Look at the full scope of the passage. He equates the future judgment with fire directly with God’s past judgment with water. So if you take the ‘local flood’ interpretation here, then three major problems arise:
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Who are the ‘scoffers’ who are denying that a local flood happened in Mesopotamia? I thought that represented the modern-day consensus view to explain the flood legend.
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What does your belief in a local flood have to do with believing in Jesus Christ? It makes these things a complete non-sequitur.
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Do you believe God’s future judgment by fire is also going to be regional only?