The Witness of the Stars E-Book

E. William Bullinger

• Herausgeber: eKitap Projesi
• Kategorie: Ratgeber
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2015

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Beschreibung

Some years ago it was my privilege to enjoy the acquaintance of Miss Frances Rolleston, of Keswick, and to carry on a correspondence with her with respect to her work, Mazzaroth: or, the Constellations. She was the 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 Atlantic; and brief references have been made to the subject in such books as Moses and Geology, by Dr. Kinns, and in Primeval Man; but it was felt, for many reasons, that it was desirable to make another effort to set forth, in a more complete form, The Witness of the Stars to prophetic truth, so necessary in these last days.
To the late Miss Rolleston, however, belongs the honour of collect-ing a mass of information bearing on this subject; but, published as it was, chiefly in the form of notes, unarranged and unindexed, it was suited only for, but was most valuable to, the student. She it 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 astronomer, about 1450 a.d., who gives the Arabian Astronomy as it had come down from the earliest times.

Modern astronomers have preserved, and still have in common use, the ancient names of over a hundred of the principal stars which have been handed down; but now these names are used merely as a conven-ience, and without any reference to their significance.

This work is an attempt to popularize this ancient information, and to use it in the interests of truth.
For the ancient astronomical facts and the names, with their signifi-cation, I am, from the very nature of the case, indebted, of course, to all who have preserved, collected, and handed them down; but for their interpretation I am alone responsible.
It is for the readers to judge how far my conclusions are borne out by the evidence; and how far the foundation of our hopes of coming glory are strengthened by the prophecies which have been written in the stars of heaven, as well as in the Scriptures of truth.

For the illustrations I am greatly indebted to Jamieson's Celestial At-las, 1820; Flammarion's L'Étoiles; Sir John W. Lubbock's Stars in Six Maps, 1883; and to the late Mr. Edward J. Cooper's Egyptian Scenery, 1820. For the general presentation and arrangement of the Constella-tions I am responsible, while for the [drawings my thanks are due to my friend Miss Amy Manson.

It is the possession of "that blessed hope" of Christ's speedy return from Heaven which will give true interest in the great subject of this book.

Leseprobe

TheWitness of the Stars

By

E.William Bullinger

IllustratedbyMurat Ukray

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Contents

Preface.

Introduction.

The First Book.

Chapter I. The Sign VIRGO. The Promised Seed of the Woman.

2. CENTAURUS (The Centaur).

3. BOÖTES (The Coming One).

Chapter II. The Sign LIBRA.

1. CRUX (The Cross).

2. LUPUS or VICTIMA (The Victim).

3. CORONA (The Crown).

Chapter III. The Sign SCORPIO.

1 and 2. SERPENS and OPHIUCHUS.

3. HERCULES (The Mighty Man).

Chapter IV. The Sign SAGITTARIUS.

1. LYRA (The Harp).

2. ARA (The Altar).

3. DRACO (The Dragon).

The Second Book. The Redeemed.

Chapter I. The Sign CAPRICORNUS (The Sea Goat).

1. SAGITTA (The Arrow).

2. AQUILA (The Eagle).

3. DELPHINUS (The Dolphin).

Chapter II. The Sign AQUARIUS (The Water Bearer).

1. PISCIS AUSTRALIS (The Southern Fish).

2. PEGASUS (The Winged Horse).

3. CYGNUS (The Swan).

Chapter III. The Sign PISCES (The Fishes).

1. THE BAND.

2. ANDROMEDA (The Chained Woman).

3. CEPHEUS (The King).

Chapter IV. The Sign ARIES (The Ram or Lamb).

1. CASSIOPEIA (The Enthroned Woman).

2. CETUS (The Sea Monster).

3. PERSEUS (“The Breaker.”)

The Third Book.

Chapter I. The Sign TAURUS (The Bull).

1. ORION (The Coming Prince).

2. ERIDANUS (The River of the Judge).

3. AURIGA (The Shepherd).

Chapter II. The Sign GEMINI (The Twins).

1. LEPUS (the Hare), THE ENEMY.

2. CANIS MAJOR (The Dog), or SIRIUS (The Prince).

3. CANIS MINOR (The Second Dog).

Chapter III. The Sign CANCER (The Crab).

