Astronomical confirmations of the Bible. Gospel of St. Matthew, 18:18

(abbreviated  version)

​

V.G. Lozytsky

Astronomical Observatory of Kyiv National University

  named after Taras Shevchenko,
Observatory 3, Kyiv 04053, Ukraine  

​

Arguments are made that the Gospel of St. Matthew, 18:18, has astronomical evidence. They are as follows:

​

(a) the maximum number of sunspots in the last 400 years was in the 19th cycle of solar activity (1954-1964); see, for example, Nagovitsyn and others. (2016). The maximum of the average areas of sunspots for the last 140 years was also in the 19th cycle (see Fig. 1 in the article by Efimenko and Lozytsky, 2018). It was during this period that the total energy of nuclear weapons testing around the world was at its peak;

​

(b) record large areas of sunspot groups per year (up to 5000-6000 million parts of the hemisphere) for the last 140 years were in the 18th cycle of solar activity, more precisely in 1946-1947 (Efimenko and Lozytsky, 2018), ie almost immediately after the first nuclear explosions on Earth in 1945.

​

(c) the most spectacular eruption of the eruptive protuberance (which reached an altitude of 1.7 million km) was observed on June 4, 1946 (Pettit, 1946) - about ten months after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki;

​

(d) the most powerful X-ray flare in the Sun in 44 years, according to GOES (https://www.spaceweatherlive.com/en/solar-activity/top-50-solar-flares), had a score of X28 + and occurred on November 4 2003 - About 7.5 months after the start of the large-scale war in Iraq (it began on March 20, 2003). It should be reminded that during this war there was a massive bombing of the territory of Mezhyrich  Tigris and Euphrates, where according to the Bible, there used to be paradise on earth (Genesis 2: 8-2: 14);

​

The probability of accidental occurrence of these solar-terrestrial correlations is quite low, at the level of about 1-2%. However, if we consider the whole set of these solar-terrestrial correlations as independent events, then the probability of a coincidence is about 10 ^ –6 or less. Such a very low level of probability may mean that these phenomena on Earth and the Sun are causally related. But it is important to note that, first, some extreme events on the Sun occurred after unprecedented events on Earth. Secondly, the direct impact of terrestrial events on solar events is energetically impossible.

In this regard, we can assume God's Providence - a warning to mankind of his great mistakes. In particular, the great mistake of mankind was to create a nuclear bomb. It is better to have God's Mercy and Grace than nuclear or other superweapons.

The text of this manuscript is presented in Ukrainian with the inclusion of two fragments in Russian.

Keywords: the Sun; solar activity; solar-terrestrial correlations; extreme events; Gospel of St. Matthew, 18:18; warning to humanity; analogy between 2003 and 1859.

​

Preface

​

This popular science work is devoted to worldview aspects of astronomy and is addressed to a wide range of readers who are interested not only in the latest scientific achievements, but also in how these achievements are consistent (or inconsistent) with religion. In fact, in the modern era, science is given a dominant role in shaping people's worldview. Religious ideas are allowed only for moral and ethical reasons as those that preach high spiritual ideals, but which can neither be confirmed nor refuted. In contrast, correct science operates with knowledge that is considered true only when it can be confirmed by facts. If there are no facts, the knowledge is not considered reliable. That is why many scholars believe that science adequately reflects the essence of various processes and phenomena in this world, and the Scriptures and religion are a kind of cultural monument of mankind, which should be respected for their exceptional charm, preserving the traditions of many previous generations.

Galileo Galilei's point of view is interesting in this regard: “There are truths of science that are revealed to us in experiments and necessary proofs, and there are truths of faith, religion. These are two different worlds, two independent spheres of spirit that do not depend on each other. Knowledge is not a judge of true faith, religion is not a judge of correct science.

