is in a state of actual combustion, like burning fuel, or merely in a
state of intense ignition, like a stone heated to redness in a
furnace, we shall find it most reasonable to conclude that it is in a
state of ignition. If the body of the Sun were composed of combustible
matter and were actually on fire, the material of the Sun would be
continually wasting away, while the products of combustion would fill
all the vast surrounding regions, and obscure the light of the Sun.
But solid bodies may attain a very intense state of ignition, and glow
with the most fervent heat, while none of their material is consumed,
and no clouds or fumes rise to obscure their brightness, or to impede
their further emission of heat." Hence, for these and other reasons,
Prof. Olmsted thinks it more probable that the heat is that of a high
state of ignition, rather than produced from combustion.
Thus we see that while all Astronomers agree that the Sun is the
source of light and heat; that this heat is vastly intense; consuming,
and yet never consumed or exhausted, it is a difficult matter to
determine the nature and true element composing it. All agree however,
that God himself created it and placed it in its proper position, and
controls it for His own wise purposes.
Most Astronomers consider it an incandescent body (glowing whiteness
of intense heat), encircled with two atmospheres. That next its
surface is supposed to be nonluminous, while the outer one which
floats upon it is _luminous_--and forms a "_photosphere_," this is
what we see in looking at the Sun's bright disk. This photosphere
radiates the heat and light which vivify the planets of the solar
system, and imparts the stimulæ of life and animation. It is said that
flame-like masses--some computed to be one hundred and fifty thousand
miles in length--are piled upon, and overlap each other, and sweep
onward in constant agitation like mountain billows of living fire. Its
brightness far transcends and pales that of all other luminaries, and
would that of millions of stars as bright as Sirius, or even hundreds
of thousands of full moons.
We accept this view, as to the outer photosphere, and believe this
"_incandescent_," yet not a solid body, but rather a _photospheric
ethereal_ element occupying its appointed space, and that it has
nothing to do whatever, with the vast _inner globe_ which is entirely
shielded from it by the intervening void, denominated by Astronomers
as a surrounding nonluminous atmosphere. Sir John Herschel tells us
that his investigations led him to the belief that this shields the
globe within, and thus renders it susceptible of maintaining life, or
some form of animated existence. Hence, we deem the evidences afforded
by astronomy, strong, if not fully conclusive that our hypothesis is
correct. But when we add to this the evidences found in the
Bible--God's own revelations to man--we think there can scarcely
remain a doubt in the mind of any who follow us in this investigation.
* * * * *
We now propose to consider more definitely the nature of that volume
of flame, or intense heat, which we denominate the _Sun_. Of its
temperature it is difficult to form an estimate the least
comprehensive. We know our furnace heat will fuse cast-iron at a
little less than 3,000 degrees. Oxy-hydrogen flame--one of the hottest
known--is estimated at about 14,000 degrees Fahrenheit, while the
temperature ascribed to the Sun is about 12,000,000. There is nothing
our senses can realize, or our minds conceive, that will enable us
even to approximate the intensity of this heat.
* * * * *
Now we have seen that the Sun is the source of all light and heat; the
source--when the element is concentrated--of that which we denominate
_fire_. The phenomena that fire pervades, by some of its constituents,
every thing, and all space, is incomprehensible otherwise than in the
belief that the Spirit of God is everywhere. Although fire is always
on this Earth in a concentrated form, yet its source is the Sun, and
from this source we can concentrate it into visible ignition. And yet
we see that the element itself is _ethereal_; it will consume by
combustion, yet its heat and flame always tends upward, and disappears
in its own ethereal element, and we can recognize no solid substance
in it. We can feel and realize its warmth and vivifying influence; we
enjoy the light, as one of its productions, yet all are _ethereal_,
and we cannot grasp, mould, or retain it. We know that the Sun--that
volume of heat--is the active source and agency of life and animation,
and it imparts its blessings to us in a thousand ways; yet, misused,
it proves the source and element of punishment and destruction.
