Image credit: Xiaodong Wang
It was long believed that complex
lifeforms appeared during the Cambrian period; this event known as the Cambrian
explosion as complex lifeforms suddenly appear without any trace to any known
predecessors but an item from Live Science reports that recent fossil discoveries
in southwest China reveal that complex lifeforms appeared shortly before the Cambrian
explosion, at the end of the preceding period known as the Ediacaran period.
The fossils discovered in the Ediacaran layers and which are part of a collection known as the Jiangchuan Biota collection consisted of “bilateral worm-like animals that may have anchored themselves to the seafloor, early comb jellies, and relatives of starfish and sea cucumbers that likely used tentacles on their heads to catch food. Other fossils bore little resemblance to modern animals or to known Ediacaran or Cambrian species [1] Live Science reported.
The item went then went on to state:
The fossils from this site are mostly flat imprints of the organism on the surrounding rock, known as carbonaceous films. Unlike the three-dimensional imprints left by durable body parts, such as bones and shells, carbonaceous films capture some details of the organism's soft tissues, such as its gut and mouthparts. [2]
And then went on to mention something else to be taken account:
This less-common method of preservation might help to explain why scientists haven't found evidence of these more complex animals in the Cambrian until now.
“’Our results indicate that the apparent absence of these complex animal groups from other Ediacaran sites may reflect differences in preservation rather than true biological absence,’" study co-author Ross Anderson, a researcher who studies the evolution of complex life at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, said in the statement. "‘Carbonaceous compressions like those at Jiangchuan are rare in rocks of this age, meaning that similar communities may simply not have been preserved elsewhere.’" [3]
If the reason, as Anderson suggests, for the absence of complex biological life in the Ediacaran layers has nothing to do with them having being non-existent but with preservation conditions, then the same could be applied to any number of given fossils regardless of where they appear in the so-called geologic column.
Since the fossils of both the Ediacaran and Cambrian periods are those of soft bodied invertebrates, it would require rapid burial of these creatures in order for any traces of them to be preserved. If left to slow gradual processes, the remains of the creatures would either rot away, be destroyed by the elements, or eaten by scavengers which is why rapid burial is the best explanation for fossil preservation and especially that of soft tissue which can only take place during catastrophic events which is why the formation of most the fossil record is credited by creationists to a global catastrophic event known as the global flood that took place during the days of Noah (Gen. 6-8) but not only does fossil formation require rapid burial of remains, but it also requires other conditions as well and it appears that what conditions were met in some Ediacaran layers may not have been met in others and if that be true for the Ediacaran layers, then it may also hold true of the rest of the layers of the geologic column as well.
The preservation of invertebrates and any traces of soft-tissue for that matter is what could be expected if fossilization occurred rapidly and rapid burial would be consistent with a catastrophic event such as the flood of Noah which was not the result of happenstance but was an act of divine judgment which the Bible says that mankind had brought upon himself due to his wickedness (Gen. 6 ) which had reached a measure that was beyond any remedy other than judgment and just as the world faced judgment and destruction in the days of Noah due to the evil and wickedness of mankind, so it is also once again set to face judgment again due to mankind’s persistent and unrepentant pursuit of evil unless he repents of his evil, turns to his Maker, and resolves only to do that which is good and pleasing in the eyes of his Creator.
When God created the world, He created it to be a good place and everything in it to be good. There was no death, no evil, and no suffering; there was not anything in it that would give a cause for eventual judgment and destruction until the day that an astronomically consequential act of disobedience was committed by the first man Adam and the first woman Eve who was the wife of Adam when they had done something that they were warned of God not to do and that was the eating of a fruit from a certain tree called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, having been warned of God that in the day that they ate thereof, they would surely die. (Gen. 2:16-17, 3:3)
And instead of heeding that warning, they, at the behest of a lying spirit who came to them in the form of a serpent, ate of that fruit having been deceived by that lying voice into thinking that they would attain to better things than what they already had and that they would not die as they had been warned. (Gen. 3:4-5)
And when they ate of that forbidden fruit, instead of attaining to better things as that lying spirit told them, they were reduced to a lesser state (Gen. 3:7) and instead of avoiding the sentence of death as that lying voice falsely assured them, the sentence of death to which they eventually succumbed was pronounced upon them just as they had been warned (Gen. 3:19) but the consequences of the disobedience of Adam and Eve did not stop with them, for it was in that day when Adam and Eve ate of that forbidden fruit that sin entered into them and from them, the sin which entered into them and brought about their eventual deaths, was also passed down to all of mankind for all of us are descendants of that first man and that first woman and because we are their descendants, we have also inherited the sin that entered into them (Rom. 5:12) and because of that sin which we have inherited, we all sin in some form or fashion and as a consequence we all die for as it is written, the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23) but sin is not merely confined to outward behavior or performance or even the words we speak, but it is rather the inherent inward corruption of our very nature defiling our thoughts, hardening and darkening our hearts, and corrupting our very motives which is why it is written that we are not defiled from that which comes from without, but that which comes from within (Mt. 15:11, 18-20) and which is why it is written that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23) which demands of us nothing less than moral perfection and not just in our outward acts but also in our inward as well which is why it is impossible by our own efforts and our own goodness to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, for sin taints, corrupts, defiles, twists, and distorts more than we can comprehend and the effects of sin are not merely confined to mankind, but all of creation is subjected to a curse because of sin which is why it is written that the entire creation groans and travails in pain to this day. (Rom. 8:19-22)
