The rest of the story: written in the sky

---

He counts the stars and calls them all by name.

Psalm 147:4

---

There is a deeper, more fascinating meaning in the signs of the zodiac than you will ever find in the daily horoscope column.

Each of these astrological signs, in one way or another, talks about a mighty Person who is going to come, triumph over a great enemy, take away sin and its terrible consequences, and establish an era of great health, wealth and well-being right here on this earth. This person is Jesus Christ. Each of these signs tell a part of the story of his return in triumphant glory -- returning to establish his kingdom on this earth.

Before there was a written Word, the astrological signs were God's own testimony, his own sign language, the revelation of his plan for man to man. Moses, who wrote the first five books of the Bible, was not born until 1571 B.C., some 2,433 years after the creation of Adam, yet he knew and understood God's plan.

"And the sound of this testimony has gone into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world," the apostle Paul wrote, quoting Psalm 19, where David writes about the stars, and how they declare the glory of God, a very specific, prophetic glory, not just the glory of shining orbs lighting up an otherwise pitch-dark night.1

The word zodiac itself is taken from the Greek word zodiakos. It means 'a circle.' Since so many astrological signs depict animals, like that of a lion, fish, scorpion, ram, and so on, many have assumed that the word 'zodiac' comes from the Greek zoe, to live, the same place we get our word zoo, or zoology. But the root of zodiakos, is actually zoad. Zoad means a way, or a path, or a going by steps. In this connection, the word zoad describes how the sun appears to move through the stars -- step by step -- every twelve months. As the sun returns to almost the exact spot that it occupied on the same date a year earlier, this course is repeated every year. So the path, or way, or the going by steps through the sky is called the zodiac.

Starting with Job

Most assume that Genesis is probably the oldest book in the Bible, since it starts at the beginning of the story. Surprisingly, this is not the case. Possibly dating from as early as 2000 B.C., the book of Job is regarded by most scholars as the oldest book in the Bible. Interestingly, this is the book which most often mentions the stars. Job refers to two zodiac signs: Taurus, distinguished by the Pleiades, and Scorpio, called the "Chambers of the South" in the King James Version. Three other constellations are mentioned as well: Orion, the Bear and Hydra.

After Job endured his immense suffering, God asks him a number of questions, including: "Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season?"

Now this strange word Mazzaroth occurs twice in Scripture, first in Job 38:32 and again in a slightly different form, Mazzaloth, in 2 Kings 23:5. It means The Separated, The Divided, or The Apportioned. It refers to the allotted spaces given to the twelve signs in the circle of the zodiac.

So the great God Jehovah is asking Job if he can bring forth the twelve signs in their successive order. Of course he could not. Only Jehovah could bring these signs into view, at the appointed time, and for his own purpose.

Take that thought one step further and you quickly realize that these zodiac signs belong to Jehovah -- not the astrologers. He invented them. He used them as his own "neon signs" during the early years of the history of man. (That's how Enoch, seventh from Adam, was able to "see" the Lord coming with ten thousands of his saints.2

Jehovah, indeed, did regard the stars with a proprietary perspective. He created them. He created them for a purpose: to be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years.3

"A sign" is from the Hebrew avah. It means a prophetic mark.

"Seasons" is from the Hebrew moed. It means an appointed time, here a prophetic appointed time.

Days and years have a natural meaning here. The sun is a star. We get day and night from the turning of the earth in reference to our sun star.

But days and years, as Biblical terms, also have prophetic significance. For example, to the Lord, a thousand years is as a day, and a day as a thousand years.4 Or the day of Jacob's trouble.5 Or the three-and-one-half years of great tribulation.6

God also put the stars in specific places.7 They are his work, his design.

And most important of all, God named the stars.8 As a shepherd leads his sheep, calling each by its pet name, and counts them to see that none are lost or strayed, so God does with stars and planets!9 God left the naming of the animals to man, but He named the stars himself -- because of their prophetic significance.

