...AND THEY WONDER WHY FEW TAKE THEM SERIOUSLY

George Offerman

“How should modern readers interpret the creation-flood story in Gn 2: 11? The stories are neither history nor myth. “Myth” is an unsuitable term, for it has several different meanings and connotes untruth in popular English. “History” is equally misleading, for it suggests that the events actually took place. The best term is creation-flood story.”

USCCB website, Introduction to the book of Genesis

38 For as in those days before the flood they  were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and they did not [a]understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 

Matt 24:38-39

26 And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: 27 they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.

Luke 17:26-27

7 By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, [a]in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

Hebrews 7:11

20 who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the [a]water.

1 Peter 3:20

5 and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a [a]preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;

2 Peter 2:5

There will be a new version of the Bible to be released with the imprimatur of the USCCB.  The above quote taken from the USCCB website on the creation and flood story, and as can be seen, the USCCB takes the position that the story of the flood is considered allegorical and not literal.  The USCCB wants to claim that the author of Genesis “borrowed” the flood story from an earlier tale spun from accounts and myths from the Mesopotamia era.  In fact, the USCCB goes on to make this following statement concerning many of the stories in Genesis:   

 “There is unfortunately no direct extra-biblical evidence confirming (or disproving) the stories.”

Unfortunately and sadly, the USCCB is wrong on this note, and it will be covered in a later post the significant amount of evidence by geologists and archaeologists of a flood that covered the whole world.  It is also rather sad that the USCCB calls into question the accounts in the Bible and it does nothing other than creating doubts in the believer.  For if the stories in Genesis are false, or allegorical, then what about the rest of the Bible?  How does one determine which is true and which is myth, or allegory?

What is truly at issue here is the soul of our Church.  We have a band of Bishops that are making a claim these events never happened, and none of these men were alive at the time of these events.  They are juxtaposed by the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, who was not only present at the time of the flood, He acknowledged the flood taking place, and clarified that it was Noah and his family that was in the ark.  Now, if the USCCB wants to make the claim that the Cannon of Scripture is inaccurate, or that Jesus really didn’t mean what he said concerning Noah, then they are bordering on heresy.  To try to sell to the laity their ideas that most of genesis did not happen, they then call into question how much of the Bible didn’t happen, and thus, how can it be an inspired book, and who and what determines which story is literal and which is allegorical.

I am glad the USCCB does not speak with magisterial authority.  Since they do not, we are not obligated to follow questionable teachings such as this.  Their statements fall in line with others the USCCB has either put out, such as their voting guide faithful citizenship, and their silence concerning many of the state votes on homosexual marriage.  The USCCB has been very consistent in their watering down of the faith, and hanging much of the laity and some faithful priests out to dry, theologically speaking.  It leaves one to wonder if the USCCB is in a crisis of faith, or if they simply don’t believe what the Church they are supposedly representing actually teaches.  Either way, their statements concerning Genesis is nothing short of scandalous, and will do nothing other than to sow more doubt about the faith of the True Church of Jesus Christ.

The most interesting part of the USCCB is they will attempt to sell this to the American Church with magisterial authority, and will have no tolerance for anyone disagreeing with their position.  This very weak and cowardly band that has let down those fighting against legalized child killing and homosexual marriages really has lost their moral authority to teach in a fashion that will inspire laity or faithful priests.  It is actually creating division and discord by calling into question very basic and clear tenets of the faith, and buying into social relativism that appeases those in the same camp as Nancy Pelosi, the late Teddy Kennedy, John Kerry, Sotomayor and all of the other so called Catholics who make and follow their own rules concerning these social issues, and receiving communion when they should be denied it.  

This is going to accomplish nothing more than creating confusion in the ranks, and pushing many into complacency.  The USCCB would have been better off making no comments on this than what they did.  If it is true that most of the Bishops on the USCCB backs this interpretation, then maybe they ought to go on a long retreat that focuses on prayer and reflection concerning their vocation, and sit in on some basic scripture and patristic theology classes.  Or maybe just outright resign and hand out smiley stickers at Wal-Mart where they can’t do any damage.

