The Witness of the Stars
By The
Rev. Ethelbert William Bullinger, D.D.
“_HE telleth the number of the stars;_
_He giveth them all their names._” (Ps. cxlvii. 4. R.V.)
Published by the Author
London
1893
CONTENTS
Preface.
Introduction.
The First Book. The Redeemer.
Chapter I. The Sign VIRGO.
1. COMA (The Woman and Child).
2. CENTAURUS (The Centaur).
3. BOÖTES (The Coming One).
Chapter II. The Sign LIBRA.
1. CRUX (The Cross).
2. LUPUS or VICTIMA (The Victim).
3. CORONA (The Crown).
Chapter III. The Sign SCORPIO.
1 and 2. SERPENS and OPHIUCHUS.
3. HERCULES (The Mighty Man).
Chapter IV. The Sign SAGITTARIUS.
1. LYRA (The Harp).
2. ARA (The Altar).
3. DRACO (The Dragon).
The Second Book. The Redeemed.
Chapter I. The Sign CAPRICORNUS (The Sea Goat).
1. SAGITTA (The Arrow).
2. AQUILA (The Eagle).
3. DELPHINUS (The Dolphin).
Chapter II. The Sign AQUARIUS (The Water Bearer).
1. PISCIS AUSTRALIS (The Southern Fish).
2. PEGASUS (The Winged Horse).
3. CYGNUS (The Swan).
Chapter III. The Sign PISCES (The Fishes).
1. THE BAND.
2. ANDROMEDA (The Chained Woman).
3. CEPHEUS (The King).
Chapter IV. The Sign ARIES (The Ram or Lamb).
1. CASSIOPEIA (The Enthroned Woman).
2. CETUS (The Sea Monster).
3. PERSEUS (“The Breaker.”)
The Third Book. The Redeemer.
Chapter I. The Sign TAURUS (The Bull).
1. ORION (The Coming Prince).
2. ERIDANUS (The River of the Judge).
3. AURIGA (The Shepherd).
Chapter II. The Sign GEMINI (The Twins).
1. LEPUS (the Hare), THE ENEMY.
2. CANIS MAJOR (The Dog), or SIRIUS (The Prince).
3. CANIS MINOR (The Second Dog).
Chapter III. The Sign CANCER (The Crab).
1. URSA MINOR (The Little Bear).
2. URSA MAJOR (The Great Bear).
3. ARGO (The Ship).
Chapter IV. The Sign LEO (The Lion).
1. HYDRA (The Serpent).
2. CRATER (The Cup).
3. CORVUS (The Raven).
Summary.
“For Signs And For Seasons.”
Appendix. Note on the Sign LIBRA.
Footnotes
[Cover Art]
[Transcribers Note: This e‐book contains countless special symbols, and
characters from uncommon character sets. If you see unrenderable
characters, you may need to change to a font that has the needed Unicode
blocks. It uses these uncommon character sets: Greek (Unicode U+0370
through U+03FF), Greek Extended (U+1F00 through U+1FFF), Hebrew (U+0590
through U+05FF), and Miscellaneous Symbols (U+2600 through U+26FF). Hebrew
pointings and Greek markings are as provided in the original book, and
some differ from the usual pointings and markings for those words.]
PREFACE.
Some years ago it was my privilege to enjoy the acquaintance of Miss
Frances Rolleston, of Keswick, and to carry on a correspondence with her
with respect to her work, _Mazzaroth: or, the Constellations_. She was the
first to create an interest in this important subject. Since then Dr.
Seiss, of Philadelphia, has endeavoured to popularize her work on the
other side of the Atlantic; and brief references have been made to the
subject in such books as _Moses and Geology_, by Dr. Kinns, and in
_Primeval Man_; but it was felt, for many reasons, that it was desirable
to make another effort to set forth, in a more complete form, the _witness
of the stars to prophetic truth_, so necessary in these last days.
To the late Miss Rolleston, however, belongs the honour of collecting a
mass of information bearing on this subject; but, published as it was,
chiefly in the form of _notes_, unarranged and unindexed, it was suited
only for, but was most valuable to, the student. She it was who performed
the drudgery of collecting the facts presented by Albumazer, the Arab
astronomer to the Caliphs of Grenada, 850 A.D.; and the Tables drawn up by
Ulugh Beigh, the Tartar prince and astronomer, about 1450 A.D., who gives
the Arabian Astronomy as it had come down from the earliest times.
Modern astronomers have preserved, and still have in common use, the
ancient names of over a hundred of the principal stars which have been
handed down; but now these names are used merely as a convenience, and
without any reference to their significance.
This work is an attempt to popularize this ancient information, and to use
it in the interests of truth.
For the ancient astronomical facts and the names, with their
signification, I am, from the very nature of the case, indebted, of
course, to all who have preserved, collected, and handed them down; but
for their interpretation I am alone responsible.
It is for the readers to judge how far my conclusions are borne out by the
evidence; and how far the foundation of our hopes of coming glory are
strengthened by the prophecies which have been written in the stars of
heaven, as well as in the Scriptures of truth.
For the illustrations I am greatly indebted to Jamieson’s _Celestial
Atlas_, 1820; Flammarion’s _L’Étoiles_; Sir John W. Lubbock’s _Stars in
Six Maps_, 1883; and to the late Mr. Edward J. Cooper’s _Egyptian
Scenery_, 1820. For the general presentation and arrangement of the
Constellations I am responsible, while for the drawings my thanks are due
to my friend Miss Amy Manson.
It is the possession of “that blessed hope” of Christ’s speedy return from
Heaven which will give true interest in the great subject of this book.
No one can dispute the antiquity of the Signs of the Zodiac, or of the
Constellations. No one can question the accuracy of the ancient star‐names
which have come down to us, for they are still preserved in every good
celestial atlas. And we hope that no one will be able to resist the
cumulative evidence that, apart from God’s grace in Christ there is no
hope for sinners now: and apart from God’s glory, as it will be manifested
in the return of Christ from Heaven, there is no hope for the Church, no
hope for Israel, no hope for the world, no hope for a groaning creation.
In spite of all the vaunted promises of a religious World, and of a
worldly Church, to remove the effects of the curse by a Social Gospel of
Sanitation, we are more and more shut up to the prophecy of Gen. iii. 15,
which we wait and long to see fulfilled in Christ as our only hope. This
is beautifully expressed by the late Dr. William Leask:—
And is there none before? No perfect peace
Unbroken by the storms and cares of life,
Until the time of waiting for Him cease,
By His appearing to destroy the strife?
No, none before.
Do we not hear that through the flag of grace
By faithful messengers of God unfurled,
All men will be converted, and the place
Of man’s rebellion be a holy world?
Yes, so we hear.
Is it not true that to the Church is given
The holy honour of dispelling night,
And bringing back the human race to heaven,
By kindling everywhere the Gospel light?
It is not true.
Is this the hope—that Christ the Lord will come,
In all the glory of His royal right,
Redeemer and Avenger, taking home
His saints, and crushing the usurper’s might?
This is the hope.
May the God of all grace accept and bless this effort to show forth His
glory, and use it to strengthen His people in waiting for His Son from
Heaven, even Jesus which delivered us from the wrath to come.
Ethelbert W. Bullinger.
_August 31st, 1893._
INTRODUCTION.
For more than two thousand five hundred years the world was without a
written revelation from God. The question is, Did God leave Himself
without a witness? The question is answered very positively by the written
Word that He did not. In Rom. i. 19 it is declared that, “that which may
be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them. For
the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly
seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power
and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.” But how was God known? How
were His “invisible things,” _i.e._, His plans, His purposes, and His
counsels, known since the creation of the world? We are told by the Holy
Spirit in Rom. x. 18. Having stated in _v._ 17 that “Faith cometh by
hearing and hearing by the Word (ῥήμα, _the thing spoken_, _sayings_) of
God,” He asks, “But I say, Have they not heard? Yes, verily.” And we may
ask, How have they heard? The answer follows—“Their sound went into all
the earth (γή) and their words (ῥήματα, _their teaching_, _message_,
_instruction_) unto the ends of the world (οἰκουμένη).” What words? What
instruction? Whose message? Whose teaching? There is only one answer, and
that is, THE HEAVENS! This is settled by the fact that the passage is
quoted from Ps. xix., the first part of which is occupied with the
Revelation of God written in _the Heavens_, and the latter part with the
Revelation of God written in the _Word_.
This is the simple explanation of this beautiful Psalm. This is why its
two subjects are brought together. It has often perplexed many why there
should be that abrupt departure in verse 7—“The law of the Lord is
perfect, converting the soul.” The fact is, there is nothing abrupt in it,
and it is no departure. It is simply the transition to the second of the
two great Revelations which are thus placed in juxtaposition. The first is
the Revelation of the Creator, _El_, אֵל, in His _works_, while the second
is the Revelation of the Covenant Jehovah, יְהוָה, in His _Word_. And it
is noteworthy that while in the first half of the Psalm, _El_ is named
only once, in the latter half _Jehovah_ is named _seven_ times, the last
being threefold (Jehovah, Rock, and Redeemer), concluding the Psalm.
Let us then turn to Ps. xix., and note first—
The Structure(1) of the Psalm as a whole.
A | 1‐4‐. The Heavens.
B | ‐4‐6. “In them” (בָּהֶם) the Sun.
A | 7‐10. The Scriptures.
B | 11‐14. “In them” (בָּהֶם) Thy Servant.
In the _Key to the Psalms_, p. 17, it is pointed out that the terms
employed in _A_ and _B_ are _astronomical_,(2) while in A and B they are
_literary_. Thus the two parts are significantly connected and united.
Ewald and others imagine that this Psalm is made up of two fragments of
separate Psalms composed at different periods and brought together by a
later editor!
But this is disproved not only by what has been said concerning the
structure of the Psalm as a whole, and the interlacing of the astronomical
and the literary terms in the two parts, but it is also shown by more
minute details.
Each half consists of two portions which correspond the one to the other,
A answering to _A_, and B to _B_. Moreover, each half, as well as each
corresponding member, consists of the same number of lines; those in the
first half being, by the _cæsura_, short, while those in the last half are
long (or double).
A | 1‐4‐. Eight lines
B | ‐4‐6. Six lines
_A_ | 7‐10. Eight lines
_B_ | 11‐14. Six lines
If we confine ourselves to the first half of the Psalm(3) (A and B, verses
1‐6), with which we are now alone concerned, we see a still more minute
proof of Divine order and perfection.
The Structure of A and B.
A & B | C | 1. The heavens.
| D | 2. Their testimony: incessant. (Pos.)
| E | 3. Their words inaudible. (Neg.)
| _D_ | 4‐. Their testimony: universal. (Pos.)
| _C_ | ‐4‐6. The heavens.
Here we have an _introversion_, in which the extremes (C and _C_) are
occupied with the _heavens_; while the means (D, E and _D_) are occupied
with their testimony.
The following is the full expansion of the above, with original
emendations which preserve the _order_ of the Hebrew words and thus
indicate the nature of the structure:—
C | a | The heavens
b | are telling(4)
c | the glory(5) of God:
_c_ | and the work of his hands
_b_ | is setting forth(6)
_a_ | the firmament.
D | d | Day after day(7)
e | uttereth(8) speech,
_d_ | And night after night
_e_ | sheweth knowledge.
E | f | There is no speech (what is articulate)
g | and there are no words (what is audible);
_g_ | and without being audible,
_f_ | is their voice (what is articulate).
_D_ | h | Into all the earth (as created)
i | is their line(9) gone forth;
_h_ | And into the ends of the world (as inhabited)
_i_ | Their sayings.
C | j | For the sun He hath set a tent (an abode) in them;
_k_ | l | and he as a bridegroom (comparison)
m | is going forth from his canopy, (motion: its rising)
_l_ | he rejoiceth as a mighty one (comparison)
_m_ | to run his course. (Motion: its rapid course.)
_k_ | n | from the end of the heavens (egress)
o | is his going forth (egress)
_o_ | and his revolution (regress)
_n_ | unto their ends (regress):
_j_ | and there is nothing hid from his heat (_i.e._, from
him)(10)
Surely there is something more referred to here than a mere wonder excited
by the works of the Creator! When we read the whole passage and mark its
structure, and note the words employed, we are emphatically told that the
heavens contain a revelation from God; they prophesy, they show knowledge,
they tell of God’s glory, and set forth His purposes and counsels.
It is a remarkable fact that it is in the Book of Job, which is generally
allowed to be the oldest book in the Bible,(11) if not in the world, that
we have references to this Stellar Revelation. This would be at least
2,000 years before Christ. In that book the signs of the Zodiac and the
names of several stars and constellations are mentioned, as being ancient
and well‐known.
In Isa. xl. 26 (R.V.) we read:—
“Lift up your eyes on high,
And see who hath created these,
That bringeth out their host by number:
He calleth them all by name;
By the greatness of His might,
And for that He is strong in power,
Not one is lacking.”
We have the same evidence in Psalm cxlvii. 4. (R.V.)
“He telleth the number of the stars;
He giveth them all their names.”
Here is a distinct and Divine declaration that the great Creator both
_numbered_ as well as _named_ the stars of Heaven.
The question is, Has he revealed any of these names? Have any of them been
handed down to us?
The answer is Yes; and that in the Bible itself we have the names (so
ancient that their meaning is a little obscure) of _Ash_ (עָשׁ, a name
still connected with the Great Bear), _Cesil_ (כְּסִיל), and _Cimah_
(כִּימָה).
They occur in Job ix. 9: “Which maketh Arcturus (R.V. _the Bear_), Orion,
and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south.” (Marg., Heb., _Ash_,
_Cesil_, and _Cimah_.)
Job xxxviii. 31, 32: “Canst thou bind the sweet influences (R.V. cluster)
of the Pleiades (marg., _the __ seven stars_, Heb. _Cimah_), or loose the
bands of Orion (marg. Heb. _Cesil_)? Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth
(marg., _the twelve signs_. R.V., ‘the twelve signs’: and marg., _the
signs of the Zodiac_) in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his
sons (R.V., the Bear with her train; and marg., Heb., _sons_).”(12)
Isa. xiii. 10: ... “The stars of heaven and the constellations thereof.”
...
Amos v. 8: “Seek him that maketh the seven stars (R.V., the Pleiades) and
Orion.”
Then we have the term “Mazzaroth,” Job xxxviii. 32, and “Mazzaloth,” 2
Kings xxiii. 5. The former in both versions is referred to the Twelve
Signs of the Zodiac, while the latter is rendered “planets,” and in
margin, _the twelve signs or constellations_.
Others are referred to by name. The sign of “Gemini,” or the Twins, is
given as the name of a ship: Acts xxviii. 11, Διόσκουροι, (_i.e._ Castor &
Pollux).
Most commentators agree that the constellation of “Draco,” or the Dragon
(between the Great and Little Bear), is referred to in Job xxvi. 13: “By
His Spirit He hath garnished the heavens; His hand hath formed the crooked
serpent (R.V. swift. Marg. _fleeing_ or _gliding_. See Is. xxvii. 1;
xliii. 14).” This word “garnished” is peculiar. The R.V. puts in the
margin, _beauty_. In Ps. xvi. 6, it is rendered _goodly_. “I have a goodly
heritage.” In Dan. iv. 2, it is rendered, “I thought it good to show,”
referring to “the signs and wonders” with which God had visited
Nebuchadnezzar. It appears from this that God “_thought it good to show_”
by these signs written in the heavens the wonders of His purposes and
counsels, and it was by His Spirit that He made it known; it was His hand
that _coiled_ (חוּל) the crooked serpent among the stars of heaven.
Thus we see that the Scriptures are not silent as to the great antiquity
of the signs and constellations.
If we turn to history and tradition, we are at once met with the fact that
the Twelve Signs are the same, both as to the meaning of their names and
as to their order _in all the ancient nations of the world_. The Chinese,
Chaldean, and Egyptian records go back to more than 2,000 years B.C.
Indeed, the Zodiacs in the Temples of Denderah and Esnéh, in Egypt, are
doubtless copies of Zodiacs still more ancient, which, from internal
evidence, must be placed nearly 4,000 B.C., when the summer solstice was
in Leo.
Josephus hands down to us what he gives as the traditions of his own
nation, corroborated by his reference to eight ancient Gentile
authorities, whose works are lost. He says that they all assert that “God
gave the antediluvians such long life that they might perfect those things
which they had invented in astronomy.” Cassini commences his _History of
Astronomy_ by saying “It is impossible to doubt that astronomy was
invented from the beginning of the world; history, profane as well as
sacred, testifies to this truth.” Nouet, a French astronomer, infers that
the Egyptian Astronomy must have arisen 5,400 B.C.!
Ancient Persian and Arabian traditions ascribe its invention to Adam,
Seth, and Enoch. Josephus asserts that it originated in the family of
Seth; and he says that the children of Seth, and especially Adam, Seth,
and Enoch, that their revelation might not be lost as to the two coming
judgments of Water and Fire, made two pillars (one of brick, the other of
stone), describing the whole of the predictions of the stars upon them,
and in case the brick pillar should be destroyed by the flood, the stone
would preserve the revelation (Book i. chs. 1‐3).
This is what is doubtless meant by Gen. xi. 4, “And they said, Go to, let
us build us a city and a tower whose top _may reach_ unto heaven.” The
words “_may reach_” are in italics. There is nothing in the verse which
relates to the height of this tower. It merely says וְרֹאשׁוֹ בַשָּׁמַיִם,
_and his top with the heavens_, _i.e._ with the pictures and the stars,
just as we find them in the ancient temples of Denderah and Esnéh in
Egypt. This tower, with its planisphere and pictures of the signs and
constellations, was to be erected like those temples were afterwards, in
order to preserve the revelation, “lest we be scattered abroad upon the
face of the whole earth.”
This is corroborated by Lieut.‐Gen. Chesney, well known for his learned
researches and excavations among the ruins of Babylon, who, after
describing his various discoveries, says,(13) “About five miles S.W. of
Hillah, the most remarkable of all the ruins, the _Birs Nimroud_ of the
Arabs, rises to a height of 153 feet above the plain from a base covering
a square of 400 feet, or almost four acres. It was constructed of kiln‐
dried bricks in seven stages to correspond with the planets to which they
were dedicated: the lowermost black, the colour of Saturn; the next
orange, for Jupiter; the third red, for Mars; and so on.(14) These stages
were surmounted by a lofty tower on the summit of which, we are told, were
the signs of the Zodiac and other astronomical figures; thus having (as it
should have been translated) _a representation of the heavens_, instead of
‘a top which reached unto heaven.’ ”
This Biblical evidence carries us at once right back to the Flood, or
about 2,500 years B.C.
This tower or temple, or both, was also called “_The Seven Spheres_,”
according to some; and “The Seven Lights,” according to others. It is thus
clear that the popular idea of its height and purpose must be abandoned,
and its astronomical reference to revelation must be admitted. The tower
was an attempt to preserve and hand down the antediluvian traditions;
their sin was in keeping together instead of scattering themselves over
the earth.
Another important statement is made by Dr. Budge, of the British
Museum.(15) He says, “It must never be forgotten that the Babylonians were
a nation of star‐gazers, and that they kept a body of men to do nothing
else but report eclipses, appearances of the moon, sun‐spots, etc., etc.”
“Astronomy, mixed with astrology, occupied a large number of tablets in
the Babylonian libraries, and Isaiah, xlvii. 13, refers to this when he
says to Babylon, ‘Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let
now thy astrologers (marg. _viewers of the heavens_), the star‐gazers, the
monthly prognosticators stand up.’ The largest astrological work of the
Babylonians contained seventy tablets, and was compiled by the command of
Sargon of Agade thirty‐eight hundred years before Christ! It was called
the ‘Illumination of Bel.’ ”
“Their observations were made in towers called ‘ziggurats’ ” (p. 106).
“They built observatories in all the great cities, and reports like the
above [which Dr. Budge gives in full] were regularly sent to the King” (p.
110).
“They were able to calculate eclipses, and had long lists of them.” “They
found out that the sun was spotted, and they knew of comets.” “They were
the inventors of the Zodiac” (?). There are fragments of two (ancient
Babylonian) planispheres in the British Museum with figures and
calculations inscribed upon them. “The months were called after the signs
of the Zodiac” (p. 109).
We may form some idea of what this “representation of the heavens” was
from the fifth “Creation Tablet,” now in the British Museum. It reads as
follows:—
“Anu [_the Creator_] made excellent the mansions [_i.e._ _the
celestial houses_] of the great gods [twelve] in number [_i.e._
_the twelve signs or mansions of the sun_].
The stars he placed in them. The lumasi [_i.e._ _groups of stars
or figures_] he fixed.
He arranged the year according to the bounds [_i.e._ _the twelve
signs_] which he defined.
For each of the twelve months three rows of stars [_i.e._
_constellations_] he fixed.
From the day when the year issues forth unto the close, he marked
the mansions [_i.e._ _the Zodiacal Signs_] of the wandering stars
[_i.e._ _planets_] to know their courses that they might not err
or deflect at all.”
Coming down to less ancient records: EUDOXOS, an astronomer of Cnidus (403
to 350 B.C.), wrote a work on Astronomy which he called _Phainomena_.
ANTIGONUS GONATAS, King of Macedonia (273‐239 B.C.), requested the Poet
ARATUS to put the work of EUDOXUS into the form of a poem, which he did
about the year 270 B.C. ARATUS called his work _Diosemeia (the Divine
Signs)_. He was a native of Tarsus, and it is interesting for us to note
that his poem was known to, and, indeed, must have been read by, the
Apostle Paul, for he quotes it in his address at Athens on Mars’ Hill. He
says (Acts xvii. 28), “For in Him we live, and move, and have our being;
as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his
offspring.”(16) Several translations of this poem have been made, both by
CICERO and others, into Latin, and in recent times into English by E.
