Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The Sun,
Moon & Stars
Genesis 1:14 – 16 God creates the Sun
& Moon
Creation of
the Sun & Sun
Moon by
Michelangelo
(Painted
1508-1512) Moon
“And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser
light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament
of the Heaven to give light upon the Earth, ” KJV
“So God made the two larger lights, the sun to rule over the day and
the moon to rule over the night; he also made the stars. He placed the
lights in the sky to shine on the Earth" GNB
“God made the two great lights: the greater light to govern the day, the smaller
light to govern the night, and the stars. God set them in the vault of Heaven to
shine on the Earth, “ JB
Genesis 1:14 – 16 Continued
“'And God proceeded to make the two great luminaries, the greater luminary for
dominating the day and the lesser luminary for dominating the night, and also the
stars.Thus God put them in the expanse of the Heavens to shine upon the
Earth.” NWT
“And God made the two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the
lesser light to rule the night; and the stars.And God set them in the firmament of
the Heaven to give light upon the Earth.” HEJB
Genesis 1:14 – 16 The lights of Heaven
• The Sun, Moons and Stars are made on the 4th day
of creation and not on the 1st day like the Earth.
• They are portrayed as minor entities that are of
secondary importance to the Earth as they are
made to serve the Earth and three days after the
Earth.
• The description implies that they are much smaller
than the Earth.
• Despite their actual size, they are only a couple of
sentences are devoted to them indicating their
relative importance.
• There is no reference to other Worlds in the Solar
System since such a concept did not exist.
Geocentric Cosmology & the Bible
1. Before Copernicus, everyone believed that the Earth
is fixed at the centre of the Universe and does not
move.
2. The Sun, Moon & Stars were believed to be little
lights moving around the static Earth.
3. They believed this because the Ancient Greeks such
as Aristotle & Ptolemy had said so.
4. The Bible agreed with these views.
5. Copernicus resurrected the Heliocentric views of
Aristarchus which said that Earth & other planets
move in orbit around the Sun.
6. Both Catholic & Protestant Church leaders were
extremely hostile to the views of Copernicus since
they contradicted the Bible.
Copernicus & Galileo contradict the
Bible
“The Bible shows how to go to Heaven,
but not how the Heavens go” - Galileo
(*Psalm 93: 1)
Psalm 93:1 - “The World is established;
it shall never be moved.”
“The world also shall be established that it shall not be moved” KJV
“Who laid the foundations of the Earth, that it should not be removed for ever”
KJV
“You have set the Earth firmly on its foundations, and it will never be moved."
GNB
“You fixed the Earth on its foundations, for ever and ever it shall not be shaken“
JB
“'He has founded the Earth upon its established places;It will not be made to
totter to time indefinite, or forever.” NWT
“Who didst establish the Earth upon its foundations, that it should not be moved
for ever and ever.” HEJB
1 Chronicles 16:30 The World does not
move
“The world stands firm, never to be moved” RSV
““And all the host of Heaven shall be dissolved, and the Heavens shall be rolled
together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from
the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree.” KJV”
“The sun, moon, and stars will crumble to dust. The sky will disappear like a
scroll being rolled up, and the stars will fall like leaves dropping from a vine or a
fig tree." GNB
“The entire array of Heaven will fall apart. The Heavens will be rolled up like a
scroll and all their array will fade away, as fade the leaves falling from the vine,
as fade those falling from the fig tree“ JB
'And all those of the army of the Heavens must rot away. And the Heavens must
be rolled up, just like a book scroll; and their army will all shrivel away, just as the
leafage shrivels off the vine and like a shrivelled [fig] off the fig tree. ” NW
Job 9:7 God seals up the Sun, Moon
& Stars in their Chambers
This picture of
the Universe
Chambers
shows how the
of the Sun, Moon
Heavenly bodies
& Stars
could be sealed
up.
See also
Psalm 19:4-6
Job 9:7 God seals up the Stars
“Who commands the sun, and it does not rise;who seals up the stars”
RSV
“Which commandeth the sun, and it riseth not; and sealeth up the stars.”
