There Was No Rain Before the Flood

Arguments Christians Should Not Use
by Dr. Tommy Mitchell
Answers in Genesis

Some Christians claim that there was no rain before the Flood. Many of them make this statement quite dogmatically as if it were obvious from a reading of the biblical text. However, a close examination of Scripture does not bear this out.

A Biblical Analysis

Proponents of the “no-rain” view refer to Genesis 2 to support their position. Genesis 2:5–6 states that “the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground” (empashsis added).

From this passage, all that can really be said is that no rain had fallen up to that time—that is, prior to the creation of man. Remember, Genesis 2 is primarily a detailed recap of Day Six of Creation Week. The passage describes the environment before Adam was created. This mist may have been one of the primary methods that God used to hydrate the dry land He created on Day Three. Furthermore, while this mist was likely the watering source for that vegetation throughout the remainder of Creation Week, the text does not require it to be the only water source after Adam’s creation.

Some argue that this mist eliminated the need for rain until the time of the Flood. However, presence of the mist prior to Adam’s creation does not preclude the existence of or the need for rain after he was created.

Genesis 2:5–6 reveals that before the Sixth Day of Creation Week, God had watered the plants He made with a mist, but had not yet caused rain or created a man to till the ground. To demand that rain didn’t happen until after the Flood from this passage has no more logical support than to claim, from the passage, that no one farmed until after the Flood.

Water Cycle

Another often-overlooked aspect of this argument is that rain is an integral component of the water cycle. The term water cycle refers to the physical processes of water evaporation, cloud formation, and precipitation (rain, snow, etc.) that continually recycle the world’s water supply.

The water cycle, being powered as it is by the sun’s energy, is intimately tied to many other aspects of the earth’s climate. While we cannot be dogmatic about the details of the pre-Flood environment, we can be certain that the sun and seas were present (Genesis 1:10, 16). Therefore, there is no reason to insist that this normal environmental process was not in operation before the Flood.

Things Not Seen?

Another passage often cited is Hebrews 11:7 in which we learn that “by faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark.” Some assert that “things not seen” means rain, implying that no one had ever seen rain before Noah’s Flood. However, the passage more likely is referring to the impending catastrophic global Flood—certainly something not yet seen, not imaginable to anyone, and far more needful of a warning than a nice spring shower!

It is fascinating to speculate about the pre-Flood environment. We would expect it to differ from today’s environment. Both the cataclysmic forces with which God produced the Flood and the great changes in the surface of the earth in the aftermath of the Flood—breaking open the fountains of the deep, for instance, with volcanic activity, disturbance of tectonic plates with reconfiguration of land masses, and deepening of the oceans to accommodate the floodwaters—would result in permanent changes in the world’s topography and climate. However, we should use caution in making absolute statements about that environment, as there are many things about the pre-Flood world that we cannot know with certainty.

Rainbow

Well, then, how about the rainbow? Didn’t God specially create the never-before-seen rainbow as a sign of His promise? Not necessarily. In Genesis 9:13, God said, “I do set my bow in the cloud,” and the fact that God does not imply that He had never set a rainbow in the clouds before but only that, from now own, the rainbow—appearing as it so often does as rain is ending—would henceforth have a special significance as a token (reminder ¹) of God’s promise to never again send a worldwide Flood.

Conclusion

While we cannot prove that there was rain before the Flood, to insist that there was not (and even to deride those who think otherwise) stretches Scripture beyond what it actually says.

There are some arguments that Christians should avoid because of their absurdity and some we should avoid being dogmatic about because they are not truly supportable from Scripture. The “no-rain” argument is in the latter category, and as such, it is an argument Christians should not use.

What You Can Expect from WCBlog!

We are excited about the opportunity to start equipping and encouraging Christian's through our blog. We will be covering lots of different topics from many different authors, here's a summary of what you can expect on a weekly basis from WCBlog...

Grace Biblical Counseling - Dr. Craig Brandick the leader of Grace Biblical Counseling will be writing weekly articles dealing with various biblical topics.

Ladies Corner - Karen Finn will be writing weekly articles geared for ladies. Karen is currently finishing up a Devotional book for teen girls.

Answers in Genesis - We will be posting blogs and articles dealing with creation and the Bible from Answers in Genesis.

One of our college students studying for the ministry, Nick Fox, will be writing articles for students.

We will be having a blast from the past with heroes of the faith, on a weekly basis we will be posting articles and messages from great preachers of the past like Charles Spurgeon and many others.

Also our church staff will be blogging and keeping you updated on the ministry here at Walnut Creek Baptist Church. As you can see we really have many blogs within this one blog, the goal is to equip and encourage you to walk with Christ everyday. We hope you will be a frequent visitor of WCBlog.

