The first dispensation (A on the above chart) apostle Peter calls “the world that was.” (2 Pet. 3:6) It covers the time period from the creation of man in the garden of Eden until the flood, 1656 years according to Biblical chronology.
It began with Adam and Eve living in garden of Eden in peace and harmony with their Heavenly Father. They were perfect physically having dominion over the earth and all of its animals. However, that blessed condition did not last long.
Satan usurped authority over our first parents by deceiving Eve into disobeying the divine commandment. This led Adam to also disobey and because of their disobedience, God condemned our parents and their descendants to the dying process. Adam and Eve were evicted from the garden and driven out into the unfinished earth to scratch out their existence until they died. Because of the earth’s environment and man’s closeness to his original physical perfection, man’s lifespan was relatively long compared to today. Adam lived 930 years before he died. However, every man within the 1000 thousand year day as God’s penalty had specified.
Sin quickly multiplied. Cain killed his younger brother Abel because God accepted Abel’s sacrifice and no his own. Evil and violence continued to grow. During this time, God dealt with several righteous individuals so a Enoch and Noah. However, the longer man lived on the earth, the more evil multiplied.
During this dispensation, angels had the ability to materialize and a number left their heavenly home to materialize, take human wives and raise up children called the Nephilim. These offspring were mighty and their appearance led to even more evil. “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (6) The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. … (11) Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence. (12) God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth. (13) Then God said to Noah, ‘The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth.'” (Gen. 6:5,6,11-13 NASB)
God instructed Noah to build an ark and when complete, put a pair of every kind of land and air-breathing animal. We are not told how long it took Noah to build the ark. However, during this time, he was preaching the coming destruction of the world. No one repented of their evil and when the ark was ready, only Noah, his wife, his three sons and their wives entered along with the animals.
God caused it to rain on the earth for 40 days and nights. It is speculated that there was a canopy of water vapor that surrounded the earth that crashed to earth in the form of rain. Likewise, sprints of water also erupted so that the earth was covered with water and all men and animals in whose lungs was the breath of life died except for Noah, his family and the animals on the ark.
Noah and his family were on the ark for 13 months. When they exited the ark, they entered a new world where things had greatly changed. Man’s lifespan was significantly shortened and corruption through fermentation now took place.
Following the flood, God put these fallen angels into chains of darkness and constrained them to the earth as their punishment. (2 Pet. 2:4,5; Jude 1:6)
For additional information on the World That Was, please the following booklets and videos.
Why God Permits Evil
God Has a Plan
Enoch A Hero of Faith
Gods Plan For Man