Volcano... NO.
Flaming falling stars...NO
Asteroid...NO.
God has defined stars in Revelation as Greek,
aggelos which actually means messengers. Not literal angels... or anything else. In Old Testament, the Hebrew for messengers is
mal'ak. For example:
Jamess 2:25
- "Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?"
Rahab received the messengers of Israel. She didn't receive the angels of Israel because that divinely inspired word
is messengers. Just as it is in the other places where it is found. Now there are different kinds of messengers, but they are
all still messengers. God is a messenger, Jesus is a messenger, and the Holy Spirit is a Messenger, but it doesn't change the word messenger. No matter how people insist on "
injecting" a Greek word into the Hebrew text in the Old Testament concerning these messengers, it doesn't change the divinely inspired Hebrew word messenger into man's opinion of it being an angelic being. And this is the exact same word changed to angel elsewhere, illustrating once again that the word elsewhere means messenger. That doesn't mean a being like the Lord, with supernatural abilities, cannot be a messenger (
since Christ is clearly called a messenger/angel), it means that Christ
is a Messenger coming with a message for God's people. Thus calling God or Jesus an angel (
as translators have done) is a misnomer. The very fact that they did this
Proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that translations are not infallible and that they are wrong.
Now back to the book of Revelation... God is talking about messengers of the church here. In Revelation 8:10-11 and 9:1-2, the fallen star represents the unfaithful church as messenger who is responsible for loosening Satan from the Bottomless pit because of her unfaithfulness! Likewise...
Rev 6:12-13
(12) And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
(13) And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
This passage is describing judgment upon the congregation—the true spiritual body, the Church. To understand this, we must compare Scripture with Scripture. In Revelation 12, the woman is portrayed with the sun, moon, and stars, which represent the covenant people of God. This establishes that these celestial signs are symbolic, not literal.
The “heaven” here points to the kingdom of heaven—the visible congregation under God’s authority. The “stars” within this heaven represent those who claim identification with that kingdom. As such, their falling signifies judgment.
These stars are not faithful believers, but false prophets, false christs, and professing Christians who were never truly part of the elect. Their “fall” is their removal—God casting them out of the kingdom as an act of divine judgment.
This mirrors what occurred at the Cross, Revelation 12:4 (see below) when God brought judgment upon the Old Testament congregation, exposing and removing the unbelieving leadership and those who only outwardly identified as His people.
In the same way, Revelation 6 reveals a spiritual judgment in which God purifies His New Testament congregation by casting out all who merely profess faith but do not truly belong.
Rev 12:4
(4) And
his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.
In this passage, the time in view is before Christ’s death, when the kingdom of heaven is identified with the Old Testament congregation—the corporate body of those under God’s covenant.
The “stars of heaven” represent the messengers within that congregation. This would include religious leaders such as the Pharisees, scribes, and all who professed to belong to God’s people outwardly.
The dragon’s action—drawing a third part of the stars and casting them to the earth—points to deception and spiritual. The "tail' signifies deception. This indicates that a portion of those identified with the congregation were led astray. The emphasis is not on literal stars, but on individuals within the covenant community.
At the same time, the distinction is important: not all are cast down. This implies that while many who merely professed faith fell because of unbelief, there remained a true body of believers who were not overcome.
Therefore, in Revelation, “stars” should not be understood as literal celestial objects, but as symbolic of messengers—those who represent or identify with the congregation. In some contexts, this can refer to leaders or teachers; in others, it may refer more broadly to the church itself as a witnessing body. Context determines the exact application, but the consistent theme is representation, not literalism.