- Sometimes things aren't really
what we thought they were.
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And sometimes we
discover we were really wrong
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about something,
tragically wrong.
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Today I'm gonna show you
why I think your ancestors
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were probably smarter
than you think they were.
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[upbeat music]
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At the beginning
of the 20th century,
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a sponge diver was in the ocean
in the Eastern Mediterranean
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when he stumbled across
this ancient Greek shipwreck.
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And the area was saturated
with archeological goodies,
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statues and the usual
kinds of things that you find.
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But there was one
item in the wreckage
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that suddenly forced us
to change our perception
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of the ancient world.
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It was the
remnants of a gear box
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dating back to
somewhere between 260 BC.
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And it featured some
really fine mechanisms.
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Some of the gears had
teeth as short as a millimeter,
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and they were
incredibly complex,
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far more complex than
we had assumed was possible
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at that point in history.
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It was a bit of a mystery,
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and even though we've had
possession of this strange
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machine for more
than 120 years now,
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it's taken us nearly that long
to appreciate what we found.
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It appears to be an analog
computer designed to measure
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and predict the motion of the
sun, the moon, and the planet.
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And that's no small feat
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because from where we
sit in the solar system,
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the planets appear to
change direction in the sky,
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sometimes moving in harmony
with the sun's trajectory
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and sometimes going in
the opposite direction.
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That's because the
planet's orbit the sun
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and not the earth
like we used to believe,
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or at least we thought
that's what we used to believe.
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And yet here was
an ancient device
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designed to
calculate planetary motion
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with incredible detail.
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Inscriptions on the inside
of this incredible machine
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tell us exactly what
this was designed to do.
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If you aligned it
with the current night sky,
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you could move the dials
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and travel forward
and backward through time
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to see where everything
would be at any given moment.
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On the front of
the box was a dial
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that showed you the positions
of the stars and the planets.
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On the back,
there were two dials,
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one that provided
a 19-year calendar
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to track the cycles of the moon
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and another that
helped you predict solar
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and lunar eclipses.
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And that one was calibrated
for a 223 month cycle.
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And all of that was driven
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by the incredibly complicated
gears inside the box,
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which means that
more than 2000 years ago,
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somebody was
calculating all that stuff,
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as well as you and
I can figure it out
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with the astronomy
app on your smartphone.
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Of course, we know
that our ancient ancestors
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had a very detailed
knowledge of astronomy
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because, well, there was
very little light pollution
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and nobody had Netflix
to distract them at night.
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These people had all the
time in the world after dark
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to just study the heavens.
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Long before the Greeks,
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the Babylonians
were already predicting
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the motion of heavenly bodies
with unbelievable accuracy.
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And they discovered
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that the moon went
through a 19-year cycle.
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Just imagine the patience you'd
have to observe all of that.
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And then at some point,
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somebody in the Greek world
translated all that knowledge,
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all that math into working
machine, this analog computer,
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that smart defies the
imagination for most of us.
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What kind of math skills
would you have to possess?
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What kind of imagination
would you need to have?
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What would your
grasp of spatial concepts
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have to be like in order to
assemble all these little gears
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into something that
can make those predictions?
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Those of us who
predate digital watches
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are used to seeing
intricate gears and springs
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inside a very small time piece.
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And we know that you can
more or less keep accurate track
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of hours, seconds, and
minutes with tiny little gears,
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maybe even days of the
week and the date of the month,
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depending on how
expensive your watch was.
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But man, to keep track of
mercury, Jupiter, Mars, Venus,
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the sun, the moon, eclipses
and more, all with one machine,
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it boggles the mind and
it puts to rest of this idea
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that our ancestors
were unlettered simpletons,
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who didn't have access
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to the higher
thinking we think we possess,
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these were not some
flat earth imbeciles
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whose existence was
driven by mere superstition.
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And something tells me
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that even though some
of my ancient ancestors
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in Northern Europe
apparently believed
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the earth was the
center of the universe,
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these people knew better.
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How else do you
account for a machine
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that can accurately
predict the pro grade
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and retrograde
movement of the planets?
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Sometimes we like to
think of the ancients
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as people who had barely
escaped from their caves,
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but the more we
dig out of the earth,
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the more we
learned that in some ways,
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you and I would have a
lot of catching up to do
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if we could magically be
transported back to their time.
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Sure, we've accumulated
more information today.
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And the collective
body of human knowledge
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has dramatically expanded
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since the day
that Greek ship sank,
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but we've also become
lazy allowing smartphones
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to do a lot of
our thinking for us.
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Now, that's not to say that
everybody in the ancient world
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was a good thinker because
obviously, that wouldn't be
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true. Society
had its smart people
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and it's not so
smart back then too.
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And the Antikythera mechanism,
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the name we've given this
machine was probably invented
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by one of the
brighter specimens of the day,
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but still, it was a
time when people largely
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had to do all
their math in their head.