It's by those names that God's plan is revealed in the stars. Spica means The Branch. Arcturus means He Comes. Pollux means Who Comes to Suffer. Antares means The Wounded. Elnath means Slain. Procyon means The Redeemer. Orion means Coming as Light. Sirius means The Prince. Vega means He Shall Be Exalted.

In fact, many of our words have come down to us from God's naming of the stars. For example, the brightest star in the sky is Sirius. Coming from this very same root are is the Egyptian osiris, the Hebrew sirai, the Etruscan aesar, and the Indian aswara. These mean prince, sire or sir. Those of us in the English-speaking world use the word sir everyday as a term of dignity and respect.

If the ancients took words from these stars, did they in fact know the prophetic messages that God was presenting to them? They did, but unfortunately it wasn't long before the ancient Babylonian astrologers had twisted many of these stories, and then later the Greeks expanded them into their fantastic myths. And so the truth of the stars, the truth in the zodiac was lost.

However, it's interesting to note that all cultures -- the Hebrews, the Aztecs, the Babylonians, the Norsemen, the Egyptians, and the Chinese -- all recognized the same names for the stars and the same patterns they make up. This has led some scholars to conclude that Judaism and Christianity descended from the "original religions." Actually, just the opposite is true. Just as Satan has taken everything else that God has made, and fashioned his own imitation, so too, did he take the original, true religion that God wrote in the stars and transmogrify it into the heathen religions.

If this information was lost for so long, how did we get it back?

In the middle of the 19th century a scholar of the ancient classics and the history of language was struck by Psalm 147:4 which says that God calls the stars by their names. This scholar, Frances Rolleston, spent most of the rest of her life studying the root meanings of the names of the stars in many ancient languages. Though most of the names of the stars were lost, some 100 or so were preserved in either Hebrew or Arabic. These continue to be used by astronomers today, though the meanings are unknown to them.

Frances Rolleston published her findings in 1863 in a book entitled, appropriately enough, Mazzaroth. Several other writers also took up the theme and popularized her work.

What she learned can help us be more sure of the reality of the 'rest of the story,' the kingdom of heaven -- where it is and what it will be like.

Walking the circle written in the sky

Twelve signs forming a circle.

How can we know where to begin?

Through the "procession of the Equinoxes" the sun gradually shifts its position a little each year, till in about every 2,000 years it begins the year in a different sign. This was foreseen by the ancient Egyptians; and it was also foreseen that succeeding generations would not know when and where the sun had begun its course, and where the teaching of this heavenly book commenced, and where we were to open its first page. And so the Sphinx was invented as a memorial guide to the heavens. It had the head of a woman and the body and tail of a lion, to tell us where to start and stop. The word "Sphinx" is from the Greek "sphingo," to join -- because it binds together the story's two ends, making this circle of the heavens.

Confirmation of this is found in one of the oldest zodiacs, dating back to approximately the year 2000 B.C. This is the zodiac of Dendereh. It was discovered by scholars in the ceiling of the portico of the temple of Esneh in Egypt. In this zodiac there is placed between the signs of Virgo and Leo a picture of the Sphinx.

That, then, solves the "riddle" of the Sphinx.

Compare the prophecies in the Bible with the prophecies in the heavens and you may quickly further confirm that the place to begin is Virgo . . . the place to end is Leo.

Why?

In Genesis 3:15 (the first book of the Bible) we have a promise concerning the Seed of the woman who would be wounded in the heel, but in turn crush the head of his enemy. Virgo signifies a woman.

And then, in Revelation 5:5, (the last book of the Bible) we have a promise concerning triumph of the lion of the tribe of Judah. Leo signifies that lion.

The 12 signs of the zodiac are divided into three books of four signs each. As Bullinger brings out in an appendix of his Companion Bible, God is indeed a highly organized, precise personage. Here is how his heavenly book is organized:10

First Book. The Redeemer. (His first coming.)

A. Virgo. The prophecy of the promised seed of the woman. Christ the Incarnate Son.

B. Libra. The Redeemer's work (grace). Christ the Redeemer.

B. Scorpio. The Redeemer's conflict. Christ the Sufferer.

A. Sagittarius. The prophecy fulfilled. Christ the Conqueror.

Second Book. The Redeemed. (His work and its results.)

