JD: Genesis chapter 1 on the fourth day of creation Jesus Christ brought the moon, the sun, and the stars into existence but what about the planets what is a planet, Don?
DD: I believe on day four along with the sun, moon, stars God also makes the planets the comets, and lots of other material in deep space.
JD: When we think about Jupiter I’m excited because I was looking up and I do believe I found Jupiter in the sky.
DD: It’s an easy one to see. Jupiter is a very bright planet. Now it is a long way away but it is also very large so it’s a good reflector.
JD: I understand that things in the heavens happen exactly on time.
DD: You know these objects they follow the laws that God established. What can you say they obeyed the laws or the faithfulness of the physical universe that God set up.
JD: I understand that Jupiter is about two and a half times more massive than all the other planets that are combined.
DD: Yes, Jupiter does stand out. Its mass is more than double all the other planets combined. Jupiter is much larger than the Earth. If you could just imagine an analogy if the Earth was let’s say the size of a grape then Jupiter would be the size of a basketball. On the other hand, Jupiter would not be a place to live it does not even have a solid surface. It’s a large sphere of gas and materials.
JD: As best as you can determine your study of the Bible and of course your study of astronomy why did God create these planets then if we could not live on Jupiter? What’s the purpose for this planet?
DD: Well that is a good question of why there is so much variety and space seems to go on and on with types of stars and different objects. I think all we can say is that it’s the work of God’s fingers. It shows that God is the master artist and made variety much that we have not even seen yet. At the same time the Earth even though it’s not the largest object is special. The Lord Jesus walked here. According to Genesis 1, the Earth was even the very first object made. The sun, moon, and stars come along on day number four. So the Earth does stand out as a special creation where God gave his attention.
JD: Dr. Don DeYoung with the reasons that God created the sun, moon, stars, and the planets.
We report this information because it is setting the stage for Bible prophecy to be fulfilled.
Don’s understanding of astronomy and the Bible helps us to understand why creation took place some 6,000 years ago. The heavens do declare God’s glory as stated in Psalm 19. At the same time creation is setting the stage for the prophetic truth of God’s word to be fulfilled in the near future.
