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THE STARS
OF HEAVEN |
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Man has always been intrigued and
fascinated by the heavens. The scholars of antiquity,
whether in Sumeria, Egypt, China, Mexico or any of the
other early civilizations were well versed in the
locations and orbits of all the visible stars. They had
counted and catalogued and grouped them all and had
pronounced the total number to be almost two thousand
stars!
 But the Holy Scriptures were far ahead of these ancient
scientists. According to the Bible, the stars were as
great in number as the sands of the seashore (Genesis
22:17) and simply could not be numbered! The vast
reaches of the heavenly spaces were—and are—utterly
incomprehensible to man. “For as the heavens are higher
than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways,
and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9).
The giant telescopes of today have only begun to reveal
the immense numbers and fantastic variety of the stars.
With literally billions of galaxies, and billions of
stars in every galaxy, the number of the stars seems to
increase almost without limit. The variety is equally
amazing—red giants, white dwarfs, Cepheid variables,
neutron stars, pulsars, and on and on! As the Bible says
in an incisive foregleam of modern astronomy: “There is
one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and
another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from
another star in glory” (I Corinthians 15:41).
Origin and Purpose of the Universe
The origin and purpose of the stars was no more
perplexing to the ancient stargazers than to our modern
astronomers. There is no shortage of theories, of
course, and new theories are developed rather frequently
purporting to explain the origin and evolution of the
universe.
But, one after another, each new theory eventually seems
to encounter such problems and difficulties that it
falls by the wayside and is eventually abandoned. In a
recent review of modern cosmology, a leading astronomer
has said: “Is it not possible, indeed probable, that our
present cosmological ideas on the structure and
evolution of the universe as a whole (whatever that may
mean) will appear hopelessly premature and primitive to
astronomers of the 21st century? Less than 50 years
after the birth of what we are pleased to call ‘modern
cosmology,’ when so few empirical facts are passably
well established, when so many different,
over-simplified models of the universe are still
competing for attention, is it, we may ask, really
credible to claim, or even reasonable to hope, that we
are presently close to a definitive solution of the
cosmological problem?”
The author concludes his survey of cosmology by stating:
“It seems safe to conclude that a unique solution of the
cosmological problem may still elude us for quite
sometime!”
The two leading types of cosmological theories currently
are the “steady-state” and “big bang” theories. Both of
these are evolutionary theories and each includes the
“expanding universe” concept, according to which the
galaxies are all rapidly receding from one another. The
“steady-state” theory has also been called the
“continuous creation” theory, attempting to explain the
decay and disappearance of matter and energy by the
continual evolution (not “creation”) of new matter out
of nothing. The “big bang” theory is usually also known
as the “oscillating universe” theory, supposing that the
universe continuously alternates between processes of
expansion and contraction and that its present expansion
began with a super-dense state following its most recent
contraction about twenty billion years ago.
Within the framework of either type of cosmology,
numerous subsidiary theories of galactic and stellar
evolution have been published, dealing with the supposed
development of particular types of stars or galaxies or
clusters of galaxies from other types. The very variety
of stars and galaxies tends to encourage such
evolutionary speculation.
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The vast reaches of the heavenly spaces were—and are—
utterly incomprehensible to man. The giant telescopes of
today
have only begun to reveal the immense numbers and
fantastic variety of the stars.
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Stability of the Heavens
Nevertheless, it should be quite obvious that such
evolutionary processes cannot actually be observed. No
astronomer has ever observed a “red giant” evolving into
a “white dwarf,” or a “spiral nebula” into a “globular
cluster,” or any other such change. Within the time of
human observation, no such evolutionary changes have
ever been seen to occur at all.
This being the case, there is nothing whatever to
prevent us from proposing the theory that they don’t
take place! This is by far the most reasonable theory,
since it is supported by all the actual astronomic
measurements that have ever been collected since man
first began making such observations. If we limit
ourselves to real, observational science, rather than
indulging in philosophical speculation, we would have to
say that the stars and galaxies have always been just as
they are now since the time they were created.
Is the Universe Expanding?
Someone may object to such a suggestion by contending
that the universe is expanding and therefore evolving.
This deduction is not necessary, however. In the first
place, whether or not the universe is actually expanding
is still an unsettled question. The famous “Doppler
effect”—the red shift in the light spectra from distant
galaxies—is the only observational basis for such
expansion, and this interpretation has been challenged
by various cosmologists, especially in view of the
anomalous red shifts recently noted in quasars.
Assuming, however, that the universe really is
expanding, in accordance with the standard
interpretation of the red shifts, there is still no
proof that this phenomenon is part of some evolutionary
process. The expansion could just as well have been
initiated by an act of creation at any arbitrary
position of the various galactic components of the
universe.
