Topical Bible: The Stars: Appear After Sunset

◄ The Stars: Appear After Sunset ►

Jump to: Torrey's • Library • Subtopics • Terms

Topical Encyclopedia

The stars, as celestial bodies created by God, hold significant meaning and symbolism throughout the Bible. Their appearance after sunset is a natural phenomenon that has been observed since ancient times, serving as a testament to God's creation and order in the universe.

Creation and Purpose

The stars were created by God on the fourth day of creation, as recorded in Genesis 1:16: "God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars." . This passage highlights the stars' role in marking time and seasons, as well as their function in illuminating the night sky.

Symbolism and Significance

In the Bible, stars often symbolize guidance, divine promise, and the vastness of God's creation. For instance, God used the stars to illustrate His promise to Abraham, saying, "Look now at the heavens and count the stars, if you are able. Then He told him, 'So shall your offspring be.'" (Genesis 15:5). This promise underscores the innumerable descendants that would come from Abraham, reflecting God's faithfulness and the fulfillment of His covenant.

Stars in Prophecy and Revelation

Stars also play a role in biblical prophecy and eschatology. In the book of Revelation, stars are used symbolically to represent angels or messengers of the churches: "The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in My right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches." (Revelation 1:20). This imagery emphasizes the divine connection between the heavenly and earthly realms.

Guidance and Navigation

Historically, stars have been used for navigation and guidance, a practice reflected in the biblical account of the Magi who followed the star to find the newborn Jesus: "After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stood over the place where the Child was." (Matthew 2:9). This event highlights the stars' role in leading seekers to divine truth and revelation.

Stars as a Reflection of God's Majesty

The psalmist reflects on the stars as a testament to God's majesty and creative power: "When I behold Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You set in place—what is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You care for him?" (Psalm 8:3-4). This passage invites believers to consider the greatness of God and the humility of humanity in the vastness of creation.

Conclusion

The stars, appearing after sunset, serve as a constant reminder of God's order, promise, and majesty. They are woven throughout the biblical narrative as symbols of guidance, prophecy, and divine creation, inviting believers to reflect on the Creator's power and faithfulness.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Nehemiah 4:21
So we labored in the work: and half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning till the stars appeared.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Job 3:9
Let the stars of the twilight thereof be dark; let it look for light, but have none; neither let it see the dawning of the day:
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

Terror by Night
... They were bad enough by day: after sunset, they became hells on ... heaven, or in the
moon and stars which he ... distinctly; and that they can sometimes appear to men ...
/.../kingsley/discipline and other sermons/sermon xvi terror by night.htm

Life in Persia.
... many unto righteousness, and shine as stars above ... felt tolerably well till a little
after sunset, when the ... These Persians appear quite brotherly after the Turks ...
/.../rhea/life of henry martyn missionary to india and persia/life in persia.htm

The Manich??an System.
... Arch-fiends and [one] of the Stars, and Overmastering ... in the first quarter of the
night, three hours after sunset. ... the new moon begins to appear; likewise when ...
/.../chapter iii name manichaean system.htm

Chronology of the Life of Christ.
... 2:9) rather than a combination of stars (astron ... tale, about an hour and a half after
sunset, the two ... and at the first impression they assuredly appear to fulfil ...
/.../history of the christian church volume i/section 16 chronology of the.htm

The Life of S. Hilarion.
... His food was only fifteen dried figs after sunset. ... into heaven, I will set my throne
above the stars of the ... often when he lay down did naked women appear to him ...
/.../jerome/the principal works of st jerome/the life of s hilarion.htm

The Songs of the Fugitive.
... but in the silence there below the stars to think ... The psalter does not appear to
contain psalms which ... vicissitudes, close to the unchanging home; after so many ...
//christianbookshelf.org/maclaren/the life of david/xv the songs of the.htm

Canaan
... "Perchance I ask after a hieratic ... Doth it not appear to thee, Egyptian, that there
approaches ... close-drawn walls and canopied by distant and unillumining stars. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/miller/the yoke/chapter xii canaan.htm

Preface
... Of course, his favourites appear"Dante and Pascal, Butler and ... wing, up past sun,
moon and stars, but also ... they now enshrine a memory: even after twenty-five ...
//christianbookshelf.org/whyte/lord teach us to pray/preface.htm

The Gods of Egypt
... At his appearing "the stars prepared themselves for battle ... to perform all functions
of animal life after its own ... Egyptians the soul was supposed to appear as a ...
/.../chapter ii the gods of egypt.htm

The Transfiguration.
... blue summer-sky, one by one, the stars in Eastern ... a secret till after His Resurrection;
and, after the event ... or that Moses and Elijah should appear to converse ...
/.../the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter i the transfiguration.htm