BiblicalInsights.net

July 20, 1969 at 10:56 p.m., the first man, Neil Armstrong, set foot on the moon.  This year is the 50th anniversary of that historic event.  Landing on the moon, walking on the moon and returning men home from this adventure safely was a technological achievement that proved American ingenuity and exceptionalism.  This achievement paved the way for the computers and iPhones that we use today.
But, what if the moon didn’t exist? (see the article by Marsha Lewis, What Would Happen If There Were No Moon? insidescience.org, Dec. 2, 2015).

The Creation of the Moon
The sacred record declares that on the fourth day of creation God created the sun, moon and stars.  “And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.  And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; he made the stars also.  And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day” (Gen. 1:14-19).
The consequences if the moon didn’t Exist
First, nights would be much darker.  God created the sun to rule the day and the moon to rule the night.  The moon has no light of its own.  The moon’s light is a reflection of sunlight on the surface of the moon.  The sun is many times brighter than the moon and this contrast gives us the day/night cycle.  Many animals are nocturnal and depend upon the night to function.  Sunlight is essential for all life. Consequently, both the moon and the sun are essential to life.
Second, without the moon,  a day on the earth would last six to twelve hours.  There could be more than a thousand days in one year.  The reason for this is that the earth’s rotation slows down over time thanks to the gravitational force–or pull–of the moon.  Without it, days would go by in a blink (Marsha Lewis, inside science.org).
Third, a moonless earth would also change the size of the ocean tides.  Without the moon, the tides on the earth would be one-third as high as they are now.  Tides would still exist, because of the suns’ gravitational force on the earth.  The tides affect our climate on the earth and without the moon, earth’s climate and our weather would be drastically different.
Fourth, without the moon, there would be no lunar or solar eclipses.  A Lunar eclipse occurs when the earth is between the sun and the moon.  A Solar eclipse occurs when the moon is between the earth and the sun.  Without the moon, neither eclipse could occur.  Both lunar and solar eclipses can be predicted.  This is evidence of the design involved in our solar system and demonstrates the delicate balance involved in it.
Fifth, without the moon, the tilt on the earth’s axis would vary over time.  This would create some very wild weather.  Right now, thanks to the moon, the earth’s axis stays tilted at twenty-three point five degrees.  But, without the moon, the earth might tilt too far over or hardly tilt at all leading to no seasons or perhaps even extreme seasons.  The moon revolves around the earth once every 27.3 days.  It also rotates on its axis in around the same length of time so that from the earth we always see the same side of the moon (the near side) and never see the far side (also known as the dark side). About 59% of the moon is visible from the earth.  The moon goes through eight phases:  New Moon, Crescent, First Quarter, Waxing Gibbous, Full Moon, Waning Gibbous, Last Quarter, Crescent, then, New Moon again.  The time it takes for the moon to revolve around the earth gives us our month.
God created the moon with a purpose.  The purpose relates to its design and its relationship to the earth and all of the other elements in our solar system.  Life as we know it is dependent upon the moon.  Take away the moon, and the consequences would be drastic and perhaps even alter the earth in such a way as to prevent life from existing.