Was there rain on the earth before the flood?

If it had not rained until after the great flood then rainbows "in the cloud," would be a new phenomena. They would not have existed before the flood if it had not rained since rainbows are created by the refraction of light passing through suspended water (raindrops). Others say that the rainbow existed before the flood when it rained, but that here they were associated with the covenant. This would be like bread and wine existing before the Passover of Christ but after the Passover these preexisting emblems took on new meaning.

2. There are rivers mentioned in the scriptures.

Whatever hydrologic cycle existed before the flood would have to produce enough water to feed these rivers (1).

3. The pre-flood world was different than the post-flood world

The earth was destroyed by the flood.

"And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said uto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth." (Genesis 6:12-13)

Consider the following:

The earth before the flood, apparently, had a year consisting of 360 days as opposed to 365-1/4 days. (A comparison of the Genesis account, Genesis 7:24, 7:11, and 8:4, shows that five months consisted of 150 days). This would mean that the pre-flood days were slightly longer than the present 24 hour days.)
Also the great mountain chains and deep ocean basins were the result of the flood.

"Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment: the waters stood above the mountains. At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away. They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys unto the place which thou hast founded for them. Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over; that they turn not again to cover the earth. (The marginal rendering of the NKJV and various other translations state that "the mountains rose up and the valleys sank down.")" (Psalm 104:6-9)

In other words the deep oceans and the mountains were formed after the flood. The present day oceans contain the former floodwaters and the continental land masse and mountains were pushed upward.
The earth's axis tilted.

"Behold, the LORD maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof...The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish. The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left...

"And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake. The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth." (Isaiah 24:1, 4-7, 18-20)

The earth before the flood had lush tropical forest and a large amounts of vegetation. Since the day were longer the temperature was warmer. After the flood the ice ages began and the earth's ecosystem changed. Before the flood there would have been less wind and atmospheric turbulence. Winds are caused by temperature differences cause by the tilt of the earth's axis, mountain systems, and ice caps. All of these cause unequal regions of hot and cold on the globe which produce the various winds. Therefore the pre-flood earth was warmer, had more vegetation, had smaller oceans, and had smaller or nonexistent mountains.

4. Rain is caused by water molecules condensing around a solid object.

Present day rain condenses around what are called condensation nuclei. "Some atmospheric particles...formed by the evaporation of water from droplets of sea spray, are natural and even beneficial atmospheric constituents. Very small particles called condensation nuclei serve as bodies for atmospheric water vapor to condense upon and are essential for the formation of rain drops." (2) If the earth before the flood had a smaller oceans then the ocean produced particles for the water drops to condense on would be non-existent. Also less atmospheric turbulence would have put less particles into the air.

Considering all of the above since there would have been no condensation nuclei for the water vapor to condense upon and since the earth would have been less turbulent water vapor would not be suspended in the lower atmosphere. Therefore there would have been no rain. On the other hand since the earth would have been warmer and laden with uncondensed moisture there would have been an extremely efficient condensation cycle. Condensed water droplets would have been bigger and more commonplace. The earth's would have cooled very rapidly at night. This drop in temperatures would have caused a very large condensation cycle. The earth would therefore have been watered by a very heavy mist or fog each day possibly at sunset and sunrise.

After the flood came the change in weather patterns, the formation of condensation nuclei from oceans and increased volcanic activity, and the increased wind systems would have produced rain.

Footnotes

1. Many people doubt that these rivers could have been generated by the processes mentioned in the previous scriptures (Genesis 2:5-6). Note that this was one river flowing out of Eden which separated into four rivers. The earth at this time would not have been as mountainous and the river therefore would have been of a slower gradient and would not have required as much water to fill as contemporary present day rivers. Also since the source of these rivers originated in Eden it is likely that they were fed not only by condensed moisture but also from underground aquifers or springs.

2. Manahan, Stanley E. Environmental Chemistry (7th ed). Lewis Publishers/CRC Press. Washington DC. p. 267. 2000.

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Answer Given By: Arnold Mendez, Sr.