Doctrines and Practices of the Church
Part 9

The Flood

The Church View:
      The flood was caused by the corrupt actions of mankind.

The Bible View:
      The flood was caused by the corrupt actions of angels.

      The first eight verses of the sixth chapter of Genesis describe an incredible series of events that, when taken in their entirety, leave a gaping hole in the church’s view of mankind’s past.  Unmentioned from the pulpit is mankind’s former close relationship with the Elohiym and the devastation of a terrible action by the angels.  The circumstance that caused Yhovah such regret is a master key to understanding many of the enigmas of the Bible, human history, and much of what is known in our world as the paranormal.
      The Flood of Noah is perhaps the best known of the Old Testament Bible stories; yet, the cause of the worst catastrophe in human history is veiled in mystery.  The relationship between the Nephilim (called giants, mighty men, and men of renown) and the flood is not revealed from the pulpit.  The relationship of the Nephilim to the devils of the New Testament is seldom considered. 

Why did Yhovah decide to destroy all life?
      The Genesis account of the beginning of worldwide devastation: 
♦  Genesis 6:1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,  2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.  3  And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.  4  There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.  5  And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.  6  And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.  7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.  8  But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

      The orthodox doctrinal line, which falsely explains the devastating decision Yhovah made, is that mankind simply achieved a level of consistent evil that caused its demise.  Found in eight verses, Genesis 6: 1 - 8, is a group of concepts which, considered individually or as a whole, present a plethora of doubts about accepted doctrinal accuracy and completeness.

·  Mankind begins to be fruitful and multiply.
·  Angels are shown to be in very close contact with men.
·  Yhovah is shown to be in close contact with men.
·  Angels begin to freely mate with women.
·  Women give birth to a race of giants.
·  Yhovah decides to cease his close contact with men.
·  Evil becomes the central focus of mankind.
·  Yhovah regrets the creation of all life on Earth.
·  Yhovah decides to bring an end to human civilization.
·  Yhovah decides to eliminate all life on the planet.
·  Fortunately for mankind, only one man on the planet finds favor with Yhovah.

      It doesn't get any closer to the edge than that.  Without the favor Noah had, life as we know it would never have occurred.  Perhaps this is why there are hundreds of accounts of the flood worldwide, with hundreds of Noah figures to match.  And why, in the face of overwhelming geological evidence that a flood did indeed occur, does science cling so tightly to shaky theoretical alternatives? 
      Breaking down the individual concepts and considering them in their relation to the whole will give a clearer perspective of the final impact on humanity.  

Humanity Multiplies
♦  Genesis 6:1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them.

      This is as it should be.  Prior to the end of this age Man is told to be fruitful and multiply in the first chapter of Genesis:
♦  Genesis 1:22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
♦  Genesis 1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
      Since this is apparently what mankind is commanded to do, then of course it, of itself, is not the cause of the evil that has caused Yhovah’s regret.  There is no way to know the population figures, but hundreds of cultures worldwide record the event.  It certainly took all these cultures by surprise and most evidence of those cultures vanished in a watery quagmire.  Considering the wealth of evidence that remains, there must have been an incredible explosion in human culture and diversity.   

A Relationship with the Gods 
♦  Genesis 6:2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. 

     Most ancient cultures speak of a close relationship with the gods.  Here we will deal with the specific details recorded by Moses, but it should be remembered that there are many versions of man’s close ties to the gods by many authors worldwide.  The similarities between these accounts give rise to a serious question.  Was all this activity concentrated in one tiny geographical area?  Logic and corroborating evidence would make this a ridiculous assumption. 
      The account in the Bible of the Family of man and his dispersal worldwide starts with his expulsion from the Garden of Eden.  The concept of a human culture does not begin biblically until the mention of the acts of Cain in the fourth chapter of Genesis:
♦  Genesis 4:16 And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden. 17 And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.
      The end of the fourth chapter gives us our only clue concerning this close relationship with the Elohiym and the angels.
♦  Genesis 4: 26. And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.

      Unfortunately, that is the extent of the Bible’s coverage of mankind’s history before the flood with only the genealogy from Adam to Noah to fill in the gaps.  Cain builds a city, men begin a relationship with God, and then it’s over.   But, there is a source that provides enlightenment to this unknown age.  It comes from the third generation of Adam, Cain’s firstborn, Enoch.