The Sun: The Great Yellow Orb
The sun is so perfect for sustaining human life, it's incredible.
According to astronomers, compared with other stars the sun is nothing to write home about. Yet the energy that animates living matter on planet earth—every flower, each tree, all living creatures—is derived from the heat and light of the sun. Move it a little closer or farther away and we find ourselves in deep trouble. Extinguish it and we are goners.
We survive because we soak up only a fraction of the sun's heat. Our star is 93 million miles away from the earth, a comfortable distance from this powerhouse of white-hot molten energy.The space probe Soho provides us with scientific facts about the sun we never knew before. But certain fundamental understanding can only come from only one source.
It would be strange indeed had the Bible said nothing about the sun. But God's Word mentions the solar body more than 150 times throughout its pages. Perhaps most important biblical reference about the sun is the simple observation that God created it (Genesis 1:1, 14). Thus humanity has no valid reason to worship the flaming orb as some of the Israelites and other ancient peoples did (2 Kings 23:11; Ezekiel 8:16-17; see also Romans 1:25).
Sometimes the sun is mentioned in Scripture in the context of the 24-hour day. At other times it is used metaphorically. For instance, in the transfiguration account, depicting the glorified Jesus Christ in the Kingdom of God, His face shone like the sun (Matthew l7:2). In the book of Revelation describes the face of Christ as "the sun shining in its strength" (Revelation 1:16). The glory of God the Father and of Jesus Christ is declared to be greater and more enduring than sunlight (Revelation 21:23).
The apostle Paul even compares the resurrection of the righteous to the heavenly bodies in their glory, mentioning the sun in particular (1 Corinthians 15:40-44). The Hebrew Bible shows that these same righteous men and women "shall shine like the brightness of the firmament" (Daniel 12:3). Jesus Christ Himself said that "the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father" (Matthew 13:43).
If you would like to know more about the purpose of human life, please write for our free booklet What Is Your Destiny? from the office nearest you. GN
An Article from:
Good News Magazine: November - December 1998
Course Content
John Ross Schroeder
John died on March 8, 2014, in Oxford, England, four days after suffering cardiac arrest while returning home from a press event in London. John was 77 and still going strong.
Some of John's work for The Good News appeared under his byline, but much didn't. He wrote more than a thousand articles over the years, but also wrote the Questions and Answers section of the magazine, compiled our Letters From Our Readers, and wrote many of the items in the Current Events and Trends section. He also contributed greatly to a number of our study guides and Bible Study Course lessons. His writing has touched the lives of literally millions of people over the years.
John traveled widely over the years as an accredited journalist, especially in Europe. His knowledge of European and Middle East history added a great deal to his articles on history and Bible prophecy.
In his later years he also pastored congregations in Northern Ireland and East Sussex, and that experience added another dimension to his writing. He and his wife Jan were an effective team in our British Isles office near their home.
John was a humble servant who dedicated his life to sharing the gospel—the good news—of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to all the world, and his work was known to readers in nearly every country of the world.
