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Title: The Witness of the Stars
Author: Ethelbert William Bullinger
Release Date: May 21, 2015 [Ebook 49018]
Language: English
***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK
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
Preface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6
The First Book. The Redeemer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
30
Chapter I. The Sign VIRGO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
30
1. COMA (The Woman and Child). . . . . . . .
34
2. CENTAURUS (The Centaur). . . . . . . . . .
40
3. BOÖTES (The Coming One). . . . . . . . . .
42
Chapter II. The Sign LIBRA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
47
1. CRUX (The Cross).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
49
2. LUPUS or VICTIMA (The Victim). . . . . . .
52
3. CORONA (The Crown). . . . . . . . . . . . .
54
Chapter III. The Sign SCORPIO. . . . . . . . . . . . .
57
1 and 2. SERPENS and OPHIUCHUS. . . . . . .
60
3. HERCULES (The Mighty Man). . . . . . . . .
62
Chapter IV. The Sign SAGITTARIUS. . . . . . . . . .
66
1. LYRA (The Harp). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
69
2. ARA (The Altar). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
72
3. DRACO (The Dragon).
. . . . . . . . . . . .
74
The Second Book. The Redeemed. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
80
Chapter I. The Sign CAPRICORNUS (The Sea Goat). .
80
1. SAGITTA (The Arrow). . . . . . . . . . . . .
84
2. AQUILA (The Eagle). . . . . . . . . . . . . .
86
3. DELPHINUS (The Dolphin). . . . . . . . . .
87
Chapter II. The Sign AQUARIUS (The Water Bearer).
89
1. PISCIS AUSTRALIS (The Southern Fish). . .
93
2. PEGASUS (The Winged Horse).
. . . . . . .
94
3. CYGNUS (The Swan). . . . . . . . . . . . . .
96
Chapter III. The Sign PISCES (The Fishes). . . . . . .
97
1. THE BAND. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
The Witness of the Stars
2. ANDROMEDA (The Chained Woman).
. . . 105
3. CEPHEUS (The King). . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Chapter IV. The Sign ARIES (The Ram or Lamb).
. . 110
1. CASSIOPEIA (The Enthroned Woman). . . . 112
2. CETUS (The Sea Monster). . . . . . . . . . . 118
3. PERSEUS (“The Breaker.”) . . . . . . . . . . 121
The Third Book. The Redeemer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Chapter I. The Sign TAURUS (The Bull). . . . . . . . 126
1. ORION (The Coming Prince). . . . . . . . . . 131
2. ERIDANUS (The River of the Judge). . . . . . 136
3. AURIGA (The Shepherd). . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Chapter II. The Sign GEMINI (The Twins). . . . . . . 144
1. LEPUS (the Hare), THE ENEMY. . . . . . . . 148
2. CANIS MAJOR (The Dog), or SIRIUS (The
Prince). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
3. CANIS MINOR (The Second Dog). . . . . . . 153
Chapter III. The Sign CANCER (The Crab). . . . . . . 155
1. URSA MINOR (The Little Bear). . . . . . . . 158
2. URSA MAJOR (The Great Bear). . . . . . . . 162
3. ARGO (The Ship). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Chapter IV. The Sign LEO (The Lion). . . . . . . . . . 170
1. HYDRA (The Serpent). . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
2. CRATER (The Cup). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
3. CORVUS (The Raven). . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
“For Signs And For Seasons.”
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Appendix. Note on the Sign LIBRA. . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Footnotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
[Transcribers Note: This e-book contains countless special symbols, and characters from uncommon character sets.
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The Witness of the Stars
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[iii]
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
[iv]
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.
The Witness of the Stars
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
[v]
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:—
5
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.
[vi]
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.
[001]
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 (åu¼±, 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 (³u) and their words (åu¼±Ä±, their teaching, message, instruction) unto the ends of the world (¿0º¿Å¼s½·).” What words? What instruction? Whose message? Whose teaching?
[002]
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
7
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,
, in His works, while the second is the Revelation of the Covenant Jehovah,
, 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 Structure1 of the Psalm as a whole.
A 1-4-. The Heavens.
B -4-6. “In them” (
) the Sun.
