The Antediluvian world existed before the Great flood of Noah. Humans had lived on Earth for over 1600 years before God sent the flood and if the fossil record is indeed the result of this event, then one might reasonably expect evidence of antediluvian civilizations to be found deep in the strata, although some argue that when God said that He would "wipe mankind ... from the face of the earth" (Genesis 6:7 ), He meant that He would leave no trace.
It is believed by many creationists that humans originated at a high and noble state, and later declined. Many propose advanced stages of technological development were reached before the great flood. Such presuppositions are usually based on the Biblical genealogy, which states that ancient people lived to approximately 10 times our current life span. Also it is frequently mentioned that Adam and Eve would likely possess higher than normal intelligence since they were created as adults, with knowledge that subsequent humans obtain from their parents. Another theory states that the antediluvian race called the Nephilim was superior to other humans in this respect.
All accounts of the Great flood from civilizations around the world indicate that there were indeed civilizations before the flood. However, as a result of the destruction during the flood and the passage of time, the remaining evidence is scanty. As a result of the flood, the surface of the Earth was ripped up and was redeposited as hundreds of feet of sediment, and very little of the antediluvian horizon has been exposed. It is also problematic that much of the scientific community is quick to dismiss any artifacts that dispute their presupposed interpretation of the fossil record. Nevertheless, any truly advanced civilization would have left durable traces or constructions that would likely surface during excavations or by erosion. Relatively insightful accounts can be drawn from the Bible, apocrypha, and ancient Babylonian and Greek accounts of antediluvian civilizations.
The Book of Genesis provides only a skeletal description of antediluvian civilization. It reports that people routinely lived what is by today's standards extraordinary lengths of time, from 800-900 years each. It reports the founding of cities such as the founding of Enoch by Cain. Further, it reports that people at that time became extremely corrupt and violent, and ultimately were destroyed by God for their wickedness and violence.
In the Epic of Gilgamesh Tablet one, we are told that there were cities before the Flood, which were restored by Utanapishtim:
John Sanford in Genetic Entropy points out the decline in ages from the oldest human (Methuselah) and the other long ages for humans (Adam, 930 years, Noah 960 years) down to Abraham (170 years) and declining further to Moses (120 years). He notes that this decline follows an exponential decay curve and is off-tolerance of this curve by mere fractions of a percentage point. This means that the writer(s) of Genesis were either well-aware of advanced mathematics or were just reporting what-they-knew. There would be no compelling reason to display an exponential curve in the numbers since genetics was not discovered until the 19th century and the human genome was not understood until the 20th century. How could humans live much longer? The original human genome, as provided by the Creator, was free of the generational mutations that led to the decay curve. In addition, it is postulated by creationists that the dietary and environmental conditions were more conducive to longevity.
Culturally speaking, it is hard to imagine someone living prosperously beyond a finite timeframe of 100 years or more. In the present-day experience, people who live over 100 years are hardly in a position to mount armies, challenge potentates or vigorously regenerate a bloodline. The three sons of Noah entered the Ark ostensibly at 100 years of age and clearly had no qualms about mastering the seas or replenishing the Earth with children after the Ark landed.
Concerning the spread of evil however, of note is someone like Adolf Hitler, who arguably had hit a pinnacle of evil intentions by age 20. In present-day terms, he would have some 40 years to make-it-or-break-it before seriously considering his own mortality and ultimate replacement. But if he could have lived for 100's of years, building armies of disciples over time, then mounting a war against the world might be ambitious in his thirties. But if he failed and went into hiding for 100 years before trying again, perhaps he would be more successful on a second attempt. What of a third, or fourth, each likewise 100 years apart? Clearly the longevity of mankind was as much a liability as a blessing.
Some skeptics[1] in an effort to assist in the "un-believability" of such high longevity, have offered the notion that the "years" of Genesis were not common years as we understand them (one Earth revolution around the Sun) but were lunar years (one Moon revolution around the Earth). This would mean that Eve gave birth to Seth at "age 130", but this would mean roughly ten years old. They would say "sure, that's young, but they had good genes and all that."
But does this notion play out with even a superficial reading of the accounts? In Genesis 1:14 the author notes day and night, days and years in context and contrast, clearly delineating their meaning. In Genesis 4:1 we begin the tragic story of Cain and Abel, grown men with their own concerns making sacrifice to the Lord. And only after do we read in Genesis 4:25 that Seth was born to Adam and Eve when they were 130 years old. Here's the problem: If Eve was only 10 "actual" years old when she gave birth to Seth, where did she find time to give birth to and raise Cain and Abel into grown men? Later in Genesis 7:11 we engage a very meticulous account of the Flood days and the time in the Ark, but it launches in the 600th year of Noah, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month. Clearly the context fully conveys an understanding of the hierarchical and chronological relationship of years, months and days.