1. URSA MINOR (The Little Bear).

2. URSA MAJOR (The Great Bear).

3. ARGO (The Ship).

Chapter IV. The Sign LEO (The Lion).

1. HYDRA (The Serpent).

2. CRATER (The Cup).

3. CORVUS (The Raven).

Summary.

Appendix.

Footnotes

“Witness of the Stars”

Preface.

Some years ago it was my privilege to enjoy the acquaintance of Miss Frances Rolleston, of Keswick, and to carry on a correspondence with her with respect to her work,Mazzaroth: or, the Constellations. She was the 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 Atlantic; and brief references have been made to the subject in such books asMoses and Geology, by Dr. Kinns, and inPrimeval Man; but it was felt, for many reasons, that it was desirable to make another effort to set forth, in a more complete form, thewitness of the stars to prophetic truth, so necessary in these last days.

To the late Miss Rolleston, however, belongs the honour of collecting a mass of information bearing on this subject; but, published as it was, chiefly in the form ofnotes, unarranged and unindexed, it was suited only for, but was most valuable to, the student. She it 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 astronomer, about 1450 a.d., who gives the Arabian Astronomy as it had come down from the earliest times.

Modern astronomers have preserved, and still have in common use, the ancient names of over a hundred of the principal stars which have been handed down; but now these names are used merely as a convenience, and without any reference to their significance.

This work is an attempt to popularize this ancient information, and to use it in the interests of truth.

For the ancient astronomical facts and the names, with their signification, I am, from the very nature of the case, indebted, of course, to all who have preserved, collected, and handed them down; but for their interpretation I am alone responsible.

It is for the readers to judge how far my conclusions are borne out by the evidence; and how far the foundation of our hopes of coming glory are strengthened by the prophecies which have been written in the stars of heaven, as well as in the Scriptures of truth.

For the illustrations I am greatly indebted to Jamieson'sCelestial Atlas, 1820; Flammarion'sL'Étoiles; Sir John W. Lubbock'sStars in Six Maps, 1883; and to the late Mr. Edward J. Cooper'sEgyptian Scenery, 1820. For the general presentation and arrangement of the Constellations I am responsible, while for the [drawings my thanks are due to my friend Miss Amy Manson.

It is the possession of “that blessed hope” of Christ's speedy return from Heaven which will give true interest in the great subject of this book.

No one can dispute the antiquity of the Signs of the Zodiac, or of the Constellations. No one can question the accuracy of the ancient star-names which have come down to us, for they are still preserved in every good celestial atlas. And we hope that no one will be able to resist the cumulative evidence that, apart from God's grace in Christ there is no hope for sinners now: and apart from God's glory, as it will be manifested in the return of Christ from Heaven, there is no hope for the Church, no hope for Israel, no hope for the world, no hope for a groaning creation. In spite of all the vaunted promises of a religious World, and of a worldly Church, to remove the effects of the curse by a Social Gospel of Sanitation, we are more and more shut up to the prophecy of Gen.iii. 15, which we wait and long to see fulfilled in Christ as our only hope. This is beautifully expressed by the late Dr. William Leask:—

And is there none before? No perfect peace

Unbroken by the storms and cares of life,

Until the time of waiting for Him cease,

By His appearing to destroy the strife?

No, none before.

Do we not hear that through the flag ofgrace

By faithful messengers of God unfurled,

All men will be converted, and the place

Of man's rebellionbea holy world?

Yes, so we hear.

Is it not true that to the Church isgiven

The holy honour of dispelling night,

And bringing back the human race to heaven,

By kindling everywhere the Gospel light?

It is not true.

Is this the hope—that Christ the Lord will come,

In all the glory of His royal right,

Redeemer and Avenger, taking home

Hissaints,and crushing the usurper's might?

This is the hope.

May the God of all grace accept and bless this effort to show forth His glory, and use it to strengthen His people in waiting for His Son from Heaven, even Jesus which delivered us from the wrath to come.

Ethelbert W. Bullinger.

August 31st, 1893.

Introduction.