Fiat Creation
Not only is the concept of special complete creation
most logical and consistent in accord with God’s
character and ability, but it is surely the concept most
in accord with Biblical revelation on this subject. “For
in six days, the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea,
and all that in them is” (Exodus 20:11). On the fourth
of these days, “He made the stars” (Genesis 1:16). “Thus
the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the
host of them” (Genesis 2:1). By the word of the Lord
were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the
breath of His mouth; . . . For He spoke, and it was
done; He commanded, and it stood fast” (Psalm 33:6, 9).
The idea of a simple fiat creation of the entire
universe in its present form may seem too naive to
evolutionary astronomers and cosmologists. Nevertheless,
it fits all the facts of observational astronomy more
easily and directly than does any other theory. The
objection that special creation is not scientific
because it is non-observable is irrelevant, since
exactly the same objection applies to any of the
evolutionary models. Who has ever observed a star
evolve, or a “big bang,” or an evolution of matter out
of nothing?
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Thus the earth is unique in the solar system and, for
all we know,
the solar system is unique in the universe. So far as we
can
observe, there are not even any planets anywhere else,
let alone
a planet equipped to sustain biological life. The
evidence
favors the conclusion that man is unique in the
universe.
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Comparison of Evolutionist and Creationist Models
Although no model of origins can be
scientifically tested—since one cannot repeat
history—any such model can be used to predict and
correlate the observable data which result from that
history. The model which most effectively does this is
the one most likely to be correct.
Any evolutionary model of the universe must conflict
with one of the most fundamental laws of science, namely
the Second Law of Thermodynamics. This law formalizes
the observed fact that, within those regions of space
and time which are accessible to observation, the
universe is decreasing in complexity and in availability
of energy. The evolutionary model must, however,
postulate a universe that has instead evolved upwards
toward higher states of order and availability. Since
the Second Law always appears to hold true in observable
space and time, an evolutionary model must include some
component which negates the Second Law in non-observable
space and time. The steady state theory supposes that
energy or matter somehow came into existence out of
nothing far out in non-observable space. The big bang
theory supposes that energy or matter somehow came into
existence out of nothing (or at least out of some state
of things completely incommensurate with the present
state of things) far back in non-observable time. There
is, of course, no way of testing any process which
operates in non-observable space or time!
The creation model, on the other hand, specifically
predicts the conditions described by the two laws of
thermodynamics. It postulates a primeval perfect and
complete creation, preserved in quantity (First Law) but
decaying in quality (Second Law). As a matter of fact,
the two laws point directly back to a period of special
creation. The Second Law says the universe must have had
a beginning—otherwise it would already be completely
disordered. The First Law (conservation of mass-energy)
says it could not have begun itself. Thus, the Cause of
its beginning must be greater than the universe and
external to it. The omnipotent, omniscient, eternal God
of the Bible is the only Cause adequate to produce the
universe.
The Nature of the Universe
The creation model must attempt to explain the various
aspects of the universe, not in terms of evolutionary
development (for it assumes they did not evolve at all
but were created) but rather in terms of creative
purpose. This is no small task, in view of the infinite
variety of stellar systems, but it is no more difficult,
nor less susceptible to empirical test, than imaginary
evolutionary explanations for the same things.
Why, for example, is the universe so big, and why are
there so many different kinds of stars and galaxies and
inter-stellar phenomena? Why are the moon and the other
planets barren of life? What is the purpose of pulsars
and quasars? And so on. It is obviously much easier to
raise such questions than to answer them, whether in
terms of evolutionary mechanisms or of creative
purposes.
We can see a number of reasons for the visible stars at
least. They are useful for light, for navigation and for
chronology. They are a source of beauty and inspiration
for mankind. Furthermore, every new discovery in the
stellar heavens adds that much more to our amazement at
the vastness of power and variety in the Creator. “The
heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament
showeth His handiwork” (Psalm 19:1). Surely the
enlargement of our appreciation of Him is a worthwhile
purpose for the stars to have.
The barrenness of the moon and planets, as well as the
intense heat of the stars, emphasizes the Biblical
teaching that “the heavens are the Lord’s: but the earth
hath He given to the children of men” (Psalm 115:16).
U.F.O. enthusiasts to the contrary notwithstanding,
there is no evidence either in science or Scripture that
biological life exists elsewhere in the universe. Life
was created specifically for earth, and earth for life.
Of all other bodies in the universe, the moon would be
expected to have most nearly the same (evolutionary)
origin as the earth, but the lunar explorations have
eliminated such a notion.
