“How fast must we travel to overcome gravity and escape Earth?”
This was the question posed by our professor during a lecture on gravity. I had no sense of the answer and was stunned to learn that it requires a speed of 11.2 kilometers (6.96 mile) per second, about 50 times faster than the average airplane. Yet even that pales in comparison with the velocity needed to leave the solar system: a staggering 42.5 kilometers (26.4 miles) per second. Such speeds are almost beyond comprehension. And yet, the Bible describes the moment of being caught up from this earth with astonishing simplicity:
After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 1 Th 4:17
If we were to ascend into the sky aboard a spacecraft, we would have to endure crushing pressure, violent vibrations, and deafening noise. But the scene of the saved rising to meet the Lord in the air is portrayed with perfect serenity—unshaken, unhurried, and utterly peaceful. Indeed, such calm befits the angelic realm, where neither gravity nor the limits of speed apply.