Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. As we all learned in grammar school, these are the eight planets in our solar system (those that revolve around our sun). We have a great deal of information in the Bible about why God created Earth, but why did God create the seven other planets? What does the Bible tell us about them? Let's explore these questions more in this article.
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. (Psalm 19:1)
Does the Bible Mention Other Planets?
There is much mention of the “heavens” in the Bible, but there is no discussion of the other planets. One might think that God would want to include planets in the story of His creation of our solar system in the book of Genesis. However, what we read is, “And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars” (Genesis 1:14-16). So we understand that He created the sun, moon, and stars, but the writer of Genesis did not speak of planets. Why not?
God only knows, but there are any number of reasons why they may not have been mentioned. Perhaps as God inspired the writer of Genesis (generally thought to be Moses), He considered that since humans can’t see planets as more than stars when standing on Earth, that’s how He referred to them. Since He knows the end of history from the beginning, maybe the Bible doesn’t talk about planets because God knew that humans would discover them in the course of time (and hopefully give Him praise once found). Or perhaps He simply didn’t think it necessary to mention them since the focus of Genesis is the creation of Earth for its inhabitants with whom God would have a relationship.
How Do the Other Planets Reflect God’s Power and Glory?
There isn’t enough room in this article to say how planets and the entire universe reflect God’s magnificent power and His illustrious glory. It’s frankly unbelievable that anyone who studies astronomy has trouble believing in God or in intelligent design. Just think about the Earth first. We are exactly the right distance away from the sun to allow for water–not burning hot or freezing cold so that it can’t support life. It is tilted at 23.5 degrees which is also perfect for supporting life in relation to the sun. God’s natural laws are on display everywhere we look– and even then He amazes us. The law of gravity tells us that if we drop a ball it will always fall to the ground, but water can defy gravity as it is drawn up inside a tree.
So when we consider that there are other planets besides ours in our solar system that we have discovered, we are in greater awe. He created each one unique and placed them in space exactly where they need to be. Years ago, Pastor Louie Giglio created a multimedia event called “Indescribable” that showcased God’s magnificence in creating the universe. It was a powerful series of images and facts from NASA that gave all believers more reason to worship our Heavenly Father (it’s definitely worth a watch).
How Do the Other Planets Fit into God’s Design for Earth and Humanity?
Though they may not have been identified as planets in Bible times, humans certainly could have seen five of them in the night sky as we do today. According to worldatlas.com, we can see Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn with the naked eye if conditions are right because they are the brightest. They obviously would not have been known as planets in Bible times, but would have looked like stars. Some believe that the Star of Bethlehem that led the Three Wise Men to Jesus’ place of birth was an alignment of planets that appeared as a very bright star (mentioned in Matthew 2). God certainly could have created this alignment–or a special star to lead them as well. Either way, it highlights the miracle and the majesty of that night. Since God is sovereign and has a purpose for every molecule in the universe (including those that make up all of us), God obviously designed the planets to play a part in history (“His story”).
In the Book of Job, the Lord questioned Job: “Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades? Can you loosen Orion’s belt?” (Job 38:31). Pleiades is a bright cluster of stars visible from Earth, and Orion’s belt is a constellation of stars. In questioning Job, God was referring to two things that would have amazed Job, and confirming that they are there because the Lord placed them there. He alone is the greatest power in the universe, capable of forming astronomical wonders over our heads.
No planets are mentioned in the Book of Revelation, but we do read that God will create a new heaven and a new earth–a chance of a new Eden where everything is perfect. The Apostle Peter, in his second letter, writes what will happen before this: “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” (2 Peter 3:10). It will be a clean slate for what God has planned to create for eternity.
Revelation 21:23 states that in the new heaven, “The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.” Since God will be our sun and we will bask in His glory, will He remove the planets that move around the sun? Since we will have no night, will there still be a moon? These are mysteries that we won’t know until the time comes, as the Bible does not give us any clues. And if the Bible doesn’t tell us, we just need to trust it’s all in God’s perfect hands.
