The Sea of Galilee
by Owen Omid Borville
April 24, 2019
The Sea of Galilee (or Sea of Kinneret in modern Hebrew) is the site of many important Biblical events. A large portion of the ministry of Jesus Christ occurred on the shores of this body of water, including a post-Resurrection appearance, and this was the location where Jesus recruited four apostles.
The Sermon of the Mount given by Jesus was believed to have taken place on a hill overlooking this sea. Jesus also performed many miracles here, including: walking on water, calming the storm, the large catch of fish, and the feeding of the 5,000. The Sea of Galilee is also the lowest elevation freshwater lake in the world and the second lowest of all lakes. Today, the Sea of Galilee is a popular tourist tourist destination, but recently this body of water has been experiencing water loss due to dry climate conditions. Israeli engineers have been working to preserve the sea by adding water in order to replenish the sea level. In addition, while the area has experienced a strong drought, recent rains have helped replenish the sea as of March of 2019.
In 1986, an ancient boat was discovered on the northwest shore of the sea as water levels receded during the recent drought. The boat is believed to date to the first century A.D. and although the boat has not been confirmed to be associated directly with Jesus and his disciples, this boat is believed to be the same type that first century fishermen and mariners would have used. As some of Jesus' disciples were fishermen, the possibility exists that the boat could have been used by Jesus and the disciples. Prior to this discover, there were no similar artifacts known to exist and the only references to these types of boats came from from Roman authors, the Biblical scriptures, and historical artwork. Therefore, this discovery was important to provide a greater understanding of the life in the first century in this area in addition to providing a greater understanding of the Biblical history associated with Jesus and the disciples.
The mountains adjacent to the Sea of Galilee contain water gaps, where large surges of water carved deep gorges between the peaks of these mountains. These gorges and water gaps were likely carved by the receding floodwaters from the Genesis Flood within 5,000 years ago and later erosion after the Flood. This erosion could not have occurred over millions of years because this time scale would have eroded the mountains flat. Creationists believe that the erosional features that we see were carved by quick processes that occurred during a catastrophic event and not by gradual processes that have been occurring over long periods of time as mainstream scientists propose. The smooth, rounded surfaces of the adjacent mountains also show evidence of catastrophic erosion from the Genesis Flood. The flat, tabletop surface and steep cliffs of Mount Arbel in the lower Galilee area and the Jordan Rift Valley are also a catastrophic flood erosional remnant while the tectonic activity likely occurred during the breakup of the Earth's crust during the opening of springs or fountains of the deep mentioned in Genesis (7:11). While the mainstream naturalists and scientists see millions of years of slow, gradual erosion, according to "the present is key to the past" model, creationists see catastrophic flood erosion and tectonic forces that occurred at one time in the recent past, within the last 5,000 years.
by Owen Omid Borville
April 24, 2019
The Sea of Galilee (or Sea of Kinneret in modern Hebrew) is the site of many important Biblical events. A large portion of the ministry of Jesus Christ occurred on the shores of this body of water, including a post-Resurrection appearance, and this was the location where Jesus recruited four apostles.
The Sermon of the Mount given by Jesus was believed to have taken place on a hill overlooking this sea. Jesus also performed many miracles here, including: walking on water, calming the storm, the large catch of fish, and the feeding of the 5,000. The Sea of Galilee is also the lowest elevation freshwater lake in the world and the second lowest of all lakes. Today, the Sea of Galilee is a popular tourist tourist destination, but recently this body of water has been experiencing water loss due to dry climate conditions. Israeli engineers have been working to preserve the sea by adding water in order to replenish the sea level. In addition, while the area has experienced a strong drought, recent rains have helped replenish the sea as of March of 2019.
In 1986, an ancient boat was discovered on the northwest shore of the sea as water levels receded during the recent drought. The boat is believed to date to the first century A.D. and although the boat has not been confirmed to be associated directly with Jesus and his disciples, this boat is believed to be the same type that first century fishermen and mariners would have used. As some of Jesus' disciples were fishermen, the possibility exists that the boat could have been used by Jesus and the disciples. Prior to this discover, there were no similar artifacts known to exist and the only references to these types of boats came from from Roman authors, the Biblical scriptures, and historical artwork. Therefore, this discovery was important to provide a greater understanding of the life in the first century in this area in addition to providing a greater understanding of the Biblical history associated with Jesus and the disciples.
The mountains adjacent to the Sea of Galilee contain water gaps, where large surges of water carved deep gorges between the peaks of these mountains. These gorges and water gaps were likely carved by the receding floodwaters from the Genesis Flood within 5,000 years ago and later erosion after the Flood. This erosion could not have occurred over millions of years because this time scale would have eroded the mountains flat. Creationists believe that the erosional features that we see were carved by quick processes that occurred during a catastrophic event and not by gradual processes that have been occurring over long periods of time as mainstream scientists propose. The smooth, rounded surfaces of the adjacent mountains also show evidence of catastrophic erosion from the Genesis Flood. The flat, tabletop surface and steep cliffs of Mount Arbel in the lower Galilee area and the Jordan Rift Valley are also a catastrophic flood erosional remnant while the tectonic activity likely occurred during the breakup of the Earth's crust during the opening of springs or fountains of the deep mentioned in Genesis (7:11). While the mainstream naturalists and scientists see millions of years of slow, gradual erosion, according to "the present is key to the past" model, creationists see catastrophic flood erosion and tectonic forces that occurred at one time in the recent past, within the last 5,000 years.
