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What has red eyes, a head like a camel's, three humps and fins? Well, although skeptics will say nothing, Dr. Paul LeBlond a respected oceanographer at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver says - a SEA MONSTER! Yes, that's right a SEA MONSTER. Today humanistic anthropologists, psychiatrists and other students of human behavior are quick to dispel reports of monsters - either terrestrial or aquatic. Yet, history abounds with reports from all over the world, that men have sighted unexplainable incredible creatures swimming in the seas and lakes of the world. Perhaps the most celebrated sea monster of all is the LOCH-NESS monster of Scotland, affectionately called NESSIE. However, apart from this case, there are many other reports that simply cannot be ignored.
Since man first plowed the seas, tales have come back of horrifying creatures encountered out on the deep. Sailors have long ago called these - "tales of the sea". Now, most reports of sighted unknown creatures are usually accompanied and colored by faulty observations, exaggeration and even at times a touch of poetic fancy. However, collecting the many stories of reported sighting of SEA MONSTERS, the fact remains, the raw materials, the observed phenomena cannot be brushed aside! Permit me to give you a short scenario of sightings. Going back to the year 1734, a Norwegian missionary named Hans Egede took a voyage to Greenland. Here's his undenied report,
" on the 6th of July 1734 there appeared a very terrible sea-animal which raised itself above the water. It's head seemed to reach the maintop. It had a long sharp snout, it blew like a whale, had broad large flappers and the body was, as it were, covered with a hard skin, very wrinkled. Moreover, the lower part was snakelike. When it submerged it raised its tail above the water, a whole ship length from its body." 1
Now most of us today would scoff at this and called it old sea tales. However sightings such as this, by reputable people, are incredibly long. Bernard Heuvelman's book "IN THE WAKE OF SEA-SERPENTS" lists more than 500 recorded sightings of monsters of the seas, by sailors, scientists and lay-persons around the world. In fact, it seems these gigantic scary creatures have surfaced all around the globe. For instance, from Lake Champlain, in Maryland to Lake Simcoe, Toronto, From Lake Manipogo, Manitoba, To the Chesapeake Bay, From Lake Payette, Idaho, even in the White River of Arkansas, and of course from the Pacific ocean, to the Atlantic - all over the world, sightings of SEA-LIKE MONSTERS are documented down through the years. Perhaps the most impressive reports are the recent sightings. Here's an example.
At daybreak in January 1984, Jim Thompson a mechanical engineer from Bellingham, Washington was fishing for Chinook Salmon, off the Spanish Banks, about five miles from Vancouver, B.C. All of a sudden he reports a sea-like animal surfaced 200 feet away from him. It was some 20 feet long, and at least two feet wide. Thompson further said it had a,
"whitish-tan throat, bumps like giraffe horns, large floppy ears and a some what, pointed black snout. The shyly curious animal seemed surprised at seeing me. It quickly headed out to sea swimming efficiently by up and down wriggling. "2
Perhaps the most astounding case reported, came in Japanese waters back in 1977. A fishing trawler netted a huge heavy catch. When the fishermen brought it aboard, they saw the badly decomposed body of a strange unidentified gigantic sea creature. Its long neck dangled when they hung it up. This was no figment of their imagination. This decomposing sea creature's body weighed in at 4000 pounds. Upon careful observation, it was definitely not a fish, nor a whale nor any other recognizable creature. The captain of the ZUIYO MARU took pictures one of which I have before me now as I speak top you, and without a doubt it really looks like a snake-like SEA MONSTER. The captain said it measured 32 feet long! Flesh samples were taken along with full color pictures. When he returned to shore, the captain developed the pictures and brought the findings to marine scientists. After they scoured over the information and photos of the remains, the scientists were truly baffled. This creature was totally unknown and could not be classified.
