This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man in the likeness of God made he him. Male and Female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.
Genesis 5:1-2
The first 8 chapters of Genesis are some of the most controversial and fantastic aspects of the entire book. A rough glance at the stories contained in this portion of the sacred writ would cause them to appear as though they are nothing more than Hebrew fable. However, when we compare notes there are similar stories told throughout many ancient legends. The idea of ancient men walking the earth, giants with strength beyond a normal man, and a flood which takes out the entire population of this planet are not the stories that are distinct to the Hebrew people. There are over 250 flood stories throughout the ancient world, there are stories of men living to fantastic lengths of time, and there are even stories of re known men who grew to colossal status. Maybe these are not all legends but rather pieces of a global historical consciousness. The stories change through time and culture but they retain a similarity which cannot be ignored.
The questions that we find ourselves asking are difficult to find answers for. How is possible that a man could live ten times his normal age range? Was there a supernatural phenomenon allowing angelic beings to interbreed with natural women who gave birth to supernatural giants? All of this seems quite abnormal to the scientific mind. However, I believe that an adequate assessment of the Genesis story provides some very logical and possible solutions to these problems. The reader must wade through the fictional products of theologians and look for real solutions to these age old questions. For this article we hope to discuss the following ideals to make better sense out of these parts in Genesis.
I. The age of ancient men.
II. The sons of God.
I. The ages of ancient men.
The ages of “pre-historic” men seem to be part of Genesis that causes trouble to the modern mind. The fact is that we know the common man would be fortunate enough to see his eightieth birthday, and if he breaks one hundred years he should consider himself very fortunate. How could humans live to be so old in the ancient world? How would one’s teeth stay in tact with over 900 years of usage? How would bones stay strong and people be able to have children long after their hundredth birthday had occurred? What about heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, cancer, sexual diseases, etc? All of these seem to be questions that cause one to doubt the validity of the Bible. The fact is that we are not sure why or how all of this was possible. There is no living doctor who was there to be able to tell us how this phenomenon actually happened. There are however, several things to consider when looking at a reconstruction of this portion of history. Let us consider the following as possible reasons why men lived to be so old and why they remained healthy throughout the duration of their lives.
The first thing to consider is that the human body was never made to die, age, grow sick, or breakdown. From the theological prospective we can allocate these developments to the fall of man. When man fell into sin he brought forth death upon the entire race. In Romans 5:12 the Apostle Paul tells us; “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” Sin brought about death into the human family. That death working in man has produced sin in every generation to follow. That was covered in more detail in the last article. The point is that it would take a while for sin to accelerate and bring about death more rapidly. As men continue to move further away from Adam the life span begins to decline. After the flood things begin to decline in an accelerated manner.
Genesis 5:1-2
The first 8 chapters of Genesis are some of the most controversial and fantastic aspects of the entire book. A rough glance at the stories contained in this portion of the sacred writ would cause them to appear as though they are nothing more than Hebrew fable. However, when we compare notes there are similar stories told throughout many ancient legends. The idea of ancient men walking the earth, giants with strength beyond a normal man, and a flood which takes out the entire population of this planet are not the stories that are distinct to the Hebrew people. There are over 250 flood stories throughout the ancient world, there are stories of men living to fantastic lengths of time, and there are even stories of re known men who grew to colossal status. Maybe these are not all legends but rather pieces of a global historical consciousness. The stories change through time and culture but they retain a similarity which cannot be ignored.
The questions that we find ourselves asking are difficult to find answers for. How is possible that a man could live ten times his normal age range? Was there a supernatural phenomenon allowing angelic beings to interbreed with natural women who gave birth to supernatural giants? All of this seems quite abnormal to the scientific mind. However, I believe that an adequate assessment of the Genesis story provides some very logical and possible solutions to these problems. The reader must wade through the fictional products of theologians and look for real solutions to these age old questions. For this article we hope to discuss the following ideals to make better sense out of these parts in Genesis.
I. The age of ancient men.
II. The sons of God.
I. The ages of ancient men.
The ages of “pre-historic” men seem to be part of Genesis that causes trouble to the modern mind. The fact is that we know the common man would be fortunate enough to see his eightieth birthday, and if he breaks one hundred years he should consider himself very fortunate. How could humans live to be so old in the ancient world? How would one’s teeth stay in tact with over 900 years of usage? How would bones stay strong and people be able to have children long after their hundredth birthday had occurred? What about heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, cancer, sexual diseases, etc? All of these seem to be questions that cause one to doubt the validity of the Bible. The fact is that we are not sure why or how all of this was possible. There is no living doctor who was there to be able to tell us how this phenomenon actually happened. There are however, several things to consider when looking at a reconstruction of this portion of history. Let us consider the following as possible reasons why men lived to be so old and why they remained healthy throughout the duration of their lives.
