Shabbat shalom kol beit Yisra'el and Mishpachah. Welcome back. As I mentioned last week, I am going to have to postpone the last part of my Shavu'ot sermon yet again as unfortunately the data on the harddrive of my work computer was unrecoverable so I have lost a large amount of work.

I have yet to take stock of what, and how much, I have lost, and how many months back that goes, but it definitely includes my last sermon and much else besides. So I won't pretend that this isn't a blow. This should serve as a warning to all of us to make regular backups of everything because it is so easy to be careless, as I have been. Now admittedly this is, in part, because of my illness and surgery, the recovery process and drugs making me forgetful. These sorts of things can happen to anyone at anytime, as we all know, underlining the importance of me taking my own counsel to be a diligent prepper, which I have failed to take in this instance. Unfortunately a lot of partially-completed projects have been lost which means starting all over again, if I feel up to it. It is depressing, I'll admit. So today I am going to take the opportunity to join in with some celebrations which the whole world is taking part in but by additionally including the Creator where He belongs, in the centre of it all.

Fifty years ago (plus 3 days) something incredible happened. I was there, I was a witness, aged 15, not at the location where this stupendous event took place, but glued to an old-fashioned valve-operated black-and-white TV set at our neighbour's house (because we didn't own a TV back then) in Cranleigh, Surrey, England. I watched, amazed, if I might borrow the words of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, those first men, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, "who ever burst into that silent sea" and walked on the moon.

It was 3.56 am Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) in England on 21 July 1969. This was a mere 12 years after the launching of Sputnik 1 on 4 October 1957. Two years later, in 1959, the Russians were the first to photograph the so-called 'dark side' of the moon (the side we never see) and in 1961 Yuri Gagarin, also a Russian, was the first man into space and ton complete one orbit. His charred space capsule landed by a village near Saratov. His arrival from outer space was witnessed by a woman (the wife of a forester), a girl and a cow. Can you imagine that?

It wasn't until 1964 that the Americans landed Ranger 7 on the moon and sent back over 4,000 pictures - sorry flat-earthers, there was no CGI in those days and it would have been more complicated and expensive to fake that than to actually do it for real. And even if most of the TV-viewers in 1969 weren't keen amateur astronomers as I had been since my father gave me my first astronomy book and refracting telescope in Malaysia, everyone was spellbound. It was absolutely thrilling!

You don't quickly forget something like that and it's a given that that will never be repeated, not just because that was the first time men walked on the moon but because it was the first time men walked on any heavenly body apart from earth! That year lots of books were published on this incredible event and I saved up to buy Peter Ryan's, The Invasion of the Moon 1969: The Story of Apollo 11 which I still have. It's hard to express the romance and excitement of such pioneering adventures. The next great leap will be to put men and women on Mars. Only the other day my youngest son and I were discussing how exciting it would be to terraform Mars, and how to actually do it, so that it could one day become inhabitable. I'm sure you'll understand why I love science fiction so much and was a fan of Star Trek, Battle Star Galactica and of course the Star wars movies (though I have to say the modern ones aren't nearly as good plot-wise). So landing on the moon was literally a 'first of firsts'.

Not everybody understands the excitement about space exploration and though there are women who love space and cosmology, and are good at their work, this tends, on average, to be more of a 'male thing'. I guess once the earth had been fully explored, or nearly fully explored, the next endeavour had to be outer space. You'll never stop that male inquisitiveness. Even our dogs are the same - the males have always been keen to roam whereas the females have been more inclined to remain at home.

I think something of the excitement which so many people like myself experience in astronomy and cosmology is captured by David who, using typical Hebrew poetical imagery, declared:

"The heavens declare the glory of Elohim (God);
the skies proclaim the work of His hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.
There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.

In the heavens He has pitched a tent for the sun,
which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is hidden from its heat" (Ps.19:1-6, NIV).

David the shepherd must have gazed into the starry heavens night after night whilst tending his flocks and wondered at the magnificence of it all. These days, there is so much light pollution in the developped world at least, that a large part of the sky's contents is permanently obliterated from man's view unless you can find your way into some remote countryside and, better still, onto a mountain. And so it was that recently an amateur astronomer did an experiment. He took his refracting telescope onto the streets of San Francisco at night, pointed it at the moon, and invited passers-by to take a look. They were amazed, enthralled, enchanted, like children - you could see the magical effect it had on everyone who looked, people who never ordinarily looked up either because it just never occurred to them to do so or because it was too light to see much. Isn't it amazing? They had never seen the moon close up before - the craters, shadows, and contrasts on the lunar surface - the moon appeared so close that they could almost touch it. Something mystical that most of them had never experienced before was awakened in them. It took them out of their humdrum existence with all its social and spiritual problems.

