As has been put forth in the preceding articles, the approximately forty men who wrote the writings that comprise the Bible claimed an all-powerful and all-knowing God gave unto them the very words that they wrote. Thus, it would stand to reason that if this were so, those writings would contain knowledge beyond what one living in their day and time would know. As this exploration into the inspiration of the Bible continues, we will examine in this article the fact that contained within its writings are many scientific statements penned long before they could have possibly been discovered by the individuals at the time of its writing due to either a lack of exploration into the far reaches of our world and solar system; or due to a lack of having the advanced scientific equipment to perceive it.
The first individual recorded to put forth the notion within the scientific community that the earth is not flat but rather a sphere was the Greek philosopher Pythagoras in the 6th century BCE. However, he is not the first to write such a bold proclamation. Both Solomon (in Proverbs 8:27) and Isaiah (in Isaiah 40:22) wrote of the earth being a circle. They penned this when every civilized culture of the world thought it to be flat and when every man of intelligence claimed with infallible certainty that it could not be otherwise.
Long before the first telescope was invented in 1608 and mankind gained the ability to peer into the heavens beyond the reach of their naked eye, we find written in Job 26:7 that one could read of the empty space which the northern sky is stretched upon. This great expanse of the night sky with its brilliant cluster of constellations is hung on nothing but empty space. Likewise, in this same passage, it is written that the earth itself was supported by nothing. This truth was written when the entirety of the world’s cultures believed that some physical support existed that held the earth afloat and in place. It was some 3000 years later that Sir Isaac Newton would present the concept of this force imperceivable to the human senses, which holds all the celestial bodies in their place…gravity. There is no way that the author of Job could have conceived of this truth, which was counter to the universal thought of his day with no equipment to perceive it unless the divine creator of this invisible force revealed it to him. Another interesting statement concerning the night sky was made approximately 2600 years before the invention of the telescope. As we continue to create more and more powerful telescopes and peer further and further into the endless expanse, the great minds of astronomy have come to realize what was stated in Jeremiah so long ago “the host of heaven cannot be numbered” (Jeremiah 33:22).
While Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Edison discovered that static electricity could be formed by condensing water, this fact was already at work in nature although those of past ages did not understand what was the cause of the lighting they observed. Yet long before the scientific equipment was available to make such a discovery, Jeremiah 10:13 speaks of the water vapor cycle as well as alludes to the fact that rain (the water in the air) causes lighting. In a similar fashion, we find this expressed in Psalm 135:7 as well. Regarding the water vapor cycle, ancient man failed to fully comprehend how the processes worked and why the great oceans and seas never seemed to run empty. In the modern age, we have been able to craft equipment that has allowed us to fully understand the cycle by which the earth continues to maintain its level of water. Solomon somehow obtained this knowledge without the benefit of these modern devices. In Ecclesiastes 1:7, it is written, “All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full unto the place from whence the rivers come thither they return again.” How could Solomon have such advanced scientific knowledge unless it was revealed to him by the divine mind that fashioned it all?
David, in Psalms 8:8, referred to the paths (or currents) of the sea. Many years later, Matthew Fontaine Maury, being a professional ship captain, listened to his son read this passage. His belief in the inspired word was such that if the Bible said they existed, then he was certain that they did and set out to discover them. A few years later, he was credited with the first discovery of these ocean currents. His work gained him international recognition and is contained in his 1847 publication, Wind and Current Chart of the North Atlantic.
What is presented here is just a minute brief example of the numerous statements found within the Biblical text that state scientific facts long before the capability to discern them and hopefully serve to illustrate the point that only divine inspiration can account for them. If you have an interest in examining the fuller scope of such examples, I encourage you to visit apologeticspress.org, where you can find a wealth of books on this topic, as well as many others. In addition, beginning in the new year, I will be exploring how we can know there is a God on the radio broadcast ‘Cogitations,’ which airs every Sunday morning at 9 am on 106.1 FLIP FM. During this series, I will discuss similar examples in different formats.
Come back for the next article, which will turn its focus toward the many prophecies recorded in the Bible and how they also support the divine inspiration of the Bible.
(Carl Hartman is the Minister at Main Street Church of Christ in Lockney)