However in piecing together the story and the clipped samples of dead flesh brought back , Japanese scientists concluded the creature was perhaps closest to the large land dinosaur the PLESIOSAUR, evolutionists claim became extinct some 70 million years ago! Amazing isn't it? Now can we just "brush of" these claims of SEA MONSTERS? Or must we face the fact that deep in the dark depths of the seas and almost bottomless lakes of the world, lie unexplainable windows into our past? Dr. Paul LeBlond a Crypto-Zoologist, that is a field of study of unknown or hidden animals, says
In short, we must conclude that the waters of the earth, do hold many mysteries of life, that perhaps we thought were extinct. Now what does the Bible say? Can we explain huge gigantic sea monsters? Are they real? The answer is yes! Now today there are credible scientists called Creationists, who believe that terrestrial and aquatic giant creatures once roamed the earth in abundance. These "monsters" as we call them did not evolve over millions of years as some scientists would like us to believe. Rather, the Bible says they were distinctly "created" by God! How long ago? Well no one really knows, but the Bible seems to imply that it may be no longer than 10,000 years ago! Sound amazing? Listen to God's record found in,
Genesis 1:20,24-25 " And God said, Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the water teems, according to their kinds...God blessed them and said:' be fruitful and increase in number and fill the waters in the seas...and God saw that it was good."
Now no one today denies that large gigantic land creatures, now extinct, once roamed the surface of our earth. We call them DINOSAURS. They came in various types - little ones, big ones, gigantic ones, now some were plant eaters, others meat eaters, some were armored, some spiked, some long necked, others short necked - but all of them were mammals, we call dinosaurs. By the way the word dinosaur means "TERRIBLE LIZARD". Although no one knows what happened to these terrestrial monsters, some things we do know. First of all, there were once millions of them on the earth. In fact fossil records of their abundant existence are found all across the globe. The second thing we know from the fossil record is this, they all died in a relatively short period of time thereafter. In fact, the fossil record is a record of death, a record of catastrophic, of sudden death on a worldwide scale! Such a record of course, would never be admitted by evolutionists.
For things to evolve they must have huge lengths of undisturbed time. Uniformatarianism is the belief that all things continue as they were, and no catastrophic sudden disturbance can be permitted. If such catastrophe occurred on a global scale, evolution could never have happened. However the Bible offers us a plausible solution. In Genesis chapters 5-8, God tells us that a worldwide- global supernatural catastrophe hit this planet. In fact God tells us He Himself caused it! In a worldwide judgment against the wickedness of mankind - God sent a global flood of waters that covered the entire earth. Now Creation scientists believe it was at this time, all the huge gigantic land creatures we call dinosaurs, were abundantly wiped out, save those that went into Noah's Ark. In God's plan to save selected creatures, obviously every variety of species of life did not make it on the huge ship Noah built. It is reasonable to conclude that God may have planned the extinction of some of His earlier creatures.
As the world was engulfed in sin, and much of it had taken its toll, the Dinosaurs may have presented a problem. In obedience they had multiplied to the place where they perhaps had become a great threat to humanity. Just think, meat eating dinosaurs probably multiplied abundantly, being without a predator. They surely hungrily trampled under foot the colonies of men. Perhaps human life was lived on the edge of terror, and as these wild beasts ate every living thing in their paths, this surely was a detriment to mankind's growth. In order for man to begin again after the Flood, it is my belief the ark carried only one pair of the species of gigantic monsters we call dinosaurs. Following the Flood, with the new environment, I believe in time their extinction was planned by God. I further believe the Flood was God's way for the timely removal of the millions who overpopulated the earth.
Well, the Bible affirms the flood killed every living creature that roamed the surface of the earth, save the eight human souls and the selected creatures, safely housed in Noah's ark. But, now let's really speculate. Everything that lived in the sea was in effect unharmed by the flood waters that covered the face of the earth. Since God made huge monster-like land creatures, even to this day, we know the sea holds huge creatures too. It is reasonable to conclude that the whales, sharks, giant squids and other gigantic creatures are in effect survivors of the Pre-Noahic world. Apparently God felt that being confined to the sea, they would not be a threat to humanity in repopulating the world. In,
Genesis 1:20 (NIV) "And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.""
We must remember it says, God created these great creatures of the sea. This phrase living creatures surely applies to the large variety of gigantic fish and water mammals. Therefore, the sea monsters sighted in the Pacific, the Atlantic, and even the fresh water lakes of the world, are probably the ancestors of the Pre-Noahic Flood days. So likely for the past 6000 years or so, since that earthly historic moment - These creatures have lived and survived in the quiet, generally undisturbed waters of the earth. So I say, to scoff at the idea of sea monsters is foolish indeed. These elusive water beasts are indeed species of the myriad creatures God created and said,
Genesis 1:31 (NIV) "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning--the sixth day."
