Beginning of the End

When the World Was Destroyed by Water

This chapter is based on Genesis 6 and 7.

In the days of Noah a double curse was resting upon the earth as a result of Adam’s sin and the murder committed by Cain, yet the earth was still beautiful. The hills were crowned with majestic trees; the plains were sweet with the fragrance of a thousand flowers. The fruits of the earth were almost without limit. The trees far surpassed in size and perfect proportion any that now exist. Their wood was of fine grain and hard substance, resembling stone and hardly less enduring. Gold, silver, and precious stones existed in abundance. BOE 35.1

The human race still retained much of its early energy and strength. There were many giants known for their wisdom, skillful in devising the most ingenious and wonderful works, but letting iniquity run loose. BOE 35.2

God bestowed rich gifts on these pre-Flood people, but they used His bounties to glorify themselves and turned them into a curse by setting their affections on the gifts instead of the Giver. They tried to outdo one another in beautifying their dwellings with skillful workmanship. They reveled in scenes of pleasure and wickedness. Not wanting to keep God in their knowledge, they soon came to deny the He exists. They glorified human genius, worshiped the works of their own hands, and taught their children to bow down to idols. BOE 35.3

The psalmist describes the effect produced on the worshiper by loving and respecting idols: “Those who make them are like them; so is everyone who trusts in them” (Psalm 115:8). It is a law of the human mind that by beholding we become changed. If the mind is never raised above the level of humanity, if it is not uplifted to contemplate infinite wisdom and love, mankind will be constantly sinking lower and lower. “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. ... The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.” His law was transgressed, and every imaginable sin was the result. Justice was trampled in the dust, and the cries of the oppressed reached to heaven. BOE 35.4