Witness of the stars by Sow Good Seed

ALGOM A

DIOCESAN CLERICAL

LIBRARY.

ERQM THE LIBT^R^ OF I

fRIMTY COLLEGE

THE

WITNESS OF THE STARS

BY THE

REV.

ETHELBERT W. BULLINGER,

&quot;HE telleth

the

number of

giveth them all their

D.D.

the stars ;

names.&quot;

(Ps. cxlvii.

Xonfcon: PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR 7,

ST.

PAUL

CHURCHYARD, 1893

E.G.

R.V.)

85 ss &7C

LONDON KYRE AND SPOTTISWOODE, :

Her Majesty s printers. DOWNS FAKK ROAD, HACKNEY,

Ht478 JUfJ

1993

PREFACE. years ago it was my privilege to enjoy the ac quaintance of Miss Frances Rolleston, of Keswick, and

SOME

to carry

on a correspondence with her with respect to

her work, Mazzaroth

or,

She was

the Constellations.

first to create an interest in this important subject. Since then Dr. Seiss, of Philadelphia, has endeavoured to popularize her work on the other side of the At

the

lantic

;

and

brief references

have been made to the

subject in such books as Moses and

Kinns, and in Primeval reasons, that

to set forth, in a

Man;

was desirable

Geology,

was

felt,

necessary

by Dr.

for

make another

more complete form, the

stars to prophetic truth, so

but

many effort

witness of the

in these last days.

the late Miss Rolleston, however, belongs the

honour of collecting a mass of information bearing on this subject

form of only

;

but, published as

was, chiefly in the

unarranged and unindexed, it was suited but was most valuable to, the student. She

notes,

for,

was who performed the drudgery of collecting the facts presented by Albumazer, the Arab astronomer to the Caliphs of Grenada, 850 A.D. and the Tables

;

drawn up by Ulugh Beigh, the Tartar prince and a 2

PREFACE.

astronomer, about 1450 A.D., as

Astronomy

who

gives the Arabian

had come down from the

earliest

times.

Modern astronomers have

common

use, the ancient

preserved, and

names

of over a hundred

handed down

of the principal stars which have been

but

now

these

names

;

are used merely as a convenience,

and without any reference This work

have

still

to their significance.

an attempt to popularize

information, and to use

this ancient

in the interests of truth.

For the ancient astronomical

facts

and the names,

am, from the very nature of the case, indebted, of course, to all who have preserved, but for their inter collected, and handed them down with their signification,

;

pretation

alone responsible.

judge how far my conclu sions are borne out by the evidence and how far the foundation of our hopes of coming glory are for the readers to

It is

;

strengthened written

by the

the

stars

which

prophecies of heaven,

well

have as

been the

Scriptures of truth.

For

the

illustrations

Jamieson

s Celestial

Sir

W. Lubbock s

John

to the late

1820.

Atlas,

Mr. Edward

greatly indebted

1820; Flammarion sL Stars in Six Maps, 1883 J.

Cooper

7oz7s; ;

and

Egyptian Scenery,

For the general presentation and arrangement

of the Constellations

responsible, while for

the

PREFACE.

drawings

thanks are due to

friend Miss

Amy

Manson. It

Christ

the possession of

&quot;

that

blessed hope

speedy return from Heaven which

&quot;

will give

true interest in the great subject of this book.

one can dispute the antiquity of the Signs of or of the Constellations. No one can

the Zodiac,

question the accuracy of the ancient star-names which have come down to us, for they are still preserved in

And we hope that no every good celestial atlas. will be able to resist the cumulative evidence that,

one

God

apart from sinners

now

grace in Christ there

and apart from God

no hope

glory, as

will

for

manifested in the return of Christ from Heaven, there is

no hope

hope

for

Church, no hope for Israel, no no hope for a groaning creation. the vaunted promises of a religious the

for the world,

In spite of

all

World, and of a worldly Church,

remove the

effects

by a Social Gospel of Sanitation, are more and more shut up to the prophecy of Gen.

of the

15,

curse

we iii.

which we wait and long to see fulfilled in Christ only hope. This is beautifully expressed by

as our

the late Dr. William Leask

And

there none before

Unbroken by

the storms

Until the time of waiting- for

By His appearing

perfect peace

and cares of

Him

life,

cease,

to destroy the strife

No, none before.

PREFACE.

Do we

not hear that through the

flag-

of grace

By faithful messengers of God unfurled, All men will be converted, and the place Of man s rebellion be a holy world ? Yes, so we hear. Is

not true that to the Church

is given of dispelling night, And bringing back the human race to heaven, By kindling everywhere the Gospel light ? It is not true. it

The holy honour

Is this the

all

hope

that Christ the

Lord

will

come,

the glory of His royal right,

Redeemer and Avenger, taking home His

May effort to

saints,

God

and crushing the usurper s might This is the hope.

grace accept and bless this show forth His glory, and use it to strengthen the

all

His people in waiting for His Son from Heaven, even Jesus which delivered us from the wrath to come.

ETHELBERT W. BULLINGER. August 3U/, 1893.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

drawn

All are

same

to the

except Plates VI.,

relative scale,

and XXV., which are enlarged; while Plates XVIII., XIX., XX., XXI., XXVI., XXX., and XL.,

VIII., XIV., XI.,

III.,

are slightly reduced.

PLATE

FACING PAGE

The Virgin Coma, The Desired Centaurus, The Centaur (reduced) Bootes, The Coming One -

VIRGO,

II.

III.

IV.

LIBRA, The

29 -

VII.

Corona, The Crown (enlarged) SCORPIO, The Scorpion -

VIII.

IX. (

Serpens, The Serpent Ophiuchus, The Serpent Holder

SAGITTARIUS,

The Archer

(

XVII. [

XIX.

XX.

VVT XXL

Sagitta, The

The Goat

Arrow

59 63

68 72

Delphinus, The Dolphin

The Water-bearer

lTheBand

}

(reduced)

76 81

( Pisces Australis, The Southern Fish] The Horse Pegasus, Winged (reduced)

Cygnus, The Swan (reduced) / PISCES, The Flshes\ ,

Aquila, The Eagle

AQUARIUS,

Lyra, The

CAPRICORN US,

-j

Ara, The Altar, or burning pyre (enlarged) Draco, The Dragon cast down

XVI.

XIV.

XV.

XIII.

Harp

Hercules, The Mighty One (reduced)

XII.

Scales

Crux, The Cross (enlarged) Lupus or Victima, The Wolf or Victim

VI.

reduced ) -

90 -

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

Vlll

FACING PAGE

PLATE

Andromeda, The Chained Woman-

XXII. XXIII.

XXIV.

XXV. XXVI. XXVII. XXVIII. XXIX.

XXXI. XXXII. XXXIII.

105 -

113

Perseus, The Breaker

116

121

The Bull

126

Auriga, The Shepherd GEMINI, The Twins

134

138

&quot;

or&amp;gt;

&amp;gt;

XXXVI. XXXVII.

Canis minor, The Second CANCER, The Crab

Dog (Procyon)

Argo, The Ship LEO, The Lion

XXXIX.

Hydra, The Serpent} XL. Crater, The Cup \ (reduced) ICorvus, The Raven-} XLI. A Planisphere of the Heavens

141 i

148

Ursa minor, The Little Bear Ursa major, The Great Bear

XXXVIII.

108

Orion, The Glorious One Eridanus, The River (reduced)

Lepus, The Hare or The Enemy The Canis maj 8 ( Sirius )

XXXV.

101

103

Cassiopeia, The Enthroned Woman (enlarged) Cetus, The Sea Monster (reduced)

TAURUS,

XXX.

xxxiv

Cepheus, The Crowned King ARIES, The Ram

152

155

160

164

(

167

204

ENGRAVINGS. PAGE

Temple of Esneh the sign now called LIBRA

Part of the Zodiac in the

The circular ALTAR in The Scorpion and the Lamp

;

199

from an Euphratean Boundary

Stone

from an Euphratean Seal The Ptolemaic Constellation of the Claws Ditto,

21 -

200 -

201

202

THE

WITNESS OF THE STARS. more than two thousand

hundred years the

five

world was without a written revelation from God.

The

question

ness

The

Did God

is,

leave Himself without a wit answered very positively by the

question that He did not.

Word

In Rom. i. 19 it is declared that, that which may be known of God is manifest in them for God hath showed it unto them.

written

&quot;

;

For the

invisible things of

Him

from the creation of the

world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead ;

so that they are without

How

known?

were His

plans, His purposes, creation of the world

excuse.&quot;

But how was God

&quot;invisible

things,&quot;

i.e.,

His

and His counsels, known since the

? We are told by the Holy Spirit Having stated in v. 17 that Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word (#/*, the But I say, thing spoken, sayings) of God,&quot; He asks,

Rom.

x. 18.

&quot;

Have they

not heard

Yes,

verily.&quot;

And we may

How

ask,

have they heard ? The answer follows Their sound went into all the earth (?$) and their words &quot;

(#/*ra,

their

teaching,

message,

instruction)

unto the

What words ? What (fawpbi)&quot; Whose teaching ? Whose message ?

ends of the world instruction

There S.

is 1005.

only

one

answer,

and

that

THE

is,

THE WITNESS OF THE

STARS.

HEAVENS!

This is settled by the fact that the quoted from Ps. xix., the first part of which

passage

occupied with the Revelation of God written in the Heavens, and the latter part with the Revelation of God is

written in the Word:

the simple explanation of this beautiful Psalm. why its two subjects are brought together. It has often perplexed many why there should be that

This

The law of The fact

abrupt departure in verse 7 perfect, converting the soul.&quot; &quot;

the is,

LORD

there

no departure. It is it, nothing abrupt of the second two transition to the the great simply Revelations which are thus placed in juxtaposition.

and

The

first

the Revelation of the Creator, El,

7tf,

His works, while the second is the Revelation of the Covenant Jehovah, PIJT, in His Word. And it is note in the first half of the

worthy that while

Psalm, El

named only

once, in the latter half Jehovah is seven times, the last being threefold (Jehovah,

and Redeemer), concluding the Psalm. Let us then turn to Ps. xix., and note The Structure

1-4-.

B A |

B \

* For what

The

11-14.

meant by

&quot;

(DflJ)

the Sun.

Scriptures.

&quot;In

them

&quot;Structure,&quot;

&quot;

see

Thos. Boys, edited by the present author, shillings.

first

of the Psalm as a whole.

In them

-4-6.

7-10.

Rock,

The Heavens. &quot;

named

(DPlS)

Key

St.

Thy

to the

Paul

Servant.

Psalms, by the late Rev. Price Five Churchyard.

THE WITNESS OF THE

the

In the Key to the Psalms, p. 17, terms employed in A and

while in

and

they are

pointed out that

it is

are

astronomical,*

Thus

literary.

parts are significantly connected

Ewald and

STARS.

the two

and united.

others imagine that this

Psalm

made

up of two fragments of separate Psalms different

editor

composed at brought together by a later

and

periods

But this is disproved not only by what has been said concerning the structure of the Psalm as a whole, and the interlacing of the astronomical and the literary terms in the two parts, but

minute

shown by more

also

details.

Each half consists of two portions which correspond the one to the other, A answering to A, and B to B. Moreover, each half, as well as each corresponding member,

same number of lines

consists of the

;

those in

Viz., in ,4 (verses 7, 8),

from

&quot;

Converting,&quot;

Q- iJ*

from

&quot;Testimony,&quot;

&quot;ply,

to return, as

to repeat,

the sun in the heavens.

hence, a -witness, spokeu of the sun in

Ps. Ixxxix. 37. &quot;Sure,&quot;

faithful, as the sun.

|X&amp;gt;

&quot;Enlightening,&quot;

Isa. Ix.

JB (verses

19; Ezek.

&quot;Warned,&quot;

Errors,&quot;

Keep

&quot;Have

-|nT&amp;gt;

from

Isa. xxi. II.)

&quot;

from

njt!&amp;gt;&amp;gt;

(Ps. Ixxxix. 37.)

give light, as the sun.

(Gen.

15,

17, 18

18.

make

light,

keep,

;

hence, to teach, admonish.

observe,

the

as the heavenly bodies observe to

w inder,

heavens.

God

(Ps.

cxxx.

ordinances.

as the planets.

hold back, restrain.

a{yn&amp;gt;

dominion i.

xxxii. 7.)

~|O^&amp;gt;,

back,&quot;

Gen.

ji^,

12, 13),

from

&quot;Keeping,&quot;

&quot;

from

over,&quot; &quot;

from ^jpn,

The sun

to rule.

to rule the

day,&quot;

Spoken of the sun and moon &c.

(Ps. cxxxvi. 8, 9.)

A 2

THE WITNESS OF THE

STARS.

first half being, by the casura, short, while those in the last half are long (or double).

the

B A

1-4-. Eight lines -4-6. Six lines

&amp;gt;I4

r lines.

7-10. Eight lines 1 r or f 14 lines. 11-14. Six lines J

B!/i I

confine ourselves to the

half of the

first

Psalm*

1-6), with which we are now alone see a still more minute proof of Divine

(A and B, verses

concerned, we order and perfection.

The Structure of

A& B

The

and B.

heavens.

Their testimony incessant. (Pos.) E 3. Their words inaudible. (Neg.) universal. (Pos.) 4-. Their testimony 2.

D |

The

-4-6.

heavens.

Here we have an introversion, in which the extremes (C and C) are occupied with the heavens; while the means (D, E and D) are occupied with their testimony.

The following is the full expansion of the above, with original emendations which preserve the order of the Hebrew words and thus indicate the nature of the structure

The other half of the Psalm is just as perfectly arranged. For example, there are six words used (verses 7-9) to describe the fulness of the Word of God, and they are thus placed, alternately :

Two

feminine singulars. (Law and Testimony. One masculine plural. (Statutes.)

G| F\ Two feminine singulars. (Commandment G One masculine piura!. (Judgments. \

)

and Fear.)

THE WITNESS OF THE

STARS.

The heavens

a j

are telling c the glory f of God and the work of his hands c

is |

setting forth \

the firmament.

d |

Day

after

speech, night after night

And

day

uttereth |

sheweth knowledge.

e |

f |

There is no speech (what is articulate) g and there are no words ; i what is audible g and without being audible, J |

f h

is |

their voice (what

articulate).

Into all the earth (as created) is their line ^[ gone forth ; i

And i |

into the

ends of the world (as inhabited)

Their sayings.

For the sun He hath set a tent (an abode) in them 1 and he as a bridegroom (comparison)

;

going forth from

his

canopy,

(motion

its

rising)

he rejoiceth as a mighty one (comparison) m to run his course. (Motion its rapid course.)

/ |

From

the end of the heavens

his

going

and

forth,

&quot;

ress

his revolution

unto their ends

j *

and there

nothing hid from his heat

From

^)D,

to cut into,

(i.e.,

or grave, heuce, to write.

from him *).

has the two senses of

our English erb tell, which means to count, and also to narrate. The first occur rence is Gv.ii. xv. 5, Tell (~ibp) trie stars, if thou be able to number &quot;

(isp^)

them.&quot;

Gen. xxiv. 66,

Ps. Ixxi. 15,

&quot;My

and thy salvation accounts ] of

&quot;The

mouth all

shall

the day

them,&quot; i.e.,

;

servant told Isaac all things that he had

show forth for I

(&quot;igDS

know

all the particulars.

tell of,

done.&quot;

R.V.) thy righteousness

not the numbers

(J&quot;)WsD

the

THE WITNESS OF THE

STARS.

Surely there is something more referred to here than a mere wonder excited by the works of the Creator !

When we

read the whole passage and mark its struc ture, and note the words employed, we are emphatically told that the heavens contain a revelation from God ;

they prophesy, they show knowledge, they

and

glory,

His purposes and counsels.

set forth

it is in the Book of Job, the oldest book in the to be allowed generally

a remarkable fact that

It is

which

God

tell

f From 153, to be heavy, weight, the context determining whether the weight The famine spoken of is advantageous or not. The first occurrence is Gen. xii. 10, Abram was very rich was grievous (153) in the land.&quot; The next, xiii. 2, It is often applied to persons who are of weight and importance, hence, (133)-&quot; It is used of the glory of the Lord, and of God Himself, glorious and honourable. as we use Majesty of a person. See Isa. iii. 8 ; iv. 2 xi. 10 xliii. 20 ; Hag. ii. 8 ; Ixiii. 3. Ex. xvi. 7 xxiv. 1751 Sam. iv. 21 ; Pss. xxvi. 8 (honour) &quot;

&quot;

;

From

&quot;

righteousness

its

;

cxi. 6,

day ||

i.e.,

;&quot;

From ]&amp;gt;33,

Lit., here,

Hebrew

line,

&quot;

(ipffh,

Jacob

;

i.e.,

akin to ^33.

to tell forth,

i.e.,

their

Day

day.&quot;

The

Gen.

line.

xlvi. 26,

used in

? is

&quot;precept

&quot;All

here,

Day

prophesy, from root to

pour

forth.

Day

say,

line.

&quot;

utter.&quot;

the figure of

metonymy

put for the portion or heritage which is measured, as in See Ps. xvi. 6, &quot;The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places

which measures

other places. I have a goodly &quot;Their

line has

measuring

(See also Ps. Ixxviii. 55, &c.) gone forth unto all the earth

earth inherits this their testimony

(i.e.,

has this testimony for

Here,

it j

(|HK) its

;

means

&quot;

i.e.,

heritage),

the

many

heritage.&quot;

the souls

after day).

Ps. cxlv. 9, &quot;abundantly

measuring

)^,

in addition to Jacob.

1p,

&quot;The

in addition to day, or, as

poureth forth discourse.

H Their line

Day

as in Isa. xxviit. 10, ly ?

to,

precept after precept, line after

came with Jacob

that

xcvii.

&quot;

the English idiom for the

i.e.,

;&quot;

Ps.

naked.&quot;

sense of adding or superadding

precept

iii.

heavens declare His hath shewed his people the power of his works.

thee that thou wast

This

First occurrence, Gen.

TJ3, to set before, to set forth, to shew.

&quot;Who/0/a

yea, that

All the

and

to the

ends of the world (bjfl, the inhabited world} their instruction has gone forth. With this agrees, in sense, the LXX. here, and Rom. x. 1 6, which each has a sound, or voice ; i.e., a sound in relation to the hearer, rather than to that which The meaning of the passage is, &quot;All the earth has their sound or testi causes it. &amp;lt;t&amp;gt;86yyos,

mony J5x*&amp;gt;

its

heritage,

and the ends of the world hear

their words.

&quot;

Symmachus has

a sound, or report.

non means

that which

hot*

and

a poetical

name

of the sun

itself.

THE WITNESS OF THE Bible,*

not in the world, that

years

we have

Zodiac and the names xl.

least 2,000 that book the signs of the of several stars and constella

we read

(R.V.)

up your eyes on high,

And

see

who hath

and well-known.

Lift

&quot;

references to

Christ.

tions are mentioned, as being ancient

In Isa.

This would be at

this Stellar Revelation.

before

STARS.

created these,

That bringeth out their host by number He calleth them all by name;

By the greatness And for that He Not one

We have the He He

&quot;

Here

of His might,

strong in power,

lacking.&quot;

same evidence

giveth

Psalm

number them all their

telleth the

cxlvii. 4.

of the stars

(R.V.)

;

names.&quot;

a distinct and Divine declaration that the

great Creator both numbered as well as named the stars of Heaven.

The question is, Has he revealed any of these names ? Have any of them been handed down to us ? The answer is Yes and that in the Bible itself we have the names (so ancient that their meaning is a little obscure) of Ash (Bty, a name still connected with the ;

Great Bear), Cesil (S DJ), and Cimah (H^3). Which maketh Arcturus They occur in Job ix. 9 &quot;

(R.V. the Bear),

of the

south.&quot;

Job

xxxviii.

influences *

Job

(R.V.

Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers (Marg., Heb., Ash, Cesil, and Cimah.) Canst thou bind the sweet 31, 32: &quot;

cluster)

of the

Pleiades

thought by some to be the Jobab mentioned in Gen.

descent from Eber.

(marg., the x.

29, the third in

THE WITNESS OF THE

STARS.

Heb. Cimah), or loose the bands of Orion Canst thou bring forth MazHeb. Cesil) ? (marg.

seven stars,

zaroth

the

twelve

the signs of the Zodiac) in his

season?

&quot;

twelve signs.

the

(marg.,

and marg.,

R.V.,

signs or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons (R.V., the Bear with her train and marg., Heb., sons).&quot; * &quot;:

;

Isa. xiii. 10

stellations

Amos (R.V.,

&quot;

the Pleiades) and

and

&quot;

Orion.&quot;

the term

Mazzaloth,&quot; 2

both versions

Zodiac, while the latter margin,

Others Gemini,&quot;

&quot;

Mazzaroth,&quot;

xxxviii.

former in

the Twelve Signs of the

rendered

Job

The

xxiii. 5.

&quot;

planets,&quot;

and

the twelve signs or constellations.

&quot;

ship

&quot;

Kings

referred

heaven and the con

stars of

Seek him that maketh the seven stars

Then we have 32,

thereof.&quot;

v. 8

The

&quot;

Acts

are

xxviii.

The

by name.

referred

sign

given as the name of a bumcwpu (i.e. Castor & Pollux).

or the Twins,

Most commentators agree that the constellation of Draco,&quot; or the Dragon (between the Great and Little

By His Spirit He Job xxvi. 13 hath garnished the heavens His hand hath formed the crooked serpent (R.V. swift. Marg. fleeing or gliding. This word garnished is See Is. xxvii. i xliii. Bear),

referred to in

&quot;

;

&quot;

;

peculiar.

The

14).&quot;

In puts in the margin, beauty. I have a goodly rendered goodly.

R.V.

Ps. xvi. 6,

heritage.&quot;

In Dan.

* Note the structure of

&quot;

iv.

this verse

The seven |

rendered,

The

stars,

Orion, twelve signs, Arcturus.

thought

THE WITNESS OF THE

STARS.

good to show,&quot; referring to the signs and wonders with which God had visited Nebuchadnezzar. It ap it good to show from this that God thought by pears these signs written in the heavens the wonders of His purposes and counsels, and it was by His Spirit that &quot;

&quot;

He made

known

;

the crooked serpent

was His hand that

among

coiled (/ in)

the stars of heaven.

Thus we

see that the Scriptures are not silent as to the great antiquity of the signs and constellations. If

turn to history and tradition, we are at once fact that the Twelve Signs are the same,

met with the

both as to the meaning of their names and as to their order

Chinese,

all

the

ancient

nations

of the

The

world.

and Egyptian records go

Chaldean,

back

more than 2,000 years B.C. Indeed, the Zodiacs in the Temples of Denderah and Esneh, in Egypt, are doubtless copies of Zodiacs still more ancient, which, from internal evidence, must be placed nearly 4,000 B.C., when the summer solstice was in Leo. Josephus hands down to us what he gives as the to

traditions of his

ference

works are

eight

own

nation, corroborated

ancient

Gentile

authorities,

his re

whose

says that they all assert that God gave the antediluvians such long life that they might perfect those things which they had invented in lost.

&quot;

commences

his History of Astro to doubt that astro impossible nomy by saying from the was invented beginning of the world nomy astronomy.&quot;

Cassini &quot;It

history,

profane

well

sacred,

testifies

;

this

Nouet, a French astronomer, infers that the Egyptian Astronomy must have arisen 5,400 B.C.

truth.&quot;

THE WITNESS OF THE

STARS.

Ancient Persian and Arabian traditions ascribe invention to

Adam, Seth, and Enoch.

it originated in the family of Seth that the children of Seth, and especially

that

its

Josephus asserts ;

and he says

Adam,

Seth,

and Enoch, that their revelation might not be lost as to the two coming judgments of Water and Fire, made two pillars (one of brick, the other of stone) describing the whole of the predictions of the stars upon them, and ,

in case the brick pillar

should be destroyed by the flood,

the stone would preserve the revelation (Book

This

they said,

what

to,

chs.

13).

doubtless meant by Gen. xi. And let us build us a city and a tower 4,&quot;

whose top may reach unto heaven.&quot; The words, may reach&quot; There is nothing in the verse are in italics. which relates to the height of this tower. It merely says D?to$l iBW and his top with the heavens, i.e. with the pictures and the stars, just as we find them in the ancient temples of Denderah and Esneh in Egypt. This tower, with its planisphere and pictures of the signs and constellations, was to be erected like those temples were afterwards, in order to preserve the reve lest we be scattered abroad upon the face lation, of the whole earth.&quot; &quot;

&quot;

This

known

corroborated by Lieut. -Gen. Chesney, well and excavations among

for his learned researches

the ruins of Babylon, who, after describing his various About five miles S.W. of Hillah, discoveries, says,* the most remarkable of all the ruins, the Sirs Nimrond of &quot;

* General

Chesney allowed the

late

Dean Goode

other matters, from his private MS. The Dean quotes Lectures (2nd Ed., Note I. to Sermon IV., p. 170-1).

copy the passage, among it in his Warburtonian

THE WITNESS OF THE

STARS.

the Arabs, rises to a height of 153 feet above the plain from a base covering a square of 400 feet, or almost four acres. It was constructed of kiln-dried bricks in seven stages to correspond with the planets to which

they were dedicated the lowermost black, the colour the next orange, for Jupiter the third red, for Mars and so on.* These stages were surmounted :

of Saturn

;

by a lofty tower, on the summit of which, we are told, were the signs of the Zodiac and other astronomical thus having (as it should have been translated) figures ;

a representation of the heavens, instead of reached unto heaven.

a top which

&quot;

This Biblical evidence carries us at once right back to the Flood, or about 2,500 years B.C. This tower or temple, or both,

was also called The Seven Spheres&quot; according to some and The Seven Lights,&quot; according to others. It is thus clear &quot;

&quot;

;

its height and purpose must be and its astronomical reference to revelation abandoned, must be admitted. The tower was an attempt to preserve and hand down the antediluvian traditions their sin was in keeping together instead of scattering

that the popular idea of

;

themselves over the earth.

Another important statement of the British

Museum. f

made by Dr. Budge, &quot;

says,

must never be

forgotten that the Babylonians were a nation of stargazers, and that they kept a body of men to do nothing else

but report eclipses, appearances of the moon, sun-

spots, etc., *

etc.&quot;

Fragments of these coloured glazed bricks are to be seen in the British Museum, f Babylonian Life

and History,

p. 36.

THE WITNESS OF THE

STARS.

Astronomy, mixed with astrology, occupied a large number of tablets in the Babylonian libraries, and Isaiah, xlvii. 13, refers to this when he says to Babylon, 11

Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now thy astrologers (marg. viewers of the heavens), the star-gazers, the monthly prognosticators stand up. The largest astrological work of the Babylonians con

tained seventy tablets, and was compiled by the com mand of Sargon of Agade thirty-eight hundred years It was called the Illumination of Bel. before Christ &quot;

&quot;

Their observations were

made

towers called

&quot;

ziggurats&quot;

(p.

106).

They built observatories in all the great cities, and reports like the above [which Dr. Budge gives in full] were regularly sent to the King&quot; (p. no). &quot;

&quot;

lists

They were of

able to calculate eclipses, and had long They found out that the sun was &quot;

them.&quot;

spotted, and they knew of comets.&quot; They were the inventors of the Zodiac&quot; (?). There are fragments of &quot;

two (ancient Babylonian) planispheres in the British Museum with figures and calculations inscribed upon them. The months were called after the signs of the Zodiac (p. 109). &quot;

&quot;

We may

form some idea of what

this

was from the

fifth

tation of the heavens Tablet,&quot;

follows &quot;

Anu

now

in the

&quot;

British

Museum.

&quot;

Creation reads as

made

excellent the mansions

[i.e. the

of the great gods [twelve] in the twelve signs or mansions of the sun].

number

Creator]

[the

celestial houses] [i.e.

The

&quot;represen

stars

he placed in them. he fixed.

stars or figures]

The

lumasi

[i.e.

groups of

THE WITNESS OF THE

STARS.

arranged the year according- to the bounds [i.e. the twelve signs] which he defined. For each of the twelve months three rows of stars [i.e. constellations^ he fixed.

From

the day when the year issues forth unto the close, he marked the mansions [i.e. the Zodiacal Signs\ of

the wandering- stars \\.e.planets~\ to know their courses that they might not err or deflect at all.&quot;

Coming down

to less ancient records

EUDOXOS, an

astronomer of Cnidus (403 to 350 B.C.), wrote a work on Astronomy which he called Phainomena. ANTIGONUS

GONATAS, King of Macedonia (273-239 B.C.), requested ARATUS to put the work of EUDOXUS into the form of a poem, which he did about the year 270 B.C. ARATUS called his work Diosemeia (the Divine Signs). He was a native of Tarsus, and it is interesting for us to note that his poem was known to, and, indeed, must have been read by, the Apostle Paul, for he He quotes it in his address at Athens on Mars Hill. xvii. For in Him we and live, move, says (Acts 28), and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.&quot;* Several translations of this poem have been made, both by CICERO and others, into Latin, and in recent times into English by E. Poste, J. Lamb, and others. The following is the opening from the translation of the Poet

&quot;

Robert Brown, jun. &quot;

From Zeus we

lead the strain

;

unhymned: of Zeus All haunts of men, are full and er leave

;

And We

harbours

;

he all

whom mankind public ways, the sea,

full

and of Zeus all stand in need. and he, ever good and mild :

are his offspring

* TOU -yap Kai ytvos tcrpfv.

man,

THE WITNESS OF THE

STARS.

Gives favouring- signs, and rouses us to toil. when clods are best Calling- to mind life s wants :

For plough and mattock: when the time is ripe For planting vines and sowing seeds, he tells, Since he himself hath fixed in heaven these Sig-ns, The stars dividing- and throughout the year :

Stars he provides to indicate to man The seasons course, that all things duly

Then ARATUS proceeds

to describe

grow,&quot;

etc.. etc.

and explain

the Signs and Constellations as the Greeks

in his

all

day

understood, or rather misunderstood, them, after their true

meaning and testimony had been

forgotten.

Moreover, ARATUS describes them, not as they were seen in his day, but as they were seen some 4,000 The stars were not seen from Tarsus years before.

he describes them, and he must therefore have For notwith from a then ancient Zodiac. is a con there fixed we of stars,&quot; speak standing that

written

&quot;

though slow, change taking place amongst them. There is also another change taking place owing to the slow recession of the pole of the heavens (about stant,

the year) so that while Alpha in the con stellation of Draco was the Polar Star when the Zodiac in

50&quot;

;

is now Alpha in what This change alone carries us back at least 5,000 years. The same movement which has changed the relative position of these two stars has also caused the constellation of the Southern Cross

was is

.to

first

formed, the Polar Star

called Ursa Minor.

become

invisible in northern latitudes.

constellations

were

formed

the Southern

When Cross

the

was

in N. latitude 40, and was included in their number. But, though known by tradition, it had not been seen in that latitude for some twenty centuries, visible

THE WITNESS OF THE STARS.

Cape of Good Hope had been discovered. Then was seen again The Southern Cross depicted by

until the

the Patriarchs.

Here

another indisputable proof as

to the antiquity of the formation of the Zodiac.

PTOLEMY &quot;

(130 B.C.) origin,

(150 A. D.) transmits them from HIPPARCHUS as of unquestioned authority, unknown

and unsearchable

Sir William

antiquity.&quot;

Drummond

of the Chaldean

the traditions says that seem the fragments of a &quot;

Astronomy mighty system fallen into ruins.&quot; The word Zodiac itself is from the Greek which is not from z, to live, but from a primitive root through the Hebrew Sodi, which in Sanscrit means a way. Its etymology has no connection with living creatures, but denotes a way, or step, and is used of the way or path in which the sun appears to move amongst zS&amp;lt;a/co&amp;lt;,

the stars in the course of the year.

To an

observer on the earth the whole firmament,

together with the sun, appears to revolve in a circle once in twenty-four hours. But the time occupied in going round, differs from the time the sun. This difference amounts to occupied by about one-twelfth part of the whole circle in each month, so that when the circle of the heavens is

by the

stars

divided up into twelve parts, the sun appears to move each month through one of them. This path which the sun thus makes amongst the stars is called the Ecliptic* * Besides this monthly difference, there

twelve mouths the sun does not

which commenced the year, but

an annual difference for at the end of to exactly the same point in the sign But this difference, though it behind it. is

come back a

little

;

THE WITNESS OF THE

Each about bers

this,

degrees)

They

parts

(consisting

distinguished,

not

each of

num

but by pictures and names, and have seen, from the very earliest

are preserved to the present day in our we are taught their order in the

and

almanacs, familiar

letters,

times.

these twelve

STARS.

rhymes

The RAM,

&quot;

And

the BULL, the heavenly TWINS, next the CRAB, the LION shines, The VIRGIN and the SCALES ;

The SCORPION, ARCHER, and SEA-GOAT, The MAN that carries the Water-pot, And FISH with glittering- scales.&quot;

These

signs

have always and everywhere been pre and have begun with ARIES.

served in this order,

They have been known amongst ages, thus proving their source. all

all

common

nations,

and

origin from one

occurs every year, is so small that it will take 25,579 years for the sun to complete this vast cycle, which is called The precession of the Equinoxes ; i.e., about one If the sun came back to the precise point at which it degree in every 71 years. began the year, each sign would correspond, always and regularly, exactly with a particular month; but, owing to this constant regression, the sun (while it goes through the whole twelve signs every year) commences the year in one sign for only In point of fact, since the Creation the commencement of the about 2, 131 years.

year has changed to the extent of nearly three of the signs. &quot;

When

Virgil sings

The White Bull with golden horns opens the year,&quot;

he does not record what took place in his

own

day.

This, is

another proof of the

antiquity of these signs.

The

Ecliptic, or path of the sun, if it could be viewed from immediately beneath the Polar Star, would form a complete and perfect circle, would be concentric with

the Equator,

and

rising or setting.

all

the stars and the sun would appear to move in this circle, never person north or south of the Equator the stars therefore rise

To a

set obliquely ; while to a person on the Equator they rise and set perpendicularly, each star being twelve hours above and twelve below the horizon. The points where the two circles (the Ecliptic and the Equator) intersect each

and

other are called the Equinoctial points. It is the movement of these points (which are now moving from Aries to Pisces) which gives rise to the term, the precession of &quot;

the Equinoxes.

THE WITNESS OF THE

The There

themselves

figures

are

STARS. perfectly

IJ arbitrary.

nothing in the groups of stars to even sug This is the first thing which is the figures. gest noticed by every one who looks at the constellations.

Take

example the sign of VIRGO, and look at There is nothing whatever to suggest still less is there a human form anything to show whether that form is a man or a woman. And so for

the stars.

;

with

all

the others.

The picture, therefore, is the original, and must have been drawn around or connected with certain stars, simply in order that it might be identified and asso ciated with them and that it might thus be remem bered and handed down to posterity. ;

There can be no doubt, as the learned Authoress of Mazzaroth conclusively proves, that these signs were afterwards identified with the twelve sons of Jacob. Joseph sees the sun and moon and eleven stars bowing down to him, he himself being the twelfth (Gen. xxxvii.

The

9).

blessing of Jacob (Gen. xlix.) xxxiii.) both bear wit

and the blessing of Moses (Deut.

ness to the existence of these signs in their day. And it is more than probable that each of the Twelve

Tribes bore one of them on

Num.

&quot;

ii.

pitch by his father s house

&quot;

(R.V.

This

houses&quot;).

its

standard.

We read in

Every man of the children of Israel own STANDARD, with the ENSIGN of &quot;with

shall

their

the ensigns of their fathers was the Degel (^.7) on

&quot;Standard&quot;

which the Sign (Hltf, Oth) was depicted. Hence it was called the En-sign&quot; Ancient Jewish authorities declare that each tribe had one of the signs as its own, &quot;

&quot;

1005.

THE WITNESS OF THE

STARS.

it is highly probable, even from Scripture, that four and that these four of the tribes carried its Sign

and

&quot;

;

were placed at the four sides of the camp. If the Lion were appropriated to Judah, then the other three would be thus fixed, and would be the same four that equally divide the Zodiac at its four cardinal According to Num. ii. the camp was thus points.

formed

EAST. ISSACHAR

JUDAH

ZEBULON

(Cancer).

The Lion

(Virgo).

(Leo).

