Messianic Perspectives

Liz Aiello: Shalom and welcome to Messianic Perspectives, a daily program where we look into the scriptures from a distinctive first-century Jewish point of view. This is Liz Aiello. One of the longest-running television series of all time was Star Trek. Created by producer Gene Roddenberry in the 1960s, it made William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy famous.

Then there was Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Voyager, and Deep Space Nine. But did you know the Bible talks about a spectacular series of Star Treks that began many thousands of years ago? And now to tell us more about it, here is our Bible teacher, Dr. Gary Hedrick.

Dr. Gary Hedrick: Thank you, and welcome listening friend to another edition of the program. It's good to have you on board today as we begin a brand new series of studies on the original series of Star Treks, which is found, amazingly enough, in the Bible. A lot of people have the mistaken notion that space travel was invented by science fiction writers in the 19th and 20th centuries. People like H.G. Wells or the late Gene Roddenberry, who is the creator of the Star Trek series, or the late Isaac Asimov, another well-known writer of science fiction.

The truth is, however, that space travel began centuries ago. In fact, the Bible tells us about extraterrestrial beings who visit this planet on a regular basis. They're called angels. Beings who come from light years away, far beyond our galaxy to visit planet Earth. And they visit in large numbers every day. In fact, chances are that you've met an angel at some point in your life and didn't even know about it. Like Abraham, who entertained angels in Genesis 18 without realizing who they were.

Hebrews 13:2 says, "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares." Isn't that remarkable? Some of us have entertained angels without even knowing it because angels have the ability to assume physical form so they can walk among us without being conspicuous. When those angels came to Abraham in Genesis 18 and 19, he thought they were men at first. It doesn't call them angels until chapter 19. When Abraham looked up in Genesis 18:2, it says he saw three men and he ran out to meet them. Three men, but they were really angels, supernatural beings, visitors from outer space sent by God on a special mission to this earth.

But angels are not the only space travelers mentioned in the Bible. Let's turn over to Hebrews 11:5 for just a moment and look at what it says. It says, "By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God." It says he was not found because God had translated him. Now what does that mean? Let's go back to the original account and see if we can find out what happened.

This goes all the way back to Genesis chapter 5. It says in verse 21 of chapter 5 of Genesis, "And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah: And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him." In the Hebrew, it implies that they were searching for Enoch. His friends and loved ones sent out search parties to find him, but he was not found, for God had taken him away.

The writer of Hebrews says God translated him. In other words, Enoch was transported from Earth to heaven. So Enoch was the first human space traveler, the first astronaut. How far away is heaven? I don't know. Probably hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands of light years from this planet. Some Christian scholars have suggested that it's located somewhere beyond the constellation Orion, which is visible from the Northern Hemisphere during the winter.

It's one of the most spectacular sights in the sky. And now that we have high-powered telescopes like the Hubble, astronomers are more fascinated than ever before with Orion. It includes Betelgeuse (B-E-T-E-L-G-E-U-S-E), one of the largest stars ever observed in the known universe. Betelgeuse is a red star of the first magnitude. Then there's another star in the constellation Orion that's not really a star at all, but a beautiful nebula.

The Orion Nebula is about 1,500 light years from Earth. It shows up on our telescopes as a bright cloud of radioactive gas and stellar dust, truly spectacular. Also consider the fact that Orion is mentioned numerous times in the Bible: Job 9:9 for example, Job 38:31, and Amos chapter 5:8. So is it possible that God created Orion for the purpose of drawing attention to that quadrant of the universe? Is that the direction of heaven? Is heaven somewhere beyond the constellation Orion?

And something else that's interesting about Orion is that directly opposite Orion in the northern sky is another constellation named Cygnus, also known as the Northern Cross. Is it possible that God has actually written the plan of salvation in the stars? You've got the cross, the Northern Cross, you've got Virgo the virgin, you've got the dragon or Satan, and then there's the serpent just like in the Garden of Eden. And Leo the Lion, the lion of the tribe of Judah. The plan of salvation written in the stars.

And did you know that these constellations don't exist anywhere else but on Earth? Because in most cases, the stars that make up these constellations are not even close to each other. It's only from our vantage point here on Earth that when we look up into the sky, the stars line up in a certain way to form these patterns. But those stars can be thousands of light years away from each other. They may not even be in the same part of the universe. There's nowhere else in the universe where you can see these constellations. They're only visible from Earth.

