*

* Creation scientists have not settled on the exact layer that represents the end of the Flood. Some argue that the Flood extended into some of the Cenozoic layers.

The Geologic Column

Pre-Cambrian(Hadean: no life;

Archean: bacteria; Proterozoic:

microorganisms)

Paleozoic(Cambrian Explosion;

trilobites, corals, brachiopods,

amphibians, sharks, reptiles, etc.)

Mesozoic

(Dinosaurs, ammonites, pterosaurs, plesiosaurs,

ichthyosaurs, etc.)

4.3-6.3 TYA

(minus one year)

Cenozoic(Mammals, birds,

humans, etc.)

Present

Bib

lical

Flo

od (O

ne Y

ear)

Creation Week &

Pre-Flood

Post-Flood & Ice Age

Babel Dispersion to

Present

4.5-8.5 TYA

6-8TYA [MYA = Million Years Ago]

[TYA = Thousand Years Ago]

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHAT CREATURES were like before the Flood? Nobody knows for sure. Even though God made the basic kinds of life during Creation week, He built into their genes the abil-ity to make a lot of variety as they reproduced. For example, the variety that has been bred from the original dogs (“canids”) that God made likely includes more than just the vari-eties of domestic dogs (from toy poodles to Irish Wolfhounds). It probably includes the wolves, coy-otes, foxes, jackals, dingoes, and other canids. Because of the variety of animals we see today within each of the kinds God made, it’s hard to know what the original pair that Noah took on the ark looked like. It’s also true that the pre-Flood world “perished” in the Flood (2 Peter 3:6), making it hard to know what it was like. When we look at the fossil record, however, we can learn a lot about many of the types of life that existed before the Flood.

After all, a fossil is a “snap shot” of what a life form looked like or did at a certain time in the past.

Paleontologists (scientists who study fossils) divide the fossil record into four basic sections: Cenozoic fossils (the fossils found in the topmost layers of rock on the planet—formed most recently), Mesozoic fossils below the Cenozoic, Paleozoic fossils below the Mesozoic, and finally, the handful of fossils found below the Paleozoic fossils—Pre-Cambrian fossils (the oldest). While evolutionists would argue that the fossil record was formed over hundreds of mil-lions of years, the Bible teaches that the Earth is only a few thousand years old. Instead of a record of life and evolution over hundreds of millions of years, therefore, most of the fossil record is a record of death and God’s judg-ment in the one-year-long Flood. The fossil record is a worldwide graveyard.

• Creation paleontologists believe that Pre-Cambrian fossils are fossils that were formed from Creation week and the years that passed before the Flood.

• Paleozoic and Mesozoic fos-sils (and possibly some of the Cenozoic fossils) are believed to have been formed during the Flood a few thousand years ago.

• Many of the Cenozoic fossils probably formed after the Flood.

So, when we find fossils in the Paleozoic or Mesozoic rock layers, we are getting a glimpse of some of the amazing creatures that lived before the Flood and died in the Flood—many of which are now extinct.

When we look at the order of appearance of fos-sils, moving from deeper in the ground (Paleozoic) to shallower (Cenozoic), and how they are grouped, we see that the fossil record seems to record the progress of the Flood as it gradually destroyed the different areas creatures lived in (habitats) before the Flood. As we have explained in other issues of Discovery,

FLOODJEFF MILLER

EXPLAINS THE FOSSIL RECORD

THE Creation scientists today believe the Flood started at the base of the oceans when “all the fountains of the great deep were broken up” (Genesis 7:11), and eventually resulted in the flooding and destruction of the entire surface of the Earth. As we would expect, at the bottom of the Paleozoic layers (where the Flood began) the first creatures we see are ones that lived on the ocean floor (like arthropods and brachiopods), followed above those layers by creatures that swam in the sea (like cephalopods and fish). Amphibians (which can live in the water or on land) appear in the next layers (buried as the Flood moved towards the

coasts of continents), followed by reptiles (which live on land near water), then birds and mammals. Many of the larger mammals we see on the planet today, as well as humans, probably lived in one habi-tat together that was completely destroyed in the Flood, leaving behind very little fossil evidence in Flood layers. (They are found in the Cenozoic Layers, for the most part.) For the rest of this issue of Discovery, we will look at several of the inter-esting life forms that lived in the pre-Flood world that are found in these fossil layers.

