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- for the founding of aCollegt, in 0s Colony"

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Bought with the income of the
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YALE

THE

Gospel in the Stars;

OR,

Pnnubal 9tetronomg*

BY
JOSEPH A. SEISS, D. D.,
Author of
"A Miracle in Stone," "Voices from Babylon," "The Last Times/
"Lectures on the Apocalypse," "Holy Types," etc.

, . . . r« ndvra xac iv ¦KiLaiv Xpiarbz.

PHILADELPHIA :
E. CLAXTON & COMPANY,
No. 930 Market Street.
1882.

Copyright,
E. Claxtqn & Company.

Westcott & Thomson,
Stereotypcrs and Electrotypers*

PREFACE.
It may seem adventurous to propose to read the
Gospel of Christ from what Herschel calls " those
uncouth figures and outlines of men and monsters
usually scribbled over celestial globes and maps."
So it once would have seemed to the writer. But
a just estimate of the case cannot be formed without
a close survey of what these figures are, what rela
tions they bear to each other, whence they originated,
and what meaning was attached to them by the most
ancient peoples from whom they have been trans
mitted to us. Such a survey the author of this vol
ume has endeavored to make. From an extended
induction he has also reached conclusions which
lead him to think he may do good service by giving
publicity to the results of his examinations.
The current explanations of the origin and mean
ing of the constellations certainly are not such as
should satisfy those in search of positive truth.
Herschel characterizes them as " puerile and absurd."
They are nowhere to be found outside of Greece and
Rome and modern works which have thence derived
them. They are part of the- staple in the theories
and arguments of infidelity. The more ancient and
i

4 PREFACE.
more knowing peoples never so explained these ce
lestial signs, but uniformly regarded them as divine
in source and sacred in significance. Even Greece
and Rome never could separate them from their
worship, their gods, and their hopes of futurity,
whilst some of their best authors devoutly referred
to them as divine. The theory that they have come
from natural observations of the seasons and man's
occupations in different parts of the year is but a
rationalistic conjecture, unsupported by facts or an
alogy. It is the mere guess of men pressed by the
presence of a great and masterly system marked on
the heavens for which they knew not. how to account
— a guess which will not stand the test of its own
assumptions or common sense, much less the light
now in the world's possession respecting the remoter
antiquities of man. That some Greek and Roman
authors, who never understood any of these things,*
should indulge in such unfounded suppositions is
not remarkable; but that people of learning and
science, jealous of building on anything but solid
grounds, should still entertain and reiterate them
for ascertained verities, is very surprising. And if
men are constrained thus to accept and repeat them
from sheer inability otherwise to solve the problem,
it should convince them that they have not yet risen
to the true character and dignity of these ancient
records, and dispose them to a fresh and searching
re-examination of the whole subject, to which this
book is meant to furnish some humble aid.
* See Grote's History of Greece, vol. i. pp. 394-444.

PREFACE. 5
The first suspicion that the original constellations
may perhaps have come from a divine or prophetic
source was impressed upon the writer's mind in con
nection with his studies of the marvellous wisdom
embodied in the Great Pyramid of Gizeh. But it
came only in the shape of an inference, which needed
to be tested on its own independent grounds before
it could be reasonably accepted. That inference,
however, was so direct, and the subject seemed so
worthy of being investigated,- that a course of spe
cial study was instituted to ascertain, apart from all
pyramid-theories, whether the facts and probabilities
in the case would warrant a conclusion of so much
moment. A new field of inquiry thus opened, for the explo
ration of which but few helps beyond the ordinary
books on astronomy could be found. Something,
however, had been done by Bailly in his History
of Astronomy, Dupuis in his L'Origines des Cultus,
Volney in Les Ruines, and some other writers of
the same class. To throw contempt on Christianity
as a mere accommodation of certain old mythic
ideas common to all primitive peoples, these men
adduced a large amount of traditional and astro
nomic lore, proving the great antiquity of the con
stellations, and showing a striking correspondence
between them and the subsequent scriptural story
of Christ and salvation. Able theologians like Rob
erts and Faber,-in making replies to these French
skeptics, were obliged to admit the strong array of
facts alleged, and could only surmise a variety of

6 PREFACE.
explanations to do away with the intended conclu
sion as a non sequitur. The argument of these in
fidels is indeed fatally defective, especially in assum
ing that the old astronomy throughout, and all the
myths and worships associated with it, have come
solely from the natural observation and imagination
of man, apart from all supernatural light, revelation,
or inspiration. With this starting-point unproven
and incapable of verification, and with the positive
assertions of all the primeval world and all the indi
cations directly to the contrary, the whole argument
necessarily breaks down. Like all the efforts of
unbelief, it signally fails. But though the argu
ment, as such, is false and worthless, it does not fol
low that the materials collected to build it are the
same. For the most part, they are solid enough in
themselves, and the gathering of them was a valu
able contribution to a better cause. The showings
made of the close likeness between the old constel
lations and the Gospel -are well founded, and can
now be illustrated to a much greater and more mi
nute extent. But, instead of proving Christianity a
mere revival of old mythologies, they give powerful
impulse toward the conclusion that the constellations
and their associated • myths and traditions are them
selves, in their original, from the very same pro
phetic Spirit whence the Sacred Scriptures have
come, and that they are of a piece with the bib
lical records in the system of God's universal enun
ciations of the Christ.
Gale, in his Court of the Gentiles, Faber, On Pagan

PREFACE. 7
Idolatry, Roberts, in his Letters to Volney, Haslam, on
The Cross and the Serpent, and the author of Pri
meval Man Unveiled, have slightly touched upon the
subject, and furnish some materials in the direction
of the same conclusions.
Sir William Drummond, in his Origines, C. Piazzi
Smyth, in his Life and Work, and J. T. Goodsir, On
Ethnic Inspiration, also present some important facts
and considerations relating to the general inquiry.
A more valuable aid to the study of the subject
as treated in this volume is Frances Rolleston's
Mazzaroth ; or, The Constellations — a book from an
authoress of great linguistic and general literary at
tainments, whom Providence rarely favored for the
collection of important facts and materials, partic
ularly as respects the ancient stellar nomenclature.
The tables drawn up by Ulugh Beigh, the Tartar
prince and astronomer, about A. d. 1420, giving Ara
bian astronomy as it had come down to his time,
with the ancient Coptic and Egyptian names, like
wise the much earlier presentations, made about A. d.
850 by Albumazer, the great Arab astronomer of
the Caliphs of Grenada, and Aben Ezra's commen
taries on the same, are, to a considerable extent, re
produced in her book. Fac-similes of the Dendera
and Esne Zodiacs are also given in the last edition
(1875) of her work. And from her tables and refer
ences the writer of these Lectures was -helped to
some of his best information, without which this
book could hardly have become what it is.
If any others have treated directly, or even inci-

8 PREFACE.
dentally, of what is sought to be shown in this vol
ume, its author has not discovered their records or
their names.
With but little, therefore, but the star-maps and
descriptions as given by astronomers, and such no
tices of the constellations as are to be found in the
remains of antiquity and general literature, he had
to make his way as best he could. With what suc
cess he has done his work, and in how far his con
clusions are entitled to credit or respect, he now
submits to the decision of a candid and intelligent
public. Festival of the Epiphany, \
Philadelphia, 1882. }

Table of Contents.

HUcture jFirst. PAGES
The Starry Worlds  15-38
The Sun— Vastness of the Universe — Objects of these Creations —
The Stars as Signs — Record the Promises of Redemption —
The Glory of God — The Gospel Story — How the Stars are made
to Speak — Star-groups — Figures of the Star-groups.
ILectuce Second.
The Sacred Constellations  39-65
The Constellations — The Zodiac — The Twelve Signs — Mansions
of the Moon — The Decans of the Twelve Signs 'of the Zodiac
— The Planets — The Constellations Divine — Age of the Con
stellations — The Sabbatic Week and the Stars — The Alphabet
and the Stars. iLecture Cfcitir.
The Desire of Nations  66-89
The Ethnic Myths of a Coming Saviour — Infidel Argument —The
Sacred Intention of the Signs traceable — A Covered Picture —
The Sign of Virgo — The Virgin's Son — Coma — The Desire of
Nations — The Double Nature — Bootes — The Great Shepherd —
Summary on Virgo. iUcture dFourtf).
The Suffering Redeemer   90-113
The Sign of Libra — Commercial Idea in Christianity — The South
ern Cross — The Cross as a Sign — The Victim Slain — A Turn in
the History — The Northern Crown — A Sneer Answered,

IO TABLE OF CONTENTS.
ILectute jFtftf).. PAGES.
The Toiling Deliverer  '.  114-137
The Ancient Mysteries — The Sign of Scorpio — The Suffering
Saviour — The Serpent — Ophiuchus — .<Esculapius — The Great
Physician — Hercules and his Twelve Labors— A Picture of
Christ. ILectute Sjuxtf).
The Triumphant Warrior  138-161
The Sign of Sagittarius — Cheiron — The Hero-Prophet of Double
Nature — -The Harp — The Lyre of Orpheus — The Universal Joy
— Ara, the Burning Pyre — The Under-world — The Dragdn —
Origin of the Symbol of the Dragon — Slayers of the Dragon.
ILectute Sebentlj.
Death and New Life  162-188
Order of the Signs — The Sign of Capricornus — Type and Antitype
—The Church— The Mystical Union— The Myths— Spiritual
Conceptions — The Arrow — The Pierced Eagle — The Dolphin
— Death and Resurrection — Salvation through Atonement —
The Faith of the Patriarchs.
ILectute 3Etsf)tf).
The Living Waters  189-210
Water — The Sign of Aquarius — Promise of the Holy Spirit —
The Waters of Life— The Southern Fish— Pegasus— The Good
News — The Pierian Springs — The Swan — Lord of the Waters—
The Carried Cross — A Beautiful Picture — The Fountain Flows.
ILecture Ntntf).
The Mystic Fishes  21 1-232
Apostolic Fishing — The Sign of Pisces — The Myths — Twofoldness
of the Church — The Band of the Fishes — Cepheus — The Church's
King — Andromeda — The Church in this World — Andromeda's
Chains — Ill-favor of the Church — Church not from the Signs.

TABLE OF CONTENTS. II

PAGES

ILectute Centi).
The Blessed Outcome  233-257
The Lamb in Heaven — The Sign of Aries — The Mythic Stories
— Cassiopeia — The Church Delivered — Cetus — Satan Bound —
Perseus — The Myths— Perseus and Christ— Medusa's Head—
The Church's Hope — Union with the Church.
ILectute lElebentf).
The Day of the Lord  258-284
A Psalm of Redemption — The Unicorn, or Reem — The Judgment
— The Sign of Taurus — The Myths — The Sacred Prophecies —
Orion — The Glorious Prince — Myths on Orion — Eridanus — The
River of Fire — Mercy in Judgment — Auriga — The Great Shep
herd — A Solemn Outlook. ILectute Etoelftf).
The .Heavenly Union  285-310
The Sign of Gemini — Mythic Accounts — The Star-names — ¦
Christ's Union with His Church — The Marriage of the Lamb
— Lepus, the Mad Enemy — Sirius, or the Nazseirene — The
Sublime Prince — The Companion of Sirius — The Myths —
Summary on Gemini. ILecfure CStrteentft.
The Blessed Possession  .".... 31 1-335
The Oath of God— The Sign of Cancer— The Crab— The Scara-
bosus — Prsesepe — The Heavenly Rest— The Myths — The Names
— Ursa Minor — The Lesser Sheepfold — The Pole-Star — Ursa Ma
jor — The Greater Sheepfold — Argo — The Names — The Treasure
Secured-^A Sweet Consolation.
ILectute dFourteenti).
The Consummated Victory  336-360
The Lion — Christ as the Lion — The Lion- work — The Sign of
Eco — Hydra — The Serpent Deceiver — Myths and Names— Cra
ter,, or the Cup of Wrath — Corvus, or the Raven— Career and
Fate of the Serpent— The End.

12 TABLE OF CONTENTS. -
ILectute JFiUwiitf).
PAGES
The Secrets of Wisdom  361-386
Things More than they Seem — The Ground thus Far — The Lunar
Zodiac — Names of the Lunar Mansions — Record the Story of
Redemption — The Milky Way — Signs in and on this Way —
Names of the Primeval Patriarchs — The Names, Standards, and
Jewel-representatives of the Twelve Tribes of Israel — The Jewel-
foundations of the New Jerusalem.
ILectute ,gt:tteeitt1).
Primeval Man  387-423
Age of Astronomy — Dates back to Adam's Time — The Facts —
The Traditions — The Bible Representations — Reasonableness
of the Case — Claimed to be Originally from God — The Star-
Record itself — Contents of its Three Books — Inevitable Infer
ences — The First Man not a Gorilla — Revelation a Fact.
ILectute Sebenteentf),
The Star of Bethlehem  424-452
Visit of the Magi — Diverse Opinions about the Star — Astronomic
Facts — A Primitive Tradition — A New Star in Coma — Con
junctions of Jupiter and Saturn — The Sign of the Fishes — The
Following of the Star— Junction of Prophecy and Astronomy —
Who the Magi were — Sum of the Whole — Conclusion.

The profoundest riddles of the world have often remained con
cealed, not because of their great intricacy, but because of their
exceeding simplicity. — Czolbe.

When truth is found, it always proves to be somewhat like the
egg of Columbus. — Schelling.

It is the pert, superficial thinker who is generally the strongest
in all kinds of unbelief. — Sir Humphry Pavy.

THE GOSPEL IN THE 'STARS.

Hecture jfitst.
THE STARRY WORLDS.
Gen. I : 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 for years."
THE sublimest visible objects of human
contemplation are the Starry Heavens.
The beholder is awed at every thoughtful
look upon them. And when viewed in the
light of astronomical science the mind is over
whelmed and lost amid the vastness and mag
nificence of worlds and systems which roll
and shine above, around and beneath us.
The Sun.
The most conspicuous, to us, of these won
derful orbs is the Sun. Seemingly, it is not
as large as the wheel of a wagon, but when
we learn that we see it only at the distance 15.

l6 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
of more than ninety-one millions of miles,
and consider how the apparent size of objects
diminishes in proportion to their remoteness,
we justly conclude that it must be of enor
mous magnitude to be so conspicuous across
a gulf so vast. Our earth is a large' body ;
it takes long and toilsome journeying for a
man to make his way around it. But the Sun
fills more than a million times the cubic space
filled by the earth. A railway-train running
thirty miles an hour, and never stopping,
could not go around it in less than eleven
years, nor run the distance from the earth to
the Sun in less than three hundred and sixty
years. If we were to take a string long
enough to reach the- moon, and draw a circle
with it at its utmost stretch, the Sun would
still be six times larger than that circle. Be
longing to the system of which it is the centre
there are eight primary planets, some of them
more than a thousand times larger than our
earth, , besides eighty-five asteroids, twenty-
one satellites or moons, and several hundred
comets. But the Sun itself is six hundred
times greater than all these planets and their
satellites put together. The greatest of them
might be thrown into it, and would be to it
no more than -a drop to a bucket, a bird-shot

VASTNESS OF THE UNIVERSE. If
to a cannon-ball, or an infant's handful to a
bushel measure.
The Vastness of the Universe.
But, great and glorious as the Sun is, and
seemingly so much greater than every other
object in the sky, it is really only a tiny frag
ment, a mere speck, in the. magnificent starry
empire of which it is a part. It is less to the
material universe at large than a globule to
our globe. With all its retinue of ponderous
orbs, it is only one of innumerable hosts of
such suns and systems. There are myriads
of stars in space immeasurably greater than
it. They look very diminutive in comparison
with it, but they are hundreds of thousands
of times farther off. A ball shot from a can
non and moving at the rate of five hundred
miles an hour could not reach the nearest of
them in less than thirteen millions of years.
Light is the rapidest of known travellers.
A ray from the Sun reaches us in about eight
and a quarter minutes. But there are some
stars in these heavens known to be so remote
that if a ray of light had started from them
direct for our world when Adam drew his
first breath, it would hardly yet have reached
the earth. Sirius alone gives out nearly four
2* B

1 8 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
hundred times as much light as the Sun, and
yet Sirius is a star of moderate size among
the stars. The Sun is no mofe to many other
stars than one of our smaller planets is to it.
We know that the Sun turns on its axis as
the earth turns, and that it is ever moving on
a journey around some transcendently greater
centre, just as the earth and other planets
revolve around it as their centre. It takes
the earth one year to complete its revolution
around the Sun, but it takes the Sun eighteen
millions of our years to make its revolution
around the centre which it obeys.
We are amazed and overwhelmed in the
contemplation of worlds and systems so vast.
But there is solid reason for believing that all
these tremendous systems, in which uncounted
suns take the place of planets, are themselves
but satellites of still immeasurably sublimer
orbs, and thus on upward, through systems on
systems, to some supreme physical Omnipo
tent, where the unsearchable Jehovah has
His throne* and whence He gives forth His
invincible laws to the immensity of His glori
ous realm.
These are the "lights," light-bearers, or
luminaries to which the text refers, and which
the potent creative Word has brought into

OBJECTS OF THESE CREATIONS. 19
being and placed in the firmament of the
heaven. m
Objects of these Material Creations.
Such wonderful creations of almighty pow
er and wisdom were not without a purpose.
It was the will of the eternal God to be known
— to have creatures to understand and enjoy
His glory — to provide for them suitable
homes — to acquaint them with His intelli
gence, power, and perfections — to fill them
with a sense of the existence and potent pres
ence of an infinite creative Mind, from which
all things proceed and on which all creatures
depend. All the purposes of creation we cannot be
gin to fathom or comprehend. No plummet-
line of human understanding can reach the
bottom of such depths. We stand on solid
ground, however, when we say and believe
that the intent of the physical universe is to
declare and display the majesty and glory of its
Creator. Hence the apostolic assertion : "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." But the particular ends
and objects included in this grand purpose

20 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
are as multitudinous and diverse as the things
themselves. Among the rest, there is one
"specially expressed and emphasized in the
text. When God created these -heavenly
worlds He said, "And let them be for signs."
^The Stars as Signs.
A sign is something arbitrarily selected and
appointed to represent some other thing. The
letters of the alphabet are " signs " — signs of
sounds and numbers. The notes on a clef of
musical writing are "signs" — signs of the
pitch and value of certain tones of voice or
instrument. There is no relation whatever
between these "signs" and the things they
signify, except that men have agreed to em
ploy them for these purposes. Their whole
meaning as " signs " is purely conventional
and arbitrary — something quite beyond and
above what pertains to their nature. And so
with all " signs."
When Moses said that the swarm of flies
should be a " sign " to the Egyptians, there
was nothing in the nature of the thing to
show what was thereby signified. When the
prophet told Hezekiah that the going back
of the shadow on the dial should be a " sign "
that he would recover from his sickness,

THE STARS AS SIGNS. 21

live yet fifteen years, and see Jerusalem
delivered out of the hand of the Syrian in
vader, there was nothing in the nature of the
thing to express this gracious meaning. Isa
iah's walking barefoot had no natural connec
tion with the Syrian conquest of Egypt, and
yet this was " for a sign " of that fact. And
thus when God said of the celestial lumina
ries, "and let them be for signs," He meant
that they should be used to signify something
beyond and additional to what they evidence
and express in their nature and natural offices.
Nor can any sense be attached to the words,
consistent with the dignity of the record, with
out admitting that God intended from the be
ginning that these orbs of light should be
made to bear, express, record, and 'convey
some special teaching different from what is
naturally deducible from them.
What the stars were thus meant to signify,
over and above what is evidenced by their
own nature, interpreters have been at a loss
to tell us. And yet there should not be such a
total blank on the subject. Light has been at
hand all the while. For ages this whole field
has been almost entirely left to a superstitious
and idolatrous astrology, which has befouled
a noble and divine science and done immeas-

22 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
urable damage to the souls of men. But we
here find it claimed to be a sacred domain laid
out of God in the original intent of creation
itself. And when I look at the deep and al
most universal hold which a spurious and
wicked treatment of this field has so long
had upon mankind, I have been the more led
to suspect the existence of some original,
true, and sacred thing back of it, out of which
all this false science and base superstition has
grown, and of which it is the perversion.
There is no potent system of credulity in the
world which has not had some great truth at
the root of it. Evil is always perverted good,
as dirt is simply matter out of place. It is
the spoliation of some better thing going be
fore it. ¦ And so there is reason to think that
there is, after all, some, great, original, divine
science connected with the stars, which as
trology has prostituted to its own base ends,
and which it is our duty to search out and
turn tQ its proper evangelic use.
"As from the oldest times the suns and
other worlds have been arranged into groups,
is it not allowable to inquire whether there
was not a unity of purpose and connected
meaning in them, though these grotesque
figures are represented as hieroglyphs which

THE STARS AS SIGNS. 23
we trace to the Chaldeans and Phoenicians }"
is a question which Ingemann, the distinguished
Danish author, puts, and who was by far more
persuaded of their probable reference to di
vine revelations than of their origin as more
commonly explained.
Richer, a French writer, has repeatedly as
serted that the whole primitive revelation may
be traced in the constellations.
Albumazer describes the various constella
tions as known over all the world from the
beginning, and says, " Many attributed to
them a divine and prophetic virtue."
Cicero, in translating the account of the
constellations by Aratus, says, " The signs are
measured out, that in so many descriptions
divine wisdom might appear.",
Roberts, in his Letters to Volney, accepts it
as a truth that the emblems in the stars refer
to the primeval promise of the Messiah and
His work of conquering the Serpent through -
His sufferings, and traces out some of the
particular instances.
Dupuis, in U ' Origine des Cultus, has col
lected a vast number of traditions prevalent
in all nations of a divine person, born of a
woman, suffering in conflict with a serpent,
but triumphing over him at last, and finds the

24 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
same reflected in the figures of the ancient
constellations. Dr. Adam Clarke says of the ancient Egyp
tians that they held the stars to be symbols
of sacred things. Lucian and Dupuis assert
the same, and say that " astronomy was the
soul of the Egyptian religious system." The
same is equally true of the Chaldeans and
Assyrians. Smith and Sayce, in The Chaldean Account
of Genesis, say : " It is evident, from the open
ing of the inscription on the first tablet of
the great Chaldean work on astrology and as
tronomy, that the functions of the stars were,
according to the Babylonians, to act not only
as regulators of the seasons of the year, but
also used as signs; for in those ages it was
generally believed that the heavenly bodies
gave, by their appearance and positions, signs
of events which were coming on the earth."'
The learned G. Stanley Faber admits the
connection between the starry emblems and
the myths and mysteries of the ancients. He
thinks " the forms of men and women, beasts
and birds, monsters and reptiles, with which
the whole face of heaven has been disguised,
are not without their signification" and allows
that the reference, in -parts at least, is to the

THE STARS AS SIGNS. 2$
Seed of the woman, and His bruising of the
Serpent. It is furthermore a matter of inspired New-
Testament record that certain wise men from
among the Gentile peoples not only looked
to the stars as by some means made to refer
to and represent a coming Saviour, even the
Lord Jesus himself, but were so moved and
persuaded by their observations of the stars,
from what they saw there signified, that they
set out under the guidance of those starry-
indications to find Him whom they thus per
ceived to have been born in Judea, in order
that they might greet Him as their Lord and
honor Him by their adoration and their gifts
(Matt. 2:1-11). All that entered into this
case we .may not now be able to determine,
but the fact remains that these wise men of
the Gentiles did actually come to Jerusalem,
and thence to Bethlehem, to find and worship
the new-born Saviour, moved and led by as
tronomic signs, which they never could have
understood as they did if there had not been
associated with the stars some definite evan
gelic prophecies and promises which they
could read, and believed to be from God.
And since these starry emblems are inva
riably connected with the most striking and

26 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
sublime appearances in the visible creation,
seen in all climates, accompanying the out-
wandering tribes of man in all their migra
tions, why should we not expect to find among
the names and figures annexed to them some
memorial of great and universal importance
to the whole human race ? Certainly, if we
could find connected with every constellation
and each remarkable star some divine truth,
some prophetic annunciation, some important
revelation or fact, there would be opened to
us a field of grand contemplations and of
sublime memorializations which we may well
suppose the infinite Mind of God would
neither overlook nor leave unutilized.
For my own part, having investigated the
subject with such aids as have been within
my reach, I am quite convinced, as much from
the internal evidences as the external, that
the learned authoress of Mazzaroth was cor
rect in saying that from the latent significance
of the names and emblems of the ancient
astronomy " we may learn the all-important
fact that God has spoken — that He gave to the
earliest of mankind a revelation, equally im
portant to the latest, even of those very
truths afterward written for our admonition
on whom the ends of the world are come."

THE GLORY OF GOD. 27
Taken along with the myths and traditions
which have been lodged among all the na
tions, I am quite sure that we have here a
glorious record of primeval faith and hope,
furnishing a sublime testimony to the antici
pations of the first believers, and at the same
time an invincible attestation to the blessed
Gospel on which our expectations of eternal
life are built. Not to the being and attributes
of an eternal Creator alone, but, above all, to
the specific and peculiar work of our redemp
tion, and to Him in whom standeth our salva
tion, are these "lights in the firmament" the
witnesses and "signs."
The Glory of God.
One of the sublimest of the Psalms, which
celebrates the twofold world of Nature and
Revelation, begins with the ever-memorable
assertion, " The heavens declare the glory of
God!' What the heavens are thus said to
declare certainly includes more than the ce
lestial bodies naturally tell concerning their
Creator. Their showing forth of His " handi
work," His wisdom and power, is the subject
of a separate and distinct part of the grand
sentence. The chief "glory of God" cannot be learn-

28 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
ed from Nature alone, simply as Nature. The
moral attributes of Deity, and His manifesta
tions in moral government, are pre-eminently
His glory. In the sending, incarnation, per
son, revelations, offices, and achievements of
Jesus Christ, above all, has God shown forth
His glory. We are told in so many words
that Christ is " the image and glory of God ;"
nay, " the brightness — the very outbeaming —
of His glory." The glory of God is " in the
face of Jesus Christ." There can therefore-
be no full and right declaring of " the glory
of God" which does not reach and embrace
Christ, and the story of redemption through
Him. But the starry worlds, simply as such,
do not and cannot- declare or show forth
Christ as the Redeemer, or the glory of God
in Him. If they do it at all, they must do it
as " signs," arbitrarily used for that purpose.
Yet the Psalmist affirms that these heavens
do " declare the glory of God." Are we not
therefore to infer that the story of Christ
and redemption is somehow expressed by
the stars ? David may or may not have so
understood it, but the Holy Ghost, speaking
through him, knew the implication of the
words, which, in such a case, must not be
stinted, but accepted in the fullest sense they

THE GOSPEL STORY. 29
will bear. And as it is certain that God
meant and ordained a use of the heavenly
bodies in which they should " be for signs"
and "as we are here assured that what they
have been arranged to signify is "the glory
of God" there would seem to be ample
scriptural warrant for believing that, by spe
cial divine order and appointment, the illus
tration of God's moral government, partic
ularly as embraced in the story of sin, and
.redemption by Jesus Christ, is to be found in
the stars, according to some primordial and
sacred system of astronomy.
Thus, by way of the Bible itself, we reach
the idea of the Gospel in the Stars, which
it is my purpose, with the help of God, ta
identify, illustrate, and prove.
The Gospel Story.
The Gospel is chiefly made up of the story
of the Serpent and the Cross — the doctrine
of the fall and depravity of man through the
subtlety of "the Dragon, that old Serpent,
called the Devil and Satan, which deceiveth
the whole world," and the recovery of fallen
man through a still mightier One, who comes
from heaven, assumes human nature, and by
suffering, death, and exaltation to the right
3 *

30 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
hand of supreme dominion, vanquishes the
Dragon and becomes the Author of eternal
salvation. The preaching of this is the
preaching of the Gospel, and tlje earnest and
hopeful belief of this is the belief of the
Gospel, according to the Scriptures and all
the accepted Creeds of the Church from the
days of the apostles till now.
The same was also known and believed
from the earliest. periods of human existence.
The Bible is particular to tell us, in its very
first chapters, of a subtle and evil spirit,
contemplated and named as " the Serpent,"
through whose agency Eve was beguiled, and
the, human race, then consisting of but two
persons, brought into sin, condemnation and
death. It is equally particular to tell us in the
same chapter that while Adam was yet in Par
adise, though guilty and about to be driven out
into an adverse world, the Lord pronounced
a sentence on the Serpent, in which He gave
forth the comprehensive primordial Gospel
promise, with all the fundamental elements
of the true arid only evangelic faith : " And
the Lord said unto the serpent, Because thou
hast done this, thou art cursed. . . . And I will
put enmity between thee and the woman, and
between her Seed and thy seed ; it (He) shall

THE GOSPEL STORY. 3 1
bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel"
(Gen. 3: 14, 15).
From the most sacred and authoritative of
records we thus fin4 the original of all le
gends and myths of the Serpent and his De
stroyer, of the conflict with the Dragon, and
the ultimate slaying of him by that mighty
One to be born of woman ; who would have
to toil and suffer indeed, but would not give
over till His victory should be complete. In
.that one pregnant text we identify the Ser
pent and the Cross — the Prince of Evil and
the Prince of Peace — the Dragon-Deceiver
and the suffering Redeemer — the deadly ma
lignity of the one and the self-sacrificing be
neficence of the other — an irreconcilable feud
between them, with a promised crushing- out
of the Destroyer by the wounded Saviour.
In other words, we thus, from the very begin
ning of human history, come upon and ideri-
tify the one great master-theme of both Tes
taments, the chief substance of all prophecy
and promise, and the sum of all evangelic
preaching, faith, and hope, from the founda
tion of the world. And what I propose to
show in this, series of Lectures is, that this
very story, in all its length and breadth,
stands written upon the stars, put there in

32 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
the original framing of astronomy as an ever
lasting witness of God's gracious purposes
toward our race, and that the heavens do
verily declare the highest glory of God.
How the Stars are Made to Speak.
To those who have never looked into the
science of astronomy, its truths, predictions,
and revelations necessarily appear very mys
terious and surprising. Looking out upon
the multitude of stars that shine in the noc
turnal heavens, they seem to be so scattered,
so entirely without order, so confusedly spread
over the face of the sky, that the untutored
mind may well despair of reading anything
intelligible there. And when, by the aid of
the telescope, thousands are multiplied to mil
lions, and suns, systems, and universes rise to
view, and the eye sweeps outward to distances
which no figures of our. arithmetic can express,
and into unfathomable gulfs of space all filled
up with an endless profusion of innumerable
worlds, any understanding of them, especially
the deciphering of great evangelic truths from
them, would seem to be the height of impos
sibility. And if now, for the first time, man
had to grapple with the problem, with nothing
going before to assist him, vain indeed would

STAR-GROUPS. 33
be our poor short-lived efforts to master such
a tremendous field.
But we have not now for the first time, or
with only our weak and. unaided powers, to
make the commencement of this study. Men
who lived almost a thousand years — men with
powers of vision that lasted undimmed through
nearly a decade of centuries — men with minds
in much closer communion than ours with the
infinite and eternal Intelligence — have em
ployed themselves, helped as they were by
the great Maker's Spirit, in observing, classi
fying, grouping, and designating these starry
worlds, assigning them their names, marking
their courses", and making them the bearers
of wisdom the dearest and most precious ever
made known to man. In their hands and to
their peering scrutiny this wilderness of stellar
glories took order, shape, and readable mean
ing which the depravities of the after ages
have not been able to set aside, and which,
by the scientific enlightenment of our times,
we may retrace, and bring our minds into
communion with their own.
Star-Groups.
Any one attentively observing the starry
heavens will see that some of the stars are
c

34 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
brighter than others, "for one star differeth
from another star in glory." Some hold their
places from age to age with variations so
slight as scarcely to be observable in thou
sands of years. Some of them are " wander
ing stars," changing places continually, going
and returning at fixed intervals. Some of
them are nestled together in particular groups,
or stand alone in their special glories so as to
be easily distinguished. By means of these
facts maps of the heavens can be made as
well as maps of the earth ; and by the long
and careful observation and study of them it
has come to be known how these heavenly
configurations stood and will stand at any
particular period of time.
The starry heavens, therefore, are not mere
unmeaning and incomprehensible show — not
a boundless and trackless wilderness of lu
minous orbs. There are paths which we can
thread, sometimes dark and rugged, and often
leading into depths through which it is hard
to follow them, but still not untraceable. As
men can find a way through the most intricate
musical composition, through a great poem,
through a sublime oration, and through the
plans and ideas of the most complicated spe
cimen of mechanism or architecture, so may

STAR-GROUPS. 35
we find our way through the starry heavens,
and mostly tell where we are, what we are
contemplating, what relation part bears to part,
and- read from these glorious luminaries as we
would read from the face of a clock or from
the placements of the letters of the alphabet.
And as most of these star-groups retain al
most precisely the same places and relations
for thousands on thousands of years, if any one
cognizant of the facts, and setting himself for
the first time to describe them, had wished to
record certain great ideas for unchanged per
petuation, to the niost distant ages, among all
the objects of Nature he could have selected
none so appropriate to his purpose or so per
manently enduring as these stellar groups and
configurations. Naming them, and connect
ing them with certain symbols of the ideas he
wished to convey, and transmitting and ex
plaining to his posterity those names and fig
ures thus conjoined with the stars, he would
link with his astronomy a whole system of
thoughts and hopes as clear as the stars them
selves, and utterly imperishable as long as
that astronomy should remain in the know
ledge of men.
And this, as I hope to make manifest, is
exactly what has been done.

36 the gospel in the stars.
Figures of the Star-Groups.
Somewhere in the earliest ages of human
existence the stars were named and arranged
into groups by some one thoroughly familiar
with the great facts of astronomy. Those
names and groupings were at the same time
included in certain figures, natural or imagi
nary, but intensely symbolic and significant.
These names and figures have thence been
perpetuated in all the astronomic records of
all the ages and nations since. They are
founded on indisputable astronomic truth, and
hence form the groundwork of all maps and
designations of the celestial presentations.
They are in all the planispheres, celestial
globes, and star-charts among all people, from
one end of the earth to the other. Astrono
mers growl at them, consider them arbitrary
and unnatural, and sometimes denounce them
as cumbrous, puerile, and confusing, but have
never been able to brush them off, or to substi
tute anything better or more convenient in their
place. They are part of the common and uni
versal language of astronomical science. They
have place and representation in all the alma
nacs of all enlightened peoples. They are in all
the books and records devoted to descriptions

FIGURES OF THE STAR-GROUPS. S7
of the heavens. Faith and skepticism, piety
and irreligion, alike adopt and use them.
Revelation and pagan superstition both recog
nize them. Heathen, Mohammedans, and Chris
tians, the oldest with the latest, disagreeing
in so many things, yet agree in adopting and
honoring these primitive notations of the
stars. Even those who have the most fault
to find with them still employ them, and can
not get on without them. And in and from
these the showing is, that all the great doc
trines of the Christian faith were known, be
lieved, cherished, and recorded from the ear
liest generations of our race, proving that
God has spoken to man, and verily given
him a revelation of truths and hopes precise
ly as written in our Scriptures, and so fondly
cherished by all Christian believers. •
The announcement may sound strange, and
the undertaking to trace it may be deemed
adventurous and fanciful ; but if those who
hear me will go with me into the investiga
tion, and look at and weigh the facts, I am
sure that we shall come out of the study all
the more satisfied with the certainty of our
Christian hopes, and all the more filled with
admiration of the goodness and wisdom of
the eternal Creator of all things.

38 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
I ask no preliminary scientific knowledge
of astronomy in order to follow what I have
to say, as that will not be needed. If a star-
map, celestial chart, or globe of the heavens
were consulted to familiarize the mind with
the .figures denoting the principal constella
tions, it would aid in appreciating the discus
sion ; but if my hearers will favor me with
their attention, and follow me with their sym
pathetic and earnest interest, it will be enough
to secure a reasonable impression of the sub
ject, and to enable them to see and judge of
these star-pictures, whether they do not grand
ly set forth great religious truths, past, pres
ent, and to come.*
* Such a chart or map of the heavens, giving the original forty-
eight figures, and their relative locations and principal stars, has been
prepared to accompany this work ; but it may prove more satisfactory
to consult the usual charts or planispheres prepared for astronomic
studies. In the absence of facilities for consulting the common appa
ratus for learning astronomy, the reader will be much helped by re
ferring carefully to the chart here given as allusion is made to the
particular constellations in the course of the discussion.

ILectute j&ecortfr.
THE SACRED CONSTELLATIONS.
Job 26 : 13: "By His Spirit He hath garnished the heavens; His
hand hath formed the crooked Serpent."
THE Gospel story, as written on the stars,
like much of the sacred Scriptures, is
pictorial. The record is accompanied with
important explanatory materials, but the chief
substance is given in pictures.
The Constellations.
Every atlas of the heavens is filled up with
figures and outlines of men, women, animals,
monsters, and other objects, each including a
certain set of stars. These stars, as thus des
ignated and embraced, constitute so many
separate clusters or groups called the Con
stellations, and these asterisms or constella
tions cover all the principal stars visible to
the naked eye.
In the primeval astronomy the number of
these figures or star-groups was forty-eight.
In imitation of them, dozens more have been
39

40 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
added, mostly by modern philosophers. Among
these additions are the Sextant, the Giraffe,
the Fox and Goose, the Horned Horse, the
Fly, the Greyhounds, the Lynx, the Bird of
Paradise, Noah's Dove, the Clock, the Sculp
tor's Workshop, the Painter's Easel, the Air-
Pump, Sobieski's Shield, the Brandenburg
Sceptre, and such like ; which may serve to
designate the groups of inferior stars to which
they have been assigned, but whkh are other
wise totally meaningless, and utterly unworthy
of the associations into which they have been
thrust. Having no connection whatever with
the primitive constellations, except as poor and
impertinent imitations, they must of course-
be thrown out and cast quite . aside from the
inquiry now in hand. They are no part of
the original writing upon the stars, as pro
posed for our present reading.
The primary and chief series of the old
forty-eight constellations is formed on the
line which the Sun seems to mark in the prog
ress of the year, called the Ecliptic. That
line is really the path of the earth around the
Sun, in the course of which the Sun seems to
move thirty degrees every month, and at the
end of the twelfth month appears again where
it started. at the beginning of the first month.

THE ZODIAC. 41
The moon and planets follow apparently much
the same path, and are always seen within
eight or nine degrees of the line of the Sun's
course. We thus have a Nature-indicated
belt, about sixteen degrees wide, extending
around the entire circuit of the heavens, half
the year north and half the year south of the,
equator of the earth extended into the sky.
The Zodiac.
Whilst the sun is thus making its annual
course from west to east through the centre
of this belt or zone, the moon makes twelve
complete revolutions around the earth, sug
gesting the division of this belt into twelve
parts, or sections, of thirty degrees each ; for
twelve times -thirty degrees complete the cir
cle. We thus note twelve equal steps or
stages in the Sun's path as it makes its an
nual circuit through the heavens. And this
belt or zone, with these twelve moons or
months for its steps or stages, is called the
Zodiac, from the primitive root zoad, a walk,
way, or going by steps, like Jacob's ladder.
The Twelve Signs.
So, again, ¦ each of these steps, stages, or
sections includes a certain number of fixed
i*

42 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
stars, making up a group or constellation,
which has its own particular figure, picture,
or " sign " to designate it, and after which it
is called. Hence the Twelve Signs of the
Zodiac, which are given in all the regular al
manacs, and to which people have generally
had much regard in timing their industries
and undertakings. These signs are :
I. Virgo, the Virgin : the figure of a young
woman lying prostrate, with an ear of wheat
in one hand and a branch in the other.
II. Libra, the Scales : the figure of a pair
of balances, with one end of the beam up and
the other down, as in the act of weighing. In
some of the old planispheres a hand, or a wo
man, appears holding the scales.
III. Scorpio, the Scorpion : the figure of a
gigantic, noxious, and deadly insect, with its
tail and sting uplifted in anger, as if striking.
IV. Sagittarius, the Bowman : the figure
of a horse with the body, arms, and head of a
man — a centaur — with a drawn bow and ar
row pointed at the Scorpion.
V. Capricornus, the Goat: the figure of a
goat sinking down as in death, with the hinder
part of its body terminating in the vigorous
tail of a fish.
VI. Aquarius, the Waterman: the figure

THE TWELVE SIGNS. 43
of a man with a large urn, the contents of
which he is in the act of pouring jout in a
great stream from the sky.
VII. Pisces, the Fishes : the figures of two
large fishes in the act of swimming, one to
the northward, the other with the ecliptic.
VIII. Aries, the Ram, by some nations
called the Lamb : the figure of a strong sheep,
with powerful curved horns, lying down in
easy composure, and looking out in conscious
strength over the field around it.
IX. Taurus, the Bull : the figure of the
shoulders, neck, head, horns, and front feet
of a powerful bull, in the attitude of rushing
and pushing forward with great energy.
X. Gemini, the Twins, or a man and woman
sometimes called Adam and Eve : usually,
two human figures closely united, and seated
together in endeared affection. In some of
the older representations the figure of this
constellation consists of two goats, or kids.
XI. Cancer, the Crab : the figure of a crab,
in the act of taking and holding- on with its
strong pincer claws. In Egyptian astronomy
the scarabaeus beetle, grasping and holding
on to the ball in which its eggs are deposited,
takes the place of the crab.
XII. Leo, the Lion : the figure of a great

44 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
rampant lion, leaping ' forth to rend, with his
feet over the writhing body of Hydra, the
Serpent, which is in the act of fleeing.
These twelve cardinal signs cover a large
part of the visible heavens, and extend en
tirely around the earth, making and marking
the Solar Zodiac.
The Mansions of the Moon.
But ancient astronomy gives a further sub
division of these twelve signs into twenty-
eight, called the Mansions of the Moon, or the
Lunar Zodiac. The moon makes its revolu
tion around the earth in about twenty-eight
days, and so suggests the division of its course
through the heavens into twenty-eight sec
tions, or steps, one for each day. Two and a
third of these sections or Mansions are em
braced in each sign of the Solar Zodiac, and
each mansion is marked with its own partic
ular name and smaller group of stars. Some
Oriental nations also had particular and sepa
rate sets of figures for the designation of these
Lunar Mansions', though not uniformly the
same. It is rather from the names of these
Mansions, and of the stars in them, than from
the figures connected with them, that the sig
nifications are to be learned, the main theme

THE DECANS. 45
being most commandingly given in the twelve
cardinal signs of which they are parts.
The Thirty-six Decans.
But these twelve great signs do not stand
alone. Each one of them has conjoined with
. it, either on the north or south side of the Zo
diacal belt, three other conspicuous constella
tions, called Decans, from the Shemitic dek, a
"part" or "piece."
Albumazer — sometimes called Abu Masher
— a great Arab physician and astronomer who
lived about a thousand years ago, and whose
minute and learned writings on the subject
have been commented on by Aben Ezra as
of the highest authority, refers to " the Decans
and their houses according to the Persians,
Babylonians, and Egyptians," and says : " Here
follow the Decans, which the Arabs in their
language call faces. They are three to each
sign of the Way." He says that the Indians
also had these Decans to each sign. And
Aben Ezra says : " According to Albumazer,
none of these forms from their first invention
have varied in coming down to us, nor one of
their words [names] changed, not a point
added or removed." Southey (in The Doctor,
vol. iii. p. 115) remarks that " in Egypt every

46 , THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
month was supposed to be under the care of
three Decans, or directors, for the import
of the word must be found in the neighbor
ing language of the Hebrews and Syrians.*
There were thirty-six of these, each superin
tending ten days ; and these Decans were be
lieved to exercise the most extensive influ
ence. Astrological squares calculated upon
this mythology are still in existence." These
Decans can, for the most part, be distin
guished by the fact that those belonging to
any one particular sign come upon the merid
ian, or close along the meridian-line, at the
same time with the sign to which they belong.
Originally, they perhaps were all on the me
ridian along with the signs to which they per
tain. -Albumazer's enumeration of them is fully
credited by the Jewish Aben Ezra, himself a
learned astronomer, Orientalist, and scholar,
who wrote a commentary on Albumazer's
work. And after the closest scrutiny, those
who have most thoroughly examined and mas
tered the subject in its various relations entire-
* This word is evidently from .the Noetic or Shemitic Decah, to break.
Hence Decan, a " piece," a " division." Thus we have dek in Dan.
2 : 45, to denote a ffagritent or piece. And thus we still have in
English the word deck, to denote a part of a ship — the face of a ship,
as the Arabs also called these Decans faces.

THE DECANS. 47
ly agree with the same enumeration, which I
therefore accept and adopt for the present
inquiries into this starry lore, sure that the
particular examination of each sign, with the
Decans thus assigned to it, will furnish ample
internal proof that this enumeration is cor
rect according to the original intention.
I. The Decans of Virgo.
i. Coma, the Infant, the Branch, the De
sired One (erroneously, Berenice's Hair) ;
2. Centaurus, a centaur, with dart piercing
a victim ;
3. Bootes, or Arcturus, the great Shepherd
and Harvester, holding a rod and sickle, and
walking forth before his flocks (erroneously
called Bears). II. The Decans of Libra.
1. The Cross, over which Centaur is ad:
vancing, called the Southern Cross ;
2. Victim of Centaur, slain, pierced to death ;
3. The Crown, which the Serpent aims to
take, called the Northern Crown.
III. The Decans of Scorpio.
1. The Serpent, struggling with Ophiuchus;
2. Ophiuchus, wrestling with the Serpent,

48 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
stung in one heel by the Scorpion, and crush
ing it with the other ;
3. Hercules, wounded in his heel, the other
foot over the Dragon's head, holding in one
hand the Golden Apples and the three-headed
Dog of hell, and in the other the uplifted club.
IV. The Decans of Sagittarius.
1. Lyra, an Eagle holding the Lyre, as in
triumphant gladness ;
2. Ara, the Altar, with consuming fires,
burning downward ;
3. Draco, the Dragon, the old Serpent,
winding himself about the Pole in .horrid links
and contortions. V. The Decans of Capricornus.
1. Sagitta, the Arrow, or killing dart sent
forth, the naked shaft of •death ;
2. Aquila, the Eagle, pierced and falling;
3. Delphinus, the Dolphin, springing up,
raised out of the sea.
VI. The Decans of Aquarius.
1 . The Southern Fish, drinking in the stream ;
2. Pegasus, a white horse, winged and speed
ing, as with good tidings ;
3> Cygnus, the Swan on the wing, going
and returning, bearing the sign of the cross.

THE DECANS. 49
VII. The Decans of Pisces.
1. The Band, holding up the Fishes, and
held by the Lamb, its doubled end fast to the
neck. of Cetus, the Sea-Monster;
2. Cepheus, a crowned king, holding a band,
and sceptre, with his foot planted on the pole-
star as the great Victor and Lord ;
3. Andromeda, a woirian in chains, and
threatened by the serpents of Medusa's head.
VIII. The Decans of Aries.
1 . Cassiopeia; the woman enthroned ;
2. Cetus, the Sea- Monster, closely and
strongly bound by the Lamb ;
3. Perseus, an armed and mighty man with
winged feet, who is carrying away in triumph
the cut-off head of a monster full of writhing
serpents, and holding aloft a great sword in
his right hand.
IX. The Decans of Taurus.
1. Orion, a. glorious Prince, with a sword
girded on his side, and his foot on the head
of the Hare or Serpent ;
2. Eridanus, the tortuous River, accounted
as belonging to Orion ;
3. Auriga, the Wagoner, rather the Shep-

50 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
herd, carrying a she-goat and two little goats
on his left arm, and holding cords or bands
in his right hand.
X. The Decans of Gemini.
i. Lepus, the Hare, in some nations a ser
pent, the mad enemy under Orion's feet ;
2. Canis Major, Sirius, the Great Dog, the
Prince coming;
3. Canis Minor, Procyon, the Second Dog,
following after Sirius and Orion.
XI. The Decans of Cancer.
1 . Ursa Minor, anciently the Lesser Sheep
fold, close to and including the Pole ;
2. Ursa Major, anciently the Greater Sheep
fold, in connection with Arcturus, the guardian
and keeper of the flock ;
3. Argo, the Ship, the company of trav
ellers under the bright Canopus, their Prince,
the Argonauts returned with the Golden
Fleece. XII. The Decans of Leo.
1. Hydra, the fleeing Serpent, trodden un
der foot by the Crab and Lion ;
2. Crater, the Cup or Bowl of Wrath on
the Serpent ;

THE PLANETS. 5 I
3. Corvus, the Raven or Crow, the bird of
doom, tearing the Serpent.
This ends up the main story. And the
mere naming of these significant pictures
casts a light over the intelligent Christian
mind, which makes it feel at once that it is
in the midst of the most precious symbols
and ideas connected with our faith, as they
are everywhere set out in the Holy Scrip
tures. The Planets.
A further and very conspicuous marking
among the heayenly bodies' appears in the
difference between the fixed stars and those
more brilliant orbs which are continually
changing their places. In reality, none of the
stars are absolutely fixed. Nearly all of them
have been observed to be in motion, shifting
their relative places, but moving so very
slowly that the changes are quite impercep
tible except when hundreds of years are
taken into the observation. But it is very
different with some four, five, or more of the
most brilliant of the heavenly luminaries.
Though seeming to go around the earth like
all the other stars, their behavior is eccentric,
and their periods and motions are uneven.

$2 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
Two of them make their rounds in less than
a year, and three others take two, twelve, and
thirty years. They do not keep at the same
distances frofn each other, nor their places
among the more fixed stars. They are called
Planets, or Wanderers. The names of these
five old planets, as known to our astronomy,
are, Mercury, Venus, Mars,- Jupiter, and Sat
urn. There are other planets, but they are
not recognizable to the naked eye. And to
these five wanderers, hence called planets,
the ancients added the Sun and Moon, mak
ing the seven most renowned of all the celes
tial bodies. The path of each of them lies
within the limits of the Zodiacal belt or zone ;
and the Twelve Signs of the Zodiac them
selves were mostly regarded as the Twelve
Mansions of these conspicuous travellers,
which the old idolaters glorified as the seven
great gods. The Constellations 'Divine.
In these several markings, groupings, and
designations of the heavenly' hosts we have
all the most conspicuous elements and nota
tions of the primeval astronomy. And these
pre-eminently are what the text refers to as
the garnish of the heavens, of which "the

THE CONSTELLATIONS DIVINE. 53
crooked," or rather "fleeing, Serpent " is here
named as a specific part.
- There are but three things with which to
identify this " fleeing Serpent." It has been
justly said, " It is not likely that this inspired
writer should in an instant descend from the
garnishing of the heavens to the formation
of a reptile." The discourse is of the starry
heavens, and " the Serpent " must necessarily
pertain to the heavens. Barnes says : " There
can be no doubt that Job refers here to the
constellations," and that " the sense in the pas
sage is, that the greatness and glory of God
are seen by forming the beautiful and glorious
constellations that adorn the sky." But if the
reference is to a sky-serpent, it must be either
the Zodiac itself, often painted on the ancient
spheres in the form of a serpent bent into a
circle, with its tail in its mouth, or to Draco,
or to Hydra, which is the longest figure in
the sky, stretching through an entire night,
and trailing" along as if in flight from the point
of the Scales, beneath the Virgin and the Lion,
to the point where the feet of the Crab and
the Lion press down its snaky head. All
things duly considered, I take it as referring
to Hydra, just as Leviathan (in Job 41 : 1)
refers to Cetus, the Sea-monster. The Drag-
5*

54 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
on does not so well answer to the description-
of '" the fleeing Serpent" nor yet the sphere in
the figure of a serpent. Hydra is in every
respect " the fleeing Serpent" as distinguished
from all other astronomic serpents. It does
nothing but flee. It flees from the triumph
ing Lion, with the Bowl of Wrath on it and
the bird of doom tearing it, whilst the holders
of the precious possession trample its head
beneath their feet. But, in either case, there
is here a distinct recognition of the constella
tions and their figures, and the same noted as
the particular garnishing of the heavens to
which we are referred to see and read the
transcendent glory of Jehovah.
Who Job was we do not precisely know.
That he lived before the Hebrew Exodus, be
fore the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah,
and hence before Abraham, is evidenced from
the character, style, contents, and non-con
tents of his sublime book, which is at once the
oldest, broadest, most original, most scientific
in all the Bible. From repeated astronomical
allusions contained in this book, with which
uninformed translators have had much trouble
and done some very unworthy work, different
mathematicians have calculated that Job lived
and wrote somewhere about twenty-one hun-

THE CONSTELLATIONS DIVINE. 55
dred and fifty years before Christ, which car
ries us back more than one thousand years
before Homer and the Greeks, and a millen
nium and a half before Thales, the first of the
Greek philosophers. And yet, already in the
time of Job the heavens were astronomically
laid out and arranged in the manner just de
scribed, with the Zodiac formed, the constella
tions named, the figures of them drawn and
recorded, and the same accepted and cele
brated by God's people as the particular
adornment of the sky in which to read the
Almighty's glory.
Very significant also is this word, "garnish
ed" here employed by our translators. Its
main sense is that of ornament, decoration,
something added for embellishment ; but it has
the further meaning of summons and warning.
And by these adornings God hath summoned
the heavens and filled them with proclama
tions and warnings of His great purposes.
Perhaps it would be hard to find another
word to fit so truly to the facts or to the
original for which it stands. It falls in pre
cisely with the whole idea of the celestial
luminaries being used "for signs," of the
Gospel being written in the stars, and of the
adornment and beaming of the heavens with

$6 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
this brightness of all sacred brightnesses.
And when we come to the direct analysis of
these frescoes on the sky, as I propose in my
next Lecture, we will find the diction of the
Bible from end to end most thoroughly con
formed to these beautiful constellations.
But more remarkable and important is the
positive testimony here given to the divine
origin of these embellishments and significant
frescoes. All interpreters agree that the text
refers to the heavenly constellations. This
is made the more. certain by the designation
of the Serpent in the second part of the par
allelism. That "fleeing Serpent" must mean
either Draco, the Zodiac, or Hydra. And the
affirmation is clear and pointed that the thing
referred to is divine in its formation. Of the
Almighty and His wisdom and power Job is
speaking ; and of that Almighty it is declared,
" By His Spirit He hath garnished the heav
ens," and " His hand formed the fleeing Ser
pent." If the frescoing of the sky with the
constellations is meant, then He caused it to
be done " by Hi's Spirit " — by impulse and in
spiration from His own almightiness. If the
Zodiac is meant, then His own hand bent and
formed it. And if the constellation of the
Dragon, or Hydra, is meant, then He himself

THE CONSTELLATIONS DIVINE. 57
is the Author of it, and, by implication, the
Author of the whole system of the constella
tions of which Draco, or Hydra, is a part.
We may wonder and stand amazed and con
founded at the assertion ; but here, from the
Book of God, is the unalterable voucher for
it, that these astronomic figures, in their orig-_
inal integrity and meaning, are from God, and
as truly inspired as the Bible itself. And
many are the facts which combine to prove
that such is verily the truth.
Who, of all. the sons of men, can point out
any other origin of these remarkable denota
tions of the starry heavens ? Who can tell
us when, where, or . by whom else the Zodiac
was invented, its signs determined, and the
attendant constellations fixed? Historical as
tronomy is totally at a loss to give us any
other information on the subject. Here is
the Solar Zoad, with its twelve signs and their
thirty-six Decans ; here is the Lunar Zoad,
with its twenty-eight Mansions, each with its
own particular stars, and each with its very
expressive name; and here are the noted
seven Chiefs, playing a part in the traditions,
sciences, theologies, and superstitions of eartft,
as brilliant as their splendid display on the
face of the sky ; but whence and how they

58 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
were framed into these systems or came to
place so conspicuous, acceptation so uni
versal, and life* so commanding and imperish
able, even the science which handles them
most is quite unable to explain. As seven
cities claimed to be the birthplace of Homer,
who most likely was born in neither, so men
in their uncertainty have referred to names
and widely different countries, times, and ages
for the source and authorship of the primeval
astronomy, with about equal reason for each,
and no solid reason for either. The world
has looked in vain for the origin of these in
ventions on this side of the Flood, or any
where short of those inspired patriarchs and
prophets who illumined the first periods of
the race with their superior wisdom and ex
alted piety. Age of the Constellations.
One great and commanding fact in the case
is that, as far back as we have any records
of astronomy, these sidejreal embellishments
and notations existed and are included. We
know from the Scriptures that they are older
tHan any one of the books which make up the
Christian and Jewish Bible. We have mon
umental evidence in the Great Pyramid of

AGE OF THE CONSTELLATIONS. 59
Gizeh that they were known and noted when
that mighty science-structure was built, twenty-
one hundred and seventy years before the
birth of Christ and a thousand years before
Homer, who also refers to them. The learn
ed Dr. Seyffarth, than whom there is not a
more competent witness living, affirms that
we have the most conclusive proofs that our
Zodiac goes back among the Romans as far
as seven hundred and fifty-two years before
Christ, among the Greeks seven hundred and
seventy-eight years before Christ, among the
Egyptians twenty-seven hundred and eighty-
one years before Christ, and among the Ori
ental peoples as far as thirty-four hundred
and forty-seven years before Christ — even to
within the lifetime of Adam himself. Riccioli
affirms that it appears from the Arab astron
omy that it is. as old as Adam's time, and that
the names preserved by it are antediluvian.
Bailly and others have given it as their con
clusion that astronomy must have had its be
ginning when the summer solstice was in the
first degree of Virgo, and that the Solar and
Lunar Zodiacs are as old as that time, which
could only be about four thousand years be
fore Christ. Professor Mitchell says: "We
delight to honor the names of Kepler, Gali-

60 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
leo, and Newton ; but we must go beyond the
epoch of the Deluge, and seek our first dis
coveries among those sages whom God per
mitted to count their age by centuries, and
there learn the order in which the secrets of.
the starry world yielded themselves up."
According to Drumrriond, "Origen tells us
that it was asserted in the Book of Enoch
(quoted by the apostle Jude) that in the time
of that patriarch the constellations were al
ready named and divided." Albumazer at
tributes the invention of both Zodiacs to
Hermes ; and Hermes, according to the Arab
and Egyptian authorities, was the patriarch
Enoch. Josephus and the Jewish rabbis af-
'firm that the " starry lore " had its origin with
the antediluvian patriarchs, Seth and Enoch.
The Sabbatic Week and the Stars.
It is generally claimed that the Sabbath, and
the week of seven days which it marks, date
back to the beginning of the race, to the insti-
.tution of God himself at the completion of the
great creation-work. But that system of the
seven days is essentially bound up with these
selfsame astronomical notations. We find
among all the ancient nations — Chaldeans,
Persians, Hindoos, Chinese, and Egyptians —

THE SABBATIC WEEK. 6 1
that the seven days of the week were in uni
versal use ; and, what is far more remarkable,
each of these nations named the days of the
week, as we still do, after the seven planets,
numbering the Sun and Moon among them.
Hence we say Sun-day, Moon-day, Tuisco or
Tuves'-day (Tuisco being the Anglo-Saxon
name for Mars), Woden' s-day (Woden being
the same as Mercury), Thor' s-day (Thor being
the same as Jupiter), Eriga-day (Friga or
Freiya* being the same as Venus), and lastly,
Saturn-day, anciently the most sacred of the
seven. The order is not that of the distance,
velocity, or brilliancy of the orbs named, nei
ther does the first day of the week always co
incide among the different nations ; but the
succession, no matter with which of the days
begun, is everywhere the same. It is impos
sible to suppose this mere accident or chance ;
and the fact forces the conclusion that the de
vising and naming of the seven days of the
week dates back to some primitive represen
tatives of the race, from whom the tradition
has thus generally descended, and who at
the same time knew and had regard to the
seven planets as enumerated in the primeval
astronomy.

