October 25, 2015
The End of a Sign or the Sign of the End
The 175th Anniversary of the falling of the stars
By Time Poirier
November 13, 2008
| COMMENT: A little lengthy, but worth reading. Note the resources listed at the end of the article. |
Their appearance was often so incessant that all the stars of the firmament seemed to be darting from their places.” “There was scarcely a space in the firmament which was not filled at every instant with these falling stars.”1 “The most grand and brilliant celestial phenomenon ever beheld and recorded by man.”2
It would be listed among the top 100 “great and memorable events” of America’s first century,3 give birth to a new science within astronomy, and ignite unprecedented study of end-time prophecies. The great Leonid4 meteor storm of November 13, 1833, which marks its 175th anniversary this month—on the very day of this issue—captured the fascination of all who witnessed or heard of the spectacular display.
Since we are accustomed to observing occasional “shooting stars” or periodic meteoric showers of varying scale, it is difficult for us to grasp the magnitude of the event or its impact as contemporaries described it. The stars showered the entire United States, from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada, and to its westernmost territories.5 Typical of the gripping reports appearing in American newspapers after the 4-7 hour display are the following:
“Some two or three hours after midnight small shooting stars began to be observed in the sky, which gradually increased in number and magnitude until the whole firmament appeared in motion with them, as if the planets and constellations were falling from their places.”6
Click on Link:
http://archives.adventistreview.org/article/2200/archives/issue-2008-1531/the-end-of-a-sign-or-a-sign-of-the-end
