Noah’s Flood Part 1: Prehistoric Man
When you hear the word “Prehistoric Man,” what comes to your mind? A hairy hunchbacked caveman, pulling a woman by her hair on the ground, romping around like monkeys, grunting, and pointing to one another? If you have been to a museum of natural history, you can see caveman, from 10,000, 40,000 or even 200,000 BC! You can see how cave man developed, grew, and became a modern intelligent man. A museum of natural history is actually a museum of evolutionary science, showing how man came from apes, learned to walk on two feet, develop speech, build a fire, hunt animals, grow crops and evolve into modern man. Upon visiting the Field Museum in Chicago and the American Museum of Natural History in New York, I was deeply impressed with their imagined recreations of human life long ago.
This is what you would learn if you grew up in public schools. Do you remember 8th grade science class? Or did you miss that entire year? (meaning, that you are so smart, you skipped the entire year). There is however, a different account of the origins of man and early humans called creation science, and it can be found in the Word of God.
Instead of man evolving and becoming greater, stronger, smarter and more fit, God's Word, the Bible says exactly the oppostite, that man is devolving; that man has been getting smaller, weaker and more dumb. In some aspects, evolutionary science seems to be true, because we didn't have smart phones until recently. We couldn't get to the moon, until...1969. And we have recently found cures for many diseases. So we are improving, right? Two very opposite stories, only one can be true. Which one is the truth?
Genesis 1:26 says, “Then God said, ‘Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground’” (New Living Translation). According to the creation account, man did not start out as an ape. Man and woman started out in the image of God, perfect in beauty, strength, health, wisdom and love.
From the book From Eternity Past by Ellen White, she states this about man’s original creation; “There is no ground for the supposition that man evolved by slow degrees from lower forms of animal or vegetable life. Inspiration traces the origin of our race, not to a line of developing germs, mollusks, and quadrupeds, but to the great Creator. Though formed from the dust, Adam was “the son of God” (p. 16).
Luke also traces the genealogy of Jesus in chapter 3, showing that Jesus was “known” as the son of Joseph (because His true father is the Holy Spirit), who is the son of Heli, who is the son of Matthat...all the way up to Enosh, Seth and Adam. But who is Adam the son of? Verse 38 says, “Adam was the son of God.” If I could trace my genealogy all the way back to Adam, I am so glad that I am a descendant of God! I was created in the image of God, with his imprint on my body, mind and soul.
From the book Story of Redemption, EG White states, "As Adam came forth from the hand of his Creator he was of noble height and of beautiful symmetry. He was more than twice as tall as men now living upon the earth, and was well proportioned” (p. 21). God created big and beautiful. We are now small, weak and not so beautiful. Dr. Harold Shull, director of the Walla Walla Health Education Center, states in his article in Ministry magazine titled “Giants in the Earth.” “Adam would certainly have been an imposing figure among men of today. Had his limbs and other body proportions been double those of modern men as well (with an eight-fold increase in volume and weight), he would have weighed more than 1,200 pounds.” That’s 1200 pounds of pure muscle! He was quick, light and strong. Imagine how high he could jump and how far and fast he could run before catching his breath? Sorry Usain Bolt, you are no match for perfection. From Spiritual Gifts Vol. 3, EG White notes the size of Adam’s beautiful companion. “Eve was not quite as tall as Adam. Her head reached a little above his shoulders. She, too, was noble—perfect in symmetry, and very beautiful” (p. 34). Many artists have correctly captured her height in paintings, although I would question the blonde hair and blue eyes.
But then sin entered our world. Right after Adam and Eve sinned, they didn't break down and die. The flowers, trees, animals, all of life still enjoyed the power and strength of God's creation for many years. They lived much longer, were greater, stronger and more powerful than we are today. It took some time before sin would break down life and bring death upon earth.