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And so their mental skills were
obviously pretty impressive.
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Once upon a time I
actually had a science teacher
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when I was a kid who
wouldn't let us use a calculator
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until we proved that we could
do the math the hard way first
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with paper and pencil.
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Right about now, I'm
starting to appreciate that
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because I could see that
teacher was doing us a favor.
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I sometimes think we're
losing a lot of essential skills
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because of all the
digital shortcuts we've created,
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but I'm getting
a little off topic.
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Given the fact that
the Antikythera mechanism
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was discovered in a shipwreck,
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I'm tempted to believe
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that it was
probably a navigation tool,
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a method of charting
your course against the stars.
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In later years,
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we used a compass in this extent
to determine our position,
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but maybe back when
this thing was created,
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it had even better calculations.
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And I guess what
I'm driving at today
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is the deep fascination we
seem to have for the heavens.
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Not only do we find
the night sky beautiful,
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we find it incredibly useful.
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It's a precision calendar
that shows up every night
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right above our heads.
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And it's so exact
that it led to this idea
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during the enlightenment period,
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that the universe runs
like a watch or a machine.
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Now, if you've ever been to
the city of Cuzco down in Peru,
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you've probably been blown away
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by the stunning
architecture of the Incas.
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And for a long time,
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people wondered why the
Inca emperor, Pachacutec
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who built Cuzco,
arranged the street in his city,
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the streets rather
in such an odd pattern.
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You and I tend to make our roads
perpendicular to each other
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at 90 degrees.
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But in Cuzco, the alignment
seems a little off, right?
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It's not perpendicular.
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And it seems off until
you realize what he was doing.
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At one time of the year,
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one of the main streets
lined up with the Milky Way,
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and on another important day,
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another street lined
up with the Milky Way.
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So it turns out
that the whole town
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might have been a
celestial calendar.
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And you could tell
what time of year it was
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just by looking up at the
night sky, pretty ingenious,
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but our
fascination with the heavens
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runs much deeper
than mere time keeping.
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Somehow, in addition to
finding the night sky useful,
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we also find it meaningful.
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Most of us get
the distinct sense,
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there must be
something out there,
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something that will
help us determine who
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or what we are as human beings.
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And even though the distances
in our galactic neighborhood
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are completely mind boggling,
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the sun is 93 million miles away
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and the next nearest star
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is more than 25
trillion miles away.
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Yet somehow we have this urge,
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this belief
that we might be able
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to find something
important out there, why?
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I'll be right back in a moment
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so we can think about
that a little bit more.
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[logo whooshing]
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[upbeat music]
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- [Announcer] Here at
the "Voice of Prophecy,"
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we're committed to
creating top quality programming
00:09:41.64\00:09:43.28
for the whole family,
00:09:43.28\00:09:44.45
like our audio adventure series,
00:09:44.45\00:09:46.11
"Discovery Mountain."
00:09:46.11\00:09:47.85
"Discovery Mountain"
is a Bible based program
00:09:47.85\00:09:50.39
for kids of all
ages and backgrounds.
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Your family will enjoy
the faith building stories
00:09:52.75\00:09:55.49
from this mountain,
summer camp and town
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with 24 seasonal
episodes every year
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and fresh content every week.
00:10:00.86\00:10:03.00
There's always a new
adventure just on the horizon.
00:10:03.00\00:10:06.17
- Like most of you,
00:10:09.47\00:10:10.97
I was absolutely delighted
to hear that William Shatner
00:10:10.97\00:10:13.91
was gonna be among
the first civilians
00:10:13.91\00:10:16.28
to go into space on
Jeff Bezos's rocket ship.
00:10:16.28\00:10:20.32
At 90 years of age,
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he was the oldest person
to ever leave the planet.
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And it just, I don't
know, seemed appropriate.
00:10:25.42\00:10:27.99
He was Captain Kirk
and I was one of those kids
00:10:27.99\00:10:31.39
who religiously watched "Star
Trek" when it first came out.
00:10:31.39\00:10:34.83
I'm also from the
generation that grew up
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with the Apollo
missions and the lunar landings,
00:10:36.67\00:10:39.27
the golden age
of space exploration
00:10:39.27\00:10:42.14
and like millions of other kids,
00:10:42.14\00:10:43.91
it was my ambition
to become an astronaut.
00:10:43.91\00:10:47.01
Of course at the time,
00:10:47.01\00:10:48.28
I didn't realize
that Canada didn't really
00:10:48.28\00:10:50.21
have much of a space program.
00:10:50.21\00:10:52.18
And the likelihood
of becoming an astronaut
00:10:52.18\00:10:54.15
was incredibly small for me,
00:10:54.15\00:10:56.55
but that wouldn't have mattered.
00:10:56.55\00:10:57.95
I was a space fanatic,
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so much so that
when my family moved
00:10:59.72\00:11:01.92
in the middle of second grade,
00:11:01.92\00:11:03.63
my class gave me a
book about the moon landings
00:11:03.63\00:11:06.49
as a going away present.