C. Capricornus. The prophecy of deliverance. Christ the Sacrifice.

D. Aquarius. Results of work bestowed. Christ the Living Water.

D. Pisces. Results of work enjoyed. Christ the Liberator.

C. Aries. The prophesied deliverance fulfilled. Christ the Crowned Lamb.

Third Book. The Redeemer. (His second coming.)

E. Taurus. The prophecy of coming judgment. Christ the Judge.

F. Gemini. The Redeemer's reign in glory. Christ the King.

F. Cancer. The Redeemer's possession safe. Christ the Protector.

E. Leo. The prophecy of triumph fulfilled. Christ the Victor.

Simplifying that magnificent organization just a bit, the meanings of the signs would be as follows:

• Virgo. The Seed of the woman.
• Libra. The required price paid.
• Scorpio. The mortal conflict.
• Sagittarius. The final triumph.
• Capricorn. Life out of death.
• Aquarius. Blessing out of victory.
• Pisces. Deliverance out of bondage.
• Aries. Glory out of humiliation.
• Taurus. His glorious coming.
• Gemini. His rule on earth.
• Cancer. His possessions held secure.
• Leo. His enemies destroyed.

Again, it's important to emphasize that we don't know the meanings of these star groups because of the physical patterns they make up. They don't make up patterns that look like fish or rams. We know the meanings from the names of the stars themselves, the names that God himself gave them.

To really get a good grasp of the magnificence of the meanings of the 12 signs and 36 related constellations, (three to each sign) let's take a closer look at each one. Let's begin at the beginning.

Virgo. The sign Virgo depicts a virgin that would have a Son (her Seed) who would be called the Branch of Jehovah. Here is the star Spica, or Branch.

Coma. The first constellation of the first sign, Virgo, is Coma. Most modern charts call it Coma Berenices, or Berenice's Hair. (This is a good example of how ancient truths of God are corrupted.) Berenice was the wife of Ptolemy III of Egypt. She vowed to dedicate her fine hair to the temple of Venus if her husband returned safely from an expedition. He did return and she did place her hair in the temple, but it was stolen. To comfort her, the astronomer Conon declared that the god Jupiter had taken it and made it a constellation. And so the ancient meaning of the constellation was corrupted.

In antiquity, however, the constellation Coma was considered to be a picture of a woman, a virgin furthermore, with her child. The name Coma in Hebrew means The Desired, or The Longed For. In ancient Egypt, the name was Shes-nu, The Desired Son.

Centaurus. The next constellation in Virgo is Centaurus, the one with two natures, meaning both God and man. In the Hebrew, Bezeh, this constellation means The Despised, which we know represents the despised sin offering. The Greek name for Centaurus was Cherion, or The Pierced. In mythology, he was famous for his skills in hunting, medicine, music, athletics and prophecy. Even more interesting, Cherion was immortal but voluntarily agreed to die when wounded by a poison arrow, and he transferred his immortality to Prometheus. We can readily discern in this legend a corrupted version of the story of the heroic Jesus Christ, both fully God and fully man, who voluntarily laid down his life that others might have eternal life.

Bootes. Finally, in Virgo, we come to what we in the U.S. call the Herdsman, or Bootes. The Hebrew bo means to come. Most ancient zodiacs picture Bootes as a herdsman, an Oriental shepherd. The Egyptians called Bootes Smat, which means Who Rules. In this constellation, the star Mizar means Guarding; Muphride means Who Separates. Putting it together, we have a shepherd who will be returning to rule.

And so, the sign Virgo portrays to us a desired virgin-born Son, with two natures, God and man, who was to also be a despised sin offering, but return to earth for his fold.