KJV
“He can keep the sun from rising, and the stars from shining at night."
GNB
“The sun, at his command, forbears to rise, and on the stars he sets a seal. “
JB
“He is saying to the sun that it should not shine forth,And around stars he
puts a seal.” NWT
Psalm 19:4-6 The Chamber of the Sun
“In them (the Heavens) he has set a tent for the sun,which comes forth like a
bridegroom leaving his chamber” RSV
“In them (the Heavens) hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, which is as a
bridegroom coming out of his chamber.” KJV
“God made a home in the sky for the sun; it comes out in the morning like a
happy bridegroom" GNB
“High above, he pitched a tent for the sun, who comes forth from his pavilion
like a bridegroom. “ JB
“'In them (the Heavens) he has set a tent for the sun, and it is like a
bridegroom when coming out of his nuptial chamber.” NWT
Job 9:9 Chambers for Stars in the Sky
“Who made the Bear and Orion,the Plei'ades and the chambers of the south.”
RSV
“Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south. ”
KJV
“God hung the stars in the sky---the Dipper, Orion, the Pleiades, and the stars of
the south” GNB
“He has made the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the mansions of the south. “
JB
The Chambers
of the South
probably refer
to places
where the
Southern
Circumpolar
Stars were
imagined to
travel through
* There were probably Chambers of the North, East & West as well
Joel 3:15* Stars withdrawing into
Chambers
“The sun and the moon are darkened,and the stars withdraw their shining.” RSV
& KJV
“The sun and the moon grow dark, and the stars no longer shine.” GNB
“Sun and moon grow dark, the stars lose their brilliance. “ JB
“'Sun and moon themselves will certainly become dark, and the very stars will
actually withdraw their brightness. .“ NWT
The sun and the moon are become black, and the stars withdraw their shining.”
HEJB
“And, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to
me. " KJV
“I saw the sun, the moon, and eleven stars bowing down to me."
GNB
“'There were the sun, the moon and eleven stars, bowing down to me.“ JB
“Here I have had a dream once more, and here the sun and the moon and
eleven stars were bowing down to me .“ NWT
Daniel 8:10 Goat tramples Stars
underfoot
God seems to be
implying that stars are
just little lights in the
Sky just like neighbouring
peoples did.
Daniel 8:10 Goat tramples Stars
underfoot
“It grew great, even to the host of Heaven; and some of the host of the stars it
cast down to the ground, and trampled upon them." RSV
“And it waxed great, even to the host of Heaven; and it cast down some of the
host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them. " KJV
“It grew strong enough to attack the army of Heaven, the stars themselves, and
it threw some of them to the ground and trampled on them." GNB
“It grew right up to the armies of Heaven and flung armies and stars to the
ground, and trampled them underfoot.“ JB
“'And it kept getting greater all the way to the army of the Heavens, so that it
caused some of the army and some of the stars to fall to the Earth, and it went
trampling them down.“ NWT
Martin Luther condemns Copernicus
for contradicting the Bible
“Then spake Joshua to the Lord …… and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand
thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon.