Cross references: Luke 17:26 : Luke 17:26-27: Matt 24:37-39Luke 17:26 : Gen 6:5-8; 7

Cross references: Matthew 24:38 : Matt 22:30Matthew 24:38 : Gen 7:7

HERMENEUTICS 101: THE NEPHILIM AND THE FLOOD

George Offerman

After the expulsion from the garden, it did not take much time for man to populate the earth, and as such grew an army of humans. Satan was also busy during that time introducing all manner of evil as he understood that if the bloodline of mankind was so infected with sin, the promised ‘savior’ could not be born. Satan also understands God well enough that for prophecy to be fulfilled, all the conditions need to be met, and this was the prime mover in his motivation to destroy this new race. God ultimately responded with the flood, and thwarted Satan’s first attempt to kill this prophecy.

The Nephilim


When men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, The sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose.
Then the LORD said, "My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years."
The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them.
They were the heroes of old, men of renown. Genesis 6:1-7

The identity and nature of the Nephilim is one of the greatest controversies in Biblical studies. The verse referring to the ‘sons of God’ has been interpreted by many as incarnate demons, and the verse in Jude 6 is used to convey this:

"And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day."

The problem with this interpretation is whether angels have or had the ability to materialize into bodies that were ‘fully functional’ or if they possessed certain individuals and passed on their evil natures. Either way, these demons overstepped their boundaries and are not allowed to interact with humanity ever again.

The nephilim was Satan’s attempt at polluting the race of man and he was so successful that God decided to wipe out his creation, man, from the face of the earth. There was one family that was not polluted and they were given the task of carrying on the bloodline of the eventual Savior. It was up to Noah to carry on this bloodline and he was given the prophecy of the flood.


The story of the nephilim is important due to the fact it has parallels to Revelation, in that Satan continues to inhibit the birth of those individuals (the 144,000) so as to render God’s prophecy invalid. Instead of infecting humans with evil spirits, Satan has unleashed abortion on demand which ultimately has a greater evil effect than even possession. Regardless of whether the nephilim were offspring of incarnated demons or mere demonic possessions, Satan was willing to sacrifice many in his army to forward his agenda. This goes on to show the ruthlessness of this creature, and how he is totally fixated on himself and his well being.

The Flood

The account of the flood is covered from Genesis 6:5 to 9:7 and is too lengthy to reproduce here. God found favor with Noah, and instructed him to build an ark. God told Noah what he was going to do, and why he was doing it, and Noah became the first True Prophet of God. Satan was now aware of God’s plan and who was tasked with carrying on the bloodline. Noah, as a righteous man, would have been ostracized and isolated from nearly everyone, and this most likely was a form of torture sent by the evil one. There is much speculation as the amount of time it took to build the ark, but it must have been many decades and much occurred during this time to potentially thwart this activity.

The antediluvians were very aware of the ark, and as a prophet, Noah must have warned them over and over again of God’s plan. Given the fact that the Antediluvians were committing every conceivable sin, and seeing no repercussion (similar to today), Noah’s warnings carried little to no meaning for them. The Antediluvians also must have unmercifully mocked and derided Noah, as they were doing the work of their master in using this form of persecution to dissuade Noah from completing his assigned task.

Genesis was clear that rain had never fallen on the earth before, as water came in the form of dew every morning. Making an ark, and expecting an event never witnessed before was also in the realm of faith (similar to asteroids and the calamities in Revelation are today) and must have been a factor in the derision sent Noah’s way. Noah, nonetheless persevered in building the ark, as well as preaching to the Antediluvians of the impending disaster. None of them listened, and none of them entered the ark when it was time.

Judgment occurred when God sealed Noah and his family into the ark, and it was on the seventh day when the rains began to fall. God’s sealing of the ark represented two things: 1) Noah and his family were inside, having made their choice, and 2) The Antediluvians were on the outside, having sealed their fate (similar to the mark of the beast). When the rains began to fall, the Antediluvians must have been filled with dread and fear, and only then did they realize their actions and foolishness had come at a great price. So it will be at the time of the seventh trumpet of Revelation for those who took the mark, believing they ‘saved’ their lives.

These events are written for our benefit and to teach us the lessons of antiquity, and that God is unchangeable, and is actively involved in human affairs. The times we currently live in have been described by many as similar to Noah, and there is great evidence that this description is accurate and true. This ought to give one pause, and to ponder what may be in store if we do not call out for forgiveness and change our ways. The great clock of the Living God is ticking, and Like Noah, one day the age of salvation will come to an end, and the ‘door’ will close. We need to be on the right side of that door when it happens.