Chapter 1 Lesson

Chapter 1: In the Beginning

Why is evolutionary thinking about
prehistory inaccurate?

Where Does History Come From?

Moses

Hebrew whom God used to lead the

Israelites out of slavery; wrote the first

five books of the Bible

Where Does History Come From?

• The Bible is the only completely reliable source that

reveals how history began.
– It is the Word of God.
– Every word of the Bible is true.

• Moses—Hebrew whom God used to lead the Israelites

out of slavery; wrote the first five books of the Bible

Where Does History Come From?

• The first words of the Bible are “In the beginning God

created” (Genesis 1:1).

• Much of the Bible is a historical narrative.
• God narrates and explains His creative and redemptive

work in history.

inspiration (of Scripture)

God breathing out the Scriptures,

using holy men to record them

Prehistory

prehistory

the period when humans supposedly

evolved and when there were no written

records

Prehistory

• No written records exist from that time.
• The evolutionists have a story.
• There is no “prehistory” in the evolutionary sense

because the Bible contains a written record that tells
the history of the beginning of the world.

• The Bible indicates that people were created directly by

God about 6,000 or 7,000 years ago.

Why is the Bible a reliable historical
record for the origin of mankind?

Why study history?

The Study of Ancient History

The Study of Ancient History

• Why Study Ancient History?

– The study of history based on facts is enjoyable.
– The study of history helps us to know how to live in the

present and in the future.

– History teaches people about themselves.
– History provides an opportunity to praise God.

The Study of Ancient History

• How Do People Study History?

– Artifacts—physical manmade objects from the past
– Tradition—the passing of information from generation to

generation

– Written records

primary sources

materials created at the time in history
that is being studied or materials created

later by participants or eyewitnesses

of an event

secondary sources

material that was created by someone

who was not a participant in or an

eyewitness to a historical event

worldview

how a person sees and interprets the

universe and everything in it

The Study of Ancient History

• The gathering of information is just the beginning.
• A historian needs to evaluate the accuracy of the

artifacts, traditions, and written records.

• Research presents challenges for the historian.

– A Christian historian’s worldview begins with the Bible.

The Study of Ancient History

• The historian also needs to understand what is

important and what is not.

• The historian looks at written records and artifacts to

explain what life may have been like at that time.

• The historian looks at the sequence of events in history

to see how some events affected others.

• The historian looks for reasons for how and why events

happened.

What should a historian keep in mind
when he chooses sources?

What is the meaning of the image of
God in man?

Creation, Fall, Redemption

Creation, Fall, Redemption

• Creation

– God created the world out of nothing.
– God created humans in His own image.

• This means that people are a picture of what God is like.

dominion

the authority to rule

Creation Mandate

the first command given by God to

mankind; God’s instruction to people to
have children and to fill and rule over the

earth

civilization

a group of people who establish cities,
governments, social classes, specialized
jobs, arts, sciences, written language,

and religion

culture

a system of customs including language,
religion, government, economy, and arts

that groups of people use to develop

their world

Creation, Fall, Redemption

– The development of culture must be governed by God’s

Word in an attempt to carry out God’s plan for the world.

– The Creation Mandate gives people power.

• People are stewards in the world.

Fall (of mankind)

the breaking of God’s law by Adam and

Eve with the consequence of sin for

them and all people

Creation, Fall, Redemption

• The Fall

– Adam and Eve chose to break God’s law.
– Their disobedience brought sin, suffering, and death into the

world.

– God carried out justice by driving Adam and Eve from the

garden.

– All the people born after them were born sinners.

Creation, Fall, Redemption

– Suffering, disease, and death are primary issues in the

history of civilization.

– The human race has wandered from its Lord and repeatedly

built civilizations opposed to God.

– Problems arise when people do not do right and do not

respect the rights of others.

– The earth rebelled against people’s efforts to subdue it.
– People turned away from loving and worshiping the one true

God.

redemption

Christ’s act of rescuing and freeing

people from sin; salvation

Creation, Fall, Redemption

• God’s Promise of Redemption

– God is working to restore what He made.
– There is hatred between Satan’s offspring and Eve’s

offspring.

– God has provided salvation from sin.
– Christians should be citizens who exercise the power they

have as image bearers of God to promote justice in their
communities and countries.

Creation, Fall, Redemption

– God’s original plan for people to build a just and righteous

civilization will be fulfilled in the new Jerusalem.

Creation, Fall, Redemption

• Key Themes of Civilization:

– Justice
– Power
– Citizenship
– Environment

How do the image of God in man and
the Creation Mandate relate to historical
study?

Relate how the Fall affects the unfolding
of history.

