Bible Oceanography

The idea of a complete water cycle was not fully understood or accepted until the 16th and 17th centuries. The first substantial evidence came from the experiments of Pierre Perrault and Edme Maroitte. Astronomer Edmund Halley also contributed valuable data to the concept of a complete water cycle. More than 2,000 years prior to their discoveries, however, the scriptures indicated a water cycle. How? Just a lucky guess?

1) Solomon, long ago, wrote, "All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full; unto the place wither the rivers go, there they go again" (Ecclesiastes 1:7). The Mississippi River, when running at an average rate of flow, dumps approximately 6,052,500 gallons of water into the Gulf of Mexico - per second. Where does all that water go? And remember this is just the water from one river! The answer, of course, lies in the hydrologic cycle, of which the Bible speaks. Ecclesiastes 11:3a states that "If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth" Amos 9:6b reminds us that "He...called for the waters of the sea, and poured them out upon the face of the earth; the Lord is His name"

2) Matthew Fontain Maury (1806-1873) was once confined to bed during a lengthy illness. His son, who had been asked to read for him from the Bible, turned to Psalm 8 and upon reading verse 8, drew his father's immediate attention. The verse reads, "The birds of the heaven, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passes through the paths of the seas". It had never been noticed by Maury before. Using this verse he decided to find the "paths of the seas".

Indeed, he found just that! He was the first (of whom we have a written record) to recognize that the seas were circulating systems with interaction between wind and water. His book on physical oceanography is still considered a basic text for studies of that sort. The book, Matthew Fontaine Maury: Pathfinder of the Seas, by C.S. Lewis (published in 1927 by the U.S. Naval Institute) recounts the entire story. Maury "took God at His Word" and found that Word to be fully accurate!

3) Job was asked by God (Job 38:16), "Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? Or hast thou walked in the recesses of the deep?". The Hebrew word for "recesses" (or "trenches") refers to that which is "hidden, and known only by investigation." What then were these "recesses of the deep"? (The Hebrew for "deep" is the word for seas or oceans). Man, in previous centuries, thought of the seashore as nothing but a shallow, sandy extension from one continent to another. Then, in 1873 a team of British scientists searching in the Pacific Ocean found a "recess" 5 1/2 miles deep. Later, another team of scientists found in the Pacific Ocean a trench more than 6 miles deep! How did Job know the recesses of the deep were there, when they weren't discovered for centuries?
Physics

Moses wrote, "... and the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them " (Genesis 2:1). This is an interesting statement, because Moses chose the Hebrew past definite tense for the verb "finished", indicating an action completed in the past, never again to occur. That is exactly what the First Law of Thermodynamics says! This law (often called the Law of the Conservation of Energy, and/or Matter) states that neither matter nor energy can be created or destroyed. How did Moses know?

In three places the Bible affirms that the earth is wearing out in Isaiah 51:6 and Psalms 102:26, and Hebrews 1:11 all say that, "... the earth will wear out like a garmet". This is precisely what the Second Law of Thermodynamics says: everything is running down, wearing out; energy is becoming less and less available for use; Entropy (a measure of randomness, disorderliness, lack of structure) is increasing.

That of coarse, means that eventually the universe will "wear out". The Bible writers knew it, and stated it clearly. We didn't discover it until a few years back. How did the Bible writers know?

WHAT CAN YOU DO? You can accept the authority of Christ by doing what He commanded (Matthew 7:21; John 14:15; 15:10-14; Luke 6:46). Notice the pattern for becoming a Christian as revealed in the Scriptures. The Gospel was heard, resulting in faith (Romans 10:17). Repentance of (turning away from) sin (Acts 17:30) and confession of Jesus as the Son of God followed (Romans 10:10). Believers were baptized INTO Christ for the remission (forgiveness) of sins (See Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 8:35-39; 22:16; Romans 6:3-5; Galatians 3:27; Colossians 2:12; 1 Peter 3:20-21), and added to His church (Acts 2:47). Christians were taught to be faithful even to the point of death (Revelation 2:10).

WE WELCOME YOU Following the instructions of the Scriptures, members of Christ’s body assemble as congregations for worship, encouragement, and Bible study. The congregation in your community welcomes you to investigate the Bible with us. With a spirit of brotherly love we would seek to reconcile any differences by following the Bible ONLY. We recognize the Bible as God’s inspired word, the ONLY reliable standard of faith and practice. We desire the unity for which Christ prayed and which the Bible emphasizes in the expression, “one Lord, one faith, one baptism.” Together we seek to maintain “the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

A friendly welcome awaits you. We do not wish to embarrass you in any way. You will not be asked for contributions. We assemble for Bible study and worship each Sunday morning and we welcome you to meet with us. We would be happy to talk to you about your questions and we want to be of encouragement.

Please e-mail, or contact me, Dennis Crawford, at BibleTruthsToU@gmail.com, or 253-396-0290 (cell) for comments, questions, further Bible information, or for the location of a congregation belonging to Jesus Christ near you.