In Matthew 24:29 Christ states "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will darken, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of Heaven will be shaken."
This is the answer to the question asked by His disciples in verse 3, "And what shall be the sign of Thy coming and of the end of the world?" This verse (verse 29) is the prelude to Christ’s return, which takes place in verse 30. There are a few theories as to what will darken the moon and the sun and shake the powers of the Heavens. One is a full atomic war, which would be Armageddon, and the smoke and debris from the atomic blasts would easily fill up the skies, blotting out the sun and moon.
Also, atomic blasts in the atmosphere could be viewed as the shaking of the power of the Heavens. Another theory is, our sun would go into a Nova. When a star goes into a Nova it becomes much brighter for a short period of time and then fades and dies. Stars occasionally boil up to a state of instability that result in their exploding. There have been 30 recorded Nova's in our Galaxy. There are some scientists today who believe our sun is showing signs of going into a Nova.
Now this ties in with Reverlations 16:8-9 "The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the Sun. It was given power to burn people with fire. People will be burned by scorching heat." A Nova is similar to a light bulb when it burns out. It gets bright for a short period of time, before it goes dark. When the sun brightens during a Nova it will give off heat so intense, it will "burn people with fire. People will be burned by the scorching heat." Scientists estimate the brightening part of the Nova will last a few weeks before the sun burns out and the world goes cold.
Going back to Matt 24:29, if our sun becomes a Nova at God’s chosen time, it will burn people with intense heat for a period of time, then burn out and darken. The moon, not being able to reflect the sun’s light, will also darken, and the power of the Heavens will definitely diminish, at least from our earthly perspective, if the sun explodes.
This also means the earth will grow cold due to the lack of heat, and every form of life would die. This could be why Christ states in verse 22, "And except those days be shortened, no one would be saved, but for the sake of the elect they will be shortened." He could come back at the precise time that the sun became a Nova to save the lives of His elect before they freeze to death.
But whether Matthew 24:29 and Revelation 16:8-9 are the results of a Nova, an atomic war, or a supernatural event created by God, Christ will return at that time as we see in Matthew 24:30-31 "And then the Son of Man will appear in Heaven, and all the tribes on the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming upon the clouds of Heaven with power and great glory, and He will send out His angels with a trumpet blast, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of Heaven to the other."
By George Konig
Christian Internet Forum
www.georgekonig.org
June 29, 2003
See a list of all of our commentaries