The Genesis Flood – John Whitcomb and the Grand Canyon
Staying at the historic Bar-10 Ranch
Norma and I will never forget rafting almost 100 miles down the lower Colorado River on a Canyon Ministries trip in early September, 2006, with twenty-eight friends under the leadership of Tom Vail. We were absolutely amazed at the sight of thousands of feet of enormous superimposed layers (strata) of rock, filled with billions of fossilized and marvelously preserved marine life!
I was raised in a home where biblical creationism was never taught. At Princeton University, I took two classes in geology in which uniformitarianism and evolutionism were the frame of reference for all cosmic and earth history (1942-1943). By the infinite grace of God, I was led to the Savior of the world, our Lord Jesus Christ, by a campus evangelist, Dr. Donald B. Fullerton. He encouraged me to study theology at Grace Theological Seminary in 1948, where I graduated in 1951 and was invited to teach the Old Testament and Christian theology.
In the fall of 1953, in the marvelous providence of God, I heard a powerful message on the magnitude and significance of the Genesis Flood, delivered by Dr. Henry Morris, a highly respected geologist, who served as Chairman of the Civil Engineering Department at Virginia Tech. I began to see the fallacies of the popular Gap Theory of Genesis 1:1-2 (see my book, The Early Earth, pp. 113-130), and asked Dr. Morris to pray for me as I spent four years writing a doctoral dissertation on the Genesis Flood.
In 1957, Dr. Morris agreed to co-author a book on this profoundly important topic which needed the combined perspectives of a geologist and a theologian. The 500-page volume, The Genesis Flood: The Biblical Record and Its Scientific Implications, was published by P & R Publishing Company in 1961, and God has used it to help launch the modern creation science movement.
All around the world, as perhaps never before, we can see the effects of this aqueous catastrophe. As someone has said, the Flood of Genesis 6-9 has washed away millions of years of supposed earth history! Most importantly, what did the Creator of the world have to say about that Flood?
“As the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in days that were before the Flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the Flood came, and took them all away” (Matthew 24:37-39).
The entire human race could not have perished in a local flood! As the Apostle Peter added: “The world that then existed perished, being flooded with water” (2 Peter 3:6).
Doing dishes “Grand Canyon style”!
God willing, in early July, 2016, a replica of Noah’s Ark will be opened to the public near Williamstown, Kentucky [the Ark Encounter]. It will be the largest wooden structure in the world, designed and constructed by Answers in Genesis. It is estimated that over 1,000,000 people will come to see it during the first year.
This is the main message they will hear: The Lord Jesus Christ is the ultimate Ark of Salvation! He told us: “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved” (John 10:9). “Come unto Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden in light” (Matthew 11:28-30).
I am so encouraged to know that Tom and Paula Vail, in all their years with Canyon Ministries, along with the rest of the staff, are pointing people to Christ as the only Savior of the world.
Dr. John C. Whitcomb
Dr. John Clement Whitcomb, Jr. was a theologian and young earth creationist. He was well known as the co-author with Dr. Henry M. Morris of The Genesis Flood, which influenced many conservative fundamentalist Christians to adopt flood geology. Dr. Whitcomb remained active as a speaker, teacher, and author until his passing in 2020. Along with his wife Norma, they lived in Indianapolis, IN where they ran Whitcomb Ministries. Dr. Whitcomb and Dr. Morris are the opening contributors to Grand Canyon, a Different View.