00:11:06.49\00:11:08.46
And to this day,
whenever I get the chance,
00:11:08.46\00:11:11.07
I love to go to
a really dark place
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and just look up into the sky.
00:11:13.03\00:11:15.90
Unfortunately, we
are running out of places
00:11:15.90\00:11:17.84
where light pollution
doesn't ruin the experience,
00:11:17.84\00:11:20.71
but for a while,
00:11:20.71\00:11:22.18
I did have the chance to
live on the Alaska highway,
00:11:22.18\00:11:24.18
where the nights are very dark
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and the views of the
night sky are breathtaking.
00:11:26.21\00:11:29.18
Even though the best
views always seem to coincide
00:11:29.18\00:11:32.32
with minus 40 degrees.
00:11:32.32\00:11:34.76
There's just something
magnificent about that universe
00:11:34.76\00:11:38.53
that pool us in its direction.
00:11:38.53\00:11:40.10
It tugs at our hearts.
00:11:40.10\00:11:42.10
Somehow we all sense
there's something out there.
00:11:42.10\00:11:45.77
It's a phenomenon as
old as the human race.
00:11:45.77\00:11:47.90
In fact, I'm
reminded of the eighth Psalm
00:11:47.90\00:11:50.51
written some 3000 years ago,
00:11:50.51\00:11:52.94
which does a really nice job
00:11:52.94\00:11:54.58
of describing some
of the emotions we feel
00:11:54.58\00:11:57.18
when we realize just
how big that universe is.
00:11:57.18\00:12:01.32
Now, I've read you
this Psalm in the past,
00:12:01.32\00:12:03.49
but I wanna read just a
little bit of it to you again,
00:12:03.49\00:12:06.32
it says,
00:12:06.32\00:12:07.79
"When I consider Your heavens,
the work of Your fingers,
00:12:07.79\00:12:11.49
the moon and the ours,
which you have ordained,
00:12:11.49\00:12:14.20
what is man that
You are mindful of him,
00:12:14.20\00:12:16.83
and the Son of man
that You visit him."
00:12:16.83\00:12:19.63
Sometimes we like to
think that the ancients
00:12:20.77\00:12:22.87
didn't realize how big
our cosmic neighborhood was,
00:12:22.87\00:12:25.94
but here we have
David who suddenly realizes
00:12:25.94\00:12:29.04
that God has a lot of
universe to deal with out there.
00:12:29.04\00:12:32.68
And yet somehow God makes
time for a pidly human being,
00:12:32.68\00:12:36.15
who isn't even a spec on
the galactic playing field.
00:12:36.15\00:12:40.09
Something about the heavens
makes us feel really small
00:12:40.09\00:12:43.86
and at the same time important.
00:12:43.86\00:12:46.23
And it fills us with
wonder and deep emotion.
00:12:46.23\00:12:49.10
It's almost as if well, life
is supposed to mean something.
00:12:49.10\00:12:52.97
And I think that's
really what drives us
00:12:54.24\00:12:57.01
to leave the
Earth's gravitational pull
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to go out there and explore.
00:12:59.24\00:13:01.31
Somehow, we think
we're gonna find something.
00:13:01.31\00:13:04.88
We think we're going
to discover deep secrets
00:13:04.88\00:13:06.98
that will help us unpack the
real nature of human existence.
00:13:06.98\00:13:11.25
We think we're going
to find where we came from
00:13:11.25\00:13:13.69
as a species, how we got here,
00:13:13.69\00:13:16.29
and maybe we can figure out
then where we might be headed.
00:13:16.29\00:13:20.13
We've put robots on
Mars to collect soil samples,
00:13:20.13\00:13:23.40
hoping to find water,
00:13:23.40\00:13:24.90
a key ingredient for
life, and maybe even bacteria,
00:13:24.90\00:13:29.07
which would mean we aren't
the only life forms out there.
00:13:29.07\00:13:32.87
Some people wonder if
maybe Mars used to be inhabited,
00:13:32.87\00:13:35.78
but then somehow
became a wasteland
00:13:35.78\00:13:38.31
that could no
longer sustain life.
00:13:38.31\00:13:41.12
What would that
mean for life on earth?
00:13:41.12\00:13:43.42
What could we
learn about the past,
00:13:43.42\00:13:45.29
if that happened to be true?
00:13:45.29\00:13:47.12
And what could we
learn about the future?
00:13:47.12\00:13:49.59
Why?
00:13:49.59\00:13:50.99
Why do we have this
fascination with the thought
00:13:50.99\00:13:52.79
that we might not be
alone in the universe?
00:13:52.79\00:13:55.46
Why do movies like
"ET" or "Close Encounters"
00:13:55.46\00:13:58.67
appeal to us so strongly?
