Tuesday, April 7, 2015

More Evidence for a Global Flood

If you’ve ever read the classic Jules Verne science fiction story, Journey to the Center of the Earth, then you probably remember the part when Dr. Lindenbrock, explorer extraordinaire, reaches an unimaginably vast cavern. This underground world is lit by electrically charged gas at the ceiling, and is filled with a deep subterranean ocean, surrounded by a rocky coastline covered in petrified trees and giant mushrooms. The travelers build a raft and set sail on what the Professor names the Lidenbrock Sea.

Recently geologists made a stunning discovery which confirmed that maybe Jules Verne wasn’t that far off when he wrote about a vast underground hidden ocean. The Guardian newspaper reported, “After decades of theorizing and searching, scientists are reporting that they’ve finally found a massive reservoir of water in the Earth’s mantle—a reservoir so vast that could fill the Earth’s oceans three times over. This discovery suggests that Earth’s surface water actually came from within, as part of a “whole-Earth water cycle,” rather than the prevailing theory of icy comets striking Earth billions of years ago.”[1]

Geologists say that this huge amount of water is actually locked up in a rare mineral called ringwoodite, which acts like a sponge due to its crystal structure. Experiments with ringwoodite show that under incredible pressure, like the tectonic forces present in the Earth’s mantle, the mineral is able to attract hydrogen atoms and trap water.

As I pondered the significance of this new discovery I came to two conclusions. First, it confirms what the book of Genesis records about the global flood that Noah and his family survived. For years, skeptics have denied the possibility of a global flood as the Bible reports because they say there isn’t enough water on the planet to completely cover it and even if there were a global flood where would all that water go?  

In Genesis 7:11-12 we are told that the flood was caused from a deluge of water from above and below, “In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights.”      

It wasn’t until 370 days later that the flood waters subsided sufficiently that Noah was permitted by the Lord to leave the Ark. This recent discovery helps us understand that not only was there enough water locked up in the Earth’s mantle so that when it was released by God that it covered the whole earth, but that there was also a reservoir in place to store all the water when the flood began to drain and dry land reemerge. As Warren Wiersbe commented, “A God powerful enough to cover the earth with water is also wise enough to know how to dispose if it when its work is done.”[2]  

Secondly, this discovery made me think of God’s design and wisdom in creation. For hundreds of years, mankind was totally unaware what lay beneath his feet. Were it not for God designing a way to store a volume of water three times greater than our oceans I suspect our planet would look like another science fiction story—Waterworld.   

One scientist working on this project noted the significance of the trapped water by saying, “If the water wasn’t stored underground, then it would be on the surface of the Earth, and mountaintops would be the only land poking out.” In other words, this planet would be more like a continuous ocean and human life as we know it wouldn’t be possible. Maybe the next time the skeptic wants to rail against God for being unloving or aloof when an earthquake hits or a tsunami strikes they should hold their tongue and remember that they may not be here were it not for God’s silent blessing of keeping the water below our feet and not over our heads. -DM
  



[1] Melissa Davey, “Earth may have underground 'ocean' three times that on surface,” The Guardian, 12 June 2014
 <http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/jun/13/earth-may-have-underground-ocean-three-times-that-on-surface>
[2] Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: Old Testament (Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2007), 42.

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