How was life before the Flood? In the early chapters of the Bible, particularly in the Book of Genesis, we come across a world very different from our own—a world before the great Flood. This era, often wrapped in layers of interpretations, is a time of early humanity marked by long life spans, divine-human interactions, and a closeness to God.
The creation story itself and characters like Adam, Eve, Cain, Abel, and eventually Noah give us glimpses into a life that seems to be relatable. Numerous forces come together to make the Flood happen: Satan and the fallen angels. The first events that led to the Flood occurred before the world's creation.
This event was the creation of the sons of God. In the biblical story from the Book of Job, God reveals an event that took place before the creation of the world: Job 38:4-7. "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you know and have understanding. Who determined its measurements? Surely, you know!
Or who stretched the measuring line upon it? On what were its foundations fastened, or who laid its cornerstone? When the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God (angels) shouted for joy.
" It is revealed that angelic beings, referred to as morning stars and sons of God, witnessed the creation of the earth and celebrated the glory, power, and wisdom of God involved in the process. Before the Flood, there was a fallen being. The Bible only makes passing references to fallen angels because the vast majority of angels in heaven have never lost their way or turned to evil.
There were some who made that decision. Keep in mind that heaven was originally intended to be their home for all eternity, but they have now fallen from it. What caused all of this to occur?
Nevertheless, we cannot deny the fact that angels possess free will; their fallenness can be seen in terms of their free will. The Book of Jude makes this point quite clear: Jude 5-6 (Amplified Bible). "Now I want to remind you, although you are fully informed once and for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe, who refused to trust and obey, and rely on Him; and angels who did not keep their own designated place of power but abandoned their proper dwelling place—these He kept in eternal chains under the thick gloom of utter darkness for judgment of the great day.
" Jude stated that the angels did not keep their proper domain. The phrase "proper domain" can be interpreted either as "rule" or "starting point. " Angels were made specifically for the purpose of dwelling in heaven with God, worshipping Him, and carrying out His commands.
They were formed to bring glory to Him, just like people were, but humans were designed to dwell on Earth while angels were created to live in heaven. Despite this, these angels left their beginning—which is another way of saying that they left their starting location in heaven. Satan, who disguises himself as an angel of light, is in charge of these angels and acts as their leader.
The Great Rebellion, as some refer to it, was an event in which Satan and a portion of heaven's angelic legions waged war against God and His angels in an effort to topple God's authority in the everlasting sphere. The devil devised a plot to overthrow God, his creator, and he and the angels that followed him ended up being defeated in the conflict. We get an account of this from Jesus himself as he was present.
Jesus talked about the glory and majesty he shared with God the Father before the world existed: John 17:5 (Amplified Bible). "Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory and majesty that I had with You before the world existed. " Before the creation of the earth was God, and God had majesty with His Son.
Jesus declares, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. " As can be seen, Satan is much more than a red figure with horns and a pitchfork; he is an ancient being with real spiritual power, which he uses for evil and selfish ends. We wrestle not, Paul said.
We are in a wrestling match, but it's not against flesh and blood. Satan's kingdom is highly organized, with different areas and levels of authority, and its headquarters are in heavenly regions. That is a staggering fact, but it is quite clear.
The fact that Satan heads a highly organized kingdom astonishes some people. Yet, there are many clear indications of this in the Bible. A spiritual war started; it is a clash between two kingdoms.
One kingdom is ruled by God, the Prince of Peace, while the other is ruled by Satan, the Prince of Darkness. After being expelled from heaven, Satan and his followers pledged themselves to each other and formed the rebel kingdom. In the Garden of Eden, Satan launched his first assault on God's authority on Earth.
Satan considered the earth his domain and saw Adam and Eve as God's invaders in his territory. If God created mankind to live on Earth in order to establish His kingdom, Satan needed a plan of attack. When God first made the world, there was a place called Eden.
In the Hebrew language, the word "Eden" means "joy" or "happiness. " It was a place of provision where a man could meet God. According to Genesis 3:8, in the perfect garden, there was a special tree called the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
God told Adam and Eve they could eat from any tree in the garden except for this one. Satan must destroy man's destiny. But how?
The devil, the old serpent, made his way to Eve and. . .
Used three strategic tactics against her. The first one was doubt: "Has God indeed said? " (Genesis 3:1).
You can almost hear the father of lies as he interacts with Eve. The deceiver then used his second strategy, supposition, to make Eve doubt whether the consequences of her disobedience would truly result in her death as God had stated: "You will not surely die" (Genesis 3:4). The third and final approach he used against Eve was temptation.