And the lying spirit who told the lie that caused that act of disobedience that brought sin, death, decay, evil, and suffering into the world was a certain angel named Lucifer who once served at the throne of God as a covering cherub until he became so lifted up in his pride that he thought to make himself equal with God and as a consequence, he and the angels who sided with him were cast from their places in Heaven (Is. 14:11-21, Ezek. 28:12-19) and it was in that day that Lucifer became known as Satan or the Devil and what he could not accomplish in Heaven, he succeeded in accomplishing on the earth by way of the lie that caused that fateful act of disobedience which not only brought death to Adam and Eve by way of sin entering into them but also to the rest of mankind by way of the sin which entered into Adam and Eve being passed down to the rest of humanity who descend from them and it was that very lie which led to the transgression which brought death and sin into the world that made Satan the father of lies (Jn. 8:44) because it was the first known lie ever told and not only did that lie make Satan the father of lies, it also made him into a murderer (v. 44) because it was by that death, by way of sin has come to all of mankind but not only that, the transgression that Satan led Adam and Eve into committing made him justified in claiming lordship over all the nations, kingdoms, and empires of the earth, (Mt. 4:8-9, Lk. 4:6-7) which is why he is called the prince of this world (Jn. 12:31, 16:11) and has held the world captive ever since the transgression of Adam.
It was in the day of that fateful transgression that the world fell from what God had intended to be to that which has gone against His good and perfect design due to the evil and wickedness that have abounded in it and just as evil had to face judgment in the days of Noah, so it must once again face eventual judgment for that which God has called evil and sin is that which stands in opposition to what He intended but because He is a God of love and mercy, He delays judgment because He is not willing that any should perish but that all would come to repentance and be delivered from judgment (2 Pet. 3:9)
and therefore has done for us what we could never do for ourselves in that He, in His graciousness has purchased redemption on our behalf in Christ Jesus, His only begotten Son, (Jn. 3:16) who came to us in the flesh, (Jn. 1:14) and being without any sin (2 Cor. 5:21) was made that perfect sacrifice (Heb. 7:26-27) that was needed to take away the sins of the world and because of His perfect goodness, He was able to offer Himself up on our behalf to satisfy the demanded penalty for all sin and granting mercy and grace through the shedding of His blood on the cross and after having died, rose again from the dead three days later that we might be justified in Him (Rom. 4:25) if we will but call upon His name so that we might be saved from what would otherwise be a terrifying everlasting punishment if we will but call upon His name (Rom. 10:9, 13) and believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead (Rom. 10:9) for it is by calling upon His name in sincere repentance that salvation is granted and our souls made clean from sin thereby liberating us from the threat of eternal damnation and with that cleansing comes a new spiritual transformation (2 Cor. 5:17) that causes us to no longer desire to follow after selfish and worldly pursuits but after those things that pertain to the Kingdom of Heaven,
to no longer take pleasure in those things that are evil and displeasing in the sight of the Lord, but in that which is good, right, and pleasing in His sight,
to no longer desire to walk in the lies of this present world, but only in the truth that comes from Christ Almighty who is the source of all truth, (Jn. 14:6)
no longer placing our hopes in the things of this present world, but looking forward to that new and better world to come, (Rev. 21-22)
to no longer rely on worldly resources, men, or even our own power, abilities, skills, and wisdom for our needs and provision but upon God who is able to meet all of our needs, recognizing that the resources of this world and even the people He brings into our lives are but instruments and vessels through which God meets our needs and that the skills, power, knowledge, and wisdom by which we might acquire our provision are provided and instilled in us by God, (Mt. 6:25-33)
to no longer fear what men can do to us, but rather fearing the God before whom we will have to one day give an account for how we lived our lives, (Mt. 10:28)
to no longer look to corruptible institutions within our society for direction and order in our lives but to God who, by His written Word has given us laws and precepts to be applied to our lives and which serve to produce and maintain an ordered life, and who, by His Holy Spirit which comes to dwell within us upon repentance, establishes in our lives a course and direction in our lives to pursue for His glory,
to no longer seek our own glory but the glory of God,
to no longer rally behind corruptible men, but instead behind the incorruptible God in Heaven bearing in mind that those men and women God raises up for our edification are but instruments and servants of His for that respective purpose to which He has called them,
to no longer seek to align ourselves with the things of darkness but only with the things of the light,
to no longer trust in the wisdom of the world but only on the wisdom and knowledge that comes from above, (Jas. 1:5) nor depend on corruptible earthly authorities to swiftly administer justice, but only in the power of God to deliver us from evil.
