On the Verge of “What’s Next?”

From my perspective, we seem to be in the point of human history when we’re truly on the verge of greatness or destruction, and need something solid to be anchored to… words of hope will follow!

We’re beginning to colonize the solar system starting with the moon and Mars in the next 10 years.  If careless, we could also annihilate ourselves over disputes in the middle east, China, Russia, or wherever the next crisis may appear.  Different parts of the world are dealing with weather caused disasters.  The Vatican has over the last few years made several comments leading one to expect the discovery of alien life elsewhere in the universe to come about before long which will require a rethinking of biblical texts.

Then, there’s also many people who have seen or experienced things which seem other worldly.   Some experiencing fearful things, others simply observing lights or possibly vehicles in the sky.  (I have a bit of a story to tell of this)  It may surprise some people to learn that the Bible actually mentions or alludes to things of this nature in various writings.

According to the show Ancient Aliens, various world governments are aware of “extra-terrestrial” aliens living among humans but won’t publicize it because it would cause public alarm… no-kidding!  Also, some religions claim there are many other civilizations in the universe.  The show also makes the valid point, that if aliens claiming to be from elsewhere in the universe were to make themselves known to the public on Earth, such a public unveiling would cause a collapse of both world religions and governments around the world.

Thinking of this in advance, we could expect some form of societal chaos requiring a super strong individual to restore peace, safety, and order (to the galaxy?).  This may sound absurd, but if we think about it, there would probably be a lot of emotionally shaken up people looking for stability, and this would seem the likely time for a solid world government with a strong charismatic leader to take charge…  We should also look out for deception.  (The Bible warns of a great delusion / deception, and I’m inclined to believe wherever the “aliens” claim to be from, they are still created beings.  If they draw attention away from the biblical God, then they’re dark entities and not to be listened to.)

One winter evening a few years ago, I was about to go outside, but suddenly had this strong sense that I was supposed to stop and read some Psalms because I needed to be inspired by something.

 

Psalm 124:6-8 says:

“Blessed be the Lord,

Who has not given us to be torn by their (the enemies) teeth.

Our soul has escaped as a bird out of the snare of the trapper;

The snare is broken and we have escaped.

Our help is in the name of the Lord,

Who made heaven and earth.”

 

As I read this Psalm, a melody and lyrics came quickly to my mind.  And as you read this, please remember the above verse reminding us that the Lord made everything in the heavens as well as the earth, both seen and unseen, spiritual and physical, in our dimensions and in multiple dimensions, and all are subject to Him!  Whatever our situation today, He desires that we call on Him.

 

The Name of the Lord

 

The Name of the Lord,

The Name of the Lord,

O blessed be,

The Name of the Lord.

 

In the Name of the Lord, Yeshua, is our Salvation.

In the Name of the Lord, our Rock, we put our trust.

In the Name of the Lord, is our Wonderful Counselor.

He is the Holy One, and the Light of the World.

 

In the Name of the Lord, nations will rise up and fall down.

The Name of the Lord, is Faithful and True.

In the Name of the Lord, there is justice and mercy.

He is Immanuel, He’s the Bright Morning Star.

 

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At the sound of Your voice, all creation will praise You.

At the sound of Your voice, every knee will bow.

Blessed are You God, You are, the King of the universe,

Yet You chose to die for us, then You rose up from the grave.

Yes, You rose up from the grave.

 

You are coming again, You are coming again, We bless You O Lord, You are coming again.

 Every knee shall bow, every tongue confess, that Jesus Christ, You are Lord of all.

 The Name of the Lord, The Name of the Lord,

O blessed be, the Name of the Lord.

 

 

As we ponder the universe, every scientific discovery, every philosophy, every invention, and every creation, let’s realize all that exists had to have a creator, and that Creator Jesus desires us to trust Him while we’re all on the verge of “What’s Next?”

 

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Heads UP! – Asteroid will miss us!

The asteroid 2013 MD8, being described in some media as on a near collision course with the Earth tomorrow, Feb. 19, 2019, will actually miss the Earth by approximately 15 lunar distances.     One lunar distance equals 384,401 km, so the asteroid on this orbit’s closest approach will be over 5,804,000 km (3.6 million miles) away from Earth.  Its diameter is estimated at 51 meters, and is traveling 13.6 km / second.  More technical observations about asteroid 2013 MD8 from JPL can be found here.

