NASA's Burning Cloud

  Photo credit: Fox News





In late December of 2019, NASA spotted what looked like to be a burning cloud with their Spitzer telescope.  The cloud, called the Perseus Molecular cloud is actually a collection of gas and dust with infrared radiation, to which star clusters in the respective region are contributing, that actually give the interstellar gas cloud the appearance of fire.  It has been an interstellar phenomenon that has fascinated astronomers for years and while it may only give the illusion of fire presently, a day is coming when the entire universe will actually be on fire and be destroyed by fire (2 Pet. 3:10-12) but afterwards, a new world will be in place of this present one, (2 Pet. 3:13) a world far better than this world that we are living in today, for it will be a world in which every tear is wiped away, where death is no more, where evil does not dwell, and where no one is subject to suffering or hardship of any sort (Rev. 21-22) because that is the kind of world desired of the God who made the universe and all that is therein and was the kind of world that once was before sin entered into it and death with it through one man, Adam, who transgressed against his Maker by eating fruit from a certain tree called the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, a tree that he was told not to eat from (Gen. 2:16-17) but it was in that day that when Adam and his wife Eve disobeyed that command, that this world went from being a perfect world without death, evil, and suffering to a world where death reigns and the creation is subject to every form of pain, suffering, and hardship that there could be (Rom. 8:22) but just as all these things were caused by the disobedience of one man from whom all people are descended, so now redemption comes through another man in whom there is no sin and who knew no death.

Because of Adam sin came into all of humanity and with sin, death because all sin and all die.  (Rom. 5:12) Sin taints and corrupts all that it touches, even corrupting the very soul itself.  It clouds our understanding, distorts our affections, corrupts our motives, profanes our thoughts, defiles our speech, and leads us into committing acts perverse and evil in the sight of our Maker.

Sin so permeates our very being that even when we try to do good, sin is ever present which is why no amount of goodness on our part can ever gain favor with our Maker and therefore, our very sin causes a separation between us and our Maker because that which is pure and holy cannot allow anything less to enter into His Kingdom and because sin goes against all desired by our Maker and that which is His perfect design, it must be punished and eliminated from His creation and from His presence, but because our Maker is a God of love and mercy and takes no pleasure in the destruction of the sinner, He has made a way by which both the required penalty for sin is satisfied and the need for mercy and redemption can be met through Christ Jesus, who came into this world to offer Himself up as a perfect and blameless sacrifice on behalf of all of us sinners and then was raised from the grave that we who place our trust in His redemptive work for us might be saved.

And those who place their trust in Christ Jesus for their salvation and in Him alone will get to be citizens of the brand new world that He has in store for us, but for those who reject Him, there is nothing for them to look forward to but the everlasting punishment for the sin that they chose to remain in, for should any die in their sins, they will remain in that state for all eternity and therefore are punished for all eternity because they refused to be cleansed by the very blood that was shed on their behalf, but for they who place their trust in Christ, their sins are removed, and now look forward also to the redemption of their very bodies (1 Cor. 15:51-55, 1 Thess. 4:16-17) because just as their souls have been redeemed from that eternal death, so their bodies will one day be transformed from bodies subject to death to bodies no longer subject to death for that which was corruptible will be made incorruptible because sin will no longer dwell in them.

And they will also be part of that new creation in which death will be no more, where sin is eliminated, and where no curse is.  But today, a choice has been laid before us.  Eternal life, or eternal death.

It is my hope and prayer to you reader, if you have not already repented of your sins and placed your trust in Christ to save you from eternal damnation, that you might be persuaded to do so and call upon Him for forgiveness and salvation, inviting Him to be your Savior and Lord of your life.

But in case you are not sure of what words to say in calling upon the name of our Lord for salvation, here is an example of what you can say:





"Lord Jesus I need you.
I realize that I am a sinner
who has fallen short of the glory of God
and that my goodness falls short
of His standard of Moral perfection.

Please forgive me of all of my sins.
Come into my heart and into my life
to be the Savior and Lord of my life.
Make me into the servant and follower
that you want me to be.

In your name Lord Jesus, I pray.

Amen."





Remember that Christ is not concerned with the usage of your words as He is with the attitude of your heart and if you have asked Him to come into your heart, forgive you of your sins, and to be your Savior and Lord with all sincerity, then you this day have become a child of God and are now assured entry into Heaven to be with Him for all eternity.



End Notes:



Christopher Carbone, “NASA's Spitzer Telescope captures massive 'burning' cloud in space,”
Fox News, December 26, 2019
https://www.foxnews.com/science/nasas-spitzer-telescope-burning-cloud-in-space



Scripture references:



1.  2 Peter 3:10-12

2.  2 Peter 3:13

3.  Revelation 21-22

4.  Genesis 2:16-17

5.  Romans 8:22

6.  Romans 5:12

7.  1 Corinthians 15:51-55

8.  1 Thessalonians 4:16-17