Dear Friend,
This month something different – a recent scientific discovery and an ancient biblical mystery – come together....
THE FOUNTAINS OF THE DEEP & THE NOAH MYSTERY
Word for the Month & for Saturday, Nov. 1
Scripture: Gen. 7:11
See Message: That You Might Know
“In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day
all the fountains of the great deep were broken up.” Genesis 7:11
In the book of Genesis, it is recorded that a great flood took place on the earth. The human race had become
corrupt and the flood was a judgment. The account relays how waters covered the surface of the earth, even
reaching mountainous heights. One man and his family was saved – Noah. He was saved by heeding the voice
of God. In the process, Noah saved not only his own life and the lives of his family, but the lives of animals
who had refuge on the ark.
Of course, such a story draws mockery from skeptics and the sensibilities of modern man. But is there
evidence of the event, outside of Scripture? There is.
The story of a colossal flood overtaking the earth, and the survival of a few in its midst, is found outside
of the Bible. One of the most famous ancient writings to mention a colossal flood is the Babylonian ‘Epic of
Gilgamesh.” But this is by no means the only one. The story of the flood is found in the stories, accounts, and
histories of other peoples and cultures – and not limited to the area of Mesopotamia or the Middle East – but
spread across the world.
What could account for such a consistent and widespread testimony of a great flood? It’s very simple –
the reality of the Great Flood itself. If the event took place, then we would expect that there would be some
memory of it, a memory that would spread among the descendants of Noah.
But the biblical account is specific in its details. It speaks of the flood being caused, not only by a continuous
outpouring of rain, but of the breaking of the fountains of the great deep. The ‘breaking of the fountains of the
great deep’ or, for that matter, the existence of ‘the fountains of the great deep’ has struck many
as strange and fanciful.
But now, science has finally caught up with the Bible. This June, scientists announced that there exists a
vast reservoir of water beneath the earth’s surface. This reservoir, they say, may contain three times the volume
of all the world’s oceans put together. This could certainly constitute “the fountains of the great deep” spoken
of in Genesis. Further, the scientists believe that these underground oceans are the source, the spring, or the
fountain, from which the earth’s oceans derive.
The new discovery provides evidence that waters in the world’s visible oceans and those deep in its midst
are connected. They believe that geological processes such as earthquakes and shifts in the earth’s tectonics
allow the two realms of oceans to connect. It sounds very similar to what is recorded in Genesis – that caused
the Great Flood to begin when “the fountains of the great deep were broken.”
As in many realms, sometimes it takes thousands of years for science to catch up to what is recorded in the
Bible. In the meantime, until science and the world catch up in all things, it’s crucial that as God’s people, we
hold fast to the Word of God, when we understand and when we don’t. We live by faith and not by sight.
This month, be strong in faith. Believe the Word of God, live it, follow it, stand on it. And may God
greatly bless you as you do!
Your brother and co-laborer
in His love and service,
Jonathan
