Bible Questions and Answers

Browse all the questions that have been asked at thisisyourbible.com and see their answers, read the most recent questions and answers, or have a look at some prepared questions and answers on key Bible themes.
Genesis 1:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: 15  And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. 16 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. 17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
 
Stars are used literally to give examples of the power of God.
 
Job 9:9 Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south.
 
Job 38:32 Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?
 
Psalms 8:3 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
 
Psalms 147:4 He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.
 
Jeremiah 31:35 Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name:
 
Amos 5:8 Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion,
 
1 Corinthians 15:41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.
 
A new star appeared at the birth of Christ:
 
Matthew 2:2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
 
Stars are used as a simile for a great multitude:
 
Genesis 15:5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
 
Hebrews 11:12 Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.
 
Daniel uses stars as a simile for the future glorification of those who serve God.
 
Daniel 12:3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
 
Jude likens false brethren to ‘wandering stars’:
 
Jude 1:13 Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.
 
Stars are used symbolically to represent Joseph’s brothers in Joseph’s dream:
 
Genesis 37:9 And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me. 10 And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?
 
Stars are used poetically to represent the angels at creation:
 
Job 38:7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
 
In the prophecy of Balaam a star is used to represent the Messiah, king of Israel who will destroy her enemies.
 
Numbers 24:17 I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.
 
Stars are used figuratively to represent great men in earthly governments:
 
At the fall of the kingdom of Babylon and her king
 
Isaiah 13:10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
 
Isaiah 14:13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
 
At the fall of the kingdom of Pharaoh king of Egypt:
 
Ezekiel 32:7 And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light.
 
At the fall of Edom:
 
Obadiah 1:4 Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD.
 
Daniel uses stars to represent kings subdued by the ‘little horn’ (Rome) which arose to conquer the Greek Empire
 
Daniel 8:10  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.
 
In Revelation 1:16 stars are used symbolically to represent the Elders of the seven churches.
 
Revelation 1:16 And he had in his right hand seven stars... 20 The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand... The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches...
 
In Revelation 12:1 stars are used symbolically to represent the twelve apostles (the woman representing the church established by them).
 
Revelation 12:1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:
 
In Revelation 12:4 stars are used symbolically to represent prominent members of the early church persecuted by the pagan authorities.
 
Revelation 12:4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth...
 
The day star, or morning star, is used as a figure to represent the bestowal of eternal life at the return of Christ in the kingdom of God.
 
2 Peter 1:19  We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
 
Revelation 2:28 And I will give him the morning star.
 
Jesus applies the bright and morning star to himself as the one who brings both light and life.
 
Revelation 22:16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
 
There are a few other references to stars, but I think I’ve covered the different ways in which star is used in the Bible.
 
Worship of the stars was forbidden in the Law of Moses.
 
Deuteronomy 4:19 And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.
 
Astrology is shown to be of no value
 
Isaiah 47:13 Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee.
 
God bless,
Glenn