The World That Then Existed - The Pre-flood World of Genesis Chapters 1-6

"For this they willingly forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water." 2 Peter 3:5-6

A "Straw man" Argument

Many evolutionists wrongly describe the creationist position as one that denies that significant change has occurred in the various animal and plant kinds, and that God created life on planet earth pretty much the way we see it today. This straw man is then easily knocked down when the fossil record is considered; revealing animals, plants, and climates unlike our world today.

That the Bible describes an original creation just like the world we live in today, of course, quite fallacious… Taking the Bible at face value, we can see that the world that existed before the great flood described in Genesis 7-8 was quite different from our own.

The Water Canopy

There has been much debate over whether or not God placed an extra layer in / over our present atmosphere. Genesis 1:6-8 states:

"Then God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. And God called the firmament heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day."

Verse 20:

"Then God said, Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let the birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens."

It's reasonable to assume that the writers of Genesis intended to convey the message that God created some sort of covering around the earth, made principally of water.

A Metallic Lattice Canopy?

Dr. Carl Baugh (founder of the Creation Evidence Museum, Glen Rose, TX) has suggested that the canopy was metallic hydrogen in composition. Some have pointed out the physical problems with the theory, yet Job 37:18 seems to offer corroboration:

"With Him, have you spread out the skies, strong as a cast metal mirror?"

The most common argument against the canopy theory is that no proposed substance could maintain its structure against the vacuum of space. Not being a physicist, I have to suppose that the problems proposed by those who have done the math are real. However, I would like to point out that in all probability, the atomic structure of metallic materials (including a canopy) would be different than what is seen today in our fallen world. As James F. Shackelford ("Introduction to Materials for Engineers", 3rd Ed., 1992, p. 132) points out:

"As you have learned long before this course in engineering materials, nothing in our world is quite perfect. No crystalline material exists that does not have at least a few structural flaws…Our first consideration is that no material can be prepared without some degree of chemical impurity. The impurity atoms or ions in the resulting solid solution serve to alter the structural regularity of the ideally pure metal. Independent of impurities, there are numerous structural flaws that represent a loss of crystalline perfection."

I therefore suspect that the canopy - whatever it was - was created "very good", without any structural flaws, defects or chemical impurities. This may explain why a canopy of metallic hydrogen could exist resist the vacuum of space then, but not today.

I don't want to push this too far, but it's interesting to note that in Job 37:18 the emphasis is placed on how strong the skies were.

Increased Pressure

Virtually every source that I've studied admits that any sort of canopy would have increased the atmospheric pressure on our planet.

Amphibians

"The World Book Encyclopedia" , 1986, vol. 1, p. 416 states:

"…all amphibians take in oxygen through the skin and through the lining of the mouth and throat. Some small salamanders have no lungs and breath only through the skin and mouth."

"Biology", 1985, p. 552:

"Adult amphibians do not depend solely on their primitive lungs for the exchange of respiratory gases. Their moist, glandular skin, which lacks scales and is plentifully supplied with blood vessels, also serves as a respiratory surface. Many mucus glands within the skin help to keep the body surface moist which is important in gas exchange and helps prevent desiccation…The red salamander, Pseudotriton ruber, belongs to the family Plethodontidae. The plethodonts usually spend their entire lives in fairly moist environments. They have lost their lungs, and now rely entirely on their moist skin and the membranes that line their mouth and pharynx as organs for gas exchange."

The same textbook gives us more information regarding the physical structure of animals who use their skin as a means of gas exchange,

(p. 785): "Gas exchange occurs through the entire body surface in many animals including nudibranch mollusks, most annelids, small arthropods, and a few vertebrates. All of these animals are small, with a high ratio of surface to volume."

Surface to Volume Ratios - Explained and Compared

The chart below is a comparison of various sized cubes; 1 inch, 5 inches, 10 inches and half an inch. Note that as the cube increases in size, the ratio of surface area to volume also changes. In short, the smaller the cube, the greater the ratio of surface to volume. Conversely, as the cube grows in size, the ratio of volume to surface area becomes greater.