We have said that light and heat are the two great stimulants of vital
force. These two stimulants are inseparably connected. Heat is the
source of light, and without heat _there would be no light_, for even
reflected light is derived from this source; this is manifest to every
intelligent mind. Therefore, we see plainly that the Sun is the
source and mainspring of all animation, and to its influence, directed
and controlled by the Allwise Creator, are we indebted for every
blessing--nay, even life itself. It acts upon the elements appointed
unto it, and brings forth all animation. It causes the earth to yield
her productions; clothes the forest with green, gives to the "rose"
and the "lily" their beautiful tints and fragrance, and imparts to the
flowers of garden and forest their thousand variegated hues. It gives
to man his strength and wisdom, and to woman her beauty and
loveliness, and--with refined and cultivated intellect--her ten
thousand charms.
_THE PLANETS OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM._
Let us now turn our attention, for a short time, to the contemplation
of the planets, or worlds, belonging to our own solar system; those
within the domain of our own Sun, and to which it dispenses light and
heat. With these, our Astronomers are, so to speak, quite familiar. We
cannot do better than to present them to you in the language of Dr.
Child, whose writings have afforded us so much correct data in
preceding pages.
"In gazing at our fellow-planets on a clear night, as we see them
stand out with pre-eminent brightness among the twinkling stars, who
has not longed to penetrate the mystery of their being, and to know
whether they, like our own Earth, are worlds full of life and
movement? The vast distance that intervenes between us forbids us to
expect a direct solution of the question, for no instrument yet made,
or that we can hope to make, will bring their possible inhabitants
within the range of our vision. We are reduced, therefore, to survey
them with the sifting force of intellect, and to rest contented with
such circumstantial proof as is derived from a knowledge of their
general structure, and the analogies subsisting between them and our
Earth.
"Among our nearest neighbors, _Venus_ is nearly the size of our Earth;
and _Mercury_ and _Mars_, though considerably smaller, would still
form worlds which, to our ideas, would not in their magnitude be so
very different from our own. As before remarked, all the planets
revolve in elliptical orbits round the Sun, and the time consumed in
their journey constitutes their year. Their polar axis is not
'straight up and down,' but leans over or is inclined to the plane of
their orbit, so that each pole is turned toward the Sun at one period
of the year, and away from it at another. This arrangement insures the
regular alternation of seasons and a variety of climates on their
surface. The orbital inclination of _Mars_, for example, is much the
same as that of the Earth, and, therefore, the relative proportion of
his seasons must have a close resemblance to our own. It might be
expected under these circumstances that ice would accumulate toward
the poles in winter time, as on our Earth, and accordingly glacial
accumulations have not only been observed by Astronomers, but it has
been remarked that they occasionally diminish by melting during the
heats of summer, while they increase in winter. Now as the planets,
like the Earth, turn round on their axis with perfect regularity--and
those just mentioned do so in very similar periods of time, hence, all
have their days and nights.
"We have already stated that the Earth and its fellow-planets are kept
steadily in their orbits by the exact adjustment of _centrifugal_ and
_centripetal_ forces. Hence each moves in its regular order.
"Now by way of comparison, Astronomers have denominated the Sun as a
globe two feet in diameter, or six feet in circumference. Starting
from this globe let us wing our way across the space filled by the
solar system. A short flight of thirty-seven millions of miles brings
us to a world which, compared to the two-feet globe, is no larger than
a grain of mustard seed, while it is so bathed in the Sun's dazzling
rays that it is not easily distinguished when viewed from the Earth.
This fussy little planet whirls round the Sun at the tremendous pace
of 100,000 miles an hour, by which he proves his title to be called
_Mercury_, the 'swift-footed,' of mythology. At a distance of
sixty-eight millions of miles from the Sun we behold _Venus_, the
brightest and most dazzling of the heavenly hosts. In comparative size
she may be represented as a _pea_. She is our nearest neighbor among
the planets, and the conditions under which she exists recall many of
those under which we ourselves live. About ninety-five millions of
miles from the Sun we come upon another 'pea' a trifle larger than the
one representing _Venus_, and in it we hail our own familiar Mother
Earth. Here we shall not now linger, but passing onward some fifty
millions of miles we are attracted by the well-known ruddy glow of
_Mars_--whose comparative size is that of a _pin's head_. His mean
orbital speed is 54,000 miles an hour--nearly our own pace--but as he
takes twice as much time to run round the Sun as we do, his year is
consequently twice as long.
