A Different World from What We Know Today
At the completion of day six of creation, the world was a vastly different place from the one we know today. It would be reasonably safe to say that virtually nothing today is the way it was at the end of God’s creative process excluding certain basics such as the earth’s rotation on its axis, its orbit around the sun, and it’s orbiting satellite, the moon.
Although the Bible does not dwell on those differences, it does provide certain clues from which marked differences can be inferred. One of the most significant is the distribution of the waters described in Genesis 1:6-7, “And God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water.” So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so.”
The expanse in these verses is a reference to the atmosphere surrounding the earth which provides the air we breathe. According to those verses God placed part of the waters above our atmosphere and part below. What, we may ask, does that mean and how would it affect life?
The World in a Greenhouse
The impact of a layer of water above the atmosphere would be profound; it is believed the water existed as a water vapor canopy that completely surrounded the earth. The canopy would serve the earth as a covering and would result in a greenhouse effect that would stabilize the weather, block harmful radiation and equalize the temperature of the earth from North Pole to South Pole.
There would be no such thing as a cold front or a heat wave and tropical conditions would prevail around the entire globe. The North and South Poles would not be frigid but would be semi-tropical where flowers, ferns, trees and mankind could live and prosper.
Another clue from the Bible is given in Genesis 1:5b-6 “for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to work the ground, but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground–”
One thing about watching the weather on TV is one gets a big dose of information about fronts serving as the triggers for rain; we are told that a cold front meeting warm moist air triggers rain. If the earth were in a greenhouse there would be no cold fronts to trigger the rain.
It appears God used the waters below the expanse to water the ground but does not reveal the exact mechanism used. It has been speculated, based on the available data that a substantial water table under considerable pressure existed around 10 miles below the surface of the ground. It is believed this water table was to become a major factor in the flood and was a possible source for the mist that came up from the ground during the pre-flood era.
Very Long Lifespan
Another clue revealed in the Bible is the remarkably long lives of those who lived before the flood. It would appear the water vapor canopy provided important protection from radiation as well as creating a higher atmospheric pressure. The earth’s atmosphere was richer in oxygen available at a slightly higher atmospheric pressure that created an effect similar to a hyperbaric chamber. Hyperbaric medicine uses special chambers that are oxygen rich at slightly higher pressures as tools for treating various sorts of illnesses. The pre-flood earth was like one gigantic hyperbaric chamber.
It has been estimated that by the time of the flood the earth’s population was close to 9 billion people; that’s greater than the estimated population of the earth today at 7 billion people.
From the creation of Adam to the earth’s drastic change caused by the flood it is estimated, based on the Bible, that 1,656 years had passed. During this period the earth was a place of great beauty even after the fall of Adam had caused God to curse the earth.
What is of great interest to me is how geological research supports the Biblical account of creation; this is a major field of study and has fascinated me for many years. If you have an interest in further study in this area please let me know and I’ll suggest some sources I’ve found helpful.
davidbowerkingwood 
David,
I too am interested in learning more on how geological research supports the Biblical account of creation and would welcome any additional sources you have.
thanks,
Marie
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By: Marie on March 19, 2012
at 1:21 pm
Marie:
One easily available resource is “The Genesis Flood” by John Whitcomb and Henry Morris. It is available here: http://www.amazon.com/Genesis-Flood-50th-Anniversary-Edition/dp/159638395X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1332185398&sr=1-1 Another source I value is now out of print but available here: http://www.amazon.com/The-Waters-Above-Earths-Pre-Flood/dp/0802491987/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1332185479&sr=1-1 Both of those are helpful and one website can provide good information as well: http://www.answersingenesis.org/. You may recall my comment about the stomach contents of the Beresovka Mammoth; those details are given in “The Waters Above.” References to that subject can be found here: http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/fit/mammoth-carcasses-siberia. I do not particularly recommend the book “Frozen in Time” from which the article is taken.
I appreciate your interest and would love to discuss various aspects of this study with you in greater detail.
David
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By: davidbowerkingwood on March 19, 2012
at 2:44 pm
Thanks, David. I value your opinion and appreciate your willingness to teach me. I’m like a big sponge and love to learn and explore so many topics in scripture.
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By: Marie on March 19, 2012
at 3:14 pm
Marie:
I do understand your feelings in this matter; the Bible was opened to me, Adele and many others by a pastor that showed us the richness of Scripture and it changed us forever.
David
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By: davidbowerkingwood on March 19, 2012
at 5:04 pm
That is wonderful, and you and Adele are sharing what you have learned. It’s a beautiful thing to watch a seed you have planted grow and begin to take root in others lives.
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By: Marie on March 20, 2012
at 8:12 am
Marie:
We are truly grateful for the blessings God has given us over the years, especially the opportunities He has given us to discover the wonders of His revelation to us as contained in the Bible. We have become convinced that there is only one way life really works and that is God’s way and we delight in sharing that truth with all who will listen.
David
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By: davidbowerkingwood on March 20, 2012
at 9:53 am
“We have become convinced that there is only one way life really works and that is God’s way” That is a very true statement and one I have to remind myself of daily…I just don’t measure up when I try to go it alone.
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By: Marie on March 20, 2012
at 5:12 pm
The older I get the more experience I’ve accumulated discovering my way doesn’t work.
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By: davidbowerkingwood on March 20, 2012
at 6:27 pm
I have read the communication between you and Marie. I too love your work. I feel it is a work of love for the Lord. I charish that You and Adele are so fathful and have brought enrichment to us your friends. I have learned even more than I could have emagined. My prayer is that I could retain what I’ve been blessed with and that God would bless me with the countnence to be able to relay these learnings to my family. I am pouring my heart out to you that my family grows further away as I grow closser. This is so painful and if it weren’t for the knowledg that God will hear my prayers and dose not want anyone to be lost, well what can I say my joy come with knowing He is in control and we can only wait upon Him. I thank you and look forward to your next message. I save them all.
Your sister in Christ Sandra (Sandy) Carpenter
P.S. I did want to tell you that John my husband has gone to church with me for the past 6 weeks.This is what I have prayed for, for many many years/!!!
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By: sandra carpenter on March 20, 2012
at 10:33 pm
Sandra:
I appreciate your gracious thoughts; thank you for taking the time to express them to me. I understand your feelings of concern for your family; we’re living in troubling times and a strong faith is going to be increasingly important as things grow more difficult. I will mention again two of my anchor verses in times of testing; Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” My nature is to want to understand and sometimes there is no way to understand; that is why I am so dependent on those verses of Scripture, I must remind myself of the basic nature of the walk of faith.
That is good news about John, by God’s grace may that always be the case.
David
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By: davidbowerkingwood on March 21, 2012
at 9:43 am
[…] Genesis 5 is sometimes referred to as the “Chapter of Death” because of the life cycles described there, born, lived, died going on for hundreds of years. The Bible indicates the time gap between Adam’s creation and the flood to be approximately 1,656 years; I’ve written on this in several essays starting with “The World Before the Flood.” […]
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By: Satan Attacks, It’s All True, All of It! Part 3 | davidbowerkingwood on January 3, 2018
at 7:11 am
[…] The Bible does not reveal most of the details surrounding the flood; we can see from the results on the ground, the flood was a one-time event of unparalleled destruction. I have previously written on the flood in a six-part series that starts with, “The World Before the Flood.” […]
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By: God’s Judgment on Sin, and the Three Eruptions of the Yellowstone Caldera! Conclusion | davidbowerkingwood on August 28, 2023
at 5:01 am