#3. WAS NOAH's ARK STABLE?

Let’s see how plausible this commissioning of a 'floating zoo' really is.

Did God know what He was doing? 

Firstly, what sort of conditions would the ark face?                            

A deluge to destroy Earth!...                                                        

...from Hebrew: mabbul and Greek: kataklusmos (cataclysm)               

So how much water was that?                                                  

Enough to cover all 'pre-flood' mountains by at least 7 metres!...then wind to blow-dry the Earth!

Here are the approximate dimensions again – 137 metres long, 23 metres wide & 14 metres high, giving the LWH proportions of 30:5:3



Too long and it would snap between ocean swells

Too short and it would pitchpole

Too high and it would capsize like this livestock carrier

Guess what!                                                            

Naval architects from these organisations have determined that the proportions are optimal for an unpowered seaworthy vessel like Noah’s ark:

·       The Korea Research Institute of Ships & Ocean

·       German Federal Institute of Physics & Technology


Perhaps our Creator God knows a thing or two about designing ships hey?


NEXT: The greatest business partnership ever!
http://hotspuds.blogspot.com.au/2016/01/4-greatest-business-partnership-ever.html

#2. BATHTUB TOY OR CARGO SHIP?

We’re looking for the specs God supplied Noah when commissioning the ark…

Indian teak

“The end of all flesh is come before me….look I will destroy them with the earth”  “Make an ark (tebah: a box) of ‘gopher’ wood…”

[‘No problem there’, Noah would think.]                    

Gopher wood was quite possibly INDIAN TEAK  (Tectona grandis) – the best shipbuilding timber being: strong, durable, resistant to water, rot & insect invasion – and yes, used in Ancient Babylon.

With rooms...

“…rooms shall you make in the ark…”

[‘Ah, that’s a bigger box than I was expecting’, thinks Noah]

“…pitch it within and without with pitch…”

[Noah can handle this – ‘Okay, just make a big water-proof box for a home, to withstand any bad weather’]                                          

Did you know?....‘pitch’ comes from the same Hebrew word for ‘atonement’ or covering: kopher.

“…the length: 300 cubits…”

[Yes Noah, you heard right! – 300 cubits, that’s about 137 metres long!]

“…the breadth: 50 cubits and the height: 30 cubits…”

[‘Whoa! This will be huge!’]                                                           

Yes Noah… about 137m long, 23m wide and 14m high

3 decks

“…a window shall you make to the ark…a cubit shall you finish it above…”

[‘Fair enough - it will need some light and ventilation’]

“…and the door of the ark shall you set in the side thereof…”

[‘Just one door?...what! no back door?’]                                   

What would Health & Safety have to say about that!

“…with lower, second and third stories shall you make it…”

[‘This aint just a box, it’s a multi-story apartment block!’]

“…look I, even I, will bring a flood of waters upon the earth…”

Cross-sectional model

[‘Uhh!... this is supposed to float?? This is getting serious!’]

“…to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven and everything that is in the earth shall die.”

Get to it, Noah!

While he gets started let’s see if God got those proportions right…Click on:


http://hotspuds.blogspot.com.au/2015/12/3-was-noahs-ark-stable.html

Modelling by Noel Deed, Port Macquarie NSW

#1. CRUISE OR CRUD?

'Unsinkable'

Would you like to share the smells of a floating zoo for over a year, drifting to who knows where?...or prefer White Star’s brand-new ‘unsinkable’ luxury liner?...heading for exciting New York!

Here is the ‘Titanic’ departing for its only voyage that lasted…just 5 days!...after it had been said: “God Himself couldn’t sink this ship!” 

Millions of dollars would be spent searching for its watery grave at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean - after sinking in calm waters! 

Just a bathtub toy?

Meanwhile, legends in cultures all over the world include a global flood and the Jewish Bible tells us of Noah’s ark saving the world’s most valuable cargo ever: the genetic base for all people, land animals and birds today.

Also on its maiden voyage, Noah’s  powerless ‘ship’ went aground after 150 days - on the mountains of Ararat in modern Turkey!...which also inspired searches.

So what made the difference?                              

God was the ark’s marine architect – and the captain.                  

• He assembled the livestock
• invited boarding
• closed the only door 
• finally disembarked His passengers safely after about 371 days.

What would you choose?...cruise in luxury or crud in the ark?

Was the ark a real sea-worthy vessel? 

Let’s check the specs for Noah’s epic project….Click on: 
http://hotspuds.blogspot.com.au/2015/12/bathtub-toy-or-cargo-ship.html

BAPTISM DEFENDED

Is baptism just a Jewish ritual?...or is it meant for Gentile Christians too?

           

Here is the directive the Lord Jesus gave to His disciples about all nations:

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you…”  
Matthew 28:19-20

            

            Did the Lord expect new believers to accept baptism?

“He who believeth and is baptised shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”            Mark 16:16

            

             Peter upheld this directive…and didn’t leave the children out!

“Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.”  Acts 2:38-39
 

            …and so did Paul…

“…he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptised.”     Acts 9:18

Okay, they were Jews – what about Gentiles like the Ethiopian treasurer and Cornelius the centurion?

“See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?...they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.”                      Acts 8:36-

“Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?                                             
And he [Peter] commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord…”                           Acts 10:47-48

            What did Paul teach on baptism?

“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?  God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live longer therein?  Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we should also walk in newness of life.  For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection.”             Romans 6:1-5

 

            Now for household baptism of Gentiles - in Philippi, Macedonia…          
“And when she [Lydia] was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there….”        Acts 16:15

            …even the town jailer – and his family!                                                                   

“ And he [the jailer] took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.  And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.”    Acts 16:33 

           

Clearly the Lord Jesus instructed that Christians with Gentile background, who believe on Him, should be baptised.

NEXT:             What about the kids?

THE LORD'S SUPPER - just a Jewish ritual?

Is the Lord’s Supper just a Jewish ritual?...or is it a mandatory sacrament for all Christians?
Let’s check what the Bible really teaches on this one….

Here is what Jesus said, just before His arrest…

“…He took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.   Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.”     Luke 22:19-20

A simple, comforting memorial

“For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.  After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.                                     
For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.”  1 Corinthians 11:23-26

Who was Paul  writing to?

“Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours….”
Ch1 v2

Do we have to take Paul seriously?

“If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.”  1 Cor 14:37

“Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.” 2 Thess 2:15

What was the tradition of ‘breaking bread’?

“And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread…”        Acts 20:7

Clearly the Lord Jesus instituted the supper memorial, asking his disciples to remember Him this way, which tradition they upheld each Lord’s day and which Paul instructed us to uphold, following their example.