The Tower of Babel

After The Flood at the Time of Noah, the people on Earth had one and the same language (Gen 11:1). They then decided to build a city and a tower with its top in heaven (Gen 11:4a). The city was called Babel in the land of Shinar (Gen 10:10, 11:2, 9). Nimrod is considered the leader of those who built the Tower of Babel 
(1 Chron 1:10, Gen 10:8–12). The reason for doing this wasn't to honor God.
It was to make a name for themselves and to prevent them from being dispersed around the world (Gen 11:4b). 

This was a direct rebellion against God's word to Noah. God had told Noah
to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the Earth (Gen 9:1, 7), see this explained at 
The Flood at the Time of Noah. Before that, at the beginning of creation, God had told Adam and Eve to be fruitful, multiply and fill the Earth (Gen 1:28). But the people didn't want to obey God. This can be seen as a kind of extreme nationalism.

See this explained at:

• Time 7:27–10:06 in DAVID GUZIK SERMON ON GENESIS 10-11 . ..
• Time 2:42–5:32 in Revelation 17-18 • "Fallen is Babylon the Great!".
  
• Time 15:08–21:38 in 2 Timothy 3 (Part 1) :1-9 • The World in Last Days.

What we have in our hearts, our attitudes, is of the greatest concern to God. God wants our hearts. God therefore decided to confuse their language so that they wouldn't understand each other (Gen 11:6–7). See chapter The Origin of the language in The Origin of Man. Note that it's the persons of the Trinity who speak to each other (Gen 11:7), see The Trinity. The Lord scattered them from there, over all the Earth, and they stopped building the city. (Gen 11:8–9).

The Minimum Number of People to Build the Tower

At the time of the Tower of Babel, the people lived closely together, with Nimrod
considered as the leader. It was during the time of Peleg that the Earth was divided
(Gen 10:25), that is, the people were scattered. We have the following generations:

• Ham->Cush->Nimrod (Gen 10:6, 8).
• Shem->Arphaxad->Shelah->Eber->Peleg (Gen 10:21–25, 11:10–17).

See at time 13:13–17:37 in Were the pyramids built before the flood? about the
building of the tower. See also Which Version of the Old Testament did Jesus Use?
More people available also meant a shorter construction time for the tower.

See also The Old Testament of the Bible.

The Flood at the Time of Noah

God grieved that he made man when he saw the evil man did (Gen 6:5–6, 11), see time 1:05–3:33 in Bible Q & A With Pastor Paul │February 2024. God decided then to wipe out all people and land animals from the Earth (Gen 6:7, 13). But Noah who was a righteous man, blameless among his people and walked with God, had found grace in the eyes of the Lord (Gen 6:8–9, 7:1b) (not earned grace (Rom 5:20)).
God wanted to establish a covenant with Noah whom God wanted to save together with his wife, his three sons (Shem, Ham, and Japheth), and their wives 
(Gen 6:10, 18).

Noah wasn't perfect (Gen 9:20–21). He became an heir to the righteousness that came by faith and not by good works, and by faith he built an ark to save his family 
(2 Pet 2:5, Heb 11:7). Noah put his faith in God and trusted him. He did all that God commanded him to do (Gen 6:22). Noah was blameless (Gen 6:9). It means that in his daily contact with people, they couldn't find fault with him. Among men his dealings were honest and sincere. It doesn't mean that he was sinless, we are all sinners (1 John 1:8,10). That Noah walked with God (Gen 6:9b) means that he included God in all areas of his life. Noah's faith in God was the key to Noah's standing with God and with Noah's standing with man. All others had surrendered to the lust of the flesh and and didn't want to follow God. See time 7:11–8:34 in
Bible Q & A With Pastor Paul │December 2023. 