62 the gospel in the stars.
The Alphabet and the Stars;
It is now mostly admitted that alphabetic
writing is as old as the human family — that
Adam knew how to write as well as we, and
that he did write. There certainly were books
or writings before the Flood, for the New
Testament quotes from one of them, which it
ascribes to Enoch, and Adam still lived more
than three hundred years after Enoch was
born. All the known primitive alphabets had
the same, number of letters, including seven
vowels, and all began, as mow, with A, B, C,
and ended with S, T, U. But whilst we are
using the alphabet every day in almost every
thing, how few have ever thought to remark
why the letters appear in the one fixed order
of succession, and why the vowels are so ir
regularly distributed among the consonants !
Yet in the simple every-day a, b, c's, we have
the' evidence of the knowledge and actual rec
ord of the seven planets in connection with
the Zodiac, dating back to the year 3447 be
fore Christ. If we refer the twenty-five let
ters of the primitive alphabet to the twelve
signs of the Zodiac, placing the first two let
ters in Gemini as the first sign, and take the
seven vowels in their places as representing

THE ALPHABET AND THE STARS. 63
the seven planets, a for the Moon, e for Ve
nus, the two additional sounds of e* for the
Sun and Mercury, i for Mars, o for Jupiter,
and u for Saturn, as Sanchoniathon and vari
ous of the ancients say they are to be taken,
the result is that we find the Moon in the first
half of Gemini, Venus in the first half of Leo,
the Sun in the latter half of Virgo, Mercury
in the first half of Libra, Mars in the latter
half of Scorpio, Jupiter in the latter half of
Aquarius, and Saturn in the first half of Gem
ini ; which, according to Dr. Seyffarth, is an
exact notation of the actual condition of the
heavens at an ascertainable date, which can
occur but once in many thousands of years,
and that date is the seventh day of Septem
ber, 3447 before Christ !
It would be very absurd to say that this
was mere accident. But, if it was not acci
dent, it proves what the Arab and Jewish
writers affirm, that the alphabet was in exist
ence before the Flood, and demonstrates that
astronomy is coeval with the formation of the
alphabet. Other facts, equally striking, but rather
complex for ready popular statement, exist, to
some of which we may have occasion1 to refer,
* £ and E, with place next to the Hebrew Cheth and the Latin h.

64 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
all going to show and prove that the notations
of the heavens so fully recorded in all antiquity
do unmistakably date back beyond the Flood ;
that they came into being by no long-forming
induction of man ; that the whole system ap
peared full and complete from the start, like
Pallas from the brain of Jove; and that the
only true answer to the question of its origin
is the one given in the text, which unequivo
cally ascribes it to the inspiration of God, who
by His Spirit garnished the heavens and with
His own hand bent the traditional ring of their
goings. It thus appears that in treating of these
starry groupings and pictures we are dealing
with something very different from the inven
tions of paganism and mythology — with some
thing as sacred in origin, as venerable in age,
and as edifying in import as anything known
to man. Corrupt religion and classic fable
have interfered to obscure and pervert their
meaning, and scientific self-will has crowded
them with impertinent and unmeaning addi
tions ; but, in reality, they constitute the prim
eval Bible — a divine record of the true faith
and hope of man, the oldest in human pos
session. With solemn and jealous venera
tion does it become us to regard them, and

MORE THAN PAGANISM. 65
with devout earnestness to study them, that
we may get from them what G.od meant they
should be to His children upon the earth, —
sure that what, by His Spirit, He caused to
be written on the sky is of one piece with
what, by the same Spirit, He has caused to
be written in His Word.
•• Field of glories ! spacious field,
And worthy of the Master : He whose hand
With hieroglyphics, elder than the Nile,
Inscribed the mystic tablet ; ,hung on high
To public gaze, and said, Adore, O man !
The finger of thy God.
6 * B

ILectute Cfjitfr.
THE DESIRE OF NATIONS.
Isa. 7:14: " Behold, a virgin shall conceive, ami bear a son, and
shall call his name Immanuel."
THE learned George Stanley Faber, rec
tor of Long-Newton, concedes to the
showings of certain French skeptics what has
often been noticed and remarked by the stu
dents of antiquity, that an extraordinary and
very particular resemblance exists between
the facts and doctrines of the Christian faith
and the various theologies and mythologies
of ancient paganism. The Ethnic Myths.
Gathering up and combining in one view
what appears in the various modifications of
ancient heathenism, we find it taught and be
lieved, in one system or another, that eternal
Godhead, or some direct emanation of eternal
Godhead, was to become incarnate, to be born
of a virgin mother, to spend his infancy and
childhood among herds and flocks, whose life
66

AN INFIDEL ARGUMENT. 61/
should be sought by a huge serpent or dragon,
which was even to slay him, but*which he was
destined to conquer and crush ; that he came,
or was to come, from heaven for the purpose
of reforming and delivering mankind ; that
he was mild, contemplative, and good, but
still the god of vengeance, with power to
destroy his enemies ; that he was a priest, a
prophet, and a king, the sacrificer of himself,
and the parent, husband, arid. son of the great
Mother, denoted often by a floating ark ; that
he was the creator of worlds and aeons, previ
ous to which he moved on boundless waters ;
that when slain he was entombed, descended
into the hidden world, but rose to life again,
ascended the top of a lofty mountain, and
thence was translated to heaven.
The likeness of these particulars to the
scriptural teachings concerning Christ is ob
vious. How to account for them among
heathen peoples who never possessed our
Scriptures, and lived before our Scriptures
were written, is a very interesting and im
portant question. An Infidel Argument.
That the correspondence is not accidental
must be admitted. Volney has attempted to

68 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
draw an argument from it to prove that Christ
never existed, and is only a mythic character,
embodying the various old fancies afloat in
the imaginations of mankind long before the
time in which the Gospel .records allege that
He was born. The argument is, that, of the
two presentations, one must necessarily be
borrowed from the other ; that the old myths
could not be borrowed from Christianity, as
they antedate the Christian times ; and hence
that l Christianity must needs be borrowed
from these old myths and traditions, which it
has arrayed in a Jewish dress and palmed
upon the world for the founding of a new re
ligious sect.
But this alleged borrowing and accommo
dation is mere assumption, incapable of proof.
Faber has shown that the antediluvian histo
ries, including particularly that of Noah, fur
nished so many types of Christian facts that
from them alone could have been deduced
many of the ideas in the ethnic theologies
which so remarkably accord with the doc
trines of Christianity. Volney himself, and
others of his school, with much labor and eru
dition have further shown that there is an as
tronomic record, dating back to the times of
Noah and beyond, which really gives the

AN INFIDEL ARGUMENT. 69
story of the incarnation and history of Christ,
just as Christianity attests. It accordingly
devolves upon these rrien adequately to ac
count for that record before they can justly
use it against Christianity. To account for
Christianity by means of that record, which
they rightfully claim to be universal, and yet
to leave that record itself unaccounted for, is
really a mere begging of the question.
From the nature of the showings on the
subject we claim that the substance of that
record must needs have been a matter of di
vine revelation, a thing of inspiration, fixed
in the earliest ages of the race. If we are
right in this, it would fully'account for all the
old fables, notions, myths, and ideas so near
akin to Christianity, and at the same time do
away with all need, occasion, or right to infer
that it must have been borrowed and accom
modated from them. Tracing this record back
to the first ages, as these men do, and finding
in it the story of the Serpent and the Cross
as contained in the Gospel, we thus have a
demonstration of the early existence of what
the Bible gives as a divine promise and proph
ecy, and the same dating from the time to
which the Bible assigns it. That story, thus
embodied and set afloat from the beginning,

70 THE GOSPEL IN .THE STARS.
would necessarily descend with the multipli
cation and division of the race into all nations,
and give rise and support to just such sacred
myths and anticipations as we find confusedly
given in the traditions and beliefs of all the
ancient peoples. The strong presumption,
therefore* the rather is, that Christianity, in
stead of having been borrowed and accommo
dated from those myths, was in contempla
tion in that which gave rise to them, and was
the real spring of them, as it is the fulfilment
and realization of them.
The Intention Traceable.
Of course this record has been much dis
torted, perverted, 'misused, and overlaid by
the superstitions, apostasies, and idolatries of
men ; but the showings of Bailly, Dupuis, Vol
ney, and more modern antiquarians are that
it can still be traced, and its main features
unmistakably identified.
Some years ago I was in the great church
of St. Sophia in Constantinople, built by the
first Christian emperor, but now possessed \
by the Mohammedan Turks. Among the
rest of its wonderful mosaics is a gigantic
figure of the Saviour on the wall over the
altar-place. That picture was of course very

THE SIGN OF VIRGO. 71
distasteful to the followers of the false Proph
et of Arabia ; but, not willing to spoil the
glorious edifice by digging it out of the wall,
they covered it over with whitewash and paint.
Nevertheless, in spite of all attempted oblit
erations, the original picture still shone through
the covering, and could be distinctly perceived
• and identified. And just so it is with these
mosaics upon the stars. With all the obscu
rations which the ages of apostasy and hea
thenism have imposed upon them, they still
shine through, to tell of the faith which put
them there, and to declare that very glory of
God which received its sublimest expression
in the imperishable truths of our Gospel.
Even astrology, Sabaism, the abominations
of idolatry, and skepticism itself, have been
overruled to preserve to us what God, by His
Spirit, thus caused to be recorded on the face
of the sky from the very beginning of the
world. And to the analysis and interpreta
tion of this record we now come.
The Sign of Virgo.
I begin with Virgo, which I take to be the
first sign in the Zodiac, according to its orig
inal intent and reading. The Zodiac of Esne
begins with this sign. The story has no right

72 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
starting-point, continuity, or end except as we
commence with this constellation. I also have
the statement from the best jauthorities that
the custom was universal among the ancients
to reckon from Virgo round to Leo. And in
this sign of Virgo, if anywhere among the
starry groups, we find the primary idea in the
evangelic presentations.
The foundation-doctrine of all religion —
the existence of an eternal and almighty
God, the Originator, Preserver, and great
Father of all things — is assumed as belong
ing to the natural intuitions of a right man.
The presence of the universe is the invincible
demonstration of eternal power and Godhead,
so that those are without excuse who fail to see
that there is a God or do not glorify Him as
God. Revelation is something superadded to
Nature, which Nature itself cannot reach. As
suming the majesty of God and the sinfulness
of man as things evident to natural reason
and observation, its main subject is the way
of salvation through Jesus Christ, the Gospel
of the grace of God through His only-be
gotten Son. This is the one great theme of
the Bible and of the primeval astronomy.
As Christians, we believe in a virgin-born
Saviour. We confess and hold that our Lord

THE SIGN OF VIRGO. 73
Jesus Christ "was conceived by the Holy
Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary." So He
was preannounced in the text, and so the
evangelists testify of the facts concerning Him.
To deny this is to deny the fundamental fea
tures of the whole Christian system and to
disable the whole doctrine of human salva
tion. It stands in the front of all the Gospel
presentations. It is the foundation and be
ginning of the whole structure on which our
redemption hangs. „
It is therefore not a little striking that the
very first sign which comes before us as we
enter the grand gallery of the ancient con
stellations is the form and "figure of a virgin.
The initiative sign of the Zodiac is called Vir
go, the Virgin. All the traditions, names,
and mytholgies connected with it recognize
and emphasize the virginity of this woman.
Astrea* and Athene of Greek story identify
* Astrea was regarded as the star-bright, good, and just goddess,
the last to leave the earth as the Golden Age faded out, and then
took her place among the stars. The four ages of Gold, Silver, Brass,
and Iron were the periods of time in which the equinoctial point suc
cessively passed through so many signs of the Zodiac, each sign re
quiring about twenty-one hundred and forty-six years to pass. If the
summer solstice was in Virgo in the first or Golden Age, her with
drawal over that point as the equinoxes proceeded would have been
very slow, and everything else characteristic of that age would have
passed away before she passed. The~myth would hence well fit to
the astronomical facts. Since passing that point she has never re-
7

74 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
with her. In Hebrew and Syriac she is Bethu-
lah, the maiden. In Arabic she is Adarah, the
pure virgin. In- Greek she is Parthenos, the
maid of virgin pureness. Nor is there any
authority in the world for regarding her as
anything but a virgin.
The Virgin's Son.
But the greater wonder is, that motherhood
attends this virginity, in the sign the same as
in,, the text, and in the whole teaching of the
Scriptures respecting the maternity of our
Saviour. Krishna, the divine incarnation of
the Hindoo mythology, was born of a virgin.
A hundred years before Christ an altar was
found in Gaul with this inscription: "To the
virgin who is to bring forth!' And this maid
en in the sign is the holder and bringer of an
illustrious Seed. In her hand is the spica, the
ear of wheat, the best of seed, and that spica
indicated by the brightest star in the" whole
constellation. He who was to bruise the Ser
pent's head was to be peculiarly " the Seed
of the woman," involving virgin-motherhood,
and hence one born of miracle, one begotten
of divine power, the Son of God. And such
turned to her former plaee, and cannot until about twenty-five thou
sand years from -the time she left it.

THE VIRGIN'S SON. 7$
is the exhibit in this first sign of the Zodiac.
She is a virgin, and yet she produces and
holds forth a Seed contemplated as far great
er than herself. That seed of wheat Christ
appropriates as a symbol of himself. When
certain Greeks came to Philip wishing to see
Jesus, He referred to himself as the corn, or
seed, of wheat, which needed to fall and die
in order to its proper fruitfulness (John 12:
21—24).' Thus, according to the starry sign,
,as according to the Gospel, out of the seed
of wheat, the good seed of the Virgin, the
blessed harvest of salvation comes.
A very significant figure of Christ, much
employed by the prophets, was the branch,
bough, or sprout of a plant or root. Hence
He is desoribed as the Rod from the stem of
Jesse and the Branch out of his roots (Isa. 1 1 :
1), the Branch of Righteousness, the Branch
of the Lord, God's servant the Branch
(Isa. 4:2; Jer. 23 : 5 ; Zech. 3:8; 6:12).
And so this sign holds forth the Virgin's Seed
as The Branch. In addition to the spica in
one hand, she bears a branch in the other.
The ancient names of the stars in this con
stellation emphasize this showing, along with
that of the Seed. Al Zimach, Al Azal, and
Subilon mean the shoot, the branch, the ear

j6 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
of wheat. The language of the prophecies is
thus identical with the symbols in this sign.
It is a doctrine of our religion that without
Christ, and the redemption wrought by Him,
all humanity is fallen and helpless in sin.
There is none other name given among men
whereby we can be saved. Even Mary her
self needed the 'mediatorial achievements of
her more glorious Son to lift her up to hope
and standing before God. And this, too, is
here signified. This woman of the Zodiac
lies prostrate. She is fallen, and cannot of
herself stand upright. Christ alone can lift
up to spiritual life arid standing. This woman
accordingly holds forth the goodly Seed, the
illustrious Branch, as the great embodiment
of her hope and trust, the only adequate hope
and trust of prostrate and fallen humanity.
And what is thus vividly signified in this
constellation is still further expressed and de
fined by the Decans, or side-pieces, which go
along with it. i
Coma.
Albumazer, who was not a Christian, says;
"There arises "in the first Decan, as the Per
sians, Chaldeans, and Egyptians, and the two
Hermes and Ascalius, teach, a young woman,

coma. 77
whose Persian name denotes a pure virgin,
sitting on a throne, nourishing an infant boy,
said boy having a Hebrew name, by some
nations call Ihesu, with the signification Ieza,
which in Greek is called Christ!' The celebra
ted Zodiac of Dendera, brought by the French
savants to Paris under the older Napoleon,
contains a Decan of Virgo, which also gives
the picture of a woman holding an infant,
which she is contemplating and admiring.
The woman in Virgo and the woman in this
first Decan of Virgo are one and the same ;
and the infant here is everywhere identified
with the Seed and the Branch there.
It is said of the infant Christ that " the child
grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with
wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him"
(Luke 2 : 40) ; so here He is pictured as sup
ported and nourished by what the Greeks
made the virgin-goddess of wisdom, right
eousness, and all good arts and human thrift.
The prophets are also very emphatic in de
scribing the promised Saviour as the Desired
One, " the Desire of women," " the Desire of
all nations." So the name of this first Decan
of Virgo is Coma, which in Hebrew and Ori
ental dialects means the desired, the longed-for
— the very word which Haggai uses where he
7*

78 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
speaks of Christ as " the Desire of all nations."
The ancient Egyptians called it Shes-nu, the
desired son. The. Greeks knew not how to
translate it, and hence took Coma in the sense
of their own language, and called it hair —
Berenice's Hair. The story is, that that prin
cess gave her hair, the color of gold, as a vo
tive offering for the safety of her brother;
which hair disappeared. The matter was ex
plained by the assurance that it was taken to
heaven to shine in the constellation of Coma,
Hence we have a bundle of woman's hair in
the place of " the Desire of all nations."
Shakespeare understood the matter better,
for he speaks of the shooting of an arrow up
" to the good boy in Virgo's lap." Isis and
other Egyptian goddesses figured holding the
divine Infant, the Coming One, refer to this
constellation of Coma, and hence unwittingly
to Christ, born of a woman and nurtured on a
virgin-mother's breast.
The next Decan of Virgo explains more
fully concerning the Virgin's Seed.
The Double Nature.
It is part of the faith, and a very vital part,
that the Seed of the woman is the true and
only-begotten Son of God, true God and true

THE DOUBLE NATURE. 7Q
man in one and the same person. " For the
right faith is, that we believe and confess that
our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God
and man ; God, of the substance of the Father,
begotten before the worlds, and man, of the
substance of His mother, born in the world :
perfect God and perfect man." It is a great
mystery, but so the Scriptures teach, and so
the whole orthodox Church believes. In other
words, we teach and hold that Christ, our Sa
viour, possessed a double nature, " not by con
version of the Godhead into flesh, but by tak
ing the manhood into God," in the unity of one
Person, who accordingly is Immanuel, God
with us, the Christ, who suffered for our sal
vation. And all this is signified in the con
stellation of Centaurus.
Very curious are the pagan myths concern
ing the centaurs. Fable represents them as
the great bull-killers. They are said to have
been heaven-begotten, born of the clouds,
sons of God, but hated and abhorred by both
gods and men, combated, driven to the moun
tains, and finally exterminated. Their form
in the most ancient art is a composite of man
and horse — man from the head down to the
front feet, and the rest horse. There was no
beauty or comeliness, that any should desire

86 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
them. Some classical scholars have tried to
account for the grotesque conception by im
agining a race of Thessalian mountaineers who
rode .on horses, whom the neighboring tribes
viewed with horror, supposing each horse and
his rider to be one being. The conceit is with
out the slighest foundation in fact. The an
cient Egyptians had the figure of the centaur
long before the times of the Greeks.
The most noted of the centaurs of classic
fable is Cheiron. To him are ascribed great
wisdom and righteousness. " He was re
nowned for his skill in hunting, medicine,
music, gymnastics, and the art of prophecy.
All the most distinguished heroes in -Grecian
story are, like Achilles, described- as his pu
pils in these arts." He was the friend of the
Argonauts on their voyage, and the friend of
Hercules, though he died from one of the
poisoned arrows of this divine hero whilst
engaged in a struggle with the Erymanthean
boar. He was immortal, but he voluntarily
agreed to die, and transferred his immortality
to Prometheus ; whereupon the great God took
him up and placed him among the stars.
It is easy to see how this whole idea of the
centaurs, particularly of Cheiron, connects
with the primeval astronomy and related tra-

THE DOUBLE NATURE. 8 1
ditions. Strikingly also does it set forth the
nature and earthly career of the divine Seed
of the woman, as narrated in the Scriptures.
Christ had two natures in one person ; and
such was the figure of the centaur. Christ
was a wise, just, good, and powerful Healer,
Instructor, and Prophet ; and such is the cha
racter everywhere ascribed to the chief cen
taur. Christ came to destroy the works of
the Devil, and spent His energies in reliev
ing men's ills, combating the powers of evil,
teaching the ways of truth and righteousness,
and driving away afflictions, as. the centaurs
hunted and destroyed the wild bulls and the
wild boars, and as Cheiron helped and taught
the Grecian heroes, minstrels, and sages.
Nevertheless, He was despised and rejected
of men, hated, persecuted, and deemed unfit
to live, just as fabled of the centaurs. Chei
ron was fatally wounded whilst engaged in
his good work — wounded by a poisoned arrow
from heaven not intended for him. And,
though immortal in himself, he chose to die
from that wound, that another might live.
And so it was with Christ in His conflict with
the Destroyer. And a vivid picture of the
same appears in the figure of this constella
tion, which is also one of the very lowest and

82 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS. '
farthest down of all the signs belonging to the
ancient astronomy.
Here is a double-natured being, to men
repulsive and hateful, yet really great, pow
erful, and beneficent, pushing with his lance
at the heart of some victim, and moving the
while right over the constellation of the Cross.
The name of this Decan in Arabic and
Hebrew means the despised. The brightest
star in it the Greeks called Cheiron, a word
which has a Hebrew root signifying the
pierced ; also Pholas, likewise from a Hebrew
root signifying the making of prayer, the
mediation. Sir John Herschel has observed
that this star is growing brighter, and so be
longs to the class of changeable stars. Ulugh
Beigh gives its name as Toliman, which means
the heretofore and the hereafter — brighter once,
and to be brighter again, as the divine glory
of Christ was much hidden during His earthly
life, in which He made himself of no reputa
tion, even lower than the angels, for the suf
fering of death, but was again glorified with
the glory which He had with the Father be
fore the world was. Thus, this sign, and the
traditions and names connected with it, strik
ingly accord with the facts of Christ's earthly
life and fate, and set forth some of the high-

BOOTES. 83
est mysteries of His Person, character, and
mediatorial work. Bootes.
The third Decan of this sign still further
expresses and defines the marvellous story.
One of the most common, constant, and
expressive figures under which Christ is pre
sented in the Scriptures is that of the Ori
ental shepherd. Isaiah fore-announced Him
as He who " shall feed His flock like a shep
herd." Peter describes Him as the Shepherd
and Bishop of our souls. He says of himself,
" I am the good Shepherd that giveth His life
for the sheep ;" " I am the good Shepherd,
and know my sheep, and am known of mine ;"
" My sheep hear my voice, and I know them,
and they follow me ; and I give unto them
eternal life; and they shall never perish,
neither shall any man pluck them out of my
hand." And this feature of what pertains to
the Virgin's Son-is the particular topic of this
Decan. We here have the figure of a strong man,
whom the Greeks named Bootes, the plough
man. But he and the so-called plough are
set in opposite directions. Neither does a
man plough with uplifted hand in the attitude

84 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
of this figure. The name thus transformed
into Greek has in it a Hebrew and Oriental
root, Bo, which means coming ; hence, the
coming One or the One that was to come.
The Greeks, failing to hold on consistently to
their idea of a ploughman, also called this
man Arcturus, the watcher, guardian, or keep
er of Arktos, the adjoining constellation, which
in all the more ancient representations is the
flock, the sheepfold. Bootes is not a plough
man at all, but the guardian and shepherd
of the flocks represented by what are now or
dinarily called the Great and Lesser Bears ;
though they both have long tails, which bears
never have. The brightest star in the con
stellation of Bootes is also called Arcturus,
the guardian or keeper of Arktos, a word
which in its Oriental elements connects with
the idea of enclosure,' the ascending, the
happy, the going up upon the mountains.
According to Ulugh Beigh, the ancient Egyp
tians called Bootes Smat, who rules, subdues,
governs ; and sometimes Bau, or Bo, the
coming One. Al Katurops, the star on the
right* side or arm of Bootes, means the Branch,
the Rod, and is often 'connected with the fig
ure of a staff, the shepherd's crook, the tradi
tional emblem of the pastoral office.

SUMMARY ON VIRGO. 85
There can, therefore, be no doubt that we
have here not a Greek ploughman, but the
far more ancient Oriental shepherd, the keeper,
guardian, ruler, and. protector of the flocks ;
and that shepherd identical with the Seed of
the Virgin, the Promised One, He who was
to come, even "the Desire of all nations,"
" that great Shepherd of the sheep " whom
the God of peace brought up again from the
dead (Heb 13 : 20). He also bears a sickle,
which shows Him as the great Harvester;
and the harvest He gathers is the harvest of
souls, as where He directs his disciples to
pray God to send forth laborers into His har
vest. And the harvesting of souls is the
gathering and keeping of the Lord's flock.
The sickle and the crook thus go together as
significant of one and the same idea, and
show that Bootes is not the keeper of dogs
and hunter of bears, but that promised Sa
viour who was to come to gather in the bar-
vest of souls and " feed His flock like a
shepherd." Summary on Virgo.
It is no part of my design in these Lectures
to enter upon the exposition of all that is im
plied and expressed in the various symbols

86 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
applied to Christ, except so far as necessary
to show that what is written in the Scriptures
is likewise written on the stars. And in so
far as this first sign and .its Decans are con
cerned, I think it must be admitted that the
result is very marvellous. Ill must be the
mind and dull the apprehension which cannot
detect identity between God's sign in the text
and this sign in the heavens. Are they not
of a piece with each other, and hence from
one and the same divine source ?' Here is the
woman whose Seed was to bruise the Ser
pent's head. Here is the great Virgin-born,
the divine Child, whose name is Wonderful,
Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting
Father, The Prince of Peace, of the increase
of whose government and peace there is to
be no end. Here is the prostrate one, de
ceived by Satan into sin and condemnation,
but holding hopefully to the promised Seed,
the most illustrious in the sphere of humanity,
the vigorous, beautiful, and goodly Branch, as
the particular joy and consolation of fallen
man. Here- is the Desire of all nations, the
great Coming One, reseating the fallen who
cherish and joy in Him. Here is His double
nature in singleness of person, the " God
with us" held forth in holy prophecy, the

SUMMARY ON VIRGO. 87
Seed of the woman, who is the Son of God.
Here is the Rod, the Branch, on whom was
to rest the Spirit of wisdom and understand
ing, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit
of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord,
who should judge the poor with righteousness
and reprove with equity, and smite the earth
with the rod of His mouth, and slay the
wicked with the breath of His lips. Here is
the God-begotten Healer, Teacher, Prophet,
the- heroic Destroyer of the destroyers, yet
despised and rejected of riien, stricken, smit
ten, and afflicted, consenting to yield up his
life that others might have immortality, and
thereupon reappearing on high, clad in power
and majesty, as the strong and everlasting
Ruler, Guardian, and Shepherd of his flocks.
These are among the most essential and
most precious things of our faith. The Gos
pel is nothing without them. Yet this is but
one of twelve such signs, each- equally full,
vivid, and to the point. God never does,
things by halves. What He once begins He
always completes. We have seen the first of
these signs. It bears with it the internal as,
well as the external evidences of what Mai?
monides says the ancient Fathers affirmed, to
wit: that it has come from the Spirit of proph-

88 • THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
ecy. And if God inspired the framing of these
signs, we may expect to find the rest as rich
and telling as this opening of the series, each
amplifying the other, till all the sublime won
ders of redemption stand revealed upon the
sky. Meanwhile, let us believe and hold fast to
the fact, so joyously fore-announced by the
prophet, and so vividly inscribed upon the
stars as the hope and trust of man, that a vir
gin has conceived and brought forth a Son,
who verily is what Eve supposed she had when
she embraced her first-born — even "a man,
the Lord," Immanueli God with us. Let us
rejoice and be glad that unto us a Child is
given, even that Seed of the woman appointed
to bruise the Serpent's head and be the ever
lasting Shepherd and Guardian of His people.
Let us see in Jesus the great Healer, Teacher,
and Prophet, even God in humanity, who was
to come, and who, though despised and re
jected of men, hated, condemned, and pierced,
still lives in immortal glory and power as the
true Arcturus, to give repentance, remission
of sins, and eternal life to as many as accept
Him as their Lord and Saviour. And, in this
faith established, let us be all the more quick
ened in our interest and attention in tracing

SUMMARY ON VIRGO. 89
the whole story as it shines upon us in our
darkness from God's everlasting stars. Even
the heathen bard, contemplating what was thus
fore-signified,-and deeming the time of fulfil
ment come, broke forth in the song :
" Saturnian times
Roll round again, and mighty years, begun
From their first orb, in radiant circles run.
The base, degenerate iron offspring ends ;
A golden progeny from heaven descends.
O chaste Lucinda ! speed the mother's pains,
And haste the glorious birth ! thy own Apollo reigns 1
The lovely boy, with his auspicious face,
Shall Polio's consulship and triumph grace ;
Majestic months set out with him to their appointed race.
The father banished virtue shall restore,
And crimes shall threat the guilty world no more.
The son shall lead the life of gods, and be
By gods and heroes seen, and gods and heroes see.
The jarring nations he in peace shall bind,
And with paternal virtues rule mankind."
8*

ILectute .dfourtf).
THE SUFFERING REDEEMER.
Rev. 5:9: " And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy,
... for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God 'by thy blood."
REDEMPTION, the price of redemption,
and the heavenly honor of Him who
brings redemption, are the topics which come
to view in this text. And what was thus ex
hibited to the enraptured Apocalyptist as he
stood within the heavenly portals gazing upon
the throne of the thrice-holy Lord God Al
mighty, observing the Lamb as it had been
slain, and listening to the songs of the ador
ing living ones and elders, is the same to
which the second sign in the Zodiac intro
duces us. Xet us look at it with that devout
reverence which becomes a subject so sacred,
so solemn, and so mysterious.
The Sign of Libra.
There would seem to be little or nothing to
arrest our attention or to illuminate our faith
in a matter so ordinary and unpoetical as a
90

THE SIGN OF LIBRA. 9 1
pair of balances for weighing commodities.
A more homely, secular, and every-day figure
would be hard to find, but a more expressive
one, or one more profoundly significant of the
weightiest truths that concern the hopes of
man, would be still harder to select when con
sidered in the relations in which we here find
this figure. The arms of that tilting beam,
with its attached bowls, reach out into eter
nities. The positions of that beam, which a
feather's weight may change, indicate the for
tunes of worlds, the destinies of ages, the
estates of immortality. The equipoise of that
beam marks the adjustment of a vast and
mighty feud and the effectual bridging over
of a chasm as deep as hell.
And the whole instrument together, in use,
bespeaks the eternal justice which presides
over all the .boundless universe. In the Per
sian sphere a man or woman lifts these
scales in one hand, and grasps a lamb with
the other, the lamb being the form of the an
cient weight. Nor can we be mistaken when
we here read the divine determination of the
wages of sin and the price of redemption. '
The figure of the Scales, or Balances, is
found in all the Eastern and most ancient
Zodiacs, the down side invariably toward the

92 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
deadly Scorpion. In some instances the bowl
on the low side was held by the Scorpion's
claws, whence, in some of the Western spheres,
Chelcz, the Claws, occasionally occupied the
place of the Scales. Among the Jews it was
denoted by the last letter of the Hebrew al
phabet, T, or Tau, originally written as we
still write it, and as written in nearly all the
ancient alphabets, in the form of a cross,
which signified the end, the boundary, the
limit, the completion ; as the Saviour when
about to give up the ghost on the cross said,
" It is finished," the last letter in the history
of His humiliation having been reached.
The names of this sign indicate the range
of meaning attaching to it. In Hebrew it is
Mozanaim, the scales, weighing, as where God
is said to weigh the mountains in scales and
the hills in a- balance. In Arabic, it is Al Zu-
bena, purchase, redemption, gain. In Coptic,
Lambadia, station or house of propitiation. In
the Arab tongue, Lam is graciousness, and
badia is branch — the atoning grace of the
Branch. In Greek it is called Zugos, the
cross-bar by which two oxen or horses draw,
the yoke, pulling against. each other, thwarts
joining the opposite sides-of a ship, the cross-
strap of a sandal, the balance-beam in weigh-

THE SIGN OF LIBRA. 93
ing. The name of the first star in Libra is
Zuben al Genubi, the price deficient. Other
names are: Zuben al Shemali, the price which
covers; Al Gubi, heaped up high; Zuben
Akrabi, the price of the conflict.
The figure in this sign is largely associated
with the ethical impersonations of Astrea and
Athene of the Greek and Roman mythology,
who were the patrons of righteousness, jus
tice, order, government, and the institutions
and powers of the state, by. which rights were
protected, justice administered, and the gen
eral good secured. The same figure still
connects with houses where courts are held,
where causes are tried, where accusations and
disputes are settled, and the awards of justice
declared and given.
All this clearly settles, as near as may be,
that this sign of the Zodiac has reference to
some great divine adjudications and adjust
ments relating to defaults, defects, and accu
sations, involving penalties, prices, payments.
And with these ideas applied to the continua
tion of the story of the Seed of the woman,
the divine Son of the Virgin, promised and
appointed to lift up the fallen, recover from
the Serpent's power, and bring men to the
pasturages on the heavenly hillsides, we are

94 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
at once brought face to face with eternal jus
tice weighing the demerits and awards of sin
on the one hand, and the price of redemption
rendered and paid for it on the other.
The Commercial Idea in Christianity.
There are some to whom this commercial
element in the system of our salvation is very
distasteful and repulsive. The natural heart
is prone to be offended with it, and to reject
it altogether. Rationalism proudly asserts
that sin is personal and intransferable ; that
the action or merit of one cannot be the ac
tion or merit of another; and that there can
be no such thing as a vicarious atonement, or
the release and justification from the penalties
of sin by the substitution of the work, suffer
ings, or merit of a second party. Physically
considered, this may be true. The action of
one is necessarily the action of that one. But
there are spheres in which the action and force
of one may and does go to the account, or
the determination of the estate, of another.
It depends upon the relations of the parties
how far the doings of the one may accrue to
the good or ill condition of another. In the
case of a husband and wife, a father and
child, a king and his subjects, an army and

COMMERCIAL IDEA IN CHRISTIANITY. 95
.the country for which it acts, the qualities and
activities, good or ill, on the one side most
certainly redound to the other side as well.
Sin is of the nature of a debt, and debt may
be as completely discharged by a friend of
the debtor as by the debtor himself. Sin is
of the nature of bondage, and release from
bondage is a negotiable matter, and may be
procured at a valuation or price, which may
be equally paid by the bondman himself or
by some one else kind enough to pay it for
him. Many crimes and misdemeanors in hu
man law have penalties dischargeable in money
consideration, which any friend of the crim
inal may as truly satisfy as the convicted one,
and as may not be in the power of the convict
to do. Crimes depend on law, for where
there is no law there is no transgression ; and
law is the will of government. If the gov
ernment condemns in righteousness, in the
same righteousness it can adjudge and ac
cept equivalent for the penalty, and there is
nothing to say nay to it. The notions of men
, cannot bind the Supreme.
Remission of penalty is likewise something
entirely distinct from the moral estate of the
criminal. The justification or pardon of the
guilty one is another matter from his sancti-

96 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
fication or personal goodness. The one is a
thing of price ; the other is a thing of power.
The one may be procured by a friend, medi
ator, or surety; the other must be wrought
into the experiences, affections, and impulses
of the man himself. The vicariousness of
redemption relates to justification, the keep
ing of the law satisfied by an adequate and
accepted consideration, -the holding back of
all the powers to hurt or condemn, and to
these only ; whilst another administration be
tween the Redeemer and the one for whom
He answers. takes charge of the inward fitting
of the absolved for the enjoyment of his free
dom and his training for the kingdom of the
redeemed. And if the just and righteous
Sovereign of the universe, supreme in all His
perfections and rights, is agreed and content
to accept a certain price or equivalent for re
leasing the culprit to the sanctifying and re
forming administration of his friend or surety
on the payment of the price to governmental
justice, where is the wrong, or what is there
in the universe to question the rightfulness of
the proceeding ? Let the Redeemer be found
to pay the required ransom and to fill the
place of such an advocate, surety, and Lord,
and neither men, angels, nor devils have any

COMMERCIAL IDEA IN CHRISTIANITY. g7
right on any ground to except to the proceed
ing if the great Supreme is satisfied and
pleased, and says, So be it.
The only question to be decided is, whether
God in His word sets forth to our belief that
such is the arrangement in fact. We affirm
that such is the clear and unequivocal teach
ing of the Scriptures from end to end. In all
the old prophecies, in all the ritual observances
connected with them, in all the New-Testament
promises, facts, teachings, and institutes, and
in all the visions of the final consummation, —
everywhere we find the doctrine of salvation
through the sacrifice of Christ as. our Substi
tute, Surety, and Propitiation. And this is
precisely what is signified by this sign of Li
bra and its Decans.
In the place of the woriian and her Seed we
have here a pair of balances suspended in the
sky, in which is signalled to us the inexorable
justice of the Almighty, in which the deficien
cy and condemnation on the part of. man, and
the all-sufficiency of the ransom paid on the
part of his Redeemer, are alike indicated.
One of the scales is up, which says to univer
sal man, "Thou art weighed in the balances,
and art found wanting." The name of the
star which marks it records the verdict —

98 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
"The price deficient." But the other side is
borne down, and with it the star named "The
price that covers!' Of what that accepted price
was to consist is more fully told in the accom
panying Decans. The Southern Cross.
Strikingly enough, we here come upon a
figure stationed in the darkest section of the
heavens, in the very lowest part of the sphere,
and outlined by the stars themselves so as to
be readily recognized by every beholder — a
figure of the shameful .instrument on which
the blessed Saviour died, even the Cross.
Our latitude is too far to the northward for
this constellation to be visible to us, but it is
clear, distinct, and specially noticeable to those
dwelling near or south of the equator. Hum
boldt speaks with enthusiasm of this cross set
in stars of the southern sky. It was one of
the reveries of his youth, he tells us, to be able
to gaze upon that celestial wonder, and that it
was painful to him to think of letting go the
hope of some time beholding it. Such was
his enthusiasm on the subject that he says he
could not raise his eyes toward the starry
vault without thinking of the Cross of the
South. And when he afterward saw it, it was

THE SOUTHERN CROSS. 99
with deep personal emotion, warmly shared
by such of the crew as had lived in those
southern regions ; and the more on their part
because religiously attached, as Humboldt
himself was not, to a constellation " the form
of which recalls the sign of the faith planted
by their ancestors in the deserts of the New
World." He describes this Cross as standing
perpendicular at the moment when it passes
the meridian. Up to that moment it leans
one way, and after that moment it begins to
lean the other way. It is therefore a iriost
convenient and marked timepiece, which the
people universally observe as such. " How
often," says this philosopher and traveller,
"have we heard our guides exclaim in the
savannas of Venezuela or in the desert of
Lima, ' Midnight is past ; the Cross begins to
bend'!" Formerly this constellation was visible in
our latitudes ; but in the gradual shifting of
the heavens it has long since sunk away to
the southward. It was last seen in the hori
zon of Jerusalem about the time that Christ
was crucified. It consists of four bright stars
placed in the form of a cross, and is by far
the most conspicuous star-group in the south
ern heavens. Standing directly in the path

IOO THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
of the second Decan of Virgo, the double-
natured Seed of the woman, and connecting
with Libra and the price of redemption, it
takes the same place in the celestial sym-
bology which the Cross of Calvary holds in
the Christian system.
The Sign of the Cross.
Ever since Christ Jesus " suffered for our
sins " the cross has been a sacred and most
significant emblem to all Christian believers.
Paul would glory in nothing but " in the cross
of our Lord Jesus Christ." It was a sacred
symbol long before Christ was born. We
find it in the most sacred connections, edifices,
feasts, and signs of the ancient Egyptians,
Persians, Assyrians, Hindoos, Chinese, Kamt-
schatkans, Mexicans, Peruvians, Scandinavians,
Gauls, and Celts. The mystic Tau, the won
der-working caduceus, the invincible arrows,
the holy cakes, all had their fabled virtues in
connection with the form of the cross which
they bore. But that sign has received a far
more definite and certain consecration by the
death of Christ upon it. Its original ancient
meaning had reference to the Seed of the
woman, the divine Son who was to suffer on
it, to conquer by it, and to give eternal life

THE SIGN OF THE CROSS. IOI
through it. We cannot adequately account
for it except as belonging to the original
prophecy and revelation concerning Him and
the price He was to pay for our redemption,
conquering through suffering, and giving life
through death. And in all the ideas connect
ed with it by the ancient peoples we can. read
ily trace the application of it, the same as in
the arrangement of the constellations.
Aben Ezra gives its Hebrew name, Adorn,
which means cutting off, as the angel told
Daniel of the cutting off of the Messiah. And
Christ was cut off by being condemned and
crucified. In the Zodiac of Dendera this constellation
is marked by the figure of a lion, with his
head turned backward, and his tongue hang- *
ing out of his mouth as if in consuming thirst.
It is the same idea. Christ is " the Lion of
the tribe of Judah," and one of the few ex
pressions made by Him as he died on the
cross was that of His consuming thirst.
Strong and divine as He was, His life was
there parched out of Him. "Jesus, knowing
that all things were now accomplished, that
the Scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst;
and they filled a sponge \dth vinegar and put
it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth.
. 9*

102 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
When, therefore, he had received the vinegar,
he said, It is finished : and he bowed his head,
and gave up the ghost." The hieroglyphic
name attached means pouring water ; and
David, impersonating the Messiah, exclaims,
" I am poured out like water, all my bones are
out of joint ; my heart is like wax ; ifis melted
in the midst of my bowels. My strength is
dried up like a potsherd ; and my tongue
cleaveth to my jaws ; and thou hast brought
me into the dust of death" (Ps. 22 : 13-18).
It is simply wonderful how the facts in the
sign correspond with the showings of the
Scriptures, and how all the old myths embody
the same showings.
In the triad of the three great Egyptian
gods each holds the sacred Tau, or the cross,
as the symbol of life and immortality; but
only the second, the Son, the Conqueror and
Deliverer, extends the cross, thus pictorially
expressing the offering of life and immortal
ity through the Cross.
In the divine triad of Brahmanic deities the
second, the Son, the One who became incar
nate in the man-god Krishna, sits upon his
throne cross-legged, holding the cross in his
right hand ; and he is the god of deliverance
from dangers and serpents. The same is

THE SIGN OF THE CROSS. IO3
otherwise represented as the ruler of the
elements, the stiller of tempests, the good
genius in all earthly affairs. But in all these
relations and offices he always wears a cross
on his breast. It is the same story of deliv
erance and salvation through the Cross-bear
er, the divine Son of the Virgin. And even
so " it pleased the Father that in Christ should
all fulness dwell, and, making peace through
the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile
all things."
The old Egyptians pictured departed spir
its as birds with human heads, indicating the
laying off of the earthly form and the putting
on of immortality. But all such figures are
represented holding the cross, emblematic not
only of eternal life, but of that life as in, with,
or through the Cross, just as the Gospel
teaches. The old Mexicans, at certain of their holy
feasts, made a cross composed of the flour of
maize and the blood of a victim offered in
sacrifice, which they first worshipped, and final
ly broke in pieces, distributed the fragments
among themselves, and ate them in token of
union and brotherhood. The Egyptians and
others also had the sacred cake with the form
of a cross upon it, which they ate in holy wor-

104 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
ship. It was but another form of the same
idea — life and salvation through the Cross.
And in every aspect in which the figure of
this Decan, in its deeper inward significance,
appears in the records and remains of antiq
uity, it connects with deliverance, life, and
salvation by means of it. Accordingly, it
stands among the starry symbols of the an
cient astronomy precisely as it stands in our
blessed Christianity. It was placed there as
the sign of what holy prophecy had declared
should come, just as we reverence it as the
sign of what has come in Jesus of Nazareth,
the Virgin-born Redeemer of the world. It
is the Cross of Calvary prefigured on the
sky in token of the price at which our re
demption was to be bought.
The Victim Slain.
The next in the series of these heavenly
'signs gives us a still fuller and clearer indica
tion of the nature and payment of that price.
Christ was not only " crucified," but He was
also " dead and buried." Hence we have in
the second Decan of Libra a slain victim,
pierced and slain with a dart barbed in the
form of the cross — pierced and slain by Cen
taur himself. " The soul that sinneth, it shall

THE VICTIM SLAIN. 105
die ;" " Without shedding of blood there is
no remission." Hence the doctrine of the
Scriptures, that Christ's life was made an
offering for sin — He who knew no sin con
senting to be made a curse for us, that we
might be made righteous through Him. He
not only felt the cross, enduring its agony and
shame, but He died upon it — died for us," that
we might have eternal redemption through
His blood.
But an important element in the mysteri
ous transaction was, that He sacrificed him
self. Men in their wickedness killed Him,
but it was He who gave himself into their
hands to do it. Without this voluntariness
and self-command in the matter the great
redeeming virtue of His sacrifice would be
wanting. Hence He was particular to say as
He went to the cross, " I lay down my life for
the sheep. . . . No man taketh it from me, but
I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay
it down, and I have power to take it again"
(John 10 : 15-18). Hence He is preached as
the great High Priest passed into the heav
ens, " who through the eternal Spirit offered
himself without spot to God," having "ap
peared pnce in the end of the world to put
away sin by the sacrifice of himself" (Heb.

106 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
9 : ii, 26). This was partially prefigured by
the Cross in Centaur's path, but more par
ticularly in this Decan, which shows the death-
infliction by the barbed dart from His own
hand. What this victim of Centaur is, is not very
definitely determined. Many of our modern
atlases give it as a wolf, but with no ancient
authority for it. The Greeks and Latins
sometimes called' it the wolf ; but they were
so much in doubt that they more commonly
called it the animal, the victim, without de
scribing it. Ulugh Beigh says it was an
ciently called Sura, a sheep or lamb. The
Arabs use a word in connection with it which
means to be slain, destroyed ; hence the slain
one, the victim. It plainly expresses slaying,
sacrifice by death ; and so would fall in with
that saying of the Apocalypse, that Christ is
" the Lamb slain from the foundation of the
world." In some of the Coptic and Egyptian rep
resentations this victim is a naked youth, a
stripped and unresisting young man, with his
finger on his mouth. This youth is Horus,
the beloved son of Osiris and the virgin, the
One to come, who appears in various rela
tions under different names, all more or less

THE VICTIM SLAIN. 107
connected with the bringing of life and bless
edness through humiliation and death. In
Phoenician this youth is called Harpocrates,
under which name he became known to the
Greeks and Romans. Harpocrates means jus
tice, or the victim of justice, the vindication of
the majesty of law. Among the Romans, Har
pocrates was the god of silence, quiet submis
sion, and acquiescence. All of this connects
with this Decan as a sign of the promised One,
and prefigured Him as quietly and meekly
submitting as a victim and sacrifice to justice
and the law, even as Christ did actually lay
down His life and submit himself as our pro
pitiation. "As a sheep before her shearers
is dumb, so He opened not His mouth."
In some of the pictures of this youth he is
represented with the horn of a goat on one
side of his head, as well as with his finger on
his lips. This again connects him with sacri
fice — willing, silent sacrifice. In some other
pictures this horn is detached and held in his
hand, filled with fruits and flowers — the orig
inal of the cornucopia, or horn of plenty; thus
signifying that all good to man comes through
that meek submission to stripping and sacri
fice to satisfy the requirements of eternal-
righteousness.

