Are we about to see a repeat of the meteor shower of 1833? Probably not. Meteor showers occur regularly each year and coincide with the passage of the earth through the orbit of a comet. The Leonid meteor shower normally exhibits around 10-20 meteors per hour over a period of six or seven days every year in November. However, every 33 years or so, when the orbit of the comet Temple Tuttle, which is associated with the Leonid showers, reaches its nearest point to the sun, more dramatic displays tend to be observed.
In 1966 people in the central states of America observed about 5000 meteors in a 20-minute period. The next large meteorite shower is expected on November 17 this year. Scientists, however, have cautioned that the 1998 orbital conditions of Temple Tuttle are not as good as they were in 1966, so the number of meteors is not expected to be as high as it was in 1966.
The greatest meteor shower in modern history took place over North America on the morning of November 13, 1833. This brilliant display of "failing stars" could be seen from the Atlantic seaboard all the way to California and from the Canadian border to the island of Jamaica.
One eyewitness described it as "a constant succession of fireballs, resembling skyrockets radiating in all directions from a point in the heavens near the zenith, and following the arch of the sky towards the horizon. They proceeded to various distances from the radiating point, leaving after them a vivid streak of light, and usually exploding before they disappeared" (R. M. Devens, One Hundred Great and Memorable Events).
Another observer estimated that no less than 240,000 meteors were visible at any one time (ibid). The next highest count of "failing stars" comes 100 years later, in 1933, when the Giacobinid shower produced 15,000 meteors per hour (Peter M. Millman, The Telescope, 7 [May-June 1940]).
Adventists who believe that the 1833 meteor shower was a fulfillment of prophecy have repeatedly been asked: How can an event in nature, especially a recurrent one, be regarded as a sigh, or fulfillment of prophecy? Their response has been that "the validity of the 'signs' (plural) is even strengthened by their repetition and distribution over various parts of the world. They cite as an example the unprecedented series of notable Leonid star showers, which included those seen in 1799 in South America and in 1832 and 1866 in Europe and parts of Asia and Africa, in addition to those seen in 1833 and 1867 in North America. The peak of this series was the incomparable shower of 1833." (D. Neufeld, Seventh-day Advcntist Student Source Book, page 414).
When Jesus, in Matthew 24, mentioned wars and earthquakes as signs of His coming, He knew that wars and earthquakes were to happen throughout history. Therefore, it isn't the occurrence that is the fulfillment, but the unprecedented size and, in the case of wars and earthquakes, the frequency of these events that are seen as the fulfillment of these signs.
Similarly, the Leonid shower of 1833 is counted as one fulfillment of Jesus' words in Matthew 24:29 because of the tremendous and singular size of the event.
People living in 1833 recognized this meteor shower as something extraordinary and exceptional. Impromptu prayer meetings were held, and people were imploring God to save the world and them.
Henry Dana Ward, an Episcopal minister who later became an associate of William Miller, wrote, "I called to my wife to behold: and while robing, she exclaimed, "See how the stars fall!" I replied, 'That is the wonder'; and we felt in our hearts that it was a sign of the last days. For, truly, 'the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken by a mighty wind'" (The New York Journal of Commerce, November 14, 1833).
No other meteor shower before or since has elicited these kinds of reactions from those observing them. While we cannot rule out an even greater meteor shower in the future, immediately prior to the second coming of Christ, the 1833 event can be seen as introducing the time of the end, which will culminate in the "glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13).
Gerhard Pfandl writes from Australia where he works as field secretary for the South Pacific Division.