God gave detailed instructions on how to build the ark (Gen 6:14–16). The people of the time before the Flood could forge all kinds of tools out of bronze and iron
(Gen 4:22). They could build cities so they didn't live in caves (Gen 4:17). Because they reached high ages (Gen 5:3–32), they were able to achieve a high level of knowledge in, for example, building different kinds of boats. It's therefore likely that it was possible for Noah to build such an ark together with his three sons, and probably with the help of skilled workers some of the time, see the video:

•  This Will Change Your Mind on Noah’s Ark

The dimensions of the ark, given by God, made it very stable, see the videos:

• Noah's Ark - Chuck Missler
• Ark of Noah: the real geometry and physics 
  

Noah brought one pair of every living creature into the ark and also food for the animals and his family (Gen 6:19–21). He took seven pairs of all the clean animals and one pair of the animals that weren't clean (Gen 7:2). He took seven pairs of the birds with him in the ark (Gen 7:3). God saw to it that they entered the ark and closed after them (Gen 6:18b, 7:7–9, 15–16). 

There were one pair and seven pairs of each kind, not of each species. See this explained at time 6:43–11:30 in Science Confirms Biblical Creation - Dr. Jason Lisle.

God made it rain for 40 days and 40 nights and let water naturally come up from the ground for 40 days (Gen 7:11–12, 17–18). Water covered the whole Earth so that all the high mountains were covered (Gen 7:19–20, 
2 Pet 3:5–6). Every living creature in the land died, except for Noah and his family (Gen 7:21–23). The water then prevailed on the Earth for 150 days 
(Gen 7:24). God caused a wind to blow over Earth, which caused the waters to subside, and the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat (Gen 8:1–5). The waters receded when the mountains rose and the valleys sank (Psalm 104:5–9).
Noah was in the ark with his family for about a year (Gen 7:11, 8:3–5, 13–14). During this time, olive trees began to grew up. This enabled a dove to return to the ark with a fresh olive leaf (not a branch) (Gen 8:11). 

It wasn't a local Flood, but a global Flood that covered the whole Earth (2 Pet 3:6),
see time 50:14–51:58 in Understanding Genesis || Guest Speaker Dr. Jason Lisle.

Presumably there was only one supercontinent surrounded by an ocean of water
in the beginning, before the Flood (Gen 1:9), see time 1:51:53–1:53:03 in
Science Confirms Biblical Creation - Dr. Jason Lisle. Continental drift may have begun during the Flood. Afterwards we got a new landscape (Psalm 104:8–9),
see also The Ice Age in a Biblical Perspective.

Noah built an altar to the Lord and took part of all clean animals and part of all clean birds and offered burnt offerings on the altar (Gen 8:20). This shows that he knew that he was a sinner who needed the atonement of blood. Expensive sacrifices are pleasing to God. God made a covenant with man in which he promised not to kill any living creature again (Gen 8:21–22, 9:9–11, Isaiah 54:9a).

The rainbow became a sign of that covenant (Gen 9:12–17). Man was now allowed to eat meat if they first lost it from blood (Gen 9:3–4).
The reason for draining it of blood is that the life of a living being is in the blood.
This rule later became part of the Mosaic Laws (Lev 17:10–14). 

God told them to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the Earth (Gen 9:1, 7).
God had given the same instruction to Adam and Eve (Gen 1:28).

Jesus confirmed that the Flood was a true historical event when he spoke of his second coming (Mat 24:37–39, Luk 17:26–27). The same condition in man will be seen at that time. This means that if you believe in Jesus and what he said, you must also believe in the Flood. The Flood later resulted in the only ice age that we have had on Earth, see The Ice Age in a Biblical Perspective.

In the Bible we see that life expectancy began to decrease sharply after the Flood:

1. A genetic bottleneck for a shorter lifespan in Noah's wife, see time
   2:12:56–2:14:30 in "Astronomy Reveals Creation" with Dr. Jason Lisle.
2. Each new generation of individuals has about 100 new mutations compared
   to the generation before. When a few individuals of humans form a new population, a strong inbreeding effect occurs. Before the Flood, people could
   do things we can't do today without significant risk, such as marrying a close family member. To do this in this day and age is to invite genetic difficulties. When the gene pool was younger, people often married within their family units without significant risk of genetic difficulties, see The Origin of Man 
   and after creation at time 36:26–37:19 in 
   Bible Q & A With Pastor Paul │ January 2024.
3. The Earth after the flood was dramatically different than it was before. The differences included changes to the climate, such as atmospheric changes, changes in the hydrological cycle, geologic features, and a significant increase in harmful radiation reaching the ground level. This may be the reason why human diets had gone from a purely plant-based diet to one where meat was eaten.
4. The first-century historian Josephus claims that humans once lived very long lifespans. He attributes their longevity to the mercy of God and the fact that the food they ate was much better at prolonging their years on Earth than after the Flood. 

