A Dutchman who has constructed a full-scale replica of Noah's Ark wants to sail it to Israel, People Magazine reported this week.
Johan Huibers, a Christian and a builder by trade, finished his 20-year quest to build a full-scale, functioning model of Noah's Ark in 2012. According to People, he wanted to sail it to Brazil for the 2016 Summer Olympics, but the planned journey never took place.
Huibers used Chapters 6-9 of the Book of Genesis as his inspiration, following the instructions God gives Noah down to the last cubit.
Translating to modern measurements, Huibers came up with a vessel that measures a whopping 427 feet (130 meters) long, 95 feet (29 meters) across and 75 feet (23 meters) high. Perhaps not big enough to fit every species on Earth in pairs as described in the Bible, but plenty of space, for instance, for a pair of elephants to dance the tango.
For Huibers, the idea began with a nightmare he had in 1992, when the low-lying Netherlands was flooded, as it has been many times throughout its history.
He believes new floods are possible, not least due to global warming, and cites a New Testament passage prophesying that "the cities of the coast shall tremble" near the end of times.
But he is not worried the whole Earth will ever be flooded again. In the Bible, the rainbow is God's promise that it will not be.
"I had a call from American television," he says, laughing. "This has nothing to do with the end of the Mayan calendar."
Huibers said his motivation is ultimately religious – he wants to make people think about their purpose on Earth.
"I want to make people question that so that they go looking for answers" and ultimately find salvation through God and eternal life, he says.
Huibers says he is also working on a new dream: he wants to get Israelis and Arabs to cooperate and build a water pipeline from the Mediterranean Sea to the Dead Sea.
"If you have faith, anything is possible," he says.