The story headlines are somewhat sensationalized.  This happens often with asteroids, and it makes for great click bait.  If it draws readers interest to the point they genuinely study up and become knowledgeable about astrophysics, astronomy, or space weather then I think it’s great.  However, the headlines often appeal to the fear factor of impending doom, which doesn’t come very often in world history.

It’s not uncommon for asteroids to come much closer than this one, with their course of travel being between Earth and the moon, and on occasion between Earth and some of the higher satellites, which may be 22,000 miles above our planet.  When considering the vast distances in space, MD8, is traveling fairly close to the Earth, but it’s not a bullet burn.  Have no fear!!

“Mortal Engines” – My Movie Review

I just watched the movie “Mortal Engines” tonight, because it looked like a cool sci-fi, post-apocalyptic, gotta save the world from evil type show.  I say it’s completely prophetic and probably intentionally telling the story of our times and how the powers that be are steering the world to an intense confrontation between east and west, to partially destroy our civilization, and the neutral innocent people end up having to come together unified to help each other rebuild and join the civilizations together.

It did include a number of societal issues worth thinking about, such as “the ancients” (us from the 21st century) got dumb, and forgot how to read and write (schools these days!) because we relied on computers too much, and blew ourselves up with super intense nukes!  Thus the post-apocalyptic thousand years later type theme.  Also, our society had evolved to the point of extreme trans-humanism, in which one of the cyborgs almost forgot that he had previously been fully human, but artificially reconstructed.

The biggest negative I encountered was due to the politically thematic metaphors, and in particular, the fact that the main male character (hero) was done up to look a lot like one of our unnamed Canadian elected leaders (think: take a selfie with me) (whom I didn’t vote for, and I’m sure has been “anointed” to one day head the U.N.), who is from the western world, which is led by an “evil white mad man”, who is intent on destroying the eastern city (primarily oriental), however his blonde daughter (not named Ivanka) is shown the truth of her fathers ways, and try’s working against him.

Did I mention that some of the styles and deeply woven themes seem to stem from other movies, such as Star Wars and a couple others I can’t quite place at the moment?

The theater was only 7% full when I went Friday night… yes, I asked!

I did cringe a few times at some of the subtle political overtones.   The sci-fi graphics and everything were excellent of course, as to be expected from those who worked on The Lord of the Rings series of movies, and the acting was quality as well. In my opinion, I think its worth seeing for analytical purposes, to see where predictive (or is that predictable?) programming is attempting to take society, justin case we can vote (not likely) for a U.N. leader soon, but I can’t say I actually enjoyed it.

I give it two stars only.

Flat Earth? – Only in Saskatchewan!

Having grown up on a farm in the Canadian prairies, I can’t really blame someone living in the southern part of the province of Saskatchewan for believing the entire planet is flat.  Southern Saskatchewan is very flat.  I fortunately had some rolling hills in my region to add scenery, especially as the rising or setting sun creates shadows and increases the depth perception one sees.  However, flat land also means more sky to see than if you’re in a city or in the mountains!  On a remote farm, there’s minimal light pollution.  On a cloudless night, you get a massive view of our part of the cosmos!

You can see many stars rise in the east and set in the west, just like the sun, then reappear the next day.  They appear to be travelling in a circular path.  You also see numerous stars that don’t actually rise or set, because they’re in the northern part of the sky, and because of the earth’s motion, they are always visible, but appear to be moving in an arc over the horizon, and actually are consistent in their distance from what we observe as the pole star, the star which is nearly straight above the planet’s north pole.  In the northern hemisphere, Polaris, the North Star, appears motionless, although in reality it does complete a tiny circle in the sky every 24 hours.  It’s so consistent that the crews of sea faring ships have used it to navigate for centuries.

In the southern hemisphere you can’t see the North Star.  The farther south you go, the fewer stars from the north that can be seen.  Star based navigation has to use different stars.  If the earth was flat, you would see the same stars, the same as if you hung various objects above a flat board-game on a table, those objects would be visible from any position on that game board.  If you change that game board into a sphere, not all objects hanging above it will be visible from all positions on the sphere.

If a person situated in Antarctica can’t see the North Star, but someone in New York can see it, we have to assume the earth is a sphere in order to account for lines of sight and what can and cannot be seen.