LEVI The Scales

J S &amp;gt;

-S

c 2

r H t

(Libra).

BENJAMIN

EPHRAIM and MANASSEII The Bull

(Gemini). (the

two horns of Taurus).

WEST. If the

of Israel

reader compares the above with the blessings and Moses, and compares the meanings and

descriptions

given

below with

those

blessings,

the

THE WITNESS OF THE

STARS.

connection will be clearly seen. Levi, for example, had no standard, and he needed none, for he kept &quot;

the balance of the

Sanctuary,&quot;

and had the charge

of that brazen altar on which the atoning blood out weighed the nation s sins.

The

four great signs which thus marked the four camp, and the four quarters of the Zodiac,

sides of the

the

are

same

four which

The

Scorpion).

form

Cherubim

the

(the

enemy, being substituted for the Cherubim thus form a compendious

Eagle, the Scorpion

expression of the hope of Creation, which, from the very first, has been bound up with the Coming One,

who

alone should cause

groanings to cease. But this brings us to the Signs themselves and its

their interpretation.

These pictures were designed to preserve, ex pound, and perpetuate the one first great promise and prophecy of Gen. iii. 15, that all hope for Man, all hope for Creation, was bound up in a coming Redeemer ;

One who

should be born of a

woman

;

who should

One suffer, and afterwards gloriously triumph should first be wounded by that great enemy was the cause of all sin and sorrow and death, that who should finally crush the head of ;

&quot;

Serpent the

These One.

first

who who but

Old

Devil.&quot;

ancient

They

set

star-pictures reveal this Coming forth &quot;the sufferings of Christ and

the glory that should follow.&quot; Altogether there are forty-eight of them, made up of twelve SIGNS, each sign containing three CONSTELLATIONS.

These may be divided

into three great books, each

B 2

THE WITNESS OF THE

book containing four chapters

STARS. Signs)

(or

;

and each

chapter containing three sections (or Constellations). Each book (like the four Gospels) sets forth

its

peculiar aspect of the Coming One beginning with the promise of His coming, and ending with the destruction ;

of the

enemy. are

Scroll ?

But where Heavenly

circle

In the heavens they form a neverWhere is the beginning and where is the

sider these signs

ending

circle.

end of

this circle

moving ? Where and say, This is

through which the sun is constantly are we to break into this circle ? the

commencement.

we can determine

we can never read As

have

ARIES, the

wondrous

has proverbially neither In what order then are we to con

beginning nor end.

unless

to begin to read this

this

clear that

starting point

wondrous book

said, the popular

Ram.

It is

this original

aright.

beginning to-day is with this Revelation with

But comparing

was afterwards written in the Volume of the Book,&quot; VIRGO is the only point where we can in telligently begin, and LEO is the only point where we can logically conclude. Is not this what is spoken of as the unknown and insoluble mystery &quot;The riddle of the SPHINX ? The word Sphinx is from opfyyw, It was therefore designed to to bind closely together. show where the two ends of the Zodiac were to be joined together, and where the great circle of the heavens begins and ends. that which

&quot;

The SPHINX

&quot;

a figure with the head of a woman ! What is this but a never-

the body of a lion

ceasing monitor, telling us to begin with Virgo and

THE WITNESS OF THE STARS.

2,1

THE WITNESS OF THE STARS.

22 to

end with Leo

In the Zodiac in the

Temple

Egypt, a Sphinx is actually placed between the Signs of Virgo and Leo, as shown in the illustration on the preceding page. It is a tracing from the draw

Esneh,

ing of Signer Bossi, executed on the spot, under the direction of the late Mr. Edward J. Cooper, in 1820.

Beginning, then, with VIRGO, let us now spread out the contents of this Heavenly Volume, so that the eye can take them in at a glance. Of course we are greatly this, in having to use the modern Latin names which the Constellations bear to-day.* Some of these names are mistakes, others are gross per versions of the truth, as proved by the pictures them selves, which are far more ancient, and have come

hindered in

down

to us from primitive times. After the Revelation came to be written

down

the Scriptures, there was not the same need for the preservation of the Heavenly Volume. And after the nations

had

lost the original

meaning of the

pictures,

they invented a meaning out of the vain imagination The Greek My of the thoughts of their hearts. thology signs

interpretation

and constellations

(only

after their true

some

of)

the

meaning had

been forgotten. It is popularly believed that Bible truth is an evolution from, or development of, the ancient religions of the world. But the fact is that they themselves are a corruption and perversion of primitive

truth

* It is Their order and their exactly the same with the books of the Bible. names, as we have them in the English Bible, are those which man has given them, copied from the Septuagiut and Vulgate, and in many cases are not the Divine names according to the Hebrew Canon.

THE WITNESS OF THE

We Volume

will now give the contents of this Heavenly of Divine Revelation, and afterwards proceed it in detail, and compare it with was afterwards written down in

to develope

the

STARS.

same

it, explain truth which

the Scriptures.

first

:fi$oofc.

THE REDEEMER. (His FIRST COMING.) &quot;The

Sufferings of

CHAPTER THE PROPHECY

VIRGO

Christ.&quot;

OF THE PROMISED SEED OP THE

WOMAN.

(The Virgin. A woman bearing a branch in her right hand and an ear of corn in her left*}. The Promised Seed of the

woman. I.

COMA (The of

The woman and

CENTAURUS (The Centaur with two piercing a

Desired.

child}.

The Desired

nations.

all

victini).

The despised

natures, holding a spear

sin offering-.

(a man walking bearing a branch called ARCTURUS, He cometh. meaning the same).

BOOTES

CHAPTER

II.

THE REDEEMER S ATONING WORK.

LIBRA

(The Scales). The price deficient balanced by the price which covers.

CRUX, The Cross endured.

LUPUS, or VICTIMA, The Victim

CORONA, The Crown bestowed.

slain.

THE WITNESS OF THE STARS.

CHAPTER THE REDEEMER

III.

CONFLICT.

SCORPIO

(The Scorpion) seeking- to wound, but under foot.

itself

trodden

SERPENS (The Serpent struggling- with the man). O-PHI-U-CHUS (The man graspingstruggle with the enemy.

A man

HERCULES (The mighty man. humbled

the serpent).

kneeling on one knee,

in the conflict, but holding aloft the tokens

with his foot on the head of the Dragon). Vanquisher seeming- to sink in the conflict.

CHAPTER THE REDEEMER

SAGITTARIUS going&quot;

(The

forth

&quot;

ARA (The

Altar}.

victory,

IV.

The Two-natured Conqueror

Archer}.

LYRA (The Harp}.

The mighty

TRIUMPH.

Conquering and

The

conquer.&quot;

Praise prepared for the Conqueror.

Consuming

fire

prepared for His ene

mies. 3.

DRACO (The Dragon}.

The Old Serpent

the Devil, cast

down from heaven.

Scconb

ffiooft.

THE REDEEMED. THE RESULT

OF THE

REDEEMER

CHAPTER

SUFFERINGS.

THEIR BLESSINGS PROCURED.

CAPRICORNUS for the

(The

fish-goat}.

Redeemed.

The goat

of Atonement slain

THE WITNESS OF THE I.

2. 3.

The arrow

SAGITTA (The Arrow),

STARS. of

God

25 sent forth.

AQUILA (The Eagle), The smitten One falling. DELPHINUS (The Dolphin], The dead One rising- again.

CHAPTER

II.

THEIR BLESSINGS ENSURED.

AQUARIUS I.

(The Water- Bearer).- The

waters of blessing-

living-

poured forth for the Redeemed. PISCIS AUSTRALIS ( The Southern Fish),

The

blessings be

stowed. 2.

PEGASUS

(The

The

Winged Horse).

blessings quickly

coming-. 3.

CYGNUS (The Swan),

The

Blesser surely returning

CHAPTER THEIR BLESSINGS

PISCES i.

(The Fishes).

III.

ABEYANCE.

The Redeemed

blessed though bound.

THE BAND

bound, but binding- their great enemy Cetus, the sea monster.

ANDROMEDA (The Chained Woman), their bondage and affliction.

The Redeemed

Their Redeemer coming-

CEPHEUS (The King),

CHAPTER

to rule.

IV.

THEIR BLESSINGS CONSUMMATED AND ENJOYED.

ARIES

(The

Ram

or Lamb).

The Lamb

that

was

slain,

prepared

for the victory. I.

CASSIOPEIA (The Enthroned Woman). The captive delivered, and preparing for her husband, the Redeemer.

CETUS (The Sea Monster).

PERSEUS (The Breaker}.

The great enemy bound. Delivering- His redeemed.

THE WITNESS OF THE

THE

STARS.

R E D E E M E R.

(His SECOND COMING.) &quot;The

glory that should

CHAPTER

follow.&quot;

MESSIAH, THE COMING JUDGE OF ALL THE EARTH.

TAURUS

Messiah coming

(The Bull}.

to rule.

person of the Redeemer.

breaking forth in the

ORION, Light

ERIDANUS (The River of the Judge). for His enemies.

AURIGA (The Shepherd}. day of that wrath.

Safety for the

CHAPTER MESSIAH

GEMINI I.

Wrath

breaking- forth

Redeemed

in the

II.

REIGN AS PRINCE OF PEACE.

(The Twins). The twofold nature of the King. LEPUS (The Hare), or THE ENEMY trodden under foot. CANIS MAJOR (The Dog}, or SIRIUS, the coming- glorious Prince of Princes.

CANIS MINOR (The Second Dog}, or PROCYON, the exalted

Redeemer.

CHAPTER MESSIAH

CANCER i.

2. 3.

(The Crab).

REDEEMED

The

Ship}.

POSSESSIONS.

possessions held

URSA MINOR (The Lesser URSA MAJOR (The Great

ARGO (The

III.

Bear}. Bear).

The The

The redeemed

fast.

lesser sheepfold. fold

and the

flock.

pilgrims safe at home.

THE WITNESS OF THE

CHAPTER MESSIAH

LEO

IV.

CONSUMMATED TRIUMPH.

The Lion

(The Lion),

STARS.

of the Tribe of Judah

aroused for

the rending- of the i.

Enemy. HYDRA (The Serpent}. That old Serpent

the Devil, de

stroyed. 2.

CRATER (The Cup}. upon him. CORVUS (The Crow,

The cup or Raven}.

Such are the contents of is

written

heavens.

the

speaking and emphasizing

of Divine wrath poured out

Birds of prey devouring him.

this

wondrous book that

Thus has God been and developing His

great prophetic promise of Gen.

iii.

first

15.

for more than 2,500 years His people had Revelation written in a book as we now

Though not

this

have

they were not

in the Bible,

left in ignorance purposes and counsels nor were they without hope as to ultimate deliverance from all evil and from the Evil One. it

and darkness

as to

Adam, who repeated

it,

God

;

heard that wondrous

first

and gave

his

posterity

promise,

as a

most

precious heritage the ground of all their faith, the substance of all their hope, the object of all their desire.

Seth and Enoch took

Enoch, we know, pro Behold the coming, saying, Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints to

phesied of the

Lord

up.

&quot;

execute judgment upon all&quot; (Jude 14). How could these since the world have holy prophets, began,&quot; &quot;

recorded their prophecies better, or more effectually,

THE WITNESS OF THE

STARS.

truthfully and powerfully, than in these starThis becomes a pictures and their interpretation ? the words remember of the Holy when we certainty

by Zacharias (Luke

Spirit &quot;

67-70)

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel He hath visited and redeemed His people, And hath raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant David As He spake by the mouth of HIS HOLY PROPHETS ;

For

;

WHICH HAVE BEEN SINCE THE WORLD The same Acts

before

must

truth &quot;

which

until

God

was preached receive

things,

HIS

20, 21

iii.

revealed

shall

unto the

BEGAN.&quot;

through Peter, in send Jesus Christ, which whom the heaven you ;

times of

restitution

all

hath spoken by the mouth of

all

HOLY PROPHETS SINCE THE WORLD

BEGAN.&quot;

These words have new meaning

for us,

see

since the world began,&quot; the things which were spoken thus written in the heavens, which utter speech (i.e. &quot;

prophecy), and show forth this knowledge day after day and night after night, the heritage of all the earth,

and their words reaching unto the ends of the world. This Revelation, coinciding as it does in all its facts and truths with that afterwards recorded in the Volume of the Book,&quot; must have had the same Divine origin, must have been made known by the inspiration of the same Holy Spirit. &quot;

now proceed to compare how they agree at every

shall see

the two,

and we

point, proving that the source and origin of this Divine Revelation is one and the same.

VIRGO.

Ebc

Jfirst

THE REDEEMER. (His FIRST COMING.) &quot;

The

Sufferings of

Christ.&quot;

Book is occupied with the PERSON of Coming One. It covers the whole ground, and

First

the

and the victory of the Promised special emphasis on His Coming. The book opens with the promise of His coming, and it closes with the Dragon cast down from heaven.

includes the conflict

Seed,

but

with

CHAPTER THE HERE Gen.

SIGN

VIRGO.

The Promised Seed of

the

commencement

the

iii.

Woman. all

the

prophecy &quot;

will

15, spoken serpent 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.&quot; This is the prophetic announcement which the Revelation in the heavens and in the Book is designed to unfold and develope. :

It lies

at the root of

mythologies, which

all

are

the ancient traditions and

simply the

corruption of primitive truth. VIRGO is represented as a

woman

perversion

and

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 WITNESS OF THE

The name

of this sign in the

STARS.

Hebrew

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 Another name is Sunbnl, Branch (Vulg. Isa. xi. i). Arabic, an car of corn.

In Gen. iii. 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 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 in line

carnation, Isa. &quot;

23).

Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

And

The

14 (quoted in Matt.

vii.

name

shall call his

other

Immanuel.&quot;

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

and judgment,

(quoted in Luke

ii.

32, 33)

&quot;For

unto us a child

Unto us a son

And And The

Isa. ix. 6, 7

given

born, * ;

the government shall be upon His shoulder; His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor,

Mig-hty God, of Peace.

The

the increase of His

Everlasting- Father,

government there

The Prince shall

be no

end.

* Here, the fact of His humiliation, together with this long period of His rejection, leaped over, and the prophecy passes on at once over at least a period of 1893 years to this &quot;glory which should follow.&quot; is

VIRGO.

Upon the throne of David, and upon His kingdom, To order it, and to establish it With judgment and with

From henceforth even The zeal of the LORD

justice for ever.

of hosts will perform

this.&quot;

the Virgin and her Seed we have first the sign to her as the prominent points

It is difficult to separate

in the

prophecy VIRGO, where the

;

and

so, here,

name

while in the

first of the three constellations subject of this sign, where the woman appears again, the name COMA points to the child as the great subject. ;

stars, viz., one of the ist Virgo contains nitude, six of the 3rd, ten of the 4th, etc.

ARATUS thus

sings of

them

mag

Bootes feet the Virgin seek, hand a glittering- spike. Over her shoulder there revolves a star

&quot;Beneath

Who

carries in her

In the right wing, superlatively bright; rolls

beneath the

ith

tail,

and may compare deck the Greater Bear.

the bright stars that

Upon her shoulder one bright star is borne,f 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) 51 has an ancient handed down to us in all the star-maps, in which name, the Hebrew word (HpV) Tsemech is preserved. It is *

e, Al Mureddin. f 0, Zavijavah. % The star now marked The star The star o, Al Zimach. H The stars are known by Greek letters and sometimes by numbers,

&c.

denotes a star of the first magnitude ; Beta 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

Alpha

(o)

discovered to be really a double star, though

(&amp;gt;,

had

hitherto always appeared to be one.

THE WITNESS OF THE

called in Arabic

This star

STARS.

Zimach, which means the branch. which she holds in her

in the ear of corn

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 A I 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

but

&quot;

Branch,&quot;

only one of them

used exclusively of the Messiah, and this (Tsemech) word only four times.* Each of these further connects Him with one special account of Him, given in the is

Gospels. (l.) &quot;

Jer. xxiii. 5, 6

Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, That I will raise unto David a righteous

And

KING

BRANCH

a Son),

(i.e.,

shall reig-n

and

prosper.&quot;

The account

of His coming as King is written in the Gospel according to Matthew, where Jehovah says to Israel,

&quot;Behold

thy

KING.&quot;

ix.

(Zech.

Matt,

xxi. 9.) (2.)

Zech.

SERVANT ing to

Mark we

and His Behold &quot;

(3.)

hosts,

iii.

service,

Zech.

Behold

I will bring forth my In the Gospel accord find the record of Jehovah s servant 8.&quot;

the BRANCH.&quot;

and we hear Jehovah

SERVANT.&quot; vi.

12.

&quot;

Thus speaketh

saying, Behold the *

Jcr. xxxiii. 15

voice saying,

(Isa. xlii. i.)

MAN

the

LCRD

whose name

being only a repetition of Jer.

xxiii. 5.

the

VIRGO.

In the Gospel according to Luke we BRANCH.&quot; Christ Jesus.&quot; the behold Him, presented in

MAN

&quot;

BRANCH

be beautiful and

JEHOVAH this

Branch,

In that day shall the

&quot;

Isa. iv. 2.

Son,

So that this glorious.&quot; Himself and as we read Jehovah

;

the record of John

we hear

the voice from heaven

Behold your GOD.&quot; (Isa. xl. 9.) This is the Branch foretold by the star &quot;

saying,

A I Zimach

in the ear of corn.

The

star

called

Zavijaveh

Isa.

gloriously beautiful,

iv.

which means

The

star

the

arm bearing the branch, is called Al Mureddin, which means who shall come down (as in Ps. Ixxii. 8), It is also known as Vinor who shall have dominion. which means the son, or a word Chaldee demiatrix, the

who cometh.

branch,

Other names of Subilah,

Al Azal,

stars in the sign, not identified, are

who

carries.

the

Branch.

(Isa. xlvi. 4.)

(As in Isa.

Subilon, a spike of corn.

xviii. 5.)

(As in Isa. xvii. 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

about 2000

B.C.

(now sented with a branch

Temple

of Denderah, in Egypt,

in Paris), she is likewise repre in

her hand, but ignorantly ex

Her to represent Isis ! called Aspolia, which means ears of corn, or the seed, which shows that though the woman is seen, plained by a false

name it is

her Seed S.

religion

1005.

who

the great subject of the prophecy. C

THE WITNESS OF THE

STARS.

Passing to the three constellations anciently as signed to the sign Virgo, we come to what may be

compared to some further

each giving

three sections of the chapter,

detail

the

interpretation

its

teaching.

COMA

Woman

(The

The Desired of

The

first &quot;

coming be the

&quot;

The

&quot;

all nations.&quot;

name

of this constellation

The DESIRE all The ancient Zodiacs

(or

Comah*

nations shall

There

Hag.

ii.

come.&quot;

pictured this arms.

woman with a child in her ABU MASHER), an Arabian &quot;

the

have the word used by

Spirit in this very connection, in

as a

Nations.

all

&quot;

Desire of ancient

Holy

Child).

constellation in Virgo explains that this will be a child, and that He should

Branch

desired, or the longed for.

the

and

constellation

ALBUMAZARJ

astronomer in

arises

of the

the

first century, says, as the and Persians, Chaldeans, Decan,J Egyptians, and the two HERMES and ASCALIUS teach, a young

eighth

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

From nn3, which

akin to

to desire.

occurs only in Ps. Ps. xix.

;

Ixiii.

Is. liii.

I, ;

&quot;my

Hag.

flesh longeth for ii.

;

thee.&quot;

etc.

Latin translation of his work is in the British Museum Library. He says the f Persians understood these signs, but that the Indians perverted them with inventions. The are constellations called Decans. The word means a part, and is used J of the three parts into which each sign n constellation.

divided, each of

which

occupied by

VIRGO: (COMA). with the signification

IHESU, is

IEZA, which

Greek

called CHRISTOS.&quot;

But

maps

this picture of the stars.

wig

not found in any of the modern find to-day a woman s

There we

appears that BERENICE, the wife of EUERGETES

(PTOLEMY III.), king of Egypt in the third century B.C., when her husband once went on a dangerous expedi tion, vowed to consecrate her fine head of hair to Venus Her hair, which was hung up if he returned in safety.

was subsequently stolen, and to comfort BERENICE, CONON, an astronomer of Alex andria (B.C. 283-222), gave it out that Jupiter had taken it and made it a constellation in the

Temple

of Venus,

This

how

a good example of

the meaning of

other constellations have been perverted (ignorantly or In this case, as in others, the transition intentionally).

from ancient to more modern languages hide

the

(desired).

This thus

down

meaning.

But the Greeks had a word

again &quot;

Coma

helped

The Hebrew name was COMA

transferred

Berenices

&quot;

(the

to us to-day as the

and gives us a woman One, &quot;the Desire of all

the

for hair,

C6-me.

Latin coma, and

hair of Berenice) comes of this constellation,

name

wig instead of that Blessed

Nations.&quot;

In this case, however, we are able to give absolute is a perversion.

proof that this

The ancient Egyptian name for this constellation was Shes-mi, the desired son ! The Zodiac in the Temple of Denderah, in Egypt, going back at least 2,000 years B.C., has no trace of any hair, but it has the figure of a woman and child. c 2

THE WITNESS OF THE

STARS.

In our illustration we have given a copy of this very ancient picture, and not the wig of hair !

We have been permitted to trace it from a work on Egyptian Scenery by the late eminent astronomer, Edward J. Cooper, of Markree Castle, co. Sligo, who

visited that

Temple

the year

The

Italian artist, Signor Bossi.

original

1820 with an

drawing from

made (and

enlarged) was drawn by Signor Bossi on the spot, before it was taken to thus have before us the exact Paris in 1821.*

which our tracing

representations of one of these star-pictures at least

4,000 years old.

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 &quot;

Good boy

The

in Virgo s

lap&quot;

constellation itself

contain one or two stars of the

and then a greater or this is peculiar

very remarkable. Others first or second magnitude,

less variety of lesser stars

from having no one very bright

;

star,

but but

many stars of the 4th and 5th magnitudes. contains 43 stars altogether, ten being of the 4th magnitude, and the remainder of the 5th, 6th, etc.

contains so It

was

which

was a

in all probability the &quot;

constellation of

the Star of Bethlehem

&quot;

appeared.

Coma There

traditional prophecy, well-known in the East,

* It appears that

MM.

Saulnier, fils, and Lelorrain arrived while Signor Bossi was but concealed their design to remove it. The King of France It has since been copied, and lithographs have been paid ^6,250 sterling for it.

engaged in copying

it,

published.

f Act IV., Scenes.

VIRGO: (COMA). carefully preserved

would appear

and handed down, that a new star when He whom it foretold

this sign

should be born.

This was, doubtless, referred to in the prophecy of Balaam, which would thus receive a double fulfil

whom

of the literal

first

ment,

(Num.

Star,&quot;

The

referred.

and also of the person Lord said by Balaam

&quot;

xxiv. 17), &quot;

There

And

come * a

shall

a sceptre shall

star out of Jacob,

rise out of

Thomas Hyde, an eminent

Israel.&quot;

Orientalist (16361703),

writing on the ancient religion of the Persians, quotes from ABULFARAGIUS (an Arab Christian Historian, 1226-

who

says that ZOROASTER, or ZERDUSHT, the 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 1286),

Persian,

whom

child,

they were to adore.

It is further

A vesta

star

in the

Zend

in the

sign of the Virgin.

that this

new

Some

stated

was

to appear have supposed that

not genuine. But whether it was or before after the event, it is equally interpolated evidence for our here. For if it was good purpose this

passage

written before the event,

evidence of the prophetic after the

announcement; and if it was interpolated event it is evidence of the historic fact.

The Book *

Gen. of

I.e., iii.

come forth

24.

Jacob,&quot;

of Job shows us

&quot;There

(as in the

shall

come

R.V.).

how Astronomy flourished

At, as the preposition

rendered in

forth a star at or over the inheritance or possessions would be on the meridian of this star.

thus indicating the locality which

THE WITNESS OF THE

Idumea

STARS.

and the Gospel according

;

Matthew

shows that the Persian Magi, as well as others, were the Desire of all nations.&quot; looking for &quot;

New in

have appeared again and again. It was to be seen in

stars B.C.

125

that a star, so bright as

It was this that day-time, suddenly appeared. caused HIPPARCHUS to draw up his catalogue of stars, which has been handed down to us by PTOLEMY

the

(150 A.D.).

This new star would show the

latitude, passing at time immediately overhead at midnight, every while the prophecy would give twenty-four hours the longitude as the land of Jacob. Having these

that

;

two

factors,

and easy would be

for

would be only a matter of observation, the Magi to find the place where it

and thus to locate the very spot of whom it was the sign, for His Star.&quot; There is they emphatically called it a beautiful tradition which relates how, in their of the

vertical,

birth

Him

&quot;

on their way from Jerusalem to find the actual spot under the Zenith of this star, these Magi

difficulty,

down

sat

refresh

to Well of Bethlehem David s themselves. There they saw the star reflected

in the clear

that

&quot;

when

exceeding spot to

and

&quot;

water of the well. they saw the

joy,&quot;

place

&quot;come

&quot;

beside

for

star

Hence

written

they rejoiced with

they knew they were at the very His appearing whence He was

forth.&quot;

doubt that it was a new star. In star is no unusual phenomenon. In the second place the tradition is well supported by

the

There can be

little

place a

new

first

VIRGO: (COMA). ancient

passing

One

Christian writers. brightness.&quot;

tioch, A.D. 69) says,

&quot;

39 speaks of

&quot;

its

sur

Another (IGNATIUS, Bp. of AnAt the appearance of the Lord

a star shone forth brighter than

all

the other

stars.&quot;

IGNATIUS, doubtless, had this from those who had PRUDENTIUS (4th cent. A.D.) says that actually seen it not even the morning star was so fair. Archbishop !

Trench, who star,

these

quotes as

conceive,

&quot;

authorities,

ancients

many

have done, to have been a new star

One

in the

says

This

and moderns heavens.&quot;

more places this new star in the constella COMA, and with new force makes it indeed 11 His star the Sign of His coming forth from Bethlehem.&quot; Will it be &quot;the sign of the Son of Man in heaven come (Matt. xxiv. 30) when He shall unto this world again to complete the wondrous prophecies written of Him in the heavenly and earthly tion

step

&quot;

Revelations

Thus does

the constellation of

the coming Seed of the born, a son given. &quot;

But He was

to be

woman

&quot;

COMA was

He was

reveal that

to be a child

to be

God and

* 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 begin ning of December. Kepler (1571-1631) was the first to point this out, and his calcu These conjunctions occurred lations have been confirmed by the highest authorities. in the sign of PISCES

and

this sign,

according to

all

the ancient Jewish authorities

The con(Josephus, Abarbanel, Eliezer, and others), has special reference to Israel. junction of Jupiter and Saturn, they hold, always marked the occurrence of some event 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.

THE WITNESS OF THE

man

two natures in one person

STARS.

This

the lesson

of the next picture.

CENTAURUS

The Despised It

the

figure

(The Centaur).

Sin-offering.

being with two natures. On the 182,2, says,

Jamieson, in his Celestial Atlas,

&quot;

authority of the most accomplished Orientalist of our own times, the Arabic and Chaldaic name of this constellation

Now

HD.&quot;

this

Hebrew word Bezeh

(and the Arabic A I Beze) means the despised. the very word used of this Divine sufferer in Isa. &quot;

DESPISED

The

(i&quot;!p3)

constellation

and rejected of

It liii.

men.&quot;

Two

contains thirty-five stars.

of the ist magnitude, one of the 2nd, six of the 3rd, nine of the 4th, etc., which, together with the four bright

stars

the Cross

make a

brilliant

show

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

come

the

&quot;

which

is,

Almighty&quot;

and which was, and which (Rev.

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 it was known to the ancients. Another name for the constellation was

fact

that

Hebrew, Asmeath, which means a Isa.

liii.

10).

sin-offering

(as

in in

VIRGO: (CENTAURUS).

The Greek name was renowned

was

music,

for

his

skill

hunting, All the

and prophecy.

athletics,

which means

the

In the Greek fables Cheiron

or who pierces.

pierced,

C/iciron,

medicine,

most

dis

tinguished heroes of Greece are described as his pupils. He was supposed to be immortal, but he volun tarily 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 Pro

metheus

whereupon

;

was

placed

the

amongst

stars.

can easily see how

this fable is the ignorant The true primitive Revelation. tradition can be seen dimly through it, and we can the all-wise, alldiscern Him of whom it spoke,

perversion

the

powerful Teacher

and

Prophet,

who

&quot;went

despised and rejected of His life that others might live.

about

&quot;

doing laying It

good,&quot;

down is

yet

men,&quot;

one of the lowest of the constellations,

the farthest south from the northern centre.

i.e.

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 wisdom (Luke

spirit and be filled with and that as a man having 40) Then the should suffer and die.

strong in ii.

two natures He third and last section First Book goes on to glory.

;

in tell

this

first

chapter of

of His second

this

coming

THE WITNESS OF THE

BOOTES

(The Coming One).

He This constellation

STARS.

cometh.

further develops this

still

won

drous personage.

pictured as a

man

walking rapidly, with a

hand and a sickle in his left hand. The Greeks called him Bo-o-tes, which is from the Hebrew root Bo (&03, to come), meaning the coming. spear in his right

It is referred to in Ps. xcvi.

For He cometh, For He cometh to judge the earth He shall judge the world in righteousness, &quot;

;

And It

the people with His

(as referred to in

The also

name was

probable that his ancient

the brightest star, He cometh. f

means

truth.&quot;

ancient

who

one

Arcturus

Job ix. 9), for this is the name of a (in the left knee). Arcturus means Egyptians called him rules,

subdues,

and

Smat, which

governs.

They

him Bau (a reminiscence of the more which means also the coming one.

called

ancient Bo),

* The ancient name could not have been Bootes ! though it is derived from, and may be a reminiscence of the Hebrew. f ARATUS calls him A rctophylax, e. the guardian of Arctos, the flock of the i.

greater fold, called to-day the Great Bear &quot;

Behind, and seeming to urge on the Bear, Arctophylax, on earth Bootes named, Sheds o er the Arctic car his silver light.&quot;

By some moderns he is mistakenly called The Waggoner. Hence the Thompson Wide o er the spacious regions of the North,

allusion of

&quot;

Bootes urges on his tardy

wain.&quot;

This perversion scarcely does justice even to do not use a sickle for a whip !

human common

sense, as

waggoners

VIRGO: (BOOTES).

The

star

the

(in

Katurops, which means

The

star

(just

called

side)

means

the

below the waist or

Mirac,

named A I under foot.

his

right

Mirac

Izar.

Mizar, or Izar

;

the preserver, guarding.

The The .i.e.

spear-head)

the branch, treading

Mizar, means the coming forth as an arrow is

star

called Muphride,

the

star

(in

pierced

(Zech.

xii.

i.e.

head) 10),

who

separates.

named

which

tells

Nekkar, us

that

coming judge is the One who was pierced Another Hebrew name is Merga, who bruises * This brings us back again to Gen. iii. 15, and this

up this first chapter of the First Book (VIRGO). shows us the Person of the Promised Seed from the

closes It

beginning to the end, from the first promise of the birth of the Child in Bethlehem, to the final coming *

The constellation is a very brilliant one, having 54 stars, magnitude, six of the 3rd, eleven of the 4th, etc. The constellation of the Canes Venatici (the Greyhounds},

viz.,

one of the

1st

i.e., the two dogs and Chara), which Bootes holds by a leash, is quite a modern invention, The bright star of the 3rd magnitude in being added by Hevelius (1611-1687). the neck of Chara, was named Cor Caroli&quot; (the heart of Charles] by Sir Charles in honour of Charles I., in 1649. This is a Scarborough, physician to Charles II., 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

(Asterion

&quot;

Painter the

Fox

Easel, the Telescope, the Triangle, the Fly, the Microscope, the Indian, and Goose, the Balloon, the Toucan (or American Goose), the Compasses,

The vast difference can be at s Oak, the Cat, the Clock, the Unicorn, &c. once seen between those designed by the ancients and those added by astronomers iu Charles

more recent times. These new constellations were added, 22 by Hevelius (1611-1687); an(i *5 by Halley (1656-1742). They were formed for the purpose of embracing those stars This shows that the old which were not included in the ancient constellations. constellations were not designed, like the modern ones, merely for the sake of enabling In this case all the stars astronomers to identify the positions of particular stars. The object was exactly the opposite! Instead of the would have been included. 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.

THE WITNESS OF THE

STARS.

of the great Judge and Harvester to reap the harvest This was the vision which was after of the earth.

wards shown to John (Rev. xiv. 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 &quot;

His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp And another angel came out of the temple, sickle. crying with a

loud voice to

cloud, Thrust

come

earth in

His

on the

sat

for the

;

time

for the harvest of the reap He that sat on the cloud thrust

And

ripe.

that

thy sickle and reap

Thee

for

sickle

This

Him

;

on the earth

and the earth was

;

reaped.&quot;

the conclusion of the first chapter of this Here we see the woman whose Seed is First Book. to

bruise the

serpent

head,

the

Virgin-Born, the

Branch of Jehovah, perfect man and perfect God, God with Immanuel, yet despised and rejected of men, and yielding up His life that others may have life for evermore. But we see Him coming after wards in triumphant power to judge the earth. &quot;

us,&quot;

This is only one chapter of this First Book, but it contains the outline of the whole volume, complete in itself,

One.

so far as

regards the Person of the Coming it is the seed-plot

Like the Book of Genesis,

which contains the whole, the

development of the

are included

all

the rest being merely

many grand

and shut up within

details

which

only one chapter out of twelve, but it distinctly foreshadows the sufferings of Christ and the glory the end even &quot;

which should

follow.&quot;

it.

LIBRA.

CHAPTER

II.

THE SIGN LIBRA. The Redeemer

Atoning Work; or The Price

deficient

balanced by the Price which covers.

chapter of this book we saw that this of the woman was, among other things, Seed Coming to give up His life for others. IN the

The

first

second chapter

the manner and

The name constellations

going to define and develope

object of this death.

of the

Sign,

together with

and the names of the

stars

its

three

composing

them, give the complete picture of this Redemption.

The Sign

contains 51 stars, two of which are of the 3rd, eight of the 4th, etc.

2nd magnitude, one of the Its

The Hebrew name is Mozanaim, the Scales, weighing. name in Arabic is A I Zubena, purchase, or redemp

tion.

In Coptic,

Lambadia,

station of propitiation

The Lam, graciousness, and badia, branch}. name by which it has come down to us is the Latin, Libra, which means weighing, as used in the Vulgate (from

(Isa. xl. 12).

contains three bright stars whose names us with the whole matter. The brightest, a (in supply the lower scale), is named Zuben al Genubi, which

Libra

means

the purchase,

or price which

deficient.

This

THE WITNESS OF THE STARS.

points to the fact that man has been utterly ruined. He is &quot;weighed in the balances and found wanting.&quot; &quot;

None of them can by any means redeem Nor give to God a ransom for him

his brother,

;

For the redemption of

And must be

let

their soul

costly,

alone for ever/ (Ps. xlix. 7, R.V.)

&quot;

Surely men of low degree are vanity And men of high degree are a lie

(Heb. a

IreatK],

;

In the balances they

They are altogether

go up

;

lighter than vanity (Ps.

This

Is there

pay the Yes

then no hope

price

&quot;

merely coming

Is there

no one who can

the Seed of the

as a child,

but

woman.&quot;

coming

not

as an

sacrifice.

atoning

breath}.

there

;

(Heb. a

the verdict pronounced and recorded by this al Genubi.

Zuben

star

&quot;

Ixii. 9, R.V.)

can pay

coming

He purpose of Redemption Hence in the upper which covers ! another bright star with this very for the

the price

we have name Zuben al scale

COVERS

ChemaliTHE PRICE WHICH

Praised be

God

&quot;

They sang

new

song,

saying, worthy ... for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood.&quot; (Rev. v. g.)

Thou

This

art

testimony of $, the second brightest has another name, al Gubi, heaped up, or high, telling of the infinite value of this redemption price. But there is a third star, y, below, towards Centaurus star

the

and the Victim of the

conflict

by that and by its name, which that by redemption would be slain, telling,

LIBRA. It

accomplished.

called

Zuben Akrabi or Zuben

Akrab, which means the price of the conflict ! There is, however, some reason to suppose that Libra is a very ancient Egyptian corruption, bringing

human

way

merit instead of Divine righteousness the instead of the way of God. In the more &quot;

;

of Cain

&quot;

ancient Akkadian the

months were called after the and the sign of the seventh month signs,* is the sign that we now call Libra. The Akkadian name for it was Tulku. Tul means mound (like dhul and duty, and ku means sacred; hence, Tulku means

names of the 1

the sacred

mound, or

Not only

the

the holy altar, f

name and

its

meaning

different,

but

the teaching is infinitely greater and more important, if we may believe that the original picture of this sign was not a pair of scales, but the representation of a holy altar.

