4. Worldwide Flood
Enough is enough … Annihilation becomes inevitable: Genesis 6:5-7
Although the population on earth was fairly new, the end was near. Because evil grew so rapidly and remained a constant part of humanity, God decided to cleanse the human race from the planet. Animals would be destroyed as well.
But … Noah found grace in God: Genesis 6:8-9
One righteous man in the world kept God from destroying everything. To Noah, God told his plans of exterminating the world by a flood, and gave him specific instructions for saving himself, his family, and animal life.
At this point in history, heavy fogs and mists watered the vegetation. Until the flood, there was no rain on earth. (Genesis 7:11-12)
Blueprint for deliverance: Genesis 7:14-21
Very specific blueprints were given to Noah for his survival:
- The ark must be built from Gopher wood (most likely this is Cypress or Teak)
- Dimensions: 450ft. x 75ft. x45ft. (based on a cubit being 18 inches)
- It was to have three levels (or decks)
- Its bottom was flat …like a barge. (The word ark means “chest” or “floating object”. It was not designed to sail or cruise, but to only float on the water
- A single window (possibly along the entire length of the ark for light and ventilation … remember there are animals on board)
- Pitch (or tar) was to be smeared over the inside and outside of the ark to waterproof it
- Only one door
For more details about the ark … and a few historical views of it: worldwide flood.
- Replica of the Ark in Holland
Animals in the ark: Genesis 6:19-22; 7:2-3, 8-9
Noah was to take all kinds of animals to preserve life on earth, however a distinction is made here between clean and unclean animals. To preserve life Noah had to take two of every kind of animal, but seven pairs of each kind of clean animal. This distinction between clean and unclean animals became a major point in the law. (Leviticus 11:2-23)
Was it possible?
Floor space on the ark was at least 33,750 sq. feet on each of the three decks. Because most species could survive outside the ark, there was ample room for the other animals, their food and water on the ark … enough for over a year. Most of these animals are small, and more than half were birds.
What about dinosaurs?
The Hebrew version of Genesis 1:21 mentions the creation of great dragons. Job 40 and 41 mentions two huge creatures (behemoth and leviathan) which could have been dinosaurs. Because almost every known ancient civilization has drawings of dragons and other animals that represented dinosaurs, it is likely that some of those dinosaurs were on the ark. Due to its immense size, there would have been enough room on the ark for a pair of these young prehistoric monsters.
God’s specific instructions:
God’s deliverance of Noah is very similar to the way he delivers us today. He provides a way of escape and gives us specific instructions to follow. Our adherence to them is just as much of our salvation as his mercy.
World-wide flood: Genesis 7:11-8:14
Seven days before the rains came, Noah, his family, and the animals boarded the ark … and God shut and sealed the door behind them. (7:16)
It only rained for 40 days, but the springs under the earth broke forth also … and the whole world filled with water. The highest mountains were 20 feet under the surface of the water. (7:20) Every animal that lived on dry land, and every human drowned. The earth was a shore-less ocean for 150 days.
Noah’s ark discovered? The flood verified?
More than 200 historical references record the observations of individuals claiming to have seen the ark. In 300 BC, a Chaldean priest named Berosis wrote of finding the ark in the mountains of Ararat. In 1271, Marco Polo, surveyed the Ararat Mountains and returned with his own accounts of the ark. 
Recent satellite images and archeologists have discovered more evidence that suggest a world-wide flood did occur, and that an enormous man-made object has been found in the mountains of Ararat. From England, France, Spain, Germany, Russia, China, Mexico, and the United States, geologists have recorded vast mounds of animal remains in isolated, high elevations.