For more than two thousand five hundred years the world was without a written revelation from God. The question is,DidGod leave Himself without a witness? The question is answered very positively by the written Word that He did not. 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. 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 excuse.” But how was God known? How were His “invisible things,”i.e., His plans, His purposes, and His counsels, known since the creation of the world? We are told by the Holy Spirit in Rom. x. 18. Having stated inv.17 that “Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word (ῥήμα,the thing spoken,sayings) of God,” He asks, “But I say, Have they not heard?Yes, verily.”And we may ask,Howhave they heard? The answer follows—“Their sound went into all the earth (γή) and their words (ῥήματα,their teaching,message,instruction) unto the ends of the world (οἰκουμένη).” What words? What instruction? Whose message? Whose teaching? There is only one answer, and that is, THE HEAVENS! This is settled by the fact that the passage is quoted from Ps.xix.,the first part of which is occupied with the Revelation of God written inthe Heavens, and the latter part with the Revelation of God written in theWord.

This is the simple explanation of this beautiful Psalm. This is why its two subjects are brought together. It has often perplexed many why there should be that abrupt departure in verse 7—“The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.” The fact is, there is nothing abrupt in it, and it is no departure. It is simply the transition to the second of the two great Revelations which are thus placed in juxtaposition. The first is the Revelation of the Creator,El,, in Hisworks, while the second is the Revelation of the Covenant Jehovahin HisWord. And it is noteworthy that while in the first half of the Psalm,Elis named only once, in the latter halfJehovahis namedseventimes, the last being threefold (Jehovah, Rock, and Redeemer), concluding the Psalm.

Let us then turn to Ps.xix.,and note first—

The Structure1of the Psalm as a whole.

A | 1-4-.The Heavens.

B | -4-6.“In them”the Sun.

A | 7-10.The Scriptures.

B | 11-14.“In them”Thy Servant.

In theKey to the Psalms, p. 17, it is pointed out that the terms employed inAandBareastronomical,2while in A and B they areliterary. Thus the two parts are significantly connected and united.

Ewald and others imagine that this Psalm is made up of two fragments of separate Psalms composed at different periods and brought together by a later editor!

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 it is also shown by more minute details.

Each half consists of two portions which correspond the one to the other,Aanswering toA, and B toB. Moreover, each half, as well as each corresponding member, consists of the same number of lines; those in the first half being, by thecæsura, short, while those in the last half are long (or double).

A | 1-4-.Eight lines

B | -4-6. Six lines

A| 7-10. Eight lines

B| 11-14. Six lines

If we confine ourselves to the first half of the Psalm3(A and B, verses 1-6), with which we are now alone concerned, we see a still more minute proof of Divine order and perfection.

The Structure of A and B.

A & B | C | 1.The heavens.

| D | 2. Their testimony: incessant.(Pos.)

| E | 3.Their words inaudible.(Neg.)

|D| 4-. Their testimony: universal.(Pos.)

|C| -4-6.The heavens.

Here we have anintroversion, in which the extremes (C andC) are occupied with theheavens; while the means (D, E andD) are occupied with their testimony.

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

C | a |Theheavens

b| are telling4

c| the glory5of God:

c| and the work of his hands

b| is setting forth6

a| the firmament.

D | d | Day after day7

e| uttereth8speech,

d| And night after night

e| sheweth knowledge.

E | f | There is no speech (what is articulate)

g| and there are no words (what is audible);

g| and without being audible,

f| is their voice (what is articulate).

D| h |Intoall the earth (as created)

i| is their line9gone forth;

h| And into the ends of the world (as inhabited)

i| Their sayings.

C | j |Forthe sun He hath set a tent (an abode) in them;

k| l | and he as a bridegroom (comparison)

m| is going forth from his canopy, (motion: its rising)

l| he rejoiceth as a mighty one (comparison)

m| to run his course. (Motion: its rapid course.)

k| n | from the end of the heavens (egress)

o| is his going forth (egress)

o| and his revolution (regress)

n| unto their ends (regress):

j| and there is nothing hid from his heat (i.e., from him)10

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 structure, and note the words employed, we areemphatically told that the heavens contain a revelation from God; they prophesy, they show knowledge, they tell of God's glory, and set forth His purposes and counsels.

