Treasures of the Deep

The BP Horizon disaster continues to get worse. It seems no one knows how to contain an oil well blow-out in 5,000 feet of water where the extreme pressures severely limit what can be done. I am beginning to wonder if this will not continue to be a seeping environmental wound until the Lord returns.

Many have said that we know more about space than deep ocean depths. This idea was reinforced in a 60 Minutes segment on Bob Ballard, the deep-sea explorer who found the Titanic. The story included video of a great tube worm garden Ballard found 8,000 feet deep living in total darkness, thriving off the energy of the Earth. The discovery flies in the face of the idea that “all life on the planet owed its existence to the sun, that it was sun that was the driving energy of life.” Ballard went on to say, “this is showing us that life can exist at far greater extremes than we ever expected, which again increases the probability of finding it elsewhere not only in the universe but elsewhere within our own solar system.”

The 60 Minutes story did not address any origin of life conclusions that could be made from Ballard’s tube worm discovery but the conventional wisdom is that it reinforces evolution. Actually I think it does just the opposite. As unlikely that the right conditions could exist to cause a living cell to spontaneously spring to life; it is at least twice as unlikely for that process to happen simultaneously in such extreme conditions. It shows the depravity of mankind that people refuse to recognize the hand of God in the face of such evidence… “for since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20, NKJ).

I expect one of the amazing things mankind will eventually discover about God is that the universe is actually teeming with life. I believe he will enable those who love Him to learn more about Him by studying what He has created in even the far reaches of the universe. The “eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).

Knowing that God has created such amazing things begs the question: Why would He allow so much of His creation to be destroyed by the BP Horizon environmental disaster? I believe it is a warning to us that an even greater environmental disaster is coming soon during the Tribulation. Revelation 16:3says, “the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living creature in the sea died.” The BP Horizon disaster foreshadows this unbelievably worse environmental disaster.

The good news is that Jesus returns to earth at the end of the 7-year Tribulation to restore His creation and establish His physical Kingdom. His spiritual Kingdom was established during His first advent. For those in His spiritual Kingdom today, we will not even be here on earth during the 7-year Tribulation. With the rapidly increasing incidence of birth pangs foreshadowing the Tribulation, we don’t have long to persevere in this fallen world.

Luke 21:28 says, “when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.” The Lord added the words “begin to happen” to reinforce the idea that His followers are out of here ahead of the Tribulation! These are exciting times for those of us who take the Bible literally.