The Ark rested
on the Mountains of Ararat
“Then the ark rested in the seventh month, the
seventeenth day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat.” (Gen. 8:4)
For
hundreds of years Christians have used this scriptural verse to try and locate
Noah’s Ark. Atheists and skeptics have been attacking the Bible’s credibility
and say that the Great Flood did not occur and Noah could not have built the
Ark. If Noah’s Ark is found then Christians will have the material evidence to prove the Bible gives the true account of man’s history.
Several
attempts have been made to search for Noah’s Ark near the peak of Mount Ararat
but none have been found. In 1959 a
pilot in the Turkish Air Force on a NATO mapping-mission in the mountainous
terrain of eastern Turkey photographed an unusual ship-shaped object near Mount
Ararat. Later when these aerial photographs were viewed by Captain Ilhan
Durupinar, he noticed that the object looked even more like a ship.
But how
could a ship be located in the rugged mountains? After examining the stereo photos, photogrammetry expert, Dr.
Arthur Brandenberger of Ohio State, declared that the object was entirely
foreign to the area, and if the object is a ship then someone had better
explain how it got there.
Photographs
of the strange formation appeared in the world press and created a sensation.
Speculations abounded that it was Noah's Ark.
At that time there were already those who were interested in mounting
expeditions to search for Noah's Ark. The new discovery caught them by surprise
since most believed the Ark was actually on Mount Ararat and not on a foothill
some 15 miles away. If you read Genesis 8:4 carefully it does not state Mount
Ararat but “the mountains of Ararat” (mountains is plural) which describes a mountain
range. Noah’s Ark could have rested on the plateau of a mountain
range instead of on the peak as many have thought.
A group
known as the Archaeological Research Foundation (ARF), investigated the
"ship" with the full cooperation of the Turkish government in the
summer of 1960. After doing preliminary excavation and dynamiting one of the
sides, they concluded that the formation was only a freak of nature, a clay
upthrust in a lava field. They were looking for growth rings in petrified wood
if there were any, but found none. They
concluded that was not Noah’s Ark. What
the research team did not consider is there was no rain before the Great Flood,
and annular rings are caused by the annual change of seasons. The wood that was used to build the Ark did
not have annular rings like the wood we have today.
There is
another reason why the ARF did not find petrified wood with annular rings is
because the outer shell of Noah’s Ark was completely
covered with pitch (Gen. 6:14). When
the wood was covered with pitch on both sides the annular rings, if there were
any, would have been completely obliterated.
Trying to find annular rings on wood that had been covered with pitch, and after more than 4,300 years of exposure to weathering and petrification, is an impossibility. If it was there, it does not exist anymore.
In
August 1977 Ron Wyatt, an American archaeologist, traveled to Turkey and
personally examined the "boat shaped object" shown in the Life
Magazine article. He found large stones, identical in design to
smaller drogue anchor stones. Some of
the anchors seem to have had eight original crosses carved on them. The
eight crosses represent the eight people in Noah’s family who were saved in the
Ark. These crosses are Byzantine in style that indicates that someone after 300
A.D. recognized these anchor stones as having a connection with Noah's Ark and
carved the crosses at that time.
The
following account is taken from the Wyatt Archaeological Research Web Site. Click here: à http://www.wyattmuseum.com/noahs-ark.htm
“In
1978 an earthquake caused the soil surrounding the "boat shaped
object" to fall away, exposing as much as thirty feet of the
sides. On August 11, 1979 Ron Wyatt returned to the
site. What he saw, after the earthquake "looked like a giant
shipwreck." Evenly spaced indentations could be seen all the way
around the object, which "looked like decaying rib timbers". What appeared to be "horizontal deck
support timbers" were observed at consistent intervals. The earthquake had
also cracked the object from "stem to stern" and Ron was able to take
samples from deep within.
Ron
measured the object finding it to be 515 feet long - 512 feet, plus 3
feet, the length of a section that had broken off.
The Turkish government had officially recognized this
boat-shaped formation as the archaeological site and dedicated it as Noah’s Ark
National Park in June 1987. They have built a Visitor's Center and also used it as a museum exhibiting artifacts that are related to the Ark.
I met Ron
Wyatt on July 27 1995 and talked with him at length about the Ark discovery
when he came to Houston, Texas. I also know Richard Rives who succeeded Ron
Wyatt, after his death, in the continued search for archaeological objects of
biblical interest. Ron and Richard
believe in keeping all the Ten Commandments as I do. Based on their
archaeological data and comparing them with the biblical truths I believe the
boat-shaped formation in Turkey is indeed the archaeological remains of Noah’s
Ark.
1. The
archaelogical site is within the borders of Turkey and conforms to the Biblical region of “the Mountains of Ararat.” (Gen. 8:4)
2. The
archaeological site has the shape of a boat (Gen. 6:14).
3. The
length of the boat-shaped formation conforms to the Biblical length of 300
cubits - 515 feet (Gen. 6:15). Almost all Biblical commentators and reference works state
that the cubit used by the Hebrews was approximately 18 inches which is the
length between the elbow and the tip of the middle finger. During the time when Noah was building the
Ark “there were giants on the earth in those days” so the cubit that Noah used could be longer than 18 inches
(Gen. 6:4). Ron Wyatt argued that since
Moses who wrote the book of Genesis was educated in Egypt therefore he must
have used the Royal Egyptian cubit that is 20.6 inches (Acts 7:22). Using the Royal Egyptian cubit the
biblical length of Noah’s Ark should be 300 x 20.6 inches = 6,180 inches = 515
feet. It is amazing that the ship-like
formation also measured 515 feet (512 feet plus the 3 feet broken piece). A freak of nature cannot be that accurate
and precise in measurement! This is the
clincher.