Brethren and sisters, we can't afford not to look up at Yahweh's handiwork especially now that affordable astronomical equipment is readily available to us. Looking at YouTube videos is not enough - people need hands-on or eyes-on experiences to kindle deep things within. We're told in the Bible that nature - the natural world - is Yahweh's 'other' book of Scripture. David phrases his psalm in such a way telling us that the heavens have a divine message for us: "Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge" (v.2. NIV) and "their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world" (v.4, NIV).

Did you know that Paul takes this verse and applies it to the proclamation of the Besorah (Gospel) of Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) in Romans chapter 10?

"Consequently, emunah (faith) comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the Davar Mashiach (Word of Christ). But I ask: Did they (the Israelites) not hear? Of course they did: 'Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world" (Rom.10:17-18, NIV).

This is a midrash. In the same way the heavenly bodies speak to us, so the Israelites have spoken. Paul sees the parallel between the message of creation in the message of Christ, so David develops this thought further by seeing other connections and parallels in the Torah (Law) itself:

"The Torah of Yahweh is perfect, reviving the soul. The chukkim (statutes) of Yahweh are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of Yahweh are right, giving simcha (joy) to the heart. The mitzvot (commandments) of Yahweh are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of Yahweh is pure, enduring le-olam-va-ed (throughout the æons). The mishpatim (judgments) of Yahweh are sure and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward" (Ps.19:7-11, NIV)

The starry heavens, the Good News of the Besorah (Gospel) of Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) and the Torah (Law, Teaching) are all here viewed by David and Paul in the same light and with the same excitement. Now maybe astronomy isn't your 'thing' but I'm pretty sure there's something in the natural world that gives you delight, whether gardening, pets, painting nature, swimming - you name it, Yahweh has created you to enjoy all these things alike. This whole planet is unique in this whole creation and it's moon is strangely unique too. Scientists have discovered thousands of exo-planets outside our solar system along with their moons thanks to the Hubble telescope and they are all different. This planet alone, it seems, is a treasured Garden and we would do well to look after it since this may be the only one of its kind anywhere in creation. We should be good conservationists and environmentalists. It was not given to us to exploit to its destruction and our own but to benefit us in its moderate and wise use. After all, it is to be our permanent home both in the Millennium and in Eternity to come. We don't get to permanently leave it behind when we depart as disembodied spirits at death because ours is a resurrection future. And so it is well that we learn to take care of it as a unique cosmic Temple in the same way we are commanded to take care of our physical bodies as temples of the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) (1 Cor.3:16; 6:19).

The witness of the heavens, including our incredible moon, though 'silent' nevertheless 'speaks' to us in a unique language belonging to the spirit of man. Psalm 19 in particular points out the marvel that is the sun. It is as marvellous as Yahweh's judgments or moral decisions. The Torah confers very real practical benefits on us, just like the beauty and warmth of the sun does to our psyche and body. Who isn't cheered up by the sun after overcast weather? Whether physical, spiritual or moral, all of these created things were given to us to refresh and invigorate our souls. They're all connected. We were never meant to be so 'spiritual' or 'etherial' as to be disconnected from nature and of no earthly good.

When Adam was appointed as Yahweh's earthly gardener, this is actually an appointment we all inherited. Gardening is in-built, natural. We're all Heaven-appointed horticulturists or farmers of one kind or another and that calling won't end when we die. We're built for life on this earth now and for eternity so when we're back on the planet in our immortal physical bodies, the original appointment will kick-in again after our rest in the heavenly spirit world! Enjoy your neck of the woods, your corner of the planet, cultivate it, take care of it, and praise Elohim (God) for it. Then present it to Him. Here in Sweden we love nature - 50 per cent of the country os forested! But if I can persuade you, in addition to realising your calling as a gardener, to be an artist or a scientist or a poet or all of these as well, I shall be well satisfied because there is much to explore and much to celebrate and praise Yahweh for. And consider - all of this is spiritual if Yahweh is in the centre of your minds and hearts, just as the physical resurrection is described as "spiritual" (1 Cor.15:44) not because it is something ghostly but because it is spiritual in nature...as opposed to being fleshy or carnal. It's not something to be neglected or despised as gnostic-type religion would have you view it. Indeed it is unnatural not to be interested in Yahweh's physical world having a spiritually-oriented view of it!

