Noah's World

Week 8 of Bible Study

This week is more about sharing my research than reading the Bible.

Everyone is familiar with the story of Noah and the Flood

But most people think this story is a myth.

Or if it is true it was a local event, not global.

I do believe it to be a true story.

But it takes a lot of work to research the various supporting pieces of evidence.

Below are what I have found, 

Please feel free to google parts of my findings to learn more for yourself.

It is all very interesting from a historical as well as biblical prospective.

(and even scientific prospective!)

~Noah's World~

The Antediluvian World was much different than today's.

On the second day of creation God separated the water to be 

under and above the firmament.

This caused an extreme Green House Effect 

such that it was very warm everywhere, tropical even.

There was no rain.

Mist formed every day that kept the vegetation watered.

Because of the thick water vapor cover around the Earth, 

no harmful radiation reached us allowing for longer life spans.

The atmosphere was much higher in Oxygen levels which allowed for 

creatures to grow very, very large and have longer life spans.

There were cities, and they had a certain level of technology.

Some technologies we can't understand today

(we still are not sure how the pyramids were built, for instance)

Cities grew and people forgot about God.

There was an increase in worship of demons who posed as "gods".

There was an abundance of art and music, 

but none that worshiped the One True God.

God was not a part of this world and sins were rampant

There were temples filled with prostitutes,

some of whom were very young girls....or boys

Murder, rape and orgies were commonplace.

Use of alcohol and drugs commonplace.

Theft, extortion, lying all commonplace.

Human sacrifice to the gods was common.

As was infant sacrifice.

One ritual involved "rolling" live babies through fire to their deaths.

Other rituals involved burning people alive in the bellies of statues of their gods.

This world was worse than any we have ever known.

Including the holocaust, the killing fields, 

the Gulags or North Korean prison camps.

The world had become so over run with Evil 

that only one remained who worshiped God, and that was Noah.

~Noah~

Noah was a farmer

He was 500 years old when he fathered Shem, Ham and Japeth.

He preached repentance in hopes of saving souls

Noah lived for 350 years after the flood

(he died when he was 950 years old)

Think about that-----America is about 250years old.

Can you imagine knowing someone who was alive at the time of the founding?

What if George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were still alive in 2017?

What would they tell us about what they meant about the Constitution,

about slavery, about religious freedom.

How much are we getting wrong today compared to their original intent?

Noah was alive at the time of Abraham.

His son Shem was alive during the time of Isaac.

This is important!

Any stories about Noah's ark could be verified by eye witnesses!!   

So when Abraham told the stories of the Great Flood, he could verify their veracity with the ones who survived the deluge!

~The Ark ~

The ark took 100 years to build

The ark could only float, there was no rudder for steering, 

no sail to allow purposeful travel

No ship was built bigger than the ark until 1884 AD.

The ark ratio of 30:5:3 is perfect for surviving rough seas 

according to modern maritime experts

This reveals an advance knowledge and understanding of ship building.

~The Animals~

Read Genesis 6:20

Two of every "kind" of animal does not mean every species of animal.

For example,  You can have 1 kind of rabbit, 

so you don't have to have every species of rabbit

Notice God calls for 7 pairs of every kind of Bird

and 7 pairs of every kind of "clean" animal.

God distinguishes between Clean and Unclean 

Clean animals are those that chew cud and have a divided hoof 

such as cattle, deer, sheep and goats.

Unclean animals would be all others.

Also note that this verse says that 

The animals will come to Noah.

Noah did not have to round them up, God guided them to Noah.

Now if the average size of animals are about that of a sheep,

then the ark could hold 125,000 animals without a problem.

Today there are less than 18,000 species of animals.

Even if we double that to account for unknown species, 

or those that are now extinct 

that would give us 36,000 animal species.

And 2 of each would be 75,000 animals

So there is plenty of room on the ark for 2 of every "kind" of animal.

And there is plenty of room for food for all 

which is important as they were on that ark for about one year.

Read Genesis 9:2

After the flood God placed fear of humans into animals and gave  humans permission to hunt and eat them.

Prior to the flood animals did not fear people, so they would've been easy to handle while on the ark and  this means animals were not hunted for food.

So why can we eat them now?  

Now that the atmosphere has changed, 

vegetation will not grow as thick and lush.  

It may be harder for humans to find enough plants to eat, 

and perhaps not all the same plant species survived the flood. 

 What exists now may not be as nourishing as what there was before.

So God is allowing them to eat meat so they can survive

 and re-populate the world.

~Historical Proof~

There are over 200 cultures around the world that have flood stories.

2014 scientists discovered ancient clay tablets with the 

flood story about animals and an ark.

National Geographic News found evidence of the Ark in the
Mount Ararat Mountain chain in Turkey

At this site they found petrified dung and fur

Local historians claimed this to be the site of the ark

Locals have always called this site the "Valley of Eight"

(Noah and his family were 8 people)

All major world languages are traced back to origins of one language from Eastern Europe---probably Turkey.

Here is one of many interesting videos on this subject

Also, really cool thing to do, go on Google Earth

and you can see Noah's Ark for yourself!

I'm not sure how to give you coordinates to find it

but if you go to a place called Uzengili in Turkey, 

Noah's ark is to the Right (East)

Let me know if you find it and what you think!

Sibling Rivalry

Week 7 of Bible Study

Read Genesis 4: 6-7

God is warning Cain--and us--that Jealousy can lead to Sin.

Cain is mad that Abel's offering was accepted and his was not.

Cain's anger is misplaced.

Abel did no wrong.

Cain should be mad at himself for not trying harder.

He does not want to accept responsibility for his own wrong.

And his feelings will lead him to action---and to sin.

Read Genesis 4:8

The first murder occurs.....

+

Read Genesis 4:9-10

God already knows what has happened--as evidenced in verse 10

Here was an opportunity to repent, but Cain did not.

How does this apply to us today?

Re-Read Genesis 4:6

This tells us that God knows our heart.

He knows our joys, our sorrow.

He doesn't need to see our expression on our faces.

He doesn't have to wait for us to tell us.

He knows the heart of every person on Earth, every single minute of the day.

Re-Read Genesis 4:7

God is not just warning Cain---He is warning all of us that we can

easily succumb to sin.

He is warning us to stay in control,
master our feelings,

so we are not lead into sin.

Re-Read Genesis 4:9

God knows all, God sees all.

We can not hide anything from God.

He knew Cain's feelings and warned him.

He saw what Cain did and punished him.

And God does the same for us.

Read Genesis 4: 13-15

Although Cain's sin must separate him from God for the rest of his days,

God still loves and protects Cain by marking him.

Had God punished Cain with death, then Cain and his crime would be forgotten.

But because Cain was forced to wander, 

Cain could tell and warn others not to murder.  

He could warn them to guard against jealousy and hatred.

Because God marks Cain He is telling us that we are His creations and only God is Just in our deaths; We are not to murder.

And that includes Abortion

(new technology shows an mri of a 20 week old fetus that is still able to be aborted legally)