For more about the verification of the flood: National Geographic
The days of Noah compared to the days before Christ’s second coming: Matthew 24:37-39
The lifestyles of those who died in the flood are similar to the lifestyles that mark the second coming and the final end of the world. The bottom line? God desires us to live our life in holiness and righteousness toward him and others. (2 Peter 3:5-13)
| Days of Noah | Second Coming / End of the World |
| Great wickedness: Genesis 6:5 | Evil and con men: 2 Timothy 3:13 |
| Earth full of violence: Genesis 6:11 | Perilous times and people: 2 Timothy 3:1-4 |
| Noah, the preacher of righteousness: 2 Peter 2:5 | Gospel preached to whole world: Matthew 24:14 |
| Only Noah and family saved: 2 Peter 2:5 | Only righteous spared wrath: Colossians 3:4-6 |
| Ungodly destroyed by flood: Genesis 6:13; 7:23 | Ungodly destroyed by fire: 2 Peter 3:5-13 |
Dry ground and a burning altar: Genesis 8:15-22
Finally, the ark landed on the mountains of Ararat. Noah and his family did not exit the ark until God told them to. Once outside the ark on dry ground, an altar was built. Each one of the clean animals was sacrificed as a burnt offering unto God. Seeing this, God declared that he would never curse the ground because of people, nor would he destroy all the animals … even though man is obsessed by sin from childhood. (vs. 21)
God’s Agreement with Noah: Genesis 9:8-17
Imagine the first rainfall after getting off the ark. God had to deal with man’s fear of another flood, so his promise was that the rainbow in the sky would be a sign that the world would never again be destroyed by water. This rainbow can be seen over God’s throne in heaven in the book of Revelation.
Sources: Alfred M Rehwinkel, The Flood.
3. After first 10 generations, God ready to kill ‘em all
Scripture records that Adam and Eve were the ones to populate the Earth, but only three of their sons are named … Cain, Abel, and Seth.
Cain and Abel: Genesis 4:1-6
Having learned to survive outside the Garden, Adam taught Cain and Abel what he knew about shepherding and farming. Apparently, Adam also taught them that blood sacrifices were the proper offerings unto God.
As they matured, Cain and Abel began making offerings unto God on their own individual altars. At some point, Cain attempted to offer God fruits and vegetables he had labored to grow. Although it was a sacrifice on Cain’s behalf, because there was no blood (as was evidently prescribed), God rejected the sacrifice … but at this point he did not reject Cain.
Cain kills Abel: Genesis 4:5-10
Because Cain refused to admit his error and make a proper offering, the sin that was “at his door” overtook him and corrupted him. The focus of his anger became his brother, Abel, who made blood offerings that God did accept.
Cain’s sins rapidly multiplied as his refusal to obey God turned into anger, which turned into murder, and then like his parents, in denial he attempted to lie to God.
Jesus taught that we are to “love people as we do ourselves” … which is what Cain’s conscience seemed to be telling him too. We are our brother’s keepers. It is our duty as humans to do what is right and good for others. (Matthew 22:39; Mark 12:31; Luke 10:27)
Cain exiled: Genesis 4:11-16
Again, sin damages people’s relationships with others and with God … Cain killed his brother, was exiled from his home, was exiled from God, and then feared being killed by someone else.
Who was Cain’s wife? Because the marriage of immediate relatives was unavoidable, Cain most likely married one of his sisters. Several of Cain’s descendants had identical names to those of his brother’s (Seth’s) lineage.
Lamech and the consequences of sin: Genesis 4:19-24
The sins that corrupted Cain soon began to overtake his offspring. Only five generations into Cain’s lineage, major issues begin to arise: Lamech also kills someone and goes against God’s plan for the family and has two wives.
Seth: Genesis 4:25-26
When Adam was 130 years old, Seth was born. In Hebrew his name means “substitute”, as if he was replacing Abel … who was to provide the lineage for the promised redeemer to “crush the head” of satan. (Genesis 3:15)
“Men began to call upon the name of the Lord”: Genesis 4:26
It seems that a new God-consciousness is re-birthed in humanity … or at least in Seth’s family.
Enoch and the consequences of righteousness: Genesis 5:19-24; Jude 14-15
Five generations into Seth’s lineage, Enoch was the first person to have “walked with God” since Adam in the Garden. Because Enoch pleased God and loved righteousness, God physically took him off the earth, out of time and space, to be with him. (Hebrews 11:5)
The world becomes very evil: Genesis 6:5-7
Although people lived longer in this dispensation (average 920 to 940 years), there were only ten generations between Adam and the day that God decided to wipe the world clean of man’s continual sinfulness.
From the state of being in perfect relationship with God and each other in the Garden, mankind had been totally corrupted by the sin that was always “behind the door”. Because every thought in every mind was evil, God decided to kill every living creature on earth … there was no suitable sacrifice available to cover all the world’s sins.
Noah finds grace in God: Genesis 6: 8
Enoch’s great grandson, Noah, was different than the rest of the world … he was faithful. God liked what he saw in Noah, and just as with Enoch, he offered Noah (and his family) mercy and salvation.
