Comet Ison approaching the Sun---NASA
What was Comet Ison all about?
Comet Ison
put on quite a show before it disintegrated as a result of its close pass
around the sun. In the December 4, 2013
issue of NASA Science News Karl
Battams of NASA says, “rather than mourn what we have lost, we should perhaps
rejoice in what we have gained – some of the finest data in the history of
cometary astronomy.” Ison dramatically
demonstrated the fact that we live in a cosmic shooting gallery. It is interesting to note that a growing
number of astronomers have been looking at the Bible for accounts of cometary
impact and in the last decade
scientific evidence for the Earth having experienced cosmic impacts during
Biblical times is being found. This
evidence includes impact craters and geological materials produced by the
extremely high temperature associated with impact.
Furthermore,
as we learn more about comets, we are discovering that not only does the Bible
contain accounts of cometary caused catastrophes but the Bible also contains
scientifically sound information about comets ranging from their origin,
composition, behavior and what happens during and after various types of
impacts. For example, when the media
reported about Comet Ison’s outgassing, long tail and told about Comet Ison
coming in from the Oort cloud, a reservoir of comets at the end of our solar
system; we now know that information about comets outgassing and the reservoir
of comets at the end of our solar system is contained in the Bible.
Actually
there are many other things scientists have recently learned about comets that
have also been correctly written about in the Bible. For instance the Bible recognized that comets
have “mouths” or “vents” in their crust through which they outgas long before
astronomers observed Comet Halley outgassing through vents for themselves. Also NASA was excited to discover Comet
Hartley II spewing deadly cyanide gas and that its core is surrounded by hailstones
weighing upwards of 100 pounds. Few have recognized that the Bible describes how
comets can produce poisonous gases and vent hailstones weighing upwards of 100
pounds (Revelation 16:21). In the last
20 years or so scientists have learned that comets were the main source of the
water in the Earth’s oceans by comparing the chemical fingerprint of the water
in the ocean to the chemical fingerprint of the water in a certain class of
comets. Amazingly enough, the Bible
refers to comets as the “sources of the great deep” and the “water jars of the
heavens.”
Only after
scientists witnessed the details of nuclear explosions did they learn of the
thermal pulse, fierce winds, atmospheric roll back, towering mushroom clouds
and sky blackening dust that such massive explosions can produce. Subsequently it became easier for scientists
to recognize that comet impacts which can release energy that is tens of
thousands times greater than that released by nuclear explosions, can produce
the same types of phenomena as nuclear explosions. Yet few people are aware that the Bible tells of these same phenomena
when it describes comet impacts.
Until recently, the time
period between successive comet impacts of the Earth was believed to involve
very long periods of time, but in July of 1994 over the course of just a week
millions of TV viewers watched 21 separate large fragments (mini comets) from
the breakup of Comet Shoemaker-9 hit the surface of Jupiter. We now had proof and an explanation of how cometary
bombardment can involve multiple impacts during a relatively short period of
time. Thus, it is interesting to note
that the Bible in the Book of Revelation prophesies a series of seven separate
cometary impact events to occur over just a three and a half year period during
the end times. What was once thought to
be impossible in terms of frequency of impacts is now understood, especially if
a large comet would break up into a number of pieces while approaching the
Earth. The seven impact events
prophesied in the Book of Revelation are to involve impacts that occur in the
atmosphere, on the land and in the sea.
The after impact effects of
these impacts are to include massive earthquakes, tsunamis, blackened skies,
100 pound hailstones, poisoned waters, and skin diseases. (See http://blogs.christianpost.com/comets-of-god/is-there-scientific-support-for-the-seven-trumpets-of-the-book-of-revelation-11018/ ). Or see July 29, 2012 in Blog Archive here.
In the Bible
and in the ancient records of the Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians, and
Assyrians comets were referred to as a “stars” (hairy stars) and as part of the
“host of heaven” (Deuteronomy 4:19). The
Bible also refers to comets as God’s “mighty ones,” “weapons of wrath” and
“ministers of flaming fire.” The Bible
tells how God controls comets and brings them in from the reservoir of comets
at the end of the solar system (Job 38:22-23 NIV) for correction and
judgment. The Bible has even prophesied
that man’s response to comets or asteroids found on a collision course with the
Earth will include efforts to shoot them down.
Comet Ison has come and
gone. Surely there will be other comets for us to observe and gain more
information about the universe we live in. To learn more about comets,
and what happens after impacts it would a good idea to get a head start by
picking up the number one bestselling book on the planet – the Bible.
About
the author:
An archeologist and a geologist, Dr.
Goodman has devoted over twenty-five years to the study of the Bible. He holds
a geological engineering degree from the Colorado School of Mines, a M.A. in
anthropology from the University of Arizona, and a Ph.D. in anthropology from
California Coast University. He also earned a M.B.A. from Columbia University
Graduate School of Business. He was accredited by the former Society of
Professional Archeologists. Goodman is a Messianic Jew who was saved in 1987.
