MEDIA ADVISORY, Dec. 13, 2010 /
Christian Newswire/ -- Archeologist and geologist Dr. Jeffrey Goodman has spent the last 20 years researching the Bible's stories of catastrophe. He traced the meaning of certain words in the Bible back to their usage in the ancient Near East. Goodman in his book "THE COMETS OF GOD" says when the correct definitions of key words are considered in light of recent astronomical knowledge, a large body of internally consistent and detailed scientific information about comets emerges from the pages of the Bible. For example, two of these key words are "star" and "host." To the ancient Hebrews and Greeks the word "star" was a non-specific term used to designate any of the luminous bodies seen in the heavens, including comets, meteors and planets. The word "host" or "host of heaven" was a reference to various objects in heaven and in particular comets. The Sumerians, Akkadians and Babylonians believed the objects of heaven, and most importantly comets were indwelt by a pantheon of gods which they feared and worshipped (Deuteronomy 4:19, 17:3 and Acts 7:42).
Goodman notes that the catastrophes described in the Bible's Book of Revelation are now being recognized by a growing number of astronomers and planetary scientists as descriptions of cometary impacts. For example, Dr. John S. Lewis, a recently retired Professor of Planetary Sciences at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, and Co-director of the NASA/University of Arizona Space Engineering Center comments in his 1997 book (pages 11-13), "Rain of Iron and Ice: The Very Real Threat of Comet and Asteroid Bombardment:"
". . . the description of future events in Revelation leans heavily upon the phenomenology of violent cosmic events . . . The central theme is clear and unambiguous: the events described in Revelation are of astronomical origin and describe real physical events, not mere portents or symbols. Did John (the author of the Book of Revelation) somehow know more about impact phenomena than any scientist before the present decade?"
Based on his studies, Goodman shows how the Bible gives important scientific information about comets in a great number of passages that Bible students have taken as symbolic or poetic. Goodman says the Bible contains a comprehensive textbook of detailed scientific information about comets recorded at least 1,500 years before the scientific community learned of this information. The instances of scientific "priority" about comets recorded in the Bible include:
• the different types of phenomena that can take place when a comet or asteroid impacts the land;
• how a comet can explode upon impacting the Earth's atmosphere;
• how a comet can cause a tsunami driven flood after hitting the ocean;
• how cometary bombardment of the Earth can involve multiple impacts during a relatively short period of time;
• that a reservoir of comets exists at the edge of our solar system, which astronomers call the Oort Cloud;
• that comets mainly consist of frozen water (ice) covered by a rocky crust;
• how comets were the main source of the water in the Earth's oceans;
• how comets are still a source of water for the Earth;
• how comets have "mouths" or vents in their crust through which they outgas;
• how cosmic impacts can introduce poisonous materials to the Earth;
• how comets can carry bacteria capable of causing disease;
• how the scientific response to comets or asteroids found on a collision course with Earth encompasses plans for shooting them down.
Based on these "Firsts," the Bible's credibility regarding comets and comet bombardment is established. These "Biblical Firsts" call for a review of the Bible's prophecies about future comet bombardments, and they provide scientific reasons to consider that the Bible's prophecies may be valid predictions about Earth's future. Added information is available at
www.thecometsofgod.com.
