SALVATION IN THE STARS – 1
Duane Spencer, in his book “The Gospel in the Stars” (page 8-9), give the following true account. “Several years ago, when I was a speaker for the Congress on Prophecy at the Church of the Open Door in Los Angeles, I pointed out that Paul claims in Romans 10:18 that all men have heard the gospel. Then I explained the Biblical basis for the apostle’s statement. After the service was over a dear saint of God said to me, ‘Dr. Spencer, I heard this from a missionary fifty years ago. She went up into the back country of Japan one day where no missionary had ever been. She began to tell the story of Redemption. When she had finished an old lady got up all excited and said: “That’s it! That’s it! I’ve read this story in the stars and told my people about the Savior, but I never knew His name before this!” She also explained how redemption is built into the picture characters of the oriental alphabet.'”
This whole idea of the stars conveying the plan of salvation at first seems odd to people, but it makes perfect sense. It’s something that has interested me personally for a long time. It is a tremendous tool for evangelism. It leads believers to praise and worship God. It shows His love and sovereignty in a great way. It is a great approach to astronomy and a study of the stars with children. It really lifts up God and His power. Let’s go back to the beginning and see how God originally created this.
Antiquity of the Original Names of the Stars & Constellations. Aristotle, Polybius, Neander and other ancients believed that the knowledge of divine things had been passed on to man from earliest times through the stars, but was changed and perverted by Greek mythology. We know Satan has perverted this knowledge today in the form of astrology and horoscopes (Deuteronomy 18:10-12). When we go back to the original names and meanings of the stars and constellations we can clearly see how God created and named them to convey His plan of salvation to mankind.
The Hebrew word to describe the constellations and 12 signs of the zodiac is “mazzaroth” (Job 38:32; 2 Kings 23:5). ‘Zodiac’ is a Greek word, coming from the Hebrew ‘Sodi’ which means a “way” or “step” and refers to the path in which the sun appears to move amongst the stars in the course of the year. Twelve is the number of divine manifestation of God in the world (12 tribes of Israel, apostles, months, gates & foundations for New Jerusalem). The sun appears to travel through these. That doesn’t really happen, but from our perspective in the northern hemisphere looking up it appears that way — as God intended it to appear.
Proper understanding of the meaning of the stars and signs depends on going back to the original names God gave them. That God named them in the beginning is seen by the fact that all ancient cultures in various parts of the world start with the same shapes and names for the stars and constellations, something that could not just ‘happen’ if man were naming them. Who can look at the stars and pick out a horse or lion or bear? Records of the Romans, Central Americans, Scandinavians, Aztecs, Hebrews, Babylonians, Norsemen, Indians (in India), Persians and Greeks all go back to almost 4,000 BC all have the same names and shapes. The ancient ages of these star charts is proven by the fact that the North Star has slowly changed over the last 6,000 years. They use the north star of 6,000 years ago. (By the way, Bible chronological dates set creation about 6,000 to 7,000 years ago.)
Josephus records ancient traditions as saying God gave man before the flood His message through the stars. Cassini in his ancient “History of Astronomy” says, “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.” In fact, ancient Persian and Arabian traditions ascribe the beginning of astrology to Adam, Seth and Enoch. They would have gotten it from God. Many ancient writers attest to the fact that the stars were named to convey divine information.
What Does the Bible Say? Of course, our final authority is the Bible, God’s Word. To it we must turn for final clarification. God’s Word has more to say about this than we at first realize.
Genesis 1:14 says God created the stars for “signs, seasons, days and years.” And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years.” The word “signs” (Hebrew ‘othoth’) means ‘to show things which are to come.’ It is used this way in Jeremiah 10:2, and also for the plagues in Egypt and Jesus’ miracles. Thus, the stars and constellations are signs God gives man about His plan of redemption, the Messiah that was to come.
The word translated “season” (Hebrew ‘moed’) is never used of seasons as we think of them (spring, summer, fall, and winter). It is always used of an “appointed time period.” It is used of Israel’s feasts and Abraham’s time to have a son (Gen. 17:21; 18:14; 21:2). Here it refers to the appointed time of God’s dealing with man’s sin – when the Messiah comes to earth.
If you’ve ever looked closely at a chart of the constellations you’ll immediately notice several serpents near or under the heels of strong men (half man-half God). This is the first prophecy in the Bible, Genesis 3:15. “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” This summarizes the conflict through all history: Satan against Jesus.
