After reading a news story posted on Raptureready.com, I knew that I should write an article about it.
MIT astronomers and other individuals at universities in the United States and Canada detected a “heartbeat” radio signal billions of light-years away from Earth, according to MIT News.
The signal was found to last up to three seconds — 1,000 times longer than the average radio burst — and repeat every .2 seconds, like a heartbeat, according to the press release. (emphasis added)
“It was unusual,” said Daniele Michilli, a postdoc at MIT’s Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research. “Not only was it very long, lasting about three seconds, but there were periodic peaks that were remarkably precise, emitting every fraction of a second — boom, boom, boom — like a heartbeat. This is the first time the signal itself is periodic.”
This discovery is monumental in that, according to experts, the radio signal is the longest-lasting with the clearest repeating pattern that has been detected. These findings were published in the journal Nature on July 13 and co-authored by MIT’s Calvin Leung, Juan Mena-Parra, Kaitlyn Shin, and Kiyoshi Masui, as well as Michilli.
“There are not many things in the universe that emit strictly periodic signals,” said Michilli. “Examples that we know of in our own galaxy are radio pulsars and magnetars, which rotate and produce a beamed emission similar to a lighthouse. And we think this new signal could be a magnetar or pulsar on steroids.”
Astronomers who discovered this “heartbeat” radio signal — said that they are hoping to continue to watch it and better understand what its source is, said the press release.
***** My own heart jumped inside of my chest when I read these words, “They are hoping to continue to watch it and better understand what its source is.”
“This detection raises the question of what could cause this extreme signal that we’ve never seen before and how we can use this signal to study the universe,” Michilli said. source
I think that it is quite significant that these scientists would refer to the radio signal from deep space as a “Heartbeat.”
They could have called it many things but chose to use a term associated with Life. To this writer, it seems that those who heard the heartbeat were hearing from the Creator of the Universe; the Lord God Almighty!
Some might say that the scientists who desperately yearn to find life on other planets used the term “Heartbeat” to show that perhaps they are getting closer to learning about the possibility of life elsewhere in the Universe.
The scientists are excited to think that there is life on other planets. How much more excited should they be to find that the Universe was created and set into motion by GOD Who LOVES them!?
If they only knew that God made them in His image, and the heartbeat, unlike anything they have ever heard from space, was the Creator of the Universe showing His heart filled with love for the world
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
I believe that God Himself was reaching out to these men and women. I believe that He grieves over those who deny His existence. What better way to show His love for them than allowing these men and women to hear the beating of His heart?
And what better time than this when we are so close to the end…?
From gotquestions.org
How Can I Know the Heart of God?
The heart refers to the central part of a person. The heart is the nature of a person, and to know the heart of someone is to know that person’s innermost character, feelings, or inclinations (see Proverbs 4:23 and 16:1). The heart of God is the essence of who He is, what He desires, His will, and His purposes. By reading the Bible, knowing Jesus, and spending time in prayer, a person can know the heart of God.
The Word of God reveals the heart of God. To know the heart of God, a person must read His Word, for that is God’s revelation of Himself and His message to all. People read autobiographies about celebrities to get an idea of who they “really are.” Historians read journals and letters from people in history to understand what their life was like and what influenced and motivated them. In a more profound way, the Lord has given us His Word so that we can know Him.
By reading the Bible, a person can know the heart of God because Scripture was divinely breathed out by Him (2 Timothy 3:16). From Genesis to Revelation, the entire Bible speaks of God and reveals who He is and what He is like. Reading the Bible merely to gain facts about God will not bring a person any closer to the heart of God (see John 5:39). Instead, reading Scripture should cause a person to worship and love Him.
Studying Jesus reveals the heart of God. Anyone who has seen Jesus has seen the Father (John 14:9). No one can truly know the heart of God without knowing and trusting in Jesus for salvation. Jesus Christ revealed the Father, for “He is the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15, ESV). Since Jesus and the Father are one, Christ visually represents the heart of God, the essence of who He is (John 10:30). Jesus dying for the sins of the world and being resurrected to bring life to those who believe in Him vividly presents the love, judgment, and mercy of God (John 3:16). In Christ we see God as the Savior of mankind who desires all to come to know Him and experience the salvation He offers (2 Peter 3:19).
Prayer reveals the heart of God. Spending time with the Lord in prayer assists in knowing His heart. Just as a child must spend time with his father to know him personally, so we also must spend time with God in prayer to know Him more deeply. The first part of James 4:8 says, “Come near to God and he will come near to you.” Spending time alone with God in prayer will encourage a deeper relationship and create a greater intimacy between us and God, in which our desires will become more aligned with His.
Seeking to know the heart of God is a serious endeavor, as knowing Him will change a person’s entire life. The more a person learns and knows about the Lord, the more he or she will long for Him and declare with the psalmist, “As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God” (Psalm 42:1, NLT). source
Our Son, the Astrophysicist
Our oldest son has a doctorate in astrophysics. We knew from a very young age that he was fascinated with the Universe. I remember him taking me out to view the brilliant starlit night sky through his telescope. It was heavenly!
But he also had a deep love for the Lord Jesus Christ. He gave his testimony in church before he was baptized. He read his Bible daily and shared his faith with his friends. But then, during his years in college, he fell away.
I pray for our son that he will be so touched by the “Heartbeat” heard from deep space and that God will use this to draw him back to the Truth.
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).
MARANATHA!