The Gospel in the Stars

On the 21^st December 2020, the whole world was enthralled to witness the amazing bright sight of the Jupiter and Saturn conjunction, which many believe was a repeat of the great ‘Bethlehem Star’ that guided the Wise Men to the place of Jesus’s birth place.  This was even more exciting considering it happened so close to Christmas!  For me, it felt like it was God’s way of reminding us to keep seeking Christ, and where better to look upwards, towards the heavens.

This amazing event also reminded me of something I had heard recently on the ‘Through the Word’ App on Psalms 19, which mentions that the constellations of stars actually foretell the full Gospel story of Jesus Christ.  The 12 Zodiac signs that have shined in the night sky tells us of Christ's coming, His life on earth and the triumph when He will return.

Although the Bible warns us not to consult the stars through Astrology which Satan has distorted, Biblical Astronomy is an entirely different story and declares the marvelous Glory of God.

From Virgo, which is depicted as a virgin to Leo, the Lion of Judah, we realize the constellation of stars hold a far greater symbolic and significant meaning than we ever realized before.

Constellation	Picture	Interpretations
Libra	Scales	Scales of Justice = Sin paid for on the Cross
Scorpius	Scorpion	Satan’s sting of sin brings death
Sagittarius	Centaur/Archer	Dual identity of Jesus, as half man and half God with an arrow that pierces Satan - Our Conqueror
Capricorn	Goat-fish	Earth corruption – Our Scapegoat and atoning sacrifice
Aquarius	Water Bearer/ pourer	Living water – Our Spiritual Well
Pisces	Fishes	God's remnant – Fisher of Men
Aries	Ram	Sacrifice – Our Sacrificial Lamb
Taurus	Bull	Day of Judgement
Gemini	Twins	Union between Christ & His Bride
Cancer	Crab	Gathering of the redeemed
Leo	Lion	Lion of Judah – Our King

Have you ever wondered where the twelve signs of the zodiac came from? The word “Zodiac” comes from the Greek word Zoe, which means “life,” and Dia, which means “through” or “pathway.” Therefore, the word Zodiac literally means: "the path to life".

Some scholars identify the 12 signs of the zodiac with the 12 sons of Jacob/12 tribes of Israel and some even the 12 disciples!

It is the Gospel written in symbolic, pictorial language manifesting the path to eternal life.  Apparently in the Book of Enoch, which is no longer part of our Biblical text, God taught Enoch these constellation pictures and their meaning in order to provide a visual revelation of the plan of God to redeem mankind through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross.  

The zodiac constellations can be thought of as the original Bible in the sky, before the Bible was placed into written form.

So next time you find yourself gazing above at the magnificent array of stars, allow God to reveal His wonderful Glory and confirm His message to your heart…

Psalm 19: 1- 4

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

Pruned for Growth

When you think of the word pruning, you think of the idea of cutting off all the dead branches or just trimming bushes that have become overgrown. Right? Well, my horticulturist brother-in-law Andrew, has educated me by explaining that sometimes we also need to prune some perfectly good branches as well, in order to train the plant in the direction it should grow. When it comes to fruit trees, pruning also forces the tree to put more energy into fewer but larger, sweeter, higher quality fruits. 

 

I like to believe the same is true of how God prunes our lives… Whatever God has chosen to prune out of our lives, whether it be the loss of a loved one, a job, a relationship or something material, we can be assured that He is doing it for our ultimate growth in sight.  We may not like it or understand it, and yes, it is often very painful, but we need to trust that even when we cannot see the big picture or see it from God's perspective, it is needed for our growth.

 

This Covid-19 Pandemic and lockdown has also pruned a lot of things out of our lives. Some of them like people and hugs we may be sorely missing, and other things not so much, like traffic or crowds, but the truth is that both the good and the bad has taught us what really matters in life and has surely made us more resilient. 

 

We may look and feel like this stumped plant during our pruning seasons, but we need to encourage ourselves with the knowledge that God is either changing the direction He wants us to grow or using it to help us grow into better, stronger people, with sweeter, juicier, larger, more excellent fruits…