Isn’t it amazing that science sup-ports Scripture so well? Sadly, in spite of the evidence, many “will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned aside to fables” (2 Timothy 4:4)—like evolution. But remember: the truth will always be made clear to those who are sincerely interested in finding it (Matthew 7:7-8). God expects us to “test all things” and “hold fast what is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

When we test the theories of evolutionists, looking at the physical evidence, we find that they cannot explain the evidence. Creation and the Flood, how-ever, fit the evidence and are powerful witnesses of the power of God.

Present

66 MYA

541 MYA

4,600MYA

EvolutionaryTimescale

Biblical Timescale

COLOR KEY:

Cenozoic fossilsMesozoic fossils

Paleozoic fossils

Pre-Cambrian fossils

ARTHROPOD FOSSIL

FISH FOSSIL

AMPHIBIAN FOSSIL

MAMMAL FOSSIL

(general characteristics)

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JEFF MILLERTHE FLOOD

CREATURES BEFORE

LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT SOME OF THE COOL CREATURES THAT GOD MADE THAT LIVED BEFORE THE FLOOD. REMEMBER THAT WHEN THE FLOOD BEGAN, THE FIRST CREATURES TO HAVE BEEN KILLED AND BURIED WERE THOSE THAT lived on the ocean floors. Invertebrates (creatures without a backbone) make up over 99.9% of the fossil record, in large part, due to the huge number of pre-Flood ocean floor creatures that were buried in the Flood.

At first glance, you might assume that brachiopods [BRAK-ee-oh-pods] are just clams, since they have two “shells” (valves) and a hinge that allows the shells to close and protect their soft insides. Upon a closer look, however, brachiopods do not have the same shape, symmetry, or inner makeup as clams. Brachio-pods still exist today (they are “extant”), but they are rarely seen (being on the ocean floor, mostly) and not as common as they were in the pre-Flood world.

Also found on the ocean floor in the pre-Flood world were arthropods like some varieties of the extinct trilobite. Trilobites are among the very

first creatures to appear in the fossil record, but are considered extremely complex among the invertebrates—disproving what evolution would predict. According to evolution, the creatures that appear early in the fossil record should be very simple, not complex. Trilobites were usually around one to four inches long, but some were over 12 inches long!

COLOR KEY:

Cenozoic fossils

Mesozoic fossils

Paleozoic fossils

Pre-Cambrian fossils

BRACHIOPODS

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ARTHROPODSWikipedia.org (Vassil)

2019 CC-by-sa-3.0

Moving higher in the fossil record, we find the pre-Flood creatures that swam in the ocean, such as cephalopods [SEF-uh-luh-pods].

Ammonites are now extinct, but swam in the oceans of the pre-Flood world as well. They had a spiral shell.

AMMONITES

NAUTILOIDSCEPHALOPOD ORTHOCERAS

CEPHALOPODS

Nautiloids are cephalopods that are basically squids in a shell. The few surviving species look essentially the same

as those in the fossil record (disproving evolution predictions again). A huge number of nautiloids were buried at the Grand Canyon during the Flood.

As would be expected, marine fish, such as Dunkleosteus [DUNK-lee-OH-stee-us], were buried in the Flood alongside the cephalopods. One species grew to be about 20 feet long and weighed one ton!

FISH

BUGS

As creepy as it may sound, Arthropleura was an extinct giant millipede arthropod from the pre-Flood world. If it was a land creature, it was the largest known land invertebrate of all time, able to grow over eight feet long!

ATHROPLEURA

Meganeura is extinct as well (thankfully!), but was basically a huge dragonfly-like insect with a wingspan that was over two feet

long! Modern dragonflies have a wingspan of about two to five inches.

AMPHIBIANS

MEGANEURA

As the Flood began to reach the coasts, amphibians were killed and buried, since they live both in water and on land. Ichthyostega [IK-thee-AH-stuh-guh] was

about five feet long, thought to be an amphibian, and is considered to be one of the first vertebrates in the fossil record that has four limbs.

Dimetrodon [die-MEH-truh-don] is a popular creature from the pre-Flood world. Although many call it a dinosaur, scientists believe it to be neither a reptile nor a mam-mal, but among another extinct group of creatures called cynodonts.