Poste, J. Lamb, and others. The following is the opening from the
translation of Robert Brown, jun.:—
“From Zeus we lead the strain; he whom mankind
Ne’er leave unhymned: of Zeus all public ways,
All haunts of men, are full; and full the sea,
And harbours; and of Zeus all stand in need.
_We are his offspring_:(17) and he, ever good and mild to man,
Gives favouring signs, and rouses us to toil.
Calling to mind life’s wants: when clods are best
For plough and mattock: when the time is ripe
For planting vines and sowing seeds, he tells,
Since he himself hath fixed in heaven these Signs,
The stars dividing: and throughout the year
Stars he provides to indicate to man
The seasons’ course, that all things duly grow,” etc., etc.
Then ARATUS proceeds to describe and explain all the Signs and
Constellations as the Greeks in his day understood, or rather
misunderstood, them, after their true meaning and testimony had been
forgotten.
Moreover, ARATUS describes them, not as they were seen in his day, but as
they were seen some 4,000 years before. The stars were not seen from
Tarsus as he describes them, and he must therefore have written from a
then ancient Zodiac. For notwithstanding that we speak of “fixed stars,”
there is a constant, though slow, change taking place amongst them. There
is also another change taking place owing to the slow recession of the
pole of the heavens (about 50" in the year); so that while _Alpha_ in the
constellation of _Draco_ was the Polar Star when the Zodiac was first
formed, the Polar Star is now _Alpha_ in what is called _Ursa Minor_. This
change alone carries us back at least 5,000 years. The same movement which
has changed the relative position of these two stars has also caused the
constellation of the _Southern Cross_ to become invisible in northern
latitudes. When the constellations were formed the _Southern Cross_ was
visible in N. latitude 40°, and was included in their number. But, though
known by tradition, it had not been seen in that latitude for some twenty
centuries, until the Cape of Good Hope had been discovered. Then was seen
again _The Southern Cross_ depicted by the Patriarchs. Here is another
indisputable proof as to the antiquity of the formation of the Zodiac.
PTOLEMY (150 A.D.) transmits them from HÏPPARCHUS (130 B.C.) “as of
unquestioned authority, unknown origin, and unsearchable antiquity.”
Sir William Drummond says that “the traditions of the Chaldean Astronomy
seem the fragments of a mighty system fallen into ruins.”
The word _Zodiac_ itself is from the Greek Ζωδιακός, which is not from
Ζάω, _to live_, but from a primitive root through the Hebrew _Sodi_, which
in Sanscrit means _a way_. Its etymology has no connection with _living
creatures_, but denotes _a way_, or _step_, and is used of the _way_ or
_path_ in which the sun appears to move amongst the stars in the course of
the year.
To an observer on the earth the whole firmament, together with the sun,
appears to revolve in a circle once in twenty‐four hours. But the time
occupied by the stars in going round, differs from the time occupied by
the sun. This difference amounts to about one‐twelfth part of the whole
circle in each month, so that when the circle of the heavens is divided up
into twelve parts, the sun appears to move each month through one of them.
This path which the sun thus makes amongst the stars is called the
_Ecliptic_.(18)
Each of these twelve parts (consisting each of about 30 degrees) is
distinguished, not by numbers or by letters, but by pictures and names,
and this, as we have seen, from the very earliest times. They are
preserved to the present day in our almanacs, and we are taught their
order in the familiar rhymes:—
“The RAM, the BULL, the heavenly TWINS,
And next the CRAB, the LION shines,
The VIRGIN and the SCALES;
The SCORPION, ARCHER, and SEA‐GOAT,
The MAN that carries the Water‐pot,
And FISH with glittering scales.”
These signs have always and everywhere been preserved in this order, and
have begun with ARIES. They have been known amongst all nations, and in
all ages, thus proving their common origin from one source.
The figures themselves are perfectly arbitrary. There is nothing in the
groups of stars to even suggest the figures. This is the first thing which
is noticed by every one who looks at the constellations. Take for example
the sign of VIRGO, and look at the stars. There is nothing whatever to
suggest a human form; still less is there anything to show whether that
form is a man or a woman. And so with all the others.
The _picture_, therefore, is the original, and must have been drawn around
or connected with certain stars, simply in order that it might be
identified and associated with them; and that it might thus be remembered
and handed down to posterity.
There can be no doubt, as the learned Authoress of _Mazzaroth_
conclusively proves, that these signs were afterwards identified with the
twelve sons of Jacob. Joseph sees the sun and moon and eleven stars bowing
down to him, he himself being the twelfth (Gen. xxxvii. 9). The blessing
of Jacob (Gen. xlix.) and the blessing of Moses (Deut. xxxiii.) both bear
witness to the existence of these signs in their day. And it is more than
probable that each of the Twelve Tribes bore one of them on its standard.
We read in Num. ii. 2, “Every man of the children of Israel shall pitch by
his own STANDARD, with the ENSIGN of their father’s house” (R.V. “with the
ensigns of their fathers’ houses”). This “Standard” was the _Degel_
(דֶגֶל) on which the “Sign” (אוֹת, _Oth_) was depicted. Hence it was
called the “_En‐sign_.” Ancient Jewish authorities declare that each tribe
had one of the signs as its own, and it is highly probable, even from
Scripture, that four of the tribes carried its “Sign”; and that these four
were placed at the four sides of the camp.
If the Lion were appropriated to Judah, then the other three would be thus
fixed, and would be the same four that equally divide the Zodiac at its
four cardinal points. According to Num. ii. the camp was thus formed:—
In the North, from North‐West to North‐East:
ASHER (_Sagittarius_).
DAN, The Scorpion (_Scorpio_).
NEPHTALI (_Capricornus_).
In the East, from North‐East to South‐East:
ISSACHAR (_Cancer_).
JUDAH, The Lion (_Leo_).
ZEBULON (_Virgo_).
In the South, from South‐East to South‐West:
SIMEON (_Pisces_).
REUBEN, The Man (_Aquarius_).
GAD (_Aries_).
In the West, from South‐West to North‐West:
EPHRAIM and MANASSEH, The Bull (the two horns of _Taurus_).
BENJAMIN (_Gemini_).
In the Center:
LEVI, The Scales (_Libra_).
If the reader compares the above with the blessings of Israel and Moses,
and compares the meanings and descriptions given below with those
blessings, the connection will be clearly seen. Levi, for example, had no
standard, and he needed none, for he kept “the balance of the Sanctuary,”
and had the charge of that brazen altar on which the atoning blood
outweighed the nation’s sins.
The four great signs which thus marked the four sides of the camp, and the
four quarters of the Zodiac, are the same four which form the Cherubim
(the Eagle, the Scorpion’s enemy, being substituted for the Scorpion). The
Cherubim thus form a compendious expression of the hope of Creation,
which, from the very first, has been bound up with the Coming One, who
alone should cause its groanings to cease.
But this brings us to the Signs themselves and their interpretation.
These pictures were designed to preserve, expound, and perpetuate the one
first great promise and prophecy of Gen. iii. 15, that all hope for Man,
all hope for Creation, was bound up in _a coming Redeemer_; One who should
be born of a woman; who should first suffer, and afterwards gloriously
triumph; One who should first be wounded by that great enemy who was the
cause of all sin and sorrow and death, but who should finally crush the
head of “that Old Serpent the Devil.”
These ancient star‐pictures reveal this Coming One. They set forth “the
sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow.” Altogether there
are forty‐eight of them, made up of twelve SIGNS, each sign containing
three CONSTELLATIONS.
These may be divided into _three_ great books, each book containing four
chapters (or Signs); and each chapter containing three sections (or
Constellations).
Each book (like the four Gospels) sets forth its peculiar aspect of the
Coming One; beginning with the promise of His coming, and ending with the
destruction of the enemy.
But where are we to _begin_ to read this wondrous Heavenly Scroll? A
circle has proverbially neither beginning nor end. In what order then are
we to consider these signs? In the heavens they form a never‐ending
circle. Where is the beginning and where is the end of this circle through
which the sun is constantly moving? Where are we to break into this
circle? and say, _This is the commencement_. It is clear that unless we
can determine this original starting point we can never read this wondrous
book aright.
As I have said, the popular beginning to‐day is with ARIES, _the_ Ram. But
comparing this Revelation with that which was afterwards written “in the
Volume of the Book,” VIRGO is the only point where we can intelligently
begin, and LEO is the only point where we can logically conclude. Is not
this what is spoken of as the unknown and insoluble mystery—“The riddle of
the SPHINX”? The word “Sphinx” is from σφίγγω, _to bind closely together_.
It was therefore designed to show where the two ends of the Zodiac were to
be joined together, and where the great circle of the heavens begins and
ends.
[Ceiling of Portico of Temple of Esneh]
Signs of Leo and Virgo, from the ceiling of the Portico of the Temple of
Esneh, showing the Sphinx between, uniting the beginning and end of the
Zodiac.
The SPHINX is a figure with the _head of a woman_ and the _body of a
lion_! What is this but a never‐ceasing monitor, telling us to begin with
_Virgo_ and to end with _Leo_! In the Zodiac in the Temple of Esnéh, in
Egypt, a Sphinx is actually placed between the Signs of Virgo and Leo, as
shown in the illustration on the preceding page. It is a tracing from the
drawing of Signor Bossi, executed on the spot, under the direction of the
late Mr. Edward J. Cooper, in 1820.
Beginning, then, with VIRGO, let us now spread out the contents of this
Heavenly Volume, so that the eye can take them in at a glance. Of course
we are greatly hindered in this, in having to use the modern Latin names
which the Constellations bear to‐day.(19) Some of these names are
mistakes, others are gross perversions of the truth, as proved by the
pictures themselves, which are far more ancient, and have come down to us
from primitive times.
After the Revelation came to be written down in the Scriptures, there was
not the same need for the preservation of the Heavenly Volume. And after
the nations had lost the original meaning of the pictures, they invented a
meaning out of the vain imagination of the thoughts of their hearts. The
Greek Mythology is an interpretation of (only some of) the signs and
constellations after their true meaning had been forgotten. It is
popularly believed that Bible truth is an evolution from, or development
of, the ancient religions of the world. But the fact is that they
themselves are a _corruption_ and _perversion of primitive truth_!
We will now give _the contents_ of this Heavenly Volume of Divine
Revelation, and afterwards proceed to develope it, explain it in detail,
and compare it with the same truth which was afterwards written down in
the Scriptures.
The First Book.
THE REDEEMER.
(HIS FIRST COMING.)
“The Sufferings of Christ.”
CHAPTER I.
THE PROPHECY OF THE PROMISED SEED OF THE WOMAN.
VIRGO (_The Virgin. A woman bearing a branch in her right hand and
an ear of corn in her left_). The Promised Seed of the woman.
§ 1. COMA (_The Desired. The woman and child_). The Desired of all
nations.
§ 2. CENTAURUS (_The Centaur with two natures, holding a spear
piercing a victim_). The despised sin offering.
§ 3. BOÖTES (_a man walking bearing a branch called_ ARCTURUS,
_meaning the same_). He cometh.
CHAPTER II.
THE REDEEMER’S ATONING WORK.
LIBRA (_The Scales_). The price deficient balanced by the price
which covers.
§ 1. CRUX, The Cross endured.
§ 2. LUPUS, or VICTIMA, _The Victim_ slain.
§ 3. CORONA, _The Crown_ bestowed.
CHAPTER III.
THE REDEEMER’S CONFLICT.
SCORPIO (_The Scorpion_) seeking to wound, but itself trodden
under foot.
§ 1. SERPENS (_The Serpent_ struggling with the man).
§ 2. O‐PHI‐U‐CHUS (_The man_ grasping the serpent). The struggle
with the enemy.
§ 3. HERCULES (_The mighty man. A man kneeling on one knee,
humbled in the conflict, but holding aloft the tokens of victory,
with his foot on the head of the Dragon_). The mighty Vanquisher
seeming to sink in the conflict.
CHAPTER IV.
THE REDEEMER’S TRIUMPH.
SAGITTARIUS (_The Archer_). The Two‐natured Conqueror going forth
“Conquering and to conquer.”
§ 1. LYRA (_The Harp_). Praise prepared for the Conqueror.
§ 2. ARA (_The Altar_). Consuming fire prepared for His enemies.
§ 3. DRACO (_The Dragon_). The Old Serpent—the Devil, cast down
from heaven.
The Second Book.
THE REDEEMED.
THE RESULT OF THE REDEEMER’S SUFFERINGS.
CHAPTER I.
THEIR BLESSINGS PROCURED.
CAPRICORNUS (_The fish‐goat_). The goat of Atonement slain for the
Redeemed.
§ 1. SAGITTA (_The Arrow_). The arrow of God sent forth.
§ 2. AQUILA (_The Eagle_). The smitten One falling.
§ 3. DELPHINUS (_The Dolphin_). The dead One rising again.
CHAPTER II.
THEIR BLESSINGS ENSURED.
AQUARIUS (_The Water‐Bearer_): The living waters of blessing
poured forth for the Redeemed.
§ 1. PISCIS AUSTRALIS (_The Southern Fish_). The blessings
bestowed.
§ 2. PEGASUS (_The Winged Horse_). The blessings quickly coming.
§ 3. CYGNUS (_The Swan_). The Blesser surely returning.
CHAPTER III.
THEIR BLESSINGS IN ABEYANCE.
PISCES (_The Fishes_). The Redeemed blessed though bound.
§ 1. THE BAND—bound, but binding their great enemy Cetus, the sea
monster.
§ 2. ANDROMEDA (_The Chained Woman_). The Redeemed in their
bondage and affliction.
§ 3. CEPHEUS (_The King_). Their Redeemer coming to rule.
CHAPTER IV.
THEIR BLESSINGS CONSUMMATED AND ENJOYED.
ARIES (_The Ram or Lamb_). The Lamb that was slain, prepared for
the victory.
§ 1. CASSIOPEIA (_The Enthroned Woman_). The captive delivered,
and preparing for her husband, the Redeemer.
§ 2. CETUS (_The Sea Monster_). The great enemy bound.
§ 3. PERSEUS (_The Breaker_). Delivering His redeemed.
The Third Book.
THE REDEEMER.
(HIS SECOND COMING.)
“The glory that should follow.”
CHAPTER I.
MESSIAH, THE COMING JUDGE OF ALL THE EARTH.
TAURUS (_The Bull_). Messiah coming to rule.
§ 1. ORION, _Light breaking forth_ in the person of the Redeemer.
§ 2. ERIDANUS (_The River of the Judge_). Wrath breaking forth for
His enemies.
§ 3. AURIGA (_The Shepherd_). Safety for the Redeemed in the day
of that wrath.
CHAPTER II.
MESSIAH’S REIGN AS PRINCE OF PEACE.
GEMINI (The Twins). The twofold nature of the King.
§ 1. LEPUS (_The Hare_), or THE ENEMY trodden under foot.
§ 2. CANIS MAJOR (_The Dog_), or SIRIUS, the coming glorious
Prince of Princes.
§ 3. CANIS MINOR (_The Second Dog_), or PROCYON, the exalted
Redeemer.
CHAPTER III.
MESSIAH’S REDEEMED POSSESSIONS.
CANCER (The Crab). The possessions held fast.
§ 1. URSA MINOR (_The Lesser Bear_). The lesser sheepfold.
§ 2. URSA MAJOR (_The Great Bear_). The fold and the flock.
§ 3. ARGO (_The Ship_). The redeemed pilgrims safe at home.
CHAPTER IV.
MESSIAH’S CONSUMMATED TRIUMPH.
LEO (_The Lion_). The Lion of the Tribe of Judah aroused for the
rending of the Enemy.
§ 1. HYDRA (_The Serpent_). That old Serpent—the Devil, destroyed.
§ 2. CRATER (_The Cup_). The cup of Divine wrath poured out upon
him.
§ 3. CORVUS (_The Crow, or Raven_). Birds of prey devouring him.
Such are the contents of this wondrous book that is written in the
heavens. Thus has God been speaking and emphasizing and developing His
first great prophetic promise of Gen. iii. 15.
Though for more than 2,500 years His people had not this Revelation
written in a book as we now have it in the Bible, they were not left in
ignorance and darkness as to God’s purposes and counsels; nor were they
without hope as to ultimate deliverance from all evil and from the Evil
One.
Adam, who first heard that wondrous promise, repeated it, and gave it to
his posterity as a most precious heritage—the ground of all their faith,
the substance of all their hope, the object of all their desire. Seth and
Enoch took it up. Enoch, we know, prophesied of the Lord’s coming, saying,
“Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints to execute
judgment upon all” (Jude 14). How could these “holy prophets, since the
world began,” have recorded their prophecies better, or more effectually,
or more truthfully and powerfully, than in these star‐pictures and their
interpretation? This becomes a certainty when we remember the words of the
Holy Spirit by Zacharias (Luke i. 67‐70):—
“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel;
For He hath visited and redeemed His people,
And hath raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of His servant David;
As He spake by the mouth of HIS HOLY PROPHETS
WHICH HAVE BEEN SINCE THE WORLD BEGAN.”
The same truth is revealed through Peter, in Acts iii. 20, 21:—“He shall
send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you; whom the heaven
must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath
spoken by the mouth of all HIS HOLY PROPHETS SINCE THE WORLD BEGAN.”
These words have new meaning for us, if we see the things which were
spoken “since the world began,” thus written in the heavens, which utter
speech (_i.e._ prophecy), and show forth this knowledge day after day and
night after night, the heritage of all the earth, and their words reaching
unto the ends of the world.
This Revelation, coinciding as it does in all its facts and truths with
that afterwards recorded “in the Volume of the Book,” must have had the
same Divine origin, must have been made known by the inspiration of the
same Holy Spirit.
We now proceed to compare the two, and we shall see how they agree at
every point, proving that the source and origin of this Divine Revelation
is one and the same.
THE FIRST BOOK. THE REDEEMER.
(_His First Coming_.)
“The Sufferings of Christ.”
The First Book is occupied with the PERSON of the Coming One. It covers
the whole ground, and includes the conflict and the victory of the
Promised Seed, but with special emphasis on His Coming. The book opens
with the promise of His coming, and it closes with the Dragon cast down
from heaven.
Chapter I. The Sign VIRGO.
_The Promised Seed of the Woman_.
[Illustration]
Plate 1: Virgo (the Virgin)
Here is the commencement of all prophecy in Gen. iii. 15, spoken to the
serpent:—“I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy
seed and her seed: it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His
heel.” This is the prophetic announcement which the Revelation in the
heavens and in the Book is designed to unfold and develope. It lies at the
root of all the ancient traditions and mythologies, which are simply the
perversion and corruption of primitive truth.
VIRGO is represented as a woman with a _branch_ in her right hand, and
some ears of corn in her left hand. Thus giving a two‐fold testimony of
the Coming One.
The name of this sign in the Hebrew is _Bethulah_, which means _a virgin_,
and in the Arabic _a branch_. The two words are connected, as in
Latin—_Virgo_, which means _a virgin_; and _virga_, which means _a branch_
(Vulg. Isa. xi. 1). Another name is _Sunbul_, Arabic, _an ear of corn_.
In Gen. iii. 15 she is presented only as a woman; but in later prophecies
her nationality is defined as being of the stock of Israel, the seed of
Abraham, the line of David; and, further, she is to be a virgin. There are
two prominent prophecies of her and her seed: one is connected with the
first coming in incarnation, Isa. vii. 14 (quoted in Matt. i. 23.)
“Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
And shall call his name Immanuel.”
The other is connected with His second coming, leaping over the sufferings
and this present interval of His rejection, and looking forward to His
coming in glory and judgment, Isa. ix. 6, 7 (quoted in Luke ii. 11 and i.
32, 33)—
“For unto us a child is born,
Unto us a son is given;(20)
And the government shall be upon His shoulder;
And His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor,
The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government there shall be no end.
Upon the throne of David, and upon His kingdom,
To order it, and to establish it
With judgment and with justice
From henceforth even for ever.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.”
It is difficult to separate the Virgin and her Seed in the prophecy, and
so, here, we have first the sign VIRGO, where the name points to her as
the prominent subject; while in the first of the three constellations of
this sign, where the woman appears again, the name COMA points to the
child as the great subject.
_Virgo_ contains 110 stars, _viz._, one of the 1st magnitude, six of the
3rd, ten of the 4th, etc.
ARATUS thus sings of them:—
“Beneath Boötes feet the Virgin seek,
Who carries in her hand a glittering spike....
Over her shoulder there revolves a star
In the right wing, superlatively bright;(21)
It rolls beneath the tail, and may compare
With the bright stars that deck the Greater Bear.
Upon her shoulder one bright star is borne,(22)
One clasps the circling girdle of her loins,(23)
One at her bending knee;(24) and in her hand
Glitters that bright and golden Ear of Corn.(25)
Thus the brightest star in Virgo (α)(26) has an ancient name, handed down
to us in all the star‐maps, in which the Hebrew word (צֶמֶח) _Tsemech_ is
preserved. It is called in Arabic _Al Zimach_, which means _the branch_.
This star is in the ear of corn which she holds in her left hand. Hence
the star has a modern Latin name, which has almost superseded the ancient
one, _Spica_, which means, _an ear of corn_. But this hides the great
truth revealed by its name _Al Zimach_. It foretold the coming of Him who
should bear this name. The same Divine inspiration has, in the written
Word, four times connected it with Him. There are twenty Hebrew words
translated “Branch,” but only one of them (_Tsemech_) is used exclusively
of the Messiah, and this word only four times.(27)Each of these further
connects Him with one special account of Him, given in the Gospels.