108 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
So, then, from every side we get the idea
of silent submission to death as a slain vic
tim, and the bringing in thereby of a plentiful
and everlasting provision for all the wants
of man; prefiguring exactly what the Gospel
sets forth as fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who,
" being found in fashion as a man, humbled
himself, and became obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross" (Phil. 2 : 5-8).
Tpie Turn in' the History.
But the Cross, and Christ's death by the
Cross, mark the limit and farthest boundaries
of the humiliation for human redemption.
There was nothing lower than that in the
history; and the first two Decans of Libra are
the southernmost constellations but one in the
ancient astronomy. From the moment that
Jesus gave up the ghost the price was paid,
the whole debt was discharged, and every
thing gave token of change. The tide there
reached its lowest ebb, and turned, thencefor
ward to flow in ever-augmenting volume from
glory to glory.
The bones of the two thieves were broken,
but the death of Jesus, already accomplished,
spared His body that indignity. A man high
in office and estate moved to take charge of

THE TURN IN THE HISTORY. 109
His remains for honorable sepulture in an
honorable tomb.. Imperial Rome lent its sol
diers arid its seal to guard and protect them
in the place of their rest. The earth and sky
gave signs of sympathy, and yielded attesta
tions which drew even from heathen lips the
confession of His divinity. A few days, and
hell stood confounded before His majesty,
and the doors of the grave gave way, and
angels in white array stood round the spot
to* welcome His. forthcoming in the powers of
an endless life. Far above all principalities
and powers, and every -name that is named,
He ascended, and for ever sat down at the
right hand of the Father, the great Procurer
and sovereign Giver of all good and grace.
He acepted death, consented to quit his earth
ly life, agreed to take his place with departed
spirits, " died for our sins according to the
¦Scriptures" (1 Cor. 15:3); but thence as
cended where the heavens resound with the
new song, " Thou art worthy, for Thou wast
slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood!'
Now, then, " we see Jesus, who was made a
little lower than the angels for the suffering
of death, crowned with glory and honor"
(Heb. 2 : 9). His shameful Cross issued in
a glorious Throne.
10

110 the gospel in the stars.
The Northern Crown.
And so we find it foreshown in these starry
pictures. That Southern Cross connects with
the Northern Crown. The one is a Cross
formed of stars, and the other is equally a
Crown formed of stars. The third Decan of
Libra is the Corona Boffealis, vertical over Je
rusalem once in every revolution of the earth.
" The golden circlet mounts, and, as it flies,
Its diamonds twinkle in the distant skies."
The Greeks say that this was the bridal-
gift of Bacchus to Ariadne, the woman who
through her love for Theseus came to her
death by the hand of Artemis, or, according
to another story, was so ill treated in her af
fection that she put an end to her own life,
but was saved by the god, who became so
pleased with her beauty that he raised her to
a place among immortals, and gave her this
crown of stars. It was but a clumsy and
carnalized version of the story recorded in
the primeval astronomy. Not a woman, but
a man, even the Seed of the woman, is the
subject. It was through His great love to
mortals that He came to grief, neglect, perse
cution, and death. That death was the di
vinely-exacted price which had to be paid in

A SNEER. Ill
bringing the object of His love out of the
dark labyrinth of sin and condemnation ; but
it was at the same time by His own free will
and choice. He was' brought up again out
of death in immortal beauty and glory, and
through the good pleasure and delight of the
Father was awarded an imperishable crown
in heaven. And that' heavenly crown had its
sign in this beautiful constellation. In its
true original this story of Ariadne and her
crown is the same as that of the great Re
deemer, giving up, and himself* sacrificing,
His life for the objects of His love, raised
from the dead in immortal glory, that at the
name of Jesus every knee should bow, and
every tongue confess that He is Lord, to the
glory of God the Father.
Thus, then, the prophetic sign in the stars
is fulfilled in the facts of the history.
A Sneer.
I have heard intimated that this is all spec
ulation. It may suit some to dismiss it in
that way. But will those who think it noth
ing but speculation tell us, then, what is not
speculation ? The French savants, whom many
reverence as the high priests of reason over
against all credulity and superstition, take it

112 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
as solid enough to build on it an argument
against Christianity ; why, then, is it not solid
enough to build on it an argument for Chris
tianity ? Some think it speculation to hold
for truth that there is a personal God ; that
the Bible contains a revelation from Him ;
that man has a soul to live beyond death;
that there is to be a future judgment ; that
the earth is a globe in motion ever rolling
around the sun ; or that Jesus Christ is the
appointed and only Saviour of fallen man ; —
are we therefore to put all these things from
us as empty dreams ? Believing the Bible,
we believe that God from the beginning
promised a divine Seed of the woman to
bruise Satan's head, and through suffering
and death to bring in everlasting redemption
for man ; that He has come as the Son of the
virgin, born at Bethlehem, crucified on Cal
vary, buried in Joseph's tomb, resurrected the
third day, opening the kingdom of heaven to
all believers. Dare we for an instant allow
that this is mere speculation ? And if what
we read in the book of God is not specula
tion, can it be mere speculation when we find
it written with the same clearness on the stars ?
It is not above a child's capacity to judge
whether the story thus told by the constella-

NOT SPECULATION. 113
tions answers to the story of the Gospel or
not ; and, seeing the correspondence, are we
not to conclude that the one is the prophetic
foretelling arid anticipation of the other ? If
not, I am at a loss to know what, in all the
rounds of human belief or unbelief, is not
mere speculation. No, no; the story of the
Cross of Christ is true, and the word on the
heavens unites with the word in the Book to
assure us of the certainty of our faith.
" My trust is in the Cross ; there lies my rest,
My fast, my sole delight.
Let cold-mouthed Boreas, or the hot-mouthed East,
Blow till they burst with spite ;
Let earth and hell conspire their worst, their best,
And join their twisted might ;
Let showers of thunderbolts dart round and round me,
And troops of fiends surround me :
All this may well confront; all this shall ne'er confound me."
10 * H

ILectute dfiftfj.
THE TOILING DELIVERER.
Ps. 91:13: " Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder : the
young lion and the dragon shalt Thou trample under foot."
IT is generally accepted by the old inter
preters that the word " lion " in this text
should be taken as denoting some venomous
thing, either reptile or insect, of a class with
serpents. Bochart thinks it means " the black
serpent." Patrick takes the description as
meaning "serpents, asps, and dragons, with
all the rest of those venomous sorts of crea
tures." The Saviour recurs to this passage
where He says, " I give you power to tread
on serpents and scorpions, and over all the
power of the enemy" (Luke 10:19). Ac
cordingly, we find both the Psalmist and the
Saviour using the precise imagery of the
sign of the Zodiac and its Decans which we
are now to consider. A gigantic scorpion,
serpent, and dragon, with a mighty man in
conflict with them, mastering them and tread
ing them under foot, is the figure before us.
. 114

FA UL TY EXPLANA TIONS. 1 1 5
Some Hiave attempted to explain the origin
and meaning of these signs of the Zodiac as
gradual formations for season-marks, of sow
ing, reaping, fishing, hunting, cattle-culture,
and the like. Abbe Pluche, in his History of
the Heavens, thinks to exhaust the whole mat
ter after this manner, though it is hard to see
the need for such high and elaborate memo
rials of what was otherwise far more obvious
to the senses. And although some of these
signs apply, and have been used, in this way,
the abbe is obliged to admit that the scheme
does not fit to Egypt, where many say these
signs originated ; neither does it fit any
where else ; whilst it leaves all the Decans of
these signs wholly unexplained. And, how
ever well the theory may here or there fall
in with sorne of the signs, it is much per
plexed and disabled when it comes to such
as Scorpio, since the scorpion is nowhere a
thing of game or cultivation, and has no par
ticular season. The best the abbe can do
with it on this theory is, to expound it as a
sign of autumnal diseases, to tell the people
when they were most likely to be sick ! Had
the abbe taken the very significant hints given
in some of his quotations, telling how these
signs were explained to those initiated into

Il6 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
the more famous ancient mysteries, he would
have saved himself such puerilities, and found
what he so trifled With to be the records of
truths relating to the highest spiritual and
eternal interests of hian.
The Ancient Mysteries.
Pluche quotes from Isocrates, Epictetus, and
Tully on the subject, who unequivocally testify
that there these signs were explained through
out in a manner indicating most important
truths of a sort to give peace in life and hope
in death. "Those who are acquainted with
the mysteries," says the first, " insure to them
selves very pleasing hopes against the hour
of their death, as well as for the whole course
of their lives." "All these mysteries," adds
Epictetus, "have been established by the
ancients to regulate the life of men and to
banish disorders therefrom." Tully says:
" When these mysteries are explained and
brought again to their true meaning, we prove
not to have learned so much the nature of
the gods [heathen deities] as that of the
things themselves or of the truths we stand
in need of. . . . The instructions given there
have taught men not only how to live in peace
and gentleness, but how to die in the hopes of

THE SIGN OF SCORPIO. 117
a .better state to come!' But what had the rais
ing of good crops, the production of calves,
lambs, and goats, and the timing of the fish
ing and hunting seasons to do with the hopes
and prospects of the soul sinking away from
earth into the mysterious eternity? And if
these signs and asterisms, in " their true mean
ing," had reference to the soul and its immor
tal hopes, and were so explained in the noblest
of the mysteries, it only shows that among the
pagans, notwithstanding all their idolatry and
darkness, the true prophetic light still feebly
lingered by means of these primeval writings
on the stars. And, with the rest of these
comforting and hopeful records on the sky,
this sign of the Scorpion has equal place and
significance. The Sign of Scorpio.
The name of this sign in Arabic and Syriac
is Al Akrab, which, as a name, means the
scorpion, but also wounding, conflict, war.
David uses the root of this word (Ps. 144 : 1)
where he blesses God for teaching his hands
to war. In Coptic the name is Isidis, attack
of the enemy — a word from the same root
which occurs in Hebrew (Ps. 17:9) in the
sense of oppression from deadly foes. The

Il8 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
word scorpion itself is formed from a ro.ot
which means to cleave in conflict or battle, and
this sign in the Zodiac is the house of Mars,
the god of war and justice. The principal
star in this sign is called Antares, wounding,
cutting, tearing.
The scorpion, as a living thing, is a spider
like insect, formed something like a small lob
ster, with an extended chain-like tail ending
in a crooked horny sting loaded with irritant
poison. To be struck by a scorpion is often
fatal, though not necessarily so ; but the pain
from it is the intensest that can be inflicted
on the human body. It is the most irascible
and malignant insect that lives, and its poison
is like itself. And. in this sign we have the
figure of a mammoth scorpion, with its tail
uplifted in anger as in the act of striking.
The figure, the names, and all the indications
agree in telling us that we here have the story
of a most malignant conflict, and of a deadly
wounding in that conflict.
The Suffering Saviour.
How clearly and fully all this corresponds
to the great conflict of Christ, and His dear-
bought victory in achieving our redemption,
any one can easily trace. The text exhibits

THE SUFFERING SAVIOUR. 1 1 9
Him as victor in just such a conflict. Though
it refers to the success of God's people in gen
eral, and their security under the shadow of
the Almighty, the New Testament applies the
passage to Christ, who is always the kernel
of everything pertaining to the powers and
triumphs of His people. What they get, they
get in and through His going before them in
the matter. He is to His Church what the
head is to the body — the chief of the whole
thing, without which all the rest is powerless
and nothing. Therefore we must understand
the declaration as including Him and as re
ferring pre-eminently to Him. It accordingly
represents Him as in conflict with serpents,
scorpions, asps, dragons, and all deadly and
venomous things, just as in this sign and its
Decans. In the Egyptian Zodiac this sign is repre
sented by a monster serpent, Typhon, or
Python, the hundred-headed son of a malig
nant, envious, and intractable shrew, the fa
ther of the many-headed dog of hell, of the
Lernsean Hydra, and of the three-headed, fire-
breathing Chimaera. In the Hebrew Zodiac
this sign was counted to Dan ; and Dan is
described as " a serpent by the way, and an
adder in the path." Scorpio certainly" ranks

120 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
with the Serpent, and stands in close affinity
with the Dragon.
The Serpent's seed is everywhere and al
ways the enemy of the woman's Seed; and
the conflict is above all between Christ and
the Devil, until all evil is finally subdued and
crushed. The great office of the divine Son
of the woman, and his experience in it, were
sketched from the beginning, as the bruising
of the Serpent's head and the bruising of His
heel. No sooner did Christ come into the
world than the Dragon sought to devour
Him through Herod's executioners. No soon
er had He come up from the waters of bap
tism, attested from the open heavens as the
Messiah, the Son of God, than the Devil
made attack, upon Him. And as He came
to the final act of discharging the debt of a
condemned world, the most terrible of all the
assaults of the powers of darkness had to be
encountered. We know something of the wrestling and
agony which our Saviour suffered in the Gar
den of Gethsemane. We know how sorrow
ful was His soul, as though His immortal being
were about to be broken up. We. know how
He was inwardly wrung with anguish until
every pore issued sweat of blood, clotting on

THE SERPENT. 121
His body and falling in great drops to the
ground. It was " the hour of the powers of
darkness," as He himself explained. It was
an experience of agony the like of which
never had been, and never could be again.
It was the sting and poison of the great
Scorpion struck into the Son of God, making
all His glorious nature vibrate as if in disso
lution. It was the prophetic sign of the Zo
diac fulfilled' in the Seed of the virgin.
The Serpent.
A further confirmation that we are on the
right track in thus interpreting this sign is the
fact that the first Decan, or illustrative side-
piece, presents us with a picture of the Ser
pent itself in all its giant proportions.
It was the particular admonition to the
Church in Philadelphia : " Hold fast that thou
hast, that no one take thy crown." We have
likewise seen in the preceding sign that there
was held forth a celestial crown for Him who
was to suffer on the cross. It was for the joy
thus set before Him that the Apostle says He
"endured the cross, despising the shame."
On the other hand, mythology represents
Python as aiming to acquire the sovereignty
of gods and men, and only prevented from
11

122 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
gaining it by the struggle which ensued be
tween him and the greatest of the Olympian
gods. That myth was simply the story of
this constellation, for here the Serpent is
stretching after the celestial Crown, has al
most reached it, and is only kept from taking
it by being held fast by a manly figure grasp
ing him firmly with both hands.
This serpent in the Decan is, of course, to
be construed with the Scorpion in the sign, as
the one is expository of the other; just as
Spica in Virgo is to be construed with the
Infant in Coma. The conflict in both cases is
the sarne, only the images are changed to give
a somewhat further impression of it. In the
first instance it is the Evil One attacking and
inflicting the intensest of anguish; in the
other, it is a fierce contest for the Crown.
I will not here discuss the question whether
it was a literal serpent that tempted Eve. I
suppose some earthly serpentine form in the
case, but whether it had wings or organs of
speech matters riot to the integrity of the
record or of the ideas meant to be conveyed.
The simple narrative, as it strikes the common
mind, is as clear and satisfactory as any learn
ed expositions can make it. The physical
creature was not the real enactor of the

THE SERPENT. 1 23
temptation, but was the image associated
with a dark and subtle intelligence operating
in that form to deceive and ruin our first pa
rents. And from that, for ever afterward, the
figure of a serpent became the universal sym
bol and representative of that Evil Spirit,
hence called the DragOn, that old Serpent,
the Devil, and Satan, who is the arch-enemy
of all good, the opponent of God and the
deceiver of men. And it is as the symbol
of this evil power that these serpentine fig
ures appear in the constellations.
The Bible everywhere assures us of the
existence of a personal Devil and Destroyer,
just as it everywhere describes a personal
God and Redeemer. It tells us plainly whence
he came, what he is, what power he wields,
and what is to be his fate, just as it tells whence
Christ is, who He is, for what purpose He
came into the world, and what is to be the re
sult of His marvellous and complex admin
istrations. The doctrine of a Saviour necessarily im
plies the doctrine of a destroyer. The one is
the counterpart of the other, and belief in both
is fundamental to the right explanation of
things, as well as to our proper safety. Men
may doubt and question, and treat the idea

124 THE GOSPEL^ IN THE STARS.
of a personal Devil as a foolish myth, but
their language nevertheless bewrayeth the
unfittingness of their skepticism. The doc
trine is in the oldest, worthiest, and divinest
records ever made for human enlightenment,
and in the common belief of all nations and
peoples from the beginning, of the world.
And here we have it pictured and repeated
at every turn of the starry configurations,
precisely as we find it presented in the sacred
Scriptures. Nor can we be on the safe side
without honestly receiving and believing it.
People may make a jest of it if they will, but
they will find out some day that this story of
the Serpent is a terrible reality.
Ophiuchus.
Any attentive reader of the Scriptures will
observe how constantly the Redeemer of the
world is represented in the attitude and cha
racter of a Physician, a Healer, a Mollifier of
wounds, a Deliverer from the power of dis
ease and- death. Before He was born the
prophets fore-announced Him as "the Sun
of Righteousness" who should "arise with
healing in His wings " — as He " with whose
stripes we are healed" — as He who "healeth
the broken in heart, and bindeth up their

OPHIUCHUS. 125
wounds " — as He who saith, " O death, I will
be thy plagues ; O grave, I will be thy de
struction." So the record of Him in the New
Testament is that He "went about all Galilee,
preaching the Gospel of the kingdom, and
healing all manner of sickness and all manner
of disease among the people," and giving
every demonstration of power to make good
His word, that if any one would receive
His teachings and believe on Him that sent
Him, the same should never see death, and be
raised to life eternal at the last day. His great
complaint against men ever was, and is, that
they come not unto Him that they might have
life. And this again is accurately and most
strikingly presented in the second Decan of
Scorpio and the myths connected -With it.
We have here the figure of a mighty man
wrestling until he is bald with a gigantic ser
pent, grasping the same with both hands, dis
abling the monster by his superior power, and
effectually holding him fast so that he cannot
get the crown. With one foot lifted from the
scorpion's tail as stung and hurt, he is in the
act of crushing -that scorpion's head with the
other. He thus appears as the one who hath
power over the Serpent and over death, hold
ing, disabling, and destroying them, though
11 *

126 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
himself wounded in His conflict with them.
Such is also the representation of Krishna in
two sculptured figures in one of the oldest
existing pagodas of Hindostan.
In one of the old Egyptian spheres the pic
ture is that of a man enthroned, wearing the
head of an eagle or a hawk, the enemy and
slayer of the serpent, and assigned a Coptic
name which means the chief who cometh.
But the more common figure is that which
appears on our modern atlases, whom the
Greeks in their own language called Ophiu
chus, the Serpent-holder, otherwise, from two
Arabic words signifying the same thing, Che-
leb Afei or sEsculapius, who figures so illus
triously in the mythologies' and worships of
Greece and Rome.
The Great Physician.
This ^Esculapius was held to be one of the
worthiest of the gods. It was to him that the
great Socrates iri his last hours sacrificed a
cock. His temples were everywhere, and
everywhere frequented and honored. But,.
though regarded as a god, the son of Apollo,
or the Sun, Homer applies epithets to him
never applied to a god, and the greatest of
his achievements are mostly ascribed to him

THE GREAT PHYSICIAN. 1 27
in the sphere and activities of a man. He
therefore comes to view as both god and
man, after the same style as the^Seed of the
woman in the Scriptures. He is assigned
seven children, who were simply personifica
tions of his own qualities and powers, their
names further describing him as the Healer,
the Physician, the Desired One, the Health-
giver, the Beautifier with good health, the
One who brings cure, the Universal Remedy.
The story is, that he not only cured all the
sick, but called the dead to life again by means
of blood from the side of the goddess of jus
tice and from the slain Gorgon, and finally
himself suffered death from the lightnings of
heaven because of the complaints against him
by the god of hell, but was nevertheless raised
to glory through the influence of Apollo. In
all the representations he is invariably accom
panied with the symbol of the serpent.
Many hypotheses have been broached to
account for the origin of the story and illus
trious worship of ^Esculapius ; and I cannot
but wonder that no one has ever thought of
tracing it to the primeval astronomy and to
this conspicuous constellation of Serpentarius,
to which it most certainly belongs. Taking
these signs, as I hold them to be, the pictorial

128 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
records of the primitive revelation concerning
the Seed of the woman, we at once strike the
heart of a complete explanation of every fea
ture of the myth, which at the same time very
wonderfully confirms the correctness of so
accepting these signs. Here is the man with
the serpent, as was ^Esculapius. Here is
the Seed of the woman, the Son of God.
Here is the Serpent-holder and the Death-
vanquisher, hence the matchless Physician and
Healer. It may seem strange to identify ^Esculapius
with Christ, nor do we say that yEsculapius
was, Christ; but we do say that the constella
tion out of which came the heathen legend
concerning ^Esculapius was the picture and
sign of the promised Sun of Righteousness,
the Healer and Saviour of mankind. As
truly as Spica denotes the Seed of the virgin,
Serpentarius denotes that same Seed ; and
the whole story of ^Esculapius thus found its
hero, its features, and its names from the prim
itive prophecies and promises concerning the
Virgin's Son, as pictured in this constellation.
Everything characteristic in the myth was in
some sense prophetic of what should be, and
was, fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth. ' Christ is
the true Sun of Righteousness, the great

THE GREAT PHYSICIAN. 1 29
Healer, the heavenly Physician, the Desired
One, the sublime Restorer of soul and body,
the Beautifier with health and salvation, the
Bringer of cure for suffering and perishing
humanity, the Universal Remedy for all the
ills which sin has wrought. He is the potent
Holder of the Serpent, the Vanquisher of
death. He is the Resurrection and the Life,
who raiseth up the dead by virtue of the
blood taken from the virgin" in taking her
nature, and the blood of the Gorgon van
quished by His power. And He it was who
died from the divine thunderbolts as a Sin-
bearer to silence the clamors of perdition,
and yet, on the plea of His merit and divinity,
was raised up and enthroned in highest heav
en as the very God of salvation.
His identity with what the myth represented
appears also very strikingly in a certain an
cient prophetic hymn to ^Esculapius, fabled
as inspired and sung at the time of his birth
— a hymn with these remarkable lines, which
the angels might be supposed to sing over
the manger of Bethlehem :
" Hail, great Physician of the world ! all hail !
Hail, mighty Infant, who, in years to come,
Shall heal the nations and defraud the tomb !
Swift be Thy growth ! Thy triumphs unconfined !
Make kingdoms thicker and increase marikind :
I

130 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
Thy daring art shall animate the dead,
And draw the thunder on Thy guilty head ;
For Thou shalt die, but from the dark abode
Rise up victorious, and be twice a God 1"
The whole showing of the constellation,
and of the mythic story connected with it,
thus wonderfully accords with what the proph
ets anticipated and the New Testament teaches
concerning the divine Son of the virgin.
Hercules.
And still more fully is the Messianic work
of the bruising of the Serpent's head set forth
in the third constellation belonging to this
sign. Here is the figure of a mighty man,
down on one knee, with his heel uplifted as
if wounded, having a great club in one hand
and a fierce three-headed monster held fast
in the other, whilst his left foot is set directly
on the head of the great Dragon. Take this
figure according to the name given it in the
Egyptian hieroglyphics, and you have a picture
of Him who cometh to bruise the Serpent and
" destroy the works of the Devil." In the
head of this figure is a bright star, the bright
est in this constellation, which bears the name
of Ras al Gethi, which means the Head of
him who bruises ; whilst the name of the sec
ond star means The Branch kneeling. The

HERCULES. 131
Phoenicians worshipped this man five genera
tions before the times of the Greeks, and hon
ored him as Representing a saviour. Smyth
and Sayce trace the legend of him in Chaldea
four thousand years ago. On the atlases he
is called Hercules. So the Romans called
him, but the Greeks called him Herakles,
Whom they worshipped and honored as the
greatest of all their hero-gods, principally on
account of his twelve great labors.
According to the mythic accounts, Herakles
or Hercules was the god-begotten man, to
whose .tasks there was scarce an end. From
his cradle to his death he was employed ac
complishing the most difficult and wonderful
of feats laid upon him to perform, and all in
the line of vanquishing great evil powers,
such as the lion begotten from Typhon, the
many-headed Hydra sprung from the same
parentage, the brazen - footed and golden-
horned stag, the Erymanthean boar, the vast
filth of the Augean stables, the swarms of
life-destroying Stymphalian birds, the mad
bull of Crete which no mortal dared look
upon, the flesh-eating mares of Diomedes,
the queen of the devastating Amazons, the
triple-bodied Geryones and his dog, the Drag
on which guarded the apples of the Hesper-

132 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
ides, and the three-headed snaky monster
which kept the gates of hell.
Some have argued that the story of Her
akles is a purely Greek invention, but it cer
tainly dates back in all its essentia^ features,
in Egypt, Phoenicia, and India, to a time long
anterior to the Greeks. By their own con
fession the Greeks did not even understand
who or what Herakles was, or what was meant
by all his great labors. "They took him for
the sublimest of the hero-gods, as the ac
counts came to them, and here and there, as
in so many other things, appropriated all to
their own country and people ; but Aratus,
who sung the song of the ancient constella
tions, and from whose song the Apostle Paul
makes a quotation, speaks of Herakles as
" An image none knows certainly to name,
Nor what he labors for,"
and, again, as " The inexplicable image."
Ptolemy and Manilius refer to him in cor
responding terms. They could not make out
their greatest hero, or any meaning to his
works ! Not with them, therefore, did the
mythic story of the powerful laborer origi
nate. Its true original is in the ancient con-

A PICTURE OF CHRIST. 1 33
stellations of the primeval astronomy, which,
like the Scriptures, pointed to the coming
Seed of the woman to bruise, vanquish, and
destroy the Serpent, and everything of the
Serpent born or belonging to the Serpent's
kingdom. A Picture of Christ.
Stripped of its foul heathenisms and ad
mixtures, we can easily trace throughout the
myth all the outlines of the astronomic pic
ture, and that picture anticipating the sublime
work of the Virgin's Son, as depicted by the
prophets and recorded in the Gospel, even
the battering and vanquishing of Satan and
all the powers of darkness. Christ is the
God-begotten man. He it is that comes
against the roaring satanic " lion " who " go
eth about seeking whom he may devour."
He it is that came into the world to strike off
the heads of the great Serpent, lurking in the
bogs to ravage and -destroy. He it is who
comes forth to free the world of all it£ mon
sters and hellish pests, and purge it of its
vast uncleanness. He it is who had it laid
upon Him to fight and slay the Dragon, and
thus recover access to the fruits of the Tree
of Life, though having to bear the whole
12

134 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
weight of a guilty world in making the grand
achievement. And He it is who " descended
into hell," before whom the spirits of the un
der-world cowered ; to whose power the king
of perdition yielded ; and who grasped the
struggling triple-headed dragon-dog in charge
of the infernal gates, and bore him off, " lead
ing captivity captive." Wounded He was in
the dreadful encounter — wounded in His heel,
wounded unto death, yet living still ; suffering
also from the poisoned garment of others'
sins, mounting the funeral-pyre to die of His
own accord amid fires undue to Him, and
thence ascending amid the clouds to immortal
honor in heaven, with his foot for ever on the
head of the foe.
The heathen in their blindness could not
understand the story, and knew not what to
make of the foreshowing ; but in the light of
God's fuller revelation, and of the facts at
tested by the Gospel, we read the origin and
meaning of it all, and see how God has been
all these ages proclaiming from the starry sky
the glories, labors, sufferings, and triumphs of
His only-begotten Son, our Saviour.
There is no character in mythology around
which great and wondrous incidents crowd so
thickly as around Herakles, and there is no

A PICTURE OF CHRIST. 1 35
character in the history of the world upon whom
so much of interest and sublime achievement
centres as upon Jesus Christ, the true Deliver
er. With Him was the wielding of power un
known to any other man. To kill Him and to
be rid of Him has ever been the intensest wish
of all the Dragon brood, from the time Herod
sought the young child's life even unto this
present. With all sorts of ill and wrong was
He smitten while He lived, and plotted against
in all the ages by the jealous, obstinate, and
quarrelsome goddess of false wisdom and
serpentine intrigue against the will and word
of Heaven. Even the sensual and disgusting
loves of Herakles were but heathen and
carnal perversions of the devotion to the
interest and redemption of man which ever
glows in the Saviour's breast and shines in
all His varied works. And as Herakles and
all his tremendous labors were totally inex
plicable on any motives perceptible to ordi
nary reason, so is Christ the everlasting mys
tery, incomprehensible and unconstruable, in
His life, deeds, or institutes, to all who fail to
accept and believe in Him as verily the God-
man, come, and still coming, to work the
works given Him to do, through suffering,
toil, and sacrifice to deliver an afflicted world

I36 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
— come, and still coming, to beat down Satari
and spoil all the principalities and powers of
evil. Thus, then, in this sign and its constella
tions, and in the myths founded on and asso
ciated with them, we have the precise picture
presented in the text — the picture of the
promised Seed of the woman treading on
serpents, asps, dragons, and the whole brood
of venomous powers — suffering and dying in
the conflict, but in the end trampling all ene
mies in glorious triumph beneath His feet.
We wonder betimes what is to come of
this unceasing conflict between right and
wrong, good and bad, which we see raging
around us in all things^- this creeping in
everywhere of scorpions and adders to sting
and hurt — ^this twining. and hissing of ser
pents and all horrid things — this everlasting
toil, expenditure, and suffering for the better,
which never seems to come. A glance at
these» constellations may serve to tell us, the
same as promised in the Holy Book. There
can be no deliverance without it, and long and
oppressive must the struggle be. Many a
serpent must first be strangled, many a hy
dra attacked, many a wild passion caught and
slain, many a pang endured, many a sore re-

A PICTURE OF CHRIST. 1 37 "
verse experienced. But the cause is secure.
The victory must come at last. God and truth
and right and good must triumph in the end.
The Ophiuchus who holds fast will not lose
his crown. The scorpion may sting the heel,
but the foot will crush its head, The faithful
wielder of the club of righteousness may be,
brought to his knee, but he shall yet lift up
the instrument of his power in glorious suc
cess, strangle Cerberus, and bear off in triumph
the apples of gold, whilst the great Dragon
writhes through all his length with his head
under the heel of the Conqueror. For from
of old it stands written, "Thou shalt tread
upon the serpent and adder ; the young lion
and the dragon shalt Thou trample under
foot." 12 »

3Lecture j2>urti).
THE TRIUMPHANT WARRIOR.
*
Ps. 45 : 4, 5 : " And in Thy majesty ride prosperously, because of
truth and meekness and righteousness; and Thy right hand shall
teach Thee terrible things. Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the
King's enemies.''
THESE words are from one of the most
glowing of the Psalms, in the writing
of which David's heart boiled with goodly
words. It is' marked: "To the chief Musi
cian upon Shoshannim, for the sons of Korah
— Maschil. A song of loves." The lily-in
strument, the master-performer, and the whole
body of singers were called into requisition
for its rendering. As a sublime ode it was
to be given with the sublimest skill, for it re
lates to the loveliest of heroes in the loveli
est of- His aspects, offices, and relations to
His people. This hero is none other than
the promised Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ,
in His royal majesty and glory subsequent to
His resurrection, and as to be hereafter re
vealed. When on earth He was despised
and rejected of men, but here He is Cele-
133

THE TRIUMPHANT WARRIOR. 1 39
brated as " beautiful, beautiful, above the sons
of man," endowed with every grace antl in
vested with all authority and power. When
on earth He was meek and non-resistant, not
breaking so much as a bruised reed ; but here
He is contemplated and addressed as a mount
ed warrior, riding as a king, armed with bow
and arrows, shooting down His enemies. His
character here is that of the Mighty One,
girding himself with honor and majesty, and
going forth to victory. John, in his visions
of the future, beheld " a white horse ; and He
that sat on him had a bow; and He went
forth .conquering and to conquer." It is the
same divine Hero, in the same character, of
fices, and work, in both instances. He has a
crown, a throne, and a cause — the cause of
righteousness over against injustice, usurpa
tion, and tyranny; which cause He enforces
with invincible majesty. His former suffer
ings are now turned to aromatic perfumes
upon Him. Out of the ivory palaces He is
gladdened with the sound of the harp. And
in glory and triumph He rides forth unto
victory, hailed by the daughters of kings and
worshipped by the queen at his right hand
arrayed in the gold of Ophir.
The picture is particularly magnificent.

140 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
We cannot contemplate it without sharing
the enthusiasm with which the inspired Psalm
ist sketched it. But the surprising thing is,
that it is also in the Zodiac, and appears at
full length in
The Sign of Sagittarius.
In this sign we have again the double-na
tured Seed of the virgin, the Son of God as
the Son of man. The figure is that of a
mighty warrior with bow and arrows, riding
prosperously. In all tongues he is named,
as in our charts, the Archer, the Bowman, He
who sends forth the arrow. . In form he is the
Centaur, the Piercer — not now, however, in
connection with the Cross, far -down toward
the hidden regions, offering himself as a
victim and sacrifice to satisfy the demands of
justice, but lifted up on high, stationed on the
path of the Sun, himself the Sun of Right
eousness rising in His majesty.
The Greeks called him Cheiron, the Execu-
ter, the chief centaur, whom they described
as "the righteous-dealing centaur," precisely
as this Psalm represents the Horseman and
Hero of whom it speaks. Other centaurs
were considered mean and beneath humanity,
as Christ was accounted in His humiliation ;

THE SLGN OF SAGITTARIUS. 141
but with Cheiron everything noble, just, re
fined, and. good was connected, evert super
human intelligence, dignity, and power. The
artists in picturing him labored to blend the
greatest beneficence and goodness with the
greatest strength and majesty. And such is
the description of the divine Hero of this
Psalm. According to the myths, Cheiron was the
great teacher of mankind in heavenly wis
dom, medicine, music, and all noble and po
lite arts, and from whom the most exalted
heroes and the most honored of men received
their tuition. And so it is said of this sub
lime King that every grace was poured upon
His lips, and that He is the One specially
blessed of God, whose name every genera
tion shall remember, and whom the people
shall praise for ever and ever. The barbed
arrows of this Archer are aimed at the heart
of the Scorpion. It was sung of Cheiron,
" 'Midst golden stars he stands refulgent now,
And thrusts the scorpion with his bended bow.''
And thus the "arrows" of the divine Hero
of the text "are sharp in the heart of the
King's enemies." His war is with the whole
Serpent-brood, and His going forth is for

142 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
their destruction. Whether we understand
it of the moral and renovating power of the
Gospel, or of the judicial administrations of
the Son of man at the end of the present
Gospel dispensation, or more naturally of
both, it is the office and purpose in all the
doings of the glorified Christ to pierce and
wound the Serpent, to destroy all his works
and power, and to disable him for ever. And
this is shown in the sign, just- as it is declared
in the Gospel.
Some of the names in the sign express the
further idea of graciousness and delight in
connection with the action signified ; which
again accords with that saying ascribed to.
Christ in both Testaments : " Lo, I come : in
the volume of the book it is written of me.
I delight to do thy will, O my God : yea, thy
law is within my heart. I have preached
righteousness in the great congregation : lo,
I have -not refrained my lips."
¦ Swiftness is another idea included in these
names ; and hence of quick and resistless
power, of which horses and horsemen are the
biblical images, particularly in connection with
the scenes of the great judgment which Christ
is appointed to enact. And the coming again
of Christ is everywhere described as being

THE SIGN OF SAGITTARIUS. 1 43
with great power and glory, quickly, suddenly,
like the lightning's flash. His own word is,
" Behold, I come quickly ; and my reward is
with me;" "The great day of the Lord hast-
eth greatly ;" " For when they shall say, Peace,
peace ; then sudden destruction cometh upon
them." Cheiron is sometimes represented as occu
pying Apollo's throne; and so the word to
this royal Judge and invincible Warrior is,
" Thy throne, O 'God, is for ever and ever ;
the sceptre of Thy kingdom is a right sceptre."
In the Indian sacred books there is a tenth
avatar predicted, when Vishnu, the second in
the divine Triad, is to come as a man on a
white horse, overthrowing his enemies and
rooting out all evil from the earth. And so,
according to the last book of the New Testa
ment, when the King of kings and Lord of
lords comes forth to the battle of that great
day to' overwhelm the Beast and the false
Prophet and all their armies, He comes in
the form of a man sitting upon a white horse,
in righteousness judging and making war, the
same as in Sagittarius.
Thus everything in and illustrati>e of this
sign serves to identify it as a pictorial proph
ecy of our blessed Lord, answering in all re-

144 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
spects to the representations given in the ¦
Scriptures. Grotesque and unevangelic as
it may seem, it is a showing upon the stars of
the same things, under the same images, that
we find written concerning the glorified Re
deemer in whom all our hopes are centred.
He is the sublime Lord and King of salva
tion, with the two natures in one person, once
humbled to death on the cross, but now ex
alted to glory in heaven. He is the wise, the
true, the good, the righteous, who standeth
for the defence and administration of right
eousness against the Devil and all the pow
ers of the Adversary. He is the mighty
Warrior who rideth prosperously, with the
bow and arrows of truth and judgment, ever
aiming and speeding them at the heart of the
foe, and never more giving over until He has
carried everything through to everlasting vic
tory, when Death and Hades, and all the pow
ers and children of evil, shall have sunk • for
ever to their deserved perdition. And the
Decans in this sign confirm and further illus
trate what we thus read from it.
The Harp.
In connection with this shooting of the Al
mighty's arrows against His enemies, when

THE LYRE OF ORPHEUS. I45
His right hand shall find them out and His
wrath swallow them up, so that their fruit
shall be destroyed from the earth and their
seed from among the children of men, the
twenty-first Psalm introduces a special cele
bration of God's exalted strength in the mat
ter, and represents all His holy ones as sing
ing and praising His power. So also in the
Apocalyptic visions of the destruction of the
destroyers of the earth, the four-and-twenty
elders in heaven fell upon their faces and
worshipped God, saying, * " We give Thee
thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who art
and who wast, because Thou hast taken to
Thee Thy great, power, and hast reigned" —
i. e. entered .on Thy dominion. Accordingly,
also, the first Decan of Sagittarius is the con
stellation of Lyra, the Lyre, the Harp, marked
by one of the brightest stars in the northern
heavens. The Lyre of Orpheus.
The harp is the oldest of stringed instru
ments of music. The ancients ascribed its
invention to the gods. We find it named
along with the organ, or shepherd's pipe,
three hundred years before Adam. died (Gen.
4: 21), and find a specimen of song to be
13 K

146 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
sung to it dating back to the same period
(Gen. 4: 23, 24). The most renowned per
former on the harp, or lyre in the classic myths
is Orpheus, often identified with Apollo. He
is called the father of songs and the partic
ular helper of the Argonauts, the noble ones
seeking for the Golden Fleece. He is not
mentioned by this name by Hesiod or Homer,
and subsequent writers place him far anterior
to Hesiod and Homer, and mention all poets
and singers as his children or the children of
Apollo, to whom he stands in close relation.
His art is everywhere associated with relig
ion, prayer, prophecy, and all sacred services,
teachings, and anticipations, especially with
the joyous element in holy things. At the
instance of Apollo and the Muses, it is said,
God himself placed the Harp of Orpheus
among the stars, where it has ever since been
gladdening the celestial sphere with bright
ness and with song.
The placing of that harp as the first Decan
of Sagittarius connects pre-eminent gladness,
joy, delight, and praise with the action of this
great Archer with his bow and arrows. There
is but one such sign in all the ancient constel
lations, and that is associated with the going
forth of this double-natured Bowman aiming

THE LYRE OF ORPHEUS. 147
his arrows at the Scorpion's heart. It marks
him in this particular attitude and act as the
achiever of what is the sublimest glory of
God and the sublimest joy of heaven.
People often smile and jest at the fabled
power of the lyre of Orpheus, at which the
rivers for the time forgot to flow, the wild
beasts lost their savageness, the trees and
rocks on Olympus moved from their places
to listen, the ship of the Argonauts glided
smoothly into the sea, the mountains became
entranced, the dragon that guarded the Gold
en Fleece sank into sleep, the sufferers in the
under- wo rid for the moment lost their pains,
and all the potencies of hell yielded homage.
But when we connect that lyre with the ac
tion of this glorious Archer, and take that
action in its true prophetic significance, as
the inventors of these signs intended them,
these smiles and jests subside, and a scene
of glorious achievement opens to our view,
which has been the burden of all the songs
and prayers and hopes and joyful anticipa
tions of an enthralled and suffering world
from the time that Adam was driven out of
Eden up till then. That glorious Archer, as
he appears in this sign, answers to the Lamb
as John beheld Him, standing, having seven

I48 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
horns and seven eyes— rail the fulness of re
gal, intellectual, and spiritual power and al-
mightiness — and in the act of lifting the title-
deed of the alienated inheritance to take
possession again of all that sin has disponed
away. Heaven contemplated that act with
awe, and grew breathless as it gazed, and a
thrill went through the universal heart of
living things. A new song broke forth from
the living pnes and elders around the throne
of Deity, and rolled sublime through all the
heavenly spheres, till afar in the depths of
space the voices of angelic myriads took it
up, and every creature in heaven, and on
earth, and under the earth, and upon the sea,
and all things in these realms, were heard
singing, and saying, " To Him that sitteth
upon the throne, and to the Lamb, be the
blessing, and the honor, and the glory, and
the dominion for the ages of the ages !" And
this is the true lyre- of Orpheus — the joy and
gladness and jubilation of the universe at the
fulfilment of the burden of all sacred hope
and prayer embodied in the words, " Thy
kingdom come — Thy will be done on earth as it
is in heaven!" We thus observe a depth, a
splendor, a volume, a pathos, a universality
of sacred ardor and poetic outpouring, as

THE LYRE OF ORPHEUS. 1 49
just as it is tremendous, and to which all the
extravagances of the mythic records do not
reach halfway, i
With a wonderful appropriateness, then,
which could hardly- have come from the un
aided powers of man, did the framers of these
constellations select the brightest star in the
northern heavens to represent this harp, and
give to it the name of Vega, which signifies
He shall be exalted, The warrior triumphant — ¦
the very name from which our own word vic
tory^ has come — a name which the Apostle
uses in its primeval and true connection
where he challenges Death and Hades, tri
umphs over them, and cries ^his glad thanks
"to God who giveth us the victory through
our Lord Jesus Christ."
In some of the old uranographies this con
stellation is marked by the figure of an eagle
or hawk, the enemy of the serpent, who darts
forth upon his prey from the heavenly heights
with great suddenness and power; and this
eagle is in the attitude of triumph, much as
the Mexican eagle is presented victoriously
grasping the serpent in its claws. It is the
same idea, the triumphant overwhelming of
the enemy. From this many of the modern
atlases represent the figure of this constella-
13* '

150 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
tion t>y an eagle holding the harp, or a harp
placed over an eagle, expressing triumphant
song springing from the eagle — that is, from
the vanquisher and destroyer of the serpent.
Whatever the variations* of the figure, the
same idea is retained, showing the true inten
tion in the marking of this constellation, and
the tenacity with which the original thought
has clung to it in all ages and in all nations.
It is the sign of the Serpent ruled, the Enemy
destroyed, the triumphant fulfilment of the
sublimest of hopes and sacred promises.
Ara, the Burning Pyre.
Still further is this signified in the second
Decan, which the Arabs call Al Mugamra,
the completing, the finishing, the making of
an end of what was undertaken. The Hebrew
uses the elements of the same word where it
is said, " The Lord will perfect that which con
cerned! me" (Ps. 138 : 8). The Greeks call
ed it Ara, a word which the Latins used to
denote a small elevation of wood, stone, or
earth made for sacred purposes, particularly
for sacrifices ; hence an' altar, and also a fu
neral-pile, whence we have in our charts the
figure of an altar covered with burning fire to
denote this constellation. The Greeks used

THE . UNDER- WORLD. 1 5 I
the word ara sometimes iri the sense of pray
er, but more frequently in the sense of an im
precation, a curse, or the effect of a curse —
bane, ruin, destruction. Personified, it was
the name of the goddess of revenge and de
struction. In ^Eschylus it is the name of the
actual curse of GEdipus personified. It con
nects directly with the Hebrew mara and
aram, which mean a curse, utter destruction.
The Under- World.
In the latitudes in which these constellations
were originally formed Ara was on the low
est horizon of the south. The regions beyond
this were contemplated as the lower regions,
the under-world, the regions of darkness,
" outer darkness ;" just as the regions toward
the north pole are contemplated as the upper
regions, the regions of light and heaven. And,
singularly enough, these ara-fires burn down
ward, toward the dark arid hidden abyss, to
ward the covered and invisible south pole.
The whole significance of the name and fig^
u.re thus connects with ultimate perdition, the
completed curse, the sending into "the lake
of fire."
In the Zodiac of Dendera the figure is dif
ferent, but the idea is the same. There we

152 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
have a throned human figure wielding the
flail, the implement of threshing and bruising,
and that figure at the same time set over a
jackal, often identified with the dragon. Here
is the unclean and cunning animal of dark
ness brought under dominion and judgment,
threshed, bruised, punished. This throned arid
threshing figure has a name which signifies
the Coming One, the same as in Scorpio. The
meaning of the sign is therefore plain. The
idea is, victory over the eneriry, the thrusting
of him into the regions of darkness, the
threshing and bruising of him beneath the
feet of the conqueror, the beating of him
down into final punishment.
According to the Scriptures, the spoiling
of Satan and his kingdom by the Virgin-born
Son of God is to go on, step after step, to
complete overthrow and final perdition. A
curse was pronounced upon him at the be
ginning, fore-announcing that his head should
be bruised under the heel of the promised
Seed of the woman. Though a strong man
armed, a stronger than he was to come upon
him, take from him his armor, and subdue all
things unto himself, spoiling principalities and
powers, triumphing over them. Christ tells
us of " everlasting fire, prepared for the Devil

THE UNDER-WORLD. 1 53
and his angels." John, in his vision of what
must shortly come to pass, heard the heavens
resounding with the song, " Now is come sal
vation, and, strength, and the kingdom of our
God, and the power of His Christ: for the
accuser of our brethren " — " the great Dragon,
that old Serpent " — " is cast down." He also
saw a messenger from heaven laying hold on
the same, binding him and casting him into
the abyss, whence he was finally "cast into
the lake of fire and brimstone," where he
" shall be tormented day and night for ever
and ever." Such is the curse upon the. great
Enemy, and the finishing of him as set forth in
the Holy Scriptures. And what we find thus
written in the book is identical with what is
pictured on the heavens in connection with
Sagittarius. To some the idea may seem far
fetched, and so different from ordinary think
ing as to be almost absurd ; but let them look
at the facts as they are, and tell us what other
conclusion is possible. What could be more
complete than the correspondence of the two
records ? m
The, third constellation belonging to the
sign of the Bowman is also very significant,
and further determines the meaning to be as
just expressed.

154 the gospel in the stars.
The Dragon.
One of the most famous mythological cre
ations in the history of human thought is the
horrid serpentine monster called the dragon.
Together with the serpent, and other things
of the same repulsive and dangerous class,
this is the universal symbol of evil — of some
living power inimical to God and all good,
and the just terror of all men. The Serpent
stands for that form of the Evil One. in which
cunning, artifice, deceit, and malignant sub
tlety are the characteristics. The Dragon
represents the same power armed, defiant,
and putting forth in imperial forms, and de
vastating by force. The Serpent is the sly
and creeping deceiver, smoothly gliding in to
betray,, insinuating his poison and destroy
ing by stealth. The .Dragon is the terrific
oppressor, assailing with teeth and claws,
armed all over with spikes, lifting speary
wings and tail, spouting fire and fury, and
rushing upon its prey with every vehemence
of malignant energy. .The Serpent and .the
Dragon are one and the same, only in differ
ent modes of manifestation. Hence the Dev
il is called "the Dragon, that old Serpent."
Whenever the power of evil is clothed in po-

THE DRAGON. 155
litical sovereignty, persecuting, tyrannizing,
and oppressing, it is always the Dragon, or
some rampant figure of destruction answer
ing to it.
Among all nations we find this terrible im
age. Chinese and Japanese legend and art
superabound with it. The pages of the clas
sic poets of Greece and Rome teem with it.
We find it. in the religious books, traditions,
and ideas of men of all classes, in all sections
of the world, in all the ages. It is in the Old
Testament, in the Apocrypha, and in the New
Testament. Jews and Gentiles, Christians
and heathen, civilized and savage, the Teu
tons, Scandinavians, and Celts of Europe, as
well as the myriads of Asia and the remotest
isles of the sea, alike have it, and connect
with it the same family of ideas. And every
where the vanquishing of this monster is the
work of gods, heroes, and saints.
Many have wondered and speculated as to
how such an imagination obtained this uni
versal hold of the human mind. There is
nothing in earthly zoology to serve as the
original for the picture, or to account for con
ceptions and ideas so uniform all the world
over. No man ever saw a dragon, living or
dead, yet all men talk of the dragon, and adopt

156 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
it into all their religion, heraldry, and art as
the symbol of some well-known reality. Where
did it come from ? Admit the doctrine which
I am endeavoring to elucidate respecting these
primeval constellations, and the whole thing
is at once and completely explained as noth
ing else can explain it. Here is the Serpent
in all forms of manifestation, and particu
larly the Dragon, wound about at least one-
half of the northern sky, his tail alone ex
tending over the territory of " the third part
of the stars.." Here is the divine Hero,
armed with bow and arrows, riding like St.
George,, and aiming his weapons at the heart
of that Dragon's representative. Here is
this precise symbol of the evil power in all
his various shapes and attributes, and the
great Son of the virgin revealed for his de
struction, and going forth in His benevolent
majesty to make an utter end of the terrible
beast. In all the ages has this image been
before the eyes of men in the primeval as
tronomy, pictorially portraying in the stars
the very ideas that figure so conspicuously in
their myths and traditions. And this, and
this only, is the true original of all these
ethnic conceptions — the true original by in
spiration given.

THE DRAGON. 1 57
And as Sagittarius goes forth in war against
the enemy to complete upon him the curse,
to make all clear and unmistakable the great
constellation of the Dragon is added as a
third explanatory side-piece," denoting exactly
who it is that this mighty administration strikes,
thus waking all the triumphant songs of heav
en. It is the final fall of the Dragon-power
before the arrows of the invincible warrior-
Seed of the woman. It is the ultimate victory
fore-announced. In the Apocalyptic visions of- the consum
mation John beheld a great red Dragon, hav
ing seven heads and ten horns, upon his head
seven diadems, whose tail was drawing along
the third of the stars of the heaven. He
stood before the woman eager to devour her
child as soon as born ; but in - spite of him
that child was caught away to God and to His
throne. And then came war in heaven : Mi
chael and his angels warring with the Dragon,
who was cast down, and all his angels with
him. And then it was that the great voice
of song was heard in heaven, because the
Accuser, the great Adversary, was conquered
and cast down. For a while his persecutions
continued upon the earth, till the crowned
Warrior on the white horse came, destroying
14

158 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
his armies, chaining him in the abyss for a
thousand years,' and then consigning him and
all his to the lake of fire, whence the smoke
of their torment ascendeth up for ever and
ever (Rev. 12 : 19, 20).
Thus also the Psalmist sings : " God is my
King of old, working salvation in the midst
of the earth, breaking the heads of the drag
ons in the waters, breaking the heads of Le
viathan in pieces" (Ps. 74).
Isaiah refers exultingly to the time when
the Lord cometh forth out of His place to
punish the workers of iniquity, and says : " In
that day the Lord with His sore and great and
strong sword shall punish Leviathan the cross
ing serpent, even Leviathan that crooked ser
pent ; and He shall slay the Dragon ;" and
calls upon all the people of God to sing when
that day arrives (Isa. 26 : 27).
And when we lay these foreshowings of
the holy prophets alongside of these pictures
in the stars, who can question that we have
one and the same story in both"? In both we
behold the same Dragon, the same worming
of himself into the domain of God, the same
spoliation of peace and good by his malignant
power, and the same vastness and stretch of
his evil influences and dominion. In both we"

THE DRAGON. 1 59
have the same divine Hero, arrayed as an
invincible warrior, going forth in conquer
ing majesty against the Dragon, wounding
him with His arrows, cleaving him with His
sword, bruising and crushing him for his
wickedness, annihilating his power, and con
signing him to his deserved and everlasting
perdition. The names, the actions, the im
plements, the results, and the common joy
of the holy universe over the achievement,
are one and the same in the constellations, in
the Scriptures, and in the myths. Nor could
all this possibly have been except from one
original source, even the sacred promise and
foreshowing of God, variously certified, and
ever again repeated through His prophets,
even from the foundations of the world.
The name of this great constellation is
Draco, the Dragon, the trodden-6n. The
chief star has several ancient names, such
as Al Waid, who is to be destroyed ; Thuban,
the subtle ; Al Dib, the reptile. This was the
pole-star from four to six thousand years ago,
singularly answering to the scripturafdesig-
nation of Satan as the god and prince of this
world. To this day this star is still observed
as a very important star to* nautical men and
the direction of commerce upon the seas, just

l6o THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
as the Dragon power still largely prevails.
The second star in this constellation is Pasta-
ban, head of the subtle ; the third, Etanin, the
long serpent, the Dragon ; another, Grumian,
the deceiver ; another, El Athik, the fraudful ;
another, El Asieh, the humbled, brought down ;
another, Gianser, the punished enemy. Roots
corresponding to all these words are contain
ed in the Hebrew Scriptures, where they are
used in the senses -here given.
What shall we say, then, to these things ?
Mythology says the Dragon is the power that
guarded the golden apples in the famous
Garden of the. Hesperides, hindering men
from getting them. Is not this the Devil, the
old Serpent, the Dragon, who has thrust him
self in to keep mortal men from the fruits of
the Tree of Life ? Mythology says this Drag
on was slain by Hercules. And is not Her
cules the astronomic sign of the promised
Seed of the woman, the One to come as the
Serpent-bruiser, and who stands pictured in
his constellation with His foot on the head of
the Dragon? Other myths represent the
Dragon as guarding the sacred well, and
slaying those who came to draw from it, but
was slain by the arrows of Cadmus, who had
to suffer for it, indeed, but by Minerva's aid

CADMUS. l6l
freed the way to the well, and built there a
noble city. But is not Cadmus the hero sent
to seek his sister who was lost, and the same
who was offered as the giver of victory to the
people who should accept him as their com
mander ; just as Christ is come to seek and
to save that which was lost, through suffering.
and divinity vanquishing Satan, opening access
to the sacred well of the waters of life, build
ing about it the Zion of His Church, and con
ducting those who take Him as their Lord and
King to the blessedness of triumph and ever
lasting peace ? Ay, verily, these signs in the
constellations are but another version of what
was written by the prophets and set forth in
the Scriptures as the true and only hope of
man.
" Most wondrous Book ! The Author God himself;
The subject, God and'man, salvation, life
And death — eternal life, eternal death.
. . . On every line
Marked with the seal of high divinity,
On every leaf bedewed with drops of love
Divine, and with the eternal heraldry
And signature of God Almighty stamped
From first to last."
14* L

ILectute g>ebettti).
DEATH AND NEW LIFE:
John 12 : 24: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn ol
wheat fall into the ground and- die, it abideth alone : but if it die, it
bringeth forth much fruit."
IN connection with these words I continue
. the study of that evangelic record which
we find written on the stars in the ancient
astronomy. As far as we have gone in these investiga
tions, four signs of the Zodiac, with their ac
companying Decans, have been discussed —
Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, and Sagittarius. Eight
more of these signs accordingly remain to be
considered; and to these, in their order, I
propose that we now direct our attention.
Order of the Signs.
•Perhaps this is as good a place as any that
may offer to remark the fact that these twelve '
signs of the Solar Zodiac divide themselves
into three distinct groups, each group having
its own distinct subject. The first group,
162.