A 7-10. The Scriptures.
B 11-14. “In them” (
) Thy Servant.
[003]
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 1 For what is meant by “Structure,” see A Key to the Psalms, by the late Rev.
Thos. Boys, edited by the present author, 7, St. Paul's Churchyard. Price Five shillings.
2 Viz. , in A (verses 7, 8),—
“Converting,” from
, to return, as the sun in the heavens.
“Testimony,” from
, to repeat, hence, a witness, spoken of the sun in Ps. lxxxix. 37.
“Sure,”
, faithful, as the sun. (Ps. lxxxix. 37.)
“Enlightening,” from
, to give light, as the sun. (Gen. i. 15, 17, 18; Isa. lx. 19; Ezek. xxxii. 7.)
In B (verses 11, 12, 13),—
“Warned,” from
, to make light, hence, to teach, admonish.
“Keeping,” from
, to keep, observe, as the heavens. (Ps.
The Witness of the Stars
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
[004]
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 Psalm3 (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.
cxxx. 6; Isa. xxi. 11.) Or as the heavenly bodies observe God's ordinances.
“Errors,” from
, to wander, as the planets.
“Keep back,”
, to hold back, restrain.
“Have dominion over,” from
, to rule. Spoken of the sun and
moon in Gen. i. 18. “The sun to rule the day,” &c. (Ps. cxxxvi. 8, 9.) 3 The other half of the Psalm is just as perfectly arranged. For example, there are six words used (verses 7-9) to describe the fulness of the Word of God, and they are thus placed, alternately:—
F Two feminine singulars. (Law and Testimony.) G One masculine plural. (Statutes.)
F Two feminine singulars. (Commandment and Fear.) G One masculine plural. (Judgments.)
9
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:—
[005]
C a The heavens
b are telling4
c the glory5 of God:
c and the work of his hands
4 From
, to cut into, or grave, hence, to write. It has the two senses of our English verb tell, which means to count, and also to narrate.
The first occurrence is Gen. xv. 5, “Tell (
) the stars, if thou be
able to number (
) them.” Gen. xxiv. 66, “The servant told
Isaac all things that he had done.” Ps. lxxi. 15, “My mouth shall show forth (
, tell of, R.V.{FNS) thy righteousness and thy salvation all the day; for I know not the numbers (
, i.e. , the accounts)
of them,” i.e. , all the particulars.
5 From
, to be heavy, weight, the context determining whether the weight spoken of is advantageous or not. The first occurrence is Gen. xii.
10, “The famine was grievous (
) in the land.” The next, xiii. 2,
“Abram was very rich (
).” It is often applied to persons who are
of weight and importance, hence, glorious and honourable. It is used of the glory of the Lord, and of God Himself, as we use Majesty of a person. See Isa.
iii. 8; iv. 2; xi. 10; xliii. 20; Hag. ii. 8; Ex. xvi. 7; xxiv. 17; 1 Sam. iv. 21; Pss.
xxvi. 8 ( honour); lxiii. 3.
The Witness of the Stars
b is setting forth6
a the firmament.
D d Day after day7
e uttereth8 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 line9 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
6 From
, to set before, to set forth, to shew. First occurrence, Gen. iii. 11, “Who told thee that thou wast naked.” Ps. xcvii. 6, “The heavens declare His righteousness”; cxi. 6, “He hath shewed his people the power of his works.”
7 This is the English idiom for the Hebrew “Day to day.” The is used in its
sense of adding or superadding to, as in Isa. xxviii. 10,
,
“precept to precept;” i.e. , precept after precept, line after line. Gen. xlvi. 26,
“All the souls that came with Jacob” (
, to Jacob; i.e. , in
addition to Jacob. So here, “Day to day;” i.e. , Day in addition to day, or, as we say, Day after day).
8 From
, to tell forth, akin to
, to prophesy, from
root to pour forth. Lit., here, poureth forth discourse. Ps. cxlv. 9, “abundantly utter.”
