Introduction
The Master Architect
O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, that dwells between
the cherubim, thou art the God, even you alone,
of all the kingdoms of the earth:
you have made heaven and earth.
Isaiah 37:16
Approximately thirty miles north of Seattle, Washington is the city of Everett. This charming community on the Possession Sound is the home of Boeing Aircraft Corporation. Boeing manufactures the greatest commercial jetliners in the world today. Perhaps the premier aircraft in its fleet is the 747, a massive passenger jet that is built at a cost of roughly two hundred million dollars ($200,000,000) per plane.
The Boeing facility is truly a spectacular complex. The building where construction of its aircraft takes place is nothing short of colossal. According to the Guinness Book of Records, it is the largest structure in the world. If you saw it, you would not have trouble believing this claim. Everything about the complex is immense. The doors on the main building are one hundred yards wide. That is the length of a professional football field. There is a corridor below the floor that is as wide as a city street and over half a mile long. Furthermore, the elevators used to transport personnel to various levels of the construction areas could easily carry one hundred people.
The size of this structure is simply overwhelming. To put it in perspective, you could place every major league baseball field, every NFL football field, and every NBA basketball court inside the structure and have plenty of room left over. The main building is so large that it would hold the entire Disneyland theme park in Anaheim, California. Suffice it to say, this structure is HUGE.
At any given time in the Boeing facility, one can see several 747s in various stages of construction. These gigantic aircraft have dominated the skies for over three decades, and like the place of their creation, they too, are immense. To put their dimensions in perspective, the length of each 747 “coach” section is longer than the distance of the entire initial flight of the Wright brothers at Kitty Hawk. This spectacular aircraft is even used to transport the space shuttle.
But sheer size is not the only thing that defines Boeing and its 747 aircraft. The complexity of these planes is also staggering. Each jet consists of well over four million parts! Every one of these parts is subjected to a battery of quality control checks by their manufacturer. Finally, when each 747 is flight tested, it is done with only one of its four engines operating. This test is repeated three times, once for each remaining engine. This is done to insure the safety of every plane. The point being that even if three engines failed, the aircraft could still fly and land without incident
Both the Boeing facility and its 747 airship stand as great marvels of human ingenuity and skill. Their size as well their sophistication are truly remarkable.
Great Human Achievements
Down through the ages man has constructed numerous architectural and technological wonders. There is the Great Wall of China, the Panama Canal, and Hoover Dam. There are the pyramids of Egypt, the Empire State Building in New York city and the massive Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. Additionally, there is the Space Shuttle, as well as massive cruise ships that are nothing short of floating cities.
For centuries, man has constructed monuments that soar into the sky, bridges that seem to be suspended in mid-air, and great tunnels that wind their way through moumtains as well as under oceans. He has built machines that travel to other worlds as well as those that can circle the earth with ease. To be sure, Man’s credentials as an architect and designer are considerable and his accomplishments as a builder are impressive.
Donghai Bridge in China
is over twenty miles long.
The Master Architect
The Bible reveals that the Great God of Heaven is also an architect of considerable skill. Not only has He fashioned the entire universe, He has also designed the millions of laws that sustain it. To better understand the power of this Magnificant Creator, and His credentials as a builder, let us examine some of His work.
Mankind has only scratched the smallest surface of the heavens that God has made. However, even then, its size is truly staggering. Consider what mankind is aware of concerning the scope of the known universe, beginning with our own solar system. This celestial community is comprised of a sun and a family of planets and moons that are tied to it by gravity. Each moon is suspended in space as it orbits a particular planet. Each planet moves in a rhythmic orbit around a massive, energy-producing star we call the sun. Now if the entire universe consisted only of our solar system, it would be very impressive to say the least. Its area would literally cover trillions of square miles. The distance between the earth and the sun is a staggering ninety-three million (93,000,000) miles. Pluto, the most distant planet in our solar system, is approximately four billion miles away from the sun. That would make it over forty times further from the sun than our earth. Imagine the size of such a celestial body.
