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In considering such phenomena, it should be noted that comets appear periodically and that not every comet heralds a Prophet or even an auspicious event. Scientists class comets in various categories of size and in orbits of different lengths of time. Presently, there are believed to be about 450 comets in orbit within our solar system, some taking as long as two million years to complete their circuits. There are sixteen comets that are in the same class as Halley's Comet and which return in less than two hundred years. (116:1) Therefore, the significance of such 'signs' does not lie in the material reality of the comets themselves but in what they symbolize. This holds equally true for planetary configurations and novae. In other words, comets or stars are further visible metaphors for spiritual realities. They are used in Scripture metaphorically to signify the appearance of a divine Star in the spiritual heaven of guidance (i.e. religion). By pointing out such phenomena in the visible heaven, Scripture suggests the special and periodic occurrence of a unique Messenger from 'heaven'.
(116:2)
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