9 Their line,
, i.e. , their measuring line. By the figure of metonymy the line which measures is put for the portion or heritage which is measured, as in many other places. See Ps. xvi. 6, “The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.” (See also Ps. lxxviii. 55,
&c.) Here, it means that “Their measuring line has gone forth unto all the earth (
)”; i.e. , All the earth inherits this their testimony ( i.e. , has this testimony for its heritage), and to the ends of the world (
, the
11
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
[006]
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
[007]
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:—
inhabited world) their instruction has gone forth. With this agrees, in sense, the LXX. here, and Rom. x. 16, which each has Ƹy³³¿Â, a sound, or voice; i.e. , a sound in relation to the hearer, rather than to that which causes it. The meaning of the passage is, “All the earth has their sound or testimony as its heritage, and the ends of the world hear their words.” Symmachus has &Ç¿Â, a sound, or report.
10
means that which is hot, and is a poetical name of the sun itself.
11 Job is thought by some to be the Jobab mentioned in Gen. x. 29, the third in descent from Eber.
The Witness of the Stars
“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 (
, a name still connected with the Great Bear), Cesil (
), and Cimah (
).
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.
[008]
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
12 Note the structure of this verse:—
A The seven stars,
B Orion,
A The twelve signs,
B Arcturus.
13
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,
”¹yú¿ÅÁ¿¹, ( 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
[009]
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 (
) 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
The Witness of the Stars
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
[010]
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
, 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 Baby-
15
lon, 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
[011]
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.”
[012]
“Astronomy, mixed with astrology, occupied a large number 13 General Chesney allowed the late Dean Goode to copy the passage, among other matters, from his private MS. The Dean quotes it in his Warburtonian Lectures (2nd Ed., Note I. to Sermon IV., p. 170-1.) 14 Fragments of these coloured glazed bricks are to be seen in the British Museum.
15 Babylonian Life and History, p. 36.
The Witness of the Stars
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
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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
17
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,
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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.
16 Ä¿æ ³±Á º±v ³s½¿Â üµ½.
17 Ä¿æ ³±Á º±v ³s½¿Â üµ½.
The Witness of the Stars
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
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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 –É´¹±ºyÂ, which is not from –qÉ, to live, but from a primitive root through the Hebrew Sodi, which in Sanscrit means a way. Its etymology has
19
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
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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 The points where the two circles (the Ecliptic and the Equator) intersect each other are called the Equinoctial points. It is the movement of these points (which are now moving from Aries to Pisces) which gives rise to the term, “the precession of the Equinoxes.”
18 Besides this monthly difference, there is an annual difference; for at the end of twelve months the sun does not come back to exactly the same point in the sign which commenced the year, but is a little behind it. But this difference, though it occurs every year, is so small that it will take 25,579 years for the sun to complete this vast cycle, which is called The precession of the Equinoxes; i.e. , about one degree in every 71 years. If the sun came back to the precise point at which it began the year, each sign would correspond, always and regularly, exactly with a particular month; but, owing to this constant regression, the sun (while it goes through the whole twelve signs every year) commences the year in one sign for only about 2,131 years. In point of fact, since the Creation the commencement of the year has changed to the extent of nearly three of the signs. When Virgil sings—
“The White Bull with golden horns opens the year,”
he does not record what took place in his own day. This is another proof of the antiquity of these signs.
The Ecliptic, or path of the sun, if it could be viewed from immediately beneath the Polar Star, would form a complete and perfect circle, would be
The Witness of the Stars
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
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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 concentric with the Equator, and all the stars and the sun would appear to move in this circle, never rising or setting. To a person north or south of the Equator the stars therefore rise and set obliquely; while to a person on the Equator they rise and set perpendicularly, each star being twelve hours above and twelve below the horizon.
21
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 (
) on which the “Sign” (
, 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
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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).
The Witness of the Stars
If the reader compares the above with the blessings of Israel and Moses, and compares the meanings and descriptions given
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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.
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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.
Introduction.
23
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 ÃÆw³³É, 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.
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
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The Witness of the Stars
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
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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.
19 It is exactly the same with the books of the Bible. Their order and their names, as we have them in the English Bible, are those which man has given them, copied from the Septuagint and Vulgate, and in many cases are not the Divine names according to the Hebrew Canon.
25
(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.
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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.
The Witness of the Stars
§ 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
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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.
27
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.
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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.
