“This they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: but the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment.”[13] “As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.”[14] V THE SCHOOL OF ABRAHAM [Sidenote: Rapid decline after the flood] The ease with which men fall into evil habits is illustrated in the history of the world after the flood. Upon leaving the ark, four families who had known God, had committed to them the peopling of the earth. But evil tendencies, the result of years of acquaintance with the iniquity of the antediluvian world, gained the ascendency, and the sons of Noah, failing to carry out the principles of true education in their homes, saw their children drifting away from God. True, the bow of promise appeared often in the heavens as a reminder of the awful results of sin, and telling them also of the God-Father who sought their hearts’ service. But again the logic of the evil one was accepted, and men said, “We shall not surely die.” As a sign of their confidence in their own strength they built the tower of Babel. They had been scattered in the hill country, where nature and natural scenery tended to elevate their thoughts. They followed the valley, and built cities in the low plains. Not more than a single century had elapsed since the flood had destroyed all things. The change was a rapid one. The successive steps in degeneration are readily traced. They chose an education of the senses rather than one of faith; they left the country and congregated in cities; a monarchy arose. Schools sprang up which perpetuated these ideas; paganism took the place of the worship of God. The tower was a monument to the sun; idols filled the niches in the structure. Men offered their children as sacrifices. The slaying of infants and children is but carrying out in the extreme what is always done mentally and spiritually when children are taught false philosophy. That man might not bring upon himself immediate destruction, the language was confused, and education in false philosophy thus rendered more difficult. [Sidenote: Abraham called from Ur] It was from this influence, as found in the city of Ur of the Chaldees, that Abraham was called. Although the family of Terah knew the true God, and His worship was maintained in the home, it was impossible for him to counteract the influence of the city with its idolatrous practices; so God called Abraham into the country.