Showing posts with label stars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stars. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 26, 2025

Everything's Under Control - take a few moments to look up at the evening sky. What keeps the sun and the stars in the sky? What keeps the earth rotating on its axis? What keeps the ocean from going further than the sand? It’s Almighty God, and we can trust Him to hold us up. Stare at the stars and just imagine what kind of power and ability it takes to keep everything in our massive, almost inexhaustible universe working perfectly. If God, through His Word, can do all of this, He can also hold you up and orchestrate and direct every single detail of your life. If you have a problem right now, and you feel like you’re about to cave in, begin saying, “God, I trust You to hold me up.” You don’t have it make it on your own ... you have the God of the universe to support you

I think we all have days when we think, Am I really strong enough to keep going? 

God, are you really going to take care of this?

During these times, I love to ponder Hebrews 1:3 (AMP) and remind myself Who’s holding everything up.

Look at what it says:

"The Son is the radiance and only expression of the glory of [our awesome] God ... 

"upholding and maintaining and propelling all things [the entire physical and spiritual universe] by His powerful word [carrying the universe along to its predetermined goal] ...."

Wow, I love this! 

God upholds and maintains and propels all things. 

Just think: What keeps the sun and the stars in the sky? 

What keeps the earth rotating on its axis? 

What keeps the ocean from going further than the sand? 

It’s Almighty God, and we can trust Him to hold us up!

If you have a problem right now, and you feel like you’re about to cave in, begin saying, “God, I trust You to hold me up.” 

Then remind yourself that you don’t have it make it on your own ... you have the God of the universe to support you.

I want to look at another important part of this verse.

How does it say God upholds, maintains and propels all things? 

By “His powerful Word.” 

He speaks it!

The great thing about the Word is that we can also speak it over our lives — we can be a mouthpiece for God and say what He says. 

For instance, when I wake up in the morning, I begin declaring good things from His Word over my day. 

I say things like:

- “Everything I lay my hand to today is going to prosper” (see Deuteronomy 30:9) and 

- “God orders my steps and He has a great plan for my day!” (see Psalm 37:23; Jeremiah 29:11)

I think it’s so easy to forget just how awesome God really is. 

For instance, several years ago, I asked the Lord, “Why don’t I have exciting, special things happen in my life anymore?”

God spoke to my heart and said, “Joyce, I still do those things all the time. 

"You have just gotten used to it.”

This answer surprised me! 

And I realized how important it is to remind ourselves of God’s majesty, goodness and never-ending ability to help us.

You see, God wants us to live amazed by His goodness in our lives ... to actively take notice of the truly wonderful things 

He does for us. 

Why? 

Because when we live amazed, we will never be without hope! 

Let’s look at the story of Abraham ...

God had blessed Abraham abundantly. 

However, there was one thing that he and his wife, Sarah, didn’t have — a child. 

Abraham said, "... Lord God, what can You give me, since I am going on [from this world] childless ...?"

And He [God] brought him outside [his tent into the starlight] and said, "Look now toward the heavens and count the stars — if you are able to number them. 

"Then he said to him, So shall your descendants be" - (Genesis 15:2, 5 AMP).

Although Abraham’s circumstances looked overwhelming, the Lord brought him out of his tent to amaze him and remind him that He can do the impossible.

I believe we can all spend too much time “in our tent,” looking at our own problems. 

That’s why the Bible says to look away from all that will distract unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith (see Hebrews 12:2).

Every time we decide to pray, read His Word or simply dwell on the great things He has done for us in the past, it produces hope. 

And, like Abraham, we soon begin thinking, Wow, maybe He can do this for me!


The next time you have the opportunity, take a few moments to walk outside and look up at the evening sky. 

Stare at the stars and just imagine what kind of power and ability it takes to keep everything in our massive, almost inexhaustible universe working perfectly.