00:13:58.67\00:14:00.70
You could say it's
just entertainment,
00:14:01.87\00:14:03.87
but the box
office success of movies
00:14:03.87\00:14:05.87
about extra terrestrial contact
suggests otherwise to me,
00:14:05.87\00:14:10.41
from contact to arrival,
00:14:10.41\00:14:12.15
to the day the earth sat still,
00:14:12.15\00:14:14.75
it sometimes seems like
we're obsessed with the idea
00:14:14.75\00:14:17.79
that we should not be alone.
00:14:17.79\00:14:20.49
Maybe you've heard
of the Drake Equation.
00:14:20.49\00:14:22.86
Back in 1961,
00:14:22.86\00:14:24.23
astronomer Frank
Drake developed a formula
00:14:24.23\00:14:26.93
to determine the probability
00:14:26.93\00:14:28.36
of finding other
life in this universe.
00:14:28.36\00:14:30.83
He took all kinds of
variables into account.
00:14:30.83\00:14:33.67
How many stars
there are in our galaxy?
00:14:33.67\00:14:36.04
How many of them
might have planets?
00:14:36.04\00:14:37.94
How many of those planets
might be able to support life?
00:14:37.94\00:14:40.71
How many of those
life supporting planets
00:14:40.71\00:14:42.84
might have intelligent life?
00:14:42.84\00:14:45.05
And then how many of
those intelligent beings
00:14:45.05\00:14:47.72
might have the
technology to send us a signal?
00:14:47.72\00:14:51.72
Depending on the estimated
values for each variable,
00:14:51.72\00:14:54.66
the Drake formula has
been used to predict anywhere
00:14:54.66\00:14:57.63
from 20 to 50 million
other inhabited worlds
00:14:57.63\00:15:01.46
right here in the Milky Way.
00:15:01.46\00:15:03.37
Of course, the fact
we've heard from none of them
00:15:03.37\00:15:07.10
and the fact that
nobody has ever responded
00:15:07.10\00:15:09.27
to signals we
send in this space,
00:15:09.27\00:15:11.47
probably lowers the
probability quite a bit.
00:15:11.47\00:15:14.68
And if somebody
else did exist out there,
00:15:15.88\00:15:18.45
the odds of lining up
some cosmic render view
00:15:18.45\00:15:21.68
are definitely against us.
00:15:21.68\00:15:24.15
If the closest star
is 25 trillion miles,
00:15:24.15\00:15:27.79
long distance space
travel is going to have to mean
00:15:27.79\00:15:31.06
traveling faster
than the speed of light.
00:15:31.06\00:15:34.10
If you don't wanna die of
old age on your first trip,
00:15:34.10\00:15:37.73
and of course,
00:15:37.73\00:15:38.97
Einstein assured us
that traveling faster
00:15:38.97\00:15:41.10
than the speed of
light is not possible.
00:15:41.10\00:15:44.11
The only way you
could get a bunch of humans
00:15:44.11\00:15:45.97
that far out into
space is to build a space arc
00:15:45.97\00:15:49.71
where you have children in space
00:15:49.71\00:15:51.61
and grandchildren
and great-grandchildren,
00:15:51.61\00:15:53.82
and then maybe one
of those generations
00:15:53.82\00:15:56.69
would finally
arrive at the destination.
00:15:56.69\00:15:59.65
Of course, that
concept would be complicated
00:15:59.65\00:16:02.59
by the exceptionally high
levels of radiation in space,
00:16:02.59\00:16:06.49
which would make
childbearing incredibly risky.
00:16:06.49\00:16:10.20
After astronaut Scott
Kelly spent one year in space,
00:16:10.20\00:16:13.87
we discovered that the gene
expression emerging from his DNA
00:16:13.87\00:16:17.51
had changed, thanks
to cosmic radiation.
00:16:17.51\00:16:20.61
So much so, that it was 7%
different from his twin brother.
00:16:20.61\00:16:25.61
We've discovered that space
travel makes permanent changes
00:16:27.05\00:16:29.42
to your gene expression.
00:16:29.42\00:16:31.69
So what would happen over
several generations raised
00:16:31.69\00:16:35.16
in a spaceship?
00:16:35.16\00:16:36.99
The whole thing
seems well unlikely.
00:16:36.99\00:16:39.79
So even if we did get a signal
from a distant civilization,
00:16:39.79\00:16:43.53
a signal that might
be thousands of years old
00:16:43.53\00:16:46.10
when we finally got it,
00:16:46.10\00:16:47.70
the likelihood
of ever meeting up
00:16:47.70\00:16:49.50
without cracking the
secrets of worm holes.
00:16:49.50\00:16:52.81
Well, it's pretty low,
00:16:52.81\00:16:54.78
of course, that doesn't
mean there isn't life out there,
00:16:54.78\00:16:57.61
from a Christian perspective,
00:16:57.61\00:16:59.18
it just seems
unlikely that an infinite God
00:16:59.18\00:17:01.78
with an appetite for creativity
00:17:01.78\00:17:03.55
would only make the
one inhabited planet.
