Nature And Purpose of The Sun, Moon, And Stars

God created first the earth and the Firmament, and then, on the fourth day, He created the sun, moon, and stars. These lights are within the firmament and circle above the earth with the purpose of governing time and seasons. There are tens of Bible verses stating that the sun, moon, and stars circle above the earth, under the Firmament. (But there is no single scripture that talks about the earth circling the sun.) Let us now consider a few of these texts.

1. Great lights

“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…” Gen. 1:16-17.

It is true that one of the two great lights is greater and shines brighter than the other but each of them is declared to emit its own, independent light.

The birds and every other creature are situated within our enclosed system of earth.

“And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.” Gen. 1:20.

2. Keepers of time

The sun and moon are placed within the Firmament for the purpose of keeping time. It is they that move, and not the earth.

“He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down…The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, and lay them down in their dens.” Ps. 104:19, 22.

3. The sun circles above the earth

It is the sun that moves – rising and going down from one end of the world to the other:

“The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.” Eccl. 1:5.

What about eclipses? – someone may ask. A solar eclipse is the result of simply the moon passing between the sun and the observer on the Earth. The earth which is a plane, is always underneath the sun and moon and it cannot (as modern science claims) intercept the rays of the sun and cast its own shadow on the moon.

4. Outstanding occurrences: the sun and moon standing still; the sun going backward

There is no occasion where any stopping of the Earth has been recorded in the Bible, but we have the Bible record that on two occasions their motions have been interrupted by the mighty power of God.

Let us pay attention to the following very important scriptures.

In the time of Joshua:

In the day when God surrendered the Amorites to Israel, Joshua said:

“And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.” Joshua 10:13.

A question arises: What stopped moving – the earth or the sun? When Joshua told the sun and moon to stand still, did he mean the earth?

In the time of Hezekiah:

Similar questions can be asked regarding the following passage: The Lord said:

“And this shall be a sign unto thee from the LORD, that the LORD will do this thing that he hath spoken; 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.” Isa. 38:7, 8.

What is said to have gone backward – the sun or the earth?

“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.” Hab. 3:11.

Only God is able to stop their respective motions.

Of God, it is said that it is He only who is able to stop the sun and the stars:

“Which commandeth the sun, and it riseth not; and sealeth up the stars.” Job 9:7.

5. The sun is placed within confines, inside a “tabernacle”, in the language of the Bible

In Psalm 19:1-6 we read about the sun that circles above the earth – rising and going down. But notice the language used regarding its motions:

“In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.” Ps. 19:4-6.

Conclusion

Could modern astronomers find such a testimony on their side of the question, we would have to acknowledge that we know of no rules of interpretation of the Word of God. The supposed “science” of today teaches that it is the earth that moves and not the sun. Yet the path of the sun through the heavens is plainly called a “circuit”. By this, we certainly don’t understand swirling through space at the enormous speed of 450,000 miles per hour, do we?

Related articles:

“Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven”

The Truth About The Creation of Heaven and Earth in The Bible