Then ponder this: If God, through His Word, can do all of this, He can also hold you up and orchestrate and direct every single detail of your life.

by Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer is one of the world's leading practical Bible teachers. She is a New York Times bestselling author, and her books have helped millions of people find hope and restoration through Jesus Christ. Through Joyce Meyer Ministries, she teaches on a number of topics with a particular focus on how the Word of God applies to our everyday lives. Her candid communication style allows her to share openly and practically about her experiences, and helps others understand how to apply biblical principles to their own lives.
joycemeyer.org

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The Shekinah Glory - this glory of God is always available. All we have to do is ask for it and be willing to let His Shekinah glory be the controlling element of your life

Please, Show Me Your Glory - it is God who commanded light to shine out of darkness who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ

Prepare for the Unusual - Get ready for the Glory - we need to be sober in this hour. We need to be watchful and keep ourselves in submission to God

Tuesday, August 19, 2025

Wandering Stars - ungodly people, most likely influential leaders in the churches who are damaging and defiling the work of the kingdom - leaders who are misusing their role and privileges for evil rather than good. God's revealed Word often provides insight about the true nature of the universe. Since the Creator made all things, His revealed Word often provides insight about the true nature of the universe long before we discover it. Comets were observed in Old Testament times. Today we know that they “wander” for some time but eventually dissipate into “the blackness of darkness for ever.” Just so, these “stars” may "wow" some for a season, but they are reserved for an eternity in hell -they are “reserved” for a “blackness of darkness for ever”

“[They are] wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.” - (Jude 1:13)

This short reference is somewhat enigmatic. 

The five “wandering stars” of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn were clearly known in Jude’s day, and their behavior had been plotted for many centuries. 

The Bible also uses “stars” as figures of speech for angelic beings in Job and Revelation.

It is clear in context that Jude is referencing ungodly people, most likely influential leaders in the churches who are damaging and defiling the work of the kingdom

The particular focus of this example is that they are “reserved” for a “blackness of darkness for ever.”

Earlier, Jude cited “the angels which kept not their first estate” as being “reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day” (verse 6). 

Peter alludes to the same punishment of “angels that sinned” who were delivered “into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment” - (2 Peter 2:4).

But it does not appear that Jude is speaking of angels in today’s text. 

Beginning in verse 8, Jude begins to tie his illustrations to people — leaders who are misusing their role and privileges for evil rather than good

All of the previous examples are obvious:" filthy dreamers, natural beasts, those behaving like Cain, Balaam, or Korah — even the waterless clouds, fruitless trees, and foaming waves" are easily compared to human behavior.

How do we apply this illustration? 

Since the Creator made all things, His revealed Word often provides insight about the true nature of the universe long before we discover it

Comets were observed in Old Testament times.

Today we know that they “wander” for some time but eventually dissipate into “the blackness of darkness for ever.” 

Just so, these “stars” may "wow" some for a season, but they are reserved for an eternity in hell. 

BY HENRY M. MORRIS III, D.MIN. 

Days of Praise

the Institute for Creation Research 

At the Institute for Creation Research, we want you to know God’s Word can be trusted with everything it speaks about—from how and why we were made, to how the universe was formed, to how we can know God and receive all He has planned for us.

icr.org

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Angels In Chains - the spirits in prison - these wicked angels must be the same who left their own habitation in heaven, disobedient to God in “going after strange flesh” in the days of Noah, possessing the bodies of ungodly men and women and hoping thereby to “corrupt” all flesh on earth. God did have to cleanse the polluted earth with the global waters of the flood as a result, but neither man nor angels can ever destroy God’s holy purpose in creation. These chained angels cannot be the same angels as the principalities and powers of darkness which are still in “high places” under the direction of Satan. They are apparently “the spirits in prison” to whom Christ “preached” when He descended to Hades “in the spirit” while His body was resting in the tomb

Tartarus - those who lead God's children astray will end up in Tartarus. The word Tartarus can be defined as “the deepest abyss of Hades - it seems that Tartarus was what the demons feared

The Worm That Will Not Die - those in hell, being completely cut off from God, exist with a nagging, guilty conscience that, like a persistent worm, gnaws away at its victim with a remorse that can never be mitigated

Tuesday, August 5, 2025

Horoscopes - the stars are part of creation. We don’t look to points of light in the sky in order to find direction for our lives. We need to look at the word of God and seek to understand what God is saying for us

Is it okay for Christians to read horoscopes?

