Topical Bible: Time: Epochs of Before the Flood

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The epochs before the Flood, often referred to as the antediluvian period, encompass the time from the creation of the world to the great deluge described in Genesis. This era is characterized by significant events and figures that set the stage for the unfolding narrative of the Bible.

Creation and the Early World

The Bible begins with the account of creation in Genesis 1-2, where God creates the heavens and the earth in six days and rests on the seventh. This period marks the establishment of time itself, with the creation of day and night, seasons, and years. Humanity is introduced with the creation of Adam and Eve, who are placed in the Garden of Eden. Genesis 2:7 states, "Then the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being."

The Fall and Its Consequences

The antediluvian epoch is profoundly affected by the Fall, as described in Genesis 3. Adam and Eve's disobedience leads to the introduction of sin and death into the world. The consequences of the Fall are immediate and far-reaching, affecting not only humanity but all of creation. Genesis 3:17-19 records God's words to Adam: "Cursed is the ground because of you; through toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it will yield for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your bread, until you return to the ground, because out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return."

The Lineage from Adam to Noah

The genealogies in Genesis 5 provide a record of the descendants of Adam through Seth, leading to Noah. This lineage is significant as it traces the line through which God will preserve humanity. The long lifespans of the antediluvian patriarchs, such as Methuselah, who lived 969 years, are a notable feature of this period. Genesis 5:27 states, "So Methuselah lived a total of 969 years, and then he died."

The Increasing Wickedness of Humanity

As humanity multiplies, so does wickedness. Genesis 6:5 describes the state of the world: "Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was altogether evil all the time." This moral decline grieves God, leading to His decision to cleanse the earth with a flood.

Noah and the Ark

Noah, a righteous man in his generation, finds favor with God. Genesis 6:9 describes him as "a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God." God instructs Noah to build an ark to preserve his family and pairs of every living creature. The construction of the ark and the gathering of the animals mark the culmination of the antediluvian epoch.

The Covenant with Noah

The period before the Flood concludes with God's covenant with Noah, promising never to destroy the earth with a flood again. This covenant is symbolized by the rainbow, as stated in Genesis 9:13 : "I have set My rainbow in the clouds, and it will be a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth."

The epochs before the Flood are foundational to understanding the biblical narrative, illustrating themes of creation, fall, judgment, and redemption that resonate throughout Scripture.

Nave's Topical Index

Joshua 24:2
And Joshua said to all the people, Thus said the LORD God of Israel, Your fathers dwelled on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods.
Nave's Topical Index

Library

Redeeming the Time
... succession of moments, the latter word indicating epochs or crises ... his foot, he tests
with his foot before he rests ... we bring up from the sea of time, we shall ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture ephesians peter/redeeming the time.htm

Culture and Christianity: their Relation and Necessity.
... that "in the first century, in a time of famine ... then may we expect more purity in
high places; not before. ... confirms the language of Goethe: "All epochs," says he ...
/.../i culture and christianity their relation.htm

The Pentateuch.
... and Abihu for offering strange fire before the Lord ... of the new ordinances from time
to time enacted, is ... eight years we notice three salient points or epochs. ...
/.../barrows/companion to the bible/chapter xix the pentateuch.htm

The Sluggard in Harvest
... its predominant colouring, varying at different epochs, and that ... indolence, perhaps
dissipation, has no time to get ... with peril and with pain; Before her gate ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture g/the sluggard in harvest.htm

Introduction.
... the great destruction of Israel's enemies before the advent of ... in the opinion as
to the epochs in which ... writers allotting the judgment to the time of Messiah's ...
//christianbookshelf.org/deane/pseudepigrapha/introduction.htm

Essential Character of the Work of Jesus.
... The Church has had its epochs and its phases; it has ... each other, to arrive at the
same time at almost ... would have brought him twenty times before the magistrates ...
/.../renan/the life of jesus/chapter xxviii essential character of.htm

The Shaking of the Heavens and the Earth.
... fulfilled itself again and again, at different epochs. ... were not aware that, centuries
before the Incarnation of ... guarding themselves, at the same time, from the ...
/.../kingsley/westminster sermons/sermon viii the shaking of.htm

Letter cxxxviii. (AD 412. )
... harmony with the changes of successive epochs without any ... the Catilinarian conspiracy,
which was before the coming ... worst vices made from that time forward, and ...
/.../augustine/the confessions and letters of st/letter cxxxviii a d 412.htm

Introductory Note.
... little worthily studied subject, had set before himself the ... the friends of light'
of the time helped him ... first age supplied to the succeeding epochs, in which ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/kuyper/the work of the holy spirit/introductory note.htm

Chapter i
... in the instances that went before the word ... How Procksch injects the meaning "epochs"
into the ... ya'adh, "to appoint"; therefore, "appointed time." The luminaries ...
//christianbookshelf.org/leupold/exposition of genesis volume 1/chapter i.htm