The Heavens Proclaim the Glory of God (Psalm 19:1)
or
How God Hangs the Moon!
Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each by its name. Because of his great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing. Is 40:26
He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. Psalm 147:4
Last week I told you the astronomy and astrology world changed because NASA reintroduced a constellation that astrologers to have thirteen sign instead of the historic twelve. Why, the earth’s axis has tilted enough where they had to add back in the constellation Ophiuchus to be consistent throughout the “sun’s journey” through the solar system. As we all know, the sun doesn’t move, but we do. As the earth’s position changes, the sun “highlights” the constellations so it “appears” to us at certain times of the year by shining brighter than the stars around them. Ophiuchus has always been there, but now comes into play for some 18 days in the late fall. God said that he brings them out like an army, calling each by name and not a single one is missing!
Hmmm? What does this mean for Christians and the pagan world? God is trying to tell you the man who is the serpent bearer, the man who is wrestling with the snake, is reasserting Himself in world affairs. Just like at the birth of the Lord Jesus the Christ, the astrology world was shaken with the citing of the Star of Bethlehem by the Magi, the astrology world is once again have to recalculate their position in the universe.
The fact that there is a story to be told in the heavens should not be surprising to the Christian. God set the saga of the salvation of man in the heavens long before man was born. The Mazzeroth is the ancient star chart of the Hebrews told to Abraham and probably Adam and Eve, although I can’t prove that.
What is the Mazzeroth?
As you can see from the chart above, the twelve tribes are illustrated and so is the history of the Hebrew people and the plan of redemption. Briefly, God told Abraham, that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky. Genesis 26:4 Ancient traditions ascribe astronomy to Seth, Adam and Enoch. (See notes at the end of this article.)
You’ve got to understand the ancient mind. In a world where there was no written language, no universal oral language, how were you going to communicate with people? How was God going to get his point across about His salvation message. People communicated in pictographs and the stars. This is why the Hebrews, along with other cultures, had a lunar calendar.
So what basically does all this mean to we a Christians, God had a plan for the world before the foundations of the world were set and He wanted all people from around the world to understand who He is! It is interesting that the Chinese, Chaldeans, Egyptians, and other cultures use the same constellations signs such have been found in the temples Of Denderah and Esneh in Egypt.
Are You Listening?
God has told us in the stars that His story is bigger than any church.
1The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 2Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. 3They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. 4Yet their voiceb goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun. 5It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. 6It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth. Psalm 19 1:6
Then God said, “Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. Let them be signs to mark the seasons, days, and years. Genesis 1:14
God has called the constellations by name:
Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each by its name. Because of his great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing. Isaiah 40:26
He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. Psalm 147:4
“Can you direct the movement of the stars–binding the cluster of the Pleiades or loosening the cords of Orion? (Incidentally, we know today these two stars are gravitationally linked!) Job 38:31
Where to Start?
Start at the beginning. Let’s take when Joseph was second in command in Egypt. Do you think Joseph knew the plan of salvation? The famous Sphinx monument in Egypt means to literally to “bind closely together.” What is bound? Again, ancient Egypt got the idea from somewhere to create a monument that has the head of a woman that is bound closely to the body of a lion. Does that sound familiar?
So it is with the Mazzeroth. So we have Virgo the woman, the first sign, bound closely to the end of the signs with Leo, the Lion, the last sign. We start with the woman, and end with victory of the Lion! Remember prophecy, Genesis 3:15, tells us that the seed of the woman will bruise the head of the serpent. We have Jesus, the Lion of the tribe of Judah conquering!
These are two slides from a presentation I used to do on the Mazzeroth. But it will give you an idea of what it means to the Hebrews.
These are just two charts, but think of this: if God is calling the universe to repentence and redemption, how important are you? He knows exactly who you are and where you are. There is not one star that is more important nor valuable than you are!
A few notes for your leisurely reading on the subject.
Bibliography
Allen, Richard H., Star Names, Their Lore And Meaning, Dover Publications, New York, 1963. (Republished From Stechert, 1899.)
Bullinger, E.W., The Witness Of The Stars, Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, MI, 1967. (Reprinted From London Edition, 1893.)
Frank, Edgar, Talmudic And Rabbinical Chronology, Feldheim Publishers, Jerusalem, 1956.
Kunitzsch, Paul, And Smart, Time, Modern Star Names And Their Derivations, Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden, 1986.
Legg Middle School: Coldwater, Mi (Internet)
Meade Autostar Suite, Astronomers Edition, Version 3.1 (Software)
Missler, Chuck, Monuments: Sacred Or Profane? Koinonia House, 1991.
Missler, Chuck, Signs In The Heavens, Koinonia House, 1994.
O’neil, W.M., Time And Calendars, Sydney University Press, Sydney, 1975.
Parker, Richard A., “The Calendars Of Ancient Eygpt,” Studies In Ancient Oriental Civilization, No. 26, University Of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1950.
Patten, Donald W., Catastrophism And The Old Testament, Pacific Meridian Publishing Company, Seattle, WA 1996.
Seiss, Joseph A., The Gospel In The Stars, Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, MI, 1972. (Reprinted: Primeval Astronomy, 1882).
Spencer, Duane Edward, The Gospel In The Stars, Word Of Grace, San Antonio, Tx, 1972.
Swift, Jonathan, Gulliver’s Travels, 1726.
Velikovsky, Immanuel, Worlds In Collision, Doubleday & Co., New York, 1950.
Wikipedia, Zodiac References (Internet)
One Reply to “The Mazzeroth”