It is not okay for Christians to read or consult
horoscopes for entertainment or direction. 

Horoscopes are a form of astrology that is condemned in Scripture and Christians should avoid them.  

Let’s see what the Bible says.

Deuteronomy 4:19, “And beware not to lift up your eyes to heaven and see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, and be drawn away and worship them and serve them, those which the LORD your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven."

Isaiah 47:13–14, “You are wearied with your many counsels; Let now the astrologers, those who prophesy by the stars, those who predict by the new moons, stand up and save you from what will come upon you. 14 Behold, they have become like stubble, fire burns them; They cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame; There will be no coal to warm by nor a fire to sit before!”

As you can see, Scripture condemns the idea of looking to the stars for any direction, omen, or help. God clearly speaks against it. 

But why is this so important? 

First, it is important because we ought to keep our eyes on the word of God, and not upon creation. 

The stars moving above us, are part of creation. We don’t look to points of light in the sky in order to find direction for our lives. 

We need to look at the word of God and seek to understand what God is saying for us there, not to creatures, things, birds, or men.  

We are to look to Christ alone.

Romans 1:22–23, “Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.”

Another reason Christians should not be involved with horoscopes is that it’s a form of idolatry. 

It brings the person who indulges in it closer to trusting something other than God for purpose and wisdom and guidance. 

This is idolatry because God alone is the one from whom all wisdom and purpose are derived. 

To give to a created thing (stars and moon) that which belongs to God alone (wisdom and direction) is to commit idolatry.

Furthermore, astrology can open up a person to demonic oppression which could leave to possession.

Astrology is a form of the occult. It is a form of divination and is spiritually dangerous.

“Astrology is an ancient system of divination based on the belief that the stars can influence the fate and behavior of men and the general course of human events. A belief in the supernatural powers of the celestial bodies was common to the Babylonians, Egyptians, Assyrians, and Chaldeans. In the 4th century BC, it reached the Greeks and somewhat later the Romans.”

by Matt Slick 

carm.org

Related Links:

Sixth Sense - Third Eye - ESP - Extra-sensory perception - all spiritual leading and communication should come from God, through prayer and revelation from His Word. The only “sixth sense" we need is the Holy Spirit; everything else is counterfeit

Séance - Christians should have no part in trying to contact the dead or any other occult practice. Christians are instructed to resist the devil and to put on the armor of God to stand against the powers of darkness

Black Magic - God clearly condemns the evil practice of black magic. To choose black magic is to reject the control of God and invite judgment


Why both Jesus and Satan are called the Morning Star - there seems to be a connection with the phrase in reference to those from heaven since the angels are in heaven, in the presence of God in Jesus, of course, is God in flesh in heaven, and Lucifer used to dwell in heaven

Why are both Jesus and Satan called the Morning Star?

Both Jesus and Satan, the devil, are called the Morning Star because Jesus designates the light that came into the world (John 1:4, 7-9; 3:19).

And the name of the devil, Lucifer (KJV), means light bearer (Isaiah 14:12, KJV). 

In Revelation 22:16 it says, “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” 

The second reference is generally regarded to refer to Satan in Isaiah 14:12. 

Different translations render the Hebrew הֵילֵל [heylel /hay·lale/] differently. 

NASB = star of the morning

ESV, RSV = day star

KJV, NKJV = son of the morning

However, the word is translated into ‘morning star’ in three bibles.

Isaiah 14:12, CSB, “Shining morning star, how you have fallen from the heavens! You destroyer of nations, you have been cut down to the ground.”

Isaiah 14:12, LEB, “How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of dawn! You are cut down to the ground, conqueror of nations!”

Isaiah 14:12, NIV, “How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!”

However, ‘morning star’ is also used for angels (Job 38:7, NASB, ESV, KJV, RSV, NIV, etc.). 

