The antediluvian world, the world before the flood, is shrouded in obscurity. Very few chapters are written about it in the Bible, five to be exact, and yet it was at least a period of two thousand years. What happened back then? How did people live? What was the world like? This period in history has long held impenetrable mysteries … until now.
Let’s take a brief journey through recent scientific discoveries and the history that they illuminate for us. First, the biblical evidence:
Now no shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the LORD God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground. But a mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground. Genesis 2:5-6 (NASB)
These verses speak of a pre-flood world where it never rained. Instead of rain, a mist came up from the earth to water the ground. But how is this possible? Was the hydrologic cycle not working? This cycle, described several times in the Bible, is the scientifically proven process that happens when water evaporates from the oceans and accumulates in clouds which then empty over land. If it had never rained, then what was preventing this process?
From what we can gather, the first time it ever rained was the flood. Nobody believed Noah when he preached about the flood – they had never seen rain.
Let’s look at another passage that gives a somewhat cryptic reference to the “fountains of the great deep,” something different from rain:
In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the same day all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the floodgates of the sky were opened … Also the fountains of the deep and the floodgates of the sky were closed, and the rain from the sky was restrained Genesis 7:11, 8:2 (NASB)
It seems that in addition to water coming from the sky, water was coming up from “the deep”. To explain this passage, some scientists theorize that the pre-flood world had vast underground caverns filled with water. That the crust of the earth was literally “floating” on a layer of water. If that was true, then it would explain where the mist came in the first passage. It also explains where much of the water in the flood came from – underground.
Our next passage happens immediately after the flood:
And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.” Genesis 9:12-16
This passage talks about the rainbow being introduced to man. Now, this is very strange because Adam and Eve had lived at least 2000 years prior, and this is when mankind first sees a rainbow? What happened, did God change the scientific principles governing the way light interacts with water in the clouds to produce rainbows?
Next, let’s go back to creation:
And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day. And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:6-10
This passage speaks of what God created on the second day, and going into the third. The interesting part is that it speaks of the “vault” or firmament dividing waters above from the waters below. The firmament, it explains, is the sky. It says that the sky separates the waters below (which form the seas) from the waters above the sky. Conventional thinking would mandate that the waters above must have been clouds holding water, but this seems unlikely. Based on the passages teaching that it never rained, this must not a reference to rain clouds. But if not rain clouds, then what? Could there have been a layer of water above the atmosphere?
Our next passage reveals how the environment of this pre-flood world affected humans:
When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth. After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Adam lived a total of 930 years, and then he died … Seth lived a total of 912 years … Enosh lived a total of 905 years … Kenan lived a total of 910 years … Methuselah lived a total of 969 years, and then he died. Genesis 5:3-27
The inescapable conclusion is that life was very different in pre-flood conditions that what we experience today. The fact of long life alone would indicate drastically different conditions. Longevity of that type would be impossible today. Was long life a supernatural miracle, or was it just a natural occurrence?
There is no indication that any of these differences: the lack of rain, the lack of a rainbow, the mist coming up from the “deep”, and the longevity of life were miraculous. Consequently, if we are to believe the Bible is not mere fairy tales and myths, then we must believe that these differences can be explained in scientific terms.
Interestingly enough, some recent scientific discoveries have opened new possibilities for understanding these Bible passages.
First, scientists have discovered that the atmosphere was surprisingly different thousands of years ago. Through testing levels of oxygen in the ice at the bottom of the ice caps[1], and, more importantly, testing bubbles of air trapped in amber (remember Jurassic Park?) they have verified that the atmosphere was very different. The biggest difference is high oxygenation – 35% oxygen instead of the 21% we have today.[2]
The second discovery involves space shuttle launches and the ice crystals that form from the exhaust that is left from the rocket launch. Surprisingly, these ice crystals never fall to the earth. Instead they slowly float towards the arctic and remain suspended about 50 miles up in the air, forming mysterious “clouds” that shine at night.[3] Since it cannot fall to the earth, it seems that all of the ice we have formed in 40 years of space exploration is still up there (300 tons per shuttle launch)![4] Apparently, the earth’s magnetic field is holding it up.
How are all of these biblical passages and scientific discoveries connected? Apparently, many Christian scientists today believe that when God created the world, he set a layer of water above the atmosphere. This layer of water was probably formed of ice and suspended by the earth’s magnetic core, maybe 50 miles above the earth. Almost certainly making the sky shine at night, this layer of water would have made a tremendous difference to life here on earth. First of all, it would have filtered out harmful ultraviolet light and other radiation from the sun. This alone would have contributed significantly towards longevity of all life on earth. Scientists tell us that one of the primary reasons for aging are the UV rays from the sun.[5] Second, this layer of water would have created an atmosphere of higher air pressure than what exists today.[6]
These conditions would have been optimal for human, animal and plant growth. For plants, it would have been similar to being planted in high-tech greenhouse. Due to the large quantity and the size of the plants, the highly dense atmosphere would have naturally contained increased levels of oxygen. This, in turn, contributed to the increased health and longevity of humans.
Some scientists and inventors have begun to use these theories with astounding results. For example, Hyperbaric Oxygen Chambers, basically air-tight compartments that are fed elevated oxygen levels under increased air pressure, are being used today. Patients can relax in these chambers for a time and reap the benefits of the increased oxygen and air pressure. Reported results of rapid healing and increased overall health are very common. In fact many professional sports players have used these chambers to overcome injuries more rapidly than thought possible. [7] NFL players like Zach Thomas and Hines Ward are huge proponents of this technology. Terrell Owens used one of these chambers to heal from an ankle injury in time to star in the 2005 Super Bowl. The new Denver Broncos quarterback, Tim Tebow, supposedly takes one of these chambers with him even on road games.
Think about what life would be like if instead of rich people paying $100 to spend an hour in optimal conditions, we were to live in that type of atmosphere! The biblical stories about longevity make a lot of sense when all of this is taken into consideration. How amazing it is when the Bible is explained by science. We have a wonderful God and the only more exciting thing that the world he once made, is the new world He is making for us to live in. Now that will be something special.
Personal note: After researching the amazing claims about these Hyperbaric Oxygen Chambers, I found that several local companies rent them out. I wanted to see if they would help a close family relative, who was suffering from terminal cancer, so we sent him to spend an hour in one of these chambers. His results were impressive:
1. Before entering the chamber, one of his limbs was swollen tremendously. Overnight the swelling went down by a third. Doctors had been unable to treat this swelling or even tell him what it was.
2. Due to the cancer, he suffered a lot of pain, to the point where he could barely sleep most nights. That night he slept without waking once, saying later that he got the best sleep he could remember. It wasn’t until the next evening that he felt his pains start returning.
3. His level of energy went way up. The day after he spent one hour in the chamber, everyone noticed how he was way more active that previously, and in a much better mood as well!