See also The Old Testament of the Bible.

The Biblical Creation and the Fall of Man

Content:

• Background
• Before the Beginning
• The Biblical Creation
• The Fall of Man
  
  

Background

As background, see time 40:40–52:00 in
Understanding Genesis || Guest Speaker Dr. Jason Lisle.

Before the Beginning

God did things before "the beginning" see time 18:48–29:52 in DAVID GUZIK SERMON ON GENESIS 1:1-2 BEFORE THE BEGINNING, AT THE BEGINNING.

The Biblical Creation

God created this world, the entire universe, for us humans. The universe was created to sustain life on Earth, especially humanity. We live in a word that has fallen into sin. Man is essentially evil. No one is good except God (Mark 10:18, Luk 18:19,
Mat 19:17). Jesus came to die for us because we are all sinners (1 John 1:8, 10). But we are also made in God's image (Gen 1:27). It's not said about the angels or the animals. We also all have the same ancestor, all people are relatives.

The world didn't create itself. God created the heaven and the Earth 
(Gen 1:1, Rom 1:20, Col 1:15–17), see Evidence for Creation. (It's not possible
to indicate whether it's "heaven" or "heavens" based on the original word (comparable to the expression "one deer" and "two deer"). It depends on the context. But sometimes it's not possible to indicate which one it is even based on the context. In Gen 1:1 however, it must be "heaven".) The Earth and the sky (heaven) needed for it, were created first (Gen 1:1–2), see step 4 of The Creation Model in The Big-Bang Model Revealed. The Earth was then surrounded by water (Gen 1:2). God then continued creation for six days (Exodus 20:11a, 31:17b):

1. God created light on the first day (Gen 1:3–5). God didn't depend on the sun to give us light. Light is essential to us (2 Cor 4:4, 6, Isaiah 9:2), see
   Jesus the Light of the World.
2. Space (universe) was then stretched out from the Earth with water around the universe, on the second day (Gen 1:6–8), see step 5 of The Creation Model in The Big-Bang Model Revealed.
3. The waters of the Earth gathered in one place, so that dry land appeared
   (Gen 1:9–10). Vegetation and plants were created (Gen 1:11–12), see time 4:22–5:47 in Bible Q & A With Pastor Paul │December 2023.
   This was done on the third day (Gen 1:13).
4. God created the sun, the Moon, the stars, and all the heavenly bodies on the fourth day (Gen 1:14–19), see Where Did the Moon Come from? They would serve as signs to mark seasons (or appointed times), and for days and years. God showed his glory by creating the Sun after he created light, that he isn't dependent of the Sun to create light, day and night, to prevent us from worshiping the Sun or creation itself (Rom 1:25). Jesus said of himself:
   "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness,
   but will have the light of life." (John 8:12). From now on God uses the Sun to give light on Earth and to rule the day, and the Moon to rule the night.
5. God created the creatures of the sea and the birds on the fifth day
   (Gen 1:20–23).
6. God created the animals on the Earth (Gen 1:24–25). He formed them out of the ground (Gen 2:19a). God then made man and woman in his own image
   (Gen 1:26–30). It doesn't mean that we look like God but that he gave us the freedom to set our own course. We can even say no to God. But we can also choose to say yes to him, see Salvation. God created man in a mature state, see time 19:28–20:41 in Bible Q & A With Pastor Paul │ January 2024. God gave man dominion over the Earth (Gen 1:26b, 28b). Note that it's the persons of The Trinity who speak to each other  (Gen 1:26a, 3:22a). This was done on the sixth day, and everything was very good (Gen 1:31).
7. God rested on the seventh day (Gen 2:2–3). The reason was that creation was over. It was fulfilled. God included in creation a fulfillment and contentment which he called rest. Rest according to the Bible means being fulfilled, contented (Psalm 23:1), see Psalm 23: The Lord is my Shepherd. The seventh day of the week, Saturday, became the Sabbath. That day became the mandatory day of rest for the people of Israel (Exodus 20:8–11, 31:12–17).
   The Sabbath was a sign between God and the Israelites under the Mosaic Laws (Exodus 31:13, 17). As Christians who believe in Jesus Christ, we don't have to keep the Sabbath (Mark 2:27–28, Col 2:16–17, Rom 14:5–6), see
   the 4:th commandment in The Ten Commandments. 
   

