When man first looked up at the heavens he observed that most of the stars never moved from their relative positions. In fact he was able to give certain groups of stars, called constellations, names such as Orion, Cassiopeia, Pegasus, Andromeda, and Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. But he also noticed that there were some stars that moved across the starry sky, and he called these movable stars. There were some of these movable stars that kept returning and there were others that appeared and then mysteriously disappeared never to be seen again. We now know that these recurring movable stars follow definite paths which can be expressed mathematically. They have elliptical orbits around the sun and are called planets, planetoids, asteroids, and comets. Those that appear and disappear follow open-ended curves such as parabolas or hyperbolas.
Planetary orbits are almost circular while the orbits of asteroids and comets are much more elongated or eccentric, but they all revolve around the sun in a predictable and orderly way. Asteroids and some comets are originally from what is called the "asteroid belt" located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Some astronomers believe that they are the remnants of a former planet that at some time in the past was torn apart by the gravitational fields of Mars or Jupiter or some other unknown cause. Some theologians have speculated that this occurred 120 years before the Noachian flood, and that God aimed one of the big chunks of debris at earth. At least we do know that some of those big pieces of rock and ice have been yanked out of their normal location and are now in independent orbits around the sun. Sometimes one of them comes close to earth, and there is growing concern that someday one will impact the earth with catastrophic consequences. There are some heavenly objects, however, that are not a part of our solar system but come from outer space. These come into the sun's gravitational field, whip around the sun, and then depart, never to be seen again. These are wandering stars that visit our solar system and then are destined to the blackness of outer space.
The Bible calls some people wandering stars. Jude described them as people who reject all authority and even insult angels; they are like senseless animals that are destroyed because they live only by their own feelings; they have followed Cain's example and made the same mistake that Balaam did by caring only for money; they have rebelled against God, just as Korah did; they are filthy minded; they are like clouds without rain; they are like leafless trees, uprooted and dead; they are like wandering stars forever doomed to the dark pit of hell (Jude 8-13, CEV). God forbid that any of us reject the light of God's presence and become "wandering stars."
