Yesterday, four astronauts circled around the moon, seeing parts of its “dark side” with human eyes for the first time.

“From the cabin of Integrity here, as we surpass the furthest distance humans have ever traveled from planet Earth, we do so in honoring the extraordinary efforts and feats of our predecessors in human space exploration,” said mission specialist Col. Jeremy Hansen.

“Humans have really never seen anything quite like what you’re doing,” President Donald Trump told the crew. “It’s really special.”

This trip, called Artemis ii, was just the start of more missions to come for nasa. Artemis iv is scheduled to return man to the surface of the moon in 2028. Last month, nasa Administrator Jared Isaacman announced plans to “establish an enduring presence” on the moon with a permanent base on its surface by 2032. He also said nasa aimed to have its first nuclear-powered interplanetary spacecraft launched by the end of 2028. Isaacman wants to make trips to the moon and then Mars a matter of routine.

What nasa accomplished yesterday with Artemis has impressed and inspired millions. But did you know that God also has a space program?

I mean that in a very practical way. God wants us to have this vision of His space program. Great events like the Artemis ii mission are an opportunity for us to capture this vision. If you really ponder and understand it, it will inspire you as nothing else!

One of the Bible’s Most Inspiring Statements

nasa has to plan out its space program years in advance. God has been preparing His program for far, far longer. It has taken a lot of work and suffering to get man ready for outer space.

God’s space program is revealed in Isaiah 51. The book of Isaiah was recorded specifically for us in this end time (Isaiah 30:8).

In Isaiah 51:16 God says, “I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people.”

I think that is one of the most inspiring statements in the Bible! It will make our spirits soar if we truly understand it!

God wants to “plant” and beautify Earth. Verse 3 talks about making this Earth look like the Garden of Eden. But verse 16 shows that God intends to continue that beautification out into the universe—to “plant the heavens.” Plant in Hebrew means the same as it does in English: to plant like you would a garden or a tree, to allow something to take root and grow.

Right now, the universe is lifeless. But God is going to bring life and beauty out there!

This verse shows that human beings are part of this plan. God plans to send man to outer space, to other planets, to “plant the heavens.”

The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 8:21 that the whole of God’s creation, the entire universe, is in bondage to decay, waiting for man to be born again as children of God.

Other passages, such as Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28, describe Satan the devil rebelling against God. That brought destruction and decay to the whole universe, and it is waiting for man to be restored to its former condition.

But Isaiah 51:16 tells us that man will go a lot further than just restoring the universe to the condition it was in before Satan rebelled! That is why God created mankind: to grow as part of God’s Family and to beautify the universe.

Isaiah 35:1 says that “the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.” It doesn’t say just the Earth will blossom as the rose. There are deserts all over the universe. Perhaps it is expressed that way because God is going to do the same thing to the universe.

‘The Right Stuff’

God wants us to think big on this subject, and He wants us to be practical.

Just traveling to the moon and orbiting around it required years of training. Artemis ii’s commander, Reid Wiseman, was selected as a nasa astronaut in 2009. All the crewmembers have trained for 13 to 17 years.

God says in Isaiah 51:16 that He will “say unto Zion, Thou art my people.” There is a special group of people—typified by “Zion,” the site of Israel’s temple anciently—whom God is training and working with. Revelation 19:7 states that at Jesus Christ’s return, His Bride “has made herself ready.” God is preparing His Church to be His Bride and to help Christ lead the world out into the universe.

Today God is calling people who have the “right stuff,” as the world may call it, to go into outer space after they have been trained on Earth.

nasa is often sending missions to Mars and beyond to learn about the origins of life on Earth. To be part of God’s program, you have to learn about that here, from your Bible, inspired by the Spirit of God. That shows us exactly what our origins are. God is teaching those who are part of His space program where they come from, why they are here, and what His plan is.

God will eventually invite all mankind to join this program, but right now He is working with a select few ahead of the rest of mankind. They will then help Him bring all mankind into this project.

nasa aims to put men on Mars. That is a gigantic ambition, yet it is puny compared to what God has planned for man! Perhaps God is letting man do a little space exploration to get a taste of what our future will be like. But what God will do with Mars and beyond is bigger than anything we have dreamed of doing with nasa’s space program.