"Casting a glance behind, we are reminded of the growing distance that
now separates us from the sun by the perceptible waning of his light.
"We next spread our wings for a very long flight. In passing through
the "asteroid" zone of solar space, about 260 millions of miles from
the sun, we may chance to fall in with some worlds of smaller
dimensions than those we have been contemplating. We know very little
about them, except that their ways are eccentric and mysterious. At
length the shores of huge _Jupiter_ are reached at a distance of
nearly 500 millions of miles from the sun. To carry on the comparison,
he is a "small orange" to the "pea" of our earth, or to the two feet
globe that represents the sun. His orbit is a path 3,000 millions of
miles long, which he accomplishes in an "annual" period of about 12 of
our years. The sun's light has now shrunk considerably; but four
brilliant moons or satellites, one or more of which are always "full,"
help to afford some compensation. But let us "onward" in our
"outward-bound" course. We again pass through a space of nearly equal
distance as that of _Jupiter_ from the sun. We are now more than 900
_millions_ of miles distant from the central pivot. Here we fall in
with _Saturn_, whose comparative size may be represented by an orange
considerably smaller than the last (bear in mind the comparative
sizes, our earth as a "_pea_" to these each an orange). His year
swallows up almost thirty of our own. And in this far distant region
the Sun, though giving only about one ninetieth part of the light
which we receive, is still equal to 300 full moons, and is at least
sufficient for vision, and all the necessary purposes of life, while
no fewer than eight satellites supplement the waning sun-light,
besides a mysterious luminous "ring" of vast proportions.
"Twice as far away from the Sun as Saturn, _Uranus_, represented by a
_cherry_, plods his weary course. Although his real diameter is 35,000
miles, his circumference over 100,000, being more than four times the
size of our own earth, yet he is rarely seen by the naked eye. His
annual journey round the Sun is 10,000 millions of miles, and he
consumes what we should consider a lifetime, 84 _years_, in getting
over it. Our little _earth_ has now faded out of sight.
"Only a few years ago, _Uranus_ was the last planetary station of our
system, but the discovery of Neptune in 1846, gave us another
resting-place on the long journey into space. Here, at a distance of
nearly 3,000 _millions_ of miles from the Sun, we may pause awhile
before entering upon the more remote exploration of the '_starry_
universe.'
"We are approaching the frontier regions of our system, and the Sun's
light and the power of his attraction are gradually passing away.
Between the shores of our Sun-system and the shores of the nearest
star-system--they also being suns--lies a vast, mysterious chasm, in
the recesses of which may still lurk some undiscovered planets, but
into which, so far as we yet know, the wandering comets alone plunge
deeply.
"We now stand on the frontier of the Sun's domain, and are, in
imagination, looking across one of those broad gulfs which, like
impassable ramparts fence off the different systems of the universe
from each other. It seemed needful that the great Architect should
interpose some such barrier between the contending attractions of the
giant masses of matter scattered through space; that there should be a
_sea_ of limitation in which forces, whose action might disturb each
other, should die out and be extinguished. In it the flood-light of
our glorious Sun gets weaker and weaker, and its bright disk wastes
away by distance, until it shines only as a twinkling star. And the
strong chain of its attraction which held with firm grasp the planets
in their orbits, after dwindling by fixed degrees into a force that
would not break a gossamer, is finally dissipated and lost.
