Category: earth sciences

A Whale of a Tale? #8

Tuesday, November 14, 2023

“For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40 KJV).

Let us consider one of the most misunderstood and most ridiculed accounts presented in the Holy Bible….

It has been repeatedly assumed Jonah lived in the fish’s (or whale’s) belly for three days and three nights. However, see the Bible for yourself: “Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.” Jonah 1:17 simply states Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. Scripture does not read, “And Jonah lived / was alive in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.”

At this point, perhaps a simple illustration will suffice. If I claim someone was “in the grave for 20 years,” am I implying he or she has lived in that tomb for 20 years? No one exercising a little common sense would misunderstand my words. Likewise, although Jonah was in the creature’s stomach all three days and three nights, he was not necessarily living for the entire duration. People have made an assumption regarding the Bible—and it is a wrong one (just another example of silly presumptions about Scripture!). Two lines of proof can be offered Jonah actually died with respect to this strange sea creature (whose identity we will discuss later).

Firstly, in today’s Scripture, the Lord Jesus pointed to Jonah’s experience and connected it to His own death. Did not the Lord stay dead for three days and three nights? In keeping with the analogy, Jonah would have also perished. Remember, study Jonah chapter 1. The Prophet was tossed overboard in the Mediterranean Sea. Either he drowned before the creature swallowed him, or he died shortly after he entered the animal’s stomach. The point is, Jonah was dead in the creature’s belly.

Secondly, if you read Jonah’s prayer in chapter 2, the Prophet himself alludes to his decease. This part of the discussion will take some analysis, so we must carefully walk through it….

A Whale of a Tale? #7

Monday, November 13, 2023

“For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40 KJV).

Let us consider one of the most misunderstood and most ridiculed accounts presented in the Holy Bible….

Natural laws govern the world around us. They determine the size and shape of matter; dictate the amount of force, time, and distance required to set objects in motion or cause them to rest; control the chemical reactions necessary for physical bodies to live and function; influence our weather conditions and climate; provide us land on which to live, oxygen to breathe, food to eat, and water to drink; to name just a few of these principles in action.

Such laws do not suddenly or randomly appear. Their existence automatically demands a Lawgiver, an intelligent mind behind those rules. As Bible believers, we understand this Great Lawgiver is the Creator God—known as the LORD God, JEHOVAH God, or the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the origin of the heaven and the earth and all things therein, having formulated even the very basic principles that led to their construction as well as their maintenance. What that means is that He existed prior to those laws, and though we are subject to them, He is not obligated to follow them because He is outside of them or isolated from them.

The first objection mockers raise against Jonah is that they deem it preposterous—impossible—how a man could live three days and three nights in a whale’s (or fish’s) belly. If God wanted, He could have quite easily kept Jonah alive for three days and three nights in the whale’s (or fish’s) belly. What is impossible for us is possible with Him. Remember, we cannot create life, yet it exists (are we not lifeforms?!), so we know life can be and was created (though impossible for us, it is possible for Him). However, the Scriptures seem to suggest Jonah was not actually alive all three days and three nights. We will take yet another look into God’s infallible Book….

A Whale of a Tale? #6

Sunday, November 12, 2023

“For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40 KJV).

Let us consider one of the most misunderstood and most ridiculed accounts presented in the Holy Bible….

As a trained geologist (holding a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in Earth science), I am quite familiar with the tendency of Bible haters and Bible skeptics to resort to exalting and clinging to whatever “empirical data” that can be uncovered to justify distancing themselves from the “superstitions of religious tradition.” Except on rare occasions, though, the Holy Bible has not actually been given a fair hearing. As a simple illustration, I remember the confession of an honest atheist long ago: having never really read the Bible, he frequently argued with Christians about it! Another example is how people grow up “in church” hearing all sorts of ridiculous and wrong assumptions about Scripture. By the time they become adults, they are on a hostile “crusade” to publicize why they are no longer “church members!”