00:17:03.55\00:17:07.26
One of the most frequent
questions I get is whether or
00:17:07.26\00:17:09.72
not the Bible talks about other
worlds in other civilizations.
00:17:09.72\00:17:13.23
And the answer is, well,
00:17:13.23\00:17:14.10
yeah, obviously it does
00:17:14.10\00:17:15.56
because the Bible
mentions angelic visitors
00:17:15.56\00:17:18.57
who clearly come
from somewhere else,
00:17:18.57\00:17:21.17
but apart from angels,
00:17:21.17\00:17:22.87
does the Bible talk
about other inhabited worlds?
00:17:22.87\00:17:25.91
Well, not explicitly,
00:17:25.91\00:17:27.54
but as it does drop some
interesting clues along the way.
00:17:27.54\00:17:31.55
And one of the
first of those comes to us
00:17:31.55\00:17:33.38
from book of Hebrews,
00:17:33.38\00:17:34.98
which opens with that
majestic description of Christ.
00:17:34.98\00:17:38.42
And it identifies Him
not only as the Son of God,
00:17:38.42\00:17:41.66
but as the creator.
00:17:41.66\00:17:43.19
Here it is right now at
the top of the book of Hebrews,
00:17:43.19\00:17:45.83
it says, "God,
who at various times
00:17:45.83\00:17:48.66
and in various ways,
00:17:48.66\00:17:50.17
spoken time passed to
the fathers by the prophets,
00:17:50.17\00:17:52.87
has in these last days,
spoken to us by His Son."
00:17:52.87\00:17:56.77
So, we do have some other
worldly communication taking
00:17:56.77\00:18:00.48
place right here
in a clear statement
00:18:00.48\00:18:02.31
that the earth has
indeed been visited by someone
00:18:02.31\00:18:05.18
from the
outside, the Son of God.
00:18:05.18\00:18:07.72
But then it says
this, "Whom, Jesus,
00:18:07.72\00:18:10.82
He has appointed
air of all things
00:18:10.82\00:18:12.82
through whom also
He made the worlds."
00:18:12.82\00:18:16.86
Not only is Christ the creator,
00:18:16.86\00:18:18.53
but it also says
He made the worlds,
00:18:18.53\00:18:20.33
plural, as in more than one.
00:18:20.33\00:18:22.43
Now that might not
exactly be what you think
00:18:22.43\00:18:25.30
because the original
Greek word for worlds is aeon,
00:18:25.30\00:18:29.07
it's where we get the world eon.
00:18:29.07\00:18:31.51
So what it might be
saying is that God, the Son
00:18:31.51\00:18:33.84
created the ages.
00:18:33.84\00:18:35.28
And as he invented the
concept of time and history,
00:18:35.28\00:18:40.28
but the idea that
there might be other worlds
00:18:41.45\00:18:42.88
is certainly an
allowable interpretation here.
00:18:42.88\00:18:45.92
It's not absolute
proof, but it is a possibility.
00:18:45.92\00:18:50.19
And right now in this world,
00:18:50.19\00:18:52.23
it's time for
another quick break.
00:18:52.23\00:18:53.90
So don't go away.
00:18:53.90\00:18:55.23
I'm gonna show you a
few other possibilities
00:18:55.23\00:18:57.50
as soon as I come back.
00:18:57.50\00:18:59.60
[logo whooshing]
00:18:59.60\00:19:02.67
- [Narrator] Life
can throw a lot at us.
00:19:02.67\00:19:05.11
Sometimes we don't
have all the answers,
00:19:05.11\00:19:08.48
but that's where
the Bible comes in.
00:19:08.48\00:19:10.91
It's our guide to a
more fulfilling life.
00:19:10.91\00:19:13.98
Here at the "Voice of Prophecy,"
00:19:13.98\00:19:15.55
we've created the
Discover Bible guides
00:19:15.55\00:19:17.69
to be your guide to the Bible.
00:19:17.69\00:19:19.29
They're designed to
be simple, easy to use,
00:19:19.29\00:19:21.79
and provide answers to many
of life's toughest questions.
00:19:21.79\00:19:24.79
And they're absolutely free.
00:19:24.79\00:19:26.83
So jump online now,
00:19:26.83\00:19:28.30
or give us a call and
start your journey of discovery.
00:19:28.30\00:19:31.37
- Right before the break,
00:19:32.30\00:19:33.54
we were starting to
look at Bible passages
00:19:33.54\00:19:35.27
that might suggest there
are other inhabited worlds.
00:19:35.27\00:19:38.81
But I guess
before we keep going,
00:19:38.81\00:19:40.18
I wanna ask the
question, why do we care?
00:19:40.18\00:19:43.35
And what do we
think we're going to find?
00:19:43.35\00:19:44.85
Why is this so important to us?
00:19:44.85\00:19:47.28
Why would it matter?