Lessons from the Vastness of Space
Astronomy experts tell us that there are between 200 billion and two trillion galaxies in God’s universe. Within each galaxy there are any number of planets, stars, asteroids, meteors, black holes, and more. The lesson this teaches Christians is that God if infinitely creative, powerful, and awe-inspiring. It’s akin to marine biologists finding new creatures in the deepest places of the ocean. It should draw us to greater and greater adoration of our Creator who made everything and called it good.
Those who don’t know the Lord are more likely to worship the creation over the creator, which we are warned of in Deuteronomy 4:19. It reads, “And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars—all the heavenly array—do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven.” Matthew Henry's commentary adds, “Moses charges particularly to take heed of the sin of idolatry. He shows how weak the temptation would be to those who thought aright; for these pretended gods, the sun, moon, and stars, were only blessings which the Lord their God had imparted to all nations. It is absurd to worship them; shall we serve those that were made to serve us?”
Trusting in God’s Sovereign Plan for All Creation
Before God created the world, He had every single human being He was going to create in His mind. He had a plan for everyone’s life from beginning to end. Because of this, we are part of God’s sovereign strategy for all of creation. First, He created the world, then created the inhabitants, initiated a covenant relationship with his people, and provided a means for their redemption from the law of sin and death through the sacrifice of His Son. Today, around the world people are coming to faith in Christ and exercising that faith.
Meanwhile, He keeps everything in the universe operating exactly the way He wants it. Does He want to create 50 billion new stars in a galaxy beyond our view? Then He will do it. And it will have a purpose, perhaps to show His power and majesty to His enemies (like when Satan was certain he could get Job to curse God and die, but God kept Job faithful to the end because He knew He could get Job through it).
Whether we think about it or not, we trust God with every second of our lives every day. We can read how He worked in the lives of people in the Bible to advance His story, then look to our world today and see how and where He is working. Then we have the benefit of the Book of Revelation (albeit hard to understand at times) to know that those who believe in Jesus, who have “washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb” at the end of time will live forever with Him. The new earth will be our forever home, as God recreates it to be the perfect place for His children that He always intended.
If we are struggling with trusting what we haven’t yet experienced or cannot see, here are a few ways that we can be more solid in our trust in God’s plan for all creation:
Read the story of creation in the Bible slowly and really think about how monumental it was for God to be able to speak everything into existence.
Read through prophecy in the Bible and find the fulfillment of that prophecy to show you that God’s plan is never thwarted. (biblestudytools.com is a good resource to look up commentaries on various verses or chapters).
Think over your life and look at the many reasons God could be trusted, whatever the circumstance, to be your rock and your fortress–the One who loves you most.
Do a study of the Book of Revelation (here a commentary would be really helpful) and see what God has planned for every person, living or dead, at the end of time. See what a difference it makes to be on God’s side before He decides it’s time for destruction and recreation.
Write out praise verses and place them where you will see them every day. Some great ones that have to do with God’s creation of the heavens are: Genesis 1:14-19 Psalm 8:3-4, Psalm 19:1-14, Amos 5:8, Isaiah 40:26, Job 9:9.
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/HiddenCatch
Mary Oelerich-Meyer is a Chicago-area freelance writer and copy editor who prayed for years for a way to write about and for the Lord. She spent 20 years writing for area healthcare organizations, interviewing doctors and clinical professionals and writing more than 1,500 articles in addition to marketing collateral materials. Important work, but not what she felt called to do. She is grateful for any opportunity to share the Lord in her writing and editing, believing that life is too short to write about anything else. Previously she served as Marketing Communications Director for a large healthcare system. She holds a B.A. in International Business and Marketing from Cornell College (the original Cornell!) When not researching or writing, she loves to spend time with her writer daughter, granddaughter, rescue doggie and husband (not always in that order).