THE SIGN OF CAPRICORNUS. 1 63
consisting of the four signs which have al
ready been before us, relates to the Person,
Work, and Triumph of the illustrious Re
deemer, with special reference to himself.
The next succeeding group, consisting of
Capricornus, Aquarius, Pisces, and Aries, with
their several Decans, relates to the Fruits of
His Work and Mediatorship — the formation,
condition, and destiny of the Church, or that
body of people spiritually born to Him through
faith, and made partakers of the benefits of
His redemptive administrations ; whilst the
third and last group relates to the final Con
summation of the whole in the united glory
of the Redeemer and the redeemed, and the
exalted condition of things which the Con
summation is to realize. All this will be more
clearly brought out as we proceed. At pres
ent we make our entrance upon the second
or middle group.
The Sign of Capricornus.
Here we have the picture of a fallen goat
with the vigorous tail of a fish — half goat and
half fish.
It may seem singular and far-fetched to
connect the text I have read with such a figure.
A little consideration, however, will show that

164 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
the subject-matter in both is in fact identical,
though the particular imagery is entirely dif
ferent. That of the text is the image which
we had in Virgo, where the illustrious Son
of the virgin is likened to a grain of corn or
seed, denoted by Spica, the ear of wheat. It
was necessary for this seed or grain of wheat
to fall into the ground and die in order to
reach its intended fruitfulness, which fruitful-
ness arises directly out of such falling and
dying. The meaning of the passage is, that
Christ was to die as a sacrifice, and that by
virtue of His sacrificial death salvation was to
come to man and the congregation of saved
ones formed. As Wordsworth expresses it,
" He compares himself to a grain of corn,
which would be buried by the unbelief of the
Jews, but would fructify in the faith of the
Gentiles. As much as to say, I will die, that
they may live. My death will be their birth!'
As the phoenix was said to arise out of the
ashes of its consumed predecessor, so the
Church, or congregation of saints, rises out
of the death of Christ, sacrificed for the sins.
of the world. This is everywhere the teach
ing of the Scriptures, and nowhere more
pointedly and graphically than in this text.
And when we translate this idea into the im-

TYPE AND ANTITYPE. 1 65
agery of the fifth sign of the Zodiac, we find
another very graphic and much older picture
of precisely the same thing.
Type and Antitype.
First of all, we have here the figure of a goat.
This is a sacrificial animal. God commanded
the children of Israel, saying, " Take ye a kid
of the goats for a sin-offering" (Lev. 9 : 31).
So Aaron " took the goat, which was the sin-
offering for the people, and slew it, and of
fered it for sin" (Lev. 9:15). And of the
goat of the sin-offering Moses said, " It is
most holy, and God hath given it you to bear
the iniquity of the congregation, to make
atonement for them before the Lord" (Lev.
10 : 16, 17).
In the next place, this goat is fallen down
in the attitude of dying. His one leg is
doubled under his body, and the other is pow
erless to lift him up. His head is drooping
and sinking in death. This is the identical
falling and dying of Christ as the sin-offering
to which He refers in the text. It is the same
Seed of the woman, in the attitude and con
dition of a sacrifice for. sin. Christ surely
was "wounded for our transgressions" and
" bruised for our iniquities." " He was cut

1 66 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
off out of the land of the living: for the
transgression of my people was He stricken."
As the Head of the flock He suffered in their
stead, and laid down His life in sacrifice that
they might live. And here it is written on
the stars from the earliest ages, and with a
vividness of pictorial representation which
no one can contemplate without realizing that
the picture is intensely striking.
The names in this sign also point to the
same thought and significance. Gedi and
Dabih are the most prominent stars in this
constellation ; and in Hebrew, Arabic, and Syr-
iac these names mean, the cut-off, the hewn-
down, the sacrifice slain. Other stars in the
same constellation have names of similar im
port, signifying the slaying, the record of the
cutting off. Even the elements of the name
of the sign as we still have it from the Latins,
Capricornus, mean not only the goat, but
atonement, sinking or bowed in death. And
if there is any significance whatever in these
celestial pictures, we have in this sign the
symbol of sacrificial death, which is the exact
idea of the text.
The Church.
But it is at the same time a picture of an-

THE CHURCH. 1 67
other kind of life, developed out of this sac
rificial death, and vitally conjoined with it.
The body of the fallen and dying goat ter
minates' in the body and tail of a vigorous
fish. The living fish thus takes its being out
of the dying goat, and has all its life and
vigor from thence. Accordingly, the Coptic
name of this sign signifies the station or man
sion of bearing. In addition to the falling and
dying, it is the sign of a mystic procreation
and bringing forth. That which is brought
forth is a fish, which is again a familiar and
well-understood sacred symbol.
When' Jesus called and appointed His first
ministers He said, " I will make you fishers
of men" (Matt. 4:19). So when God said
He will bring the children of Israel again into
their own land, His word was, "I will send
for many fishers, and they shall fish them"
(Jer. 16: 15, 16). So in Ezekiel's vision of
the holy waters the word was, " And there
shall be a very great multitude offish, because
these waters shall come thither" (Ez. 47 : 1-9,),
Christ speaks of His saved ones as " bom of
water" (John 3:5). In the parable of the
drag-net and in the miraculous draughts of
fishes God's people are contemplated as fishes.
Hence, in both Testaments fishes stand as the

1 68 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
symbol of believers. "Fishes signify regen
erate persons," says Dr. Gill. " Fish are
those that are wrought upon and brought in
by the Gospel, and are so called for six rea
sons," says Green-hill. " Fish are the men
who have attained to life by the Messianic
salvation," says Dr. Hengstenberg. The
early Christians were accustomed to call be
lievers Ichthues and Pisces — that is, fishes. In
the name and titles of our Lord — "Jesus
Christ, the Son of God, our Saviour" — the in
itials in Greek form a word or name which
signifies a fish, and hence the Fathers techni
cally designated Christ as the mystic divine
Fish; who in the waters of baptism begets
the multitude of fishes — the congregation of
His people. Christ is therefore at once the
sacrificial goat of the sin-offering and the be
getter of a body of reborn men, the Church,
the congregation of the quickened and saved.
The diction of the Scriptures thus answers
exactly to the figure in this sign, which is the
dying goat developed into a fish body.
The Mystical Union.
Even the great New-Testament doctrine
of the Mystical Union of believers with their
Saviour is, here most strikingly signified. As

THE MYSTICAL UNION. 169
men naturally are but reproductions and per
petuations of Adam, and live his life, so
Christ's people are the reproduction and per
petuation of Christ, living His life. They
are in Him as the branch is in the vine.
They are repeatedly called His body, one
with Him, " members of His body and of
His flesh and of His bones." And so close
and real is their life-connection and incorpo
ration with Him that they are in a sense
sometimes called " Christ." What, then,
could better symbolize this than the sign be
fore us ? This goat and fish are one — one
being, the life of the dying reproduced and
continued in a spiritual product which is part
of one and the same body. The goat of sac
rifice sinks into a new creation, which is yet
an organic part of itself. The image is gro
tesque, and has no prototype in Nature, but
it is true, exact and graphic. The forgive
ness and regeneration of men, and their in
corporation with Christ, is something wholly
above Nature — something altogether mirac
ulous — which could not" be adequately signi
fied by any natural symbols ; and so, as the
double nature of the Redeemer himself was
denoted by an arbitrary figure, half horse and
half mari, so the relation between Him as the
15

17° THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
Sin-bearer and His saved people, who live
by virtue of His death, is denoted by another
arbitrary figure, made up of a dying goat and
a living fish. Nor is it in the power of hu
man genius or imagination to devise another
figure capable of setting forth more simply
and truly the great and glorious mystery.
The Myths.
The pagan myths concerning this sign cor
respond with these interpretations. This goat
is everywhere regarded as Pan, Bacchus, or
some divine personage. How he came to
have the ' form of a goat is explained after
this fashion : The gods were feasting near a
great river, when suddenly the terrible Ty
phon came upon them, compelling them to
assume other shapes in order to escape his
fury. Bacchus took the form of a goat and
plunged into the river, and that part of his
body which was under the water took the form
of a fish. To commemorate the occurrence
Jupiter placed him in the heavens in his met
amorphosed shape. The story is absurd, but
through it shines something of the great orig
inal idea. It was to secure deliverance from
the fury of God's wrath upon sin, and from
the ruinous power of the Devil, that the Son

THE MYTHS. 171
of God took upon Him the form of a Sin-
bearer and Sacrifice, and in this character was
plunged into the deep waters of death. It
was by His taking of this form, and His sink
ing in death as our substitute and propitiation,
that life came to those who were under the
power of death, whereby they became a liv
ing part of Him, never more to be separated
from Him. The myth is only a paganized
and corrupted paraphrase of the original
reference which the Spirit of sacred proph
ecy had written in the primeval astronomy,
whence the whole conception originated.
Dagon, the half-fish god of the Philistines,
and Oannes, the half-fish god of the Babylo
nians, also connect with this Zodiacal Capri
cornus, and have embodied in them the same
original thought 'as well as figure. Philo tells
us that Dagon means fruitfulness, the seed-pro
ducing ; and so Christ is the Seed, the Corn
of wheat, fallen and dying in the goat, but
producing the living fish, the Church, which
is the travail of His soul, the true fruit of
His atonement. Eusebius says that Dagon
was the god of husbandry, the god of seeds
and harvests. Pluche says that Dagon among
the Philistines was the same as Horus among
the Egyptians ; and Horus takes the charac-

172 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
ter of the meek and silent Sufferer from whom
comes the horn of blessing and plenty. Dag
on had the human form in place of the goat,
but that was only a further interpretation of
the meaning ; for the goat part of Capri
cornus stands for the Seed of the woman, and
so is iri reality the man Christ Jesus.
Berosus speaks of Oannes as likewise half
man and half fish. ¦ Some of the ancient pic
tures of him still remain, in which he is fig
ured as a great fish outside, but under and
within the fish, and joined with it as its more
vital interior, was a tall and vigorous man,
standing upright in great dignity, with one
hand lifted up as if calling for attention, and
in the other carrying a basket or satchel as if
filled with treasure. He is fabled as having
risen out of the sea to teach the primitive
Babylonians the secrets of wisdom, particu
larly the elements of culture, civilization, and
law, organizing them into a prosperous com
monwealth. An ancient fragment says of
him : "He grew not old in wisdom, and the
wise people with his wisdom he filled." The
representation is throughout in full accord
with what I have been saying of Capricornus.
There Is a coming up out of the deep in
glorious life, and a blessed fruitfulness brought

SPIRITUAL CONCEPTIONS. 173
forth thereby, and that fruitfulness in the form
of instructed, wise, and disciplined people. It
is the fallen Seed of the woman risen up from
death after having gone down into the invis
ible and unknown world, begetting and_ cre
ating a new order among men — the dying
Seed issuing in the believing body, the Church,
in which He still lives and walks and teaches
and blesses. The myth . embodies the exact
story of the sign.
Spiritual Conceptions.
Moreover, the very complexity of the figure
of Capricornus, -at first so confusing and hard
to construe, conducts us into still further par
ticularities of evangelic truth. As far as we
have been looking at it, we see the literal
death of one being issuing in the spiritual life
of other beings, of whose new life He is the
life. It is Christ in the one case corporeally
sacrificed, and His people mystically resurrect
ed to newness of life in the other. But along
with this goes a reflex which it is important
for us to observe, as it brings out some of the
deep practical spiritualities of true religion.
Of course, the rising of the fishes out of the
dying goat implies the literal and potent res
urrection of Christ himself as the Begetter
15*

174 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
and Giver of this spiritual resurrection to His
people ; for if He did not rise, then no preach
ing or believing would avail to bring us to life
or salvation. But as we rise to spiritual life
through the power of His resurrection, so
there is also implied a dying with Him in or
der to rise with Him ; for there is no resurrec
tion where there has been no dying. We look
for a resurrection of the body, because there
is first a death of the body. And as God's
people are partakers of a mystic or spiritual
resurrection, there goes before it a correspond
ing death. That death out of which their new
life comes through and in Christ is twofold.
It is first a deadness in sin — existence indeed,
but morally and spiritually a mere carcass,.
with no life-standing to the law or any practi
cal spiritual life toward God and heaven — a
life that is nothing but spiritual death and cor
ruption under sentence of eternal death. In
the next place, it is death to sin, both as to its
penalty ahd power, a cessation of the mere
carnal life and of further existence under con
demnation. Now, the great office of religion,
through the Seed of .the woman and His sac
rificial offering of himself to expiate our sins,
is to bring death to this old life in sin and
death, and by this wounding, slaying and put-

SPIRITUAL CONCEPTIONS. 175
ting off of the old man of corruption, to gen
erate, evolve, sustain, teach and train the new
man, which is renewed after the image of
Christ's own resurrection, and which beams
with better knowledge and true holiness.
Christ corporeally dies for us, and we mysti
cally die to the old death-life with, in, and by
virtue of Him. We die to the death-penalty
which holds us whilst in the mere carnal life,
arid put it clean off from us for ever, in the
atoning sacrifice of Christ, by accepting Him
and believing in Him as our Surety and Pro
pitiation ; and in really taking Him as our
Redeemer and Hope there is such a force in
our faith, and it is in itself such a living and
active power, that in the very exercise of it
we necessarily die to the pursuit and service
of sin. In other words, beginning to live in
Christ, we begin to die to the old carnal life.
The one is the correlative of the other. Hen.ce
the apostolic word : " How shall we that are
dead to sin live any longer therein ? Know
ye not that so many of us as were baptized
into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death?
Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism
into death; that like as Christ was raised up
from the dead by the glory of the Father,
even so we also should walk in newness of

176 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
life, . . . knowing this, that our old man is
crucified with Him, that the body of sin might
be destroyed, that henceforth we should not
serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from
sin" (Rom. 6: 2-7).
This, then, is the meaning of the picture :
The Seed of the woman takes our death-pen
alty on himself, and dies a sacrifice for our
sins, so that believers die with Him to all the
old life of condemnation and sin ; out of this
death He springs up in resurrection-power,
in which believers rise with Him by being
brought to know and accept the truth and to
follow His teachings in lively hope of a still
further rising in imrnortal glory at the last ;
in all of which we behold the much fruit yield
ed by the seed of wheat falling to the ground
and dying.
And with these presentations agree the ac
companying side-pieces or Decans.
The Arrow.
The first is Sagitta, the shot and killing
arrow. It appears naked and alone. It has
left the bow, and is speeding to its aim. It is
a heavenly arrow, and He who shoots it is
invisible. There is a majesty and a mystery
about it which startles and awes. It is the

THE ARROW. 177
death-arrow of almighty justice, which goes
forth from the throne against all unrighteous
ness and sin. It is that death-inflicting instru
ment which comes with resistless force and
sharpness against a world that lieth in sin,
and which pierces the spotless Son of God
as found in the place of guilty and condemned
man. The execution it does is shown in the
fallen and dying goat. It is the arrow of di
vine justice and condemnation upon sin pier
cing through the body and soul of the meek
Lamb of God, who agreed to bear our sins
and answer for them.
In the thirty-eighth Psalm.we have this very
arrow of God sticking fast in the body of the
mysterious Sufferer, wounding His flesh and
His bones, and completely overwhelming
Him. He is troubled and bowed down, as
under a crushing burden. His heart panteth,
his strength faileth, the light of his eyes fades
out. Not only is he the persecuted object of
man's hatred, but shut up within the strong
bars of divine judgment. It was divine grace
that prepared and shot that arrow against the
person of the blameless One ; but, being found
in the room and stead of sinners, God's holy
vengeance could not hold back for the sparing
even of the only-begotten "of the Father, so
M

178 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
full of grace and truth. Christ came into the
world to die for it; and toward this lowest
deep His steps daily led Him as He loqked
onward to the harvest that was being sown
amid these tears. It would seem almost as
if the song of the Psalmist had been copied
direct from what is thus pictured in these
signs. But this Arrow doubtless covers a further
idea. There is a spiritual piercing and slay
ing in the case of those who come to new life
in Christ, akin to the piercing and slaying of
Christ himself. Sharp and hurtful words are
compared to arrows. And of this character
are the words of God as pronounced upon the
wicked, judging and condemning them for
their sins, bringing them down from their
lofty self-security, and killing out of them
the vain imaginings in which they live. Isaiah
speaks of this sort of shaft or arrow in the
Lord's quiver — the arrow of the Word — the
arrow of conviction of sin, righteousness, and
judgment — a wounding and killing arrow
which enters into men's souls, and makes 1
humble penitents of them, that they may
come to life in Christ. The death of Christ
for our sins also takes the form of a word,
preaching, testimony, and argument, even the

THE PIERCED EAGLE. 1 79
preaching of the Cross, to kill the life of sin
and to cause men to die unto it; so that the
very arrow of sovereign justice which drank
up the life of Christ as our Substitute and
Propitiation passes through Him to pierce
also those whose life in sin cost Him all this
humiliation and pain ; also killing them to that
ill and condemned life that they may live the
Christ-life as His renewed, justified, and re
deemed children.
Thus the Arrow fills out precisely the same
ideas which we find symbolized in the sign of
Capricornus. The Pierced Eagle.
The second Decan adds still further to the
clearness and certainty of the meaning. This
is the constellation of Aquila, the pierced,
wounded, and falling eagle. It is but another
picture of the grain of wheat falling and dy
ing. The principal star in this constellation
is of the first magnitude, and is the star by
which the position of the moon — also a symbol
of the Church — is noted for the. computation
of longitude at sea. Its name is Al Tair,
which in Arabic means the wounded. The
name of the second star in the same language
means the scarlet-colored — covered with blood.

180 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
The name of the third means the torn, whilst
that of another means the wounded in the heel.
It is simply impossible to explain how all these
names got into this sign and its Decans, ex
cept by intention to denote the great fact of
the promised Saviour's death.
The myths, explain this eagle in different
ways. Some say it is Merops, king of Cos,
the husband of Ethemea, who lamented for
his condemned wife, and was transformed
into an eagle and placed among the stars.
Some say it is the form assumed by Jupiter
in carrying off Ganymedes, whilst others de
scribe it as the eagle which brought nectar to
Jupiter while he lay concealed in the Cretan
cave by reason of the fury and wrath of Sat
urn. In short, pagan wisdom did not know
what it meant, though holding it in marked
regard. And yet, as Christ loved the Church,
and gave himself for it, and reigns in glory
for its good — as He humbled himself in obe
dience to death that He might take to him
self a glorious Church to serve the eternal
Father in immortal blessedness- — as He was
really brought down into the cave of death,
whence He was revived by heavenly virtues
after the exhaustion of the fierce wrath of in
sulted sovereignty, — we can still see some dim

THE PIERCED EAGLE. l8l
reflections of the original truth and meaning
even in these confused and contradictory
fables. The eagle is one of the biblical symbols of
Christ. "Ye have seen what I did unto the
Egyptians, and how / bare you on eagles' wings
and brought you unto myself" (Ex. 19:4),
"As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth
over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings,
taketh them, beareth them on her wings ; so
the Lord alone did lead him" (Deut. 32 : 11,
12). The eagle is a royal bird, and the nat
ural enemy of the serpent. It is elevated in
its habits, strong, and swift. It is very careful
and tender toward its young, and is said to
tear itself to nourish them with its own blood
when all other means fail. And here is the
noble Eagle, the promised Seed of the wo
man, pierced, torn, and bleeding, that those
begotten in His image may be saved from
death, sheltered, protected, and made to live
for ever.
But, as in the case of the Arrow, so also
in this case, the figure will admit the further
idea which takes in the proud sinner, pierced
by the arrow of the Word and brought down
into the humiliation of penitence, even to death
and despair as to all his former hopes in him-
16

182 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
self. And until the high-soaring children of
pride are thus brought down by the arrow of
God's Word, and fall completely out of the
heaven of their dreams, conformably to Christ's
death for them, there can come to them no
right life. Paul was alive without the law
once, and a very high-soaring and bloodthirsty
eagle ; but when the commandment came, sin
revived, and he died — died the death that could
alone bring him to right life.
The Dolphin.
The third Decan of this sign is the beauti
ful cluster of little stars named Delphinus.
It is the figure of a vigorous fish leaping up
ward. Taken in connection with the dying
goat, it conveys the idea of springing up
again out of death. Our great Sin-bearer
not only died for our sins, but He also rose
again, thereby becoming "the first-fruits of
them that slept." As the Head and Repre
sentative of His Church, He is the principal
Fish in the congregation of the fishes. Their
quickening, life, and spiritual' resurrection rest
on His coming forth again after having- gone
down into the waves of death for their sakes.
Put to death in the flesh, He was quickened
by the Spirit, and in His quickening and res-

THE DOLPHIN. 1 83
urrecfion all His people share. Their sins
having been buried in His death, their life is
by virtue of His resurrection, that "like as
He was raised from the dead, so we should
. walk in newness of life," ever advancing to
ward a still more complete resurrection to
come. The corn of wheat falls into the ground
and dies, but from that death there is a spring
ing up again to the intended fruitfulness.
Christ dies and rises again, and His people,
slain in their old carnal confidence, absolved
by His suffering of the penalty due to them,
and planting themselves solely upon Him as
their Lord and Redeemer, rise with him into
the new, spiritual, and eternal life. The pic
ture of the dying goat, with its after-part a
living fish, implied this, but the nature of the
transition could not be so well expressed in
that figure by itself. Hence the additional
explanatory figure of an upspringing fish, to
show more vividly that the transition is by
means of resurrection to a new life of anoth
er style. We thus have the vivid symbol of
both the resurrection of the slain Saviour as
the. Head of. the Church, and the included
new creation of His people, who rise to their
new life through His death and resurrection.
In ancient mythology the dolphin was the

1 84 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
most sacred and honored of fishes, doubtless
because of its place among the ancient con
stellations, though the myths representing it
are very different. It was specially sacred to
Apollo, and its name was added to his — some
say, because he slew the dragon ; others say,
because in the form of a dolphin he showed
the Cretan colonists the way to Delphi, the
most celebrated place in the Grecian world
and the seat of the most famous of all the
oracles. According to some accounts, it was a
dolphin which brought about the marriage of
the unwilling Amphitrite with the god of the
sea, and for this it received place among the
stars. The muddy waters reflect something
of the original idea. Christ was the true Son
of Deity. It was He who broke the Dragon's
power by submitting to become the atoning
Mediator. "In all -things it behoved Him to
be made like unto His brethren, that He
might be a merciful and faithful high priest
to make reconciliation for the sins of the peo
ple." By His death and resurrection He has
opened and shown the way by which His peo
ple come to the blessed city of which Jehovah
is the light. By His mediation He has brought
about a marriage between men in flight from
their Lord and Him who loved them with a

SALVATION THROUGH ATONEMENT. 185
love that passeth knowledge. And in believ
ing foretoken of all this His sign, as the Head
of His people, was thus placed in the heavens,
where it stands as another form of the parable
of the buried corn of wheat rising in new life,
of which all who are His are partakers.
Salvation through Atonement.
Capricornus is thus the illustrious bearer
and witness of the most vital evangelical
truths. There is no more central or import
ant doctrine of our holy faith than this, that
the pure and sinless Son of God, having as
sumed our nature for the purpose, did really
and truly take the sins of the world upon
Him, and bore the agonies of an accursed
death as the sacrifice and propitiation for our
guilt. Whatever difficulty human reason may
have in receiving it, it is the very heart and
substance of the Gospel tidings, on which all
the hopes of fallen man repose. "Thus it is
written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer,
and to rise from the dead the third day, that
repentance and remission of sins might be
preached in His name" (Luke 24:46, 47).
This " first of all " Paul preached, and Chris
tians received and held, " how that Christ died
for our sins, according to the Scriptures, and
16*

186 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
that He was buried, and that He rose again
the third day according to the Scriptures"
(i Cor. 15:3, 4). "Forasmuch as. the chil
dren are partakers of flesh and blood, He also
himself likewise took part of the same, that
through death He might destroy him that had
the power of death, that is, the Devil, and de
liver them who through fear of death were all-
their lifetime subject to bondage " (Heb. 2 :
14, 15). Hence the highest apostolic song on
earth is that led off by the holy seer of Pat-
mos : " Unto Him that loved us, and washed
us from our sins in His own blood, and hath
made us kings and priests unto God and,His
Father; to Him be glory and dominion for
ever and ever ;" whilst the saints in heaven,
in devoutest adoration, fall down before the
Lamb, and cry, " Thou art worthy to take the
book, and to open the seals thereof ; for Thou
wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy
blood" (Rev. 1 : 5, 6 ; 5:9).
And how cheering and confirmatory to our
faith to see and know that what Prophets and
Apostles have been testifying on earth the
heavens themselves have been proclaiming
for all these ages ! How assuring to know
that what we build our hope on now is the
same that the holy patriarchs from Adam's

SAL VA TION THR O UGH A TONEMENT. 1 87
time built on as their hope and joy ! They
believed and expected, and hung their faith
and testimony on the stars, that in the fulness
of time the Seed of the woman should come,
and . bow himself in death as the Sin-offering
for a guilty world, and rise again in life and
fruitfulness of saving virtues, whereby His
Chu,rch should rise with Him, sharing at once
the merit of His atonement and the power of
His resurrection, and thus live and reign in
inseparable union with himself in life and glo
ry everlasting. Every September midnight
of every year for all these centuries has ac
cordingly displayed the sign of it in the mid
dle of the sky, and held it forth to the eyes
of mortals as the blessed hope and only ref
uge of a condemned world, at the same time
that it marks the point of change in year and
climate, and when the darkness is the great
est opens the southern gateway of the Sun.
Yes, this strange goat-fish, dying in its
head,. but living in its after-part — falling as
an eagle pierced and wounded by the arrow
of death, but springing up from the dark
waves with the matchless vigor and beauty
of the dolphin — sinking under sin's condem
nation, but rising again as sin's conqueror —
developing new life out of death, and herald-

1 88 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
ing a new spring-time out of December's
long drear nights — was framed by no blind
chance of man. The story which it tells is
the old, old story on which hangs the only
availing hope that ever came, or ever can
come, to Adam's race. To what it signifies
we are for ever shut up as the only saving
faith. In that dying Seed of the woman we
must see our Sin-bearer and the atonement
for our guilt, or die ourselves unpardoned
and unsanctified. Through His death and
blood-shedding we must find our life, or the
true life, which alone is life, we never can
have. " The wheaten com which falls and dies,
In autumn's plenty richly waves ;
So, from the loathsome place of graves,
With Christ, our Elder, we may rise.
" From death comes life ! The hand of God
This direst curse to good transforms ;
So purest air is born of storms ;
So bursts the harvest from the clod."

Eecture ©igijtf).
THE LIVING WATERS.
John 7 : 37 : "If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and
drink." ONE of the gladdest things in our world
is water. In whatever shape it pre
sents itself, it is full of interest and beauty.
Whether trickling down in pearly mist from
the fragrant, distilleries of Nature, or rippling
in merry windings through the grassy dell or
shady grove ; whether jetting from the rocky
precipices of the mountain, or gathered into
the rolling plains of ocean ; whether spark
ling in the ice-gem, or pouring in the cata
ract; whether coming in silver drops from
the bow-spanned heavens, or forcing itself
out in glassy purity from the dark veins of
the earth ; whether in the feathery crystals
of the snow-flakes, or grandly moving in the
volume of the ample river, — it is everywhere
and always beautiful. Next to light, it is
God's brightest element; and light itself is
as much at home in it as in its own native
m

190 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
sky. Sometimes, in some connections, it is
the symbol of evil, but even there it is the ex
pression of life and energy. Nor is it much
to be wondered that in the hot Orient men
were moved to deify fountains and erect vo
tive temples over them, as though they were
gracious divinities. The preciousness of
bright, fresh waters to parched and needy
man is beyond all compare. Where such
waters come they bring gladness and rejuve
nation, luxuriousness and plenty. Where
they pour forth, sinking strength recovers,
dying life rekindles, perishing Nature revives, '
a thousand delights are awakened, and every
thing rejoices and sings with new-begotten
life. > Such an object in Nature could not fail to
be seized by the sacred writers to represent'
the life-giving purity and regenerating power
of divine grace and salvation. Accordingly,
we find it one of the common and most lively
, images under which the Scriptures set forth
the cleansing, renewing, and saving virtues
that come to man in God's redemptive ad
ministrations. Thus the Spirit in Baalam's
unwilling lips described the goodliness of Is
rael's tents " as the valleys spread forth, as
gardens by the river's side, as the trees of

THE LIVING WATERS. . I9I
lign-aloes which the Lord hath planted, as
cedar trees beside the waters." Thus when
the inspired Moses began his song of God's
grace to Israel's tribes, he said, " My doctrine
shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil
as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender
herb, and as the showers/ upon the grass."
The good man is " like a tree planted by the
rivers of .water, that bringeth forth his fruit
in his season, whose leaf also shall not with
er." The joy of Messiah's day is the open
ing of " a fountain to the house of David, and
to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and
for uncleanness." Ezekiel beholds the bless
ed influences of the sanctuary SCs issuing wa
ters — waters to the ankles, waters to the
knees, waters to the loins, waters to swim in
v — a river of waters. Jesus himself discoursed
to the woman of Samaria of the saving bene
fits of His grace as "living water" — water
which slakes all thirst for ever. The people
of God are likened to fishes, whose life-ele
ment is water. And so in the text the Saviour
compares His redeeming virtue and grace to
water, and says, " If any man thirst, let him
come unto Me, and drink!'
In those signs, then, which the primeval pa
triarchs hung upon the stars as everlasting

192 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
witnesses of God's gracious purposes to be
achieved through the Seed of the woman, we
would certainly expect to find some great
prominence given to this same significant
symbol. And as we would anticipate, so do
we really find, especially in the sixth sign of
the Zodiac, which we now come to consider.
The Sign of Aquarius.
Here is the figure of a man with a great
urn upon his arm, from which he is pouring
out from the heavens a stream of water which
flows with all the volume of a swollen river.
Mythology calls hirii Ganymedes, the bright,
glorified, and happy One — the Phrygian youth
so beautiful on earth that the great King and
Father of gods carried him away to heaven on
eagles' wings to live in glory with immortals.
Some say that he came to an untimely death in
this world ; and the stories in general combine
in representing him as the beloved and favor
ite of the divine Father, exalted to glory and
made the chosen cup-bearer of the Deity.
Classic art portrays him as a most beautiful
young man, sometimes carried by an eagle,
sometimes ministering drink to an eagle from
a bowl which he bears, and again as the
particular companion of the eternal Father.

THE SIGN OF AQUARIUS. 193
Amid all these earthly varnishes which pa
ganism has daubed over the picture we still
may see the sacred image shining through.
The true Ganymedes is the beautiful Lord
Jesus, "the chief among ten thousand, and
altogether lovely." Cut off was He in His
early manhood, but divinely lifted up again,
borne away to heaven on unfailing wings,
seated in brightness and glory beside the
everlasting Father, loved and approved as
God's only-begotten Son, made the sovereign
Lord and Dispenser of grace and salvation,
and by His merit procuring and pouring out
the very "river of water of life." The urn
He holds is the exhaustless reservoir of all
the fulness of renewing, comforting, and sanc
tifying power. And the turning of that holy
urn for its contents to flow down into the
world below is the precise picture of the ful
filment of those old prophetic promises : " I
will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and
floods upon the dry ground : I will pour out
my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing
upon thine offspring ;" " I will pour out my
Spirit upon all flesh ; and your sons and your
daughters shall prophesy, and your old men
shall dream dreams, and your young men
shall see visions " (Isa. 44 : 3 ; Joel 2:28).
17 N

194 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
The name of the principal star in this sign
— Sa'ad al Melik — means Record of the out
pouring. The Coptic, Greek, and Latin
names of the sign itself signify The Pourer-
forth of water, The exalted Waterman, as
though specially to designate Him who says,
"If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and
drink!' Promise of the Holy Spirit.
When Christ was about to leave the world
He said to His followers, " It is expedient for
you that I go away ; for if I go not away, the
Comforter will not come unto you ; but if I
depart, I will send Him unto you. . . . He
will guide you into ' all truth. . . . He will
show you things to come. . . . He shall glo
rify me: for He shall receive of mine, and
shall show it unto you" (John 16). That
promise included all the divine life-power
issuing from the mediation of Christ for the
illumination, regeneration, and salvation of men
— all the renewing, cleansing, comforting, and
energizing grace for the gathering of the elect
and the bringing of believers to eternal life
and glory. The Holy Ghost was in the world
from the beginning, but here was the promise
of a new and enlarged grant and endowment,

THE SIGN OF AQUARIUS. I95
to lift, nourish, and distinguish Christian be-(
lievers. The same was gloriously fulfilled on
the day of Pentecost, when "suddenly there
came a sound from heaven as of a rushing
mighty wind, and filled all the house where
they were sitting; and they were all filled
with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak
with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them
utterance." And when the Jews mocked and
derided, the sacred explanation was that Jesus,
being raised up again from the dead and ex
alted to the right hand of God, and having so
received of the Father, was now the Giver
and Shedder-forth of this marvellous power.
He is thus presented to our contemplation as
the glorified Pourer-forth from heaven of the
blessed waters of life and salvation ; in other
words, the true Aquarius, of whom the picture
in the sign was the prophecy and foreshowing.
Wherever the Scriptures represent the
Spirit and grace of God under the imagery
of waters, the idea of unfailing supply and
plenteous abundance is also invariably con
nected with it Sometimes it is a plentiful
rain ; sometimes it is a voluminous fountain ;
sometimes it is a great river flowing with ful
ness that supplies a thousand life-freighted
rivulets. Inspiration tells us that the rock

I I

196 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
smitten by Moses was the type of the smiting
of Christ and the blessings proceeding from
Him ; but in that case the waters "gushed ;
they ran in dry places like a river." Isaiah .
sings : " The glorious Lord will be unto us a
place of broad rivers and streams." Eze.kiel's
river was deep and broad, healing even the
Dead Sea with the abundance of its flow.
Zechariah says these heavenly waters flow
out to both seas, and continue without cessa
tion summer and winter alike. God's prom
ise is, " I will open rivers in high places, and
fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will
make the wilderness a pool of water, and the
dry land springs of water;" which, as John
Brentius says, " denotes the great plenteous-
ness of the Word and eternal blessedness flow
ing from Christ the Fountain." And the same
is characteristic of the picture in this sign.
From the urn of Aquarius flows a vast, con
stant, and voluminous river. It flows in a
bending stream both to eastward and west
ward, and enlarges as it flows. The imagery '
of the Scriptures and the imagery of this sign
are exactly of a piece, and the true reason of
the coincidence is, that both were meant to
record and set forth the same glorious evan
gelic truths.

the southern fish. 1 97
The Southern Fish.
That this sign was really framed to be a
picture of the risen and glorified Redeemer
pouring out from heaven the saving influences
and gifts of the Holy Ghost, is further evi
denced by the first Decan of Aquarius. Those
who truly profit by the gifts and powers pro
cured and poured out by our glorious Inter
cessor are the people who believe in Christ,
the regenerate, the saved Church. These, as
we saw in our last, are the mystic fishes.
And here, as the first Decan of Aquarius, we
have the picture of a fish — Piscis Australis —
drinking in the stream which pours from the
urn of the beautiful One in heaven. It is the
picture of the believing acceptance of the in
vitation of the text. Jesus stood and cried,
" If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and
drink ;" and here is a coming from below — a
glad coming to the stream which issues from
on high, a drinking in of the heavenly waters,
and a vigorous life sustained and expanded
by means of that drinking.
The mythic legends do not help us much
with regard to the interpretation of this con
stellation, but they still furnish a few signif
icant hints. Some say this fish represents
17*'

198 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
Astarte, called Aphrodite by the Greeks and
Venus by the Romans, and that she here ap-.
pears in the form into which she metamor
phosed herself to escape the advances and
power of the horrible Typhon. Astarte was
the moon-goddess, the great mother, the em
bodiment of the dependent but ever-produc
tive feminine principle. In the symbology of
the Scriptures the moon sometimes denotes
the rnother of the family, as in Joseph's dream
(Gen. 2,7), and both the woman and the moon
are representatives of the Church. As the
woman was made out of the side of Adam
while He slept, so the Church was made out
of Christ by means of that deep sleep of death
which came upon Him, and to which He sub
mitted for the purpose. The whole mystery
of marriage is the symbol of the union be
tween Christ and His Church (Eph. 5 : 23-32).
Everywhere the congregation of believers is
pictured as the spouse of Christ, the spir
itual woman, the mother of us all. And if
this fish . represents the Astarte of the pa
gan religion, we have only to strip off the
heathen impurities, and understand the ref
erence in the sense and application of the
Scripture symbols, in order td find here a
picture of the regenerate people of God,

PEGASUS. 199
the Church, the bride of Christ, the mother
of saints.
So understood, the metamorphosis into a
fish is also applicable and significant, as in no
other interpretation. All true members of
the Church are transformed persons, made
over again by the power of a new spiritual
creation, and living a new life superadded to
Nature. It is by this spiritual metamorpho
sis that we make our escape from the power
and dominion of the Devil. And it is by
means of this transformation that we have
our status and relations in the heavenly econ
omy and kingdom. The light comes feebly
through the dark and jnurky atmosphere of
the pagan world ; but wherever we get sight
of a distinct ray, it easily resolves back into
the figures of the primeval constellations, and
thence into the sacred story of redemption
through the promised Seed of the woman.
Pegasus.
And in perfect consistence with, and as fur
ther illustration of, what I have given as the
meaning of this sign; is the second Decan.
Here is the figure of a great horse pushing for
ward with full speed, with great wings spring
ing from his shoulders. The elements of his

200 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
name, as in Isaiah 64 : 5 (4), signify the swift
divine messenger bringing joy to those whom
he meets, otherwise the horse of the opening; or.
as the Greeks put it, without obliteration of
the old Noetic nomenclature, the horse of the
gushing fountain — a celestial horse, ever asso
ciated with glad song, the favorite of the
Muses, under whose hoofs the Pierian springs
started upon Mount Helicon, and on whose
back rode Bellerophon as he went forth to
slay the monster Chima^ra.
The fables say that this wonderful horse
sprang into being from the slaying of Me
dusa by -Perseus ; that he was called Pegasus
(nrjy/j-aui;), Horse of the Fountain, because he
first appeared near the springs of the ocean ;
that he lived in the palace of the King and
Father of gods, and thundered and lightened
for Jupiter ; and that Bellerophon obtained
possession of him through sacrifice to the
goddess of justice, followed by a deep sleep,
during which he was divinely given' the gold
en bridle which the wild horse obeyed, and
thus he was borne forth to victory, though not
without receiving a painful sting in his foot
In the first chapter of Zechariah the ap
pearance of such horses are the symbols of
those whom " God hath sent to walk to and

PEGASUS. 201
fro through the earth," not simply to see and
report 'the condition of affairs, but to shake
and disturb nations, so as to restore liberty,
peace, and blessing to God's people. Pega
sus is not precisely one of those horses, or
all of them combined in one, but still a some
what corresponding ambassador of God. ¦ Pe
gasus is winged; he moves with heavenly
speed. The first part of his or his rider's
name, Pega, Peka, or Pacha, in the Noetic
dialects means the chief ; and the latter part,
sus, means, not only a horse, but swiftly com
ing or returning, with the idea of joy-bring
ing; hence the chief, coming forth again in
great victory, and with good tidings and bless
ing to those to whom he comes. The ancient
names of the stars which make up his con
stellation are — Markab, the returning ; Scheat,
he who goeth and returneth ; Enif, the
Branch ; Al Genib, who carries ; Homan, the
waters ; Matar, who causeth the plenteous
overflow. The names show to what the pic
ture applies.
Gathering up these remarkable items, and
combining them, as they all readily combine,
in one consistent narrative, we have in 'aston
ishing fulness one of the sublimest evangelic
presentations ; nay, the very going forth of

202 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
Christ in His living Gospel, as from the
scenes of that supper-hall which witnessed
the coming of the Paraclete the joyous wa
ters of cleansing and redemption, through
His successful mediation, poured their glad
flood into our weary world. Then the word
was, " Go ye into all the world, and preach
the Gospel [Good Tidings] to every crea
ture. He that believeth and is baptized shall
be saved." Thenceforward, Parthians and
Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in
Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia,
in Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia,
in Egypt, in Lybia, and strangers of Rome,
Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, and
people to the farthest ends of the earth, were
made to hear, in their tongues, the wonderful
works and achievements of God for the re
newal and saving of men. Thenceforward
the Glad Tidings went, winged with the Spirit
of God, waking poetic springs of joy upon
the mountains and in the valleys, slaying the
powers of darkness and superstition, over
whelming the dominion of the Devil, and
bringing song and salvation to every thirsty
and perishing soul which hears and obeys the
call of the Lord of life to come unto Him and
drink. The true Pegasus is the herald and

* THE SWAN. 203
bringer of Christrs mediatorial success and
salvation to a famishing world, which the
saintly patriarchs looked for from the begin
ning, and which they thus figured in the con
stellations in advance as an imperishable wit
ness of what was to come through and by
that Coming One in whom all their hopes
were centred. The Swan.
The final side-piece which accompanies the
Zodiacal Aquarius accords precisely with this
presentation. It is one of the most interest
ing and beautiful of the constellations, both in
its natural peculiarities and in its evangelic
references. It consists of eighty-one stars —
one of the first or second magnitude, six of
the third, and twelve of the fourth ; and some
of these never set. It embraces at least five
double stars and one quadruple. The binary
star (61 Cygni) is the mostremarkable'known
in the heavens. It is one of the nearest to our
system of the fixed stars. It consists of two
connected stars, which, besides their revolution
about each other, have a common progres
sive and uniform motion toward some deter
minate region, and moving thousands of
times faster than the swiftest body known to

204 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS. *
our system. This constellation has a number
of distinct systems in itself, and shows plan
etary nebulae which have led astronomers to
regard it as the intermediate link between
the planetary worlds and the nebulous stars.
It has in it specimens of both, and lies in the
midst of the great Galactic Stream of nebu
lous stars. It is therefore remarkably suited
to represent that peculiar and complex econ
omy — partly celestial and partly terrestrial,
partly acting by itself and partly dependent
on the heavenly powers — by which grace and
salvation are carried and ministered to the
children of men.
The figure in this constellation is the figure
of a swan, the lordly bird-king of the waters,
in all ages and in all refined countries con
sidered the emblem of poetic dignity, purity,
and grace. By the Greeks and Romans it
was held sacred to the god of beauty and the
Muses, and special sweetness was connected
with its death. ^Eschylus sung,
" The swan,
Expiring, dies in melody."
As the white dove is the emblem of the
Holy Ghost, so the elegant, pure, and grace
ful swan is a fitting emblem of Him who, dy-

THE SWAN. 205
ing, sends forth the glad river of living waters,
and presides in His majesty over the admin
istration of them to the thirsty children of
men. And this is here the underlying idea.
But this swan is on the wing, in the act of
rapid flight, " circling and returning," as its
name in Greek and Latin signifies. It seems
to be flying down the Milky Way, in the same
general directiori with the river which pours
from the heavenly urn. The principal stars
which mark its wings and length of body
form a large and beautiful cross, the most
regular of all the crosses formed by the con
stellations. It is thus the bird of matchless
beauty, purity, dignity, and grace, bearing
aloft the cross, and circling with it over the
blessed waters of life; whilst in the naming
of its stars, the brightest is Deneb, the Lord or
Judge to come ; Azel, who goes and returns ;
Fafage, glorious, shining forth ; Sadr, who re
turns as in a circle ; Adige, flying swiftly ;
Arided, He shall come down ; and other words
of like import, we find strong identifications
of this lordly bird-king of the waters with Him
who, through the preaching of His cross hither
and thither over all this nether world, cries
and says, " If any man thirst, let him come unto
Me, and drink!'
18

206 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
Greek and Roman mythology is greatly at
a loss to account for the presence of this bird
in the sky ; but the stories on the subject are
not destitute of thought and suggestion cor
responding with the evangelic truth. The
Greeks enumerated a collection of characters
of different parentages and histories, each re
puted to have been the original of t this swan
in the heavens. One was the son of Apollo,
a handsome hunter, who in some strange fit
leaped into Lake Canope, and was metamor
phosed into this swan. Another was the son
of Poseidon, an ally of the Trojans, who could
not be hurt with arms of iron, but was stran
gled by Achilles — whose body, when the victor
meant to rifle it, suddenly took its departure
to heaven in the form of a swan. A third was
the son of Ares, killed by Herakles in a duel,
who at his death was changed by his father
into a swan. A fourth was the son of Sthene-
lus and a dear friend and relative of Phaeton,
.who so lamented the fate of him whom Jupiter
destroyed for his bad driving of the chariot
of the sun that Apollo metamorphosed him
into a swan and placed him among the stars.
Some dim embodiments of the true prophetic
delineations of this swan, and of that history
of the Redeemer through which He came to

A BEAUTIFUL PICTURE. 207
the position and relations in which this pic
ture received fulfilment, appear in the several
myths. Christ was of divine birth and nature.
He was in himself invincible. He did submit
to death in heroic conflict with the powers of
darkness and the just penalties due the sins
of the world. It was His great love for those
to whom He became a Brother that brought
him down to the dark river. His body did
take life again after death, and disappear into
a new form of brightness and glory to assume
position in the heavens. In these several par
ticulars the myths touching this constellation
are in remarkable accord with the Gospel his
tory, and help to reflect how minute and clear
and vivid were the believing anticipations of
the makers of these signs already in the very
first ages of our race.
A Beautiful Picture.
Thus, then, in the Zodiacal Aquarius we
have the picture in the stars of the heavenly
waters of life and salvation ; of their source
in the beautiful Seed of the woman, slain in
deed, but risen again and lifted up in ever
lasting glory; of the voluminous plenteous-
ness in which they flow .down into all our dry
and thirsty world ; of the new creation and

208 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
joyous life they bring to those who drink
them ; of the swift heralding and bearing of
the glad provision to all people ; and of the
graceful holding forth of the cross to the na
tions over which, on outspread wings, the
Lord of these waters circles, in His meek
loveliness ever calling, "If any man thirst, let
him come unto Me, and drink!'
Beautiful picture of most precious Gospel
truths ! — a picture which I can interpret no
otherwise than as intended by men fully in
formed beforehand of these glorious facts.
And if, perchance, these constellations were
not meant in token, testimony, and prophecy
of what was foreknown, believed, and expect
ed by the primeval patriarchs- who arranged
them, the picture is still true to what has since
come to pass, and which it is part of our holy
religion to accept and rejoice in as the great
mercy of God to a fallen world. Christ Jesus
is the beautiful Saviour of mankind, Son of
God and Son of man. He did come in the
flesh and live a human life in which humanity
came to its loveliest and highest bloom. He
did suffer and die a violent death from offend
ed justice on account of sin which He assumed,
but in no degree chargeable to Him. He did
rise again from death by the power of the

A BEAUTIFUL PICTURE. 209
eternal Spirit, changed, transfigured, and glo
rified, and soar away beyond all reach of en
emies, even to the calm heavens, where no
revolutions of time can any more obscure His
brightness or eclipse the outshining of His
glory. He is there 'as the Lord of life and
grace, obtaining by His meritorious interces
sion an exhaustless fulness of spiritual treas
ures, like very rivers of renewing and sancti
fying mercies, which He has poured, and is
ever pouring, down into our world for the
comfort, cheer, and salvation of those who be
lieve in Him. He has arranged, and himself
conducts and energizes, a great system of
means for carrying and proclaiming the same
all over the world amid songs of halleluia and
rejoicing which can never die. Deep in it all
He has embedded the great doctrine of His
Cross and Passion as the central thought an.d
brightest substance of the sublime and won
derful economy. And in and amid it all faith
beholds Him in His lordly beauty stationed
by the true Pierian spring, ever crying and'
ever calling, " If any man thirst, lethim come
unto Me, and drink."
" Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to
the waters ; and he that hath no money, come
ye, -buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and
18* 0

2IO THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
milk without money and without price ;" "And
the Spirit and the Bride say, Come. And let
him that heareth say, Come. And let him
that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let
him take the water of life freely." Blessed
tidings ! blessed provision ! blessed opportu
nity ! O man ! awake to the glory and drink ;
drink deep, drink earnestly, drink with all the
capacity of thy soul ; for thy Lord and Re
deemer saith, "Whosoever drinketh of the
water that I shall give him shall never thirst ;
but the water that I shall give him shall be in
him a well of water springing up into ever
lasting life."
" The Fountain flows ! It pours in fullest measure
Of grace and power — a great and plenteous flood !
Drink — drink, O man ! Drink in the crystal treasure,
Nor thirst, nor die, but live the life of God."

^Lecture flintf).
THE MYSTIC FISHES.
John 21 : 6 : " And He said unto them, Cast the net on the right
side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now
they were riot able to draw it for the multitude of fishes."
OUR blessed Saviour taught by acts, as
well as words. He gave out parables
-in deeds, as well as in stories and descriptions.
All His works of wonder were living allego
ries — pictures and prophecies incarnated in
visible and tangible facts. This- is particu
larly true of the miracle to which the text
refers. It was a supernatural thing, to prove
the divine power of Him by whom it was
wrought ; but its chief significance lies in its
symbolic character as an illustration of that,
catching of men by the preaching of the
Gospel to which the Apostles were called
and ordained. Apostolic Fishing.
At the beginning of his ministry, seeing
Peter and Andrew casting a net into the sea,
211

212 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
He said unto them, " Follow me, and I will
make you fishers of men ;" that is, ministers
of the Word, who by the holding forth of the
truth were to cast the great evangelic net
into the sea of the world, and enclose people
as Christian believers and members of the
Church. So He also said, " The kingdom of
heaven is like unto a net that was cast into
the sea, and gathered of every kind, which,
when it was full, they drew to shdre, and sat
down, and gathered the good into vessels, but
cast the bad away." So, likewise, when He
commanded Peter to launch out into the deep
and let down the nets for a draught, which re
sulted in taking such a multitude of fishes that
the nets brake in the drawing, and two boats
were loaded down to the sinking point with
the product, He meant to show the disciples
not only His divine power, but a picture of
that mystic fishing on which he was about to
send them, and which was to be the work of
His ministers in all the ages. And the mir
acle before us is a corresponding picture of
the same thing — with this difference, that the
other instances refer to the Church nominal
and visible as it appears to human view, em
bracing both good. and bad, to be assorted in
the day of judgment; whilst the reference

APOSTOLIC FISHING. 213
here is to the inward, true, invisible Church —
the Church as it appears to the eye of God —
which includes none but the good, the genu
ine children of grace and salvation, the def
inite number of real saints.
It is thus abundantly established and clear
that in the symbology of the Scriptures and
the teachings of Christ the congregation of
those who profess to believe in Him — that is,
the Church— is likened to fishes enclosed in
the fisherman's net. The world is likened to
a sea, in which natural men range without
control, following their own likes and impulses,
and belonging to no one. So the Gospel is
likened to a net, which the ministering ser
vants of the Lord spread in the waters in
order to enclose and gather men — not to de
stroy them, but to secure them for Christ,
that they may be held by His word and grace
and be His peculiar possession. And when
they are thus secured and brought within the
enclosure of the influences and laws of the
Gospel as Christ's professed followers, and
formed into His congregation, they are His
mystic fishes, caught by His command and
direction and made His peculiar property.
The aptness of the figure no one can dis
pute, and the scrip turalness of the imagery

214 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
is fixed and settled beyond all possibility of
mistake. Christ himself makes fishes the
symbol of His Church.
But as is the picture in the Scriptures, so
we find in the figures of the constellations.
The new life that rises out of the death of
the sacrificial goat is in the form of a large
and vigorous fish. Those who, come to the
heave"rily Waterman to drink in the stream
of living influences which he pours down from
on high are represented by a great fish. And
as "the Church is the most important institute,
result, and embodiment of the redemptive
work and achievements of the Seed of the
woman, so we have one of the twelve signs
of the Zodiac specially and exclusively de
voted to it ; and that sign is the sign of the
Fishes, which we are now to consider.
The Sign of Pisces.
This constellation is now the first in the
order of the twelve signs of the Zodiac ; but
in the original order, which I have been fol
lowing, it is the seventh. The figure by which
it is represented consists of two large fishes,
one. headed toward the north pole, and the
other parallel with the path of the Sun. They
are some distance apart, but are tied to the

THE MYTHS. 215
two ends of a long, undulating band or rib
bon, which is held by the foot of the Ram in
the next succeeding sign. -
The names of this sign in Hebrew and
Arabic, as in the Greek and Latin, mean the
same as in English — the Fishes. In Syriac it
is called Nuno, the Fish prolonged, the fish with
the idea of posterity or successive generations.
In Coptic its name is Pi-cot Orion, the Fish,
congregation, or company of the coming Prince.
Two prominent names in the sign are Okda,
the United, and Al Samaca, the Upheld. • And
all the indications connected with Pisces tend
to the conclusion that in these two great fishes
we are to see and read precisely what was
symbolized by Christ in the miracle to which
the text refers ; namely, a pictorial represen
tation of the Church. The Myths.
The origin of this sign, as mythology gives
it, is not at variance with this idea. It is said
that Venus and Cupid were one day on the
banks of the Euphrates, and were there sur
prised by the apparition of the giant monster
Typhon. To save themselves they plunged
into the river, and escaped by being changed
into fishes — saved by transformation through

2l6 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
water. To commemorate the occurrence it
is said that Minerva placed these two fishes
among the stars.
We have already noted some symbolic con
nection between the mythic Venus and the
Church. The ancient Phoenicians, according
to Nigidius, asserted that she was hatched
from an egg by a heavenly dove. Cupid, or
the ancient Eros, was held to be the first-born
of the creation, one of the causes in the for
mation of the world, the uniting love-power
which brought order and harmony to the con
flicting elements of Chaos. The later fables of
Cupid are remote inventions out of the orig
inal cosmic Eros, the ideas concerning whom
well agree with the sign, and readily interpret
in their application to Christ and the Church.
Christ was " the first-born of every creature "
(Col. i : 15), and is the Head of "the general
assembly and Church of the first-born," who,
through His uniting love, combines the chaotic
elements of humanity into order and union
with himself, bringing into being the mystic
woman, "born of water and of the Spirit,"
which is part of His own mystic organism,
His body. By that means also those who
compose the Church escape the hundred-
headed enemy of God and all good. And in

TWOFOLDNESS OF THE CHURCH. 21 7
so far as this sign of the Fishes was divinely
framed and placed in the heavens to com
memorate this transformation and deliverance
by water, it is nothing more nor less than a
divine symbol of the Church — the imperson
ation of escape from horrible confusion and
destruction, as also of that new-creating love
of God, the mother of all holy order and
salvation. Twofoldness of the Church.
These Fishes are two in number. The gen
eral idea thus expressed is the idea of multi
tude, which is characteristic of all the sacred
promises relating to the success of the Mes
sianic work among men. The Church, in
comparison with the great unsanctified world
around it, is always a " little flock " — a special
elect called out from among the great body
of mankind outside of itself — just as the fishes
enclosed in a net are but a small portion of
the myriads that are in the sea. But, in itself
considered, multitudinousness is always one
of its characteristics. To Abraham it was
figured as the stars of the sky and as the
sand on the seashore for multitude. To Eze-
kiel the sacred waters embraced " a very great
multitude of fish." Every symbolic casting
19

2l8 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
of the net at Christ's command took a great
multitude of fishes. The very name carries
in it the idea of multitude, and the duplication
of the symbol gives the still further idea of
outspread multiplication — a glorious company
of Apostles, a goodly fellowship of Prophets,
a noble army of Martyrs, a holy Church
throughout all the world.
But, beyond this, the Church, in historical
fact and development, is twofold. There was
a Church before Christ, and there is a Church
since Christ; and whilst these two make up
the one universal Church, they are still quite
distinct in character. The patriarchal Church,
which ¦ was more definitely organized under
the institutes given by Moses, was one. It is
a singular fact that the ancient rabbis always
considered the people of Israel as denoted by
this sign. The Sethites and Shemites, and all
adherents to the true God and His promises
and worship, were by both themselves and
the heathen astronomically associated with
these Fishes. They are certainly one set of
the great Saviour's fishes. The Christian
Church, organized under the institutes of
Jesus Christ, was the other of these Fishes.
Though in some sense the same old Church
reformed, it was still in many respects quite

TWOFOLDNESS OF THE CHURCH. 219
another — so much so that it became apostasy
to turn from it to "the beggarly elements"
of the former dispensation. Here, then, are
the two great branches or departments of the
one great universal Church of the promised
Seed of the woman. To the one His coming
was future, and so it dealt in types, shadows,
symbols, and figures of the true. To the other
the ancient anticipations have passed into ac
tual fact, and exist as living realities, already
far on the way toward the final consummation.
The faith of both is the same, and the spiritual
life of both is the same. Hence both are mys
tic Fishes. But the stage of development, the
historical place arid condition, and the entire
external economy, are different, as type and
antitype are different, though in interior sub
stance one and the same. The Fish in its
multitudinousness symbolizes both. The old
Church was the Fish arising out of the slain
sacrifice believed in in advance, and signified
in the old ordinances ; and the new Church,
organized under Christ, is the Fish arising
afresh out of the same, which has now become
an accomplished and existing reality. Hence
the whole thing was fore-signified in the stars
under the image of two Fishes, which are in
deed two under one method of conception, and

