Many years ago, the fossil of a fish was found on a shore of the Indian Ocean. It was an unusual fish with a hollow spine and some fins attached to its body by “stubs.” It was given the name coelacanth. After much study, scientists decided that this type of fish had been extinct for 70 million years. They thought that its strange fins showed it was about to change to a land animal with arms and legs. No one thought anything resembling this was still alive, but they thought that it had evolved into other creatures long ago.
Imagine the embarrassment of these “experts” when, in 1938, a live coelacanth was caught off the coast of South Africa, and plenty more have been seen since. All theories about this “extinct” fish were shown to be wrong. When examined, it had not evolved but was as God made it originally.
The coelacanth is an unusual fish. There are two species of them, and the first one discovered was in the West Indian Ocean. Very large, it was a beautiful blue color with white flecks and an iridescent sheen. It has unusually heavy scales and eight fins, four of which are something like our limbs and are what confused the scientists. Living in deep water, it was created with large eyes that see well in the dark. Instead of a backbone, it has something called a notochord, a hollow tube filled with oil, running down the center of its body, which helps give it buoyancy in deep water. It has the smallest brain known to any vertebrate. A special joint in its head and a special muscle under its upper jaw give it extra biting power.
Coelacanths are thought to live around 100 years. They grow slowly, not reaching maturity until they are about 55 years old. Coelacanths have the longest gestation period (pregnancy) known to any animal ... five years! Instead of laying eggs, coelacanth mothers give birth to 8 to 26 live young that are over a foot long at birth. Because they mature so slowly and have such long pregnancies and so few offspring compared to other fish, the coelacanth is a very rare fish.
A very important lesson we can learn from the story of this fish is that we can always trust the Bible, the Word of God, in everything it tells us. We should reject the wrong teaching of evolution, which denies God’s hand in creation. Those who teach it usually don’t mention that evolution is only a theory based on ideas and not on facts. Since they cannot prove those ideas scientifically or in any way, it is clear that Satan is using evolution to try to take away the knowledge that God is the Creator. Something as simple as a spoon shows the work of someone who created it ... how much more does God’s wonderful creation!
Did You Know?
Coelacanths do not reach maturity until about 55 years old.
Messages of God’s Love 8/18/2024