Another point to consider in determining if the earth is flat or a sphere, is to look at the other objects in space.  Even with common high power binoculars and small telescopes, most everything appears round, and can be seen to be rotating in a circle around something else.  Moons rotate around planets, planets rotate around the sun.  If you can see enough detail on some of the planets, like Jupiter, you can tell that they are rotating, as a spot on its surface appears to move from one side, to the other, disappear, then reappear where you first saw it.  The same is true for its moons.  Over the course of days and weeks, the moons appear to be moving in a circular orbit around a spherical planet.  If everything else in our observable solar neighborhood is spherical, it only makes sense that the earth is as well.

Then there’s the photo evidence, not just from the world’s space agencies, but even from universities and high schools.  Here’s a link to a school group in California which regularly sends helium balloons with radiation sensors up into the atmosphere as a class project, and takes photos on the way up and down, often achieving altitudes of well over 100,000 feet.  The curvature of the earth is plainly seen here:  https://www.earthtosky.store/product-page/floating-golf-balls and checking out their many other examples will show more of the same.  (Note:  I have no affiliation with this group, but I think they are a great example of non-professionals doing neat practical science, and inadvertently showing that the earth is spherical.)

Hopefully this has given people some interesting “down to earth” and real experience insights to help get a more accurate perspective on the earth, and our place in the universe.  Be sure to enjoy and appreciate the starry view, and remember, we’ve been put here for a reason!

 

 

 

On Aliens and Angels

This is a heavier topic.  Hang on tight!

Although the Scriptures of the Bible don’t specifically say there isn’t life existing on other planets in the universe, I’m inclined to believe there isn’t.  I do believe numerous reports of UFO’s and alien encounters are based on what people have actually experienced, but I don’t believe they are “other-worldly” creatures.  Instead, I understand many of these beings are the hybrid mutant offspring from fallen angels and humans, or may be actual angels or fallen angels.

Scripture reports numerous occasions where people were visited by angels, which were created by the Lord God of the Bible for a purpose, with the primary purpose being to fulfill his good and pleasing will, and the tasks they are given will ultimately bring glory to God.  There are many of them, and they normally are not seen by people, except when God directs them to interact with us.  They exist in an unseen realm, which many today are referring to as other dimensions.

God exists eternally, or has always been.  He created all that now exists, and he exists apart from it, but directly enters it as it suits His purpose.  Science today believes there are multiple dimensions which exist, but humans normally can only experience and comprehend three to four of them.  We exist and move within our designated realm of dimensions, while the angelic and spiritual beings exist and move within their designated realms.  Scripture says some left their designated “abode”, and had direct and unapproved contact with the human realm.

Genesis 6:1-4 speaks of “great men of renown” / the Nephilim / giants, being the offspring of “sons of God” / fallen angels and human women.  As a result of this corruption of mankind, God the Creator saw it necessary to use a flood to destroy His created living beings on the earth and let humanity begin again starting with Noah and his family, of whom Noah was said to be “perfect in his generations”, or having an uncorrupted genealogy.

However, Scripture says these mutant offspring didn’t completely cease with the flood.  Genesis 6:4 says these “Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward…”, referring to after Noah’s flood.  After the exodus from Egypt, Joshua and the Israeli people had to deal with them when entering their Promised Land.  About 2500 years after the flood,  Matthew 24:37 records Jesus as saying, “For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah”, which some scholars are now interpreting to include the spiritual – human hybrids making a return in the latter days before the return of Jesus.

In a nutshell, if the governments of the world and various religions suddenly declare the existence of “aliens”, and visibly show them in the presence of people, I believe we need to ask, is this event and are these beings bringing people into relationship and restoration with the Jesus / Creator / God of the Bible, or with the “god” of multiple or a unified religion(s).  If it’s the latter, then realize this could be the prophesied deception which is spoken of in the book of Revelation and elsewhere which deceives the whole world to follow after the beast / anti-christ, and rebel against the actual Lord, God, Creator, Jesus Christ.

 

Remember:

The battle belongs to the Lord!

Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit says the Lord of hosts! (the Lord of angel armies)

Aliens / demonic entities are created beings, who are subject to the King and Creator of the universe, Jesus, God, the Great I Am.  When these things are encountered, we need to put our focus on the Lord Jesus, our defender and mighty warrior.  “Yeshua”, Jesus’s name in Hebrew, actually means “salvation”.

The Lord inhabits the praises of His people!

Somehow, there is power and strength when we praise the Lord, whether singing His praises, or speaking of His greatness.  Speaking those words of praise, blessing, and adoration of the Lord… especially speaking or singing the ancient Scriptural words, and truth about Him and His greatness has an effect on us.  It builds confidence and faith, and reminds us of who Jesus is, that He is the final and ultimate hope we can have.