2. Adam & Eve: The first people and first rebels
Humans created … in Innocence (Genesis 2:8-3:24)
Adam and Eve, the first humans, were created in innocence. The only thing they knew was living in relationship with God and each other. Though they lived very simply (naked) they did not experience the feelings of shame. (Genesis 2:25)
God had given them dominion (rule) over the whole earth, but they were directed to live in the Garden of Eden and tend to it. In the middle of Eden was the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. They could eat of any tree except from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. (Genesis 1:28, 2:9,17)
Genesis 3:12
The first family (Genesis 2:21-23)
After creating Adam, God recognized that it was not good for him to be lonely. While Adam was asleep, God created Eve to be his companion.
Temptation in paradise (Genesis 3:1-7)
God’s intimate creation and relationship with the humans, and the relationship between the humans had been watched closely by the very one God cast down to Earth … Satan. This fallen angel clearly heard the instructions God had given to Adam and Eve. To continue the war that had begun in Heaven, he possessed the body of the serpent and made plans to deceive and separate God from his beloved new creation. (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)
Sin separates man from God (Genesis 3:7-13)
When Adam and Eve disobeyed and became aware of their nakedness, they sewed fig leaves to cover themselves and they hid from God. Knowing their condition, and still in love with them, God sought them out. When confronted with their sin, they neither apologized nor confessed to eating the fruit, rather they pointed the finger of blame at each other. But God was not deceived.
All of humanity responds to their sin similarly … with an overwhelming feeling of shame … followed by an attempt to cover the shame. In sinning we hurt ourselves and our relationship with God, just as Adam and Eve did. But in dealing with the shame of the sin, we end up hurting other people.
Because Adam and Eve did not accept responsibility for the offense, they could no longer live in the Garden and have the same relationship with God. Just as Satan was rejected from God’s presence because of disobedience, so Adam and Eve were forced to leave the Garden of Eden.
Innocence ends in judgment and a promise (Genesis 3:14-19)
God warned that if they ate the forbidden fruit, they would die. Although they continued to live (bodily) and function with intellect and emotions (soul), their spirits died because they were cut off from God. (Genesis 2:17; Romans 5:17,19,21)
As this happened, the human body became subject to sickness and death, and the mind and soul became darkened … subject to Satan. (John 8:44, Ephesians 2:1-2, 2 Corinthians 4:4)
- Judgment against Adam (men): Ground cursed, must work and sweat sorrowfully for survival.
- Judgment against Eve (women): Sorrows multiplied, pain in childbirth, would be mastered by her husband.
- Judgment against Serpent: Cursed and hated more than any animal, crawl on belly, eat dust, hated by all people.
- The Promise: In judging the serpent, God included a judgment of Satan as well. There would be a great hatred from humanity toward Satan and although he may bruise the heel of the offspring of the woman (Eve), that same offspring would crush Satan’s head. This offers hope to humanity because Jesus would be the one to offer himself to be bruised as he crushed Satan. (Genesis 3:15; Galatians 4:4; Ephesians 1:20,22; Isaiah 7:14).
