Does the Bible mention anything about the vastness of the universe?

Question

And I don't mean generic astronomy references such as 'stars' before anyone thinks of being a smartarse!

Why would God make the universe so big if we were his main priority? Do you not think Christians are a bit full of themselves to think they are the sole purpose of existence?

Answer 1

He spreads out the northern skies over empty space;
he suspends the earth over nothing.
He wraps up the waters in his clouds,
yet the clouds do not burst under their weight.
He covers the face of the full moon,
spreading his clouds over it.
He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters
for a boundary between light and darkness.
The pillars of the heavens quake, aghast at his rebuke.
By his breath the skies become fair;
his hand pierced the gliding serpent.
And these are but the outer fringe of his works;
how faint the whisper we hear of him!
Who then can understand the thunder of his power? (Job 26:7-14)

Don't you think that's quite enough for us to be getting on with meantime?

Answer 2

Absolutely! In Genesis it equates the number of stars in heaven as akin to the number of grains of sand on the seashore(Genesis 22:17). Atheists in earlier times used to use this to argue against the Bible, as scientists estimated there were only between 1,100 and 5,000 stars in the sky. (Now, of course, we know different).
Jeremiah 33:22 states 'As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured ...' (King James Version). Just recently a post on this site wondered about the wastefulness of God in making so many stars and (possible) planets: see? Atheists jeer the Bible is wrong when they think there are only several hundred stars, then mock God's extravagance when it's known there are trillions of these balls of hydrogen. The atheist will ALWAYS look for reasons to disbelieve.
So, was God 'exravagant'? Does the cosmos have a purpose? Definitely. Stars and planets were designed for signs (NOT PORTENTS OR OMENS, BUT COMMEMORATIONS AND CELEBRATIONS) and for seasons, days and years (Genesis 1:14; see also verse 16 puts stars relatively low, summing up their creation in a casual line: this shows the stars are UNimportant in organising our individual lives, nipping asrology in the bud).

But they have another purpose: Psalm 19:1 states
'The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth His handy-work.' This Psalm reveals how all these things are at God's beck and call, and today we have the knowledge that the universe is vast beyond imagining: a pointer to God's omnipotence and eternal nature.

More than this, Job 26:7 states that God '... hangeth the earth upon nothing.' This indicates the earth is kept in place by nothing solid or physical, but by gravity (actually this is as good an analogy as any for the sustaining power of faith in Jesus as any modern theologian has come up with!) Internal evidence suggests Job was written about 1800 BC at the latest: remember that even centuries later than this, the Hindus said the earth was a disc, supported on the backs of four elephants, who in turn were standing on the shell of a turtle, which was swimming in the cosmic sea (sound familiar, fellow Terry Pratchett fans?).

in Luke 17:20-37, Jesus is describing a worldwide, simultaneous event -- the return of Himself as King of kings.
In verse 31, He says 'In that day...' and following the description of the people in daylight, he says, in verse 33, 'In that night ...', describing people in bed, indicating His knowledge that there were different time periods on the earth, and by implication, that the earth was spherical.
It really doesn't take much insight to see the Bible has a consistency of knowledge which stretches beyond the contemporary knowledge of the time.
THat's why it can be trusted. Take Jesus as your God, Lord and Saviour now, while you have the chance. May God bless you in your search for truth.

Answer 3

There is a verse that says that all the nations of the earth are but a drop in the bucket, or like the dust on the scales, compared to God's great creation.

As for being a "smartarse", how about your last remark, about Christians being a bit "full of themselves"?

Maybe we are not his "main priority", but it is comforting to think that he does love and care for us.

Answer 4

You omit the element, technological expertise is approximately how the Universe works and reaching an expertise of it quite is concepts with the aid of empirical examination and experimentation. God isn't area of that and on no account has been, faith is according to faith and faith is, by definition, attractiveness without demonstration. as a ways back by fact the thirteenth century St. Thomas Aquinas observed that articles of religion, like the existence of God, won't be able to be scientifically proved and that it makes human beings of religion look silly to declare in any different case. a individual who believes in God can assume that the guidelines of Nature are the end results of Divine advent, on an identical time as an Atheist can assume they're the end results of random probability, even though it does not make merely a sprint distinction to the guidelines themselves, they're the comparable regardless.

Answer 5

Good question Zeppelin:

The Bible uses the plurality of Earth a couple times, such as Hebrews 11:3: "Through faith we understand that the WORLDS were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear."

In Genesis it tells us that "in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." We don't know when that was, but eons is a good guess.

Now that the universe is created, what does the earth look like? "It was without form and void." And that Hebrew word, TAHU, suggests it was in a worthless state. In Jeremiah that word appears again with a description of its future state with the mountains shaking and the earth destroyed and uninhabited (Jeremiah 4:23).

In other words, after the battle of Armageddon, our world is reduced to the state it was in before creation week.

Don't despair, though, God says He created this planet to be inhabited in Isaiah 45:18 "For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I [am] the LORD; and [there is] none else."

Read all those bragging verses in Isaiah and you will see God was reminding Cyrus 100 years before Babylon was conquered that He was in charge. When Cyrus read his name and method of conquering Babylon before he was even born, he set the Jews free to return to Israel (That was just an extra thought, that God is still in control of His creation).

There is a Bible code that puts it all together—also reveals who your Creator is, and it is the only part of the Bible that says you can not understand it until the end of the days. Read its important message at www.revelado.org/revealed.htm

Blessings and AGAPE love, One-Way

Answer 6

Indeed we must not think that "they are the sole purpose of existence" of the cosmos.

The scriptures tell us that all the nations are as dust on the scales, as something nonexistent to God -- clearly this is an indication as to our position in the universe.

Isaiah 40: 17All the nations are as nothing before Him, Less than nothing and emptiness, They have been reckoned to Him. (YLT)

Still to God this universe is as nothing much, in this scripture we see how exalted God is beyond our understanding:
Ps 113: 6 Who humbleth himself to look on the heavens and on the earth?

Answer 7

stars in the (ferdement )or some such ref , is the only reference i know of, but as for distance or size the only people were the Aztecs plus their calender which stops in 2012 another puzzle-- how daft to think we are the only living objects around in this universe or indeed time

Answer 8

I don't remember the exact quote but there is a verse which says ".............and He stretched forth (unfolded) the heavens..." which ties in with the expanding universe concept of Big Bang, etc. Again in another Psalm the circularity of the earth is mentioned which shows the earth is round and not flat.
Exactly what is meant by "....the deep calling unto deep...." and He calling the stars by their names are all mysteries in relation to the heavens, stars, etc. You need to study more to understand.

Answer 9

The Bible is intended to teach us about God, His attributes and His love for us. It was never intended as a science book or to answer questions not related to our relationship with God. If one learns about God and understands their relationship with Him one learns there is more than just "I" involved. It's not being full of ourselves to know that God loves us. Realizing the vastness of the universe and knowing that God is concerned even with the smallest person on this small planet actually gives us a greater appreciation for God. Only someone who doesn't understand the relationship between God and the individual would see it as personal arrogance.

Answer 10

There is a prayer King Solomon wrote and he says the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain God.1st King 8:27
2nd Corinthians,12:2 Read what Paul says.