Speaking and singing truth, facts, and Scripture about the Lord also has an effect on the unseen world, the unseen dimensions around us, reminding those in the unseen realm of who our God is and who their creator actually is.

Everything that exists, had to have been created, and is therefore ultimately subject to its creator.   This includes things which exist in the spiritual world, or a dimension which we humans don’t normally see.

 

Two closing thoughts:

Jude, the brother of James reminds us, “But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you.’”  (Jude vs. 9)

Speaking of Jesus, Paul wrote:

“For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins.  And He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation. 

For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things have been created by Him and for Him.  And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”  (Colossians 1:13-17)

 

Look up with Desire

Do you seek more?

Are you tired of settling for 2^nd or 3^rd best?

Do you want to know and understand the power of the universe?

You’ve gained much, but you know there is more?

You’ve accomplished much, and rule much, but you know there is more,

You know you were meant for more.

Life seemed long, but you’ve recognized, your 80 years on this planet are a mere speck in relation to the age and size of this massive universe we’ve been allowed to observe and experience.

 

And,

You want to experience more than you’ve experienced.

You desire more positive than you have.

Maybe you have no real positive, only statistical success,

But,

You crave real, positive.

 

You’ve heard many things.

You’ve been taught many things about life,

and where we all come from.

And, where we’re going.

 

 

Yet,

In the depths of your heart,  the deepest part of your soul,

You question what you’ve been told,

Because, you know there is more to life than this.

We see a beautiful sunrise,

We see the constellations in the heavens,

The stars have names dating back millennia,

Today these are observed, measured, and calculated with great scientific precision, and knowledge.

 

But, we know there are deeper questions.

“Why is it so beautiful?”

“Why do we seek and see pictures in the starry skies?”

“Why do the chemical compounds in these vastly distant objects obey physical scientific laws, yet when seen with a telescope, create true works of art?”

 

Are you aware, that many astrophysicists studying these cosmos believe it all had to come from an outside force,

an intelligence from outside our dimensions of space and time?

 

It had to come from One who designed this universe intentionally,

And created you and me, intentionally.

With purpose,

For a purpose,

For a purpose greater than ourselves, and what society teaches.

 

We have been created for a relationship the world doesn’t offer,

Can’t offer.

 

Even if we have wonderful family relationships, there is more, and better, for which we have been created.

Definitely more than money can buy, more than any physical high a person can obtain chemically, or by force… which is temporary at best… no matter how much power a person may believe he has.

Even if you are the most powerful person on the planet, in your heart of hearts, you humbly know,

Ultimately, this is temporary.

Still, it’s that humble recognition of the temporary and the lacking in us, which can allow our minds and spirits to open up to the truth, to the One Who is the Way, and the Truth, and the Life.

 

You may have heard some of this before, from religious leaders who are imperfect, yet,

The words spoken out of the ancient book, some of which is more than 5000 years old, speaks truth, rings truth, even uncomfortable truth which may cause our spirits, our hearts, to be in disagreement, and uncomfortable, yet that’s because we recognize it to be true.

We musn’t stop there.

 

With that uncomfortable truth, is awesomely powerful encouraging truth and hope.

This hope is from the One whom in recorded human history said,

“… I am with you always,

even to the end of the age!”

 

Sounds like something out of science fiction or fantasy.

But, it is recorded in history.

Two millennia ago, many people saw and walked with this one who proved Himself to be not just a man, but God also, the Son of God.  The One True God.

 

He was born to a human mother, lived as a man, yet did no wrong, lived humbly, yet strongly and lovingly with people, showing humankind the way to live, and what we were meant for.

What each and every person on this planet earth is meant for,

and what we mean to Him,

and how much He, the eternally Great I Am actually loves us.

 

Loving us so much, that He died for us.

But, He couldn’t stay dead.  He didn’t stay dead.

 

Why?

 

In our heart of hearts, we know that no matter how good we are, we aren’t perfect.

We know that even our relative goodness still has imperfections, which doesn’t allow us access to the truly good, One true God, the Great I am, the One Creator of the universe.

The One who is the first and last.

The Alpha and Omega,

The Beginning and the End.

The one who’s name in English is Jesus,

And in His native language, Yeshua, which means Salvation.

 

The One who is Salvation was and is perfect.

We, are not.

