Hans Glaser records an event that took place around dawn on April 14th, 1561 AD. He states that, “many men and women saw an aerial battle out of the sun.” This strange celestial phenomena was followed by the appearance of a large black triangular object which resembled the tip of a spear. There were spheres that fell to earth and cylindrical objects that moved erratically in the sky above. The woodcut illustration that these events were engraved on show objects of various shapes and sizes, including crosses and two large crescents.
What had Hans and all the others seen that day? It’s still up for debate. Was it a meteor shower? Was it a Sun Dog? It’s not clear. However, it provides us with an interesting mystery that also serves as a spiritual reminder.
Hans Glaser certainly felt that this was a sign from God and that the community of old Nuremberg needed to turn from their sinful ways— but was it?
Scripture records some celestial phenomena that we can confidentially say were supernatural in their planning (Josh. 10.11-14, Lk. 23.44) but outside of that we must be careful not to attribute what we don’t understand to an purposeful act of heaven. After all, it could be a rare but natural occurrence. It could be a misidentification or misinterpretation and we shouldn’t forget how human we all are. If God directly tells us through His word, we can trust it. If it’s not inspired, but claims things with great spiritual consequences— careful.
It’s far too easy for us to wrongly interpret even the scriptures we have to try and make sense of the world around us. While there are relevant passages that shed light on the modern age, the faithful should take to heart the command to Timothy (2 Tim. 2.15) and handle God’s book with great respect humility. There’s so much we don’t know, but we can be confident in that we serve a God who knows all.
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