Such skeptics oddly do not enter these thought experiments to make the Bible "more believable". Rather they offer these notions in fully skeptical form. It is as if they want to manufacture a reason to believe the Bible even less than they already do.
In present-day terms, as of January, 2014 over 7000[2] different languages exist on the globe. The Bible has been fully translated into over 500 languages with some portion of the Bible in over 2500 languages[3]. Linguists will note that the structure of a language devolves and morphs into other less structured forms. English has degraded in structure and form from its inception. In fact all of the languages deriving from Latin are less structured than their Latin roots. This effect is expected first from the propensity of structure to become less organized as entropy creeps into a structured system. It is expected second from the curse of Babel, that the nations remain divided.
The Chinese language has certain pre-Flood artifacts embedded in its graphical language structure[4]. Each Chinese "letter" is actually a pictograph composed of multiple smaller symbols. Interestingly, the symbol for "boat" and for "Flood" have the symbol for the number "8" embedded in them. The symbol for "tempter" includes the symbol for two trees, a garden and a devil. Shem, the son of Noah was the founder of the Chinese culture and it kept a mono-theistic worldview for over 2000 years worshiping a being called Shang-Di who matches the description of the Creator from the book of Genesis. In the final analysis, the sub-symbols and knowledge embedded in the Chinese language symbols are direct references to pre-Flood entities, conditions and situations, and is itself over 4000 years old. Such things would be unavailable to a common Chinese citizen. The assertion is that someone like Shem or his wife provided this knowledge to directly embed it in the Chinese language as a legacy from the pre-Flood world.
In Acts 2:6 we read that the apostles were able to speak in their own language while all those present actually heard the words in the own various native languages. At the Tower of Babel, all people speaking a common tongue were suddenly cursed with various tongues. This is because all language is supernatural. It is a supernatural gift from the Creator for mankind's communication with God and with other humans.
We are also informed that the gift of tongues (languages) is for use before unbelievers 1 Corinthians 14:22 as a sign. And that the coming "son of perdition" 2 Thessalonians 2:3 will come to power 2 Thessalonians 2:9 with signs and lying wonders. As signs are associated with language, theologians have speculated that the son of perdition will perform language-based miracles (e.g. spontaneously change the spoken/written language of people who declare fealty to him) just as he will change times and laws for his own glory Daniel 7:25 . One can only imagine the effect of being able to control every aspect of human existence by excluding infidels from participating in society because they cannot speak the new language of the son of perdition. Outsiders would be easily identified, and would be unable to read news, maps, clocks, or participate in the economy etc, effectively being in a prison of illiteracy unless they join the son of perdition.
In The Genesis Record, Henry Morris points out the theologically-accepted view that the phrase "toledoth" - these are the generations of - separates the book of Genesis into various diaries, compiled and edited by Moses under the authority of God's spirit[5]. Each diary is then punctuated by a "signature" phrase "these are the generations of" which terminates the diary and begins a new one. For example, chapter 5 begins "the book of the generations of Adam" and mentions the word "book". Moses would have no reason to use this word unless he was in possession of the written document as penned by Adam. The words after this offer a genealogy and Adam's death, but Adam would not have recorded his own death. We also note that Genesis 25:12 ends the diary of Ishmael, where Genesis 25:19 ends the diary of Isaac, neither of which are mentioned afterward except in genealogies. An important point is that in Genesis 25:11 Isaac records Abraham's death, immediately followed by Ishmael's diary and the signature of his own. We would expect Ishmael and Isaac to have traded records at Abraham's funeral.
This diary mechanism explains why Genesis chapter 1 and chapter 2 seem to be different creation accounts, when they are actually accounts from different perspectives. The first one, signed by the Creator "these are the generations of the heavens and the earth" is from a different perspective than the following diaries.
This also generally sets aside the "JEDP"[6] theory of Genesis construction.
What this also strongly implies is that the first written and spoken words in sight and hearing of Adam were "In the beginning.."
The City of Ebla, dating prior to 2500 BC, has a library of 17,000 stone tablets in both Cuneiform and a Semitic language called Eblaite[7]. It is presumed that the Eblaite proto-Hebrew or paleo-Hebrew is a candidate for consideration as the oldest written language known to man, the original language of pre-Flood humans and the language used at Babel prior to the confusion of languages.
