“Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, Thou art very great; Thou art clothed with honour and majesty. Who coverest Thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain: Who layeth the beams of His chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds His chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind.” Psalm 104:1–3
There is a stark contrast between the scientists of old and many of those today. While the former—such as Blaise Pascal, Michael Faraday, and Isaac Newton—were staunch believers in God, the latter are often outspoken opponents of Him and His existence. The early scientists saw science as a tool to draw them closer to biblical truth. But many modern thinkers use science—falsely so called—as a license for skepticism against the Holy writ.
True science, in itself, is not evil. It is, in fact, a blessing. Whoever enters its fields—be it geology, astronomy, biology, physics, or any other—alongside Christ, will only be led to a deeper realization of the greatness of the God of Heaven. And it was for this purpose that this piece of writing was framed.
As we journey deeper into this subject, I urge you to exercise active and deeper imagination. Digest each concept and calculation carefully. Visualize it before moving on to the next.
The wonders of the vast heavenly expanse and its stars
David, the psalmist, reflected deeply on the heavens, and the experience led him to a profound conclusion about man’s place in creation. He said:
“When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained; What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that Thou visitest him?” Psalm 8:3–4
We do not know exactly what David saw that stirred such awe, but we can take an independent look at the sky. What comes to your mind when you gaze at heaven? Is that great celestial mirror—hanging safely in the sky—a marvel to you also? Consider the stars, some of which are as large as 70 million kilometers in radius. Contrast with the radius of the earth which is just 6371 kilometers. Each star belongs to a cluster—a galaxy—which also contains planets. Every galaxy contains, on average, 100 billion stars. The average distance between two neighboring stars is 47 trillion kilometers. The average diameter of a single galaxy is 946 quadrillion kilometers. Through scientific observation, modeling, and statistical extrapolation, it is estimated that there are about 2 trillion galaxies in the observable universe. The average distance between any two galaxies is over 28 quintillion (≈ 28,380,000,000,000,000,000) kilometers. Are you able to visualize what this means? The diameter of the observable universe, where these 2 trillion galaxies reside, is about 93 billion light-years—equal to roughly 880 sextillion kilometers (≈ 880,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 km).
Now, where do you fit into this picture, dear reader? You are on a tiny planet, in a small solar system, around one star (the sun), among 100 billion stars in one galaxy—just one out of 2 trillion galaxies. Between galaxies there are millions of light-years. When I think about this, my mind is overwhelmed. And yet, the God who brought all this into being did so simply by the word of His mouth.“And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven… and it was so… He made the stars also. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.” Genesis 1:14–19
Another startling observation is the one that there are roughly a million times more stars in the observable universe than all the sand grains upon the Earth. What a thought!
Does David’s psalm now ring louder in your heart? “What is man, that Thou art mindful of him?” God is love. And He is great.
The wonders of distance
“Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?” Job 38:31
Have you ever heard of Proxima Centauri, Orion, and the Orion Nebula? Proxima Centauri is the nearest known star to Earth, located 4 light-years away. A light-year is a measure of distance—the length that light travels in a year, moving at a speed of approximately 300,000 kilometers per second. This makes one light-year equal to about 9.46 trillion kilometers. Thus, Proxima Centauri is about 37.84 trillion kilometers from Earth. As of 2025, the fastest spacecraft ever built by humans is the Parker Solar Probe, with a maximum speed of 695,000 kilometers per hour. Even at this hypersonic speed, it would take about 6,588 years to reach Proxima Centauri!
But that is not all.
The Orion constellation and its Nebula are hundreds of times farther away. Orion consists primarily of 81 visible stars, with thousands more—especially in the Orion Nebula, a massive, bright cloud of gas and dust located in Orion’s “sword,” just below the “belt.” The most famous stars in Orion include: Betelgeuse, Rigel, Bellatrix, Saiph, Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka. If you live in the southern hemisphere, you can see some of these stars with the naked eye from November to April. The Orion Nebula is 1,344 light-years away—that is about 12.7 quadrillion kilometers. It would take the Parker Solar Probe about 2.1 million years to reach that distance.
Suppose Adam, created on the first day of human existence, had boarded the Parker Probe and was miraculously kept alive to this day. In these 6,000 years of earth’s existence, he would have traveled only 0.29% of the distance to Orion.
The celestial city beyond
Do you know that something profound is prophesied to happen in the Orion region? “Dark heavy clouds came up and crushed against each other. The atmosphere parted and rolled back; then we could look up through the open space in Orion, whence came the voice of God. The holy city will come through that open space.” –Early Writings, p. 42
If God’s voice and the Holy City are to pass through Orion on their way to Earth, then Heaven—the eternal home—is beyond Orion itself. Now think of the God who deals with such vast distances and incomprehensible measurements. How great is HE?
“Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool: where is the house that ye build unto Me? and where is the place of My rest?” Isaiah 66:1
Indeed, our God is Lord alone. He made heaven, the heaven of heavens, and all their host.
The heavens are not just a canvas of stars—they are declarations of divine glory. They declare the power, precision, and loving majesty of our Creator. And yet, amidst all this grandeur, He is mindful of you.
The wonders of speed
“I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.” 2 Corinthians 12:2
“And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal…” Revelation 4:6
“We all entered the cloud together, and were seven days ascending to the sea of glass.” –Early Writings, p. 16
We know and believe that the third heaven wherein lies the City is beyond the starry heaven. It is mind-boggling to imagine the speed required for one to travel to heaven (or nearly heaven) for seven days. Even if the sea of glass was within the starry heaven, let’s say at the Orion nebula, calculations show that it would still require us to travel at a superluminal speed of 2.1 billion kilometers per second. Imagine that! According to the laws of known science, this is an impossibility. However, the God we serve will enable us to achieve even greater speeds on our way home.
“Hearken unto this, O Job: stand still, and consider the wondrous works of God.” Job 37:14
The sky a lesson book
Apart from appreciating the greatness of the creator God, we can also glean other lessons from it:
Whenever you are encompassed with difficulties, whether being helplessly bound in the snare of sin, or you are facing misfortunes in your temporal life—remember to relentlessly call upon the God you serve. The above thoughts should inspire you with faith, knowing that He who wrote all these wondrous works in the sky cannot fail to set you free. He is exceedingly able to do that. In your sunny days fulfil all the necessary conditions, and in your troublous times the promise will be fulfilled “… call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me.” Psalm 50:15 (see also verse 14)
On the other hand, sinning willfully and clinging to it should be a fearful thought in all our minds because this is open rebellion against this being who is so omnipotent. “For the LORD shall rise up as in mount Perazim, He shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that He may do His work, His strange work; and bring to pass His act, His strange act.” Isaiah 28:21
At last, let the thought of God’s power increase our love to Him, for even though our inferiority and His superiority are as wider apart as the west is from the east, yet we are the objects of His love and solicitude. “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the children of God….” 1 John 3:1
“Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable.” Psalm 145:3.
Amen.
By Emmanuel Salamba (Malawi)