By Barry Coker
Introduction: What the Rocks Remember
Beneath our feet lies a testimony etched in stone. Sedimentary layers stacked across continents, littered with billions of fossils, tell of a sudden, catastrophic event—a watery grave for life on earth. While secular science attributes this to slow processes over millions of years, the Word of God offers a different—and urgent—explanation. Genesis 7 unveils a cataclysm that reshaped the entire planet and redefined human history: the global flood of Noah’s day.
This event is more than ancient history. It’s a divine message preserved in mud and rock—a warning of judgment and a whisper of mercy. As we examine the fossil record through the lens of Scripture, we find compelling fuel for our faith, powerful evidence for evangelism, and a serious call to action. God has spoken once through water. He will speak again through fire. The question is: are we listening?
1. The Fossil Record and the Flood – Evidence That Demands a Verdict
Genesis 7:19–21 (KJV)
“And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered. Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered. And all flesh died that moved upon the earth…”
The fossil record tells the story of sudden burial, not slow decay. Here’s what we find:
- Billions of dead things, buried in rock layers, laid down by water, all over the earth.
- Marine fossils on the highest mountain ranges, including the Himalayas.
- Fossil graveyards containing mixed species (sea creatures, land animals, and birds)—a chaotic, catastrophic scene.
- Evidence of rapid burial: fish fossilized mid-meal, animals fossilized giving birth, and preserved soft tissues.
- Polystrate fossils (trees standing through multiple sediment layers) defy slow geological explanations.
This is not a museum of evolutionary progress—it’s a cemetery of judgment. The rocks confirm what God’s Word declared: a worldwide flood overwhelmed every mountain and every creature not safely inside the ark.
2. The Fossil Record as Evangelism and Apologetics
Matthew 24:37–39 (ESV)
“For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.”
Jesus believed in the flood. He used it as a warning for His return. If the flood was real—and the fossil record cries out that it was—then final judgment is also real.
2 Peter 3:5–7 (ESV)
“For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these 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…”
The fossil record is evangelistic. It proves God’s previous judgment and underscores the urgency of escaping the next one. Every fossil is a sermon in stone. It proclaims that God judges sin—but also provides salvation.
3. God’s Expectations in Light of This Truth
A. Believe His Word—All of It
The flood story is not myth, metaphor, or morality tale. It is factual, global, and historic. Disbelief in the flood is disbelief in God’s warning. The same Word that declared judgment also offered a way of salvation.
Hebrews 11:7 (ESV)
“By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.”
Belief leads to action. Faith is not passive. Noah responded in reverent fear—should we not do the same?
B. Warn Others—As Noah Did
2 Peter 2:5 (KJV)
“And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly.”
God saved Noah, but not silently. He made Noah a preacher. Every board he nailed and every warning he gave was an invitation to believe. Today, we are called to speak just as boldly and just as compassionately.
C. Get in the Ark—That Is, Get in Christ
John 10:9 (ESV)
“I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.”
There was only one door on the ark—and there is only one door to Heaven. That door is Christ. He stands open now, but will not remain open forever. One day, as with Noah’s ark, God will shut the door (Gen 7:16).
4. Discipleship: Living as Flood-Aware People
If we know that God has judged once and will judge again, we ought to live with holy urgency.
Titus 2:12–13 (ESV)
“…training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ…”
We live differently when we understand the seriousness of God’s holiness. The flood is a call to holy living—not in fear of wrath, but in gratitude for mercy.
Conclusion: The Message in the Mud
The rocks cry out. The fossils scream. The mud remembers what man tries to forget.
The flood happened. The judgment came. And the Word of God is true from the beginning.
The fossil record is not a relic of evolution—it is a record of wrath. And in that same record is a reminder of grace. God provided an ark once. He has provided a Savior now. Don’t ignore the message in the mud.
Personal Reflection:
– Do I believe the flood really happened?
– Am I warning others like Noah did?
– Am I safely inside the Ark of Christ?
