Source: Unknown
The Gospel In The Stars
This fascinating theory is that before there were written Scriptures God may have used the clustering of stars that we call constellations as object lessons about His future plans for salvation and other prophetic subjects. This material is taken primarily from TheGospel In The Stars by Joseph A. Seiss - originally published in 1882. It also draws from E.W. Bullinger's The Witness of the Stars and a tape by Chuck Missler called "The Mazzaroth".
Please notice at the outset that this is only proposed as a theory. Like all of prophecy it is unwise to be dogmatic, but it is also unwise to ignore valid possibilities.
Notice also that it is not to be construed as an endorsement of any form of astrology. Astrology is an occult perversion of the true science of Astronomy. Astrology is strictly forbidden by the Scriptures. Read 2 Kings 17:16-17; 23:5; Psalm 81:12; Isaiah 47:13; Jeremiah 10:1-2; Daniel 1:20, 2:27; 4:7; 5:7.
However, the Bible does say that the lights in the heavens were to be used for signs and seasons (Genesis 1:14), and it indicates that God, who created them, calls the stars by name (Isaiah 40:26; Psalm 147:4). Psalm 19:1-6 says that the heavens are telling of the glory of God. According to John 1:14 Jesus revealed the glory of God. Therefore, this could mean that the heavens foretell the coming of Christ («Messiah). Verse 6 of this passage in Psalm 19 also speaks of the apparent circuit of the Sun, which is known to us as the ecliptic. Constellations are mentioned in the Bible (Job 9:9; 38:31-33). Perhaps most important of all, God did use heavenly signs to lead the wise men to Christ after He was born (Matthew 2:1-2,9-10). Therefore, Astronomy, the study of the stars, including naming stars and constellations is not bad. It is only the perversion of this knowledge that is wrong.
The zodiac is a band of the heavens within 8 degrees on either side of the ecliptic. The word actually means "The Way," which is very interesting since that was the first name given to Christianity (Acts 9:2; 19:9,23; 24:14,22). The Hebrew word Mazzaroth has the same meaning and is translated "constellations" in Job 38:32. "Mazzaroth therefore... clearly signifies the twelve constellations of the zodiac through which the sun appears to pass in the course of the year, poetically likened to the "'inns,"... in which the sun successively rests during the several monthly stages of his annual journey." (The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Vol. I, p. 312)
Luke 1:69-70 and Acts 3:21 imply the possibility of ancient or pre-historic prophets. The Bible was not written until long after the Creation and the flood, but the oral traditions were carefully passed down until Moses could record them under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Hebrew traditions say that Adam, Seth and Enoch could have been among these early prophets. Since people lived for nearly a thousand years before the flood, and, of course, their evenings were not spent watching television, but often, sleeping under the stars, it is certainly possible that the average person was thoroughly familiar with the star patterns and that God might have revealed a system of identifying the constellations which foretold the story of salvation.
Genesis 3:15 is a clear prophecy of the future conflict between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent which would ultimately be fulfilled in Christ's death for us. Read the following scenario and decide for yourself whether these constellations make more sense in a Biblical framework or in a mythological one. We follow Seiss' three-fold division of the zodiac. Each Sign has a main constellation and three others which are called Decans, from the Semitic word "dek" which means "part." Together these 12 Signs and their Decans appear to tell the amazing story of the Gospel!
Geen opmerkingen:
Een reactie posten