So, there seems to be a connection with the phrase in reference to those from heaven since the angels are in heaven, in the presence of God in Jesus, of course, is God in flesh in heaven, and Lucifer used to dwell in heaven.

The phrase seems to find its biblical origin with the concept of a star representing a person, first found in Numbers 24:17, “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near; A star shall come forth from Jacob, A scepter shall rise from Israel, and shall crush through the forehead of Moab, And tear down all the sons of Sheth.” 

The star is a member of Jacob’s family.

The Greek of Revelation 22:16

In Revelation 22:16, the words ‘morning star’ is πρωϊνός ἀστήρ - proēïnós astḗr.

The Hebrew of Isaiah 14:12 and the LXX

In the Hebrew of Isaiah 14:12, the words morning staris הֵילֵל [heylel /hay·lale/]. 

It occurs only once in Hebrew in the entire Old Testament, right here in this verse.

“1966 הֵילֵל [heylel /hay·lale/] n m. From 1984 (in the sense of brightness); TWOT 499a; GK 2122; AV translates as “Lucifer” once. shining one, morning star, Lucifer. 1A of the king of Babylon and Satan (fig.). (TWOT) Helel’ describing the king of Babylon. Additional Information: Lucifer = “light-bearer”.

In the LXX (The Greek Translation of the Hebrew Old Testament), morning star is ἑωσφόρος, eosphoros. (We get the word phosphorous from it).

It is “ἑωσφόρος, ου, ὁ (fr. ἕω, Attic form of Ionic ἠώ ‘dawn, morning’, and φέρω; Hom., Hes.+; LXX, Philo) morning star 2 Pt 1:19 v.l.—DELG s.v. 1 ἕω.”

Conclusion

In the Hebrew Old Testament morning Star is from the Hebrew הֵילֵל [heylel /hay·lale/], which Septuagint translators rendered into the Greek ἑωσφόρος, eosphoros

But, in Revelation 22:16 the Greek word couplet Morning Star is two words πρωϊνός ἀστήρ, proēïnós astḗr. there is a difference between them. 

But, the similarity is that both deal with light. 

Therefore, the same phrase “can” be rendered in English as Morning Star.

by Matt Slick
carm.org

Related Links:



Thursday, July 3, 2025

Jesus Offers Three Kinds of Life - You were made for more than survival, success, or earthly significance. you were made for a life of purpose. Jesus calls it abundant life — a life where your values and your meaning and your significance all come together. That’s his Christmas gift to you in Jesus Christ

“I have come in order that you might have life — life in all its fullness.”John 10:10 (GNT)

Most people never learn how to really live. They’re just existing.

Jesus said in John 10:10, “I have come in order that you might have life — life in all its fullness” (GNT).

He came at Christmas to give us three kinds of life that take care of our past, our present, and our future.

First, Jesus came to give new life. 

That means everything we’ve ever done wrong is completely forgiven and forgotten. 

He wipes the slate clean!

When someone says they’re “born again,” that just means Jesus gave them a fresh start in life.

If you step across the line and accept God’s grace and ask him to forgive you, then you don’t need to feel guilty about your past. You get new life.

Second, Jesus came to give abundant life. 

You were made for more than survival, success, or earthly significance. 

You were made for a life of purpose. 

Jesus calls it abundant life — a life where your values and your meaning and your significance all come together. 

That’s the life that God meant for you to live.

Third, Jesus came to give eternal life. God will take care of your past, your present, and your future.

That’s his Christmas gift to you in Jesus Christ.

I once asked Peter Drucker, the famous management consultant, when he decided to become a believer. 

He said, “When I discovered what grace was really all about, when I fully understood it, I realized I was never going to get a better deal, and I opened my life to Christ.”

At the first Christmas, the Wise Men saw a bright star shining in the sky and followed it to find the baby Jesus. 

But the Wise Men weren’t the only people who saw it.

Everybody would have seen the star — but nobody else did anything about it. 

The Wise Men were wise because they knew that following the star would lead to the greatest gift.

How wise are you? 