Libra. The sign of the scales indicates the Price Which Is Deficient, and the Price Which Covers, describing the fact that Christ has paid in full our penalty for sin and also the meaning of the two bright stars of this sign, Zuben al Genubu and Zuben al Chemali. The three constellations:

Crux. Here we have the crucifixion foretold in the sky. This is the constellation of the revered Southern Cross. Its ancient name in Hebrew, Adom, means Cutting Off. This is the same phrase as that used in Daniel 9:26, referring to the great prophecy of the 70 weeks.

Lupus. This means To Be Slain. The Latins called it Victima, or The Victim.

Corona. Here, in the Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown, we have a Corona, or Crown, for the worthy redeemer. The Hebrew for Corona is Atarah, Royal Crown. In Arabic, it means Ornament or Jewel. The bright star in this constellation is Alpacca and means The Shining.

Summarizing Libra: a crucified victim who receives a crown.

Scorpio. The sign of the scorpion illustrates just what scorpions do that make them so feared among creatures great and small -- attack. This sign portrays the battle that Christ waged against his adversary, Satan. At the heart of the Scorpio sign is the bright red star, Antares, which means Wounding.

Serpens, Ophiuchus. These constellations are intertwined to show wrestling, struggle, conflict. Ophiuchus, the Mighty Man, is in combat with a Snake, Serpens, who is trying to seize the Crown -- the Corona constellation of neighboring Libra.

Hercules. The Greeks were not sure of the proper meaning and origin of the names of the stars, these having been clouded over by the Babylonians many centuries earlier. And so they didn't know what it was that Hercules, or properly, Jesus Christ, our Mighty Man, was laboring for. But we know he was laboring on the cross, in his war with Satan, to overcome Satan, and re-establish heaven on the earth.

And so in Scorpio, we see a mighty man locked in struggle with a snake who is trying to steal a crown that rightfully belongs to the man. Hercules, the Greeks called him. We know him as Jesus Christ.

Sagittarius. This is the sign of the centaurean archer, again a being with two natures, but this time, as the curtain falls on act one of the three acts of the heavenly prophecies, a victorious centaur, instead of despised as before in the sign Virgo. Here we have stars such as Naim, meaning the Gracious One, and Al Warida, Who Comes Forth.

Lyra. Here is a picture of a lyre or harp. The bright star Vega is in this constellation. Vega means He Shall Be Exalted. And so music becomes the vehicle of praise to this conquering archer.

Ara. Here is an altar placed in the upside-down position. On it the fire is blazing toward the lower regions of "outer darkness." The ancient Arabs called it the Completing or Finishing. So here are the fires of judgment on Satan and his angels.

Draco. The last scenes of each of the acts in this drama correspond to one another. Here is Draco, The Dragon, being cast out. Act two ends with Cetus,

Sea Monster, bound. Act three concludes with Hydra, the old, multi-headed serpent, destroyed. The stars in the head of Draco are Rastaban, The Head of the Subtle, and Ethanin, The Long Serpent. Thuban means The Subtle. Giansar is The Punished Enemy. El Atik is The Fraudulent.

In Sagittarius then, we have the portrayal of a returning, victorious archer, receiving musical praise, and sentencing his enemy to the eternal fires of hell.

Capricorn. Here opens act two . . . the results of act one. This is the sign of the goat with the fish's tail...a most unusual figure. What does it mean? It means life coming from death. The goat was a sacrificial animal and was used extensively as a sin offering. The fish, as a symbol of the kingdom in Matthew 13:47-50, was a symbol of life. Here we have a fish emerging from the dying goat as a new kind of life, depicting the fact that the believer in Christ is, in fact, a new creation.11 The brightest star here is Al-gedi, The Kid.

Sagitta. This means arrow. In Hebrew, Sham, or Destroying. This is the arrow as the instrument of divine justice in Christ.

Aquila. This means the falling eagle, or Christ. The star, Altair, here means The Wounding. Al Cair means The Piercing. And Tarared, Wounded or Torn. Al Shain, in the throat of the eagle, means Bright and is from a root meaning red-colored. The same word is used of the scarlet thread that Rahab let down the wall of Jericho to mark her house. Red is also the color of the blood covenant we have with Christ. The star in the tail, Al Okal, means Wounded in the Heel.

