1. What are the “fountains of the deep” and the “windows of heaven” that were opened up at the beginning of the great deluge? Genesis 7:11

Is this mere poetry or does science add some meaning to it? For “fountains of the deep” I quote directly from a website known as beginning and end.com . Hopefully this will whet your appetite to do some more digging on this question:

In yet another confirmation of the Bible’s accuracy, scientists have now confirmed what Scripture refers to as “the fountains of the deep.” In the days of Noah and the Ark, these large pools of water beneath the Earth’s crust burst forth onto the surface providing the massive amounts of water needed for the global flood judgment. What has once been a source of skepticism and mockery for those who doubt the Bible, has now been confirmed by secular scientists, again showing that although written over 3,000 years ago, the Bible’s description of the Earth and its natural properties are indeed accurate.

According to reports:

An international team of scientists led by Graham Pearson, Canada Excellence Research Chair in Arctic Resources at the U of A, has discovered the first-ever sample of a mineral called ringwoodite. Analysis of the mineral shows it contains a significant amount of water — 1.5 per cent of its weight — a finding that confirms scientific theories about vast volumes of water trapped 410 to 660 kilometres beneath Earth’s surface, between the upper and lower mantle.

“This sample really provides extremely strong confirmation that there are local wet spots deep in the Earth in this area,” said Pearson, a professor in the Faculty of Science, whose findings were published March 13 in Nature. “That particular zone in the Earth, the transition zone, might have as much water as all the world’s oceans put together.”

Ringwoodite is a form of the mineral peridot, believed to exist in large quantities under high pressures in the transition zone. Ringwoodite has been found in meteorites but, until now, no terrestrial sample has ever been unearthed because scientists haven’t been able to conduct fieldwork at extreme depths.

The vast oceans of water beneath the Earth’s crust is precisely what the Bible describes in the first book of Genesis. In fact, prior to the flood of Noah’s day, it had never rained. The waters from the fountains of the deep, the water reservoirs beneath the Earth’s crust: provided water:

“And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. 6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. (Genesis 2:5-6).”

This was the state of the Earth until the days of the flood judgment. And it would be two-fold: water came from the sky in torrential rain, and from the ground, as The Lord caused the huge oceans of subterranean water to burst forth and shoot onto the surface.

As to “windows of heaven”, some speculate that Moses is merely speaking of clouds. The increased activity of waters on the earth, which came first, would greatly increase the movements of the entire water cycle. Water rises in the form of vapor and later falls in the form of rain. Yes, a poetic way of saying it, but based on a literal idea, and the fact that it is God that controls the weather patterns of earth, not mere chance or blind force.

2. Have they really found Noah’s Ark? Genesis 8:4

Not a Bible question but everyone wants to talk about it. Why not a Bible question? Because the Bible cannot provide an answer. The Bible can say authoritatively that there was a flood, that there was a Noah, that there was an ark. For us, then, the matter is settled. No boat or boat-shape or geological formation somewhere in Turkey changes any of that for us. We believe God.

Many sites have been chosen and explored in this regard. Some men, Christians even, will swear that they have indeed found the Ark. In some cases the claims have turned out to be bogus.

Geologist Andrew Snelling comments:

“We need to always exercise due care when claims are made, no matter who makes them, and any claims must always be subjected to the most rigorous scientific scrutiny. If that had happened here, and particularly if the scientific surveys conducted by highly qualified professionals using sophisticated instruments had been more widely publicized and their results taken note of, then these claims would never have received the widespread credence that they have.”

It’s probably best we leave it there. We do not challenge Biblical truth, ever, but we must challenge those who say they have found this or that. Remember the Shroud of Turin? How about that other Ark, the Ark of the Covenant? And what of nails from the very cross of Jesus, and fingers of the apostle Peter, and on and on?

We are a susceptible easily distracted group of creatures. In the animal world they call such creatures “sheep.” That’s why the Bible designates us with that name, I suppose.

Believe God! When they found a man alive inside a shark some 70-80 years ago, did that “prove” that Jonah was inside a great fish? Not to me. I believed the Word long before the news media “confirmed” it. Will we have to see a resurrected glorified man to believe that God raises people from the dead. I hope not.

That was the long answer. The short answer: I don’t have a clue. And I’m not sure anyone else does.

3. What is a rainbow, scientifically? Was it possible before the flood? Genesis 9: 13-16

A quick Google search yields up the first part of this answer:

“Rainbows happen when sunlight and rain combine in a very specific way. The beams of sunlight separate into the colors we see in the rainbow as they enter a raindrop. Sunlight is actually made up of different colors that we don't usually see. When a beam of sunlight comes down to Earth, the light is white.”

Okay. Sunlight and rain. Well, there was surely plenty of sunlight before the Genesis flood. But no rain. So no rainbows occurred until after rain occurred.

Obvious. But some object to the mythical nature of the Genesis account. That is, they do not want their Bible to seem to be like a child’s book that gives fantastic explanations to all the expressions of nature around them.

Shall we have it their way? A slow evolution of everything? From nothing? Run from the God who can say “I do set my bow in the clouds,” to a scientist who prefers to tell us that rain was a product of well-known physical and climatic functions, and that, of course, rainbows “happen” when light and rain combine, etc?

Christian, just stay with the text, and with God who created all the “well-known physical and climatic functions.” If that sounds poetic and romantic and fantastic, why not? Our God is Beauty and Poetry and His creation mirrors His Person.