God was disappointed because of their disobedience; they could no longer stay in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve had already made a mistake by eating the forbidden fruit. Satan's subversive counter-attack completely overwhelmed the humans, but God established a beachhead in the Garden of Eden, promising that the serpent's head would be bruised by the seed of the woman.
By reversing the tables on the tempter, before driving Adam and Eve out of the garden, He demonstrated His complete mastery of Satan. The first murder: Cain and Abel (Genesis 4). Cain—somebody pointed out that the sin committed by the first man caused the second man to kill the third.
Despite the fact that Adam and Eve were banished from the garden, God continued to bless them. Eve gave birth to two sons, Cain and Abel, with the help of the Lord. Because both sons had grown up hearing stories about God, they were aware that they should make offerings to their Creator.
Both boys arrived ready to worship. Over time, while the Lord was concerned about Abel and his offering, He was not concerned about Cain and his offering. This infuriated Cain.
Despite God's warning that he should master sin, Cain deceives his brother, murders him, buries him, and completely disowns him. "Am I my brother's keeper? " he asks, fearing that others might kill him for his crime.
God placed a mark on Cain to protect him, saying anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over (Genesis 4:15). Cain was punished by becoming a restless wanderer, away from his home and family. After God punished Cain, he went to live in a place called the land of Nod, which is east of Eden.
In this land, Cain built a city and named it after his son, Enoch. His descendants included influential people of their time: Jabal, the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock; Jubal, the father of all who play stringed instruments and pipes; and Tubal-Cain, who forged tools out of bronze and iron (Genesis 4:17-22). What follows Cain's punishment is the story of two families, a recurring theme in Genesis.
Unfortunately, Cain's murderous ways were passed down through his family line. We find a man bragging about his own violence. By the time we get to his great-great-grandson, evil was spreading.
God's perfect design is only four chapters old, and already we find people reveling in bloodshed and flouting His design for marriage. Before the Flood, polygamy was also passed down through Cain's loins. Until that time, a man and a woman were married for life, but Cain's descendants had many wives.
In contrast to Cain's line, God established a new family tree. God gave Eve a son named Seth in place of Abel. Seth exemplified the same type of worship as his deceased brother Abel.
Because people began to invoke the Lord's name in connection with Seth, Cain's way of worship, which is prideful, points to itself. The humble way of worship, as practiced by Abel and Seth, calls out to God (Jude 11): "Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain.
They have rushed for profit into Balaam's error; they have been destroyed in Korah's rebellion. " It's no surprise then that when God needed an obedient servant hundreds of years later, He chose Noah from Seth's line. Cain's legacy was a complicated one.
On one hand, he and his family were really good at coming up with new ideas and ways of doing things. On the other hand, they also had a lot of trouble with fighting and hurting others, and it seemed to get worse over time. This became a symbol of what it’s like to be human: a struggle between our potential for great good and our capacity for great evil.
In the generations after Adam, the world became populated, but it also became filled with sin. People were not kind to each other; they lied, stole, and even killed. Within this period, men lived extraordinarily long lives, their years numbering into the hundreds.
It was a different terror, a time when humanity was still closely connected to its origins, and the world itself was younger and fresh. Adam and Eve had other sons and daughters after Cain and Abel. With the growth of their family came the birth of civilization itself.
The Bible says, "After he became the father of Seth, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters" (Genesis 5:4). As Adam and Eve's children grew, they took wives and had families of their own. The population began to grow steadily.
Apart from Cain and Abel, Seth was another son of Adam who also had descendants, including Enoch, Methuselah, and eventually Noah. Adam, the first man, lived to be 930 years old (Genesis 5:5). Yes, you heard that right: nine centuries.
He had children who also lived extraordinarily long lives. His son Seth lived for 912 years (Genesis 5:8), and Seth's son Enoch lived for 905 years (Genesis 5:11). As the generations passed, each man fathered children and taught them the ways of the earth: how to cultivate land and care for animals, and also how to connect with God.
This line of people was special. They carried the seed of humanity's first union with fallen angels, but despite their long lives and deep wisdom, these early people were not immune to the problems. that often plagued mankind issues like jealousy, anger, and sometimes even violence.
However, there was a man that was called Enoch. Genesis chapter 5 gives us the first expression of Enoch. There is a first Enoch that was the son of Cain; this is a different Enoch (Genesis 5:21).