“To the surprise of scientists, the chemical makeup of
the moon rocks is distinctly different from that of
rocks on earth. This difference implies that the moon
formed under different conditions, ... and means that
any theory on the origin of the planets now will have to
create the moon and earth in different ways.”
The same situation apparently exists with respect to all
the other planets in the solar system.
Thus the earth is unique in the solar system and, for
all we know, the solar system is unique in the universe.
So far as we can observe, there are not even any planets
anywhere else, let alone a planet equipped to sustain
biological life. And even if there were, with even the
nearest star being four light-years distant, there is no
rational possibility of our ever being able to
communicate with such hypothetical space-people on such
hypothetical planets.
Amazing though it may seem to evolutionary naturalists,
the evidence favors the conclusion that man is unique in
the universe and, furthermore, that he is the apex, not
of the evolutionary process, but of God’s creative
purposes! Even the galaxies, therefore, are inferior to
man. Isaac Asimov, certainly not a creationist, has
nevertheless recognized this fact.
“In man is a three-pound brain which, as far as we know,
is the most complex and orderly arrangement of matter in
the universe.”
The physical universe of space and time and all the
phenomena of energy and matter and life that occur in
space and time must somehow be related to man and to
God’s purpose for man. In the present economy of things,
however, man is inescapably confined to only a tiny
corner of the vast universe. The fulfillment of the
Creator’s purposes for man in the universe (and they
will be fulfilled, since an omnipotent and omniscient
God, by definition, cannot fail in His purposes) must
therefore await the establishment of a new economy of
things, in an age to come.
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“In man is a three-pound brain which, as far as we know,
is the
most complex and orderly arrangement of matter in the
universe.”
The physical universe of space and time and all the
phenomena
of energy and matter and life that occur in space and
time must somehow be related to man and to God’s purpose
for man.
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The Heavenly Host
In the meantime, there is still another “host of
heaven,” described in the Bible as an "innumerable
company of angels" (Hebrews 12:22). The frequent
identification of angels with stars in the Bible (note
Job 38:7; Revelation 12:4; and many others) is most
intriguing, especially in view of the fact that there is
no similarity between them whatsoever.
The same mysterious correlations are found everywhere in
ancient mythology, the gods and goddesses (Jupiter,
Venus, Orion, etc.) being identified with various stars,
planets and constellations. The age-long influence of
astrology, even on people of intelligence and culture,
is another strange phenomenon. And now, in an almost
unbelievable return to these ancient pagan mysteries,
modern scientific
speculations about the evolution of life in other worlds
have been transmuted into a weird celestial drama of
ancient astronauts, flying saucers, little green men and
“chariots of the gods.”
The reality behind all these “fearful sights and great
signs from heaven” (Luke 21:11) can only be that there
really is life in outer space! But these living
inhabitants of the heavenly bodies are neither super-men
in space ships nor blobs of protoplasm in various stages
of evolution. They are, rather, “angels that excel in
strength” (Psalm 103:20), “ministering spirits, sent
forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of
salvation” (Hebrews 1:14), none other than God’s holy
angels. There exists also in the heavens a vast horde of
rebel angels, following “that old serpent, called the
Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world”
(Revelation 12:9).
These are all real beings, living a real existence in
this real physical cosmos. However, they are spiritual
beings, not physical, and thus are not restrained by the
gravitational and electro-magnetic forces which control
bodies formed of chemical elements. On occasion,
however, the faithful angels have been known to have
power to “materialize” themselves in human form (Hebrews
13:2), and the fallen angels, or demons, to “possess”
human or animal bodies (Matthew 8:28-32). Thus there is
a host of stars without number in the heavens and also
an innumerable angelic host. The latter apparently
inhabit the former and are thus, in both Scripture and
mythology, intimately inter-related.
But if only angels can ever reach the stars, why has God
placed such a strange fascination and yearning for the
heavens in the heart of man? Jesus answers: “For in the
resurrection they ... are as the angels of God in
heaven” (Matthew 22:30). To the prophet Daniel, the
angel said: “And many of them that sleep in the dust of
the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and
some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be
wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and
they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for
ever and ever” (Daniel 12:2, 3).
In resurrection bodies, unfettered by gravity, the
redeemed of the Lord will thus have an eternity of time
to explore the infinitude of space. Though the earth
will still be his home, man will finally reach the
stars.
(© 2008 Institute
for Creation Research. All Rights Reserved.
http://icr.org) |
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This page
is updated on March 15, 2009 |
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PRAISE THE ALMIGHTY
10 YEARS CELEBRATION
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