_Messiah’s Reign as Prince of Peace._
All the pictures of this sign are confused. The Greeks claimed to have
invented them, and they called them Apollo and Hercules. They are given in
our illustration. The Latins called the Castor and Pollux; and the name of
a vessel in which Paul sailed is so called in Acts xxviii. 11, Διοσκούροι.
The name in the ancient Denderah Zodiac is _Clusus_, or _Claustrum Hori_,
which means _the place of Him who cometh_. It is represented by two human
figures walking, or coming. The second appears to be a woman. The other
appears to be a man. It is a tailed figure, the tail signifying _He
cometh_.
[Illustration]
Plate 32: GEMINI (the Twins)
The old Coptic name was _Pi‐Mahi_, _the united_, as in brotherhood. Not
necessarily united by being born at the same time, but _united_ in one
fellowship or brotherhood. The Hebrew name is _Thaumim_, which means
_united_. The root is used in Exod. xxvi. 24: “They (the two boards) shall
be coupled together beneath.” In the margin we read, “Heb. _twinned_”
(R.V. double). The Arabic _Al Tauman_ means the same.
We need not trouble ourselves with the Grecian myths, even though we can
see through them the original and ancient truth. The two were both heroes
of peculiar and extraordinary birth—sons of Jupiter. They were supposed to
appear at the head of armies; and as they had cleared the seas of pirates,
they were looked upon as the patron saints of navigation. (Hence the name
of the ship in Acts xxviii. 11.) They were held in high esteem both by
Greeks and Romans; and the common practice of taking oaths and of swearing
by their names has descended even to our own day in the still surviving
vulgar habit of swearing “By Gemini!”
The more ancient star‐names help us to see through all these and many
other myths, and to discern Him of whom they testify; even Him in His
twofold nature—God and Man—and His twofold work of suffering and glory,
and His twofold coming in humiliation and in triumph.
There are 85 stars in the sign: two of the 2nd magnitude, four of the 3rd,
six of the 4th, etc.
The name of α (in the head of the one at our right hand) is called
_Apollo_, which means _ruler_, or _judge_; while β (in the head of the
other) is called _Hercules_, _who cometh to labour_, or _suffer_. Another
star, γ (in his left foot), is called _Al Henah_, which means _hurt_,
_wounded_, or _afflicted_. Can we have a doubt as to what is the meaning
of this double presentation? In _Ophiuchus_ we have the two in one person:
the crushed enemy, and the wounded heel. But here the two great primeval
truths are presented in two persons; for He was “two persons in one God,”
“God and man in one Christ.” As man, suffering for our redemption; as God,
glorified for our complete salvation and final triumph. A star, ε (in the
centre of his body), is called _Waset_, which means _set_, and tells of
Him who “set His face like a flint” to accomplish this mighty Herculean
work; and, when the time was come, “steadfastly set His face to go” to
complete it.
He bears in his right hand (in some pictures) a palm branch. In the one
from which our illustration is taken, it is a club; but both the club of
this one and the bow of the other are _in repose_! These united ones are
neither in action nor are they preparing for action, but they are _at
rest_ and _in peace_ after victory won. The star ε (in the knee of the
other, “Apollo”) is called _Mebsuta_, which means _treading under feet_.
The names of other stars, which are not identified, have come down to us
with the same testimony. One is called _Propus_ (Hebrew), _the branch_,
_spreading_; another is called _Al Giauzâ_ (Arabic), _the palm branch_;
another is named _Al Dirâ_ (Arabic), _the seed_, or _branch_.
The day has here come to fulfil the prophecies concerning Him who is “the
Branch,” “the Branch of Jehovah,” “the man whose name is the Branch.”
“In that day shall the Branch of Jehovah be beautiful and
glorious;
And the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely
For them that are escaped of Israel.”
(Isa. iv. 2.)
“Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness,
And princes shall rule in judgment;
And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind.”
(Isa. xxxii. 1, 2.)
“Behold, the days come, saith the LORD,
That I will raise unto David a righteous Branch,
And He shall reign as King and deal wisely,
And shall execute judgment and justice in the land.
In His days Judah shall be saved,
And Israel shall dwell safely:
And this is His name whereby He shall be called,
The LORD is our Righteousness.”
(Jer. xxiii. 5, 6, R.V.)