One of my university science professors (familiar with Scripture) complained to me how “science could not explain” the Bible’s miracles; therefore, he did not believe those miracles actually occurred. Instead, he contended, there was a natural cause for each alleged “miracle”—in effect, nothing miraculous really happened. While that sounds convincing on the surface, he surely knew how science has limitations. We scientists have such a poor understanding of how the laws of nature operate. Even what little we know is subject to change, as scientific ideas are revised or discarded through repeated observation and experimentation. Any scientist could live 500,000 lifetimes and still not fully comprehend or describe the phenomena on our tiny planet—not to mention all the events on all celestial bodies (whose total number exceeds all the grains of sand on every beach of Earth)! When someone boldly declares “science has disproven the Bible,” I can personally assure you this is wishful thinking. You need not worry about them or their overconfidence in the frail human mind or the faulty lab equipment!

With that said, let us get back to Jonah, the whale/fish, and the contempt regarding it….

Glory Days #7

Tuesday, March 16, 2021

“For the LORD shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody” (Isaiah 51:3 KJV).

Behold, the glory days—both past and future!

Read today’s Scripture in context: “[1] Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged. [2] Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him. [3] For the LORD shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody. [4] Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation: for a law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people.”

Here is Israel’s future restoration, Earth’s forthcoming renewal. Souls and bodies will be healed, and the natural world refurbished. Read also chapter 36 of Ezekiel, noting especially these verses: “[28] And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. [29] I will also save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you. [30] And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen…. [34] And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by. [35] And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited. [36] Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the LORD build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the LORD have spoken it, and I will do it.”

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Will the Antichrist be a homosexual?”

Glory Days #6

Monday, March 15, 2021

“For the LORD shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody” (Isaiah 51:3 KJV).

Behold, the glory days—both past and future!

Genesis chapter 2 relates how the Garden of Eden was a beautiful place: “[5] And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. [6] But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. [7] And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

“[8] And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. [9] And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. [10] And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads…. [16] And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: [17] But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”

As we know, however, Adam disobeyed the LORD by eating the forbidden fruit. Thus, the whole planet—including the Middle East, and especially Iraq between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers (the site of the Garden of Eden; Genesis 2:10-14)—is cursed with extreme climatic fluctuations and life-threatening weather. Natural landscapes are not as hospitable as they were before man’s Fall into sin. The abundant thornless, thistle-free vegetation of Eden is long gone (Genesis 3:17-19), but today’s Scripture promises it will reappear when Christ does….

Glory Days #5

Sunday, March 14, 2021

“For the LORD shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody” (Isaiah 51:3 KJV).

Behold, the glory days—both past and future!

Today’s Scripture awaits the day when the LORD consoles Zion (Jerusalem). Not only has she suffered the terrible effects of the curse established in Genesis chapter 3, God has judged her for her people’s idolatry. Gentiles have entered her land, ravaging it with war and destruction. Her people have been taken away captive for their transgressions, their disobedience to the Old Covenant (Mosaic Law) punished. Read Leviticus 26:27-46.

“And the LORD said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumbline. Then said the LORD, Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more: And the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword” (Amos 7:8,9; Israel’s Assyrian Captivity). “In all your dwellingplaces the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate; that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, and your idols may be broken and cease, and your images may be cut down, and your works may be abolished” (Ezekiel 6:6; Judah’s Babylonian Captivity a century later).

However, there is the hope of Israel’s restoration at Christ’s Second Coming: “Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the LORD hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem. The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God” (Isaiah 52:9,10). “And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in” (Isaiah 58:12).

Earth’s former glory days—the Garden of Eden—will return. When the Lord comes back, the planet will revert to pre-Fall conditions….

Glory Days #4

Saturday, March 13, 2021

“For the LORD shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody” (Isaiah 51:3 KJV).

Behold, the glory days—both past and future!

Chapter 35 of Isaiah, describing Israel’s Messiah arriving: “[1] The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. [2] It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God. [3] Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. [4] Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.

“[5] Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. [6] Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. [7] And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes. [8] And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. [9] No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there: [10] And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”

Verses 5 and 6 correspond to Jesus’ healing miracles during His earthly ministry (cf. Matthew 11:2-6). Isaiah also foresees His Second Coming in wrath and glory, judgment and reign. Christ’s return brings major spiritual and geographical changes….

Our latest Bible Q&A: “What was wrong with Moses’ speech?”

Death! #5

Friday, May 15, 2020

“In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return” (Genesis 3:19 KJV).

It is a morbid topic, but a reality we know all too well….