00:19:48.18\00:19:49.72
Especially if the
likelihood of contact
00:19:49.72\00:19:51.99
is actually really, really
low, what are we looking for?
00:19:51.99\00:19:55.72
Why do we think
there are answers
00:19:55.72\00:19:57.43
about the nature of humanity
00:19:57.43\00:19:58.89
to be found up there in the sky?
00:19:58.89\00:20:01.40
Why do we seem to think
there are any answers at all?
00:20:01.40\00:20:05.30
If we buy the current thinking
00:20:05.30\00:20:06.90
about the
emergence of life on earth,
00:20:06.90\00:20:09.27
we have to deal with
the idea that everything
00:20:09.27\00:20:11.47
that ever have
happened is nothing,
00:20:11.47\00:20:13.31
but the product of chance.
00:20:13.31\00:20:14.88
Somehow, the
collision of cosmic molecules
00:20:14.88\00:20:17.61
gave us the
incredibly complex phenomenon
00:20:17.61\00:20:20.58
of human consciousness.
00:20:20.58\00:20:22.32
Somehow an accident
of physics produced us,
00:20:22.32\00:20:26.02
living, thinking beings
who spend long, long hours
00:20:26.02\00:20:29.62
contemplating the
nature of our own existence.
00:20:29.62\00:20:32.99
And if we really
got here by chance,
00:20:32.99\00:20:35.20
that means that everything
that ever happened to us
00:20:35.20\00:20:38.13
is just the
product of chance too,
00:20:38.13\00:20:40.57
because you wouldn't be able
to find any discernible meaning
00:20:40.57\00:20:43.51
behind absolutely anything.
00:20:43.51\00:20:46.88
Now, for me, that's a
deeply depressing thought.
00:20:46.88\00:20:49.71
And for some reason,
00:20:49.71\00:20:51.15
our human brains
are wired to fight
00:20:51.15\00:20:53.18
against the
thought of meaninglessness.
00:20:53.18\00:20:55.92
In fact, our brains desire
to find meaning and explanation
00:20:55.92\00:21:00.36
might actually be the reason
we seem to be so susceptible
00:21:00.36\00:21:03.32
to conspiracy theories
when really bad things happen.
00:21:03.32\00:21:07.60
And we can't find a
good reason for them,
00:21:07.60\00:21:09.66
then our brains start
to fabricate a reason.
00:21:09.66\00:21:12.63
We're not just happy with
bad things just happening to us.
00:21:12.63\00:21:16.84
We start to tell ourselves
that natural disasters happen
00:21:16.84\00:21:19.71
because
somebody engineered them.
00:21:19.71\00:21:22.51
It's those mad
scientists in Alaska
00:21:22.51\00:21:24.65
messing around with harp,
00:21:24.65\00:21:26.08
it's chem trail,
00:21:26.08\00:21:27.32
it's whatever the
latest conspiracy theory is.
00:21:27.32\00:21:30.79
We convince ourselves
that bad things happen
00:21:30.79\00:21:33.25
because a shadowy cabal of
elites is behind the scenes,
00:21:33.25\00:21:37.26
pulling the strings.
00:21:37.26\00:21:39.19
When there's no
discernible pattern,
00:21:39.19\00:21:41.63
our brains invent one,
00:21:41.63\00:21:43.37
because we have this
overwhelming urge to discover
00:21:43.37\00:21:47.64
meaning. And the idea
that we got here by accident,
00:21:47.64\00:21:49.97
that life has no
meaning or no guaranteed future.
00:21:49.97\00:21:53.64
We find that deeply troubling,
00:21:53.64\00:21:55.58
so we find
ourselves searching the skies,
00:21:55.58\00:21:57.61
looking for answers.
00:21:57.61\00:21:59.71
If there is another
civilization out there,
00:21:59.71\00:22:02.08
maybe we could compare
notes with those people
00:22:02.08\00:22:04.59
and finally
understand who we are.
00:22:04.59\00:22:06.49
But now let's
get back to the Bible
00:22:07.69\00:22:09.22
and see what it says
about life on other worlds.
00:22:09.22\00:22:12.13
We've already looked
at Hebrews chapter one,
00:22:12.13\00:22:14.10
which has a slight
tiny, possible hint
00:22:14.10\00:22:17.37
that other worlds might exist.
00:22:17.37\00:22:19.70
Let's compare that now
to a passage you find over
00:22:19.70\00:22:22.24
in the book of
Isaiah chapter 45,
00:22:22.24\00:22:24.57
which raises another
interesting possibility.
00:22:24.57\00:22:27.14
Isaiah 45:18 says,
"For thus says the Lord
00:22:27.14\00:22:31.08
who created the
heavens, who is God,
00:22:31.08\00:22:33.21
who formed the
earth and made it,
00:22:33.21\00:22:34.72
who has established it,
who did not create it in vain,
00:22:34.72\00:22:38.72
who formed it to be inhabited?