Note that animals that breath through their skin require a high ratio of surface to volume. That is, our present atmosphere simply does not allow these types of animals to grow larger because a specific surface to volume ratio must be maintained.

Something was Different:

Giant Salamanders

Today, salamanders are usually quite small; the smallest ones breathing entirely through their skin. We have the skull of the Giant Chinese Salamander, which represents the largest living salamander species alive today. This skull measures 4 3/4 inches in length; the entire body length of this particular individual is estimated at between four and five feet. The casting company we purchased it from assured us that is this very near the end of the continuum size wise for these animals.

The According to paleontologist Joe Taylor ("Fossil Facts & Fantasies", 2001, p. 25), metoposaurs (giant salamanders) have been found measuring 12 feet in length; more than twice the length of its largest living relative. The skull we acquired from Mr. Taylor is 20 inches in length, and came from an individual 8 feet long.

Giant Insects

Insects also breath through their skin. ("Biology", 1985, p. 787) states:

"In insects and some other arthropods (e.g., chilopods, diplods, some mites, and some spiders) the respiratory system consists of a network of tracheal tubes. Air enters the tracheal tubes through a series of tiny opening called spiralces along the body surface."

It is reasonable to conclude that a a specific range of surface to volume ratios must also be maintained in insects as well, which restricts insects to their present size. In the past, something allowed insects to grow considerably larger. For example:

A strip coal mine in Ohio (at the junction of Ohio state routes 7 and 11) has yielded two giant insect fossils: A cockroach 18 inches in length and an "a giant centipede-like insect measuring about 60 inches long." These finds were reported at the recent annual meeting of the Geological Society of America in Boston.

Dr. Walt Brown's wonderful textbook on creation ("In the Beginning: Compelling Evidence for Creation and the Flood") features a photo of a fossil dragonfly wing measuring 1 1/2 feet in length, meaning this particular individual sported a wingspan of 3 feet. According to Carl Baugh, a fossil dragonfly was discovered in Italy with a 6ft wingspan!

The creation model of a canopied earth and the corresponding increase in atmospheric pressure, predicts exactly what the fossil record has yielded which respect to giant amphibians and insects.

Longevity and the Pre-Flood World

According to the Bible, the average age of the people list in the genealogical tables was 912 years old. The oldest person mentioned (Methuselah) lived 969 years (Genesis 5:27).

Why we age is a mystery

"Biology", 1985, p. 979:

"Although relatively little is known about the aging process itself, this is now an active field of scientific investigation."

This source lists several possible explanations for why we grow old:

1.Hormonal changes, 2. Auto immune responses, 3. Accumulation of specific waste products within the cells, 4. Changes in the molecular structure of macromolecules, 5.Decrese the the elastic properties of connective tissues due to a build up of calcium, 6. Peroxidation of certain lipids by free radicals, 7. Cells are destroyed by hydrolases released by breaking lyosomes.

Thus, with no explanation as to why we grow old and die, is it really unthinkable that people could have lived to the great ages as seen in the Genesis record?

Conjecture: Increased Longevity in all forms of Life in the Pre-Flood World.

If, as the the Bible states, people were living to almost a thousand years old in the pre-flood world, then it is reasonable to suspect that all life was also living to great ages at that time as well. What sort of predictions can we make around this idea?

Prediction - Huge Reptile Life in the Remote Past

"Some reptiles may reach adult size in a year or less, while others, like turtles and crocodiles, may continue to grow for as long as they live." The Compton's Inactive Encyclopedia, 1996, "Reptiles--Reptile Growth Rate (Emphasis mine).

Thus, if turtles and crocodiles lived hundreds of years, its reasonable to suspect they'd also reach enormous sizes.

Giant Turtles

Above: Dr. Kent Hovind (founder of Creation Science Evangelism, www.drdino.com) standing beside an enormous fossil turtle. This particular individual is approaching the size of a Volkswagen! How long did a turtle like this need to live and grow to reach such an enormous size?

