- Morning Devotional
- August 12, 2003
- “Proof”
- by Don Emmitte
For
I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for
good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when
you pray, I will listen. If you look for me in earnest, you will find me when
you seek me.
(Jeremiah 29:11-13 NLT).
US archeologist recently found the remains of a 7,500-year-old building probably a house more than 300 feet below the surface of the Black Sea. Robert Ballard, famous for discovering the Titanic, took photographs of the structure and recovered some artifacts from the site using a remote-controlled submersible called Argus, not much bigger than a washing machine. The building appears to have been on the beach of the Black Sea, which at that time consisted of fresh water.
"Now we know that people were living on that surface when the Flood took place, because we are finding evidence of human habitation," Ballard reported in a telephone interview from his ship off the Turkish coast. Last year Ballard found indications of an ancient coastline with tree branches and other debris, miles out from the current Black Sea coast. Ballard, a National Geographic Society explorer in residence, said he had studied shells found along the ancient coastline and found two types. One group is an extinct type of freshwater shell, while the second is from saltwater shellfish. The saltwater shells date back 6,500 years, while the freshwater shells all date to 7,000 years ago and older. "We know that there was a sudden and dramatic change from a freshwater lake to a sea of saltwater 7,000 years ago," Ballard states. "And we know that as a result of that flood, a vast amount of land went underwater. We also know that that land was inhabited. What we don't know is who these people were, and how broad their settlements were." He continues his research with Argus on the floor of the Black Sea.
This exciting archeological
discovery indicates that rising waters in the Earth's oceans caused the
Mediterranean to crash through a natural earth dam blocking what is now the
Bosporous Strait (under a half a mile across at some points). For as long as two
years, water rushed through with the flow of 200 Niagara Falls and filled an
area the size of Florida. This discovery also indicates that the concept of the
Great Flood, Noah's Ark, and God's judgment on civilization at that time, are
plausible and persuasive. The Bible is proven once again that it can be used as
a credible source of information. "This is a stunning confirmation of our
thesis," said marine biologist, William B.F. Ryan of Columbia
University."