The urgency of writing such a work stems from the fact that in recent decades and even years in astronomy made a number of outstanding discoveries that can be considered as a scientific revolution in science. Even 40-50 years ago, the idea that the universe is boundless, eternal and stationary dominated. However, the "redshift" discovered in 1929 in the spectra of galaxies indicates that the universe is non-stationary - it is expanding and began its existence in the form of the so-called Big Bang. It also turned out that luminous matter in the universe occupies only a few percent of its total mass, the rest is concentrated in invisible dark matter and dark energy. What do these concepts mean - something purely physical or perhaps mystical? Aren't our Earth threatened by mysterious black holes that can attract entire stars and planets? And how long will the sun still shine on us and can there be some kind of catastrophe on Earth from sudden bursts of solar activity?

The author does not intend to comment on each of these issues, as well as some other issues related to the revolutionary achievements of modern astronomy. Being an expert in its rather narrow field - solar physics, the author would like to briefly present and comment on only some data on solar activity. This is exactly the scientific field in which a lot of unreliable information and speculation regularly appears both on the Internet and in other media. Moreover, these speculations, if you think about it, seem to be presented with one goal: to intimidate people more. A legitimate question arises: why? Will we live better out of fear? Should those who wish good to the people and prosperity to their state do so? For comparison, let me recall the statement of Robert-Lewis Stevenson, author of the well-known work "Treasure Island" and other masterpieces: "We will do our best to teach people joy. And we will remember that these lessons should sound cheerful and inspiring, they should strengthen people's courage. " This is how we should act in a state where our children could be happy!

The author tried to write this work in the simplest and most understandable language and hopes that readers will have enough patience and interest to read it to the end.

With respect and best wishes -

Vsevolod Lozytsky.

January-February 2020

​

Introduction

​

Francis Bacon (1561-1626), one of the first great philosophers of the New Age, the founder of the scientific (anti-scholastic) method of cognition, said: "Little knowledge leads from God, great knowledge leads to him." A similar view was later expressed by other scientists. In particular, Werner Heisenberg (1901-1976), one of the creators of quantum mechanics and winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1932, said: "The first sip from the cup of science breeds atheism, but at the bottom of the cup we are waiting for God."

​

As can be seen from these quotations, for three centuries the criterion for obtaining a conclusion about the existence of God has not changed: such a conclusion requires greater or deeper knowledge. This seems paradoxical, given that the knowledge of the seventeenth century. could be considered small in relation to the knowledge of the twentieth century. Despite this, even a little knowledge of the seventeenth century. was enough to bring Francis Bacon to God. Obviously, a certain amount of knowledge in itself is not a guarantee of obtaining the above worldview. This requires a deep philosophical understanding of scientific data, with an effort to understand their internal logic and the relationship in different scientific disciplines.

The eminent German astronomer Johann Kepler (1571-1630), who discovered the three laws of planetary motion, put it this way: "The Bible does not tell us how the sky is arranged, but how to get there." However, a careful reading of the Bible shows that it still contains essential information of an astronomical nature, which is confirmed by modern science.

​

For example, the Book of Genesis says that on the fourth day of the creation of the world, God created the sun, moon, and stars. "And God made both great lights, the great light to rule the day, and the small light to rule the night, even the stars" (Genesis 1:16) [  1  ]. Indeed, according to astronomical measurements, the Sun is actually much larger than the Moon (about 400 times), although in the sky they seem to us the same angular size. This is due to the fact that the Moon is much closer to us than the Sun.

One of the main ideas of the first chapter of Genesis is that the world was created. That is, at first it did not exist, but then it was created by God in six days. If we pay attention to this basic idea, and not to the details, it is quite consistent with modern scientific theory of the Big Bang. This theory is based on such an observational fact, discovered by the American astronomer Edwin Hubble in 1929. In the spectra of distant galaxies, the spectral lines are shifted to the red region of the spectrum, especially the farther away from us the galaxy is. This shift is most likely due to the Doppler effect and reflects the global expansion of the universe, in which galaxies move away from each other as if "scattering". If we consider this "scattering" of galaxies in the deeper past, we have to assume that about 14 billion years ago the whole universe began its expansion from a very small volume, with a radius of 10 ^ -33 cm (20 orders of magnitude less, than the classical electron radius!). Before such an expansion, there was nothing, not even time. This means that space did not exist then, because according to the theory of relativity, space and time form an inseparable four-dimensional space-time continuum. In such a continuum, if one dimension (time) breaks, other spatial dimensions must automatically break. In this case, the most adequate characteristic of the universe at this point is "emergence" or "creation". Obviously, the characteristic of "transformation" does not fit here, because this term presupposes first the existence of something that then acquires a different quality, transforms into something. But if in the beginning there was nothing at all, then it is no longer a transformation, but a creation. Since the non-existent cannot turn into something existing, that is, since the universe could not create itself, a natural question arises: who created the existing universe?

