Have you ever wondered why the Bible speaks
of the heavenly bodies falling from heaven? Do
you believe this must occur in some future end
time program?
Did you know that the story of Joseph helps to
answer the question of the how did the sun,
moon and stars fall? Click to listen to audio:
falling_sun_moon_stars.
Its important to understand this concept in order
to make sense of Bible prophecy. Failure to do so
has led others to viciously attack Christianity as
a false religion.
Why, because they understand that Jesus
promised to return in the first century and
destroy a world including predicting the fall
of the sun, moon and stars.
By starting with Joseph, we get a very good
picture of how the Bible uses the terminology
of falling luminary bodies in prophecy.
“Then he dreamed still another dream and told it
to his brothers, and said, “Look, I have dreamed
another dream.
And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven
stars bowed down to me.” (Gen. 37:9, 10).
These are the words of Joseph that incited envy
among his siblings and a stern rebuke from his
father.
By these words, Joseph understood that one day
he would “reign” over his father, mother and his
brothers, and that they would bow down to him.
He was the youngest of the family! This was so
out of the norm for the hierarchy of oriental
patriarchal families.
Later, he became the prime minister of Egypt,
second in power to Pharaoh himself. His Father,
and brothers all became his servants, and literally
bowed down to him. (Gen. 43:26, 28)
This Biblical story reveals a key to understanding
important eschatological texts in both Old and
New Testaments.
It is the key to how the prophets use the terms
sun, moon, and stars in their end time prophecies.
In this story, the sun, moon, and stars represent
those who had authority over Joseph, his father,
(the sun), his mother, (the moon), and his brothers
(the stars).
Now that we have determined a figurative use of
these luminaries, let’s see how they are used in
Bible prophecy. How did the sun, moon and stars
fall in Bible prophecy?
God spoke of the destruction of Edom. He referred
to the luminaries of heaven being dissolved. The
verses in Isaiah 34:4–5, illustrate the point.
“All the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and
the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll; All
their host shall fall down as the leaf falls from
the vine, and as fruit falling from a fig tree.”
God identifies Edom in the next verse:
For my sword shall be bathed in heaven;
indeed it shall come down on Edom, and on
the people of My curse, for judgment… (v. 5–6).
Earlier, Isaiah wrote of ancient Babylon’s destruction.
He described the Mede army coming from “the
end of heaven to destroy the land of Babylon.
It is called a day of the Lord which was then
at hand. He then describes it as the fall of the
sun moon and starts.
“For the stars of heaven and their constellations
will not give their light; The sun will be darkened
in its going forth, and the moon will not cause its
light to shine,” (Isa. 13:10).
The prophet goes on to say that God would punish
the world for their inquity. He describes it as
shaking the nation and moving the earth out of
her place.
Yet the entire prophecy focused on the fall of
Babylon, by the Medes army. (Isaiah 13:17–19).
Next, Amos, speaking of Israel whom God would
destroy and bring into Assyrian captivity (722 BC),
also uses the sun, moon and stars in an apocalyptic
vision.
“And it shall come to pass in that day, says the
Lord God, that I will make the sun go down at
noon, and I will darken the earth in broad
daylight.” (Amos 8:9)
In other words, the prophets made common use
of the language about the sun darkening, the
moon turning to blood and the falling stars.
Hence, Joel, prophesied of the end time and
coming of the Holy Spirit. This is the most
often quoted text in the New Testament
about the destruction of heaven and earth.
It is quoted in Matthew 24:29, 2 Peter 3 and
Revelation 6:10–12. Joel wrote of the end time
in the New Testament. He was using language
the same as the other Old Testament prophets.
“The sun shall be turned into darkeness and the
moon into blood, before the coming of the great
and awesome day of the Lord, (Joel 2:31).
When Jesus quotes Joel, in Matthew 24:29, he
ensures that the prophecy is understood to
refer to the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.
He applied it to the events which occurred within
the lifetime of those who lived in the first
century, saying that generation would not pass
till all were fulfilled. (Matthew 24:29–34).
Neither the prophets nor the apostles ever had
in view the end of the universe. They knew of God’s
promise to never destroy all life from the planet.
The actual heavenly bodies are permanent
by divine decree, Gen. 8:21–22; Jer. 31:35–37).
They all spoke of the fall of nations under the
symbols of the “black out” of heavenly bodies.
The figurative use of these luminaries referred
to the civil powers and rulers of nations. The
idea is the same concept as that used in
Joseph’s vision in Genesis.
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