Not only that, but scientists tell us that the galaxies that make up our visible universe all appear to be receding away from our galaxy. In other words, we live at the center of the universe because the other galaxies are all moving away from us. The Doppler effect and something called Redshift are techniques that astronomers have used to measure the receding movement of the galaxies. All of this speaks to the fact that this earth is the focal point of God's plan of redemption.

This world has become the stage upon which the drama of sin and redemption is being played out. Sin didn't start on this planet. It actually started in heaven itself when Lucifer, son of the morning, fell into the sin of pride. He said he wanted to be like the Most High. So sin entered this universe through Satan. But eventually, when Adam and Eve were created, this planet became the battlefield upon which the battle of the ages would be waged.

So how far away is heaven? Nobody knows. But we do know it exists somewhere beyond the galaxies, somewhere beyond the stars. We know it's there and that human beings even in their physical form have been there. Enoch is one example. He didn't die, which means he was translated or transported in his physical body to heaven.

Sometimes people say, "Wait a minute. If heaven is a real place and it's located somewhere beyond the galaxies, it would take hundreds or thousands of years even at the speed of light to get there. That's impossible." But don't forget, we're dealing with a God who specializes in the impossible. In fact, that's one of His favorite words: impossible. If you want to see the Lord really swing into action, just tell Him you've got something that's impossible. He loves it.

You see, God isn't limited by our interpretations of the laws of science, the laws of physics and relativity, for example. He can traverse astronomical distances in the twinkling of an eye. Even in the Star Trek series, which began back in the 1960s, the Starship Enterprise is outfitted with what Gene Roddenberry called a warp drive. Warp technology enables the Enterprise to travel faster than the speed of light. Warp factor one equals the speed of light. Then warp factor two is something like ten times the speed of light, and then there's a geometrical progression from warp factor two to three to four all the way up to warp factor 10, which is thousands of times the speed of light.

So this imaginary Starship Enterprise can actually span the galaxy in a matter of a few days. And that's just at cruising speed. What does that have to do with the Bible? Very simple. If someone like Mr. Roddenberry can envision the time when science will develop the capability to traverse astronomical distances in a very short time, why do we insist on placing such limitations on God Almighty?

That's like these people who say that if the creation really took place like Genesis says it did, then Adam and Eve would have had to wait for hundreds and even thousands of years before they could see the first stars and galaxies up in the heaven because it would take the light from those stars and galaxies hundreds or thousands of years to reach the Earth. Come on, let's get real. If you have those kinds of problems, do you know what's wrong with you? Your God is too small.

In the world of science fiction, there's a tendency to make a God out of science and technology. And the sad thing is, the science fiction writers have more faith in their God of science and technology than a lot of Christians have in the God of the Bible. Their God of science and technology is bigger than ours. We need to realize how big and powerful God really is. Let me ask you, my friend, how big is your God?

Well, our time is gone for today. We'll continue next time with the biblical version of Star Trek, and we're going to see that there were astronauts thousands of years ago who made the trek from Earth through outer space to a place beyond the stars. We'll talk about it. I'll see you then. God bless you. Bye-bye.

Liz Aiello: Thank you, Gary. And thank you, listening friend, for tuning in today. Today we've been listening to our Bible teacher, Dr. Gary Hedrick, talking about "Star Trek: The Original Series." Well, it's true. The Bible tells us about some very spectacular events, both past and future, which rival the work of even the most imaginative science fiction writer.

By the way, if you enjoyed today's study, you'll be glad to know that we've placed all seven of these programs on one convenient CD. The title is "Star Trek: The Original Series," and it shows that space travel originated not in recent times, but thousands of years ago. In fact, many instances of human space travel, both in the distant past and also in the future, are mentioned in the Bible.

It's available for your gift of just $6.00 or more to help us keep this program here on your station. If you have a friend or loved one who is an avid science fiction fan and needs the Lord, why not give him or her a copy of this series? It's a unique way to present the gospel in a context that your friend or loved one will understand. Just ask for the program GT25, entitled "Star Trek: The Original Series."

Visit our secure online store at messianicspecialties.com to place your order. If you would prefer to order by mail, just address your request to Messianic Perspectives, P.O. Box 345, San Antonio, Texas 78292. To order by phone, use our toll-free order line. The number is 1-800-926-5397. And as always, when you're in touch with us, please mention the call letters of this station. If you're listening to our webcast or podcast, we need to know that too. I'm Liz Aiello. Join us next time, won't you, as Dr. Gary Hedrick continues our series of studies on "Star Trek: The Original Series," right here on Messianic Perspectives.