Right Place! Right Time!

On Saturday, October 14, 2023, 10:36 am, a spectacular event occurred that could only be observed in parts of the western United States, as well as Central and South America. Weeks in advance of the annular solar eclipse, I was reading and hearing about it on the news. I knew that we were going to be visiting our family during this exact time. I just didn’t realize, at the time of first hearing about this, just how unique it all would be! We quite literally were in the “right place at the right time!” The zenith point for optimal viewing of this epic eclipse was Albuquerque, New Mexico!

Looking upward with our
"stylish" eclipse glasses!

We took it all in so easily as we stood in our daughter’s kitchen in the suburb of nearby Rio Rancho and looked out over the Sandia Mountains to the east. It was like we were standing in a private celestial theater. What made this solar eclipse so unusual was that it happened when the moon orbited at its farthest point from earth. As it passed between the sun and our planet, the result was that for a moment in time, the moon appeared nearly as large as the sun. It looked to the naked eye like there was a “ring of fire” around it!

How special was this solar spectacle? Astronomical scientists predict that this type of annular eclipse where the moon and sun converge at this angle will not occur for another 360 years! Wow! That’s a long time for us to have to wait! 😊

Grandson Klay's best effort
to capture the moment! 😄
(The "ring of fire" is enhanced!)

The pathway for this recent solar annularity had been mapped out with precision across Albuquerque. The timing was absolutely specific as we watched it all unfold at exactly 10:36 am that morning. I thought about all this specificity and concluded that Jesus Christ made His appearance on planet earth just over two thousand years ago with similar exactness! The Bible says, “But when the time was right, God sent his Son, and a woman gave birth to him.” (Galatians 4:4).

“When the time was right.” For centuries Israel’s prophets had predicted the coming of Messiah. The people of God had waited and waited. It must have seemed to them that this event, we know as Incarnation, would never occur. Yet, God is forever faithful to His promises! Salvation history testifies that at the right time and right place, God sent His Son and “The Word became a human being and lived here with us. We saw his true glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father. From him the complete gifts of undeserved grace and truth have come down to us.” (John 1:14).

There is another specific event that is coming on the celestial calendar of time. While we do not know specifically when, it could be any day now. Jesus is coming back to earth again someday. The angelic beings at His ascension said to those witnessing that epic event, “Why are you men from Galilee standing here and looking up into the sky? Jesus has been taken to heaven. But he will come back in the same way you have seen him go.” (Acts 1:11).

The last book in our Bible closes with this exclamation, “The one who has spoken these things says, ‘I am coming soon!’ So, Lord Jesus, please come soon!” (Revelation 22:20, CEV). I find myself looking up these days. What about you? Are you looking upward for that momentous day of Christ's coming?

Mike Keppler, retired pastor,

active churchman and
doting grandparent.
Contact: drmjkeppler@gmail.com

 

  

Comments

  1. AnonymousOctober 25, 2023 at 9:59 PM

    I believe it is very close, everyone should be ready, praying for those who are not ready

    ReplyDelete

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