It is a remarkable fact that it is in the Book of Job, which is generally allowed to be the oldest book in the Bible,11if not in the world, that we have references to this Stellar Revelation. This would be at least 2,000 years before Christ. In that book the signs of the Zodiac and the names of several stars and constellations are mentioned, as being ancient and well-known.

In Isa.xl. 26 (r.v.) we read:—

“Lift up your eyes on high,

And see who hath created these,

That bringeth out their host by number:

He calleth them all by name;

By the greatness of His might,

And for that He is strong in power,

Not one is lacking.”

We have the same evidence in Psalm cxlvii. 4. (r.v.)

“He telleth the number of the stars;

He giveth them all their names.”

Here is a distinct andDivinedeclaration that the great Creator bothnumberedas well asnamedthe stars of Heaven.

The question is,Hashe 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) ofAsh(, a name still connected with the Great Bear),Cesil, andCimah.

They occur in Job ix. 9: “Which maketh Arcturus (r.v.the Bear), Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south.”(Marg., Heb.,Ash,Cesil, andCimah.)

Job xxxviii.31, 32: “Canst thou bind the sweet influences (r.v. cluster) of the Pleiades (marg.,theseven stars, Heb.Cimah), or loose the bands of Orion (marg. Heb.Cesil)? Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth (marg.,the twelve signs.r.v., ‘the twelve signs’: and marg.,the signs of the Zodiac) in his season?orcanst thou guide Arcturus with his sons (r.v., the Bear with her train; and marg., Heb.,sons).”12

Isa. xiii.10: ... “The stars of heaven and the constellations thereof.” ...

Amos v. 8: “Seek him that maketh the seven stars (r.v., the Pleiades) and Orion.”

Then we have the term “Mazzaroth,” Job xxxviii. 32, and “Mazzaloth,” 2 Kingsxxiii. 5. The former in both versions is referred to the Twelve Signs of the Zodiac, while the latter is rendered “planets,” and in margin,the twelve signs or constellations.

Others are referred to by name. The sign of “Gemini,” or the Twins, is given as the name of a ship: Acts xxviii.11, Διόσκουροι, (i.e.Castor & Pollux).

Most commentators agree that the constellation of “Draco,” or the Dragon (between the Great and Little Bear), is referred to in Job xxvi. 13: “By His Spirit He hath garnished the heavens; His hand hath formed the crooked serpent (r.v. swift.Marg.fleeingorgliding.See Is. xxvii.1; xliii.14).” This word “garnished” is peculiar. Ther.v. puts in the margin,beauty.In Ps. xvi.6, it is renderedgoodly. “I have a goodly heritage.” In Dan.iv. 2, it is rendered, “I thought it good to show,” referring to “the signs and wonders” with which God had visited Nebuchadnezzar. It appears from this that God “thought it good to show” by these signs written in the heavens the wonders of His purposes and counsels, and it was by His Spirit that He made it known; it was His hand thatcoiledthe crooked serpent among the stars of heaven.

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

If we turn to history and tradition, we are at once met with the fact that the Twelve Signs are the same, both as to the meaning of their names and as to their orderin all the ancient nations of the world. The Chinese, Chaldean, and Egyptian records go back to more than 2,000 years b.c. Indeed, the Zodiacs in the Temples of Denderah and Esnéh, in Egypt, are doubtless copies of Zodiacs still more ancient, which, from internal evidence, must be placed nearly 4,000b.c., when the summer solstice was in Leo.

Josephus hands down to us what he gives as the traditions of his own nation, corroborated by his reference to eight ancient Gentile authorities, whose works arelost.He says that they all assert that “God gave the antediluvians such long life that they might perfect those things which they had invented in astronomy.” Cassini commences hisHistory of Astronomyby saying “It is impossible to doubt that astronomy was invented from the beginning of the world; history, profane as well as sacred, testifies to this truth.” Nouet, a French astronomer, infers that the Egyptian Astronomy must have arisen 5,400b.c.!

Ancient Persian and Arabian traditions ascribe its invention to Adam, Seth, and Enoch. Josephus asserts that it originated in the family of Seth; and he says that the children of Seth, and especially 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 i. chs. 1-3).