Delphinus. Here we see the resurrection in the picture of a fish full of life, head uplifted, springing out of the water.

Capricorn teaches us about the resurrection life that comes from the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the pierced eagle who fell but who was reborn as a fish full of life.

Aquarius. If any man is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. That is what Christ invited people to do. When he made that great statement, he might have thought of the time he placed the star Sa'ad al Melik, or the Record of the Pouring Forth, in its place. Christ is the great Aquarius, the water bearer and pourer, who bestows the water of life.

Piscis Australis. The fish -- or the believer -- receives the water from the water pourer. The bright star in this constellation is Fomalhaut, The Mouth of the Fish.

Pegasus. Pega means chief. Sus means horse. Here we have the figure of the chief on a horse, Christ returning to earth. The star names in this famous constellation include: Markab, Returning From Afar; Scheat, Who Carries; Enif, The Branch; and Matar, Who Causes to Overflow (with Joy).

Cygnus. Sometimes called the Northern Cross, this is the perfect counterpoint to the anguish of the Southern Cross. For here is a picture of a swan circling, and then returning to, earth. The brightest star, Deneb, means The Lord Comes, also called Arided, He Shall Come Down.

Aquarius speaks to us of a Waterman pouring out the water of life on his fish, and returning soon to claim his own . . . Jesus Christ watering his Church, and then returning to earth to live in the midst of his Church and mankind.

Pisces. In Aquarius we have a fish drinking in the water poured forth from the Waterman. Here in Pisces, we have two fish bound together with a cord. The cord is fastened to the neck of Cetus, the monster of the sea. This is Satan, and the two fish are Israel and Judah. In Scripture, the heathen nations are sometimes symbolized by the sea.12 And so God's people Israel are seen as fish in the sea of nations, taken away from their place of promise and blessing . . . scattered among the nations without national identity themselves. In the Dendereh zodiac, Pisces was called Pisces Hori (Orion), The Fishes of Him Who Comes. Even though these fishes are bound, the hope of Messiah's coming is before them.

The Band. The one-day-to-be-redeemed Israel bound is depicted here. It is interesting to note that the front foot of Aries, the victorious Lamb, rests on this band, indicating that when Jesus Christ returns He will break the band that ties Israel and Judah to Cetus, or Satan, the adversary.

Andromeda. This is a woman with chains on her feet and hands. She is suffering in her captivity. This further amplifies Israel's bondage during the period after the rejection of Messiah and before his Second Coming. The stars in the constellation illustrate the condition: Alpheratz, The Broken Down; Mirach, The Weak; Almaak, Struck Down; Almara, The Afflicted.

Cepheus. This is the crowned King, Jesus Christ, who is coming to rule.

Pisces tells us about the blessings of salvation held in abeyance for Israel, her suffering, and the King that will come to free her.

Aries. This sign means ram to most of us today, but the oldest zodiacs indicate a lamb, rather than a full-grown ram. The connotation here, then, is gentle, merciful -- attributes of Jesus Christ. This is the vigorous Lamb of God, not falling in death like the Capricorn goat, but alive, well, whole, victorious.

Cassiopeia. This is Andromeda, Israel, after the return of Messiah -- free, happy, blessed. The name means The Beautiful, The Enthroned, the Daughter of Splendor.

Cetus. The sea monster. The great enemy is shown here bound. The star Menkar here means The Enemy Chained. Diphda means Overthrown. Mira means The Rebel.

Perseus. The Breaker delivering the redeemed. Here is Jesus Christ breaking the head of his enemy. The star Mirfak means Who Helps. Al Genib means Who Carries Away. Athik, Who Breaks.

And so we close the second act with Aries, a sign that shows us Israel blessed at last, the Champion subduing and destroying his enemy from the earth.

This all still lies ahead

Taurus. We open the last act of the heavenly drama. Much of what we've seen in the skies is behind us. The crucifixion. The resurrection. The Church receiving her blessings from the Waterman right now, today. Israel still bound up by Satan, waiting for Messiah to come and break the band.