The first thing to consider is that the human body was never made to die, age, grow sick, or breakdown. From the theological prospective we can allocate these developments to the fall of man. When man fell into sin he brought forth death upon the entire race. In Romans 5:12 the Apostle Paul tells us; “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” Sin brought about death into the human family. That death working in man has produced sin in every generation to follow. That was covered in more detail in the last article. The point is that it would take a while for sin to accelerate and bring about death more rapidly. As men continue to move further away from Adam the life span begins to decline. After the flood things begin to decline in an accelerated manner.
The second factor has to with lifestyles. It is very likely that before the flood men ate less meat if any. Diseases that are present in meat consumption would be reduced or non-existent. Eating closer to the ground can help man to reach old age in our present time, so it is likely that fruits and vegetables were a big part of the pre-flood diet. It is also possible that the lack of stress would cause life spans to increase. Stress is a number one killer in America claiming more lives than any other factor. It is no doubt that pre-flood men were fit, but it is very likely that while they worked hard, their lives were slow paced. In our country we continue to see heart disease and other stress related illnesses show us how powerful stress is on the human body. Ancient man no doubt had his worries, but it was still a simpler life than the one we have made for ourselves today. Perhaps, Kendall Down has summed it up right when he says,
The first is the belief that the world before the Flood was a near perfect environment. There was plenty of good quality food, so no problems with malnutrition of either the deficiency or the over-eating variety. Society was, on the whole, rural, so there were no problems with stress. The climate was equable, there was no pollution and disease organisms had not yet developed to present levels. All these factors combined to produce exceptional longevity.
The third reason has to do with the maturation process. Once again we will turn to Dr. Jack Cuozzo for the answers to these questions. Dr. Cuozzo in his book entitled, “Buried Alive” discusses research that he has conducted on different Neanderthal fossils he has had the privilege of looking at. He has come to believe that the maturity process of man is speeding up over time. His research shows that even as few as 300 years ago this phenomenon could be observed. During the time of the composer Johann Sebastian Bach it is well known that many of the boys singing in his choir did not reach puberty till almost the age of 17. He noted that this was not only found to be true of young boys but girls did not often reach puberty till the age of 17 as well. That seems a little late and may have something to do with levels of nutrition. Especially in young girls as we know that building fat cells early on can throw them into puberty earlier. However ancient writing show that boys and girls matured slower. This of course varies through time but there is evidence from ancient writings among the Greeks and Romans that puberty did not begin in a female till at least the 14th year. Another example of this slow maturity can be seen in studying the history of tooth eruption. Dr. Cuozzo noted that the British Museum conducted a study of tooth development a few years back. They examined the remains of 63 children ranging from infant to five years of age that had been buried over 200 years ago. They noted that often no teeth had erupted in children that were 11-12 months of age when they died. The average age of tooth eruption today is 6-8 months. If all of Dr. Cuozzo’s research is correct then it is feasible to believe that ancient man was developing slowly. He was reaching sexual maturity very slowly, he was gaining each set of teeth very slowly, and he was generally aging very slowly. It seems that a forty year old man in the ancient world was likely to have reached the place that an eighteen year old boy reaches today.
Dr. Cuozzo not only proposes that humans matured very slowly in the ancient world, but their teeth had a self healing mechanism that was more advanced than our own. Today scratches can be made on the surface of the teeth and in about six weeks it will start to fill in with pellicle which is more or less the “skin” of the teeth. In modern man this system is broken down where it is less potent and has no significant impact on tooth healing. However, in ancient man it was no doubt very powerful healing quality. The pellicle is fortified by proteins, calcium and minerals that come from saliva. Human saliva has a healing quality to repair teeth and there are some suggestions that it repaired enamel as well. Job even refers to his teeth having skin on it in Job 19:20. Job also knew that saliva contained healing in it and he used it to spit on his own wounds.
“How long wilt thou not depart from me, nor let me alone till I swallow down my spittle?” Job 7:19. (In other words Job was saying that when this is over I will be able swallow my spit instead of using it on my wounds.)
Dr. Cuozo has written an eloquent work and I have to highly recommend the reader to pick up a copy of his book, “Buried Alive.” The point of all of this is to let you know that is highly possible that humans could have lived to be very old. There is strong evidence that opens up the level of probability in regards to human age. We can be sure of this man did live long expanses of time before and shortly after the flood. Neanderthals represent the post-flood population, yet they give us clues to understand the pre-flood population.
II. The Sons of God.
When we arrive in the sixth chapter of Genesis we encounter another problem that causes this book to take on a “mythical” nature. The Bible records that the “Sons of God” had sexual relationships with the “Daughters of men.” The product of these unions resulted in men who grew to enormous statures and possessed great strength. There are three different ideals that I want to submit to the reader. The third idea is something that I have created and so it is to be taken as mere opinion. However, I think the reader will find it interesting and useful in this passage.
