Hyperbole and the “Sun, Moon, Stars” of Matthew 24:29

Recently I have taken a different interpretation of much of the prophetic scripture. In this brief article I desire to center on a small portion of scripture for the purpose of demonstrating why my position has changed or, I should say, is changing. More defined, I am now taking a preterist view of some scripture of which I formerly took a futurist view. In order to do this I find it profitable to discern the use of hyperbole in scripture. For this reason we will begin by looking at this figure of speech. (All underlining is mine for emphasis).

Hyperbole

Our English language is full of hyperbole and we use it everyday. It is so common that most people are unaware of it when it is heard. That is true for me. But you can browse the internet and find a multitude of examples. Here are a few simple ones. Note the last two, which appear to have some relationship to Biblical passages we will shortly consider:

There's enough food to feed an army.

He was quaking in his boots.

I've been waiting for ages.

I wouldn't be seen dead in that.

These things weigh a ton.

It went on forever.

I'm so hungry I could eat a horse.

I'm doing a thousand things right now.

I died laughing.

I've told you a million times to ….

The sky is falling.

He put their lights out.

If we can recognize that we use figures of speech in our language, then we should recognize that other cultures and languages have figures of speech as well. They will be different from ours. And if we were to learn another language we would have to learn not only the words and sentence structure, but the figures of speech as well.

 In particular, when we look at the scripture, we are dealing with languages and a culture that existed thousands of years ago. With what authority are we to approach them with a strict literalism? Why shouldn't we expect them to have figures of speech that are unique to their culture and time in history? Their figures of speech may make no sense to us and even seem outlandish. But that is our problem. Rather than trying to see the scriptures through our own “westernized” filters, it is necessary to understand as best as possible the history, culture and idioms of the writers of the literature we are studying. With regard to the object of this study, it must be understood that we are dealing with a language that often uses what appears to us to be outlandish apocalyptic expressions. These are expressions of hyperbole, common to the people of that day and culture and cannot be meaningfully interpreted by others with strict literalism. 

 There are many figures of speech in the Hebrew language and thus also in the Bible. Bernard Ramm writes:

A figure of speech may be a phrase of a complete sentence in which the author expresses himself in a special way that goes beyond ordinary methods of assertion. The most common are metaphors, similes, and hyperboles. A metaphor expresses something by direct comparison, direct similarity, or direct parallelism (“Ephraim is a cake,” Hosea 7:8). A simile functions like a metaphor, only uses the words “like” or “as” (“the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire,” Exod. 24:17). Hyperbole means that some idea or event is stated in an exaggerated manner to indicate its importance or its quantity (“But there are also many other things which Jesus did; were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written,” John 21:25).

The range of figures of speech is large, and again we affirm that the student of Scripture should be sensitive to their existence.... (Bernard Ramm. Protestant Biblical Interpretation. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1970. pg. 143).

I understand hyperbole in its simplest synonym to be “exaggeration.” In scripture a thing is exaggerated to show its importance. Can we produce an Old Testament prophecy written with hyperbole that is quoted in the New Testament in such manner that it is definitely seen as hyperbole – exaggeration? Yes we can. For example let us look at the text of Isaiah 40:3-5:

[3] The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
[4] Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:
[5] And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

According to this prophecy a straight highway is to be made in the desert for God. Every valley is going to be lifted up and every mountain and hill is going to be made low. The crooked will be made straight. The rough places will be leveled out. Is this a prophecy for a spherically smooth earth? Or is it hyperbole? Lets see how it is fulfilled in Luke 3:4-6:

[4] As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias (Isaiah) the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
[5] Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth;
[6] And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

When John the Baptist begins his ministry, Luke says that this prophecy is therein fulfilled. I am not astute enough to know if the hyperbolic language has other hidden or significant meaning, though I suspect it does.  But I do know that it is not a prophecy of a spherically smooth earth. It is not to be taken “literally.” 

 What is being communicated by this passage? John is here to proclaim that the glory of the LORD, being Jesus Christ who is the salvation provided by God, has arrived! 

 The “Sun, Moon, Stars” of Matthew 24:29 

 I think it intriguing to mention at this time that throughout history the heavenly bodies have been used to represent nations of the world. This is evidenced even today by the many countries that picture the sun and/or moon and/or star(s) on their flags. For instance, Japan has the sun and Israel the star (of David). Singapore has moon and stars while Algeria uses the sun and moon. Most evident is the U.S. flag that has 50 stars representing the fifty states. These are only a few examples of many.