This issue is all the more relevant due to two circumstances: (1) The Big Bang began with a colossal release of energy, ie the appearance of very high energy in a very small amount of space and (2) in that extremely small amount of space was introduced huge amounts of information about physical laws, constants, interactions, otherwise with the further evolution of the universe it would be chaos, which is not the case. The universe is extremely structured and very complex. The natural question is: where did so much energy and information come from?

Obviously, correct science will never be able to give direct answers to these questions precisely because there can be no direct experimental data about those times. More precisely, the data may be, but have already been transformed over a very long period of time of about 14 billion years. Such as relic radiation, which indicates the hot phase of expansion of the universe.

But, fortunately, in the universe closest to us, we observe such phenomena and processes, about which there are direct observational data and these data are very valuable for the above question. This is data on solar activity. They have been accumulated for a long time and they are really direct and documented, as required by correct science.

​

Some of these data will be discussed below and shown to confirm an important place in the Bible: “Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed. "He will be bound in heaven" (Matthew 18:18). However, first consider what is solar activity.

​

What is solar activity

​

Solar activity is a very complex phenomenon in the Sun's atmosphere, associated with the emergence of strong concentrated magnetic fields on its surface. Where these fields appear, sunspots appear. Sunspots  - these are cooled areas of the Sun's surface (its photospheres), where the temperature is reduced to 3500-4000 K against 6000 K outside them. This cooling occurs due to the fact that strong magnetic fields in sunspots block the supply of energy from below, from the hot sun. The magnitude of the magnetic field in sunspots is usually 2000–3000 Gs, and very rarely 4000–6000 Gs [  6  ]. In very small (spatially inseparable) structures in the shadow of sunspots, the existence of even stronger fields, about 8000 Gs, is probable [  7  ]. Such magnetic fields are about 10,000 times stronger than the magnetic field of our Earth near its surface. At present, the upper limit of magnetic field strengths in spatially inseparable structures is unknown, because the corresponding measurements can only be indirect and quite complex in methodological terms [  5  ].

Those groups of sunspots where strong magnetic fields are entangled, located very closely and have opposite magnetic polarity, most often give solar flares. Solar flares are explosive processes in its atmosphere, during which energy is released 10 ^ 27–10 ^ 32 erg. They last from a few minutes to 3-4 hours and are associated with the sudden conversion of magnetic energy into energy in other forms - heat, electromagnetic radiation, accelerated particles, shock waves and coronal mass emissions. Solar flares are very interesting objects for research, but it is even more difficult to measure magnetic fields in them than in sunspots [  8  ]. It is also important to predict the occurrence of solar flares, especially powerful, as they can significantly affect the Earth's space, the Earth's ionosphere and its biosphere. In particular, if the coronal emission of mass flies towards the Earth, it in 1-3 days flies into the Earth's magnetosphere, and then begins to change slightly the strength of the magnetic field in which we are constantly. This is the so-called magnetic storm. Most people do not experience these storms, but obviously not all. To date, this issue is still insufficiently studied.

A characteristic feature of solar activity is its 11-year cycle. However, this is only the most intense and obvious cycle of activity of the Sun, a kind of its "pulse". A more detailed analysis shows that in the spectrum of fluctuations in solar activity there are about 20 less intense but reliable cycles, in particular, also cycles lasting 11.89 and 9.97 years [  11  ]. These cycles are close to the periods of Jupiter's rotation around the Sun (11.86) and the repetition of quadratures in the Jupiter Saturn system (9.90).

