Cataclysm Series

Cataclysm

Genesis 6-9

http://gbcdecatur.org/sermons/Cataclysm.html

We’ll attempt to answer some controversial questions from our text:

i) Who were the “sons of God” and the “daughters of men”?

ii) What was the physical earth like before the Flood?

iii) Why did people live so long before the Flood?

iv) How does our age compare with Noah’s day?

v) How advanced was the pre-flood civilization?

vi) What about capital punishment?

We all know the story of Noah’s Ark, and it’s a favorite among all ages. So many questions and so much to think about. The dynamics of it all are more than we can take in. But tonite we’ll look not just at the basics as usual, but at some other very important aspects as it applies to the big picture.

In this message we will answer the above questions as best we can.

Who were the sons of God?

The “Hybrid Theory” says they were fallen angels who impregnated human women, creating a race of giants. Here’s some reasons I think this is ridiculous.

The Law of Biogenesis – the fixity of the species. Everything reproduces after its kind.

Matthew 22:30

For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.

This could indicate angels as not mating. But fallen angels?

Also, the testimony of the Hebrew language: the word there is ‘gibbor’ for ‘children’ that were the offspring, which is the word for offspring.

Here’s the biggie: a hybrid race would require a hybrid Savior. Sinners are human, not half gods.

So what is the answer? Usually the simplest explanation is the right one. I personally believe the Sons of God is a reference to the godly line of Seth, and the daughters of men is the ungodly line of Cain. Believers mingling w/ unbelievers. It’s always a bad idea. When it works out it’s the exception...it’s God’s grace, but it wasn’t His best plan.

The conditions of the earth before the flood

Much more land, much less water. A supercontinent, Pangea, is the theory I subscribe to. No high mountains, great canyons, and huge rifts. I believe these were created mostly in the cataclysm. Most mountain ranges run north and south, not east and west. This also indicates a separating of the continents.

No vast deserts, tropics, and ice caps. It was warm and pleasant all over. There was lush green vegetation everywhere because of the greenhouse effect discussed in lesson 1. They have found huge palms frozen at the north pole, encased in ice. Also at the south pole, just 200 miles from the pole. And there have been animals found frozen at both poles that couldn’t live there today.

Why people lived so long

Adam lived 930 years, tho’ he didn’t look a day over 900! Why?

The closer you are to the original, the better the genes. The curse takes its toll on the body, as does sins we commit. It’s like copying tapes, every generation loses quality.

Also, the canopy protected man from the sun’s radiation. Dr. Henry Morris says, “Research is only beginning to bring to light the damage that radiation does to our bodies.”

Next reason: they were vegetarians. I don’t understand people like that...but they are healthier.

Finally: the oxygen level was higher due to higher atmospheric pressure. The whole world was akin to a hyperbolic chamber where we heal and live better! In that kind of environment scientists have grown corn stalks 15’ high and tomatoes the size of cantaloupes.

How advanced was the civilization of that day?

Cavemen w/ clubs dragging women by the hair? Not at all. There were very advanced civilizations, history proves. Maybe not electronic technology, but very advanced in terms of construction and standard of living.

Einstein only lived 70 years, but contributed so much. If he could have lived hundreds more years, there’s just no telling what he could have accomplished.

They were highly sophisticated, but also highly sinful. Intelligence has nothing to do w/ your level of morality. Educating people doesn’t make them more moral. The heart of the issue is the human heart.

How does our day compare w/ Noah’s day?

Luke 17:26-27 26 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. 27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.

Just before Christ returns to earth it will be like those days. And what was it like back then?

A preoccupation w/ appetites of the flesh / A rapid advancement in technology / ‘knowledge explosion’ / materialistic attitudes...

Luke 17:28

Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;