The Ark of Noah Found?

One website/story published by the Christian Worldview Network and written by Worldview Weekend President Brannon Howse claims that Bob Cornuke and a team of 13 others - including apologist Josh McDowell - returned from Iran recently claiming they had found what could very well be the Ark of Noah.  According to the article:

The unusual object is perched on a slope 13,120 feet above sea level. After studying the discovery site, Bonnema observed, “These beams not only look like petrified wood, they are so impressive that they look like real wood—this is an amazing discovery that may be the oldest shipwreck in recorded history.”

Reg Lyle, oil and gas geologist said “the object appears to be a basalt dike, however, it is absolutely uncanny that the object looks like hand hewn timbers, even the grain and color look just like petrified wood….

In a previous post, I have mentioned the research of Bob Cornuke in his efforts to rediscover the Ark of Noah.  I’ve also mentioned his theory that it would be located in Iran – particularly Mt. Sabalon.  From my own personal review of the written files concerned with the “Ararat Anomaly” on Agri Dagh (Mt. Ararat in Turkey), I can confidently conclude that there is little chance that the Ark of Noah was ever there. 

Agri Dagh is unstable and is often subject to seismic activity.  Because of this, the face of this mountain is different today than it was ten years ago, a hundred years ago, and thousands of years ago.  Within the last one hundred and fifty years, many accounts have been published claiming to have seen or touched the Ark, or conversed with one who had.  Some have even claimed to have retrieved wood from the Ark.  Nevertheless, none have been able to substantiate their claims – until now.

The story has not been publicized very much in recent weeks at all.  Mr. Cornuke appeared on “The Big Story” (FOX) on December 10, 2005 to discuss some of the aspects of his search for Noah’s Ark.  He also appeared on “The Heartland with John Kasich” on June 17, 2006 following the release of the Ark Fever website. WorldNetDaily, Regenerate Our Culture Magazine and ABC News featured stories concerning it but, thus far, no major media outbreak has emerged concerning this potentially historic find.

Dissenters who deride the find, besides activist atheists, include those associated with archaeologist Ron Wyatt, who – despite the Biblical evidence in Cornuke’s favor - are convinced that Ron discovered the Ark in the Agri District of Turkey back in 1987.  The question comes down to the Biblical facts: can the BASE Expedition’s find be considered a likely candidate for the true Ark of Noah?  I answer wholeheartedly in the affirmative.

Why Iran?

Many of us grew up thinking that the Ark rested on Mt. Ararat, which is in Turkey.  This lone mountain on the ancient plains of Armenia is subject to harsh winters, constant seismic activity, and frequent battles between Kurdish insurrectionists and Turkish Jandarma forces.  Many expeditions there have been conducted in serach of the Ark – by the High Flight Foundation of astronaut Jim Irwin, the Institution for Creation Research of Dr. John Morris (this also supported by Dr. Tim LaHaye), and the expeditions conducted by Fernand Navarra and John Porcher L’Engle Taylor – both of whom have claimed to have found remains of the Ark (never once being verified, however).

Bob Cornuke went on many expeditions to Mt. Ararat with High Flight and other organizations to search for the Ark.  After escaping many life-threatening situations, he decided that he would never return to Ararat again – believing that if the Ark had been there, it was no longer in recognizable shape or in an accessible place.

Yet, after receiving a mysterious call back in the United States about how everyone was looking in the wrong place, Cornuke returned to the Biblical record to see what clues he could find.  What the Scriptures offered settled his mind – it could not be on Mt. Ararat.  The Scripture that convinced him?  Genesis 11:1-2 (ESV) provide the answer:

Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. [emphasis mine]

Traditional and modern scholars all agree that Shinar is an ancient name for Mesopotamia – modern-day Iraq.  People came from the region of the Ark’s landing from the east of Shinar.  Mt. Ararat in Turkey is due north of Mesopotamia, which immediately disqualifies it.  The only country that is due east, for miles, is Iran.

The next clue came from Genesis 8:4 (ESV):

…and in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. [emphasis mine]

This is an important phrase because Mt. Ararat in Turkey is a lone peak standing in the midst of a wide plain.  Yet, due east, there are many mountain ranges in the land of Iran.  It is hear that Dr. Cornuke and his team claim to have found the Ark – on Mt. Sabalon.  The remains of the petrified wood and the approximately 400 foot structure have convinced those who have had the fortune to hear of it that it may indeed be the Ark of Noah.

What’s the significance?  For starters, this is one of the greatest finds in the history of archeology – a man-made structure of mammoth proportions that exceeds any other item in its class up until the modern era.  Secondly, this is yet another artifact confirming the Biblical record.  We have thus far confirmed the existence of Pontius Pilate, of the Hittites, of the Philistines, of the royal House of David and the kingdoms of Israel and Judah.  The Ark of Noah, if this proves to be true, can be added to this list.

Of course, those are only material benefits. There are many more important consequences of this find.  For believers, it is a confirmation of their faith.  As it states in Hebrews 11:7 (ESV), “By faith, Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family.  By faith, he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.”  In holy fear, we who have been redeemed, have boarded the Ark of God – Jesus Christ, by whom we shall endure and be escape the judgment of God.  By our trust in Him, we condemn the world, becoming co-heirs with Christ Jesus in the rewards of God.  The effect then, is one of comfort (a subtle irony, for Noah’s very name means “comfort.”)

For the unbeliever, this should have an even greater effect.  For if the Ark is real, then the Flood must have happened.  The Flood was God’s promised judgment on the world for its wickedness.  God has promised further judgment.  If the Flood happened, then we must assume that God will not be lax in holding to His promise to judge the world again.  This will not be an effect widely-experienced.  Because of their ignorance and their love of darkness, men will continue on.  As Jesus said in Matthew 24:37-39 (ESV):

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.

The world will continue in its wickedness, continue to reject God, and continue to harden their hearts to the love that God has for us.  They will not hear His Law, nor His Gospel, or the pleading of His servants.  For, it is written, that Noah preached righteousness and was anxious in his heart until the day he entered the Ark, and God closed the door.  It is left then, to us, to believe and to pray, and to remember that God shall save us in the day of judgment.