(1.) Jer. xxiii. 5, 6—
“Behold, the days come, saith the LORD,
That I will raise unto David a righteous BRANCH
(_i.e._, a Son),
And a KING shall reign and prosper.”
The account of His coming as King is written in the Gospel according to
Matthew, where Jehovah says to Israel, “Behold thy KING.” (Zech. ix. 9;
Matt. xxi. 9.)
(2.) Zech. iii. 8.—“Behold I will bring forth my SERVANT the BRANCH.” In
the Gospel according to Mark we find the record of Jehovah’s servant and
His service, and we hear Jehovah’s voice saying, “Behold my SERVANT.”
(Isa. xlii. 1.)
(3.) Zech. vi. 12.—“Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the
MAN whose name is the BRANCH.” In the Gospel according to Luke we behold
Him, presented in “the MAN Christ Jesus.”
(4.) Isa. iv. 2.—“In that day shall the BRANCH of JEHOVAH be beautiful and
glorious.” So that this Branch, this Son, is Jehovah Himself; and as we
read the record of John we hear the voice from heaven saying, “Behold your
GOD.” (Isa. xl. 9.)
This is the Branch foretold by the star _Al Zimach_ in the ear of corn.
The star β is called _Zavijaveh_, which means _the gloriously beautiful_,
as in Isa. iv. 2. The star ε, in the arm bearing the branch, is called _Al
Mureddin_, which means _who shall come down_ (as in Ps. lxxii. 8), or _who
shall have dominion_. It is also known as _Vindemiatrix_, a Chaldee word
which means _the son_, or _branch_, _who cometh_.
Other names of stars in the sign, not identified, are—
_Subilah, who carries_. (Isa. xlvi. 4.)
_Al Azal, the Branch_. (As in Isa. xviii. 5.)
_Subilon, a spike of corn_. (As in Isa. xvii. 5.)
The Greeks, ignorant of the Divine origin and teaching of the sign,
represented Virgo as _Ceres_, with ears of corn in her hand.
In the Zodiac in the Temple of Denderah, in Egypt, about 2000 B.C. (now in
Paris), she is likewise represented with a branch in her hand, but
ignorantly explained by a false religion to represent _Isis_! Her name is
called _Aspolia_, which means _ears of corn_, or _the seed_, which shows
that though the woman is seen, it is her Seed who is the great subject of
the prophecy.
Passing to the three constellations anciently assigned to the sign Virgo,
we come to what may be compared to _three sections_ of the chapter, each
giving some further detail as to the interpretation of its teaching.
1. COMA (The Woman and Child).
_The Desired of all Nations._
The first constellation in Virgo explains that this coming “Branch” will
be a child, and that He should be the “Desire of all nations.”
The ancient name of this constellation is _Comah_,(28) _the desired_, or
_the longed for_. We have the word used by the Holy Spirit in this very
connection, in Hag. ii. 7: “The DESIRE of all nations shall come.”
[Illustration]
Plate 2: Coma (the Desired)
The ancient Zodiacs pictured this constellation as a woman with a child in
her arms. ALBUMAZAR(29) (or ABU MASHER), an Arabian astronomer of the
eighth century, says, “There arises in the first Decan,(30) as the
Persians, Chaldeans, and Egyptians, and the two HERMES and ASCALIUS teach,
_a young woman_, whose Persian name denotes a pure virgin, sitting on a
throne, _nourishing an infant boy_ (the boy, I say), having a Hebrew name,
by some nations called IHESU, with the signification IEZA, which in Greek
is called CHRISTOS.”
But this picture is not found in any of the _modern_ maps of the stars.
There we find to‐day a woman’s wig! It appears that BERENICE, the wife of
EUERGETES (PTOLEMY III.), king of Egypt in the third century B.C., when
her husband once went on a dangerous expedition, vowed to consecrate her
fine head of hair to Venus if he returned in safety. Her hair, which was
hung up in the Temple of Venus, was subsequently stolen, and to comfort
BERENICE, CONON, an astronomer of Alexandria (B.C. 283‐222), gave it out
that Jupiter had taken it and made it a constellation!
This is a good example of how the meaning of other constellations have
been perverted (ignorantly or intentionally). In this case, as in others,
the transition from ancient to more modern languages helped to hide the
meaning. The Hebrew name was COMA (_desired_). But the Greeks had a word
for hair, _Có‐me_. This again is transferred to the Latin _coma_, and thus
“_Coma Berenicæ_” (_the hair of Berenice_) comes down to us to‐day as the
name of this constellation, and gives us a woman’s wig instead of that
Blessed One, “the Desire of all Nations.”
In this case, however, we are able to give absolute proof that this is a
perversion.
The ancient Egyptian name for this constellation was _Shes‐nu, the desired
son_!
The Zodiac in the Temple of Denderah, in Egypt, going back at least 2,000
years B.C., has no trace of any hair, but it has the figure of a woman and
child. In our illustration we have given a copy of this very ancient
picture, and not the wig of hair!
We have been permitted to trace it from a work on _Egyptian Scenery_ by
the late eminent astronomer, Edward J. Cooper, of Markree Castle, co.
Sligo, who visited that Temple in the year 1820 with an Italian artist,
Signor Bossi. The original drawing from which our tracing is made (and
enlarged) was drawn by Signor Bossi on the spot, before it was taken to
Paris in 1821.(31) We thus have before us the exact representations of one
of these star‐pictures at least 4,000 years old.
Even Shakespeare understood the truth about this constellation picture,
which has been so long covered by modern inventions. In his _Titus
Andronicus_(32) he speaks of an arrow being shot up to heaven to the
“_Good boy in Virgo’s lap._”
The constellation itself is very remarkable. Others contain one or two
stars of the first or second magnitude, and then a greater or less variety
of lesser stars; but this is peculiar from having no one very bright star,
but contains so many stars of the 4th and 5th magnitudes. It contains 43
stars altogether, ten being of the 4th magnitude, and the remainder of the
5th, 6th, etc.
It was in all probability the constellation of _Coma_ in which “the Star
of Bethlehem” appeared. There was a traditional prophecy, well‐known in
the East, carefully preserved and handed down, that a new star would
appear in this sign when He whom it foretold should be born.
This was, doubtless, referred to in the prophecy of Balaam, which would
thus receive a double fulfilment, first of the literal “Star,” and also of
the person to whom it referred. The Lord said by Balaam (Num. xxiv. 17),
“There shall come(33) a star out of Jacob,
And a sceptre shall rise out of Israel.”
Thomas Hyde, an eminent Orientalist (1636‐1703), writing on the ancient
religion of the Persians, quotes from ABULFARAGIUS (an Arab Christian
Historian, 1226‐1286), who says that ZOROASTER, or ZERDUSHT, the Persian,
was a pupil of Daniel the Prophet, and that he predicted to the Magians
(who were the astronomers of Persia), that when they should see _a new
star_ appear it would notify the birth of a mysterious child, whom they
were to adore. It is further stated in the _Zend Avesta_ that this new
star was to appear in the sign of the Virgin. Some have supposed that this
passage is not genuine. But whether it was interpolated before or after
the event, it is equally good evidence for our purpose here. For if it was
written _before_ the event, it is evidence of the _prophetic
announcement_; and if it was interpolated _after_ the event it is evidence
of the _historic fact_.
The Book of Job shows us how Astronomy flourished in Idumea; and the
Gospel according to Matthew shows that the Persian Magi, as well as
others, were looking for “the Desire of all nations.”
New stars have appeared again and again. It was in 125 B.C. that a star,
so bright as to be seen in the day‐time, suddenly appeared. It was this
that caused HIPPARCHUS to draw up his catalogue of stars, which has been
handed down to us by PTOLEMY (150 A.D.).
This new star would show the _latitude_, passing at that time immediately
overhead at midnight, every twenty‐four hours; while the prophecy would
give the _longitude_ as the land of Jacob. Having these two factors, it
would be only a matter of observation, and easy for the Magi to find the
place where it would be vertical, and thus to locate the very spot of the
birth of Him of whom it was the sign, for they emphatically called it “His
Star.” There is a beautiful tradition which relates how, in their
difficulty, on their way from Jerusalem to find the actual spot under the
_Zenith_ of this star, these Magi sat down beside David’s “Well of
Bethlehem” to refresh themselves. There they saw the star reflected in the
clear water of the well. Hence it is written that “when they saw the star
they rejoiced with exceeding joy,” for they knew they were at the very
spot and place of His appearing whence He was to “come forth.”
There can be little doubt that it was _a new star_. In the first place a
new star is no unusual phenomenon. In the second place the tradition is
well supported by ancient Christian writers. One speaks of its “surpassing
brightness.” Another (IGNATIUS, Bp. of Antioch, A.D. 69) says, “At the
appearance of the Lord a star shone forth brighter than all the other
stars.” IGNATIUS, doubtless, had this from those who had actually seen it!
PRUDENTIUS (4th cent. A.D.) says that not even the morning star was so
fair. Archbishop Trench, who quotes these authorities, says “This star, I
conceive, as so many ancients and moderns have done, to have been a new
star in the heavens.”
One step more places this new star in the constellation of COMA, and with
new force makes it indeed “His star”—the “Sign” of His “coming forth from
Bethlehem.” Will it be “the sign of the Son of Man in heaven” (Matt. xxiv.
30) when He shall “come unto” this world again to complete the wondrous
prophecies written of Him in the heavenly and earthly Revelations?(34)
Thus does the constellation of COMA reveal that the coming “Seed of the
woman” was to be a child born, a son given.
But He was to be more: He was to be God and man—two natures in one person!
This is the lesson of the next picture.
2. CENTAURUS (The Centaur).
_The Despised Sin‐offering_.
It is the figure of a being with two natures. Jamieson, in his _Celestial
Atlas_, 1822, says, “On the authority of the most accomplished Orientalist
of our own times, the Arabic and Chaldaic name of this constellation is
בזה.” Now this Hebrew word _Bezeh_ (and the Arabic _Al Beze_) means _the
despised_. It is the very word used of this Divine sufferer in Isa. liii.
3, “He is DESPISED (נִבְזֶה) and rejected of men.”
[Illustration]
Plate 3: Centaurus (the Centaur)
The constellation contains thirty‐five stars. Two of the 1st magnitude,
one of the 2nd, six of the 3rd, nine of the 4th, etc., which, together
with the four bright stars in the Cross make a brilliant show in southern
latitudes.
The brightest star, α (in the horse’s fore‐foot), has come down to us with
the ancient name of _Toliman_, which means _the heretofore and hereafter_,
marking Him as the one “which is, and which was, and which is to come—the
Almighty” (Rev. i. 8). Sir John Herschell observed this star to be growing
rapidly brighter. It may be, therefore, one of the changeable stars, and
its name may be taken as an indication of the fact that it was known to
the ancients.
Another name for the constellation was in Hebrew, _Asmeath_, which means a
_sin‐offering_ (as in Isa. liii. 10).
The Greek name was _Cheiron_, which means _the pierced_, or _who pierces_.
In the Greek fables _Cheiron_ was renowned for his skill in hunting,
medicine, music, athletics, and prophecy. All the most distinguished
heroes of Greece are described as his pupils. He was supposed to be
immortal, but he voluntarily agreed to die; and, wounded by a poisoned
arrow (not intended for him) while in conflict with a wild boar, he
transferred his immortality to Prometheus; whereupon he was placed amongst
the stars.
We can easily see how this fable is the ignorant perversion of the
primitive Revelation. The true tradition can be seen dimly through it, and
we can discern Him of whom it spoke,—the all‐wise, all‐powerful Teacher
and Prophet, who “went about doing good,” yet “despised and rejected of
men,” laying down His life that others might live.
It is one of the lowest of the constellations, _i.e._ the farthest south
from the northern centre. It is situated immediately over the Cross, which
bespeaks His own death; He is seen in the act of destroying the enemy.
Thus these star‐pictures tell us that it would be as a _child_ that the
_Promised Seed_ should come forth and grow and wax strong in spirit and be
filled with wisdom (Luke ii. 40); and that as a man having two natures He
should suffer and die. Then the third and last section in this first
chapter of this First Book goes on to tell of His second coming in glory.
3. BOÖTES (The Coming One).
_He cometh_.
This constellation still further develops this wondrous personage.
He is pictured as a man walking rapidly, with a spear in his right hand
and a sickle in his left hand.
[Illustration]
Plate 4: Boötes (the Coming One)
The Greeks called him _Bo‐ö‐tes_, which is from the Hebrew root _Bo_
(בּוֹא, _to come_), meaning _the coming_. It is referred to in Ps. xcvi.
13:—
“For He cometh,
For He cometh to judge the earth;
He shall judge the world in righteousness,
And the people with His truth.”
It it probable that his ancient name was _Arcturus_(35) (as referred to in
Job ix. 9), for this is the name of the brightest star, α (in the left
knee). _Arcturus_ means _He cometh_.(36)
The ancient Egyptians called him _Smat_, which means _one who rules_,
_subdues_, and _governs_. They also called him _Bau_ (a reminiscence of
the more ancient _Bo_), which means also _the coming one_.
The star μ (in the spear‐head) is named _Al Katurops_, which means _the
branch_, _treading under foot_.
The star ε (just below the waist on his right side) is called _Mirac_, or
_Mizar_, or _Izar_. _Mirac_ means _the coming forth as an arrow_; _Mizar_,
or _Izar_, means _the preserver_, _guarding_.
The star η is called _Muphride_, _i.e._ _who separates_.
The star β (in the head) is named _Nekkar_, _i.e._ _the pierced_ (Zech.
xii. 10), which tells us that this coming judge is the One who was
pierced. Another Hebrew name is _Merga_, _who bruises_.(37)
This brings us back again to Gen. iii. 15, and closes up this first
chapter of the First Book (VIRGO). It shows us the _Person_ of the
Promised Seed from the beginning to the end, from the first promise of the
birth of the Child in Bethlehem, to the final coming of the great Judge
and Harvester to reap the harvest of the earth. This was the vision which
was afterwards shown to John (Rev. xiv. 15, 16), when he says, “I looked;
and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of
Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle.
And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him
that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle and reap; for the time is come
for Thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And He that sat on
the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.”
This is the conclusion of the _first chapter_ of this First Book. Here we
see the woman whose Seed is to bruise the serpent’s head, the Virgin‐Born,
the Branch of Jehovah, perfect man and perfect God, Immanuel, “God with
us,” yet despised and rejected of men, and yielding up His life that
others may have life for evermore. But we see Him coming afterwards in
triumphant power to judge the earth.
This is only one chapter of this First Book, but it contains the _outline_
of the whole volume, complete in itself, so far as it regards the Person
of the Coming One. Like the Book of Genesis, it is the seed‐plot which
contains the whole, all the rest being merely the development of the many
grand details which are included and shut up within it. It is only one
chapter out of twelve, but it distinctly foreshadows the end—even “the
sufferings of Christ and the glory which should follow.”
Chapter II. The Sign LIBRA.
_The Redeemer’s Atoning Work; or The Price deficient balanced by the Price
which covers_.
In the first chapter of this book we saw that this Coming Seed of the
woman was, among other things, to give up His life for others.
The _second_ chapter is going to define and develope the manner and object
of this death.
The name of the Sign, together with its three constellations and the names
of the stars composing them, give the complete picture of this Redemption.
[Illustration]
Plate 5: Libra (the Scales)
The Sign contains 51 stars, two of which are of the 2nd magnitude, one of
the 3rd, eight of the 4th, etc.
The Hebrew name is _Mozanaim_, _the Scales_, _weighing_. Its name in
Arabic is _Al Zubena_, _purchase_, or _redemption_. In Coptic, it is
_Lambadia_, _station of propitiation_ (from _Lam_, _graciousness_, and
_badia_, _branch_). The name by which it has come down to us is the Latin,
_Libra_, which means _weighing_, as used in the Vulgate (Isa. xl. 12).
Libra contains three bright stars whose names supply us with the whole
matter. The brightest, α (in the lower scale), is named _Zuben al Genubi_,
which means _the purchase_, or _price which is deficient_. This points to
the fact that man has been utterly ruined. He is “weighed in the balances
and found wanting.”
“None of them can by any means redeem his brother,
Nor give to God a ransom for him;
For the redemption of their soul is costly,
And must be let alone for ever.”
(Ps. xlix. 7, R.V.)
“Surely men of low degree are vanity (Heb. _a breath_),
And men of high degree are a lie;
In the balances they go up;
They are altogether lighter than vanity” (Heb. _a breath_).
(Ps. lxii. 9, R.V.)
This is the verdict pronounced and recorded by this star _Zuben al
Genubi_.
Is there then no hope? Is there no one who can pay the price?
Yes; there is “the Seed of the woman.” He is not merely coming as a child,
but He is coming as an atoning sacrifice.
He is coming for the purpose of Redemption! He can pay _the price which
covers_! Hence in the upper scale we have another bright star with this
very name _Zuben al Chemali_—THE PRICE WHICH COVERS! Praised be God! “They
sang a new song, saying, Thou art worthy ... for Thou wast slain, and hast
redeemed us to God by thy blood.” (Rev. v. 9.) This is the testimony of β,
the second brightest star! It has another name, _al Gubi_, _heaped up_, or
_high_, telling of the infinite value of this redemption price. But there
is a third star, γ, below, towards _Centaurus_ and the _Victim_ slain,
telling, by that and by its name, of the _conflict_ by which that
redemption would be accomplished. It is called _Zuben Akrabi_ or _Zuben al
Akrab_, which means _the price of the conflict_!
There is, however, some reason to suppose that Libra is a very ancient
Egyptian corruption, bringing in human merit instead of Divine
righteousness; “the way of Cain” instead of the way of God. In the more
ancient Akkadian the months were called after the names of the signs,(38)
and the sign of the seventh month is the sign that we now call Libra. The
Akkadian name for it was _Tulku_. _Tul_ means _mound_ (like _dhul_ and
_dul_), and _ku_ means _sacred;_ hence, _Tulku_ means _the sacred mound_,
or _the holy altar_.(39)
Not only is the name and its meaning different, but the teaching is
infinitely greater and more important, if we may believe that the original
picture of this sign was not a pair of scales, but the representation of
_a holy altar_. This would agree still better with the three
constellations which follow.
The names of the stars would also be more appropriate, for it is the
Sacrifice of Christ which they foreshadowed, and here it was that the
price which covered was paid, and outweighed the price which was
deficient. What that price was to be, and how it was to be paid, and what
was to be the result in the Person of the Redeemer, is set forth in detail
in the three sections of this chapter by the constellations of _The Cross_
endured, _The Victim_ slain, and _The Crown_ bestowed.
1. CRUX (The Cross).
_The Cross Endured_.
The Hebrew name was _Adom_, which means _cutting off_, as in Dan. ix.
26:—“After threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off.” The last
letter of the Hebrew alphabet was called _Tau_, which was anciently made
in the form of a cross. The ancient _Phœnician_ was [Symbol: right‐tilted
cross]; the ancient _Hebrew_, as found on coins, was [Symbol: right‐tilted
cross] and [Symbol: vertical cross]; the _Aramaic_, as found on Egyptian
monuments, was a transition [Symbol: tilted cross] or [Symbol: stretched
cross], which passed into the present square Hebrew character ת. This
letter is called _Tau_, and means _a mark_; especially _a boundary‐mark, a
limit or finish_. And it is the last letter, which finishes the Hebrew
alphabet to this day.
[Illustration]
Plate 6: Crux (the Cross)
The Southern Cross was just visible in the latitude of Jerusalem at the
time of the first coming of our Lord to die. Since then, through the
gradual recession of the Polar Star, it has not been seen in northern
latitudes. It gradually disappeared and became invisible at Jerusalem when
the Real Sacrifice was offered there; and tradition, which preserved its
memory, assured travellers that if they could go far enough south it would
be again seen. Dante sang of “the four stars never beheld but by the early
race of men.” It was not until the sixteenth century had dawned that
missionaries and voyagers, doubling the Cape for the first time, and
visiting the tropics and southern seas, brought back the news of “a
wonderful cross more glorious than all the constellations of the heavens.”
It is a small asterism, containing only about five stars, _viz._, one of
the 1st magnitude, two of the 2nd, one of the 3rd, and one of the 4th.
Four of these are in the form of a cross.
Long before the Christian Era this sign of the Cross had lost its true
meaning, and had been perverted in Babylon and Egypt as it has since been
desecrated by Rome. The Persians and Egyptians worshipped it. The cakes
made and eaten in honour of the Queen of Heaven were marked with it. This
heathen custom Rome has adopted and adapted in her Good Friday cakes,
which are thus stamped. But all are alike ignorant of what it means,
_viz._, “IT IS FINISHED.”
In Egypt, and in the earliest times, it was the sign and symbol of _life_.
To‐day, Romanists use it as the symbol of _death_! But it means _life_!
Natural life given up, and eternal life procured. Atonement, finished,
perfect, and complete; never to be repeated, or added to. All who partake
of its benefits in Christ now, in grace, by faith “ARE made nigh by the
blood of Christ” (Eph. ii. 13), and of them Jesus says, “He that heareth
my voice, and believeth on Him that sent me HATH everlasting life, and
shall not come into judgment; but IS PASSED from death unto life” (John v.
24). So perfect and complete is the work which Jesus finished on the Cross
that we cannot seek to add even our repentance, faith, tears, or prayers,
without practically asserting that the work of Christ is not finished, and
is not sufficient!
The Hebrew names of this constellation—_Adom_ and _Tau_—rebuke our
Pharisaic spirit, which is the relic and essence of all false religions,
and points to the blessed fact that the Sacrifice was offered “once for
all,” and the atoning work of Redemption completely finished on Calvary.