00:22:38.72\00:22:41.09
I am the Lord, and
there is no other."
00:22:41.09\00:22:43.96
What this is suggesting
00:22:44.79\00:22:46.06
is that God doesn't
waste creative effort.
00:22:46.06\00:22:48.93
If He made something,
there's a reason He made it,
00:22:48.93\00:22:51.90
the earth was
made to be inhabited,
00:22:51.90\00:22:54.10
a home for the human race.
00:22:54.10\00:22:56.30
Of course, there
are eight other planets
00:22:56.30\00:22:58.71
in our solar system,
if you still count Pluto.
00:22:58.71\00:23:01.14
And so far,
00:23:01.14\00:23:02.64
we're pretty sure none
of the rest are inhabited,
00:23:02.64\00:23:05.18
but that doesn't mean
that the other planets
00:23:05.18\00:23:06.98
are just nothing but eye
candy, maybe it's possible.
00:23:06.98\00:23:10.09
Massive gas, giant like Jupiter
00:23:10.09\00:23:11.92
is a magnet that
attracts incoming space debris,
00:23:11.92\00:23:14.92
or maybe the gravitational pull
00:23:14.92\00:23:16.86
and orbit of the other planets
00:23:16.86\00:23:18.63
serves to keep the earth stable.
00:23:18.63\00:23:20.80
Who really knows?
00:23:20.80\00:23:22.73
But then when
you consider the fact
00:23:23.93\00:23:25.17
that there are
something like 100 billion stars
00:23:25.17\00:23:27.47
in our galaxy,
00:23:27.47\00:23:28.94
we've counted more than 100
billion other galaxies out there
00:23:28.94\00:23:31.67
as big as ours.
00:23:31.67\00:23:33.24
That starts to suggest
00:23:33.24\00:23:34.88
that if God made all
those worlds out there,
00:23:34.88\00:23:38.18
it's probably not likely
that we're all created in vain,
00:23:38.18\00:23:41.08
so far using our
limited ability to see things,
00:23:41.08\00:23:44.29
we've discovered
something like 3000 exoplanets
00:23:44.29\00:23:48.06
around other stars,
00:23:48.06\00:23:49.69
and some of them
might be orbiting
00:23:49.69\00:23:51.49
in what we call
the Goldilock Zone.
00:23:51.49\00:23:53.46
That incredibly
narrow band you find
00:23:53.46\00:23:55.80
exactly the right
distance from a star
00:23:55.80\00:23:57.97
to enable liquid water
00:23:57.97\00:23:59.60
and some of the other
ingredients you need for life.
00:23:59.60\00:24:02.97
So again, this is not
a definitive statement,
00:24:02.97\00:24:05.74
but the Bible does suggest that
God does not create in vain.
00:24:05.74\00:24:09.41
And the unbelievable
vastness of this universe
00:24:09.41\00:24:12.18
then suggests there might
be other worlds out there,
00:24:12.18\00:24:15.12
or at least it
doesn't rule it out.
00:24:15.12\00:24:17.89
Okay, we gotta
get to one more text
00:24:17.89\00:24:19.45
before I run out of time.
00:24:19.45\00:24:20.92
This one comes
from the book of Job,
00:24:20.92\00:24:23.12
it's this scene where
it says the sons of God
00:24:23.12\00:24:25.46
attend a meeting
in God's presence.
00:24:25.46\00:24:27.66
And here's the way it reads,
00:24:27.66\00:24:28.90
starting right
in Job chapter one,
00:24:28.90\00:24:31.73
it says, "Now there was a
day when the sons of God came
00:24:31.73\00:24:34.64
to present
themselves before the Lord
00:24:34.64\00:24:36.74
and Satan also came among them.
00:24:36.74\00:24:38.24
And the Lord said to
Satan, from where do you come?
00:24:38.24\00:24:41.44
So Satan answered
the Lord and said,
00:24:41.44\00:24:43.01
from going to and fro on
the earth and walking back,
00:24:43.01\00:24:46.25
and forth on it."
00:24:46.25\00:24:48.58
Satan of course is
the ultimate fallen angel,
00:24:48.58\00:24:50.75
the leader of the
angelic rebellion.
00:24:50.75\00:24:52.99
And when God asks him,
00:24:52.99\00:24:54.06
"Where have you been?"
00:24:54.06\00:24:55.29
He says, "From going
to and fro on the earth."
00:24:55.29\00:24:57.69
Now in the ancient world,
00:24:57.69\00:24:58.89
your foot was a
symbol of ownership,
00:24:58.89\00:25:00.50
you could only step on
something if you owned it.
00:25:00.50\00:25:02.96
And so what Satan is saying
is that he owns planet earth.
00:25:02.96\00:25:07.00
In the opening pages of Genesis,
00:25:07.00\00:25:08.74
the human race was given
dominion over this planet,
00:25:08.74\00:25:11.67
but then they were deceived
00:25:11.67\00:25:12.94
into giving that
dominion to the serpent.