This is what is doubtless meant by Gen.xi. 4, “And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower whose topmay reachunto heaven.” The words “may reach” are in italics. There is nothing in the verse whichrelates to the height of this tower. It merely saysand 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 Esnéh 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 revelation, “lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.”

This is corroborated by Lieut.-Gen. Chesney, well known for his learned researches and excavations among the ruins of Babylon, who, after describing his various discoveries, says,13“About five miles S.W. of Hillah, the most remarkable of all the ruins, theBirs Nimroudof 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 of Saturn; the next orange, for Jupiter; the third red, for Mars; and so on.14These stages were surmounted by a lofty tower on the summit of which, we are told, were the signs of the Zodiac and other astronomical figures; thus having (as it should have been translated)a representation of the heavens, instead of ‘a top which reached unto heaven.’”

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,” according to some; and “The Seven Lights,” according to others. It is thus clear that the popular idea of its height and purpose must be abandoned, and its astronomical reference to revelation 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 themselves over the earth.

Another important statement is made by Dr. Budge, of the British Museum.15He says, “It must never be forgotten that the Babylonians were a nation of star-gazers, and that they kept a body of men to do nothing else but report eclipses, appearances of the moon, sun-spots, etc., etc.”

“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, ‘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 contained seventy tablets, and was compiled by the command of Sargon of Agade thirty-eight hundred years before Christ! It was called the ‘Illumination of Bel.’”

“Their observations were made in towers called ‘ziggurats’”(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” (p. 110).

“They were able to calculate eclipses, and had long lists of them.” “They found out that the sun was spotted, and they knew of comets.” “They were the inventors of the Zodiac” (?). There are fragments oftwo (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).

We may form some idea of what this “representation of the heavens” was from the fifth “Creation Tablet,” now in the British Museum. It reads as follows:—

“Anu [the Creator] made excellent the mansions [i.e. the celestial houses] of the great gods [twelve] in number [i.e. the twelve signs or mansions of the sun].

The stars he placed in them. The lumasi [i.e. groups of stars or figures] he fixed.

He 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 [i.e. planets] to know their courses that they might not err or deflect at all.”

Coming down to less ancient records: Eudoxos, an astronomer of Cnidus (403 to 350 b.c.), wrote a work on Astronomy which he calledPhainomena. Antigonus Gonatas, King of Macedonia (273-239 b.c.), requested the Poet 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 workDiosemeia (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 quotes it in his address at Athens on Mars' Hill. He says (Acts xvii. 28), “For in Him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said,Forwe are also his offspring.”16Several 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 Robert Brown, jun.:—

“From Zeus we lead the strain; he whom mankind

Ne'er leave unhymned: of Zeus all public ways,

All haunts of men, are full; and full the sea,

And harbours; and of Zeus all stand in need.

We are his offspring:17and he, ever good and mild to man,

Gives favouring signs, and rouses us to toil.

Calling to mind life's wants: when clods are best

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 Signs,

The stars dividing: and throughout the year

Stars he provides to indicate to man

The seasons' course, that all things duly grow,” etc., etc.

Then Aratus proceeds to describe and explain all the Signs and Constellations as the Greeks in his 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 years before. The stars were not seen from Tarsus as he describes them, and he must therefore have written from a then ancient Zodiac. For notwithstanding that we speak of “fixed stars,” there is a constant, 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 50" in the year); so that whileAlphain the constellation ofDracowas the Polar Star when the Zodiac was first formed, the Polar Star is nowAlphain what is calledUrsa Minor. 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 theSouthern Crossto become invisible in northern latitudes. When the constellations were formed theSouthern Crosswas visible 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, until the Cape of Good Hope had been discovered. Then was seen againThe Southern Crossdepicted by the Patriarchs. Here is another indisputable proof as to the antiquity of the formation of the Zodiac.

Ptolemy (150 a.d.) transmits them from Hïpparchus (130 b.c.) “asof unquestioned authority, unknown origin, and unsearchable antiquity.”

Sir William Drummond says that “the traditions of the Chaldean Astronomy seem the fragments of a mighty system fallen into ruins.”

