Noah's Ark is A Lesson in Trust Hebrews 11:7 — By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith Introduction TRIVIA: How many times is "ark" mentioned in the Bible? "ark" 199 mentions How many mentions in the N.T. ? 6 times in N.T. - 4 in reference to Noah and 2 the ark of the covenant In What chapter of the bible can we turn to for the original account of Noah's Ark? What is the earliest textual record of a catastrophic flood survived by building a boat? THE ACT OF KNOWING and the desire of knowing is a two-edged sword: "I want to know!" "Tell ME!". With knowing comes responsibility. Lu 12:48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. Noah's Ark, is an opportunity to study what the Bible says about God's trustworthiness and man's stewardship of the truth. assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something I. Noah's Ark, Is History (GENESIS 6) Genesis 6:5-8 — And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 ¶ And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. 8 ¶ But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. II. Noah's Ark, Is A Message the Believer Not Just History, But a Similar Tone as the Days of the Son's Coming (Matthew 24) a) What Shall be the Sign of thy Coming? Mt 24:3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world (aion, an age)? Two events of concern here 1) His Coming and 2) The end of the World ( b) Don't be Alarmed at the Wrong Things ( "Take Heed No Man Deceive You" vs.4-31) Christ is concerned of the danager of deception: false Christs, false prophets and even false alarms. (read v.24-26 BELIEVE IT NOT) c) After teaching the meaning of the fig tree, by which they would KNOW SUMMER IS NEAR. And by analogy, the signs given by Christ in Matthew 24 signal NEARNESS as well. d) BUT What you cannot do is make the world be our canary in the Coal mine. A "canary in the coal mine" is something or someone that serves as an early warning of danger, failure, or a toxic environment Matthew 24:37, 38 — But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, "Eating and Drinking, Marrying and Giving in Marriage" (No widespread alarm; Business as Usual) UNTIL THE DAY THAT NOAH entered into the Ark. III. Noah's Ark is a Message to the Unbeliever History, scientitific process, ubiquity of a catastrophic world-wide flood, and how their framing is a missionary opportunity. A. Done Poorly, How it can never work properly as an evangelistic tool Fast and loose with the facts. EXAGGERATION is the enemy. (everybody loves a great treasure hunt) All the vibes without any of the knowledge. (interview) Hastily drawing conclusions. -- So there is unclarity between "what we know" from "what we think, cannot necessarily demonstrate". Science is not the enemy to truth. Genesis 8:4 is plural. - 1712 & 1829 human ascent success NOT DISCOVERY of the ARk. Bryc 1876 expedication brought back a piece of timber from off the mountain top. <-- Excitement! John Nouri's 1892 expedietions ("discovered" Noah's ark). how exploration and publicity became mutually reinforcing Ed Davis (1943) , Bob Cornuke (2006) Navarra's 1955 and 1969 wood claims. (Radio Carbon dated as 760 BC) 1959 Pilot Durpinar ariel photographs. elongated boat-like structure that can be "compared" with the Ark's dimensions. Promoters like ron Wyatt advertised many interpretations to those images as "overwhelming evidence" of timbers, metallic features and peirced stones as anchors. 1977 Film "religious peole were not uniformaly credulous" 1982 Astronaught, James Irwin 1982 climb "found no ark" 1993 CBS Special presents <-- Known HOAX B. Done Properly, How this is an opportunity THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY: Caught the attention of the general population. Don't hitch your wagon to the wrong horse (to rely on, support, or join forces with an unreliable person) Proverbs 25:19 — Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint. So, Who can you trust? HOw do we hedge from slipping into cynism? Ps 12:1 ¶ <> Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men. 2 They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak. 3 The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things: 4 Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us? 5 For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the LORD; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him. 6 The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. 7 Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever. 8 The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted. GOD IS TRUSTWORTHY. Genesis 9:3 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. 14 And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: 15 And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. 