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The Witness of the Stars
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
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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;
29
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.
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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.
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
31
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.
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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, 20 Here, the fact of His humiliation, together with this long period of His rejection, is leaped over, and the prophecy passes on at once—over at least a period of 1893 years—to this “glory which should follow.”
The Witness of the Stars
The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
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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
21 µ, Al Mureddin.
22 ², Zavijavah.
23 The star now marked ´.
24 The star ¶.
25 The star ±, Al Zimach.
33
Thus the brightest star in Virgo (±)26 has an ancient name, handed down to us in all the star-maps, in which the Hebrew word (
) Tsemech is preserved. It is called in Arabic
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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.27Each 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.) 26 The stars are known by Greek letters and sometimes by numbers, &c. Alpha (±) denotes a star of the first magnitude; Beta (²), the second, and so on. This plan was originated by Bayer in his Uranometria, 1603. The star Alpha, as seen in the New Great Equatorial Telescope recently set up at Greenwich, is now discovered to be really a double star, though it had hitherto always appeared to be one.
27 Jer. xxxiii. 15 being only a repetition of Jer. xxiii. 5.
The Witness of the Stars
(3.) Zech. vi. 12.—“Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying,
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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 JEHO-VAH 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 ² is called Zavijaveh, which means the gloriously beautiful, as in Isa. iv. 2. The star µ, 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
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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).
35
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.”
Plate 2: Coma (the Desired)
The ancient Zodiacs pictured this constellation as a woman with a child in her arms. A
29
LBUMAZAR
(or ABU MASHER), an
Arabian astronomer of the eighth century, says, “There arises in 28 From
which occurs only in Ps. lxiii. 1, “my flesh longeth for thee.” It is akin to
, to desire. Ps. xix. 10; Is. liii. 2; Hag. ii. 7; etc.
29 A Latin translation of his work is in the British Museum Library. He says the Persians understood these signs, but that the Indians perverted them with inventions.
The Witness of the Stars
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, nourish-ing an infant boy (the boy, I say), having a Hebrew name, by
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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
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figure of a woman and child. In our illustration we have given a 30 The constellations are called Decans. The word means a part, and is used of the three parts into which each sign is divided, each of which is occupied by a constellation.
1. COMA (The Woman and Child).
37
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,
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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),
31 It appears that MM. Saulnier, fils, and Lelorrain arrived while Signor Bossi was engaged in copying it, but concealed their design to remove it. The King of France paid £6,250 sterling for it. It has since been copied, and lithographs have been published.
32 Act IV., Scene 3.
The Witness of the Stars
“There shall come33 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 ABULFARAG-IUS (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.
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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 33 I.e. , come forth (as in the R.V.{FNS). At, as the preposition is rendered
in Gen. iii. 24. “There shall come forth a star at or over the inheritance or possessions of Jacob,” thus indicating the locality which would be on the meridian of this star.
1. COMA (The Woman and Child).
39
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
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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. Arch-bishop 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 CO-MA, 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
34 It ought also to be noted that in the preceding year there were three conjunctions of the planets Jupiter and Saturn, at the end of May and October, and at the beginning of December. Kepler (1571-1631) was the first to point this out, and his calculations have been confirmed by the highest authorities. These conjunctions occurred in the sign of PISCES{FNS: and this sign, according to all the ancient Jewish authorities (Josephus, Abarbanel, Eliezer, and others), has special reference to Israel. The conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, they
40
The Witness of the Stars
Thus does the constellation of COMA reveal that the coming
“Seed of the woman” was to be a child born, a son given.
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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
.” 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
(
) and rejected of men.”
hold, always marked the occurrence of some event favourable to Israel; while Kepler, calculating backwards, found that this astronomical phenomenon always coincided with some great historical crisis, viz. : the Revelation to Adam, the birth of Enoch, the Revelation to Noah, the birth of Moses, the birth of Cyrus, the birth of Christ, the birth of Charlemagne, and the birth of Luther.
41
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, ± (in the horse's fore-foot), has come down to us with the ancient name of Toliman, which means the hereto-fore 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).
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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.
The Witness of the Stars
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.
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3. BOÖTES (The Coming One).