This 4th commandment also says that God created heaven and Earth in six days (Exodus 20:11a). God is the Creator of heaven, the Earth, the sea, and all that is in them (Psalm 33:6–9, 74:16–17, 104:24, 115:15–16, 124:8b, 134:3b, 136:5–9, 146:6a, 147:4, 148:3–6, Jer 31:35, Acts 4:24, 14:15b, 17:24–27). 
See also Jesus is the Creator in Jesus is God.

The Hebrew word used for day (yowm) is used 2301 times in the Old Testament,
and is almost always used to mean a 24-hour night-day cycle. The meaning of the remaining ones is always very clear from the context, for example "The day of trouble", "The day of the Lord", and "The day of battle". When the word yowm is used to describe a succession of days, it always means a 24-hour period. See this explained at time 26:40–40:28 in Understanding Genesis || Guest Speaker Dr. Jason Lisle. See in that video how the gap theory was debunked at time 37:48–40:28. 
Gen 1:1–2 (NASB20) can be seen as an example of Step Parallelism, see time
8:42–11:58 in Hebrew Poetry Update. See also Evidence for a Young Earth.

There was no rain at the beginning, instead a mist watered the ground (Gen 2:5–6).
It may be that no rain came until Noah's day (see The Flood at the Time of Noah), although it can't be proven from the biblical texts.

God formed the man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life (Gen 2:7, 1 Cor 15:47–49). The last part is a unique work of God, which wasn't used when the animals were created. There is a spiritual element in us that gives us life. This can be compared to the event after The Resurrection of Jesus, when Jesus breathed on the disciples to receive the Holy Spirit, to become born again Christians (John 20:21–22). After God had created man, he caused a deep sleep to fall upon him, and while he slept he took one of his ribs and closed its place with flesh and made it to a woman (Gen 2:21–23), see The Origin of Man and:

• Time 5:51–7:08 in Bible Q & A With Pastor Paul │December 2023.
• Time 22:56–24:07 in Bible Q&A With Pastor Paul │April 2024 |.

God planted the Garden of Eden with the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil 

(Gen 2:8–9). It shows creation from Adam's perspective, see time 26:21–34:05 in DAVID GUZIK SERMON ON GENESIS 2:1-17 ADAM IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN.

The Fall of Man

Adam and Eve weren't allowed to eat from that tree (Gen 2:16–17). God said:
"Of the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." (Gen 2:17). In fact, according to the original Hebrew, it was the beginning of a process of physical dying, a decay of the body, see time 17:59–19:27 in Revelation 21-22. God then also spoke of a spiritual death, see it explained in The Book of Ephesians. Satan, also called the ancient serpent, the deceiver of the whole world manifesting himself in a serpent,

questioned that God had forbidden men to eat from this tree (Gen 3:1). Satan also said that they wouldn't die, but that their eyes would be opened and they would become like God and be able to distinguish between good and evil (Gen 3:4–5).
These temptations can be compared to The Temptations of Jesus. The woman then ate from the tree and gave to her husband who ate (Gen 3:6, 1 Tim 2:14). The woman was deceived, but the man's sin was willful disobedience and open rebellion against God, see time 4:08–13:09 in DAVID GUZIK SERMON ON GENESIS 3:10-24.
God therefore held the man accountable for what happened. The problem with Satan's lye is that it was mixed with some truth. Their eyes were opened so that from now on they could distinguish between good and evil (Gen 3:7, 22).
But they weren't like God. They began to die physically and had been
spiritual dead, disconnected from God. They had become sinners because of disobedience. They had broken the one rule they had been given, not to eat from that tree. They became self-conscience, began to focus on themselves and not on the relationship with God (Gen 3:8–13, Rom 8:6–8, 13:14, Col 3:1–2).