This would agree which follow.

still

better with the three con

stellations

The names priate,

for

of the stars is

the

would

Sacrifice

also be

more appro

of Christ which

they foreshadowed, and here it was that the price which covered was paid, and outweighed the price which

was deficient. What that price was to be, and how it was to be paid, and what was to be the result in the Person of the Redeemer, is set forth in detail in the three sections of this chapter by the constellations of The Cross endured, The Victim slain,

and The Crown

bestowed. * See quotation from Dr. Budge, on page 12. f And certainly the symbol by which it is still

known

-^- is

like the top of

an altar (See Ara, Plate XIV.) than a pair of balances, to which we can trace no resemblance whatever. See Note in the Appendix.

THE WITNESS OF THE

CRUX

STARS.

(The Cross).

The Cross Endured.

The Hebrew name was

Adorn, which means cutting After threescore and two Dan. ix. 26 weeks shall Messiah be cut The last letter of the Hebrew alphabet was called Tau, which was as

off,

&quot;

off.&quot;

anciently Phoenician coins,

made was

was

in the

form of a cross.

The

ancient

the ancient Hebrew, as found on and -\the Aramaic, as found on ;

;

Egyptian monuments, was a transition p or

|~&amp;gt;,

which

passed into the present square Hebrew character M. This letter is called Tau, and means a mark; espe And it is the cially a boundary -mark, a limit or finish. last

letter,

which

finishes

the

Hebrew alphabet

this day.

The Southern Cross was

just

visible

in the lati

tude of Jerusalem at the time of the first coming of our Lord to die. Since then, through the gradual recession of

Polar Star,

the

has not

been seen

gradually disappeared and became invisible at Jerusalem when the Real Sacrifice was offered there and tradition, which preserved its in

northern latitudes.

;

memory, assured travellers that if they could go far Dante sang enough south it would be again seen. of the four stars never beheld but by the early It was not until the sixteenth race of men.&quot; century had dawned that missionaries and voyagers, doubling the Cape for the first time, and visiting the tropics and southern seas, brought back the news of a &quot;

&quot;

LIBRA: (THE CROSS). wonderful cross more glorious than of the It

all

49 the constellations

heavens.&quot;

a small asterism, containing only about five one of the 1st magnitude, two of the 2nd,

stars, viz.,

one of the 3rd, and one of the 4th. in the form of a cross.

verted in

its

Babylon

The

it.

worshipped

Christian Era this sign of the true meaning, and had been per and Egypt as it has since been

Rome.

desecrated by

of these are

the

before

Long

Cross had lost

Four

The Persians and Egyptians made and eaten in honour

cakes

Heaven were marked with it. This Rome has adopted and adapted in But her Good Friday cakes, which are thus stamped. IT all are alike ignorant of what it means, viz., of the

Queen

heathen custom

&quot;

IS FINISHED.&quot; In Egypt, and in the earliest times,

was the

To-day, Romanists use it as sign and symbol of life. But it means life! Natural the symbol of death! life given up, and eternal life procured. Atonement,

and complete

finished, perfect,

added

to.

All

who

;

never to be repeated,

partake of

its

benefits

ARE

Christ now, in grace, by faith made nigh by the blood of Christ&quot; (Eph. ii. 13), and of them Jesus He that heareth my voice, and believeth on says, &quot;

&quot;

Him not

that sent

come

death unto plete is

that faith,

into life&quot;

HATH

judgment

;

everlasting

but

life,

and

PASSED

shall

from

and com

24). perfect (John the work which Jesus finished on the Cross cannot seek to add even our repentance,

tears, 1005.

or prayers, without

practically

asserting

THE WITNESS OF THE

that the work of Christ sufficient

STARS.

not finished, and

not

The Hebrew names of this constellation Adorn and Tau rebuke our Pharisaic spirit, which is the relic and essence of all false religions, and points to the once blessed fact that the Sacrifice was offered and the atoning work of Redemption com for &quot;

all,&quot;

on Calvary.

pletely finished &quot;

Tis finished

Cut

off&quot;

the Messiah dies

Accomplished

The

His own

for sins, but not

;

the sacrifice,

great redeeming-

work

done.&quot;

In the ancient Egytian Zodiac of Denderah this first Decan of LIBRA is represented as a lion with

tongue hanging out of his mouth, as if in thirst, Under figure holding a cup out to him.

his

and a female fore

his

feet

What

water.

&quot;

Judah and saying strength

(John xix. vinegar to

the hieroglyphic symbol of running the Lion of the tribe all this but &quot;

brought down &quot;I

dried 28):

the dust of

into

poured out like water

up&quot;

&quot;and

drink&quot;

&quot;

(Ps.

(Ps. in

xxii.

Ixix.

13-18): thirst

death,&quot; .

&quot;I

thirst&quot;

they gave

21)?

The Egyptian name

of this Lion, however, points to his ultimate triumph, for it is called Sera, that is, victory!

This brings us to 2.

LUPUS

VICTIMA

The Victim Its like

modern name

one.

may

Lupus

(The Victim).

Slain. (a wolf),

be any animal.

because

The

looks

great point

LIBRA: (LUPUS OR VICTIMA). of this ancient constellation slain,

and

that the animal has been

in the act of falling

Greek name

down

dead.

and Lycos, a Bestia (Vulg. or Victima, wolf. Gen. viii. 17), which sufficiently indicates the great This is confirmed by its ancient Hebrew lesson. Its

Thera, a

Latin name

Its

beast,

name, Asedah, and Arabic Asedaton, which both mean to be slain.

More than None of them most of them

22 of

stars

its

have been catalogued.

are higher than the 4th are of the 5th or 6th.

magnitude

;

True, He was by wicked hands crucified and is but He slain here by the Centaur, i.e. by slain,&quot; Himself! To make it perfectly clear that it was His &quot;

own

act

merit),

(without which His death would lose all uttered those solemn words: lay down for the sheep. No man taketh it from

life

me, but lay

(John to

&quot;I

lay

down

down, and x.

of myself. I have power to have power to take it again He offered Himself without spot &quot;

&quot;

15-18).

God.&quot;

Himself&quot;

&quot;He

(Heb.

put ix.

away

sin

by the

sacrifice

26).

In the ancient Zodiac of Denderah

pictured

as a little child with its finger on its lips, and He is called Sura, a lamb ! In other pictures He has, besides,

the horn of a goat on one side of His head. All this pointed to one and the same great fact, viz., the de

velopment

and

the bruising of

explanation of what was meant by heel ! It meant that this Promised

His

THE WITNESS OF THE

Seed of the

woman

should

come

STARS. as a child, that

should suffer, and die upon the Cross, for &quot;

He was brought And as a sheep

SO HE

as a lamb to the slaughter ; before her shearers is dumb

opened not

his

;

mouth.&quot;

(Isa.

liii.

7.)

Hence, the constellation prefigures a silent, willing sacri fice Christ Jesus, who, being found in fashion as a &quot;

man, humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the

CORONA

Cross&quot;

(Phil.

ii.

5-8).

(The Crown).

The Crown Bestowed.

Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name, &quot;

that at the

This

name

what

of Jesus every knee should

bow.&quot;

foreshown by this concluding section

of the second chapter. Each chapter ends with glory. As in the written Word of God, we frequently have the

glory of the Second Coming mentioned without any allusions to the sufferings of the First Coming, but we

never have the First

Coming

in humiliation

mentioned

without an immediate reference to the glory of the

Second Coming. So here, the

Him,

CROSS

is closely followed by the see not True, yet all things put under but we see Jesus for the suffering of

CROWN

&quot;

...

death crowned with glory and honour (Heb.

ii.

9).

the crowning day is coming,&quot; and all heaven shall soon resound with the triumphant Thou song,

Yes,

&quot;

LIBRA: (CORONA).

...

art worthy,

deemed us

for Thou wast slain and God by Thy blood (Rev. v. 9).

crown, and is

hast re

&quot;

The shameful Christ

Cross will be followed by a glorious

every tongue shall confess that Lord, to the glory of God the Father.&quot; &quot;

&quot;Mighty

Wear

Victor, reign for ever, the crown so dearly won

Jesus

;

Never shall Thy people, never Cease to sing- what Thou hast done.

Thou Thou

hast fought Thy people s foes; wilt heal Thy people s woes

&quot;

The Hebrew name crown, and

a royal by the plural, Ataroth its

name

for the constellation is

known to-day

stars are

Atarah,

in the

East

an ornament, or jewel.

Its

Arabic

has 21 stars: one of the 2nd magnitude and

six of the 4th. a, 7, S,

and

It is

Iclil,

easily

known by the

stars

which form a crescent.

Its brightest star, a, Phecca, the shining.

Thus ends

this

has the Arabic

name

solemn chapter of LIBRA, which

describes the great work of Redemption, beginning The with the Cross and ending with the Crown.

Redeemer s work of Atonement is most blessedly set forth, and He alone is seen as the substitute for lost sinners. &quot;What

wondrous

love,

what mysteries

In this appointment shine breaches of the law are His, !

And His obedience

mine.&quot;

THE WITNESS OF THE

CHAPTER

STARS.

III.

THE SIGN SCORPIO. The Redeemer

come now

right

Conflict.

into the heart of the conflict.

The

star-picture brings before us a gigantic scorpion endeavouring to sting in the heel a mighty man who is

a serpent, but

struggling with

man, who has

crushed by the on the scorpion s

his foot placed right

heart.

The Hebrew name

Akrab, which

name

the

of a scorpion, but also means the conflict, or war. is this that is referred to in Ps. xci. 13

&quot;Thou

The

shalt tread

upon the

lion

and adder.

young- lion and the dragon shalt thou trample

under

feet.&quot;

David uses the very word in Ps. cxliv. God for teaching his hands to war.

where he

blesses

The

Coptic

name

is Isidis,

which means

the enemy, or oppression; referring to

oppress

about

me,

deadly enemies

&quot;

the attack of

the wicked that

who compass me

&quot;

(Ps. xvii. 9).

The Arabic name wounding him

Akrab, which

means

that cometh.

There are 44 stars altogether in this sign. One of the ist magnitude, one of the 2nd, eleven of the 3rd, eight of the 4th, etc.

^S^fSW: IX.

SCORPIO (the

Scorp.on)

SCORPIO.

The

star,

brightest

name

ancient Arabic

(in

55 the

Antares,

heart),

bears

the

which

means

the

It is called by the Latins Cor Scorpii, be wounding. cause it marks the scorpion s heart. It shines omin

with

ously

deep red

The

light.

sting

Hebrew Lesath (Chaldee,

The

perverse.

stars

Lesha), which in the tail are also

called

means known

the

Leshaa, or Leshat*

The

scorpion is a deadly enemy (as we learn from ix), with poison in its sting, and all the names associated with the sign combine to set forth the malig

Rev.

nant enmity which the woman s Seed.

&quot;

set

&quot;

between the serpent and

That enmity is shown more fully in the written Word, where we see the attempt of the enemy (in Exod. i.) to destroy every male of the seed of Abraham, and how it was defeated.

see his effort repeated when he used Athaliah to destroy all the seed royal&quot; (2 Kings xi.), and how &quot;

&quot;

the

king

son

&quot;

was rescued

&quot;

from

&quot;

among

the

slain.

We Jews

hand again instigating Haman, &quot;the compass the destruction of the whole

see his

enemy,&quot;

nation, but defeated in his designs.

When we

the woman s Seed, the virgin s Son, was born, shown the same great enemy inciting Herod to all the babes in Bethlehem (Matt, ii.), but again he

are

slay is defeated.

* Antares seems also to have been

known

as Lesath.

THE WITNESS OF THE

In the wilderness of Judaea,

STARS.

and

in the

Garden of

This is Gethsemane the great conflict is renewed. He said to His of the hour and darkness,&quot;* power your &quot;

enemies.

wounding in the heel was received at the was there the scorpion struck the woman s He died, but was raised again from the dead seed. to destroy the works of the devil.&quot;

The

Cross.

real It

&quot;

To show

us this

any mistake

to prevent

;

to set

ended in so end, we have the

forth the fact that this conflict only apparently

and that it did not really two constellations belonging to

defeat,

this sign presented Indeed, the picture is threefold, for it includes the sign itself (as shown on the cover) If these pictures had been separated, then the first

in one picture

would have been separated from the victory deadly wound of the serpent s head from the

conflict

the

;

temporary wound

in the Victor s

heel.

Hence,

three

pictures are required, in which the scorpion, the serpent, and the man, are all involved, in order to present at the same time the triumphant issue of the conflict.

Hence, we must present, and consider together, the two sections of this mysterious chapter.

first

AND

SERPENS

AND

The Struggle with in

the

OPHIUCHUS. Enemy.

Here, Serpens, the serpent, is seen struggling vainly the powerful grasp of the man who is named In

0-phi-u-chus. *

Luke

xxii.

Latin 53

comp. Col.

called

13 and Eph.

Serpentarius. vi.

12.

SCORPIO: (SERPENS AND QPHiucHus).

moment shown

one and the same

57 to

seizing the serpent with his two hands, and treading on the very heart of the scorpion, marked by the deep

red star Antares (wounding).

we read

Just

the

constellation

first

the

woman and VIRGO,

child Coma, as expounding the first sign so we have to read this first constellation

as expounding the second sign LIBRA. Hence, have here a further picture, showing the object this conflict

we of

on the part of the scorpion.

In Scorpio we see merely the effort to wound but here we see the effort of Ophiuchus in the heel ;

serpent to seize THE CROWN, which is situated immediately over the serpent s head, and to which the

looking up and reaching forth.

The

contest

Dominion

for

was the

Devil,

form of a serpent, that robbed the first man of his crown but in vain he struggled to wrest it from the sure possession of the Second Man. Not

in the

;

only

does

the

attempt,

and trodden under

There are no constellations.

fail

utterly defeated

less

Two

than

but

himself

foot.

two 2nd magnitude, four

134 stars in these

are of the

teen of the 3rd, thirteen of the 4th, etc.

The brightest star in the Serpent, a (in the neck), named Unuk, which means encompassing. Another Hebrew name is Alyah, the accursed. From this is Al Hay (Arabic), the reptile. The next brightest star is

(in

Chelbalrai,

the the

jaw), serpent

named,

enfolding.

Arabic,

Cheleb,

The Greek name,

THE WITNESS OF THE

itself

Ophiuchus,

STARS.

from the Hebrew and Arabic name

The brightest Afeichus, which means the serpent held. star in Ophiuchus, a (in the head), is called Ras al Hagus (Arabic), the head of him who holds. Other Hebrew names of

stars,

not identified, are (in the foot* of

Triophas, treading under foot; Saiph

Ophiuchus), bruised; Carnebus, the wounding ; Megeros, In the Zodiac of Denderah we have a contending. \

human

throned

cometh.

the

figure,

has a

called Api-bau, the chief who s head to show that he is

hawk

of the serpent, ruled or enemy.

enemy

means All

which

called Khu,

and

these combine to set before us in detail the

nature of the conflict and

its

final

issue.

That

final

however, exhibited by the last of the three constellations of this chapter. The Victor Himself issue

is,

requires a whole picture to fully set forth the glorious

This brings us to

victory.

HERCULES

(The Mighty Man).

The Mighty Vanquisher.

Here the mighty one, who occupies a of the heavens,

his right heel lifted * In 1604 a

new

star

large portion seen bending on one knee, with

had been wounded,

appeared in the eastern foot of Ophiuchus, but disappeared

again in 1605.

f There is an ancient Greek fable which calls Ophiuchus ^Esculapius, the son of Apollo. Having restored Hippolytus to life, he was everywhere worshipped as the god of health, and hence the serpent entwined around him is, to this day, the symbol of the medical art This, however, is, doubtless, another perversion of the primitive truth that the Coming One in overcoming the serpent, should become the great healer of all the sorrows of the world, and cause all its groanings to cease. !

SCORPIO: (HERCULES). while his

head of the

directly over the

left foot is set

In his right hand he wields a great club, and in his left hand he grasps a triple-headed And he has the skin of a lion, monster (Cerberus}.

great

dragon.

which he has

slain,

thrown around him.*

Denderah we have a human

the Zodiac of

club. His name is Bau, figure, which means who cometh, and is evidently intended for Him who cometh to crush the serpent s head,

with

likewise

and

&quot;

destroy the works of the

In Arabic he

There are 113

called stars

devil.&quot;

Giscale, the strong one.

in this constellation.

Seven

are of the 3rd magnitude, seventeen of the 4th, etc.

The Ras

brightest

al Gethi,

The

star,

and means

next,

(in

The

star K

(in

the

Kornephoms, and means

the

his

head),

head of him who

right

arm-pit),

named bruises.

named

the branch, kneeling.

the right elbow)

called Marsic,

wounding.

The star x (in the upper part named Ma asyn, the sin-offering.

of the

left

arm)

While 01 (in the lower part of the right arm) is Caiam, or Guiam, punishing; and in Arabic, treading under foot. * Cerberus^ or the serpent with three heads, was placed by Hevelius (1611-1687) by the side of Hercules. Bayer had previously placed the apple branch in his hand. This was symbolical of the golden apples of Hesperides, which he obtained by killing In our picture these are com this three-headed hydra, by whom they were guarded. bined, and a bow nnd quiver added from other ancient authorities.

THE WITNESS OF THE

Thus does everything set forth the

STARS.

combine

in the picture

mighty works of

this

stronger than the

man armed!

strong

can easily see how the perversion of the truth came about, and how, when the true this Mighty One had been lost, the of foreshadowings

by the Greeks

many fables were invented to The wiser sort of Greeks knew

supply

ARISTOTLE

(in

his

Metaphysics,

this

their

place. perfectly well.

admits,

with

Greek mythology, that religion and philo regard been lost, and that much had been had sophy added after the mythical style,&quot; while much had come down, and may have been preserved to our to

&quot;

times as the remains of ancient

wisdom.&quot;

Religion,

was (POLYBIUS confesses), was recognised as a necessary means to political ends.&quot; NEANDER the fragments of a tradition, which says that it was such as

&quot;

transmitted the knowledge of divine things possessed in the earliest times.&quot;

ARATUS shews the same uncertainty meaning of &quot;Near

this Constellation of Hercules. this,

and

says

the :

a toiling man, revolves can no one clearly speak,

form. Of it Nor what he labours at. They call him simply The man upon his knees In desperate struggle Like one who sinks, he seems. From both his :

shoulders

His arms are high-uplifted and out-stretched As far as he can reach and his right foot Is planted on the coiled Dragon s head.&quot; ;

Ancient authorities differ as to the personality of Hercules, and they disagree as to the number, nature, and order of what are sometimes called &quot;the twelve

SCORPIO: (HERCULES). labours of

Hercules.&quot;

But

there

the mighty foretold works which

no doubt as to

the

woman

Seed

should perform.

From

first

last

Hercules

seen engaged in it is the Nemean

destroying some malignant foe now then it is the slaying of the boar of Erymanthus lion again, it is the conquest of the bull of Crete then the :

;

killing of the

three-headed hydra, by whose venom In the belly of the sea

Hercules afterwards died.

monster he

and three

said

nights.&quot;

to have remained &quot;three days This was, doubtless, a perversion

of the type of Jonah, introduced by LYCOPHRON, who (living at the court of PTOLEMY PHILADELPHIA, under whose auspices the Hebrew Scriptures were trans lated

into

Greek) would have known of that Divine

and of

its application to the Coming One. believed that the fables of the Greek Bishop Horsley could be traced back to the prophecies mythology

miracle,

the Messiah, of which from ignorance or design.

Hercules.

they

were

This

perversion

specially true of In his apparently impossible tasks of over

gigantic enemies and delivering captives, see through the shadow, and discern the pure

throwing

we can light

the truth.

can

understand

how

the

original star-picture must have been a prophetic repre sentation of Him who shall destroy the Old Serpent and open the way again, not to fabled apples of &quot;

gold,&quot;

but to the

&quot;tree

life&quot;

itself.

who

the mighty conflict, and brought though to His knee, going down even to the dust of death,&quot; shall yet, in resurrection and advent glory, wield His suffering in

&quot;

THE WITNESS OF THE

62 victorious

subdue

club,

written

His enemies, and plant

all

His foot on the Dragon

STARS.

For

head.

Him

&quot;Thou

The

under &quot;

upon the

shalt tread

lion

and adder;

young- lion and the dragon shalt

Thou trample

(Ps. xci. 13.)

foot.&quot;

Come, Lord, and burst the captives

And Come,

chains,

set the prisoners free; cleanse this earth from all its stains,

And make

meet

for

Thee

Oh, come and end Creation

groans

Its sighs, its tears,

its blood, blighted world again dwelling-place of God.&quot;

And make The

this

CHAPTER THE

SIGN

IV.

SAGITTARIUS.

The Redeemer s Triumph.

THIS book

the

concluding

chapter of

the

first

great

Heavenly Revelation and it is occupied wholly with the triumph of the Coming One, who is re presented as going forth conquering and to conquer.&quot; of this

;

&quot;

The

subject

Word &quot;

beautifully set forth in the written

(Ps. xlv. 3-5) Gird Thy sword upon :

Thy thigh, O most mighty, \Gird Thyself with Thy glory and Thy majesty, And in Thy majesty ride prosperously, Because of truth, and meekness, and righteousness; And Thy right hand shall teach Thee terrible things. Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the King s enemies ; ~\

Whereby

the people

fall

under

Thee.&quot;

SAGITTARIUS.

John, in

his

apocalyptic

same

the

sees

vision,

I saw (he says) a mighty Conqueror going forth. white horse, and He that sat on him had a bow, &quot;

and (Rev.

went

forth

and

conquering

&quot;

conquer

vi. 2).

This

star-pictured

name

what

precisely

now

sign

foreshadowed

which means

Sagittarius,

the

by the modern Latin

called

the Archer.

Syriac name of the sign is Archer (as in Gen. xxi. 20). Al Kaus, the arrow. In Coptic

The Hebrew and Kesith,

The it

which means

name

Arabic

the

Pimacre, the graciousness,

forth.

In Greek

or beauty of the coming

Toxotes, the archer,

and

Latin

Sagittarius.

There are 69 3rd magnitude

The names

stars in the sign,

five

viz.,

of the

in the bow), nine of the 4th, etc.

(all

of the brightest stars are significant

Hebrew, Nairn, which means the gracious one. This is exactly what is said of this Victor in the same Psalm (xlv.), in the words immediately preceding the quotation above (verse &quot;

GRACE

Therefore

poured

God

come down

the

same

Shaula, the dart;

Thy

lips

;

Nairn,

the

Al Wanda, who

ancient Akkadian

which means Prince of

ever.&quot;

going or sending forth.

the

in the Arabic

cr rami, the riding of the

into

hath blessed Thee for

Hebrew, Nehushta,

We see

names which have gracious one; Al

comes forth

;

Ruchba

bowman.

name

the

in the sign

Earth.

Nun-ki,

THE WITNESS OF THE

STARS.

Again we have the picture of a Centaur as to his Not outward form, i.e. a being with two natures. now far down in the south, or connected with His

and

sufferings

man

sacrifice

;

but high up, as a

on the ecliptic, which the sun rejoiceth in

Zodiac

sign of the

i.e.

itself,

very path forth as a strong

man.&quot;

Grecian

According the

in the

his going

&quot;

this

fable,

Sagittarius

noble

chief

character, Cheiron, Centaur; righteous in his dealings, divine in his power.

Such

will

&quot;

woman

be the coming Seed of the

His power and glory

The sceptre of Thy king-dom is a right sceptre. Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness; Therefore God, Thy God, hath anointed Thee with oil

of gladness above thy

the

fellows.&quot;

(Ps. xlv. 6, 7.)

In the ancient Zodiac of Denderah he (as in

i.e.

Coptic) Pi-maere, appearing or coming forth.

This

He who

&quot;

shall

full

called

graciousness, beauty of the

The

characters under the

hind foot read Knem, which means

from the bow,

come

grace,&quot;

conquers.

forth like as

but

&quot;

an arrow

conquering and

conquer.&quot;

all

the

and the arrow

pictures in

his

bow

similarly

aimed

represented, the

directly at

heart of the Scorpion.

Thus ARATUS sang &quot;

of Cheiron:

Midst golden stars he stands refulgent now,

And

thrusts the scorpion with his

bended

bow.&quot;

SAGITTARIUS: In

who

Archer we see a

this

come

shall presently

(I.YKA).

faint

whose arrows shall be powerful heart of the King s enemies.&quot; God shall shoot at them with an arrow all

Him

reflection of

forth, all gracious, all wise, &quot;

;

sharp in

the

&quot;

;

Suddenly shall they be wounded. So they shall make their own tongue selves

them

All that see

And

men

all

to fall

upon them

;

shall flee

away.

and

shall fear,

work

shall declare the

God; shall wisely consider of His doing. righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and shall trust

For they

The

Him

And

all

;

the upright in heart shall

glory.&quot;

(Ps. Ixiv. 7-10.) is

&quot;Christ

coming!

let

Creation

From her groans and

travail cease

;

Let the glorious proclamation

Hope

restore,

Christ

and

faith increase.

coming, Come, thou blessed Prince of

This brings us to the

first

peace.&quot;

of the three constella

chapter, which this subject of praise to the Conqueror. tions

sections

this

LYRA

takes

(The Harp).

Praise prepared for the Conqueror. 11

Praise

(Ps. Ixv.

waiteth

i).

for

And when

and the Redeemer comes be given.

&quot;

Almighty, which S.

1005.

give art,

thee,

God,

Zion

&quot;

the waiting time is over, then the praise shall

forth,

Thee thanks, O Lord God, the and which wast, because thou

THE WITNESS OF THE

Thee Thy

hast taken to

(Rev.

STARS.

great power, and didst reign Let us be glad and rejoice and

&quot;

xi. 17, R.V.).

&quot;

The Twenty(Rev. xix. 7). give honour unto Him first Psalm should be read here, as it tells of the bursting forth of praise on the going forth of this &quot;

all-gracious Conqueror. &quot;

The King-

shall rejoice in

Thy

strength,

LORD

;

greatly shall He rejoice! Thine hand shall find out all Thine enemies

And

salvation

Thy

how

;

Thy

right

Their

And

hand

shall find out all that hate thee.

Thou

destroy from the earth; their seed from among- the children of men. shalt

fruit

For they intended evil against Thee They imagined a mischievous device which they are ;

able to perform, Therefore shalt thou

Margin,

When Thou

make them

tJicm as

&quot;set

shalt

turn their

not

back (Heb.

bntt&quot;^),

make ready Thine arrows upon Thy

string s

\_And shoot thcni\ against the face of them. exalted, LORD, in thine own strength

Be thou

SO WILL

SING

AND PRAISE THY (Ps. xxi.

Beautifully,

upon

following

Horseman. naturally as &quot;

then,

will sing

the

does

going

the

;

POWER.&quot;.

harp come

forth

this

10-13.)

here,

victorious^,

Song of the Lamb follows as Song of Moses in Ex. xv. I unto the LORD, for He hath triumphed This

docs

the

gloriously.&quot;

is one of the most glorious and heavens, by it this constellation may be easily known. It shines with a splendid white lustre. It is called Vega, which means He shall be

its

brightest star, a,

the

exalted.

Its root

occurs in the opening of the Song

SAGITTARIUS of Moses,

above.

quoted

expressive ? Its other stars,

and

(LYRA).

not

y, are also

this

wonderfully

conspicuous

stars,

is called Shelyuk, 2nd and 4th magnitude. which means an eagle (as does the Arabic, A I Nesr)

of the

;

called

Sulaphat,

springing up,

ascending,

praise.

In the Zodiac figured serpent)

of Denderah, this constellation

a hawk or an eagle

as in

triumph.

(the

enemy

Fent-kar,

name

Its

the

which

means the serpent ruled. There ma)^ be some confusion between the Hebrew * but p, Gnasor, a harp ; *$}, Nesher, an eagle, and &quot;lib

there can be no doubt about the grand central truth, as an eagle toward that praise shall ascend up when creature which is in heaven, and heaven,&quot; every &quot;

&quot;

on the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that is in them,&quot; shall send up their universal song of praise:

and

&quot;Blessing,

Him Lamb for

unto

And

and

what

for

glory,

and power, be

wondrous

this

all

Listen once again.

praise?

and

honour,

that sitteth upon the throne and unto the ever and ever. Amen&quot; (Rev. v. 13, 14). &quot;

Alleluia f:

anthem

Salvation,

and honour, and power, unto the Lord our

* In our picture we have combined the two great thoughts, taking the harp from a picture dug up at Ilerculaneum, and adding an eagle soaring up with it.

f This

and

it is

the

Where

time that the

first

praise for

is its first

.have the very

word

&quot;Alleluia&quot;

occurs in the

New

Testament,

judgment executed. occurrence in the Old Testament? significant connection

same solemn and &quot;

In Ps.

civ.

35,

Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, let the wicked be no more.

And

O my

Eless thou the

LORD,

HALLELUJAH

(Praise ye the

soul, Lor.n).&quot;

E 2

where we

THE WITNESS OF THE

God;

STARS.

TRUE AND RIGHTEOUS ARE HIS

for

JUDGMENTS.

And

again they said Alleluia

&quot;

(Rev. xix. 13).

With

that blessed

&quot;

before

hope

us,

Let no HARP remain unstrung-; Let the coming- advent chorus Onward roll from tongue to tongue, Hallelujah, &quot;

Come, Lord

quickly come.

Jesus,&quot;

This brings us to

ARA

(The

Altar).

Consuming Fire Prepared for His Enemies.

Here we have an altar or burning pyre, placed with its significantly and ominously upside down fires burning and pointing downwards towards the !

lower regions, called Tartarus, or the abyss, or

&quot;

outer-

darkness.&quot;

are It

an asterism with nine

of the is

3rd

south of the Scorpion

constellations were

first

stars, dt

four

magnitude, s

formed

which three

the

etc.

4th,

and when these was visible only on

tail, it

the very lowest horizon of the south, pointing to the completion of all judgment in the lake of fire.

In the Zodiac picture,

ment. hand. Hercules

the

Denderah we have a different same judg

giving us another aspect of the It is a man enthroned, with a

His has,

name and

Bau,

means

Hebrew fc^D (Boh], to come, Who is this that cometh &quot;

the

same

cometh.

as in Isa.

from Edom, With dyed garments from Bozrah.&quot;

his

name

a.s

flail

Ixiii.

from i:

SAGITTARIUS: (ARA).

This

a coming in judgment, as

the reason given in verse 4 &quot;

69 clear

from

For the day of vengeance is in Mine heart, the year of My redeemed is come. I looked, and there was none to help I wondered that there was none to uphold;

And And And

;

Therefore Mine own arm brought salvation, And My fury, it upheld Me.&quot; (Isa. Ixiii. 4,

5.)

The completion

of judgment, therefore, is what is the both burning pyre and the Coming by pictured One enthroned, with his threshing instrument.

In Arabic the

A I Mugamra,

called

word Ara more frequently

sense

of praying,

sense

the

which means

The Greeks used

or finishing. sometimes in the

completing,

imprecation

the

but or

cursing.

This

the

This

enemy.

curse is

the great pointing to the

pronounced against

the

burning

fire,

completion of that curse, when he shall be cast into that everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his &quot;

This

angels.&quot;

midst of the

already quoted verse 9 (which &quot;Thou

shall

the allusion to

(p.

66),

we then make them

Ps.

xxi.,

omitted) as

written

which

from

very Scripture

the

we have

where we read

fiery

oven

the time

of Thine anger:

The LORD shall swallow them up And the fire shall devour them.&quot;

His wrath;

This brings us to the final scene, closing up great book of the Heavens.

first

this

THE WITNESS OF THE

DRACO

Old Serpent, or

The

STARS.

(The Dragon).

the

down from

cast

Devil,

Heaven.

Each of the three great books concludes with The same foreshowing of Apocalyptic truth. same great enemy is referred to in all these pictures. this

the Serpent; he is the Dragon; &quot;the great dragon, that old serpent, called the Devil and Satan is

&quot;

The Serpent represents (Rev. xii. 9). Deceiver; the Dragon, as the Destroyer.

him

the

This First Book concludes with the Dragon being down from heaven.

cast

The

Second

Book concludes with

Sea

Cetus, the

Monster, Leviathan, bound.

The Third Book

concludes with Hydra, the Old

Serpent, destroyed.

Here, at the close of the First Book, we see not merely a dragon, but the Dragon cast down ! That is

the point of this great star-picture.

one has ever seen a dragon

;

but

among

all

nations (especially in China and Japan), and in all ages, we find it described and depicted in legend art. Both Old and New Testaments refer and all unite in connecting with it one and the same great enemy of God and man.

and to

it,

God

against

him

that

goes forth to

the

war.&quot;

God-Man It

for

&quot;

him

the

Son

that the

SAGITTARIUS: (DRACO). eternal

are

fires

prepared.

who

shall

shortly be cast down from the heavens preparatory It is of him we read, to his completed judgment. &quot;

The

great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the

called

whole world

And

him.

he was cast out and his angels with

heard a loud voice saying in heaven,

Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ ;

accuser of our brethren

for the xii.

9, It

&quot;

cast

down

&quot;

(Rev.

10).

God

him that David

sings

king of old, 1

Working salvation in the midst of the earth Thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters. Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces.&quot; 1

(Ps.

Of him

also the

that day, shall

this

Spirit causes

song be

Ixxiv.

12-14.)

Isaiah to say, &quot;In in the land of

sung

Judah&quot;; &quot;

that

day the LORD, with

his

sore,

and great, and

strong sword, Shall punish leviathan the piercing (R.V. swift)

Even leviathan

And

he shall

crooked serpent; slay the dragon that is

(Isa. xxvi.

This

constellation

serpent,

that

exactly what of Draco.

Its

the i ;

sea.&quot;

xxvii.

foreshadowed

name

i.)

this

from

the

Greek, and means trodden on, as in the Scptuagint of Ps. xci. 13 The dragon shalt thou trample under from the Hebrew Tt, Dahrach, to tread. feet,&quot; &quot;

THE WITNESS OF THE

72 In

Zodiac

the

serpent

under

named

Hcr-fent,

Denderah

the

fore-feet

which means

There are 80 stars the 2nd magnitude,

STARS. as

a is

the

shown

of Sagittarius, and the serpent accursed!

seven

constellation

the

3rd

;

four

mag

nitude, ten of the 4th, etc.

The brightest named Thuban

star,

one of the

(in

the

(Heb.),

latter coils),

Some

subtle.

4,620

was the Polar Star. It is manifest, that the Greeks could not have invented therefore, this constellation, as is confessed by all modern

years

ago

astronomers. nautical seas,

reckonings, the

and thus

very important star in guiding the commerce of the

still

&quot;

god

this

world

&quot;

repre

sented as winding in his contortions round the pole of the world, as if to indicate his subtle influence in

all

affairs.

worldly

The

next star,

Hebrew name subtle

the head),

(in

In the Arabic

(serpent}.

Waid, which means who

The Ethanin,

next i.e.,

Rastaban, and means

star, the

called

the

still

The Hebrew names

called

destroyed.

the

head), long serpent, or dragon. (also

by the

head of the

called

of other stars, not identified,

are

Grumian, the subtle; Giansar, the punished enemy. Other (Arabic) names are Al Dib, the -reptile; El

Atkik, the fraudful

And

;

Asieh, the bowed down.

thus the combined testimony of every star

(without a single

exception)

each

constellation,

SAGITTARIUS: (DRACO).

and the constellations

each

Word

testimony of the coming Seed of the the

73 accords

sign,

God

with

concerning the

woman, bruising of His the of the s the suffer heel, head, serpent crushing ings of Christ, and the glory which should follow.&quot; the

&quot;

From

far

see the glorious day,

When He who Will

bore our sins away, His majesty display.

all

A Man

of Sorrows once

friend

all

was found

preferred the world

He groaned For

And

beneath

was,

His cause,

to plead s

applause.

sin s awful load,

the sinner s place

stood,

died to bring- him back to God.

