Ken Johnson (3)

This ministry-published book (biblefacts.org) offers fascinating information about the post-flood generations of several ethnic groups. While reading it, I questioned how reliable this information is. Even the author states in his preface that his details may not be 100 percent correct. He had to determine what is a myth and what is history from the very ancient manuscripts he relied on.

By writing this book, the author, Ken Johnson, Th.D., hopes to encourage "readers to investigate ancient history for themselves, thereby stripping away the modern myths of 'evolution' and 'pre-history'. "

Johnson first introduces readers to his primary sources and to his dating system. Instead of using the traditional "BC" or "BCE" dates, he uses the Jewish Calendar that starts at creation and uses the abbreviation AM, standing for "Anno Mundi" (misspelled in the book as Anno Moundi"), which means "in the year of the world." Based on this system, Adam was created in 1 AM and Noah's flood occurred in 1656 AM. Due to the unfamiliarity of this times system, a reader may become confused on the chronology at times.

Next, the book covers some pre-flood history based on ancient texts such as the Bible, the Book of Jasher, and the writings of Josephus. Then follows a discussion of the long life span of Noah's children's generation, and finally, the bulk of the book records the descendants of Japheth, Shem, and Ham, and what people groups they became. The record of descendants includes some cross referencing with commonly known ancient history and a few unfamiliar stories.

The author uses a plain, easy to read writing style and supports his points with some quotations from his ancient sources. I trust the Biblical accounts, but I still lack confidence in some of the other sources, as they are not mainstream material except for Josephus's work. Yet, many discoveries or ideas start on the fringe before they are broadly accepted.… (altro)