This resulted in a curse upon the serpent, Satan, and mankind (Gen 3:14–19),
see time 13:10–46:56 in DAVID GUZIK SERMON ON GENESIS 3:10-24.
Jesus took the curse upon him at the cross, see time 46:59–49:35 in that link.

Death came into the world as a result of this sin. Death didn't exist before the Fall, but was a result of the Fall (Gen 2:16–17, 3:3, 17b, 19b, 21), see time
7:18–8:20 in Bible Q&A With Pastor Paul │ September 2023. There was no physical death before the Fall. There were no meat eaters on Earth (Gen 1:29–30). It was only after the Flood that God allowed humans to eat meat (Gen 9:2–4).

Things everyone needs to know about death:

1. Death wasn't part of God's original creation. It was never part of God's creative plan. He created a word where there was no death. Therefore, death is an intrusion into God's creation and is considered an "enemy".
2. God warned Adam that his disobedience would lead to death.
   (Adam and Eve ignored the warning after being temped by the devil).
3. Death is the result/consequence of sin: 
• "... sin came into the world through one man (Adam), and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned" (Rom 5:12). See this further explained at time 24:34–27:36 in
  Science Confirms Biblical Creation | Dr. Jason Lisle.
• "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom 6:23).
4. Our sin is why Jesus had to come into the world, be born as a man and physically die on the cross, see The Crucifixion of Jesus. 
5. By sending his Son to die in our place, to bear our penalty, God initiated the first step in overturning death (not just physical death, but spiritual death). 
6. Jesus rose from the dead as the "firstfruits" of those who conquer death:
   "For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ." (1 Cor 15:20–23).
7. When Jesus returns for The Rapture, he will raise up our (believers') old bodies and change them into new bodies that will never die.
8. Death will one day be overturned as the last enemy:
   "When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: 'Death is swallowed up in victory' (Isaiah 25:8a). 'O death, where is your victory? 
   O death, where is your sting? (Hosea 13:14b)'" (1 Cor 15:54–55).
   "The last enemy to be destroyed is death." (1 Cor 15:26).

This makes the Theory of Evolution impossible, as it requires death before mankind came into existence, see Is the Theory of Evolution Proven?

God had given dominion over the Earth to Adam and Eve, see 6) above. A consequence of their sin was that they lost this dominion to Satan, albeit temporarily. We know this because Satan has been named "the ruler of this world"
(John 14:30) and "prince of the power of the air" (Eph 2:1–2). When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, Satan told Jesus that the authority over all the kingdoms of the world had been given to him (Luke 4:5–8). Jesus didn't question that. However, it was a temporary dominion that Satan received. Satan's power was broken by Jesus' death on the cross (John 12:31–33), see Salvation. As born again Christians, we belong to another kingdom, the kingdom of our God (Phil 3:20,
Col 1:13), that is, within the kingdom of this world (1 John 5:19). There will come
a day when Jesus is handed back that kingdom (Rev 11:15), see 
The Millennial Kingdom and the Great White Throne Judgement.
See this explained at time 5:07–9:15 in 1 John 3 • Beloved, we are God’s children. 

See also step 5 in Objections to Christianity in Misconceptions and Objections.

Their eating of the forbidden fruit also led to other consequences: The serpent would walk on his belly (Gen 3:14). The woman will bring forth her children in pain, and her husband will rule over her (Gen 3:16). The man will have to work very hard to get his food, the ground will be cursed (Gen 3:17–18). He will eventually die and return to dust (Gen 3:19). We have all inherited this change in human nature. 

God sent them out of the Garden of Eden to prevent them from eating from the
Tree of Life and living forever (Gen 3:22–24). If they had, it wouldn't have been possible to save humanity. Even if Jesus had been born as a man, it won't have been possible for him to die physically on the cross for our sin.