But now

waits, with glory

crowned.

While angel hosts His throne surround,

And

still

His

lofty

praises sound.

To few on earth His name is dear, And they who in His cause appear, The world

reproach and scorn must bear.

Thy name is all my boast, And though by waves of trouble tossed, Thou wilt not let my soul be lost.

Jesus,

Come

then,

come quickly trom above,

soul impatient longs to prove,

The depths

of everlasting

love.&quot;

THE WITNESS OF THE

STARS.

Seconfc Boofc,

THE REDEEMED. The Result of

the-

Redeemer

Sufferings.

Book we have had before us the work of the Redeemer set forth as it concerned His own glorious person. In this Second Book it us as it affects others. Here we is presented to the

First

and conflict, and and the bless His redeemed people.

see the results of His humiliation,

victory

&quot;The

sufferings

ings they procured for

In Chapter

II.

we have

Christ&quot;

the Blessings procured.

their Blessings ensured.

In Chapter III. their Blessings in abeyance.

In Chapter IV. their Blessings enjoyed.

CHAPTER CAPRICORN US

THE SIGN

The Goat of Atonement Slain for

(The Sea the

Goat).

Redeemed.

most noteworthy that this Second Book the Goat, and closes with the Ram with opens while the two middle two animals of sacrifice IT

;

CAPRICORNUS. with

connected chapters are both reason for this we shall see as

Both

ancient

the

all

a goat with a

find

The

fishes.*

proceed.

the

first

chapter,

of Capricornus.

&quot;Sign&quot;

combined

are

Planispheres, we In the Zodiacs of

Zodiacs,

fish s

tail.

Denderah and Esneh, in Egypt, it is half-goat and and it is there called Hu-penius, which half-fish, means the place of the sacrifice. Zodiac

Indian

In the

versed by a

a goat passant tra

fish.

There can be no

doubt

the

significance

of this sign.

In the

ment &quot;

Goat we have the Atoning

the

Fish we have the people for is

PISCES

&quot;

made.

When we come

more clearly that the redeemed host. see

shall

the multitudes of

The Goat down

The

left.

bowing

The

death.

neath the body, the

Sacrifice,

whom

seems to be

its

right

the it

sign

points

head as though leg

the atone

falling

under

folded

and he seems unable to rise with of the fish, on the other hand, of vigour and life.

tail

full

The Hebrew name same

of the sign is Gcdi, as the Arabic Al Gcdi.

kid

the

CAPRI off, CORNUS is merely the modern (Latin) name of the sign, and means goat.

* There

fish

There

tail

here.

The

third

Decan of CAPRICORNUS

fish

again a fish (Piscis Australis) in the next sign (AQUARIUS), then the following sign is PISCES, or the Fishes. So that the Redeemed

(Delphiniis).

and

the

cut

Multitudes are presented throughout this Second Book.

THE WITNESS OF THE

There are 51

the

stars

STARS.

3rd

head, and the remaining The star a the fishy tail. or goat, the

the

while

three, is

star

of which

three

sign,

magnitude, three Five are remarkable stars, a and the

are

the

and

named Al

etc.

4th,

horn and

in the

Gedi, the kid

called Deneb

Gedi,

cometh.

sacrifice

Other star-names in the sign, not identified, are Dabih (Syriac), the sacrifice slain; Al Dabik and Al Dehabeh (Arabic) have the same meaning; Ma asad, record of the the the slaying; So? ad al Naschira, cutting

off.

not

this

of truth

tures

the

goat

given

to to

gation,

was not

sin-offering&quot;

you

make &quot;

slain,

accord with the

There were two goats

(Lev. x.

LORD&quot;

exactly

written,

Scrip the

&quot;God

hath

&quot;

bear the iniquity of the congre atonement for them before the

16,

17):

he shall

which

other goat,

of the let

go into the wilder death and resur is

Here (Lev. xvi. 22). wounded for our transgressions, Christ was For the transgres and bruised for our iniquities.&quot;

ness

&quot;

rection.

&quot;

MY PEOPLE

sion of

laid

the

down His

the

same

wheat.&quot;

life

was

stricken&quot;

(Isa.

liii.).

for the sheep.

chapter of the First Book we had corn of Blessed One presented as

first

&quot;a

Here we

see

Him come

&quot;

die,&quot;

hence not abiding alone, but bringing forth

&quot;

and

much

fruit&quot; (John xii. 24). The living fish proceeds from the dying goat, and yet they form only one body.

CAPRICORNUS.

That

picture,

which has no

77 nature, has

parallel in

and a great multitude, which no man can number,&quot; have been redeemed and shall obtain eternal life through the death of their Redeemer. a perfectly true counterpart in grace

It is

is,

however, not merely the actual death which

before

set

has

book

for

Redeemer in

&quot;

;

here.

its

great

in prophecy

each book has

The

first

the

subject

chapter in each Person of the

The

and promise.

last

chapter

for its subject the fulfilment of that

and triumph, in the Person of the while the two central chapters in each book-

in victory

prophecy

Redeemer

are occupied with the work which is the accomplish ment of the promise, presented in two aspects the former connected with grace, the latter with conflict.

Thus

the structure of each

an epanodos, having for its the Person of the Redeemer in

&quot;A&quot;

of the three books

members we have the work and (in

in grace;

&quot;B&quot;

may

and

&quot;

its

last

members

Prophecy;

&quot;A&quot;

(in

while

Fulfilment],

and

first

two

the

central

accomplishment

in conflict}.

be thus presented to the eye

The First Book.

The Prophecy of the Bruised Seed. The work accomplished (in grace) SCORPIO. The work accomplished (in conflict). SAGITTARIUS. The fulfilment of the promised VIRGO.

B B

LIBRA.

victory.

THE WITNESS OF THE

STARS.

The Second Book.

The Prophecy

CAPRICORNUS.

of the Promised

Deliverance.

Results AQUARIUS. stowed (in grace).

PISCES.

Results

work enjoyed

the

work

conflict).

(in

The

ARIES.

the

Promised De

Fulfilment of the

liverance.

The Third Book.

The Prophecy

TAURUS. of

GEMINI.

and Glory). The CANCER.

phecy of this it

did

the

all

should

Righteousness

World

&quot;

appear.

&quot;God

sent

that were

&quot;The

forth

reign

(Grace

possession

conflict).

arise,

For when actually

His

Son

Law&quot;

those

really amongst and Dcncb Al Gedi,

God.&quot;

The

when

&quot;

said,

nights

and

&quot;

the

Sun

Light of

Promised Seed

this

was

time

fulness

under the

willing Sacrifice

Redeemer

out the time

actually point

ricornus

kid,

CAPRICORNUS we must look for the pro Coming Sacrifice. As a matter of fact

was born the Sun was

was

coming Judge

LEO. The fulfilment of the promised Triumph.

Hence

The Redeemer

from

(safe

of the

the earth.

all

sign of Cap-

and them The Sun

come,&quot;

TO REDEEM

(Gal. iv. 4). very stars A I

Gedi,

the

the sacrifice cotneth

when

this

Thy

will,

were

come at

their

darkest and

CAPRICORNUS: (SAGITTA).

when Jesus was

their longest

had come

The days began

born.

immediately to lengthen when He,

the true

&quot;

light,&quot;

into the world.*

Astronomers confess that the

&quot;

sign,

Greeks give but and it offers no

the perverted a lame account

legends

&quot;

illustration

of this ancient

its

origin.&quot;

a prophetic knowledge, that in u the

ancient origin reveals

Its

which only

fulness of time

who knew

possessed

He would

&quot;

now come

the

send forth His Son.

three

constellations

which

give us three pictures setting forth the death of this Sacrifice and of His living again.

SAGITTA

The Arrow of It

not

left

God.

this that

not the

bow.

his

This

5).

said, in Ps. xxxviii. 2 in

&quot;

me,

sore.&quot;

&quot;

He was

with Job,

Thine arrows stick fast And Thy hand presseth

stricken, smitten of God, and was wounded for our transgressions&quot;

He 4,

sent forth.

Arrow of Sagittarius, for that has That arrow is for the enemies for the Son of God. It was of

spoke when &quot;

He was

(The Arrow).

God

The

when

afflicted, (Isa.

liii.

could

&quot;pierced,&quot; say arrows of the Almighty are within

&quot;

(vi.

4).

When we come

Sun was

the last

chapter

this

book we

shall

see that

in the sign of the other sacrificial animal, ARIES, at the very And ARIES sets before us the victory of &quot;the Lamb that Crucifixion.

the

hour of the

was

slain.&quot;

THE WITNESS OF THE

Here the arrow as

alone,

hand. It

all

the

been

having

STARS.

pictured to us in mid-heaven, shot forth by an invisible

seen in its flight through the heavens. arrow of God, showing that Redemption

of God.

was

&quot;the

will

which

God&quot;

Not a mere work of mercy for Jesus came to do. miserable sinners, but a work ordained in eternity past, for the glory of

God

in eternity future.

This is the record of the Word, and this is what is pictured for us here. The work which the arrow accomplishes is seen in the dying Goat, and in the falling Eagle.

There are many other stars in the heavens in better serve for an line, which would

a straighter

Why

arrow.

are

arrow placed here

these

Spirit

chosen

Why

the

explanation can be given, Revelation in the stars and in

except that the the Book are both

same

stars

What

from

the

inspiration

the

There are about 18

stars,

of which

four

the 4th magnitude. Only y and % are in while the shaft passes between a and line,

The Hebrew name

are

the

same

|3.

Sham, destroying, or desolate.

AQUILA

(The Eagle).

The Smitten One Falling.

Here we have an additional picture of the effect arrow, in the pierced, wounded, and falling

of this

Eagle,

gasping

its

dying

struggle.

And

that

CAPRICORNUS: (DELPHINUS).

stick fast in

&quot;

whom

wounded, and dying Saviour

pierced,

Ps.

sents, after saying, in

Me,&quot;

xxxviii. 2,

added, in verse 10

heart panteth, for the light of

&quot;

Mine eyes

this

of the

all

stars,

The

representation.

repre

strength faileth Me, is

gone from

(See also Zech.

The names

Thine arrows

6.)

bear

of them,

constellation

Me.&quot;

xiii.

out

contains

The

stars.

brightest of them, a (in the Eagle s a notable star of the ist magnitude, called

neck),

Tair (Arabic), the wounding. The star (in the is A I Shain the called throat) bright, from (Arabic),

a ii.

Hebrew root meaning 1 8. The star y (in or torn.

wounded,

the

Okal,

the

the piercing,

and

called

Josh,

Tarared,

named

the

(in

tail),

meaning wounded

significant

heel.

How be

has

coloured,

back) the lower wing)

(in

which means

Alcair,

scarlet

the

can the united testimony of these

names

Divine

explained

except even that of

origin ? of the bruising

Word

;

yea,

the stars and giveth

Him who

of the

Him

acknowledging

&quot;

who

them

afterwards

Son

foretold

the written

telleth the

number of

Virgin

all their names.&quot;

DELPHINUS

(The Dolphin).

The Dead One Rising again. This is a bright cluster of 18 stars, five of which are of the 3rd magnitude. It is easily dis tinguished by the four brightest, which are in the head. S.

1005.

THE WITNESS OF THE

STARS.

always figured as a fish full of life, and with the head upwards, just as the eagle The great is always with the head downwards. peculiar characteristic of the dolphin is its rising It

always

up, leaping,

and springing out of the

sea.

When we

compare this with the dying goat and falling eagle, what conclusion can we come to but that we have here the filling in of the picture, and the completion of the whole truth set forth in Capricornus

&quot;

Jesus

died and rose

rection His death

with the

enemy

which

shown

forth.

His people, with the &quot;the

only His coming again in glory But here, in connection with

multitudes of

His

redeemed,

here represented

too,

Apart from His resur In His conflict

result.

the great and important truth. first-fruits of them that slept&quot;; then

Resurrection is

again.&quot;

without

fish.

He, who went

down into the waters of death for His people He who could say All thy waves and thy billows are gone over me&quot; (Ps. xlii. 7), He it is who rises up ;

&quot;

again from the dead, having died on account of the sins of

His redeemed, and risen again on account of

their justification

This

(Rom.

iv.

25).

In the Persian plani the picture here. there and a stream of seems to be fish a sphere water. The Egyptian has a vessel pouring out is

water.

The tion

are

ancient

names connected with

Dalaph

(Hebrew),

pouring

this constella

out

water;

CAPRICORNUS Dalaph swift

coming

(Arabic), the

(as

flow

Thus,

this

(DELPHINUS). Scalooin

quickly;

Rotaneb

water);

(Syriac and Chaldee),

(Arabic),

Rotaneu

swiftly running.

Book

chapter of the Second

first

we see the great truth of Revelation set forth and we learn how the great Blessings of Redemption This truth cannot be more elo were procured. ;

quently or powerfully presented than in the language of Dr. Seiss :

&quot;This

afterpart

strange goat-fish, dying- in as

falling

eagle

its

pierced

head, but living

wounded by

and

its

the

arrow of death, but springing up from the dark waves with the matchless vigour and beauty of the dolphin sinking under sin s condemnation, but rising again as sin s conqueror de veloping new life out of death, and heralding a new spring time out of December s long drear nights was framed by no The story which it tells is the old, old blind chance of man. story on which hangs the only availing hope that ever came, or ever can come, to Adam s race. To what it signifies we In that dying are for ever shut up as the only saving faith. Seed of the woman we must see our sin-bearer and the atone

ment for our guilt, or die ourselves unpardoned and unsanctified. Through His death and bloodshedding we must find our life, or the true

life,

&quot;

which alone

life,

we never can

have.&quot;

Complete atonement Thou hast made,

And

to the

utmost farthing paid

Whate er Thy people owed Nor can His wrath on me take :

sheltered

And

place,

His righteousness,

sprinkled with the blood.

If my discharge Thou hast procured, And freely in my room endured

The whole

of wrath divine,

Payment God cannot twice demand, First at

And

my bleeding Surety then again at mine.

hand,

F 2

THE WITNESS OF THE

Turn, then,

unto

Thy

great

High

soul,

The merits of Thy Have boug-ht thy

STARS.

liberty

rest

;

Priest

;

His efficacious blood, Nor fear thy banishment from God, Since Jesus died for thee.&quot;

Trust

CHAPTER THE

SIGN

AQUARIUS

II.

(The Water Bearer).

Their Blessings Ensured, or the Living Waters of Blessing Poured Forth for the Redeemed.

THE Atonement

being made, the blessings have been procured, and now they can be bestowed and poured forth upon the Redeemed. This is the truth, whether

think of Abel s lamb, of patriarchal sacrifices, the offerings under the Law, or of that great Sacrifice of which they all testified. They all with one voice us

tell

that atonement

made

the only foundation

of blessing.

This was pictured and foreshown

in the

heavens

from the beginning, by a man pouring forth water from an urn which seems to have an inexhaustible supply,

mouth all

and which flows forth downwards into the a fish, which receives it and drinks it

up.

In the ancient Zodiac of Denderah

the

same

though the man holds two urns, and the fish below seems to have come out of the urn. The idea,

AQUARIUS.

man

is called Hupei Tirion, which means him down or of coming poured forth.

the place

some eastern Zodiacs the Urn alone appears. This agrees with its other names Hebrew, Deli, In

the

water-urn,

Arabic Delu

or bucket

(as

Num.

xxiv.

;

the

the same.

There are 108 stars in this Sign, four of which Their names, as far as are of the 3rd magnitude. are significant. to down have come us, they al

The

star

The

star

right shoulder) is called Sa ad the record of the pouring forth.

a (in the Melik, which means &amp;lt;3

the other shoulder) is called Saad returneth, or the pourer out.

(in

Sund, who goeth and

The

bright star 8

the lower part of the right

(in

well-known to-day by its Hebrew name Scheat, which means who goeth and returneth. leg)

The bright star in the urn has an Egyptian name Mon or Meon, which means simply an urn. Aquarius is the modern Latin name by which the

known.

sign

has the same meaning,

the

pourer forth of water.

Can we doubt what is the interpretation of this The Greeks, not knowing Him of whom it sign ? testified,

were, like the

of that living water therefore invented

son of ?ncde,

says, this

woman

which

of Samaria, destitute

alone can give.

They

some story about Deucalion, the Prometheus and another, saying he is Gany;

Jove &quot;We

name

;

But, as an astronomer cup-bearer must account otherwise for the origin of

for

not

possible

reconcile

the

THE WITNESS OF THE

symbols of the eleventh

logy.&quot;

STARS.

sign with further

we must go

and not cramp our

vision,

and

Grecian mytho back than that,

distort the Scriptures,

the Church.&quot; The by confining our thoughts to Church is nowhere seen in these Signs, as she is &quot;

This we nowhere revealed in the Old Testament. shall enlarge on when we come to the sign Pisces. Meanwhile we must read the witness of the stars as if there had been no Church !

Christ

first.

Yea,

all

The

all.

and the very stars in this Scriptures testify of Him Sign tell of His going away and His coming again. ;

These prophetic the Atonement endured, with victory have.

He For &quot;

signs

the

have to do with

wrought, with

win, and written

Him, with conflict

He the

secured,

with

the

triumph

blessings

shall it

the

He shall pour the water out of His buckets, And His seed shall be in many waters, And His king- shall be higher than Agag, And His kingdom shall be exalted.&quot; (Num.

tells &quot;

shall

of that glorious

day when

shall reign in righteousness princes shall rule in judgment ;

King

And And

xxiv. 7.)

;

MAN

a shall be as an hiding place from the wind, And a covert from the tempest As RIVERS of in a dry place.&quot; ;

WATER

(Isa.

* The eleventh, because everyone begins we have done from VIRGO, as shown by the

xxxii.

2).

reckon from ARIES, and not as See page 20.

riddle of the Sphinx.

AQUARIUS.

It speaks of that glorious time when Israel shall be restored, and their &quot;eyes shall see the King in His beauty when the peace of Zion shall be no &quot;

;

more disturbed,

&quot;

but there

xxxiii.

(Isa.

17,

the glorious

broad

be unto us a place of

LORD

will

and streams

rivers

&quot;

Then

20, 21).

wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad

&quot;The

for

them;

And

the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose, For in the wilderness shall waters break out,

And &quot;

streams in the

desert.&quot;

(Isa.

open rivers in high places, fountains in the midst of the valleys will make the wilderness a pool of water, ;

And

the dry land springs of

Fear

not,

And

thou, Jesurun,

&quot;

6.)

will

And I

xxxv.

Jacob,

My whom

water.&quot;

servant

(Isa.

xli.

8.)

;

I have chosen, POUR WATER upon him that is thirsty, And floods upon the dry ground I will pour My Spirit upon thy seed,

For

will

;

And My Thus

And

blessing upon thy offspring. LORD the King of Israel,

saith the his

Redeemer

the

LORD of

hosts.&quot;

(Isa.

xliv.

6.)

MAN

The This is the meaning of the Sign. Christ Jesus, who was humbled in death will yet be seen to be the pourer forth of every blessing. Physically curse, &quot;

pouring forth

and turning

this

literal waters, removing the world into a paradise

Making her wilderness

And

Eden,

her desert like the garden of the

LORD.&quot;

(Isa.

li.

3.)

And

morally pouring forth His Spirit in such abund ance as to fill the whole earth with peace, and blessing,

and

&quot;

glory,

as the waters cover the

sea.&quot;

THE WITNESS OF THE

STARS.

Upon Israel restored He will pour out His bless They will be sprinkled with clean water, and ing. new

possess a

heart

ii.

24-28; Joel

and a new

spirit

(Ezek. xxxvi.

28-32).

Such are some of the Scriptures which this glorious

Water-pourer.

tell

need not rob Christ

of His glory, or Israel of her blessing, in order to These see in all this Pentecost or the Church. are quite independent of the great line of prophetic truth. They are parenthetical, and distinct, and true,

Israel s

from

apart

quite

and

scattering referred to

marvels

the

glorious

prophecies

The physical gathering. the texts above can never

be satisfied or exhausted by any spiritual fulfilment. We may make an application of them as far as is but the consistent with the teaching of the epistles them belongs to the Person of Christ, ;

interpretation of

and the nation

That and

Israel.

pictured for us in the

Sign,

interpretation is its three con

stellations.

AUSTRALIS

PISCIS

(The Southern Fish).

The Blessings Bestowed.

This and its a

brilliant

subject

Ethiopians. the

mouth of And

constellation

first

star

study

great It

named

the fish.

one of high antiquity,*

the

first

by in

the

Arabic

magnitude was Egyptians and

Fom

There are 22 other

Haut,

stars.

in great contrast with several modern ones near it, e.g., the Balloon, s. Apparatus, the Microscope, Euclid s Square, the Telescope, etc., etc.

the Sculptor

AQUARIUS: (PEGASUS).

The in

is inseparable from Aquarius, which we have shown it in In the Denderah Zodiac it is called

constellation

with

connection

Plate XVIII.

Aar, a stream.

the

will

woman, those for

forth

sets

procured

whom

the simple truth that the blessings the coming Seed of the

failure in their

What

tion.

MAN

surely bestowed they are intended.

has

and received by There will be

communication, or in their recep been purchased shall be secured

and possessed.

PEGASUS

(The Winged Horse).

The Blessings Quickly Coming.

Not only shall they be received, but they shall be brought near. They will not have to be fetched, but they will be caused to come to those for whom

Him

they are procured, and will yet be brought by

who has procured them. In the Denderah Zodiac there are two characters

immediately below is

Hebrew

Pega, that the very

word

the horse, the

chief,

Pe and and Sus

(Pegasus) has

and has been preserved through

The names

of the stars in

ka. is

Peka or horse.

come down

all

this

So us

the languages. constellation de

There are 89 altogether one of the 1st magnitude, two of the 2nd, three of the 3rd, nine of the 4th, etc. And, as astronomers clare to us

testify,

its

&quot;they

meaning.

render Pegasus peculiarly

;

remarkable.&quot;

THE WITNESS OF THE

The

a (on the neck of the horse at of the wing), comes down to us with Hebrew name of Markab, which means

brightest,

the junction the ancient

returning from afar. is called Scheat, i.e., star

(at

called

nostril) i]

star

(in

Enif (Arabic),

the near

(in

The

the near shoulder)

who goeth and returmth. The the tip of the wing) bears an Arabic The star e (in .the Genib, who carries.

name

STARS.

called

leg)

The

star

(Arabic),

who

water.

the

Matar

causes to overflow.

These names show us that we have no mere

horse.

nature. it

horse

winged must therefore be used as a

do with

unknown

figure

;

can be a figure only of a person, even of

who

said,

u the I

&quot;If

Scheat

Branch&quot;

go away

the

as will

star

come

and

Him

Enif shows, who

again,&quot;

as the star

testifies.

He who

procured

these

blessings

for

the

deemed by His Atonement, is quickly coming to bring them and is soon returning to pour them forth upon ;

This

a groaning creation. &quot;

the lesson of Pegasus.

Come, blessed Lord, bid every shore

And

answering- island sing praises of Thy royal Name, And own Thee as their King.

The

Lord, Lord

The .

Thy

fair creation

groans

earth, the air, the sea

In unison with

And

calls

all our hearts, aloud for Thee.

Thine was the Cross with all its fruits Of grace and peace divine Be Thine the Crown of glory now, The palm of victory Thine.&quot; :

AQUARIUS: (CYGNUS).

CYGNUS

The Blesser

(The Swan).

surely Returning.

This constellation repeats, emphasises, and affirms It has to do with the Great glorious truth.

this

and

Blesser all

His

the ancient

which means It

this

Zodiac

from

one

;

the

double

five

marked

star

&quot;

Tes-ark,

and gorgeous asterism of or

ist

stars,

and

one

3rd,

contains variable

The

quadruple.

known

&quot;

of the

six

2nd,

twelve of the 4th magnitude, etc. stars,

named

testified

afar.

a most brilliant

stars

is it.

speedy return,

Denderah

the

names connected with

one of the

Cygni It consists most wonderful in the whole heavens. of two stars which revolve about each other, and yet have a progressive motion common to each !

This mighty bird

not falling dead, like Aquila, but it is flying swiftly in mid-heaven. It is coming to the earth, for it is not so much a bird of the

but

air,

bird

peculiarly

belonging

both

the

and the waters.

earth Its tail),

brightest star, a (between the body and the called Deneb (like another in Capricornus),

It is also called Adigc, flying and means the judge. and thus at once it is connected with Him who cometh to judge the earth in righteousness.

swiftly,

The

star

(in

the

beak)

named Al

Bireo

(Arabic), flying quickly.

The who

star y

(in

the body)

returns as in a circle.

called Sadr (Hebrew),

THE WITNESS OF THE

The two as

maps and

returns

stars i

and

quickly

in TT ;

the 2,

now marked in named Azel, who

the

tail,

are

and

STARS.

Fa/age,

goes

shining

gloriously

forth.

The

teaching, then, of the whole sign of AQUARIUS and complete. The names of the stars explain the constellations, and the names of the constella tions explain the sign, so that we are left in no is

clear

doubt.

His

atoning death (as set forth in CAPRIhas CORNUS) purchased and procured unspeakable for His redeemed. This sign (AQUARIUS) blessings

blessings being poured forth, and of return of Him who is to bring rivers speedy of blessing,&quot; and to fill this earth with blessing and glory as the waters cover the sea.&quot; tells

of those

the

&quot;

Then

take, LORD, thy king-dom, and the scene of Thy sorrows

come

Make

the

Thy

place

glory of Thy ;

throne, all the blessing- which ages in story told of the triumphs so justly Thine own.&quot;

Complete

Have

CHAPTER THE

S!GN

PISCES

The Blessings of IN to in

the

III.

(The Fishes).

Redeemed

in abeyance.

this third chapter of the Second Book we come the results of the Redeemer s work enjoyed, but

connection with

conflict,

seen

the last

PISCES.

of the three sections (the constellation of Andromeda, woman), which leads up to the last chapter

the chained

the

and

book,

ends

over

triumph

every

enemy.

The Sign

is pictured as two large fishes bound the ends of which are fastened a Band, together by

separately

with

their

One

tails.

fish

represented

head pointing upwards towards the North Star, the other is shown at right angles,

its

Polar

swimming along the

line

of the ecliptic, or path of

the sun.

The

ancient

Egyptian name, as

Denderah Zodiac, is which means the fishes

Pi-cot

The Hebrew name

Orion,

Him

shown

or Pisces

the

Hori,

that cometh.

Dagim,

the Fishes,

which

closely connected with multitudes, as in Gen. xlviii. 26, where Jacob blesses Joseph s sons, and says, Let &quot;

them

grow into a multitude in the midst of the The margin says, Let them grow as fishes do increase It refers to the fulfilment of Gen. i. 28, Be fruitful and multiply.&quot; The multitude of Abra &quot;

earth.&quot;

&quot;

ham

the

blessings,

terity

the

seed

prominent in the pronouncement of where God compared his future pos to the stars of the sky, and the sand upon is

sea shore.

&quot;

very great

multitude of

fish,&quot;

as in Ezek. xlvii. 9.

The

Syriac

name

Nuno,

the fish,

lengthened out

(as in posterity).

The sign, then, speaks of the multitudes who should enjoy the blessings of the Redeemer s work.

THE WITNESS OF THE

And which

we must maintain

here &quot;

the

Body

STARS.

that

was never revealed to man known to the Apostle Paul by a The Holy Spirit declares (Rom. secret

kept

since

the

Church,&quot;

was

Christ,&quot;

that

&quot;was

&quot;

until

revelation.

special xvi.

world

subject

was made

that

25)

began.&quot;

Eph. iii. 9 he declares that it &quot;from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God&quot;; and in Col. i. 26, that

&quot;

hath been hid from ages and from genera now is made manifest to His saints.&quot; In

but

tions,

each scripture which speaks of manifest,&quot;

&quot;now

was

made

known,&quot;

now made

&quot;

distinctly

and up to that moment, been hidden from man in God.&quot; kind, hidden How, then, we ask, can the Church,&quot; which was a subsequent revelation, be read into the previous prophecies, whether written in the Old Testament Scriptures, or made known in the Heavens ? If the Church was revealed in pro phecy, then it could not have been said to be hidden or kept secret. If the first revelation of it was stated

that

&quot;a

mystery,&quot;

i.e.,

secret,

had,

&quot;

made known then

we the

to Paul, as he distinctly affirms it was, could not have been revealed before. Unless

see this very clearly, we cannot word of truth&quot; (2 Tim. ii. 15).

&quot;rightly

And

not rightly divide the word of truth, in

its

divide

we do

subjects,

and times, and dispensations, we must inevitably be landed in confusion and darkness, interpreting of the Church, scriptures which belong only to Israel.

The Church, tinct

Body

of Christ,

from every class of persons

who

totally

are

made

dis

the

PISCES.

Not that the Church of God subject of prophecy. was an after-thought. No, it was a Divine secret, as God Himself could keep it. The Bible kept only therefore would have been complete (so far as the Old Testament prophecies are concerned) if the Epistles (which belong only to the Church) were taken out. The Old Testament would then give us the kingdom prophesied the Gospels and Acts, the and the offered and rejected then King kingdom the Apocalypse would follow, showing how that pro mised kingdom will yet be set up with Divine judg ;

;

ment, power, and glory. If

these

Signs

and

these

star-pictures

results of inspired patriarchs, then this

can &quot;

refer to

He &quot;

&quot;

His

prophesied

seed,&quot;

shall see

His

The

n:ition

whose God

And

the people

seed.&quot;

must

Such as be blessed of

Him

hath chosen for His

own

(Ps. xxxiii.

12.)

shall inherit the

earth.&quot;

(Ps. xxxvii. 22.) &quot;The

LORD

shall increase

you more and more,

You and your children, Ye are blessed of the LORD.&quot; &quot;

(Ps. cxv.

14,

15.)

Their seed shall be known among- the Gentiles. And their offspring- among the people All that see them shall acknowledge them, That they are the seed which the LORD hath blessed.&quot; ;

(Isa. Ixi. 9.) &quot;

They are

And

the seed of the blessed of the LORD,

their offspring with

them.&quot;

the

refer to

the LORD,

whom He

inheritance.&quot;

&quot;

Sign of PISCES of in Isa. liii.

(Isa. Ixv. 23.)

THE WITNESS OF THE

The prophecy in

of this Sign

the words of Isa. xxvi. 15

yet be sung in the land of &quot;

And

Thou Thou

was afterwards written the song which shall

Judah

hast increased the nation, hast increased the

in Isa. ix. 3

when

STARS.

(R.V.),

LORD,

nation.&quot;

speaking of the glorious time upon the shoulder of

the government shall be

the coming King: &quot;

Thou Thou

hast multiplied the nation, hast increased their joy.&quot;

that longed-for &quot;

day Jeremiah

will multiply

And

sings (xxx.

19)

them

they shall not be few; also glorify them, they shall not be small.&quot;

I will

And Ezekiel also &quot;

inspired to say:

men upon you, All the house of Israel, even all of And the cities shall be inhabited, And the wastes shall be builded will multiply

;

And And

upon you man and beast; increase and bring- fruit.&quot;

will multiply

they shall

(Ezek. xxxvi.

10,

11.)

make a covenant

of peace with them; shall be an everlasting covenant with them

&quot;Moreover I will

And And

them, and multiply them, set My sanctuary in the midst of them for

will place

will

evermore.&quot;

(Ezek. xxxvii. 26.)

Indeed, this Sign of PISCES has always been inter Both Jews and Gentiles have preted of Israel.

agreed

in this.

ABARBANEL, a Jewish commentator,

writing on Daniel, affirms that the Sign PISCES always refers to the people of Israel. He gives five reasons

PISCES. this

for

and

belief,

affirms

also

that

a conjunction

of the planets Jupiter and Saturn always betokens Because such a a crisis in the affairs of Israel.

conjunction took place in his day (about he looked for the coming of Messiah.* Certain the

that

is,

when the sun

What

observation

God

true

favour

also

shown

noxious,

all

are

true in astronomical

historical

to Israel,

A.D.)

PISCES

which are considered

constellations

seen above the horizon.

1480

&quot;the

fact.

When

enemy&quot;

Jew

When they increased Egypt, he endeavoured to compass

puts forth his malignant powers.

and multiplied

the destruction of the nation by destroying the male children but their great Deliverer remembered His ;

covenant, defeated the designs of the enemy, and brought the counsel of the heathen to nought. So and so it will yet be again when Persia it was in ;

the hour of Israel

There

s final

deliverance has come.

be no doubt

can

that

we have

this

Sign the foreshowing of the multiplication and bless ing of the children of promise, and a token of their

coming deliverance from all the power of the enemy. But why two fishes ? and why is one horizontal The answer is, that and the other perpendicular? not only in Israel, but in the seed of Seth and Shem there were

Heb.

In *

How

xi.

who looked

for

a heavenly

of a heavenly calling.&quot; distinctly told that Abraham

&quot;partakers

are

when there were three such conjunctions in one year, all sign of PISCES, immediately preceding the birth of the woman s Seed ; in addition to this the new star which had been foretold. See under Coma,

in the

and

always those

and were

portion,

inconsistent

same

pages 36, 37, 38. S.

1005.

THE WITNESS OF THE

gS &quot;

looked

hath foundations, whose (v. They were id).

a city which

for

and

builder

STARS.

maker is God&quot; and pilgrims on

the earth&quot; (v. 13). strangers Strangers are those without a home, and pilgrims are those who are journeying home they seek a They desired &quot;a better country, (v. 14). country&quot; &quot;

&quot;

that

HEAVENLY

is,

ashamed

called

wherefore

their

God

;

God is He

for

not

hath

It is them a city&quot; (v. 16). clear, what are called the Old Testament CALLING&quot; Saints&quot; were &quot;partakers of THE HEAVENLY (Heb. iii. i), which included a heavenly portion and and all through the ages there a heavenly home

for

prepared

therefore, that

&quot;

;

have been is

quite

which

from both Jews and Gentiles to form

body,&quot;

This partakers of the heavenly calling.&quot; distinct from the calling of the Church, &quot;

one

Christ (Eph. ii. 15). expressly stated at

man&quot;

&quot;new

&quot;

the must be distinct, for it is end of that chapter (Heb. xi. 40) that God has PROVIDED (marg. foreseen) SOME BETTER THING FOR &quot;

How

us.&quot;

can

this

be a

&quot;

better

thing,&quot;

the

same thing? There must be two separate things if one is than the other Our calling in better &quot;

&quot;

Christ

the

&quot;better

thing.&quot;

The Old Testament

had, and will have, a good thing. They will a heavenly blessing, and a heavenly portion, God has prepared for them a city,&quot; and

saints

have for

&quot;

see

that prepared city, even

Jerusalem, coming

&quot;

the holy city, new out of HEAVEN,

down from God

* The figure of Tapeinosis, delighted thus to be called.

which

calls

our attention to that fact that

was

PISCES.

prepared

(Rev. xxi.

2).

will

have a

&quot;

still

fish,

the

saints, the

better

made

us should not be

The

adorned

bride

This

Old Testament

fish,

those

who

&quot;

husband

her

for

portion, for

&quot;

portion of the

&quot;heavenly&quot;

Bride of Christ. &quot;

The Church they without

&quot;

shooting

xi. 40).

(Heb.

perfect

exquisitely pictures this

other

upwards

the

Polar

&quot;

Star,

while the

heavenly calling&quot; keeping on the horizontal line, answers to were content with an earthly portion. ;

But both alike were divinely called, and chosen, and upheld. The names of two of the stars in the sign (not identified) are Okda (Hebrew), the united, and Al Samaca (Arabic), the upheld.* These again speak of the redeemed seed, of whom, and to whom, 8-10

Isa. xli. &quot;

Israel,

whom

coming

day

glory

(R.V.)

But thou, Jacob,

that

speaks

Jehovah

servant,

have chosen,

The seed of Abraham My friend Thou whom 1 have taken hold of from ;

the ends of the earth. And called thee from the corners thereof, And said unto thee, Thou art My servant :

have chosen thee, and not cast thee away;

Fear thou

not, for

Be I

not dismayed, for will strengthen thee

with thee;

Yea,

will help thee

Yea,

will

UPHOLD

righteousness.&quot;

This

thy

;

thee with the

this

rig-ht

hand

and the first and thought emphasises it.

the teaching of the

constellation takes

God!