220 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
yet one and the same in another method of
conception. It is the one Fish in both, yet two
Fishes in historic presentation and external
dispensation. The Band.
The Decans of this sign serve to bring
out this idea with great clearness. The first
Decan is a very long waving Ribbon or Band.
The ancient name of it is Al Risha, the Band
or bridle. It is one, continuous, unbroken
piece, and so doubled that one of its ends
goes out to the northern Fish, and is tightly
bound around its tail ; whilst the other end
goes out to the other Fish, and is fastened to
it in the same way. By this Band these two
Fishes are inseparably tied together, so that
the one cannot get on without the other.
And so the fact is. "The patriarchal Church
is really tied to the Christian Church. The
Epistle to the Hebrews tells us that the an
cient saints, from Adam onward, could not
be made perfect without us (chap. 1 1 : 40)*
The consummation of all they hoped for was
inevitably tied up with what was to be subse
quently achieved by Christ, much of which is
still a matter of promise and hope. And so
the Christian Church is really tied to the pa-

THE BAND. 221
triarchal Church. All the necessary prepara
tions and foundations for Christianity were
vouchsafed through the Old Testament.
What was then testified, believed, and looked
for we must needs also accept, believe, and
take in. The Christian does not stand just
where the ancient believer stood, but the old
was the bridge by which the new was reach
ed. Christ came not to destroy the law and
the prophets, but to fulfil them, and to com
plete what they looked to and anticipated.
There could be no Christian Church without
the patriarchal going before it, just as there
could be no patriarchal Church without the
Christian coming after it to complete and ful
fil what the old was meant to prepare for.
And here is the Band of connection unalter
ably binding them together in a unity which
still is dual.
The doubled part of this Band, strange to
say, is in the hand or front foot of the sym
bolic figure in the next succeeding sign ; that
is, in the hand of Aries, the Ram or Lamb.
The point of unity between these two Fishes
is therefore in Christ and His administrations,
by which both are equally affected and up
held. Both belong to Christ in the attitude
of the reigning and victorious Lamb. He up-
19*

222 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
holds, guides, and governs them by one and
the same Band. These Fishes thus have-their
places and status by His appointment and au
thority. They are caught - Fishes, no longer
roaming at large according to their own will.
They are bound together in the hand of the
glorious Lamb. They are His, and are up
held, governed, and made to fulfil their offices
and mission by His^power, will, and grace.
And this is precisely the relation and condi
tion of the Church in all dispensations. Like
the net of Peter, which held, controlled, and
lifted the literal fishes enclosed by it, so this
Band holds, controls, and lifts the mystic Fishes
which constitute the Church. It is the tie of
connection between all saints, and at the same
time the tie. of connection between them and
the glorified Saviour, by whose word they
have been taken and made His precious pos
session. "Without Me ye can do nothing,"
was His word when on earth ; and ever of
old His promise has been: "Thou whom I
have taken from the ends of the earth, and-
called from the chief men thereof, and said
unto thee, Thou art my servant ; fear not,
for I am with thee ; be not dismayed, for I am
thy God ; I will strengthen thee ; yea, I will
help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the

CEP HE US. 223
right hand of my righteousness!' And here
is the same word pictorially expressed.
Cepheus.
Who the friend and protector of these
Fishes is, the second accompanying side-piece
also very sublimely shows. Here is the fig
ure of a glorious king, wearing his royal robe,
bearing aloft a branch or sceptre, and having
on his head a crown of stars. He is calmly
seated in the repose of power, with one foot
ori the solstitial colure, and the other on the
pole-star itself, whilst his right hand grasps
the Ribbons. Bearing with us what the
Scriptures tell of the present exaltation and
glory of Jesus Christ, we here behold every
particular so completely and thrillingly em
braced that the picture stands self-interpreted.
It so vividly portrays our enthroned Saviour,
and fits so sublimely to Him, and to Him only,
that no special prompting is necessary to en
able us to see Him in it And if we need fur
ther assurance on the subject, we find it in the
accompanying star-names.
On the right shoulder of this figure, in
glittering brilliancy, shines a star whose name,
ALDeramin, means the Quickly ^returning. In
the girdle shines another, equally conspicuous,

224 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
whose name, Al Phirk, means the Redeemer.
In the left knee is still another, whose name
means the Shepherd. The Egyptians called
this royal figure Pe-ku-hor, the Ruler that com-
eth. His more common designation is Ce-
pheus, which means the royal Branch, the
King. Everything thus combines to identify
this figure as intended to represent our Sa
viour as now enthroned in glory, even the
Seed of the woman, clothed with celestial
royalty and dominion.
In the Zodiac of Dendera the figure in this
constellation is a large front leg of an animal
connected with a small figure of a sheep, in
the same posture as Aries in the next sign.
It is the strong hand of the Lamb, and so the
same which holds the Band of the Fishes.
It identifies what is otherwise represented as
a glorious king with the upholder of the
Fishes, and makes Cepheus one and the same
with the victorious Lamb.
Christ has been really invested with all
royal rights' and dominion. It was predicted
of Him from of old, " He shall bear the glory,
and shall sit and rule upon His throne" (Zech.
6 : 13). And so the testimony of the Apostles
is that, having been made a little lower than
the angels for the suffering of death, and hav-

- ANDROMEDA. 225
ing humbled himself to the cross for our re
demption, God hath highly exalted Him, and
set Him. on His own right hand in the heav
ens, far above all principality, and power, and
might, and dominion, and every name that is
named, not only in this world, but also in that
which is to come, and hath put all things un
der His feet, and gave Him to be Head over
all things to the Church, which is His body,
the fulness of Him that filleth all in all (Eph.
1 : 19-23). Hence also it is said to all be
lievers, " Ye are complete in Him, which is
the Head of all principality and power" (Col.
2 : 10). With a high hand and an outstretched
arm He sitteth in royal majesty to help, up
hold, and deliver His Church ; " and of the
increase of His government and peace there
shall be no end." Andromeda.
A still further representation of the Church
is supplied in the third Decan of this sign.
This is the picture of a beautiful woman, with
fetters upon her wrists and ankles, and fas
tened down so as to be unable to rise. This
woman in the Decan is the same as the Fishes
in the sign. The change of the image argues
no change in the subject.- The Church is oft-

226 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
en a woman, and oftener than it is a net full
of fishes ; but it is both — sometimes the one,
and sometimes the other — in the representa
tions of the Scriptures. Besides, in some of
the ancient planispheres these Fishes were
pictured with the heads of women, thus iden
tifying them with the woman.
Greek mythology calls this woman Andro
meda {andro-medo), man- ruler, but with what
idea, or for what reason, does not appear in
the myths. The name is perhaps derived
from some ancient designation of similar sig
nificance, which has no meaning in the Greek
fables, but which covers a most important and
inspiring biblical representation respecting the
Church. Here we discover the true Andro
meda — the mystic woman called and appointed
to rule and guardianship over men. When
Peter wished to know what he and his fellow-
disciples should have by way of compensa
tion for having forsaken everything for Christ',
the blessed Master said : " Ye which have fol
lowed Me, in the regeneration, when the Son
of man shall sit in the throne of His glory,
ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging
the twelve tribes of Israel" (Matt. 19:28).
Hence Paul spoke to the Corinthians as of a
well-understood fact, " Do ye not know that

ANDROMEDA. 227
the saints shall judge the world ?" (i Cor. 6:2).
Hence the enraptured John ascribes everlast
ing glory and dominion to the divine Christ,
not only for washing us from our sins in His
own blood, but that He " hath made us kings
and priests unto God" (Rev. 1 : 5, 6). The
true people of God, the real Church, are the
elect kings of the future ages. Even now
already they are embodiments and bearers
of the heavenly kingdom and dominion upon
earth. Through them the word goes forth
for the governing of men, and the regulation
of their hearts and lives, and the bringing of
them under a new spiritual dominion, so that
none ever come to forgiveness and glory ex
cept as they come into submission to the truth
and the teachings of the Church. The great
All-Ruler has so united the Church to him
self, and so embodied himself in it, that by it?
word, testimonies, and ordinances He rules,
¦ governs, tutors, and guards men, and brings
them under His saving dominion. The Proph
ets, Apostles, Confessors, Pastors, and Teach
ers which He has raised up in the Church,
with those associated with them in the fellow
ship of the same faith and work, are the true
kings and guardians of men, who have been
ruling from their spiritual thrones for all these

228 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
ages, and will continue to rule more and
more for ever as the spiritual and eternal
kingdom is more and more revealed and en
forced. Most significantly, therefore, may
the Church be called Andromeda; and the
fact that the mystic woman in this constella
tion is so called, with no other known reason
for it, goes far to identify her as verily in
tended to be a prophetic picture of the Church,
which she truly represents beyond anything
else that has ever been in fable or in fact.
Andromeda's Chains.
But this woman is in chains, bound hand
and foot. The names in the sign mean the
Broken-down, the Weak, the Afflicted, the
Chained. The fables say that she was the
daughter of Cepheus and Cassiopeia, prom
ised to her uncle Phineus in marriage, when"
Neptune sent a flood and a sea-monster to
ravage the country in answer to the resentful '
clamors of his favorite nymphs against Cas
siopeia, because she boasted herself fairer
than Juno and the Nereides. Nor would the
incensed god be pacified until, at the instance
of Jupiter Ammon, the beautiful Andromeda
was exposed to the sea-monster, chained to a
rock near Joppa in Palestine, and left to be

ANDROMEDA'S CHAINS. 229
devoured. But Perseus, on returning from
the conquest of the Gorgons, rescued her
and made her his bride.
Here, then, was a case of malignant jeal
ousy and persecution resulting in the disa
bility, exposure, and intended destruction of
an innocent person. And thus, again, we
have a striking picture of the unfavorable
side of the Church's condition in this world.
Jealous rivals hate her and clamor against
her. The world-powers in their selfishness
fail to protect her, and lerid themselves for
her exposure and destruction. Innocently
she is made to suffer. Though a lovely and
influential princess, she is hindered by per
sonal disabilities and bonds. It will not be
so always. The time will come when those
borids shall be broken and that exposure
ended. There is One engaged in a war with
the powers of darkness and the children of
hell who will presently come this way to res
cue and deliver the fair maiden and to make
her His glorious bride. But for the present
affliction and hardship are appointed to her..
She cannot move as she would, or enjoy what
pertainsto her royal character, her innocence,
and her beauty. She is bound to the hard,
cold, and ponderous rock of this earthly life.
20

23O THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
Born to reign with her redeeming Lord, Apos
tles can only wish that she did reign, that
they might reign with her. She is within the
sacred territory, but it is as yet a place of
captivity and bonds. She never can be truly
herself in this mortal life. Nor is she com
pletely free from the oppressive Phineus un
til the victorious Perseus comes. The whole
picture is true to the life, and shows with what
profound prophetic foresight and knowledge
the makers of these signs were endowed.
Ill-Favor of the Church.
Among the ancients the Zodiacal Pisces
was considered the most unfavorable of all
the signs. The astrological calendars de
scribe- its influences as malignant, arid inter
pret its emblems as indicative of violence and
death. The Syrians and the Egyptians large
ly abstained from the eating of fish, from the
dread and abhorrence which they associated
with the Fishes in the Zodiac. In the hiero
glyphics of Egypt the fish is the symbol of
.odiousness, dislike, and hatred. And this,
too, falls in exactly with our interpretation.
The earthly condition and fortunes of the
Church are nothing but unfavorable and re
pulsive to the tastes and likes of carnal and

ILL-FAVOR OF THE CHURCH. 23 1
self-seeking man. The restraints and disabil
ities which go along with it are what the world
hates, derides, and rebels against. These
Bands that bind the Fishes together, and hold
them with bridles of heavenly command and
control, and enclose them with meshes be
yond which they cannot pass, are what un-
sanctified humanity disdains as humiliation
and reckons as adversity to the proper joy
and good of life. Though people can sus
tain no charges against the Church, and can
not deny her princely beauty, yet to take
•sides with her is to them nothing but flood,
drowning, and devastation to what they most
cherish and admire. Let her be chained, dis
abled, exposed and devoured, if need be, only
so that they are exempt from association with
her ! Let her suffer, and let her be given to
death and destruction, the more and the soon
er the better if they only can thereby have
the greater freedom for their likes, passions,
and enjoyments uncurbed and unrestrained !
This is the feeling and this the spirit which
have obtained toward the Church in all the
ages. And the dislike of men to this sign is
but the filling out of the picture in the stars
as I have been expounding it. It is another
link in the chain of evidence that we have

232 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
here a divine symbol of the Church in its
earthly estate and career. The coincidences,
to say the least, are very marvellous. To say
that the Church has been formed from and to
the signs, as French infidelity would have it,
is in the highest degree absurd. The Church
has not accepted humiliation, disability, con
tempt, hatred, and oppression from the world
just to conform herself to the indications con
nected with Pisces; and yet her condition to
day, as in all other time, is precisely that which
this sign represents, and has been represent
ing on the face of the sky for all these four or
five thousand years. The sign has in no sense
or degree conditioned the Church, and yet it
truly represents the estate of the Church in
all generations. To what other conclusion,
then, can we come than that the sign in its
place, and the whole system of signs of which
it forms a conspicuous part, is from that good
and infallible prescience which knows the
course and end of all things from the begin
ning ? Let those doubt it who will ; for my
own part, I have no doubt upon the subject.

Eecture Centi).
THE BLESSED OUTCOME.
Rev. 5:12: " Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power,
and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and
blessing." THIS is the myriad-voiced response of
the heavenly world to the triumphant
song of the redeemed after the Church has
run its earthly course. It immediately follows
that time, now near at hand, when the great
voice from the sky, as of a trumpet, shall say,
to all the holy dead and to all God's saints,
" Come up hither." The whole scene rep
resents that heavenly condition of the elect
to be realized at the fulfilment of the apos
tolic -word, which says, "The Lord himself
shall descend from heaven with a shout, with
the voice of the archangel, and with the trump
of God : and the dead in Christ shall rise first :
then we which are alive and remain shall be
caught up together with them in the clouds,
to meet the Lord in the air" (1 Thess. 4:16,
17). It is the same scene to which Jesus
20 * - 233

234 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
himself referred when He said: "Whereso
ever the body is, thither will the eagles . be
gathered together" (Luke 17 : 2>7)- And it
is precisely this scene that is signified by the
eighth sign of the Zodiac — -the last of the
quaternary relating more especially to the
Church. The text celebrates the worthiness, glory,
and dominion of the Lamb, who is further de
scribed as appearing to have been slain, but
here as standing in the midst of the throne,
having the perfection of strength and wisdom,
and the fulness of spiritual and divine energy
operative in the world for the complete sal
vation of His people ; for this is what is
meant by the "seven horns and seven eyes' —
the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all
the earth." And in the sign of Aries we
have this same Lamb, or Prince of the flock,
the Son of man as the Head, Sacrifice, and
High Priest of the Church, lifted up upon the
path of the Sun, looking forth in the repose
of power, and working that very translation
and glorification of His people which the
Scriptures everywhere set before us as the
blessed hope of all saints.
To this interesting presentation, then, let
us now direct our attention.

the sign of aries. 235
• The Sign of 'Aries.
The figure here is that of a vigorous Ram.
It is called Aries, the Chief, the Head ; as Ar
yan means the Lordly. So Christ is the Chief,
the Head and Lord of His Church. The
English name, Ram, means high, great, ele
vated, lifted up. In Syriac the name is Amroo,
the Lamb, the same as John i : 29, where it is
said, " Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh
away the sin of the world ;" also the Branch,
the Palm-branch, recognized by the Jews as
denotive of Christ's royal coming to His
Church. The Arabic calls this figure Al
Hamal, the Sheep, the Gentle, the Merciful.
The principal stars included in this figure are
called El Nath or El Natik, and Al Sharetan,
which mean the Wounded, the Bruised, the
Slain. Over the head of the figure is a tri
angle, which the old Greeks said exhibited
the name of the Deity, and its principal star
bears a name signifying the Head, the Up
lifted, hence the Lamb exalted to the divine
glory, to the throne of the all-holy One.
It is unreasonable to suppose that all this
could have happened by mere accident. There
was manifestly some intelligent design by
which the whole was arranged. And the

236 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
entire presentation is in thorough accord with
what the Scriptures say concerning the Seed
of the woman. As the Son of man He is
continually represented as the Head and
Prince of the flock, the Lamb — "the Lamb
that was slain" — the Lamb lifted to divine
dominion and glory. In His pure, meek, and
sacrificial character the Scriptures style Christ
"the Lamb of God, which taketh away the
sin of the world." In His exaltation He is
represented as " the Lamb in the midst of the
throne." In the administrations of judgment
upon the wicked world He is contemplated
as the Lamb, whose wrath is unbearable. As
the Bridegroom and Husband of the Church
He is also the Lamb, to whose marriage-
supper the Gospel calls us. As the Keeper
of the Book of life in which the names of the
saints are written, the Lifter of the title-deed
of our inheritance, and the Breaker of the
seals by which the earth is purged of usurpers
and the mystery of God completed, He is
presented as "the Lamb." As the conso-
ciate of the eternal Father in the joy and
sovereignty of the world to come, in which
the saints glory for ever and ever, He is still
referred to as " the Lamb," by whose blood
they overcome and in whose light they live

THE MYTHIC STORIES. 2tf
world without end. And in whatever attitude
He appears, back of all He is still the Lamb.
The Mythic Stories.
The mythic stories concerning Aries still
further identify him with the Lamb of the text.
This noble and mysterious animal was given
by Nephele to her two children, Phrixus and
Helle, when Ino, their mortal stepmother, was
about to have them sacrificed to Jupiter. It
was by seating themselves on its back arid
clinging to its fleece that they were to make
their escape. Nephele means the Cloud. She
is reputed the queen of Thebes ; and Thebes
was the house, city, or congregation of God.
We thus have the cloud over God's house, or
congregation, precisely as the Scriptures tell
of the cloud of God's gracious manifestations
to His ancient people — in their deliverance
from Egypt, in their journeyings in the wil
derness, and in their worship in the taber
nacle and the temple. God visibly dealt with
them as their merciful Guide, Instructor, Pro
tector, and Ruler ; and His gracious presence
was almost uniformly manifested in the form
of the cloud. Also in Job's time "thick
clouds " were His covering. It was by these
cloud-manifestations that He called and form-

238 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
ed the congregation of His people, assembled
them around Him, and kept them in commu
nion with himself as His Church or city.
The two children of the cloud are therefore
the same with the two Fishes in the preceding
sign ; that is, the multitudinous twofold Church,
which is born of these merciful divine manifes
tations. These children were all under, sen
tence of death. So the Church, consisting o(
men who had fallen under the power of in
coming sin, was in danger of being sacrificed.
From such a fate believers are delivered by
means of the blest " Lamb of God, which tak
eth away the sin of the world."
This Lamb was furnished to these children
from the same cloud of which they themselves
are born ; and so Christ was begotten by the
power of the Highest coming upon and over
shadowing the Virgin of Nazareth, and upon
himself at His baptism and transfiguration.
The safety of these children of the cloud
rested exclusively in this Lamb, and so the
name of Jesus is the only name given under
heaven among men whereby we can be saved.
Both of them in fact were safe, and carried far
aloft from Ino's reach and power, so long as
they both continued firmly seated on this
Lamb; and so the Church is lifted far above

THE MYTHIC STORIES. 239
all condemnation by virtue of its being plant
ed on Jesus Christ as its Help and Redeemer.
Helle, one of these cloud-children, became
giddy in the heavenly elevation to which she
was lifted by this Lamb, lost her hold upon
his back, and fell off into the sea, thereafter
called Hellespont, or Helle's Sea ; and so the
antediluvian Church apostatized and was
drowned in the flood ; as likewise the Israel-
itish Church, becoming giddy in its sublime
elevation, let go its hold on the Lamb by re
jecting Christ, and dropped from its heavenly
position into the sea of the common world.
Phrixus, the more manly part of this mystic
cloud-seed, held, on to the mystic Lamb, and
was brought in safety to Colchis, the citadel of
reconciliation, the city of refuge. So likewise
there has ever been a true people of God re
maining faithful amid the apostasies around
them, who never let go their hold on the
Lamb of God, and are securely borne to the
citadel of peace and salvation.
Nephele's Lamb was sacrificed to Jupiter,
as those who were saved by him would have
been without him ; and so Christ, the true
Aries, was sacrificed for us, and died in our
stead. He is " the Lamb slain from the foun
dation of the world." And it was this Lamb

240 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
of Nephele that yielded the Golden Fleece,
which made him who possessed it the envy
of kings, and which constituted the highest
treasure to be found by the children of men.
And this, again, is a most striking image of
the heavenly robe of Christ's meritorious
righteousness, the sublimest and most en
riching treasure and ornament of the-Church,
which ever sings —
" Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness
My beauty are, my glorious dress ;
'Midst flaming worlds, in these arrayed,
With joy shall I lift up my head."
It is wonderful to see how these traditional
legends of the constellations interpret on the
theory that they have come from prophecies
and sacred beliefs touching the promised Seed
of the woman and the Church which He has
purchased with His blood.
It is also worthy of remark that the Egypt
ians celebrated a sacred feast to the Ram upon
the entrance of the Sun into the sign of Ari.es.
They prepared for it before the full moon next
to the spring equinox, and on the fourteenth
day of that moon -all Egypt was in joy over
the dominion of the Ram. Everybody put
foliage or boughs, or some mark of the feast;
over his door. The people crowned the ram

THE MYTHIC STORIES. 24I
with flowers, carried him with extraordinary
pomp in grand processions, and rejoiced in
him to the utmost. It was then that the horn
was full. The ancient Persians had a similar
festival of Aries. For all this it is hard to
account except in connection with what was
prophetically signified by Aries. But taken
in relation to what the Scriptures foretell of
.the Lamb, in the period when He shall take
to Him His great power for the deliverance
and glorification of His Church, we can easily
see how this would come to be one of the
very gladdest and most exultant of the sacred
feasts. It is when the Lamb thus comes upon
the throne, and appears for the taking up of
the deeds of the inheritance, the gladdest pe
riod in all the history of the Church and peo
ple of God is come. Then it is that the songs
break forth in heaven in tremendous volume
of Worthiness, and Blesssing, and Honor, and
Glory to the Lamb for redeeming men by His
blood, and making them kings and priests
unto God, and certifying unto them that now
they "shall reign on the earth."
And when we turn to the accompanying
Decans of this sign, the very work and do
ings ascribed to the Lamb in this entrance
upon His great power are still more specific-
21 Q

242 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
ally set before us, in which the joy in Him on
the part of His Church and people comes to
.its culmination. The first of these is
Cassiopeia.
This is nothing less than a picture of the
true Church of God lifted up out of all evils,
bonds, and disabilities, and seated with her
glorious Redeemer in heaven-. The figure is
that of a queenly woman, matchless in beauty,
seated in exalted dignity, with her foot on the
Arctic Circle, on which her chair likewise is
set. In one hand she holds aloft the branch
of victory and triumph, and with the other
she is spreading and arranging her hair, as
if preparing herself for some great public
manifestation. Albumazer says this woman
was anciently called " the daughter of splen
dor," hence "the glorified woman." Her
common name is Cassiopeia, the beautiful,
the enthroned ; or, as Pluche derives the
name, the Boundary of Typhon's power, the
Delivered from all evil. The constellation it
self is one of the most beautiful in the heav
ens. " Wide her stars
Dispersed, nor shine with mutual aid improved;
Nor dazzle, brilliant with contiguous flame :
Their number fifty-five."

CASSIOPEIA. 243
Four stars of the third magnitude, which nev
er set, form the seat upon which this woman-
sits. The star on her right side is on the
equinoctial colure, and on a straight line with
Al Pherats in Andromeda's cheek to the north
pole. The constellation embraces a binary
star, a triple star, a double star, a quadruple
star, and an extraordinary number of star-
clusters of similar constituents to the general
field of greater stars.
About three hundred years ago there oc
curred in this constellation what was a great
mystery to astronomers. A star, surpassing
in brilliancy and splendor all the fixed stars,
suddenly appeared on the. tenth of Novem
ber, 1572, and, after shining in continuous
glory for sixteen months, disappeared, and
has never since been seen, just as the Church
disappears in the shadow of death, or is pres
ently to be caught away to the invisible world.
And if there is any one constellation of
the sky, or any figure among these celestial
frescoes, specially fitted to be the symbol and
representative of the Church, particularly in
its enfranchised and glorified condition, it is
this. The names are equally significant. The
first star marking the figure of this woman
is called Shedar, which means the Freed, and

244 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
Ruchbah and Dat al Cursa, signifying the En
throned, the Seated. On her right hand is also
the glorious star-crowned King, holding out
his sceptre toward her, whilst all the accounts
pronounce her his wife, just as the Scriptures
everywhere describe the Church as affianced
to Christ hereafter to be married to Him as
" the bride, the Lamb's wife."
Cassiopeia is universally represented as
the mother of Andromeda ; and so the Apos
tle refers to the heavenly Church as the moth
er of the earthly Church. The Jerusalem
that is above " is the mother of us all." The
whole presentation is that of deliverance and
heavenly triumph, precisely as we speak of
the Church triumphant ; and the ready-mak
ing is for the great marriage ceremonial.
(Compare Rev. 19:7, 8.)
The perfection of this woman's beauty,
fairer than Juno and the envy of all the
nymphs of the sea, likewise answers exactly
to the Scripture descriptions of the Church :
" Thy renown went forth among the heathen
for thy beauty ; for it was perfect through my
comeliness, which I put upon thee, saith the
Lord" (Ezek. 16:14). Christ is to present
it to himself, " a glorious Church, not having
spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, but holy

CETUS. 245
and without blemish" (Eph. 5 : 27). Cassio
peia is an enthroned queen ; and this is also
uniformly the biblical picture of the Church
when once it comes to enter upon its prom
ised glory. John saw thrones, and they sat
upon them, and they reigned with Christ.
And it was further said that so " they shall
reign for ever and ever." The Church is
"the queen in gold of Ophir" of which the
Psalmist (45 : 9) so enthusiastically sung.
Cetus.
But when the time comes for- the Church to
enter upon her royal exaltation and authority,
another very important and marked event is
to occur. John beheld it in apocalyptic vision,
and writes : " I saw an angel come down from
heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit
and a great chain in his hand. And he laid
hold on the Dragon, that old Serpent, which
is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a
thousand years, and cast him into the bottom
less pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon
him, that he should deceive the nations no
more, till the thousand years are fulfilled ; and
after that he must be loosed a little season "
(Rev. 20: 1-3). And this is pictorially given
in the second Decan of Aries.
21 *

246 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
The picture is that of a great sea-monster
(Cetus), the true Leviathan of Job and Isaiah,
which covers the largest space of any one
figure in the sky. It is a vast scaly beast,
with enormous head, mouth, and front paws,
and having the body and tail of a whale. It
is generally called " the Whale " on our plani
spheres. It is an animal of the waters and
marshes, and the natural enemy and devourer
of the fishes. It is the same which the sea-
god sent to devour Andromeda, and hence
the particular foe and persecutor of the
Church. It is a downward constellation, bor
dering on the lower regions. One of its cha
racteristic stars, Mira, situated in the neck
of the scaly monster, is the most wonderfully
variable and unsteady in the heavens. From
a star of the second magnitude it dwindles
away so as to become invisible once in abou,t
every three hundred days, and Hevelius af
firms that it once disappeared for the space
of four years. It is a striking symbol of the
arch-Deceiver, and, singularly enough, its name
means the Rebel. And what is specially re
markable in the case is, that the doubled end
of the Band which upholds the Fishes, after
passing the front foot or hand of the Lamb,
is fastened on the neek of this monster, and

CETUS. 247
holds him firmly bound. The name of the
first of the Cetus stars, Menkar, refers to
this ; for Menkar means the chained Enemy.
And so the name of the second star, Diphda,
means the Overthrown, the Thrust-down.
Satan is loose now. Peter writes : " Your
adversary, the Devil, as a roaring lion, walk-
eth about, seeking whom he may devour"
(Pet. 5:8). God speaks of him, and puts the
confounding questions : " Canst thpu draw out
Leviathan with an hook ? or his tongue with
the cord which thou lettest down ? Canst
thou put a hook into his nose? or bore his
jaw through with a thorn ? Will he make
many supplications unto thee ? will he speak
soft words unto thee ? Will he make a cov
enant with thee? wilt thou take him for a
servant for ever ? Wilt thou play with him
as with a bird ? or wilt thou bind him for thy
maidens-? Shall thy companions make a ban
quet of him? shall they part him among the
merchants?" Canst thou fill his skin with
barbed irons? or his head with fish-spears?
Behold, the hope of him is in vain : shall not
one be cast down even at the sight of him ?
None is so fierce that dare stir him up " (Job
41 : 1— ro). But he whom no man can take
or bind, the- Lamb has in His power, and will

248 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
yet lay hold upon, and fasten with a great
chain, from which he cannot break away. By
the same power with which He upholds the
Fishes He restrains the devouring Enemy;
and with that same power He will yet fasten
up the mOnster for final destruction. Of old,
Isaiah prophesied of a day when "the Lord
with His sore and great and strong sword
shall punish Leviathan the piercing Serpent,
even Leviathan that crooked Serpent, and He
shall slay the Dragon that is in the sea " (Isa.
27 : 1). And here we have the same fore-
pictured in the stars, showing how the en
throned Lamb will bind and punish Leviathan,
even as the written word of prophecy de
scribes. The sign in the heavens answers
precisely to the descriptions' in the Book,
proving that one is of the same piece with the
other, and that both are from the same eter
nal Spirit which has moved to show us things
to come. Perseus.
But in still greater vigor and animation is
this whole scene set out in the third accom
panying side-piece to this sign of the enthroned
Lamb. Micah (2 : 12, 13) prophesies of a time
when the flock of God shall be gathered, their

PERSEUS. 249
King pass before them, and the Lord on the
head of them ; and says that this shall be
when "the Breaker is come up before them!'
Whatever may have been in the foreground
of this prediction, it is agreed that " the Break
er " here must needs be Christ, the very Lamb
of our text, breaking the way of His people
through all the doors and gates of their pres
ent imprisonment and disability, and dashing
to pieces all the antagonizing powers which
stand in the way of their full deliverance
and redemption. So the Lamb in the Apoc
alypse is the Breaker of the seals and of apos
tate nations, the same as the Son in the sec
ond Psalm. And this Breaker, in these very
acts, is the precise picture in this constel
lation. Here is the figure of a mighty man, step
ping with one foot on the brightest part of
the Milky Way, wearing a helmet on his head
and wings on his feet, holding aloft a great
sword in his right hand, and carrying away
the blood- dripping head of the Gorgon in his
left. His name in the constellation is Perets,
Graecised Perses or Perseus, the same as in
Micah's prophecy — the Breaker. The name
of the star by his left foot is Atik, He who
breaks. The name of the brightest middle

250 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
star in the -figure is Al Genib, the One who
carries away, and Mirfak, Who helps. And
when Perseus comes to the meridian the most
brilliant portion of the starry heavens opens
out its sublimest magnificence in the eastern
hemisphere. The Myths.
Now, one of the most beloved and admired
of all the hero-gods of mythology was this
Perseus. He was the son of the divine Father,
who came upon Danae in the form of a shower
of gold. No sooner was he born than he and
his mother were put into a chest and cast into
the sea ; but Jupiter so directed that they were
rescued by the fishermen on the coast of one
oT the Cyclades, and carried to the king, who
treated them with great kindness, and entrust
ed to them the care of the temple of the god
dess of wisdom. His rising genius and great
courage made him a favorite of the gods. At
a great feast of the king, at which the nobles
were expected to make some splendid pres
ent to their sovereign, Perseus, who was so
specially indebted to the king's favors, not
wishing to be behind the rest or feebler in
his expressions than were his obligations,
engaged to bring the head of Medusa, the

THE MYTHS. 25 I
only one of the three horrible Gorgons sub
ject to mortality.
These Gorgons were fabled beings, with
bodies grown indissolubly together and cov
ered with impenetrable scales. They had
tusks like boars, yellow wings, and brazen
hands, and were very dangerous. Their
heads were full of serpents in place of hair,
and their very looks had power to turn to
stone any one on whom they fixed their gaze.
To equip Perseus for his expedition Pluto
lent him his helmet, which had the power of
rendering the wearer invisible ; and Minerva
furnished him with her buckler, resplendent
as a polished mirror ; and Mercury gave him
wings for his feet and a diamond sword for
his hand. Thus furnished, he mounted into
the air, .led by the goddess of wisdom, and
came upon the tangled monsters. He,
" In the mirror of his polished shield
Reflected, saw Medusa slumbers take,
And not one serpent by good chance awake ;
Then backward an unerring blow he sped,
And from her body lopped at once her head."
Grasping the same in his left hand, he again
mounted into the air, and
" O'er Lybia's sands his airy journey sped ;
The gory drops distilled as swift he flew,
And from each drop envenomed serpents grew."

252 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
By this victory he was rendered immortal,
and took his place among the stars, ever
holding fast the reeking head of the Gorgon.
It was on his return from this brave deed that
he saw the beautiful Andromeda chained to
the rock, and the terrible monster of the sea
advancing to devour her. On condition that
she should become his wife, he broke her
chains, plunged his sword into the monster
that sought her life, fought off and turned to
stone the tyrant Phineus who sought* to pre
vent the wedding, and made Andromeda his
bride, begetting many worthy sons and daugh
ters, and by varied administrations of mirac
ulous power changing portions of the earth
and its governments and rulers, returning be
times to bless the countries that honored him.
Perseus and Christ.
No natural events in the seasons or in the
history of man could ever serve as a founda
tion for such a story as this. Here is a di
vine-human son, begotten of a golden shower
from the Deity, a child of affliction and perse
cution from his very birth, but predestined by
the heavenly powers to live and triumph. By
his high qualities he is made the keeper and
conservator of the temple of wisdom and sa-

PERSEUS AND CHRIST. 253
cred worship. Out of devotion to his king
he undertakes to destroy the Gorgons as far
as they are destructible. For this he descends
into hell, and brings forth armor from thence.
He is in communion with the divine wisdom,
and thereby is girded in splendor and led un
erringly. He is winged, and given a diamond
sword, as Heaven's messenger and herald to
undo the powers of evil and administer deliv
erance and prosperity. He wounds the dire
Gorgon's in the head, and carries off their
power. He punishes Leviathan with his " sore
and great and strong sword." He breaks
the bonds of Andromeda, and makes her his
bride amid high festival, at which he puts
down all opposition. And thereupon he goes
forth to countries far and near, punishing and
expelling tyrants and usurpers, rooting out
untruth and corrupt worship, and blessing
and rejoicing the city and kingdom of heroes.
All this interprets with wonderful literalness
and brilliancy when understood of the prom
ised Seed of the woman, the Lamb that was
slain, going forward at the head of His people
as the Breaker, bringing death and destruction
to the monsters of evil, setting wronged cap*
tives free, and joining them to himself in glory
everlasting. Nor is there anything else of
22

254 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
which it will interpret or that can adequately
account for the existence of the story.
Medusa's Head.
And that we are so to understand this fig
ure is still further manifest in the facts and
names in the reeking, snake-covered head
grasped by the hero. Medusa means the
Trodden under foot. The name of the prin
cipal star in this head, Al Ghoul, contracted
into Algol, means the Evil Spirit. The
same is also a variable star, like Mira. It-
changes about every three days from a star
of the second magnitude to one of the fourth,
and makes its changes from one to the other
in three and a half hours. Rosh Satan and
Al Oneh are other names of the stars in this
head, which mean Satan's head, the Weaken
ed, the Subdued. And the invincible Subduer
and Breaker is none other than " the Lamb,"
the biblical Peretz, the Persian Bershuash, tak
ing to himself His great power, and enforcing
His saving dominion and authority for the
full redefnption of His people.
The Church's Hope.
With great vividness, beauty, and fulness
does this sign of Aries thus symbolize the

THE CHURCH'S HOPE. 255
blessed outcome of the Church, whose earthly
estate and career were signified in the three
preceding. Out of the sacrificial death and
mediation of the Seed of the woman, the
slain Lamb, the Church obtains its being. By
the unfailing stream of the spiritual waters,
which pour down from heaven as the fruit of
His mediatorial intercession, it is quickened
into life and celestial fellowship. By the
bands of royal power with which He has
been crowned at the right hand of eternal
Majesty it is upheld, directed, and governed
amid this sea of earthly existence, turmoil,
danger, and temptation. Helpless in its own
strength, despised, hated, threatened by the
serpents of Medusa's head, and exposed to
the attacks of the monster lord of this world,
it is still sustained and preserved by the right
hand of Him whose is the dominion. And
the time is coming when He who walks amid
the golden candlesticks and holds in His hand
the seven stars shall lift the title-deed of its
inheritance, and call its members up from this
doomed world to meet Him in the air, whilst
He proceeds to punish and dash in pieces all
enemies, cutting off Medusa's head, putting
Leviathan in bonds, and lifting the chained
Andromeda to Cassiopeia's starry throne.

256 THE GOSPEL IN" THE STARS.
And then it is that all heaven rings with the
song, " Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to
receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and
strength, and honor, and glory, and bless
ing ;" whilst all creation thrills with " Bless
ing, and honor, and glory, and power, unto
Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto
the Lamb for ever and ever."
Dear friends, may I not here turn to ask,
Have you been brought into fellowship and
communion with this Church and congrega
tion of the Lord ? If so, then thank God for
it, and be glad before Him that He has be
stowed upon you so great a favor. Bless
His name for the grace that has led you into
those holy gates, and for the treasures and
dignities of which He has thus made you
heirs. Trials, dangers, and disabilities may
be upon you now, but the Lamb is in the
midst of the- throne to uphold, protect, and
comfort you, and by His blood and interces
sion you are safe. Cling to Him and His
golden fleece,, and no malignity of the De
stroyer shall ever be able to touch a hair of
your head. Wait and pray on in patience
and in hope ; the victorious Perseus comes
for your deliverance and to share with you
His own triumphant immortality.

THE CHURCH'S HOPE. 257
Or does the present moment find you still
lingering without the gates, and far aside
from the assembly and congregation of God's
flock? These starry lights that look down
so lovingly upon you are hung with admoni
tions of your danger, and in diamond utter
ance point you to the better way. " There is
no speech nor language, their voice is not
heard ; but their line is gone out through all
the earth, and their words to the end of the
world," marking out the tabernacle of the
Sun of Righteousness, in which alone there
is covenanted safety and salvation for ex
posed and helpless man. In full harmony
with the written Book night by night they
hold forth their pictorial showings to corrob
orate the testimony of Prophets and Apostles,
that the erring seed of Adam may learn wis
dom, enter the chambers of security, and shut
themselves in to life and glory against the
time when the Breaker shall come. The
light-bearers in the sky join with the light-
bearers in the Church in giving out the one
great testimony of God : " He that believeth
on the Son hath everlasting life ; and he that be
lieveth not the Son shall not see life ; but the
wrath of God abideth on him" (John 3 :'36).
22* R

ILectute <$lebentfj.
THE DAY OF THE LORD.
Ps. 92 : 10 : " My horn shalt Thou exalt like the horn of an uni

corn.

MANY of the Jewish writers and the
Jewish Targum ascribe the author
ship of this psalm to Adam, the first man.
The Jewish ritual appointed it as the special
psalm for the Sabbath day. It celebrates,
first of all, the glories and blessings of crea
tion. It then anticipates a period of great
apostasy, wickedness, and prosperity to the
enemies of Jehovah. But beyond that it
contemplates the speedy and invincible over
throw and destruction of the workers of in
iquity, followed by a glorious Sabbath of
everlasting righteousness and peace. And
in connection with the violent scattering and
perishing of the enemies of the Lord it par
ticularly emphasizes a special and peculiar
exaltation of the power and dominion of the
Messiah, who speaks in the Psalmist, and
says that His " liorn" — His power, His ac-
258

THE UNICORN, OR- REEM. 259
tive dominion — shall be " like the horn of an
unicorn." The Unicorn, or Reem.
It has long been a question what animal
isTneant by the Reem, which is so often re
ferred to in the ancient Scriptures, and which
translators have generally called the unicorn.
But modern research and discovery have
served to clear up the subject in a manner
entirely satisfactory. The reem is not a one-
horned creature, like the rhinoceros, as has
generally been supposed, but a pure animal
of the ox kind, though wild, untamable, fierce,
and terrible. Two passages prove that it
was a great two-horned and mighty creature,
now, so far as known, entirely extinct, but
once common in North-western Asia, As
syria, and Middle Europe. Remains of it
have of late years been discovered in the
north of Palestine, and Caesar, in the account
of his wars, describes it as being hunted in
the Hercynian forest in his day. It was known
as the primeval ox, or wild bull, different alto
gether from the bison or the great antelope,
sometimes taken for it. It was a formidable
animal, "scarcely less than the elephant in
size, but in nature, color, and form a true ox."

26o THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
Its strength and speed were very great, and
it was so fierce that it did not spare man or
beast when it caught sight of them. It was
wholly intractable, and could not be habitu
ated to man, no matter how young it was
taken. This fact is set out in the book of
Job (39:9-12), where it is said: "Will the
reem be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy
crib ? Canst thou bind'the reem with his band
in the furrow ? or will he harrow the valleys
after thee ? Wilt thou trust him because his
strength is great ? or wilt thou leave thy labor
to him ? Wilt thou believe him that he will
bring home thy seed, and gather it into thy
barn?" This animal was particularly distinguished
for its great, outspread, sharp, and irresistible
horns, to which the horns of ordinary oxen
were not to be compared. Hence Caesar
says, when a hunter succeeded in killing one,
pitfalls being the chief means of capture, he
made a public exhibition of the horns as the
trophies of his success, and was the wonder
and praise of all who beheld. Joseph (Deut.
33 : 17), in his superiority of power, isTikened
to the reem, of which his two sons, Ephraim
and Manasseh, were the.two great horns which
were to push the people to the ends of the

THE UNICORN, OR REEM. 26 1
earth. And to this mighty, untamable, and
invincible primeval ox the Messiah compares
himself in connection with the great judg
ment upon the wicked world ; for then His
horn shall be exalted like the horn of a
reem. Toward His Church He is the Lamb,
but toward the unsanctified world He finally
becomes the terrible reem.
But, what is very marvellous, the picture
which the Messiah appropriates to himself so
exultingly in the text is precisely the picture
which is presented in the sign of the Zodiac
which now comes before us — the sign of Tau
rus, the first of -the final quaternary in the
celestial circle.
I have already explained that the twelve
Zodiacal signs are arranged in three sets of
four each, each set having a particular sub
ject of its own in the grand evangelic history.
In the first set we were shown the Seed of
the woman in His own personal character
and offices. In the second set we were
shown the formation, career, and destiny of
the Church. And in the third set, upon which
we now enter, we are shown the great judg
ment-period and the completion of the whole
mystery of God respecting our world and
race.

262 the gospel in the stars.
The Judgment.
I may also remark here that it is a great
mistake to conceive of the judgment-time as
limited to a period of twenty-four hours. It
is called " the day of judgment " only after the
manner in which " the day that the Lord made
the earth and the heavens " is spoken of as a
day. The day of judgment is simply the pe
riod or time of the judgment. The common
notion on the subject, which crowds up every
thing in one grand assize, is wholly at vari-
- ance with the Scriptures, and a source of end:
less troubles to expositors in attempting to
construe the very numerous and very diverse
prophecies which refer to it. It can be clearly
demonstrated, from the teachings of Christ
and His Apostles, as well as from the ancient
prophets, that everything does not end with
the termination of the present Church period,
and that the end or consummation itself in
cludes a variety of administrations, in most
of which the glorified saints are to take
active part.
And what is thus set forth in the Scriptures
is correspondingly represented in the signs
as given in the primeval astronomy. Four
of the Zodiacal signs set forth the career of

THE SIGN OF TAURUS. 263
the Church up to the time of its transfer to
glory, when, under the great power of the
Lamb, the chained and exposed Andromeda
is transformed into the enthroned Cassiopeia.
But beyond -that we still have four additional
signs before all is finally complete. These
begin and end with scenes of judgment, and
so relate to a great judgment-period, which
begins at the house of God by the ereption
of God's ready and waiting saints to himself
in the heavenly regions, and then breaks in
fury upon the ungodly population still left
.upon the earth. And then it is that Jehovah's
enemies shall perish, and all the workers of
iniquity be scattered, and the horn of the Seed
of the woman be exalted like the horn of the
reem, to fulfil all His desire upon His foes ;
which is the precise scene pictorially repre
sented in The Sign of Taurus.
The names of this sign, in Hebrew, Arabic,
Syriac, Latin, and Greek, mean the same as
the English name, the Bull. But the figure
is not that of the common bull of any known
class. The horns are greater and differently
set from those of domestic cattle, whilst the
toes also have horns. The attitude and en-

264 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
ergy displayed are likewise far fiercer and
more nimble than the common ox ever shows.
It is the reem of the text, the aurochs, the bull
of yore, the fierce, mighty, and untamable wild
bull of the primeval ages, and a most expres
sive symbol of Christ as the irresistible and
angry Judge.
This terrific animal appears here in the in-
tensest rage, dashing forward with swift and
impetuous energy, and with his great sharp
horns set as if to run through everything that
comes in its way. The Egyptians called it by
names signifying the Head, the Captain, the
mighty Chieftain who cometh. The chief star
in this sign is situated in the Bull's eye ; and
its name, Al Debaran, means the Captain,
Leader, or Governor. The middle and hinder
part of the enraged animal includes the body
of the enthroned Lamb, out of which it seems
to rise. It is also the direct opposite of the
Scorpion, so that when it rises the Scorpion
sets and disappears. The Myths.
In mythology this Bull was always account
ed snow-white, the color of righteousness and
royal judgment. According to some of the
accounts,, this form was assumed by Jupiter

THE MYTHS. 2&$
out of his passion for the beautiful Europa,
whom he won by his gentleness and bore on
his back across the seas to Crete. The god
of the sea demanded that he should be offered
in sacrifice, but because of his beauty the king
preserved him. Afterward he became mad,
and wrought great havoc and destruction
among the Cretans, and could neither be
caught nor tamed except by Herakles.
This story remarkably interprets with refer
ence to Christ and His Church, and the anger
with which He is to visit the wicked world
after the Church of the first-born has been
safely landed in heaven. The same becomes
the more striking when we take in some other
markings of the case.
Among the early nations there was a wide
spread idea, connecting this Bull with the Del
uge, and the Pleiades — the seven stars, the
Doves, the peculiar star-cluster of *' sweet in
fluences " — with the ark of Noah and those
saved by it in that great judgment. "The
seven stars," which the Scriptures also con
nect with the Church (Rev. i : 16; 2:1), are
on the back of this Bull, high up on his great
shoulder. The Pleiades, according to the
myths, were the seven daughters of Atlas,
the upholder of heaven and earth, who, with
23

266 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
their sisters, the Hyades, in this Bull's head,
were placed in heaven because of their vir
tues and mutual sympathy and affection.
They beautifully symbolize the saints secure
ly supported by the terrible Judge, and who,
together with the holy angels whom they are
like, thus move with Him and His inflictions
upon the guilty world.
The Sacred Prophecies. .
And when we take this fierce and enraged au
rochs as the symbol of the glorious Head of His
redeemed people, particularly in those scenes
of judgment upon the apostate and unbeliev
ing nations after the saints have been- taken
away, we have before our eyes in the stars
the very picture which Isaiah describes where
he prophesies of " the world, and ajl the things
that come forth of it," and says : " The indig
nation of the Lord is upon all nations, and
His fury upon all their armies. He hath de
livered them to the slaughter. Their slain
also shall be cast out, and the mountains shall
be melted with their blood. The unicorns [the
reems, the precise animal which constitutes the
figure in Taurus'] shall come down, and the
bullocks with the bulls, and their land shall be
soaked with blood. For it is the day of the

SACRED PROPHECIES. 267
Lord's vengeance, and the year of recompenses
for the controversy of Zion "(34 : 2-8).
The Scriptures everywhere tell us of a pe
riod of indignation, when the Lord shall come
forth out of His place to punish the inhabitants
of the earth for their iniquity ; when He will
no longer keep silence ; when the earth shall
disclose her blood, and shall no more cover
her slain (Isa. 26: 20, 21). He is very long-
suffering now. Men sin, but His judgment
does not quickly follow upon transgression.
Sin is added, upon sin, and wickedness upon
wickedness, and yet the Lord keeps silence,
not willing that any should perish, but that all
should come to repentance. But there is a
limit to His forbearance. There is a time
coming when He will tear in pieces, and there
shall be none to deliver. His own word is :
" Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel
both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the
land desolate, and to destroy the sinners there
of out of it. And I will punish the world for
their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity ;
and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud
to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of
the terrible. The earth shall remove out of
her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts,
and in the day of His fierce anger. Every

268 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
one that is found shall be thrust through"
(Isa. 1-3).
These are fearful comminations. And
lest we should think that they refer only to
the past, the New Testament repeats them,
and tells us how " the Lord Jesus shall be re
vealed from heaven with His mighty angels,
in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that
know not God, and that obey not the Gospel "
(2 Thess. 1 : 7-9) ; and how the kings of the
earth, and the great men, and the rich men,
and the chief captains, and the mighty men,
and every bondman, and every freeman, will
hide themselves in the dens and in the rocks
of the mountains, calling to the mountains
and rocks, "Fall on us, and hide us from the
face of Him that sitteth upon the throne, and
from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great
day of His wrath is come ; and who shall be
able to stand?" (Rev. 6: 12-17). Alas, alas,
for the wicked, the unbelieving, and the im
penitent when that day comes ! For the horn
of Messiah shall then be like the horn of the
enraged aurochs, and there will be no escape
from His fury. ,Orion;
• Very impressively also do we find the same

ORION. 269
still further signified in the constellation of
the first Decan of this animated sign. This
is one of the grandest of the constellations,
and so beautifully splendid that when it is
once learned it is never forgotten. When
it comes to the meridian a very magnificent
view of the celestial bodies presents itself
above the horizon. It is specially celebrated
in the book of Job, and is mentioned in Amos
and in Homer. And because of its great
magnificence the flatterers of conquerors like
Nimrod and Napoleon selected it for asso
ciation with the names of these men.
The figure is a giant hunter, with a mighty
club in his right hand in the act of striking,
and in his left the skin of a slain lion..
" First in rank
The martial star upon his shoulder flames ;
A rival star illuminates his foot ;
And on his girdle beams a luminary
Which in vicinity of other stars
Might claim the proudest honors."
His left foot is in the act of crushing the
head of the enemy. He wears a brilliant
starry girdle to which hangs a mighty sword,
the hilt or -handle of which is the head and
body of the Lamb.* Concerning the idolatrous
and the wicked, God hath said : " Behold, I
will send for many fishers, and they shall fish
23*

270 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
them ; and after will I send for many hunters,
and they shall hunt them from every moun
tain, and from every hill, and out of the holes
of the rocks ; for mine eyes are upon all their
ways : they are not hid from my face, neither
is their iniquity hid from mine eyes. I will
recompense their iniquity and their sin double"
(Jer. 1 6 : 16-18). And here is the great Cap
tain and Prince of these hunters in full and
mighty action. His name is Orion, He who
cometh forth as light, the Brilliant, the Swift.
The book of Job , speaks of Him as invin
cibly girded, whose bands no one can un
loose. Betelguese, a star of the first mag
nitude, flames on His right shoulder; and
Betelguese means The Branch coming. Rigel,
another star of the first magnitude, flames in
His lifted foot; and Rigel means the Foot
that crusheth. In His great belt are three
shining brilliants, called the Three Kings, also
Jacob's Rod (Isa. 11 : 1), also the Ell and Yard,
giving the rule of celestial and righteous meas
urement, just as it is said of the Rod and
Branch from Jesse's roots, "Righteousness
shall be the girdle of His loins, and faithful
ness the girdle of His reins" (Isa. 11:5).
In His left breast shines a bright star, Bella-
trix, which means Swiftly coming or Suddenly

MYTHS ON ORION. 27 1
destroying. The Arabs call Him Al Giauza,
the Branch ; Al Mirzam, the Ruler ; Al Nag-
jed, the Prince. He is but another figure of
the same invincible Avenger represented by
the enraged aurochs — the horn of the Mes
siah exalted into the horn of the terrible
aurochs. Myths on Orion.
According to the myths, though full of con
fusion and contradictions, Orion was the united
gift of the gods, Jupiter, Neptune, and Mer
cury, and had power to walk the sea without
wetting his feet, and surpassed in strength,
stature, and handsomeness all other men.
He is described as the greatest hunter in the
world, who claimed to be able to cope with
and conquer every animal on earth. Because
of this claim, a scorpion sprang up out of the
earth and gave him a mortal wound in his
foot ; but at Diana's request he was raised to
immortality, and placed in the heavens over
against the Scorpion. He is spoken of as
skilled in the working and handling of iron,
as having fabricated a subterranean abode
for the god of fires, and as having walled in
Sicily against the inundations of the sea,
building thereon' a temple to its gods. It is

272 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
said of him that because . he loved Merope
her father put out his eyes while he was
asleep on the sea-shore, but that,' by raising
himself on the back of a forgeman and turn
ing his face to the rising sun, he recovered
his sight, and went forth with great haste,
rage, and energy to avenge the perfidious
cruelty of his foes. He is said to have great
ly loved the Pleiadic maiden, and that out of
affection for her he performed the great work
of clearing the country of all noxious wild
beasts, bringing the spoils of his successes
as presents to his beloved.
There is much rubbish and heathen un
cleanness in some of the accounts, but the
filthy waters nevertheless reflect the pure im
age. Christ was born of a woman, as some
accounts allege of Orion ; and he was at the
same time the peculiar gift of Deity to our
world, as alleged by other accounts of this
hero of the constellation. He was indeed
the greatest and sublimest of all men. He
did claim to be able to destroy, and came
into the world that He might destroy, all the
mighty powers of evil and all the works of
the Devil. On this account He was stung
by the Scorpion of death. Because of His
love for the Church He did sink into a

ERIDANUS. 273
•
deep sleep upon these shores of time, in
which the light of His eyes was extinguished,
but was restored to Him again by His lifting
up from the grave. He was in the world, and
passed through it without being wetted or \
soiled by its waters. He is indeed stationed
in immortal glory as the everlasting plague,
enemy, and destroyer of death. He it is
who has made ready the lake of fire for the
Devil and his angels. He is the Protector of
the land of His Church, and the Builder of
the temple of its worship and security. And
so it is also appointed to' Him to come forth
in His mighty power and vengeance, to bring
swift destruction upon His cruel foes, and to
hunt out all the noxious wild beasts that in
fest the earth, that he may clear it for ever
of their presence, bestowing all the fruits of •
His victories upon the Church which He has
purchased with His blood.
Eridanus.
The second Decan of this illustrious sign
carries forward the same idea to still further
lengths. From beneath the down-coming foot
of Orion, from under the feet of the rampant
aurochs, and from before both, there flqws
out a great tortuous river, eastward and west-
s

274 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
ward, and down into the regions of darkness
in the under-world. Its name is Eridanus, the
River of the Judge. It is specially connected
in the myths with a confusion in the manage
ment of the chariot of the Sun, by which
heaven and earth were threatened with a
universal conflagration, during which trouble
the vain and obtrusive Phaeton was killed by
a thunderbolt and hurled headlong into this
river, in which his body burned and consumed
with fire, whilst at the same time such burning
heat fell upon the world that it dried up the
blood of the Ethiops and turned vast sections
into sterility and emptiness.
In Daniel's vision of the four beasts, and
of God's judgment of them, we find this same
River of the Judge. Having described the
-several world-monsters and their ill-doings,
the Prophet says: "I beheld till the -thrones
were set, and the Ancient of days did sit:
His throne was like the fiery flame, and His
wheels as burning fire: A fiery stream [a river
of fire] issued and came forth from before him!'
It is the River of the Judge, for we read, " The
judgment was set, and the books were open
ed." And the Prophet " beheld even till the
beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and
given to the burning flame " (Dan. 7:9-11).