This last act is exciting because it hasn't happened yet . . . but it isn't too far off, either.

To most casual students of astrology, Taurus is a placid sign. The big, old, earthbound bull. Not too quick. Not too creative. Massive. Substantial. Those born under this sign make good bankers, the astrology books tell us.

But Taurus, in the plan of God written in the skies, is not a docile, domestic bull at all! In the ancient Hebrew scriptures, this animal was called a rimu. Now extinct, this was a ferocious relative of domestic cattle -- a rough equivalent of what the wild boar is to the modern pig. Famous for its size and ferocity, it was a prize of ancient hunters, as chronicled in the records of Egyptian kings like Tutmose III.

The bright-reddish star in the Bull's eye is Aldeberan, The Governor, Captain, Leader. The bright star at the tip of the left horn of the bull is Elnath, The Wounded. This is talking about Jesus Christ, the wounded one, who will return to earth with fury and vengeance, and destroy the armies assembled against him in the Valley of Armageddon.

Orion. This is the coming Prince. In the Hebrew, Oarion, or Coming Forth as Light. The brightest star is Betelgeuse, The Coming of The Branch. Bellatrix, Swiftly Destroying. Rigel, The Foot That Crushes.

Eridanus. This is a river of fiery judgment. Achernar means The Afterpart of The River; Cursa, Bent Down; Zourac, Flowing. This constellation depicts the fire of God's judgment poured out on the world that still rejects him at his return.

Auriga. The Shepherd, protecting his own in the day of wrath. He sits in calm command of the situation above the rushing wild bull. In his left hand he holds a mother goat which has just given birth to the pair of kids he holds in his lap. The goat rests with its front feet on the shoulders of The Shepherd. In the heart of this goat is the brillant star, Capella, which means She Goat. This illustrates that even in the midst of such fury and retribution, Jesus Christ cares for his own.

So Taurus opens the last -- and yet future -- book of God by illustrating the triumph and brightness of the Judge who is coming to rule, the fiery wrath poured out on his enemies, and the protection of his people at this time.

Gemini. This is the sign of the twins. In the Latin, these are Castor and Pollux. The former meant Ruler; the latter, The Laboring Sufferer. So here we have the dual assignments of Jesus Christ, the Mighty One who is coming as Ruling Prince and Saviour who suffered.

Lepus. The star here is Arneb, The Enemy of Him Who Comes. Another, Nihal, means The Mad. This is Satan.

Canis Major. Canis Major means Great Dog. That came down to us from the Greeks who supposed Orion had a pair of hunting dogs. The real meaning here, as indicated by the star Sirius, is Prince. Other stars: Wesen, The Shining. Adhara, The Glorious.

Canis Minor. This is supposed to be the lesser dog, again a Greek misappropriation of the real meaning here. To get to the real meaning of these constellations, the rule is to go with star names, rather than picture patterns. Procyon is the major star here, Redeemer, Saviour.

So the meaning of Gemini becomes clear. The key is twinship, duality. Both in Gemini itself, and in its attending constellations. Canis Major has Sirius, The Glorious Prince. Canis Minor has Procyon, The Exalted Redeemer and Saviour. Canis Major has a star called The Prince of the Right Hand; Canis Minor has a star named The Prince of the Left Hand. Everything here bespeaks the twofold nature of Jesus Christ: Prince and Saviour, King and Redeemer.

Cancer. This is the sign of the crab. The meaning here is that of holding on tight. The brightest star in Cancer in Tegmine, Holding. Another is Acubene, Sheltering, Hiding Place. Ma'alaph, Assembled Thousands. And Alhimarean, The Kids or The Lambs. The crab almost certainly was not the original symbol for this section of the zodiac. Much more likely is the idea of an inn or sheltering place. One star cluster is named Praesepe, The Manger. Another, Aselli, Asses or Donkeys. The zodiac of Dendereh named it Klaria, Cattlefolds. The idea here then is shelter, safety, security for the people of God during the last days of tribulation.