In what way does Genesis 3:15 provide
the thesis for human history?

What was the possible geography of the
pre-Flood world?

Geography and the Earliest

Civilizations

Creation Mandate

the first command given by God to

mankind; God’s instruction to people to
have children and to fill and rule over the

earth

Noah

man whom God saved from the Flood
with his wife, three sons, and his sons’
wives; directed by God to build an ark

and put every kind of animal in it

Geography of the Earliest Civilizations

• Geography of Eden

– The river that flowed out of Eden divided into four rivers.
– Today it is impossible to find Eden’s exact location because

of the changes the Flood made to the earth’s surface.

– When Noah got off the ark, he was surrounded by land that

was very different from where he grew up.

Noah

What: shipbuilder

When: ca. 3998 BC–3048 BC

Key Facts:

• Noah was 480 years old when God

told him to build the ark

• The ark had no navigation system

universal flood

a flood in which water covers the entire
earth; often used to refer to the flood of

Noah’s time

Geography of the Earliest Civilizations

• Geography of the World After the Flood

– The universal flood made massive changes in the earth’s

geography.

– There are several pieces of evidence that the continents

might have been joined together at one point.

• Similar fossils
• Movement of the earth’s plates today

– The plates could have been split during the Flood.

descendant

a person whose family line can be traced

to a certain person or group

Ham

a son of Noah; received a curse for his
wickedness; his descendants founded

nations in the Far East, Africa, and along
the eastern coast of the Mediterranean

Sea

Shem

a son of Noah; his descendants include

the nation of Israel

Japheth

a son of Noah; his descendants moved

into what is now Turkey and eastern

Europe

Geography of the Earliest Civilizations

• Cultural Geography of the Earth After the Flood

– God told Noah and his family to be fruitful and multiply in

order to refill the earth with people.

– Each of Noah’s descendants had to find the resources

necessary to support what would become villages, towns,
and great cities.

The Post-Flood World

Geography of the Earliest Civilizations

• Babel and the Rise of Nations

– After the Flood, descendants of Noah’s sons gathered in the

plain of Shinar.

– They planned to build a great tower.
– God caused the people of Babel to speak multiple languages,

so they could not understand each other.

– The people formed groups that spoke the same languages,

and these groups scattered throughout the earth.

Mediterranean Sea

the sea surrounded by Europe, Asia,
Asia Minor, the Near East, and Africa

migrate

to move from one country or region

to settle in another

How was the geography of the earth
altered by the Flood?

Where did the descendants of Shem,
Ham, and Japheth relocate
geographically?

Why did people form cities before and
after the Flood?

How did civilizations develop after the
Fall?

Features of Cain’s Civilization

Features of Cain’s Civilization

• The Bible is the only primary source that tells us about

life before the Flood.

• Features of a civilization:

– Organized cities and government
– Social classes
– Job specialization
– Arts, sciences, and written language
– Religion

Features of Cain’s Civilization

• Cities and Government

– Enoch is the first specific city mentioned in the Bible.
– The Bible gives several indicators that support the idea that

multiple cities were developed before the Flood.

– When cities group together, some type of government

always forms.

– People naturally seek order because they were created in the

image of an orderly God.

monarchy

a form of government with one ruler

Features of Cain’s Civilization

• Social Classes

– Each social class has a different purpose.
– Social classes form in a variety of ways.

• Job Specialization

– People were involved in agriculture during the earliest period

of human history.

Features of Cain’s Civilization

– Eventually, they produced more food than they needed for

their families, and this extra food allowed people to use their
talents in areas other than farming.

– Job specialization occurs when a person devotes his time

and talent to a specific type of work that becomes his
occupation.

– A variety of jobs developed before and after the Flood.

Features of Cain’s Civilization

• Arts, Sciences, and Written Language

– People used technology.
– The development of job specialization allowed some people

to have more time to be involved in the arts and make
advances in science.

– Early people were involved in mining.
– Early people also developed the arts.

Features of Cain’s Civilization

• Religion

– Adam and Eve’s religion came from the knowledge God

created in them, what He taught them, and what they saw in
the creation around them.

• They demonstrated their belief in one God.

– Sin corrupted the practice of true religion.
– By the beginning of Genesis 6, religion was further

corrupted.

Features of Cain’s Civilization

– God destroyed mankind except for Noah and his family.
– At the tower of Babel, there is evidence again of a departure

from true belief in God.

• Versions of the Creation story and the story of the Flood appear in

many different cultures.

Life in Enoch

How did people practice the arts and
sciences in the pre-Flood and early
post-Flood eras?

What job specializations occurred at this
time?

How did people depart from the belief in
one God to create world religions?