Over in the Physical and Life Sciences section, there has been discussion (see here) about the passage in Revelation that talks about a third of the stars falling from heaven:
Usually when discussing Revelation, this is one of the first passages I turn to as evidence that not everything in Revelation is literal and that much of it is symbolic. However, much to my amazement, some members on the other discussion have been arguing that this passage is literal and that yes, one third of all stars will literally fall from heaven.
According to the website of the European Space Agency, the number of stars in the universe is enormous:
Some of the arguments then used to justify a literal interpretation include:
Quite simply, I can see no way in which you could literally have that many stars fall from heaven. Even if one star, say, Alpha Centauri, crashed into Earth, that would be enough to destroy the planet before the other many trillions of stars had a chance to get anywhere near us.
Also, in the next chapter (Rev 9:1) it talks about a star falling from heaven and this star doing stuff on earth, opening the bottomless pit, sending out a plague of locusts, taking command of the earth etc. Clearly these are not literal stars being spoken of, but are instead symbolic.
Does anyone else agree that the stars are symbolic, possibly of rulers and therefore a third of the stars is referring to a third of the rulers of earth falling from their place of authority? This seems to be how 'stars' is used symbolically throughout scripture.
And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.
(Rev 8:12)
Usually when discussing Revelation, this is one of the first passages I turn to as evidence that not everything in Revelation is literal and that much of it is symbolic. However, much to my amazement, some members on the other discussion have been arguing that this passage is literal and that yes, one third of all stars will literally fall from heaven.
According to the website of the European Space Agency, the number of stars in the universe is enormous:
For the Universe, the galaxies are our small representative volumes, and there are something like 10^11 to 10^12 stars in our galaxy, and there are perhaps something like 10^11 or 10^12 galaxies.
With this simple calculation you get something like 10^22 to 10^24 stars in the Universe. This is only a rough number, as obviously not all galaxies are the same, just like on a beach the depth of sand will not be the same in different places.
ESA - Space Science - How many stars are there in the Universe?
Some of the arguments then used to justify a literal interpretation include:
- Maybe the calculations are wrong and stars are much smaller than astronomers claim. Response: it doesn't matter how big they are. Even 10^22-10^24 bouncing balls would cause significant damage if they fell to Earth. Regardless, the size of stars is not under dispute amongst astronomers.
- Maybe the stars are made of 'spiritual' material and will therefore hit the earth without damaging it. Response: no scientific or Biblical evidence for this.
Quite simply, I can see no way in which you could literally have that many stars fall from heaven. Even if one star, say, Alpha Centauri, crashed into Earth, that would be enough to destroy the planet before the other many trillions of stars had a chance to get anywhere near us.
Also, in the next chapter (Rev 9:1) it talks about a star falling from heaven and this star doing stuff on earth, opening the bottomless pit, sending out a plague of locusts, taking command of the earth etc. Clearly these are not literal stars being spoken of, but are instead symbolic.
Does anyone else agree that the stars are symbolic, possibly of rulers and therefore a third of the stars is referring to a third of the rulers of earth falling from their place of authority? This seems to be how 'stars' is used symbolically throughout scripture.