He cometh.
This constellation still further develops this wondrous person-age.
He is pictured as a man walking rapidly, with a spear in his right hand and a sickle in his left hand.
3. BOÖTES (The Coming One).
43
Plate 4: Boötes (the Coming One)
The Greeks called him Bo-ö-tes, which is from the Hebrew root Bo (
, 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.”
The Witness of the Stars
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, ± (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
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coming one.
The star ¼ (in the spear-head) is named Al Katurops, which means the branch, treading under foot.
The star µ (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 · is called Muphride, i.e. who separates.
The star ² (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
35 The ancient name could not have been Boötes! though it is derived from, and may be a reminiscence of the Hebrew.
36 ARATUS{FNS calls him Arctophylax, i.e. , the guardian of Arctos, the flock of the greater fold, called to-day the Great Bear:—
“Behind, and seeming to urge on the Bear,
Arctophylax, on earth Boötes named,
Sheds o'er the Arctic car his silver light.”
By some moderns he is mistakenly called The Waggoner. Hence the allusion of Thompson:—
“Wide o'er the spacious regions of the North,
Boötes urges on his tardy wain.”
This perversion scarcely does justice even to human common sense, as waggoners do not use a sickle for a whip!
37 The constellation is a very brilliant one, having 54 stars, viz. , one of the 1st magnitude, six of the 3rd, eleven of the 4th, etc.
The constellation of the Canes Venatici ( the Greyhounds), i.e. , the two dogs (Asterion and Chara), which Boötes holds by a leash, is quite a modern invention, being added by Hevelius (1611-1687). The bright star of the 3rd magnitude in the neck of Chara, was named “Cor Caroli” ( the heart of Charles) by Sir Charles Scarborough, physician to Charles II., in honour of Charles I.,
45
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
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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 in 1649. This is a good example of the almost infinite distance between the ancient and modern names. The former are full of mysterious significance and grandeur, while the latter are puerile in the extreme, almost approaching to the comic! e.g. , the Air Pump, the Painter's Easel, the Telescope, the Triangle, the Fly, the Microscope, the Indian, the Fox and Goose, the Balloon, the Toucan (or American Goose), the Compasses, Charles's Oak, the Cat, the Clock, the Unicorn, &c. The vast difference can be at once seen between those designed by the ancients and those added by astronomers in more recent times.
These new constellations were added, 22 by Hevelius (1611-1687); and 15
by Halley (1656-1742). They were formed for the purpose of embracing those stars which were not included in the ancient constellations. This shows that the old constellations were not designed, like the modern ones, merely for the sake of enabling astronomers to identify the positions of particular stars. In this case all the stars would have been included. The object was exactly the opposite!
Instead of the pictures being designed to serve to identify the stars, only certain stars were used for the purpose of helping to identify the pictures!
This is another important proof of the truth of our whole argument.
The Witness of the Stars
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.”
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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.
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).
The Witness of the Stars
Libra contains three bright stars whose names supply us with the whole matter. The brightest, ± (in the lower scale), is named Zuben al Genubi, which means the purchase, or price which is
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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 ², 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, ³, below, towards Centaurus and the Victim slain, telling, by that and by its name,
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of the conflict by which that redemption would be accomplished.
49
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.
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1. CRUX (The Cross).
The Cross Endured.
38 See quotation from Dr. Budge, on page 12.
39 And certainly the symbol by which it is still known is more like the top
of an altar (See Ara, Plate XIV.) than a pair of balances, to which we can trace no resemblance whatever. See Note in the Appendix.
50
The Witness of the Stars
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
. 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.
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
51
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
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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
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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
The Witness of the Stars
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
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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.
2. LUPUS or VICTIMA (The Victim).
53
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).
The Witness of the Stars
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
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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.
55
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
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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.
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The Witness of the Stars
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 ¸, ², ±, ³, ´, and µ, which form a crescent.
Its brightest star, ±, 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.”
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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.
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The Witness of the Stars
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,
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etc.
The brightest star, ± (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 40 Antares seems also to have been known as Lesath.
Chapter III. The Sign SCORPIO.
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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.
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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.
