Tag: Ragnarok

Chaos

The argument is often made that biblical writers ripped off much older myths and adapted them for a monotheistic faith. The problem with this is that, while creation order and chaos are indeed reflected in many of these legends, that’s basically where the similarities end.

Gary Pollard

“Chaoskampf” is a prominent theme in the myths of Babylon, Egypt, Canaan, Greece, and even the Norse sagas. It’s also in our Bible, but with obvious differences. In the Babylonian tablets collectively called the Enuma Elish, creation begins with a great battle. Marduk defeats Tiamat, a sea goddess who represents chaos. He fashions the heavens and the earth from her remains after defeating her in battle. In Canaanite myth, Baal battles Yam, the sea god, also a symbol of chaos. In Egyptian stories, Ra must overcome the serpent Apep every night—a coiling monster of darkness and disorder (and don’t forget Osiris/Seth). In Norse mythology, at the edge of the world lies Jörmungandr, the world serpent, who they said will one day rise in Ragnarök, the day of final chaos. In Greek mythology, the Titans battle the Olympians and the victors reorder the destroyed world. 

The pattern is the same: a divine being, representing order and stability, faces the chaos of the sea, often personified as a serpent. Genesis 1 is greatly simplified and much cleaner — “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.” The great patriarchs were raised in these traditions: Abraham was from Ur of Babylonia, and Moses was raised and educated in Egypt. Asaph wrote, “With your great power you split open the sea and broke the heads of the sea monster. Yes, you smashed the heads of Leviathan and left his body for the animals to eat. You make the springs and rivers flow, you make the rivers dry up. You control day and night. You made the sun and moon. You set limits for everything on earth, and you created summer and winter” (Ps 74). 

The argument is often made that biblical writers ripped off much older myths and adapted them for a monotheistic faith. The problem with this is that, while creation order and chaos are indeed reflected in many of these legends, that’s basically where the similarities end. Unlike other cultures, whose myths are all about cosmic battles between gods, Moses and Asaph speak of the unchallenged power of the God who tamed the seas and chaos with just his words. 

Revelation ties this theme up nicely. John says, “Then I saw a new sky and a new earth. The first sky and first earth had disappeared. Now there was no sea. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God, down from the sky.” The detail about the sea might seem out of place, but it’s not. “Sea” was often synonymous with chaos, violence, death, and fear. It was personified as a great enemy that had to be defeated. On New Earth, tehom — chaos, the abyss, Tiamat, Leviathan, the sea — is finally gone forever.

Three quick things: 

  1. Chaos is nothing to panic over. We serve the God who calmed the seas with a word (Mk 4). 
  2. God can and does bring order from chaos. Our life might feel “formless and void” but God will ultimately bring order and beauty (Rom 8). 
  3. God has already won — the sea is on borrowed time, Leviathan has lost. 

Did People Really Live Hundreds Of Years?

Dale Pollard

(Genesis 5)

Genesis records those who lived for hundreds of years and it’s nearly unbelievable for some people and for others— it is. Look at some examples from Genesis chapter five:

V.17

“Thus all the days of Mahalalel were 895 years, and he died.”

V.20

“Thus all the days of Jared were 962 years, and he died” 

V.27

“Thus all the days of Methuselah were 969 years, and he died.”

Some of the best historians of the first Century believed what the Bible says about how long people lived. 

Here’s what Josephus has to say in regard to the ancients: 

“God afforded them a longer time of life on account of their virtue, and the good use they made of it in astronomical and geometrical discoveries, which would not have afforded the time of foretelling [the periods of the stars] unless they had lived six hundred years; for the great year is completed in that interval. Now I have for witnesses to what I have said, all those that have written Antiquities, both among the Greeks and barbarians; for even Manetho, who wrote the Egyptian History, and Berosus, who collected the Chaldean Monuments, and Mochus, and Hestieus, and, besides these, Hieronymus the Egyptian, and those who composed the Phoenician History, agree to what I here say: Hesiod also, and Hecatseus, Hellanicus, and Acusilaus; and, besides these, Ephorus and Nicolaus relate that the ancients lived a thousand years.“

Many ancient mythologies and legends feature tales of humans living for thousands of years. While many of those tales are likely exaggerated or even entirely false, it makes one wonder where and why cultures around the world would “imagine” the same motif. 

Here are just a few notable examples:

Sumerian King List: 

This ancient text from Mesopotamia records kings who reigned for thousands of years before the Great Flood. The very first on the list being Alulim who was the first ruler of Eridu, Sumer. Not only was he believed to be a god for years after his death, but he’s believed to have reigned for over a thousand years. Some of the rulers are said to have had lifespans exceeding 10,000 years. 

Hindu Mythology: 

In Hindu texts, the concept of Yugas describes epochs of time, and during the Satya Yuga, it is believed that humans had much longer lifespans, sometimes said to be thousands of years.

Chinese Mythology: 

Figures like Xuanzang (Tripitaka) and the Eight Immortals are often depicted as living for long periods. The legend of Queen Mother of the West also includes tales of long lifespans.

Greek Mythology: 

Certain demigods and heroes, like Heracles, are granted extended lives or even immortality through various means, reflecting a belief in long-lasting life.

Norse Mythology: 

While not explicitly stating that humans lived thousands of years, the concept of Ragnarök and the idea of the those living for very long periods contributes to this notion.

Egyptian Mythology: 

Some of their first recorded pharaohs were believed to have existed for thousands of years.