The Hubble space telescope was launched in 1990 and orbits the earth at an altitude of about 340 miles. The Hubble is known for its spectacular photos of stars, galaxies and nebulae. For example, this recent photo was taken of a "celebrity star," one of the brightest stars seen in our galaxy, surrounded by a glowing halo of gas and dust.
What beauty there is in our universe! Astronomers around the world have been awestruck over the success of Hubble and the fantastic pictures that it has relayed to earth over the past 31 years.
However, the Hubble has its limitations. Enter the James Webb Space Telescope. This new, $10 billion telescope launched on Christmas day. Unlike the Hubble which resides in low earth orbit, the James Webb has parked itself almost a million miles outside of earth’s orbit around the sun.
Evolutionists now believe that the universe is around 13 billion years old. For various reasons, they have concluded that the earliest stars which formed in what they call the “Big Bang” are not visible to the Hubble. The James Webb telescope is an exclusively infrared telescope, which sees light emitted outside the visible range of our eyes and the Hubble telescope. It is believed that the “early” stars can be seen in the infrared spectrum of light. This is the goal of the James Webb project, which should begin producing images this summer.
I am anxious to see what this new telescope will find. The images from the Hubble have been breathtaking. I am in awe of the majesty and power of God, who formed the universe and all that is in it not in 13 billion years, but in the space of six days. He created the stars and planets, galaxies and nebulae with His powerful Word through Christ Jesus, as John says in the first chapter of his Gospel. He created it all for times and seasons, to give light on the earth, and for our enjoyment. But not until recent times have we been able to see some of the incredible beauty that exists in the vast universe.
The James Webb telescope is looking for evidence of evolution. It is a $10 billion investment to find and understand our origins. Without knowing it, it’s looking for God. But God makes himself known freely. He describes in His Word where we and the entire universe came from: “God said…and there was.” Of the sun, moon and stars Scripture says, “And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.’ And it was so” (Genesis 1:14-15).
And God made man, and man sinned against God and was cast out of His presence. And God saved man. That’s what He has revealed to us in His holy Word. That’s something that the Hubble, and the James Webb, and all the instruments of scientific discovery can’t see or understand or know.
Images from the Hubble are amazingly beautiful, and the ability to park the James Webb a million miles away from us in space is an astounding feat of scientific prowess. But neither compares to the beauty and power of the incarnation of Jesus Christ, or to His suffering and death on the cross for the sin of mankind, or to His resurrection from the dead on Easter morning.
The universe in which we live is passing away. But the Scriptures shed light that transcends the universe. That light reveals our past and our eternal future. It delves deep into our being and shines a light on our sin and on the forgiveness we have through our Savior.
The James Webb telescope is so powerful that it would be able to detect the tiny heat signature of a bumble bee as far away as the moon. At the same time, it is completely powerless to see the mighty workings of God and His great love for you. For that, you need your Bible.
O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
Out of the mouth of babies and infants,
you have established strength because of your foes,
to still the enemy and the avenger.
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?
Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.
You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under his feet,
all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Psalm 8
In the name of Jesus,
Pastor