41 Luke xxii. 53: comp. Col. i. 13 and Eph. vi. 12.
The Witness of the Stars
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
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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.
1 and 2. SERPENS and OPHIUCHUS.
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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, ± (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 ² (in the jaw), named, in Arabic, Cheleb, or Chelbalrai, the serpent enfolding. The Greek name,
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Ophiuchus, is itself from the Hebrew and Arabic name Afeichus, which means the serpent held. The brightest star in Ophiuchus,
± (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 foot42 of Ophiuchus), bruised; Carnebus, the wounding; Megeros, contending.43 In the Zodiac 42 In 1604 a new star appeared in the eastern foot of Ophiuchus, but disappeared again in 1605.
43 There is an ancient Greek fable which calls Ophiuchus Æsculapius, the son of Apollo. Having restored Hippolytus to life, he was everywhere worshipped as the god of health, and hence the serpent entwined around him is, to this day, the symbol of the medical art! This, however, is, doubtless, another perversion of the primitive truth that the Coming One in overcoming the serpent, should become the great healer of all the sorrows of the world, and cause all its groanings to cease.
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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
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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.
44 Cerberus, or the serpent with three heads, was placed by Hevelius (1611-1687) by the side of Hercules. Bayer had previously placed the apple branch in his hand. This was symbolical of the golden apples of Hesperides, which he obtained by killing the three-headed hydra, by whom they were guarded. In our picture these are combined, and a bow and quiver added from other ancient authorities.
3. HERCULES (The Mighty Man).
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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, ± (in his head), is named Ras al Gethi, and means the head of him who bruises.
The next, ² (in the right arm-pit), is named Kornephorus, and means the branch, kneeling.
The star º (in the right elbow) is called Marsic, the wounding.
The star » (in the upper part of the left arm) is named Ma'asyn, the sin-offering.
While É (in the lower part of the right arm) is Caiam, or Guiam, punishing; and in Arabic, treading under foot.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.”
The Witness of the Stars
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.”
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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.
Chapter IV. The Sign SAGITTARIUS.
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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.
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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.”
The Witness of the Stars
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.”
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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
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The Witness of the Stars
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.”
1. LYRA (The Harp).
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Plate 13: LYRA (the Harp)
Its brightest star, ±, 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,
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quoted above. Is not this wonderfully expressive?
Its other stars, ² and ³, are also conspicuous stars, of the 2nd and 4th magnitude. ² is called Shelyuk, which means an eagle (as does the Arabic, Al Nesr); ³ 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
, Nesher, an eagle, and
, Gna-
sor, 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 45 In our picture we have combined the two great thoughts, taking the harp from a picture dug up at Herculaneum, and adding an eagle soaring up with it.
The Witness of the Stars
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).”
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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.”
46 This is the first time that the word “Alleluia” occurs in the New Testament, and it is praise for judgment executed.
Where is its first occurrence in the Old Testament? In Ps. civ. 35, where we have the very same solemn and significant connection:—
“Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth,
And let the wicked be no more.
Bless thou the LORD{FNS, O my soul,
HALLELUJAH{FNS (Praise ye the LORD{FNS
2. ARA (The Altar).
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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 ( BMh), to come, as in Isa. lxiii. 1:
“Who is this that cometh from Edom,
With dyed garments from Bozrah.”
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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.”
The Witness of the Stars
(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 complet-ing, 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.
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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.
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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
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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.”
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(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
, Dahrach, to
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tread.
3. DRACO (The Dragon).
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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, ± (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 Witness of the Stars
the pole of the world, as if to indicate his subtle influence in all worldly affairs.
The next star, ² (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, ³ (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
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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.
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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.”
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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
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the two middle chapters are both connected with fishes.47), and then the following sign is PISCES{FNS, or the Fishes. So that the Redeemed Multitudes are presented throughout this Second Book.
The reason for this we shall see as we proceed.
47 There is a fish tail here. The third Decan of CAPRICORNUS{FNS is a fish ( Delphinus). There is again a fish ( Piscis Australis) in the next sign (AQUARIUS{FNS
Chapter I. The Sign CAPRICORNUS (The Sea Goat).
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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.