00:25:12.94\00:25:15.14
And you'll
notice this scene in Job
00:25:15.14\00:25:17.48
is a meeting of the sons of God
00:25:17.48\00:25:19.08
and Adam and Luke chapter
three is called a Son of God.
00:25:19.08\00:25:22.92
So what appears to
be happening in Job
00:25:22.92\00:25:25.62
is that a human presentative
for earth is missing
00:25:25.62\00:25:28.96
and the devil
appears in his place
00:25:28.96\00:25:30.53
because he now lays
claim to this planet.
00:25:30.53\00:25:33.46
And that of course raises
the tantalizing possibility
00:25:33.46\00:25:36.77
that the other sons of God
00:25:36.77\00:25:38.23
might be coming from other
worlds, like a galactic council.
00:25:38.23\00:25:43.10
Does it prove it?
00:25:43.10\00:25:44.61
No, absolutely not, but
it does seem to suggest it.
00:25:44.61\00:25:48.28
Okay, I gotta
take one last break.
00:25:48.28\00:25:50.01
So hang on to your
galactic seat belts.
00:25:50.01\00:25:52.25
This is all gonna go
by then at warp speed,
00:25:52.25\00:25:55.25
and I'll be right back.
00:25:55.25\00:25:57.02
[logo whooshing]
00:25:57.02\00:26:00.36
- [Announcer 2] Dragons,
beasts, cryptic statues,
00:26:00.36\00:26:04.59
Bible prophecy can be
incredibly vivid and confusing.
00:26:04.59\00:26:09.16
If you've ever read
Daniel or Revelation
00:26:09.16\00:26:11.33
and come away scratching
your head, you are not alone.
00:26:11.33\00:26:14.37
Our free Focus
on Prophecy guides
00:26:14.37\00:26:16.77
are designed to help you unlock
the mysteries of the Bible
00:26:16.77\00:26:19.57
and deepen your understanding
of God's plan for you
00:26:19.57\00:26:22.54
and our world.
00:26:22.54\00:26:23.71
Study online or
request them by mail,
00:26:23.71\00:26:26.11
and start bringing
prophecy into focus today.
00:26:26.11\00:26:28.98
- Something out
there pulls our hearts
00:26:30.09\00:26:32.45
in the direction of heaven.
00:26:32.45\00:26:33.66
For thousands of years,
00:26:33.66\00:26:34.92
we've been looking
up into the night sky
00:26:34.92\00:26:36.73
expecting to find something.
00:26:36.73\00:26:39.03
So what if it's God pulling
your heart in that direction?
00:26:40.46\00:26:43.83
What if this old book
actually shows you what
00:26:43.83\00:26:46.53
or who you've been
looking for your whole life?
00:26:46.53\00:26:50.07
What if the voice that tugs
your heart toward that night sky
00:26:50.07\00:26:53.48
is the same voice
that inspired this book?
00:26:53.48\00:26:56.88
What if the urge toward
the heavens is a homing beacon,
00:26:56.88\00:27:00.38
pulling you back towards
an authentic human existence?
00:27:00.38\00:27:05.02
"And you will seek Me
and find Me, God says,
00:27:05.02\00:27:07.79
when you search for
Me, with all your heart."
00:27:07.79\00:27:10.63
A diver off the
Coast of Antikythera
00:27:11.76\00:27:13.90
made a revolutionary discovery
00:27:13.90\00:27:16.20
that changed our picture
of the whole ancient world.
00:27:16.20\00:27:19.17
What appeared to
be a clump of mud
00:27:19.17\00:27:20.97
proved to be one of the
most important artifacts
00:27:20.97\00:27:23.57
we've ever found.
00:27:23.57\00:27:25.34
And what I'm going to
suggest is that maybe it's time
00:27:25.34\00:27:28.54
to dive into another place
00:27:28.54\00:27:30.41
into the incredible
depths of the Bible.
00:27:30.41\00:27:33.55
I know, you think you
know what the Bible says
00:27:33.55\00:27:35.88
because the skeptics
have been telling you
00:27:35.88\00:27:38.09
what's in this book and
why you should avoid it.
00:27:38.09\00:27:41.02
But I gotta tell you,
after decades of reading this,
00:27:41.02\00:27:44.06
I say the
skeptics are dead wrong.
00:27:44.06\00:27:47.03
This book is going to open
up a whole new world for you
00:27:47.03\00:27:50.60
and prove that this
universe is even bigger
00:27:50.60\00:27:53.90
than you thought.
00:27:53.90\00:27:55.50
Thanks for joining
me again this week.
00:27:55.50\00:27:57.51
I'm Shawn Boonstra,
00:27:57.51\00:27:58.77
this has been
another episode of Authentic.
00:27:58.77\00:28:01.48
[upbeat music]
00:28:01.48\00:28:04.08