The One who is perfect and pure and holy, allowed himself to be falsely judged and penalized by death for our imperfections, our wrong doings, our sins… all of them, from all of human kind.

 

Hard to fully grasp.

 

Still, He is Holy, and is Salvation, and as such, even though He died, death could not keep Him in the ground.

 

Jesus conquered sin, death, and the grave, because He is the One True God, He is Salvation, and loved you and me enough to pay our debt, and give us salvation and life.

 

This happened in history about two millennia ago, a mere 20 centuries ago.

Those who saw and walked with him recorded it on paper within about 70 years of Him having lived on earth, being crucified, dying, coming out of the grave, walking among people again, then floating up through the air to heaven.

Shortly after, He sent His Spirit to dwell within His followers, those who had submitted themselves to Him and received His forgiveness, salvation, and new life with true meaning and purpose, as intended by this same Jesus who is God, the Great I Am, who created the universe and all it contains, including you and me.

 

For the last 2000 years, His followers have shared the truth and realities of Jesus with many people the world over, often being persecuted, misunderstood, used, and their words twisted for selfish and political purposes.

Still, He brings life and peace to those who truly surrender their wills to His.

He desires this for each of us, for every human being.

He desires this for you.

He desires you to know Him, His love, His peace, His strength, His power, His purpose for life and confidence at death, because He desires you to be with Him for eternity.

 

Jesus desires you to know His hope.

 

He is the Great I Am.

The beginning and the end.

Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  No one comes to the Father but through Me.”

He invites you to receive Him by faith, now, and begin a new life, with Life.

Call on His Name, the Name above all other names, the name of Jesus, and He will receive you as His own.

His promises hold true.

 

“And lo, I am with you always,

Even to the very end of the age!”

To Other Dimensions, Briefly

 

We are here on earth for just a moment of eternity.  But, then, our souls, our being, still exist for the rest of eternity.  Can we grasp that?  It’s truly hard to fathom.

“God has made everything beautiful in its time.  He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; Yet they cannot fathom the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.”

Ecclesiastes 3:11

We look at photos of galaxies vast distances from earth, and realize we’re not only viewing an image of something a great geographical distance from us, but a great time distance from us as well, thus the phrase “space-time”.  We’re viewing something that once was, but at an earlier point in eternity.

Many awe-provoking phrases of Scripture come to mind.  Jesus said, “before Moses was, I Am”,  meaning He is God, and has always existed, even outside of time and space as we know it.  He simply chose to enter our current physical dimensions for a time, in order to live among us.

We were made a little lower than the angels.

There are various levels of living creations which the Creator of the universe brought into being.  From the simplest single celled organisms, to the plants which provide the nutrition for higher lifeforms to thrive, to the pets, the cats and dogs which have such an ability to communicate with and understand their human companions, to the abstractness of angelic beings some of whom have much greater abilities and responsibilities than others.

Scripture says we were made in the image of God, and a little lower than the angelic beings.  This makes us an extremely high value creation.

Do you grasp that?  Think of all the beings that exist on our planet, maybe the universe, and in the spiritual dimensions.  We humans have been made a little lower than the angels, and the God who created us, entered our dimension  because He wanted to be with us, and show us the way to a healthy, positive way to live, both for this life, and an opportunity for the life to come.

An Astronaut’s Psalm

Where can I go from Your Spirit, Where can I flee from Your presence?

If I ascend up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there.

 

If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,

Even there Your hand will guide me,

Your right hand will hold me fast.

 

If I say, “surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,”

Even the darkness will not be dark to You; the night will shine like the day,

For darkness is as light to You.

(Psalm 139:7-12)

 

How poetic, inspiring, courage building, and confidence building for all who are heading off into space with the big picture in mind.

What is also inspiring, is to realize this Psalm was written by the ancient King David about 3000 years ago.  And an interesting note is, the Hebrew word for heaven, שׁמה, shaw-meh’, includes in its definition “…alluding to the visible arch in which the clouds move, as well as to the higher ether where the celestial bodies revolve”.  (Strong’s Concordance #H8064)

I always find it so amazing to see in the ancient writings of Scripture words and phrases that can directly pertain to things in our modern world which the original writers may not have even dreamed of.  In essence its saying, ‘If I go up to space, You God are there with me.”

Still, for the majority of humanity who may not have the opportunity to travel beyond Earth, the key thought remains, wherever I am on the planet, You God are there with me, desiring that I rest in You.