The Potter journal. [volume] (Coudersport, Pa.) 1857-1872, 1865-10-31
For the Potter journal.
Something About "Stars Falling

Something About "Stars Falling"
There is a sect of professed Christians,
not entirely of modern date, who seem to
pride themselves in unfolding those mys-
terious prophecies of Scripture calculated
to puzzle mole profouad theologians.
Adventists, for so they are called, during
the past centuries have fixed the time and
date when Christ would make bis second
appearance on this earth, and when time
must end. Whole communities have
been deluded; agriculture and business
of all sorts have been suspended to the
great detriment of Natures fondest de-
sires. Those fixed periods have come and
gone, and no Savior In their way yet.
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 hearen, and
the powers of heaven shall be shaken" :"
Matthew xiv. 29.
The prophecy "the stars shall fall from
heaven" was, they say, fulfilled in 1886,
and they predicate much upon the mete,
oric shower of that night. II so hap
pened that I witnessed that singular
phenomenon, and will here give des-
cription Of it, with pleasure too, as l have
heard so many false presentations.
| think it was in October. 1886, [ was
near the city of Elmlra, N. Y, travelling
towards that city from the north. The
sky was very bright, the atmosphere very
pure, and the stars shone with peculiur
brilliancy. Until past midnight nothing
unusual appeared. As is always seen on
bright starlight evening, occasionally a
meteor, commonly called a star, could be
seen falling or rather Streaking across the
horizon. At about two o'clock they were
going so fast that it was impossible to
count them, and l think they kept in-
creasing for an hour longer. when they
resembled, somewhat, large fakes of snow.
They emitted no light, and all went ex-
actly 10 the same direction i. G., from the
zenith to the west. Sometimes they dis.
appeared in the horizon. but were gener,
ally seen until lost behind the western
hills. Duringthe whore exhibition, which
lasted until obscured by sunlight, the
number of stars seen in the sky was not
diminished nor changed 10 the least. Il
was precisely what every person has seen
only instead of one at time falling. say
fifty, or hundred, and perhaps thou.
sand. Perhaps the same could be seen
any night, were the sky as clear and bright,
and very probably the same might be seen
at any hour of the day, had we the vision.
1t is one of Natures freaks and gambols
"The sun shall be darkened, and the
moon shall not give her light, and the
stars shall fall from the heavens" Thi:
is very 6gurative language. Change:
should occur in the governmeDt,and ruin
should fall upon the cities of the nation
that should be like the putting out of the
sun aad moon. Fifty years from the
time our Saviour spoke these words, the
complete extirpation of the Jewish peo
pie occurred. They were sold US as slaves
and utterly driven out from the land Of
their fathers. In the prophecy of Isaiah
xiii, 10, we find dthesame figures of speech
Speaking of the destruction of Babylon
he says. "For the stars of heaven and the
consultations thereof shall not give theil
light, the sun shall be darkened 10 hi;
going forth, and the moon shall not cause
her light to shine" The same can bt
found in Joel, having reference again tt
, the destruction of Jerusalem, and thei
! ecclesiastical aud civil state. The east
ern magi were mlrsculously led to Beth
lshem By meteoric light called star.