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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, ± and ² in the horn and head, and the remaining three, ³, ´, and µ, in
The Witness of the Stars
the fishy tail. The star ± is named Al Gedi, the kid or goat, while the star ís 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
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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,
Chapter I. The Sign CAPRICORNUS (The Sea Goat).
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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.
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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.
The Witness of the Stars
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
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immediately to lengthen when He, “the true light,” had come into the world.48 sets before us the victory of “the Lamb that was slain.”
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: 48 When we come to the last chapter of this book we shall see that the Sun was in the sign of the other sacrificial animal, ARIES{FNS, at the very hour of the Crucifixion. And ARIES{FNS
1. SAGITTA (The Arrow).
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“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).
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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
The Witness of the Stars
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 ³ and áre in the same line, while the shaft passes between ± and ².
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
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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,
± (in the Eagle's neck), is a notable star of the 1st magnitude, called Al Tair (Arabic), the wounding. The star ² (in the throat) is called Al Shain (Arabic), the bright, from a Hebrew root meaning scarlet coloured, as in Josh. ii. 18. The star ³ (in the back) is called Tarared, wounded, or torn. ´ (in the lower wing) is named Alcair, which means the piercing, and µ (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
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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.
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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),
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The Witness of the Stars
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.
Chapter II. The Sign AQUARIUS (The Water Bearer).
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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
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place of him coming down or poured forth.
In some eastern Zodiacs the Urn alone appears.
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The Witness of the Stars
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 ± (in the right shoulder) is called Sa'ad al Melik, which means the record of the pouring forth.
The star ² (in the other shoulder) is called Saad al Sund, who goeth and returneth, or the pourer out.
The bright star ´ (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,
Chapter II. The Sign AQUARIUS (The Water Bearer).
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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 eleventh49, as shown by the riddle
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of the Sphinx. See page 20.
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.”
49 The eleventh, because everyone begins to reckon from ARIES{FNS, and not as we have done from VIRGO{FNS
The Witness of the Stars
(Isa. xxxii. 1, 2).
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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.”
1. PISCIS AUSTRALIS (The Southern Fish).
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(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.”
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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.
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50 And in great contrast with several modern ones near it, e.g. , the Balloon, the Sculptor's Apparatus, the Microscope, Euclid's Square, the Telescope, etc., etc.
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The Witness of the 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.
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.
2. PEGASUS (The Winged Horse).
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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.”
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The brightest, ± (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 ² (in the near shoulder) is called Scheat, i.e. , who goeth and returneth. The star ³ (at the tip of the wing) bears an Arabic name— Al Genib, who carries. The star µ (in the nostril) is called Enif (Arabic), the water. The star · (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.”
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The Witness of the Stars
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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.
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.
Chapter III. The Sign PISCES (The Fishes).
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Its brightest star, ± (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 ² (in the beak) is named Al Bireo (Arabic), flying quickly.
The star ³ (in the body) is called Sadr (Hebrew), who returns as in a circle.
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The two stars in the tail, now marked in the maps as À 1 and À 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,
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The Witness of the Stars
as is seen in the last of the three sections (the constellation
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of Andromeda, the chained woman), which leads up to the last chapter of the book, and ends it in triumph over every enemy.
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.
Chapter III. The Sign PISCES (The Fishes).
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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.
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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
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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
The Witness of the Stars
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.)
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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.”
Chapter III. The Sign PISCES (The Fishes).
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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.”
The Witness of the Stars
(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
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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.”
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In Heb. xi. we are distinctly told that Abraham “looked for a 51 How inconsistent when there were three such conjunctions in one year, all in the same sign of PISCES{FNS, immediately preceding the birth of the woman's Seed; and in addition to this the new star which had been foretold.
See under Coma, Pages 36, 37, 38.
Chapter III. The Sign PISCES (The Fishes).
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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 ashamed52 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.
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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 Ok-52 The figure of Tapeinosis, which calls our attention to that fact that He was delighted thus to be called.
The Witness of the Stars
da (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
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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.
53 There are 113 stars in this sign, none of any great importance; only one of the 3rd magnitude, five of the 4th, etc.
2. ANDROMEDA (The Chained Woman).
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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
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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.
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The Witness of the Stars
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.
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.
