A New Beginning

Article #14

As Pat and I begin the new year of 2021, we are in Virginia, learning about the New Beginning that our nation experienced. The historical exhibits of Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown have amazed me far beyond my expectations. There is so much to see here, and so much history to learn. English colonists established the first permanent colony in Jamestown in 1607. I cannot help but meditate on the similarities and differences between the colonization of North American and that of the Near East after the Flood.

The first similarity that I notice is that in both cases they came by ship. The small ships from Europe traversed much water and many storms, carrying people, animals, and other resources. The Ark, of course, was as large as the many frail ships of the seventeenth century combined. Besides its cargo of the first family and animals, it contained large quantities of tools, foods, and material resources to care for the animals and for the new beginning. All the ships came from an advanced civilization to an unknown and undeveloped new land. The civilization before the Flood, after seventeen centuries from Adam to Noah (1656 years), could have been as advanced as Europe was in our own seventeenth century.

The next similarity that I notice is that the inhabited area was comparable to that of the Fertile Crescent. I would estimate that to be roughly a hundred thousand square miles. Of course, the English colonists had a more difficult time spreading out because the land was already inhabited by Native Americans. Both the English and the children of Noah settled along waterways, such as the James River and the Euphrates River. The next step of settlement spread to about three times that area, which would be the early area of the thirteen colonies compared to an area from Egypt to Anatolia and Elam. Exploration took place across about a million square miles. This would be to Canada and the Mississippi for the colonists and a large portion of the Near East for our earliest ancestors. In both cases, population growth and land development were closely parallel. This present day example helps us visualize what happened in times before historic documents.

Population growth in the Near East was probably similar to that of the colonies, although I won’t attempt to prove my point in this article. The population of the colonies in 1625 was about 2000, which corresponds to 60 years after the Flood. The population in 1660, which corresponds to Babel, was about 125,000. The population of the US according to the 1910 census, which corresponds to the time of Abraham, was 92,228,531. Although this is only a comparison, it does help illustrate the Biblical model for human development. The US today would correspond in years after the Flood to 1889 BC, during the years of the patriarchs. Much happened in those 460 years that we need to better understand.

European colonists brought advanced technology to an undeveloped land with vast resources. A similar event happened in the days of Noah, after the Flood. We know that civilization began in the Fertile Crescent, downhill from the landing place of the Ark in the Mountains of Ararat. The Bible would have us believe that it happened quickly, like in the colonies. Archeology, corrected by the Bible, will give us a better understanding of our forefathers, the first farmers and explorers, which we will continue to look at in coming weeks.

Civilization began downhill from Ararat

The colonists in Jamestown and Plymouth Colony began a new life in a new world. The decisions they made concerning the Indians, slavery, and overuse of the land affected generations after them. So did the choices made by the children of Noah who founded the nations. Today, we have a new beginning, and we should learn from history. Your choices will affect many besides yourself. Submit your life to God. Learn absolute truth from the Bible. Embrace holiness. Let prayer guide your decisions. Accept God’s forgiveness and begin anew. Change the world one person at a time.