The Witness of the Stars
The First Book - The Redeemer
(His First Coming)
"The Sufferings of Christ"
Chapter I
The
Sign Virgo - The Promised Seed of the woman
1. Virgo (the Virgin)
Here is the commencement
of all prophecy in Genesis 3:15, spoken to the serpent: "I will put enmity
between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: it shall bruise
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
develop. 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.
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 11:1). Another name is
Sunbul, Arabic, an ear of corn.
In Genesis 3:15 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, Isaiah 7:14 (quoted in Matthew
1:23).
"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, Isaiah 9:6, 7 (quoted in
Luke 2:11 and 1 :32, 33).
"For unto us a child is born,
Unto us a
son is given; *
And the government shall be upon His shoulder;
And His
name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor,
The Mighty God, The Everlasting
Father, The Prince of Peace.
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."
* 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."
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 Bootes 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;
It rolls beneath the tail, and may compare
With the bright stars that
deck the Greater Bear.
Upon her sholder one bright star is borne,
One
clasps the circling girdle of her loins,
One at her bending knee; and in
her hand
Glitters that bright and golden Ear of Corn.
Thus
the brightest star in VIRGO (a) * 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 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 (Jer 33:15 being only a repetition of
Jer 23:5). Each of these further connects Him with one special account of Him,
given in the Gospels.
* The stars are known by Greek letters and sometimes
by numbers, etc. Alpha (a) denotes a star of the first magnitude; Beta (b), 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.
(1) Jeremiah 23:5 - "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 9:9; Matt 21:9)
(2) Zechariah 3:8 -
"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 42:1)
(3) Zechariah 6:12
- "Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the MAN whose name is the
BRANCH." In the Gospel according to Luke we behold Him, presented in "the MAN
Christ Jesus."
(4) Isaiah 4:2 - "In that day shall the BRANCH of JEHOVAH 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 40:9)
This is the Branch foretold by the star Al
Zimach in the ear of corn. The star b is called Zavijaveh, which means the
gloriously beautiful, as in Isaiah 4:2. The star e, in the arm bearing the
branch, is called Al Mureddin, which means who shall come down (as in Psa
72:8), 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, are -
Subilah, who carries. (Isa 46:4)
Al Azal, the
Branch. (As in Isa 18:5)
Subilon, a spike of corn. (As in Isa 17:5)
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 BC (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 seed, which shows that though the woman is seen, it is her 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) The desired of all nations
2. Coma (the Desired)
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, the desired, or the longed for. We have the word used by the Holy Spirit
in this very connection, in Haggai 2:7 - "The DESIRE of all nations shall
come."
The ancient Zodiacs pictured this constellation as a woman with
a child in her arms. ALBUMAZAR * (or ABU MASHER), an Arabian astronomer of the
eighth century, says, "There arises in the first Decan **, 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, nourishing an
infant boy (the boy, I say), having a Hebrew name, by some nations called
IHESU, with the signification IEZA, which in Greek is called CHRISTOS."
*
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 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.
But this picture is not found in
any of the modern maps of the stars. There we find today a woman's wig! It
appears that BERENICE, the wife of EUERGETES (PTOLEMY III), king of Egypt in
the third century BC, 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 (BC 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, Co-me. this again is
transferred to the Latin coma, and thus "Coma Berenice" (The hair of Berenice)
comes down to us today 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 2000 years BC, has no trace of any hair, but it has the figure of a woman
and child.
Even Shakespeare understood the truth about this
constellation picture, which has been so long covered by modern inventions. In
his Titus Andronicus 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 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, 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 24:17),
"There shall come *
a star out of Jacob,
And a sceptre shall rise out of Israel."
*
I.e., come forth (as in the RV). At is rendered in Genesis 3:24 "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.
Thomas Hyde, an eminent Orientalist (1636-1703), writing on the ancient
religion of the Persians, quotes from ABULFARAGIUS (an Arab Christian
Historian, 1126-1286), 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
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 BC 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 AD).
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 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 speaks
of its "surpassing brightness." Another (IGNATIUS, Bishop of Antioch, AD 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 century AD) says that not even the morning star was so
fair. Archbishop 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 COMA, 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 24:30) when He shall "come unto" this world again to complete the
wondrous prophecies written of Him in the heavenly and earthly Revelations?
* 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: 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
hold, always marked the occurrence of some even 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.
Thus does the constellation of COMA reveal that the coming "Seed of
the woman" was to be a child born, a son given.
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
3.
Centaurus (the Centaur)
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 Bezeh." Now this Hebrew word Bezeh (and the Arabic Al
Beze) means the despised. It is the very word used of this Divine sufferer in
Isaiah 53:3, "He is DESPISED and rejected of men."
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, a (in the horse's fore-foot), has come down to us with the ancient name
of Toliman, which means the heretofore and hereafter, marking Him as the one
"which is, and which was, and which is to come - the Almighty" (Rev 1:8). 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
Isaiah 53:10).
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.
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 2:40); 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.
3. BOOTES (The Coming One) He cometh
4. Bootes (the Coming One)
This constellation
still further develops this wondrous personage. He is pictured as a man walking
rapidly, with a spear in his right hand and a sickle in his left hand. The
Greeks called him Bo-o-tes, which is from the Hebrew root Bo (to come), meaning
the coming. It is referred to in Psalm 96:13:
"For He cometh,
For
He cometh to judge the earth;
He shall judge the world in
righteousness,
And the people with His truth."
It is probable that
his ancient name was Arcturus * (as referred to in Job 9:9), for this is the
name of the brightest star, a (in the left knee). Arcturus means He cometh. **
* The ancient name could not have been Bootes! though it is derived from,
and may be a reminiscence of the Hebrew.
** ARATUS calls him Arctophylax,
i.e., the guardian of Arctos, the flock of the greater fold, called today the
Great Bear:
"Behind, and seeming to urge on the Bear,
Arctophylax,
on earth Bootes 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,
Bootes urges on his tardy wain."
This perversion scarecely does
justice even to human common sense, as waggoneers do not use a sickle for a
whip!
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 coming one.
The star m (in the
spear-head) is named Al Katurops, which means the branch, treading under foot.
The star e (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 h is called Muphride, i.e. who
separates.
The star b (in the head) is named Nekkar, i.e. the pierced
(Zech 12:10), which tells us that this coming judge is the One who was pierced.
Another Hebrew name is Merga, who bruises. *
* The constellation is a very
brilliant one, having 54 stars, ie, 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 Bootes 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, 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' Oak, the Cat, the Clock, the Unicorn, etc. 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; 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.
This brings us back again to Genesis
3:15, 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 the earth. This was the vision
which was afterwards shown to John (Rev 14:15,16), 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."