;

Sign

;

Ihere are 113 stars in this sijn, none of any great iaiportaoco the 3rd magnitude, live of the 4th. etc.

;

only one of

THE WITNESS OF THE

100

STARS.

THE BAND.

The Redeemed Bound, but binding

The band formed

Enemy.

that unites these two fishes has always

separate

constellation.

The Arabian poems

XXI.

Plate

their

shown

ANTARAH

in fre

quently mention it as distinct from the Sign with which it is so closely connected. ANTARAH was an Arabian poet of the sixth century.

Egyptian name was U-or, which means Arabic name is A I Risha, the band, or

Its ancient

cometh.

Its

bridle.

speaks of the

Coming One, not

His relation

to Himself, or to His enemies, but in His relation to the

Redeemed. &quot;

speaks of

Him who

says

I drew them with cords of a man, With bands of love And I was to them as they that take

;

on their

But

off the

(Hosea

jaws.&quot;

yoke xi. 4, R.V.)

speaks also of His unloosing the bands with

which they have been so long bound. In the picture these fishes are bound. is fastened securely round the

of the band fish,

and

this

band

the

same with the

fastened to

other.

One end tail

of one

Moreover,

the neck of Cetus, the sea

monster, while immediately above is seen a woman chained as a captive. These both tell the same story,

and, indeed,

whole truth.

woman

The

(Andromeda)

all

are required to set forth the are bound to Cetus ; the

fishes is

chained

;

but the Deliverer of

PISCES: (ANDROMEDA).

both

101

Ccphcus, the Crowned King, the Re the Branch, is seen coming the deliverance of His redeemed. These

near.

&quot;

deemer,

the

Breaker,&quot;

quickly for are the three constellations of this sign, and are required to set forth the story.

now

Israel

The

bound.

oppresses, but

deliverance

great

sure.

all

three

enemy

still

Ram,

the

ARIES,

seen with his paws on this band, as though about bands and set the captives free, and to

to loosen the

bind their great oppressor.

fast

ANDROMEDA

The Redeemed This

A woman in

in their

Bondage and

Affliction.

a peculiar picture to set in the heavens. with chains fastened to her feet and arms,

misery and trouble

Yet

sky.

(The Chained Woman).

this

;

the

and bound, ancient

helpless,

the

foreshowing

the

truth.

In the Denderah Zodiac her

means

set,

the chained,

set

and

as a queen.

name is Hebrew

Set, it

which Sirra,

Persea, the stretched out.

There are 63 stars in this constellation, three of which are of the 2nd magnitude, two of the 3rd, twelve of the 4th, etc.

The brightest star, a (in the head), is called A I The star Phiratz (Arabic), the broken down. (in the star 7 the weak. The Mirach is called (Hebrew), body) (in

the

left

foot)

(Arabic), struck down.

called

Maach, or

A I Amak

THE WITNESS OF THE

IO2

The names

other

STARS.

not

stars,

are

identified,

Adhil, the afflicted; Mizar, the weak ; Al Mara (Arabic), the afflicted. ARATUS speaks of Desma, which means the bound,

and says &quot;

Her

her bridegroom on whose shoulder they rest.&quot;

feet point to

Perseus,

with

Thus,

one

voice,

the

stars

Andromeda

And

to us of the captive daughter of Zion.

speak her coming Deliverer thus addresses her &quot;

O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, Behold, ... in righteousness shalt thou be established Thou shalt be far from oppression for thou shalt not fear :

;

And from

terror; for

shall not

come nigh

thee.&quot;

(Isa. liv.

Hear now this, thou afflicted. Awake, awake put on thy strength, O Zion

&quot;

;

Put on thy beautiful garments,

Shake

thyself

from the dust

1-14.)

Jerusalem.

; .

;

and sit down, O Jerusalem Loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion. For thus saith the LORD, Ye have sold yourselves for nought; And ye shall be redeemed without money.&quot;

Arise,

(Isa. &quot;

The

virgin daughter of

people

great breach, with a very grievous

blow&quot;

li.

lii.

3.)

broken with a (Jer. xiv. 17).

The

picture which sets forth her deliverance is for the next chapter (or Sign), where it in its proper and order. are first place

reserved

comes shown her heavens

glorious

or in

the

sufferings without

Deliverer;

for

Word, have a

never, in

reference

an immediate reference to the

the

glory.

PISCES: (CEPHEUS).

CEPHEUS

103

(The

Their Redeemer Coming

King).

Rule.

Here we have the presentation of a glorious king, crowned, and enthroned in the highest heaven, with a sceptre in his hand, and his foot planted on the very Polar Star

His name which means

itself.

in this

the

Denderah Zodiac

one cometh

The Greek name by which he is

Cepheus, is called

by EURIPIDES

old Ethiopian

There are 35

Pe-ku-hor,

now known,

from the Hebrew, and means

and

to rule.

the

branch,

the king.

name was Hyk, a

stars, viz., three of

king.

the 3rd magni

tude, seven of the 4th, etc.

The

brightest star, a (in the left shoulder),

Al Deramin, which means coming 3 (in the girdle), is named Al Redeemer.

The

PJiirk

The

quickly.

called next,

(Arabic), the is called

y (in the left knee), Al Rai, which means who bruises or breaks. It is

next,

impossible to mistake the truth which these

The Greeks, though they had lost it, yet preserved a trace of it, even in their perversion of it; for they held that Ccphcus was the father of An dromeda, and that Perseus was her husband. names

teach.

Yes this is the glorious King of Israel, the It is He who King of kings, and Lord of lords.&quot; calls Israel His and will yet manifest it to ;

&quot;

&quot;son,&quot;

all

the world.

&amp;gt;

THE WITNESS OF THE STARS.

IO4

In Jer. xxxi., after speaking of Israel

Jehovah says &quot;

same

the

And For

(v.

all

time, saith the LORD, will the families of Israel,

they shall be My people. am a father to Israel,

Here it

will

Moses

said to

son, even

restoration,

be the God

And Ephraim

As He

firstborn &quot;

Thus

firstborn&quot;

&quot;

(v.

9).

saith the

(Exod.

LORD,

Israel

iv. 22).

the foundation of Israel

s blessing. True, but the LORD and abeyance, reigneth,&quot; in due time make good His Word, for

now &quot;

The The

&quot;

counsel of the LORD standeth for ever. thoughts of His heart to

all

generations.&quot;

(Ts. xxxiii. II.)

This leads us up to the last chapter of the Second Book, which shows us the fulfilment of all the pro phecies concerning the Redeemed and the sure foun dation on which their great hope of glory is based.

CHAPTER THE

SIGN

ARIES

The Blessings of

the

(The

IV.

Ram

Lamb).

Redeemed Consummated and

Enjoyed.

THIS

Second Book began with the Goat dying in and it ends with the Lamb living again, had been slain.&quot; The goat had the tail of a

sacrifice, &quot;

fish,

indicating that

his

death was for a multitude of

ARIES.

redeemed.

the

had these their

fishes

of the book

middle Signs we have

the two

presented

conflict.

IO5

and, as

grace, and in the last chapter like each of the

come now to we have seen,

up with victory and triumph. shown the foundation on which Hence we are that victory rests, namely, Atonement. blood of the Lamb.&quot; taken back and reminded of the other books,

ends

Here we are

first

&quot;

This

and

life

pictured by a ram, or lamb, full of vigour not falling in death as Capricornus is.

is ;

Denderah Zodiac its name is Tametouris Amman, which means the reign, dominion, or govern ment of Amman. The lamb s head is without horns, and is crowned with a circle. In the

The Hebrew name is Taleh, the lamb. The Arabic name is A I Hamal, the sheep, gentle, merciful. This name has been mistakenly given by some to the The Syriac name is Amroo, as in principal star, a. the Syriac

Lamb

the

world.&quot;

God which

The

ancient

Bar means

&quot;i^ar.

right

New Testament of

making;

John

taketh

away

Akkadian

29: &quot;Behold the sin of the

name was Bara-

altar, or sacrifice ; and ziggar means that the full name would be the

sacrifice of righteousness.

There are 66 stars in this si^n, one being of the 2nd magnitude, two of the 4th, etc. Its

chief star, a

Natli*

The

next, 3 *

&quot;

(in

the

forehead),

El Natik, which (in

Xath&quot;

the used

left

liy

means

horn),

Cliauerr

a.s

tlic

named El

wounded,

culhd Al name

of a s;mn

slain.

Sheraton, star.

THE WITNESS OF THE

IO6

bruised, the

the

The

wounded.

STARS.

next, 7 (near to

called Mesartim (Hebrew), the bound.

How that

there

is it

testifying

no conflicting voice ? How is in one harmonious voice

unite

the stars

all

Lamb

of the

God,

and bruised,

slain,

but yet living for evermore, singing together,

Lamb

&quot;

Worthy

was slain to receive power and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing&quot; (Rev. v. 12)? is

the

that

This rejoicing connected with the Lamb shines faintly through the heathen perversions and myths :

HERODOTUS tells us how the ancient Egyptians, once a year, when it opened by the entrance of the sun into ARIES,* slew a Ram, at the festival of Jupiter for

Ammon Ram was ;

branches were placed over the doors, the garlanded with wreaths of flowers and carried

procession.

Now

the

sun entered ARIES on the

i4th of the Jewish

month Nisan, and

was then ordered

over

&quot;the

type

slain,

of that

even

Lamb

&quot;the

that

another lamb

LORD

should

fulness of time be offered without blemish

S pass-

in the

and with

out spot. Owing to the precession of the equinoxes, the sun, at the time of the Exodus, had receded into

which then marked the Spring But the time that the antitype the Equinox. by. Lamb of God, was slain, the sun had still further receded, and on the i^th of Nisan, in the year of the Crucifixion, stood at the very spot marked by the stars a, El Natli, the pierced, the wounded or slain,

this

sign of ARIES,

TAURUS

then marked the Spring

Equinox.

ARIES: (CASSIOPEIA).

and

|3,

ordained

&quot;

107

God so Shcratan, the bruised or wounded! the times and seasons that during that &quot;

noon-day darkness the sun was seen near those which had spoken for so many centuries of

woman

bruising of the

Was easier

Seed

the

design ? or was the former.

this

believe

Lamb

chance It

stars this

of God. It is far

makes a smaller

demand upon our faith yes, we are compelled to that He who created the sun and the stars ;

believe

for signs and for cycles,&quot; ordained also the times and the seasons, and it is He who tells us that WHEN THE FULNESS OF TIME WAS COME, God Sent forth His Son&quot; (Gal. iv. 4), and that due time &quot;

&quot;

&quot;in

Christ died for the ungodly

CASSIOPEIA

&quot;

(Rom.

6).

(The Enthroned Woman).

The Captive Delivered, and Preparing for her Husband, the Redeemer.

In the last chapter we saw the woman bound; here see the same woman freed, delivered, and en

throned.

ULUGH BEY which means

says

In the Denderah

means

set,

set

constellation splendour.&quot;

word Arabic

its

Arabic name

Seder,

Set,

which

the freed.

Zodiac her name

ALBUMAZER

Queen.

says

this

was anciently called daughter of This appears to be the meaning of the &quot;the

Cassiopeia,

name

the meaning of

the

enthroned,

Ruchba, its

the

The

beautiful.

enthroned.

Chaldee name, Dat

This

al cursa.

also

THE WITNESS OF THE

IO8

stars in this constellation, of

There are 55 five are of

STARS.

which

the 3rd magnitude, five of the 4th, etc.

This beautiful constellation passes vertically over Great Britain every day, and is easily distinguished by its five brightest stars, forming an irregular W.

This

brilliant

constellation

one binary a quadruple star,

contains

a triple star, a double star, and a large number of nebulse.

star,

Tycho Brahe discovered in this and very near the star K (under the arm of the chair), a new star, which shone more brightly It was observed for nearly two years, than Venus. and disappeared entirely in 1574. In the year 1572

constellation,

The brightest star, a (in the left breast), is named The next, Schedir (Hebrew), which means the freed. 3 (in the top of the chair), likewise bears a Hebrew name

Caph, which means the branch; it is evidently given on account of the branch of victory which she bears in her hand.

She ready. in

this

indeed highly exalted, and making herself

Her hands, no longer bound, are engaged happy work. With her right hand she is

arranging her robes, while with her left she is adorn She is seated upon the Arctic circle, ing her hair.

and

by the side of Cepheus, the King.

This city,

venly

the

&quot;the

new

calling.&quot;

Bride, the

Jerusalem,&quot;

Lamb s the

wife, the

&quot;partakers

heavenly

of the hea

ARIES: (CASSIOPEIA).

He who

the has redeemed her is and He addresses her thus:

slain,&quot; &quot;

109

&quot;

Lamb

was

that

Thy Maker is thine husband The LORD of Hosts is His name And the Holy One of Israel is thy Redeemer; The God of the whole earth shall He be called. ;

;

For the LORD hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, Even a wife of youth when she is cast off, saith thy God. For a small moment have I forsaken thee; But with great mercies In overflowing&quot; wrath I

moment But with

gather thee. face from thee for a

will I

hid

;

everlasting&quot;

thee, saith the

kindness will

LORD thy

have mercy on

Redeemer.&quot;

(Isa. &quot;

liv.

5-8, R.V.)

Thou

shalt be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, And a royal diadem in the hand of thy God, Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken ;

Neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate But thou shalt be called Hephzi-bah (i.e., my delight is ;

in her),

And

thy land Beulah (i.e., married} For the LORD delighteth in thee,

And

;

thy land shall be married.

For as a young- man marrieth a virgin, So shall thy sons (Hel. thy Restorer) marry thee

And So

as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride,

shall thy

God

rejoice over

thee.&quot;

(Isa.

The LORD hath appeared

of old

Ixii.

3-5, R.V.)

(or from afar)

unto-

me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love Therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. Again will I build thee, and thou shalt be built, ;

Virgin of Israel

THE WITNESS OF THE He that scattered And keep him as

STARS.

Israel will gather him,

a shepherd doth his

flock,

For the LORD hath ransomed Jacob, And redeemed him from the hand of him stronger than

Can we scriptures

When we

have

all

these,

Church&quot;

&quot;the

xxxi.

(Jer.

was

that

3-12, R.V.)

close our eyes to the testimony of these Israel is the Bride of the Lamb ?

that

read

he.&quot;

and more, why should we

into

ancient ^prophecies,

these

which was the subject of a long - subsequent revela tion, merely because (in Eph. v. 25) Christ s love to His Church is compared to a husband s love for his

Husbands, love your wives, even AS Christ There is not a word here Church.&quot; about the Church being His wife. On the contrary, it reveals the secret that the Church of Christ is to be the mystical Body of Christ, &quot;part of the Husband in fact, new man&quot; (Eph. ii. 15)! whereas &quot;One

wife

&quot;

also loved the

&quot;

restored Israel

the

Bride

indeed

of is

to be the Bride of this

Christ,

the

be united

Lamb to

Christ

New

&quot;

wife

Man,&quot;

Blessed

a wife to a

husband, but glorious beyond all description to be &quot;one&quot; with Christ Himself, part of His mystical

Body. If men had only realised the wondrous glory of this mystery, they would never have so wrongly divided the Word of Truth by interpreting Psalm xlv.

If we Mystical Christ. we see at once that this Psalm

of this

Old

&quot;

rightly divide

the

it,

harmony with which must be

Testament scriptures, interpreted alike, and can be interpreted Israel however they may be applied.

all

&quot;

only

ARIES: (CASSIOPEIA).

Having spoken of the Godhead and glory of this and in part foreshown by Ccphciis], the Holy Spirit goes on in the latter part of the Psalm to speak of the Bride the Queen Ki-ng (faintly

&quot;At

Thy

rig-ht

hand doth stand the Queen

gold of

Ophir,

O daughter, and consider, incline thine ear; Forget also thine own people, and thy father s house Hearken,

;

So shall the King- desire thy beauty; For He is thy Lord and worship thou Him. ;

The King s daughter within the palace is all glorious Her clothing is inwrought with gold, She shall be led unto the King in broidered work; The virgins her companions f that follow her shall be ;

brought unto

Then &quot;

thee,&quot;

etc.

(Ps. xlv. 9-17, R.v.)

shall she sing her Magnificat will greatly rejoice in the

soul shall

be joyful

For He hath clothed

hath covered

LORD,

my God;

with the garments of salvation,

with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.

For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, as the garden causeth the things that are sown

And

to spring forth

;

Lord GOD [Adonai Jehovah] will cause righte ousness and praise to spring forth before all the

the

nations.&quot;

(Isa. Ixi.

10,

n.)

was perfect through

My comeliness, which I put upon thee (Ezek. xvi. 14). f Those who interpret the Queen here of the Church as the Bride, interpret the in Matt. xxv. of the Bride also. But how inconsistent! If the &quot;Virgins&quot; If the Queen Virgins&quot; be the Church in Matt, xxv., then where is the Bride? &quot;Thy

beauty

;

for

(Jerusalem), saith the

LORD&quot;

&quot;

the Bride (the Church) in Ps. xlv., then who are the &quot;virgins her companions&quot;? Both cannot be the correct interpretation. In fact, both are wrong, and hence the The Bride must be interpreted by the Old Testament scriptures, and confusion. the Prophecies which belong to Israel must not be robbed and given to the Church. They cannot be thus diverted without bringing confusion into the Scripture, nnd is

causing loss to our souls.

THE WITNESS OF THE

112

This, then,

The

STARS.

the truth set forth by this enthroned

founded on Atonement, and Redemption wrought by the Lamb that was slain, result in a glorious answer to Israel s prayer, &quot;Turn

woman.

blessing

the

our captivity, that

have

the

LORD

LORD&quot;

sown

&quot;

enthroned by His however,

This,

enemy, and

this

shall

her

loosen

shall

cxxvi.

(Ps.

tears

4):

reap

when they

joy,&quot;

bonds, and

place

and her

side.

involves

the

what we see

CETUS

destruction

of her

in the next section.

(The Sea Monster).

The Great Enemy Bound.

the

When John sees the New Jerusalem, the Bride, Lamb s wife (Rev. xxi. 10, 2), Satan has been

for we read, a few verses before bound already I saw an angel come down from heaven, (xx. 1-3) having the key of the bottomless pit and a great :

&quot;

chain in his hand.

And

he laid hold of the dragon,

Old Serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him [and kept him bound} a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thou that

sand years should be This chapter

The largest

fulfilled.&quot;

what we see

in the

second section of

this

the second constellation in ARIES. picture is that of a great Sea-monster, the It is the natural of all the constellations.

ARIES: (CETUS). of fishes, hence

enemy

with

tion

this last

chapter,

113

placed here in

which

connec

fishes

are

prominent. It

lations

situated very low down among the constel away towards the south or lower regions

far

of the sky. Its

means

name

in the

subdued.

Denderah Zodiac is

Knem, which

pictured as a monstrous head,

trodden under foot by the swine, the natural enemy of the serpent. The hawk also (another enemy of the serpent) is over this figure, crowned with a mortar, denoting bruising. It

of 97 stars, of which two are of the 3rd, nine of the 4th, etc.

consists

2nd magnitude, eight of the

The names

of the stars interpret for us infallibly

the meaning of the picture.

The brightest star, a (in the upper mandible), is named Menkar, and means the bound or chained enemy. The next, (in the tail), is called Diphda, or Deneb The star o (in the Kaitos, overthrown, or thrust down. neck) is named Mira, which means THE REBEL. Its name is ominous, for the star is one of the most remarkable.

1596 that

very bright,

was discovered

but

was not

be variable.

till

dis

It appears periodically seven times in six years continues at its brightest for fifteen days together. !

M. Bade

says that during 334 days

then

shines with

its

diminishes, till it entirely dis appears for some time (to the naked eye). In fact, during that period it passes through several degrees greatest light,

1005.

THE WITNESS OF THE

114

STARS.

In of magnitude, both increasing and diminishing. deed its variableness is so great as to make it appear unsteady

Here, then, is the picture of the Great Rebel as What is it, as written in the in the heavens.

shown

Word? The Almighty &quot;

asks

man

Canst thou draw out Leviathan with a fish hook press down his tongue with a cord ? Canst thou put a rope into his nose ? Or pierce his jaw through with a hook ? . . . .

Shall not one be cast

None

down even

so fierce that he dare

at the sight of

stir

him

(Job

him

up.&quot;

xli.

i-io, R.V.)

But he whom man cannot bind can be bound by Lamb, and He is seen with the Band that has bound the fishes, now in His hands, which he has the

&quot;

fastened with a bright star to his neck, saying, &quot;

Behold,

have taken

out

hand the cup of

of thine

trembling, Even the dregs of the cup of My fury; Thou shalt no more drink it again, But I will put it into the hand of them thee.&quot;

&quot;

(Isa.

that li.

afflict

22, 23.)

Behold, the LORD cometh forth out of His place punish the inhabitants of the earth for their

To In

iquity .... that day the

LORD, with His

sore,

and great, and

strong sword, Shall punish Leviathan, the piercing serpent, And Leviathan, the crooked serpent ;

And He

shall slay the

dragon that

in the

(Isa, xxvi.

sea.&quot;

xxvii.

i.)

ARIES. (PERSEUS). For God

&quot;

115

my king of old, salvation in the midst of the earth.

Working Thou didst

divide (marg.

Heb., break]

the

sea by

Thy

strength,

Thou brakest

heads of the dragons

the

marg.,

(R.V.

sea monsters] in the waters.

Thou brakest

the heads of Leviathan in

pieces.&quot;

(Ps. Ixxiv.

And

Second Book

this

this glorious b

Breaker.&quot;

PERSEUS.

The Breaker

Here we have in the

to us

by revealing

&quot;

3. &quot;

closes

12-14.)

Hebrew

(&quot;The Breaker.&quot;)

&quot;

delivering

His Redeemed.

set before us a

Peretz,

mighty man, called from which we have the Greek

form Perses, or Perseus (Rom. xvi. 13). It is the same is used of Christ in Micah ii. 13. When

word which

shall surely

it is

&quot;gather

the remnant of Israel

&quot;

(v.

12),

written

BREAKER

&quot;THE

Their King

And This

the

LORD

what

gone up before them ....

passed on before them, at the

head of

them.&quot;

pictured to us

His

here.

see a

before

His

redeemed, breaking forth at their head, breaking

down

glorious

&quot;Breaker&quot;

taking

place

and breaking the heads of Leviathan and all his hosts. In His right hand He has His sore, and great, and strong sword&quot; lifted up to smite and

all

barriers,

&quot;

break down the enemy. He has wings on His feet, which tell us that He is coming very swiftly. In His left hand He carries the head of the enemy, whom he has slain. IT

THE WITNESS OF THE

110

STARS.

In the Denderah Zodiac His name who fights and subdues. It

a beautiful constellation of 59

Kar Knem, two of

stars,

which are of the 2nd magnitude, four of the 3rd, twelve of the 4th, etc.

Their names supply us with the key to the inter pretation of the picture.

The star a (in the waist) is called Mirfak, who helps. The next, y (in the right shoulder), is named A I Genib, which means who carries away. The bright star in the left

foot

In his

called Athik, left

version, the

who breaks

hand he

carries a head, which,

by per

Greeks called the head of Medusa, being

ignorant that

its

Hebrew

root

meant

the trodden

under

called Rosh Satan (Hebrew), the head foot* the and A I Oneh (Arabic), the subdued, or of adversary, It is also

Ghoul, the

evil spirit.

The bright star, to us with the name It is

this head),

(in

has come down

Gol, which means

rolling round.

a most remarkable phenomenon that so

of these enemies should be characterised stars

But

head of Medusa,

this

many

by variable the

neck of

In continually changing. about 69 hours it changes from the 4th magnitude to the 2nd. During four hours of this period it gradually diminishes in brightness, which it recovers in the suc Cetus,

has one.

ceeding four hours time,

;

Gol

and

in the

remaining part of the

its

lustre.

invariably preserves

greatest

After

* See Job xxxix. 14, 15, where it is said, the ostrich &quot;leaveth her eggs in the dust, forgetting that the foot may crush them, or that the wild beast may break them.&quot;

ARIES: (PERSEUS).

117

the expiration of this time its brightness begins to decrease again. Fit emblem of our great enemy, who, &quot;

a roaring

devour

&quot;

serpent

self&quot;

iii.

(Gen.

angel of

lion,

Pet. v.

;

8.)

light&quot;

goeth about seeking whom he may then changing into a subtle 8.) ;

then changing again into

Cor.

xi. 14.).

&quot;Transforming

&quot;

him

and destroy.

continually, to devour, deceive,

This brings us to the conclusion of the Second Book, in which we have seen the Redeemed blessed with all blessings, delivered out of all conflict, saved from all enemies. We have seen their Redeemer, &quot;

the

&quot;the

Lamb

slain

from the foundation of the &quot;the

Conqueror,&quot;

of Kings

King

world,&quot;

and Lord of

Lords.&quot;

This This

And

the Revelation

recorded in the heavens.

the prophetic testimony inspired in the Book. this is the heart-cry prompted by both is

&quot;

Come, Lord, and tarry

not,

Bring- the long-looked-for day;

Oh, why these years of waiting- here,

These ages of delay

for Thy saints stiil wait; Daily ascends their cry The Spirit and the Bride say, Dost Thou not hear their cry;

Come,

Come

Come,

for creation groans, Impatient of Thy stay; Worn out with these long years of These ages of delay.

Come,

Thine Israel pines, from Thy fold;

for

exile

Oh,

call to

And

bless

mind Thy them as of

faithful

old.

word.

ill,

;

Il8

THE WITNESS OF THE Come, for Thy foes are With taunting- lips they

STARS.

strong-

;

say,

Where is the promised advent And where the dreaded day? Come,

They

for the

good are few;

the voice in vain

lift

now,

;

Faith waxes fainter on the earth,

And

love

on the wane.

Come, in Thy glorious might; Come, with Thine iron rod ;

Disperse

Thy

foes before

Thy

face,

Most mighty Son of God. Come, and make all things new, Build up this ruined earth Restore our faded paradise, ;

Creation

second

birth.

Come, and begin Thy reign

everlasting peace ; the kingdom to Thyself, Great King of Righteousness.&quot;

Come, take

Dr. Horatius Bonar.

THE REDEEMER.

Boofc,

THE REDEEMER. His SECOND COMING.

this

Third and Last Book we come to the con-

eluding portion of this Heavenly Revelation.

Its

subject is Redemption completed, and consummated in triumph. No more sorrow, suffering, or conflict no more the bruising of the heel of the Redeemer. We have now done with the prophecies of &quot;the sufferings the of Christ,&quot; and have come to those that relate to ;

&quot;

glory that should

No more

now

a sacrifice for sins

His second coming

;

His

No more coming

humiliation. die,

follow.&quot;

reference

&quot;

first

forth

the reference

in glory;

&quot;

now

His coming

coming in and

to suffer

&quot;

is only to this unto &quot;

is not to suffer for sin (Heb. ix. 28.), but it will be a coming in power to judge the earth in righteous ness, and to subdue all enemies under His feet.

earth

Like the

other

two

books,

consists

of four

chapters.

The The

chapter

first

Judge of

all

the prophecy of the coming

the earth.

second sets before us the two-fold nature of the

coming Ruler.

The third shows us Messiah s redeemed possessions Redeemed brought safely home, all conflict over. The fourth describes Messiah s consummated

the

triumph.

THE WITNESS OF THE STARS.

I2O

CHAPTER THE THE

picture

coming Judge

push

his

(The

Bull).

of all the

that of a Bull

mighty energy and to

TAURUS

SIGN

Messiah, the

fierce wrath,

Earth.

rushing forward with his horns set so as

enemies, and pierce them through and

destroy them. It is

Ruler,

a prophecy of Christ, the coming Judge, and &quot;Lord of all the earth.&quot;

and

The Egyptian Zodiac

of Denderah already, 4,000 had forgotten the truth to which the pro phecy had referred, and called him Isis, i.e., who saves or delivers, and Apis, i.e., the head or chief. The Bull is clearly represented, and in all the zodiacs which have come down to us is always in the act of

years ago,

pushing, or rushing.

The name Hence, Arabic, Taurus,

was

of the

sign

Thaur ;

The more

etc.

Chaldee

Greek,

*Ylfl,

Tauros;

Tor.

Latin,

common Hebrew name

Shur, which is from a root which means both and There are several Hebrew words coming ruling. for bulls and oxen, etc. But the common poetical

term

^VifcjJ,

for

loftiness,

find

the

all

D&O,

exaltation,

root

Reem,

conveying

the

idea

power, and pre-eminence.

in other kindred languages

(Etruscan,

and it can be traced in the name of which means Abram, pre-eminent or high father ; Ramah, Sanscrit, etc.),

high place, etc.

TAURUS.

The

stars

There are groups of

Taurus

at least

121

present a brilliant sight. besides two important

141 stars,

which both form

stars,

parts

integral

the sign.

The

brightest star,

Chaldee name

The

governor.

star

the

(at

tip

eye),

has a

the leader or

of the

left

horn)

El Nath, meaning wounded or Another prophetic intimation that this coming

Lord should be

Then

there

slain as a sacrifice.

first

the cluster of stars

This word, which means

Pleiades.

Septuagint as the ix.

consists

the

heap

9; xxxviii. 31, 32,

of a

as the

congregation to us through the Greek translation of the Hebrew nip*3,

Chima, which means occurs in Job

known the

comes

of the judge or ruler,

the bull

(in

name

has an Arabic slain.

Al Debaran, and means

number

and

accumulation,

and Amos

of stars (in the neck of

of Taurus) which appear to be near together. The in of marked all the maps,* has them, ij brightest

come down to us with an Arabic name Al Cyone, which means the centre, and has given the idea to some astronomers that it is the centre of the whole universe. The Syriac name for the Pleiades is Succoth, which means booths. Another group of stars (on the face of the Bull) as The Hyades,\ which has the similar

known

meaning of *

The

the

congregated.

others have names, but they were given by the Greeks from the The Hyades were their daughters of Atlas and Pleione.

of the seven

Together they comes to rule. f The is

tell

us that the saints will be secure with this mighty

Pleiades and

a mistake

;

names sisters.

Lord when he

Hyades are sometimes spoken of as constellations, but this they are integral parts of Taurus.

THE WITNESS OF THE

122

Other

stars,

STARS.

not identified, are to the

(Hebrew), belonging or foundation; A I Thuraiya (Latin), the rolled round. VergilicB

named

Palilicium

judge; Wasat (Arabic),

centre

the

abundance; (Arabic), (Arabic, vertex] turned on,

Every thing points to the important truth, and turns on the fact that the Lord is COMING TO RULE This is the central truth of all prophecy. all

The testimony

&quot;

All

hope

for Israel, all &quot;

Jesus

His

of Jesus

for Creation, all

hope

coming

the spirit of prophecy.&quot; hope for the world, all hope is

Church, turns on

for the again,&quot;

and that when

daughters of the Pleiades and Hyades), will be with saints,

&quot;the

this, that

He comes (like

King&quot;

the

Him.

the Church revealed here. There is nothing of The Church will be caught up to meet the Lord in &quot;

&quot;

the

air,

to be for ever with the

Lord

Thess.

iv. 17)

world in judgment. He will come forth to receive the members of His Body unto Himself, before He thus comes with them

before

thus

comes unto

the

to destroy all His enemies and &quot;judge (or rule) the world in righteousness.&quot; When we read this Sign

Taurus, therefore, we are to understand that His Church will be with Him, safe from all judg ment. of

is very much in the Scripture of the Book, there is in the in the heavens) about (as prophecies the coming of the Lord in judgment and about this

There

;

time of His indignation. For Enoch, who doubtless was used in arranging these prophetic signs uttered t

TAURUS.

123

Behold the the prophetic words, ten thousands of His saints to &quot;

and

all

upon

convict

Lord cometh with execute judgment

that

all

are

ungodly&quot;

(Jude 14, 15).

have said (pages

17, etc.) that at

a very early

period these signs were appropriated to the Tribes of Israel, and borne upon their

This

ards.&quot;

may

traced

the

Twelve &quot;stand

Blessing

Jacob (Gen. xlix.), and in the Blessing of Moses Taurus was assigned to Joseph, or (Deut. xxxiii.). rather to his two tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, like the two powerful horns :

&quot;

The

firstling- of his bullock (marg. his firstling bullock] majesty is his, And his horns are the horns of the wild-ox (Reeni). With them he shall PUSH (marg-. gore) the peoples, all

And And

of them, even the ends of the earth. they are the ten thousands of Ephraim,

they are the thousands of

Manasseh.&quot;

(Deut. xxxiii.

It is not, will

however, merely by be done, for David sings

men

17, R.V.)

alone that this

&quot;

Thou art my King-, O GOD. Through Thee will we PUSH down our enemies; Through Thy Name will we tread them under that .

rise

&quot;

will

up against

(Ps. xliv. 5.)

us.&quot;

punish the world for their

evil,

And

the wicked for their iniquity; I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, And will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.

Every one

that

found shall be THRUST

THROUGH.&quot;

(Isa. xiii. 11-15.)

THE WITNESS OF THE

124

STARS.

Speaking of that day, the Holy Spirit says by Isaiah &quot;

For the LORD hath indignation against

all

the nations,

And fury against all their host He hath utterly destroyed them, He hath delivered them to the slaughter. :

The LORD hath a

And And And And And For

The

sacrifice in Bozrah,

a great slaughter in the land of Edom, the wild oxen [Reem] shall come down with them. the bullocks with the bulls; their land shall their dust

made

be drunken with blood, fat

with fatness.

the day of the LORD S vengeance, year of recompense in the controversy of

Zion.&quot;

(Isa. xxxiv. 2-8, R.V.) &quot;

Behold, the LORD cometh forth out of His place punish the inhabitants of the earth for their

iniquity earth also shall disclose her blood, And shall no more cover her slain.&quot; :

The

This tions.

(Isa. xxvi. 21.)

the united testimony of the two Revela It is pictured in the heavens, and it is written is

in the Book. It is the prophecy of a coming Judge, and of a coming judgment. It is, however, no mere Bull that is coming. It is a man, a the Son of Man.&quot; glorious man, even This is the first development, shown in the first of &quot;

the three constellations belonging to the sign.

ORION

(The coming Prince).

Light Breaking Forth in

This picture

no mere animal, but a glorious prince.

the

Redeemer.

show that the coming one

man

a mighty, triumphant,

TAURUS: (ORION).

125

so pictured in the ancient

Denderah Zodiac,

where we see a three bright

stars

His name

his.

man coming (Rigel, is

given

forth

Bellatrix,

pointing

and

as Ha-ga-t,

the

Betelguez) as

which means

who triumphs. The hieroglyphic characters below read Oar. Orion was anciently spelt Oarion, from the Hebrew root, which means light. So that Orion means coming forth as light. The ancient Akkadian was Ur-ana, the light of heaven. this is he

Orion is the most brilliant of all the constellations, and when he comes to the meridian he is accompanied

by several adjacent constellations of great splendour. There is then above the horizon the most glorious view of the

celestial bodies that the starry

and

firmament

magnificent view is visible to all the habitable world, because the equinoctial line (or solstitial colure) passes nearly through the middle of affords

;

this

Orion.

ARATUS thus &quot;

sings of him Eastward, beyond the region of the Bull, Stands great Orion. And who, when night is clear, Beholds him gleaming bright, shall cast his eyes in vain To find a Sign more glorious in all heaven.&quot;

The

constellation

mentioned by name, as being

perfectly well known both by name and appearance, in the time of Job and as being an object of familiar that at early period of the world s history. knowledge ;

See Job ix. 9; xxxviii. 31, and Amos v. 8 (Heb. Ap^, Chesil, which means a strong one, a hero, or giant). It

contains 78 stars, two being of the ist magni

tude, four of the 2nd, four of the 3rd, sixteen of the 4th, etc.

THE WITNESS OF THE

126

way below

little

remarkable nebulous

show that telescope

(in

the

beautiful

reveals

a very

sword)

A common

star.