In Patriarchs and Prophets, Ellen White describes the world right after sin entered. “There were evident tokens of decay, but the earth was still rich and beautiful in the gifts of God's providence. The hills were crowned with majestic trees supporting the fruit-laden branches of the vine. The vast, garden-like plains were clothed with verdure, and sweet with the fragrance of a thousand flowers” (p. 90) God’s beautiful creation would take many centuries before death and decay overtook the landscape. For a time being, Adam and Eve and their children still enjoyed the power of life and mind from their original creation.
Continuing on, White describes the earth: “The fruits of the earth were in great variety, and almost without limit. The trees far surpassed in size, beauty, and perfect proportion any now to be found; their wood was of fine grain and hard substance, closely resembling stone, and hardly less enduring. Gold, silver, and precious stones existed in abundance” (p. 90) Notice that precious gems and stones were abundant upon the face of the earth. Genesis chapter 2, we see a picture of God’s creation of Eden, with precious gold and onyx, among other gems. “A river flowed from the land of Eden, watering the garden and then dividing into four branches. The first branch, called the Pishon, flowed around the entire land of Havilah, where gold is found. The gold of that land is exceptionally pure; aromatic resin and onyx stone are also found there” (NLT). I wonder if the land of Havilah, where much gold was found, eventually became the area of California, where much gold was found under the earth? Just a curiosity, since I currently live in the gold country area of California. There are gold mines today from the 1849 Gold Rush which are now museums.
Now the contemporaries of Noah were men and women of great renown. That means that they had a great reputation. It can be for either good or bad. In the context of Noah's days, man did continually evil in the sight of God. They were using their intellect and strength for evil, not good. Genesis 6:1-5 describes the wickedness of these mighty men and women of renown. They put their power and intellect into evil things and did not fear the Lord their Creator. Imagine the wickedness they conceived back then compared to the evil that exists today? Again in Patriarchs and Prophets, EG White states, “God bestowed upon these antediluvians many and rich gifts; but they used His bounties to glorify themselves, and turned them into a curse by fixing their affections upon the gifts instead of the Giver” (p. 90). What happens when we become obsessed with the things we have, material possessions? Or we desire things that belong to others? That becomes our god. The gifts that God has given to us are for the glorification of God, but many people worship those gifts instead of the Giver, and lose sight of our Provider and Sustainer.
Continuing on in the description of “prehistoric man,” EG White says, “They employed the gold and silver, the precious stones and the choice wood, in the construction of habitations for themselves, and endeavored to excel one another in beautifying their dwellings with the most skillful workmanship.” How amazing their homes and buildings must have been? “They sought only to gratify the desires of their own proud hearts, and reveled in scenes of pleasure and wickedness. Not desiring to retain God in their knowledge, they soon came to deny His existence” (PP, 90). This reflects back to the original sin of Lucifer, which was pride in his own heart. The antediluvians wanted to glorify self, and take worship away from the Creator.
This is the prehistoric man that was living among Noah and his family. No wonder Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord, because Noah and his family worshipped the true God. They didn't bow down to idols. They didn't use their power and intellect to glorify themselves, but gave glory to God, from whom all was created. Noah was living among a wicked and evil society. “They adored nature in place of the God of nature. They glorified human genius, worshiped the works of their own hands, and taught their children to bow down to graven images” (PP, 90). Noah was not the only one who was faithful to God during this time. Enoch “walked” with God. And his son Methuselah, also helped Noah build the ark and lived up until the time of the flood, going to sleep at the ripe age of 969, the oldest person to have ever lived on the earth.
The wicked men and women of Noah’s time were able to create advanced technology and machines that we are incapable of today. From the SDA Bible Commentary, Ellen White writes, “There perished in the Flood greater inventions of art and human skill than the world knows of today. More was lost in the Flood, in many ways, than men today know” (p. 1089). Some creation scientists suggest that the antediluvians were able to produce nuclear bombs, helicopters and batteries, among many other things. When we get to heaven soon, let’s sit down with Noah for a long conversation!