It’s one thing to know Jesus is the Light of the World. It’s another thing to let him light up your life.

Just like you cannot live without the light of the sun, you cannot live without spiritual light. 

Open up to the light of Christ, and you’ll find new, abundant, and eternal life.

Talk It Over

In what ways have you experienced a fresh start since becoming a Christian?

How does understanding and pursuing your purpose lead to abundance? 

What does it mean to have abundant life?

What do you think kept people at the first Christmas from noticing Jesus?

BY RICK WARREN

pastorrick.com


Related Links:



Sunday, June 29, 2025

Counting Angels: How Many Are There? - there are clearly more angels than there are human beings. There’s not a single person, other than God, who knows exactly how many angels there are. The angels themselves may have lost count, like a child attempting to number the stars in the night sky

[Note: The following is an excerpt from Nathan Jones’ newest book, The Mighty Angels of Revelation.]

One of the grandest spectacles along the parade of events marching towards Christ’s birth was when Heaven’s choir broke out in song way above the heads of the lowly country shepherds. 

The Gospel of Luke tells of this glorious event in the Christmas story (Luke 2:8-14):

"Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 

"And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them … And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!'”

As impressive as that worship service sung by the heavenly choir must have been, the Apostle John described an even more spectacular display of angelic vocals in Revelation 5. 

John had been taken up to Heaven and had just seen the resurrected Jesus — the Worthy Lamb. 

He watched as Jesus took the seven-sealed scroll out of the right hand of His Father who sat on the throne.

Upon taking this scroll, which was the title deed to the earth, all Heaven erupted into praise!

I’d imagine John, as a visitor to the biggest worship service there has ever been, must have torn his eyes away from the Lamb for just a few moments to scan across the celestial crowd. 

The sheer number of worshiping angels must have boggled the Elder’s mind. 

Later, when John had returned to his Patmos cave to finish writing down all that he saw while visiting Heaven, he recorded how many angels had been involved in worshiping Jesus. 

He wrote, “And the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands” - (Revelation 5:11).

That verse begs the question: Just how many angels were up there in Heaven participating in that glorious worship service? 

And, larger in scope, just how many angels are there altogether?

Well, that’s tough to calculate. 

With 108 references to angels in the Old Testament and 176 references to them in the New Testament, not one of those verses provides us with an exact angelic count. 

The reader is left pecking through the various Bible verses like a puzzler picking through a pile of puzzle pieces in the search for the ones that, when connected, form a particular corner of the puzzle.

Some of these “puzzle pieces” are:

Describing an encounter with God, Moses said, “The LORD came from Sinai … And He came from the midst of ten thousand holy ones…” - (Deuteronomy 33:2).

When Daniel was given a vision of God’s heavenly throne, he proclaimed that he saw: “thousands upon thousands…attending to Him” - (Daniel 7:10).

When Peter tried to defend Jesus at His arrest, Jesus told him He needed no defense because His Father could supply Him “with more than twelve legions of angels” - (Matthew 26:53).

The writer of the New Testament book of Hebrews referred to the heavenly Jerusalem as a place where there are “myriads of angels.” (Hebrews 12:22).

With so vague a numbering system, it’s no wonder that one of Job’s friends exclaimed, “Is there any number to His troops?” (Job 25:3). 

There are so many angels that, when God answered Job out of a whirlwind, He compared the angels to the countless morning stars all singing together (Job 38:7). 

How many stars are there in the universe? 

Space.com estimates that our own single Milky Way galaxy could contain some 200 billion stars or more, and there are 2 trillion galaxies in the observable universe spanning a mind-blowing 48 billion light-year’s radius, for a total of 1 septillion stars!

Theologians, such as Ron Rhodes, report more conservative figures based on the Scriptures.

Bearing in mind that angels do not procreate and never die, that means there remains a fixed number.

The Jewish Kabbalists have estimated 301,655,722.

With such a massive number of angels, Thomas Aquinas concluded that there are clearly more angels than there are human beings.