A Spectacular Reunion

by: Karen Finn

Last week, like millions of other television viewers, I was captivated by the live coverage of the Chilean miners’ rescue. After a 69-day ordeal of being trapped 2,000 feet underground, the mine workers, initially feared dead, were reunited with their loved ones. It was a spectacular moment to witness, a testimony of love, support and endurance.

Most of us can relate to the exuberance of a reunion. Oh! The joy and anticipation of the arrival…eye contact that requires no need for conversation… the smiles…the hugs…the tears …. And yet, for every reunion, there is its preliminary counterpart: the dreaded good-bye.

Who hasn’t bid a teary farewell to a student leaving for college, a husband departing on a business trip, or a family member visiting from out of state? Sometimes the adieu is unexpected or tragic, when terminal illness and death occur. Very few individuals look forward to saying good-bye; however, there is an exception.

Saying good-bye to this present world is actually a home-going celebration for the Christian, a joyous reunion with family and friends who have preceded us. But—best of all—our heavenly Father awaits us, longing for our permanent return. In Second Corinthians 5:8, Paul confirms that: “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” The grandest of all reunions will take place on heavenly turf!

This exact hope is the fundamental event we have yearned for, and serves as the source which supplies us with courage and strength in times of despair and wavering. To bask in the glory of God’s Holy presence, means we will never have to be separated again and good-byes never need to be uttered again.

“And so shall we ever be with the Lord.” (1Thessalonians 4:17b).

The Mind for Christ: A Biblical View of the Intellect

Growing in Grace

Dr. Craig Brandick

When Mr. Welsch asked me to start writing for the church blog, I immediately agreed. What a wonderful way to deliver hope and Christ honoring change to those who read this. It seems that I will be posting on Tuesdays, so my prep time will be mostly accomplished on Mondays—still fresh and filled from the Sunday services. What will my blog include? Here is an invitation to get a glimpse of the things that bounce around in my head—counseling and discipleship; the biblical languages, theology, and current issues. At any given time of the day, my mind is on one or several of these. My passion as a former pastor and as a counselor is ultimately to capture the mind for Christ. This underscores my theology of Christian Education, not just as it relates to Seminary or Bible College, but where it impacts the professional, the blue collar laborer, the stay at home mom, the retiree, the single parent, the teen, and the child. In short, all of God’s people are called to have the mind impacted for Christ so that they, by the knowledge of Christ, may properly and joyfully glorify Christ. How is this accomplished, though, without producing mere intellectualism? That is the subject of my opening blog,

The Mind for Christ: A Biblical View of the Intellect

“If there is emotion and zeal we must question if it is based upon truth. But if we have truth without emotion and zeal we must wonder if there is life.”

Man’s intellect is the ability to function, decide, evaluate, and create based upon information that he has received. To this day I can remember my fourth grade math teacher “preaching” the basics facts of math. “Once you know your basic facts you will be able to do anything with math!” We learned how to read numbers and symbols and by doing so we could count change, balance a checkbook, and buy groceries. We learned to work with information. Other pieces of basic information also helped us with decisions. When the water is bubbling over the flame it is hot. I choose to let it cool before handling it, or I let it boil for five minutes to kill any bacteria so that I may drink it. If I mix my red paint with my yellow paint I get orange. The shade of orange depends on the amount of either red or yellow. By adjusting the amount and adding blue I can paint a sunset with deepening shades. For most of us, these abilities go beyond the elementary. Our intellect includes the ability to learn, to retain knowledge, to apply that knowledge, to synthesize, and even to create. The intellect is involved in the writing of poetry, and the painting of a bridge; in the balancing of a checkbook, and in the designing of a skyscraper. All of the emoting in the world will not put a single drop of paint upon a canvas—the intellect must be engaged at some level.

A biblical understanding of the intellect is necessary because of the tendency to place it either in subject or contrary to emotions. Indeed, many have viewed the Christian thinker as a cold and unresponsive egghead that is somehow spiritually deficient. John Armstrong has correctly observed that: “The thinking person with an argument is almost always perceived as being in an inferior position to the non-thinking person who has had an experience, especially if the experience is a powerful one which can be communicated movingly to others in the form of a testimony.”[1]

But, as has already been demonstrated, the intellect is as much a part of the inner man as emotion. The mind, which is often associated with intellect, has the capacity for emotion just as the heart has the capacity for reason. Armstrong continues, “We have made a false dichotomy in our time between the “head” and the “heart.” Most seem to reject doctrine and rational thought as appealing only to the “head,” while what is needed, they insist, is direct appeal to the “heart.” This is simply a false antithesis created by shallow and unscriptural teaching.”[2] Intellect and emotion are complementary capacities of the inner man, both are functions of the heart. Both work together.[3]

What, then, is the purpose of the intellect? Aside from the purposes that help us with day to day chores, the priority of the intellect is to think God-ward thoughts and inform the heart of truth so that we may glorify God in obedience, service, and worship. If one divorces the ability to think and to reason from the scriptures from emotion, how will he know if what he is feeling is correct? Likewise, if we cannot think and reason from the scriptures regarding our service or our worship how will we know if it is in line with what God desires? What of heresy? How do we know that what we believe is true unless we are able to evaluate the truth claims of religion, cults, and culture?

