Mountain Messages
“God’s Gift to the Creationist”
On Sunday, May 18, 1980, Mt. St. Helens erupted, sending clouds of ash high into the sky and mudflows through the Toutle River valley. A 5.1 earthquake initiated a landslide that released underground tension that had been building for days. Prior to the earthquake, the northernmost slope of the mountain had been bulging at the rate of 5 feet per day. Though many warnings existed beforehand, 57 people lost their lives in this catastrophe. The most famous of these, Harry Truman, became somewhat of a celebrity as he refused numerous requests to leave “his” mountain. The most notable result of the eruption that gave Mt. St. Helens the status of “God’s Gift to the Creationist” is the canyon system that was carved through solid rock in a matter of hours. Modern science so often is associated with “evolution,” a belief about the evidence that asserts “millions of years” of time. Those who hold to this belief often use canyons as illustrations of the idea that rivers which flow through those canyons gradually carved them over long periods of time. However, such long ages of time cannot be tested or observed scientifically. What we do see today are rivers flowing through canyons, but does this mean that the canyons are there because of the rivers? What if the rivers exist because of the canyons? In other words, could canyons have been formed by massive catastrophes (such as mudflows from a volcano), and water flows through them afterwards? So often, “evolutionary science” promotes only one view to the exclusion of other, more scientific views about the same evidence!
Why Do Men Believe “Millions of Years” in Spite of Science?
It is a fact that canyons exist worldwide. Grand Canyon is the largest and most famous canyon in the world. Is it truly scientific to assert that these land formations formed over “millions of years”? No. No one observed it or tested it, and the time frame is a belief that cannot be confirmed by true science. Canyons and other formations found worldwide are consistent with a Biblical worldview, a view that includes the Biblical account of a global Flood, a man named Noah, and the ark of safety. Why, then, do men continue to believe in long ages of time despite the evidence?
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth (i.e. “hold back, suppress”) in unrighteousness.” (Romans 1:18)
The Bible, God’s Word, records a worldwide Flood sent by God as judgment for the wickedness of mankind. Canyons, fossils, and more are consistent with this event.
However, men “hold” (or, suppress) the truth of God’s Word “in unrighteousness.” In other words, because of “unrighteousness” (sin, bad things), men do not want to submit to a Creator and they seek to hide His truth. One of the biggest lies men use to suppress the truth of God’s Word is the idea that “millions of years” of time is represented by canyons and rock layers. However, “millions of years” is a belief about the evidence that goes directly against the history of the Bible. Mt. St. Helens is a modern-day example that gives us a small glimpse of what took place at the time of the Flood.
Are You Like Harry?
Harry Truman (not the American President by the same name) did not listen to the warnings to leave the mountain. To his own peril, he thought that the mountain would not harm him. Yet, he perished under nearly 300 feet of sediment that was a result of the initial earthquake. No matter what he believed, he still suffered the consequences. Could it be that many who will not believe the Bible might still, like Harry, suffer the consequences? The same God who sent the Flood of watery judgment tells of a fiery judgment to come (Luke 17:26-32; 2 Peter 2-3). Judgment is coming, but there is a way out! The Bible tells us that men have sinned against their Creator (Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned…”). The bad news is that our sin must be judged in an eternal place of fire. Not only did Jesus preach about the Flood, but He also spoke of the literal fiery judgment of a place called “hell” (Luke 16). Though all men deserve this eternal punishment of fire, there is a simple way out: Belief! We must simply believe with all of our heart that Jesus, the Creator, came to earth to die on the cross in payment for the sins of all people. If we believe, the natural result is to receive God’s gift of salvation through a prayer (“call”) of faith. His Word says:
“But as many as received him, to them gave he power (i.e. “right, privilege”) to become the sons of God, even to them that call on His name.” (John 1:12)
Don’t be like Harry Truman who refused to heed the warnings, for there is a much greater fire that awaits all who refuse to heed the warnings from God to turn from sin to the Savior. Not believing the Bible does not void the fact of this future judgment. The same God Who brought the Flood created hell, but He also made a way of escape through His Son. For more information, please email us at creationfamin@yahoo.com.
In the first book of the Bible, Genesis, we read of a worldwide Flood that God sent in judgment for the sin of all mankind. We also read that He instructed a man, Noah, to build an ark of safety that would protect people, animals, and birds during this catastrophe. After the Flood, the Bible says that the ark came to rest “upon the mountains of Ararat.” It is no doubt that the finding of the actual ark would be the archaeological discovery of all time! Interesting artifacts have been found on Ararat, such as a 5’ hand-hewn piece of wood encased in ice, 300 miles from a forest! Intriguing “wood-like” rock formations have been discovered, but these are inconclusive. While the verbal accounts and findings may be supporting evidences for the Flood and the ark, nothing yet has been produced that conclusively proves that Noah’s ark exists today. However, in recent months, Dr. Randall Price of World of the Bible Ministries claims to have located what he says is a large, box-shaped structure deep under the ice on Mt. Ararat! (See www.WorldoftheBible.com/news.htm for more.) If such a proof is never found, would it disprove the Bible? Not at all, for a global event such as Noah’s Flood is clearly evidenced worldwide in the fossils, canyons, and rock layers that are seen. The main question regarding Ararat and the Flood is:
Did Jesus lie when He said that Noah existed and that the Flood happened?