“’Tis finished! the Messiah dies!
Cut off for sins, but not His own;
Accomplished is the sacrifice,
The great redeeming work is done.”
In the ancient Egyptian Zodiac of Denderah this first Decan of LIBRA is
represented as a lion with his tongue hanging out of his mouth, as if in
thirst, and a female figure holding a cup out to him. Under his fore feet
is the hieroglyphic symbol of running water. What is all this but “the
Lion of the tribe of Judah” brought down “into the dust of death,” and
saying “I am poured out like water ... my strength is dried up” (Ps. xxii.
13‐18): “I thirst” (John xix. 28): “and in my thirst they gave me vinegar
to drink” (Ps. lxix. 21)?
The Egyptian name of this Lion, however, points to his ultimate triumph,
for it is called _Sera_, that is, _victory_!
This brings us to—
2. LUPUS or VICTIMA (The Victim).
_The Victim Slain._
Its modern name is _Lupus_ (a wolf), because it looks like one. It may be
any animal. The great point of this ancient constellation is that the
animal has been _slain_, and is in the act of falling down dead.
[Illustration]
Plate 7: Lupus or Victima the VICTIM Slain
Its Greek name is _Thera_, _a beast_, and _Lycos_, _a wolf_. Its Latin
name is _Victima_, or _Bestia_ (Vulg. Gen. viii. 17), which sufficiently
indicates the great lesson. This is confirmed by its ancient Hebrew name,
_Asedah_, and Arabic _Asedaton_, which both mean _to be slain_.
More than 22 of its stars have been catalogued. None of them are higher
than the 4th magnitude; most of them are of the 5th or 6th.
True, He was “by wicked hands crucified and slain,” but He is slain here
by the Centaur, _i.e._ by Himself! To make it perfectly clear that it was
His own act (without which His death would lose all merit), He uttered
those solemn words: “I lay down my life for the sheep.... No man taketh it
from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I
have power to take it again” (John x. 15‐18). He “offered Himself without
spot to God.” “He put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself” (Heb. ix. 11,
26).
In the ancient Zodiac of Denderah He is pictured as a little child with
its finger on its lips, and He is called _Sura_, _a lamb_! In other
pictures He has, besides, the horn of a goat on one side of His head. All
this pointed to one and the same great fact, _viz._, the development and
explanation of what was meant by _the bruising of His heel_! It meant that
this Promised Seed of the woman should come as a child, that He should
suffer, and die upon the Cross, for
“He was brought as a lamb to the slaughter;
And as a sheep before her shearers is dumb;
SO HE opened not his mouth.”
(Isa. liii. 7.)
Hence, the constellation prefigures a silent, willing sacrifice—Christ
Jesus, who, “being found in fashion as a man, humbled Himself, and became
obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross” (Phil. ii. 5‐8).
3. CORONA (The Crown).
_The Crown Bestowed._
“Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is
above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow.”
This is what is foreshown by this concluding section of the second
chapter. Each chapter ends with glory. As in the written Word of God, we
frequently have the glory of the Second Coming mentioned without any
allusions to the sufferings of the First Coming, but we never have the
First Coming in humiliation mentioned without an immediate reference to
the glory of the Second Coming.
So here, the CROSS is closely followed by the CROWN! True, “we see not yet
all things put under Him, but we see Jesus ... for the suffering of death
crowned with glory and honour” (Heb. ii. 9).
Yes, “the crowning day is coming,” and all heaven shall soon resound with
the triumphant song, “Thou art worthy, ... for Thou wast slain and hast
redeemed us to God by Thy blood” (Rev. v. 9).
The shameful Cross will be followed by a glorious crown, and “every tongue
shall confess that Jesus. Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
“Mighty Victor, reign for ever,
Wear the crown so dearly won;
Never shall Thy people, never
Cease to sing what Thou hast done.
Thou hast fought Thy people’s foes;
Thou wilt heal Thy people’s woes!”
The Hebrew name for the constellation is _Atarah_, _a royal crown_, and
its stars are known to‐day in the East by the plural, _Ataroth!_
Its Arabic name is _Al Iclil_, _an ornament_, or _jewel_.
[Illustration]
Plate 8: CORONA (the Crown)
It has 21 stars: one of the 2nd magnitude and six of the 4th. It is easily
known by the stars θ, β, α, γ, δ, and ε, which form a crescent.
Its brightest star, α, has the Arabic name of _Al Phecca_, _the shining_.
Thus ends this solemn chapter of LIBRA, which describes the great work of
Redemption, beginning with the Cross and ending with the Crown. The
Redeemer’s work of Atonement is most blessedly set forth, and He alone is
seen as the substitute for lost sinners.
“What wondrous love, what mysteries
In this appointment shine!
My breaches of the law are His,
And His obedience mine.”
Chapter III. The Sign SCORPIO.
_The Redeemer’s Conflict_.
We come now right into the heart of the conflict. The star‐picture brings
before us a gigantic scorpion endeavouring to sting in the heel a mighty
man who is struggling with a serpent, but is crushed by the man, who has
his foot placed right on the scorpion’s heart.
The Hebrew name is _Akrab_, which is the name of a scorpion, but also
means _the conflict_, or _war_. It is this that is referred to in Ps. xci.
13:
“Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder.
The young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.”
David uses the very word in Ps. cxliv. 1, where he blesses God for
teaching his hands _to war_.
The Coptic name is _Isidis_, which means _the attack of the enemy_, or
_oppression_; referring to “the wicked that oppress me, my deadly enemies
who compass me about” (Ps. xvii. 9).
The Arabic name is _Al Akrab_, which means _wounding him that cometh_.
[Illustration]
Plate 9: SCORPIO (the Scorpion)
There are 44 stars altogether in this sign. One is of the 1st magnitude,
one of the 2nd, eleven of the 3rd, eight of the 4th, etc.
The brightest star, α (in the heart), bears the ancient Arabic name of
_Antares_, which means _the wounding_. It is called by the Latins _Cor
Scorpii_, because it marks the scorpion’s heart. It shines ominously with
a deep red light. The sting is called in Hebrew _Lesath_ (Chaldee,
_Lesha_), which means _the perverse_. The stars in the tail are also known
as _Leshaa_, or _Leshat_.(40)
The scorpion is a deadly enemy (as we learn from Rev. ix), with poison in
its sting, and all the names associated with the sign combine to set forth
the malignant enmity which is “set” between the serpent and the woman’s
Seed.
That enmity is shown more fully in the written Word, where we see the
attempt of the enemy (in Exod. i.) to destroy every male of the seed of
Abraham, and how it was defeated.
We see his effort repeated when he used Athaliah to destroy “all the seed
royal” (2 Kings xi.), and how “the king’s son” was rescued “from among”
the slain.
We see his hand again instigating Haman, “the Jews’ enemy,” to compass the
destruction of the whole nation, but defeated in his designs.
When the woman’s Seed, the virgin’s Son, was born, we are shown the same
great enemy inciting Herod to slay all the babes in Bethlehem (Matt. ii.),
but again he is defeated.
In the wilderness of Judæa, and in the Garden of Gethsemane the great
conflict is renewed. “This is your hour and the power of darkness,”(41) He
said to His enemies.
The real wounding in the heel was received at the Cross. It was there the
scorpion struck the woman’s seed. He died, but was raised again from the
dead “to destroy the works of the devil.”
To show us this; to prevent any mistake; to set forth the fact that this
conflict only _apparently_ ended in defeat, and that it did not really so
end, we have the first two constellations belonging to this sign presented
_in one picture_! Indeed, the picture is threefold, for it includes the
sign itself (as shown on the cover)!
If these pictures had been separated, then the conflict would have been
separated from the victory; the deadly wound of the serpent’s head from
the temporary wound in the Victor’s heel. Hence, _three_ pictures are
required, in which the _scorpion_, the _serpent_, and the _man_, are all
involved, in order to present at the same time the triumphant issue of the
conflict.
Hence, we must present, and consider together, the first two sections of
this mysterious chapter.
1 and 2. SERPENS and OPHIUCHUS.
_The Struggle with the Enemy._
Here, _Serpens_, the serpent, is seen struggling vainly in the powerful
grasp of the man who is named _O‐phi‐u‐chus_. In Latin he is called
Serpentarius. He is at one and the same moment shown to be seizing the
serpent with his two hands, and treading on the very heart of the
scorpion, marked by the deep red star _Antares_ (wounding).
Just as we read the first constellation of the woman and child _Coma_, as
expounding the first sign VIRGO, so we have to read this first
constellation as expounding the second sign LIBRA. Hence, we have here a
further picture, showing the object of this conflict on the part of the
scorpion.
In Scorpio we see merely the effort to wound _Ophiuchus_ in the heel; but
here we see the effort of the serpent to seize THE CROWN, which is
situated immediately over the serpent’s head, and to which he is looking
up and reaching forth.
The contest is for Dominion! It was the Devil, in the form of a serpent,
that robbed the first man of his crown; but in vain he struggled to wrest
it from the sure possession of the Second Man. Not only does he fail in
the attempt, but is himself utterly defeated and trodden under foot.
[Illustration]
Plate 10: SERPENS (the Serpent) and OPHIUCHUS (the Serpent Holder)
There are no less than 134 stars in these two constellations. Two are of
the 2nd magnitude, fourteen of the 3rd, thirteen of the 4th, etc.
The brightest star in the Serpent, α (in the neck), is named _Unuk_, which
means _encompassing_. Another Hebrew name is _Alyah_, _the accursed_. From
this is _Al Hay_ (Arabic), _the reptile_. The next brightest star is β (in
the jaw), named, in Arabic, _Cheleb_, or _Chelbalrai, the serpent
enfolding_. The Greek name, _Ophiuchus_, is itself from the Hebrew and
Arabic name _Afeichus_, which means _the serpent held_. The brightest star
in _Ophiuchus_, α (in the head), is called _Ras al Hagus_ (Arabic), _the
head of him who holds_.
Other Hebrew names of stars, not identified, are _Triophas_, _treading
under foot_; _Saiph_ (in the foot(42) of Ophiuchus), _bruised_;
_Carnebus_, _the wounding_; _Megeros_, _contending_.(43) In the Zodiac of
Denderah we have a throned human figure, called _Api‐bau_, _the chief who
cometh_. He has a hawk’s head to show that he is the enemy of the serpent,
which is called _Khu_, and means _ruled_ or _enemy_.
All these combine to set before us in detail the nature of the conflict
and its final issue. That final issue is, however, exhibited by the last
of the three constellations of this chapter. The Victor Himself requires a
whole picture to fully set forth the glorious victory. This brings us to—
3. HERCULES (The Mighty Man).
_The Mighty Vanquisher._
Here the mighty one, who occupies a large portion of the heavens, is seen
bending on one knee, with his right heel lifted up as if it had been
wounded, while his left foot is set directly over the head of the great
dragon. In his right hand he wields a great club, and in his left hand he
grasps a triple‐headed monster (_Cerberus_). And he has the skin of a
lion, which he has slain, thrown around him.(44)
In the Zodiac of Denderah we have a human figure, likewise with a club.
His name is _Bau_, which means _who cometh_, and is evidently intended for
Him who cometh to crush the serpent’s head, and “destroy the works of the
devil.”
In Arabic he is called _Al Giscale, the strong one_.
[Illustration]
Plate 11: HERCULES (the Mighty One)
There are 113 stars in this constellation. Seven are of the 3rd magnitude,
seventeen of the 4th, etc.
The brightest star, α (in his head), is named _Ras al Gethi_, and means
_the head of him who bruises_.
The next, β (in the right arm‐pit), is named _Kornephorus_, and means _the
branch, kneeling_.
The star κ (in the right elbow) is called _Marsic_, _the wounding_.
The star λ (in the upper part of the left arm) is named _Ma’asyn_, _the
sin‐offering_.
While ω (in the lower part of the right arm) is _Caiam_, or _Guiam_,
_punishing_; and in Arabic, _treading under foot_.
Thus does everything in the picture combine to set forth the mighty works
of this stronger than the strong man armed!
We can easily see how the perversion of the truth by the Greeks came
about, and how, when the true foreshadowings of this Mighty One had been
lost, the many fables were invented to supply their place. The wiser sort
of Greeks knew this perfectly well. ARISTOTLE (in his _Metaphysics_, x. 8)
admits, with regard to Greek mythology, that religion and philosophy had
been lost, and that much had been “added after the mythical style,” while
much had come down, and “may have been preserved to our times as the
remains of ancient wisdom.” Religion, such as it was (POLYBIUS confesses),
was recognised as a “necessary means to political ends.” NEANDER says that
it was “the fragments of a tradition, which transmitted the knowledge of
divine things possessed in the earliest times.”
ARATUS shews the same uncertainty as to the meaning of this Constellation
of _Hercules_. He says:
“Near this, and like a toiling man, revolves
A form. Of it can no one clearly speak,
Nor what he labours at. They call him simply
‘The man upon his knees’: In desperate struggle
Like one who sinks, he seems. From both his shoulders
His arms are high‐uplifted and out‐stretched
As far as he can reach; and his right foot
Is planted on the coiléd Dragon’s head.”
Ancient authorities differ as to the personality of Hercules, and they
disagree as to the number, nature, and order of what are sometimes called
“the twelve labours of Hercules.” But there is no doubt as to the mighty
foretold works which the woman’s Seed should perform.
From first to last Hercules is seen engaged in destroying some malignant
foe: now it is the Nemean lion; then it is the slaying of the boar of
Erymanthus; again, it is the conquest of the bull of Crete; then the
killing of the three‐headed hydra, by whose venom Hercules afterwards
died. In the belly of the sea monster he is said to have remained “three
days and three nights.” This was, doubtless, a perversion of the type of
Jonah, introduced by LYCOPHRON, who (living at the court of PTOLEMY
PHILADELPHUS, under whose auspices the Hebrew Scriptures were translated
into Greek) would have known of that Divine miracle, and of its
application to the Coming One. Bishop Horsley believed that the fables of
the Greek mythology could be traced back to the prophecies of the Messiah,
of which they were a perversion from ignorance or design. This is
specially true of Hercules. In his apparently impossible tasks of
overthrowing gigantic enemies and delivering captives, we can see through
the shadow, and discern the pure light of the truth. We can understand how
the original star‐picture must have been a prophetic representation of Him
who shall destroy the Old Serpent and open the way again, not to fabled
“apples of gold,” but to the “tree of life” itself. He it is who though
suffering in the mighty conflict, and brought to His knee, going down even
to “the dust of death,” shall yet, in resurrection and advent glory, wield
His victorious club, subdue all His enemies, and plant His foot on the
Dragon’s head. For of Him it is written:—
“Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder;
The young lion and the dragon shalt Thou trample under foot.”
(Ps. xci. 13.)
“Come, Lord, and burst the captives’ chains,
And set the prisoners free;
Come, cleanse this earth from all its stains,
And make it meet for Thee!
Oh, come and end Creation’s groans—
Its sighs, its tears, its blood,
And make this blighted world again
The dwelling‐place of God.”
Chapter IV. The Sign SAGITTARIUS.
_The Redeemer’s Triumph._
This is the concluding chapter of the first great book of this Heavenly
Revelation; and it is occupied wholly with the triumph of the Coming One,
who is represented as going forth “conquering and to conquer.”
The subject is beautifully set forth in the written Word (Ps. xlv. 3‐5):—
“Gird Thy sword upon Thy thigh, O most mighty,
[_Gird Thyself_] with Thy glory and Thy majesty,
And in Thy majesty ride prosperously,
Because of truth, and meekness, and righteousness;
And Thy right hand shall teach Thee terrible things.
Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the King’s enemies;
Whereby the people fall under Thee.”
John, in his apocalyptic vision, sees the same mighty Conqueror going
forth. “I saw (he says) a white horse, and He that sat on him had a bow,
... and He went forth conquering and to conquer” (Rev. vi. 2).
This is precisely what is foreshadowed in the star‐pictured sign now
called by the modern Latin name _Sagittarius_, which means _the Archer_.
The Hebrew and Syriac name of the sign is _Kesith_, which means _the
Archer_ (as in Gen. xxi. 20). The Arabic name is _Al Kaus_, _the arrow_.
In Coptic it is _Pimacre_, _the graciousness_, or _beauty of the coming
forth_. In Greek it is _Toxotes_, _the archer_, and in Latin
_Sagittarius_.
[Illustration]
Plate 12: SAGITTARIUS (the Archer)
There are 69 stars in the sign, _viz._, five of the 3rd magnitude (all in
the bow), nine of the 4th, etc.
The names of the brightest stars are significant:—
Hebrew, _Naim_, which means _the gracious one_. This is exactly what is
said of this Victor in the same Psalm (xlv.), in the words immediately
preceding the quotation above (verse 2):
“GRACE is poured into Thy lips;
Therefore God hath blessed Thee for ever.”
Hebrew, _Nehushta_, _the going_ or _sending forth_.
We see the same in the Arabic names which have come down to us: _Al Naim_,
_the gracious one_; _Al Shaula_, _the dart_; _Al Warida_, _who comes
forth_; _Ruchba er rami_, _the riding of the bowman_.
An ancient Akkadian name in the sign is _Nun‐ki_, which means _Prince of
the Earth_.
Again we have the picture of _a Centaur_ as to his outward form, _i.e._ a
being with two natures. Not now far down in the south, or connected with
His sufferings and sacrifice as man; but high up, as a sign of the Zodiac
itself, on the ecliptic, _i.e._ in the very path in which the sun
“rejoiceth in his going forth as a strong man.”
According to Grecian fable, this Sagittarius is _Cheiron_, the chief
Centaur; noble in character, righteous in his dealings, divine in his
power.
Such will be the coming Seed of the woman in His power and glory:—
“The sceptre of Thy kingdom is a right sceptre.
Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness;
Therefore God, Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of
gladness above thy fellows.”
(Ps. xlv. 6, 7.)
In the ancient Zodiac of Denderah he is called (as in Coptic) _Pi‐macre_,
_i.e._ _graciousness, beauty of the appearing_ or _coming forth_. The
characters under the hind foot read _Knem_, which means _He conquers_.
This is He who shall come forth like as an arrow from the bow, “full of
grace,” but “conquering and to conquer.”
In all the pictures he is similarly represented, and the arrow in his bow
is aimed directly at the heart of the Scorpion.
Thus ARATUS sang of _Cheiron_:—
“’Midst golden stars he stands refulgent now,
And thrusts the scorpion with his bended bow.”
In this Archer we see a faint reflection of Him who shall presently come
forth, all gracious, all wise, all powerful; whose arrows shall be “sharp
in the heart of the King’s enemies.”
“God shall shoot at them with an arrow;
Suddenly shall they be wounded.
So they shall make their own tongue to fall upon themselves;
All that see them shall flee away.
And all men shall fear, and shall declare the work of God;
For they shall wisely consider of His doing.
The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and shall trust in Him;
And all the upright in heart shall glory.”
(Ps. lxiv. 7‐10.)
“Christ is coming! let Creation
From her groans and travail cease;
Let the glorious proclamation
Hope restore, and faith increase.
Christ is coming,
Come, thou blessed Prince of peace.”
This brings us to the first of the three constellations or sections of
this chapter, which takes up this subject of praise to the Conqueror.
1. LYRA (The Harp).
_Praise prepared for the Conqueror._
“Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Zion” (Ps. lxv. 1). And when the
waiting time is over, and the Redeemer comes forth, then the praise shall
be given. “We give Thee thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, which art, and
which wast, because thou hast taken to Thee Thy great power, and didst
reign” (Rev. xi. 17, R.V.). “Let us be glad and rejoice and give honour
unto Him” (Rev. xix. 7). The Twenty‐first Psalm should be read here, as it
tells of the bursting forth of praise on the going forth of this all‐
gracious Conqueror.
“The King shall rejoice in Thy strength, O LORD;
And in Thy salvation how greatly shall He rejoice!...
Thine hand shall find out all Thine enemies;
Thy right hand shall find out all that hate thee....
Their fruit shalt Thou destroy from the earth;
And their seed from among the children of men.
For they intended evil against Thee;
They imagined a mischievous device which they are not able to
perform,
Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back (Heb. _Margin,
__“__set them as a butt__”_),
When Thou shalt make ready Thine arrows upon Thy strings
[_And shoot them_] against the face of them.
Be thou exalted, LORD, in thine own strength;
SO WILL WE SING AND PRAISE THY POWER.”
(Ps. xxi. 1, 8, 10‐13.)
Beautifully, then, does _the harp_ come in here, following upon the going
forth of this victorious Horseman. This Song of the Lamb follows as
naturally as does the Song of Moses in Ex. xv. 1: “I will sing unto the
LORD, for He hath triumphed gloriously.”
[Illustration]
Plate 13: LYRA (the Harp)
Its brightest star, α, is one of the most glorious in the heavens, and by
it this constellation may be easily known. It shines with a splendid white
lustre. It is called _Vega_, which means _He shall be exalted_. Its root
occurs in the opening of the Song of Moses, quoted above. Is not this
wonderfully expressive?
Its other stars, β and γ, are also conspicuous stars, of the 2nd and 4th
magnitude. β is called _Shelyuk_, which means _an eagle_ (as does the
Arabic, _Al Nesr_); γ is called _Sulaphat_, _springing up_, or
_ascending_, as praise.
In the Zodiac of Denderah, this constellation is figured as a hawk or an
eagle (the enemy of the serpent) in triumph. Its name is _Fent‐kar_, which
means _the serpent ruled_.
