What does the Bible tell us about Astronomy?
… as countless as the stars of the sky and as measureless as the sand on the seashore.
Jeremiah 33:22b
When this was written, 2,500 years ago, no one knew how vast the stars were, since only about 1,100 were visible. Now we know that there are billions of stars, and that they cannot be counted.
The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another, and star differs from star in splendor.
1 Corinthians 15:41
The Bible tells us that each star is unique. All stars look alike to the naked eye. Even when seen through a telescope, they still seem to be just points of light. However, thanks to modern science, close examination of their light spectra reveals that each is different from all others.
Long before the Hubble Space Telescope was available, the Bible spoke of both ‘the heavens and the highest heavens. Today we know that there are vast reaches in space, with galaxies and clusters of galaxies- ‘the highest heavens’.
To the Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it.
Deuteronomy 10:14
In speaking of the sun, the psalmist (800 B.C.) said this…
It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is hidden from its heat.
Psalm 19:6
For many years critics scoffed at this verse, claiming it taught that the sun revolves around the earth. Scientists at that time thought the sun was stationary. However, it has been discovered in recent years that the sun is in fact moving through space at approximately 600,000 miles per hour. It is traveling through the heavens and has a “circuit” just as the Bible says. Its circuit is so large that it would take approximately 200 million years to complete one orbit.
It is interesting to note that scientists are beginning to understand that the universe is expanding or stretching out.
He wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the Heavens like a tent.
Psalm 104:2