Grace Thoughts
Deep Magic – Song of the Supernatural – Chapter 8
Courtesy NASA
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God moved next to populate the “firmament of the heavens.” He spent part of Day Three creating some of the smallest things on earth. On Day Four, He turned His attention to the largest things in the universe.
Creation – Day Four
“Then God said, ‘Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth’; and it was so. Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the fourth day.” Genesis 1:14-19
We’ve already seen the enormous size of the universe, but look closely at what God does with that universe. He places lights in the heavens “to divide the day from the night.” Where is day and night? On earth. The lights are to be “for signs and seasons, and for days and years” Where are the signs and seasons? Where are the days and years? On earth. Even though God Creates lights in the heavens, His attention is toward the earth. “Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night.” We know that the greater light God Created to rule the day is the sun. The lesser light to rule the night is the moon. What is the focus of both the sun and moon? To shine light on the earth – day and night.
I love the next sentence – “He made the stars also.” It seems like such a small number of words to include for the Creation of trillions and trillions of stars in the universe. You might think that God would have told Moses to go on and on about the greatness of what He accomplished in Creating the galaxies of stars, but He didn’t. What He did do was remind us that the purpose of all the stars in the heavens is “to give light on the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness.” Everything God is doing in Creation is focused on a tiny little combination of land and water He called the Earth.
Scientists are just beginning to understand the special place the Earth has in the universe. For centuries, people thought of the earth as ordinary and even unimportant in the overall function of the galaxies of stars and planetary systems. Many people also believed that many other solar systems in the universe had planets similar to the earth where life had also “evolved.” However, science is now seeing that the earth is extraordinary in its ability to support complex life forms.
A group of astronomers in the U.S. developed a concept called the Galactic Habitable Zone (GHZ). That’s the zone in any galaxy where habitable planets might be possible. The scientific concept is based on the distance from a star where a planet could maintain liquid water on its surface and earth-like life. There are two zones that must exist for a planet to support life: (1) a zone within the planetary system, and (2) a zone within the galaxy. As scientists began looking for these zones in the universe, they saw how special the earth is in its location in the solar system and in the galaxy. The earth is in just the right place in our solar system and the Milky Way Galaxy for life to thrive. God made sure that it would be so.
Let’s start with being in the right place in the right galaxy. I mentioned earlier that our solar system exists in a “spiral galaxy.” The other types of galaxies in the universe are “elliptical” and “irregular” – neither of which are conducive to life-supporting planets. Elliptical galaxies are egg-shaped and contain stars with random orbits that often put individual solar systems in great danger from black holes. Any planets in those solar systems would also be in great peril. Elliptical galaxies are less massive and luminous and also lack the heavy elements needed for an earth-like planet. Most galaxies in the universe fall into the elliptical category and the largest galaxies are giant ellipticals. The gravitational pull in elliptical galaxies would create elliptical orbits for planets which would mean continual extremes of heat and cold – making life like that on earth impossible. Many scientists investigating elliptical galaxies have concluded that they are not Habitable Zones (HZ) for earth-like planets.
Irregular galaxies are believed to be even worse than the ellipticals. That’s because they are ripped apart by supernovae in every sector of the galaxies. They also experience great gamma ray bursts which are even more powerful than supernovae. The distortion of irregular galaxies makes them dangerous to any life being supported on a planet within any solar system.
That brings us back to spiral galaxies, like the Milky Way. They are dominated by a central spherical bulge and a disk with spiral arms. Those arms extend outward from the nucleus in a spiral pattern – much like a pinwheel. Think about a time when you held a pinwheel in your hand and blew on the plastic wheels. They spun faster and faster as you blew on them. Where was the safe zone on the pin wheel? That’s right! In the center. Just like the pinwheel, spiral galaxies are less likely to support earth-like planets moving out from the center. The outer regions also don’t have the heavy elements needed for life. Spiral galaxies are also dangerous to life in the inner regions because of radiation, black holes, and other threats. The planet Earth is located in the most optimal spot in the Milky Way Galaxy to support life. We have all the building blocks necessary for life with an extremely low level of threats to that life.
Back to our star – the sun – for a moment. It is among ten percent of the most massive stars in the galaxy. It is a yellow dwarf star – known as a G2V – and emits the correct balance of red and blue colors to support life. It is also the right mass and could support life for an estimated ten billion years. Our sun is very stable in comparison with other stars – varying its light output less than 1/10th of a percent during a sunspot cycle (about 11 years). The sun also has the perfect metal richness for supporting life on our planet. It is the right kind of light, the right distance from the earth, the right location in the galaxy, the right mass and composition, and the right orbit to give the earth everything it needs, consistently, for a good life.
Next, we look at being in the right place in our solar system. Scientists have been searching for life on other planets in our system for centuries, but they haven’t found any. That’s because there is only one Habitable Zone in our solar system and the earth is in it. The earth is at exactly the right distance from the sun to support life. Mercury and Venus are too close to the sun and take too long to rotate and orbit the sun. Daytime temperatures on Mercury range from 800 degrees Fahrenheit to -279 degrees Fahrenheit. The gravity on Mercury cannot retain a significant atmosphere and its exosphere is unstable. The average temperature of Venus is 850 degrees Fahrenheit and the atmospheric pressure at the planet’s surface is 92 times that of the Earth. The atmosphere of Venus is rich in carbon dioxide and has thick clouds of sulfur dioxide – not conducive to life. The Earth – third planet from the sun (we will see that the number three is a number of Divine Presence in the Bible) – has an average temperature of 45 degrees Fahrenheit and supports millions of different types of life forms – both on land and in water. Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are farthest from the sun and do not have atmospheres or temperatures conducive to life.
When God Created “the heavens and the earth,” He put everything in place for the full support and protection of the life He would Create on earth. For instance, here’s another example of the earth being in the perfect Habitable Zone in our solar system. Jupiter is the largest planet in our system – more than 300 times the mass of the earth – and fifth from the sun (we will see that the number five is a number of Divine Protection in the Bible). Because of Jupiter’s size and location, it acts as a shield to the earth to protect us from being overwhelmed by comets. Jupiter absorbs and deflects many comets that may have otherwise collided with the earth. The outer planets Saturn and Uranus have also been involved in deflecting comets from striking the earth. Other problem areas in our solar system are asteroid belts which exist between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Mars takes a lot of the asteroid hits for us. Venus and the earth’s moon also help protect the earth from asteroids.
Speaking of our moon, let’s take a closer look at the important part it plays in the life of our planet. God Created the moon to be “the lesser light to rule the night.” The word “rule” in Hebrew is memsalah and means “govern, dominion, rule, authority, force.” Scientists now know that the moon is a “force” on our planet. The moon impacts 60% to the tides on earth – the sun’s impact on tides is 40%. Tides play a vital role in moving nutrients from the land into the oceans, which keeps the oceans nutrient-rich. Lunar tides also keep circulation in the oceans moving – which is important to many aspects of the health of the planet. The moon also plays an important role in stabilizing the tilt of the earth’s axis – which impacts our seasons. The moon is a “force” that “dominates” our climate for the good. The moon is part of making our location in the solar system a Habitable Zone.
God Created the earth in the perfect place for it to sustain life, to be protected from nearby solar dangers, and to be dominated by two powerful forces (sun and moon) that work together to give life on earth everything it needs to be successful.
God saw that what He had done on Day Four “was good.”
Scripture references in this book are from the New King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise noted.
“Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”
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Published by gracelifethoughts
Founder & Director of GraceLife Ministries View all posts by gracelifethoughts