There may be some confusion between the Hebrew נֶשֶׁר, _Nesher_, _an
eagle_, and עָשׂוֹר, _Gnasor_, _a harp_;(45) but there can be no doubt
about the grand central truth, that praise shall ascend up “as an eagle
toward heaven,” when “every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth,
and such as are in the sea, and all that is in them,” shall send up their
universal song of praise: “Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be
unto Him that sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.
Amen” (Rev. v. 13, 14).
And for what is all this wondrous anthem of Praise? Listen once again.
“Alleluia:(46) Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord
our God; for TRUE AND RIGHTEOUS ARE HIS JUDGMENTS.... And again they said
Alleluia” (Rev. xix. 1‐3).
With “that blessed hope” before us,
Let no HARP remain unstrung,
Let the coming advent chorus
Onward roll from tongue to tongue, Hallelujah,
“Come, Lord Jesus,” quickly come.
This brings us to—
2. ARA (The Altar).
_Consuming Fire Prepared for His Enemies._
Here we have an altar or burning pyre, placed significantly and ominously
upside down! with its fires burning and pointing downwards towards the
lower regions, called _Tartarus_, or _the abyss_, or “outer‐darkness.”
[Illustration]
Plate 14: ARA (the Altar)
It is an asterism with nine stars, of which three are of the 3rd
magnitude, four of the 4th, etc. It is south of the Scorpion’s tail, and
when these constellations were first formed it was visible only on the
very lowest horizon of the south, pointing to the completion of all
judgment in the lake of fire.
In the Zodiac of Denderah we have a different picture, giving us another
aspect of the same judgment. It is a man enthroned, with a flail in his
hand. His name is _Bau_, the same name as _Hercules_ has, and means _He
cometh_. It is from the Hebrew בּוֹא (_Bōh_), _to come_, as in Isa. lxiii.
1:
“Who is this that cometh from Edom,
With dyed garments from Bozrah.”
This is a coming in judgment, as is clear from reason given in verse 4:
“For the day of vengeance is in Mine heart,
And the year of My redeemed is come.
And I looked, and there was none to help;
And I wondered that there was none to uphold;
Therefore Mine own arm brought salvation,
And My fury, it upheld Me.”
(Isa. lxiii. 4, 5.)
The completion of judgment, therefore, is what is pictured both by the
burning pyre and the Coming One enthroned, with his threshing instrument.
In Arabic it is called _Al Mugamra_, which means _the completing_, or
_finishing_. The Greeks used the word _Ara_ sometimes in the sense of
_praying_, but more frequently in the sense of _imprecation_ or _cursing_.
This is the curse pronounced against the great enemy. This is the burning
fire, pointing to the _completion_ of that curse, when he shall be cast
into that everlasting fire “prepared for the devil and his angels.” This
is the allusion to it written in the midst of the very Scripture from
which we have already quoted (p. 66), Ps. xxi., where we read in verse 9
(which we then omitted):—
“Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of Thine anger:
The Lord shall swallow them up in His wrath;
And the fire shall devour them.”
This brings us to the final scene, closing up this first great book of the
Heavens.
3. DRACO (The Dragon).
_The Old Serpent, or the Devil, cast down from Heaven._
Each of the three great books concludes with this same foreshowing of
Apocalyptic truth. The same great enemy is referred to in all these
pictures. He is the Serpent; he is the Dragon; “the great dragon, that old
serpent, called the Devil and Satan” (Rev. xii. 9). The Serpent represents
him as the _Deceiver_; the Dragon, as the _Destroyer_.
This _First_ Book concludes with the Dragon being cast down from heaven.
The _Second_ Book concludes with _Cetus_, the Sea Monster, Leviathan,
bound.
The _Third_ Book concludes with Hydra, the Old Serpent, destroyed.
Here, at the close of the _First_ Book, we see not merely a dragon, but
the Dragon _cast down_! That is the point of this great star‐picture.
No one has ever seen a dragon; but among all nations (especially in China
and Japan), and in all ages, we find it described and depicted in legend
and in art. Both Old and New Testaments refer to it, and all unite in
connecting with it one and the same great enemy of God and man.
It is against him that the God‐Man—“the Son of God—goes forth to war.” It
is for him that the eternal fires are prepared. It is he who shall shortly
be cast down from the heavens preparatory to his completed judgment. It is
of him we read, “The great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called
the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out and
his angels with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is
come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of
His Christ; for the accuser of our brethren is cast down” (Rev. xii. 9,
10).
It is of him that David sings:—
“God is my king of old,
Working salvation in the midst of the earth ...
Thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters.
Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces.”
(Ps. lxxiv. 12‐14.)
Of him also the Spirit causes Isaiah to say, “In that day, shall this song
be sung in the land of Judah”;—
“In that day the Lord, with his sore, and great, and strong sword,
Shall punish leviathan the piercing (R.V. swift) serpent,
Even leviathan that crooked serpent;
And he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.”
(Isa. xxvi. 1; xxvii. 1.)
This is exactly what is foreshadowed by this constellation of _Draco_. Its
name is from the Greek, and means _trodden on_, as in the Septuagint of
Ps. xci. 13: “The dragon shalt thou trample under feet,” from the Hebrew
דָּרַךְ, _Dahrach_, _to tread_.
[Illustration]
Plate 15: DRACO (the Dragon Cast down)
In the Zodiac of Denderah it is shown as a serpent under the fore‐feet of
Sagittarius, and is named _Her‐fent_, which means _the serpent accursed_!
There are 80 stars in the constellation; four of the 2nd magnitude, seven
of the 3rd magnitude, ten of the 4th, etc.
The brightest star, α (in one of the latter coils), is named _Thuban_
(Heb.), _the subtle_. Some 4,620 years ago it was the Polar Star. It is
manifest, therefore, that the Greeks could not have invented this
constellation, as is confessed by all modern astronomers. It is still a
very important star in nautical reckonings, guiding the commerce of the
seas, and thus “the god of this world” is represented as winding in his
contortions round the pole of the world, as if to indicate his subtle
influence in all worldly affairs.
The next star, β (in the head), is called by the Hebrew name _Rastaban_,
and means _the head of the subtle_ (_serpent_). In the Arabic it is still
called _Al Waid_, which means _who is to be destroyed_.
The next star, γ (also in the head), is called _Ethanin_, _i.e._, _the
long serpent_, or _dragon_.
The Hebrew names of other stars, not identified, are _Grumian_, _the
subtle_; _Giansar_, _the punished enemy_. Other (Arabic) names are _Al
Dib_, _the reptile_; _El Athik_, _the fraudful_; _El Asieh_, _the bowed
down_.
And thus the combined testimony of every star (without a single exception)
of each constellation, and the constellations of each sign, accords with
the testimony of the Word of God concerning the coming Seed of the woman,
the bruising of His heel, the crushing of the serpent’s head, “the
sufferings of Christ, and the glory which should follow.”
“From far I see the glorious day,
When He who bore our sins away,
Will all His majesty display.
A Man of Sorrows once He was,
No friend was found to plead His cause,
As all preferred the world’s applause.
He groaned beneath sin’s awful load,
For in the sinner’s place He stood,
And died to bring him back to God.
But now He waits, with glory crowned.
While angel hosts His throne surround,
And still His lofty praises sound.
To few on earth His name is dear,
And they who in His cause appear,
The world’s reproach and scorn must bear
Jesus, Thy name is all my boast,
And though by waves of trouble tossed,
Thou wilt not let my soul be lost.
Come then, come quickly from above,
My soul impatient longs to prove,
The depths of everlasting love.”
THE SECOND BOOK. THE REDEEMED.
_The Result of the Redeemer’s Sufferings._
In the _First_ Book we have had before us the work of the Redeemer set
forth as it concerned His own glorious person. In this _Second_ Book it is
presented to us as it affects others. Here we see the _results_ of His
humiliation, and conflict, and victory—“The sufferings of Christ” and the
blessings they procured for His redeemed people.
In Chapter I. we have the Blessings procured.
In Chapter II. their Blessings ensured.
In Chapter III. their Blessings in abeyance.
In Chapter IV. their Blessings enjoyed.
Chapter I. The Sign CAPRICORNUS (The Sea Goat).
_The Goat of Atonement Slain for the Redeemed._
It is most noteworthy that this Second Book opens with the Goat, and
closes with the Ram: two animals of sacrifice; while the two middle
chapters are both connected with fishes.(47) The reason for this we shall
see as we proceed.
Both are combined in the first chapter, or “Sign” of Capricornus.
In all the ancient Zodiacs, or Planispheres, we find a goat with a fish’s
tail. In the Zodiacs of Denderah and Esneh, in Egypt, it is half‐goat and
half‐fish, and it is there called _Hu‐penius_, which means _the place of
the sacrifice_.
In the Indian Zodiac it is a goat _passant_ traversed by a fish.
There can be no doubt as to the significance of this sign.
In the Goat we have the Atoning Sacrifice, in the Fish we have the people
for whom the atonement is made. When we come to the sign “PISCES” we shall
see more clearly that it points to the _multitudes_ of the redeemed host.
The Goat is bowing its head as though falling down in death. The right leg
is folded underneath the body, and he seems unable to rise with the left.
The tail of the fish, on the other hand, seems to be full of vigour and
life.
The Hebrew name of the sign is _Gedi_, _the kid_ or _cut off_, the same as
the Arabic _Al Gedi_. CAPRICORNUS is merely the modern (Latin) name of the
sign, and means _goat_.
[Illustration]
Plate 16: CAPRICORNUS (the Goat)
There are 51 stars in the sign, three of which are of the 3rd magnitude,
three of the 4th, etc. Five are remarkable stars, α and β in the horn and
head, and the remaining three, γ, δ, and ε, in the fishy tail. The star α
is named _Al Gedi_, _the kid_ or _goat_, while the star δ is called _Deneb
Al Gedi_, _the sacrifice cometh_.
Other star‐names in the sign, not identified, are _Dabih_ (Syriac), _the
sacrifice slain_; _Al Dabik_ and _Al Dehabeh_ (Arabic) have the same
meaning; _Ma’asad_, _the slaying_; _Sa’ad al Naschira_, _the record of the
cutting off_.
Is not this exactly in accord with the Scriptures of truth? There were two
goats! Of “the _goat_ of the sin‐offering” it is written, “God hath given
it to you to bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for
them before the LORD” (Lev. x. 16, 17): of the other goat, which was not
slain, “he shall let it go into the wilderness” (Lev. xvi. 22). Here is
death and resurrection. Christ was “wounded for our transgressions, and
bruised for our iniquities.” “For the transgression of MY PEOPLE was He
stricken” (Isa. liii.). He laid down His life for the sheep.
In the first chapter of the _First_ Book we had the same Blessed One
presented as “a corn of wheat.” Here we see Him come to “die,” and hence
not abiding alone, but bringing forth “much fruit” (John xii. 24). The
living fish proceeds from the dying goat, and yet they form only one body.
That picture, which has no parallel in nature, has a perfectly true
counterpart in grace; and “a great multitude, which no man can number,”
have been redeemed and shall obtain eternal life through the death of
their Redeemer.
It is, however, not merely the actual death which is set before us here.
The _first_ chapter _in each book_ has for its great subject _the Person_
of the Redeemer in _prophecy_ and promise. The _last_ chapter in each book
has for its subject the fulfilment of that prophecy in victory and
triumph, in the Person of the Redeemer: while the two _central_ chapters
_in each_ book are occupied with _the work_ which is the accomplishment of
the promise, presented in two aspects—the former connected with _grace_,
the latter with _conflict_.
Thus the _structure_ of each of the three books is an _epanodos_, having
for its first and last members the Person of the Redeemer (in “A” in
_Prophecy_; in “_A_” in _Fulfilment_), while in the two central members we
have the work and its accomplishment (in “B” _in grace_; and in “_B_” _in
conflict_).
It may be thus presented to the eye:—
_The First Book._
A | VIRGO. The Prophecy of the Bruised Seed.
B | LIBRA. The work accomplished (in _grace_).
_B_ | SCORPIO. The work accomplished (in _conflict_.)
_A_ | SAGITTARIUS. The fulfillment of the promised victory.
_The Second Book._
C | CAPRICORNUS. The Prophecy of the Promised Deliverance.
D | AQUARIUS. Results of the work bestowed (in grace).
_D_ | PISCES. Results of the work enjoyed (in conflict).
_C_ | ARIES. The Fulfilment of the Promised Deliverance.
_The Third Book._
E | TAURUS. The Prophecy of the coming Judge of all the earth.
F | GEMINI. The Redeemer’s reign. (Grace and Glory).
_F_ | CANCER. The Redeemer’s possession (safe from all conflict).
_E_ | LEO. The fulfilment of the promised Triumph.
Hence in CAPRICORNUS we must look for the _prophecy_ of this Coming
Sacrifice. As a matter of fact it did actually point out the time when the
Sun of Righteousness should arise, and “the Light of the World” appear.
For when this Promised Seed was born the Sun _was actually in this sign of
Capricornus_! “The fulness of time was come,” and “God sent forth His Son
TO REDEEM them that were under the Law” (Gal. iv. 4). The Sun was really
amongst those very stars—_Al Gedi_, _the kid_, and _Deneb Al Gedi_, _the
sacrifice cometh_—when this willing Sacrifice said, “Lo I come to do Thy
will, O God.” The nights were at their darkest and their longest when
Jesus was born. The days began immediately to lengthen when He, “the true
light,” had come into the world.(48)
Astronomers confess that the perverted legends of the Greeks give but “a
lame account” of this sign, “and it offers no illustration of _its ancient
origin_.”
Its ancient origin reveals a prophetic knowledge, which only He possessed
who knew that in “the fulness of time” He would send forth His Son.
We now come to the three constellations which give us three pictures
setting forth the death of this Sacrifice and of His living again.
1. SAGITTA (The Arrow).
_The Arrow of God sent forth_.
It is not the Arrow of Sagittarius, for that has not left his bow. That
arrow is for the enemies of God. This is for the Son of God. It was of
this that He spoke when He said, in Ps. xxxviii. 2:
“Thine arrows stick fast in me,
And Thy hand presseth me sore.”
He was “stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted, He was wounded for our
transgressions” (Isa. liii. 4, 5). He was “pierced,” when He could say
with Job, “The arrows of the Almighty are within me” (vi. 4).
[Illustration]
Plate 17: SAGITTA (the Arrow), AQUILA (the Eagle), DELPHINUS (the Dolphin)
Here the arrow is pictured to us in mid‐heaven, alone, as having been shot
forth by an invisible hand. It is seen in its flight through the heavens.
It is the arrow of God, showing that Redemption is all of God. It was “the
will of God” which Jesus came to do. Not a mere work of mercy for
miserable sinners, but a work ordained in eternity past, for the glory of
God in eternity future.
This is the record of the Word, and this is what is pictured for us here.
The work which the arrow accomplishes is seen in the dying Goat, and in
the falling Eagle.
There are many other stars in the heavens in a straighter line, which
would better serve for an arrow. Why are these stars chosen? Why is the
arrow placed here? What explanation can be given, except that the
Revelation in the stars and in the Book are both from the inspiration of
the same Spirit?
There are about 18 stars, of which four are of the 4th magnitude. Only γ
and δ are in the same line, while the shaft passes between α and β.
The Hebrew name is _Sham_, _destroying_, or _desolate_.
2. AQUILA (The Eagle).
_The Smitten One Falling._
Here we have an additional picture of the effect of this arrow, in the
pierced, wounded, and falling Eagle, gasping in its dying struggle. And
that pierced, wounded, and dying Saviour whom it represents, after saying,
in Ps. xxxviii. 2, “Thine arrows stick fast in Me,” added, in verse 10:
“My heart panteth, My strength faileth Me,
As for the light of Mine eyes it is gone from Me.”
(See also Zech. xiii. 6.)
The names of the stars, all of them, bear out this representation. The
constellation contains 74 stars. The brightest of them, α (in the Eagle’s
neck), is a notable star of the 1st magnitude, called _Al Tair_ (Arabic),
_the wounding_. The star β (in the throat) is called _Al Shain_ (Arabic),
_the bright_, from a Hebrew root meaning _scarlet coloured_, as in Josh.
ii. 18. The star γ (in the back) is called _Tarared_, _wounded_, or
_torn_. δ (in the lower wing) is named _Alcair_, which means _the
piercing_, and ε (in the tail), _Al Okal_, has the significant meaning
_wounded in the heel_.
How can the united testimony of these names be explained except by
acknowledging a Divine origin? even that of Him who afterwards foretold of
the bruising of the Virgin’s Son in the written Word; yea, of Him “who
telleth the number of the stars and giveth them all their names.”
3. DELPHINUS (The Dolphin).
_The Dead One Rising again._
This is a bright cluster of 18 stars, five of which are of the 3rd
magnitude. It is easily distinguished by the four brightest, which are in
the head.
It is always figured as a fish full of life, and always with the head
upwards, just as the eagle is always with the head downwards. The great
peculiar characteristic of the dolphin is its rising up, leaping, and
springing out of the sea.
When we compare this with the dying goat and falling eagle, what
conclusion can we come to but that we have here the filling in of the
picture, and the completion of the whole truth set forth in Capricornus?
Jesus “died and rose again.” Apart from His resurrection His death is
without result. In His conflict with the enemy it is only His coming again
in glory which is shown forth. But here, in connection with His people,
with the multitudes of His redeemed, Resurrection is the great and
important truth. He is “the first‐fruits of them that slept”; then He,
too, is here represented as a fish. He who went down into the waters of
death for His people; He who could say “All thy waves and thy billows are
gone over me” (Ps. xlii. 7), He it is who rises up again from the dead,
having died on account of the sins of His redeemed, and risen again on
account of their justification (Rom. iv. 25).
This is the picture here. In the Persian planisphere there seems to be a
fish and a stream of water. The Egyptian has a vessel pouring out water.
The ancient names connected with this constellation are _Dalaph_ (Hebrew),
_pouring out of water_; _Dalaph_ (Arabic), _coming quickly;_ _Scalooin_
(Arabic), _swift (as the flow of water); Rotaneb_ or _Rotaneu_ (Syriac and
Chaldee), _swiftly running_.
Thus, in this first chapter of the Second Book we see the great truth of
Revelation set forth; and we learn how the great Blessings of Redemption
were procured. This truth cannot be more eloquently or powerfully
presented than in the language of Dr. Seiss:—
“This strange goat‐fish, dying in its head, but living in its
afterpart—falling as an eagle pierced and wounded by the arrow of
death, but springing up from the dark waves with the matchless
vigour and beauty of the dolphin—sinking under sin’s condemnation,
but rising again as sin’s conqueror—developing new life out of
death, and heralding a new springtime out of December’s long drear
nights—was framed by no blind chance of man. The story which it
tells is the old, old story on which hangs the only availing hope
that ever came, or ever can come, to Adam’s race. To what it
signifies we are for ever shut up as the only saving faith. In
that dying Seed of the woman we must see our sin‐bearer and the
atonement for our guilt, or die ourselves unpardoned and
unsanctified. Through His death and bloodshedding we must find our
life, or the true life, which alone is life, we never can have.”
“Complete atonement Thou hast made,
And to the utmost farthing paid
Whate’er Thy people owed:
Nor can His wrath on me take place,
If sheltered in His righteousness,
And sprinkled with the blood.
If my discharge Thou hast procured,
And freely in my room endured
The whole of wrath divine,
Payment God cannot twice demand,
First at my bleeding Surety’s hand,
And then again at mine.
Turn, then, my soul, unto Thy rest;
The merits of Thy great High Priest
Have bought thy liberty;
Trust in His efficacious blood,
Nor fear thy banishment from God,
Since Jesus died for thee.”
Chapter II. The Sign AQUARIUS (The Water Bearer).
_Their Blessings Ensured, or the Living Waters of Blessing Poured Forth
for the Redeemed._
The Atonement being made, the blessings have been procured, and now they
can be bestowed and poured forth upon the Redeemed. This is the truth,
whether we think of Abel’s lamb, of patriarchal sacrifices, the offerings
under the Law, or of that great Sacrifice of which they all testified.
They all with one voice tell us that atonement made is the only foundation
of blessing.
This was pictured and foreshown in the heavens from the beginning, by a
man pouring forth water from an urn which seems to have an inexhaustible
supply, and which flows forth downwards into the mouth of a fish, which
receives it and drinks it all up.
In the ancient Zodiac of Denderah it is the same idea, though the man
holds two urns, and the fish below seems to have come out of the urn. The
man is called _Hupei Tirion_, which means _the place of him coming down_
or _poured forth_.
In some eastern Zodiacs the Urn alone appears.
[Illustration]
Plate 18: AQUARIUS (the Water Bearer) & PISCIS AUSTRALIS (the Southern
Fish)
This agrees with its other names—Hebrew, _Deli_, _the water‐urn_, or
_bucket_ (as in Num. xxiv. 7); the Arabic _Delu_ is the same.
There are 108 stars in this Sign, four of which are of the 3rd magnitude.
Their names, as far as they have come down to us, are significant.
The star α (in the right shoulder) is called _Sa’ad al Melik_, which means
_the record of the pouring forth_.
The star β (in the other shoulder) is called _Saad al Sund_, _who goeth
and returneth_, or _the pourer out_.
The bright star δ (in the lower part of the right leg) is well‐known to‐
day by its Hebrew name _Scheat_, which means _who goeth and returneth_.
The bright star in the urn has an Egyptian name—_Mon_ or _Meon_, which
means simply _an urn_.
Aquarius is the modern Latin name by which the sign is known. It has the
same meaning, _the pourer forth of water_.
