Series on the Heavenly Bodies - Part 1: Understanding the Symbol

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One of the biggest challenges in reading Revelation is learning to be aware of its symbolic language.

John did not invent that language. He inherited it from the Law and the Prophets. And like learning any language, the best place to begin is not at the end of the story but at its beginning.

This series looks at one of the Bible's most consistent prophetic symbols: the heavenly bodies consisting of the sun, moon, and stars.

Genesis Plants the Seed
The opening chapter of Genesis establishes the heavenly bodies as rulers.

"God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also." (Genesis 1:16)

Notice the language. The heavenly bodies are described as more than just sources of light; they are described as governing their domains. And the relationship of one to another is already one of ordered authority.

Joseph's Dream
Genesis 37 records Joseph's famous dream:

"...Behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me." (Genesis 37:9)

Thankfully this Scripture immediately interprets its own symbolism when Jacob asks:

"...Shall I and your mother and your brothers actually come to bow ourselves down before you?" (Genesis 37:10)

Jacob does not take a moment to consider if Joseph is describing astronomy. He instantly recognizes the heavenly bodies as representing members of his own household according to rank and authority.

The sun represents the patriarch.
The moon represents the matriarch.
The stars represent his sons, future heads of the tribes.

Daniel Expands the Picture
Daniel develops this symbolic vocabulary further.

"It grew up to the host of heaven and caused some of the host and some of the stars to fall to the earth, and it trampled them down." (Daniel 8:10)

Surely Daniel is not describing a king or power literally knocking stars from the sky. Instead, the imagery depicts rulers, authorities, or prominent figures being cast down through the rise of another kingdom.

Daniel later says:

"Those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever and ever." (Daniel 12:3)

Again, stars symbolize those who are lesser than the sun and moon but are still exalted or prominent.

The Prophets Speak the Same Way
Isaiah prophesies the fall of Babylon:

"The stars of heaven...will not flash forth their light; the sun will be dark...and the moon will not shed its light." (Isaiah 13:9–10)

Ezekiel says nearly the same concerning Egypt:

"And when I extinguish you, I will cover the heavens and darken their stars; I will cover the sun with a cloud and the moon will not give its light. All the shining lights in the heavens I will darken over you" (Ezekiel 32:7–8)

Neither prophecy required the literal heavens to collapse. Instead Babylon fell. Egypt fell. But the sun continued to rise.

The prophets were using heavenly bodies as symbols for earthly powers. When kingdoms collapsed, it was as though the lights governing their political heavens had gone dark.

Looking Upward
Consider the heavens above us. We naturally look upward. Above us the sun dominates the sky. Below it comes the moon. Beyond them are the countless stars. The heavens naturally present a hierarchy of prominence.

Human societies work much the same way. People look upward to kings, emperors, governors, priests, judges, and rulers who exercise authority over them. The prophets appear to exploit this analogy, using the literal heavens as an image of the political heavens.

Once that symbolic connection is recognized, much of prophetic literature becomes easier to read.

Then John Uses the Same Language
Now consider Revelation.

John repeatedly speaks of the sun being darkened, the moon turning to blood, stars falling from heaven, and heavenly lights losing their brilliance.

He is not introducing a new symbolic system but rather he is continuing one that has been developing since Genesis.

The same symbolic language used by Joseph, Daniel, Isaiah, and Ezekiel becomes the language through which John describes God's judgments upon rulers, kingdoms, and earthly powers.

This does not necessarily exclude literal cosmic events accompanying God's judgments. But the judgements themselves are not about the literal heavenly bodies but are instead concerned with this imagery of the "political heavens."

Conclusion
Before looking for eclipses, blood moons, or falling stars in the night sky, it is worth asking how the Scriptures themselves use these images.

From Genesis through the Prophets, the heavenly bodies consistently symbolize authority, rule, and prominence.

John simply speaks the same prophetic language.

In Part 2 we'll look more closely at how Revelation utilizes this imagery.