1. The Adamic Theory. Generally speaking the term “Son of God” can be applied in a variety of ways. Angels are referred to as “Sons of God” and man is called by the same name. This first school of thought warns us that there is nothing supernatural occurring here. It is accepted in many circles that the Sons of God were natural men who were born from the lineage of Seth. The daughters of men were believed to be idol worshippers born to the lineage of Cain. As we know from the beginning satan wanted to infiltrate the messianic line and keep it from coming to pass. This is a very feasible theory. However, there is an objection that needs to be answered. The Bible records that Giants were born in the land. It takes special note that these men were powerful and gives off a feeling that what happened here had some spiritual nature to it.
2. The Angelic Theory. The second school of thought is that the “Sons of God” were actually fallen angels who had fallen in love with earth women. It explains the supernatural nature of this situation, but is it cohesive with scripture? Can Angels reproduce at all? There is nothing in the Bible which would prevent us from believing this was possible. Angels are always referred to in a masculine sense so it is a possible. However, I believe there is a passage in Hebrews which gives us a clue into understanding what happened here.
For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
Hebrews 2:16.
The italicized words were added by the translators so it is hard to know what is meant. However, I believe that it is intended to convey that there is a difference between men and angels. Angels do not marry, they do have children, and do not issue offspring. Abraham and his descendants are a race. Jesus could easily come into the human race and become a part of it in order that he might redeem it. He cannot redeem angels because they are not a race, they are a group. A race is a thing which can be propagated. A group probably cannot be propagated. I find no reason to think that angels have compatible physiology with humans. Therefore, I do believe that this theory is too fantastic for my tastes.
3. The Hughes hypothesis. Perhaps there is a bridge that can be made between these two theories. Allow me for a moment to share something that could be food for thought. I believe that the Sons of God were indeed the men who were born of Seth. The daughters of men here may very well be descendants from Cain. I believe that there was no doubt idol worship and contact between the natural and spiritual world. It is possible that through idolatry demons were able affect a child even from the womb. In the 1930’s Himmler the S.S. officer under Hitler deeply involved himself in the ideas of occultism and Aryanism. He believed centuries before modern man there was a race of pure men who grew to great size and possessed great strength. These men become Norse gods and ruled the world with power and purity. Himmler hoped to recreate this with the German nation in the 1930’s. He had compiled a list of graveyards that he suggested Aryan couples to conceive in. The idea was that the spirits of the norse gods would enter the child and in time the “uber mensch” (supermen) were born. Himmler was insane and there is no question about. However, I believe that spirits can enter children from early ages. Is it possible that there was such a level of demonic activity and spirit worship in the antediluvian world that demons were allowed to alter the genetic structures in some way? Does this sound bizarre? Maybe but consider that there is such a thing as Genetic Engineering. Genes can be manipulated and alter appearance, intelligence, character, behavior and etc. Some scientists have suggested that homosexuals have a genetic manipulation which brings their sexual orientation the wrong way. I do not believe that homosexuals are “born that way.” I am simply illustrating that there is a great possibility that spirits who gained power over men through worship were able to affect men’s physiologically in the ancient world.
It impossible to know what happened here at this particular time in human history. However, I don’t believe it is mythological in nature. I think that what happened here was very spiritual as well as very natural. Whatever took place here made God angry enough to wipe out every living thing except what was boarded onto the ark. This leads me to think that humans were doing things that we have not yet began to explore. I believe the mythologies of the Greeks concerning large men, and the mythologies of the Norsemen are based in part on this particular time in history. Theses stories are distorted but still testify that such men did exist.
In closing, I hope that some of this has provided you with a framework to understand the difficult question in Genesis. Man lived to great lengths of time and advanced considerably. The Bible tells that before the flood man had learned how to work with iron and brass. The Bible tells us that he learned how to make instruments that gave musical sounds. It is no doubt that governments existed which gave rise the pre-dynastic era. Increased spiritual activity resulted in unhealthy results. As the first two thousand years moved forward the eating, drinking, promiscuity and demon worship finally caused God to say “Enough is enough.” Jesus says that at the close of the age men would increase in those same activities. He said that they would be unaware until disaster falls on them like a hard rain. Those days are here again and the close of the age is at hand. Lift up your head because the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords is coming back to rule this earth with a rod of iron. Rule it he will!!!
Written by Joshua B. Hughes A.A.
1. Down Kendall. “The Dates of Creation.” http://www.diggingsonline.com/homestudy/les02.htm l/ retrieved on November 11, 2008.
2. Cuozzo, Jack. Buried Alive. 1998. Master Books, Inc.
www.ricksspace.net/jbhughes/
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