We also received the first Messianic prophecy in the Bible, a promise of a future
Salvation that will be given by Jesus Christ (Gen 3:15, Gal 4:4, Heb 2:14, Col 2:15). But Jesus had to be sinless in order to pay for our sins through his physical death on the cross, see the end part of The Genealogy of Jesus.

The reason that Satan was allowed to be in the Garden of Eden was to test test man's free will, to see if they would obey God or reject God. They were free to make that choice. Their moral choice must be tested. A free will doesn't mean anything if it's never tested. If I never get an opportunity to make a free will decision, it means nothing. Since God wants us to come and love him voluntarily, we must have the option of rejecting him. If they had rejected Satan's temptation, Satan would have had to leave them for good. God was also aware that man would fall, see 
The Predestination Theory and Jesus Died for Us While We Were Still Sinners
in The Book of Romans. See it explained on the following times:

• 22:41–23:56 in Bible Q&A With Pastor Paul │ April 2023.
• 2:09–3:51 in Bible Q & A With Pastor Paul │ July 2023.
• 42:40–43:11 in Bible Q&A with Pastor Paul │ October 2023.
• 39:48–42:55 in DAVID GUZIK SERMON ON GENESIS 2:1-17 . . ..

See also The Old Testament of the Bible.

The High Priest in the Bible

A Levite is a Jewish man descended from the Tribe of Levi. Levi was the third son of Jacob and Leah. The Tribe of Levi served special religious duties for the Israelites and also had political and educational responsibilities 
(Deu (5 Mos) 10:8–9). In return, the other Israeli tribes were expected to tithe to support the Levites (Num (4 Mos) 18:21–24).

When Joshua led the Israelites into the land of Canaan, the Tribe of Levi was the only tribe that was given only cities (Joshua 21:1–2, 41–42), and wasn't allowed to be landowners (Joshua 13:14, 33, 18:7a, Deu (5 Mos) 18:1–5).

Levitical priests (the Israelite priesthood) were required to be male individuals descended from Aaron 
(Exo (2 Mos) 28:1,
Num (4 Mos) 18:7,
2 Chron 13:10b), who was Moses' older brother. They performed the work of holiness in the Temple
(1 Chron 6:49), see Moses; Part 12: The Aaronic Priesthood. 

The other Levites, not descended from Aaron, were specifically assigned to sing and/or play music in the Temple, serve as guards, or carry (1 Chron 6:48, 
2 Chron 13:10b–11a). 

The priesthood's temple role included animal sacrifice. It had a High Priest who served, first in the Tabernacle, then in the First Temple (Salomon's Temple), and then in the Second Temple (Herod's Temple) (516 BC–70 AD) in Jerusalem, until the destruction of Jerusalem 70 AD. He was the leader of worship in Israel and acted as the primary mediator between God and God's people.  

It was only the High Priest who entered the Temple once a year, to bring atonement for the people of Israel (Lev (3 Mos) 16:32–34, Heb 9:7), see
The Atonement. The High Priest first brought atonement for himself and then for the people of Israel (Lev (3 Mos) 16:14–16, 18–19, 27, Hen 5:1–3). He must first cleanse his own sin before he could cleanse the people's sin. Aaron
was the first High Priest from the Tribe of Levi (Ezra 7:5). Aaron's son Eleazar became the second High Priest (Num (4 Mos) 20:25–28, Deu (5 Mos) 10:6).

Jesus Christ is identified as the High Priest (Heb 3:1, 4:14, 5:5, 7:28, 8:1, 9:11). He is the mediator between God and men. Jesus supersedes the priestly order of Levi by acting as both eternal High Priest and king according to the order of Melchizedek (Gen (1 Mos) 14:17–20, Psalm 110:4, Heb 5:6, 10, 6:20),
see Melchizedek in The Book of Hebrews. 

Jesus who was without sin gave his life for us, once for all, as the final 
sacrificial lamb (Heb 9:24–25, 7:26–27, 13:11–12).