Researching a preflood novel

Research for The Ninth Generation was a challenging task which proved interesting.

In addition to the Biblical record – without getting into occult literature – there are writings purportedly by Enoch and early Jewish historians. There are also some fascinating documents of ancient Greek investigators which seem to carry some reliability.

Two early sources indicate that Adam had 33 sons and either 23 or 33 daughters. I’ll go with 33 / 23 (Jewish tradition). There’s also good evidence to indicate that Seth may have been the first astronomer and that God had intended for man to receive revelation of truth through signs in the starry heavens. This may well have been later distorted through astrological misuse.

The events of creation and the fall were very likely recorded by Adam and passed along (or transcriptions made) to Seth’s lineage. Some think it was only verbal, but there is no compelling evidence that Adam was unable or disinclined to write. Other revelation, such as what the signs in the stars really mean, the meaning of sacrifice, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, and other prophetic writings such as quoted from Enoch (in Jude), may have all played a part in maintaining the faith of a few.

If conservative population statistics can be relied upon, there were at least a billion people on earth in the days of Noah, and if the majority lived in and around cities, figuring ten million per city would be about a hundred. One source said there were 99 cities. It seems likely that the godly lineage would live apart from the city, which would also help with better upbringing than might be possible in the midst of corrupt influence of city life. Would Seth’s line need some physical defense and protection against attacks from the ungodly as conditions worsened? Might they have joined forces and volunteered some of their sons as defenders? Would they have their own walled city(ies), or some other form of separation? Distance helps reduce the need for defense. It seems that the godly would have tried to avoid the use of weapons against those they knew were the offspring of their own living first father. But, if there were other kinds of beings…products of angelic and human (maybe even animal) genetic mixing, God might have revealed to the godly, as He did later to Israel, that this kind should be killed…There was no salvation intended for these. So, weaponry may have been so justified.

Writing down such mental ramblings actually helps to prevent including things in the novel that might be strangely outside of any real historical reference. Before writing, I like to ponder the possible. Just because it is called “historical fiction” doesn’t mean that it has to be the product of only a giant imagination – something I have been reported as having. There is plenty of room for that within the researched framework.

The saying that truth is stranger than fiction may well apply to the preflood years, especially when the ancient legends of Greece and Rome are considered – more to say on that later.

Imagining the novel2

The main character / protagonist is Lamech, Noah’s father. Noah would be too late. My interest is in exploring the time period before the flood, before man’s longevity began to decline, and when all the evil was so escalated that God saw no other way than to wipe it all out. To maintain historical (biblical) accuracy, Lamech is the last of the “good guys” (Seth’s lineage) and able to actually meet and talk with Adam, while he was still alive. Nine generations, Adam through Lamech, all still alive and able to compare notes and pass down wisdom and knowledge. The thought of such a gathering / family reunion is intriguing. Their life-spans were phenomenal, close to a thousand years. Lamech’s name means “conqueror”. He is not yet married even though 112 years-of-age.

There are giants also living on the earth at this time, products of strange unions of fallen angels and the daughters of man. That interpretation of Genesis 6:4 is supported by many conservative Biblical scholars, as well as in The Torah – where the “sons of God” are referred to as “Divine beings”. The fallen angels somehow selected and took those they wanted. Maybe they looked through the eyes of pterodactyls or other creatures to spot them – as Lucifer was able to enter the serpent - or simply noticed the daughters of men themselves. Angels are usually invisible to humans, so they could have done their own search and procurement, unless protective “good” angels stood in their way. However it happened, they marked certain particularly attractive women. Did they send a hunting party to surprise and seize them, or ploy them personally through their supernatural charms? Perhaps the descendants of Cain were more willing to cooperate than the daughters of Seth / the godly line. But would that not make the forbidden fruit / less available ladies seem sweeter to the “gods”?

How many seizures will it take before Lamech is righteously moved to go after them? Enoch – the one who walked with God – would certainly align his abilities and intercessions to help his grandson. Their warfare has to be different than employed by the Nephilim / giant angelic-human offspring, to come against spiritual forces. They have the guidance of Enoch’s prophetic voice and the power of the blood / prefigured through the animals, which strikes paralyzing fear into the demonic fallen spiritual beings.

Like a puzzle, bit by bit the pieces start to fit together; but a year of research and plotting would take place before story writing began.