It should be emphasized that solar activity has tremendous energy compared to other sporadic processes in the solar system. The magnetic energy of one active region on the Sun can be estimated at 10 ^ 31–10 ^ 34 erg, while solar flares (see above) can be estimated at 10 ^ 27–10 ^ 32 erg. Powerful solar flares last about an hour, hence the power of such flashes - at 10 ^ 28 erg / sec, ie 10 ^ 21 watts  (Tue). For comparison: the power of earthquakes - about 10 ^ 11 watts, and tidal friction (which slows down the Earth's rotation) - 10 ^ 12 watts. The explosion energy of a 5-megaton bomb is about 5.7x10 ^ 23 erg, which is 10 ^ 3–10 ^ 9 times less than the energy of solar flares.

​

From this comparison we see that the energy of active processes on the Sun is many orders of magnitude higher than the energy of the most powerful processes on Earth. In addition, due to the great distance from the Earth to the Sun, about 150 million kilometers, this energy of terrestrial processes, scattering by the law of inverted squares, must reach the Sun even more weakened. Therefore, from a scientific point of view, we should not expect any direct impact of terrestrial processes on solar activity. This means that there should be no solar-terrestrial correlations according to the "Earth-Sun" scheme. However, as shown in a previous article by the author [  3  ], in fact we have clear indications of such correlations. Since this article did not make mathematical estimates of the randomness of these correlations (except for one of them), this should be done additionally, based on the most reliable data published in international journals. This, as well as a discussion of the results obtained, is the author's goal in this paper.

​

Solar-terrestrial correlations for unprecedented events

​

Before considering in detail some solar-terrestrial correlations, two such methodological remarks should be made.

​

First, it makes sense to consider first of all the most intense, unprecedented events on Earth and in the Sun. Such events are few, they are isolated in those time intervals where there is reliable data on a particular parameter. If we consider ordinary events, there are a lot of them, they form a kind of "fence" of events in time, and there are always, if desired, you can find some correlations, although they can only be purely coincidences.

​

Secondly, it is important to consider such parameters of solar activity that are homogeneous over the longest possible time intervals. Most often, when studying solar activity, Wolf numbers W are analyzed, which are calculated as follows: W = k (10g + f), where k is some instrumental coefficient, g is the number of groups of spots on the visible hemisphere of the Sun, f is the number of all consecutive spots. It is important that the division of all spots observed on the Sun into groups of spots is carried out according to magnetic characteristics. The main criterion here is as follows: in the group of spots should be the main and tail magnetic polarities, and these polarities change according to a certain law from one 11-year cycle to another, as well as when crossing the solar equator. Therefore, for example, the presence of one compact group of spots on the Sun does not mean that this group should be considered as one group when counting Wolf numbers. These can be two closely related groups of spots. The question of the presence of one or two groups of spots can be solved here only on the basis of spectral-polarization observations based on the Zeeman effect, which make it possible to determine both the magnetic field strength in the spots and their magnetic polarity. However, the problem here is that such observations have been made for a little over 100 years (since 1908), while telescopic spot observations and direct determinations of Wolff numbers since 1610. Moreover, the rule of magnetic polarities in groups of sunspots was established by Hale and Nicholson only in 1925. Therefore, all definitions of Wolf numbers before 1925 are somewhat conditional - in fact, they have an unknown factor in the magnetic polarities of groups of spots.  That is, strictly speaking, the existing number of Wolf numbers is heterogeneous.

In contrast, a number of sunspot area corrected for projection effects can be considered homogeneous, including the Greenwich Catalog and its extension to the NOAA-USEF ( http://solar.science.msfc.nasa.gov/greenwich/ ). Such data will be considered below.

​

  A. Smoothed the number of sunspots and their area. Today it is well known that the highest level of solar activity  for the last 400 years was in the 19th cycle (1954-1964) [  9  ]. This conclusion, made first on the basis of a comparison of Wolf numbers, is especially obvious when considering the areas of sunspot groups [  4  ] (Fig. 1). The figure shows that the 19th cycle is unprecedentedly powerful at least among the last 13 solar cycles