Can we doubt what is the interpretation of this sign? The Greeks, not
knowing Him of whom it testified, were, like the woman of Samaria,
destitute of that living water which He alone can give. They therefore
invented some story about _Deucalion_, the son of Prometheus; and another,
saying he is _Ganymede_, Jove’s cup‐bearer! But, as an astronomer says,
“We must account otherwise for the origin of this name; for it is not
possible to reconcile the symbols of the eleventh(49) sign with Grecian
mythology.” No! we must go further back than that, and not cramp our
vision, and distort the Scriptures, by confining our thoughts to “the
Church.” The Church is nowhere seen in these Signs, as she is nowhere
revealed in the Old Testament. This we shall enlarge on when we come to
the sign Pisces. Meanwhile we must read the witness of the stars as if
there had been no Church!
Christ is first. Yea, He is all in all. The Scriptures testify of Him; and
the very stars in this Sign tell of His going away and His coming again.
These prophetic signs have to do with Him, with the Atonement He wrought,
with the conflict He endured, with the blessings He secured, with the
victory He shall win, and the triumph He shall have. For it is written:
“He shall pour the water out of His buckets,
And His seed shall be in many waters,
And His king shall be higher than Agag,
And His kingdom shall be exalted.”
(Num. xxiv. 7.)
It tells of that glorious day when
“A King shall reign in righteousness;
And princes shall rule in judgment;
And a MAN shall be as an hiding place
from the wind,
And a covert from the tempest;
As RIVERS of WATER in a dry place.”
(Isa. xxxii. 1, 2).
It speaks of that glorious time when Israel shall be restored, and their
“eyes shall see the King in His beauty”; when the peace of Zion shall be
no more disturbed, “but there the glorious LORD will be unto us a place of
broad rivers and streams” (Isa. xxxiii. 17, 20, 21). Then
“The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them;
And the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose,
For in the wilderness shall waters break out,
And streams in the desert.”
(Isa. xxxv. 1, 6.)
“I will open rivers in high places,
And fountains in the midst of the valleys;
I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
And the dry land springs of water.”
(Isa. xli. 18.)
“Fear not, O Jacob, My servant;
And thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen,
For I will POUR WATER upon him that is thirsty,
And floods upon the dry ground;
I will pour My Spirit upon thy seed,
And My blessing upon thy offspring.
Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel,
And his Redeemer the LORD of hosts.”
(Isa. xliv. 2, 3, 6.)
This is the meaning of the Sign. The MAN Christ Jesus, who was humbled in
death will yet be seen to be the pourer forth of every blessing.
_Physically_ pouring forth literal waters, removing the curse, and turning
this world into a paradise:
“Making her wilderness like Eden,
And her desert like the garden of the LORD.”
(Isa. li. 3.)
And _morally_ pouring forth His Spirit in such abundance as to fill the
whole earth with peace, and blessing, and glory, “as the waters cover the
sea.”
Upon Israel restored He will pour out His blessing. They will be sprinkled
with clean water, and possess a new heart and a new spirit (Ezek. xxxvi.
24‐28; Joel ii. 28‐32).
Such are some of the Scriptures which tell of this glorious Water‐pourer.
We need not rob Christ of His glory, or Israel of her blessing, in order
to see in all this Pentecost or the Church. These are quite independent of
the great line of prophetic truth. They are parenthetical, and distinct,
and true, quite apart from the glorious prophecies of Israel’s scattering
and gathering. The physical marvels referred to in the texts above can
never be satisfied or exhausted by any spiritual fulfilment. We may make
an _application_ of them as far as is consistent with the teaching of the
epistles; but the _interpretation_ of them belongs to the Person of
Christ, and the nation of Israel. That interpretation is pictured for us
in the Sign, and in its three constellations.
1. PISCIS AUSTRALIS (The Southern Fish).
_The Blessings Bestowed._
This first constellation is one of high antiquity,(50) and its brilliant
star of the first magnitude was a subject of great study by the Egyptians
and Ethiopians. It is named in Arabic _Fom al Haut_, _the mouth of the
fish_. There are 22 other stars.
The constellation is inseparable from Aquarius, in connection with which
we have shown it in Plate XVIII. In the Denderah Zodiac it is called
_Aar_, _a stream_.
It sets forth the simple truth that the blessings procured by the MAN—the
coming Seed of the woman, will be surely bestowed and received by those
for whom they are intended. There will be no failure in their
communication, or in their reception. What has been purchased shall be
secured and possessed.
2. PEGASUS (The Winged Horse).
_The Blessings Quickly Coming._
Not only shall they be received, but they shall be brought near. They will
not have to be fetched, but they will be caused to come to those for whom
they are procured, and will yet be _brought_ by Him who has procured them.
[Illustration]
Plate 19: PEGASUS (the Winged Horse)
In the Denderah Zodiac there are two characters immediately below the
horse, _Pe_ and _ka_. _Peka_ or _Pega_, is in Hebrew _the chief_, and
_Sus_ is _horse_. So that the very word (_Pegasus_) has come down to us
and has been preserved through all the languages.
The names of the stars in this constellation declare to us its meaning.
There are 89 altogether; one of the 1st magnitude, two of the 2nd, three
of the 3rd, nine of the 4th, etc. And, as astronomers testify, “they
render Pegasus peculiarly remarkable.”
The brightest, α (on the neck of the horse at the junction of the wing),
comes down to us with the ancient Hebrew name of _Markab_, which means
_returning from afar_. The star β (in the near shoulder) is called
_Scheat_, _i.e._, _who goeth and returneth_. The star γ (at the tip of the
wing) bears an Arabic name—_Al Genib_, _who carries_. The star ε (in the
nostril) is called _Enif_ (Arabic), _the water_. The star η (in the near
leg) is called _Matar_ (Arabic), _who causes to overflow_.
These names show us that we have to do with no mere horse. A winged horse
is unknown to nature. It must therefore be used as a figure; and it can be
a figure only of a person, even of Him who is “_the Branch_,” as the star
_Enif_ shows, who said, “If I go away I will come again,” as the star
_Scheat_ testifies.
He who procured these blessings for the redeemed by His Atonement, is
quickly coming to bring them; and is soon returning to pour them forth
upon a groaning creation. This is the lesson of Pegasus.
“Come, blessed Lord, bid every shore
And answering island sing
The praises of Thy royal Name,
And own Thee as their King.
Lord, Lord! Thy fair creation groans—
The earth, the air, the sea—
In unison with all our hearts,
And calls aloud for Thee.
Thine was the Cross with all its fruits
Of grace and peace divine:
Be Thine the Crown of glory now,
The palm of victory Thine.”
3. CYGNUS (The Swan).
_The Blesser surely Returning._
This constellation repeats, emphasises, and affirms this glorious truth.
It has to do with the Great Blesser and His speedy return, as is testified
by all the ancient names connected with it.
In the Denderah Zodiac it is named _Tes‐ark_, which means _this from
afar_.
[Illustration]
Plate 20: CYGNUS (the Swan)
It is a most brilliant and gorgeous asterism of 81 stars; one of the 1st
or 2nd, six of the 3rd, twelve of the 4th magnitude, etc. It contains
variable stars, five double stars, and one quadruple. The star marked “61
Cygni” is known as one of the most wonderful in the whole heavens. It
consists of two stars which revolve about each other, and yet have a
progressive motion common to each!
This mighty bird is not falling dead, like Aquila, but it is flying
swiftly in mid‐heaven. It is coming to the earth, for it is not so much a
bird of the air, but a bird peculiarly belonging to both the earth and the
waters.
Its brightest star, α (between the body and the tail), is called _Deneb_
(like another in Capricornus), and means _the judge_. It is also called
_Adige_, _flying swiftly_, and thus at once it is connected with Him who
cometh to judge the earth in righteousness.
The star β (in the beak) is named _Al Bireo_ (Arabic), _flying quickly_.
The star γ (in the body) is called _Sadr_ (Hebrew), _who returns as in a
circle_.
The two stars in the tail, now marked in the maps as π 1 and π 2, are
named _Azel_, _who goes and returns quickly_; and _Fafage_, _gloriously
shining forth_.
The teaching, then, of the whole sign of AQUARIUS is clear and complete.
The names of the stars explain the constellations, and the names of the
constellations explain the sign, so that we are left in no doubt.
By His atoning death (as set forth in CAPRICORNUS) He has purchased and
procured unspeakable blessings for His redeemed. This sign (AQUARIUS)
tells of those blessings being poured forth, and of the speedy return of
Him who is to bring “rivers of blessing,” and to fill this earth with
blessing and glory “as the waters cover the sea.”
“Then take, LORD, thy kingdom, and come in Thy glory;
Make the scene of Thy sorrows the place of Thy throne,
Complete all the blessing which ages in story
Have told of the triumphs so justly Thine own.”
Chapter III. The Sign PISCES (The Fishes).
_The Blessings of the Redeemed in abeyance._
In this third chapter of the Second Book we come to the results of the
Redeemer’s work enjoyed, but in connection with conflict, as is seen in
the last of the three sections (the constellation of _Andromeda_, _the
chained woman_), which leads up to the last chapter of the book, and ends
it in triumph over every enemy.
[Illustration]
Plate 21: PISCES (the Fish) and the Band
The Sign is pictured as two large fishes bound together by a _Band_, the
ends of which are fastened separately to their tails. One fish is
represented with its head pointing upwards towards the North Polar Star,
the other is shown at right angles, swimming along the line of the
ecliptic, or path of the sun.
The ancient Egyptian name, as shown on the Denderah Zodiac, is _Pi‐cot
Orion_, or _Pisces Hori_, which means _the fishes of Him that cometh_.
The Hebrew name is _Dagim_, _the Fishes_, which is closely connected with
_multitudes_, as in Gen. xlviii. 26, where Jacob blesses Joseph’s sons,
and says, “Let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.” The
margin says, “Let them grow _as fishes do increase_.” It refers to the
fulfilment of Gen. i. 28, “Be fruitful and multiply.” The _multitude_ of
Abraham’s seed is prominent in the pronouncement of the blessings, where
God compared his future posterity to the stars of the sky, and the sand
upon the sea shore. “A very great multitude of fish,” as in Ezek. xlvii.
9.
The Syriac name is _Nuno_, _the fish_, _lengthened out (as in posterity)_.
The sign, then, speaks of the multitudes who should enjoy the blessings of
the Redeemer’s work.
And here we must maintain that “the Church,” which is “the Body of
Christ,” was a subject that was never revealed to man until it was made
known to the Apostle Paul by a special revelation. The Holy Spirit
declares (Rom. xvi. 25) that it “was kept secret since the world began.”
In Eph. iii. 9 he declares that it “from the beginning of the world hath
been hid in God”; and in Col. i. 26, that it “hath been hid from ages and
from generations, but now is made manifest to His saints.” In each
scripture which speaks of it as “now made manifest,” or “now made known,”
it is distinctly stated that it was “a mystery,” _i.e._, a _secret_, and
had, up to that moment, been hidden from mankind, hidden “in God.” How,
then, we ask, can “the Church,” which was _a subsequent_ revelation, be
read into the previous prophecies, whether written in the Old Testament
Scriptures, or made known in the Heavens? If the Church was revealed in
prophecy, then it could not have been said to be hidden or kept secret. If
the _first_ revelation of it was made known to Paul, as he distinctly
affirms it was, then it could not have been revealed before. Unless we see
this very clearly, we cannot “rightly divide the word of truth” (2 Tim.
ii. 15). And if we do not rightly divide the word of truth, in its
subjects, and times, and dispensations, we must inevitably be landed in
confusion and darkness, interpreting of the Church, scriptures which
belong only to Israel.
The Church, or Body of Christ, is totally distinct from every class of
persons who are made the subject of prophecy. Not that the Church of God
was an after‐thought. No, it was a Divine secret, kept as only God Himself
could keep it. The Bible therefore would have been complete (so far as the
Old Testament prophecies are concerned) if the Epistles (which belong only
to the Church) were taken out. The Old Testament would then give us the
kingdom prophesied; the Gospels and Acts, the King and the kingdom offered
and rejected; then the Apocalypse would follow, showing how that promised
kingdom will yet be set up with Divine judgment, power, and glory.
If these Signs and these star‐pictures be the results of inspired
patriarchs, then this Sign of PISCES can refer to “His seed,” prophesied
of in Isa. liii.: “He shall see His seed.” It must refer to
“The nation whose God is the LORD,
And the people whom He hath chosen for His own inheritance.”
(Ps. xxxiii. 12.)
“Such as be blessed of Him shall inherit the earth.”
(Ps. xxxvii. 22.)
“The LORD shall increase you more and more,
You and your children,
Ye are blessed of the LORD.”
(Ps. cxv. 14, 15.)
“Their seed shall be known among the Gentiles.
And their offspring among the people;
All that see them shall acknowledge them,
That they are the seed which the LORD hath blessed.”
(Isa. lxi. 9.)
“They are the seed of the blessed of the LORD,
And their offspring with them.”
(Isa. lxv. 23.)
The prophecy of this Sign was afterwards written in the words of Isa.
xxvi. 15—the song which shall yet be sung in the land of Judah:
“Thou hast increased the nation, O LORD,
Thou hast increased the nation.”
And in Isa. ix. 3 (R.V.), speaking of the glorious time when the
government shall be upon the shoulder of the coming King:
“Thou hast multiplied the nation,
Thou hast increased their joy.”
Of that longed‐for day Jeremiah sings (xxx. 19):
“I will multiply them
And they shall not be few;
I will also glorify them,
And they shall not be small.”
Ezekiel also is inspired to say:
“I will multiply men upon you,
All the house of Israel, even all of it:
And the cities shall be inhabited,
And the wastes shall be builded;
And I will multiply upon you man and beast,
And they shall increase and bring fruit.”
(Ezek. xxxvi. 10, 11.)
“Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them;
It shall be an everlasting covenant with them!
And I will place them, and multiply them,
And will set My sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.”
(Ezek. xxxvii. 26.)
Indeed, this Sign of PISCES has always been interpreted of Israel. Both
Jews and Gentiles have agreed in this. ABARBANEL, a Jewish commentator,
writing on Daniel, affirms that the Sign PISCES always refers to the
people of Israel. He gives five reasons for this belief, and also affirms
that a conjunction of the planets Jupiter and Saturn always betokens a
crisis in the affairs of Israel. Because such a conjunction took place in
his day (about 1480 A.D.) he looked for the coming of Messiah.(51)
Certain it is, that when the sun is in PISCES all the constellations which
are considered _noxious_, are seen above the horizon. What is true in
astronomical observation is true also in historical fact. When God’s
favour is shown to Israel, “the Jew’s enemy” puts forth his malignant
powers. When they increased and multiplied in Egypt, he endeavoured to
compass the destruction of the nation by destroying the male children; but
their great Deliverer remembered His covenant, defeated the designs of the
enemy, and brought the counsel of the heathen to nought. So it was in
Persia; and so it will yet be again when the hour of Israel’s final
deliverance has come.
There can be no doubt that we have in this Sign the foreshowing of the
multiplication and blessing of the children of promise, and a token of
their coming deliverance from all the power of the enemy.
But why _two_ fishes? and why is one horizontal and the other
perpendicular? The answer is, that not only in Israel, but in the seed of
Seth and Shem there were always those who looked for a heavenly portion,
and were “partakers of a heavenly calling.” In Heb. xi. we are distinctly
told that Abraham “looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder
and maker is God” (_v._ 10). They were “strangers and pilgrims on the
earth” (_v._ 13). _Strangers_ are those without a home, and _pilgrims_ are
those who are journeying home: “they seek a country” (_v._ 14). They
desired “a better country, that is, an HEAVENLY: wherefore God is not
ashamed(52) to be called their God; for He hath prepared for them a city”
(_v._ 16). It is clear, therefore, that what are called the “Old Testament
Saints” were “partakers of THE HEAVENLY CALLING” (Heb. iii. 1), which
included a heavenly portion and a heavenly home; and all through the ages
there have been “partakers of the heavenly calling.” This is quite
distinct from the calling of the Church, which is from both Jews and
Gentiles to form “one body,” a “new man” in Christ (Eph. ii. 15). It must
be distinct, for it is expressly stated at the end of that chapter (Heb.
xi. 40) that God has “PROVIDED (marg. _forseen_) SOME BETTER THING FOR
US.” How can this be a “better thing,” if it is the _same thing_? There
must be two separate things if one is “better” than the other! Our calling
in Christ is the “better thing.” The Old Testament saints had, and will
have, _a good thing_. They will have a heavenly blessing, and a heavenly
portion, for God has “prepared for them a city,” and we see that prepared
city, even “the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of
HEAVEN, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (Rev. xxi. 2). This
is the “heavenly” portion of the Old Testament saints, the Bride of
Christ. The Church will have a still “better” portion, for “they without
us should not be made perfect” (Heb. xi. 40).
The fish, shooting upwards to the Polar Star, exquisitely pictures this
“heavenly calling”; while the other fish, keeping on the horizontal line,
answers to those who were content with an earthly portion.
But both alike were divinely called, and chosen, and upheld. The names of
two of the stars in the sign (not identified) are _Okda_ (Hebrew), _the
united_, and _Al Samaca_ (Arabic), _the upheld_.(53) These again speak of
the redeemed seed, of whom, and to whom, Jehovah speaks in that coming day
of glory in Isa. xli. 8‐10 (R.V.):—
“But thou, Israel, My servant,
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
The seed of Abraham My friend;
Thou whom I have taken hold of from the ends of the earth,
And called thee from the corners thereof,
And said unto thee, Thou art My servant;
I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away;
Fear thou not, for I am with thee;
Be not dismayed, for I am thy God!
I will strengthen thee;
Yea, I will help thee;
Yea, I will UPHOLD thee with the right hand of My righteousness.”
This is the teaching of the Sign; and the first constellation takes up
this thought and emphasises it.
1. THE BAND.
_The Redeemed Bound, but binding their Enemy._
The band that _unites_ these two fishes has always formed a separate
constellation. It is shown in Plate XXI. The Arabian poems of ANTARAH
frequently mention it as distinct from the Sign with which it is so
closely connected. ANTARAH was an Arabian poet of the sixth century.
Its ancient Egyptian name was _U‐or_, which means _He cometh_. Its Arabic
name is _Al Risha_, _the band_, or _bridle_.
It speaks of the Coming One, not in His relation to Himself, or to His
enemies, but in His relation to _the Redeemed_. It speaks of Him who says:
“I drew them with cords of a man,
With bands of love;
And I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws.”
(Hosea xi. 4, R.V.)
But it speaks also of His unloosing the bands with which they have been so
long bound.
In the picture these fishes are bound. One end of the _band_ is fastened
securely round the tail of one fish, and it is the same with the other.
Moreover, this _band_ is fastened to the neck of _Cetus_, the sea monster,
while immediately above is seen a woman chained as a captive. These both
tell the same story, and, indeed, all are required to set forth the whole
truth. The fishes are _bound_ to _Cetus_; the woman (_Andromeda_) is
chained; but the Deliverer of both is near. Cepheus, the Crowned King, the
Redeemer, “the Breaker,” the Branch, is seen coming quickly for the
deliverance of His redeemed. These are the three constellations of this
sign, and all three are required to set forth the story.
Israel now is bound. The great enemy still oppresses, but deliverance is
sure. ARIES, _the Ram_, is seen with his paws on this band, as though
about to loosen the bands and set the captives free, and to fast bind
their great oppressor.
2. ANDROMEDA (The Chained Woman).
_The Redeemed in their Bondage and Affliction._
This is a peculiar picture to set in the heavens. A woman with chains
fastened to her feet and arms, in misery and trouble; and bound, helpless,
to the sky. Yet this is the ancient foreshowing of the truth.
In the Denderah Zodiac her name is _Set_, which means _set_, _set up as a
queen_. In Hebrew it is _Sirra_, _the chained_, and _Persea_, _the
stretched out_.
[Illustration]
Plate 22: ANDROMEDA (the Chained Woman)
There are 63 stars in this constellation, three of which are of the 2nd
magnitude, two of the 3rd, twelve of the 4th, etc.
The brightest star, α (in the head), is called _Al Phiratz_ (Arabic), _the
broken down_. The star β (in the body) is called _Mirach_ (Hebrew), _the
weak_. The star γ (in the left foot) is called _Al Maach_, or _Al Amak_
(Arabic), _struck down_.
The names of other stars, not identified, are _Adhil_, _the afflicted_;
_Mizar_, _the weak_; _Al Mara_ (Arabic), _the afflicted_. ARATUS speaks of
_Desma_, which means _the bound_, and says—
“Her feet point to her bridegroom
_Perseus_, on whose shoulder they rest.”
Thus, with one voice, the stars of _Andromeda_ speak to us of the captive
daughter of Zion. And her coming Deliverer thus addresses her:—
“O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted,
Behold, ... in righteousness shalt thou be established:
Thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear:
And from terror; for it shall not come nigh thee.”
(Isa. liv. 11‐14.)
“Hear now this, thou afflicted....
Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion;
Put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem....
Shake thyself from the dust;
Arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem:
Loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of
Zion.
For thus saith the LORD, Ye have sold yourselves for nought;
And ye shall be redeemed without money.”
(Isa. li. 21‐lii. 3.)
“The virgin daughter of My people is broken with a great breach, with a
very grievous blow” (Jer. xiv. 17).
The picture which sets forth her deliverance is reserved for the next
chapter (or Sign), where it comes in its proper place and order. We are
first shown her glorious Deliverer; for we never, in the heavens or in the
Word, have a reference to the sufferings without an _immediate_ reference
to the glory.
3. CEPHEUS (The King).
_Their Redeemer Coming to Rule._
Here we have the presentation of a glorious king, crowned, and enthroned
in the highest heaven, with a sceptre in his hand, and his foot planted on
the very Polar Star itself.