The tower of Babel, too, fits into all of this. Genesis 11:4 says they built it “with a tower that reaches to the heavens.” They weren’t so dumb that they thought they could go high enough to contact God! Literally the Hebrew says “its top with the heavens.” Archaeologists who have found similar ziggurats in Babylon say they have signs of the constellations on the top roof. Thus, this phrase would have nothing to do with its height, but rather its purpose: a special building built to glorify astrology and contact the gods through its worship (as people use astrology and horoscopes today). Jude 14 testifies to the fact that man before the flood knew about Christ coming to earth. Verbal tradition as well God’s plan written in the stars explains how they knew this. The sin of the tower of Babel was their trying to destroy the true knowledge of the stars’ message. They (Nimrod) purposely perverted it to change it from God’s plan of salvation to a man-made system of religion.
While astronomy (the science of the stars and other heavenly bodies) is true and accurate, astrology (a pseudo-science claiming to foretell the future by studying the supposed influence of the stars on human affairs) is Satan’s perversion of God’s truth. That’s why God so severely judged it; He would not let His truth be silenced. When His greater revelation, the written Word (Bible) was recorded and passed on, He no longer needed the lesser revelation of the plan of salvation in the stars. He now jealously guards and protects His Bible from destruction and error, too. It is interesting to note, though, that in remote parts of the world even today where there is no Bible people still know the ancient names and message of the stars, thus making them “without excuse” (Romans 1:18-21; Psalm 19:1-2).
Another important Bible passage that is often misunderstood is Genesis 15:5. He took him outside and said, “Look up at the heavens and count the stars– if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” “Count” means literally “list in correct order of sequence” (as in Psalm 147:4 and Isaiah 40:26). God is telling Abraham to remember what the sequence of the constellations reveals – God coming to earth to provide salvation. This verse doesn’t refer to the number of descendants Abraham would have. This truth is given in the prophecy of his descendants being as the sand of the seashore (Genesis 22:17; 32:12). Galatians 3:16 refers to this verse but clearly says that ‘seed’ is singular. “The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say ‘and to seeds,’ meaning many people, but ‘and to your seed,’ meaning one person, who is Christ.” Thus, God says Abraham’s seed would fulfill the promise spoken of in the stars.
It is interesting to note that Job, the oldest book in the Bible, speaks about the constellations more than any other Bible book. The names and shapes they had then are the same as today (Job 9:9; 38:31-32; 26:13). See also Amos 5:8 and Acts 28:11.
There are other passages I’ll just mention in passing. Psalm 19 says that knowledge of God is revealed each night, as creation reveals God during the day, too. It also talks about God’s greater revelation in the Bible. Romans 10:17-18 quotes this as saying the message in the heavens tells men about Christ.
Psalm 147:4 says “He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.” “Call” refers to giving proper arrangement to the stars. Naming them means God used them to communicate His story to man. Not only did He give the names of the stars to Adam who passed them on, but He also named the constellations. There is no other way of explaining how the constellation animals and objects could have been the same through the whole world. No one could look at the stars and see a lion, woman, ram, snake, horse, harp, etc. They don’t make sense unless you understand God named them for a specific purpose. Isaiah 40:26 says these same things. Psalm 8:3 also says God put the stars in their specific locations. Luke 1:67-70 and Acts 3:20-21 say God has had His holy prophets since the world began (before man was created). This would be the stars. Romans 1:18-21 says heaven and creation have clearly revealed God to man.
Thus, God plainly and obviously has revealed enough about Himself to man for man to pursue a relationship with God. He has revealed the basic truths of the plan of salvation in the stars. While this isn’t the time to go into it, it is also said that God has revealed His plan of redemption in the Chinese writing system.
Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Psalm 97:6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all the peoples see his glory.
What impresses you when you look at the stars at night?
What does it show about God that He went to all that trouble to make sure people knew about Him? How does that make you appreciate the far superior revelation in the Bible?
If you have put any faith in horoscopes, confess that as sin, ask God to forgive you and take back any access you have given to Satan through it.
To learn more about this look at my full article on “Salvation in the Stars” at https://www.christiantrainingonline.org/our-ministries/india/articles/bible-history-culture-doctrine/salvation-in-the-stars/ For a PDF copy email which includes charts and diagrams of the stars, email me at jerry@ChristianTrainingOrganization.org
cto Rev. Dr. JERRY SCHMOYER
Christian Training Organization
Jerry@ChristianTrainingOrganization.org
(India Outreach, Spiritual Warfare, Family Ministries, Counseling, World View)
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