Genuine Ark, Part 6: Large Construction Crew

We have received so many questions about the Ark Encounter based on misconceptions about the project itself. Some of these come from people who are supporters and others come from critics and skeptics. These types of questions give us an opportunity to correct these misunderstandings, so we’ll spend several posts addressing these issues.

Question: Why are you using a construction company to build the Ark when Noah’s Ark was built by eight people?

We’ve received this question multiple times, but those asking the question make numerous unsupportable assumptions. For example, we have not claimed that our methods of building the Ark will be exactly like the methods Noah used. Even if we knew precisely how he did it, our Ark is being built for different reasons, although some of those reasons are related to Noah’s purpose. Our Ark is not being built to spare eight people and representatives of every animal kind. Instead, it will be a theme park designed to teach people the truth about the biblical account of Noah and the Flood.

Another unsupportable assumption is that Noah’s Ark was built by only eight people. Where does the Bible ever teach this? We know that Lamech died about five years prior to the Flood, and Methuselah died the year of the Flood. It is possible that they (and maybe other distant relatives) assisted Noah with much of the construction. Noah may have hired construction workers and employed animals for hauling and lifting heavy loads while building this incredible project. He may have even had access to sophisticated mechanisms and technology that we have not even considered.

The Bible does not tell us how many people worked on the Ark’s construction, but it does tell us that Noah was faithful to do what God commanded him (Genesis 6:22; Hebrews 11:7). God’s Word also reveals that only eight people survived the global Flood (Genesis 6:18; 7:7; 1 Peter 3:20).

While the Ark Encounter is not being built for the same purpose as the original Ark, we do intend to teach people that although God judged the wicked world of Noah’s day He spared Noah and his family on the Ark. Similarly, God will one day judge the world again—this time by fire (2 Peter 3:10). We have all sinned and deserve His wrath. However, God sent His Son to die on the Cross to pay the penalty for our sins, and then God raised Him from the dead—demonstrating His power over death. Only those who repent and place their faith in Jesus Christ alone will be saved from eternal destruction (Acts 4:12; 2 Thessalonians 1:9–10).