"Now we ask, Is it likely that those vast orbs--with masses and
densities so wonderfully modified and adjusted in accordance with what
we perceive to be the requirements of living creatures--with years and
months, days and nights, seasons and climates--with atmosphere and
twilights, trade-winds and currents--with clouds and rains, continents
and seas, mountains and polar snows--with sun, moon, and stars, and,
in short, with all the elements that make up the conditions of a
habitable globe--is it likely that those glorious works of the Creator
should have been formed to lie waste, sterile, and unprofitable? Or
even if we could bring ourselves to think that those masses, whose
united bulk dwarfs our Earth into insignificance, had been solely
created as make-weights to keep this little atom of Earth in its
place, why should they have been provided with complicated systems of
moons revolving round them to give them auxiliary light? The Sun's
light they share in common with ourselves; but for what conceivable
purpose should deserts void of life have been supplied with those
wonderful lamps to light them up in the absence of the Sun? Conditions
that might be incompatible with our organization, may be by
adjustment of creative wisdom exactly suited to the beings placed to
inhabit them. All life, even if it be essentially the same in
principle, may not everywhere assume the same phase of outward
existence, nor need we attempt to set limits in this respect to the
Lord of Life. The spaces lie there furnished ready--the Word was only
required to people them with life.
"Such inquiries have an interest which goes beyond their mere
astronomical import, for they touch our conceptions of God's
greatness, wisdom, and power. Is there one who does not long to be
able reasonably to cherish the thought that, far away from this _tiny_
speck of Earth, in the remote realms of space, we behold worlds
inhabited by beings who, it may be, are privileged to know their
Creator, and to bless, praise, and magnify Him forever."
We have seen that all leading Astronomers agree in the fact of a
"_plurality of suns_," and a "_plurality of worlds_," and their
numbers so vast that they are beyond our computation. Now we hold that
in all this vast creation, there is a controlling element, and that
this element is necessarily manifest in all things, and so
predominates that percipient intelligences should, and we believe
can--to a certain extent--comprehend it. Do you ask, what is this
element? we answer _fire_!
We have presented to your mind--as far as we are able to
comprehend--the Infinity of God's wisdom and power, as manifested in
his wonderful Creations; not only in creating this Earth on which we
live, and all pertaining thereunto, but of Heavens, Suns, Planets and
Worlds, whose numbers are _millions_, as they are seen standing out
and peopling the realms of boundless space, and yet we know that so
vast is the infinity of His wonderful creations, that we have given to
the mind only a bird's-eye view within the borders of His boundless
Empire.
We are aware that the idea we advance--that the vast globe, encircled
by the photosphoric, ethereal flame (that which we denominate the
Sun), _is our heaven_, as also the heaven for intelligences of the
other planets of our solar system, and that there are numerous other
suns of similar import which may also be heavens for created
intelligences inhabiting their surrounding planets--is new to the mind
of man, and that at first thought some may be incredulous; thus, as we
said in the beginning, it has ever been with all important
discoveries, and especially so of discoveries through the lights and
science of astronomy. Nevertheless, the wondrous works of the Creator,
as we have surveyed and contemplated them--we think--will justify our
hypothesis. But to all the foregoing we shall still add stronger, and
we think, more convincing evidences, when we come to contemplate the
elements of the Sun--fire, heat, and light--in connection with God's
intercourse by His Spirit, and His dealings with man.
_GOD'S THRONE SHALL ENDURE FOREVER; SO ALSO SHALL THE SUN. CONCLUSIVE
SCRIPTURAL EVIDENCE FOR ALL THAT WE CLAIM._
God hath sworn by His Holiness, that the seed of David (the MESSIAH),
should "endure forever, and his throne as the Sun before him."
The Psalmist, referring to the Messiah says, "His name shall endure
forever. His name shall be continued as long as the Sun, and all
nations shall call him blessed." Here we have the assurance of the
eternal duration of the Sun; even as the Throne of God which is to
"endure forever and ever." The promise is, that
"His seed also will I make to endure forever, and his throne
as the days of heaven. Thy throne O God is forever and
ever."
Thus, we see that the Sun and the heaven are to endure as long as the
throne of God, and his throne is to endure "forever and ever."
Now to us, to all, while dwelling in mortality, the Sun dispenses its
blessings alike. "He maketh the Sun to shine on the evil and on the
good, and sendeth the rain on the just, and on the unjust."