And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged
themselves upon their enemies.” KJV
“Joshua spoke to the Lord. In the presence of the Israelites he said, "Sun, stand still
over Gibeon; Moon, stop over Aijalon Valley." The sun stood still and the moon did
not move until the nation had conquered its enemies. " GNB
Joshua 10:12 & 13
“Joshua then spoke to Yahweh …… In the presence of Israel, Joshua said: Sun,
stand still over Gibeon, and, moon, you too, over the Vale of Aijalon! And the
sun stood still, and the moon halted, until the people had taken vengeance on
their enemies“ JB
“'It was then that Joshua proceeded to speak to Jehovah …… and he went on to
say before the eyes of Israel: “Sun, be motionless over Gib´e·on,And, moon, over
the low plain of Ai´ja·lon.” Accordingly the sun kept motionless, and the moon did
stand still, until the nation could take vengeance on its enemies” NWT
Gibeon & the Valley of Ajalon
Dead Sea
Gibeon & the Valley of Ajalon
Habakkuk 3:11
“The sun and moon stood still in their habitation at the light of thine arrows
as they sped,at the flash of thy glittering spear.” RSV
“The sun and moon stood still in their habitation: at the light of thine arrows
they went, and at the shining of thy glittering spear” KJV
“At the flash of your speeding arrows and the gleam of your shining spear,
the sun and the moon stood still." GNB
“Sun and moon stay inside their dwellings, they flee at the light of your
arrows, at the flash of your lightning-spear.“ JB
“'Sun—moon—stood still, in the lofty abode thereof. Like light your own
arrows kept going. The lightning of your spear served for brightness.” NWT
Isaiah 38:8 and 2 Kings 20:11 The
Sun dial of Ahaz
“Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees, which is gone down in the
sun dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So the sun returned ten degrees, by
which degrees it was gone down.” KJV
“The Lord will make the shadow go back ten steps." And the shadow moved back
ten steps ." GNB
“Look, I shall make the shadow cast by the declining sun on the steps -- the
steps to Ahaz's roof-room-go back ten steps.' And the sun went back the ten
steps by which it had declined. “ JB
“'Here I am making the shadow of the steps that had gone down on the steps of
A´haz by the sun retrace backward ten steps.”’” And the sun gradually went back
ten steps on the steps that it had gone down..” NWT
2 Kings 20:11 The Sun dial of Ahaz
“And Isaiah the prophet cried to the Lord; and he brought the shadow back
ten steps, by which the sun had declined on the dial of Ahaz.” RSV
“And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the Lord: and he brought the shadow ten
degrees backward, by which it had gone down in the dial of Ahaz” KJV
“Isaiah prayed to the Lord, and the Lord made the shadow go back ten steps
on the stairway set up by King Ahaz." GNB
“The prophet Isaiah then called on Yahweh, who made the shadow cast by
the declining sun on the steps -- the steps to Ahaz's roof-room -- go back ten
steps. “ JB
“At that Isaiah the prophet began to call out to Jehovah; and he made the
shadow that had gone down gradually go back on the steps, that is, on the
steps [of the stairs] of A´haz, ten steps backward” NWT
Amos 8:9 Sunset at Noon over
Jerusalem
“And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord God, that I will cause
the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the Earth in the clear day”
KJV
“The time is coming when I will make the sun go down at noon and the earth
grow dark in daytime. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken." GNB
“'On that Day- declares the Lord Yahweh- I shall make the sun go down at
noon and darken the Earth in broad daylight.“ JB
“And it must occur in that day,’ is the utterance of the Sovereign Lord
Jehovah, ‘that I will make the sun go down at high noon, and I will cause
darkness for the land on a bright day.” NWT
Amos 8:9 Sunset at Noon
This seems to
be what Amos
is describing.
Philip Melancthon condemns
Copernicus for contradicting the Bible
“The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place
where he arose” KJV
“The sun still rises, and it still goes down, going wearily back to where it
must start all over again." GNB
“The sun rises, the sun sets; then to its place it speeds and there it rises“
JB
“'And the sun also has flashed forth, and the sun has set, and it is coming
panting to its place where it is going to flash forth.” NWT
Ecclesiastes 1: 5 Literal Sunrise and
Sunset
See also
Chambers of the Sun Psalm 19:4-6
Pope Urban VIII condemns Copernicus
for contradicting the Bible
In 1611, before becoming Pope,
Cardinal Bellarmine wrote of the
views of Church Ecclesiastes
1: 5 scholars concerning
Astronomical information in the
Scriptures*.
“All agree in interpreting them literally
as teaching that the Sun is in the
Heavens and revolves around the
Earth with immense speed.The
Earth is very distant from the Heavens
at the centre of the Universe and
motionless.”
(*Ecclesiastes 1: 5)
Pope Paul V condemns Copernicus
for contradicting the Bible (1616)
The Sun,
Moon & Stars
Continued on next Presentation ……