When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah, and from our Bible knowledge, we know that his son Methuselah was the oldest living man, as recorded in Scripture. When we study through the genealogies written in the Bible, we will find out that Enoch was the great-grandfather of Noah. This is found in Genesis chapter 5:22 and then 24.
The Bible says, "And Enoch walked with God," in an era when most of his peers only had the record of their birth and their children. They also gave birth to Enoch, who is like a breath of fresh air in the history books. Enoch was introduced like others, but despite the fact that he didn't live as long as some of the other men, his testimony is eye-catching.
The Bible says that he walked with God, and that when it was time to leave the Earth, God took him without the passage of death like we know it. His description is short but heavy and weighty; this means something about his pure walk with God translated him. His life has provided a template for so many people throughout different generations, as it teaches us to live for the audience of one.
He silently teaches us to passionately seek a close-knit communion and fellowship with God, knowing that as we do this, we will experience God in a new dimension (Genesis 5:24, New American Standard Bible). "Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him. " Enoch's case was the first Rapture recorded, as God just took him.
Perhaps the fellowship was so intense that the presence of God just enveloped and whisked him away. The book of Hebrews talks about men of whom this world was not worthy. Despite the beauty of Enoch's life, his era was not entirely rosy.
People lived long but not always well; they had many years to perfect their skills, build things, and explore the Earth, but they also had more time to make mistakes, to stray from God's path, and to let their hearts harden. This eventually led to a world so corrupt, so far from its divine origins, populated by the growth and spread of tribes and families. Over time, tribes and clans formed, each descended from one of the original patriarchs.
They spread across the land, finding new territories to call home. As the population grew, so did the need for different roles and professions. People couldn't only be herders and farmers anymore; they needed to diversify.
Cain, for instance, was a worker of the ground (Genesis 4:2), while his brother Abel was a keeper of sheep. This suggests that even at that early stage, roles were being defined based on need and skill set. Tubal Cain, a descendant of Cain, became an instructor of every craftsman in bronze and iron (Genesis 4:22).
This indicates the emergence of more specialized professions like metalworking. Musicians also made their appearance; Jubal, another descendant of Cain, was the father of all who play the harp and flute (Genesis 4:21). These roles allowed society to become more complex and organized, setting the stage for more advanced forms of civilization.
Even though people learned new skills and jobs, life before the big flood wasn't perfect or happy. The Bible tells us that the Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the Earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time (Genesis 6:5). In a nutshell, before the Flood, humanity expanded and diversified; families turned into tribes, roles turned into professions, and civilization took its first steps.
Invasion of the Nephilim: as the self-appointed commander of the kingdom of darkness, Satan summoned his evil legions to infiltrate humanity with the intent of polluting the endemic line leading to the Messiah (Genesis 6:1-2). When human beings began to increase in number on the Earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. Who were the sons of God?
The Book of Job characterizes them as angels; two-thirds of the angels stayed with God in the third heaven (elect angels), while one-third were ejected (Satan's fallen angels). God's kingdom was thriving in number and strength. Feeling threatened, the Prince of Darkness called upon his evil legions to infiltrate humankind.
These fallen angels descended on Earth and gave birth to the Nephilim or giants. The Hebrew word for Nephilim translates as "fallen. " This satanic invasion of Genesis 6 corrupted the whole world.
The sons of God saw the daughters of men; it is more accurate to see the sons of God as either demons, angels in rebellion against God, or uniquely demon-possessed men, and the daughters of men as human women. The wickedness of mankind is described in Genesis 6:1-5. In the early chapters of Genesis, specifically in Genesis 6:1-5, the Bible paints a picture of the world before the Flood.
Genesis 6:3-5 states, "Then the Lord said, 'My Spirit will not remain with man forever, because he is also flesh; nevertheless, his days shall be 120 years. ' The Nephilim were on Earth in those days and also afterward, when the sons of God came into the daughters of mankind, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.
" Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of mankind was great on the Earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of their hearts was only. . .
Evil continually, the earth was not a place of peace or kindness, but one filled with sin, violence, and moral corruption. Imagine a world where people are consumed by their own desires, always seeking to do whatever they want, regardless of the cost to others. Honesty, integrity, and kindness are not virtues that are celebrated or even understood; instead, deceit and manipulation ruled the day.
Everyone is out for themselves, and the very fabric of society is torn apart by selfishness and wickedness. In such an environment, families are not sanctuaries of love and support but rather battlefields of deceit and betrayal. Neighbors don't look out for each other; they look to exploit one another.