Thus, we see that the Sun is the active agency for the dispensing of
His blessings to man and all animation on this Earth. Its rays of
light and heat penetrate the bosoms of oceans and seas, and draw up
from "the fountains of the deep" the "liquid element" in ascending
vapor, and condensing it into clouds, scatter and return it in rains,
and gentle showers, to water and replenish the Earth and make it bring
forth for sustenance of man and beast, and renew the verdure of
nature.
Now do we not see in all this, as in all things else, that the
Sun--its heat and light--are God's agencies in sustaining all things?
We have told you that we could comprehend that it _was_ an agency
pervading and controlling all things. But you have doubtless noticed
the fact that as we have followed up and grasped the revelations made
by Philosophers and Astronomers, that the ablest of them have failed
to comprehend the _nature_ of the eternal source of fire. All agree in
the one fact, however, that it is derived from the Sun. No finite mind
ever has comprehended, nor, it may be, ever will be able to fully
comprehend it. We know that it exists. We apply to it properties and
principles, or components which form the element. Beyond this we
cannot go, only we know that God himself is its author; that it is an
element intimately connected with Himself--nay more, that He has even
revealed to us that _His Spirit is fire_! And when we contemplate the
fact that it is the only completely destructive, or _annihilating_
element, and yet one that can _never be destroyed_; one that is to
purify the righteous, and yet punish the wicked, we are led to the
inevitable conclusion that it is an _attribute_ of the Great Jehovah.
We believe it an element of creative agency, one that has
existed--possibly--from all eternity, and will continue through all
eternity to come. We are told that God, by His Spirit, is manifest in
all His works. Now, what else than _light_, and _heat_, is thus
manifest to us? It is positively _the source of all light_, and St.
Paul tells us that "All things are made manifest by light;" while the
Psalmist declares "His going forth is from the _end of the heaven_,
and His circuit unto the ends of it, and there is nothing hid from the
_heat_ thereof."
Now we see that this declaration establishes our hypothesis of the
location of heaven. His going forth from the _end of the heaven_--from
the sun--and nothing is hid from the heat thereof--the Sun being the
source of heat--is conclusive evidence that the _Sun_ is near--even at
the _ends_ of the heaven.
In the further contemplation of the hypothesis, that the Spirit of
God is _as_ fire, you will remember that we have stated that some of
the constituent elements of fire pervades all things, and also that
God--_by His Spirit_--is everywhere, and in all His works. Hear the
Psalmist, on this subject:
"Whither shall I go from thy _Spirit_? Whither shall I flee
from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art
there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If
I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost
parts of the sea, even there thy hand shall lead me, and thy
right hand shall hold me.
"If I say, surely the darkness shall cover me; even the
night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not
from thee: but the night shineth as the day: the darkness
and the light are both alike to thee."
Mark well this testimony, that while the Spirit of God is everywhere,
so, also, is that Spirit _light_, and there is no darkness, save to
those vailed in humanity. When spirit is free from mortality; is
accepted of God, and clothed upon with immortality; _as spirit_, it
partakes of His own nature, and will, henceforth, dwell forever in
eternal light.
Now what the Sun is to this earth and its inhabitants, so also we
believe it to be to the inhabitants of all the other planets belonging
to its system; all of which worlds it controls, even as it does this.
And here the mind goes out in the contemplation of the hypothesis,
that all those other suns, standing far out in sidereal regions--each
governing and controlling its own system of planets, or worlds--are
also _heavens_ for created intelligences inhabiting such planets. God
is Infinite, as well as Omnipresent. Infinite in wisdom, and in His
creative power.
"Who can set bounds to the Almighty?"
Therefore _Suns_, and consequently _heavens_, may be numbered by
_millions_, and their surrounding worlds by _billions_; yet all
created, governed, and controlled by the infinite wisdom and power of
the great Architect of the Universe. Such hypothesis is wonderful for
finite minds to contemplate, yet not more so than the fact of the
existence of our own solar system.
That the Sun shall endure forever, no rational mind can doubt. God's
own word assures this, and that His throne shall endure as long as the
Sun. Should He quench the fires of the Sun, and yet make no other
provision for light and heat, all would be blackness, darkness, and
desolation, and no animated life could exist on this earth, or
surrounding worlds.
* * * * *