"Ageless" Earth - Ice Ages

Evidence of arctic life discovered in temperate or tropical areas has caused scientists to point to Ice Ages. Large surfaces of the earth were covered with ice sheets (large continental glaciers) during those time periods. An exhibit on the Ice Ages from the Illinois State Museum shows some interesting facts. On their Web site is the quote, “If a type of animal lives in a certain type of climate now, we may infer that its ancestors lived in that type of climate, too.”

Ice Ages occurred due to changing continental positions, uplift of continental blocks, reduction of CO2 in the atmosphere, and changes in the earth’s orbit during four approximate time intervals:

• Late Proterozoic (800 to 600 million years ago),

• Ordovician and Silurian (460 to 430 million years ago)

• Pennsylvanian and Permian (350 to 250 million years

ago)

• Neogene to Quaternary (4 million years ago to present)

 

The earth was frozen solid because God stopped the sun.

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

Genesis 1:1–2 kjv

I looked at the earth, and it was formless and empty; and at the heavens, and their light was gone.

Jeremiah 4:23 niv

In keeping with the gap theory, the earth was flooded during the destruction between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2. This explains why Genesis 1:2 says it was covered with water. The massive earthquakes could have resulted in tsunamis that submerged dry land. Like he did with the flood of Noah, God could have also caused the underwater springs to burst forth. In Job 9:1–7, God practically turned mountains upside down and shook the earth out of place. The heavens and earth as they now appear were restored in Genesis 1:2.

Place your focus on the way the Bible describes the beginning of creation. Did you notice the statement “the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters”? In other words, is it outrageous to think that the earth was covered in water? Isn’t it clear that the earth was flooded? Yet, this is nothing like the flood of Noah because the heavens were also destroyed and there was no light. There was no sun, and since the sun provides light and heat, the water covering the earth had to be frozen solid. So when the Holy Spirit moved upon the face of the waters, he moved over solid ice. Did you notice that?

Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it? The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.

Job 38:29–30 kjv

The Ice Ages have been touted by scientists as historical facts but clearly have no place in the six thousand years that have passed since the process of creation was completed in Genesis 1. Maybe it’s just me, but as an intelligent Christian, I find no comfort in sticking my head in the sand like an ostrich, pretending not to notice scientific evidence. For that reason, if the entire earth was frozen at some point in history, shouldn’t there be some kind of biblical evidence?

According to Job 38:29–30, it’s quite likely that the waters of the earth were once frozen solid. The book of Job is by far the most scientific book in the Bible. As God declared his glory and authority in Job 38, he revealed some of the most intriguing mysteries of the universe. Could he have been speaking of the Ice Ages, or could he just have been speaking of the north and south poles? None of us were alive then, so we can only imagine.

 

Then Job answered and said, “I know it is so of a truth: but how should man be just with God? If he will contend with him, he cannot answer him one of a thousand. He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against him, and hath prospered? Which removeth the mountains, and they know not: which overturneth them in his anger. Which shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble. Which commandeth the sun, and it riseth not; and sealeth up the stars.”

Job 9:1–7 kjv

God stopped the sun, ending the source of energy and light. So the Ice Ages could fit into biblical history right there. Job could not have been talking about the flood of Noah because the sun never stopped shining. He could not have been talking about the future destruction of the earth because Peter clearly states that it will happen by fire, and Job would not have overlooked an important detail like that. He could not have been talking about any other major event in human history. There’s no trusted record of the entire sun and all the stars being extinguished simultaneously.

I’ve heard doubters attempt to construe that this is just a volcanic explosion and the volcanic ash blocked out the vision of the sun. Let’s assume it is, just to make a point. When did this super volcano explode? If any volcano in recorded history shook the entire earth out of its place, I haven’t heard of it. Obviously, this is describing a completely different incident in history that is consistent with the gap theory. God personally triggered a massive explosion that shook the mountains and turned them over in a rage. It also shook the earth, which completely agrees with the thoughts expressed in my first point based on Jeremiah 4:23–27.

The question is not whether or not natural phenomena can be used to explain these circumstances. The question is the magnitude. I wouldn’t be surprised that God used a natural disaster of biblical proportions to cause the destruction. Didn’t he create the heavens and the earth? Isn’t he the master of all of its processes? Then he can use whatever he wants to get the job done. Science shows a record of something happening, and the Bible supports that. If there was no sun, then there was no heat, so there was nothing to prevent an Ice Age from occurring. There’s also nothing like that recorded during the last six thousand years, so where is the confusion?