STARS.

telescope will

nebula.

consisting of

powerful

collections

stars, these again being surrounded by faint

nebulous

luminous points, which

still

more powerful

telescopes

would resolve

into separate stars. beautifully is set forth

Thus

the brilliancy and which shall break forth when that of Light glory the moment comes for it to be said, &quot;Arise, shine, for

thy light

The

come.&quot;

picture presents

His

world.&quot;

left

foot

us with is

&quot;

the Light of the

significantly

upon

placed

He is girded with a glorious the head of the enemy. brilliant stars with three and upon studded girdle, ;

hung a sharp sword. mighty Prince is come

this girdle is

that

this

character. that

was

for

slain,&quot;

handle proves

Its

forth

again proved the hilt of this sword

form of the head and body of a lamb. hand he lifts on high his mighty club

;

left

Who

this

new

Lamb

in the

In his right while in his the head

ask in wonder, &quot;roaring * and the names of the stars give lion.&quot;

&quot;

the

he holds forth the token of his victory

and skin of the &quot;

in &quot;

us the answer.

The

brightest, a (in the right shoulder),

Betelgeuz, which means

the

coming (Mai.

iii.

named of the

branch.

The

next,

(in

Rigol, which means

the

left

foot),

the foot that

* See Jer. xxx. 21

;

and Matt.

named

crusheth.

xxi. 10.

Rigel, or

The

foot

TAURUS: (ORION).

127

is lifted up, and placed immediately over the head of the enemy, as though in the very act of crushing it. Thus, the name of the star bespeaks the act.

The

star,

the

(in

means

which

Bellatrix,

shoulder), is called coming, or swiftly

left

quickly

destroying.

The name

of the fourth star, 8 (one of the three the old, old story,

the belt), carries us back to that this glorious One was once

heel

was once bruised.

wounded

One*

Its

Similarly the

humbled

;

name

star

(in

His

that

Nitak, the

the

right

the very word leg) used in Gen. iii. 15, thus connecting Orion with the Like Ophiuchus, he has one primeval prophecy. with the other, he is crushing the leg bruised; while,

enemy under This

;

foot.

Rai,

and

Thabit

(Hebrew), treading

Other (Arabic) names Giauzd, the branch; the

the

mighty

Al Nagjcd,

ruler;

betokened by other stars, not identified, who bruises, who breaks (as in Ce-

named Al pheus)

which

called Saiph, bruised,

;

Nux

Some names

relate

His Person: Al

Gebor, the mighty the

(Hebrew),

prince;

en.

;

Al Mirzam,

Niphla (Chaldee),

the strong.

His coming, as Betelgeuse above; Heka (Chaldee), coming;

relate

and Bellatrix, as and Meissa (Hebrew), coming forth. Such is the cumulative testimony of Orion s stars, which, day after day, and night after night, show forth this knowledge. That testimony was after*

The

star

(in

the belt)

called Alintaka, dividing, as a sacrifice.

(Lev.

viii.

2.)

THE WITNESS OF THE

128

wards written

about to

The

Book.

the

who was once wounded

Prince of Glory,

for the sins of

up and shine

rise

STARS.

Their redemption draweth nigh

ance.

LORD

&quot;The

He He He

;

for

forth as a

shall

shall stir

His redeemed,

forth for their deliver

go mighty man, up jealousy like a man of war;

shall cry, yea, roar; shall prevail against

His enemies. have \_He says] long time holden my peace; I have been still, and refrained myself: Now will I cry like a travailing woman; I will destroy and devour at once.&quot; I

(Isa. xlii. 13, 14.)

Then

will

said

His

people

(and

the

setting of the prophecy in its beautiful introverted structure shows us the beauty and glory of the truth *

reveals) a

Arise,

b |

Shine; for thy light

come,

And

c |

d d

the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And gross darkness the people ;

But the LORD shall arise upon thee, and His glory be seen upon thee.

shall

b And the Gentiles shall come to And kings to the brightness of thy

thy

a |

This

light,

(Isa. Ix. 1-3.)

rising.

glory of God&quot; which the heavens declare constantly (Ps. xix. i). They tell of that blessed time when the whole earth shall be filled

with &quot;the

&quot;the

His glory (Num. glory

of the

xiv.

LORD

shall

Isa.

;

xi.

* Note, that In In In In

;

when

be revealed, and

a and a, we have the rising of Israel b and b, the light that is come upon her c and c, the glory of the LORD and d and d, the darkness of the world. ;

;

all

TAURUS: (ERIDANUS). shall see

flesh

now

xl.

(Isa.

together&quot;

the beauty of Orion

129 5),

see

all

s glory.

But

side by side with the glory which the coming the world shall bring for His people, there of Light is &quot;that whom the Lord &quot;shall destroy wicked,&quot;

with the brightness of His coming.&quot; Hence, as in the concluding chapter (iv.) of the First Book (of

which

LYRA

Book

this

Third

(the

harp), as

Conqueror; and fire

Consuming

is I,

ARA

the expansion) we had in Praise prepared for the (the

prepared

burning pyre), as

His

for

enemies

the first chapter of this book, we have in ORION, and in as I, Glory prepared for the Conqueror;

ERIDANUS,

His enemies.

for

the River of wrath prepared

This brings us to

ERIDANUS

(The River of the Judge).

The River of Wrath Breaking Forth for His Enemies. issues

down-coming

forth,

all

the

foot of Orion.

pictures,

from

While others see

from the ignorance of fabled story, only River Euphrates,&quot; we see or the Po,&quot; &quot;

&quot;the

it,

the

it,

River

from

the meaning of its name, and from the significance of its position, the river of the Judge.

In the feet the

Denderah Zodiac

of Orion.

mouth of

named

a river under the

Peh-ta-t

which means

the river.

It is an immense constellation, and our diagram on a smaller scale than the others (which are all

in relative S.

1005.

proportion, except where otherwise noted). I

THE WITNESS OF THE

I3O

STARS.

According to the Britannic catalogue, it consists one of the ist magnitude, one of the

of 84 stars

;

2nd, eight of the 3rd, etc.

The bears

brightest star, a (at the mouth of the river), the ancient name of Achernar, which is in, as

name means, the after part of the river. The next star, (at the source of the river), is named Cursa, which means bent down. The next, its

(at

the second bend in the river), is called Zourac Other stars, not identified, are flowing.

(Arabic),

Pheat, mouth (of the river)

and Ozha,

the going forth. flowing forth from It runs in a serpentine before the glorious Orion. course towards the lower regions, down, down, out of

Here, then,

sight. its

;

we have a

river

In vain the sea monster, Cetus, strives to stop It is the river of the Judge,&quot; and speaks &quot;

flow.

of that final

judgment

cast into the lake of

associated with fire; gross perversions, their fables,

fire.

still

for

which the wicked will be It was evidently originally the Greek

so connect

it.

though According to

myths,

something went wrong with the chariot of

the sun, and a universal conflagration was threatened. In the trouble, Phaeton (probably a reference to the star Pheat) was killed and hurled into this river, in

which he was consumed with its fire. The whole earth suffered from such a burning heat that great disasters ensued. We see from this myth two great facts pre served in the perverted tradition,

ARATUS &quot;

For yonder, trod by heavenly

Wind

viz.,

judgment and fire.

also preserves the connection, feet,

the scorched waters of Eridanus tear-swollen flood,

Welling- beneath Orion s uplifted

foot.&quot;

TAURUS: (ERIDANUS).

131

the testimony afterwards written in Daniel sees this very river in his vision of that coming day, when the true Orion shall come

not

this

Book?

the

forth

His

glory.

beheld

&quot;

says,

till

the

were placed, and one that was ancient of days did sit .... His throne was fiery flames, and the wheels thereof burning fire. A FIERY STREAM ISSUED AND CAME FORTH FROM BEFORE HlM.&quot; This is the thrones

River of the Judge; for he goes on to say, ment was set, and the books were opened

9-1 1,

(Dan.

vii.

R.V.).

have the same

describes the scene &quot;A

judg

&quot;the &quot;

which

in Ps. xcvii. 3-5 (R.V.),

when

the

Lord

shall reign

FIRE GOETH BEFORE HlM, burneth up His adversaries round about.

And

His lightning s lightened the world

The The At

hills

melted like wax at the presence of the LORD, Lord of the whole earth.&quot;

the presence of the

So again &quot;

Our God

earth saw and trembled,

in Ps. shall

we read

come, and

shall

not

keep

silence,

FIRE SHALL DEVOUR BEFORE HlM,

And

be very tempestuous round about

shall

By Habakkuk scribed

;

&quot;

and

the

coming

written

And

Him went

Lord

of the

this

Again, &amp;lt;;

light,

burning coals went forth

....

but Orion and Eridanus is

the pestilence,

His

feet.&quot;

(Hab.

What

His brightness was as the Before

Him.&quot;

iii.

5.)

written in Isaiah xxx.

27-33

(R.V.)

Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, Burning with His anger, and in thick rising smoke: I

THE WITNESS OF THE

132 His

are

lips

STARS.

of indignation,

full

And And

His tongue is as a DEVOURING FIRE His breath is as AN OVERFLOWING STREAM For a Topheth is prepared of old :

\offire\.

;

Yea, for the king- \MolocK\ it is made ready; He hath made it deep and large ;

The The

and much wood

pile thereof is FIRE

breath of the LORD, doth kindle

;

LIKE A STREAM OF BRIMSTONE,

it.&quot;

So, again,

The And And

&quot;

we read

mountains quake

the hills melt; the earth is burned

Yea, the world and all Who can stand before And who can abide in His fury is POURED OUT

In Isa. &quot;

Ixvi.

15,

For, behold, the

Him, up

His presence,

that dwell therein.

His indignation

the fierceness of His anger LIKE FIRE.&quot;

16,

LORD

Nahum

we read:

will

come with

fire,

And with His chariots like a whirlwind, To render His anger with fury, And His rebuke with FLAMES OF FIRE, For BY

FIRE,

all

With

and by His sword,

LORD plead with

will the

flesh.&quot;

this

agree the New Testament scriptures, the Day of the Lord,&quot; when the

which speak of

&quot;

Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, IN FLAMING FIRE taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ&quot; (2 Thess. i. 7, 8). This

the true

a dread reality

ture.&quot;

It is

and words of

fire,

Eridanus.

solemn warning and

truth, &quot;flee

that

no mere

&quot;

pic

written in stars

men may heed

from the wrath to

the

come&quot;!

TAURUS: (AURIGA).

But we ask, coming ? and who

&quot;

iii.

(Mai.

nation,&quot; i.

(Nah.

&quot;

when

Who may

Who

can fury

&quot;

appeareth

His indig

stand before

poured out

given in the next picture

AURIGA

fire&quot;

(The Shepherd).

Safety for the Redeemed in the

Here

6)?

The answer

tion,

day of His

the

stand when

shall

&quot;His

abide

133

Day

of Wrath.

presented to us the answer to the ques may abide the day of His coming?&quot;

&quot;Who

&quot;Behold,

the

Lord GOD (Adonai Jehovah)

as a mighty one, And His arm shall rule for

will

come

Him:

Behold, His reward is with Him, And His recompense before Him. He shall feed His flock like a shepherd,

He shall gather the lambs in His arm, And carry them in His bosom, And shall gently lead those that give

suck.&quot;

(Isa.

xl.

10,

11,

R.V.)

exactly what is presented before us in of the chapter, which tells of the have had the picture of a coming judgment. mighty Bull rushing forth ; then the fiery river of

This

this last section

He Judge; and now we see a Great Shepherd. seated upon &quot;the milky way,&quot; holding up on his She clings to his neck, left shoulder a she goat. the is

and

rushing

looking Bull.

down In

affrighted

his

left

the

terrible

on-

hand he supports two

THE WITNESS OF THE

134 little

kids, apparently just trembling with fear.

ARATUS &quot;

and

bleating,

and

says,

both large and bright, but they the kids Shine somewhat feebly on Auriga s wrist.&quot;

She

not this

lambs

bosom &quot;

born,

STARS.

will save

And

arm

Great

the

His

not saying

Shepherd

and

carrying

gathering the

them

His

flock,

they shall no

more be a

prey.&quot;

(Ezek. xxxiv. 22.) &quot;

&quot;

And David my servant shall be king And they shall have one shepherd.&quot;

And

they shall fear

over them, (ib.

xxxvii. 24.)

no more,

Nor be dismayed, Neither shall they be lacking, saith the

LORD.&quot;

(Jer.

AURIGA shepherd.

xxiii.

4.)

from a Hebrew root which means a is a beautiful constellation of 66 stars

one of the

;

ist

magnitude,

two of the 2nd, nine of

the 4th, etc.

The

brightest star, a (in the

body of the

goat),

points her out as the prominent feature of the con stellation, for its name Alioth (Hebrew) means a she It is known by the modern Latin name which has the same meaning.

goat.

The is

next star,

called Menkilinon,

(in

the shepherd

Capella,

right arm), chain

and means the band, or

and points out the truth that they are never more to be lost again, but to be bound, with the bands of love, to the Shepherd for evermore.

of the goats,

TAURUS: (AURIGA).

The name

of another star

135

Maaz, which means

a flock of goats.

Can

there be any mistake as to

who

this

Shepherd El Nath * (like another in ARIES), which means wounded or slain. This is He, then, who was once bruised for the

is ?

bright star in his right foot

called

wounded in the heel. He is the GOOD Shep His who life for the herd,&quot; gave sheep (John x. n), but He was the GREAT Shepherd brought again from the dead (Heb. xiii. 20) and is now the CHIEF or

&quot;

;

Shepherd (i Pet. v. 4) seen in the day of His coming Another star emphasises this truth, for it is glory. named Aiyuk, which also means wounded in the foot.f

The

marking the kids

star

called Gedi (Hebrew),

kids.

In Latin, the word Auriga means a coachman or charioteer, the band in his right hand being taken as his reins. But the incongruity of a charioteer carry ing a she-goat, and nursing two little kids, never struck them nor did the fact that he has no chariot ;

and no horses of

God, he does In the

When man it

thoroughly

blunders in the things !

Zodiac of Denderah the same truth was than 4,000 years ago but the Man,

revealed more

;

instead of carrying the sheep, is carrying a sceptre, and is called Trim, which means sceptre or power. But this is a strange sceptre, for at the top it

has the head of a goat, *

It is

The same

also

reckoned as in 2

and in the

Sam.

iv.

the

bottom, below

horn of Taurus. i.

THE WITNESS OF THE

136

hand that holds

the

it,

STARS.

ends

a cross

With

Egyptians the cross was a sign of life. the death of the cross.&quot; knew nothing of the

They

&quot;

then,

His

see

flock

judgment.

life

when The

Here,

and salvation for the sheep He comes to reign and rule

truth

the presentation of

of in

precisely the same, though varied.

somewhat

The connected teaching of the two constellations, Eridanus and Auriga, is solemnly set forth in Mai. iv. 1-3 (R.v.): Behold, the day cometh, It burneth as a furnace

&quot;

And

the proud, and be stubble all

;

all

that

work wickedness,

shall

And

the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, That it shall leave them neither root nor branch. BUT UNTO YOU that fear My name shall the Sun of

Righteousness arise with

healing&quot;

And And

His wings;

ye shall go forth and gambol as calves of the stall. ye shall tread down the wicked For they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet In the day that I do make (marg. do this), saith the ;

LORD

hosts.&quot;

In Psalm xxxvii. this day is repeatedly referred the day when &quot;the wicked shall be cut off&quot;;

to,

and

concludes

by summarizing

truth (vv. 38-40, R.V.) &quot;

the

same

great

As for transgressors, they shall be destroyed together The latter end of the wicked shall be cut off, But the salvation of the righteous

of the

LORD

He is their stronghold in the time of trouble. And the LORD helpeth them, and rescueth them; He rescueth them from the wicked and saveth them, Because they have taken refuge

Him.&quot;

;

GEMINI.

137

Oh, that all who read these pages solemn warning, and flee for refuge

may heed the to Him who

Look unto me, now, in this day of grace, is crying, and be ye saved, O all ye ends of the earth &quot;

&quot;

(Isa. xlv.

22).

CHAPTER

II.

THE SIGN GEMINI Messiah

ALL

the pictures of

Greeks claimed called

them in

this

have

and

Apollo

sign

are

invented Hercules.

The

confused.

them, and

They

they

are

The Latins called them and the name of a vessel in

our illustration.

given Castor and

which

(The Twins).

Reign as Prince of Peace.

Pollux

Paul sailed

The name

;

called

Acts

xxviii.

Denderah Zodiac is which means the place of Him who comcth. It is represented by two human The second appears to figures walking, or coming. The other appears to be a man. It be a woman. is a tailed figure, the tail signifying He cometh. in

the

ancient

Clusus, or Claustrum Hori,

The old Coptic name was Pi-Mahi, the united, as brotherhood. Not necessarily united by being born at the same time, but united in one fellowship or in

brotherhood.

means

united.

The Hebrew name The root is used

Thanmim, which Exod. xxvi. 24 :

THE WITNESS OF THE

136

STARS. !

With

Egyptians the cross was a sign of life. the death of the cross.&quot; knew nothing of

Here,

the

hand that holds

it,

ends in a cross

the

&quot;

then,

His

see

flock

judgment.

and

life

when The

salvation

He comes truth

the presentation of

for

the

sheep

rule

reign and

They

precisely the same, though varied.

somewhat

The connected teaching of the two constellations, Eridanus and Auriga, is solemnly set forth in Mai. iv. 1-3 (R.V.): &quot;

Behold, the day cometh, It burneth as a furnace

And

the proud, and be stubble all

;

all

that

work wickedness,

shall

And

the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, That it shall leave them neither root nor branch. BUT UNTO YOU that fear My name shall the Sun of

Righteousness arise with healing in His wing s; ye shall go forth and gambol as calves of the stall. ye shall tread down the wicked For they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet In the day that I do make (marg. do this), saith the

And And

;

LORD

Psalm

hosts.&quot;

this day is repeatedly referred when the &quot;the wicked shall be cut off&quot;; to, day and it concludes by summarizing the same great truth (vv. 38-40, R.V.)

xxxvii.

&quot;

As for transgressors, they shall be destroyed together The latter end of the wicked shall be cut off, But the salvation of the righteous

of the

LORD

He is their strong-hold in the time of trouble. And the LORD helpeth them, and rescueth them; He rescueth them from the wicked and saveth them, Because they have taken refuge

Him.&quot;

;

GEMINI.

137

Oh, that all who read these pages may heed the solemn warning, and flee for refuge to Him who

Look unto me, now, in this day of grace, is crying, and be ye saved, O all ye ends of the earth &quot;

&quot;

(Isa. xlv.

22).

CHAPTER THE SIGN GEMINI Messiah

ALL

them

(The Twins).

Reign as Prince of Peace.

the pictures of

Greeks claimed

II.

this

have

and

sign

are

invented

confused.

The

them, and

they

Hercules.

given in our illustration. and Castor and Pollux

They are so The Latins called them the name of a vessel in

which Paul sailed

called

Apollo

;

The name

the

Acts

ancient Denderah

Clusus, or Claustrum Hor:,

which means

xxviii.

Zodiac

the place

It is represented by two human comcth. The second appears to walking, or coming. The other appears to be a man. It be a woman.

Him who figures

a tailed

The

figure, the tail signifying

old Coptic

in brotherhood.

the

same

brotherhood.

means

united.

name was Pi-Mahi,

Not

time,

necessarily united but united in one

The Hebrew name The root is used

cometh. the united,

by being born fellowship

Thaumim, which Exod. xxvi. 24 :

THE WITNESS OF THE

138 &quot;

STARS.

two boards) shall be coupled together Heb. twinned 11 In the margin we read, The Arabic A I Tauman means the double).

They

(the

&quot;

beneath.&quot;

(R.V.

same.

need not trouble ourselves with the Grecian myths, even though we can see through them the The two were both original and ancient truth. and heroes of peculiar extraordinary birth sons of were supposed to appear at the head They Jupiter. of

armies

pirates,

and

;

they had

cleared

the seas

name

the

They were held

high esteem

the

(Hence

navigation.

Acts

they were looked upon as the patron saints

xxviii.

n.) Greeks

ship

and the common and of swearing by their names has descended even to our own day in the still surviving vulgar habit of swearing By Gemini both

Romans

and

;

taking oaths

practice of

&quot;

The more

star-names

ancient

help

see

myths, and to discern Him of whom they testify; even Him in His twofold nature God and Man and His two fold work of suffering and glory, and His twofold through

coming

and

these

all

in humiliation

There are 85

many

and

stars

other

in triumph.

two of the the sign six of the 4th, etc. :

2nd

magnitude, four of the 3rd,

The name right hand) judge; while

is /3

of a (in the head of the one at our called Apollo, which means ruler, or (in

the head of the

Hercules, who cometh star,

(in

his left foot),

other)

called

Another labour, suffer. is called A I Henah, which or

GEMINI.

139

means hurt, wounded, or afflicted. Can we have a doubt as to what is the meaning of this double presentation ? In Ophiuchus we have the two in one person crushed enemy, and the wounded heel. But the two great &quot;

for

;

our redemption

for

the

here

primeval truths are presented in two

He was God and man in one

persons

one

God,&quot;

As man,

Christ.&quot;

;

two persons

&quot;

suffering glorified for our com

God,

star, e (in the plete salvation and final triumph. centre of his body), is called Waset, which means and tells of Him who set His face like a set, &quot;

&quot;

flint

mighty Herculean work steadfastly set His

this

accomplish

;

when the time was come,

and,

face to go

&quot;

to complete

bears

it.

in his right

In the

palm branch.

&quot;

hand

some

(in

pictures)

one from which our

a club

but both the club of

tion

this

one and the bow of the other are in

taken,

These united

;

ones are neither

The

won.

action

but they are at

they preparing for action, in peace after victory

illustra

star e (in

repose

nor

are

rest

and

the knee of

is called Mebsuta, which means Apollo The names of other stars, which under feet. treading are not identified, have come down to us with the

the other,

&quot;

&quot;)

same testimony. the

branch,

(Arabic),

Dim

One

spreading; the

palm

(Arabic),

The day

branch;

the seed,

called

another

called

another

named A I

or branch.

has here come to

fulfil

the prophecies the Branch

the Branch,&quot; concerning Him who is the man whose name is of Jehovah,&quot; &quot;

&quot;

(Hebrew), Giauza

Propus

&quot;

the

Branch.&quot;

THE WITNESS OF THE

I4O

STARS.

day shall the Branch of Jehovah be beautiful and glorious And the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely For them that are escaped of Israel.&quot; (Isa. iv. 2.) In that

&quot;

;

&quot;

Behold, a king shall reign

in righteousness, princes shall rule in judgment a man shall be as an hiding place from the

And And

;

wind.&quot;

(Isa. xxxii.

2.)

Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, That I will raise unto David a righteous Branch,

&quot;

And He shall reign as King and deal wisely, And shall execute judgment and justice in the

land.

In His days Judah shall be saved, And Israel shall dwell safely :

And this is His name whereby He The LORD is our Righteousness.&quot; &quot;

shall

called,

(Jer. xxiii. 5, 6, R.V.)

Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, I will perform that good word

That

which

have

spoken Concerning the house of Israel and concerning the house of Judah. In those days, and at that time, Will I cause a Branch of Righteousness to grow up unto David And He shall execute judgment and righteousness in j

the

This peaceful

(Jer. xxxiii. 14, 15, R.V.)

land.&quot;

what we

reign.

All

see is

rest

this

and

sign

repose.

Messiah

see

in which &quot;the righteous shall flourish; and abundance of peace, so long as the moon en&quot;His

dureth

days,&quot;

&quot;

(Ps. Ixxii.).

But, for this blessed time to come, there must be no enemy! All enemies must be subdued.

This brings us to the

first

section of this book.

GEMINI

LEPUS

141

(LEPUS).

(the Hare),

THE ENEMY.

The Enemy Trodden under Foot.

The names Sign, as

well

modern, as

the

Latin, and having no

of their stars.

we must have

fore,

three

constellations

relation

learn

their

this

more or less names being in the ancient names

the pictures, are manifest from the

all

real

meaning, there

recourse to the ancient Zodiacs.

In the Persian planisphere the first constellation was In the Denderah (Egyptian) pictured by a serpent.

Zodiac it is an unclean bird standing on the serpent, which is under the feet of Orion. Its name there is given as Bashti-beki. Beki means failing.

ARATUS

Bashti

means

confounded,

and

says, Orion s feet, the Hare chased eternally.&quot;

&quot;Below

It is

three

a small constellation of 19 stars

of which

are

of the

(all

small),

3rd magnitude, seven of

the 4th, etc.

The brightest, a (in the body), has a Hebrew name, Arnebo, which means the enemy of Him that Other the

The

Arabic, Arncbeth, means the same. not identified, are Nibal, the mad; Rakis y bound (Arabic, with a chain] Siigia, the deceiver.

cometh.

stars,

There can united

testimony.

down-coming

foot

blessed fact that

no mistaking the voice of For this enemy is under of Orion, and it tells of

when

the true Orion,

&quot;

the

this

Sun

the the of

THE WITNESS OF THE

142

shall

Righteousness,

and

arise,&quot;

wicked&quot;

(Mai.

down our &quot;

feet.

enemies&quot;

will tread

And

Ix.

them

in in

&quot;It

(Ps.

trample them

true

down

will

that shall tread

12),

light&quot;

shall tread

&quot;

and every enemy

iv.),

subdued under His

&quot;the

shall shine over all the earth,

the

STARS.

has said:

Mine anger,

fury

For the day of vengeance is in Mine heart, And the year of My redeemed is come.&quot; (Isa. Ixiii.

CANIS MAJOR

(The Dog), or

4.)

SIRIUS

(The Prince). The coming Glorious Prince of Princes (S iritis).

This second constellation carries on the teaching, and tells of the glorious Prince who will thus subdue

and

reign.

In the Denderah Zodiac he

means f%,

caused

hawk

called Apes, which

hawk (Naz, come forth, coming swiftly down). The the natural enemy of the serpent, and here

the head.

pictured as a

its head a pestle and mortar, indicating the fact that he shall crush the head of the enemy. it

has on

the

Persian

planisphere

pictured

wolf, and is called Zeeb, which in Hebrew p8|) has the same meaning. Plutarch translates it IL/ooVrr^, In Arabic it means coming quickly. Leader. Its

ancient

name and meaning must be obtained its stars which have come down

from the names of

GEMINI: (CANIS MAJOR OK SIRIUS).

143

There are 64 altogether. Two are of the of two the four of the 3rd, four 2nd, magnitude, of the 4th, etc. Of these a (in the head) is the It is called Sirius, brightest in the whole heavens to

us.

ist

the Prince

Sar), as in Isa.

pb&amp;gt;,

And the dog

&quot;

call

still

by the ancients, always associated

Sirius was, with great heat.

ix.

the hottest part of the year days,&quot; though, through the

variation as observed in

different

and the

latitudes,

precession of the equinoxes, its rising has long ceased to have any relation to those days. Virgil says that Sirius &quot;

Homer

With

pestilential heat infects the

spoke of

sky.&quot;

as a star

&quot;Whose burning breath Taints the red air with fevers, plagues, and death.&quot; 1

It is not, however, of its heat that its name speaks, but of the fact that it is the brightest of all the Prince of stars, as He of whom it witnesses is the &quot;

princes,&quot;

&quot;the

Prince of the Kings of the

Though this &quot;Dog-Star&quot; came omened association, it was not so times.

In the ancient Akkadian

which means

the

While

(as

host. &quot;

the

of the

have an

called Kasista,

Leader and Prince of the heavenly Mr. Robert Brown, Junr., points out)

Sacred Books of Persia contain Tistrya or

star

of the East. * \

ill-

more ancient

in is

earth.&quot;

Tistar

many l

(Sirius) t

praises the chieftain

&quot;t

Our English &quot;Sir is derived from Etiphratean Stellar Researches. &quot;

this

word.

THE WITNESS OF THE

144

The same

star,

truth.

or ruler.

prince

Wesen, the bright,

hind

Other

left

fore foot), speaks the

named Mirzam, and means the The star 8 (in the body) is called the shining. The star e (in the right is

called Adhara, the glorious.

leg)

the

(in

STARS.

not identified, bear their witness to Aschere (Hebrew), A I Shira A I Jemeniya (Arabic), the

stars,

the

same

fact.

who

shall

come

Their names are ;

Prince or chief of the right hand! Seir (Egyptian), the Prince; A bur (Hebrew), the mighty; A I Habor (Arabic), the mighty

;

Muliphen (Arabic),

the leader, the

chief.

Here there

the harmonious called

conflicting voice testimony to Him

no discord whose name

Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty

&quot;

the Prince of

Peace&quot;

The names

(Isa.

ix.

;

God

is .

6).

have no meaning what ever as applied to an Egyptian Hawk, or a Greek

Dog. them &quot;

But they to

Him

Behold,

of the

stars

are

of significance

full

whom

have given

Jehovah says

Him

LEADER and commander

for

when we apply

a witness to the people,

to the

people.&quot;

(Isa. Iv. 4.)

This against

&quot;

the Prince of princes

whom,

&quot;

when

&quot;King

&quot;with

8).

of kings

viii.

23, 25)

come

to the

(Dan.

transgressors are

full, a king of fierce countenance &quot;but he shall be broken without

be destroyed (2 Thess. ii.

&quot;

shall stand

hand,&quot;

for

the brightness of His

This

He who

and Lord of

shall

Lords&quot;

coming&quot;

come

(Rev.

up,&quot;

shall

xix.

forth 16).

GEMINI

But

Sirius

has

(CANIS MINOR).

companion,

145

and

this

brings

us to

CANIS MINOR

(The Second Dog).

The Exalted Redeemer (Procyon).

The same Greek

the

facts are to

and

picture,

be remembered concerning name of this con

Latin

stellation.

The Egyptian name

the

Sebak, which means conquering,

sented as a

human

the appendage of a

figure

Denderah Zodiac

victorious.

It is

with a hawk

repre

head and

tail.

This small constellation has only 14 stars accord the

ing to

Britannic

One

the

magnitude, one of the 2nd, one of the 4th,

etc.

catalogue.

ist

The brightest star, a (in the body), is named Procyon, which means REDEEMER, and it tells us that this glorious Prince is none other than the one who was slain. Just as this chapter begins with tn o persons in one in the Sign (Gemini), one victor ions, the other wounded; so it ends with a representation of two princes, one of whom is seen triumphant and the other as the ,

the next

Gomcisa others. still

star,

Redeemer. (in

(Arabic),

The names

the

This

neck),

burthcncd,

which

confirmed by is

loaded,

named A I bearing for

of the other stars, not identified,

further confirm the

great

truth

;

viz.,

Shira,

Shemeliya (Arabic), the prince or chief of the left One right, the hand, answering to the star in Sirius. other left, as the two united youths are placed. A I S. 1005.

THE WITNESS OF THE

146

STARS.

and

the prince or ruler; or perfects. completes

Mirzam,

Gomeyra, who

This does, indeed, complete and perfect the pre sentation of this chapter Messiah s reign as Prince of Peace the enemy trodden under foot by the :

;

&quot;Prince

glorious

princes,&quot;

who

none other than

the glorified Redeemer.

This &quot;

also

what

Book

written in the

Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, the lawful captives * be delivered ?

But thus saith the LORD,

Even the captives of

And

the mighty shall

be taken away,

the prey of the terrible shall be delivered I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, I will save thy children. :

For

And And

feed them that oppress thee with their

will

own

flesh;

And

they shall be drunken with sweet wine

with their

own blood

;

And

flesh

all

shall

know

that

the

LORD

thy

Saviour,

And

thy

REDEEMER

the Mighty

One

Jacob.&quot;

(Isa. xlix. 24-26, &quot;

When The

enemy

shall

come

Spirit of the

LORD

shall

lift

the

R.V.)

a flood,

up a standard against

him,

And

the

REDEEMER

&quot;And

shall divide the spoil with the strong,

shall

come

Zion.&quot;

(Isa. lix.

Because

hath poured out His soul unto

Marg.,

of the

&quot;the

captives

terrible.&quot;

of the

just,&quot;

or,

20.)

death.&quot;

(Isa.

captives

19,

liii.

12.)

read by the Vulg. and Syr.,

&quot;the

CANCER.

CHAPTER THE Messiah

WITH

anything

the

sign

we have not

III.

(The Crab).

Redeemed Possessions held

regard to

certain, that

CANCER

SIGN

147

fast.

CANCER, one thing is the got original picture, or of

it.

It does not agree with the names either of its three constellations which have come down to us, or

its

stars.

In the ancient Denderah Zodiac as a Scarabcsus,

Esneh and

in a

sacred beetle.*

Hindu Zodiac

represented the Zodiac

(400 B.C.)

the

same.

According to the Greeks, Jupiter placed amongst the signs of the Zodiac.

this

Crab

In Sir William Jones s Oriental Zodiac we meet with a crab, and an Egyptian Zodiac found at Rome bears also the crab in this sign.

The more

ancient

Egyptians placed Hennannbis,

or Hermes, with the head of an ibis or hawk, as the symbol of the sign now allotted to Cancer.

The Denderah name is in this name we have

and

of the sign,

and

Klaria, or the cattle-folds, the key to the meaning

to the subject of this chapter.

* The Scarabceus, passing its early existence as a worm of the earth, and thence issuing as a winged denizen of heaven, was he!d sacred by the Egyptians as an emblem of the resurrection of the body.

K 2

THE WITNESS OF THE

148

STARS.

The Arabic name is Al Sartan, which means who to and may be from the Hebrew

holds or binds,

bind

&quot;OK,

xlix.

(Gen.

together

Hebrew word known with

for

n). the

other unclean

many

There

no ancient

was classed and would be

crab.

creatures,

included in the general term

&quot;

vermin.&quot;

The Syriac, Sartano, means the same. name is Karkinos, which means holding

The Greek

or encircling, hence is applied to

does the Latin, Cancer, and In the word Khan, we have the traveller

the crab. rest

or inn

circling. is

;

The

while Ker or Cer

ancient Akkadian

the Arabic for en

name

of the

month

Su-kul-na, the seizer or possessor of seed.

The sign contains 83 stars, one of which is of the 3rd magnitude, and seven are of the 4th magni tude, and the remainder of inferior magnitudes. In the centre of the Sign there is a remarkably bright cluster of stars, so bright that they can be It looks like sometimes seen with the naked eye.

and is made up of a great multitude of Modern astronomers have called it the Bee hive. But its ancient name has come down to us as Praesepe, which means a multitude, offspring. a comet,

stars.

The

star,

brightest

Tegmine, holding. lower large claw,

The is

(in

star

the (or

head),

and a

is 2

called Acubene, which, in

called in the

Hebrew

and Arabic, means the sheltering or hiding-place. Another is named Ma alaph (Arabic), assembled thou sands; Al Himarein (Arabic), the kids or lambs. North and south of the nebula Pracsepc are two which Orientalists speak of by a name evidently

stars,

CANCER.

149

Asellus means an Ass, and one of some antiquity. was called Asellus Boreas, tJr northern Ass; while the

Amiralls,

other, Asellus

The

sign

which stands

the southern Ass,

was afterwards known by the symbol T, for these two asses.*

This connects is

with the Tribe of Issachar, who upon the Tribal standard the

said to have borne

sign of two asses.

This (Gen.

xlix. &quot;

doubtless the reference in Jacob

R.V.)

Issachar

Couching-

blessing

strong&quot;

ass,

down between

the sheepfolds

;

And he saw a resting-place that it was good And the land that it was pleasant; And he bowed his shoulder to bear, And became a servant under task work.&quot;

Have we

;

not here the gathering up of the teaching

of this sign

Messiah

redeemed possessions held fast.

Here we come CANCER we see

and in the next His enemies.

to it

the completion of His work. with reference to His redeemed,

(the last)

Sign, LEO, with reference

The now

three constellations develope the truth. called Ursa Minor is the Lesser Flock

What ;

Ursa

The Sheep/old and the Sheep; while Major the travellers and the pilgrims The shows Argo, Ship, home all conflict over. brought safely gives us

accomplish this, we see the true Issachar My bowing his shoulder to bear. HE could say, &quot;

The Ass was

the

emblem

of Typhon, the king w/io smites or

smitten.

THE WITNESS OF THE

I5O soul

STARS.

bowed down HE became a (Ps. Ivii. 6). and humbled Himself to death. HE under &quot;

servant,

took the mighty task of saving His people from their sins.

Their Redeemer is strong for (Jer. 1. 34) laid on One that was mighty&quot; (Ps. Ixxxix. And His redeemed shall come to a resting&quot;

&quot;

;

help was 19).