Consider how many times the New Testament alone calls the believer to engage his mind to bring about a spiritual attitude or resulting behavior. For example:

• 2 Timothy 3:14-17: “But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

• Romans 12:1-2: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.^”

• Ephesians 4:17-24: “This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, ¹⁸ Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart…But ye have not so learned Christ; ²¹ If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: ²² That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; ²³ And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; ²⁴ And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Each of these examples presents the intellect as the human capacity to bring about spiritual results. Proper Christian living, service, and even worship comes first through the engagement of the mind.

In his Epistle to the Philippians, Paul had to correct some of the attitudes and practices in the Philippian church. There were believers who were not pulling their weight in service, who were arguing with one another, and who were overcome with anxious care. In the first key section of Philippians, Paul told these believers that they should be “of the same mind and of one accord” (2:2). And with humility of mind they were to “esteem other better than themselves.” (2:3). The great example of this was Jesus Christ who—even though he was God—did not consider his deity something that should stop him from being a servant:

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. (2:5-8). [4]

The result of having this mind was that they would do all things without grumbling and complaining, and that they would be innocent and blameless as children of God in the perverse culture that was around them (2:14-16). To what did Paul call these believers? Did he make an appeal to the emotions? Did he tell them that they should become proper servants by feeling like it? No. On the other hand, did he tell them to just do it? Again, no. Paul’s appeal was to the mind. Look at the God inspired choice of words: one mind, humility of mind, consider, regard, esteem, attitude. These words require that the intellect—the engagement of the mind—attend to spiritual matters. The only way that the Philippians would know if their service was acceptable to God would be by an understanding of Christ’s own service. They would properly represent God as image bearers only by first knowing what Christ was like as a servant. Their God-ward service would come as a result of God-ward thoughts.

But what of the intellect and emotions? In our earlier discussion we learned that emotions are subjective responses based upon our perception. How then does the intellect effect our emotions? By informing our hearts of truth so that our emotions are proper responses. Quite often Philippians is regarded as the “joy epistle.” But Paul was responding to believers who were anything but joyful. There were those in the Philippian church who were overcome with anxious care. The tone of his response to them was less of a musical round of “Rejoice in the Lord Always” and more of a firm but gentle rebuke. If you will forgive me for an admittedly contemporary thought translation of the Greek behind this text (my own), Paul was saying,

Start rejoicing in the Lord. I’ll say it again. Start rejoicing and stop being so anxious. Peace will replace anxiety as you make prayers and supplications with thanksgiving to God. If you do that, God will give you the kind of peace that most people just can’t understand; he will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (4:4-7).

But Paul had additional instruction as well. Not only were they to pray and give thanks, they were to engage their minds, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest , whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” (4:8). Paul told the church that they should pray, give thanks, and think upon better things. If they would do this and obey the things that they had learned, then the God of peace would be with them (4:9).

A final note of caution is due here. We were warned earlier that the Christian who thinks is often looked upon as spiritually deficient. In my own ministry I have heard of seminaries referred to as cemeteries. However, most of the men that I know who work in academia are devoted believers with a passion for Christ and his Word. If there is emotion and zeal we must question if it is based upon truth. But if we have truth without emotion we must wonder if there is life. Christian intellect should not be mistaken for the intellectualism that coldly denies any emotional response. Rather, “The Christian Mind is a biblical, theological, evangelical, spiritual and human way of seeing the world and all that is in it.”[5] The heart will respond to what it believes to be true—whether or not it is indeed true. The heart informed—and convinced—of Truth will respond according to Truth. In this way the capacity of the intellect assists us in knowing not only what service God requires of us, but also of the things that cause us to adore him in loving and, yes, heartfelt communion.

Grow in His Grace

Dr. Craig Brandick

Walnut Creek Baptist Church

Erie, PA

(814) 838-7515 ext. 106

Notes

[1] John H. Armstrong, “Editors Introduction,” Reformation and Revival 3:3 (Summer, 1994), 10. This edition of the journal was devoted to the Christian Mind in an unthinking culture.

[2] Ibid., 11.

