One of the greatest discoveries in the history of astronomy was that the planets and stars move in fixed orbits. The three laws of planetary motion formulated by Johann Kepler in the early part of the seventeenth century mathematically demonstrated for the first time that heavenly bodies follow exact paths as they travel through space. These orbits are not approximate, but absolutely constant. Before Kepler, our knowledge of the universe was quite primitive and imprecise.
Kepler’s feat was an outstanding early example of the combination of theoretical knowledge and empirical observations leading to the discovery of certain natural laws that exist in our universe. However, credit for the discovery of these laws of the fixed order (or orbits) of the stars and planets must go to another individual who lived over 2,000 years before Kepler.
The prophet Jeremiah was told this amazing truth in the clearest language possible when he said: “Thus says the Lord, who gives the sun for light by day
and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night…” (Jeremiah 31:35). Jeremiah also added in (Jeremiah 33:25-26): “Thus says the Lord, ‘If My covenant for day and night stand not, and the fixed patterns of heaven and earth I have not established, then I would reject the descendants of Jacob and David My servant… ‘”
The God who, “In the beginning created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1) also created and established the natural laws that govern the fixed orbits and movements of the heavenly bodies.
The predominant theory of how the universe came into existence is that around 10 to 15 billion years ago a giant explosion took place, called the “Big Bang,” bringing the universe into being. In essence we are told that our incredibly orderly universe had its beginning in a state of high disorder – an explosion.
Imagine for a moment the following scenario: Take a giant object whose weight is approximately 6,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 tons. Now allow it to travel at the very high speed of 18.5 miles per second. Finally, trace its yearly orbit around the sun for 365.26 days for the past 5,000 years. I think you will find that this giant mass, moving at such a high velocity, in such an exacting orbit each year, is our very own planet Earth. It took 365.26 days for it to make one complete orbit around our sun 5,000 years ago. And 5,000 years from now, if Jesus doesn’t return beforehand, our Earth will also travel its circuit around the sun in 365.26 days. What incredible order!
This is so interesting! You did a lot of study to learn all this information. I appreciate it!