“They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.” (Luke 17:27)
Jesus also used the Flood as a springboard to future judgment:
“And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.” (Matthew 24:39)
The Book of Peter also mentions the Flood, and he used it to speak of future judgment:
“For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the Word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:” (2 Peter 3:5-6)
“But the heavens and the earth, which are now…reserved unto fire against the day of judgment.” (2 Peter 3:7)
If both Jesus and Peter used this past judgment of God as a springboard to the future, should not we do the same? There was one door in the ark of Noah; likewise, there is only one door of salvation from the future judgment of man’s sin: the fire of an eternal hell. Not only did Jesus speak of an actual Noah and the Flood, but He also spoke of a literal hell and said that He is the only way to heaven:
“I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by Me.” (John 14:6)
Have you believed on the LORD Jesus? Have you entered the Door of the ultimate Ark of Safety from the judgment of hell, trusting solely His work on the Cross?
Mt. Rushmore is an awe-inspiring sight! A free attraction just 23 miles south of Rapid City, SD, it was named after Charles E. Rushmore, a lawyer who investigated mining claims in the Black Hills in 1885. The four heads are these:
- George Washington who represents our national struggle for independence
- Thomas Jefferson, selected for his ideas of government by the people
- Abraham Lincoln, chosen for his ideas on equality and the union of the states
- Theodore Roosevelt, represented the 20th century role of the United States in world affairs
Question: Would anyone think that these heads were formed by millions of years of wind or water erosion, or thermal expansion of the rocks? No. Not only does the design of Mt. Rushmore point to a designer, but it also speaks of history. It is an historical fact that these heads were designed by a man named Gutson Borglum and that it took 14 years to complete the project. However, the original plan was to carve each President to the waist. History confirms the work of designing and carving this unique monument, but what about the people represented by these heads? Are humans the end result of “millions of years” of chance processes, with no Creator involved? No. Design points to a designer. If we see a painting, we know there was a painter. A building tells of an architect and a builder. Likewise, we see the design of humans and know that there is a Designer Who made us!
“…things which are seen were not made of things which do appear." (Hebrews 11:3)
“For every house is builded by some man; but He that built all things is God.” (Hebrews 3:4)
What about history and the Bible? Does true history confirm the Biblical Record? A good starting place is the 4th year of Solomon, when he began the Temple construction. The date for this has been confirmed by various conservative scholars as being between 971 – 965 BC. The Bible states that this pivotal event took place 480 years after the Israelites “were come out of the land of Egypt” (I Kings 6:1). Calculating backwards in time using both Biblical and extra-Biblical information, we eventually come to the death of Moses around 1400 BC. Following closely the information in the Bible regarding people such as Isaac, Jacob, Noah, and Shem, we can assess the death of Noah as being around 2068 BC (350 years after the Flood), the Tower of Babel about 2300 BC, the Flood of Noah around 2418, and the death of Adam about 3154, at age 930. This places the week of creation as taking place approximately 6000 years ago, just as creationists have proclaimed for years.
From extra-Biblical history, Thutmose I ruled in Egypt from 1539 – 1514. His daughter, Hatshepsut, most likely was “the daughter of Pharaoh” who in 1526 found Moses in the river and took him to be her son (Exodus 2). When Thutmose I died, Hatshepsut was the only living child of his chief wife, Ahmose, so the half brother of Hatshepsut became the Pharaoh, Thutmose II. He married Hatshepsut, but they had only one daughter and another son of Thutmose II (only 10 years old in 1504 BC) became Thutmose III. He was soon overshadowed by Hatshepsut who ruled as Pharaoh from 1503 – 1482. With no sons of her own, she would have given Moses the best of everything. This timeline places Moses’ flight from Egypt in 1486, 4 years before the death of Hatshepsut when Thutmose III was about 28 years old. The natural rivalry between Thutmose III and Moses would have contributed to the need for Moses to flee Egypt after he murdered the Egyptian.
[Ref: Wood, Leon J. A Survey of Israel's History. Rev. and Enl. pp. 92-108]
For a complete description of this timeline, click here.
The Bible is not a book of “fairy tales,” but matches perfectly with true history. Add to Biblical history the “design factor” and we have the most powerful Book of all time!
Design Demands a Designer
While evolutionary belief asserts that a “Big Bang” (cosmic “explosion”) was the first cause of the universe, there is no viable explanation as to how an explosion can create such intricate order as we see in the universe today. Numerous problems exist with the Big Bang hypothesis, such as how all of the material expanding outward from a hypothetical “explosion” (in a frictionless environment such as space) could have come together to form anything! In contrast, the Bible states: “God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light” (Genesis 1:3). The Bible also tells us concerning Jesus, that “by Him all things consist [hold together]” (Colossians 1:17) and that He is the “propitiation (satisfaction) of our sins” (I John 2:2). The Bible is a book of history and science! We can believe God’s Word!