ERIDANUS. 275
So we also read in the Psalms (50 : 3) : " Our
God shall come, and shall not keep silence :
afire shall devour before Him, and it shall be
very tempestuous round about Him;" "Afire
goeth before Him, and burnetii up His enemies
round about Him " (97 : 3-5).
So again in Isaiah it is written : " Behold,
the name of the Lord cometh from far, burn
ing with His anger, and- the burden thereof is
heavy: His lips are full of indignation, and
His tongue as a devouring fire : and His
breath as an overflowing stream [of fire].
Tophet is ordained of old ; yea, for the king
it is prepared: He hath made it deep and
large : the pile thereof is fire and much wood ;
the breath of the Lord, like a stream of brim
stone, doth kindle it" (30:27—33); "For, be
hold, the Lord will come with fire, and with
His chariots like a whirlwind, to render His
anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames
of fire. For by fire and by His sword will the
Lord plead with all flesh ; and the slain of the
Lord shall be many" (66: 15, 16). "Who
can stand before His indignation ? and who
can abide in the fierceness of his anger ? His
fury is poured out like fire"- (Nah. 1 : 5, 6).
And so, also, " when the Son of man shall
sit upon the throne of His glory " the nations

276 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
which did not the works of faith and charity
shall go away " into everlasting fire, prepared
for the Devil and his angels" (Matt. 25 : 31-
41). Nay, saith the holy Apostle, "The day
of the Lord cometh as a thief in the night ; in
the which the heavens shall pass with a great
noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent
heat, the earth also and the works that are there
in shall be burned" (2 Pet. 3 : 10).
Here, then, is the true Eridanus, and the
fate of the proud and presumptuous Phaeton
and all his usurped rule. The River of Fire,
issuing from before Taurus and Orion, shall
receive them and burn them up in unquench
able flames. The burning breath of the angry
Judge shall sweep them headlong to " the lake
which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is
the second death" (Rev. 20: 14, 15).
These are very dark, painful, and terrifying
presentations ; but they are true pictures, ex
actly the same both in the Scriptures and in
the constellations. They are given in these
alarming terms and figures that wicked, care
less, and indifferent people may take warning,
turn away from their follies and sins, and flee
to the refuge set before us in the blessed Gos
pel of Christ. And if any man have ears to
hear, let him hear.

MERCY IN JUDGMENT. 277
But the presentations are not all terror and
hopelessness. Mercy in Judgment.
Although the present Church-period will
have ended before the promised Seed of the
wom'an takes on' the character described in
the text and in these signs, probation will not
have entirely ended. The possibility of se
curing salvation will -not yet have been com
pletely cut off. Though the dispensation is
then changed from that of the present silerit
forbearance and long-suffering on God's part
into one of active and terrific judgnftnt, and
though all chance of reaching the first honors
of the kingdom will then have passed away
for ever, there still will be a chance for being
" saved so as by fire ;" and many there will be
who will also embrace that remaining oppor
tunity. In the very nature of things the breaking
in of the great and terrible fact that the day
of judgment is come, and with the startling
and convincing proofs of its actual presence
spread all around, there cannot but .be some
awakening and revolutionizing effect on the
hearts and thinking of rhultitudes who up till
then have made themselves very easy about
24

278 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
these matters of salvation. Hence Isaiah
prophesied : " When Thy judgments are in the
earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn
righteousness" (26: 29). So also the Psalm
ist (64 : 7-9) says : When God shall shoot
His arrows at them that encourage themselves
in evil, and shall suddenly wound them, "men
shall fear, and shall declare the work of God ;
for they shall wisely consider His doing."
And again: "Thy people shall be willing in
the day of Thy power" (110:3). So also
Daniel prophesies of this very time, and says :
" Many shall be purified, and made white, and
tried ; but the wicked shall do wickedly, and
none of the wicked shall understand ; but the
wise shall understand" (Dan. 12 : 8-10). The
wicked shall not understand, seeing, as Paul
says, that because they received not the love
of the truth, God sendeth them a working of
error, 'that they may believe a lie, and be ir
remediably condemned (2 Thess. 2 : 10-12).
Accordingly, we also read in the Apocalypse,
after the ready and waiting saints have been
caught up and crowned in heaven, and the
great tribulation has already set in upon the
earth, of "a great multitude" who were un
prepared when the first scenes of the judg
ment broke in, but still succeed in rectifying

AURIGA. 279
their errors, wash their soiled robes in the
blood of the Lamb, and reach the world of
the redeemed, though they never get crowns.
And what we find thus set forth in the Scrip
tures is likewise signified in the constellations.
Auriga.
To the enraged Aurochs, the mighty Hunt
er, and the fiery River of the Judge there is
added another figure in the third Decan, which
is thoroughly evangelic and gracious. The
Greek myths are totally at a loss with regard
to its main features, conclusively showing that
these signs were arranged long before the
time of the Greeks, and that Greek genius
was totally incompetent to produce them.
The Greeks could only preserve the tradi
tional figure in this Decan, and let it stand
wholly unexplained. The figure itself is that
of a mighty man seated on the Milky Way,
holding a band or ribbon in his right hand,
and with his left arm holding up on his shoul
der a she-goat, which clings to his neck ancj
looks out in astonishment upon the terrible
Bull ; whilst in his lap are two frightened little
kids, which he supports with his great hand,,
The Greeks called him Hceniachos, which iq
their language signified a Driver or Chariot-

280 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
eer ; and so our modern atlases call him the
Wagoner. But as he has neither chariot nor
horses, and is thoroughly occupied with the
care of his goats, it is very strange that the
modern world should have persisted in re
garding him as a chariot-driver. But there
is one link of connection to show how this
absurdity came about. One of the old tradi
tional names of this figure was Auriga, or a
name framed of the elements preserved in
the word Auriga, which, in Latin, means a
Conductor of the reins, a coachman, a char
ioteer. And as this figure holds a band or
ribbon in his right hand, these heathen people
could do no better than to take him for a
wonderful charioteer. But he is no char
ioteer at all, and is engaged in performing
a wholly different office.
The Noetic elements in the word Auriga sig
nify the Shepherd ; and the Shepherd he really
is, even that same Good Shepherd who laid
down His life for the sheep and giveth unto
them eternal life. This is most clearly shown
by His having the mother-goat on His arm,
with her feet clasped about His neck, and the
little kids on His hand. The band in his
right hand is the same Band which we saw in
the hand of the Lamb and in the hand of the

AURIGA. 28l
enthroned Cepheus. It is the Band of power
by which the glorious Head of the Church
upholds and guides His people on the one
side, and binds the enemy on the other. It
is therefore a picture of the exalted and al
mighty Saviour, still exercising. His offices of
mercy and' salvation in the midst of the scenes
of judgment, just as the Scriptures tell us
that in the midst of wrath He remembers
mercy (Hab. 3:2). And to this all the indi
cations in this sign agree.
The chief star in this constellation, Capella,
which is of the first magnitude and of pecu
liar brilliancy, marks the heart of the mother-
goat on Auriga's bosom. The very attitude
and expression of this goat are significant. It
not only clings to the great Shepherd's neck,
as if trembling for its own safety, but is anx
iously looking back upon the action of the
Bull, as if saying, " I have seen the wicked in
great power, and spreading himself like a
green bay tree ; yet he passed away, and, lo,
he is not : yea, I look for him, but he cannot
be found" (Ps. 37:34-36). The whole pic
ture is in precise accord with Isaiah's proph
ecy of this very period, where he says : "Be
hold, the Lord will come with strong hand,
and His arm shall rule for Him : behold, His
24*

282 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
reward is with Him and His work before Him.
He shall feed His flock like a shepherd : He
shall gather the lambs with His arm, add carry
them in His bosom, and sliall gently lead those that
give suck" (40 : 10, 11). Hence the name of
the star in the right arm of Auriga, Menkal-
inon, in Chaldaic means the Band of the Goats
or Ewes.
In the Zodiac of Dendera, Auriga holds a
sceptre, the upper part of which- shows the
head of the Lamb, and the lower part the
figure of the Cross ; which vividly expresses
salvation even under the severe administra
tions of sovereign judgment. And here are
the two little kids, just born, having come into
place amid these ongoings of the terrible judg
ment, the one bleating upward after its moth
er, and the other looking in startled wonder
at the dashing career of the enraged Bull, but
both safe in the great Shepherd's hand. How
touching the picture of the tender mercies of
our Saviour, even after the Church of the first
born has been taken, and He has already risen
up as the terrible Aurochs !
A Solemn Outlook.
And now what shall we say to these showings
of the Holy Ghost ? There is a day of judg-

A SOLEMN OUTLOOK. 283
ment coming, and it hastens on apace. It will
be a day of trouble and an hour of trial such
as have never yet been seen in our world.
It will be a day that shall burn as an oven ;
and all the prOud, yea, all that do wickedly,
shall be as stubble to the fire ; and the day
that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord
of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root
nor branch (Mai. 4:1). Only they that take
refuge in Jesus shall find shelter and security.
And on the throne of His majesty in the
heavens He sits with wide-open arms, saying,
" Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are
heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take
my yoke upon you, and learn of Me ; and ye
shall find rest unto your souls " (Matt. 1 1 :
28, 29). From the eternal Father the word
is : " Unto you that fear my name shall the
Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in
His wings ; and ye shall go forth and grow
up as calves of the stall ; and ye shall tread
down the wicked ; for they shall be ashes un
der the soles of your feet in the day that I do
this, saith the Lord" (Mai. 4: 2, 3).
How, then, should these presentations serve
to quicken us to spirituality of living and to
all earnestness of watchfulness and prayer,
that we may be found of Him in peace, with-

284 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
out spot, and "blameless ! And how should
the same animate our hopes as believers, and
reconcile us to whatever sacrifices, pains, or
losses to which our profession may subject us
in this present evil world ! What saith the
Spirit ? Hear it, dear friends, and-ponder it :
" Fret not thyself because of evil-doers,
neither be thou envious against the workers
of iniquity ; . for they shall soon be cut down
like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
Trust in the Lord, and do good ; so shalt thou
dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
For evil-doers shall be cut off: but those that
wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the
earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked
shall not be : yea, thou shalt diligently con
sider his place, and it shall not be. For
the Lord loveth judgment, and forsaketh not
His saints ; they are preserved for ever.
Wait on the Lord, and keep His way, and He
shall exalt thee to inherit the . land : when the
wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it. The sal
vation of the righteous is of the Lord: He is
their strength in the time of trouble. And the
Lord shall help them, and deliver them : He
. shall deliver them ' from the wicked, and save
'them, because they trust in: Him" (Ps. 2>7)-

Hectare fttoetfti).
THE HEAVENLY UNION.
I Thess. 4:17: " And so shall we ever be with the Lord."
THESE sweet and comforting words re
late to a scene of things beyond the res
urrection of the dead', and hence to something
which is to be brought about during the prog
ress of the judgment-period. After the Lord
himself has come forth with the voice of a
great trumpet, and the holy dead have been
raised, and the living saints have been trans
lated, and both classes have been caught up to
gether to meet the Saviour in the air, then the
word is, " So shall we ever be with the Lord!'
And the particular blessedness which we thus
find set forth in the Scriptures we also find in
the constellations, and more especially in that
sign of the Zodiac which we now come to con
sider — Gemini, usually called The Twins.
The Sign of. Gemini:
We have here two youthful-looking and
285.

286 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
most beautiful figures peacefully sitting to
gether, with their feet resting on the Milky
Way. Their heads lean against each other
in a loving attitude. The one holds a great
club in his right hand, whilst his left is clasped
around the body of his companion. The other
holds a harp in one hand and a bow and arrow
in the other. Both the club and the bow and
arrow are in repose, the same as the figures
which hold them. The club, unlifted, lies
against the shoulder of the one, and the bow,
unstrung, rests in the hand of the other. The
picture looks like a readiness for warlike, ac
tion, but at the same time like a joyful repose
after a great victory already gained. We will
presently see that it really means all that it
seems, and that it significantly portrays what
is set forth in the text and in many places in
the Scriptures. Mythic Accounts.
The Greeks and Romans considered these
two figures the representatives of two youths,
twin brothers, both sons of Jupiter, of very
peculiar and extraordinary birth. They are
said to have been with the Argonauts in the
contest for' the Golden Fleece, on which oc
casion they displayed unparalleled heroism —

MYTHIC ACCOUNTS. 2%7
the one by achievements in arms and person
al prowess, and the other in equestrian exer
cises. In the Grecian temples they were rep
resented as mounted on white horses, armed
with spears, riding side by side, crowned with
the cap of the hunter tipped with a glittering
star. The belief was, that they often appear
ed at the head of the armies, and led on the
troops to battle and victory — the one mounted
on a fiery steed, the other on foot, but both as
invincible warriors. ' After their return from
Colchis it is said that they cleared the Helles
pont and the neighboring seas from pirates
and depredators, and hence were honored as
the particular friends and protectors of navi
gation. An intimation of this is given in the
history of St. Paul, as the name of the vessel
in which he sailed was that of these two fig
ures. It is further said that flames of fire were
betimes seen playing around their heads, and
that when this occurred the tempest which
was tossing the ocean ceased, and calm en
sued. They were said to have been initiated
into all the mysteries, and were invited guests
at a great marriage at which a severe conflict
occurred. They were indissolubly attached
to each other, and Jupiter rewarded their mu
tual affection by transferring them together

288 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
to heavenly immortality. The Greeks and
Romans sacrificed white lambs upon their
altars, and held them in very high regard. It
was a common thing to take oaths by their
names, as indicative of the utmost truth and
verity. Vulgarly, the habit still survives pf
swearing "by Gemini."
Further accounts represent these two youths
as kings, and as divine saviors and helpers of
men, though mostly in the character of warrior-
judges. They were supposed to preside over
the public games, particularly where horses
were concerned. War-songs and dances were
supposed to have originated with them, and
they had much to do in favoring and inspiring
the bards and poets. When Menestheus was
endeavoring to usurp the government of Atti
ca, they interfered, and devastated the country
around Athens until its gates opened to them
arid the Athenians submitted to them and ren
dered them sacred honors. They were dis
tinguished in the Calydonian Hunt, and fought
and slew Amycus, the gigantic son of the god
of the sea, who challenged the Argonauts
and had shown himself the enemy of Herakles.
They made invasive war to recover the por
tions of which they had been cunningly cheat
ed, and succeeded in it, and gained much more

MYTHIC ACCOUNTS. 289
in addition. In this conflict the authors of the
murderous assaults upon them were stricken
down and slain by the lightnings of Jupiter.
They were assigned great power over good
fortune, and particularly over the winds and
the waves of the sea.
Such are the mythic representations as they
come through the Greeks and Romans. In
some other showings, however, these two
figures are not of one sex. In the Zodiac
of Dendera the figure is that of a man walk
ing hand in hand with a woman. The same
are sometimes called Adam and Eve. But
the male figure is not the literal first Adam,
Jaut the mystic second Adam, the same Seed
of the woman who everywhere appears in
these celestial frescoes. The figure in . the
Egyptian sphere has an appendage which sig
nifies the Coming One — the Messiah-Prince.
And having identified the masculine figure,
there can be no difficulty in identifying the
accompanying female figure. The Lamb has
a bride, a wife, bone of His bone and flesh
of His flesh, and destined for an everlasting
union with Him in glory and dominion. And
this Eve, made out of His side in the deep
sleep of death to which He submitted for the
purpose, is none other than the Church, which
'25 T

290 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
here appears in celestial union with her sublime
Lord. Even the word Gemini, in the original
Hebrew, Arabic, and Syriac, whence it has
come, does not run so much on the idea of
two brought forth at the same birth, as upon
the idea of something completed, as of a year
come to the full or as of a long betrothal
brought to its consummation in perfected
marriage. The old Coptic name of this sign,
Pi Mahi, signifies the United, the Completely
joined. The Star-Names.
And when we closely examine the names
still retained in this constellation, we find
ample indication that these figures were
meant to set forth Christ and His Church
in that great marriage-union which is to be
completed in the heavens during that very
judgment-period to which these last four
signs refer. In the left foot of the southern
figure of Gemini shines a conspicuous star,
named Al Henah, the Hurt, the Wounded.
This figure, then, must refer to Him whose
heel was to be bruised. So the principal star
in his head is called Pollux, the Ruler, the
Judge, and sometimes Herakles, or Hercules,
the mighty sufferer and toiler, who frees the

THE STAR-NAMES. 2gl
world of all otherwise unmanageable powers
of evil. In the centre of his body is another
bright star, called Wasat, which means Set,
Seated, or Put in place, as where it is said, " I
am set on the throne of Israel,'*' " there are set
thrones of judgment," " the judgment was set"
" I am set in my ward ;" which specially de
scribes what is prophesied of Christ in con
nection with the completion of His marriage
with His Church.
And, in perfect accord with these indica
tions, this figure holds in his right hand the
great club of power, as the One who bruises
the Serpent's head and breaks in pieces all
antagonisms to His rule or to His people's
peace. The Egyptians called him Hor, or
Horus, the Coming One, the son of light, the
slayer of the serpent, the recoverer of the
dominion. Horus is described in an extant
Egyptian hymn as " the son of the sun," " the
mighty, the great avenger, the observer of
justice," " the golden hawk coming for the,
chastisement of all lands, the divinely benef
icent, the Lord omnipotent;" which corre
sponds again with the descriptions of the
Merodach of the ancient Babylonians, who is
called the Rectifier, the great Restorer. It is
the biblical description, almost literally, of the

292 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
promised Redeemer of the world in connec
tion with the judgment.
The variation as ' to the sex of the other
figure, which is sometimes contemplated as
a woman and sometimes as a masculine hero,
corresponds also with the biblical representa
tions of the Church. God calls Israel His
son, and also His spouse, the wife of which
He is the Husband, the one chosen out from
among the maidens and wedded to himself.
The bride of the Lamb in the Apocalypse is
at the same time described as " a man-child"
who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron,
and to that end was " caught up unto God and
to His throne."
Christ's Union with His Church.
But the two figures in this sign, though in
some sense distinct, are really one, as Christ
and the Father are one, and as the man and
his wife are one flesh. The. union is such
that one is in the other, and the two are so
conjoined that one implies and embraces the
other. There is no Christ, apart from His
Church, and there is no Church except in
Christ. They are two, and yet they are one
— He in them, and they in Him — so that what
is His is theirs, and what is theirs is His. As

CHRIST'S UNION WITH HIS CHURCH. 293
He is the peculiar Son of God, they are pecu
liar sons of God. in Him, and are joint-heirs
•with Him to all that He inherits. Again and
again the Scriptures comprehend Him in the
descriptions of the Church, and embrace them
in the predictions concerning Him. Hence,
in the truer and deeper meaning of the Psalms,
He and His people speak the same words,
pass through the same experiences, receive
the same assurances, and rejoice in the same
promises, hopes, and honors. The king often
disappears in the body politic, and the body
politic still oftener disappears in the king.
And so it is in these two figures. They are
no more twins than Christ and His Church
are twins, yet they are both the peculiar sons
of God ; whilst the birth of the one was vir
tually and really the birth of the other.
Hence, also, the names and qualities which
appear in the one are at the same time con-
struable with both, because they coexist in
one another. They are Bridegroom and
• bride, but th'ey are at the same time together
the one Man-Child. appointed to rule all na
tions with a rod of iron. Accordingly, the
one is called Pollux and Herakles — the Ruler,
the Judge, the Toiling Deliverer ; and the
other is called Castor and Apollo — the Coming
25*

294 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
Ruler or Judge, " born of the light," who pun
ishes and destroys the wicked and unright
eous, who brings help and wards off evil, who
has the spirit of prophecy and sacred song,
who protects and keeps the flocks, and who
delights in the founding and establishment of
cities, kingdoms, and settled rule and order
among men. It is not the one by himself in
either case, but the one in and with the other,
conjoined and perfected in the same admin
istration — Christ with the Church, and the
Church with Christ, as the one all-ruling Man-
Child under whom the whole earth shall be
delivered from misrule and oppression, the
eternal kingdom come, and the entire world
enjoy its unending Sabbath.
At present this union- of Christ with His
Church, though real and the very life of Chris
tianity, is mystic, hidden, and not yet fully re
vealed. The Church is yet intermixed and
held down by earthiness and the power of
mortality and death. All this • needs to be
stripped off and immortality put on, as has-
been accomplished in the case of Christ the
Head, who is now already at the right hand
of the Father. What has happened in His
deliverance, triumph, and exaltation needs
also to be wrought out in the case of His

THE MARRIAGE OF THE LAMB. 2g$
members, the Church. Our complete union
with Him can only be when this mortal has
put on immortality and death is swallowed up
of life; which occurs when the sainted dead
are raised, and they, together with those of
His who are then still alive, are caught up in
incorruption to meet Him in the heavenly
spaces. But what is as yet mystic and unre-
vealed is hereafter to be openly, formally,. and
most gloriously exhibited and shown in living .
and eternal fact.
The Marriage of the Lamb.
Hence, in the Apocalyptic pictures of the
ongoing judgment-period, after the Man-Child
has been born into immortality, and is caught
up to God, and has overcome the opposing
Dragon and his angels by the blood of the
Lamb and the word of their testimony, and
immediately before Christ and His people
come forth riding on white horses for the
overthrow of the Beast and his armies, we
hear the voice of gladness and rejoicing, and
the giving of glory to the All-Ruler, in that
" the Marriage of the Lamb is come," and the
word of blessing goes forth upon all who are
" called to the marriage-supper of the Lamb "
(Rev. 19 : 7-9).

2Q6 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
Just what this marriage of the Lamb is, or
what celestial formalities and demonstrations
it embraces, no man is able definitely to tell.
We know, in general terms, that the Bride
groom is Christ, after He has taken to Him
His great power and is about to proceed to
the utter destruction of His enemies, and that
the bride is the Church, the completed assem
bly of the elect, after they have all been gath
ered to their Lord in triumphant immortality.
We know also that it involves some formal
and manifest ceremonial, by which He takes,
acknowledges, and fully endows His glorified
Church as thenceforward and for ever con
joined with himself in closest and inseparable
unity, to move as He moves, to reign as He
reigns, to judge and make war as He judges
and makes war, and to be one with Him in all
the possessions, administrations, joys, honors,
and achievements which pertain to Him then
and world without end. It is the formal and
eternal perfecting of them in Him, and of
Him in them, in a union as ineffable as it is
unending. And this is the precise thing alluded to in
the text and pictorially given in the sign of
Gemini. The very name, the attitudes of the
figures, and the order of place occupied by

THE MARRIAGE OF THE LAMB. 297
this sign, as well as the star-names in it and
all the mythic stories connected with it, com
bine to fix this as its truest and fullest mean
ing, as intended by the mind that framed it
and gave out the original instructions con
cerning it It is God's sign in the heavens
of the coming marriage and union of the Seed
of the woman with His redeemed Church, pre
cisely as the same is set forth in all His word
as the hope and joy of His people, to be ful
filled at His revelation and coming.
"Thus, then, we find the true Castor and
Pollux, the peculiar sons of God, whose bra
very secures the prize of the Golden Fleece,
who share in the same trials, sufferings, labors,
triumphs, and glories, and with whom is the
holy wisdom, the prophetic inspiration, the
leadership of armies that fight for human
rights and liberty, the patronage of holy hero
ism and sacred song, the upholding of truth •
and righteousness, the only salvation for op
pressed and afflicted man. These are the
true kings, ordained to rule all nations with
a rod of iron, to chastise and destroy the re
bellious and incorrigible, to hunt out and pun
ish wickedness unto the ends of the earth,
and to be revealed in flaming fire as warrior-
judges on white horses, to put down usurpers,

298 ' THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
fight the gigantic son of the god of this world,
hurl the dread Antichrist and his hordes to
sudden perdition, revenge the blood of mar
tyrs on those who shed it, apportion law and
destiny to the earthly peoples, and sit and
reign in immortal regency over all the after
generations. (See my Lectures on the Apoc
alypse, vol. iii.)
And what we thus find in the sign is further
signified in the accompanying Decans.
Lepus.
The first of these, as given in our plani
spheres, is Lepus, the figure of a gigantic
hare. In the Arabic it is called Arnebeth,
which means the Hare, but also has the sig
nification of Enemy of the Coming. In the Per
sian and Egyptian Zodiacs the figure is a
serpent, trodden under Orion's foot, with this
further addition in the Egyptian, that the ser
pent is also caught in the claws of a seeming
hawk. It is also called Bashti-Beki, the Offend
er confounded. The mythic account of this hare
is, that it is one of the animals which Orion
most delighted in hunting, and hence was
placed near him in the stars. In the picture
Orion 'is in the act of crushing this hare with
his great foot. And the names of the stars

SIRIUS. 299
which it includes — Nibal, Rakis, and Sugia —
mean the Mad, the Caught, the Deceiver.
From these indications it is sufficiently man
ifest that this constellation was meant to show
and record the nearing end of the Enemy, and
the close proximity of his utter overthrow when
once the heavenly marriage is celebrated.
And this is precisely the showing made in
the Scriptures, particularly in the Apocalypse.
The lifting of the Church into its destined
union with Christ in glory is a stunning blow
to the whole empire of darkness, and the sure
herald of its utter dissolution then speedily to
follow. No sooner is it announced that " the
marriage of the Lamb is come " than the
heaven opens, and He who is called Faithful
and True rides forth upon the white horse,
in righteousness to judge and make war, and
all the armies of heaven follow Him on white
horses, and the Beast and the False Prophet
are taken, and the kings of the earth and their
armies are slain with the sword of this invin
cible host (Rev. 19 : 6-21).
Sirius.
The second Decan confirms and sustains
the same presentation. This is the great
Dog, anciently the Wolf the special hunter

30O THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
and devourer of the hare. In the Dendera
Zodiac the figure is the Eagle or Hawk, the
particular enemy of the Serpent, having on
his head a double mark of crownings with
power and majesty, and standing on the top
of a great mace as the triumphant royal
Breaker and Bruiser of the powers of evil.
The principal star in this constellation is the
most brilliant and fiery in all the heavens.
" All others he excels ; no fairer light /
Ascends the skies, none sets so clear and bright."
But it is associated with burning heat, pesti
lence, and disaster to the earth and the chil
dren of men. Homer sung of it as a star
" Whose burning breath
Taints the red air with fevers, plagues, and death."
Virgil speaks of blighted fields, a smitten
earth, and suffering beasts, because this star
" With pestilential heat infects the sky."
This star is called Sirius, from Sir or Seir,
which means Prince, Guardian, the Victorious.
Taken in connection with the name of the
figure in the Egyptian sphere, as often given,
we have Naz-Seir or Nazir ; and we know
who it was that was to be called Naz-seir-ene.
Naz-Seir means the Sent Prince. So the Rod

SIRIUS. 301
promised to come forth from the stem or
stump of Jesse is called Netzer in the He
brew Bible, there translated the Branch, the
princely Scion, who should " smite the earth
with the rod of His mouth, and slay the
wicked with the breath of His lips." Not,
then, only because Christ spent His earlier
years at an obscure little village by the name
of Nazareth, but, above all, because He was
the Sent Prince, the Messiah, the Branch, at
once the Netzer of Isaiah and the Naz-Seir
of these equally prophetic constellations.
From the earliest ages of Christianity till
now interpreters and defenders of the Scrip
tures have been at a loss to explain by what
prophet or in what sacred prophecy it was
said, as claimed by the Apostle, that Christ
should be called a Nazarene ; but here, from
a most unexpected quarter, we find the near
est and most literal foreshowing of that very
name, given in place as a designation of the
Seed of the woman, and describing Him as
the Sent Prince, the lordly Eagle, the appoint
ed tearer in, pieces and extirpator of the
whole serpent brood. And in this Naz-Seir,
or Naz-Sirius, we are to see Him of whom
Matthew said, " He came and dwelt in a city
called Nazareth, that it might- be -fulfilled
26

302 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
which was spoken by the prophets, He shall
be called Naz-Seir-ene " (Matt. 2 ; 23).
In accord with this, the second star of this
constellation is called Mirzam, the Ruler ; the
third, Muliphen, the Leader, the Chieftain;
the fourth, Wesen, Shining, Illustrious, Scarlet;
the fifth, Adhara, the Glorious ; and another,
Al Habor, the Mighty. It would verily seem
as if we were selecting a list of scriptural ex
pressions concerning our Redeemer when we
thus give the sense of these astronomic names.
Their meaning is most truly significant when
understood of Christ, but they are worse
than absurd if we are to understand them
of an Egyptian dog. Nor will these show
ings interpret at all except as applied to the
scene, subject, and period of which Gemini,
as I have explained, is the central sign.
The Sublime Prince.
A magnificent picture of the Sun is that
which the Psalmist gives, where he repre
sents him as a bridegroom, glowing under
his wedding-canopy, exulting Hke a mighty
man to run his race, and going forth from
one horizon to the other with a power of
heat and brightness from which nothing can
hide. But what is thus said of the natural

THE SUBLIME PRINCE. 303
Sun is still more thrillingly true of the Sun
of Righteousness in the case before us. He
is the Bridegroom, for " the marriage of the
Lamb is cpme." He stands under the wed
ding-canopy, the Illustrious, the Glorious,
ready for revelation in the brightness of His
appearing, and exulting to go forth in all His
invincible energy to search and try the earth
from end to end, revealing everything, test
ing everything, and bringing burning, death,
and destruction to whatever is found lifting
itself against Him as " the King of kings and
Lord of lords."
In this attitude and in these relations He is
the Hunter and Destroyer of the Hare, the
true Naz-Seir-ene, the Appointed Prince, the
lordly Eagle, the Destroyer of the Serpent.
Here especially He is the mighty, the glori
ous, the Prince of the right hand, as the Ar
abic has it, the Chief leading His hosts to
effective victory. Here heat and burning
and plague and death attend upon His going
forth, and men are smitten and scorched ; as
it is written : " Their flesh shall consume
away while they stand upon their feet, and
their eyes shall consume away in their sock
ets, and their tongue shall consume away in
their mouth" (Zech. 14:12); "for the day

304 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
of the Lord of hosts shall be upon everyone
that is proud and lofty, and upon every one
that is lifted up, and the loftiness of man
shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness
of men shall be made low, and the Lord
alone shall be exalted in that day" (Isa. 2:
12-17) ! "And out of His mouth goeth a
sharp sword, that with it He should smite the
nations ; and He shall rule them with a rod
of iron ; and He treadeth the winepress of
the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God"
(Rev. 19:15).
It is the same picture of the same identical
scene described by Isaiah (63), where it is
asked, " Who is this that cometh from Edom,
with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that
is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the
greatness of his strength ?" To which He
answers : " I that speak in righteousness,
mighty to save." And where the further
inquiry is put: "Wherefore art thou red in
thine apparel, and thy garments like him that
treadeth the winefat ?" And the further an
swer is : "I have trodden the winepress alone ;
and of the people there was none with me :
for I will tread them in mine anger, and
trample them in my fury; and their blood
shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I

THE COMPANION OF SIRIUS. 305
will stain all my raiment. For the day of
vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of
my redeemed is come. . . . And I will tread
down the people in mine anger, and make
them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down
their strength to the earth," Here is the
true Pollux, the real Sirius, the mighty Chief
tain, the Wolf or Eagle coming upon the
enemy, the glorious Hero of salvation, ar
rayed in brightness and scarlet, and triumph
ing in the greatness of His strength.
All the features in the sign thus harmoni
ously weave into one consistent and magnifi
cent showing, which is the same in the stars
as in the written prophecies.
The Companion of Sirius.
But when the glorious Sun of Righteous
ness thus comes forth in His majesty from
under the wedding-canopy, " clothed with a
vesture dipped in blood," riding upon the
white horse, and sending out His mighty
sword to smite the nations and hurl the
Beasts and their followers to perdition, He
comes not alone. The armies of the heaven
follow Him on White horses, wearing the clean
linen of saintly righteousness. He is the
Head, the Leader, the Chief, but behind Him
"26* u

306 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
are His elect myriads, warrior-judges like
himself. He is married now, and His bride
is with her Husband. " To execute ven-;'
geance upon the nations and punishments
upon the people ; to bind their kings with
chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron ;
to execute upon them the judgment written :
this honor have all the saints" (Ps. 149 : 7-9).
And to bring out this feature there is added
a third Decan of Gemini — the second Dog
or Wolf. It differs from the first only in be
ing smaller and feebler, and following a little
behind the first ; for the saints by this time
are all like unto their Lord, and follow Him
whithersoever He goeth. Princeliness is in
them also, though the Arabic astronomy des
ignates them as the Prince of the left "hand,
as it calls Him the Prince of the right hand.
In the Egyptian Zodiac this constellation has
a human figure with the Eagle's head ; hence
a sign of humanity exalted to power and au
thority against the Serpent-seed. It is called
Sebak — that is, Conquering, Victorious.
The name of the principal star, a very
bright star of the first magnitude — and from
that star the name of the constellation itself
on our planispheres — is Procyon, which, in its
Noetic elements, is associated in meaning

THE MYTHS. 307
with redemption, and may mean Redeemed or
Redeeming, or both, and well describes the
body of the glorified saints. The term Al
Mirzam occurs here also, as in the second
Decan, and ascribes rulership to what is here
symbolized, the same as to the Head Prince
going before ; just as Christ has promised to
His faithful people that they shall share His
throne and sovereignty and " reign with Him
for ever and ever." The second star in this
constellation bears the name of Al Gomeiza,
which in signification also refers to redemp
tion, and seems to include particularly the
previous history of the saints, as, like their
Lord, once burdened, loaded dozvn, enduring
for the sake of others. The Myths.
The myths touching this Dog are varied.
Some say he represents the Egyptian god
Anubis, which was the god that took charge
of the dying and carried them to judgment.
Others say it refers to Diana and her hunt
ing and destroying of wild beasts. Some
say he is the dog of Icarus, who revealed
the place where the murderers of his master
had hid the body of their victim, and thus
was the occasion of various sad and disturb-

308 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
ing calamities. And still other accounts rep
resent this Dog as one of the hounds of
Actaeon, which in madness devoured their
master after Diana had turned him into a
stag. Actaeon was a trained and cunning
hunter who was impertinent toward Artemis,
the goddess of purity and justice, and had
command over sufferings, plagues, and death.
He boasted himself against her, and even
appropriated to himself and associates what
was sacred to her. Hence these judgments
came upon him and made an end of him.
These stories agree in nothing except in
the recognition of some good agency or
heavenly power at work to bring the erring
to account, and to give trouble and death to
the proud, the offending, and the intractable.
But in this they all accord with the character
and office which the Scriptures ascribe to the
glorified Church in connection with what fol
lows immediately on the marriage of the
Lamb. They help to strengthen the chain
of evidence identifying Procyon as the starry
symbol of those heavenly armies which come
forth along with the King of kings and Lord
of lords to the battle of the great day of God
Almighty, to make an end of misrule and
usurpation on earth, and clear it of all the

SUMMARY ON GEMINI. 309
wild beasts which have been devastating it
for these many ages.
Summary on Gemini.
Thus, then, the records in the stars com
bine with the records in the Book to picture
to us a most sublime destiny for the congre
gation of believers. They are betrothed to
Christ even now, and love Him, and oft have
sweet and blessed communion with Him ; but
it is only through veils and intervening ordi
nances, by faith and not by sight. The time
is coming when these veils shall be removed,
and God's people shall meet Him face to
face, and see the King in His beauty, and be
joined with Him in all the intimacies of love,
fellowship, and oneness, being made copart
ners with Him in all He has and is and does,
yea, the loved and. loving participants in all
His glory, throne, and immortal administra
tions. They shall not only " stand in the
judgment," but they shall be lifted when it
comes, " caught up to meet the Lord in the
air," to be with Him as no other beings are
with Him, even as His bride and wife. And
when His power goes forth to plague the
wicked world, avenge the blood of the mar
tyrs, overwhelm the great Beast and his

3IO THE GOSPEL .IN \THE STARS.
armies, rid the world of all the wild beasts
of usurpation and unrighteousness which
have infested it so long, and reduce the re
fractory nations and peoples to just and right
ful authority by the force of an iron sceptre
to which all must bow or be dashed to pieces,
they shall be one with Him in the terrific
manifestations and be co-administrants of
that irresistible almightiness. They in Him,
and He in them, shall be the Castor and
Pollux of the world to come, supremely bless
ed in each other, and making blessed, putting
glad songs where tears and groans have
moaned their miserere, and settling every
thing into the order, peace, and permanence
of that divine kingdom when all shall be " on
earth as it is in heaven."
O glorious outcome for these toils and fears
and trials and misgivings in faith's weary pil
grimage ! Death gone ! Mortality swallowed
up of life ! Union with the King complete !
Vicissitude; peradventure, doubt, and disabil
ity clean swept away for ever ! The throne,
the dominion, and the glory secure ! What
a blessedness is this ! Who shall sing it as
it merits ?
" Blest seats 1 through rude and stormy scenes
I onward press to you."

Heetute Eijirteetttij.
THE BLESSED POSSESSION.
Gen. 22:17: "I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven,
and as the sand which is upon the sea-shore ; and thy seed shall pos
sess the gate of his enemies."
THIS is part of the oath which God swore
unto Abraham after the test of his faith
in the offering of his son Isaac. It applied
in part to the believing patriarch's natural
seed, but more especially to Christ, and the
multitudinous seed of faith, who are also
" the seed of Abraham." This is made clear
in the writings of St. Paul, who tells us that
" to Abraham and his seed were the promises
made ; not to seeds, as of many, but as of
one — thy Seed— -which is Christ" (Gal. 3:16);
"and if ye be Christ's, .then. are ye Abraham's
seed, and heirs according to the promise"
(Gal. 3 : 29).
We do not therefore strain or misapply the
text when we understand it of Christ and the
Church, and say that to these the divine prom
ise is to multiply them as the stars of the
311

312 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
sky and the sands on the sea-shore, and to
give them victory and success to take the
gate of their enemies, and possess the same
for ever. And the ultimate fulfilment of this
promise is what we find symbolized in the
stars by the sign of Cancer and the constel
lations which form its Decans.
T#e Sign of Cancer.
In our planispheres we have here the pic
ture of a gigantic Crab. It is the same in the
Parsi, Hindoo, and Chinese Zodiacs, and hence
is supposed to have been the same in the
Chaldean and original representations ; but
in the Egyptian sphere the figure is the Sca-
rabtzus, or sacred beetle, which some take as
having been the original figure. It is diffi
cult to decide which is the most ancient, but
either serves well to express the meaning
which clearly attaches to this sign..
The Crab.
The crab is an animal born of the water,
as the Church is " born of water and of the
Spirit," Its rows of legs,- on opposite sides,
give the idea of multitudinous development
and numerous members, as the promise here
is with regard to the Church, and as is signi-

THE CRAB. 313
fied in the sign of the Fishes, which is a spe
cial symbol of the Church.
In the progress of the crab's development
and growth it undergoes important changes.
The most marked of these is the periodic
throwing off of its old shells and the taking on
of new ones. In its earlier life these changes
involve alterations in the whole form and
shape of the animal. Aild so the Church, in
the process of its earthly development and
growth, passes from dispensation to dispensa
tion, and each individual saint first puts off the
old man with his deeds, and puts on the new
man which is renewed after the image of
Him that created him, and then lays off " the
body of this death" in order to be "clothed
upon with our house which is from heaven,
that mortality might be swallowed up of life."
And these several changes, both general and
personal, are all entirely completed by the
time the Church comes to occupy the place
indicated by this sign.
The crab is also armed with two powerful
hands or claws, by which it grasps hold with
wonderful force and securely retains what
ever it takes. And so it is with the people
of God. Having, like *Mary, "chosen the
good part," or, like the patriarchs, " embraced

314 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
the promises," or, like the apostles, " lain hold
of the hope set before us," they come into
the possession of the incorruptible and heav
enly inheritance, and retain it with a grasp so
firm and strong that it " shall not be taken
away." The Scarab^eus.
And so again with the scarabtzus. This is
a creature whose career exhibits very marked
and significant transformations. The first
period of Its existence is passed in a dark,
drear, subterranean abode, where its senses
are feeble, its powers circumscribed, unglad-
dened by pleasant sights, oft terrified by un
intelligible voices from the sunlit world above,
compelled to eat and live amid filth, and with
no worthier employment than to grow and
wait for future changes. And so it is with
the earthly Church and the children of God in
this present life. With all that may be said
of us here, we are the slaves of toil and suf
fering, full of darkness, doubt, and uncertain
ty, loaded with grovelling cares, the sport of
ever- recurring accidents which we cannot ex
plain, pushed and cramped and crowded by
others no better off than ourselves — mere
knots of incapacities and troubles like earth-

THE SCARABALUS. 315
born and dirt-fed grubs, though bearing in us
the germs and beginnings of eventual glory
and blessedness.
Having dragged out the time apportioned
to its first condition, the scarabaeus is next
transformed into quite another. Nature's
hand now swaths it into a chrysalis'. Ac
tivity ceases. Food can no longer be taken.
The avenues of the senses are closed. The
functions of life are put in abeyance, though
soon to open out into still another form of
existence. And so our earthly life terminates
in death and passes into the mummy con
dition — that peculiar middle stage in which
our inner being still lives on, but in quies
cence and rest, which the Scriptures call
" sleep," which no cares or wants invade, and
in which the embalmed body awaits the call
of resurrection to reappear with new and
augmented powers.
And when this period of peaceful inaction
is completed the swathed creature suddenly
breaks from its chrysalis, and bursts forth
into an exaltation of being which has for ever
left behind it every vestige of the low con
ditions in which its earlier life was spent.
What painfully and gloomily crawled in the
filthy earth and darkness now spurns the

316 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
dust, takes wings like a bird, soars at large
in the bright sunshine whithersoever it will,
and becomes a dweller in air, with the liber
ties of a free heaven. Filled now with lov
ing affections and marvellous sagacity, it
builds a- house for its treasure, and holds it
fast as it rolls it out with unwearied devotion
into the vast unknown. And thus from the
mummy form Of the sleeping saints there is
to come a sudden bursting forth, when bodies
terrestrial shall be supplanted by bodies celes
tial, and what was earthy becomes heavenly,
and what was corruptible puts on incorrup-
tion, and what was ignoble becomes glorious,
and what was natural takes all the attributes
and capacities of enfranchised spiritual being,
to mount up with wings as eagles, and to en
joy the light and love arid liberty of heaven,
in no way inferior to the angels. And thus,
with the goal of our being reached and the
treasure of our hearts in hand, the promise
is that we shall hold it secure world without
end. There was scarce a creature on earth which
the old Egyptians made so much of as this
scarabaeus beetle. The stones of their finger-
rings and shoe-latchets, the seals of their
priests and nobles, the ornaments and amu-

prmsepe. 317
lets worn on their bodies, the tokens of their
guilds and orders, the memorials of their
marriages, and the last mark put upon the
mummies of their dead, were shaped into the
form of the scarabaeus. Men have wondered
why this was, and faulted the taste of people
so attached to a filthy 'bug. It was not on ac
count of its beauty surely, nor on account of
any great service rendered by it to their
country or their crops. But it was the figure
in their Zodiac — the star-sign of perfected
being, the progress of which from darkness
to light, from death to resurrection, from
earthly disability to heavenly glory, from the
vicissitudes of time to the secure possession
of the treasures of eternity, they could see
and trace in this beetle at almost every step
throughout all their land, and with which the
primitive traditions had taught the'm to con
nect the most precious hopes of man. This
explains the mystery and tells the story, and
helps us greatly in. identifying the meaning
which the primeval patriarchs understood
and intended to express in this eleventh sign
of the Zodiacal series. PRjESEPE.
In the centre of this constellation there is
.it*

3l8 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
one of the brightest nebulous clusters in the
starry sky, and sufficiently luminous to be
be seen betimes with the naked eye. It looks
like the nucleus of a great- comet, and has
often been taken for one. It is made up of
a multitude of little stars, and is often desig
nated in modern astronomy as the Bee-hive.
The ancients called it Prcesepe, which, in its
Arabic and Hebrew elements, means the
Multitude, Offspring, the Young, the Innumer
able Seed — the very idea in the text. The
Latins, understood by it the manger from
which the asses were fed, the stall, the sta
ble, the fold, and hence a house of enter
tainment the place into which travellers gath
ered for refreshment and rest. The same
idea is expressed by Moses in connection
with Issachar, to whom the Jews referred
this sign, where he speaks of Issachar as
being gathered into tents, called to the-
mountain, offering the sacrifices of right
eousness, and sucking the abundance of the
sea and all the hid treasures of its sands
(Deut. 33: 18, 19). In Jacob's blessing of
his sons we have corresponding allusions and
still further identifications with the particulars
in this sign. In many of the classic refer
ences to the Zodiac the figures here are two

PRAESEPE. 319
assesy particularly represented by the two
stars, the one north and the other south of
Prsesepe. And so Jacob prophesies of the
coming Shiloh, that to Him shall the gather
ing of the people be, and that, having washed
His garments in the blood of grapes, as when
He treads the winepress of the fierceness of
the wrath of Almighty God, and having ac
complished the destruction of His enemies,
as when He rides forth on the white horse to
destroy all hostile powers, " He shall bind His
foal to the vine, and His ass's colt to the
choice vine." Issachar himself is likened to
the great and strong ass'which reclines be
tween the two folds or resting-places, seeing
that "the rest is good and the land pleasant,"
even that for which he was willing to bow his
shoulder to the burden, and to serve and pay
tribute to possess (Gen. 49: 10-15).
The Scriptures thus not only give us the
imagery found in this sign, but connect the
sign itself — which was assigned to Issachar —
with the final results of the achievements of
the promised Seed of the woman — with the
rest that remains for the people of God —
with the ultimate home-gathering of the mul
titudinous seed of faith — with the peaceful
and secure entrance of .the .Church upon the

320 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
" inheritance, incorruptible and undefiled, and
that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for
those who are kept by the power of God
through faith unto salvation ready to be re
vealed in the last time" (i Pet. i : 4-6).
The Myths.
The myths concerning this sign are faint
and feeble, but what is given amply conforms
to what the Scriptures record in connection
with it. The two asses which the Greeks ac
cepted as the figures of Cancer they ex
plained to be the animals by which Jupiter
was assisted in his victory over the giants,
but in repose now by the side of the celestial
crib. They would thus admirably identify
with the white horses on which Christ and
His heavenly armies rode when they came
forth for the destruction of the beasts, kings,
and armies that made war with the Lamb.
They would seem, indeed, to stand for the
same, but now resting in immortal glory after
the victory.
Other myths associate this Crab with the
famous contest of Hercules with the dreadful
Lernaean monster, and affirm that this was
the animal from the sea which Juno's envy
of the hero caused to bite his foot, but which,

THE NAMES. 32 1
being quickly despatched, was rewarded by
being placed among the heavenly constella
tions. Hercules was the symbol of the Seed
of the woman as the suffering and toiling
Deliverer, the great Overcomer and Slayer
of the powers of evil, who, for the sake of
His people, endured the sting and bruising
of -His heel ; and yet, for all the pains they
caused Him, He brings them at last to the
enjoyment of eternal rest and glory, having
slain their enmity by His cross.
The Names.
The Egyptians called this sign Klaria, the
Folds, the Resting-places. We call it Cancer,
which in later vocabularies means the Crab,
but which, in its Noetic roots, explains what
we are to see in this Crab. Khan means the
traveller's resting-place, and ker or cer means
embraced, encircled, held as within encircling
arms. And so Can-cer means Rest secured —
the object of desire at lerigth reached, com
passed, possessed, and inalienably held. Hence
also the chief star in this sign is named Acu-
bens, the sheltering, the place of retirement,
the good rest.- Hence also other names in
this sign (fMdalaph and Al Himarein) mean
assembled thousands, the kids or lambs ; whilst

322 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
the whole is called in Hebrew, Arabic, and
Syriac by a -name which signifies holding,
possessing, retaining. It is the sign of the
saints' everlasting rest, in which the head of
the Serpent is beneath their feet, as under
the feet of this Crab.
And what we thus find in the sign itself is
further illustrated and fully corroborated in
its accompanying Decans.
Ursa Minor.
The first of these is what is now called
Ursa Minor, the Lesser Bear. But this was
not its original name ; nor is it a bear at all.
Those who figure it as a bear are obliged to
give it a long uplifted tail, such as no bear
ever had. And what is very astonishing, on
the supposition that we here have to do with
the form of a bear, is, that the most remark
able star in this constellation, and the most
observed and rested on by man in all the
heavens, is located far out on this unnatural
tail. Where is the sense that would lead any
astronomer, ancient or modern, to locate the
Pole Star of the heavens in an imaginary tail
of a feeble little bear ? The very idea is ab
surd, and such an absurdity that we may be
sure the great old primeval astronomers are

URSA MINOR. 323
in no wise chargeable with it. It is said that
the North American Indians connected the
North Star with a bear, and that hence the
figure here must have been primitively known
as " the Bear ;" but it is not proven that these
Indians belong to the primitive peoples, whilst
they at the same time criticise and ridicule
those who name it a bear, as not knowing
what a bear is, or they never would have
given it a long and lifted tail.
The way in which Ursa Minor and Ursa
Major may have come to be called Bears is
perhaps from the fact that the ancient name
of the principal star in the latter is Dubheh
or Dubah, and as Dob is the word for bear,
the Greeks and others took the name of that
star as meaning the Bear, and- so called these
two corresponding constellations the Bears.
But Dubheh or Dubah does not mean bear,
but a collection of domestic animals, a fold,
as the Hebrew word Dober. The evidence is
that, according to the original intent, we are
to see in these constellations not two long-
tailed bears, but two sheepfolds or flocks, the
collected and folded sheep of God's pasture.
The ancient Danes and Icelanders called
Ursa Minor the Chair or Chariot of Thor,
and the old Britons ascribed the same to

324 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
Arthur, their great divine hero. This is
coming much nearer to the astronomical facts
of the case, as also to the original ideas con
nected with this constellation. It has seven
principal stars, often called Septentriones — the
seven which turn. The Arabs and .the rab
bins called them Ogilah, .going round, as
wheels ; and hence also they are called Charles's
Wain, the King's Wagon, or the thing which
goes round. These noted seven stars are in
themselves sufficient to suggest some con
nection with " the seven churches " which
John saw as "seven stars" in Christ's right
hand. The whole number^pf stars in this
constellation is twenty-four, which suggests
connection again between it and the "four-
and-twenty elders" whom John beheld "round
about the throne, clothed in white raiment,
and having on their heads crowns of gold"
(Rev. 4), which., denote" the seniors of the
elect Church in heaven. The ancient names
in this constellation are Kochab, the Star, al
lied perhaps with the promise in Rev. 2 : 28,
otherwise rendered by Rolleston waiting the
coming ; Al Pherkadain, the Calves, the Young,
Hebraically, the Redeemed ; Al Gedi, the Kid,
the Chosen of the flock ; and Al Kaid, the As
sembled, the gathered together. These are

THE POLE-STAR. $2$
all applicable to the Church of the first-born,
and particularly describe it as it finally comes
to its inheritance.
Aratus says that Jupiter transferred both
these bears to the sky from Crete during his
concealment in the Idaean cave ; but bears
were never known in Crete, though it was
plentiful enough in flocks and herds.. But
the story agrees with the scriptural account
in this, that Christ mysteriously transfers the
Church of the first-born to heaven whilst yet
unmanifested to the rest of the world.
The Greeks called Ursa Minor, if not both
the Bears, Areas, or Arktos, a name which
Harcourt derives from Arx, the stronghold of
the saved. The myth concerning Areas is, that
he was the son of Jupiter and the nymph Cal-
listo, that he built a city on the site of the
blasted house of him who was served up as
a dish to try Jupiter's divinity, and that he
was the progenitor, teacher, and ruler of the
Arcadians ; which readily interprets in good
measure of what is written of the Church of
the first-born, particularly in its offices in the
mysterious future. The Pole-Star.
It is part of the promise of the text that
28

326 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
the seed of faith is to " possess the gate of
his enemies" — that is, to take the house or
possession of the foe — and thenceforward
to hold what the enemy previously held.
Now, at the time these constellations were
formed, and for a long time afterward, the
Pole-Star was the Dragon Star, Alpha Dra-
conis. Thus this central gate, or hinge, or
governing-point of the earth's motion, was
then in the enemy's possession. But that
Dragon Star is now far away from the Pole,
and cannot again get back to it for ages on
ages, whilst the Lesser and higher Sheepfold
has come into its place ; so that the main star
of Areas is now the Pole-Star. The seed of
faith thus gets the enemy's gate. And un
derstanding Ursa Minor of the Church of
the first-born in heaven, instated in the* gov
ernment of the earth, we have in it a striking
picture of the old prophecy fulfilled, when
once Satan is cast down and the saints reign
with their Lord in glory everlasting.
It is also an interesting fact that no traces
of these Greek Bears are to be found in the
Egyptian, the Persian, or the Indian plani
spheres, but only what is thoroughly agree
able to the idea that we are here to see the
assembly of God's flocks in their heavenly

URSA MAJOR. 327
glory, authority, and dominion, as over against
the Serpent and the whole serpent dominion.
Ursa Major.
And this is made the more evident in the
second Decan of Cancer — Ursa Major, the
Great Bear, anciently, the Great Sheepfold,
the resting-place of the flock. The Arabs
still call this constellation Al Naish or An-
naish, the ordered or assembled together, as
sheep in a fold.
In the centre of the miscalled tail of this
so-called Bear we find the name Mizar, which
means guarded or enclosed place. The chief
star of all is Dubheh, herd or fold ; the sec
ond is Merach, the flock ; another, Cab'd al
Asad, multitude of the assembled. Here we
also have the names El Acola, the sheepfold ;
Al Kaiad, the assembled; Alioth, the ewe or
mother ; El Kaphrah, the protected, the cov
ered, the Redeemed ; Dubheh Lachar, the latter
herd ox flock, as distinguished from a former
in Ursa Minor. The book of Job refers to
"Arcturus and his sons" — to Ash, or Aish,
and "her" progeny. The old Jewish com
mentators say that Aish here means the
seven stars of the Great Bear. The word is
often collective, denoting a community, hence