17 And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth. HIS MINISTERS Ps 104:1 ¶ Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty. 2 Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain: 3 Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind: 4 Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire: 1 Peter 4:10 — As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. TIMELINE Date Source and episode Claim / public significance Present assessment Second millennium BCE, broadly Sumerian and Akkadian manuscripts [S01–S03] Flood survivor, protective vessel and renewed life Early textual tradition; no recovered Ark First millennium BCE textual tradition Genesis [S05] Landing in mountains of Ararat Region, not modern summit coordinates Third century BCE, approximately Berossus through Josephus [S07] Remains and bitumen amulets Transmitted relic report; original work lost c. 93–94 CE Josephus, Antiquities 1.3 [S07] Armenian, Cordyaean and Baris traditions Historical evidence for belief, not excavation Late antiquity Jacob narrative; rabbinic Ark beam [S53–S54] Relics acquire devotional and exegetical roles Religious narratives; custody unestablished Seventh century CE Qur’an 11:44 [S06] Landing on Mt. Judi (250 mi South) Sustains a competing sacred geography c. 1298 Marco Polo [S10] Ark mountain and enduring snow Reports tradition, not inspected remains 1700–1702 Tournefort journey [S52] Natural history meets sacred mountain No authenticated vessel 1829; account 1834/1846 Parrot and Abovyan [S08, S11] Recorded summit ascent Mountaineering achievement, not Ark discovery 1872 George Smith [S04] Recognition of Mesopotamian flood narrative Discovery of a text 1876; publication 1877 Bryce [S12] High-altitude timber becomes potential relic Undated and unproven association November 24, 1883 New Zealand Herald [S13] Ark story’s international reprinting discussed Contemporary warning about detached framing 1892 press reports Nouri [S14] Claimed inspection of Ark No reproducible recovery Alleged 1916–1917; later account Russian aviator story [S15] Discovery followed by lost imperial records Retrospective, uncorroborated dossier Alleged 1943; later interviews Ed Davis [S29] Wartime sighting becomes expedition lead No contemporary specimen established June 1949; later interpretation US aerial photographs [S23] Ararat anomaly Image existence does not establish vessel 1955 and 1969 Navarra / SEARCH [S17] Wood allegedly recovered in ice Context disputed; dating undermines identification 1959–1960 Durupınar identification and examination [S20] Boat-shaped landform attracts publicity No authenticated hull 1965 NPL radiocarbon date list [S16] Navarra wood dated Far younger than proposed flood-era age 1976–1977 Ark films and review [S51] Expedition claims reach cinema audiences Contemporary religious criticism of presentation August–September 1982 Irwin / UPI [S18–S19] Astronaut-led expedition and accident Documented expedition; no Ark found 1987–1988 Durupınar radar and drilling [S42] Subsurface investigation Predates the supposedly unprecedented modern tests September 1992 Snelling [S21] Creationist geological critique Rejects promoted Durupınar evidence February–July 1993 CBS / Jammal exposure [S24–S25] Dramatic testimony and wood prop Documented fabrication July 21, 1995 DIA analysis [S23] Glacial interpretation of anomaly Natural explanation in reproduced agency memo September 1996 Collins and Fasold [S20] Microscopic/geological examination Examined specimens do not establish wood or metal artifacts 2006 Cornuke in Iran [S28–S29] New mountain and beam-like rocks Unverified material and identification 2010–2011 NAMI controversy [S26–S27] Wooden rooms, announced ancient date Unauthenticated; staging alleged and disputed 2019–2023 NAS / ToPa 3D [S30–S31] Digital surveys and synthesis Interpreted targets need ground truth May 10, 2024 Jones chapter [S30] Comparison of 1987 and 2019 surveys published New publication, older field data September–October 2024 Soil sampling claim and news [S32, S35] Chemistry and alleged ages renew attention Different sample programs must not be conflated May 15, 2025 Jerusalem Post [S34] Layers and corridors presented as possible Ark features Claims transmitted through other outlets June 20, 2025 Atabey [S43] Geological interpretation renewed Author report, journal-review status unverified February 9, 2026 Canpolat et al. [S41] Peer-reviewed regional geoheritage study Scientific publication, not Ark authentication June 27, 2026 NAS soil summary [S35] Details of 2024 sampling publicized No independent vessel-identification study located July 29 / August 25, 2026 Turkish coverage [S36–S37] University campaign and BakhtarRadar Reported new program; preliminary interpretations September 23, 2026 NAS drilling release [S38] Core recovery and broken-bit claim Material diagnosis pending October 1 / October 3, 2026 Project statement and news [S39–S40] Claimed human structure beneath Durupınar No independent authentication by cutoff