Chapter 6: Day 4 - Marking Time

The fourth day is six verses long (14-19) and explains the creation of the sun, moon, and stars for the purpose of marking time

And God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years" Genesis 1:14

SIGNS

Throughout the Bible God has used astronomical phenomena as signs of His works. When Joshua battled against the five kings of the Amorites "he said in the sight of Israel, 'Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon.' And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed," (Josh. 10:12b & 13a). When Hezekiah was told by Isaiah that he should prepare to die, he begged God for mercy. The Lord extended him the mercy and gave him a sign where He "brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down in the dial of Ahaz" (2 Kings 20:11b), to show that his life would be extended fifteen more years. The most famous astronomical sign was when the wise men came to king Herod asking, "Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him," (Matt. 2:2). The Old Testament prophets and Jesus both said that, "Immediately after tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken," (Matt. 24:29). God has repeatedly in the past, and will in the future, use the astronomical cosmos as a sign of His power to the Earth. The sun and moon stood still for Joshua (time stopped), the shadow went back ten degrees for Hezekiah (time went backward), the wise men saw the star in the east (in the fullness of time Christ appeared), and the light of the sun and moon will darken with stars falling from heaven when Christ returns (the fulfillment of time).

Knowing before he created mankind that we would sin and rebel against Him, He had the plan of salvation already worked out. A theory has been promoted that the constellations, and those of the Zodiac, were originally used as a testimony and a sign for the gospel of Jesus Christ, long before it was corrupted into the pagan practice of divination in Astrology. The changing constellations were for all to behold. God created them for His signs, not the occult's. They provided a cosmic narrative of the Messiah's redemption and their sequence of events in the future in God's celestial calendar. This knowledge that God showed the plan of the future in the stars is Astrology's start in divination, which, of course, corrupted the plan of the Messiah into personal destiny charts.

According to Josephus, the sons of Seth (Adam's 3rd son) were known as "the inventors of that peculiar sort of wisdom which is concerned with the heavenly bodies, and their order" (Antiquities I. 2:3) Furthermore, according to E.W. Bullinger (1837-1913), ancient secular Persian and Arabian traditions attribute the invention of astronomy to Adam, Seth, and Enoch [1]. It is probable that God instructed Adam and the godly descendants of Seth in the ways of the stars to keep track of their movements. It is possible that God showed Adam constellation groupings to use them as a means of sharing the gospel message in the stars just as Medieval churches used paintings and stained glass windows to share the gospel story to their illiterate congregations. For Adam and his godly descendants to track the stars, a knowledge of mathematics was undoubtedly understood as well. Enoch could have pointed to the constellations to declare his prophesy of the Lord's return with 10,000 of his saints (Jude 14).

The zodiac that we know today is a mixture of Greek and Babylonian mythology. Astrology has its origin in Mesopotamia. Undoubtedly the post Tower of Babel group drew upon the antediluvian knowledge from Noah and his sons, and corrupted the message into their pagan systems. A Harvard professor, Dr. Barry Fell, suggests that the Zodiac was drawn and named by the Babylonians about 2,000 BC, which would be shortly after the Flood of 2,344 BC.

Zodiac is Greek meaning "animals," and refers specifically to the constellations that follow the ecliptic path of the sun. However, many of these constellations aren't animals and Bullinger believes its original root is the Hebrew sodi which means "way" or "path," specifically the path of the sun [2]. Is it coincidental that Jesus said that he was the "way" (John 14:6), and that the early Christians were called followers of the Way? There are twelve constellations of the zodiac, and many other constellations throughout the celestial hemispheres. With the passing of time, after the dispersion of the Babel group, developing cultures ascribed different names and formations to the stars and constellations. Bullinger drew his conclusions concerning the gospel origin of the zodiac and other constellations from material formed by Frances Rolleston of Keswick, England. Rolleston had collected information from Albumazer, the Arab astronomer to the Caliphs of Grenada, 850 AD. Bullinger also drew upon tables drawn up by Ulugh Beigh, the Tartar [3] prince and astronomer of 1450 AD, whose tables were drawn from Arabian astronomers of antiquity.

Bullinger begins his premise that God originated the zodiac as a gospel message from Psalm 19. Verses 1-6 demonstrate the heavens as a record of the gospel, while verses 7-14 declares the Bible as a record of the gospel. The first 6 verses state:

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night shows knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath He set a tabernacle for the sun, which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoices as a strong man to run a race. His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof (Psalm 19:1-6).