328 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
the flock, the congregation. And in the so-call
ed tail of this Bear we find the name Benet
' Naish, the daughters of Aish, part of the flock
going out after Bootes, the Shepherd.
The myths say that this Bear is the nymph
Callisto, the mother of Areas, the son of Jupi
ter, and that she was metamorphosed into a
' bear by Juno. In the word Callisto we find
the Shemitic root which we again meet as
Caulce, a sheepfold, an enclosure. And with
this idea in mind a glance at these "seven
stars" shows how wellthe presentations an
swer to an enclosure, from which the great
flock goes forth from the fold at the corner
led by their great Shepherd and Guardian,
to whose coming all the ages have been look
ing from the beginning.
In the Dendera Zodiac this constellation
has a great female figure with the head of a
swine, the enemy of the Serpent, the tearer
of the earth, and holding in her hand a great
ploughshare, emblematic of tearing up, bruis
ing, turning under ; and the name by which it
is called is Fent-Har, the Serpent-bruiser, the
Serpent-horrifier. This ploughshare appears
in both these constellations, and may have
given rise to the association of the plough
with these stars ; but the whole significance

ARGO. 329
is that of the seed of faith in power and tri
umph over the Serpent and its progeny.
All this sufficiently shows that we here have
to do with the happy sheepfold, the flock of
God, in heavenly glory and dominion, and not
in the least with the anomalous wild bears of
the Greeks and the later Western peoples.
The picture is that of the seed of faith spoken
of in the text in its twofoldness — the Church
of the first-born round about the throne,, sig
nified by the Polar centre, and the Church of
the after-born in still ampler numbers, led
and guarded by the great Bootes amid the
everlasting pastures. Argo.
And to make this the clearer, the third
Decan of Cancer was framed. This is Argo,
the mysterious ship of the mysterious Argo
nauts returned from their successful expedi
tion to recover the Golden Fleece. Since
the time of Homer, and long before Homer
lived, the world has been full of noise about
this ship and these gods and demigods of
the Argonautic Expedition. But that same
world till now has been floundering about to
find a key to unlock the mystery in which the
story is enveloped. Many are the sugges-
28*

330 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
tions to explain it, but all as empty of sat-
isfactoriness as they are beneath the import
ance and significance always and everywhere
attached to it. The trouble is, that men have
ever persisted in trying to interpret it with
reference to the affairs of ordinary human
history or of some wild conceits of dream
ing poets ; whereas it belongs to the mystic,
spiritual, and prophetic ideas frescoed on the
stars, and to nothing else under heaven.
Taken in these relations, and construed with
the rest of these signs as-we found their true
application to be, we can have no difficulty.
That Golden Fleece was the lost treasure of
human innocence and righteousness, of which
the subtlety of the Serpent had bereft man
kind in the Garden of Eden, and so held and
guarded it that no mere men could ever find
or recover it. In the grove of Mars, the
fierce god of justice, at Colchis, the citadel
of atonement, it lay, the Serpent watching it
with jealous and ever-wakeful eyes. Nor
was there a mortal to be found able to ap
proach it until the true Jason, the Recoverer,
the Atoner, the Healer, even Jesus, came, or
ganized His Argo, His company of travellers,
made up of heroes under His command and
leadership, and went. forth through various

THE NAMES. 33 1
trials, conflicts, and sufferings, helped by the
holy oVacles that went along, and sustain
ed by the heavenly ointments and powers to
heal the wounds and hurts that had to be
encountered, and took the precious prize, and
then through varied fortunes brings the he
roes back victorious to his own home-shores.
And here, in the constellation of Argo, we
have the picture of that return — the ship and
the brave travellers come home,. with the lost
treasure regained, their toils arid hazards and
battles over, and blessed rest their lasting in
heritance. Here the story fits in every part.
It is the old ship of Zion landed in the heav
enly port. Understand it so, and every fea
ture takes on an evangelic light and a meaning
commensurate with its fame. Nor is it pos
sible to contemplate the vivid correspondence
without wonderment at the prophetic know
ledge and spiritual understanding and antici
pations of those primeval sages who framed
these signs and gave out their meaning.
The Names.
And what we thus read in the story of the
Argonauts is confirmed by the names in the
constellation itself. The brightest star in the
group is Canopus or Canobus. And this is the

332 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
name of the great hero and helmsman, who
died from the serpent's bite, but whom the
Egyptians worshipped as a divine being.
The name itself means the possession of Him
who cometh, and thus explains why the Egyp
tians represented Canobus by a great trea
sure-jar. Other names are also here which
tell us what we are to understand. Sephina
means multitudinous good, the very abundance
of the seas and of treasures referred to by
Moses under the sign of Issachar. Tureis
means the firm possession 'in hand, the treasure
secured. Asmidiska means the travellers re
leased. And Soheil means what was desired.
In the Dendera Zodiac we have here the
figure of a great ox enclosed, with the cross
suspended from his neck, the symbol of the
great possession marked with the ancient
token of immortality and eternal life. And
the name of this figure is Shes-en-Fent, re
joicing over the Serpent. All this expresses
exactly what I have said is the great subject
of Cancer.
' In the Persian Zodiac we have here three
young women walking at leisure, the same
with the daughters of Aish, signifying the
Church in its final inheritance.
Thus the whole presentation binds up and

A SWEET CONSOLATION. 333
links together from all sides to fix upon the
sign of Cancer and its Decans the intention
to make it the recorded symbol, prophecy,
and hope of the heavenly rest for the re
deemed which shines so conspicuously in all
the scriptural promises. It is the star-pic
ture of the multitudinous seed of faith at
length possessing the gate of the enemy,
rejoicing over him in life eternal, and going
forth in abundant peace and blessedness, with
the Serpent's head effectually trodden beneath
their 'feet. A Sweet Consolation.
It is a blessed consolation to the oft-weary
toilers and travellers in this world to know
that there does remain a rest for the people
of God. With all the trials and hardships to
which they are subjected .here, there is to
come a blessed recompense. Jesus says :
"Let not your heart be troubled; in my
Father's house are many mansions. I go to
prepare a place for you ; and if I go, and pre
pare a place for you, I will come again, and
receive you unto myself, that where I am ye
maybe also" (John 14 : 1-3). Isaiah sings:
" The ransomed of the Lord shall return, and
come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy

334 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
upon their heads : they shall obtain joy and
gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee
away" (25 : 10). John in prophetic vision
looked over into that other world, and writes :
" I beheld, and lo, a great multitude which no
man could number, of all nations, and kin
dreds, and peoples, and tongues stood before
the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with
white robes, and palms in their hands. These
are they which came out of great tribulation,
and have washed their robes, and made them
white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore
are they before the throne of God, and serve
Him day and night in His temple : and He
that sitteth upon the throne shall dwell among
them. They shall hunger no more, neither
thirst any more ; neither shall the sun light
on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which
is in the midst of the throne shall feed them,
and lead them unto living fountains of waters :
and God shall wipe away all tears from their
eyes " (Rev. 7 : 9-1 7) ; " And there shall be
no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying,
neither shall there be any more pain : for the
former things are passed away" (21 : 4). And
even from His throne in glory the Saviour
sends word to His struggling people: "To
him that overcometh will I grant to sit with

A SWEET CONSOLATION. 335
Me in my throne, even as I also overcame,
and am set down with my Father in His
throne" (Rev. 3:21). Such are the great
and precious promises given to us, and such
the possession to which we aspire. They are
promises also that shall surely be fulfilled.
God has pledged himself by His oath to
make them good. They are the same that
glowed in the hearts of the primeval patri
archs, who saw them afar off, and were per
suaded of them, and embraced them, and
confessed that they were pilgrims and strang
ers on the earth. On these imperishable stars
they hung and pictured their confident belief
and anticipations, whereby they, being dead,
yet speak — speak across these many thou
sands of years — speak for our comfort on
whom the ends of the world have come. Let
us, then, be encouraged to believe as they be
lieved, to hope as they hoped, laboring and
looking for entrance into that same holy rest,
even the everlasting kingdom of our Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Eecture jfourteentij.
THE CONSUMMATED VICTORY.
Rev. 5:5: " Weep not : behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah,
the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the
seven seals thereof."
THE scene of these words was in the
heavenly spaces, whither the Apostle
John had been caught up to witness what is
to come to pass after the present Church-
period comes to its close. They bring to
view a great and oppressive sorrow and a
great and glorious consolation.
In the hand of enthroned Almightiness lay
a roll or document written within and without
and sealed with seven seals. That roll de
noted the title-deed of the inheritance which
man had forfeited by disobedience, and which
had reverted into the hand of God, to whom
the race had become hopelessly indebted.
Those "seven seals" attested the absolute
ness of the bonds of forfeit, and bespoke
how completely the inheritance was disponed
away and gone. Nor could it ever be recov-
33.6

THE CONSUMMATED VICTORY. 337
ered to man, except as some one should be
found with worth, merit, and ability to satisfy
the claim, lift the document, and destroy its
seals. But neither in heaven or earth nor
under the earth did any one appear worthy
to take up the writing, or even so much as to
look upon it. This was the grief which made
the Apostle weep. It seemed to say to him
that ftian's patrimony was clean gone for
ever. It drew a dark and impenetrable veil
over all the promises and over all man's pros
pects, as if everything hoped for was now
about to fail. Could it be that all the fond
anticipations touching " the redemption of
the purchased possession" were now to mis
carry, and the whole matter, of which the
saints had been prophesying so long, go by
default ? So the matter looked, which was a
grief indeed that well might overwhelm the
soul of an Apostle, even in heaven.
But, though John " wept much," he was not
left to weep long. A voice from among
the throned elders soon broke in to relieve
his anxiety and dry his tears. That voice
said : " Weep not : behold, the Lion of the tribe
of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to
Open the book, and to loose the seven seals there
of." This was the consolation which com-
* 29 W

338 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
forted the holy Seer, and which he was di
rected to write for the cheer and comfort of
the sorrowing Church in all these ages since.
And what was thus said to John, both in sub
stance and in figure, we likewise find written
upon the stars in the twelfth and last sign of
the Zodiac and its Decans.
The Lion.
The text speaks of a mystic Lion. The
lion is a kingly, majestic, noble, but terrible
creature, so strong and courageous as to fear
nothing, and so fierce and powerful that no
other animal can stand before him. The
names of the lion in Hebrew, Arabic, Syriac,
and Coptic, though different, all signify about
the same, and mean He that rends, that tears
asunder, that destroys, that lays waste. The
name in Greek and Latin is formed from
words which express sharp and flaming sight,
leaping forth as flames, coming with raging
vehemence. From this we see how the ear
lier peoples were impressed by what they
saw and knew of this terrible beast. The
common sentiment of mankind has associ
ated it with royalty and dominion, and award
ed it the title of " king of beasts." It scarcely
has an equal in physical strength, which is

THE LION. 339
further combined with extraordinary quick
ness and agility. Ordained to feed on flesh,
it is fitted for the work of capture and de
struction, and is supplied with the most pow
erful physical machinery conceivable for the
purpose. It can easily kill and drag away a
buffalo, and it can crush the skull of a horse
or break the backbone of an ox with one
stroke of its paw. Its claws can cut four-
inches in depth at a single grasp. It has
great ivory teeth capable of crunching a bul
lock's bones. The Jail of its, fore paw in
striking is. estimated to be equal to twenty-
five pounds in weight, whilst it is able to
handle itself with all the nimbleness of a cat,
to whose family the lion belongs. The pos
session of such powers, with its instincts for
blood, renders this animal wonderfully daring,
bold, and self-confident, and the great terror
of men and beasts in the vicinity of its haunts.
When the lion is assailed and thoroughly
aroused, and lifts himself up in proud con
templation of his foes, though banded in
troops around him, his composed, majestic,
and defiant mien is described as noble and"
magnificent beyond conception ; whilst the
terribleness of his growl and the thunder of
his roar contribute to make the picture al-

340 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
most superhumanly impressive. And this is-
the image which we are called to contemplate
in the text as describing the character and
majesty of Christ in connection with the final
scenes of the taking of the roll from the hand
of eternal Godhead, the breaking of its seals,
and the clearing of the earth from all enemies
and usurpers. Christ as the Lion.
When the dying Jacob blessed his sons, he
pronounced Judah a lion, whom his brethren
should praise, whose hand should be in the
neck of his enemies, and before whom his
father's children would bow down (Gen. 49 :
8, 9). His words on that occasion were all
intensely prophetic. What he said of Judah
applied to the warlike and victorious energy
which was afterward shown in that tribe.
The same received remarkable fulfilment in
David, in whom the lion-nature was strikingly
exhibited, and whose boast in the Lord was,
" By Thee I can dash in pieces the warlike
people. I pursue after mine enemies, and
overtake them, and turn again until I have
consumed them" (Ps. 18). But these lion-
qualities assigned to Judah looked onward
to a still nobler King, who " sprang out of Ju-

CHRIST AS THE LION. 341
dah" as David's lineal descendant and heir,
who is at once David's Lord and David's son,
and* pre-eminently the Lion of whom Jacob
spoke. Under the New Testament, and during the
course of the existing Church-period, our
Saviour is more commonly contemplated as
the innocent, uncomplaining, and spotless
Lamb of sacrifice, meekly yielding up His
life that we might live. Even among the
stupendous works of battle and judgment
set forth in the Apocalypse, He still appears
again and again as " the Lamb" — " a Lamb as
it had been slain," " the Lamb slain from the
foundation of the world" — by whose blood
the saints are 'washed from their sins, their
garments made white, and their final victory
over all Satan's accusations achieved. And
to His people, even as the eternal Bride
groom, He will never cease to be the Lamb
of God, by whose sacrificial death and medi
ation they have their standing and their bless
edness. Neither does He cease to be the
Lamb even in connection with His being the
terrible Lion. The Lamb is capable of wrath,
and in the day of His wrath He is the Lion.
He is the one to His friends, and He is the
other to His enemies. Nay, He does not
29*

342 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
come to the exercise of His powers and pre
rogatives as the Lion, except as he first clears
away all impediments and overcomes all em
barrassments by means of sacrificial atone
ment and satisfaction for the sins of those
for whom He at length takes the character
of the Lion, to tear His and their enemies in
pieces. This is what the elder means when
he says that this Lion of the tribe of Judah
" hath prevailed!' so as to be in position of
worthiness and ability, as the almighty Re
deemer, to go forward as a Lion to take the
inheritance by destroying all who have ob
truded themselves upon it and presume to
hold it in defiance of His royal rights.
The Lion- Work. *
Nor are the* Scriptures sparing in their ref
erences to this lion-character and lion-work
of the glorious Redeemer when things have
once come to ripeness for the sharp sickle of
judgment. Not only Jacob and Moses, but
all the prophets, have alluded to it Thus
the word of the Lord by Hpsea (13:7,8)
was : " I will be unto them as a lion. I will
rend the "caul of their heart. I will devour
them like a lion." Thus Zephaniah (3 : 8)
prophesied: "Wait ye upon me, saith the

THE LION-WORK. 343
Lord, until the day that I rise vip to the prey :
for my determination is to gather the nations,
that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour
upon them my indignation, even all my fierce
anger : for all the earth shall be devoured
with the fire of my jealousy." Thus Isaiah
(42 : 13), referring to the period of the judg
ment, says : " The Lord shall go forth as a
mighty man, He shall stir up His jealousy
like a man of- war: He shall cry, yea, roar;
He shall prevail against His enemies." Thus
Amos declares : " The Lord will roar from
Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem ;
and the habitations of the shepherds shall
mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither.
Will a lion roar in the forest when he hath
no prey?" (1:2; 3 : 4, 8). "Consider this,"
saith -the Lord (Ps. 50: 22), "ye that forget
God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be
none to deliver."
And here, in the sign of Leo, is this very
Lion, thoroughly aroused, salient, and full
of majesty, the same in all the pictorial Zot
diacs of all nations. It is the same (< Lion of
the tribe of Judah " to which the text refers,
for in the Jewish astronomy this twelfth sign
was the sign of Judah. He is the Lion of
Judah in the text, and He is the Lion of Ju-

344 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
dah in the Zodiac. The record of the signs
and the record of the Word are here precisely
identical. The coincidence is positive and ab
solute, and rests on no mere inferences from
mere likeness or concurring circumstances.
The picture in the sky is one and the same
with the picture in the Revelation as shown
to John in his visions in Patmos.
In the Apocalypse the Lion-Lamb takes
the roll from the hand of eternal Majesty
amid thrills of exultation which shake the
whole intelligent universe from centre to cir
cumference. He tears asunder seal after seal,
until the very last is reached and broken, and
with each there bursts forth a divine almighti-
ness, seizing and convulsing the whole world
as it never before was affected. The white
horse of conquering power, and the red
horse of war and bloodshed, and the black
horse of scarcity and famine, and the cadav
erous horse of Death with Hades at his heels,
dash forth in invincible energy upon the apos
tate populations of the earth. The heavens
are shaken, and seem to collapse like a fall
ing tent, the earth is filled with quaking, the
mountains and islands are moved out of
their places, and the mightiest and bravest,
as well as the weakest, of men are filled with

THE LION-WORK. 345
horror and dismay. The great tribulation,
the like of which never was and never again
shall be, sets in. The golden censers of the
heavenly temple, filled with fire from the ce
lestial altar, are emptied into the earth amid
cries and thunders and terrific perturbations.
The judgment-angels sound their trumpets
and pour out the contents of their bowls of
wrath, filling the world with burning and bit
terness and tripled woe, unloosing hell itself
to overrun and deceive and torment the na
tions, developing all their antichristianism
into one great and all-commanding embodi
ment of consummated iniquity, and gather
ing its abettors at the last into the great
winepress of the wrath of God, to be trodden
by the divine Avenger till the blood flows in
depth to the horses' bridles for more than a
hundred miles,_ and who will no more give
over until the beasts from the abyss, and the
Devil, and all theirs, are cast into the burning
lake of the second death.
Such is the Lion-work of the Root and Off
spring of David as it was shown to the Apos
tle John, and directed to be written for our
learning. And what is thus pictured in the
last book of the Scriptures is the same that
was fore-intimated and recorded in this last

346 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
sign of the Zodiac before any one book of
our present Bible was written.
The Sign of Leo.
Here is the great Lion in all the majesty
of His fierce wrath — Aryeh, He who rends ;
Al Sad, He who tears and lays waste ; Pi-
mentekeon, the Pourer-out of rage, the Tearer
asunder; Leon, the vehemently coming, the
leaping forth as a consuming fire. The chief
star embraced 'in this figure, situated in the
Lion's breast, whence its mighty paws pro
ceed, bears the name of Regel or Regulus,
which means the feet which crush, as where
it is said of the Messiah that He shall tread
upon the serpent and asp, and trample the
dragon under His feet (Ps. 91:13). The
second star in Leo is called Denebola, the
Judge, the Lord who cometh with haste. The
third star is Al Giebha, the exalted, the exalt
ation. Other names in the sign are Zosma,
the shining forth, the epiphany ; Minchir al
Asad, the punishing or tearing of him who
lays waste ; Deneb al E'ced, the Judge com
ing, who seizes or violently takes ; and Al
Defera, the putting down of the enemy.
As nearly and fully as names can express
it, we thus have the same things in the Zo-

HYDRA. 347
diacal Leo that we find ascribed to the Lion
of the tribe of Judah in the Apocalypse.
They both tell one and the same story — the
story of the wrath of the Lamb, and His
great and final judgment-administrations, in
which the kingdom of Daniel's mystic stone,
cut out of the mountain without hands, falls
upon, breaks in pieces, grinds to powder, and
scatters in undistiriguishable dust all other
kingdoms and powers, and sweeps everything
inimical to a common and eternal perdition.
And what we find so vividly pictured and
expressed in the sign is still further and most
unmistakably corroborated in its accompany
ing side-pieces or Decans. Hydra.
The great mission of the promised Seed
of the woman was effectually to bruise the
Serpent's head. This is the all-comprehending
burden of the assurance given to fallen Adam,
and his children after him. The Serpent was
the subtle and snaky creature which deceived
and seduced our first parents into transgres
sion. Whether in the form of a literal snake
is not worth our while to inquire ; but it was
some visible serpentine shape by which Eve
was approached, and in and behind which was

348 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
a treacherous, intelligent, evil spirit, who re
appears again and again in the histories and
prophecies of the Scriptures, even up to the
end, as " the great Dragon, that old Serpent,
called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth
the whole world" (Rev. 12: 9). He was
once a good angel and a chief among the
angels, but " kept not his first estate," left his
place as one of God's loyal subjects, abused
his free will to sin and rebellion, and fell
under bonds of condemnation, in which he is
held over unto the judgment of the great day.
Meanwhile, he is exerting his great powers to
the utmost in malignity toward God and all
good. By his successful deception of our
first parents he got a footing in this world,
and has here planted and organized a vast
Satanic kingdom, over which he reigns, and
which he inspires and directs, impiously set
ting himself up as another god over against
the true and only God, and particularly against
Christ as the rightful Heir and King of the
earth. Hence the saying of the Apostle
Paul, which is ever true of all God's people :
" We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but
against principalities, against powers, against
the rulers of the darkness of this world,
against wicked spirits in the air " (Eph. 6 : 12).

HYDRA. 349
During these six thousand years, which the
Apostle calls "man's day" as distinguished
from " the Lord's day " or the day of enforced
heavenly rule, this subtle and snaky spirit has
managed to worm himself into everything that
goes to make up human life, corrupting and
perverting it to his own base ends, seating
himself in all the centres of influence and
power, and making himself the very king and
god of this world. From all these places he
must be dislodged, his dominion broken, his
works destroyed, and he and all his effect
ually rooted out and put down, before the
heavenly kingdom can come in its fulness or
the great redemption-work reach its intended
consummation. In other words, the whole
empire and influence of the Serpent must be
rent to atoms, worked clean out of the whole
realm of humanity, and so crushed as never
to be able to lift up its head again. Toward
this end all the dispensations and gifts of
God, from the first promise to Adam until
now, have been directed. Toward this end
all the works and administrations of Christ
to this present are framed. To this end He
is to come again in power and great glory as
the Lion of the tribe of Judah, to " put down
all rule and all authority and power," and
30

350 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
to trample "all enemies beneath His feet."
And here, in the first Decan of Leo, is the
grand picture of that consummation. Here
is Hydra, that old Serpent, whose length
stretches one-third the way around the whole
sphere, completely expelled from the places
into which he had obtruded, fleeing now for
his life, and the great Lion, with claws and
jaws extended, bounding in terrific fury and
seizing the foul monster's neck.^
Myths and Names.
According to the myths, this Hydra was
the terrible monster which infested the Ler-
naean lake — image of this corrupt world. It
was said to have a hundred heads, neither of
which could be killed simply by cutting off,
for unless the wound was burned with fire
two immediately grew out where there was
only one before. The poets describe him as
" Raising a hundred hissing heads in air ;
When one was lopped, up sprang a dreadful pair."
All this answers wonderfully well to the his
tory of evil in the world, and the impossibil
ity of effectually overcoming it in any one of
its manifestations except by the fires of judg
ment.

MYTHS AND NAMES. 351
The myths further say that it was one of
the great labors imposed on Herakles to des
troy this dreadful monster, in which he also
succeeded, helped by his faithful companion
and charioteer, Iolaus. But his success was
only by means of fire and burning, by ap
plying a red-hot iron to the wound as head
after head was severed from the horrid form.
Herakles was the deliverer sent to free the
world of its great pests. He was the myth-
ologic symbol of the Seed of the woman who
was to come to make an end of all ill powers.
Mythology thus answers to Revelation, and
well bears out the interpretation of Hydra as
a picture of Satan finally vanquished, rent,
burned, destroyed by the fury of Judah's
Lion. In the Dendera sphere the Lion stands di
rectly on the Serpent, whilst underneath is
the hieroglyphic name Knem, which means
vanquished, conquered. The plain idea is
that here is the end of the Serpent-dominion.
The name Hydra means the Abhorred. The
principal star, Al Phard, means the Separated,
the Excluded, the Put out of the way. Another
name in the constellation is Minchir al Sugia,
which means the punishing, ox tearing to pieces,
of the Deceiver.

352 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
Everything thus falls in with the one idea,
and adds its share to prove that we here
have, by the intent of those who framed
these signs, a direct and graphic picture of
the glorious triumph of the Seed of the wo
man crushing the Serpent's head and putting
him out of the way for ever.
And if further evidence is needed, it is fur
nished in the two remaining Decans of this
final sign. Crater, or the Cup of Wrath.
The Psalmist (75 : 8) says : " In the hand of
the Lord there is a cup, and the wine is red ;
it is full of mixture ; and He poureth out of
the same : but the dregs thereof all the wick
ed of the earth shall wring out, and drink ;"
" Upon the wicked He shall rain burning
coals, fire and brimstone, and a fiery tempest:
this shall be the portion of their cup" (11 : 6).
Concerning every worshipper of the Beast
John heard the angel proclaim, "The same
shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God,
which is poured out without mixture into the
cup of His indignation ; and he shall be tor
mented, with fire and brimstone in the pres
ence of the holy angels, and in the presence
of the Lamb ; and the smoke of their torment

CRATER, OR THE CUP OF WRATH. 353
as'cendeth up for ever and ever: and they
have no rest day nor night" (Rev. 14:10,
11). The portion of the worshippers of the
son of perdition is " the lake of fire," and the
same is likewise dealt out to the Beast and
the False Prophet, and ultimately to the
Devil himself: for John saw him "cast into
the lake of fire and brimstone, where the
Beast and the False Prophet are," and where
he " shall be tormented day and night for
ever and ever" (Rev. 20 : 10). In other
words, he and all his are to drink of the. wine
of the wrath of God which is poured out with
out adulteration or dilution into the cup of
the divine indignation.
And lo ! here, as the second Decan of
Leo, we have the very picture of that Cup,
broad, deep, full to the brim, and placed di
rectly on, the body of this writhing Serpent !
Nay, the same is sunk into his very sub
stance, for the same stars which mark the
bottom of the Cup are part of the body of
the accursed monster, so that the curse is
fastened down on him and in him as an ele
ment of all his after being ! Dreadful be
yond all thought is the picture John gives of
this Cup of unmingled and eternal wrath, but
not a whit more dreadful than the picture of
30* X

354 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
it which the primeval prophets have thus in
scribed upon the stars.
Corvus, or the Raven.
But this is not all. The wise man says,
" The eye that mocketh at his father, and
despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of
the valley shall pick it out and the young
eagles shall eat it" (Prov. 30:17). When
David, the first great impersonation of Ju-
dah's Lion, met the terrible Goliath of Gath,
he cursed him in the name of the Lord God
of Israel, and said : " I will smite thee, and
take thy head from thee ; and I will give the
carcasses of the host of the Philistines this
day unto the fowls of the air and to the wild
beasts of the earth" (1 Sam. 17:46). So,
when the Lord of lords and King of kings
dashes forth on the white horse, with the
armies of heaven following Him on white
horses, to tread the winepress of the fierce
ness and wrath of Almighty God, an angel
stands in the sun, calling with a great voice
to all, the fowls and birds of prey to come and ,
feast themselves on the flesh of the enemy
(Rev. "19:17, 18). And here, in the third
Decan of Leo, we have the pictorial sign of
the same thing. Here is Corvus, the Raven,

THE CAREER OF THE SERPENT. 355
the bird of punishment and final destruction,
grasping the body of Hydra with its feet and
tearing him with its beak.
The myths have but little sensible or con
sistent to say of this Raven, except in mak
ing it the symbol of punished treachery.
The Greeks and Romans 'had for the most
part lost its meaning. The Egyptians called
it Her-na, the Enemy broken. The star in
the eye of this ill-omened bird is called Al
Chiba, the Curse inflicted. Another name in
the constellation is Minchir al Gorab, the Ra
ven tearing to pieces. It is the sign, of the
absolute discomfiture and destruction of the
Serpent and all his power; for when the
birds once begin to tear and gorge the flesh
of fallen foes, no further power to resist, harm,
or annoy remains in them. Their course is run.
Thus, then, and thus completely, does Ju-
dah's Lion dispose of that old Serpent-enemy,
with all his Hydra heads, when once the day
of final settlement comes.
The Career of the Serpent.
Great and marvellous is the part which this
arch-enemy has played in the history'of our
race, is still playing, and will yet play before
the end is reached. ' Like a dark and chilling

356 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
shadow he came up upon the new-born world,
insinuated his slime into the garden of human
innocence, deceived and disinherited the race
at its very spring, and so spun his webs around
the souls of the earlier generations as to drag
almost the entire population of the earth to
one common ruin. Hardly had that great
calamity passed when he began again with
new schemes to get men in his power and
sway them to his will. Before the Flood he
won them through their carnal passions. Now
he set himself to taint their holy worship, per
verting it into idolatries which have held and
debased the great body of mankind for these
forty centuries, and still holds great portions
of the world in darkness and in death. Then
he plied them with visions of empire and do
minion, and thus filled the earth and the ages
with murderous tyrannies, misrule, oppres
sions, wars, and political abominations. Then
he began to corrupt the thinking and philos
ophies of men, thereby making them willing
slaves to damning error. And even to-day
he is the very god of this world, to whose lies
the vast majority of the race render homage,
whose fule is in living sway over at least two-
thirds of the population of the earth, which
is full of misery from his power.

THE END. 357
Nor is there the slightest solid ground for
hope that it will be essentially otherwise till
the great Lion of the tribe of Judah comes
forth in the fury of his almightiness to make
an. utter end of him and his infernal domina
tion. But his doom is sealed. On the face
of these lovely stars it has been written from
the beginning, the same as in the Book.
Though Satan's grasp upon our world should
hold through the long succession of two-thirds
of the signs, there is at last a Lion in the way,
alive, awake, and mighty, even that Seed of
the woman whom he has all these ages been
wounding in the heel and trying to defeat and
destroy. That Lion he cannot pass. Cun
ningly as the subtle Deceiver has wound him
self about everything, injecting his poison and
making firm his hellish dominion, he will soon
be dragged forth to judgment, seized by al
mighty power, crushed, torn, pierced, put
under the bowl of eternal wrath, whilst the
hundred-headed body in which he has oper
ated through all these ages is given to the
black birds of uncleanness to be devoured.
The End.
And when the Serpent thus falls the circle
of time is complete, and it is eternity. There

358 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
is no continuity of the way of time beyond
the victorious triumphs of Judah's Lion.
Death, and Hell, and all the wild beasts, with
all their children, and the old Serpent, their
father, with them, thenceforward have their
place in the everlasting prison burning with
fire and brimstone, which is the second death.
And outside of that dread place " there shall
be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying,
neither shall there be any more pain : for the
former things are passed away." Then the
great voices in heaven sing : " Behold, the
tabernacle of God is with men, and He will
dwell with them, and they shall be His peo
ple, and God himself shall be with them, and
be their God; "for they "shall inherit all
things " (Rev. 21).
Blessed consummation ! How should we
look and long and pray for it, as Jesus has
directed where He tells us to say, "Thy king
dom come — Thy will be done on earth as it is in
heaven " ! Well might one of England's great
est poets cry : " Come forth out of Thy royal
chambers, O Prince of all the kings of the
earth ! Put on the visible robes of Thy impe
rial Majesty ! Take up the unlimited sceptre
which Thy almighty Father hath bequeathed
Thee ! For now the voice of Thy bride calls

THE END. 359
Thee, and all creatures sigh to be renewed."
How cheering the hope, amidst the clash of
conflicting beliefs, the strife of words, the din
of war, the shouts of false joy, the yells of
idolatry, the sneers of unbelief, the agonies
of a dying race, and the groans of a whole
creation travailing in pain together in conse
quence of the Serpent's malignity, that a pe
riod is coming when -eternal death shall be
that Serpent's portion ; when peace and order
and heavenliness shall stretch their bright
wings over the happy sons of men ; when
rivers • of joy proceeding from the throne of
God and of the Lamb shall water all this
vale of tears ; when cherubim to cherubim
shall cry, " Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God
of hosts ; the whole earth is full of His
glory ;" when myriads of myriads and thou
sands of thousands of angels round about
the throne shall join in the acclaim of " Wor
thy is the Lamb which hath been slain, to re
ceive the Power, and Riches, and Wisdom,
and Might, and Honor, and Glory, and Bless
ing;" and when every creature which is in
heaven, and on the earth, and under-the earth,
and upon the sea, and all things in them, shall
sing, " To Him that sitteth upon the throne,
and to the Lamb, be the Blessing, and the

360 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
Honor, and the Glory, and the Dominion, for
the ages of the ages " ! Yet such is our hope
given us as an anchor for our souls, both sure
and steadfast, entering into that within the
veil, and linking us even now to those solid
shores of the world to come. We have it in
the written word of Prophets and Apostles,
and the same is certified to us by these ever
lasting stars in their ceaseless journeyings
around the pathway of the circling year. God
be thanked for such a hope ! God be thanked
for the full and wide-sounding testimony to
its certainty! God be thanked that it has
come to us, and that ours is the privilege of
taking it to our souls in the. confidence and
comfort that it shall be fulfilled !
" Not the light that leaves us darker,
Not the gleams that come and go,
Not the mirth whose end is madness,
Not the joy whose fruit is woe;
Not the .notes that die at sunset,
Not the fashion of a day ;
But the everlasting beauty
And the endless melody,
Heir of glory !
That shall be for thee and me."

ILectute jFtfteenti).
THE SECRETS OF WISDOM.
Job 11:6:" He would show thee the secrets of wisdom, that they
are double to that which is."
THINGS are more than they seem. They
are not only more in themselves than
we can know or understand, but they are re
lated to other and hidden spheres beyond
the reach of our natural reason. " They are
double" in their expression, so that what is
external and natural at the same time includes
something recondite and spiritual. The Scrip
tures everywhere recognize this, and con
stantly proceed upon it in what we call sym
bols, types, parables, allegories, and tropes.
And the true " secrets of wisdom," as well as
the characteristics of divine teaching, accord
ing to Zophar, lie in this double of what we
naturally observe and experience.
In so far, then, as this doubleness of show
ing is . a mark of divine teaching, the pri
meval-astronomy is pre-eminently a part of
God's own revelation ; for here we find not
31 361

362 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
only a superhuman knowledge of the natural
economy of the starry heavens, but a double-
ness of expression by which we may also
read the whole system of Messianic truths,
predictions, and hopes.
To human observation there is nothing
grander than this universe of heavenly worlds.
The study of them is justly regarded as the
sublimest of the sciences. But, on the basis
of these natural facts and presentations, there
is a duplicate of meaning ^touching another
department of the divine manifestations which
is vastly sublimer and more precious than all
the knowledge of astronomy.
The Ground thus Far.
In our endeavors to trace this double of
the starry expressions we have been occu
pied entirely with the Solar Zodiac and its
thirty-six Decans. In this we have indeed
the main stellar presentations. Following
this Way through its various steps or sta
tions, with their explanatory Faces, we ne
cessarily have before us all the most con
spicuous markings of the heavens. And if
there really is a legible record of the. Gospel
in the stars, it must be found, above all, in
what we have thus gone over. Whether the

THE GROUND THUS FAR. 363
findings have in fact been such as to warrant
us in concluding that Christ and His fore-
announced achievements are there symbol
ized, must be decided by those who will can
didly consider what has been brought out.
For my own part, I have not the slightest
doubt or question on the subject. Taking
the facts, figures, and names as our qommon,
every-day astronomy gives them, I find such
clear and evident marks of connection and
design, such thorough consistency in the elab
oration of all the details, such distinct and
orderly progress of thought in the arrange
ments of beginning, continuity, and end, such
a universal and multitudinous array of myths
and legends founded on the constellations and
running parallel with their meaning as thus
interpreted, such a complete identity of im
ages and terms with the scriptural presenta
tions of the same things, and such a self-
evidencing and exhaustive outlining of all
the great features of the Gospel story, along
with such a profound and accurate penetration
into the whole organization of the visible uni
verse, — that I should have to go against all
laws of evidence and principles of logic not
to accept it as very truth that these heavens
do declare " the glory of God " as embodied

364 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
in the person, mission, work, and redemptive
achievements of His Son Jesus Christ.
The Lunar Zodiac.
But the markings of the heavens are not
exhausted by what pertains to the Solar Zo
diac and its Decans. There is also a Lunar
Zodiac. . It consists of the same belt" as the
Solar Zodiac, but divides that belt into twenty-
eight in place of twelve parts or steps ; and
these twenty-eight are called the Mansions
of the Moon. To each of these twenty-eight
steps a particular name is given. In the In
dian astronomy each of these steps or Man
sions also had a particular figure additional
to the name ; but the figures are not invari
ably the same. In China and Arabia the
names are more uniform, but are given with
out figures or emblems. The Parsis also had
the Lunar Zodiac, and made much of it.
Astronomers agree in regarding this Lunar
Zodiac as containing the most ancient remains
of the science of the stars. The Romans,
Greeks, and Egyptians knew little or noth
ing about it, but it is a matter of record in
China that it was known and understood in
that country as early as the reign of Yao,
about twenty-three hundred years before the.

THE LUNAR ZODIAC. 365
Christian era, which was before the time of
Abraham.* In the Chinese astronomy it be
gins with Virgo, which would seem to indi
cate that the Chinese table came from the
antediluvian times.
The Lunar Zodiac is manifestly from the
same source as the Solar, and great import
ance was attached to it wherever the know
ledge of it was preserved in living observance.
In Arabia and in India from time immemorial
these Mansions of the Moon held place and
rank equal,, if not superior, to the Solar Zo
diac, and are found interwoven with all poetry
and science, and incorporated not only into
the worship and mythology, but also into va
rious customs of private life." Children there
are still frequently named according to the
Lunar Mansions under which they were born.
They are preserved in Scandinavia and
Burmah,- and traces of them have been found
in the ruins of ancient Mexico. Al Fergani
in Bagdad, Albumazer in Spain, and Ulugh
Beigh, the Tartar prince and astronomer,
grandson of Tamerlane, have transmitted to
* This point is scientifically presented in Max Miiller's Sacred
Books of the East, vol. iii., by James Legge, where it is said that
" the most common, and what was the earliest, division of the Eclip
tic in China is that of the twenty-eight Lunar Mansions, forming
what we may call the Chinese Zodiac."
31*

366 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
us the names and enumerations of these
Mansions of the Moon, and preserved to the
world the evidences of their corresponding
antiquity with the twelve signs of the Solar
Zodiac* There is, therefore, every reason to expect, '
if it was meant that the stars should carry a
prophetic record of the Gospel, that we would
find it also in the arrangement and naming
of these Lunar Mansions. And, as we would
anticipate, so it really is.
Names of the Lunar Mansions.
Christ was predicted as " the Desire of
nations," " the Desire of women ;" and so
the first of these Mansions is named Al
Awa, the Desired. Christ was foretold as
" the Branch," God's " servant the Branch,"
" the Branch of Righteousness who shall exe
cute judgment," and the like ; and the second
of these Mansions is called Simak al Azel,
Branch of the power of God. It was pre
dicted of Christ that His soul should be made
an offering for sin (Isa. 53 : 10) : "He is the
propitiation for our sins and for the sins of
* See Hyde's Syntagma, vol. i.; Freytag's Arabic Lexicon; and
Le Gentil, Voy. dans les Indesc

THE LUNAR MANSIONS. $67
the whole world." And so the third of these
Mansions bears the name of Caphir, the
Atonement, the Propitiation by sacrifice.
These three Mansions correspond to Virgo.
Christ was everywhere promised as the Re
deemer, the Saviour, He who should bring re
demption; and the fourth of these Mansions
is named Al Zubena, the redeeming, the re
gaining by purchase, the buying back. When
Christ died he said, " It is finished ;" and the
fifth of these Mansions is named Al Iclil, the
complete submission.
These two names 'answer to Libra.
And so the list proceeds in strict accord
with the scriptural prophecies and descrip
tions of the Seed of the woman. Thus :
Corresponding to Scorpio.
Al Kalb, the cleaving or wounding; Al
Shaula, the sting, the deadly wound.
Corresponding to Sagittarius.
Al Nairn, the gracious, the delighted in ; Al
Beldah, hastily coming, as to judgment.
So far, the reference plainly is to the person
and work of Christ as respects himself, as in
the first quaternary of the Solar Zodiac.
The succeeding series runs thus :

368 the gospel in the stars.
Corresponding to .Capricornus.
Al Dibah, the sacrifice slain.
Corresponding to Aquarius.
Sa'ad al Bula, witness of the rising or
drinking in ; Sa'ad al Su'ud, witness of the
swimming or outpouring; Al Achbiya, the
fountain of pouring.
Corresponding to Pisces.
Al Pherg al Muchaddem, the progeny of
the ancient times ; Al Pherg al Muachher, the
progeny of the latter times ; Al Risha, the
band, the joined together.
Corresponding to Aries.
Al Sheratan, the wounded, that was cut off;
Al Botein, the treading under foot; Al Thur-
aiya, the enemy punished.
These names thus run in remarkable paral
lel of meaning with the signs and more ample
showings in the second qua-ternary of the
Solar Zodiac. It is the same also with regard
to the rest of these names as compared with
the last four signs.

the milky wa y. 369
Corresponding to Taurus.
Al Debaran, the Leader, the Governor, the
Subduer ; Al Heka, the driving away.
Corresponding to Gemini.
Al Henah, the wounded in the foot ; Al Di-
rah, the ill-treated. Corresponding to Cancer.
Al Nethra, the treasure, the possession ; Al
Terpha, the healed, the delivered, the saved.
Corresponding to Leo.
Al Gieba, the exaltation, the Prince ; Al
Zubra, the heaped-up, as sin and delayed
punishment; Al Serpha, the burning, the fu
neral-pyre. ¦ The whole series of these names thus runs
parallel with the signs of the Solar Zodiac,
and ends up precisely in the same way, prov
ing that they are of a piece with it.
The . Milky Way.
Another distinct marking of the heavens
is a snowy belt, from four to twenty degrees
or more in width, which stretches obliquely
over the sky from south-west to north-east,
Y

370 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
thus cutting the Ecliptic, and extending en
tirely around the whole circuit of the heavens
in another direction. It is best seen in the
months from June to November, and looks
like a great river of hazy brightness. It is
called the Galaxy, the Milky Way, the Galac
tic Circle. It was once supposed to be a vast
collection of nebulous matter consisting of yet
forming or unformed stars, but later inves
tigations have demonstrated that the whole
Milky Way is made up of myriads on myriads
of suns like ours, which is itself one of them.
Milton refers to this great belt as
" A broad and ample road, whose dust is gold,
And pavement stars, as stars to thee appear— "
A circling zone, powdered with stars."
The ancient heathen- poets and philosophers
spoke of this Way as- the path which their
deities used in the heavens, and claimed that
it led directly to the throne and " the Thun
derer's abode." And if the primeval prophets
had wished to mark on the sky the steps and
stages in the life and work of the promised
Seed of the woman, and the results of the
same, this marvellous "pathway of the gods"
was well suited to their purpose. And so we
also find it employed.
Twelve of the constellations are situated

THE MILKY WAY. 37 1
in or on this Milky Way ; six of which relate
to the first advent, and six to the second.
They start at the lowest point with the Cross
and the Altar of sacrifice, the burning pen
alty of sin ; as Christ humbled himself and
became obedient unto death, even the death
of the cross, and laid the foundations of sal
vation in becoming a curse for us.. Then
comes the cleft of Scorpio, the sting of death
and the power of hell, seeming to split
asunder the Milky Way itself. Then comes
the Eagle pierced ; then the Swan on out
spread wings, going and returning with the
bright cross displayed upon its breast for all
the world to see ; and then the royal Cepheus
swaying the sceptre of empire, with his foot
upon the pole of dominion, high over all au
thority and power; all of which epitomizes
with great exactness the biblical portraiture
of Christ's history up to the time when He
is to come again.
The first thing to occur when the time of
Christ's second coming arrives is the seizing
away of His true people, dead and alive, to
Jiimself in the sky ; and so the next sign on
this Way is that of Cassiopeia, the enthroned
woman, the, Church set free from its bonds
and crowned with heavenly glory.

372 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
The next picture is that of Perseus, the
illustrious Breaker, full-armed and winged,
"the savior of Andromeda, whom he has en
gaged to make his bride, and the slayer of
the Gorgon, whose head, writhing with matted
snakes, he bears away in triumph.
The next is Auriga, the mighty Shepherd,
ruling the nations with a rod of iron, but
having the glorified Church in His bosom,
and holding the alarmed little kids all safe
on His mighty hand.
The next succeeding picture is that of
Gemini, the heavenly union of Christ and
His Church, the marriage of the Lamb.
The fifth picture is that of the doubly-glo
rious Orion, the mighty Hunter of all the
wild beasts of apostate power in all their
lurking-places, going forth in His "princely
and all-conquering energy, treading down the
Serpent beneath His feet, and slaying even
Death and Hell.
And then comes the last of the series,
Argo, the anchored. ship of the heroes re
turned from their perilous expedition to re
cover the Golden Fleece, securely landed now
on the home-shores, with their imperishable
treasure secured for ever. This completes
the circle of the Snowy Way, which even the

THE PRIMEVAL PATRIARCHS. 373
heathen recognized and celebrated as the
path to glory and to God.
Could this arrangement, so clear, so con
sistent, and so thoroughly conformed to all
that the Scriptures teach us on the subject
of our salvation, have come about by mere
accident? Fitted in as it is with the -Zodiacal
showings, on a circle so different, and yet,
in its own path, exhibiting the same story so
vividly and so fully, how can we otherwise
conclude but that here is proof of a purpose,
and of the operation of some great master
mind at once familiar with the whole Gospel
scheme and with the whole system of the
starry economies ?
But if we take the conclusion which thus
presses upon our acceptance, then we might
also reasonably expect to find other recogni
tions of it, and to be able to trace the same
in the ancient symbolisms of the earthly econ
omies also. And here too we only need to
look to find many remarkable farcts.
The Primeval Patriarchs.
Take, for example, the names of the ante
diluvian patriarchs as given in the fifth chapter
of Genesis. From early Christian antiquity
these have been held to contain a synopsis
32

374 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
of the whole Gospel story. These names all
have meanings ; and those meanings, taken
in their historic order, indicate the main things
in the history of our redemption. But who
would anticipate, without being told it, that
these names and their meanings equally cor
respond with the Zodiac in the senses in which
I have been explaining them ?
Adam means the bright, the excellent, the
godlike, and also to suffer death. And who
is the fountain and soul of our salvation but
another Adam, the brightness of the Father's
glory and the express image of His person,
given to die for our sins ? But this is the
picture of the Seed of the woman in Virgo,
glorious as Spica, blessed as the Branch,
precious as the Desired One, like God as
Son of God, and the sufferer as Centaur and
the Victim !
Seth means appointed in the place of an
other, a substitute, a compensation, a price.
So Christ is our Seth, appointed to take our
place as our substitute, making compensation
for our sins, and paying the price by which
we are redeemed. But this is the precise rep
resentation given in the sign of Libra!
Enos means mortal, suffering, afflicted. So
Christ was the appointed bearer of our griefs,

THE PRIMEVAL PATRIARCHS. 375
the carrier of our sorrows, stricken, smitten
of God, and afflicted, by whose stripes heal
ing comes to us. But this again is the exact
showing we had in the sign of' Scorpio !
Cainan means acquisition, forcible gaining
of possession. So Christ's mission is to
bruise the Serpent's- head, to ride forth here
after in joyous majesty as a warrior, whose
right hand shows terrible things, and whose
arrows are sharp in the heart of the King's
enemies. But this is the precise exhibit in
the sign of Sagittarius!
Mahalaleel means the display or praise of
God. And so it is everywhere set forth as
the particular outshining of God's glory and
the special topic of His praise that Christ
was " delivered for our offences and raised
again for our justification," thus begetting unto
himself a peculiar people to " make known the
riches of His glory," " to the intent that unto
the principalities and powers in the heaven-
lies might be known by the' Church the manir
fold wisdom of God," " to the praise of His
glory." But this again is what we had in the
sign of Capricornus !
Jared means the descending, the coming
down, as the Holy Ghost shed forth to quick
en and energize humanity, according to the

376 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
promise. But this was the showing which we
had in Aquarius!
Enoch means consecrated, initiated, taught,
trained, and this is what characterizes the
.Church of all ages. To that of old time and
to that of our dispensation it could equally be
said: "Ye are a chosen generation, a royal
priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people,
that ye should show forth the praises of Him
who hath called you out of darkness into His
marvellous light" (i Pet. 2: 9). But this is
the very subject of the sign of Pisces!
Methuselah means released from death. So
Christ appeared to John in the visions of the
Apocalypse as the Lamb standing in the midst
of the throne, marked as having been slain,
but invested with the perfection of power, wis
dom, and divine endowment, and having also
the keys of Death and of Hades to release
and bring forth all His people to the .same
heaverily life. But this, again, is the very
presentation made in the sign of Aries!
Lamech means the strong, the mighty, the
wild and invincible overthrower. And so
Christ is to come "travelling in the greatness
of His strength," "with power and great
glory," to execute judgment upon the Enemy,
to make the apostate nations drink the cup of

THE PRIMEVAL PATRIARCHS. ^77
* His indignation, and to tread the winepress
of the wrath of Almighty God, till the moun
tains are melted with blood. But this is the
exact" presentation which we .had in the sign
of Taurus!-
Noah means rest. And so there remaineth
a rest for the people of God after the wicked
are destroyed — a calm repose with our Re
deemer when we reach the farther shore of
the boisterous sea of this world — an everlast
ing union with the Lord as His bride and wife.
But this is the very theme of the sign of Gem
ini !
This exhausts ten signs of the Zodiac in
their order ; and if we would have names sim
ilarly answering to the remaining two, Shem
and Arphaxad, in whom the line of the prom
ised Messiah was continued after Noah, may
serve to furnish them.
Shem means name, renown, the standard of
empire, the symbol of an established kingdom ;
just as is predicted of the glorious kingdom
to be given to the saints. But this is the sub
ject given in the sign of Cancer ! And Ar-
phaxad means the strength, the stronghold
of the assembly; which again is the import
of the sign of Leo !
It is marvellous that things should be so ;
32*

378 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
but here are the facts, and they could by no
possibility have been what they are by mere
accident. There must needs have been great
intelligence thus to fit what we might call ac
cidents of earth with such elaborations of signs
in the heavens, to utter and record in both the
full-length evangelic story. Nor could that in
telligence have achieved such a work unhelped
by the Spirit of Him who alone knows the end
of all things from the beginning.
The Twelve Tribes of Israel.
Likewise in the names of Jacob's sons in
his prophetic blessings on them (Gen. 49),
in the corresponding song of Moses on the
several tribes of Israel (Deut. 33), on the
banners borne by these tribes in their march
through the wilderness from Egypt to Ca
naan, and in the jewels of the breastplate of
their officiating high priest, do we again find
distinct correspondence to the celestial signs,
just as I have been identifying and describing
them. I may not enter now upon the full
showing in these instances. I state only a
few elements of the presentation.
Zebulon means dwelling, the choosing and
entering upon a home. Jacob blessed Zebu
lon as to dwell at the seas as a haven for the

THE TWELVE. TRIBES OF ISRAEL. 279
ships. Moses sung of his joyful going forth.
His jewel representative was Bareketh, glit
tering, bright. So Christ is the brightness of
the Father's glory, who, when He entered
upon His ministry of light and salvation, se
lected Zebulon as its home-centre, and on
those shores opened out His brightness, so
that the land of Zebulon beheld a great light
come to dwell there as Lord and Saviour.
But all this is in thorough correspondence
with what hung prophetic in the sky in the
sign of Virgo. ~~
The next succeeding sign did not appear
on any of the standards of Israel, for Levi
had no separate banner. The sanctuary it
self was Levi's ensign. His business was to
take care of that, and there to offer sacrifices
for the people's sins. But all the more ex
pressively did he thus bear aloft the showing
of redemption's price, just as we found it sig
nalized in Libra. He kept the balances of
the sanctuary.
Dan means judge, administering as a judge.
Jacob describes him as judging and punishing,
and as a serpent and adder by the way that
biteth the horses' heels. Moses refers to him
as a lion's whelp, leaping from Bashan. His
emblem was the serpent, and the whole de-

380 THE COSPEL IN THE STARS.
scription concerning him answers to Scorpio,
which was the place assigned him in the Jew
ish Zodiac.
In the same way Asher answers to Sagitta
rius. His jewel representative is called Sho-
ham, the lively, the strong, and his name
means the blessed, the happy, the triumphant
going forth. Moses speaks of him as ap
proved and prospered, dipping his foot in oil,
wearing shoes of iron and brass, and riding
forth in the strength of the God of Jeshurun,
precisely as the picture is in Sagittarius.
Naphtali is " a hind," a wrestler with death,
let go to drop and die, but filled with favor
.and blessing nevertheless ; falling, yet joy
fully bringing forth abundant new life and
gladness by his "goodly words;" which is
the showing in Capricornus.
Reuben in like manner corresponds to Aqua- ¦
rius. His name means Behold a son, new be
ing. Jacob speaks of him as the beginning
of strength and excellence, going on to excel
as water flows. His jewel was Nophek, the
pouring forth, as water and light.
Simeon means hearing and obeying. Jacob
associates Levi with him, signifying the united,
joined together, bound ; and Moses assigns
them the blessing of the prophetic lights and

THE TWELVE TRIBES OF ISRAEL. 38 1
perfections ; all of which answers to the
Church as pictured in the sign of Pisces.
So Gad is Aries. The name means tlie
seer, as the Lamb has "seven eyes." He is
pierced, but overcomes at the last. He is
blessed, seated as a lawgiver, dwelling as a
lion. His jewel was the diamond, cutting and
breaking, as well as shining. With the heads
of the people he executes the justice and
judgments of the Lord with Israel — that is,
with the Church. All of which is precisely
the showing in the sign of Aries.
Joseph is Taurus, the reem. Ephraim and
Manasseh are his two great horns, pushing
the' people to. the ends of the earth. The
arms of his hands are made strong by the
mighty God of Jacob. His glory is like the
firstlings of the herd. His jewel-sign signi
fies tongues of fire. The two pictures are
exactly identical.
Benjamin is Gemini. He had two names,
as Gemini has two figures — Benjamin, son of
the right hand, and Benoni, son of my sorrow,
which together describe Christ and the Church
He has "begotten by His sorrows." Both
are the beloved of the Lord, the latter dwell
ing between the shoulders of the other, shel
tered and blessed by Jehovah all the day long,

382 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
in the morning devouring the prey like a
ravening wolf, and in the evening dividing
the spoils.
Issachar means recompense. His jewel rep
resentative is Pitdah, reward. Jacob speaks
of him as a strong ass resting between the
burdens of treasure. He sees his resting-
place that it is good. Moses describes him
as rejoicing in his tents, to whose mountains
the people come with sacrifices of righteous
ness, and to suck the abundance of the seas
and the yet hidden treasures on the shore.
All these presentations answer throughout
to Cancer.
And in all the given particulars Judah is
Leo. His name means the praise and glory
and majesty of God. His banner bore the
sign of the rampant lion. His jewel repre
sentative was the ruby, the symbol of blood-
shedding unto victory. And Jacob describes
him as the lion, the tearer in pieces, the glo
rious victor, the same as exhibited in the sign
of Leo. The New Jerusalem.
And when we come to the New Testament
we not only find the images of the constella
tions repeatedly employed in the same sense

THE NEW JERUSALEM. 383
and application as in our interpretations of
the signs, but also systematically placed to
gether, if not in the twelve Apostles of the
Lamb, yet in the twelve jewels which make
up the foundations of the New Jerusalem,
in which are the names of those Apostles.
I am not sufficient master of the lore re
specting precious stones to verify all the
particulars involved, but, availing myself of
several lists which claim to give the facts, I
find the reading here just as distinct and
marvellous as anywhere else.
The Apostle says, " The first foundation
was jasper" which he describes as " a stone
most precious," bright and clear. This re-
. minds us at once of Spica, the bright and
precious Seed of the woman. The meaning
of jasper is said to be coming to bruise and
be bruised — the same story of the coming of
the precious Seed of the woman as set forth
in Virgo.
" The second, sapphire" which means num
ber, the count of price and weight ; which is
Libra. " The third, chalcedony" which means afflic
tion, torture; and this is the showing in
Scorpio. " The fourth, emerald" which means defend-

384 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
ing, keeping as a mighty protector ; and this
is the picture in Sagittarius.
"The fifth, sardonyx" which means the
Prince smitten; the same as in Capricornus.
" The sixth, sardius," which means the power
issuing forth ; and so is the parallel of Aqua
rius. " The seventh, chrysolite" which means He
who binds, who holds with bands, the bound to
gether ; and this answers to Pisces.
¦ "The eighth, beryl" which means the Son,
the first-born, the exalted Head ; correspond
ing precisely with the sign of. Aries.
"The ninth, topaz" the distinguished gem
of Ethiopia, which signifies dashing in pieces ;
as we saw in Taurus.
" The tenth, chrysoprasus," nearly the same
as chrysolite, meaning they who are united;
which is Gemini.
"The eleventh, jacinth," which means pos
sessing, He shall possess ; just as we saw in
Cancer. "The twelfth, amethyst," which means He
that destroys, destroyer of the destroyer;
which is Leo.
Now, if we should set ourselves with all the
genius and thought we can by any means
command, could we possibly express more

THE NEW JERUSALEM. 385
clearly or fully by twelve stones the charac
teristics of the twelve signs of the Zodiac, as
I have explained them in these Lectures, than
we thus find them set forth by these twelve
jewels of the foundation of the New Jerusa
lem? Nay, upon what else could the golden
and eternal home of God's redeemed ones be
built but on these precious jewels of the per
son, the character, the offices, the work, and
the achievements of that illustrious Seed of
the woman in whom standeth our salvation ?
It is wonder on wonder that these precious
stones are there, with just this significance ;
but, having this significance, and epitomizing
as they do the whole redemption-history from
first to last, I should wonder all the more if
this architectural picture of the eternal home
and blessedness of the saints did not contain
them as its foundation. And being there, in
the precise order, and in full recognition of
the precise imagery and symbolic import, of
the twelve signs of the circling year of time,
they give the stamp and seal of the final rev
elation of the sublime and finished result of
all 'that fills the perturbed ages of this world
to the reality of what I have been seeking to
show ; to wit, that the mystic garniture of
these heavens, which modern science in its
33 z

386 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
vanity has chosen to regard as crude and
grotesque scribbling, is verily a writing of
God, indited by His Spirit from the beginning
to hold up to the whole race of man, in all its
branches and generations, what He has also
caused to be recorded in the Word deposited
with His own particular people touching the
course and outcome of all His grand pur
poses in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Thus, then, has the great Almighty inscribed
the works of Nature with the syfribols and
signs of His more precious works of grace,
and shown us "the secrets of wisdom, that
they are double to that which is."
" Wisdom ! that bright intelligence, which sat
Supreme when, with His golden compasses,
Th' Eternal planned the fabric of the world,
Produced His fair idea into light,
And said that all was good ! Wisdom, blest beam !
The brightness of the everlasting light !
The spotless mirror of the power of God !
The reflex image of the all-perfect Mind !
A stream translucent, flowing from the source
Of glory infinite — a cloudless light!"

