Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Will A Doomsday Meteor Trigger The End Of The World?

Recently in the news, a meteor was observed streaking across the sky in several states on the east coast, including where I live in Delaware. I was so disappointed that I missed seeing it :/   A friend of mine sent me a text after witnessing it.  He knew I loved that sort of stuff, and wondered if I had seen it too. He said it was amazing.

I saw a huge meteor fall only twice in my life. Once, years ago, around sunset, a huge fireball appeared to fall vertically, straight down to the horizon. Another time when I was on my deck, in broad daylight, I saw something bright, trailing straight across the sky. It looked like a jet at first, but as it got closer, I could clearly see it was a ball of flame with a smokey tail. I could even hear it! A loud swishing, burning sound clearly could be heard as it moved by. It never appeared to fall, but continued horizontally until it went out of sight, from one end of the sky to the other. I had never seen anything like it before or since.

I've heard that a lot of these burning objects may be space debris or small meteors that burn up. And occasionally on the news, there are reports of meteors actually hitting the ground, like the recent large one in Russia that struck the ground earlier this year. It sent a shock wave that broke hundreds of windows nearby! Fortunately, no one was killed.

If you search the internet, you'll find several claims of people recovering a small meteorite, or even some who claim to be hit by one. Who knows how many of these stories are true. I know one thing, if you are ever hit and killed by a meteor, your appointed time on this earth is definitely up! I mean, what are the odds of that!

So, the question is, will a huge doomsday meteor someday cause the total destruction of the world? There are books about it. There are movies about it. There are TV shows about it. Scientists are scheming how to destroy such an object, or knock it off course, with lasers or rockets or weapons of some sort.

When you think about it, a meteor would have to be enormous to actually break up the earth and destroy it. Actually, a meteor is relatively small, where an asteroid is a much larger object. Could an asteroid demolish the earth? Probably not. It would take something like the size of another planet to do it. But there isn't anything that big randomly hurling through space. (I think)

Even if the earth itself isn't destroyed in some huge collision, could a large meteor, or an asteroid, at least wipe out all life on earth? Maybe so (as I look over my shoulder). Seriously though, it's amazing to think how God, in His magnificent design of the universe, has created such a life-sustaining planet as earth. 

Just the idea that we live on a sphere is amazing. How can we walk upright, on top of the globe as well as on the bottom? Yes I know, gravity. But gravity is still to this day unexplainable! Even Einstein couldn't completely figure it out. And scientists of today still cannot fully explain what causes gravity. We know what it is and what it does, but the question remains....what causes gravity to work? What is its source? No one can completely explain it. That's why I believe gravity is a God thing.

Gravity is one of those mysterious areas that we'll never have an answer for. It's like trying to figure out where the universe ends, and if there is an end to the universe, what's on the other side? All these mysteries just point to a Creator God.

One reason why a killer meteor or asteroid has not yet wiped out life is because God has designed protective measures and put them in place. One such example is the earth's atmosphere. It burns up meteors before they hit the ground (usually, hmmm).

Some scientists claim that Jupiter is a protective planet, and that its huge size and gravitational force is able to draw meteors away from the earth. If you believe in a Creator God, this is just another demonstration of His amazing foresight in protecting our planet.

But if God created the earth, and has protected it, He could surely wipe out life if He desired to do so. He almost did it once - by the great flood. Because of man's unrighteousness, He had enough of man's sin and rebellion, and destroyed almost everybody with a flood. Only Noah and his family, eight in all, were found to be righteous, and survived. At least we know that God won't use a flood again to wipe us all out. He promised that.  "I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.” (Genesis 9:11)

So, what does the Bible say about the end times then? How does the Bible say the world will end? Well, it looks like a fiery ending! (Yikes!). Listen to 2 Peter 3:10-12, "But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat."

If God is in control and is planning a Final Day, a Judgment Day, then obviously the earth, or at least all life on earth, will someday be obliterated, but only when God decides the timing is right. In other words, if God wanted to (maybe when He's had enough of sinful man), He could hurl a flaming giant asteroid, or something like it, right at us! If so, there's nothing we can do to stop it. After all, He's used fire before - on the sin-ridden cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

"Then the Lord rained down fire and burning sulfur from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah. He utterly destroyed them, along with the other cities and villages of the plain, wiping out all the people and every bit of vegetation." (Genesis 19:24-25)

So.....will a doomsday meteor trigger the end of the world? Maybe!! And if so, what shall we do to prepare ourselves for a doomsday meteor, asteroid, or whatever else might wipe us out? Simple....the best way you can prepare for the end of the world is to make sure you are right with God! Then you can stop worrying about it.

No comments:

Post a Comment