Giant Crocodiles

The Sarchosuchus Imperator is a giant crocodile which supposedly lived hundreds of millions of years ago along with the dinosaurs. This animal reached a length of 40 feet, and according to paleontologists, Imperator probably preyed on saraupod dinosaurs (i.e. Apatosaurous, Brachiosaurous). The Nile crocodile of today has a skull about 25 inches in length. Imperator's skull is 57 inches. Again, how long were these animals living to reach such an enormous sizes?

Giant Reptiles - Dinosaurs!

The Biblical model of creation predicts exactly what the fossil record has provided: evidence that enormous reptile life once inhabited our planet. We call them dinosaurs and their bones have been found by the trainloads!

What Happened?

In exploring the reason why we grow old and die, "Biology", 1985, p. 979 contains the comment:

"Other current theories suggest that aging involves the accumulation of somatic mutations caused by continued exposure to cosmic radiation and x-radiation, mutations that decrease the ability of the cell to carry out its normal functions at the normal rate."

The pre-flood canopy, it has been suggested, would have filtered out much of the harmful cosmic and X-ray radiation. This may be one reason for the incredible longevity of people in the pre-flood world.

Mutations and Isotopic Decay

It is a proven fact that exposure to radioactive materials can have disastrous effects on living systems; causing profound disruptions at a genetic level (mutations). For more than a century, scientists have been using radiation (along with chemicals, and pressure changes) to mutate fruit flies in the hope that random mutations could been confirmed as a mechanism for macro-evolution. Though thousands of mutations have been noted, none could be seen as advantageous:

"Mutations are random changes in nucleic acids and usually represent not merely alteration but an actual loss in genetic information. When we consider the complexity of living things, the wonder is not that mutations are usually harmful, but that any mutation is ever advantageous." "Biology", 1985, p. 988

"Even if we didn't have a great deal of data on this point, we could still be quite sure on theoretical grounds that mutants would usually be detrimental. For a mutation is a random change of a highly organized, reasonably smoothly functioning living body. A random change in the highly integrated system of chemical processes which constitute life is almost certain to impair it - just as a random interchange of connection in a television set is not likely to improve the picture." James Crow, (Professor of Genetics, University of Wisconson), "Genetic Effects of Radiation", Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Vol. 14, January, 1958, pp. 19-20

"The one systematic effect of mutation seems to be a tendency toward degeneration." Sewall Wright, "the Statistical Consequences of Mendelian Heredity in Relation to Speciation", The Systematics, editor Julian Huxley, 1949, p. 174

"Accordingly, mutations are more than just sudden changes in heredity; they also affect viability, and, to the best of out knowledge, invariably, affect it adversely." C.P. Martin, "A Non-Geneticist Looks at Evolution", American Scientist", January, 1953, p. 102

Radioactive Materials and The Fountains of the Great Deep

There is a difference of opinion as to whether or not isotopes such as uranium were decaying right from day one, or not until after the fall of man. What proponents of both positions agree on (for the most part) is that isotopic decay was confined under the surface of the earth until the time of the great flood, when "all the fountains of the great deep were broken up" (Genesis 7:11). At that time, harmful radioactive decay products were spewed out onto the surface of the earth. It is theorized that this widespread introduction of these materials was at least partly responsible for the rapid decline in life-spans of humans (and by inference, animal kinds as well) in the centuries following the flood.

Volcanism at the Time of the Flood

Arguably the best flood model is the one proposed by Dr. Walt Brown (www.creationscience.com). Brown theorizes that the water for the flood was once contained under pressure beneath the earth's surface. In a violent cataclysm, this water was suddenly released as an enormous rip in the earth's crust tore North and South between the Americas and Europe / Africa, extending all the way around the globe. As the water jetted upward, the sides of the rift were eroded, making the rupture wider. At a certain point, when the rift grew too wide, the basaltic rock beneath, under pressure, sprung upward, giving birth to the mid-Atlantic ridge.