And just as we have been redeemed spiritually, so one day we look forward to the liberation of our bodies from death itself when our mortal and corruptible forms are transformed into that which is immortal and incorruptible and from that which is imperfect to that which is perfect (1 Cor. 15:51-55, 1 Thess. 4:13-18) and lastly, creation itself will be delivered from the curse placed upon it because of sin when it is made into a new and better world (Rev. 21-22) and liberated from the hand of our adversary Satan, who presently claims dominion, when he is given his final sentence and cast into an everlasting tormenting fire prepared for him and his followers (Mt. 25:41, Rev. 20:10-15) and in that new world which will be made, there will be no sin, no death, no decay, nor any curse, nor any evil, or violence, suffering, misery, grief, sorrow, mourning, pain, or hardship of any sort for all of these will pass away with this present world. Instead, there will only be light, life, happiness, joy, contentment, peace, and rest before the Lord God Almighty.
If you have not done so already and want to be sure that you are at peace with your Creator, then I urge you reader to call upon the name of the Lord Jesus for the forgiveness of sins. It is but a simple sincere prayer of repentance away:
"Lord Jesus I need you.
I realize that I am a sinner
who has fallen short of the glory of God
and that my goodness falls short
of your standard of Moral perfection.
Please forgive me of all of my sins.
Come into my heart and into my life
to be the Savior and Lord of my life.
Make me into the servant and follower
that you want me to be.
In your name Lord Jesus, I pray.
Amen."
Know that God is not concerned with the words that you use to call upon Him forgiveness, but with the attitude of your heart and if you have, with all sincerity, have asked Christ to forgive you of your sins, placing your trust in Him only for your salvation and in nothing else, then your sins are forgiven and your place in Heaven is certain.
End notes:
1. Skyler Ware, “Fossil site in China reveals bevy of complex creatures lived prior to the Cambrian explosion, including a 'Dune'-like sandworm,” Live Science, April 4, 2026
https://www.livescience.com/animals/extinct-species/fossil-site-in-china-reveals-bevy-of-complex-creatures-lived-prior-to-the-cambrian-explosion-including-a-dune-like-sandworm?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pushly&utm_campaign=Animals
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
Scripture references:
1. Genesis 6-8
2. Genesis 6:6-7
3. Genesis 2:16-17, 3:3
4. Genesis 3:4-5
5. Genesis 3:19
6. Genesis 3:7
7. Romans 5:12
8. Romans 6:23
9. Matthew 15:11, 18-20
10. Romans 3:23
11. Romans 8:19-22
12. Isaiah 14:11-21, Ezekiel 28:12-19
13. Matthew 4:8-9
14. Luke 4:6-7
15. John 12:31
16. John 16:11
17. John 8:44
18. 2 Peter 3:9
19. John 3:16
20. John 1:14
21. 2 Corinthians 5:21
22. Hebrews 7:26-27
23. Romans 4:25
24. Romans 10:9, 13
25. 2 Corinthians 5:17
26. Revelation 21-22
27. Matthew 6:25-33
28. Matthew 10:28
29. James 1:5
30. 2 Corinthians 5:18
31. 1 Corinthians 15:51-55, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
32. Matthew 25:41, Revelation 20:10-15
"Lord Jesus I need you.
I realize that I am a sinner
who has fallen short of the glory of God
and that my goodness falls short
of your standard of Moral perfection.
Please forgive me of all of my sins.
Come into my heart and into my life
to be the Savior and Lord of my life.
Make me into the servant and follower
that you want me to be.
In your name Lord Jesus, I pray.
Amen."
Know that God is not concerned with the words that you use to call upon Him forgiveness, but with the attitude of your heart and if you have, with all sincerity, have asked Christ to forgive you of your sins, placing your trust in Him only for your salvation and in nothing else, then your sins are forgiven and your place in Heaven is certain.
End notes:
1. Skyler Ware, “Fossil site in China reveals bevy of complex creatures lived prior to the Cambrian explosion, including a 'Dune'-like sandworm,” Live Science, April 4, 2026
https://www.livescience.com/animals/extinct-species/fossil-site-in-china-reveals-bevy-of-complex-creatures-lived-prior-to-the-cambrian-explosion-including-a-dune-like-sandworm?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pushly&utm_campaign=Animals
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
Scripture references:
1. Genesis 6-8
2. Genesis 6:6-7
3. Genesis 2:16-17, 3:3
4. Genesis 3:4-5
5. Genesis 3:19
6. Genesis 3:7
7. Romans 5:12
8. Romans 6:23
9. Matthew 15:11, 18-20
10. Romans 3:23
11. Romans 8:19-22
12. Isaiah 14:11-21, Ezekiel 28:12-19
13. Matthew 4:8-9
14. Luke 4:6-7
15. John 12:31
16. John 16:11
17. John 8:44
18. 2 Peter 3:9
19. John 3:16
20. John 1:14
21. 2 Corinthians 5:21
22. Hebrews 7:26-27
23. Romans 4:25
24. Romans 10:9, 13
25. 2 Corinthians 5:17
26. Revelation 21-22
27. Matthew 6:25-33
28. Matthew 10:28
29. James 1:5
30. 2 Corinthians 5:18
31. 1 Corinthians 15:51-55, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
32. Matthew 25:41, Revelation 20:10-15
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