His name in the Denderah Zodiac is _Pe‐ku‐hor_, which means _this one
cometh to rule_.
[Illustration]
Plate 23: CEPHEUS (the Crowned King)
The Greek name by which he is now known, _Cepheus_, is from the Hebrew,
and means _the branch_, and is called by EURIPIDES _the king_.
An old Ethiopian name was _Hyk_, _a king_.
There are 35 stars, _viz._, three of the 3rd magnitude, seven of the 4th,
etc.
The brightest star, α (in the left shoulder), is called _Al Deramin_,
which means _coming quickly_. The next, β (in the girdle), is named _Al
Phirk_ (Arabic), _the Redeemer_. The next, γ (in the left knee), is called
_Al Rai_, which means _who bruises_ or _breaks_.
It is impossible to mistake the truth which these names teach. The Greeks,
though they had lost it, yet preserved a trace of it, even in their
perversion of it; for they held that _Cepheus_ was the father of
_Andromeda_, and that _Perseus_ was her husband.
Yes; this is the glorious King of Israel, the “King of kings, and Lord of
lords.” It is He who calls Israel His “son,” and will yet manifest it to
all the world.
In Jer. xxxi., after speaking of Israel’s restoration, Jehovah says (_v._
1):—
“At the same time, saith the LORD, will I be the God of all the
families of Israel,
And they shall be My people....
For I am a father to Israel,
And Ephraim is My firstborn”
(_v._ 9).
As He said to Moses: “Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my
firstborn” (Exod. iv. 22).
Here is the foundation of Israel’s blessing. True, it is now in abeyance,
but “the LORD reigneth,” and will in due time make good His Word, for
“The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever.
The thoughts of His heart to all generations.”
(Ps. xxxiii. 11.)
This leads us up to the last chapter of the Second Book, which shows us
the fulfilment of all the prophecies concerning the Redeemed and the sure
foundation on which their great hope of glory is based.
Chapter IV. The Sign ARIES (The Ram or Lamb).
_The Blessings of the Redeemed Consummated and Enjoyed._
This Second Book began with _the Goat_ dying in sacrifice, and it ends
with the Lamb living again, “as it had been slain.” The goat had the tail
of a fish, indicating that his death was for a _multitude_ of the
redeemed. In the two middle Signs we have had these fishes presented to us
in grace, and in their conflict. We come now to the last chapter of the
book: and, as we have seen, like each of the other books, it ends up with
victory and triumph. Here we are first shown the foundation on which that
victory rests, namely, Atonement. Hence we are taken back and reminded of
the “blood of the Lamb.”
This is pictured by a ram, or lamb, full of vigour and life; not falling
in death as _Capricornus_ is.
[Illustration]
Plate 24: ARIES (the Ram)
In the Denderah Zodiac its name is _Tametouris Ammon_, which means _the
reign_, _dominion_, or _government of Ammon_. The lamb’s head is without
horns, and is crowned with a circle.
The Hebrew name is _Taleh_, _the lamb_. The Arabic name is _Al Hamal_,
_the sheep_, _gentle_, _merciful_. This name has been mistakenly given by
some to the principal star, α. The Syriac name is _Amroo_, as in the
Syriac New Testament in John i. 29: “Behold the Lamb of God which taketh
away the sin of the world.” The ancient Akkadian name was _Bara‐ziggar_.
_Bar_ means _altar_, or _sacrifice_; and _ziggar_ means _right making_; so
that the full name would be _the sacrifice of righteousness_.
There are 66 stars in this sign, one being of the 2nd magnitude, two of
the 4th, etc.
Its chief star, α (in the forehead), is named _El Nath_,(54) or _El
Natik_, which means _wounded_, _slain_. The next, β (in the left horn), is
called _Al Sheratan_, _the bruised_, _the wounded_. The next, γ (near to
β), is called _Mesartim_ (Hebrew), _the bound_.
How is it there is no conflicting voice? How is it that all the stars
unite in one harmonious voice in testifying of the Lamb of God, slain, and
bruised, but yet living for evermore, singing together, “Worthy is the
Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches, and wisdom, and strength,
and honour, and glory, and blessing” (Rev. v. 12)?
This rejoicing connected with the Lamb shines faintly through the heathen
perversions and myths: for HERODOTUS tells us how the ancient Egyptians,
once a year, when it opened by the entrance of the sun into ARIES,(55)
slew a Ram, at the festival of Jupiter Ammon; branches were placed over
the doors, the Ram was garlanded with wreaths of flowers and carried in
procession. Now the sun entered ARIES on the 14th of the Jewish month
Nisan, and _another lamb_ was then ordered to be slain, even “the LORD’S
passover”—the type of that Lamb that should in the fulness of time be
offered without blemish and without spot. Owing to the precession of the
equinoxes, the sun, at the time of the Exodus, had receded into this sign
of ARIES, which then marked the Spring Equinox. But by the time that the
antitype—the Lamb of God, was slain, the sun had still further receded,
and on the 14th of Nisan, in the year of the Crucifixion, stood at the
very spot marked by the stars α, _El Nath_, _the pierced_, _the wounded_
or _slain_, and β, _Al Sheratan_, _the bruised_ _or wounded_! God so
ordained “the times and seasons” that during that noon‐day darkness the
sun was seen near those stars which had spoken for so many centuries of
this bruising of the woman’s Seed—the Lamb of God.
Was this design? or was it chance? It is far easier to believe the former.
It makes a smaller demand upon our faith; yes, we are compelled to believe
that He who created the sun and the stars “for signs and for cycles,”
ordained also the times and the seasons, and it is He who tells us that
“WHEN THE FULNESS OF TIME WAS COME, God sent forth His Son” (Gal. iv. 4),
and that “in due time Christ died for the ungodly” (Rom. v. 6).
1. CASSIOPEIA (The Enthroned Woman).
_The Captive Delivered, and Preparing for her Husband, the Redeemer._
In the last chapter we saw the _woman bound_; here we see the same woman
freed, delivered, and enthroned.
ULUGH BEY says its Arabic name is _El Seder_, which means _the freed_.
In the Denderah Zodiac her name is _Set_, which means _set_, _set up as
Queen_. ALBUMAZER says this constellation was anciently called “_the
daughter of splendour_.” This appears to be the meaning of the word
_Cassiopeia_, _the enthroned_, _the beautiful_. The Arabic name is
_Ruchba_, _the enthroned_. This is also the meaning of its Chaldee name,
_Dat al cursa_.
There are 55 stars in this constellation, of which five are of the 3rd
magnitude, five of the 4th, etc.
This beautiful constellation passes vertically over Great Britain every
day, and is easily distinguished by its five brightest stars, forming an
irregular W.
[Illustration]
Illustration showing the W of Cassiopeia
This brilliant constellation contains one binary star, a triple star, a
double star, a quadruple star, and a large number of nebulæ.
[Illustration]
Plate 25: CASSIOPEIA (the Enthroned Woman)
In the year 1572 Tycho Brahe discovered in this constellation, and very
near the star κ (under the arm of the chair), a new star, which shone more
brightly than Venus. It was observed for nearly two years, and disappeared
entirely in 1574.
The brightest star, α (in the left breast), is named _Schedir_ (Hebrew),
which means _the freed_. The next, β (in the top of the chair), likewise
bears a Hebrew name—_Caph_, which means _the branch_; it is evidently
given on account of the branch of victory which she bears in her hand.
She is indeed highly exalted, and making herself ready. Her hands, no
longer bound, are engaged in this happy work. With her right hand she is
arranging her robes, while with her left she is adorning her hair. She is
seated upon the Arctic circle, and close by the side of _Cepheus_, the
King.
This is “the Bride, the Lamb’s wife, the heavenly city, the new
Jerusalem,” the “partakers of the heavenly calling.”
He who has redeemed her is “the Lamb that was slain,” and He addresses her
thus:
“Thy Maker is thine husband;
The LORD of Hosts is His name;
And the Holy One of Israel is thy Redeemer;
The God of the whole earth shall He be called.
For the LORD hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in
spirit,
Even a wife of youth when she is cast off, saith thy God.
For a small moment have I forsaken thee;
But with great mercies will I gather thee.
In overflowing wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment;
But with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the
LORD thy Redeemer.”
(Isa. liv. 5‐8. R.V.)
“Thou shalt be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD,
And a royal diadem in the hand of thy God,
Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken;
Neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate;
But thou shalt be called Hephzi‐bah (_i.e._, _my delight is in
her_),
And thy land Beulah (_i.e._, _married_);
For the LORD delighteth in thee,
And thy land shall be married.
For as a young man marrieth a virgin,
So shall thy sons (_Heb._ thy Restorer) marry thee:
And as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride,
“So shall thy God rejoice over thee.
(Isa. lxii. 3‐5, R.V.)
“The LORD hath appeared of old (or from afar) unto me, _saying_,
Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love;
Therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee.
Again will I build thee, and thou shalt be built, O Virgin of
Israel....
He that scattered Israel will gather him,
And keep him as a shepherd doth his flock,
For the LORD hath ransomed Jacob,
And redeemed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he.”
(Jer. xxxi. 3‐12, R.V.)
Can we close our eyes to the testimony of these scriptures—that Israel is
the Bride of the Lamb? When we have all these, and more, why should we
read “the Church” into these ancient prophecies, which was the subject of
a long‐subsequent revelation, merely because (in Eph. v. 25) Christ’s love
to His Church is _compared_ to a husband’s love for his wife? “Husbands,
love your wives, even AS Christ also loved the Church.” There is not a
word here about the Church being His wife. On the contrary, it reveals the
secret that the Church of Christ is to be the mystical “Body of Christ,”
_part of the Husband_ in fact, “One new man” (Eph. ii. 15)! whereas
restored Israel is to be the Bride of this “New Man,” the Bride of Christ,
the Lamb’s wife! Blessed indeed it is to be united to Christ as a wife to
a husband, but glorious beyond all description to be “one” with Christ
Himself, part of His mystical Body.
If men had only realised the wondrous glory of this mystery, they would
never have so _wrongly_ divided the Word of Truth by _interpreting_ Psalm
xlv. of this Mystical Christ. If we “rightly divide” it, we see at once
that this Psalm is in harmony with all the Old Testament scriptures, which
must be interpreted alike, and can be interpreted only of Israel however
they may be _applied_.
Having spoken of the Godhead and glory of this King (faintly and in part
foreshown by _Cepheus_), the Holy Spirit goes on in the latter part of the
Psalm to speak of the Bride—the Queen:
“At Thy right hand doth stand the Queen in gold of Ophir,
Hearken, O daughter, and consider, incline thine ear;
Forget also thine own people, and thy father’s house;
So shall the King desire thy beauty;(56)
For He is thy Lord; and worship thou Him....
The King’s daughter within _the palace_ is all glorious;
Her clothing is inwrought with gold,
She shall be led unto the King in broidered work;
The virgins her companions(57) that follow her shall be brought
unto thee,” etc.
(Ps. xlv. 9‐17, R.V.)
Then shall she sing her Magnificat:
“I will greatly rejoice in the LORD,
My soul shall be joyful in my God;
For He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation,
He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness,
As a bridegroom decketh _himself_ with ornaments,
And as a bride adorneth _herself_ with her jewels.
For as the earth bringeth forth her bud,
And as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring
forth;
So the Lord GOD [Adonai Jehovah] will cause righteousness and
praise to spring forth before all the nations.”
(Isa. lxi. 10, 11.)
This, then, is the truth set forth by this enthroned woman. The blessing
founded on Atonement, and the Redemption wrought by the Lamb that was
slain, result in a glorious answer to Israel’s prayer, “Turn our
captivity, O LORD” (Ps. cxxvi. 4): when they that have “sown in tears
shall reap in joy,” and the LORD shall loosen her bonds, and place her
enthroned by His side.
This, however, involves the destruction of her enemy, and this is what we
see in the next section.
2. CETUS (The Sea Monster).
_The Great Enemy Bound._
When John sees the New Jerusalem, the Bride, the Lamb’s wife (Rev. xxi.
10, 2), Satan has been bound already: for we read, a few verses before
(xx. 1‐3): “I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the
bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the
dragon, that Old Serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him
[_and kept him bound_] a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless
pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the
nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled.”
This is what we see in the second section of this chapter—the second
constellation in ARIES.
[Illustration]
Plate 26: CETUS (the Sea Monster)
The picture is that of a great Sea‐monster, the largest of all the
constellations. It is the natural enemy of fishes, hence it is placed here
in connection with this last chapter, in which fishes are so prominent.
It is situated very low down among the constellations—far away towards the
south or lower regions of the sky.
Its name in the Denderah Zodiac is _Knem_, which means _subdued_. It is
pictured as a monstrous head, trodden under foot by the swine, the natural
enemy of the serpent. The hawk also (another enemy of the serpent) is over
this figure, crowned with a mortar, denoting _bruising_.
It consists of 97 stars, of which two are of the 2nd magnitude, eight of
the 3rd, nine of the 4th, etc.
The names of the stars interpret for us infallibly the meaning of the
picture.
The brightest star, α (in the upper mandible), is named _Menkar_, and
means _the bound_ or _chained enemy_. The next, β (in the tail), is called
_Diphda_, or _Deneb Kaitos_, _overthrown_, or _thrust down_. The star ο
(in the neck) is named _Mira_, which means _THE REBEL_. Its name is
ominous, for the star is one of the most remarkable. It is very bright,
but it was not till 1596 that it was discovered to be _variable_. It
disappears periodically _seven_ times in _six_ years! It continues at its
brightest for fifteen days together. M. Bade says that during 334 days it
shines with its greatest light, then it diminishes, till it entirely
disappears for some time (to the naked eye). In fact, during that period
it passes through several degrees of magnitude, both increasing and
diminishing. Indeed its variableness is so great as to make it appear
_unsteady_!
Here, then, is the picture of the Great Rebel as shown in the heavens.
What is it, as written in the Word?
The Almighty asks man:—
“Canst thou draw out Leviathan with a fish hook?
Or press down his tongue with a cord?
Canst thou put a rope into his nose?
Or pierce his jaw through with a hook?...
Shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him?
None is so fierce that he dare stir him up.”
(Job xli. 1‐10, R.V.)
But he whom man cannot bind can be bound by the Lamb, and He is seen with
“the Band” that has bound the fishes, now in His hands, which he has
fastened with a bright star to his neck, saying,—
“Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling,
Even the dregs of the cup of My fury;
Thou shalt no more drink it again,
But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee.”
(Isa. li. 22, 23.)
“Behold, the LORD cometh forth out of His place
To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity....
In that day the LORD, with His sore, and great, and strong sword,
Shall punish Leviathan, the piercing serpent,
And Leviathan, the crooked serpent;
And He shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.”
(Isa. xxvi. 21‐xxvii. 1.)
“For God is my king of old,
Working salvation in the midst of the earth.
Thou didst divide (marg. _Heb._, _break_) the sea by Thy strength,
Thou brakest the heads of the dragons (R.V. marg., _sea monsters_)
in the waters.
Thou brakest the heads of Leviathan in pieces.”
(Ps. lxxiv. 12‐14.)
And this Second Book closes by revealing to us this glorious “Breaker.”
3. PERSEUS (“The Breaker.”)
_“__The Breaker__”__ delivering His Redeemed._
Here we have set before us a mighty man, called in the Hebrew _Peretz_,
from which we have the Greek form _Perses_, or _Perseus_ (Rom. xvi. 13).
It is the same word which is used of Christ in Micah ii. 13. When He shall
surely “gather the remnant of Israel” (_v._ 12), it is written—
“THE BREAKER is gone up before them....
Their King is passed on before them,
And the LORD at the head of them.”
This is what is pictured to us here. We see a glorious “Breaker” taking
His place before His redeemed, breaking forth at their head, breaking down
all barriers, and breaking the heads of Leviathan and all his hosts. In
His right hand He has His “sore, and great, and strong sword” lifted up to
smite and break down the enemy. He has wings on His feet, which tell us
that He is coming very swiftly. In His left hand He carries the head of
the enemy, whom he has slain.
In the Denderah Zodiac His name is _Kar Knem_, _he who fights and
subdues_.
[Illustration]
Plate 27: PERSEUS (the Breaker)
It is a beautiful constellation of 59 stars, two of which are of the 2nd
magnitude, four of the 3rd, twelve of the 4th, etc.
Their names supply us with the key to the interpretation of the picture.
The star α (in the waist) is called _Mirfak_, _who helps_. The next, γ (in
the right shoulder), is named _Al Genib_, which means _who carries away_.
The bright star in the left foot is called _Athik_, _who breaks_!
In his left hand he carries a head, which, by perversion, the Greeks
called the head of Medusa, being ignorant that its Hebrew root meant _the
trodden under foot_.(58) It is also called _Rosh Satan_ (Hebrew), _the
head of the adversary_, and _Al Oneh_ (Arabic), _the subdued_, or _Al
Ghoul_, _the evil spirit_.
The bright star, β (in this head), has come down to us with the name _Al
Gol_, which means _rolling round_.
It is a most remarkable phenomenon that so many of these enemies should be
characterised by variable stars! But this head of _Medusa_, like the neck
of _Cetus_, has one. _Al Gol_ is continually changing. In about 69 hours
it changes from the 4th magnitude to the 2nd. During four hours of this
period it gradually diminishes in brightness, which it recovers in the
succeeding four hours; and in the remaining part of the time invariably
preserves its greatest lustre. After the expiration of this time its
brightness begins to decrease again. Fit emblem of our great enemy, who,
“like a _roaring lion_, goeth about seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pet. v.
8.); then changing into a _subtle serpent_ (Gen. iii. 8.); then changing
again into “an angel of light” (2 Cor. xi. 14.). “Transforming himself”
continually, to devour, deceive, and destroy.
This brings us to the conclusion of the Second Book, in which we have seen
the Redeemed blessed with all blessings, delivered out of all conflict,
saved from all enemies. We have seen their Redeemer, “the Lamb slain from
the foundation of the world,” “the Conqueror,” “the King of Kings and Lord
of Lords.”
This is the Revelation recorded in the heavens. This is the prophetic
testimony inspired in the Book. And this is the heart‐cry prompted by
both:—
“Come, Lord, and tarry not,
Bring the long‐looked‐for day;
Oh, why these years of waiting here,
These ages of delay?
Come, for Thy saints still wait;
Daily ascends their cry:
‘The Spirit and the Bride say, Come’;
Dost Thou not hear their cry?
Come, for creation groans,
Impatient of Thy stay;
Worn out with these long years of ill,
These ages of delay.
Come, for Thine Israel pines,
An exile from Thy fold;
Oh, call to mind Thy faithful word,
And bless them as of old.
Come, for Thy foes are strong;
With taunting lips they say,
‘Where is the promised advent now,
And where the dreaded day?’
Come, for the good are few;
They lift the voice in vain;
Faith waxes fainter on the earth,
And love is on the wane.
Come, in Thy glorious might;
Come, with Thine iron rod;
Disperse Thy foes before Thy face,
Most mighty Son of God.
Come, and make all things new,
Build up this ruined earth;
Restore our faded paradise,
Creation’s second birth.
Come, and begin Thy reign
Of everlasting peace;
Come, take the kingdom to Thyself,
Great King of Righteousness.”
_Dr. Horatius Bonar._
THE THIRD BOOK. THE REDEEMER.
HIS SECOND COMING.
In this Third and Last Book we come to the concluding portion of this
Heavenly Revelation. Its subject is Redemption completed, and consummated
in triumph. No more sorrow, suffering, or conflict; no more the bruising
of the heel of the Redeemer. We have now done with the prophecies of “the
sufferings of Christ,” and have come to those that relate to “the glory
that should follow.”
No more reference now to His _first_ coming in humiliation. No more coming
“forth” to suffer and die, a sacrifice for sins; the reference now is only
to His second coming in glory; His coming “unto” this earth is not to
suffer for sin (Heb. ix. 28.), but it will be a coming in power to judge
the earth in righteousness, and to subdue all enemies under His feet.
Like the other two books, it consists of four chapters.
The _first_ chapter is the prophecy of the coming Judge of all the earth.
The _second_ sets before us the two‐fold nature of the coming Ruler.
The _third_ shows us Messiah’s redeemed possessions—the Redeemed brought
safely home, all conflict over.
The _fourth_ describes Messiah’s consummated triumph.
Chapter I. The Sign TAURUS (The Bull).
_Messiah, the coming Judge of all the Earth._
The picture is that of a Bull rushing forward with mighty energy and
fierce wrath, his horns set so as to push his enemies, and pierce them
through and destroy them.
It is a prophecy of Christ, the coming Judge, and Ruler, and “Lord of all
the earth.”
[Illustration]
Plate 28: TAURUS (the Bull)
The Egyptian Zodiac of Denderah already, 4,000 years ago, had forgotten
the truth to which the prophecy had referred, and called him _Isis_,
_i.e._, _who saves or delivers_, and _Apis_, _i.e._, _the head or chief_.
The Bull is clearly represented, and in all the zodiacs which have come
down to us is always in the _act of pushing_, or _rushing_.
The name of the sign in Chaldee is תּוֹר, _Tor_. Hence, Arabic, _Al
Thaur_; Greek, _Tauros_; Latin, _Taurus_, etc. The more common Hebrew name
was שׁוּר, _Shur_, which is from a root which means both _coming_ and
_ruling_. There are several Hebrew words for bulls and oxen, etc. But the
common poetical term for all is ראם, _Reem_, conveying the idea of
loftiness, exaltation, power, and pre‐eminence. We find the root in other
kindred languages (Etruscan, Sanscrit, etc.), and it can be traced in the
name of Abram, which means _pre‐eminent_ or _high father_; _Ramah_, _high
place_, etc.