But with that as an interesting aside, and with the understanding of hyperbole and its use in scripture, let us consider our chosen passage. It is Matthew 24:29. The parallel passages are Mark 13:24,25 and Luke 21:25,26.

Matthew 24:29

Mark 13:24,25

Luke 21:25,26

Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

[24] But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, [25] And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.

[25] And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; [26] Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

The reason for choosing verse 29 from Matthew 24 is that it appears to be the most “apocalyptic” verse in this chapter. It is the initial verse I dealt with when I started my study to determine if this passage is future or if it was already fulfilled. If it could be shown that it was fulfilled prophecy then I should be able to study and understand the other verses also as fulfilled.

The position of the “literalist” is simple. Some day the sun will be darkened, the moon will not shine and the stars will fall out of heaven [to the earth (Rev. 6:13)]. The thinking is - nothing like this has ever happened, so it must be in the future.

But consider the ramifications of this.  It would be the end of the world. The first star to hit the earth would be its own star, the sun. The earth would be consumed as the sun, even though dark, actually hit. The other stars, billions of billions of them would have no earth left to hit. All prophecies concerning the earth or its inhabitants after this totally catastrophic event would be null and void.

Since the idea of literal stars falling leads to such a devastating and indefensible scenario, the “less-than-literal” position is often adopted by the futurist. This position advocates that the stars are really a light meteor shower or nuclear bombs/missiles. This then becomes a position of speculation.

Such conjecture is not necessary for the preterist. To determine what is being communicated he first looks to the scripture to see how such language is used (acknowledging figures of speech) elsewhere and what the results are. He will have to be more familiar with the Old Testament use of such language and what it intends to communicate. That will now be our goal with regard to Matthew 24:29.

Our first passage will be Isaiah 13. Here we find the LORD himself is coming from the end of heaven and gathering his army to battle in order to destroy the whole land (vs. 4,5). It is the day of the LORD (vs. 6,9). Every man's heart melts (vs. 7), their faces are like flames (vs. 8) and everyone who is found is killed by the sword (vs. 15). Children are dashed to pieces [Blessed is the one who does this (Ps. 137:9)], their houses destroyed, women raped (vs. 16). It is like the day God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah (vs. 19). The wild beast of the earth inherit the land (vs. 20-22).

Though there are elements of this that sound like the end of the world, it is not. This is a prophecy of the great Babylonian empire falling in 539 BC to the Medo-Persians under Cyrus the Great. In vs. 1 Isaiah tells us this is the “burden of Babylon” and identifies them again in vs. 19 as “Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency.” In vs. 17 God says he accomplishes this event by stirring “ up the Medes against them.”

But I failed to mention a significant portion of the prophecy. In vs. 10 Isaiah says, “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.” And in vs. 13 he says, “Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.”

Hmmm. A lot of that sounds familiar. But it all happened in the day of the LORD - over 2500 years ago.

In a similar manner Ezekiel speaks of Egypt falling to Babylon in Ezekiel 29-32. Once again we have a day of the LORD as seen in Ezekiel 30:3 “For the day is near, even the day of the LORD is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the heathen.” God says that he “...will make the multitude of Egypt to cease by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon” (Ezek. 30:10). As an example of the apocalyptic language that is obviously not literal I present Ezekiel 32:4, “Then will I leave thee upon the land, I will cast thee forth upon the open field, and will cause all the fowls of the heaven to remain upon thee, and I will fill the beasts of the whole earth with thee.” And then once again we have language that reminds us of our passage in Matthew 24:19:

[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.
[8] All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord GOD (Ezekiel 32:7,8).

Isaiah 34 contains what appears to be outrageous language in describing the destruction of Idumea (Edom), “the people of my curse.” The “sun, moon, stars” are not mentioned but the picture painted is even more apocalyptic. Consider vs. 4 and 5:

[4] And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree.
[5] For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment.

Malachi 1:3 notes that God “laid his (Esau's) mountains and his heritage waste...” Thus this is fulfilled prophecy. Babylon in the 6^th century B.C. sacked Edom and afterwards other nations also took a toll on them. Malachi continues in vs. 4, saying that even though the Edomites would try to rebuild their country God would not let them. It appears that the last of the Edomites were destroyed about the same time that Jerusalem fell in A.D. 70.

Since this is fulfilled prophecy it is obvious that the language of Is. 34:4,5 is hyperbole, as are some other verses in the chapter.

