Deluge

The Deluge (Latin diluvium) is the name given to the great flood of Noah's day recorded in Genesis 6–9 — the most catastrophic judgment in human history before the final judgment. Its cause was the universal corruption and violence of antediluvian humanity (Genesis 6:5–12). God commanded Noah to build the ark and bring aboard his family and representatives of all animal kinds. The flood began when the fountains of the great deep burst open and the windows of heaven were opened (Genesis 7:11), inundating the earth for 150 days before the waters receded. Noah, his wife, his three sons and their wives — eight persons in total — survived aboard the ark. God's covenant with Noah after the flood, marked by the rainbow, guaranteed that the earth would never again be destroyed by water (Genesis 9:11–17). The New Testament cites the flood as a historical event typologically connected to baptism (1 Peter 3:20–21) and as a model of judgment preceding Christ's return (Matthew 24:37–39; 2 Peter 3:6).