Now what is the point of all this? Can we conclude that the LOCH NESS MONSTER IS REAL? Is the creature called "CHAMPS" of LAKE CHAMPLAIN REAL? IS "CHESSIE" OF THE CHESAPEAKE BAY, MARYLAND REAL? IS OLD "WHITEY" OF THE WHITE RIVER IN ARKANSAS REAL? IS "SLIMY SLIM" OF PAYETTE LAKE, IDAHO REAL? The answer must mostly be yes! These SEA MONSTERS are but the evidence of the Omnipotent Creator God, revealed to us in the Judeo-Christian Scriptures. May I affirm? The Bible says when man became conscious of the need to know his origins, all he needed to do was to just look about at his environment around him (Romans 1:20).
Romans 1:20 (NIV) "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."
In fact, when we see the great variety of creatures aquatic, or terrestrial - it should cause us, God says, to cry out to the God who created us thanking Him for His great love and care. However, the Bible also says that mankind in its conception sinned, and you and I today are the result of a humanity that became corrupt. Our Persian Gulf war with Iraq clearly revealed this fact, as do the wars in the Balkans today. Man cannot live in lasting peace, ever, unless God Himself intervenes to bring His peace. So SEA MONSTERS are just another means whereby God says as we look around our world, and see the creative signature of God, we are without excuse, not to recognize and worship Him! No creatures so exquisite, so varied and graceful as the variety of life we know today - could have ever evolved. If so, how is it these huge SEA DINOSAURS or CREATURES may be still with us today? How is it the horseshoe crabs, whose fossil are found and supposedly dated millions of years old, totally resemble today's living creatures? How is it that common Sand Dollar fossils, as compared to one found some years ago - are absolutely identical! Is the origin of life explained by evolution! Hogwash and poppycock! To believe such a preposterous, godless explanation of origins, is just another way to explain away God's sovereign right to claim us as His creatures.
I say today my friend - look around and see the handiwork of God. The signature of the infinite Creator who calls all men to turn from a godless existence, to trust in and reply upon His Word and revelation to man. Yes my friend the Bible is God's communication and revelation, that tells us how to know, and to meet and commune with our Creature. What a marvelous story. The creature returning to His Creator. Yes friend, the Bible says, this alone can be done through one mediator Jesus Christ. Say friend have you found Christ? Have you found Him to be the very God who created you? Have you bowed in surrender, the very ownership of your life to Him? Have you thanked Him for creating you? The Bible says, as the day of judgment that once, in the historic past scarred the earth with a flood of water, is coming again by fire, we can be sure it will scour the earth of all who refuse to bow the knee and heart to receive Jesus Christ as their Lord God and Savior. Today friend Sea Monsters and all, may the truthfulness of these things draw you to consider the claims of the Christian faith and its God Jesus Christ. May a searching of God's Word for answers to the unexplained mysteries of our world - draw you to find your God and Creator personally. For when you do, the joy and reality of all life will become most precious to you.
Whether there be land-based dinosaurs, or gigantic aquatic creatures - they all are the magnificent creation of a great and awesome God. But Remember friend, God's greatest creation still is man. God made you and me in His very image? A thinking, reasoning, creature - able to love, to feel emotions, and free to choose to do experience all of them at will. Remember my friend so is God. He is a thinking reasoning being, able to feel all emotions in a totally righteous way. And we know that because of this God truly loves a lost world. To prove it He sent His Son to redeem and bring back straying sinning humanity. Yet, we are warned in Scripture, God is a just and holy God who will by no means clear the guilty. He has prepared a day of judgment to come, and it will again fall upon a whole world. Say, will you be part of the judged, or will you be acquitted? All those who receive Christ in this life only, God's pardon from sins, becomes ours when we become a child of God through Jesus Christ. Now may God open your heart to receive Him now. Amen.
1 Richard Carrington, MERMAIDS AND MASTODONS, pp 23-24 2 MYSTERIES OF THE UNEXPLAINED, Reader's Digest Books 3 MYSTERIES OF THE UNEXPLAINED, Reader's Digest Books, pp 138-152
The World, the Word & You! Broadcast is a non-denominational ministry based on the historic fundamental evangelical interpretation of the Scriptures.A copy of our doctrinal statement is available upon request.These weekly radio commentaries can be heard in selected areas around the nation. Dennis Finnan has been the speaker for 16 years, and serves as General Director. These transcripts are available free of charge to all who desire them. Also available are radio cassette tapes and printed booklets of each message. A free listing of all messages is available upon request also.
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