Sermon on
How the Earth was Protected when the Sun was 7 times Hotter
By Brian Pepper
When Greg B, my son-in-law, and I walked from Lake St Clair to Cradle Mountain in Tasmania the weather was beautiful for the first three days then the clouds began to gather and soon the rain began to fall. Then the fog descended and it was with great difficulty that we could see the track. In an incredible short time great volumes of water rolled down the slopes and the track became a small creek. Greg and I were in the moors and I fell into a pool of water right up to my waist. We were fortunate to make it to the hut where a cheery fire was burning. It was lovely and warm, and we dried ourselves and our clothes and after a hot drink we felt better.
Weather in the mountains can be unpredictable and you need to be well clothed or otherwise you could freeze to death.
Bible Predicts a Change in Weather Conditions
Weather is a strange thing however the Bible predicts that one day soon there is going to be a tremendous change in the weather; and that will be when the LORD creates the New Heaven and the New Earth.
Isaiah 30:26 says, "Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound."
The Weather at Creation
Have you ever wondered how that life of any kind could exist on our planet when it received at least 7 times more solar radiation? Well there is no need to be concerned about it because God is switching things back to what is was like at Creation.
And what was it like at Creation? Well it seems evident the Earth enjoyed a sub tropical climate without the extremes of summer or winter. And while the Bible does not say that the ideal climate of Eden was worldwide there is evidence that this was the case; for before the Flood there were no dry hot deserts or drought stricken land. And how do we know this?
Well just as the prophecies of future conditions of the
Sun and Moon indicate what they will be like in the future; they also indicate what the conditions of the Earth might have been like before the Flood.
Isaiah 49:10, 11 says, "They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them.
And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted.”
Change in Geography of the Earth
Now the reason why people will not get thirsty or hungry or too hot in the New Earth, even though the moon shines as brightly as the sun does today is because the New Earth will be protected by a filtering system such as it was before the Flood.
There is going to be a great change in the geography of our globe in that there will not be the huge volume of water such as we have today.
Genesis 1:10 says, "And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good."
The bodies of Water that were called Seas in Genesis would have been large enough for whales to swim in. (Genesis 1:20)
No more Sea
Revelation 21:1 says, "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away and there was no more sea."
No more Sea. This suggests that all of the present sea will disappear. At present 71% of the earth is covered with water. So you can see that there is too much sea and not enough land. So God is going to do something about it. The present heaven or atmosphere will be fused when God sends the cleansing fire which envelopes the earth, spoken of in
2 Peter 3:10 and
Revelation 20:9. And the present
sea will disappear and be replaced by smaller bodies of water which God calls
seas.
River of Life
Have you ever considered where the River of Life will discharge its waters?
Also there are four rivers mentioned in
Genesis chapter 2 which issued from the Garden of Eden and flowed through the natural world.
And by the way how large might the River of Life be? I am positive that it will be larger than the River Torrens and could be as large as or even larger than the Murray River.
There is a prophecy in
Zechariah 9:10
latter half,"..and His dominion shall be from sea to sea
and from the river even to the ends of the Earth." Now
this is speaking of Christ’s future reign when He sets
up His everlasting Kingdom.
Conditions in the New Earth
I would like you to
notice another prophecy in
Isaiah 35:5, 6, 7 "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
6 Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.
7 And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.”
These texts describe our planet as it will be when the Earth is renewed but also indicate what it was like after Creation before the Flood.
The Earth on Day 1
In that wonderful chapter on astronomy in the Book of Job we read these very descriptive words spoken by the Creator Himself.
Job 38:4, 9 says, "Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare if thou hast understanding. v.9. when I made the cloud the garment thereof, and the thick darkness a swaddling band for it?”
This description of the Earth by the Creator Himself reveals how that it appeared on the first day of Creation; and it tells of a time when the Earth was completely surrounded by clouds and thick darkness. A swaddling band is something
that goes completely around an infant’s body.
So the Creator was telling Job of the condition of our planet before it was made habitable by light, water, grass, vegetation.
I would like you to notice
Genesis 1:1. "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”
The heaven mentioned here is the Atmospheric heaven which is immediately above us. And according to
Revelation 19:17 this is where the birds fly. But the birds were not flying at the time mentioned here because they had not been created as yet.
Genesis 1:2 says, "And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters."
You will notice that on the first day of creation our planet was covered with water and cloud.
The clouds that enveloped the Earth prevented the starlight from reaching its surface. So it was indeed wrapped in a swaddling band.
Day 1: Where did Light come from?
There are very good reasons to suggest that the 24 hours that we have today commenced on the first day of creation. For it is quite evident that God’s presence did not produce physical light at that time for if that had been the case God would not have had to say "Let there be light" as you read in
Genesis 1:3. For light would have already been there. The record shows that in the presence of God the earth was covered with clouds and there was thick darkness. It wasn’t until God said "Let there be light" that light appeared. And we should take particular notice of this, that light was only on one side of the earth; which shows very clearly that the light had a definite source, which of course was the sun and the moon.
