And the stars of heaven shall be falling down and the powers that are in heaven shall be moved.
και οι αστερες του ουρανου εσονται εκπιπτοντες και αι δυναμεις αι εν τοις ουρανοις σαλευθησονται
10 Church Fathers comment on this verse
When the Antichrist arrives, the entirety of creation will undergo transformation: the stars will lose their brightness in the overwhelming radiance of Christ, and the celestial beings will be unsettled, witnessing the great turmoil in the world and observing the judgment of their fellow believers.
When the wicked oppressors become exceedingly enraged, and worldly successes appear to bless them, they boast of peace and comfort, entirely devoid of fear. Yet, the heavens will tremble, and the celestial bodies will cascade from the sky. Many who now seem to bask in favor will become targets of persecution and will fall, and even those most unwavering in their faith will find themselves perplexed.
Amid this widespread turmoil and chaos, the celestial authorities, the protective spirits of creation, will be activated, causing the male leaders to abandon their control and the women to retreat into shadowy spaces, withdrawing from their tasks.
The stars will lose their brilliance on the judgment day, not due to a reduction in their glow, but because the ultimate light will emerge—the radiance of the supreme Judge—when He arrives in all His glory alongside the Father and the holy angels.
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It is indeed astonishing that beings who are inherently earthly and limited in perception would be paralyzed by this judgment, for even the celestial beings—namely, the angelic hosts—quiver at the mere sight of Him. What can be said of the turmoil when the foundations themselves begin to collapse?
The Gospel's account, extending from the disciples' inquiry to the parable of the fig tree, is intricately linked to the return of the Son of Man (Mark 13:3-31). In this context, sorrow and joy, disaster and hope are intertwined, making it impossible to distinguish one aspect from another. The same Son of Man will arrive amid trials and assurances, in the turmoil of nations and the anticipation of the faithful. By uniting these occurrences, His return will bring judgment upon the nations and fulfill the aspirations of the faithful.
The Lord, after describing a series of ominous events, focused particularly on the impending judgment of God concerning Jerusalem. He warned, “As for Jerusalem, the proximity of its destruction is assured; as stated by Daniel, the abomination of desolation will manifest in the sacred site. Therefore, anyone wishing to escape impending doom must flee from Judea without delay. Those who choose to stay will face a tribulation unprecedented since the dawn of time. Furthermore, false messiahs will arise, but do not heed them. The Son of Man will come like lightning, not confined to a specific location or appearance, but embodying the judgment of God (Matthew 24:15-28). He will reveal His glory fully at the culmination of the age (29-31).
The conclusion of the current age will involve the total obliteration of its existing state, leading to a complete transformation (cf. 2 Pet. 3:10, 12, 13). This profound disturbance in the physical realm will be marked by signs appearing in the celestial bodies, as well as turmoil in the oceans and on the land (Lk.). In this time, there will be widespread despair among the nations and bewilderment; people will be filled with dread and apprehension at the impending disasters facing the world (Lk.). "Then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven," and all the families of the earth will mourn (Matt.), as they are confronted by their conscience over their sins.
To the believers, the Lord assures: "when these things begin to come to pass, then bow down and lift up your heads, for your deliverance is at hand" (Luke). The Second Coming of Jesus Christ will mirror His ascension into heaven (Acts 1:2, 11). The assembly of His followers will be orchestrated by angels, depicted (Matt.) as the faithful being called by a loud trumpet, a symbol well-known to the audience of Christ, as it was customary for the ancients, particularly the Jews, to be summoned to gatherings with the sound of trumpets (Lev. 25:2, Num. 10:2, Judg. 3:27).
And at once, following the tribulations of those days, the sun will be obscured, the moon will cease to shine, and the stars will descend from the heavens, while the celestial forces will tremble. These statements are to be interpreted as referring to the time after the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem, though the exact moment remains unknown; thus, it will herald the culmination of the world. The astonishing signs that will accompany this event will manifest in the natural realm: the sun will grow dim, the moon will lose its glow, and the earth will be so unsettled that it might seem as though stars are plummeting from the heavens, with the skies themselves trembling.
It is unclear from the Savior's words whether this signifies the end of the entire cosmos or merely the earthly realm; hence, various assumptions can arise. Nevertheless, the Savior indicated that the conclusion of the world will usher in the Final Judgment for humanity on this earth, and if this end pertains only to those who dwell here, we may infer that it will not denote the conclusion of the universe but rather the cessation of life on this planet or the end of the earth's existence as a habitable sphere. Ultimately, this is known solely to God. However, since the words of the Lord suggest that the termination of life on earth is more likely, I feel compelled to reflect, from an earthly perspective, on the occurrences that will precede it. Therefore, I propose that the upheaval experienced by the earth will appear to its inhabitants as if stars were cascading from the heavens. It is impossible for stars to actually fall from the sky to the earth because the earth, in comparison to them both collectively and individually, is vastly small. Furthermore, the Lord instructs that when these events unfold, we should raise our heads (Luke 21:28) and witness the Son of Man arriving on the clouds of heaven with power and tremendous glory (Matthew 24:30). From these statements, we can deduce that the sky, or the entirety of creation beyond the earth and its clouds, will persist in its existence, continuing to fulfill the will of the Almighty Creator.
What will then transpire with the world we inhabit? Will the established rotation around our Sun be disrupted, causing it to be drawn in and seemingly absorbed? Or might the Sun itself cool to the point of no longer providing light and warmth? Or will there be another alteration within our solar system? All these inquiries remain unanswered, as it was unnecessary for the Apostles to solve them when discussing the signs of the world's end. Their understanding needed only to encompass that these occurrences would precede the revelation of the Kingdom of Heaven and the dawn of a new, blessed Eternal Life.
While the precise timing of the Lord's return and the culmination of the age remains a mystery even to the celestial beings, there are certain signs that indicate the approach of these significant occurrences. At that moment, the sun and moon will lose their light, the stars will descend as if they were leaves falling from trees, and the very powers of the heavens will be disturbed. There will be a profound disruption of the established order, after which Christ will dispatch angels equipped with trumpets to gather His elect from the four corners of the earth, from one horizon to another.
The discussion parallels the words found in the Gospel of Matthew. In Matthew 24:26-36, the phrase "Neither the Son" is noteworthy, as indicated in the commentary regarding Matthew 24:36. If He had stated, "I know but will not disclose to you," it would have caused distress among them. However, by declaring that neither angels nor Himself has knowledge of the time, He displays great wisdom and prevents them from seeking answers and troubling Him.
Consider this analogy: young children frequently notice something that their fathers possess and request it. If the fathers choose not to grant this request, the children often react with tears. In such cases, fathers might conceal the object and, by showing their children their empty hands, effectively discourage them from crying. In this manner, the Lord, treating the Apostles as young ones, concealed the knowledge of the final day from them.
Nonetheless, it is clear that the Lord possesses knowledge of that ultimate day and hour, for He is the Creator of all ages. How could anything that exists fail to acknowledge Wisdom, the Creator of the ages, the Perfection and Judge of divine matters, just as the spirit discerns the thoughts of a person (1 Corinthians 2:11)? It is apparent to all that the Son knows in His divine essence but intentionally takes on the guise of ignorance in His humanity, since the visible can indeed be distinguished from the intelligible.
Passages read together with this verse.
Greek text, 16 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.
THEOSIS