Way back in the Bible’s book of Genesis there is the story of a ladder reaching to the sky.
It of course it is the record of dream commonly known as Jacob’s Ladder.
Jacob’s concept of a ladder reaching the sky, in the ancient times of this writing, was humanly impossible. Strangely enough though, many millennia on, some are now dreaming about such an idea as being practical.
The space elevator, see diagram, is really receiving earnest consideration. In fact it is now beyond consideration as physical experiments continue and competitions seeking solutions abound.
I find my scientific mind wanting to delve into the excitement of the possibilities of a tether fastened to the earth and 50,000+ miles away it’s anchored to an asteroid. It is envisaged this would be the pathway along which a vehicle would travel at speeds of thousands of miles per hour. The problems yet to be solved are huge and right now a method to solve the stress and mass requirements of the tether are imposing, but many see it as possible.
You are dreaming I hear you say; but look at a Times newspaper report (England September 22, 2008) which unveils plans by Shuichi Ono, chairman of the Japan Space Elevator Association. Lewis, the author of the article, cites Ono as saying:
“Japan is increasingly confident that its sprawling academic and industrial base can solve those [construction] issues, and has even put the astonishingly low price tag of a trillion yen (£5 billion/ $8 billion) on building the elevator. Japan is renowned as a global leader in the precision engineering and high-quality material production without which the idea could never be possible.”
To that one could say- what is $8b when you consider current National debt?
It’s easy to be skeptical that a space elevator would ever exist. Why not read more about this by searching the web and see if you change your mind.
What I want to know is if people can dream about this new kind of ladder, what’s wrong with Jacob’s view of heaven and earth being connected? In fact the concept of understanding heaven and earth being connected is much easier to grasp as Christ’s existence on earth is a historical fact. This is what the Bible says in Colossians chapter 1.
Jesus created the heaven and the earth
16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Jesus is the bridge between heaven and earth
19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
Maybe the space elevator will fly but the reality of Jesus bridging us to heaven, should we desire, is much more certain.
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