Although their spirits died because of their disobedience, God still loved man and communicated to him … through an inner voice called conscience. This began after eating of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. (Genesis 2:17)
Because sin damaged Adam and Eve’s relationship with God, they now lived outside the Garden of Eden, exiled from God’s Tree of Life. (Genesis 3:22-24)
Another result of their sin was that the first animals on the planet died. God killed them, and used their skins as clothing to cover his fallen people. This notion of killing an animal for the sake of covering (atoning for) sin became God’s method for all humans. Traces of this can be found in almost any ancient civilization. (Genesis 3:21; Leviticus 17:11; Hebrews 9:22)
This points to Jesus’ one time sacrifice on Calvary for the sins of all humans. (1 John 2:1-2; Hebrews 7:27; 9:28; 1 Peter 2:24; Galatians 4:4-5)
1. Genesis: Creation
In the book of Genesis, we have the of the origin of the world and mankind … as well as sin’s intrusion,its catastrophic effects on humanity, and the beginnings of God’s plan of rescue.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1) The very first sentence in scripture requires faith to believe that God exists and that he alone created the universe we live in. God is:
- Eternal: He has no beginning or ending, not limited by the boundaries of time and space. (Psalms 90:2; Revelation1:8)
- The Creator: Without any existing material to work from, God created the universe and everything and everyone in it. (Genesis 1:1; Job 26:7)
- Omnipresent: He is at all places at all times. (Psalm 139:7-11; Jeremiah 23:24)
- Omnipotent: He is the only all-mighty one. He has all power under his command. (Revelation 19:6; Jeremiah 32:17)
- Omniscient: He is all-knowing. He sees, hears, and knows everything. (Job 34:21; Psalm 139:4)
- Spirit: The invisible source by which all spirits are created and exist. (John 4:24; 1 Timothy 1:17)
- One: Although God has presented himself to the world in the body of a man (Jesus, and appeare
d to others in the form of angels, he is only one being. (Deuteronomy 6:4; Malachi 2:10; Ephesians 4:6)
The creation of Angels
To understand the presence of darkness on the planet in creation, and the presence of evil in the garden, we have to get a good understanding of Angels. God created Angels for various reasons:
- To worship and serve him (Psalms 148:2-6; Nehemiah 9:6)
- To protect and aid God’s people (Psalms 34:7; 91:11; Hebrews 1:14)
- To deliver God’s messages (Genesis 16:7; Exodus 3:2; Matthew 1:20)
Because of the pride of the angel Lucifer, he attempted to dethrone God. He became the first to disobey his creator … and there was a war in Heaven because of this first sinner. Lucifer and the angels under his command were banished temporarily to earth. His name was changed to Satan, and the fallen angels became known as demons. (Ezekiel 28:12-19; Revelation 12:7-9; Luke 10:18)
Having lived in God’s holiness and righteousness, Satan had knowledge of both good and evil. His existence on earth is similar to that in heaven … he is an enemy of the righteous, and works to blind humans from God’s truth. (2 Corinthians 4:4; Luke 4:6; Ephesians 6:12)
Although they are spirits and enemies of God, neither Satan nor his demons are like God. They are not omnipotent, omniscient, or omnipresent. Because of their disobedience, at the end of time God will cast Satan and his demons into a lake of fire to burn forever. (Revelation 20:10)
God creates the Universe (Genesis 1:1—2:3)
Most likely this is a song or poem that the Hebrews memorized to remember the story of creation. It is not very detailed, but is sufficient to tell how everything began.
Note: The original Hebrew word “day” has various meanings. In understanding creation, we can suppose that the “day” is a physical 24-hour period, or it may be a geologic age (perhaps thousands of years. (2 Peter 3:8). On either hand, the record is the same … God created the universe, Earth, and life out of nothing … by only speaking it all into existence. (Psalms 33:6,9; Hebrews 11:3)
Day one (Genesis 1:3-5)
God creates a watery Earth and outer space. Light appears and darkness is divided; day and night are created.
Day two (Genesis 1:6-8)
God divided the waters on Earth. This resulted in water in the atmosphere … clouds.
Day three (Genesis 1:9-13)
The waters on Earth were divided by dry land, which produced oceans and seas. Plant life was created.
Day four (Genesis 1:14-19)
The sun was created to give light for the day, just as the moon would give light for the night. The universe was made and began their rotations (stars, planets, galaxies, etc) which aided in navigation and charting the seasons. Notice that there was light on the first day .. when the SPirit of God moved on the planet?
Day five (Genesis 1:20-23)
Fish, sea life, and birds were created.
Day six (Genesis 1:24-31)
All land animals were created. Mankind was the only creation made in the image of God, with an recorded emphasis on our sexuality, and not made by God’s speaking us into existence. He formed us from the dirt and when he breathed life into us, we became a living soul. This is what gives us preeminence over the rest of creation. (Genesis 1:28, 2:7; Hebrews 2:7,8)
Day seven (Genesis 2:1-3)
God rested from all that he made. Because God knows the tendencies of his creation, he emphasized early on the importance of balancing work and rest. The concept of resting one day after working six is established throughout scripture.
Near the end of his life, Charles Darwin reflected on his theory of evolution. “I was a young man with unformed ideas. I threw out queries, suggestions, wondering all the time over everything; and to my astonishment the ideas took like wildfire. People made a religion of them.” When asked to speak about the Bible, Darwin replied, “Christ Jesus and his salvation. Is not that the best theme?”