&quot;

place that

good, and to a land that is pleasant. No earth affords them a home. They

Khan on

earthly look for a heavenly home, and in the many mansions of the Father s house they shall find eternal rest.

Here we see that sheltering home to which the names of these stars point where the assembled thousands (Ma alaph) shall be received into the true ;

Klaria, even the

&quot;

These are now

everlasting habitations.&quot; to be shown to us.

URSA MINOR

(The Little Bear).

The Lesser Sheep/old.

Here we come

another grievous mistake, or of ignorant perversron primitive truth, as shown in the ancient names of these two constellations. It

found

sufficient to point to the

fact

that no

Bear

any Chaldean, Egyptian, Persian, or Indian and that no bear was ever seen with such a Zodiacs, is

tail

one who had ever seen a bear would have

called attention to a

tail,

such as no bear ever had,

very tip the most important, won and drous, mysterious Polar Star, the central star of the heavens, round which all others revolve. The be we committed sure, patriarchal astronomers, may no such folly as this.

placing in

its

CANCER: (URSA MINOR).

151

The primitive truth that there were two. or a pair of constellations is preserved and that of these But two, one is larger, and the other smaller. ;

What

were they?

have the clue to the answer

name

in the

stellation,

of the brightest star of the larger con which is called Dubhch. Now Dubhch

means a herd

Dubah means ; and hence in Chaldee it meant wealth. The Hebrew K?^, Dohveh, means rest or security; and certainly there is not of animals.

In Arabic,

In Hebrew,

cattle.

&quot;ll

Dohvcr,

a fold

much of either to be found or enjoyed with bears The word occurs in Deut. xxxiii. 25: thy days so shall thy strength The Revised Version gives !

&quot;As

be.&quot;

So shall thy rest or security be.&quot; margin, This accords with what we have already seen under in

the

&quot;

&quot;CANCER&quot;:

&quot;Couching

down between

the

sheep-

he saw a resting-place that it was good.&quot; Here are the two Sheepfolds, then the Greater

folds,*

;

fold,

and Lesser

which the

But

and here

;

the

rest

and

security

flocks will find therein.

Hebrew

there is a word very similar in not in or sound, though dohv, which spelling means a bear! So we find in Arabic dub; Persian, decb and dob. can see, therefore, how the Hebrew in

nn&amp;gt;

Dohvcr, a fold, and Dohv, a bear, were confused and how the Arabic Dubah, cattle, might easily have been ;

mistaken by the Greeks, and understood as a bear. The constellation, which we must therefore call THE

LESSER SHEEPFOLD, contains 24 stars, viz., one of the 2nd magnitude, two of the 3rd, four of the 4th, etc. *

The word

so rendered in Judges v. 16, in A.V.

THE WITNESS OF THE

152

The

star,

brightest

the most

named A I and

on,

the point of the tail), the whole heavens. It is

(at

important Ruccaba, which means the turned or ridden to-day the Polar or central star, which

does

not

star,

but remains,

revolve

But though the the

a in

apparently,

fixed

the heavens

When

these

moving. formed the Dragon possessed

steadily

star a,

does every other

a circle as

its

position.

star does not revolve like the others,

point in

central

and the

STARS.

very slowly but

constellations

this

were

important point,

Draco, marked this central point.

But, by its gradual recession, that point is sufficiently near this star Ruccaba, in the Lesser Shccpfold, for it to

be what this

How

called

&quot;

the Polar

have been known could

But,

Star.&quot;

five or six

how could

thousand years ago

have been known when

received

name, which means the turned or ridden on ? That was known is clear: so likewise was it made known

its it

the written Word that the original blessing included not merely the multiplication of the seed of faithful Abraham, but it was then added, &quot;And thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies&quot;

&quot;

(Gen.

xxii. 17).

This star was called by the Greeks Kuy&roupo, the ARATUS seems to apply this term to

Cynosure&quot;

whole of the seven stars of the Lesser Bear. Mr. Robert Brown, Junr., shows* that KuvoVoupa, once supposed to be Hellenic, is non-Hellenic, and possibly the

Euphratean

in origin,

literates An-nas-sur-ra,

means, high

in rising, *

from a word which he trans it and renders it, literally &quot;as

i.e.,

heavenly

Euphratean Stellar Researches, pp.

position.&quot;

8, 9.

CANCER: (URSA MINOR).

153

not this the primitive truth of the Revelation ? Will not this Lesser Fold be high, yea, the highest in

heavenly position

The

Polar Star has been removed from the is now in the Lesser Fold ; and when the and Dragon, shall be cast down from the heavens, the Dragon seed will be safely folded there. But this is heavenly the Lesser Shccpfold. These are they who all through the ages have been partakers of the heavenly call who desired a better ing,&quot; country, that is, a heavenly ; hath prepared for them a city,&quot; the wherefore God &quot;

&quot;

which Abraham himself

looked.&quot; This was whose builder and maker is God&quot; (Heb. xi. 10-16). These have always been a smaller company, a little flock,&quot; but the kingdom shall be theirs, even the kingdom of God, for which they now look and wait. They have not received the promises but, having seen them yet

city for

earthly

but

city,

&quot;

city

&quot;

;

by faith, they &quot;were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth&quot; (Heb. xi. 13). the redemption of Their Messiah has accomplished the purchased possession,&quot; and in due time the unto the praise of His redeemed will inherit it, afar

off&quot;

&quot;

glory&quot;

(Eph.

13).

The bright star is named Kochab, which means Other stars, not identified, waiting Him who comcth. are named Al Pherkadain (Arabic), which means the calves,

or the young (as in Deut. xxii.

assembly. is

Another, Al Gedi, means

Al Kaid,

the

assembled;

while

6), the

the kid.

Areas,

redeemed

Another or

Aretes

THE WITNESS OF THE

154

which

(from

means,

derive

according

company;

or,

the

one

STARS.

term

Arctic

regions),

travelling

interpreter,

according to another,

the

stronghold

the saved.

But is

there

compared

the seed that

not

is &quot;

the

only the heavenly seed, which stars of heaven,&quot; but there is

compared

&quot;

the sand of the

who

the larger flock or company,

will

sea&quot;

enjoy the

earthly blessing.

This brings us to

URSA MAJOR

The Fold and

these

But

&quot;

written

the

Flock.

Mount Zion

there shall be those that escape, be holy the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.&quot;

And And

it is

(The Great Bear).

shall

(Obad. 17-19, It

a large

and

important

stars, of which one

constellation,

of the

taining 87 tude, four of the 2nd, three of the 4th, etc.

and

R.v.)

ist

con

magni

3rd, ten of the

always presents a splendid appearance,

perhaps, therefore, the best

known

all

the

constellations.

the Book of Job (ix. 9, and xxxviii. 31, 32) mentioned under the name of Ash. Canst thou guide Ash and her offspring?&quot; which is ren dered in the A.V., Arcturus and his sons,&quot; and in the R.V., &quot;The Bear with her train (marg.,

&quot;

&quot;sows&quot;).

CANCER: (URSA MAJOR).

The Arabs

call

still

assembled together, as sheep in

Jewish commentators

Naish, or Annaish, the a fold. The ancient

They

which thus became

Septentriones,

Ash

interpreted

stars of this constellation.

155

the

seven

are called by others the Latin word for

North.

The

brightest star, a (in the which, as we have seen,

Dubhe,

animals, or a flock, constellation.

The

star

the flock

The flock

bered

y (on the

named Merach (Hebrew),

His

star e

in Auriga,

(See Psalm cxlvii. called Alioth, a

meaning a

star

left

visited,

and named.

The

of $) is called Phaeda, or guarded, or numbered, as a sheep, like the stars, are both num

meaning

The

it)

herd of to the whole

name

its

(Arabic, purchased).

for

;

(below

star

Phaeda,

and gives

named

back),

means

(in

4.)

name we have had

she goat.

the middle of the

Mizar, separate or small, and close to

Lamb (known as The star (at named Bend Naish

tail) it

called

Cor, the

&quot;g&quot;).

sembly.

The

end of the so-called

tail)

(Arabic), the daughters of the as also called Al Raid, the assembled.

star

the

(in its right

foot)

called Talitha.

The names the fold

of other stars, not identified, all give El Alcola (Arabic), the sheepPs. xcv. 7; and c. 3); Cab d al Asad,

same testimony (as

Annaish, the assembled; multitude, many assembled; Megrez, separated, as the flock in the fold; El Kaphrah,

THE WITNESS OF THE

156

STARS.

(Heb. redeemed and ransomed) ; Dubheh Lachar (Arabic), the latter herd or flock ; Helike (so called by HOMER in the Iliad), company of travellers;

protected, covered

Amaza

(Greek), coming and going; or appointed.

set

fold

the sheep-

Calisto,

There is not one discordant voice in the rich abundance of this testimony. We have nothing to do here with the Grecian myths about bears or wild

boars.

scattered (Jer. xxxi.

are

Many

innumerable seed gathered

only the

see

Him who

the

Scriptures

10).

we might quote which

speak of this gathering and assembling of the longscattered flock. as

the

It is

written as plainly in the Book, The prophecies of this

heavens.

gathering are as conspicuous in the Seven Stars are in the sky. as the &quot;

&quot;

make a

even to

Word It

God

difficult

from the wealth of such

selection

but few are more beautiful than that in promises Ezek. xxxiv. 12-16 ;

&quot;

a shepherd seeketh out his flock In the day that he is among- his sheep that are scattered; So will I seek out my sheep,

And

them out of

all places where they have the cloudy and dark day. I will bring- them out from the people, gather them from the countries,

will deliver

been scattered

And And And And

will bring

them

feed them upon

to their

the

own

land,

mountains of Israel by the

rivers

And I

will

all

the inhabited places of the country.

feed them in a

And upon

good pasture, the high mountains of Israel shall their fold

be:

There

shall they lie in a

good

fold,

CANCER: (ARGO).

And

fat

pasture

157

they feed

shall

the

upon

moun

tains of Israel. will feed

And

flock,

cause them to

will

lie

saith the

down,

Lord GOD

(Adonai Jehovah). I will seek that which was lost, And bring again that which was driven away, And will bind up that which was broken, And will strengthen that which was sick But I will destroy the fat and the strong; :

them with judgment.

will feed

of this

judgment with which

indeed the whole

Revelation,

this

book, and

the next

ends, in

and

final chapter.

But

before

we come

we have one more

that

picture in the third constellation of this Sign, which combines the first two in one.

ARGO

The Pilgrims

(The Ship).

Home.

safe

This is the celebrated ship of the Argonauts, of which HOMER sung nearly ten centuries before Christ. Sir Isaac Newton puts the expedition of the Argo nauts

975

shortly after

B.C.).

1236

While

the

death

Dr. Blair

Solomon

(about

chronology puts

B.C.

Whatever

fables

can bo no

have gathered round the story

doubt

as to its great antiquity. think that the story had its origin in name, as well as in fact, from the Ark of Noah and its

there

Some

All that

mysterious journey. of mythic after

all

details,

their

that

dangers,

the

and

clear,

when divested

sailors

toils,

and

that

ship,,

battles

were

THE WITNESS OF THE

158

came back

over,

tells

search, Jason,&quot;

treasure

great captain, from the Serpent,

ever-watchful

The

shores.

Him who

tells

which guarded it with none else was able to

when

eye,

own

Argonauts went in that had been lost.

which .the

for

the

&quot;

covered

victorious to their

fleece,&quot;

&quot;golden

STARS.

And

thus, through the fables and myths of the Greeks, we can see the light primeval shine and this light, once seen, lights up this Sign and its constellations, so that their teaching cannot it.

approach

;

be misunderstood.

ARATUS

sings of

Argo :

no mark of onward-speeding- ship. Stern-foremost hauled Sternward she comes, as vessels do &quot;

;

When

sailors turn the

helm

On entering harbour: all the oars back-water, And gliding- backward, to an anchor comes. &quot;

It tells of that &quot;

And

everlasting joy upon their heads; shall obtain joy and gladness,

And

sorrow and sighing shall

asked

tells

the

glorious

when

return

They It

&quot;

blessed home-coming,

The ransomed of the LORD shall And come to Zion with songs,

flee

away.&quot;

Jason,*

(Isa.

xxxv. 10.)

whom

Art thou not

And wounded Art thou not

which hath cut Rahab,

the dragon it

which hath dried the

of the great deep; That hath made the depths

ransomed

to pass over

of the

sea, the

sea a

way

waters for the

Therefore the redeemed of the LORD shall return, And come with singing unto Zion,&quot; etc. (Isa. li. 9-11.) *

The Gneco-Judean

equivalent of Joshua or Jesus.

CANCER: (AKGO). &quot;

159

For the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, And ransomed him from the hand

of him

that

was

stronger than he.

Therefore they shall come and

And

sing- in the

shall flow tog-ether to the

height of Zion,

goodness of the (Jer. xxxi.

This

the

return

LORD.&quot;

12.)

the

great emigrant-ship (Argo) and all its company of travellers (for this is the meaning of the word Argo}.

In Kircher

Egyptian Planisphere Argo is repre (as we have two sheepfolds), whose prows are surmounted by rams heads and the stern of one of them ends in a fish s tail. One of the two occupies four segments of the sphere (from Taurus to Virgo), while the other occupies the four sented by two galleys

;

from

Leo

meridians

to is

One half of the southern Capricorn. these galleys and their with occupied

and

construction

Astronomers

decorations.

tell

that they carry us back, the one to the period when the Bull opened the year (to which time VIRGIL

and the other to the same epoch, when the an era greatly antece summer solstice was in Leo refers);

&quot;

dent to the Argonautic expedition. How else, they the one do account for we ask, ship having her prow in the first Decan of Taunts, and her poop in the last Decan of Leo ? or for one galley being freighted with the installed Bull, and the other with stitial

Lion?

the

sol

These are the words of an astronomer who knows nothing whatever of our interpretation of the heavens which is set forth in this work. *

Jainieson

s Scientific

Display, &c.

p. 58.

THE WITNESS OF THE

160 It will

with

its

STARS.

indeed be a large vessel, the true Argo, company of travellers, great multitude &quot;a

man can

which no

All

number.&quot;

this

indicated

by the immense size of the Constellation, as well as by the large number of its stars. There are 64 stars in Argo (reckoning by the Britannic catalogue) one ;

of the ist magnitude, six of the 2nd, nine of the 3rd, nine of the 4th, etc. Only a small part of the ship s

poop

Its

visible in Britain.

Him who are

Canobus,

Sephina,

the

multitude

Asmidiska,

(Arabic), the desired; Is

not

all

this

of this sign?

(near

the

means

which

keel), the

the

and

or abundance; released

who

called

possession

Other star-names, not

cometh.

possession;

star,

brightest

Canopus or

Tureis,

travel;

Subilon, .the Branch.

exactly in harmony with the rest is not this what is written in the

And

Therefore, fear thou not,

LORD; Neither be dismayed, For,

O My Israel

servant Jacob, saith the

save thee from afar, thy seed from the land of their -captivity;

lo,

will

And And Jacob shall return and be in rest, And be quiet, and none shall make him afraid, For I am with thee, saith the LORD, to save

thee.&quot;

(Jer. xxx. &quot;

Lift up thine eyes round about, and see ; All they gather themselves together, they

come from

come

Thy

sons shall

And

thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side, shalt see, and flow together,

Then thou

the

Soheil

Book? &quot;

identified,

far,

10,

H.)

to thee

;

CANCER: (ARGO).

161

And

thine heart shall fear and be enlarged Because the abundance of the sea shall be converted ;

unto thee.

Who And

are these that

fly

as doves to their

as a cloud?

windows

Surely the isles shall wait for me, And the SHIPS of Tarshish first,

from

far.&quot;

to bring-

thy

(Isa. Ix. 4,

sons 8, 9.)

The whole chapter (Isa. Ix.) should be read if we wish to understand the great teaching of this Sign, which of Messiah s secured possessions, the safe folding of His blood-bought flock, the blessed return of His pil grims, and their abundant entrance into everlasting rest. tells

&quot;

There

a blessed

Beyond

Where Nor

this

trials

home

land of woe, never come,

tears of sorrow flow

Where faith is lost in And patient love is And everlasting light Its

;

sight,

crowned,

glory throws around.

joy,

all

joys beyond,

To see the Lamb who died, And count each sacred wound In hands, and feet, and side give to Him the praise

;

Of every triumph won,

And

sing through endless days great things He hath dontx

The

Look up, ye saints of God, Nor fear to tread below The path your Saviour trod Of daily toil and woe; Wait but a little while In uncomplaining love, His own most gracious smile

Shall S.

1005.

welcome you

above.&quot;

THE WITNESS OF THE

l62

STARS.

CHAPTER IV. SIGN LEO (The

THE

Messiah

Lion).

Consummated Triumph.

end of the circle. We began and we end with Leo. No one who Virgo,

HERE we come with

to the

has followed our interpretation can doubt that we have here the solving of the Riddle of the Sphinx.

For

its

Head

Virgo and

Leo we reach the end

inspired in the Word of written in the heavens.

BAILLY (Astronomy) been

Tail

its

first

was in Lion s

divided

when

God

says,

of the

Revelation as

and

;

&quot;the

the end as

Zodiac must have

the sun at the

Virgo, where the

Leo

woman

summer

solstice

head joins the

tail.&quot;

to its antiquity there

&quot;

says,

among

can be no doubt. JAMIESON

the Lion does not seem to have been placed the Zodiacal symbols, because Hercules was

fabled to have slain the Nemean Lion. It would seem, on the contrary, that Hercules, who represented the Sun, was said to have slain the Nemean Lion, because Leo was already a Zodiacal sign. Hercules flourished 3,000 years ago, and consequently posterior to the

when

period

the

summer

solstice

accorded with Leo

&quot;

(Celestial Atlas, p. 40).

There ancient

India

no confusion about

Zodiacs

find

Egypt

the Lion.

this

sign.

the

Esneh) and The same occurs on the (Denderah,

LEO.

Mithraic monuments, where

Moor

163

Leo

passant, as

Hindu, and Sir William Jones s Oriental Zodiacs. In Kircher s Zodiacs he is courrant ; in the Egyptian Zodiacs he is couchant. in

In the serpent, as

Denderah Zodiac he is treading upon a shown in Mr. Edward Cooper s Egyptian

Scenery.

Egyptian name is Pi Mentekeon, which means pouring out. This is no pouring out or inundation Its

the

of the Nile, but

it is the pouring out of the cup of Divine wrath on that Old Serpent.

This .

the one great truth of the closing chapter

of this last Book.

THE LION His

It is

OF THE TRIBE OF JUDAH AROUSED FOR THE RENDING OF THE PREY.

are

over

the

Serpent, and crush it.

just

about

feet

The

head to

of Hydra, the great descend upon it and

three constellations of the Sign complete this

final picture

Hydra, the old Serpent destroyed.

Crater, the

Cup of Divine wrath poured out upon

him. 3.

Corvus, the Bird of prey devouring him.

The Denderah picture exhibits all four in one. The Lion is presented treading down the Serpent. The Bird of prey is also perched upon it, while below figure holding out to the Crater, cup of wrath. answering

plumed female

two

L 2

cups,

THE WITNESS OF THE

164

The

hieroglyphics

Knem, and

read

Knem means who

underneath.

STARS.

conquers,

are

placed is

con

The

quered, referring to the victory over the serpent.

woman

s name is Her-ua, great enemy, referring to the great enemy for which her two cups are prepared and intended.

The Hebrew name means

Lion,* and

this

of the

There are

Lion.

the

one

sign

Arieh,

which

Hebrew words

six

for

used of the Lion hunting down

his prey.

The

Syriac name is Aryo, Arabic is Al A sad; both

the

the rending Lion,

mean a

vehemently, leaping forth as a flame It

lion

and

coming

a beautiful constellation of 95

stars,

two

of which are of the ist magnitude, two of the 2nd, six of the 3rd, thirteen of the 4th.

The

brightest star, a (on the Ecliptic), marks the of the Lion (hence sometimes called by the

heart

moderns, Cor Leonis, the heart of the Lion). Its ancient Rcgulus, which means treading under foot.

name is The next

star,

also of the ist

magnitude

(in

the

named

Denebola, the Judge or Lord who cometh. The star y (in the mane) is called Al The star 8 (on the Giebha (Arabic), the exaltation.

tip of the tail), is

hinder part

the

back)

called

Zosma, shining

forth. *

s whelp. (2) Ciphir, a young lion when first hunting for him-, Sachal, a mature lion in full strength. (4) Laish, a fierce lion. (5) Labia, a lioness ; and (6) Arieh, an adult lion, having paired, in search of his prey (Nah. ii. 12 ; 2 Sam. xvii. 10 ; Num. xxiii. 24). self.

(i)

Gor, a lion

(3)

LEO.

Other

not

stars,

165

identified,

named

are

Sarcam

intimating that here is the point where the two ends of the Zodiacal circle have Another star has the name of Minchir their joining. the joining

(Hebrew),

A sad

(Arabic), the punishing or tearing of the Lion.

Another

And

;

Deneb Aleced,

another

the

Al Da/era

judge cometh who (Arabic),

the

seizes.

enemy put

down.

What

can be more expressive

more eloquent

All

unite in pointing us to of the Tribe of Judah.&quot;

And why applied to

Him

Rev.

judgment

can be

&quot;

Messiah thus called

for

rising

What

harmony, and all the names what is written of the Lion

v. :

and

Because

because

Lion

the

His

in connection with

known to have been always borne upon the standard of Judah, whether in the wilderness (Num. ii.) or in aftertimes.

Israel s

foretold of

Judah

hand

&quot;Thy

Judah

dying

shall

a lion

blessing

the

words

prophetic

be on the neck of thine enemies; s

whelp;

the prey, my son, thou art gone up. stooped down, he couched as a lion, And as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?&quot;

From

(Gen.

the

we read &quot;

Balaam (Num.

prophecy of

xlix. 8, 9.)

xxiv.

He shall eat up the nations his enemies, And shall break their bones, And pierce them through with his arrows, He couched, he lay down as a lion, And as a great lion who shall stir him up ? ;

&quot;

9),

THE WITNESS OF THE

166

The same Amos

testimony

STARS.

borne

by the

Prophet

Will a lion roar in the forest when he hath no prey ? Will a young- lion cry out of his den, if he hath taken

&quot;

nothing&quot;

The

lion hath roared,

who

will

not

fear?&quot;

(Amos

When

iii.

8.)

the Lion of the tribe of Judah is roused up for the rending, the Spirit describes the scene in Isa.

xlii.

&quot;

The LORD

&quot;

He He He

And

shall

shall stir

forth as a

up jealousy

shall cry, yea, roar; shall prevail against

His

mighty man, man of war;

enemies.&quot;

meant and included when the Elder says for John s comfort, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah hath prevailed&quot; and hence, is &quot;worthy ... to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and and honour, and glory, and blessing&quot; strength, this is

what

&quot;

(Rev.

v.).

Whether we

look, therefore, at the primeval

lation in the heavens,

the

or at

Reve

the later Revelation in

Word, the story is one and the same. And what we see of Leo and his work find

developed and

described in

in both, the three con

stellations of the Sign.

HYDRA

(The Serpent).

The Old Serpent Destroyed.

The time of the

many

has at length come for the fulfilment prophecies pictured in the heavens and :

LEO: (HYDRA AND CRATER). three final

in its

constellations

167

see the

consum

mation of them all in the complete destruction of the Old Serpent, and all his seed, and all his works. the special work of the Messiah, as the Lion of the tribe of Judah,&quot; to trample it under It

&quot;

foot. It

pictured as the female serpent

mother and author of ficant meaning, he

all

(Hydra), the

Hydra has the

evil.

signi

abhorred!

It is an immense constellation extending for above 100 degrees from east to west, beneath the Virgin, the Lion, and the Crab. It is composed of 60 stars ;

one of the 2nd magnitude, three of the 3rd, twelve of the 4th, etc.

The is

brightest star, a (in the heart of the Serpent), called by the moderns Cor Hydra

sometimes that

account.

Its

(Arabic), which means

other

called

Al Drian,

named Minchar

ancient

al Sugia,

Al Phard

put away.

the abhorred.

Another

star

Hydra, nor

what is

is taught by necessary to destruction of

the Scriptures concerning the the Serpent. pass on to consider the second.

quote

We 2.

CRATER

(The Cup).

The Cup of Divine wrath Poured out upon Him. God is the Judge. He putteth down one, and setteth up another, &quot;

FOR

the piercing of the deceiver.

There can be no doubt as the constellation

name

the separated,

THE HAND OF THE LflRD THERE

A CUP,

THE WITNESS OF THE

l68

And the wine is And He poureth

red;

out of the

full

STARS.

of mixture,

same

But the dreg s thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring- them out and drink them.&quot; (Ps. Ixxv. 8.) &quot;

Upon

the wicked he shall rain snares,

Fire and brimstone, and a horrible tempest

THIS SHALL BE THE PORTION OF THEIR

This

(Ps. xi. 6.)

CUP.&quot;

no fabled wine-cup of Bacchus

;

but

The of His indignation (Rev. xiv. 10) (Rev. cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath xvi. 19). This is what we see set forth in this con &quot;

The cup

&quot;

;

&quot;

stellation.

on by the

The Cup to

stars

The same Cup form part

serpent.

wide and deep, and fastened the very body of the writhing stars which are in the foot of is

of the body of Hydra, and are reckoned as belonging to both constellations.

the

This Cup has the significant stars (a),

(the number which means

of Apostacy). the

Cup, and

number

The two (|3)

of thirteen

Al Ches

determine the

bottom of the Cup.

CORVUS

(The Raven).

The Birds of Prey devouring

the Serpent.

We have Here is the final scene of judgment. had Zeeb, the Wolf ; now we have Oreb, the Raven. Her-na is its name in the Denderah Zodiac. Her, means the enemy ; and Na, means breaking up or failing. That is to say, this scene represents the breaking up of the enemy.

LEO: (CORVUS).

There are nine this

stars

constellation.

number of judgment)

(the

The

l6g

star

the eye) Chibar (Arabic), joining together, from the

called Al Hebrew Chiba (Num.

This

bright

xxiii.

(in

which means

8),

accursed.

then, tells of the curse inflicted. The star 3 (in the right wing) is called Al Goreb (Arabic), from Hebrew Oreb, the Raven. third star is named star,

Minchar

Gorab (Arabic), and means

the

Raven

tear

to pieces.

ing

This brings us to this.

beyond

Nothing

know from the Word &quot;The

And The

the

end.

remains

God

eye that mocketh

There be

nothing

that

at his father,

despiseth to obey his mother, ravens of the valley shall pick

out.&quot;

(Prov. xxx.

remember how

told.

David

said

17.)

the

Giant a type of this I enemy of God s people will smite thee, and take thy head from thee and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines Goliah

&quot;

;

this

day unto the fowls of the air, and earth&quot; (i Sam. xvii. 46).

the wild

beasts of the

When

the great day of this judgment comes, an angel standing in the sun will cry &quot;to all the fowls that fly in the midst of and

heaven, Come, gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of ;

captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and both small and

bond,

great&quot;

(Rev. xix. 17, 18).

THE WITNESS OF THE

iyO

And

STARS.

awful words shall be

after these

fulfilled,

the closing words of the prophecy of Isaiah, Jehovah foretells us how &quot;

They shall go forth, and look upon the carcases men that have transgressed against Me

of the

;

For

worm

their

shall

Neither shall their

And

not die,

fire

be quenched;

they shall be an abhorring unto

This It is all

all

flesh.&quot;

the teaching of the whole Sign of in Jer. xxv. 30-33

summed up

LEO

prophesy against them all these words, and say unto them, LORD shall roar from on high,

&quot;Therefore

The

And utter His voice from His holy habitation; He shall mightily roar upon His habitation He shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, ;

Against

all

the inhabitants of the earth.

come even

noise shall

to the

ends of the earth;

For the LORD hath a controversy with the

He He

will

plead with

will give

them

nations,

all flesh;

that

are

wicked

to the sword, saith

the LORD.

Thus

saith the

LORD of

hosts,

Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, And a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth.

And

the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth Even to the other end of the earth; They shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried ; They shall be dung upon the ground.&quot;

Here is the conclusion of the whole matter! Here is the final triumph of the Son of Man in the consummated victory of the Seed of the woman Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive :

&quot;

LEO: (CORVUS). power, and honour, and &quot;

riches,

glory,

171

and wisdom, and strength, and and blessing&quot; (Rev. v. 12).

what a bright and blessed world This groaning earth of ours will be, When from its throne the tempter hurled, Shall leave it all, O Lord, to Thee But brighter far that world above, Where we, as we are known, shall know; And, in the sweet embrace of love, !

Reign o er this ransomed earth below. blessed Lord with longing eyes That blissful hour we wait to see; While every worm or leaf that dies Tells of the curse, and calls for Thee.

Then o er all below Thy throne above, Thy glory know, creation feel Thy love.&quot;

Come, Saviour!

Shine brightly from Bid heaven and earth

And

Man He

all

has ever sought to rob Christ of His glory.

has long since done his

name and His work from

best

obliterate

His

the Revelation which had

in the stars of light. When He humbled and came as the promised Seed of the saw no beauty in Him that they woman, men should desire Him.&quot; And these were religions men. It was religious men, not the common rabble, whom the Old Serpent made use of to wound Him in the

been written Himself,

&quot;

heel.

The

religious

Him

Devil could not touch

must use them

men

as his instruments

;

and

himself; it

was only

that could be so used.

and scribes,&quot; men learned whose very knowledge of the Word was used to compass His death amongst the babes at Bethlehem (Matt. ii. 4-6). It

was the

&quot;

chief priests

in the Scriptures,

THE WITNESS OF THE

172 It

was the same

Him

used to put phesied

wound

priests to death,

STARS.

and scribes who were and give the long-pro

in the heel.

Religion without Christ is enmity against God! Knowledge of the Scriptures where the heart is not subject to Christ, and where Christ is not seen in It is true of the them, is powerless and lifeless. Scriptures, as &quot;THE

LAMB

The Church enemy glory.

will

rob the

JEROME,

be of the heavenly Jerusalem

THE LIGHT

Rome Lamb

in his

(Rev. xxi. 23).

THEREOF&quot;

has been used of the great

of God of His promised Latin translation of the Bible

HE, in Gen. iii. 15, as the ipse&quot; (405 A.D.), wrote of s head.&quot; bruiser the serpent And, in spite of himself so quotes it in his com the fact that JEROME &quot;

&quot;

mentary, and that

masculine

ancient translations of the

Bible,

all

Rome

other

the

has

first

e into corrupted JEROME S Vulgate by changing the and putting ipsa (she) instead of ipse (He) then she has so translated this corruption and per &quot;

&quot;

;

a,&quot;

So perversion in various languages her versions, in her pictures and statues, in the decree of Pope Pius IX., which promulgated the dogma of the u immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary,&quot; this lie of the Old Serpent has been foisted petuated

that in

this

all

on unnumbered thousands of deluded

souls,

who have

thereby been deceived into putting Mary in the place of Jesus; the co-Redemptress in the place of the &quot;

&quot;

Redeemer the

the creature in the place of the Creator

;

woman

in the place of the

the outcome

woman

Seed

;

reached by emblazoning, in huge

;

until gilt

LEO: (CORVUS). letters,

on the outside of a large church

Dublin, to

173

MARI/E PECCATORUM

&quot;

the Refuge of Sinners

Mary

Rathmines,

REFUGIUM,&quot;

So complete has been the success of the Serpent, that he Protestants to unite in

of the

versions as the

the

Devil

Word

beguiled thousands of circulating these corrupted

of God, thus

This

lie.

subtlety

has

giving currency to

done on the plea of ex

pediency, in order that these versions might come to many as Protestant truth instead of Popish error ;

but

misleading those who were seeking while confirming Papists in their darkness.

thus

light,

But through can detect

all

the

&quot;

wisdom

of the Serpent

for

&quot;

very thinly veiled, and the Old Serpent has not succeeded in blinding the eyes which the Spirit of God has opened. True, we see in all

his

Rome

lie.

pictures

on the Serpent down, nor

foot resting

It is

and statues the but the foot

head,

foot of is

the head crushed

its

head

;

Mary

not coming the woman s

I Rather is and the woman herself sup

ported by the Serpent.

The whole system of Mary-anity is thus seen to be the outcome of the Serpent s wisdom in opposition to the true Christ-ianity.

How heavens.

different are the primeval star-pictures of the

There, the club

lifted

up, the

foot

coming down, yea, the foot is actually planted upon the enemy, treading the Scorpion under foot.

Rome may corrupt the words of the Book, but she cannot touch the stars of heaven The Devil !

THE WITNESS OF THE

174

move them from

himself cannot

may

STARS. their

rupting the Scriptures written in

There,

head

glorious

There,

for cor

Book, but he

the

cannot change the Revelation of the

places.

choose and use his servants and agents stars.

woman s foot is seen upon the Serpent s no woman usurps the place of the all-

Redeemer

In Ophiuchus the Serpent, and heart (SCORPIO).

we we

see

HIM His

dread conflict with

upon the Scorpion s HIM, the Risen Lamb (ARIES), we binding Cetus, the great Monster of the Deep see HIM in the glorious Orion, whose foot is coming we see HIM in down on the enemy s head \(Lepds) about to tread the Lion of the Tribe of JtUl&n down that Old Serpent (Hydro) the Devil we see HIM in the mighty Hercules, who has his foot on the head of the Dragon (Draco), and his up-lifted club we see about to inflict the long-threatened blow HIM crowned in Cepheus, with all His enemies sub dued, and His right foot planted upon the Polar foot

;

(Lic&amp;lt;),

;

Star!

True, we do see a WOMAN in this heavenly and for there are four women. Divine revelation Two ;

are connected with the

REDEEMED.

REDEEMER, and two with the

The Redeemer

seen in the ont^/ViRGo)

as the &quot;promised Seed&quot;; in the other (Gwna), is seen as the child born, the Son given. The

deemed

He Re

are represented in one as a captive chained (Andromeda), with no power to wage conflict with an in the other (Casenemy, but a prey to every foe ;

LEO: (CORVUS).

175

she is enthroned, with no necessity for conflict. For with one hand she waves the palm of a victory which another (Perseus] has wrought on her behalf, while with her right hand she is preparing and making siopeia),

&quot;

herself ready for

Thus pure and of Divine

undefiled

this

Lamb.&quot;

primeval fountain

Thus harmonious is it with the And He who gave them God.

truth.

Word

written

the marriage of the

both to enlighten a dark world which lieth in the power of this wicked one, has filled both with one &quot;

subject

should

The

sufferings of Christ

and the glory that

follow.&quot;

These are

set

forth

by the

Holy

Spirit

double sevenfold expansion of the prophetic promise of Gen. iii. 15, giving seven steps in His humilia

and seven

tion

His

glorification (Phil.

ii.

5-11*).

CHRIST JESUS, 1.

Who, being

the form of God, thought

(a thing to

with

But

God

made

be grasped

and held)

not robbery to

be equal

;

Himself of no

reputation

(Gr.

emptied

Himself],

And took upon Him the form of a servant, And was made in the likeness of men And being found in fashion as a man. He humbled

And became

Even the death of the

Himself.

The

obedient unto death, cross.

passage consists really of two members, each of which is arranged as an whore the subject of I corresponds to 7 ; 2 corresponds to 6 ; etc.

introversion,

THE WITNESS OF THE

176

STARS.

WHEREFORE 2.

God And

That

6. 7.

also hath highly exalted

Him, is above every name : the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

given at

Him

name which

things in heaven,

And And And

things on earth, things under the earth;

that every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Amen. then, and, added to Thy many crowns, Receive yet one, the crown of all the earth, Thou who alone art worthy! It was thine By ancient covenant, ere Nature s birth And Thou hast made it Thine by purchase since,

&quot;Come,

;

And

overpaid

Thy Thy

saints proclaim title

Dipp d

its

value with

Thy

blood.

Thee king; and

in their

hearts

engraven with a pen

in the fountain of eternal love.

proclaim Thee king; and Thy delay Gives courage to their foes, who, could they see The dawn of Thy last advent, long desired, Would creep into the bowels of the hills, And flee for safety to the falling rocks.&quot;

Thy

saints

&quot;Come,

O then, and,

added

Thy many

Receive yet one, as radiant as the

crowns,

rest,

Due to Thy last and most effectual work, Thy Word fulfilled, the conquest of a world.&quot; (Cowper.)

