Isaiah 13:10
10 For the stars [kowkab] of heaven [shamayim] and
the constellations [Kaciyl] thereof shall not
give [halal] their light ['owr]: the sun [shemesh] shall be
darkened [chashak] in his going forth [yatsa'], and the moon [yareach]
shall not cause her light ['owr] to shine [nagahh]. KJV-Interlinear
10 For the stars of heaven and
their constellations Will not flash forth their light; The sun will be dark
when it rises, And the moon will not shed its light. NASB
The stars of heaven is
simply the reference to the stars in the night sky.
However the word for
constellations, ‘kaciyl,’ is a reference to the orions, or to the various star
constellations, but with a specific reference to Orion which can be seen by
everyone all over the planet.
Orion was resented as
the great hunter in Greek mythology, and in other cultures around the world was
noted as a messenger to the gods, as the devourer of enemies and other similar attributes.
But, a form of the
word, ‘kaciyl,’ also means fat or burly, stupid or silly or foolish, and thus
comes to mean, to be stupid, or to be foolish, or to be fattened with
foolishness.
The Hebrew word for Orion
means fool, as in one who is foolish to oppose God.
And so here there are
two connotations for this verse. First the actual light from the stars will be
blocked out, and second, the attitude and beliefs of people or society in general
in placing their trust in empty philosophies such as looking to the stars or to
the constellations for guidance, will also disappear from view.
Whatever hope or
resources that people have become accustomed to in various objects or beliefs,
will vanish, because they are false in the first place, of no substance in the second
place, and amount to phenomenal foolishness by a spiritually dysfunctional
people, who lack truth.
When you lack truth,
you are wide open to the foolish ideas of this world.
There are two events of
supernatural darkness in history that are similar, both documented in Matt.
27:45 and Matt. 24:29.
The first total
darkness occurred at the time of the Crucifixion when Christ was experiencing
the actual judgment during those three hours on the Cross on that Passover afternoon
from noon until 3 o’clock.
The second event of
total darkness will occur immediately prior to the Second Advent. Where in all light from whatever source, will
suddenly cease, and total darkness, a real total darkness in which there is no
light, will occur for a period of time.
This will lead to the
confusion and terror of that day.
The stars of course are
able to generate their own light. The
sun is able to generate its own light, but the moon merely reflects light from
the sun.
This is not symbolic
but describes a very real event wherein the light from these sources will cease
to be seen. It does not mean that they
will simply cease as stars or suns, but that the light emanating from them will
not be seen.
On both the day side of
the planet and the night side of the planet, all light will vanish. How this
will occur is not explained. One might
think that the many violent activities with war, with fire and smoke, with
exploding volcanoes and such will fill the sky with dust and smoke such that
the light is blocked out.
However, when Christ
does return and with all of the hosts of armies right behind Him, all will be
seen with clarity and in all their glory.
Shall not give their
light, ‘halal,’ means to shine, to boast, to make a show, to rave, to be
foolish. And again this is a reference
to the many worldly or earthly or celestial things that people have come to
depend on, and are now instantly gone.
The implication here is
not of heavy clouds, or smoke or some form of natural blockage of light, but of
some supernatural means that will prevent the light from being seen on earth.
If people saw smoky
skies, they would not notice the unusual darkness as they would attribute it to
the natural events that are occurring.
If they saw an eclipse, then that too would be described as a natural
event.
But here the light
ceases with no apparent explanation, thus causing extreme fear, because there
is no explanation as to why the light suddenly stopped.