REPTILES

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2019 CC-by-sa-3.0

CYNODONTS [SIE-nuh-donts]

You are probably most familiar with the reptilian creatures of the pre-Flood world, like the dinosaurs, ptero-saurs (flying reptiles), and the marine reptiles like plesiosaurs and ichthyosaurs—especially since we discuss dinosaurs so much in Discovery. But don’t forget the largest known crocodile from the pre-Flood world: Sarcosu-chus [SAR-koh-SOO-kis] imperator. While larger crocs today can be over 20 feet long, Sarcosuchus could grow to be closer to 40 feet and weigh 17,500 pounds!

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P U P P I U X B U N D S N A E J CH A O S K I B P O I L W M J V Q RO A L Y V E P Z V J P X T T O C EJ M Y E F Q U J T F N X A H L E AU P S W O Y W S D M A X L I U N TX H T H W N B Q F D J U H D T O IE I R V O B T A S Y C F V M I Z OP B A B E R U O H C F Y B V O O NQ I T Q N N T T L D W H S S N I PG A E M H A Q U Y O G S D O I C AA N F K A U T K I B G M M R S F LB S O T Y T K H N Q T I M U T O EO R S Q V I Y A V T Z C S F S S OB B S J D L S G E M A R L T X S NE Z I I F O G E R W L O C Q S I TX I L A L I P U T M C F U L Z L OT I S H S D B X E H K O Z O B S LA I X D K S Z I B B L S Z P M Q ON E P X G R Z T R N D S A H S H GT I N K A R T R A T D I H K F E IW F Q Y Q J M K T I W L T C X D SQ U Y H Z R L I E W A S V E L M TR V C Q R B C H S T H Q A N F M S

Pages

Match, FInd, and CIrcle

Dear Digger Doug,Are there fossilized plants from the Flood?

Dear reader,Great question! There are lots of plants in

the Flood layers of the fossil record—from polystrate plant fossils (fossils that span more than one stratum), like calamites and tree logs, to petrified angiosperm trees (trees that produce flowers) and petrified gymnosperm trees (trees that produce seeds, but no flow-ers). An example that might be very helpful for you to know about if you travel to Arizona and go to Petrified Forest National Park would be Araucarioxylon arizonicum. Don’t even try to say it! What you need to know is that the petrified logs at Petrified Forest are thought to be a type of conifer tree (like pine trees or cypress trees) that could grow to be 200 feet tall and have a diameter of three to four feet! These trees were probably torn up, buried, and fossilized due to Flood activity (which included a lot of volcanic eruptions, based upon the volcanic ash in the rock layers of those logs). It is possible that they floated in by a huge Flood mudslide to the Petrified Forest where they now sit. I don’t know about you, but I’m glad I wasn’t alive to see that happen!

ActIvIty

1. _____ Scientists who study fossils2. _____ The fossils found in the topmost

layers of rock on the planet3. _____ Believe that Pre-Cambrian fossils

are fossils that were formed from Creation week and the years that passed before the Flood

4. _____ Wrongly believe the fossil record was formed over hundreds of millions of years

5. _____ Can live in the water or on land6. _____ Creatures without a backbone7. _____ Meaning “still in existence today”8. _____ Cephalopods that are (basically)

squids in a shell9. _____ Fossils that span more than one

stratum of rock10. ____ Fossils that can only be studied

with microscopes

True or False

1. _____ The fossil record is a worldwide graveyard.

2. _____ Vertebrates make up over 99.9% of the fossil record.

3. _____ Catastrophic activity is responsible for the formation of fossils.

4. _____ Trilobites are extremely simple creatures, proving evolution to be true.

5. _____ Some fossils formed after the Flood from smaller scale catastrophic events.

6. _____ Most of the fossil record is a record of death and God’s judgment in the one-year-long Flood.

7. _____ Some dragonflies before the flood had wing-spans that were over two feet long.

8. _____ Creationists can logically explain the fossil record in a biblically consistent manner.

BIRDSAs you might expect, birds did not show up until high in the fossil record

when the Flood was already pouring over the continents. While most birds and mammals do not appear until the Cenozoic layers, there are exceptions. The first bird to show up is currently thought to be Archaeopteryx (which we have studied before in Discovery).