Again, David celebrates the heavens and two of the most majestic mountains in Israel, one located in the north (Hermon) and the other (Tabor) in the south, with these two mountains coming to represent these two points of the compass:

"The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth;
you founded the world and all that is in it.
You created the north and the south;
Tabor and Hermon sing for joy at Your Name" (Ps 89:11-12, NIV)

And yet all of these things physical things are temporary or impermanent, at least as we experience them today as part of the Old Creation. For David, Yahweh's promises to human beings are more permanent and enduring that all the stars and planets in the cosmos! If we are to be transformed with New Creation Life for believing people then it follows that the physical surroundings for these sons and daughters of Elohim (God) must be transformed too, being as Elohim (God) will also live among us as He once lived with Adam and Eve in Eden. The resurrection isn't, it seems, just for us, as Yahweh explains to the navi (prophet) Isaiah right at the end of his prophetic book:

"'As the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before Me,' declares Yahweh, 'so will your name and descendants endure. From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before Me,' says Yahweh'" (Isa.66:22-23, NIV).

And then the book suddenly ends with this dramatic verse:

"'And they will go out and look upon the dead bodies of those who rebelled against Me; their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind" (Isa.66:24, NIV).

Now I have purposefully included the last verse of this chapter and book - Isaiah 66:24 - to make an important point. There is a contrast here, is there not, between the final restoration of the righteous and the final judgment upon the wicked, and the language is very typical of the kind of poetry we have already seen used. Many have tried to read verses like this literally as depicting some permanent scene that the righteous will be gazing on for ever and ever - indeed, the allusion is to ge'Hinnom, the Valley of Gehenna southwest slopes of Jerusalem.

We are first presented a picture of Millennial life, and presumably beyond the Millennium too. However, if you interpret this too literally then you are forced to conclude that either the dead bodies of the wicked who fell under Yahweh's Judgment will be lying around (if you're an annihilationist) or that this is a picture of eternal torment which the righteous will continually be viewing (if you're a typical orthodox Trinitarian Christian), a bit like having hell at the foot of your garden in which the bodies of your loved ones who were wicked are on permanent display or as they are tortured within earshot and within easy sight. You could stand on the southwest wall of Jerusalem and view the burning 'hell' that was Gehenna in to which the city refuse and dead criminals were thrown. And if you were close enough you would be able to see the worms crowling in their carcasses. You are forced to to arrive at something like that sort of imagery if you read this, and related, passages in a literal fashion. So there you are, having tea or ice cream in your garden and you can either see the dead bodies of parents, children, spouses or other close relatives or you can hear and see them suffering dreadfully. And every time you go into your garden you will have to witness this.

The same kind of imagery is used by Yah'shua (Jesus) Himself:

"If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into ge'Hinnom (hell). And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of Elohim (God) with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into ge'Hinnom (hell), where 'their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched'" (Mark 9:43-48, NIV).

I think the absurdity, not to mention obscenity, of this picture when taken literally in terms of the resurrection world-to-come becomes no more apparent when you use the garden analogy. I used that because we're told in the Book of Revelation that the wicked in hell-fire are at once visible to Yahweh and to the glorified qodeshim (saints, set-apart ones). They're not in some distant, far-off, remote place on the other side of the Universe. This is another way of saying that these souls are very much in His mind and heart at all times, as in the hearts of the concerned righteous, saved loved ones, in much the same way that someone who is serving a term in prison is thought of daily until they have served their just term of punishment and reformation and are released. This is not a picture of some sadist watching someone being tortured for the shere pleasure of it. It's a terrible time, with no relief for the duration of the punishment - "their worm will not die" - which reminds me of an account I read of someone who, as the result of a near-death experience, had visited hell for a few minutes (because he deserved to be there) and when he emerged, before being returned to mortality, he was convinced that he had been there for endless years. All sense of time is lost in that place. And until purified, those who enter it are loathsome, contemptuous creatures to behold. If you have ever seen someone eaten up by methanol you'll have some idea of what I'm getting at. Interesting, is it not, that Isaiah should end his book on this sobering note?