Similar language is used by the prophets concerning the fall of the northern ten tribes of Israel and Judah. Amos prophesied against the northern ten tribes. Even though they were looking forward to their “day of the LORD,” he rhetorically told them, “Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it” (Amos 5:20)? Then in 8:9 they are told, “And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord GOD, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day.” In less than a generation (722 B.C.), Shalmaneser V, the king of Assyria conquered and removed the northern ten tribes.

A century later Jeremiah was telling Judah, “She that hath borne seven languisheth: she hath given up the ghost; her sun is gone down while it was yet day: she hath been ashamed and confounded: and the residue of them will I deliver to the sword before their enemies, saith the LORD.” In 586 B.C., Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, conquered Judah.

In the book of Joel there are two passages that mention the “sun, moon, stars.” The first is found in Joel 2:10 and the second in Joel 2:31. We will look at Joel 2:31 in its immediate context:

[28] And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
[29] And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.
[30] And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
[31] The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.
[32] And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.

This particular passage is quoted fairly closely by Peter in Acts 2:17-21:

[17] And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God,I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
[18] And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:
[19] And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
[20] The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:
[21] And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

In Joel 2:31 and Acts 2:20 the language is almost identical except for a few words and the last verse of each. In both cases the sun is turned into darkness and the moon into blood. Faced with such language the literalist becomes less-than-literal, saying the sun only gets less bright and the moon just looks red like blood. So the issue is not about being literal in interpretation, but about the extent of how non-literal the interpretation is to be.

Following, for the comparison, is the passage from Joel 2:10,11:

[10] The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble; the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:
[11] And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeh his word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?

Yet there is an earlier use of “sun, moon, stars” in the prophetic scriptures. In Genesis 37:9,10 we read:

[9] And he (Joseph) 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?

This is the second of two dreams Joseph had regarding his ascendency to power over the other members of his family. There was never the thought in anyone's mind that the “sun, moon, stars” would literally bow down to Joseph. When his father heard the dream, he immediately interpreted it as referring to the family members. In this respect the “sun, moon, stars” are closely tied to Jacob (Israel) and his family.

This prophecy should serve to remind us that God instructed in Genesis 1:14,15 that the purposes of the heavenly bodies would have another role other than providing light and defining time. They would also be used for signs, to signify things.

[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.

So it should be no surprise when God used them as signs in the prophecy made through Joseph's dream. Nor should we be surprised when we move to the New Testament we find a similar symbol in 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:

Once again the literalist is faced with a problem. Is it a real woman wearing the real sun with the real moon under her feet and a real crown of twelve stars upon her head? No. The literalist again becomes less-than-literal and agrees with most everyone that this represents Israel. The only argument is whether it is physical Israel or remnant Israel, which is not our present issue of discussion.

Let us take a moment to review and sum up where we have come thus far.

First, we have seen that hyperbole is a common figure of speech found in languages. It is used in our own language, English, and is found in the Bible. It is incumbent upon us to discern and understand figures of speech when studying the Bible. To seek to interpret a hyperbole in a literal manner will yield some outlandish nonsense.

Second, we have seen that similar apocalyptic language to Matthew 24:29 has been used in Isaiah 13:10 and Ezekiel 32:7,8. The first reference was to the destruction of Babylon by the Medes and the second reference was to the destruction of Egypt prior to that event by Babylon. The world did not come to an end, however. You could say the Babylonian and Egyptian worlds as they knew it came to an end. As someone has said, “Their lights were put out.” Indeed, they were. The “lights” of Edom, the northern ten tribes of Israel, and Judah were also put out when God brought judgment on them.

Third, we have seen that similar apocalyptic language was used by Joel (2:28-32) and quoted by Peter in Acts 2:17-21. The question at hand is, was Peter referring to an event that began on that day of Pentecost and would conclude multiple centuries later with a literal dark sun and a literal moon of blood? Or, is he referring to a destruction of Jerusalem and the physical nation of Israel in his generation in the likeness of the destruction that came upon Babylon and Egypt in their prophetically fulfilled day?

Fourth, we see that God told us from the beginning (Gen. 1:14) that the heavenly bodies would be used as signs. This is made clear in Genesis 37:9,10 when the sun, moon and stars are used as signs in Joseph's prophetic dream and again in Revelation 12:1 where the sun, moon and stars are used in reference to Israel.

Conclusion

The interpretation of Matthew 24:29 should be done in light of other scripture rather than understood in strict literalism. Examples of the “sun, moon, stars” found in many Old Testament passages demonstrate the severity of judgment on nations with whom God is angry. Though the language may appear like the catastrophic end of the world, it was not. It was the end of a nation or the supremacy of that nation.