According to Brown, this massive up-thrust of basaltic rock, extending for miles, caused the huge continental granite "plates" (hydroplates, a term coined by Dr. Brown) to slide away from the ridge and from each other. This event involved enormous frictional forces; melting vast quantities of rock and producing the magma stores contained within the earth today. Dr. Brown's theory explains 25 features of the earth and the solar system, including the origin of limestone and layered fossils, the Grand Canyon, ocean trenches, frozen mammoths, volcanoes and earthquakes, the origin of comets and asteroids, and many other "mysteries." See his site for complete details and technical notes.

Of interest to us, however, is the dramatic drop in life-spans in the centuries following the flood, and the possible connection to radioactive material contained within volcanic material, which we suggest reached the surface of the earth for the first time when the fountains of the great deep were broken up.

Volcanoes and Radiation

Radon Gas

"The most common magmatic volatile outgassed by volcanoes is water, often comprising 90% or more of the total volatile phase. Carbon dioxide is the second largest product, followed by minor quantities of compounds such as hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen flouride, radon, carbon monoxide, helium, mercury, and halogenated hydrocarbons." - Jack Cuozzo, "Buried Alive", 1998, p. 145 (Emphasis mine)

"The international incidence of myeloid leukemia, cancer of the kidney, melanoma, and certain childhood cancers all show significant correlation with radon exposure in the home." - D. Henshaw, J. Eatough, and R. Richardson, "Radon a Causative Factor in Induction of Melenoid Leukemia and Other Cancers", Lancet, 355 (8696): 1002-12, April, 1990 (University of Bristol, England)

"An estimated 13,000 cancer deaths per year may be attributed to radon gas." - R.J. Jackson, J.H. Diliberti, P.J. Landrigan, G. Nathanson, H.L. Needleman, "Radon Exposure: A Hazard to Children", Pediatrics, 83 (5) 1989, pp. 799-902

Radon's Daughter Products

"The first daughter of radon is polonium 218, a solid; the transition involves an alpha decay that leaves the polonium 218 atom charged for a very short time. It is during this period that the polonium has a great affinity for any particles in the air and will ultimately attach itself to that particle. Any further decay of the polonium generally occurs while attached to the particle surface of the successive radon daughters, Pb-214, Bi-214, Po-214, Pb-210." - Olson and Fruchter, "Identification of the Physical and Chemical Characteristics of Volcanic Hazards",Chapter 5, American Journal of Public Health, vol. 76, (3), March 1986, p. 50 (Emphasis mine)

Lead 210 (Pb-210) is, also known as radium D, and gives off harmful gamma radiation.

Radiation Distribution

Remember that polonium attaches itself to virtually everything including dust and ash, and its further decay takes place on these airborne, highly mobile and widely distributed substances. Studies have shown that radiation from volcanic activity can spread over vast regions:

"In Poland, a report covering the years from 1973 to 1987 was filed by three scientists in Warsaw. They said, 'Greatly increased concentrations of stable lead and radium 226 were observed in all altitudes for several years after the Feugo volcano eruption in 1974, and also after the Nevado del Ruiz eruption of 1985.' The Columbian connection to Poland is immense proof of the influence of these local disasters on the entire planet. Radioactive material spread across the world." - Jack Cuozzo, "Buried Alive", 1998, p. 146, citing the research of l.Kownacka, Z. Jaworowski, and M. Suplinska, "Vertical Distribution and Flows of Lead and Natural Radionuclides in the Atmosphere", Science of the Total Environment, 91, 1990, p. 199-221 (Emphasis mine)

Conclusion: The straw man argument that biblical creationists deny "change over time" (the supposed tenet of evolution) is unsupported by the biblical text itself. Christians believe that major changes took place in our universe at the time of the fall, again at the flood. The Genesis account of creation and the flood allows us to be predictive, and these predictions find their fulfillment in many physical features of the world we live in.