great depth then gradually subsided.  This is a HUGE event.

Next post we'll look at some consequences of this event.

By the way, I still would like you to read the complete version of this event at the Center for Scientific Creation's website: Hydroplate theory.