Complex written and verbal languages preceded the most ancient post-Flood civilizations such as Sumeria and Babylon, rendering their "flood legends" and "creation myths" to be derivations from the original pre-Flood account rather than the other way around. The book of Job is considered the oldest book in the Bible in the post-Flood era, dating back to over 2500 BC in its penning and setting.
The explosion of language and culture in Mesopotamia (dated roughly 3000 BC) coincides with the confusion of languages at Babel (in Shinar, in Mesopotamia).
The atmospheric or climatic conditions during the antediluvian world are a source of much speculation. We now know the ancient atmosphere had oxygen levels of 30-35% resulting in giant insects, 50% higher than today's oxygen level of 20%.[8][9]
Not only do these fossils show death, they also show clear evidence of carnivory. For example, the fossil record includes a turkey-sized Compsognathus found with a lizard in its belly; a famous fossil of Velociraptor locked in mortal combat with a Protoceratops, and a T. rex coprolite (fossil dung) found with a “high proportion (30–50%) of bone fragments”. So this looks like clear evidence for carnivory.T. Rex bit a live hadrosaur—the wound showed evidence of some healing. This shows that T. Rex did not just scavenge dead dinosaurs. [12] [13]
Recent discoveries in the heavens, most notably Comet 67p Churomov/Gerasimenko and the studies of rotating galaxies have given rise to the notion of "dark matter". This is required because there isn't enough visible or measurable mass in the galaxies for gravity to hold them together, Likewise the cometary body does not align with common understanding of density of matter as it applies to gravitational attraction[14]. The problem is that no water ice has been found on the cometary body, but the body appears rocky and dense, yet has a very low gravitational field for its size. This only increases the mystery.
Dark matter is "non baryonic matter", that is, it is not composed of baryons such as protons, neutrons and electrons, but something else. What is this "something else"? Something that cannot be measured, observed or tested, but behaves exactly-precisely as necessary to achieve a predictable outcome. This is nothing more than mysticism disguised as science. It is at best, a "rescue device" for the glaring anomalies presented by the missing gravitational mass.
This has led to new discoveries and theoretical assertions about the constancy of gravity, and whether it is simply an expression of the larger electrodynamic force, both of which behave the same except on different scales. The assertion has always been that gravity is constant and based on the density and size (the total mass) of an object. The new theories suggest that gravity is an expression of particles under electromagnetic stress. As such, the properties of charge can influence gravity a great deal. As the electrical force is a trillion-trillion-trillion-trillion times more powerful than gravity, it is a far better candidate to explain how galaxies hold together, but also how star systems hold onto their planets, the Earth holds the Moon, and even how atoms hold electrons in orbit.
This leads us to directly question whether gravity itself has been the same on planet Earth from the beginning. If we examine the large animals that existed before the Flood, we can know that they could not survive or be competitive with the current gravitational attraction on Earth today[15]. The proponents of such theories often set aside the Biblical version of history in favor of another, also catastrophic one, but they all agree that some catastrophe changed Earth's gravity from its former state. They allude to notions of comets hitting the Earth, but even the Chixulub Crater (so called) has been debunked as a viable candidate for either being a crater or associated with any catastrophe, least of all one that destroyed the dinosaurs.
The Bible has a global catastrophe, the Flood, that not only resurfaced the earth, but arguably changed many aspects of Earth's prior existence at deep physical level and at a cosmological level. Thus the Earth's gravity was weaker in the time before the Flood, allowing all things to grow phenomenally larger.
When scientists look at the dinosaurs, do they see what it would take for say, a common sauropod weighing 360,000 pounds to ambulate, function and be a viable life form in today's gravitational conditions? This is a phenomenal amount of pressure on bones, circulatory system, blood pressure, nervous system etc - affecting all aspects of the creature's existence. In addition, the lower part of the creature would be much larger than the upper part, owing to the need for structural strength to carry such weight. The common consensus is that no land animal larger than an elephant would be viable in today's gravity. Since reptiles continue to grow as long as they are alive, why have none of them grown to prehistoric proportions? An explanation would be that higher gravity today prevents this possibility.
We can not dispute the existence of atypical knowledge possessed by Adam and Eve, however, we should also consider the Tower of Babel curse as it relates to human accomplishments to that date. Monumental constructions are a great source of pride for humans. It was most likely this type of technological development that God attempted to retard by creating the language barriers at the Tower of Babel.
The Babel event suggests that the tower was the first major monument that mankind had ever built. It was the first construction that had no purpose but to be a monument to human achievement. The tower was not a particularly important technological development. While the Bible says they used baked-brick, this does not constrain them from using other construction materials. does not say that what it was constructed of or how large it may have been, we read that it was intended to reach into heaven Genesis 11:4 so we may presume they intended for it to be very large indeed. We have no insight as to how large it became before construction was prematurely halted, but we can presume it was large enough to gain the Lord's attention as to its eventual outcome Genesis 11:6 . Clearly the people thought they could build this within their own engineering knowledge.