Now I don't believe, both because of common sense and because of what other scriptures say on the subject, that all the bodies of the slain wicked are going to be in one location like the illustration given of the Valley of Hinnom. What we have here, rather, is poetic imagery. Yes, the wicked have been literally slain but this is viewed as though they had been slain in a battle against Yahweh Himself. And indeed, in ancient times, Gehenna was a place of battle between Yahweh and the pagan deities like Moloch who were worshipped there. The idea of a heavenly battle may be seen from a few verses earlier:

"See, Yahweh is coming with fire,
and His chariots are like a whirlwind;
he will bring down his anger with fury,
and his rebuke with flames of fire.
For with fire and with his sword
Yahweh will execute judgment upon all men,
and many will be those slain by Yahweh" (Isa.66:15-16, NIV).

The poetic imagery of chariots and horses is, of course, what you would expect of the time period. Had the Book of Isaiah been written today, the imagery would be of helicopters, planes, missiles, tanks, laser weapons, and the like. All visionary revelation, which is symbolic, is adapted to the limits of our knowledge of science and of reality generally at the time it is received. The point is, when the judgment comes, it will be like a conventional military operation, with Yahweh (and the powers He controls the malakim or angels) being like an opposing army arrayed with the military ordnance of the time period. At the end of any war there are dead bodies lying around, and if the final judgment is global - as we know it will be - the bodies will be scattered all over the planet even though Isaiah was forced to use a single location - Gehenna - because it best described what conditions will be like. So the scene is necessarily described as if they were in one location. So wherever you happen to be, if you're alive after the Great Tribulation, you will see dead bodies strewn around as you go out and observe the aftermath, and it will be a ghastly sight, as the aftermath of every battle is with mangled, bloody corpses. The horror of it will give you a glimpse of the fate spiritually of those suffering in hell.

What has all this to do with the Apollo 11 moonlanding in 1969? Should man even have gone there? Does the Bible prophesy it? Not that I know of. Man's dominion is earth and it seems to me that he has done enough damage down here already without doing more of the same on other worlds. Space around the earth is littered with debris as you would probablty expect. So is Mars. Someone has got to clean it up one day and probably it will be Yahweh, in the same way He cleans the earth up at the end of the Millennium, though I suspect He will give us the metaphorical brush-and-pan and tell us to use it for 1,000 years. Children do have to be taught to clean up their mess to make them responsible.

And yet our curiosity keeps pushing us onwards into uncharted territory. Stories are in circulation that in addition to the US flag on the moon that there's also a Masonic one. It wouldn't surprise me though I have no idea really. They did at least read from Genesis on the moon over the radio which the Soviets wouldn't have done had they got there first. Indeed, the first atheistic Soviet cosmonaut in space 'confirmed' that 'God' was nowhere to be seen. So what the Americans did was positive and Yahweh-honouring. One thing's sure about the moon, it isn't a natural place to be and we're told nowhere that Yahweh created it to be inhabited by man...or Mars or anywhere else. I would not wish to die there, would you? We won't need to worry about overpopulating planet earth, the current dispensation will all be over long before we come to that crisis, plus we know the judgments will drastically cull mankind's numbers anyway.

I doubt there will ever be any justification for colonising other worlds though man will try it if he can. I fully get the pionnering drive because as Messianic Evangelicals that is also what we are, at least down here on earth. Do other forms of life exist beyond the earth? No question of it, but it's not carbon-based physical life of the kind we have down here, and arguably it isn't even 'physical'. Astronauts and cosmonauts in space, on the moon and elsewhere in this solar system of ours have enountered it even if reports of it are highly censored, and man has certainly disturbed it by leaving the bounds of earth. More than that I don't really want to say here. We've enough on our plate down here to be worrying about what's going on out there. That's not our stewardship even if we will always gaze upwards in awe and wonder, and send spaceships out there to explore further at fantastic expense, occasionally with people onboard. 50 years have passed, men have not been beyond earth's orbit for a while now, even though we have sent unmanned probes beyond Pluto and sent back amazing pictures and scientific data. Soon we will try for the moon again, and then Mars. I wonder what will become of it. We will see...