In the case of Israel it is seen that the “sun, moon, stars” has special reference. There is no question that its use in Genesis 37:9,10 and Revelation 12:1 has specific annotation to Israel. Therefore, when coming to such passages as Matthew 24:29, Acts 2:17-21, and Revelation 6:13 where “sun,moon, stars” are mentioned, there should be thorough consideration that these refer to Israel in their context of judgment.

In regard to Peter quoting Joel 2:28-32 in Acts 2:17-21, I see him understanding the nearness of the coming destruction of Jerusalem. He was not quoting a prophecy that would be fulfilled piecemeal with a large “gap” in the coming 2000 plus years. He was quoting a prophecy that would be fulfilled in his generation. This being the “this generation” that Jesus spoke of in Matthew 23:36 and 24:34. Whereas Joel prophesied, “it shall come to pass afterward,” Peter states, “ it shall come to pass in the last days.” Peter is not talking about the last days of the world. He is talking about the last days in which he was living, the last days before the destruction of Jerusalem, the last days when God would remove the kingdom from Israel and give it to another (Matt. 21:43).

Jesus was not at all silent about the soon coming destruction of Jerusalem. It was a major theme of his message. Consider Matthew 21:42-45:

[42] Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?
[43] Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.
[44] And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.
[45] And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them.

Jesus, the stone which was being rejected by the Jews, was to be the cornerstone. He tells the Jewish rulers that the kingdom of God is being taken from them and given to another. The stone, being himself, was about to fall on them and grind them to powder. And the rulers were not in the dark about whom he was talking. They had heard the many parables he had spoken against them. They knew he was condemning them. Yet their hideous nature and hardened hearts would not let them fathom that their destruction was near and the kingdom was departing from them to a new entity. (Note: stone, builders, head of the corner, the fruits, be broken, grind him to powder – are all figures of speech). 

Shortly thereafter, Matthew records in 23:34-38 Jesus verbally laying waste to the Jewish rulers:

[34] Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:
[35] That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
[36] Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.
[37] O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
[38] Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.

Jesus stood before Pilate who wanted to release him. “Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children” (Matt.27:25). This was an incomprehensibly tragic request.  

On his way to be crucified, there were some women wailing and lamenting for him. “But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children” (Luke 23:28). “For, behold, the days are coming” (23:29), when they shall “begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us” (23:30). 

Jesus had told some of his disciples earlier in Luke 21:22-24:

[22] For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.
[23] But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people.
[24] And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

And prior to this as he entered Jerusalem and wept over it he spoke as recorded in Luke 19:43,44:

[43] For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side,
[44] And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.

In 66 AD the Jewish-Roman war began. On Passover, 70 AD, Titus laid siege to Jerusalem. By the end of summer:

NOW as soon as the army had no more people to slay or to plunder, because there remained none to be the objects of their fury, (for they would not have spared any, had there remained any other work to be done,) Caesar gave orders that they should now demolish the entire city and temple, but should leave as many of the towers standing as were of the greatest eminency; that is, Phasaelus, and Hippicus, and Mariamne; and so much of the wall as enclosed the city on the west side. This wall was spared, in order to afford a camp for such as were to lie in garrison, as were the towers also spared, in order to demonstrate to posterity what kind of city it was, and how well fortified, which the Roman valor had subdued; but for all the rest of the wall, it was so thoroughly laid even with the ground by those that dug it up to the foundation, that there was left nothing to make those that came thither believe it had ever been inhabited. This was the end which Jerusalem came to by the madness of those that were for innovations; a city otherwise of great magnificence, and of mighty fame among all mankind (Flavius Josephus, Wars of the Jews, 7:1:1 http://www.earlyjewishwritings.com/text/josephus/war7.html).

That which the Lord, Jesus Christ, said would come upon Jerusalem in that generation - came upon Jerusalem in that generation. Thus was the sun of the Jewish nation darkened with her moon no longer giving its light and her stars having fallen from heaven. Thus were her lights put out.

If one understands what I have sought to communicate in this article and agrees then they will understand that other “apocalyptic” type speech in Matthew 24 (and elsewhere) may well find its interpretation in a similar manner. If one tries to interpret the passage with a strict literalism, he will in some places miss the figure of speech and impose some less-than-literal speculation. The results of the latter has led to a wayward future scenario of a chapter in which much was fulfilled in the first century.

END