(

)

AND FOR

SIGNS

&quot;FOR

177

SEASONS.&quot;

T 1 7E

have seen the great truths which are taught from the position, and forms, and names of the heavenly bodies. There are also truths to be learnt from their motions.

When God ment

created them and set them in the firma

of heaven, &quot;

said, in

Gen.

Let them be for signs and for

Here the word

&quot;

signs

othoth

seasons.&quot;

(flhfc,

plural of

JUS*,

oth, from the root HHX, to come). Hence, a sign of or some One to come. In something Jer. x. 2 Jehovah And be not at the signs (fiifiHi^l) of says, dismayed &quot;

the heavens, for the heathen are dismayed at them.&quot; seasons does not denote merely what

The word we call the

&quot;

time.

point

out,

of the year, but cycles of time (from the verb T^, to *l5?ifc, appointed It occurs three more times in appoint).

four seasons

Genesis, each time in connection with the promised

SeedGen,

xvii. 21,

Gen.

xviii. 14,

&quot;

&quot;At

this set time in the next the time appointed I will

&quot;

year return

;

&quot;

;

and Gen.

xxi.

spoken.&quot; S. 1005.

&quot;At

the set time of

which

God had

THE WITNESS OF THE

178

Gen. i. 14 is therefore, and stars) shall be for signs cycles (appointed

STARS.

&quot;

They (the sun, moon, (things to come) and for

times).&quot;

Here, then, we have a distinct declaration from God, that the heavens contain not only a Revelation concerning things

come in the

&quot;

Signs,&quot;

but also

concerning appointed times in the wondrous movements of the sun, and moon, and stars.

The motions

of the sun

and moon are so arranged

that at the end of a given interval of time they return into almost precisely the same position, with regard to each other and to the earth, as they held at the

Almost precisely,&quot; but beginning of that interval. not quite precisely. There will be a slight outstand ing difference, which will gradually increase in suc &quot;

cessive

intervals,

and

finally

destroy the possibility else lead to com

combination recurring, or binations of a different character.

of the

Thus the daily difference between the movement of the sun and of the stars leads the sun back very nearly to conjunction with the same star as it was twelve months earlier, and gives us the cycle of the The slight difference in the sun s position re year. lative

leads

the

stars

the

end of the year,

finally

sun back to the same star at the same

viz., at the spring equinox, and gives us the great precessional cycle of 25,800 years.

time of the year,

So,

too,

with eclipses.

Since the circumstances

reproduced almost exactly days later, this period is called an to which the ancient astronomers gave Eclipse Cycle, of 1

any given and

8 years

eclipse

are

FOR SIGNS AND FOR SEASONS. the

name

of Saros

* ;

other by an exact

and

Ijg

eclipses separated from each

cycle, and,

therefore,

correspond

ing closely in their conditions, are spoken of as being one and the same eclipse. Each Saros contains, on the average, about- 70 Of these, on the eclipses. are solar and 28 are lunar. Since the average, 42 Saros is ii days (or, more correctly, 10-96 days) longer

than 1 8 years, the successive recurrences of each eclipse fall days later in the year each time, and in 33 Sari will have travelled on through the year

and come round very nearly to the original date. But as the Saros does not reproduce the con ditions of an eclipse with absolute exactness, and as the difference increases with every successive return,

a time comes when the return of the Saros

fails

If the eclipse be a bring about an eclipse at all. solar one before this takes place, a new eclipse begins to form a month later in the year than the old one,

and becomes the This

first

eclipse of a

new

series.

the history of one such eclipse

On May

850 A.D., there was a (new) eclipse of the sun, and it occurred as a partial eclipse. On August 20 (Julian), 1012 A.D., this new eclipse became total. From that time it has been an annular eclipse, the (Julian),

latitude of the central shadow gradually shifting south ward from the north, until on December 17 (Julian), It turned north 12 10, it had reached N. Lat. 24. ward again after 1210, until March 14 (Julian), 1355, when it fell in N. Lat. 43. Then it turned south, * General Vallancey spells Saros Viz.

V = 300 + y =

fi Wfc,

which amounts to 666 by Gematria

+ 1 = 200 4- = 6 + f = 90 = 666. 1

THE WITNESS OF THE

l8o

and has moved steadily

March

that

STARS. until

direction,

1950, its last appearance as an annular eclipse will take place. On May 22 (Greg.), 2058, it will fall so far from the node that a new eclipse will follow it on June 21. .It will make three (Greg.),

appearances as an ever - diminishing partial eclipse, and be last seen on June 24 (Greg.), 2112. Its total life-history, therefore, will have been 1,262 years and 36 days, and will have occupied 70 Sari. In the above life-history of an eclipse * there is not

the

slightest

difficulty

its

identification.

The

Saros shows no break, and no interruption nor does the character of the eclipse surfer any abrupt change. ;

The

district

and

over which

orderly over the earth

visible

moves

a slow

fashion from occurrence to occurrence s surface.

Now the important point is this, that if we take the prophetic reckoning of 360 days to the year, we have the following significant Biblical numbers :

In the first place, we already have the jo divided into two portions of 33 + 37. f

perfect

595 years,

Sari

cycle is accomplished in 33 Sari, or the eclipse, by a series of unbroken

when

* These facts are kindly supplied by Mr. E.

W. Maunder,

of the Royal Obser

vatory, Greenwich, who gives another example, as follows : In A. D. 586 there were two solar eclipses : on June 22 (Julian) the old

and dying

Saros (viz. 18 years and eclipse, and on July 22 (Julian) another (the new one). II days) earlier there was only one, viz. on June II (Julian), A.D. 568, there being

no eclipse on July 1 1 of that year. The last appearance of this new eclipse, which first appeared on July 22, 586, was on August 28 (Greg.), 1848, so that it had a life history of 70 Sari, amounting to 1,262 years 36 days (after the Julian dates have been corrected to correspond to the Thus the eclipse that died, so to speak, on August 28 (Greg.), 1848, Gregorian). See an important article on Eclipses first appeared on July 22 (Julian) in A. D. 586. Maunder in Knowledge, for October 1893, where other life-histories of E. W. Mr. by eclipses are given, and the whole subject of eclipses clearly explained.

FOR SIGNS AND FOR SEASONS.

l8l

has accomplished a passage through the year

Sari,

of 360 days or, if we reckon only the whole numbers, 18 completed years, we have for the 33 Sari i.e., the the period of 594 years, while the remaining portion ;

of 37 Sari makes 666 years (37x18); and the whole Sari makes 1,260 years (594 + 666).* 7o

We have

then the following figures

18 x 33 8 x 37

594 years. 666 years.

8 x 70

1260 years.

Independently of this, we also know that 1,260 years is a soli-lunar cycle, so exact that its epact, or

There these

with

its

only 6 hours

difference,

must,

e.g.,

divisions, not into

594 and 666

;

therefore,

numbers,

as also in

;

something significant the.

two equal

its

number

1,260,

parts, but into

double, 2,520.

There must be something to be learned in the occurrence and repetition of these heavenly cycles, which for nearly 6,000 years have been constantly heavens, especially when we find same numbers very prominently presented in

repeated in the these the

Word

God

connection with the fulfilment

of prophecy.

have the great

&quot;seven

times&quot;

nected with the duration of Israel of the Gentiles power. *

The

relations is

relations

between

have

(2,520)

con

punishment, and Daniel and the

between 595 years and 1,262 years 36 days, are the same as the and 1,260 years. The difference of the 2 years 36

594. years

due to the excess of 10-96 days over the 18 completed years

each

Sii

THE WITNESS OF THE

182

Apocalypse the half of (1,260), as

&quot;days&quot;

STARS.

this great period presented as

&quot;months&quot;

(42),

and as

&quot;times,&quot;

and

months,&quot;

or years (3!).

Futurists believe that these

&quot;days&quot;

&quot;

etc., interpret for us the purposes and counsels of God as connected with the time of the end,&quot; and as &quot;

meaning

literal

&quot;days&quot;

and

&quot;months,&quot;

Historicists take these terms,

pret the numbers, in the sense of a for

year,

will

and they

fulfilled as

etc.

and themselves

inter

&quot;

day

believe that these

being put

&quot;1,260

days&quot;

1,260 years.

One

party boldly and ungraciously charges the with teaching The Fallacies of Futurism&quot; ; while the other might well retort with a reference to

other

&quot;

the Heresies of Historicism.

But

is there any necessity for the existence of two camps ? Is it not possible that there may be what we may call a long fulfilment in years ? And is it not more than probable that in the time of the end, the crisis, there will be also a short and literal ful

hostile

filment in days

We and

firmly

believe

&quot;days,&quot;

that there will

short fulfilment.

believe that

be this

literal

when God says when He says

He means days; and that He means months, and not

1,260 years. the passages referred to by historicists in sup port of what is called &quot;the year-day theory,&quot; the Holy Spirit uses these words &quot;days&quot; and &quot;years&quot; &quot;42

months,&quot;

all

in the sense of

days and years.

Ezekiel

In the two particular

wanderings (Num. xiv. 34), and prophesying (Ezek. iv. 6), He chooses to

instances of Israel

FOR SIGNS AND FOR SEASONS.

183

take the number of days as denoting the same number tell us that we are to do

of years but He does not the same in other cases ;

sumption

only asserts His sove

we only show our

reignty by thus acting, while

taking His sovereign act

pre

a genera]

principle.

But while fully believing in the short fulfilment, we are quite prepared to admit that there may be a long fulfilment as well; and that, owing to the wondrous harmony, and marvellous correspondence, and infinite of all the works and ways of God, there may

wisdom

be a fulfilment, or rather a

&quot;filment,&quot;

we may

coin

the word, in years, which will be only a foreshadowing of the literal /^/-filnient afterwards to take place in days. If historicists will allow us

pretation,

what

this liberty as to inter to believe that God means

and permit us

says,

will

give

them some remarkable

evidence in support of their views, by way of appli In other words, if they will allow us to in cation. as meaning days, we will gladly allow days terpret &quot;

&quot;

in applying them to So that while we believe the interpretation to and to teach a short fulfilment at the days,&quot;

them, and be at one with them, years.

mean

&quot;

time of the end, tion

which

will thankfully

shall take these

admit an applica

days as foreshowing a long

fulfilment in years.

In applying, then, 70,

594, 666, 1,260, or date shall

point

of the

&quot;

we begin

reckon the

&quot;times

That there are such (Luke the words of the Lord Jesus show, times xxi. 24)

Gentiles&quot;

definite

significant numbers (42, 2,520) to years, from what

these

and

&quot;

THE WITNESS OF THE

184

when He

STARS.

says, Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.&quot; Gentiles, &quot;

That there are &quot;seven times&quot; of more than intimated by the sym bolic episode in the life of Nebuchadnezzar as recorded in Dan. iv. and that there are &quot;seven times&quot; of xxi.

(Luke

24).

Gentile dominion

;

Israel s &quot;

Seven

clearly stated in Lev. xxvi. 18. according to the Historicist school of

punishment times,&quot;

interpreters, are equal to 2,520 years.

Instead of asking where they begin, let us first note the fact that it is duration which is emphasised in the Scriptures rather than chronology ; and look at the

duration

these

we attempt

before

years

fix,

of, and and ending.

independently

their beginning

is shown first to Nebu and afterwards to God s servant the prophet in a &quot;vision,&quot; that Israel was to be put on one side and become Lo-Ammi (not My people), while government was to be put into the hands of the Gentiles. Jerusalem was the central point of both these great and solemn facts. That is to say,

In Daniel

chadnezzar

ii.

and

vii.

&quot;

dream,&quot;

&quot;

during 2,520 years, while Jerusalem should remain in the power of the Gentiles, Israel could be no more &quot;

a nation

&quot;

in possession of their

land and

city.

know, as a matter of fact, that to-day Jeru salem is in the hands of the Turks, and that it is still

&quot;

trodden down of the

we ask how long down ? how long it If

Gentiles.&quot;

shall continue to

&quot;

trodden

be before Israel shall again the answer brings possess their city and their land ? us at once to the heart of our subject. will

FOR SIGNS AND FOR SEASONS.

185

In seeking to determine both duration and chrono logy, it is necessary to plant our feet on sure ground.

To do

this, let

us take a point on which

all

are agreed.

There is one date which is universally accepted and concerning which the evidence is unquestioned.

ABU OBEIDA,

Mahommedan

the

General, laid siege

The

to Jerusalem towards the close of 636 A.D.

was

then

the

;

city

Romans, who held out

occupied by for four months. When they capitulated, the Patri arch SOPIIROXIUS obtained a clause in the treaty giving security to the inhabitants, and requiring the ratifica tion of OMAR himself. OMAR, who had therefore to

be sent for, arrived some six months afterwards, and the delay caused the actual delivering up of the city to take place early in the autumn of A.D. 637.*

The

year A.D. 636-7 is therefore the accepted date of the passing over of Jerusalem from the Romans to the Turks.

OMAR seems to have stayed in the city only about ten days, during which he must have given his in structions for the erection of the Mosque on the site This Mosque, therefore, stands as of the Temple. the sign and the symbol of the treading down of Jerusalem, and while ing

remains, those times of tread

down cannot be considered

How

steady was

chadnezzar to darkest

OMAR

moment

as fulfilled.

decadence from Nebu Nothing would exceed that

Israel s !

Israel s history,

when

Israel

was

* This is the date which concerns The Romans only .the City of Jerusalem. were not completely driven out from thf land until L\v&amp;gt;aiva had fallen in 638, when Sue Gibbou s Decline and / the conquest was finally completed &amp;lt;;//.

THE WITNESS OF THE

well nigh obliterated in

who

enemies

STARS.

the mighty struggles of her her inheritance. Thus

over

fought the great central point of the 2,520

OMAR becomes

whether reckoned as Lunar, Zodiacal, or Solar, dividing them equally into two portions of 1,260 years.* years,

Having thus

which already us go back and find the better understand

fixed the central date,

points forward to the end,

let

we may

the starting point, that

the end.

When

Daniel was explaining to Nebuchadnezzar Thou art this head dream, he said, &quot;

his mysterious

* This date 636-7 is a great and important central date, whether we reckon backwards or forwards whether we reckon them as Lunar, Zodiacal (360 days), or Solar (365 days) years. ;

Lunar years (=1222% Solar) reckoning backward, we get to 587 B.C.,

take

the very date of the destruction

Temple by Nebuchadnezzar. reckoning forward, we get to 1860 A. D., the very date of of the

the European

intervention in the Lebanon, which has brought the Eastern Question into If

its

present prominent position.

take Zodiacal years (=1242 Solar) reckoning backward we get to 6oS B.C., the date of the battle of Carchemish (2 Chrou. xxxv. 20), when Babylon completed the conquest of Assyria, and became supreme ; utterly shattering all the hope which

Israel had in Egypt. reckoning forward brings us to 1879 A.D., when, by the Treaty of Berlin, Ottoman power received a blow from which it has never recovered, and which has prepared the way for its extinction. If we take Solar years, then reckoning backward, we get to B.C. 624 (A.M. 3376), the beginning of the

Babylonian kingdom, the &quot;head of gold.&quot; reckoning fonvard we get to 1896-7 A. D., which is yet future. These reckonings in their beginnings and endings form an introversion, or

Epanodos, thus

587

) 1-3.C.

6oS

dates increasing.

624) iSoo j

-A. D.

1879

1896-7

are the more important dates ; the Lunar are next in while Zodiacal reckonings furnish us with dates which, to say the

The Solar reckonings significance least,

fit

;

dates increasing.

)

neatly into their places.

FOR SIGNS AND FOR SEASONS. gold&quot;! (Dan. ii. 38). This moment is popularly, but erroneously, supposed to mark the commence

ment of the Babylonian kingdom four great Gentile powers. But Daniel spoke of what

was explaining &quot;

God

ALREADY

hath given thee a kingdom, power,

years, for

existed,

existence

for

and said,

and

The kingdom

37).

of these

strength, of Babylon

more than

thirty

king had destroyed Jerusalem and burnt with fire, and brought away many captives,

its

Temple

amongst

ii.

first

condition of things.

the then

and glory&quot; (Dan. had already been the

the

whom was

Daniel and his companions.

opening words of the book make

this

The

very clear.

The monumental

history of Babylon, as now dug shows that before this it had been sometimes tributary to, and sometimes almost independent of,

up,

In A.M. 3352, after a severe struggle with the Assyrian king, Babylon was once

Assyria.

Assurbanipal,

more subdued, and

king setting fire to his palace After that there was peace for twenty-two years, during which time Kandalanu governed Babylon in succession to Sumas-sum-ukin, its

perished in the flames.

a son of Assurbanipal. In A.M. 33/5 (i.e. B.C. 627),* another revolt broke and the Assyrian king sent a general of great

out,

ability

quell

it.

His

(which means Ncbo protects

name was Nabu-pal-user his son). He put down

* These dates are those furnished by the Monuments, as given by Dr. Budge, Museum, in his Babylonian Life and History, R.T.S., 1885. They also agree \\ilh the dates dug up by Sir Henry Rawlinson in 1862, consisting of

of the British

Eponyin Canon of Assyria,&quot; by which fragments of seven copies of the famous Before this, historians had to the Assyrian chronology has been definitely settled. be content with inferences and conjectures. &quot;

THE WITNESS OF THE

l88

the rebellion with

much

made him governor

STARS.

that

skill

of Babylon.

Assurbanipal shortly after

wards, in A.M. 3376, himself rebelled, and made himself King of Babylon. Associating with him his son Nebuchadnezzar, they commenced a campaign Assurbanipal, which ended in Nineveh and the complete subjugation

against

The

kingdom

Babylon,

625,* became the foretold in Daniel. B.C.

There

first

practically

thus

the of

fall

Assyria.

commencing kingdom

great Gentile

no question, now, as to

this

date.

The

actual

duration

of the

kingdoms that

three

Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece, may Their not perhaps be so accurately determined. followed

total

duration

known date

known,

controversial matter their

because

at the other end, but

exact relative

we attempted

duration.

is fixed by a might introduce

it it

to assign to

them

Probably they were, Medo-Persia years

Babylon about go roughly Greece about 304 years. about 200 years :

;

believe these to be fairly proportionate,! but

whether they are or not, their total amount must have been 594 years, because the undisputed date of the battle of ACTIUM, by which Augustus became the head of the

Roman Empire, was September B.C.

31.

* In adjusting the A.M. and B.C. dates, the latter are always apparently one year in advance of the former, because B.C. 4000 was A.M. I, and B.C. 3999 was A.M. 2. Hence A.M. 3376 is not B.C. 624, but it is B.C. 625. f Cyrus took Babylon, according to the Monuments, iu the I7th year of Nabonidus, I Maccabees i. begins the first of Alexander from the death of Darius

B.C. 539.

Codomannus in A.M. 3672. years of separate duration.

This would slightly vary the above distribution of the

FOR SIGNS AND FOR SEASONS.

From

189

Jerusalem passed permanently under until the Mahommedan conquest

this date

Rome

the power of in A.D. 636-7.

have, therefore, three fixed dates, and these decide for us the duration of the intervening periods ;

them into the two great Eclipse Cycles 594 years and 666 years

dividing

Jerusalem under the

Gentiles.

Fixed Dates,

Babylon (the

Kingdom) commenced

ist

Battle of Actium, ending the possession of the 3rd Kingdom -

B.C.

625

B.C.

Duration of Years.

Duration of the three Kingdoms,-* and Babylon, Medo Persia, Greece, together (ist Eclipse

Cycle)

the (the 4th Kingdom) became possessor of Jerusalem Mahommedan conquest of Jerusalem,

Rome

ending the possession of Duration of

Rome

g,^

J &quot;I

- J

possession of -

Jerusalem (2nd Eclipse Cycle) FIRST HALF OF &quot;THE TIMES OF THE i

&quot;

GENTILES

Date of Mahommedan conquest of Je -

rusalem

A.D.

SECOND HALF OF &quot;THE TIMES OF THET GENTILES&quot; and Duration of Mahom-

1260

&amp;gt;

- J possession of Jerusalem of &quot;the times o f l &quot;fulness&quot; -J tVif the Gentiles

medan End and

636-7

. D&amp;gt;I

396-7

1260

2520

fipntilp&amp;lt;;&quot;

* In A.D. dates, one year must always be deducted, passing from B.C. dates to from B.C. 2 to A.D. 2 is only three years, not four ! Thus

e.g.,

From ,,

Hence,

Jan.

B.C. 2 to Jan. I to ,,

B.C.

A.D.

636

B.C. 31 to A.D.

666

B.C.

I is

A.D.

I is

A. D. 2 is

years, not 667.

one year making o tie year only Jthree one year ) years. ~\

THE WITNESS OF THE

From

this

STARS.

appears that 1896-7 A.D. would mark

the fulfilment, and complete the duration, of of the Gentiles.&quot;

&quot;times

The above over

all

reckoning has the following advantages previous historicist interpretations :

Controverted dates are excluded.

2. The whole period of 2520 years is dealt with, instead of only the latter half (1260), as is usually the case. 3.

It confines

these

&quot;

times

the

Lord Himself put them,

said,

Gentiles,

These

shall

&quot;Jerusalem till

&quot;

to the one place

viz.,

where

&quot;JERUSALEM.&quot;

be trodden down of the

the times of the Gentiles be

fulfilled.&quot;

times,&quot; therefore, are confined to Jerusalem. is confined to It treading down Jerusalem. not the city of Rome that is to be trodden down

This is

&quot;

for

1260 years.

separated

duration,

Why

Why,

then,

what

from

and applied

should historicists

should these

&quot;times&quot;

characteristic

of their

Rome, papal or imperial ? search for some act of em

or popes in the early part of the seventh century in order to add it to 1260, so as to find some terminal date in or near our own times *

perors

We &quot;

claim that the Lord Himself has joined these Gentiles&quot; with the city of &quot;Jerusalem,&quot;

times of the

and we

&quot;

say,

together, let not *

What,

man

While the premisses of the

clusions are

shown

therefore,

put

God

asunder&quot;

hath

(Matt. xix.

joined 6).

Historicist school arc thus streugtheued, their con

be erroneous.

FOR SIGNS AND FOR SEASONS.

When as &quot;

though

Jesus spoke of this treading down, it looks it were then still future for He said, ;

Jerusalem shall be trodden

down,&quot;

etc.

The occu

pation of Jerusalem by Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome, was for purposes of government rather than for a wanton treading down. Government on the earth was committed unto them. But when Jerusalem passed

from the government of the Roman Empire into the hands of the Turks, it could then be said, in a very trodden down.&quot; For of any special sense, to be &quot;

government worthy of the name there has been none and of desolation and desecration the city has been ;

Under

full.

the

feeble

rule

of the

Turks,

the

all

Gentiles seem to have combined in laying waste the

holy city.

Though Jews are returning thither in ever-increas They ing numbers, they are only strangers there. have as yet no independent position, nor can they make any end,

treaties.

But when these

means that they

will

&quot;

have

times

&quot;

shall

position

independence to be able to make a treaty and or league with the coming Prince (Dan. ix. 27) then the course of events will bring on another treading down of 1260 literal &quot;days,&quot; which will sufficient

;

thus have had a fore-shadowing fulfilment in years This is written in Rev. xi. 2. And to save us from !

any misunderstanding, the time but in

The Temple which

given, not in days,

&quot;months&quot;

angel, after directing of God and the altar,

John

to &quot;

adds,

measure the but the court

without the Temple leave out, and measure

THE WITNESS OF THE

IQ2

STARS.

it not for it is given unto the Gentiles and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two ;

;

months.&quot;

This refers to a future treading down, which will be limited to the brief period of literal forty two the time of the Prince and months,&quot; during coming &quot;

&quot;

;

&quot;

His

break &quot;

midst

the

holy

the

covenant

abomination

is still

&quot;

week, when

last

with

the

desolation

shall

up the which 27

set

Jews,*

&quot;

ix.

future in Matt. xxiv. 15),

(Dan and &quot;tread down the ;

city.&quot;

We that

now

all

desire

these dates,

and

specially emphasize the fact their termination in a rapidly

approaching fulfilment, refer ONLY TO JERUSALEM, AND THE GENTILES, AND THE JEWS They refer only to the end of the Gentile possession of Jerusalem, and !

to the settlement

of the Jews in their

own

city

and

land.

times and seasons These have nothing what ever to do with the Church of God&quot; (i Thess. v. i). The mystical Body of Christ, whenever its members are complete, will be taken up to meet the Lord &quot;

&quot;

Head

the

with the

of the Lord&quot;

Body (i

Thess.

iv.

the

air,

15-17).

be ever

This glorious

event has nothing to do with any earthly sign or circumstance, so far as the members of this mystical Body are concerned. *

And

cause sacrifice and oblation to cease (Daii.

ix. 27).

We know that

But they are not entitled to so interpret this historicists, to the Messiah. passage unless they take with it viii. II, si. 31, and xii. n, where the same event is distinctly referred to, and is spoken, not of Christ, but of Antichrist. ferred,

FOR SIGNS AND FOR SEASONS.

Therefore

Lord

of the

;

193

are not dealing here with the coming for His saints, or with them.

either

referring to what is commonly and called &quot;the end of the world.&quot; are erroneously out that the end of Gentile dominion merely pointing

are

not

over Jerusalem is drawing near And we cannot close our eyes to the marvellous manner in which the veil !

to the change being removed from Jewish hearts has come over the Jewish nation in its attitude towards Christ and Christianity, chiefly, is

which

under

God, through the unparalleled circulation more than a quarter of a million copies of a new translation of the New Testament into He

brew, by the late Isaac Salkinson, published by the Trinitarian Bible Society, and freely distributed

by the Mildmay Mission to the Jews to the Pales tine literature which has sprung up amongst the :

to the persecutions in various recent years are stirring their nest, and setting to the organized emigration the nation in motion in

Jews

countries which

which

promoters avowedly speak of a nursery ground for Palestine&quot; (Daily Graphic, to the railways completed and March loth, 1892)

to Argentina,

its

&quot;

course of construction in the Holy

numerous Societies and

permeated the whole nation, which, various names, have only one object tion of Palestine.&quot;

When we the or

put

these

teaching

of the

appointed

times,

1005.

events

side

heavens

merely

are

Land

to the

branches which have

their

while &quot;

having

the colonisa

by side with the

&quot;

cycles

showing N

how

THE WITNESS OF THE

STARS.

wonderfully they agree with what is written in the Book, and witnessed to by great and uncontested historic dates.

are we absolutely naming a definite year or for these Palestine events. even After all, they day can be only approximate, for man has so misused every gift that God has ever given him, that even with such wondrous heavenly time-keepers he cannot

Nor

you what year

really tell

of reckoning, there mencement of the A.D.

loss

between

accuracy

the

And, besides

confusion

era,

A.M.,

as to the

this

com

which makes absolute and A.D. dates B.C.,

impossible.

Added in

mind,

to this, there

viz.,

that

when

another point to be borne

the

&quot;times

end, Jewish independence immediate or complete!

For when Nebuchadnezzar began Babylon their

in A.M.

land and

3376 city,

of the

need

shall

not

his

Gentiles&quot;

either

kingdom of

625), the Jews,

though in were not independent. Nebu (B.C.

chadnezzar went to and

fro

Jerusalem,

and put

down and set up whom he would and it was not till some thirty years afterwards that he destroyed the City and Temple and made the people captives. ;

So, likewise, in the time of the

end, there

may

be an epanodos. There may be a similar period of possession without independence, a quasi-independence

by the Great Powers

guaranteed

we know,

may

and, for ought be that, in order to gain complete ;

FOR SIGNS AND FOR SEASONS.

make

independence, they may ultimately league with the coming Prince.

that

fatal

So that while we name the dates 1896-7 as being

are not

&quot;

fixing dates

&quot;

in the ordinary term, but merely pointing out some of the signs of the times,&quot; concerning which we ought not to be ignorant.

significant,

of the

sense &quot;

The

true

interpretation

will

case

any

remain, and will surely be literally fulfilled in time. The Word of God will be vindicated ;

phetic

truth will

glorified

;

be verified

;

God Himself

still

its

own

its

pro be

will

and His people saved with an everlasting

salvation.

Meanwhile the members of His Body will wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath &quot;

come&quot;

Thess.

for that blessed

the great

God

10).

They

will live

&quot;looking

hope, and the glorious appearing of and our Saviour Jesus Christ, who

for us, that He might redeem us from and purify unto Himself a peculiar people a people for His own possession) zealous of

gave Himself all

iniquity,

(R.V.,

(Titus ii. 13, 14). They will look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ,&quot; from heaven, the Jew, believing that there is no hope either for

good

&quot;

works&quot;

&quot;

the Gentile, or the Church of God,&quot; or for a groaning until the times of refreshing shall come &quot;

creation,

from the presence of the Lord and He shall send whom the heaven must receive until ;

Jesus Christ, the times of

restitution

all

things,

which N 2

God

THE WITNESS OF THE

ig6

STARS.

spoken by the mouth of ALL HIS HOLY PROPHETS SINCE THE WORLD BEGAN&quot;

hath

(Acts &quot;

iii.

19-21).

The world There

sick,

for

and yet not unto death a day of health in store

;

From lips of love there comes the healing- breath, The breath of Him who all its sickness bore, And bids it rise to strength and beauty evermore. Evil

still

The Of life The

and deep within we feel and the palsy, and the pain

reigns;

fever,

perpetual heartaches, that reveal rooted poison, which, from heart and brain, labour to extract, but labour all in vain. s

skill avails not ages come and go, Yet bring with them no respite and no cure; The hidden wound, the sigh of pent-up woe, The sting we smother, but must still endure, The worthless remedies which no relief procure,

Our

;

All these cry out for something more divine, Which the worst woes of earth may not withstand

;

Medicine that cannot fail the oil and wine, The balm and myrrh, growth of no earthly land, And the all-skilful touch of the great Healer s hand.

Man needs a prophet Heavenly Prophet, speak, And teach him what he is too proud to hear. Man needs a priest: True Priest, Thy silence break, And speak the words of pardon in his ear. Man needs a king- O King, at length in peace appear.&quot; :

APPENDIX.

APPENDIX. Note on

ON all

the

SIGN

LIBRA.

page 47. we called attention to the point that in the Sign LIBRA was a very ancient

probability

corruption.

The

ancient Akkadian

name

for the seventh

which was the month when the sun was

now

month,

in the

Sign

was Tul-ku, which means the sacred The Akkadian name for this Sign mound, or altar. was Bir, which means the Light, hence, the Lamp with

called LIBRA,

its

light, or

FIG.

the Altar with

The Circular Altar,

its

in the Sign

fire.

now

called Libra.

THE WITNESS OF THE

2.OO

Its

STARS.

most ancient form was a circular

altar.*

Figure i we have reproduced this,f and it will be at once seen that we have the original of the disc now preserved in the two circular Sign of LIBRA.

scales

which form the

The next stage of the corruption is shown in the Akkadian name of Scorpio (the Scorpion) the Sign immediately to the left of the Altar. It was called Gir-tab, which means the Seizer and Stinger, and the next Figure (2), taken from an Euphratean boundary stone, | shows the two Signs combined, for the Scorpion stretching out or Altar.

FIG.

its

claws in order to

seize

the

Lamp

The Scorpion and

the Lamp. (From an Euphratean Boundary Stone.)

See ARATOS, line 440. As proved by Mr. Robt. Brown, junr., in his Remarks on the Euphratean Astronomical Names of the Signs of the Zodiac (p. 16). J By the kind permission of Mr. Robt. Brown, jvmr., The Celestial Equator of f

A rat os,

466.

APPENDIX.

201

Thus the meaning of its name is exemplified. It called the Seizer and Stinger. And just as in the constellation above it, the Serpent is struggling with the man, while at the same time it is stretching out is

its neck to seize the crown,* so here the Scorpion, while trying to sting the same man in the heel, is stretching out its claws to seize the altar.

A this

seal

Circular

nearly 700 B.C., shows actually in the grasp of the

contract,

Altar

Scorpion.

FlG.

Scorpion and Lamp.

(From an Euphratean

Seal.)

Figure 3 is a picture of this Euphratean Seal, preserved on a contract made on the 8th day of the month Tisri, i.e., this same seventh month f !

This then

the

next stage.

The

But Mr. Robert

or other repre Brown, junr., observes, sentation of an Altar not unnaturally disappeared as &quot;

Circle

* See this shown on the cover of this book.

f Menant, Empreintes de Cachets Assyro-Chalctfans, du 8 Tisri, de 1 aunee de Biu-takkil-ani, 690 ou 645 avant

&quot;

9. J.C.&quot;

Sur un central date

THE WITNESS OF THE

202

STARS.

the use of the Sign advanced westward whether by sea, or across Asia Minor, or both, and the Chelai ;

alone remained

when

the shores of the

^gean

were

reached.&quot;

Greek name for the Sign which means Chelai, simply the Claws. And thus the Scorpion monopolised two Signs its body one, and its claws the other. This led to the mistake of This

quite true, for the

was

;

SERVIUS, the intelligent commentator on ViRGiL,f that the Chaldean Zodiac consisted of but eleven con &quot;

stellations.&quot;

now know

Signs, and the mistake

FIG.

The

Constellation of

&quot;the

now * Researches on the p. 17.

f In Georgica,

33.

that

there were twelve

thus explained.

Claws.&quot;

Formerly the Circular Altar,

Libra.

Euphratean Astronomical Names of the Signs of

the Zodiac,

APPENDIX.

2O3

Mr. Brown quotes ACHILLES TATIUS, about 475 A.D., Fragment on the Phainomena, who says, ra$ )Aa

in a

ray KaXoujtxeva^

UTT

ARATUS says

A/yu7TT/)v Zuyov.*

that

are in the (Celestial) scribes the stars, now

what he

calls

&quot;

some few

&quot;

stars of the

reckoned in

The

Claws

And PTOLEMY

Equator.&quot;

LIBRA,

Constellation of the

being

Claws.&quot;

have reproduced them so that his description of them may be readily traced. He speaks of &quot;The

brig-ht Claw.&quot;

&quot;The

one (It

marked a). one more named /).

of those is

the

named Zuben than

northerly

end of the southern el Genubi and now

it,

and

dimmer&quot;

bright one of those at the end of the northern (named Zuben el Chemali, and now marked )3). The one in front of it and dim (8).

&quot;The

(now Claw&quot;

&quot;

one The one

&quot;The &quot;

in in

the middle of the southern the

Claw&quot;

middle of the northern Claw

marked The one behind it in The foremost of the

i).

&quot;

(now

&amp;lt;y).

&quot;

northern

&quot;

three

(i f).

southern one of the two

&quot;The &quot;

Claws&quot;

same Claw (if). more northerly than the

the

hindmost&quot;

The hindmost of the three between the stars now marked K or A).

().

the Claws

&quot;

(one of

northern of the two remaining and preceding ones

&quot;The

(?)

southern one of them

&quot;The

This

&quot;

(n).

how

the stars formerly in the Sign of the (Circular) ALTAR, came to be reckoned in the Claws

AP PETAVIUS,

Zugon&quot;

e.,

The claws, called by the 168, any two things together. &quot;

Uranologion,

the yoke that joins

Egyptian*

THE WITNESS OF THE

204

of the Scorpion

of LIBRA

and

;

came

this is

STARS.

how

the circular scales

substituted

the

for

ancient

Circular ALTAR.

This corruption of the primitive teaching of the ALTAR, shows how the enemy attempted to seize on the Atonement, bring in the way of Cain,&quot; and &quot;

human

the atoning sacrifice of thus perverting the truth at its fountain head. Just as in Gen. -iii. we have the woman s promised Seed in conflict with the Enemy, so in Gen. iv. we substitute

Christ

merit

for

;

the Scorpion s claws the way of

see

conflict with

way

&quot;the

Cain&quot;

&quot;

God.&quot;

There can be but

little doubt, therefore, that the of the Zodiac was VIRGO, the second was Sign the ALTAR, and the third was the SCORPION. The first

lesson which

woman

they teach

who was

clear

come

The Seed

of the

as a child, should

(VIRGO), be a sacrifice (the ALTAR) for the sins of His people endure a great conflict with the enemy (SCORPIO), in ;

which

in the

end crush and tread the enemy under

should be wounded in the heel

;

but should foot.

w&e

*&amp;gt;

tf-rt&amp;lt;rj2&amp;lt;@r

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