Governments are not institutions of justice but rather systems of oppression, upholding the rule of the powerful over the weak. Now insert into this chaotic world an unusual development: the Nephilim. The Nephilim were special and not like regular people; they were really strong and larger than life, but they seemed to make the world's problems even worse.
They were admired, feared, and perhaps even worshiped, pulling people further away from the true God who had created them. Their might made them objects of fascination, but they were part of a world that was spiraling further and further into chaos and sin. It was in this context that God saw the wickedness of mankind—a spiritual and moral decline.
God's grief over creation—the crown jewel of creation—had lost its way. Rather than living in harmony with each other and the world, people were consumed by violence, wickedness, and deceit. God looked down upon His creation and felt an immense sorrow.
The Bible says, "The Lord regretted that He had made human beings on the earth, and His heart was deeply troubled" (Genesis 6:6, New International Version). It was a divine grief, a sorrow so deep it transcended human understanding. Imagine a parent heartbroken over the actions of a wayward child, yet infinitely magnified.
And so, in His great pain, God made a difficult decision (Genesis 6:7, Amplified Bible): "So the Lord said, 'I will destroy, annihilate mankind whom I have created from the surface of the Earth, not only man but the animals and the crawling things and the birds of the air, because it deeply grieves Me to see mankind's sin, and I regret that I have made them. '" God was upset by the actions of the people He made and was left with no other option to heal a world spiraling into chaos. Noah, a righteous man—yet even in the midst of this dark chapter of human history, there was a glimmer of hope: a man named Noah (Genesis 6:8, Amplified Bible).
"Noah found favor and grace in the eyes of the Lord. " The world had gone astray, but Noah stood out as a beacon of hope—a man of integrity and faith (Genesis 6:9, Amplified Bible). "These are the records of the generations, family history of Noah.
Noah was a righteous man, one who was just and had the right standing with God, blameless in his evil generation. Noah walked, lived in habitual fellowship with God. " Noah was born into the lineage of Adam, descending through Seth, Enoch, Kenan, and several other ancestors who carried the torch of righteousness through the generations.
Eventually, this lineage led to Noah, a man who not only carried the torch but allowed it to shine brightly in his life. He was also a family man; Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. As a loving father and a faithful husband, he instilled in his children the same virtues he carried in his heart.
Despite the surrounding darkness, Noah's household was a sanctuary of godliness. Even when God shared His sorrowful decision to wash away the wickedness that plagued the Earth through a flood that would drown every living thing, Noah's faith did not waver. He understood the gravity of the task ahead and accepted it with a heavy but resolute heart.
God said, "I am going to put an end to all people, for the Earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the Earth" (Genesis 6:13). God found Noah worthy to be the custodian of a new beginning for humanity.
Noah did what God told him to do, even though people around him made fun of him or didn't believe something bad was going to happen. He spent years building the ark, warning people about the coming flood and waiting for the moment God would seal him and his family inside this gigantic wooden refuge. As the sky finally broke open and the Earth was swallowed by water, Noah's virtues became the cornerstone for a new world.
His faithfulness and obedience preserved life, and from his lineage would emerge the nation of a cleansed Earth. Thus, in a world spiraling into chaos, Noah's light shone the brightest—a testament to the enduring power of virtue and faith in the face of overwhelming darkness. God's covenant with Noah (Genesis 6:17-22).
The ark was Noah's family sanctuary, a vessel to carry them above the waters that would soon envelop the Earth. God told Noah, "Make yourself an ark of gopher wood; make rooms in the ark and cover it inside and out with pitch" (Genesis 6:14). God provided Noah with very specific dimensions, designs, and plans for the ark.
This wasn't a regular boat; it was a special ship designed to save the last living things when the world was flooding (Genesis 6:14-16). It was to be 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high—equipped with a door and a window and divided into multiple levels. Converting the dimensions to modern-day measurements, this would be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet tall.
It would have a door and a window. "Would be split into different floors," God said, "this is how you shall make it" (Genesis 6:15). And so Noah began the monumental task of constructing the ark.
It wasn't easy; many ridiculed him and questioned his sanity, but Noah had faith. As the years went by and the wood took shape, a magnificent ark stood tall—an undeniable testament to Noah's obedience and faithfulness. God also provided Noah with instructions on who and what to bring into the ark: his wife, his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and their wives were to come aboard.
Furthermore, God told Noah to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive. "You should take with you seven each of every clean animal, a male and his female; two of each animal that are unclean, a male and his female; also seven each of birds of the air, male and female, to keep their species alive on the face of the earth" (Genesis 7:2-3). Noah did everything just as God had commanded him (Genesis 6:22).
