davidbowerkingwood

Old Faithful

Recently, there has been a considerable amount of discussion concerning the Supervolcano under Yellowstone National Park. It seems there has been an increase in the number of earthquake swarms and hydrothermal events in the park which have raised questions about the stability of the Supervolcano in which the park resides.

I will confess to an interest in volcanism and the movement of tectonic plates and usually check in daily on current events in that area. Hardly a day goes by without some reference to seismic activity somewhere in Yellowstone.

While I find the subject to be of great interest, I also find the typical geological reference to an old earth very annoying. I am totally convinced the Bible’s account of the creation of the earth to be valid and beyond question!

While the Bible does not give a specific time, it is reasonable to conclude from the evidence given, the earth is probably no more than around 6,000 years old. While we may not know the exact number, I’m convinced it is not in the millions or billions range as claimed by evolutionists!

According to evolutionary geology, the Yellowstone Supervolcano last erupted around 640,000 years ago after previously erupting 2.1 and 1.3 million years ago. Needless to say, I see those numbers as a rather fanatical flight of fancy, requiring a rather grand leap of faith in evolutionary theory!

There is no disputing the existence of the Yellowstone Caldera, it is there and active at this moment. How then can we explain its impact and when did it become active?

I believe we can get important clues from the Bible which can help us understand the reality of this natural phenomenon.

The Earth Before the Flood

At the time the earth’s creation was complete, God said in Genesis 1:31,

 ³¹ Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

God had created a paradise for his creation, it provided a perfect environment for all its inhabitants. The earth had been surrounded by a water vapor canopy that enclosed the earth in a massive greenhouse which equalized temperatures and provided protection from solar radiation.

As a result, the earth was habitable from North Pole to South Pole with a life-friendly environment. Atmospheric pressure was higher and had an increased oxygen content!

The topography was relatively flat with hills probably maxing out around 6,000 feet in elevation. The Bible tells us there was no rain, the ground was watered by a mist that irrigated the land. In Genesis 2:6 it is written:

⁶ but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground.

The Bible reveals this perfect environment resulted in extended life spans that lasted hundreds of years.

Sin and Death Intrude on Perfect Environment

The Bible does not reveal the length of time before Adam’s tragic disobedience; it would appear it was rather sooner than later. I’ve written more on this in “The Garden of Eden”. God told Adam he would surely die if he disobeyed God’s command, and he died, spiritually, on the spot at the time of his disobedience.

The greater tragedy is Adam killed the entire human race at the same time; every human that would descend from Adam died spiritually at that same moment. In Romans 5:12-14 we read:

¹² Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned— ¹³ (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. ¹⁴ Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. 

With the spiritual death of Adam, sin would rapidly grow in his descendants until much later when God would observe in Genesis 6:5-8

“⁵ Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. ⁶ And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. ⁷ So the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.”

 ⁸ But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

Next time, God’s Judgment on Sin Including the Yellowstone Caldera Eruption