Again,
using the Royal Egyptian cubit the width of Noah’s Ark should be 50 x 20.6
inches = 1,030 inches = 86 feet. The
ship-like formation is approximately 160 feet wide. Ron Wyatt believes this discrepancy is due to a splaying
(widening) effect as the Ark decayed and slid down the mountain (Ron says the
Ark landed about two miles higher than its present location).
There is
another explanation about this ship-like formation. I once worked as the architectural drafter for a company in the
Houston Ship Channel that designs and builds barges so I know something about
barge-building. Here are God’s
instructions to Noah. “Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; and make rooms in the
ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch.” (Gen. 6:14) Pitch (modern
name is bitumen) is a petroleum by-product that is an excellent waterproofing
material. Today it is used to
manufacture roof shingles. Noah’s Ark is built like a huge
barge that has a hull with the outer shell held together by a framed structure
consisting of vertical posts, cross beams and decks to make rooms as stated in
the Bible. Like all floating vessels only the outer shell needs to be
waterproofed, so God instructed Noah to “cover it
inside and outside with pitch.”
Concerning
the discrepancy of the width of the ship-like formation which is 160 feet
instead of 86 feet as stated in the Bible, there are two reasons for it. First, the earthquake that occurred in 1978 caused the soil surrounding the "boat shaped object" to fall away, exposing the former outer shell of the ark. Second, the Internal Timber Framed Structure with the posts,beams and decks that held the whole hull of the Ark together have been dismantled. When the internal structure is
dismantled the outer shell on both sides collapsed outward. This explains the larger width.
There are
three reasons for the internal structure of the Ark to be dismantled. This theory is biblically based and is also
very sound.
1.
The Bible states: “And
Noah began to be a farmer, and he planted a vineyard.” (Gen. 9:20) There is a village called Ahora (Aghurri), traditionally,
the area where Noah planted his first vineyard after coming down Mount Ararat
from the Ark. Noah’s family
originally lived in tents (Gen. 9:21, 27).
After the
Great Flood the earth began to have the four seasons. “While the earth remains, seedtime
and harvest, and cold and heat, and winter and summer, and day and night shall
not cease.” (Gen. 8:22) Tents are temporary dwellings that cannot protect dwellers
from the cold winter. Since Noah and
his sons knew how to build the Ark they could have also built permanent
dwellings with timber construction. The
Ark had already served its useful purpose so Noah and his sons could have
dismantled its internal timber frame and other materials to build houses with
better insulation values. Their
descendants could have also followed their example. This area became the earliest settlement after the Great Flood.
2. The homes of the early settlement near the
landing site of Noah’s Ark do not have heating systems like we do in modern
times. Their primitive method of
heating was by burning wood. They could
have dismantled the internal timber frame of the Ark and salvaged the wood for
the heating of their homes during the winter.
There are stones in that area and Noah had built an altar, so they could
have also built stone fireplaces (Gen. 8:20).
3. Besides the change of weather pattern there
is also a change in the diet of man.
Before the Great Flood Noah’s family probably had a vegetarian diet that
required no cooking (Gen. 1:29-30).
After the Great Flood God instructed Noah, “Every
moving thing that lives shall be food for you.
I have given you all things, even as the green herbs.” (Gen. 9:3) Meat requires
cooking so that it can become fit for human consumption. With the new requirements for home-building, heating and cooking,
the dismantling of the internal structure of the Ark for its timber seems to be
a plausible and pragmatic solution for the needs of Noah’s family. This is one of the reasons why no loose pieces of petrified lumber could be found on the site. The outer shell of the Ark’s hull were left intact on the site because the lumber was enormous in size and they
were covered with pitch on both sides; making them not suitable for building,
heating and cooking purposes. These huge petrified lumber can still be seen on the site today. “And
Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years. So all the days of Noah were nine hundred
and fifty years, and he died.” (Gen. 9:28-29)
As far as
God’s plan of salvation for mankind is concerned it does not depend on whether
or not Noah’s Ark is discovered. When
the Lord Jesus Christ came to this earth the Ark was not discovered. However, it is important for us to believe
Noah, the Ark and the Great Flood did exist because our Lord Jesus Christ
prophesied living conditions in the End time would be like that in the time of
Noah.
“But
of that day and hour no one knows, no, not even the angels of heaven, but My
Father only. But as the days of Noah
were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the Flood, they were eating and
drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the
Ark, and did not know until the Flood came and took them all away, so also will
the coming of the Son of Man be.” (Mt. 24:36-39)
What
kind of flood will there be in the End Time?
After Noah and his family got out of the Ark God made a covenant with
him. Thus
I establish My covenant with you. Never
again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall
there be a flood to destroy the earth.” (Gen. 9:11) The Bible shows there are several kinds
of floods that are used figuratively.
The flood is used as a destructive enemy (Isa. 59:19; Jer. 46:7-8); “floods
of ungodliness” (Ps. 18:4; 2 Sam. 22:5),
great testing (Mt. 7:25, 27), persecution (Rev.
12:15-16). The devil is flooding the Internet with pornography and all kinds of
wicked and evil materials.
Saints
of God must enter the Ark of God in the End Time to be saved. The Ark symbolizes
the Lord Jesus Christ who is the only way of salvation for mankind. “Nor is there
salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men
by which we must be saved.” (Acts. 4:10-12)
“So they said, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved,
you and your household.” (Acts 16:31)
A sermon based on this article was preached by Paul Wong
to a congregation in Houston, Texas on October 18, 2003.
For
comments please write first to arkpw@sbcglobal.net
Paul Wong is a Christian minister and the
President of ARK International.
His ministry also serves as an architectural service company in Houston.
The ARK Forum on the Internet is international and non-denominational.
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