CONSTELLATIONS: The Word of God Written in the Stars INTRODUCTION “God said, ‘Let there be luminaries in the firmament of the Heaven to separate between the day and the night; and they shall serve as signs, and for festivals, and for days and years; and they shall serve as luminaries in the firmament of the Heaven to shine upon the earth.’” Genesis 1:14-15 TANACH “For the conductor, a psalm by David. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament tells of His handiwork. Day following day utters speech, and night following night declares knowledge. There is no speech and there are no words; their sound is not heard. But their precision goes forth throughout the earth, and their words reach the end of the inhabited world. In the midst He has set up a tent for the sun, which is like a groom emerging from his bridal chamber, it rejoices like a powerful warrior to run the course. Its source is the end of the heavens and its circuit is to their end; nothing is hidden from its heat.” Psalm 19:1-7 TANACH No one pays much attention to the heavens anymore. We are so connected to the things of the world that we do not see the magnificence of the LORD all around us and above us. Example: Our children are given an assignment to study the stars for an astronomy session. Instead of going outside and looking at the night sky, we sit them in front of a computer or other technical devices, letting them search on-line for what is right outside their window. It would be so much easier to open the door and say, “Here is your study guide, search the heavens for what you need.” As a matter of fact, as parents we should be out there enjoying the search with them, showing our own enthusiasm for God’s handiwork. As always the LORD is all-knowing! Knowledge beyond what mankind cannot fathom because we are beneath Him – the Almighty One Who is in control of life and eternity. Before we began to write, to carve His Words on stone, cut them into skin, and write them on papyrus and paper, He had already written them down permanently in the heavens. It was just a matter of reading the signs that He put in place. In ancient times men looked up and saw the patterns in the skies and read their message. The stars spoke the Word of God without us hearing a sound! The patterns, every star in the patterns are designed to speak of our LORD and Savior, Jesus Christ, from Creation to Revelation. 1 Astronomy is a beautiful science; people whose life work is to keep their gaze in the heavens, trying to discover the meaning of the universe. How did it start? What can we learn from it? Their curiosity and research have found planets, nebulae, galaxies beyond our own that are astounding. Even our own, the Milky Way, is a wonder to behold. Yet and still, many of them do not see the glory of God in the sky. They worship or come very close to worshiping what they see and are awestruck by the formations and patterns, even though it does not make sense to the scientific mind claiming that they do not believe in a higher authority than what science makes evident. And after they have exhausted everything they “know,” they come to the conclusion that there is someone much greater than man who placed all of this in the heavens— maybe there is a GOD after all! “Raise your eyes on high and see Who created these things! He brings forth their legions by number; He calls to each of them by name; by the abundance of His power and by vigor of His strength, not one is missing!” Isaiah 40:26 TANACH What are we talking about when we say the universe? This massive area called the universe is made up of many fascinating things. There are Galaxies, which are “massive gravitationally bound systems consisting of stars, stellar remnants or interstellar mediums of gas, dust, and dark matter.” They have black holes either visible or not visible that are “regions of space time from which gravity prevents anything, including light, from escaping (NASA Science).” There are many galaxies, mostly spiral in their shape (not round but elliptical) and range from dwarfs, having about ten million stars to giants with about 100 trillion stars. The word, galaxy is derived from the Greek language, meaning, milky, hence our “Milky Way.” Nebulae are “interstellar clouds of dust, hydrogen, helium and other ionized gases forming magnificent patterns in the heavens.” In other words, a Nebula is a bunch of atoms and molecules floating around in outer space, and looks like a dust cloud. Because of the Hubble telescope we can see many of them clearly and also because of special kinds of lenses on the telescope we can see them in color. Nebulae form patterns that resemble things on earth and the gases that caused the colors in the Nebulae will eventually give way to a gravitational pull that will cause the gases to explode.” These explosions can cause minor changes in the universe, but some are called, “Supernovas.” Supernovas are exploding stars. The Nebulae become what is known as a Red Giant, exploding when they have exhausted their supply of hydrogen and helium fuel, and converted most of their atoms to iron atoms. We live in a complex system that was 2 designed by only One Being Who thought of how to put all of this greatness into motion. Scientists believe that before there were stars there was one giant Nebula that exploded in the heavens causing stars to jet out and fill the universe. But, it was at the command of God’s voice that these things happened. Scientists call it the “Big Bang Theory,” but the bang that they heard was the voice of God saying, “Let there be…and it was.” “When I behold Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars that You have set in place, [I think,] ‘What is frail man that You should remember him, and the son of mortal man that You should be mindful of him?’” Psalm 8:4-5 TANACH This is a study on the signs in the Heavens, the “Zodiac,” the twelve images that appear in the night sky yearly. As the earth turns, you will see them carved out in the stars telling you many wonderful things, leaving you awestruck about the God we serve. It is a very old source dating back to at least 4000 B.C., according to archaeologists, when it was finally translated and written on stone. The word “Zodiac” has long been thought to have come from the Greek root word, “Zoe” meaning, Life; and it does not refer to the word “zoo” because of the animal-shaped constellations. There are inanimate objects in the constellations as well such as, scales, a lyre, ship, the cross, an altar, and a crown to mention a few. The term “Zodiac” (the Greek word, Zodiakos) is rooted in the Hebrew and which means “the Way.” It also means to “live” and the סוךי ”Sanskrit word, “Sodi “path.” Because of our believing in God and His Mighty Word, we are called, “People of the Way.” The ancient ones followed the stars using them as a guide and a pathway to everything; from planting and harvesting the crops, to navigation for traveling on land and sea; from naming their children according to what the stars directed, to celebrating the feasts of the LORD; the stars gave direction. There are those who say that the Zodiac cannot be accurate because we do not plant and harvest at the same time all over the world. They forget that the earth is turning and they receive the same planting and harvesting times as we do even as they are on the other end of the earth— the earth turns. When it is our winter, it is their Summer, but the planting and harvesting is the same. Mazzaroth Many Christian scholars (and some Jewish) have separated the Zodiac into two distinct interpretations. One group says the Zodiac or signs speak only of the “Old Testament.” While others claim that the signs are all “New Testament.” The truth is 3 you cannot have one without the other. Those things that are spoken of or prophesied in the Old Testament are revealed in the New Testament. When the LORD wrote His message in the stars, it was for the benefit of all mankind. meaning that it is מזרוֹﬨ The Zodiac is also called in Hebrew “Mazzaroth connected to the twelve Tribes of Israel, to give direction or to transmit; Mazzaroth is also another name for the Scriptures. One of the sources of the Zodiac connection to the twelve tribes comes from Joseph’s dream of the sun and moon and eleven stars bowing down to him, he himself was the twelfth. (See Genesis 37:9) According to ancient Jewish traditions authorities believed that each tribe bore one of the signs on the Zodiac on their standard or banner called an “Ensign.” The signs according to each tribe and their arrangement around the Tabernacle in the Wilderness: 4 Popular Name Hebrew Name Tribe 1. Virgo Bethulah & Tsemech Zebulon 2. Libra Mozanaim Levi 3. Scorpion Akrab Dan 4. Sagittarius Kesith, Naim & Nehushta Asher 5. Capricorn Gedi Nephtali 6. Aquarius Deli Reuben 7. Pisces Dagim Simeon 8.