MAMMALSVery few mammal fossils were preserved in the Flood rock layers,

which could mean they were killed last or totally destroyed by the Flood when the original continent broke up and its pieces began moving and

sinking. Repenomamus [ruh-PEN-uh-mah-miss] is extinct, but its fossils are some of the few mammal fossils that survived the Flood. It grew to be over three feet long and is pretty popular, because one of its fossils proves that its last meal was a small dinosaur! (Psittacosaurus)

Imagine what it would have been like to live with some of these creatures, just like Noah’s family and millions of others did. Would you try to pet one or run from it? Would you have obeyed God by having dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the Earth” (Genesis 1:28), as He commanded mankind in the beginning?

REPENOMAMUSPetrified log at

the Petrified Forest National Park

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A. EvolutionistsB. AmphibiansC. NautiloidsD. MicrofossilsE. Paleontologists

F. Polystrate fossilsG. Creation paleontologistsH. Cenozoic fossilsI. Invertebrates J. Extant

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Fossils That Formed Before the Flood

MATCH, FIND, AND CIRCLE: 1. E (Paleontologists); 2. H (Cenozoic fossils); 3. G (Creation paleontologists); 4. A (Evolutionists); 5. B (Amphibians); 6. I (Invertebrates); 7. J (Extant); 8. C (Nautiloids); 9. F (Polystrate fossils); 10. D (Microfossils).

TRUE OR FALSE: 1. T; 2. F; 3. T; 4. F; 5. T; 6. T; 7. T; 8. T.

PUPPIUXBUNDSNAEJCHAOSKIBPOILWMJVQROALYVEPZVJPXTTOCEJMYEFQUJTFNXAHLEAUPSWOYWSDMAXLIUNTXHTHWNBQFDJUHDTOIEIRVOBTASYCFVMIZOPBABERUOHCFYBVOONQITQNNTTLDWHSSNIPGAEMHAQUYOGSDOICAANFKAUTKIBGMMRSFLBSOTYTKHNQTIMUTOEORSQVIYAVTZCSFSSOBBSJDLSGEMARLTXSNEZIIFOGERWLOCQSITXILALIPUTMCFULZLOTISHSDBXEHKOZOBSLAIXDKSZIBBLSZPMQONEPXGRZTRNDSAHSHGTINKARTRATDIHKFEIWFQYQJMKTIWLTCXDSQUYHZRLIEWASVELMTRVCQRBCHSTHQANFMS

CATASTROPHIC ACTIVITY IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE FORMATION OF FOSSILS. THEREFORE, MOST OF THE FOSSILS ON THE PLANET WERE FORMED BY THE WORLDWIDE, CATASTROPHIC FLOOD of the Bible. Some formed after the Flood from smaller scale catastrophic events. Fossils formed before the Flood (many of the Pre-Cambrian fossils) are thought by Creation scien-tists to have been formed during Creation week and the years between Creation and the Flood. A few species are found in the Pre-Cambrian strata (for example, the trilobite-like Spriggina, the slug-like Kimberella, and the plant-like Charniodiscus) that are thought by

Creation scientists to be from the Flood. But hardly any pre-Flood fossils remain. Most were probably destroyed when the Flood began. The highest rock layers of the pre-Flood world (where most pre-Flood fossils would have been buried) were apparently completely destroyed in the Flood. There are a few fossils left, though, such as algae and protists. Let’s look at a couple others:

JEFF MILLER

Catastrophic activity:

actions that cause sudden, great damage on the Earth

STROMATOLITESStromatolites are layers of rock that are

thought to have been formed from commu-nities of tiny microorganisms. While today they grow to be roughly three feet in diam-eter, during the pre-Flood time period, they grew to be miles in diameter.

MICROFOSSILSMicrofossils (fossils that can only be

studied with microscopes) of cyano-bacteria have been found, which are responsible for many of the pre-Flood stromatolites. Many other kinds of bacteria fossils are also found in the oldest rocks.

What was the world like before the Flood? Not much is known since the Flood was so destructive. God only left us a few clues. We know one thing, though: when humanity turns its back on God like the people of Noah's world did, the toler-ance of God eventually “runs out” and His judgment follows. Let’s be sure to obey God and tell others how to do so, too!

96 Discovery • December 2019 DiscoveryMagazine.com