If you were to take a trip to London, every hour and every quarter hour, the sounds of Big Ben would ring out across the city. On May 31, 1859, Big Ben rang out for the first time, playing an E, G, F#, and B to create the infamous tune.
The tower in which the bells our housed is the Elizabeth Tower. To reach the top would require going up 11 floors, 334 steps to the belfry, and another 65 steps to the Ayrton Light, a lantern-like structure that sits atop Elizabeth Tower and shines whenever Parliament is in session.
Big Ben weighs 15 tons. The other four bells weigh over eight tons. The clapper for Big Ben alone weighs 441 pounds.
“When it was made, the clock was the most accurate in the world. It’s kept accurate by some copper (pre-decimal) penny weights on the clock mechanism. Removing or adding a penny changes the clock’s accuracy by two fifths of a second per day.”1 “The pendulum swings back and forth at two-second intervals. Depending on the time of year, the air can become thick, so the pendulum takes longer to swing. One old penny placed on top of the pendulum speeds up the clock by two fifths of a second over a 24-hour period. We like to keep the clock within two seconds of accuracy. At the moment, we’ve probably got about 30 pennies on there.”2
Steve Jaggs currently holds the coveted position of Keeper of the Great Clock. Multiple times a day, measurements are taken to ensure the clock’s accuracy. Jaggs superintends a group of individuals who are responsible for all the Westminster clocks, specifically the 2,000 clocks in the House of Parliament. When a time change occurs, it takes 5 hours to move Big Ben’s hands as well as adjusting the rest of the clocks.
Big Ben is an amazing architectural and historical piece. However, Boulder, Colorado boasts the most accurate clock. “The world’s most precise clock is found in the United States. The clock was built by the National Institute of Standard and Technology
together with the University of Colorado, Boulder. The clock is so precise no second is lost over the entire age of the Universe. For most people who live by the day, hour or moment, the need to split time into smaller chunks to improve the accuracy may seem pointless. The importance of the accuracy of time can however not be underestimated especially in today’s world where GPS enabled technologies play a central role in our daily lives including travel and military applications.”3
It seems a bit presumptuous to me to boast that “no second is lost over the entire age of the Universe.” What exactly does that mean?!?
God framed time but it wasn’t for His benefit. It was for ours. Genesis 1:5 says, “And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.” This is the normal way time is calculated. This turns into weeks, months, and years. God also established the seasons to help us calculate time. Genesis 1:14 reminds us, “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.”
God, on the other hand, transcends time. Isaiah 57:15 says, “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place…” The One who inhabits eternity is also known as the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. God has no beginning or end. He is the beginning and end of all things. This concept is beyond the finite mind’s ability to comprehend.
While Big Ben counts down the hour, our Heavenly Father holds time in His hands. He is the One who keeps perfect time and changes the time and seasons at His will and discretion. Welcome the Lord’s adjustment of your clock today.
1https://londonist.com/2016/08/secrets-of-big-ben
2https://metro.co.uk/2016/10/26/how-do-they-change-the-time-on-big-ben-clock-change-will-take-team-five-hours-6215921/
3https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/where-is-the-world-s-most-accurate-clock.html
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