“Behold, the days come, saith the LORD,
That I will perform that good word which I have spoken
Concerning the house of Israel and concerning the house of Judah.
In those days, and at that time.
Will I cause a Branch of Righteousness to grow up unto David;
And He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land.”
(Jer. xxxiii. 14, 15, R.V.)
This is what we see in this sign—Messiah’s peaceful reign. All is rest and
repose. We see “His days,” in which “the righteous shall flourish; and
abundance of peace, so long as the moon endureth” (Ps. lxxii.).
But, for this blessed time to come, there must be no enemy! All enemies
must be subdued.
This brings us to the first section of this book.
1. LEPUS (the Hare), THE ENEMY.
_The Enemy Trodden under Foot._
The names of the three constellations of this Sign, as well as the
pictures, are all more or less modern, as is manifest from the names being
in _Latin_, and having no relation to the ancient names of their stars. To
learn their real meaning, therefore, we must have recourse to the ancient
Zodiacs. In the Persian planisphere the first constellation was pictured
by a _serpent_. In the Denderah (Egyptian) Zodiac it is an unclean bird
standing on the serpent, which is under the feet of Orion. Its name there
is given as _Bashti‐beki_. _Bashti_ means _confounded_, and _Beki_ means
_failing_.
[Illustration]
Plate 33: LEPUS (the Hare) or ENEMY
ARATUS says,—
“Below Orion’s feet, the Hare
Is chased eternally.”
It is a small constellation of 19 stars (all small), three of which are of
the 3rd magnitude, seven of the 4th, etc.
The brightest, α (in the body), has a Hebrew name, _Arnebo_, which means
_the enemy of Him that cometh_. The Arabic, _Arnebeth_, means the same.
Other stars, not identified, are _Nibal_, _the mad_; _Rakis_, _the bound_
(Arabic, _with a chain_); _Sugia_, _the deceiver_.
There can be no mistaking the voice of this united testimony. For this
enemy is under the down‐coming foot of Orion, and it tells of the blessed
fact that when the true Orion, “the Sun of Righteousness, shall arise,”
and “the true light” shall shine over all the earth, He “shall tread down
the wicked” (Mal. iv.), and every enemy will be subdued under His feet.
“It is He that shall tread down our enemies” (Ps. lx. 12), as He has said:
“I will tread them in Mine anger,
And trample them in My fury ...
For the day of vengeance is in Mine heart,
And the year of My redeemed is come.”
(Isa. lxiii. 3, 4.)
2. CANIS MAJOR (The Dog), or SIRIUS (The Prince).
_The coming Glorious Prince of Princes (Sirius)._
This second constellation carries on the teaching, and tells of the
glorious Prince who will thus subdue and reign.
In the Denderah Zodiac he is called _Apes_, which means _the head_. He is
pictured as a hawk (_Naz_, נַץ, _caused to come forth_, _coming swiftly
down_). The hawk is the natural enemy of the serpent, and here it has on
its head a pestle and mortar, indicating the fact that he shall crush the
head of the enemy.
In the Persian planisphere it is pictured as _a wolf_, and is called
_Zeeb_, which in Hebrew (זְאֵב) has the same meaning. Plutarch translates
it Προόπτης, _Leader_. In Arabic it means _coming quickly_.
[Illustration]
Plate 34: CANIS MAJOR (the Dog) and CANIS MINOR (the Second Dog)
Its ancient name and meaning must be obtained from the names of its stars
which have come down to us. There are 64 altogether. Two are of the 1st
magnitude, two of the 2nd, four of the 3rd, four of the 4th, etc. Of these
α (in the head) is the brightest in the whole heavens! It is called
_Sirius_, _the Prince_ (שַׂר, _Sar_), as in Isa. ix. 6.
_Sirius_(66) was, by the ancients, always associated with great heat. And
the hottest part of the year we still call “the dog days,” though, through
the variation as observed in different latitudes, and the precession of
the equinoxes, its rising has long ceased to have any relation to those
days. Virgil says that Sirius
“With pestilential heat infects the sky.”
Homer spoke of it as a star
“Whose burning breath
Taints the red air with fevers, plagues, and death.”
It is not, however, of its heat that its name speaks, but of the fact that
it is the brightest of all the stars, as He of whom it witnesses is the
“Prince of princes,” “the Prince of the Kings of the earth.”
