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Signs in the Heavens Print E-mail
Written by Victoria Radin   

“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun, which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoices like a strong man to run its race.” (Psalm 19:1-5)

The constellations of the Zodiac tell a prophetic story written by God Himself at the creation. God wrote the story so that people could understand His plan for the redemption of mankind. For this reason, Satan was determined to pervert God’s purpose and caused men to use the stars and constellations for divination. This is called astrology. Practicing astrology or any type of divination is a sin in God’s sight.

The Zodiac, ‘Mazaroth’, is a ‘belt around the heavens’ at the plane of the Earth’s orbit. It follows the ‘apparent’ annual path of the sun. In other words, during each year, the sun ‘appears’ in each of the constellations at different times and seasons. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, the sun regularly ‘passes through’ a thirteenth constellation as well. It is called Ophiuchus, meaning ‘serpent bearer’. The sun ‘shifts its position’ about every 2000 years and begins the year in a different constellation.

God said that He created the sun, moon and stars to be signs. In the Hebrew, the word ‘sign’ means ‘appearing as a signal, beacon, omen, miracle, or evidence’. Since the meaning of a ‘sign’ is not always immediately discernable, biblical signs are considered to be ‘prophetic signs’. 

The Scriptures have a lot to say about the stars that God created. Not only did God number the stars, but He also named them all.

“He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name.” (Psalm 147:4)

The book of Job mentions the names of four constellations: the Great Bear (often translated Arcturus), Orion, Pleiades and the chambers of the south (Job 9:9). God, Himself uses the term “Mazaroth’ which means ‘the constellations of the Zodiac’.

“Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades, or loose the belt of Orion? Can you bring out Mazzaroth in its season? Or can you guide the Great Bear with its cubs? Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can you set their dominion over the earth?” (Job 38:31-33)

The names of stars and the twelve constellations go back to the foundation of the world. Jewish tradition, according to historian Josephus, says that biblical astronomy originated with Adam, Seth, and Enoch. Psalm 19 records that the heavens declare the glory of God, They utter speech, they show knowledge. The psalmist goes on to compare the written word with the ‘words’ written in the heavens, preserved in the meaning of the signs of the Zodiac. 

During the lives of Adam, Seth, and Enoch, the month of Tishri was the first month of the year. It was said that on the first day of Tishri, man was created. The month of Tishri most often falls within the Zodiac sign of Virgo, the Virgin, pictured as a woman bearing a branch in her right hand and an ear of corn in her left, i.e. the Promised Seed of the woman. Thus, the Redemption Story written in the heavens begins with the constellation Virgo.

“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” (Genesis 3:15)

Theologian, E. W. Bullinger, in his book The Witness of the Stars, divided the ‘heavenly narrative’ into three sections, giving full description and the meaning of each constellation: Redemption of Mankind, the Heavenly Conflict, and the Second Coming. The description of almost all the constellations has remained essentially the same throughout recorded history in all societies. Pastor D. James Kennedy, who has preached about the “The Gospel in the Stars” emphasizes that the book of Job, which is the oldest book in the Bible, records the names for the constellations as those used in most all societies afterward.

The Book of Revelation, Chapter 12 gives a view of the conflict that is seen in the heavens.

“Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth.” (Revelation 12:1, 2)

Having “the moon under her feet” discloses that she is above the moon, i.e. in the stars. The woman is a constellation through which the sun is ‘passing’ since she is “clothed with the sun”. Again, this is the beginning of the story written in the stars. Having a crown of twelve stars identifies her as Israel, made up of twelve tribes. Israel is the bride, the virgin that gave birth to the Messiah Yeshua 

“…who are Israelites …of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, [Yeshua] came…” (Romans 9:5).

The next ‘sign’ to appear is that of Satan.

“And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born. She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne.” (Revelation 12:3-5)

The fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns represents the six world kingdoms that persecuted Israel: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Media/Persia, Greece, Ancient Rome, and the World Empire that will persecute Israel in the end of the age. Satan was the ‘hidden ruler’ of each kingdom that tried to destroy Israel and will be the ‘hidden ruler’ of the World Empire that will exist in the end of this age. The above scripture covers the period from Yeshua’s birth when Satan tried to murder Him until His resurrection.

While Virgo is the first sign in the heavens, Leo (the Lion) is the last constellation in the heavenly story depicting the Messiah’s Triumph. It is believed that the Egyptian sphinx was invented as a memorial to remind mankind of where the story in the heavens begins and ends. The sphinx has the head of a woman and the winged body and tail of a lion. The sphinx ‘tells’ us that the story written in the heavens [symbolized by the wings] began with the sign of Virgo and will end with the sign of Leo [the lion]. The word sphinx means ‘tightly bound’, binding the beginning to the end. In Bullinger’s book, he says the following.

“In the Zodiak [that appears] in the Temple of Esneh in Egypt, a Sphinx is actually placed between the signs of Virgo and Leo…” (p. 22)

The story written in the Zodiac records the climax of the age-old struggle between Satan and the woman’s Seed Yeshua (Jesus). The Zodiac sign Leo with its three sub-constellations conclude the narrative. The lion [Leo] is pictured in the planisphere treading upon the serpent [Hydra]. The cup of God’s wrath [Crater] is poured out onto the serpent, which the bird of prey [Corvus] is about to devour.

“If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God [Crater], which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb [the Lion of the tribe of Judah]. (Revelation 14:9-10

“And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds [Corvus] were filled with their flesh.” (Revelation 19:21)

Even though there are many struggles between Virgo (the promise) and Leo (the victory), in the end, we know we win. All we have to do is look up to the heavens and know that the victory is ours.

 

 
 
 
 
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