The testimony of the heavens endure throughout all generations and societies, reaching out to every tongue. The sun becomes a type of Christ.

The argument for different messages of the gospel in the stars is based upon the constellations adjacent to each of the zodiac constellations (some groupings span both

northern and southern hemispheres!) and the interpretation of the different star names within the constellations. These interpretations draw upon names of the stars from other cultures. Also, constellations that we know of today are predominantly Greek myth formations. Other cultures, particularly from antiquity, called some of the constellations by other names. From all these different sources, an attempt to reconstruct the possible original messages of God concerning the gospel had been made.

Pagan astrologers place the beginning of the Zodiac with the constellation Aries, since it begins the vernal equinox (Spring), and ending with Pisces which concludes Winter. Bullinger disagrees with this procedure. He believes that the Sphinx of Egypt - a woman's head on a lion's body -is the Ancient's clue as to the beginning of the Zodiac. Sphinx is Greek meaning "to bind closely together." He believes the woman's head connected to the lion is a picture of the constellation Virgo which is adjacent to Leo in the procession. Therefore, Virgo was the original starting point of the Zodiac, and Leo its ending.

The message of God's salvation is broken into 3 "books" of 4 "chapters" of zodiac constellations with their surrounding constellations called "decans."

Book I is on the Redeemer's first coming. Chapter 1 starts with Virgo, the virgin, which speaks of the promised seed of the woman. Next to it is the constellation Coma which used to be portrayed as a woman with child, which speaks of the desired one of all nations. Also is the constellation Centaurus - half man, half horse - which speaks of the twofold nature of the Messiah - half divine, half human. Lastly, the constellation Bootes, which means "he comes," promises his coming. Without going into detail, the rest of the book is as follows: Chapter 2 with Libra, the scales that used to be an altar of justice, and it's decans, speaks of his atoning work on the cross in being slain for our sins. Chapter 3 with Scorpio, the scorpion, - another picture of Satan - speaks of his struggle with the enemy, the devil. And the first book concludes with his victory over the enemy, chapter 4, as Sagittarius, the archer who is half man, half horse, i.e., the god/man, conquers the dragon.

Book II speaks of the Redeemed receiving God's blessing. Chapter 1 begins with Capricornus, the fish/goat as a picture of the atonement (the goat) slain for the redeemed (the fish). The atonement is resurrected and lives again. Chapter 2 begins with Aquarius, the water bearer, which is a picture of the one who gives "living water" to the redeemed. The Redeemer brings blessing, and leaves with assurance of a quick return. Chapter 3 begins with Pisces which are 2 fish bound together at their tails. The redeemed have blessings, but are still bound to the mortal and sinful nature. They await their King's return. Chapter 4 begins with Aries, the ram, also the breaker, who obtained their victory with the promise of the sea monster (Satan) to be bound, so the church who is his bride, may be the Queen.

Book III concludes with the Redeemer's second coming. Chapter 1 begins with Taurus, the bull, who is the Judge of the Earth returning to bring judgment on the wicked while protecting the redeemed as a good shepherd. Chapter 2 begins with Gemini, the twins, who portrays the god/man as the mediator who restores humanity to divinity, and comes as the returning King who will rule the Earth in peace. Chapter 3 begins with Cancer, the crab, which speaks of the security of the believers who will live on Earth in peace. Chapter 4 concludes the message in the stars with Leo, the lion of Judah, who ultimately throws the devil into the Lake of Fire as his judgment is dispensed at the White Throne Judgment on him and all who followed him.

Before God had even created man, before his Fall, the plan of salvation was ready and placed in the heavens to tell the story of the future hope of mankind. Amos said, "Surely the Lord Yahweh will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets" (Amos 3:7). It is clear in looking at His testimony in the stars that God revealed the full plan of the Messiah to the godly antediluvians. Josephus says, "And that their inventions [concerning astronomy] might not be lost before they were sufficiently known, upon Adam's prediction that the world was to be destroyed at one time by the force of fire, and at another time by the violence and quantity of water, they made two pillars" (Antiquities I, 2:3). The pillars, of course, would not have remained after the Flood. What is significant, though, is that Josephus believed that Adam knew not only about the Flood, but the destruction of the Earth by fire. This is in the stars. God's provision of a calendar in the stars is a constant witness to His care for mankind.

Illustrations of the constellation groups with further details are given in the appendix. The corruption of the message into pagan astrology will be addressed in the next volume on the post-diluvian world.