Expert: Brenda Martin - 1/28/2009

Question
I was bored one night and was watching the history channel and they had a special on the universe.  The question isn't how it was created, its about the number of galaxies there are.  If I was listening right, each star in the sky (which was made by God) is a galaxy.  There are upwards of 5000,000,000 galaxies complete with suns and planets.  I was wondering about the purpose for it, and if space is pretty much never ending how exactly can we be sure there is not life out there?  The special on the channel just makes you feel really really small and pretty insignificant when looking at how much their is out there.  Were we meant to discover and possibly reach these planets?

Answer
HI there Brett, you asked about--"THE NUMBER OF GALAXIES THERE ARE, EACH STAR IN THE SKY IS A GALAXY?"

Its mind boggling when you look into these things isn’t it :¬) I remember reading—

“Astronomers estimate that there are over 100 billion stars in our Milky Way galaxy alone. But ours is just one of many galaxies, and many of those swarm with even more stars. How many galaxies are there? Some astronomers have estimated 50 billion. Others have calculated that there may be as many as 125 billion, man cannot determine the number of galaxies, let alone the exact sum of all the billions of stars they contain”.

Yet, God knows that number & he gives each star its own name!(Isaiah 40:26; Psalm 147:4)

"I WAS WONDERING ABOUT THE PURPOSE FOR IT"

To understand the purpose of the vast universe, we would first need to know; why God created mankind, what purpose did he have in mind?

In his written Word, the Holy Bible, God has recorded his purpose in creating all the marvels of his universe, including man. That purpose is that they all should laud him, reflect his matchless creatorship, and demonstrate that his principles for governing the whole universe are of the highest practical value, directing man in the only right way of life.—Ps. 145:10.

Genesis tells us how the universe came into being. In a matter-of-fact way it describes the wonders of creation, it tells about the work of creation, and it shows God’s purpose in creating man, the relationship of man to God, and the relationship of man to the animals.

"IF SPACE IS PRETTY MUCH NEVER ENDING HOW EXACTLY CAN WE BE SURE THERE IS NOT LIFE OUT THERE?"

The Bible indicates that it is very unlikely that God at this point has created intelligent physical creatures on any planets other than our own.

Does that mean, then, that God created all those countless millions of suns & planets for no purpose? Not at all. While we know that the earth is the only inhabited planet in the universe right now, and while we know, too, that it will forever stand unique as the planet where the Creator vindicated the rightfulness of his rulership, what the future holds we do not know.

All that God does has meaning and purpose. Obviously the Creator has a purpose for these planets, including the planets in our own solar system. In time, he may well reveal that purpose to obedient mankind.

"WERE WE MEANT TO DISCOVER AND POSSIBLY REACH THESE PLANETS?"

ah now that falls into what I said earlier, at this point in time we don’t know what God’s purpose is for these planets, but we DO know; why he created the earth & mankind, what his purpose is for us here on earth & what the future holds for mankind & the earth & when we know these things it is exciting to think what these planets may be used for in the future.

Just briefly here is what God intended when he started creating, his purpose has taken a slight detour because of Adam & Eve's sin but his purpose remains the same--

A NEW WORLD IS AT HAND!

The Bible assures us: “There are new heavens and a new earth that we are awaiting according to [God’s] promise, and in these righteousness is to dwell.” (2 Peter 3:13; Isaiah 65:17) Sometimes when the Bible speaks of “the earth,” it means the people who live on the earth. (Genesis 11:1) So the righteous “new earth” is a society of people who receive God’s approval.

Jesus promised that in the coming new world, those approved by God would receive the gift of “everlasting life.” (Mark 10:30) John 3:16 and 17:3. Now consider from the Bible the blessings that will be enjoyed by those who qualify for that wonderful gift from God in the coming earthly Paradise.

1. Wickedness, warfare, crime, and violence will be gone. “The wicked one will be no more . . . But the meek ones themselves will possess the earth.” (Psalm 37:10, 11) Peace will exist because ‘God will make wars cease to the ends of the earth.’ (Psalm 46:9; Isaiah 2:4) Then “the righteous one will sprout, and the abundance of peace until the moon is no more”—and that means forever!—Psalm 72:7.

2. God’s worshipers will live in security. As long as the Israelites in Bible times obeyed God, they lived in security. (Leviticus 25:18, 19) How wonderful it will be to enjoy similar security in Paradise!—Isaiah 32:18; Micah 4:4.

3. Food shortages will not exist. “There will come to be plenty of grain on the earth,” sang the psalmist. “On the top of the mountains there will be an overflow.” (Psalm 72:16) God will bless his righteous ones, and “the earth itself will certainly give its produce.”—Psalm 67:6.

4. The whole earth will become a paradise. Lovely new homes and gardens will occupy land that had once been ruined by sinful humans. (Isaiah 65:21-24; Revelation 11:18) As time passes, parts of the earth already subdued will expand until the whole globe is as beautiful and productive as the garden of Eden. And God will never fail to ‘open his hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.’—Psalm 145:16.

5. There will be peace between humans and animals. Wild and domestic animals will feed together. Even a little child will have nothing to fear from animals that are now dangerous.—Isaiah 11:6-9; 65:25.

6. Sickness will vanish. As Ruler of God’s heavenly Kingdom, Jesus will do healing on a far grander scale than when he was on earth. (Matthew 9:35; Mark 1:40-42; John 5:5-9) Then “no resident will say: ‘I am sick.’”—Isaiah 33:24; 35:5, 6.

7. Dead loved ones will be restored to life with the prospect of never dying. All those sleeping in death who are in God’s memory will be brought back to life. In fact, “there is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous.”—Acts 24:15; John 5:28, 29.

A marvellous future awaits those who choose to learn about our Grand Creator, Jehovah God, and to serve him! It was to the coming Paradise on earth that Jesus pointed when he promised the evildoer who died alongside him: “You will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43) It is vital that we learn more about Jesus Christ, through whom all these blessings will be made possible.

After God’s purpose is fulfilled on earth then we will see what he has in mind for all these other planets, the “mind boggles” indeed!!

If you would like to know more, I’m happy to answer any further questions.

All the best
Brenda