[3] Gordon H. Clark, “The Primacy of the Intellect,” Westminster Theological Journal 5:2 (May 1943), 182-83. “A man is not a compound of three things, an intellect, a will, and an emotion. Each man is a single personality. Long ago Plato showed the sophistic, skeptical results of making man a wooden horse of Troy and destroying his unitary personality. Emotion, will, and intellect are not three things, each independent of the other, mysteriously and accidentally inhabiting one body. These three are simply three activities of a single consciousness that sometimes thinks, sometimes feels, and sometimes wills.

[4] Too much is often said of the kenosis when the simplest answer will suffice. There need be no appeal to a metaphysical emptying of deity when none is inferred by the language, text, context, or intent of the message. The question before the Philippian church was, “What assumed excellent position, power, or prestige will keep you from serving others?” It was not Jesus’ deity that was poured out. Rather, he did not regard his positional equality with the Father something that he should grasp hold of in regard to service; but instead he let that go and became a servant. It was not his personal deity that was let go. It was his position that was disregarded. The simple answer, then, is, “Jesus did not let his equality with the Father stop him from being a servant.”

[5] Thomas N. Smith, “The Pastor As a Christian Thinker,” Reformation and Revival 3:3 (Summer 1994), 82.

The Goodness of God

"For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.- Ps 84:11"

This weekend I had the opportunity to hear Dr. Tom Farrell preach a powerful message on the goodness of God. It challenged me to think about how much God really has given us. We tend to focus on what we don't have, whether it be money we wish

we had or some thing that someone else has that we want. Some of us even have legitimate needs, maybe you have recently lost a job or have health issues which cause you to focus only on what God isn't giving you. Sometimes we are like the child who has a whole room full of toys but has to have the one toy that another child is holding. The truth is God has blessed us beyond belief. Start listing God's blessings in your life, start at the simple things like breath, the ability to read this blog and many other things that we take for granted. When you begin to fully see who God is and what He has done for you it makes you wonder how any of us could ever question Him or get angry with Him even if we do have legitimate needs. You see God always has our best interest in mind, everything He does is for our good for His glory. We just have to remind ourselves that we are foolish and if left to our own way would immediately destruct. There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. - Proverbs 14:12

The goodness of God isn't just something we should recognize and praise Him for, it's something that should drive us to want to serve Him. Once a person fully understands what God has done for them it's impossible not to respond with full surrender. Just think of Calvary, think of the details of Christ's suffering. It will bring tears to your eyes and conviction to your faith.

The problem with casual Christianity is that has never seen the goodness of God and it has certainly missed His sacrifice on Calvary.

God is good all the time.

The Main Thing

As a pastor of a growing and thriving church, I am confronted often with this question from visitors -- "What programs does your church have for me and my family?"

I usually go on to explain that we have a teen program, children's program, college/career ministry, couples fellowships, and many other ministries for families and individuals.

While I obviously don't believe these programs are wrong, I do believe we as pastors have led the church down the wrong path into selfishness and spiritual mediocrity by overemphasizing programs over Bible preaching and selfless service.

"What is in it for me?" is the constant drum beat that most pastors hear and this in turn puts constant pressure on them to keep up with the newest trend in church marketing. It would be refreshing to see Christians looking for a church where they can worship the Lord "in spirit and in truth" and where sin is confronted and people are convicted of their sins and change their lives.

Can you imagine someone searching for a church stating "We want a church where the Bible is preached, sin is confronted, conversions are happening and disciples are being made ... that is where I want my family to worship"? They might go on to say, "Church programs are OK but I am more concerned about biblical truth than the next fun thing for the teens or the praise and worship teams' performance."

The church must get back to biblical basics and teach the people that it really is not "all about you."

Jesus came to this world to "save that which was lost" (Matthew 18:11) and that message, even though not palpable with the culture, must be preached. The New Testament church's mandate according to the scripture is to preach biblical truth (II Timothy 4:2) and make disciples of all men.

Using pragmatism and "fun stuff" to attract a crowd will not last and will require the line to be moved further and further from the Bible to keep the crowds coming.

An example of this is the Emergent Church. The "Emergent Church" movement (now favored in many mainline and evangelical churches) states that truth is never really known and each culture has the right to define truth as they see it. They try to Christianize this by using selected Bible principles but this philosophy is nothing more that postmodernism with a never-ending search for truth.

The Bible is truth as it is the very word of God. II Timothy 3:16 tells us it is inspired by God and is "profitable for doctrine," i.e. truth, and totally sufficient to guide our every decision.

In this community we have a lot of hurting people who need answers that can only come from the Bible.

What they need and desire are authentic, caring friends who will show them the truth from the Bible and how God loves them and has offered them forgiveness of sin through Jesus Christ.

Let's keep the main thing, the Main Thing and be those Christians the world is looking for.