Ursa Minor. This is widely known as the Little Bear. The real meaning may be had from the root of the constellation name Arcas, The Stronghold of the Saved. Other stars lend further insight. Kochab, Waiting for the Coming. Alkaid, The Assembled. Alpherkadain, The Redeemed Assembly. Annassurra, High In Rising.

Ursa Major. Ursa Major means great bear, again a name that the Greeks applied themselves, and not related to the names of the stars themselves. Scholars believe that the Greeks may have mistaken the Persian word Dob (Hebrew Dowb), which means Bear, for Dubeh, (the name of the brightest star), which means A Herd, A Flock. The Herd, or Flock is the meaning of this constellation. Other stars bear this out: Merak, Flock in Hebrew, or Purchased in Arabic; Phad, Guarded or Numbered; and Megrez means Separated (as a flock in a fold). All these go toward the idea of assembling the once-scattered flock.

Argo. In mythology, this is the ship that carried Jason and his companions in their search for the Golden Fleece. It is A Company of Travelers, a prophetic illustration of the secure arrival of God's people back to the land of blessing. The lead star is Canopus, The Possession of Him Who Comes. Tureis, Possession (in hand). Soheil, The Desired.

So in Cancer we see the secure resting place for the people of God, both the Church and the people Israel, when Jesus Christ returns to the earth to establish his reign.

Leo. The sign of the lion, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, and the last heavenly sign of revelation. Here is the Messiah in consummated triumph. The star Regulus means Treading Underfoot. Denebola is The Judge Who Comes. Algiebha, The Exaltation, meaning the Great Lion. Alasad, The Tearing of the Lion. Aldafera, Enemy Put Down.

Hydra. That old serpent, the name meaning He Is Abhorred. The ancient name of the brightest star is Alphard, The Put Away.

Crater. This is The Cup of God's wrath. In the skies, it is behind the lion's hind feet, and resting on Hydra, the serpent, who shall at the beginning of the

kingdom reign of Jesus Christ, take in God's wrath in reward for his rebellion

Corvus. The Raven. The star Algoreb means, simply, Raven. Minchar Algoreb means The Raven Tearing to Pieces, and Minchar Alsugia means The Deceiver Torn to Pieces. This constellation pictures for us the last episode in the conflict of the ages.

The enemy of God and man is finally defeated, torn to pieces and devoured -- consigned forever and ever to the lake of fire.

Leo provides us with the heavenly image of a Triumphant Redeemer, the cup of wrath poured out on the enemy, and the enemy destroyed.

The story ends. And the 'rest of the story' begins.

As we know from God's written revelation in the Bible, the ages of eternity are at this point just beginning in the new Jerusalem, the eternal hometown-to-be of all the saints. No rush, no hurry, no sickness, no disease -- just prosperity, wealth, health, friendship, and pleasure to enjoy, ministering to each other forevermore.

Jehovah's adversary, however, is absolutely dedicated to keeping you in the dark about that, hence his perversion of the real meaning of the stars, the constellations and their names. Because if you really knew what was in store for you now as one of Christ's own -- all the healing, prosperity, and well-being that can only come through him -- and what is in store for you as a prince or princess in the great reign of Christ on this earth, you would run to Jehovah for salvation if unconverted.

And if already a son or daughter, you would run to the Lord -- El Shaddai, All-Bountiful, Nurturing, Providing God, Friend and Companion -- for a powerful moving of his Spirit in you and on you and through you. You'd make it your business to get close to him.

He has already made it his business to get close to you.

 

FOOTNOTES
Chapter 5
THE REST OF THE STORY: WRITTEN IN THE SKY
1 Rom. 10:18
2 Jude v.14
3 Gen. 1:14-19
4 Peter 3:8
5 Jer. 30:7
6 Matt. 24:21
7 Psalms 8:3
8 Psalms 147:4 "He counts the stars and calls them all by name." LB
9 Is. 40:26
10 The Companion Bible. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Bible Publishers) Appendix 12.
11 2 Cor. 5:17
12 Dan. 7:2; Rev. 13:1

Start the story at After Armageddon