Stars Falling to Earth
by Cowboy Bob Sorensen
It's interesting to me when things come together in a short period of time, and I kind of wonder if God is prompting me to do (or, in this case, write) something. The other day, I was asked about how to deal with the question of stars falling to Earth.
Scoffers have a problem with contexts in the Bible. They frequently cherry-pick verses out of context and claim something is a contradiction or an impossibility. Often, parallel accounts in the Bible of an event can offer clarification, but there are times when we need to get into bigger contexts: historical, cultural, grammatical, linguistic, and so on.
I was contacted by someone who was challenged about the phrase, "The stars will fall from the sky". Now come on, that can't happen, they're giant super-hot balls of gas and they're not going to come crashing down here. First, look at the immediate context. The scoffer drew from a passage in the Gospel of Matthew, but Matthew 24:29-31 is apocalyptic literature about the end times and the return of Jesus Christ. It's poetic, and also needs interpretation. Further, the passage does not say the stars fall "to Earth".
Also, the word star in the Bible had different meanings. What "scientific" terms would they use if they had such a notion? Scientific views have changed over the years as knowledge has accumulated, and the writers were not compelled by God to write in specific scientific terminologies. They were writing to communicate God's Word.
Let's take this here side trail for a spell. Revelation 6:13 says that stars fall to Earth. Now what? Again, it's apocalyptic literature. In the Bible, star has various meanings. Some commentators have said that this passage about the opening of the sixth seal meant that there would be a meteorites striking Earth. To complicate matters, stars have also meant angels. When Satan rebelled, a third of the angels joined up with him and were cast down. We cannot expect those who have materialistic worldviews to believe, or even understand such things (2 Corinthians 4:4, 1 Corinthians 2:14).
Context matters, and there are several kinds of contexts to consider. We need to keep that in mind when people say they want something explained, and also to remember that God's Word is true, and is not subject to man's various worldviews.
It's interesting to me when things come together in a short period of time, and I kind of wonder if God is prompting me to do (or, in this case, write) something. The other day, I was asked about how to deal with the question of stars falling to Earth.
Scoffers have a problem with contexts in the Bible. They frequently cherry-pick verses out of context and claim something is a contradiction or an impossibility. Often, parallel accounts in the Bible of an event can offer clarification, but there are times when we need to get into bigger contexts: historical, cultural, grammatical, linguistic, and so on.
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| Image Credit: NASA / Bill Ingalls |
Also, the word star in the Bible had different meanings. What "scientific" terms would they use if they had such a notion? Scientific views have changed over the years as knowledge has accumulated, and the writers were not compelled by God to write in specific scientific terminologies. They were writing to communicate God's Word.
Let's take this here side trail for a spell. Revelation 6:13 says that stars fall to Earth. Now what? Again, it's apocalyptic literature. In the Bible, star has various meanings. Some commentators have said that this passage about the opening of the sixth seal meant that there would be a meteorites striking Earth. To complicate matters, stars have also meant angels. When Satan rebelled, a third of the angels joined up with him and were cast down. We cannot expect those who have materialistic worldviews to believe, or even understand such things (2 Corinthians 4:4, 1 Corinthians 2:14).
Context matters, and there are several kinds of contexts to consider. We need to keep that in mind when people say they want something explained, and also to remember that God's Word is true, and is not subject to man's various worldviews.