I think we can conclude that there’s not a single person, other than God, who knows exactly how many angels there are

The angels themselves may have lost count, like a child attempting to number the stars in the night sky.

And so, the vague biblical counting of angels is meant to convey a great but indefinite figure. 

I suppose it is one that will stagger the human imagination one day when we learn their true numbers

One thing we know for sure, as one commentator has observed: “[Angels] meet us at the beginning of the Bible, at its close and almost everywhere in between.”

Resource

Encounter 72 of God’s mighty angels from the book of Revelation! Come and travel along with a man called the Elder and his angelic guide as the end times are revealed throughout the book of Revelation in stunning detail. Along the way, meet 72 of God’s mighty angels as they proclaim God’s messages of warning and hope to a lost world. Together let us encounter… The Mighty Angels of Revelation! (New book by Nathan E. Jones.)

“I consider this book to be the premier work on the subject of angels to this point in literary history.” – Terry James, Rapture Ready

Dr. Nathan E. Jones

As the Internet Evangelist at Lamb & Lion Ministries, Nathan reaches out to the over 4.5 billion people accessible over the Internet with the Good News of Jesus Christ. He also co-hosts the ministry's television program Christ in Prophecy and podcast The Truth Will Set You Free.

christinprophecyblog.org

Related Links:

God's Secret Agents - angels are all around us, taking care of us and ministering to us, even when we are not aware of their presence. This certainly gives hope in these troubled, dangerous times in which we are living

Angels: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly - the ministry of holy angels will never contradict the Bible. The actions of holy angels will always be consistent with the character of Christ. A genuine encounter with a holy angel will glorify God, not the angel

The Four Living Creatures in Revelation - one of the most interesting aspects of the four living creatures is that they demonstrate that Jesus, the Lamb of God, is equal to God Himself

Saturday, June 28, 2025

Science and the Bible - in many ways, the Bible has been ahead of science. However, the Bible is not a scientific textbook. The objective of Scripture is not to tell us how the heavens go but how to go to Heaven and how to know God. The Bible tells us that God stretched out the heavens into a limitless expanse, which we can never measure, and He filled it with stars as numerous as sands on the seashore. And modern science confirms this is true

"I have made the earth, and created man on it. I — My hands — stretched out the heavens, and all their host I have commanded" Isaiah 45:12

Some people believe that science and the Bible contradict each other, but that is not necessarily true.

Over the years, people have scoffed at the Bible, claiming it wasn’t scientific. 

They’ve said that people who believe the Bible are fools.

However, it was the Bible that told us the Earth is round, not flat, which many of the experts believed at one stage in human history.

Isaiah 40:22 says, “It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.” (NKJV).

The Bible also told us the stars in the sky were innumerable (see Hebrews 11:12) when astronomers said that was ridiculous. 

They claimed they could count the stars. 

Yet as they acquired more powerful telescopes, they had to keep adding to their numbers.

The Bible tells us that God stretched out the heavens into a limitless expanse, which we can never measure, and He filled it with stars as numerous as sands on the seashore

And modern science confirms this is true.

The Bible says that “by faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible” (Hebrews 11:3 NKJV). 

Everything we look at consists of protons and neutrons and electrons. 

So, it was the Bible that told us the things we see are made of things we don’t see.

In many ways, the Bible has been ahead of science.

However, the Bible is not a scientific textbook. 

The objective of Scripture is not to tell us how the heavens go but how to go to Heaven and how to know God.

I believe the Bible is the Word of God and that it’s true because science confirms it.

Greg Laurie

harvest.org

Related Links:

The Science of Nonsense - the Holy Bible has withstood the test of time - its message and teachings are timeless and totally up-to-date. God’s Word should always be the standard and benchmark by which we measure science and not the other way around

Jesus on the Age of the Earth - what a tragedy that so many Christian leaders have been bluffed and intimidated into assuming that secular interpretations of the evidence should dictate their understanding of God’s Word

Alien Visitors to Earth - there are no aliens from other planets visiting Earth. The energy required even for mild-sounding ‘sub-light’ travel is more than the whole human race consumes in a month