The wordZodiacitself is from the Greek Ζωδιακός, which is not from Ζάω,to live, but from a primitive root through the HebrewSodi, which in Sanscrit meansa way. Its etymology has no connection withliving creatures, but denotesa way, orstep, and is used of thewayorpathin which the sun appears to move amongst 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 by the stars in going round, differs from the time occupied by the sun. This difference amounts to about one-twelfth part of the whole circle in each month, so that when the circle of the heavens is 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 theEcliptic.18

Each of these twelve parts (consisting each of about 30 degrees) is distinguished, not by numbers or by letters, but by pictures and names, and this, as we have seen, from the very earliest times. They are preserved to the present day in our almanacs, and we are taught their order in the familiar rhymes:—

“The Ram, the Bull, the heavenly Twins,

And 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.”

These signs have always and everywhere been preserved in this order, and have begun with Aries. They have been known amongst all nations, and in all ages, thus proving their common origin from one source.

The figures themselves are perfectly arbitrary. There is nothing in the groups of stars to even suggest the figures. This is the first thing which is noticed by every one who looks at the constellations. Take for example the sign of Virgo, and look at the stars. There is nothing whatever to suggest a human form; still less is there anything to show whether that form is a man or a woman.And so with all the others.

Thepicture, therefore, is the original, and must have been drawn around or connected with certain stars, simply in order that it might be identified and associated with them; and that it might thus be remembered and handed down to posterity.

There can be no doubt, as the learned Authoress ofMazzarothconclusivelyproves,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. 9). The blessing of Jacob (Gen.xlix.) and the blessing of Moses (Deut. xxxiii.) both bear witness 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 its standard. We read in Num. ii. 2, “Every man of the children of Israel shall pitch by his own Standard, with the Ensign of their father's house” (r.v. “with the ensigns of their fathers' houses”). This “Standard” was theDegel() on which the “Sign” (,Oth) was depicted. Hence it was called the “En-sign.” Ancient Jewish authorities declare that each tribe had one of the signs as its own, and it is highly probable, even from Scripture, that four of the tribes carried its “Sign”; and that these four 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 points.According to Num. ii.thecamp was thus formed:—

In the North, from North-West to North-East:

Asher (Sagittarius).

Dan,TheScorpion (Scorpio).

Nephtali (Capricornus).

In the East, from North-East to South-East:

Issachar (Cancer).

Judah,TheLion (Leo).

Zebulon (Virgo).

In the South, from South-East to South-West:

Simeon (Pisces).

Reuben,TheMan (Aquarius).

Gad (Aries).

In the West, from South-West to North-West:

Ephraim and Manasseh, The Bull (the two horns ofTaurus).

Benjamin (Gemini).

In the Center:

Levi,TheScales (Libra).

If the reader compares the above with the blessings of Israel and Moses, and compares the meanings and descriptions given below with those blessings, theconnection will be clearly seen. Levi, for example, had no standard, and he needed none, for he kept “the balance of the Sanctuary,” and had the charge of that brazen altar on which the atoning blood outweighed the nation's sins.

The four great signs which thus marked the four sides of the camp, and the four quarters of the Zodiac, are the same four which form the Cherubim (the Eagle, the Scorpion's enemy, being substituted for the Scorpion). The Cherubim thus form a compendious expression of the hope of Creation, which, from the very first, has been bound up with the Coming One, who alone should cause its groanings to cease.

But this brings us to the Signs themselves and their interpretation.

These pictures were designed to preserve, expound, 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 ina coming Redeemer; One who should be born of a woman; who should first suffer, and afterwards gloriously triumph; One who should first be wounded by that great enemy who was the cause of all sin and sorrow and death, but who should finally crush the head of “that Old Serpent the Devil.”

These ancient star-pictures reveal this Coming One. They set forth “the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow.” Altogether there are forty-eight of them, made up of twelve Signs, each sign containing three Constellations.

These may be divided intothreegreat books, each book containing four chapters (or Signs); 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.

But where are we tobeginto read this wondrous Heavenly Scroll? A circle has proverbially neither beginning nor end. In what order then are we to consider these signs? In the heavens they form a never-ending circle. Where is the beginning and where is the end of this circle through which the sun is constantly moving? Where are we to break into this circle?andsay,This is the commencement. It is clear that unless we can determine this original starting point we can never read this wondrous book aright.