Hope and Correction

In this same passage, God has some tough correction for mankind. There is a critical lesson we must learn before we participate in God’s space program.

Isaiah 51:17 reads: “Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of his fury; thou hast drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling, and wrung them out.”

The worst possible wrath of God is coming upon mankind, starting with Israel! Why is God so angry?

He lays out this inspiring plan that should make our spirits soar, yet mankind has rebelled against it. Our imaginations should be set on fire when we understand what God has prepared for us. God wants to bring us so many blessings. But we constantly rebel against His plan and try to take those blessings our own way.

This is the key. Man does not know how to live the way of joy and abundance. Man has no idea how to make the wilderness look like Eden. We must go to God to learn how to do that. God wants to show us how to have every joy and blessing. But we won’t listen. Instead, we actively fight against that message.

“There is none to guide her among all the sons whom she hath brought forth; neither is there any that taketh her by the hand of all the sons that she hath brought up” (verse 18). God sent prophets in the past to guide us, and man has killed them! Something is desperately wrong with man!

The whole world is deceived (Revelation 12:9). We need God to guide us, but we don’t recognize that need, so we keep suffering. It simply cannot work without God.

Solve Problems God’s Way

So now, we are dealing with catastrophic problems. Look at the United States: Right now, we are fighting a war with Iran that we will not be able to win. The nation is in massive debt: Our debt grew by $1.8 trillion just last year! How can America avoid economic collapse without God’s help? The mighty Soviet Union collapsed because of its economic problems. That is certain to happen here.

God doesn’t want us to experience these problems. He wants us to prosper and be in health (3 John 2). He will show us the way to prosper, individually or nationally—if only we would turn to Him and listen!

In Isaiah 51, God gives us this spectacular vision of planting the heavens—but He is also telling us: You’re going to have to learn how to solve your problems on Earth my way before you will be able to go out there and plant the heavens!

The great patriarch Abraham learned this lesson. God begins Isaiah 51 by pointing us back to him (verses 1-2). He was the father of physical Israel and is the father of the faithful saints God has called out of the world (Romans 4:16). Why does God honor him so much? Because Abraham simply did what God told him. His life teaches us how to live by faith in God and how to solve our problems.

Abraham had a vision few men ever had. Despite the serious problems he faced, he kept following God, looking for a city whose builder and maker was God (Hebrews 11:8-19). He looked to new Jerusalem, the glorious city of God that will come down to Earth after all men have been transformed into spirit. It is after that point that, under God’s direction, we will go out and plant the heavens.

God will comfort Zion (Isaiah 51:3). Only God can solve our problems and comfort us. He “will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.” What a beautiful message! We can have that joy and gladness today if we look to God for direction!

God says in verse 4, “Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation: for a law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people.” This world tends to view God’s law as negative, a set of restrictions. In truth, it is really a set of instructions on how to be blessed! God’s law and judgment will be “a light of the people.” God is going to bring all nations together. Submit to Him, and all can be blessed!

The Way to Beautify Mars

Man can get to Mars. He has a great mind—because God created it. We are made after the image and character of God (Genesis 1:26). But man cannot make Mars like the Garden of Eden! We don’t know how. Turning Mars into Eden will take more than just transforming the landscape by seeding it with water.

Man is very good at solving physical problems. But he doesn’t know how to get along with fellow man or fellow nation. He cannot bring peace, and sadly, he always tends to destroy whatever physical beauty he creates!

Participating in God’s space program starts by letting God direct our lives.

Hebrews 5:12 tells us members of God’s Church are called to be teachers. This is how God is preparing to plant the heavens. He is teaching a way of life—a beautiful way, based on God’s law, that can turn Mars into Eden—to just a few people today so they can teach others in the World Tomorrow.

God is calling man to become perfect as God is perfect (Matthew 5:48). That is what it will take to plant the heavens!

“Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away” (Isaiah 51:11). God wants to give us everlasting joy! nasa’s space program cannot do anything like that.

This vision of God’s space program is the only source of real comfort and everlasting joy. Get that vision in your mind, and you will be going around singing melodies, and your spirit will soar!