The Flood of Noah's day is mentioned elsewhere in scripture. It is referred to in the book of Joshua; it is taught as a prophetic illustration by Jesus; and alluded to by Peter. Even if the Flood account recorded in Genesis was simply an allegory, the lessons it teaches would still be sound. The way our thoughts are molded around it may serve us in ways we may not fully understand. To know all the details would be interesting, but not essential.

 

The account of the Flood teaches:

1. That because Noah avoided the corruption of his generation, he was considered a righteous man.
2. That God set a time limit for his toleration of evil.
3. That: "By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith." -Hebrews 11:7
4. That Noah kept a log of important events during his time in the ark.
5. That Noah's days were prophetic of days to come, when another time of judgment and the elimination of the ungodly would occur.

 

     In Greek mythology there was a messenger goddess of rainbows, named Iris. She was said to carry water over a rainbow from the river Styx to Olympus for the gods to swear oaths upon. This may hearken back to the story of Noah's ark, where God swears never to destroy the earth again with a flood and installs the rainbow in heaven as a reminder of his covenant with mankind, saying:

 

     "Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life." -Genesis 9:14, 15

 

     It is possible that there was once a huge flood, caused naturally and not by God. But if so, then there is nothing to be learned from it, other than that our existence hangs in the balance between cause and effect. The Biblical story at least has a moral and spiritual aspect. And to be clear, the Genesis account does not reference a local flood, but a global deluge, which marked the beginning of known history.