Ancient fables and myths surrounding the Tower suggested it may have been tall enough to touch the lowest clouds. For some perspective, in New York City, low cloud cover will obscure the top of the Empire State Building.
Some are puzzled why antediluvian buildings have not been found. After all the construction of cities is clearly referred to in the Bible.
"And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch." - Genesis 4:17
The construction of dwelling space is driven almost exclusively by our need to shelter ourselves from the elements. Prior to the flood, the atmosphere is thought to have been much more stable than it is today, providing an almost globally uniform temperature. It is believed that there were no dramatic seasonal temperature fluctuations, or even significant differences in temperature between the polar and equatorial regions. This is evident by the discovery of fossilized ferns and amphibians on Antarctica. It is also believed that it had not rained prior to the flood, but the earth was instead watered by free-flowing springs and mist.
People constructed things for the same reasons we do today, because human nature doesn't change. One reason is personal protection and safety from animals and other humans:
"And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." - Genesis 6:5
Another answer is simply that humans are naturally prideful, greedy and territorial. Protection of private property and activities from prying eyes is a primary impetus for home building today, even in places with relatively perfect weather. This would include people building homes and complexes for extended families, or for businesses and commerce. Tubal-Cain was an artificer of brass and iron, noted in context of having commercialized this activity.
Nevertheless, most constructions during this period were likely made of wood or dried mud. These materials are simply not expected to stand up well under catastrophic flood conditions. Even baked clay will dissolve if saturated for prolonged periods. This type of material has historically only been used to extremely arid regions for this reason.
Given the presuppositions of evolutionists and the certainty of their belief, any trace evidence of a antediluvian civilizations would likely be dismissed outright and we would never hear about it.
That said, many ancient structures are now strongly believed to pre-date the Flood. One in particular is the Great Sphinx with its significant long-term water-erosion marks even though it is a land that has been arid since time immemorial. Another is the presence of fossilized marine sea creatures buried in the silt in various places around Giza. In fact, many megalith structures exist all across the globe[16], including one particularly daunting one in Baalbak, Lebanon, the Temple of Jupiter[17]. This Temple has three strangely configured megaliths that are assumed to weigh upwards of 800 tons each. No known technology is able to move blocks of this size. While many megalith sites can be re-imagined as having been constructed with block-and-tackle or creative pivots or other simple machines, many others defy engineering understanding. That it pre-dates the Flood suggests that it was intended for some other purpose before the Romans co-opted it and converted it to a Temple.
Yet another city at the high altitudes of the Andes, Tiahuanaco, Bolivia[18], has many megalithic structures at an altitude that precludes the ability of a civilization to treat these as viable building materials. A primary principle of ancient construction is to align with practical building practices and viable building materials. The megaliths at this site are outrageous even for today, and no current technology would find them easy to work with. In addition, the city's ruins bumps against Lake Titicaca, alongside ruins that clearly delineate the city as a seaport. A wide range of the city's artifacts are at the bottom of the lake. If this is a pre-Flood city that rose with the Andes during the Flood event (creationism asserts that all major mountain ranges are rapid products of the Flood) then this is a candidate to be a pre-Flood city.
With Adam having a perfectly created genome, creationists presume a high level of mental and physical ability for early man, including the ability to construct in large scales. That these have survived as large-scale stone structures has invited many to speculate as to their construction from ancient astronauts or space-aliens. These claims are simply a recognition of the fact that these structures in fact required extraordinary ingenuity while making evolutionary presumptions that early man could not have possessed such capacity.
An Antediluvial civilization can be recognized:
Discovered over a century ago, new facts are still coming to light today, as reviewed by D.E. Wirth in a recent issue of The Ancient American. The wall was originally almost completely buried. It attracted attention only because its course was marked on the surface by stones projecting from the ground every 25-30 feet over a gently curving arc about 1,000 feet long. One of these surface stones seemed to be inscribed with strange symbols.[19]
The above was the title on an April 23, 1893 article reprinted in the Los Angeles Times from the St. Louis Republic. According to the article, a massive mostly buried wall was found near Milano, Texas, only 150 miles distant from Rockwall, Texas. “A Texas correspondent writes to one of the scientific departments of the government of a strangely interesting prehistoric wall discovered on the frontier of the Lone Star State. This marvelous ruin surpasses in interest all the other wonderful remains hitherto found of the people who one inhabited the whole Mexican plateau and attained a high state of civilization.[20]
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