February 15, 2013

  • The Gospel of Orion and Eridanus

     

    Genesis 1:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: 15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.

    The year was 1969 and Neil Armstrong had just stepped on the moon. I was four years old and living in Dayton, Ohio, just a couple of months away from starting kindergarten. The lunar landing was big news. The astronauts who traveled in their rocket ship to the moon were hailed as heroes. There was a sense of jubilation that mankind had taken its first walk among the stars.

    I showed interest in the moon. My parents got me a book about the moon. I learned that some ancient peoples used to believe that once a month a giant space dragon came and ate the moon. Others believed the moon was made out of cheese. I even had a big map of the moon hanging on the wall of my bedroom. A trip to the planetarium at the Dayton Museum of Natural History would broaden my horizons where the night sky was concerned.

    We were taken into a dark room and told to sit down in these recliners. The base of the dome shone with an artificial horizon glowing red, with black silhouettes of a city skyline giving us a sense of being outdoors. They brought the lights down and turned on the projector, and my class was introduced to the signs of the zodiac. We got to meet Cancer the Crab and Taurus the Bull and Leo the Lion and Aquarius the Water-Bringer.

    Some constellations had stories behind them, mostly from Greek mythology. Hercules, the demigod hero, son of Zeus and a mortal woman in a fit of rage killed his family, but redeemed himself and became a hero. Orion, a mighty hunter, stung to death by Scorpio, the Scorpion found in another part of the sky. Even the bow of the Argo, the famed ship used by Jason and the Argonauts in their quest for the Golden Fleece, is found among the constellations.

    Cassiopeia and her daughter Andromeda represent some of the women in mythology that were honored by the gods by being placed among the stars.

    While attending the Ft. Worth First SDA church in 1999, I met a man who taught a special Sabbath school class in Biblical astronomy. He used as his text a book titled Witness of the Stars by E. W. Bullinger, published in 1893. Its foundational scripture is found in

    Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows his handiwork. 2 Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night shows knowledge. 3 There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. 4 Their line is gone out through all the earth and their words to the end of the world.

    In his introduction, Bullinger states that for 2500 years there was no need for a written revelation concerning God, for the message found in the constellations told the gospel story. In Romans 1: 19-23, Paul explained how the invisible things of creation were used as a virtual reminder of God’s plan of salvation, and how the meaning behind each symbol in the sky was corrupted by men as they drew farther away from God. Bullinger analyzes each constellation in the zodiac and it’s supporting constellations and explains how each is related to key players in the Great Controversy between Christ and Satan.

    Psalm 147:4 He decided how many stars there would be in the sky and gave each one a name.

    God names the stars and the constellations, and defines the meaning behind each symbol He placed in the sky. Each star bears a name relating to the significance of each constellation.

    There are two constellations I want to look at rather briefly: Orion and Eridanus.

    We are familiar with Orion and the vision Ellen White had of the city of God veiled by the great nebula. We have been told that one day the city of heaven will travel from Orion to earth, and God will establish His eternal kingdom on this world redeemed by the blood of Jesus.

    There are two ways to look at Orion. One is as “The Coming Prince.” Bullinger explains the meaning of the names of the stars found in Orion. Betelgeuse is translated as “the coming of the branch,” found in Malachi 3:2. Rigel is “the foot that crushes,” and symbolizes the promise that the seed of a woman would crush the head of the serpent. Bellatrix reminds us of Jesus’ promise in Revelation: Surely I come quickly. Night after night in the winter sky, Orion reminds us that our Redeemer is coming for us, and we need not to dread the winter cold.

    Another view of Orion is that of Kecil, a Hebrew word for “fool” or “wicked one.” From the Assyrian point of view, Orion is known as Nimrod, a mighty hunter mentioned in Genesis who “waxed great before the Lord.” He gained his fame as a hunter who was so popular that he overshadowed God. It was Nimrod who established the early city of Babylon on the plains of Shinar. The myth is that Nimrod was chained to the sky because of his rebellion against Jehovah. The three stars in the belt never change their relative position. In Job 38, God asks the self-sufficient man if he can loosen the bindings on Orion’s belt.

    The second constellation I want to look at briefly is Eridanus. From Orion’s foot comes a mighty river of stars that flows in a southerly direction. It has been called “the river of judgment,” for in the Greek myths, Phaeton, a son of Apollo took ahold of the reigns of the chariot used to drag the sun across the sky. Losing control of the chariot, Phaeton was slain by Zeus so that the world would be saved from the flames. He fell into the River Eridanus.

    We can see a corruption of redemption’s story in this Greek myth. Our beliefs teach us that God spared not His Son to save us from eternal separation from Him, and to save us from the lake of fire. On our behalf, Jesus took upon Himself the punishment for our sins and He died.

    It has always been Satan who has tried to paint Jesus out to be a fool, sacrificing His life on our behalf. What did Jesus get out of the crucifixion? It was utter stupidity on His behalf to try to save us, if we accept to believe Satan’s point of view of Calvary.

    1 Corinthians 1 17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. 18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. 20 Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

    1 Corinthians 3:19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He takes the wise in their own craftiness.

    As I see it spelled out on the nighttime sky, God’s own Fool stepped into the fire of judgment so that we would not have to. When He stepped out of the flames, God appointed Him to be the Judge of the world, for it was Jesus Christ who God called back from the dead. Acts 17:30-31

    Daniel 7:9-10 gives us that image of Christ taking His place as both our Judge and our Reconciliation to the Father, our Defense Attorney in the investigative judgment. If we neglect so great a salvation, then we become the fools who go through the river of judgment. That will be for us a journey from which we will never return.  

    Upon the inky black canvas of infinite space, God told us a story of sin and sinners and redemption’s heroes. With the right understanding of the constellations, we can look upon them as a constant reminder of His love for us. The zodiac are symbolic of God’s arms embracing us, and it is this love and embrace that should keep us looking up, for our redemption draws closer and closer with each passing night.