However, despite its size, our solar system is less than a pinprick when compared to the enormity of the galaxy of which it is a part. The Milky Way is absolutely staggering in size. Unlike our solar system which has one sun, the Milky Way is a spectacular family of lights that contains over one billion suns. Imagine a billion suns supporting an endless array of planets and moons. The scope of such a creation is mind-boggling. It is immense beyond belief.
The Milky Way
Artist's Rendering
To illustrate how massive the Milky Way is, consider this: one very small piece of this immense galaxy is called the Big Dipper. Almost every child has gazed into the night sky and beheld its unique shape. On a clear night the Big Dipper looks like a giant pan with a bent handle. To the naked eye the pan looks empty. But looks can be deceiving, and in this case they are.
The Big Dipper
The huge Hale telescope on Mount Palomar has actually identified as many as one million stars (suns) within the pan alone. And remember, the Big Dipper represents only a very tiny piece of the Milky Way. However, within that tiny piece, reside one million stars. But it doesn’t end there.
As a galaxy, the Milky Way, with its billions of suns, moons and planets, is also nothing more than a pinprick when compared to the universe of which it is a part. For this massive galaxy is only one of virtually billions of fellow galaxies. Some estimates in the scientific community have suggested that the known universe could be comprised of over one hundred billion (100,000,000,000) different galaxies, each with billions of suns and solar systems of its own. And remember, this is just the KNOWN universe.
How Big is the Universe?
The enormity of the universe God fashioned so long ago is beyond comprehension. Even the scientific community is mystified by its size. For this reason, astronomers have developed a way, other than miles, to calculate the mind-boggling distances between the objects that so exquisitely decorate the heavens. Astronomers think in terms of time when calculating the distance between these objects. This unit of measurement is called a “light year.” A light year is the distance light travels in one year. But how far is that?
The speed of light has been measured at 186,282 miles per second. Therefore, at that speed, in one year, light would travel approximately six trillion (6,000,000,000,000) miles. In other words, if you wanted to travel to the nearest star other than our sun, and you moved at the rate of 186,000 miles per second, in one year you would have traveled six trillion miles. That’s the good news. The bad news is that you wouldn’t be remotely close to the star you were looking for. To get there you would have to travel another three and a-third years. And this would only get you to the closest star. In other words, you would have to travel 26 trillion miles to visit our closest solar neighbor. How is that for size?
A Great Illustration
In 1974, Kenneth Weaver, assistant editor of National Geographic Magazine, crafted a very unique word picture when attempting to describe the size of the known universe. His words illustrate just how immense the heavens truly are.
Imagine that the thickness of this page represents the distance from the earth to the sun (93,000,000 miles or about eight “light minutes”). This being the case, the distance to the nearest star (4-1/3 “light years”) would be the size of a 71-foot high sheaf of papers. And the diameter of our own galaxy (100,000 “light years”) would create a 310 mile stack, while the edge of the known universe is not reached until the pile of papers reaches 31 million miles high.... (National Geographic, May 1974, p. 592)
The size of the known universe is something that astonishes even the most brilliant scientific minds on earth. It is simply too immense to comprehend. To illustrate this point, consider the following. Recently, a team of prominent astrophysicists from the California Institute of Technology, using a process first proposed by Albert Einstein called “gravitational lensing,” discovered a galaxy believed to be thirteen billion light years from our own Milky Way. If you would like to convert that number into miles the formula is quite simple: 186,000 x 60 x 60 x 24 x 365 x 13,000,000,000. And remember, this is the KNOWN universe.
But just in case you still are not impressed, there is good news. The universe is expanding. That’s right! It is actually growing. This fact was discovered by the astronomer Edwin Hubble in 1929. Hubble proved that the universe is steadily expanding, like a balloon. His research revealed that all the galaxies in the universe are in motion and are actually flying apart from each other. This principle is known as “Hubble’s Law.”
What Jupiter would look like from earth
if it was as close as the moon
The Master Architect
At this point a question emerges: How did the universe come into being? Who made it? And how was it done? Is it possible to find the answers to these questions?