The stars in Taurus present a brilliant sight. There are at least 141
stars, besides two important groups of stars, which both form integral
parts of the sign.
The brightest star, α (in the bull’s eye), has a Chaldee name—_Al
Debaran_, and means _the leader_ or _governor_. The star β (at the tip of
the left horn) has an Arabic name—_El Nath_, meaning _wounded_ or _slain_.
Another prophetic intimation that this coming Lord should be first slain
as a sacrifice.
Then there is the cluster of stars known as the _Pleiades_. This word,
which means _the congregation of the judge_ or _ruler_, comes to us
through the Greek Septuagint as the translation of the Hebrew כִּימָה,
_Chima_, which means _the heap_ or _accumulation_, and occurs in Job ix.
9; xxxviii. 31, 32, and Amos v. 8.
It consists of a number of stars (in the neck of Taurus) which appear to
be near together. The brightest of them, marked η in all the maps,(59) has
come down to us with an Arabic name—_Al Cyone_, which means _the centre_,
and has given the idea to some astronomers that it is the centre of the
whole universe. The Syriac name for the Pleiades is _Succoth_, which means
_booths_.
Another group of stars (on the face of the Bull) is known as _The
Hyades_,(60) which has the similar meaning of _the congregated_.
Other stars, not identified, are named _Palilicium_ (Hebrew), _belonging
to the judge_; _Wasat_ (Arabic), _centre_ or _foundation_; _Al Thuraiya_
(Arabic), _the abundance_; _Vergiliæ_ (Latin), _the centre_ (Arabic,
_vertex_) _turned on_, _rolled round_.
Every thing points to the important truth, and all _turns_ on the fact
that the Lord is COMING TO RULE! This is the central truth of all
prophecy. “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” All hope for
Creation, all hope for the world, all hope for Israel, all hope for the
Church, turns on this, that “Jesus is coming again,” and that when He
comes His saints, “the daughters of the King” (like the Pleiades and
Hyades), will be with Him.
There is nothing of “the Church” revealed here. The Church will be caught
up to meet the Lord in the air, to be for ever with the Lord (1 Thess. iv.
17) _before_ He thus _comes unto_ the world in judgment. He will _come
forth_ to receive the members of His Body unto Himself, before He thus
comes with them to destroy all His enemies and “judge (or rule) the world
in righteousness.” When we read this Sign of Taurus, therefore, we are to
understand that His Church will be _with_ Him, safe from all judgment.
There is very much in the Scripture of the Book, (as there is in the
prophecies in the heavens) about the coming of the Lord in judgment; and
about this time of His indignation. For Enoch, who doubtless was used in
arranging these prophetic _signs_, uttered the prophetic _words_, “Behold
the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints to execute judgment upon
all and to convict all that are ungodly” (Jude 14, 15).
We have said (pages 17, etc.) that at a very early period these signs were
appropriated to the Twelve Tribes of Israel, and borne upon their
“standards.” This may be traced in the Blessing of Jacob (Gen. xlix.), and
in the Blessing of Moses (Deut. xxxiii.). Taurus was assigned to Joseph,
or rather to his two tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, like the two powerful
horns:
“The firstling of his bullock (marg. _his firstling
bullock_)—majesty is his,
And his horns are the horns of the wild‐ox (_Reem_).
With them he shall PUSH (marg. _gore_) the peoples, all of them,
even the ends of the earth.
And they are the ten thousands of Ephraim,
And they are the thousands of Manasseh.”
(Deut. xxxiii, 17, R.V.)
It is not, however, merely by men alone that this will be done, for David
sings:
“Thou art my King, O GOD....
Through Thee will we PUSH down our enemies;
Through Thy Name will we tread them under that rise up against
us.”
(Ps. xliv. 5.)
“I will punish the world for their evil,
And the wicked for their iniquity;
I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease,
And will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible....
Every one that is found shall be THRUST THROUGH.”
(Isa. xiii. 11‐15.)
Speaking of that day, the Holy Spirit says by Isaiah:
For the LORD hath indignation against all the nations,”
And fury against all their host:
He hath utterly destroyed them,
He hath delivered them to the slaughter....
The LORD hath a sacrifice in Bozrah,
And a great slaughter in the land of Edom,
And the wild oxen [_Reem_] shall come down with them,
And the bullocks with the bulls;
And their land shall be drunken with blood,
And their dust made fat with fatness.
For it is the day of the LORD’S vengeance,
The year of recompense in the controversy of Zion.”
(Isa. xxxiv. 2‐8, R.V.)
“Behold, the LORD cometh forth out of His place
To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity:
The earth also shall disclose her blood,
And shall no more cover her slain.”
(Isa. xxvi. 21.)
This is the united testimony of the two Revelations. It is pictured in the
heavens, and it is written in the Book. It is the prophecy of a coming
Judge, and of a coming judgment.
It is, however, no mere _Bull_ that is coming. It is a man, a glorious
man, even “the Son of Man.” This is the first development, shown in the
first of the three constellations belonging to the sign.
1. ORION (The Coming Prince).
_Light Breaking Forth in the Redeemer._
[Illustration]
Plate 29: ORION (the Glorious One)
This picture is to show that the coming one is no mere animal, but a man:
a mighty, triumphant, glorious prince.
He is so pictured in the ancient Denderah Zodiac, where we see a man
coming forth pointing to the three bright stars (_Rigel_, _Bellatrix_, and
_Betelguez_) as his. His name is given as _Ha‐ga‐t_, which means _this is
he who triumphs_. The hieroglyphic characters below read _Oar_. Orion was
anciently spelt _Oarion_, from the Hebrew root, which means _light_. So
that Orion means _coming forth as light_. The ancient Akkadian was _Ur‐
ana_, _the light of heaven_.
Orion is the most brilliant of all the constellations, and when he comes
to the meridian he is accompanied by several adjacent constellations of
great splendour. There is then above the horizon the most glorious view of
the celestial bodies that the starry firmament affords; and this
magnificent view is visible to all the habitable world, because the
equinoctial line (or solstitial colure) passes nearly through the middle
of Orion.
ARATUS thus sings of him:—
“Eastward, beyond the region of the Bull,
Stands great Orion. And who, when night is clear,
Beholds him gleaming bright, shall cast his eyes in vain
To find a Sign more glorious in all heaven.”
The constellation is mentioned by name, as being perfectly well known both
by name and appearance, in the time of Job; and as being an object of
familiar knowledge at that early period of the world’s history. See Job
ix. 9; xxxviii. 31, and Amos v. 8 (Heb. כְּסִיל, _Chesil_, which means _a
strong one_, _a hero_, or _giant_).
It contains 78 stars, two being of the 1st magnitude, four of the 2nd,
four of the 3rd, sixteen of the 4th, etc.
A little way below ι (in the sword) is a very remarkable nebulous star. A
common telescope will show that it is a beautiful nebula. A powerful
telescope reveals it as consisting of collections of nebulous stars, these
again being surrounded by faint luminous points, which still more powerful
telescopes would resolve into separate stars.
Thus beautifully is set forth the brilliancy and glory of that _Light_
which shall break forth when the moment comes for it to be said, “Arise,
shine, for thy light is come.”
The picture presents us with “the Light of the world.” His left foot is
significantly placed upon the head of the enemy. He is girded with a
glorious girdle, studded with three brilliant stars; and upon this girdle
is hung a sharp sword. Its handle proves that this mighty Prince is come
forth in a new character. He is again proved to be “the Lamb that was
slain,” for the hilt of this sword is in the form of the head and body of
a lamb. In his right hand he lifts on high his mighty club; while in his
left he holds forth the token of his victory—the head and skin of the
“roaring lion.” We ask in wonder, “Who is this?”(61) and the names of the
stars give us the answer.
The brightest, α (in the right shoulder), is named _Betelgeuz_, which
means _the coming_ (Mal. iii. 2) _of the branch_.
The next, β (in the left foot), is named _Rigel_, or _Rigol_, which means
_the foot that crusheth_. The foot is lifted up, and placed immediately
over the head of the enemy, as though in the very act of crushing it.
Thus, the name of the star bespeaks the act.
The next star, γ (in the left shoulder), is called _Bellatrix_, which
means _quickly coming_, or _swiftly destroying_.
The name of the fourth star, δ (one of the three in the belt), carries us
back to the old, old story, that this glorious One was once humbled; that
His heel was once bruised. Its name is _Al Nitak_, _the wounded One_.(62)
Similarly the star κ (in the right leg) is called _Saiph_, _bruised_,
which is the very word used in Gen. iii. 15, thus connecting Orion with
the primeval prophecy. Like Ophiuchus, he has one leg _bruised_; while,
with the other, he is _crushing_ the enemy under foot.
This is betokened by other stars, not identified, named _Al Rai_, _who
bruises_, _who breaks_ (as in _Cepheus_); and _Thabit_ (Hebrew), _treading
on_.
Other (Arabic) names relate to His Person: _Al Giauzâ_, _the branch_; _Al
Gebor_, _the mighty_; _Al Mirzam_, _the ruler_; _Al Nagjed_, _the prince_;
_Niphla_ (Chaldee), _the mighty_; _Nux_ (Hebrew), _the strong_.
Some names relate to His coming, as _Betelgeuse_ and _Bellatrix_, as
above; _Heka_ (Chaldee), _coming_; and _Meissa_ (Hebrew), _coming forth_.
Such is the cumulative testimony of Orion’s stars, which, day after day,
and night after night, show forth this knowledge. That testimony was
afterwards written in the Book. The Prince of Glory, who was once wounded
for the sins of His redeemed, is about to rise up and shine forth for
their deliverance. Their redemption draweth nigh; for—
“The LORD shall go forth as a mighty man,
He shall stir up jealousy like a man of war;
He shall cry, yea, roar;
He shall prevail against His enemies.
I have [_He says_] long time holden my peace;
I have been still, and refrained myself:
Now will I cry like a travailing woman;
I will destroy and devour at once.”
(Isa. xlii. 13, 14.)
Then it will be said to His people (and the setting of the prophecy in its
beautiful introverted structure shows us the beauty and glory of the truth
it reveals):(63)
a | _Arise_,
b | Shine; for _thy light_ is come,
c | And _the glory of the _LORD is risen upon thee.
d | For, behold, the _darkness_ shall cover the earth,
_d_ | And gross _darkness_ the people;
_c_ | But _the _LORD shall arise upon thee, and _His
glory_ shall be seen upon thee.
_b_ | And the Gentiles shall come to _thy light_,
_a_ | And kings to the brightness of thy _rising_.
(Isa. lx. 1‐3.)
This is “the glory of God” which the heavens constantly declare (Ps. xix.
1). They tell of that blessed time when the whole earth shall be filled
with His glory (Num. xiv. 21; Isa. xi. 9); when “the glory of the LORD
shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together” (Isa. xl. 5), as
all see now the beauty of Orion’s glory.
But side by side with the glory which the coming Light of the world shall
bring for His people, there is “that wicked,” whom the Lord “shall destroy
with the brightness of His coming.” Hence, as in the concluding chapter
(IV.) of the _First_ Book (of which this _Third_ Book is the expansion) we
had in LYRA (_the harp_), as § 1, Praise prepared for the Conqueror; and
in ARA (_the burning pyre_), as § 2, Consuming fire prepared for His
enemies: so in the _first_ chapter of this book, we have in ORION, as § 1,
Glory prepared for the Conqueror; and in ERIDANUS, as § 2, the River of
wrath prepared for His enemies. This brings us to—
2. ERIDANUS (The River of the Judge).
_The River of Wrath Breaking Forth for His Enemies._
It issues forth, in all the pictures, from the down‐coming foot of Orion.
While others see in it, from the ignorance of fabled story, only “the
River Po,” or the “River Euphrates,” we see in it, from the meaning of its
name, and from the significance of its position, _the river of the Judge_.
[Illustration]
Plate 30: ERIDANUS (the River)
In the Denderah Zodiac it is a river under the feet of Orion. It is named
_Peh‐ta‐t_, which means _the mouth of the river_.
It is an immense constellation, and our diagram is on a smaller scale than
the others (which are all in relative proportion, except where otherwise
noted).
According to the Britannic catalogue, it consists of 84 stars; one of the
1st magnitude, one of the 2nd, eight of the 3rd, etc.
The brightest star, α (at the mouth of the river), bears the ancient name
of _Achernar_, which is in, as its name means, _the after part of the
river_.
The next star, β (at the source of the river), is named _Cursa_, which
means _bent down_. The next, γ (at the second bend in the river), is
called _Zourac_ (Arabic), _flowing_. Other stars, not identified, are
_Pheat_, _mouth_ (of the river); and _Ozha_, _the going forth_.
Here, then, we have a river flowing forth from before the glorious
_Orion_. It runs in a serpentine course towards the lower regions, down,
down, out of sight. In vain the sea monster, _Cetus_, strives to stop its
flow. It is “the river of the Judge,” and speaks of that final judgment in
which the wicked will be cast into the lake of fire. It was evidently
originally associated with _fire_; for the Greek myths, though gross
perversions, still so connect it. According to their fables, something
went wrong with the chariot of the sun, and a universal conflagration was
threatened. In the trouble, _Phaeton_ (probably a reference to the star
_Pheat_) was killed and hurled into this river, in which he was consumed
with its fire. The whole earth suffered from such a burning heat that
great disasters ensued. We see from this myth two great facts preserved in
the perverted tradition, _viz._, _judgment_ and _fire_.
ARATUS also preserves the connection,—
“For yonder, trod by heavenly feet,
Wind the scorched waters of Eridanus’ tear‐swollen flood,
Welling beneath Orion’s uplifted foot.”
Is not this the testimony afterwards written in _the Book_? Daniel sees
this very river in his vision of that coming day, when the true Orion
shall come forth in His glory. He says, “I beheld till the thrones were
placed, and one that was ancient of days did sit:... His throne was fiery
flames, and the wheels thereof burning fire. A FIERY STREAM ISSUED AND
CAME FORTH FROM BEFORE HIM.” This is _the River of the Judge_; for he goes
on to say, “the judgment was set, and the books were opened” (Dan. vii.
9‐11, R.V.).
We have the same in Ps. xcvii. 3‐5 (R.V.), which describes the scene when
the Lord shall reign:
“A FIRE GOETH BEFORE HIM,
And burneth up His adversaries round about.
His lightnings lightened the world:
The earth saw and trembled,
The hills melted like wax at the presence of the LORD,
At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.”
So again in Ps. l. 3, we read:
“Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence,
A FIRE SHALL DEVOUR BEFORE HIM,
And it shall be very tempestuous round about Him.”
By Habakkuk the coming of the Lord is described; and it is written:
“His brightness was as the light, ...
Before Him went the pestilence,
And burning coals went forth at His feet.”
(Hab. iii. 5.)
What is this but _Orion_ and _Eridanus_!
Again, it is written in Isaiah xxx. 27‐33 (R.V.):
“Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far,
Burning with His anger, and in thick rising smoke:
His lips are full of indignation,
And His tongue is as a DEVOURING FIRE:
And His breath is as AN OVERFLOWING STREAM [_of fire_]....
For a Topheth is prepared of old;
Yea, for the king [_Moloch_] it is made ready;
He hath made it deep and large;
The pile thereof is FIRE and much wood;
The breath of the LORD, LIKE A STREAM OF BRIMSTONE, doth kindle
it.”
So, again, we read in Nahum i. 5, 6:
“The mountains quake at Him,
And the hills melt;
And the earth is burned up at His presence,
Yea, the world and all that dwell therein.
Who can stand before His indignation?
And who can abide in the fierceness of His anger?
His fury is POURED OUT LIKE FIRE.”
In Isa. lxvi. 15, 16, we read:
“For, behold, the LORD will come with fire,
And with His chariots like a whirlwind,
To render His anger with fury,
And His rebuke with FLAMES OF FIRE,
For BY FIRE, and by His sword, will the LORD plead with all
flesh.”
With this agree the New Testament scriptures, which speak of “the Day of
the Lord,” “when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His
mighty angels, IN FLAMING FIRE taking vengeance on them that know not God,
and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thess. i. 7, 8).
This is the true Eridanus. It is no mere “picture.” It is a dread reality!
It is written in stars of fire, and words of truth, that men may heed the
solemn warning and “flee from the wrath to come”!
But we ask, “Who may abide the day of His coming? and who shall stand when
He appeareth” (Mal. iii. 2)? “Who can stand before His indignation,” when
“His fury is poured out like fire” (Nah. i. 6)?
The answer is given in the next picture!
3. AURIGA (The Shepherd).
_Safety for the Redeemed in the Day of Wrath._
Here is presented to us the answer to the question, “Who may abide the day
of His coming?”
“Behold, the Lord GOD (Adonai Jehovah) will come as a mighty one,
And His arm shall rule for Him:
Behold, His reward is with Him,
And His recompense before Him.
He shall feed His flock like a shepherd,
He shall gather the lambs in His arm,
And carry them in His bosom,
And shall gently lead those that give suck.”
(Isa. xl. 10, 11. R.V.)
This is exactly what is presented before us in this last section of the
chapter, which tells of the coming judgment. We have had the picture of a
mighty _Bull_ rushing forth; then the fiery river of _the Judge_; and now
we see _a Great Shepherd_. He is seated upon “the milky way,” holding up
on his left shoulder a she goat. She clings to his neck, and is looking
down affrighted at the terrible on‐rushing Bull. In his left hand he
supports two little kids, apparently just born, and bleating, and
trembling with fear.
ARATUS says,—
“She is both large and bright, but they—the kids—
Shine somewhat feebly on _Auriga’s_ wrist.”
Is not this the Great Shepherd gathering the lambs in His arm? and
carrying them in His bosom? Is He not saying:
“I will save My flock,
And they shall no more be a prey.”
(Ezek. xxxiv. 22.)
“And David my servant shall be king over them,
And they shall have one shepherd.”
(_ib._ xxxvii. 24.)
“And they shall fear no more,
Nor be dismayed,
Neither shall they be lacking, saith the LORD.”
(Jer. xxiii. 4.)
[Illustration]
Plate 31: AURIGA (the Shepherd)
AURIGA is from a Hebrew root which means _a shepherd_. It is a beautiful
constellation of 66 stars; one of the 1st magnitude, two of the 2nd, nine
of the 4th, etc.
The brightest star, α (in the body of the goat), points her out as the
prominent feature of the constellation, for its name _Alioth_ (Hebrew)
means _a she goat_. It is known by the modern Latin name _Capella_, which
has the same meaning.
The next star, β (in the shepherd’s right arm), is called _Menkilinon_,
and means the _band_, or _chain of the goats_, and points out the truth
that they are never more to be lost again, but to be bound, with the bands
of love, to the Shepherd for evermore.
The name of another star is _Maaz_, which means _a flock of goats_.
Can there be any mistake as to who this Shepherd is? for the bright star
in his right foot is called _El Nath_(64) (like another in ARIES), which
means _wounded_ or _slain_. This is He, then, who was once bruised or
wounded in the heel. He is “the GOOD Shepherd,” who gave His life for the
sheep (John x. 11), but He was “the GREAT Shepherd” brought again from the
dead (Heb. xiii. 20); and is now the CHIEF Shepherd (1 Pet. v. 4) seen in
the day of His coming glory. Another star emphasises this truth, for it is
named _Aiyuk_, which also means _wounded_ in the foot.(65)
The star marking the kids is called _Gedi_ (Hebrew), _kids_.
In Latin, the word _Auriga_ means a _coachman_ or _charioteer_, the band
in his right hand being taken as his _reins_. But the incongruity of a
_charioteer_ carrying a she‐goat, and nursing two little kids, never
struck them; nor did the fact that he has no chariot and no horses! When
man blunders in the things of God, he does it thoroughly!
In the Zodiac of Denderah the same truth was revealed more than 4,000
years ago; but the Man, instead of carrying the sheep, is carrying a
sceptre, and is called _Trun_, which means _sceptre_ or _power_. But this
is a strange sceptre, for at the top it has the head of a goat, and at the
bottom, below the hand that holds it, it ends in a cross! With the
Egyptians the cross was a sign of _life_. They knew nothing of “the death
of the cross.” Here, then, we see _life_ and _salvation_ for the sheep of
His flock when He comes to reign and rule in judgment. The truth is
precisely the same, though the presentation of it is somewhat varied.
The connected teaching of the two constellations, _Eridanus_ and _Auriga_,
is solemnly set forth in Mal. iv. 1‐3 (R.V.):
“Behold, the day cometh,
It burneth as a furnace;
And all the proud, and all that work wickedness, shall be stubble:
And the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of
hosts,
That it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
BUT UNTO YOU that fear My name shall the Sun of Righteousness
arise with healing in His wings;
And ye shall go forth and gambol as calves of the stall.
And ye shall tread down the wicked;
For they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet
In the day that I do make (marg. _do this_), saith the LORD of
hosts.”
In Psalm xxxvii. this day is repeatedly referred to, the day when “the
wicked shall be cut off”; and it concludes by summarizing the same great
truth (_vv._ 38‐40, R.V.):
“As for transgressors, they shall be destroyed together;
The latter end of the wicked shall be cut off,
But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD:
He is their stronghold in the time of trouble,
And the LORD helpeth them, and rescueth them;
He rescueth them from the wicked and saveth them,
Because they have taken refuge in Him.”
Oh, that all who read these pages may heed the solemn warning, and flee
for refuge to Him who now, in this day of grace, is crying, “Look unto me,
and be ye saved, O all ye ends of the earth” (Isa. xlv. 22).