Dr. Morris' article
"The Bounds of the Dominion Mandate" is written around and based upon biblical fact. God created the earth to be inhabited — to be dwelt upon — by all kinds of life forms, the highest of which, in God's order, is mankind, according to Isaiah 45:18: "For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I [am] the LORD; and [there is] none else." The stars, planets, and other heavenly bodies are part of His overall creation, but only the earth was created to be able to sustain human beings; God created everything in perfect order and harmony, stacking each day's creation — one upon the other — and crowning it all with man.
It is obvious, when studying the order in which all things were created, that they were systematically placed, day by day, in the proper order for designing the perfect environment in which human beings could thrive. Also, the fact that only human beings were
hand formed (Genesis 2:7) by God personally gives an indication of the love and intimacy with which man was created. God declares that He gave the earth to man as a gift, as stated in Psalm 115:16: "The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord's: but the earth hath He given to the children of men."
He created man to be the overseer of His property, so that it could be properly maintained, and He gave man authority in his capacity as landlord, as recorded in Genesis 1:26-28:
Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.' God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.'
Obviously, from the above quoted verses, and others throughout the Bible, God created the earth for man and man for the earth, and the word
earth occurs 987 times in the King James Version. God not only created the earth for man's habitation, but also for his pleasure and enlightenment. For his habitation God created an atmosphere that is exactly the right mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, argon, carbon dioxide, and other gases to support life, and comprised the soil of exactly the right proportions of chemicals, minerals, and other elements, to support vegetation on earth alone. Everything that sustains life on the planet runs in perpetual motion, and works together to cause life to thrive, and only the earth has the perfect environment to support human beings.
For man's pleasure, God created Adam — the first man — as the original pattern for all subsequent human beings. Within the boundaries of the pattern, God allowed for variances — male and female — different in their characteristics, and attributes, but both within the framework designed specifically for human beings. Both male and female contain the human genome within their genetic make-up. This is the identifier that makes them the species (
kind) of man, instead of any other
kind (species). Though human beings differ in their physical appearance, and personalities, as well as other characteristics, they all are descended from one man — Adam — the pattern, just as declared in Acts 17:24-26: "God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that He is Lord of heaven and earth, . . . hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation." God placed the variances within the pattern, so that man could proliferate the species, as well as have fellowship and companionship with others of his own
kind.
For man's enlightenment and eternal destiny, God inscribed His plan of salvation in the heavens. He literally wrote His gospel in the stars and planets that rotate above the earth, and only from the vantage point of earth is it possible to see the configurations, known as the constellations, as they revolve, in perfect order, each night, telling His story, as explained in Psalm 19:1-6:
For the choir director. A Psalm of David. The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; Their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their utterances to the end of the world. In them He has placed a tent for the sun, Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber; It rejoices as a strong man to run his course. Its rising is from one end of the heavens, And its circuit to the other end of them; And there is nothing hidden from its heat.
Truly, God created the earth with man in mind, as stated in Psalm 8:3-9:
When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained; What is man that You take thought of him, And the son of man that You care for him? Yet You have made him a little lower than God, And You crown him with glory and majesty! 6 You make him to rule over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, All sheep and oxen, And also the beasts of the field, The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea, Whatever passes through the paths of the seas. O LORD, our Lord, How majestic is Your name in all the earth!
He created it to be inhabited by man. It is man's dwelling place, and no other heavenly body can support the perfect eco-system that is vital to life. Even the sun is placed exactly where it must be, so as not to scorch and/or incinerate life on planet earth. Even though the flood of Noah compromised and altered the environment, topography, geology, and ecology of the planet, God still protected His children from the catastrophic effects of the deluge, and He declares as much in Psalm 104:1-9:
Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, You are very great; You are clothed with splendor and majesty, Covering Yourself with light as with a cloak, Stretching out heaven like a tent curtain. He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters; He makes the clouds His chariot; He walks upon the wings of the wind; He makes the winds His messengers, Flaming fire His ministers. He established the earth upon its foundations, So that it will not totter forever and ever. You covered it with the deep as with a garment; The waters were standing above the mountains. At Your rebuke they fled, At the sound of Your thunder they hurried away. The mountains rose; the valleys sank down To the place which You established for them. You set a boundary that they may not pass over, So that they will not return to cover the earth.
Dr. Morris understood that man was meant to dwell upon planet earth and nowhere else in the universe. The stars and planets have a purpose, but it is not to sustain man. God has already stated that He placed them in the heavens to be signs that man could understand, so that he could look up and see that his Redeemer was working out His plan, giving him hope for a future, just as He states in Jeremiah 29:11-13:
'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. 'Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 'You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart."
There are many theories regarding the necessity of space travel and exploration, and there is also the theory that the entire universe is a hologram — a reflection of a greater reality. But at this particular moment in time, according to God's command, His children are to spend their time trying to reach the lost with His gospel, rather than spending money and time going to places where people do not even exist, and this is the point that Dr. Morris is making. Jesus came once to planet earth, and not to any other planet, star, or heavenly body, and He is coming again — to planet earth alone, for His stated purpose in Luke 19:10: "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." Only human beings are lost, so God is concerned solely with their salvation.
If there was life — intelligent, sentient life — on another planet, then God would surely have written it in His word — the Bible. God created everything with man in mind, because His
only begotten Son, Jesus,
delights in human beings, and this is not said about any other beings — only humans — according to Pro 8:22-31:
'The LORD possessed me at the beginning of His way, Before His works of old. From everlasting I was established, From the beginning, from the earliest times of the earth. When there were no depths I was brought forth, When there were no springs abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, Before the hills I was brought forth; While He had not yet made the earth and the fields, Nor the first dust of the world. When He established the heavens, I was there, When He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep, When He made firm the skies above, When the springs of the deep became fixed, When He set for the sea its boundary So that the water would not transgress His command, When He marked out the foundations of the earth; Then I was beside Him, as a master workman; And I was daily His delight, Rejoicing always before Him, Rejoicing in the world, His earth, And having my delight in the sons of men.
Dr. Morris was not saying that space travel is wrong, only that it is unnecessary and a waste of time and money, so in that regard it is, at its best, bad stewardship, and at its worst, a denial of God's own words as written in Genesis 1. The majority of astronomers, cosmologists, and scientists desire to explore the planets, along with the moon, in order to further their belief in evolution. Many believe in
panspermia — the seeding of planet earth by an outside source, namely, an alien life form from another planet and/or galaxy; others believe in the
Big Bang Theory, that a
nothing particle banged against another nothing particle and something was created. Neither of these theories holds water when weighed against God's own explanation of how, when, and why He created everything, and neither do any of the other evolutionary ideas that have sprung from the depths of man's mind, inspired by Satan, in his quest to be God (Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28).
God's focus is on the redemption of mankind — human beings — and He expects His children to carry out His commission on the earth, as commanded in Mark 16:15-16:
And He said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.
After the Millennial reign is over, man can only speculate as to what awaits those who have endured and been found worthy to spend all eternity in the presence of God, as declared in Ecclesiastes 3:11:
He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.