Beginnng of 24 Hour Day Cycle
It is worth noting that it is the sun that turns the earth on its axis and one revolution takes exactly 24 hours and it never varies.
So we can be assured that the first day and all the days of creation were literal 24 days.
If these days had been long periods of time as it has been claimed then what about the vegetation which was created on the third day? How long would grass survive without sunshine? And what about the Sabbath? Jesus kept this as a 24 hour day
and He urged His followers to do the same.
Day 2: The Atmosphere
Genesis 1:6 says, "And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.”
The atmosphere is essential to sustain life and it is remarkable because of the perfect balance of gases. The atmosphere always remains the same. If a little more nitrogen were added the body processes would slow down and death would eventuate. If a little more oxygen were added the body processes would burn out with the same result. A little more laughing gas and we would all laugh and laugh until we died. So you can see that the atmosphere was made for life to exist in it and after all these years it still remains the same.
When God creates a New Heaven and a New Earth, this Earth as we know it will no longer exist for it will be given a new and beautiful face. And as we breathe the pure air it will invigorate the body and won’t that be wonderful? God will create a new atmosphere with gases in the purest state
and possibly a little different from what they are now.
Day 4: Sun, Moon and Stars
However coming back to that first day of creation the earth was covered with cloud and with thick darkness; then an atmosphere was made. But the question is what made those enveloping clouds transparent so that the sun could shine through? Well all that was necessary was heat such as turning on the solar activities.
Genesis 1:16 says, "And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also."
No Night in the New Earth
We need to remember that there isn’t going to be any night there, not as we know it anyway. So the moon will take over from the sun to provide continuous light for our planet.
Seeing that the moon is so close to the earth under normal conditions we would be burnt alive but God has made provision for this; for above the atmosphere there will be a vapour filter, which will protect us from the greatly increased light.
Psalm 121:6 says, “The sun shall not smite thee by day nor the moon by night.”
A Canopy around the Earth
I would like you to listen to this statement,
"Methuselah may have lived 969 years because he avoided too much sunshine. He and other patriarchs probably reached great ages because they lived under a canopy which filtered out the ultra violet rays of the sun.”
The man who made that statement, George Johnson, was the weather forecaster for the U.S.A. for 35 years. He made a deep study of the weather from the Bible and this was his conclusion.
Now it is possible that those early patriarchs lived great ages because of the protection from the sun’s harmful rays. I am sure that this had something to do with it but the mention of a canopy, or as the Creator calls it a swaddling band was correct, for it did exist and it will be back in its original position in the New Earth.
George Johnson also said that the canopy remained there until the Flood when the windows of heaven opened and the waters fell upon the earth.
Day 4: The Seasons
One of the great things that was established on the fourth day was the seasons.
Psalm 104:19 says, "He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down."
The Seasons are as essential as is day and night and they are controlled by the moon and the sun.
The Canopy
Now going back to the water vapour filter or canopy above the atmosphere of the earth which filtered out the excess heat and harmful rays of the sun, this became transparent a result of the heat of the sun and the moon; then the stars became visible. And this is quite understandable for even today the clouds can obscure the stars. You need to have a clear sky for the best viewing. It was this great sunshade which prevented the extremes of cold at the poles and the heat at the equator and created a climate of tropical temperatures all over the Earth.
Solar Actvities Changed at the Flood
At the Flood solar activities suddenly changed. The sun’s brilliance was diminished
and the moon ceased to be a light and produce heat. The result was that the earth became chilled and snow and ice fell upon the earth. There is evidence of this in the glaciers that are still here today; also the dried up ones leaving piles of stones, many standing on top of each other as if put there by some giant hand.
Now that our planet is no longer protected by blanket of transparent vapour it is fortunate that the sun does not shine any brighter than it does for if it did we would all be scorched with heat.
Life on Earth will be perfect again
But life on earth when God renews it will be perfect.
Notice Isaiah 65:17. “For behold I create new heavens and a new earth and the former shall not be remembered nor come into mind."
And won’t that be wonderful with a perfect atmosphere and with invigorating gases and abundance of water. What a change there will be.
Isaiah 35:1 says, “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.”
No more deserts but flowers will blossom in abundance. The whole earth will be like a great botanical garden.
Verse 7 says, "And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.”
Now doesn’t that sound wonderful? Springs of pure lovely water.
I can remember when I was a young man going to the mountains and drinking from a spring. It was like drinking
lemonade, bubbly and sweet.
I ask you isn’t Heaven going to be worthwhile?
It surely is.
Isaiah 35:10 says, "And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
The redeemed will be singing songs, joyful songs which express their gratitude for what Jesus has done for them: to make it possible to live in such a wonderful environment; a place where there will be no more aches and pain, no more heartaches or sorrow but joy and gladness. I certainly want to be there and I know that you do to. Let us pray that it comes soon.
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Brian Pepper (1916-1995) was born and raised in New Zealand. After serving in WWII he studied theology at Avondale College in NSW in the early 1950s.
He served as an SDA pastor in WA, SA and Tasmania from the 1950s to 1990s. 