Genesis 35:18 says physical death occurs when the soul separates from, or exits, the body of flesh and blood. What becomes of the physical body? Exactly what Genesis says, the rest of the Scripture repeats so eloquently.

“They shall go down to the bars of the pit, when our rest together is in the dust” (Job 17:16). “His bones are full of the sin of his youth, which shall lie down with him in the dust” (Job 20:11). “All flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust” (Job 34:15). “Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust” (Psalm 104:29). “All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again” (Ecclesiastes 3:20). “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it” (Ecclesiastes 12:7).

Scripture also speaks of physical death more bluntly, as in Job 21:26: “They shall lie down alike in the dust, and the worms shall cover them.” Of course, these “worms” are maggots, indicative of the decaying or rotting process. Job 24:19,20: “Drought and heat consume the snow waters: so doth the grave those which have sinned. The womb shall forget him; the worm shall feed sweetly on him; he shall be no more remembered; and wickedness shall be broken as a tree.” Yet, we bring to mind that classic Bible passage of hope: “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me” (Job 19:25-27).

Due to sin, physical death is a part of life. Nonetheless, the saint is aware of another reality—bodily resurrection….

Death! #4

Thursday, May 14, 2020

“In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return” (Genesis 3:19 KJV).

It is a morbid topic, but a reality we know all too well….

Only after an arduous lifetime of backbreaking work does man’s soul finally separate from his physical body. He would “return unto the ground.” The LORD God added, “for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” While the Book of Genesis is frequently dismissed as figurative or allegorical myth, we cannot help but see this as literal history. Are we not physically placed into actual ground at our burial? Why, yes. There is no other way to look at Genesis: it says what it means and it means what it says.

Draw your attention to the wording: “for out of it [the ground] wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” We compare this to Genesis 2:7, Adam’s creation: “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” Job 4:19 speaks of man, “How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth?” And, Job 10:9 is directed to God, “Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me as the clay; and wilt thou bring me into dust again?” “For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust” (Psalm 103:14). 

Adam’s physical body was indeed literally derived from the ground or dirt. The name “Adam” is from the Hebrew word meaning “red, ruddy.” God used preexisting material—a reddish clay, evidently—to shape the first human body. This is not at all far-fetched. An interesting scientific fact is presented here—and, again, we have no other option but to take Genesis literally. Elements found within Earth’s crust are also necessary for life, and they actually form the human body: oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, sodium, chlorine, magnesium, and so on. Once the human body dies, its component elements return to the soil as well….

Our latest Bible Q&A: “How shall Elijah ‘restore all things?’”

The More Powerful Words #5

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

“By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth” (Psalm 33:6 KJV).

Sinful man needs to learn the lesson of today’s Scripture!

Friends, as advanced as we are, no matter what we endeavor to do, we must use parts of God’s creation. How far-fetched is the belief that we are self-existent! Whether the geological materials we extract from Earth to manufacture our tools and machines, or the biological tissues we excise from other humans in order to preserve life, or the oxygen molecules we breathe and the water molecules we drink so we can perform simple daily tasks, we must utilize what really belongs to the Creator God. We are bound to His universe, and He has granted us temporary usage of it. Had He not been a God of grace, so longsuffering and tolerant of our nonsense, He would have surely and literally wiped us all from existence by now!

Someone once wisely observed, “We think we are so smart just because we can explain a few processes in the natural world.” Again, the Scriptures are true when they remarked, “knowledge puffeth up” (1 Corinthians 8:1). Let us be honest, friends. While we know more than our ancestors did, we still know far less than the Lord does. In our own puny heads, we strut and prance, “Look what I know! How knowledgeable am I!” We flee to the “refuge” of science, where boasters gleefully exclaim, “We have no need for ‘god’ now! We can explain the universe without appealing to religions, myths, and deities!”

Considering the heights of the heavens and the depths of the oceans, where scientists and their instruments have yet to travel, we can rest assured that “science” is—like us with our tiny brains that interpret its evidence—fallible and limited. There is much more to learn from God’s creation, so we dare not inflate like balloons.

Now, here are some more powerful words. If we could invent those natural laws instead of merely explain them, if we could create from nothing a universe of matter that those laws govern, then we would really have something worth bragging about! Alas, we are not the mighty Creator… we are but lowly creatures….

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Why did God let James die but deliver Peter?”