The Bible reveals that the universe was fashioned by a Master Architect who presides over eternity itself. This Great Being is the God of all that exists. The prophet Jeremiah once wrote of God’s immense skill in creating the universe. He stated that this task was not even difficult for Him.
Ah Lord God! Behold you have made the heaven and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm, and there is nothing too hard for you. (Jer 32:17)
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Later Jeremiah proclaimed that the vastness of space is a reflection of God’s infinite wisdom.
He has made the earth by His power, He has established the world by His wisdom, and has stretched out the heavens by His understanding. (Jer. 51:15)
Imagine the power of an intellect that could envision the universe. Where would one even begin to fashion something so vast? Yet it does exist. And its very existence stands as proof of the infinite.
A Solar Explosion
An Unimpeachable Argument
The apostle Paul once revealed a profound truth about the physical realm that we can behold with our five senses. This truth is recorded in his letter to the Church at Rome.
For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse. (Ro. 1:20)
Here, Paul is declaring that the universe, which is not only infinite in scope, but perfect in its design and order, stands as an unimpeachable argument for the existence of an all-powerful, infinite Creator. It is as if Paul is explaining that God made an endless universe with the express intent of providing man with something tangible that could only be explained by the existence of an infinite God. This is why Paul uses the words “so that they are without excuse.” In other words, Paul is saying, “It isn’t as if God made it difficult to know that He exists. Just look around.”
The Testimony of God
Not only does the Bible attribute the creation to the Great God of heaven, but God Himself stakes claim to this work. He did so in a series of rhetorical questions He asked to the patriarch Job. The book of Job quotes His actual words.
Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if you have understanding. Who laid the measure thereof if you know? Or who has stretched the line upon it? Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? Or who laid the cornerstone thereof...? (Job 38:4-6)
Here, God is revealing that He is an architect to which man cannot be compared. His works cannot be contained or measured. But so many of them can be seen. And when one considers their scope, they reveal something most awesome about the God who made them.
The Great Architect who created the heavens and the earth is an infinite God. He is described in the Bible as occupying eternity itself. The scriptures declare that God is “from everlasting to everlasting” (Psa. 90:2). In short, God is eternal. He has no beginning of days, nor end of life. Further, the Bible declares that God’s creative power is so great that He actually fashioned the heavens by His wisdom. He had but to speak and earth came into existence. Additionally, the scriptures proclaim that everything that exists is sustained by Him.
Perhaps the prophet Isaiah said it best. When describing the overwhelming magnitude of God’s greatness. Isaiah quotes the very words of the One who crafted time and space – the very God who is aware of every molecule in existence.
To whom then will you liken me, or shall I be equal? says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who has created these things, That brings out their host by number; He calls them all by names by the greatness of His might, for that He is strong in power; not one fails... (Isa. 40:25-26)
A Final Thought
The Bible identifies the God of heaven as the Great Creator of the very universe which simply overwhelms man with respect to its size and sophistication. That infinite God designed and fashioned virtually trillions of stars and planets and placed them in the heavens in perfect order. Additionally, the Bible declares that God is intimately aware of every square inch of that vast universe. Furthermore, the scriptures not only reveal why God would do such a thing, but how he did it, and even what he used for materials. Each of these aspects of creation will be explained in later chapters of this book.
However, even more astonishing is the fact that the Bible reveals that God is using the universe to help support an even greater architectural project – one that will ultimately stand as the greatest in the history of eternity itself – a project even greater in scope than the creation of the heavens and the earth.
At the very center of this wondrous architectural endeavor is a God of infinite power and wisdom. And like the universe that is expanding, this magnificent Creator is also in a remarkable state of growth. The book you are about to read records the story of that God, and His Plan regarding eternity itself. It is a story that reveals an extraordinary Destiny for mankind – a Destiny that was envisioned by this Master Architect at some point in the vast expanse of eternity. And if you think the scope of the universe is too great to comprehend, you ain’t seen nothin yet!