Though this “Dog‐Star” came to have an ill‐omened association, it was not
so in more ancient times. In the ancient Akkadian it is called _Kaṡiṡta_,
which means _the Leader_ and Prince of the heavenly host. While (as Mr.
Robert Brown, Junr., points out) “the Sacred Books of Persia contain many
praises of the star _Tistrya_ or _Tistar_ (_Sirius_), ‘the chieftain of
the East.’ ”(67)
The next star, β (in the left fore foot), speaks the same truth. It is
named _Mirzam_, and means _the prince_ or _ruler_. The star δ (in the
body) is called _Wesen_, _the bright_, _the shining_. The star ε (in the
right hind leg) is called _Adhara_, _the glorious_.
Other stars, not identified, bear their witness to the same fact. Their
names are—_Aschere_ (Hebrew), _who shall come_; _Al Shira Al Jemeniya_
(Arabic), _the Prince or chief of the right hand_! _Seir_ (Egyptian), _the
Prince_; _Abur_ (Hebrew), _the mighty_; _Al Habor_ (Arabic), _the mighty_;
_Muliphen_ (Arabic), _the leader_, _the chief_.
Here there is no conflicting voice; no discord in the harmonious testimony
to Him whose name is called “Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God ... the
Prince of Peace” (Isa. ix. 6).
The names of the stars have no meaning whatever as applied to an Egyptian
Hawk, or a Greek Dog. But they are full of significance when we apply them
to Him of whom Jehovah says:
“Behold, I have given Him for a witness to the people,
A LEADER and commander to the people.”
(Isa. lv. 4.)
This is “the Prince of princes” (Dan. viii. 23, 25) against whom, “when
transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance ... shall
stand up,” “but he shall be broken without hand,” for he shall be
destroyed “with the brightness of His coming” (2 Thess. ii. 8). This is He
who shall come forth “King of kings and Lord of Lords” (Rev. xix. 16).
But Sirius has a companion, and this brings us to—
3. CANIS MINOR (The Second Dog).
_The Exalted Redeemer (Procyon)._
The same facts are to be remembered concerning the Greek picture, and
Latin name of this constellation.
The Egyptian name in the Denderah Zodiac is _Sebak_, which means
_conquering_, _victorious_. It is represented as a human figure with a
hawk’s head and the appendage of a tail.
This small constellation has only 14 stars according to the Britannic
catalogue. One of the 1st magnitude, one of the 2nd, one of the 4th, etc.
The brightest star, α (in the body), is named _Procyon_, which means
REDEEMER, and it tells us that this glorious Prince is none other than the
one who was slain. Just as this chapter begins with _two_ persons in one
in the Sign (Gemini), one _victorious_, the other _wounded_; so it ends
with a representation of two princes, one of whom is seen triumphant and
the other as the Redeemer. This is confirmed by the next star, β (in the
neck), which is named _Al Gomeisa_ (Arabic), _the burthened_, _loaded_,
_bearing for others_. The names of the other stars, not identified, still
further confirm the great truth; _viz._, _Al Shira_, or _Al Shemeliya_
(Arabic), _the prince_ or _chief of the left hand_, answering to the star
in _Sirius_. One _right_, the other _left_, as the two united youths are
placed. _Al_ _Mirzam_, _the prince_ or _ruler_; and _Al Gomeyra_, _who
completes_ or _perfects_.
This does, indeed, complete and perfect the presentation of this chapter:
Messiah’s reign as Prince of Peace; the enemy trodden under foot by the
glorious “Prince of princes,” who is none other than the glorified
Redeemer.
This is also what is written in the Book:
“Shall the prey be taken from the mighty,
Or the lawful captives(68) be delivered?
But thus saith the LORD,
Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away,
And the prey of the terrible shall be delivered:
For I will contend with him that contendeth with thee,
And I will save thy children.
And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh;
And they shall be drunken with their own blood as with sweet wine;
And all flesh shall know that I the LORD am thy Saviour,
And thy REDEEMER—the Mighty One of Jacob.”
(Isa. xlix. 24‐26, R.V.)
“When the enemy shall come in like a flood,
The Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him,
And the REDEEMER shall come to Zion.”
(Isa. lix, 19, 20.)
“And He shall divide the spoil with the strong,
Because He hath poured out His soul unto death.”
(Isa. liii. 12.)