The Heavens Declare the Glory of God

Hello everyone. Over the past several days I have taken a break from the new series that I have been working on regarding Comet Elenin and Nibiru, and I have been redesigning the University of Guam Planetarium website. If you would like to take a peek at their current design -- which is very archaic and looks like it was made using HTML code from the 1990's -- and then look at the new theme which I am still in the process of working on, please go here for their current design, and then go here to this temporary location for my new design.

Anyway, this morning as I was working on their website, I was reminded of something that I wrote over eight years ago.

As some of my readers will know, I possess a certain fascination for things that are related to astronomy. I am not referring to those wild theories and speculations which clearly contradict the truths which are espoused in God's Word, but rather, my fascination is for the beauty and wonder of it all. As you may recall, King David of old was likewise amazed by the Lord's magnificent creation in the heavens above. Thus he was inspired to write the following:

". .. The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork."
Psalms 19:1, KJV

Like this ancient king, I too perceive God's Power and Glory in the objects which are found in the night sky. I am excited, awed and inspired by a lunar or a solar eclipse, by a passing comet such as Hale-Bopp or Hayakutake, or by the sudden streak of a meteor burning up in the Earth's atmosphere. The Apostle Paul likewise informs us that we daily witness God's Power by observing His natural Creation. Furthermore, Paul tells us that it is because of God's very Creation, that none of us have any excuse for not believing in Him. Paul wrote:

"For the invisible things of him [God] from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his [God's] eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:"
Romans 1:20, KJV

I think it is safe to say that most of us want to know what is out there. We are all like curious little children when it comes to the vast expanse of Deep Space. We all have an inner desire to reach out and extend ourselves beyond the finite limits of this wonderful world which God, in His great Love and Mercy, has given to us; this jewel of planets amongst His Creation, which we call Earth.

In the Bible, we are told by the Prophet Daniel, among other things, that during the Endtime, ". . .knowledge shall be increased" -- Daniel 12:4 -- and this has certainly happened to a great extent during the past century, as men of science have developed new and better ways to discover exactly what is out there. While man may not always be right regarding the conclusions at which he arrives regarding the Universe, at the very least, some of his technology is offering us an opportunity to get a small peek of what is really out there.

Such is the case with the many wonderful images which have been made available to us by the Hubble Space Telescope, the SOHO project, ground-based telescopes, the growing number of interplanetary probes, the Google Earth app, etc. As I gaze at these amazing images, the Lord impresses upon me a very important lesson. In looking at these photographs of the Moon, the planets, the asteroids, etc., I can't help but notice how scarred they have become over time with craters. They have repeatedly been the victims of direct encounters with an assortment of space objects, such as comets, meteors, other asteroids, and whatever other forms of space travelers yet remain to be discovered.

Yet here we safely sit, on our lovely little Blue Planet called Earth, situated at just the right distance from the Sun. Is this ideal position merely a coincidence, or just a "freak accident of nature"? Unlike other heavenly bodies, our planet is characterized by a thick atmosphere rich in oxygen, blue oceans teeming with life, abundant forests full of so many different life forms that they have all yet to be discovered, lush prairie lands and farm lands which provide us with an abundance of food, etc. In contrast, Outer Space is clearly a deadly place, not necessarily a dead place, but most certainly a deadly place, yet we have remained immune to its dangers.

Why is this?

I think you already know my answer. In my view, it is nothing short of God's great Love and Mercy towards us -- His often-wayward children -- who in our pride and vanity, sometimes fail -- or refuse -- to give credit to Whom credit is really due. The Prophet Jeremiah was no such fool. He wrote the following:

"It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness."
Lamentations 3:22-23, KJV

To date, we have been spared a planetary catastrophe -- or Extinction Level Event -- by an invading object from Outer Space, but for how much longer? Some people may attribute our survival to the rarity of such cataclysmic events in the universal timeline; however, personally, I believe that people who embrace this view are shortsighted, and fail to recognize the benevolence of our Heavenly Father.

What do you think? Please leave your comments below. Thanks!