How could people live so long before Noah’s flood?

   The environment was very different then, compared to after the flood to what it is today.  God created an earth that we could live on that was considered a perfect place to live.  There was no death, sickness, or disease.  Man lived in a perfect greenhouse that was created by a vapor canopy over the surface of the earth.  It kept the temperature constant as well as filtering harmful rays out from the sun. When this vapor canopy came pouring down (the rains of Noah’s flood or deluge - Genesis 6), the harmful rays of the sun began to cause genetic and somatic mutations.  This in turn cause the aging and earlier deaths of individuals and species (Genesis 1:7, 7:11).  Atmospheric pressure also drastically changed which directly affected the growth of all existing life.  Scientists know that the earth is deteriorating instead of evolving into something better.

   Before the fall of man (Genesis 3), he had dominion over the earth (Genesis 1:26). After the fall, the curse came upon man and he would have to face physical death (Genesis 3:14-19).  Satan would now be a direct adversary of man.  He was out to destroy God’s creation by any means possible (1 Peter 5:8).  All these factors decreased life spans as we were originally created to live with God forever. Time now marches on and death is taking its toll.  It has been appointed for once man to die and then the judgment.  The life spans in the Bible before the flood seem rather incredible but can easily be explained to an unbiased student.  Sin and its resulting effects have and will continue to affect us all until the return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!