Heeture jg>taeenti).
PRIMEVAL MAN.
Job 12 : 12: "With the ancient is wisdom."
AFTER what we have now seen of the
presentations and connections of the
ancient astronomy, the question of its origin
becomes one of great interest and importance.
Who framed this system ? Who first so accu
rately observed these features of Nature's celes
tial economies, and so sublimely wove them to
gether into one great scheme, at once so true
to fact and so full of prophetic and evangelic
significance ? Whence has all this wisdom
come ? Our investigations would be left in
complete if we did not now endeavor to gath
er together what information exists touching
these inquiries.
Astronomy is unquestionably one of the
most ancient of the sciences. Its history runs
back into an antiquity so remote and dim tnat
the greatest of astronomers are unable to tell
its source or beginning. Its existence is trace-
387

388 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS. "*
able in all known ages and among all nations,
with all its main features settled and fixed'
from the most distant periods. Learned an-
' tiquaria.ns of modern times have searched
every page of heathen mythology, ransacked
all the legends of poetry and fable, traversed
all the religions, sciences, customs, and tra
ditions of every nation, tribe, and people, and
used the best sources of historic information
the earth affords, with a view to rescue the
matter from the heavy mists hanging over it ;
but with no further success than to trace it
back to certain Chaldean shepherds who lived
in a very early period of the world ; but every
thing else concerning it and them is left un
discovered and untold. Had they first grasp
ed the real meaning and intent of these pri
meval inventions of astronomic science, or
entertained an idea of its true connections,
they doubtless would have been able to reach
much more definite knowledge on the subject.
The Facts Stated.
We now have monumental evidence, in the
Great Pyramid of Gizeh, that a very complete
anB sublime knowledge of the structure and
economy of the visible universe, inclusive of
a very exact astronomy, was by some means

THE FACTS STATED. 389
known to the great architect of that unrivalled
edifice, built twenty-one hundred and seventy
years before the birth of Christ. It is also a-
matter of accredited record that when Alex
ander took Babylon, Calisthenes, the philos
opher who accompanied the expedition, found
there certain astronomical observations made
by the Chaldeans over nineteen hundred years
before that time, which was over twenty-two
hundred years before our era, and near to the
great dispersion of mankind by the confusion
of tongues. Cassini refers to Philo for the
assertion that " Terah, the father of Abraham,
who lived more than a hundred 'years with
Noah, had much studied astronomy, and
taught it to Abraham," who, according to
Josephus and others, taught it to the Egyp
tians during his sojourn in that country. It
is well known that the religion of the ancient
Babylonians and contiguous peoples, which
consisted of the worship of the heavenly
bodies, was based throughout on astronomy,
astrology, and the starry configurations — so
much so that one was an essential part of the
other, and the two were really one. But it
is now demonstrated, from the recovered re
mains of these ancient peoples, that the Chal
dean religion and mythology were already
33*

390 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
wrought out in a complete arid finished sys
tem as early as two thousand years before
the beginning of our era, so that a settled
astronomical science must necessarily have
existed a considerable period prior to that
date. The book of Job, so ' far as we can ascer
tain, is the oldest book now in the world ; and
it is a book which, more than all other books
of Holy Scripture, abounds in astronomical
allusions. Distinct and unmistakable refer
ences are contained in it to the constellations
as we still have them. We there read of
" Arcturus with his sons," " the sweet influ
ences of Pleiades" " the bands of Orion" and
" the fleeing Serpent." We there likewise read
of " Mazzaroth," with its " seasons " — stations,
stopping-places — which; according to the mar
gin of our English Bible, the Jewish Targum,
and the ablest Christian interpreters, is nothing
more nor less than the Solar Zodiac. Astron
omy, even as we now have it, was therefore
established and well understood in Job's day.
Nay, from the various astronomical references
in the book different astronomers claim to be
able to calculate the time in which Job lived,
which they give as from b. c. 2 100-2200. (See
Miracle in Stone, pp. 203-206.)

THE FACTS STA TED. 39I
On the faith of the Thebaic astronomers
Ptolemy records an observation of the heliacal
rising of Sirius on the fourth day after the
- summer solstice twenty-two hundred and fifty
years before Christ, which could not have been
made if there had not been among men a high
degree of astronomical knowledge preceding
that date.
Dr. Seyffarth claims it as solid truth that in
the distribution of the letters in the primitive
alphabet, which was essentially the same in
all nations, there is a record of the celestial
presentations which can occur but once in
millions of years, and which designates the
year, month, and day when Noah came out
of the ark. Our astronomy must therefore
have existed in and before Noah's time.
From internal evidences in the particular
framework and-order of the Solar and Lunar
Zodiacs, Bailly was thoroughly convinced of a
state of the heavens at the time these Zodiacs;
were formed which can occur only at intervals
of more than twenty-five thousand years, but
which really did exist in and about four thou
sand years before the Christian era. Nouet,
on similar grounds, came to, the same conclur
sion. (See also Miracle in Stone, pp. 140 seq.)
On the basis of astronomy's own records,

392 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
apart from all other testimony, we are thus
inevitably carried back to a period within
the lifetime of Adam and his sons for the
original of the Zodiac, and, with it, of the
whole system of our astronomy.
The Traditions.
And to this agree the ancient sayings and
worthiest traditions of the race. The best
philosophers, the most honored poets, and
the historians who have penetrated the deep
est into the beginnings of humanity unite in
commencing man with God and in close and
happy fellowship and communion with the
Divine Intelligence. Everywhere throughout
the world of primitive nations the first of
men were the greatest of men, the wisest,
the divinest, and the most worshipped ; and
the first age was the Golden Age.
Plato says : " Our first parent was the great
est philosopher that ever existed:" Baleus
says : " From Adam all good arts and human
wisdom flowed, as from their fountain. He
was the first that discovered the motions of the
celestial bodies, and all other creatures. From
his school proceeded whatever good arts and
wisdom were afterward propagated by our
fathers unto mankind ; so that whatever as-

THE TRADITIONS. 393
tro.nomy, geometry, and other arts contain in
them, he knew the whole thereof." Kecker-
man doubts not that " our first parents deliv
ered over to their posterity, together with
other sciences, even logic also ; specially see
ing they who were nearest the origin of all
thjngs had an intellect so much the more ex
cellent than ours by how much the more they
excelled us in length of life, firmitude of
health, and in air and food."
We learn from Medhurst that " in the early
Chinese histories the first man, named Pwan-
roo, is said to have been produced soon after
the period of emptiness and confusion, and
that he knew intuitively the relative propor
tions of heaven and earth, with the principles
of creation and transmutation." The Ven-
didad of the Parsis affirms that God con
versed with Yima, the great shepherd, the
first man, and taught him all the law of Na
ture and religion. Moreri gives it as the
settled tradition that "Adam had a perfect
knowledge of sciences, and chiefly of what
related to the stars, which he taught his chil
dren." The Jews hold it among their traditions that
Adam wrote a book concerning the creation
of the world, and another on the Deity.

394 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
Kissaeus, an Arabian writer, gives it as among
the teachings of his people that Abraham had
in his possession certain sacred writings of
Adam, Seth, and Enoch, in which were " laws
and promises, threatenings from God, and
predictions of many events ;" and it' is af
firmed of Abraham that he taught astron
omy to the Egyptian priests at Heliopolis.
From the ancient fragments of Berosus,
Polyhistor, and Sanchoniathon, as well as
from the lately-recovered Assyrian tablets,
we learn of the existence of sacred records
which had descended from knowing men of
the earliest times, who taught the world all
the wisdom it had, and on whose instructions
and institutes none were able to improve, but
from which there was a constant tendency to
apostatize. The ancient Egyptians called all their kings
Pharaoh, the Sun, but their traditions make
Menes, the first of their kings, the greatest-
sun, from whom all wisdom and illumination
came to them. And Menes was a very near
descendant of Noah, through whom the pri
meval wisdom was brought over from beyond
the Flood, and hence from the first fathers of
the race.
From Adam sprang Seth, who, according

THE TRADITIONS. 395
to Josephus and more ancient records, fol
lowed his father in the pursuit of wisdom, as
did also his own descendants. It is said in
so many words that " they were the inventors
of that peculiar sort of wisdom which is con
cerned with the heavenly bodies and their
Ti&dr) xai ovjiTiTCDtJia-ca — condition and indications."
Hornius says : " The first mention of letters
falls upon Seth's times ; who, being mindful
of his father's prophecy foretelling the uni
versal dissolution of things, the one by the
Deluge, and the other by fire, being not un
willing to extinguish his famous inventions
concerning the stars, he thought of some
monument to which he might concredit these
mysteries." Enoch is also specially credited with spe
cial wisdom 'and writing, particularly as relat
ing to astronomy and prophecy. Bochart
writes : " I cannot but add what is found con
cerning the same Enoch in Eusebius, out of
Eupolemus, of the Jews. He says that Abra
ham, when he taught astrology [astronomy]
_and other sciences at Heliopolis, affirmed
that the Babylonians attributed the invention
of the same to Enoch ; and that the Grecians
attribute the invention to Atlas, the same
with Enoch." Macinus, Abulfaragius, and

396 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS. _
other Arab writers say that Enoch was called.
Edris, the sage, the illustrious, and that he
was skilled in astronomy and other sciences.
Baleus tells us that he was famous for proph
ecy, and is reported as having written books
on divine matters. The Jews call him the
Great Scribe, and say that he wrote books
on sacred wisdom, especially on astronomy.
That he did record certain prophecies is at
tested by the Epistle of Jude, which gives a
quotation from him. Origen also tells us
that it was asserted in the book of Enoch
that in the time of that patriarch the con
stellations were already named and divided.
Arab and Egyptian authors make him the
same as the older Hermes — Hermes Tris-
megistus, the triply-great Shepherd — through
whom the wisdom of the stars and other sci
ences were handed doWn to his posterity.
It was the remark of Gale on these and
such-like traditions and fragments : " We need
no way doubt but that Noah had been fully
instructed by Church-tradition from his godly
predecessors, Methuselah, Enoch, and Sethr
touching the creation of the world by God,
and particularly touching the excellent fabric
of the heavens, the nature of those celestial
bodies, their harmonious motion and order —

THE TRADITIONS. 397
that these celestial had a mighty influence on
all sublunary bodies, etc. These and such
like considerations, which greatly conduced
to the enhancing of the wisdom, power, and
goodness of God, we may not doubt were
very frequent in the mouths of those sons
of God before and after the Flood. And it
is the opinion of some that the whole story of
the creation written by Moses was conveyed
down even from Adam to his time by a con
stant, uninterrupted tradition to the holy seed
and Church in all ages."
Eugubinus, treating of the succession of
doctrine from the world's beginning, says :
"As there is one Principle of things, so also
there has been one and the same science of
Him at all times amongst all, as both reason
and monuments of many nations and letters
testify. This science, springing partly from
the first origin of men, has been devolved
through all ages unto , posterity. The most
true supputation of times proves that Methu
selah lived and might converse with Adam, as
Noah with Methuselah. Therefore Noah saw
and heard things before the Flood. More
over, before Noah died Abraham was fifty
years old. Neither may we conceive that this
most pious man and his holy seed would con-
34

398 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
ceal things of so great moment and so worthy
to be known and remembered. Therefore
from this most true cause it is most equal that
the great science of divine and human affairs
should be deduced unto following ages, though
greatly overcome by barbarism, etc. . . '.
Therefore, that there has been one and the
same wisdom always in all men we endeavor
to persuade, not only by these reasons, but
also by those many and great examples
whereby we behold some vestiges of the
truth scattered throughout all nations. Abra
ham was a Chaldean in whose family the an
cient theology and the traditions of the fathers,
whereof he was heir, remained. All these
things being retained by Noah and his sons
— -whence also flowed the piety and wisdom
of Job — were seen and heard by Abraham,
and so passed unto his posterity" (quoted
by Gale). Bible Representations
According to the Scriptures, Adam lived
about seven hundred years contemporaneous
ly with his son Seth, and about three hundred
years contemporaneously with Enoch, and died
only about one hundred years before Noah was
born. All these were holy prophets. From

BIBLE REPRESENTATIONS. 399
Luke (1 : 69, 70) and Acts (3:21) we learn
that there were inspired divine teachers " from
the foundation of the- world" — "since the
world began." Whoever may be included in
the list, Adam, Seth, and Enoch were by far
the greatest and the most illustrious of them.
Adam from the first was in perfect fellow
ship with the Divine Intelligence, and knew
all things that came before him by an intuitive
divine insight into their whole nature and in
tention. He needed, no instructors, for the
light of God shone clear and unclouded upon
• his soul. His whole being was in most thor
ough accord with God and with the mind of
God, for he was the complete' image of God.
His. wisdom and knowledge were necessarily
higher by far than that of any other mere man
that ever lived. Even Peter Bayle agrees
that it is not contrary to the analogy of faith
nor to probability, and very proper to the
narrative in Genesis, to believe that Adam
came out of the hands of his Creator indued
wi.th innate science, and that he did not lose
it by sin ; as the bad angels are notless know
ing since their fall, and as crimes of learned
persons do not deprive them of that knowledge
they enjoyed before. He also passes it as de
termined that the speculative understanding

400 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
of the first man was endowed with all the
philosophical and mathematical knowledge of
which human nature is naturally capable.
Gale gives it as made out from the Mosaic
record that. Adam without all peradventure
was the greatest amongst mere mortals that
ever the world possessed, exactly prying into
the very natures of things, and there contem
plating those glorious ideas and characters of
created light and order which the increated
Light and Divine Wisdom had impressed
thereon ; and thence he could immediately
collect and form the same into a complete .
system and body of philosophy, as also most
methodically branch forth the same into the
particular sciences. Hornius argues that
"Adam, being constituted in this theatre of
the universe, was ignorant of nothing that
pertained to the mystery of Nature."
It is also a matter of inspired record that
God gave to Adam special revelations. Af
ter his fall Jehovah made known to him His
purposes concerning the Serpent and its seed
and the woman and her Seed. The whole
Gospel revelation and promise was therein
included, and was given to him, not for him
self alone, but to be made known to all his
posterity as the great and only hope of man.

BIBLE REPRESENTATIONS. 401
What Adam knew, Seth would thus also
know, and so would Enoch. And living con
temporaneously together for more than two,
three, or five ordinary lifetimes, there was the
sublimest opportunity for them to observe,
construct, and mature just such a system as
astronomy presents, inwoven as it is with all
the great facts, features, and hopes embraced
in the promised redemption by the Seed of
the woman. In fact, it was the one great and
only opportunity in the history of our race
for such an accomplishment.
We know from Luke and Acts that every
one of these primeval prophets did speak
and prophesy of the raising up of " an Horn
of salvation for us," the coming of Christ to
suffer, to bring times of refreshing from the
presence of the Lord, and eventually to. work
"the restitution of all things." (Compare
Luke 1:67-79; Acts 3:18-26; Jude 15.)
The Bible tells us especially of Enoch's pre
eminent intimacy and life-communion with
God, and recites certain of his predictions
which run on the precise theme we have
been reading from the constellations.
And what Adam and his believing children
did not know simply as men, they would still
•know as prophets, which they certainly were.
34* 2 A

402 the gospel in the stars.
Reasonableness of the Case.
Going back, then, to that period of the
world to which we must needs go for the
origin of astronomy and the first fixing of
its great foundation-elements, we find there
the men duly capacitated for the work, duly
supplied with motive and opportunity to do
it, and. such real prophets of God that in en
tering upon it from sacred impulse they would
not fail of divine help in the matter, or of
preservation from all mistake. Under God,
they were the great founders of the world,
and were fully alive to the fact. They were
the great appointed teachers of the world
from the very nature of the case. They were -
the first great prophets of the world, the
original recipients of the revelation of God's
purposes of redemption through the prom
ised Seed of the woman, and as such were
under bonds to make known the facts, ex
plain their import, and use every means of
recording and transmitting to all men the
knowledge of them. They lived nearly a
thousand years, and so had ample time for
observation, study, and thorough elaboration
to bring the work to finished perfection be
fore being required to leave it. And over ¦

REASONABLENESS OF THE CASE. 403
them were the virgin stars, only waiting to
be named and grouped, and hung with the
\ records and symbols of the precious treas
ures of promise and prophecy on which the
world's hopes depended, that they might be
come the everlasting witnesses to men of the
God-given faith and hopes which shone in the
serene imaginations of these great grand fa
thers of all sacred prophets. Nor can I see
why a single shade 6f doubt should linger in
our minds that these verily were the men who
drew these celestial hieroglyphics, named and
grouped the stars, laid out the Zodiacs and
their signs, and made the heavens a picture-
gallery for all the world, the first and great
est that ever- was made, that there mankind
rriight gaze and read the wondrous story of
the promised Redeemer, the redemption, and
the redeemed.
And this, and this only, will account for the
.sacred reverence in which all the ancient peo
ples held these starry emblems, and even fell
to worshipping them and ascribing to them
all sorts of divine and prophetic virtues. If
put there by inspired prophets, and explained
by them as the symbols of the divinest things
of God's revelation and promises, then can
we understand why they were -so much made

404 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
of in the sacred mysteries, why they were so
seriously consulted as horoscopes, and why
the early nations lapsed "into the idolatry of
worshipping them as gods. They are of ho
liest origin, and relate to the dearest hopes
and anticipations of _ man ; therefore have
they been so prized in all the ages, and there
fore the Perverter of all good set himself to
turn them to evil, for which he could have
found neither hold nor leverage had not some
great and commanding sacredness gone be
fore to seat them in the esteem of men.
Claimed to be from God.
It was also the common and accepted doc
trine of antiquity that the constellations were
divine in origin and sacred in character. They
are woven in with all the old ethnic religions.
, Much as heathenism has perverted them to
false worship, it has ever held to the belief
that they are from God — manifestations of the
one supreme and eternal Deity. Even Pluche
agrees that all heathenism is " nothing but the
religion of the patriarchs corrupted by extrav
agant additions, transforming the signs, or the
symbolic men and animals, into so many gods,
with which their imagination peopled the
heaven." But- this assumes and implies that

CLAIMED TO BE FROM GOD. 405
these signs- in the hands of the patriarchs
themselves were connected with their relig
ion ; and their religion being divine, so must
these signs connected with it have been.
The Greek Sallustius treats of the myths-
and the constellations as undoubtedly of di
vine origin, and represents the chief poets
through whom they came as prophets — per
sons to whom Deity was propitious, and who
were really deofyxrot — divinely-inspired men.
The Roman Cicero affirms that these things
were explained in the sacred mysteries as part
of a divine instruction how to live in peace
and die in hope, and hence as from God him
self. Maimonides states that the old Jewish fa
thers considered and held these signs in the
heavens to be of divine original.
Josephus and the Arabian authors give it
as a matter of historic truth that the primeval
prophets invented these signs.
Gale lays it down as quite certain that " the
first human institutors or authors of philoso
phy were indeed divinely illuminated ; so that
the wisdom we find scattered up and down
among the pagan philosophers was but bor
rowed arid derived from those divine lights
who were enlightened by the Divine Word —

406 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
that Life and Light of men which shined in the
darkness." He also adds that "both Alber-
tus and Sixtus Senensis* collect that our Sa
viour was in some manner adumbrated in the
Gentile fables and figures," implying that they
certainly were originally from the Spirit of
prophecy. The sacred Bundahis of the Parsis gives
an account of the formation of the Solar and
Lunar Zodiacs, and mentions by name the
twelve signs of the one, almost entirely as
we now have them, and the twenty-eight di
visions of the other, together with their Zend
names, and asserts and claims that both, to
gether with the assignment of the stars to
each, were the work of Auharmazd, the Cre
ator, " supreme in omniscience and goodness
and unrivalled in glory ;" and says that such
was the teaching of Zorathost, the great tra
ditional prophet of God.
The same is asserted and claimed in the
Chaldean tablets of late recovered from the
ruins of ancient Assyria and Babylon. Frag
ments of a whole library of books written on
tiles or tablets of pottery, now in the British
Museum, have been brought to light, and
their cuneiform records deciphered. Among
them is a poetic legend of Izdubar, supposed

CLAIMED TO BE FROM GOD. 407
to be the same as Nimrod, which is framed
throughout to the twelve signs of the Zodiac,
proving that the Zodiac existed and was most
highly prized when that legend was written,
certainly not less than two thousand years
before Christ.
But more important than this is a series on
the six days of the Creation, called " the Chal
dean Genesis," almost the same in substance
with the Mosaic account, and certainly dating
beyond two thousand years before the Chris
tian era. Smith and Sayce state concerning
this series that " the fifth tablet relates how
God created the constellations of the stars, the
signs of the Zodiac, the planets and other
stars, the moon and the sun." The whole
record runs thus :
" Anu [the supreme and ever-living God]
made suitable the mansions of the (seven)
great gods. [The signs of the Zodiac were
always considered by the heathen nations the
Mansions, stations, or resting-places of the
seven planets, deemed the great gods.] The
stars He placed in them. The lumasi, their
animal appearance [figures], He fixed. He
arranged the year according to the bounds,
the limits [of the Zodiac], which He defined.
For each of the twelve months three stars,

408 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
ox rows of stars [Decans], He fixed.~ From
the day when the year issues forth unto the
close He marked the mansions [Zodiacal sta
tions] of the wandering stars (planets), to
know their courses, that they might not err
or deflect at all."
There can be no question of the reference
in this extract to the* Zodiac, its twelve signs,
and the system of the constellations in gen
eral, including their figures. It answers to
the declaration in Genesis that God placed
the starry lights in the firmament, and said,
" Let them be for signs." And the remarkable
point in the case is, that it was the sacred
opinion and settled belief of those who orig
inally composed what these tablets record
that the Zodiac, with its twelve signs, and the
three extra rows of the constellations and the
pictures designating them, were all the work
of Almighty God himself by inspiration, im
pulse, and direction of His Spirit. It is in
deed nothing more than we read out of Job,
who wrote about the same period or a little
earlier ; but it is as if old Babylonia had risen
up from its grave of ages to corroborate and
attest the meaning which we took from the
patriarch of Uz, where he gives it as part of
Jehovah's glory that " by His Spirit He gar-

CLAIMED TO BE FROM GOD. 409
nished the heavens," and that "His hand
hath formed the fleeing Serpent," and hence
all these celestial emblems (Job 26 : 13).*
* The ordinary explanations of the origin of these ancient pictures
extend very little further than the Zodiac ; but even as to that our
men of science have nothing to give save a few jejune imaginings,
lame and absurd in themselves, and without the slightest show of
fact on which to lean.
It is said that herdsmen used to take great delight in their sheep
and cattle as they led them forth in spring-time, and in the mating
and nesting of the birds as the summer drew on, and so they gave
the signs of a Ram, a Bull, and two entwined youths to the months
of March, April, and May ! Men saw, we are told, that toward the
end of June the sun began to come down from the north toward the
south, which for some unknown reason they likened to a backward
movement, and so gave that month the sign of the Crab, because the
crab is apt to move backward ! The heat in July became fierce, and
then, we are assured, the lions used to come to the river to quench
their thirst, and so that month obtained the sign of the Lion ! Then
in August, it is supposed, the people began to harvest- or to sow
their fields, and so they gave that month the sign of a prostrate
young woman with sprigs of wheat in one hand and a branch in the
other ! In September, it is said, they found the days and nights near
ly equal, so they drew for that month the sign of the Scales, though
the same thing in March had no sign, and these equal balances, un
fortunately for the myth, have one side up and the other down !
October, it is said, was plentiful in fruits, and many people got sick,
so they marked that month with the sign of the Scorpion ! Novem
ber, it is said, was the month for hunting, and so they marked it
with the sign of a Horseman with bow and arrow. In December,
we are told, people noticed the sun again ascending toward the
north, and so they marked that month with the sign of a Goat, be
cause goats like to climb rocks ! January was found to be a wet
and dreary month, so they gave it the sign of the Waterman ! And
in February we are told that people went a-fishing, and so that month
received the sign of the two Fishes ! This is the. philosophy of the
twelve signs as given in our books of science.
But then how came these signs to be the same in all parts of the
earth in all the ages through ? And how comes it that there is not
35

4io the gospel in the stars.
The Star- Record Itself.
And the story which these astronomic signs
and pictures tell is in all respects sO worthy
of a divine origin, and so much above man's
science, that we may well consider the whole
thing divine. It is precisely the same that we
find in the Word, about whose divine source
we have no question. And if it was a fitting
thing for the great Lord of all to employ His
Spirit to cause these matters of salvation to
be authentically recorded in the books com
mitted to His later peoples, why was it not
equally befitting His gracious almightiness
a country under the sun where these interpretations all fit ? And
how did men know to name- these months or to place these figures if
the sphere had not been previously defined and fixed ? And what
of the thirty-six remaining constellations and their equally conspicu
ous figures ? Where did they all come from, and what do they mean ?
The Greek myths on the subject are out of the question here. These
extra-Zodiacal constellations are as old as the Zodiac itself, and
everywhere, in the earliest records as in the latest, appear along with
it. And what of the names of the stars, which, for the most part,
are as old as the signs, but tell quite another story from anything that
men have thus given as the rationale of these celestial hieroglyphics ?
And then, again, how did it happen that the people who thus fanci
fully characterized the months immediately wheeled about and began
to consult as oracles and to worship as great divinities the very fig
ures which they had themselves hung up ? Such philosophy will
not hold together. It is simply amazing that learned men should
have the face to put it forth for rational acceptance. It is so purely
fanciful, so feeble, and so manifestly untrue, that it needed no Mon-
tucla to demolish it utterly.

THE STAR-RECORD ITSELF. 41 1
to do the same in the case of His primeval
prophets, that all mankind in all the ages
might ever have before their eyes the abiding
testimony of His pristine revelations concern
ing that same Messiah "of whom Moses in
the Law and the Prophets did write"?
And what if the key to the showings was
afterward lost, and men only misread and per
verted what was so sublimely recorded ? The
same has occurred again and again with the
¦.scriptural' records; and why should the apos
tasies in the one case argue differently from
what they do in the other? The failures and
sins of men do not unmake the truth of God,
neither do their misuses and perversions of
His gifts disprove their divine source or good
intent. The turning of Israel's calling and
sacred institutes into a hypocritical, murder
ous,- and depraved Pharisaism, which killed
the Son of God and slew His holy Apostles,
did not unmake the divine legation of Mo
ses nor the heavenly inspiration of the holy
prophets who spent their lives building Israel
into a kingdom for the Lord. The perver
sion of Christianity into an imperial pope
dom, an Antichrist, and a tyrannous perse
cution of the saints of God by His own al
leged vicegerent did not prove Jesus of Naz-

4.12 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
areth an impostor nor the testimony of His
Apostles undivine or untrue. And if men
in like manner have perverted these primeval
records in the stars, and turned the showings
of promised salvation into an instrument of
damning superstition, and twisted a divine
astronomy into a devilish astrology, and de
veloped a bloOdy paganism out of a primitive
evangelism, what is it else than the depravity
of man and the trick of the great Deceiver
belying God, but by no means discrediting or
unmaking the divinity, the mercifulness, or
the gracious ampleness of good intent in the
sublime original ?
Volney insists, and with good reason, that
everywhere in antiquity there was a cherish
ed tradition of an expected Conqueror of the
Serpent, who was to come as a divine person,
born of a woman ; and that this tradition is
most 'clearly reflected in the constellations
and in all the heathen mythologies through
out the world. Dupuis has collected numer
ous ancient authorities, abundantly proving
that in all nations this tradition, with singular
particularity of details, always prevailed ; that
this divine Person, born of a woman, was to
be a great sufferer in His conflict with the
Serpent, but would triumph gloriously at the

THE STAR-RECORD ITSELF. 41-3
last; and that this tradition is represented
and recorded in the constellations.
By a world-wide testimony we are thus' as
sured that this is verily the inwoven mystic
essence of the primeval astronomy, the same
that constitutes the essenee of all that is writ
ten by inspiration in the books of the Bible.
And to the external testimony the internal
substanoe and conditions correspond. In three
grand parts*or books, each with four grand
chapters, and each chapter divided into four
distinct sections, is this record given. Set out
in brief, the contents would run thus :
BOOK FIRST— THE REDEEMER PROMISED.
Chapter First — Virgo :
1 . The Seed of the woman ;
2.- The Desire of nations ;
3. The Man of double nature in humil
iation ;
4. The exalted Shepherd and Harvester.
Chapter Second — Libra:
1 . Price 'to be paid ;
2. The Cross endured ;
3. The Victim slain ;
4. The Crown purchased.
35*

414 the gospel in the stars.
Chapter Third — Scorpio:
i . Cleft in the conflict ;
2. The Serpent's coils ;
3. The struggle with the Enemy ;
4. The toiling Vanquisher of evil.
Chapter Fourth — Sagittarius :
1. The double-natured One triumphing as
a Warrior ;
2. He gladdens the heavens ;
3. He builds the fires of punishment ;
4. He casts down the Dragon.
BOOK SECOND— THE REDEEMER'S PEOPLE.
Chapter First — Capricornus :
1 . Life out of Death ;
2. The Arrow of God ;
3. Pierced and falling ;
4. .Springing up again in abundant life.
Chapter Second — Aquarius :
1 . Life-waters from on "high ;
. 2. Drinking in the heavenly flood;
3. Carrying and speeding the Good News ;
4. Bearing aloft the Cross over all the
earth.

the star-record itself. 415
Chapter Third — Pisces:
1 . Swimming in the heavenly waters ;
2. Upheld and governed by the Lamb ;
3. Head over all things to the Church;
4. The intended Bride bound and exposed
on earth.
Chapter Fourth — Aries:
1. The Lamb entered on dominion;
2. The Bride released and making ready ;
3. Satan bound ;
4. The Breaker triumphing.
\
BOOK THIRD— REDEMPTION COMPLETED.
Chapter First — Taurus :
1 . The invincible Ruler come ;
2. The sublime Vanquisher ;
3. The River of Judgment ;
4. The all-ruling Shepherd.
Chapter Second — QEMINI :
1 . The Marriage of the Lamb ;
2. The Enemy trodderi down ;
3. The Prince coming in glory ;
4. His princely following.

41 6 the gospel in the stars.
Chapter Third — Cancer:
i. The Possession secured;
2. Lesser Fold, the first-born, the rulers ;
3. Greater Fold, the after-born ;
4. The Heroes landed from their expedi
tion, 'their toils and trials over.
Chapter Fourth — Leo :
1. The King aroused for the rending;
2. The Serpent fleeing ;
3. The Bowl of Wrath upon him ;
4. His carcass devoured.
Here is a marked order and symmetry of
construction, a thoroughness of digestion, an
assortment of elements, an evenness of bal
ance, and an exhaustive comprehensiveness,
not excelled by the highest inspired .genius
whose writings have come to us — an order
befitting the God of order, and bearing in
itself, in its three and fours, the expression
of eternal Godhead moving and doing with
reference to earth and man ; whilst every
topic in the twelve and twelve times three
is a genuine Gospel topic, handled exactly as
we find it in the. writings, of the Prophets and
Apostles. There is nothing added and there

INEVITABLE INFERENCES. 417
is nothing left out. The whole story is com
plete — more complete than half the ministers
in Christendom can tell it to-day with the
whole volume of both Testaments before
them, and after all the prophesying and preach
ing and fulfilling that has occurred in the five
thousand years and more since these star-pic
tures were made.
Inevitable Inferences.
"What shall we say, then, to these things?"
Was primeval man a gorilla, a troglodyte, a
brutish savage, a wild man without know
ledge ? The Zodiac and the constellations as
arranged upon the ancient sphere furnish the
foundations of all astronomy. No man since
they were made has been able to improve
upon them. All subsequent touches of them
have been bungles and absurdities. They
stand to-day securely planted among the
profoundest stabilities contained in human
science. And yet the evidences are that they
have come down to us from that selfsame
primeval man. Then primeval man knew
the visible starry heavens as well as any
other man since. Then primeval man could
draw maps, and make pictures, and write
books, and teach wisdom, and transmit thought
2B

41 8 THE GOSPEL IN TffE STARS.
and intelligence, just as successfully as the re
moter progeny sprung from his blood. 'Then
the doctrine that modern man is a mere ev
olution from savageism, the result of a self-
moved activity to become, his makership his
own, his intelligence a mere self-efflores
cence, is a lie.
Our particular ancestors of two- thousand
years ago may have been but semi-civilized,
having been long and remotely separated
from the chief centres of population and en
lightenment, and so it may have been in part
with the progenitors of the Greeks and Ro
mans ; but the agencies and influences by
which they were lifted, and their descendants
brought to the heights of which we boast too
much, were not originated and evolved from
among themselves, apart from what they got
from the more knowing world outside. Egypt,
Phoenicia, Arabia, Assyria, Chaldea, India, and
China of the olden times never were savage
or uncivilized. Government, society, law, arts,
and sciences go back to the beginnings of
their history, and from them all later peoples |
have learned. As far as we have any traces
of man's existence — and those traces go back
as far as Adam — we have evidences of en
lightenment as high and as true to Nature

INEVITABLE INFERENCES. 419
and fact as anything we know, and which is
to this day the very backbone of much of the
world's best and highest wisdom. The weight
of the showing is, that primeval man was the
truest model and representative of man, and
that all human progress since, though upward
in some things, has been in the main an un
ceasing deterioration.
All the world that came next after primeval
man honored, and even worshipped, their first
fathers as very gods of light, knowledge, and
greatness. They pushed their veneration to
' a base idolatry indeed, but there was reason
. and deserved gratitude at the bottom of it.
The world now-a-days regards such reverence
as a weakness and a fault, and has swung off
into a far meaner and baser idolatry of self,
glorying in its earth-born gaslight as the
superlative illumination, and floundering like
the dazed moth around the flickering smoke-
flame, as if the sun in the heavens were not
half so bright and beautiful. Could Adam
and Seth and Enoch and Noah appear among
us, and take an inventory of our prevailing
philosophies, the ways in which modern think
ing practically runs, and the atheistic stuff
which many would baptize with the name of
wisdom, how would those venerable patriarchs

420 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
sigh and lament and sicken over the degen
eration of their posterity ! What if we have
found out that a wire magnetized at one end
is instantly magnetized at the other end also ?
What if we have discovered that there is
power in boiling water to push against con
finement, and so to drive pistons and turn
wheels ? What if we have made up short
hand ways of putting lettering on paper and
of multiplying impressions like autumn leaves?
What if we have succeeded in making war-
guns and implements of death such as they
never saw and never wished to see ? From
the high standpoint of those primeval sages
Noah would have to write again: "Behold,
the earth is corrupt, for all flesh hath corrupt
ed its ways." Intenser than ever would Enoch
fulmine his ancient commination : " Behold,
the Lord cometh with ten thousand of His
saints to execute judgment upon this convict
population, full of ungodly deeds and- ungodly
speeches, traducing the things which it knows
not, and following only what it knows natural
ly as brute beasts." Whilst Adam's thoughts
would needs turn inward with all the deeper
self-reproach for having with open eyes start
ed the spring whence has come all this earthi-
ness and apostasy.

INEVITABLE INFERENCES. 42 1
" What shall we say, then, to these things ?"
God certainly did not make man without at
the same time beaming into him all the light
and intelligence to equip him fully for all the
requirements of the highest perfection of his
being in his sphere, and for the intellectual and
physical mastery of the whole earthly creation
at the head of which he stood. That first man
fell, but that fall did not obliterate from his
intellect the knowledge which his Maker had
previously shined into it. An apostate from
Christianity does not' thereby lose the know
ledge he possessed. Judgment came upon
Adam, and hard necessities, by reason of his
transgression, but there was no obliteration
of his intellectual treasures or his intellectual
powers. Much as they have depreciated in
transmission to his posterity, they were not
blotted out of Adam himself. Neither did
God cease to speak to him, or refuse to open
up to him new and richer fields of wisdom to
meet his condition as a sinner. Fallen Adam
was still capable of redemption, and that re
demption God meant to accomplish in the
course of the ongoing ages and generations
of the race. To save Adam it was necessary
that Adam should know of it, and to save his
posterity it was necessary that the same know-
36

422 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
ledge should be transmitted to them also.
And as from him human life was multiplied,
so to him it pertained as the great father to
teach and transmit his sacred and saving wis
dom with the multiplication of- himself. In
the nature and necessities of the case he
was God's prophet to those born of him. Of
all knowledge, the knowledge of the promised
Redeemer was the most important and essen
tial. Therefore God would not leave him in
any ignorance as to that promised Redeemer,
the nature of His work, and the results of His
administrations. The whole Gospel, or none,
he needed to know. The whole Gospel, if
any, he would be most anxious to comprehend.
The whole Gospel, as he got it from God and
hoped and rejoiced in it himself, he would be
most concerned to teach to his children and
to have securely recorded for all coming gen
erations. Such devout and active fidelity was
his interest and duty as a man and a prophet,
and what God, according to all His word and
promises, would certainly approve and bless
and help. It would be in the line and spirit
of all His subsequent inspirations vouchsafed
to men that He should do for Adam in such
a case even more than He did for Moses and
Samuel and Isaiah and Daniel. And here, in

INEVITABLE INFERENCES. 423
the records and emblems of the stars, demon
strably dating back to Adam's time, and link
ed in with a true and admirable astronomy, we
have what in every particular best resolves
itself into a pictorial memorial of that prom
ised Redeemer's character and achievements
as then looked for and believed in. The
things thus symbolized could never have
become known from natural reason, neither
could unaided man ever have made for them
so perfect and sublime a record even after
they were known. Then certainly God's
hand was in it. Then divine revelation is a
demonstrated reality. Then inspiration is an
indestructible fact. And then these glorious
stars take on the holier brightness as the
sublime underwriters of our Scriptures, and
as God's witnesses from beyond the gulf of
ages to assure us there is no mistake in build
ing on Jesus of Nazareth as our hope and our
salvation. Well, then, might Zacharias sing:
" Blessed be the Lord. God of Israel ; for
He hath visited and redeemed His people,
and hath raised up an Horn of salvation for
us in the house of His servant David ; as He
spake by the mouth of His holy prophets, which
have been since the world began!" Luke I :
68-70.

Hecture gjebentmitf).
THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM.
Matt. 2:2: " We have seen His star in the east, and are come to
worship Him."
A LEARNED Christian antiquarian has
expressed his belief " that far more
conclusive proofs of the promise of a Re
deemer can be found in the primeval tradi
tions of our race than even in the Hebrew
Scriptures." He may perhaps have expressed
himself a little too strongly, for the Old Tes
tament, rightly read, is very full of the Mes
sianic hope. But it is a great mistake to
consign to the Evil One the whole human
family outside of Judaism prior to the time
of Christ, and thus to brand almost the en
tire race with the mark of Cain. It may
have the guise of orthodoxy, but it lacks the
element of truth. The case which comes
before us in connection with the text effect
ually confutes it.
It must also go very far toward establish
ing the doctrines which I have been pro-
421

THE VISIT OF THE MAGI. 425
pounding respecting the source and intent
of the primeval astronomy to be able to find
a case so clear and well authenticated in
which the study and observation of the stars,
in connection with the primitive traditions,
have served to fix in Gentile minds a living
belief in a Virgin-born Redeemer — a know
ledge so complete as to embrace the time
and place of His advent and to bring them
in humble adoration around His infant cradle.
Nor can we do better, in bringing these stud
ies to a close, than by devoting a final Lecture
to the consideration of this case.
The Visit of the Magi.
For a thousand years and more Christen
dom has been- inquiring and wondering, Who
were " the wise men from the East" that came
Xo Jerusalem asking about a new-born Jewish
Prince ? How came they to" know about Him ?
What were those starry indications to which
they referred as having induced them to make
such costly and laborious search for "Him?
What were the sources of illumination by
which they were thus brought to honor and
worship Him in His lowly infant couch ? For
fourteen hundred years and more the Church
has been observing a festival in commemora-
36*

4?6 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
tion of their visit, and made it the initiation
of a season of her calendar scarcely inferior
in prominence to the greatest of her sacred
festivals and seasons. All Christian litera
ture from the earliest_centuries is full of com
ments and homilies and songs and liturgical
prescriptions relating to the same. The first
book of the New Testament places it close
to the beginning of its account of the Sa
viour as a special testimony to His dignity
as the King of the Jews and His worship-
fulness as the Son of God. The apocryphal
Gospels of the Infancy set it forth with great
zest and circumstantiality as one of the di-
vinest gems in the testimonies to the glory
of Jesus of Nazareth. And neither in ser
mon nor in song is there any one thing, save
and except the (?ross and the Resurrection,
which is more joyously contemplated than
this so-called " Star of Bethlehem."
Diverse Opinions.
But when it comes to the explanation of
particulars, Christians have not been so clear
nor so well agreed as we would expect in a
matter of so much prominence and interest.
The diversities of opinion are almost endless,
and the Christian world as yet has not settled

DIVERSE OPINIONS. 427
itself down upon, any one theory as certainly
the truth or of sufficient clearness to be free
from serious difficulties and objections on the
one hand or the other.
As to the starry leading spoken of, some
think it was a meteor or a comet Others
think it was the bright light which shone
upon the shepherds when the angel made
known to them Christ's birth, assuming that
to men afar off that remarkable light may
have been mistaken for a star. Some think
it was some unidentified supernatural light
in the sky which appeared to certain devout
men in some remote region, and which they
could no better describe than to liken it to a
star. Some think it was a true star among the
stars, brought into being, or at least brought
into view, for the particular purpose of giving
token of the Saviour's nativity, and then made
to disappear, never more to be seen. Some
think there was no real external manifesta
tion at all, that no star was ever seen by any
one, and that the whole thing was only a vis
ion vouchsafed to these men alone.
Of later years it is more generally sup
posed to have been a conjunction of the
planets Jupiter and Saturn, such as did act
ually occur about that time, and which may

428 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
have entered somewhat into the case, al
though the conjunctions referred to were not
close enough to create the appearance of a
.single star, and were not in any respect what
could with propriety be called Christ's Star.
Admitting all that Jewish rabbis as well as
the Gentile astrologists and prognosticators
have claimed for such conjunctions, there still
would be a great lack to account adequately
for the very definite and powerful convictions
respecting Christ's birth which these men
showed, and for their reference to an indi
vidual star, which they described as the star
of the new-born Prince they were seeking.
True, Tacitus, Suetonius, Josephus, and others
testify that there was at that time a widespread
expectation of some great and triumphing
Prince to arise in the East; but said expec
tation was so indefinite, and was actually ap
plied in directions so unaccofdant with the
true Messiah and His predicted character,
that it cannot be taken as at all up to what
was in the mind of these Magi and implied
in their inquiry. They expected to find a di
vine and worshipful being, by birth a Jewish
Prince, and by character and right entitled to
the homage of all the children of men. They
had no question or doubt upon the subject.

DIVERSE OPINIONS. 429
They knew that a great and wonderful per
sonage was born. They knew and believed
that He -was worthy of the sacred worship of
all men, and that it was their holiest interest
and duty to come and greet Him with their
best gifts, acknowledgments, and adoration.
This was more than' the prevailing expecta
tion anywhere showed.
Whence, then, came this clear and definite
knowledge on the subject, exceeding even
that of the sacred scribes and priests of Ju-
dea itself, with all the records and foreshow-
ings of Moses and the prophets before them ?
The prophecy of Balaam touching the Star
that was to arise out of Jacob may have had
some remote connection with- it, but it will
scarcely begin to account for the clear, un-
doubting, and living faith touching the new
born Saviour which glowed in the hearts of
these wise men. Prophecies of Daniel and
influences of the Jewish teachings in general
may also have floated down, among these
people from the great Captivity times ; but,
at the best, it would still not account for what
we see exhibited in these Magi. A special
revelation to them alone, without any further
record of it on earth* Would be so unlike what
we know of God's methods and purposes in

43° THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
the giving of His revelations that it is un
warranted to suppose it.
How, then, did these Magi come to know
so much about Christ as an adorable King
and Saviour? How came they to such full
conviction that His birth had occurred in Ju-
dea ? The true answer is : By the signs and
constellations of the primeval astronomy, and the
legends connected with them, interpreted as we
have been contemplating them in these Lectures.
Astronomic Facts.
It is an astronomic fact, independent of all
hypotheses, that at the precise hour of mid
night, at the wiriter solstice, or the last week
of December, in the period in which Christ
-was born, the sign of Virgo, everywhere and
always regarded as the sign of the virgin-
mother from whom the divine-human Re
deemer-King was to be born, was just rising
on the eastern horizon.
It is a further astronomical fact, independent
of all hypotheses, that at the spring equinox
of the same period, just nine months earlier,
this sign of the Virgin at midnight was on the
meridian, with the line running precisely across
her bosom.
It is a further independent astronomical

A PRIMEVAL TRADITION. 43 1
fact that at the same date, at midnight, the
stars of the little constellation of Coma, the
special sign of the infant Seed of the woman,
the Desire of nations, was likewise, along with
the Virgin, directly on the meridian.
Now, if our interpretation of these ancient
astronomical signs be the true one, we have
here some remarkable indications in which
the facts and the signs singularly coincide.
Taken by themselves, they might not mean
much ; but if other particulars, to be named,
duly fill out the picture, they would help to
fix the heavenly tokens that the time had in
very truth come in which the great Virgin-
born Deliverer was to appear. They are im
portant factors in the case.
A Primeval Tradition.
It is also a matter of record, among both
Gentile and Jewish peoples, that the patriarch
Seth, in whose day these heavenly signs were
arranged and completed, gave out, a prophecy
in connection with them, that in the period in
which the great promised One should be born
there would appear a very bright star in the
heavens. This was perhaps the very proph
ecy traditional among the ancient Magi and
Parsis, that there should come a heavenly

432 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
Child to command the homage and obedience
of mankind, the sign of whose birth would be
the appearance of a new and peculiar star in
the sign of Virgo. Likewise, the Jews also
have always held and taught that Messiah's
advent would be heralded by a new and pecu
liar star. Hence the great impostor who gave
himself out as their Messiah called himself
Barcokheba, " the Son of the Star."
« A New Star.
Now, it is a matter of record that a new
and peculiar star did make it's appearance in
the first Decan of Virgo in the period imme
diately preceding Christ's birth, and that it
was so bright as to be visible even in the day
time. Ignatius says it " sparkled brilliantly
above all stars." The same continued in
the sky during the whole period of Christ's
lifetime, and for a time thereafter. Hip
parchus, about one hundred and twenty-five
years before Christ, observed it as a new star,
and was led by it to draw up his catalogue of
the stars. Ptolemy, about one hundred and
fifty years after Christ, refers to it as having
been observed by Hipparchus, but as having
become so faint as hardly to be any longer
distinguishable. The Chinese records also

A NEW STAR. 433
make mention of this new bright star at a
time corresponding to the period of our Sa
viour's birth. Since the time of Ptolemy we
have no record of any observation of it. This
star was in Coma, the sign of the Infant ac
companying Virgo, and it marked the Very
head of that Infant. It was on the meridian
at midnight at the spring equinox, just nine
months before Christ was born, as again
three months thereafter. Its brightness would
necessarily arrest the attention of observers
of the heavens, and awaken special interest
in Coma and the Virgin-born Infant which that
constellation signified both in figure and name.
Believers in the sacred meaning of these signs,
especially in connection with the traditional
prophecy of the new star, which seems also
to have been in Balaam's mind, could not
help but be convinced from these showings
that the coming of the Desired One was sure
ly approaching. It was a sort of midnight cry,
"Behold, He cometh!" The star itself would
thus also be just what these Magi called the
star by which they were led — namely, Christ's
Star, emphatically "His star;" for it was a
star of His particular constellation as the De
sire of nations, and the peculiar star of His.
infancy, as it marked the Infant's head, and
37 2 0

434 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
was at the time by far the brightest in the
constellation, as well as in all the heavens
around. To believers in the import of these signs
as I have given them there could be no ques
tion about the meaning of these indications.
But still, the time would remain far more in
definite than it seems to have been in the
minds of these distinguished visitors. There
needed to be some further and more sharply-
narrowed indications to account for the whole
case in this line of explanation. But such
more definite indications were not wanting.
Conjunctions of Jupiter and Saturn.
In the rabbinical commentaries of Abar-
banel, Eliezer, and others great stress is laid
on conjunctions of the planets Jupiter and
Saturn. It is there also affirmed that about
three years before the birth of Moses a con
junction between Jupiter and Saturn occurred
in the sign of Pisces. By astronomical cal
culations we know that such a conjunction of
these particular planets in that particular sign
did take place about that period. According
to Josephus and the rabbis, this sign was in
terpreted by the Egyptian astronomers and
wise men as very favorable to the Jews and

CONJUNCTIONS OF JUPITER AND SATURN. 435
very unfavorable to the Egyptians. Their
sacred scribes, noted for their skill and sa
gacity in these things, came to the king in
sisting that it foretokened the birth of a
child among the Jews who, if allowed to
live, would bring the Egyptian dominion
very low, excel in virtue and glory, exalt
the children of Israel to power and honor,
and be remembered throughout all ages.
(See Josephus, Ant. ii. 9, §§ 2 and 27.)
Three things here come out with great
clearness and conspicuity which deserve to
be particularly noted : first, that the star-
reading of a conjunction between Jupiter and
Saturn betokened the birth of a great, vir
tuous, princely, and glorious operator among
men, and the beginning or starting of a new
order of things ; * second, that the sign in
which the conjunction occurred indicated
the people among whom the child was to
be born ; and third, that the children of Israel
were already at that early period associated
with the sign of Pisces.
* Kepler, on consulting the periods of the conjunctions between
Jupiter and Saturn, gave it as his opinion that such conjunctions as
tronomically coincided with the approach of each climacteric in
human affairs ; to wit, the revelation to Adam, the birth of Enoch,
the Deluge, the birth of Moses, the birth of Cyrus, the birth of
Christ, the birth of Charlemagne, and the birth of Luther.

436 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
Josephus says that it was in consequence
of what the scribes augured from these • indi
cations that the decree went forth from Pha
raoh to slay every male child that should be
born during the time impending.
We thus have the Jewish rabbis and the
Gentile Egyptian scribes most seriously, on
both sides, concurring in the interpretation
of some very important points in astronomic
indications, and may well conclude that their
views and teachings with regard to these par
ticulars were the same that held on the sub
ject among the learned in such lore through
out the world in general, including the wise
men who asked the question of the text.
Abarbanel, in his Commentary on Daniel,
affirms it as a. settled thing that the conjunc
tion of Jupiter and Saturn always betokens
some great event or beginning in human af
fairs, and because such a conjunction occurred
in his day (about a. d. 1480), he expected the
speedy birth of the Messiah, as still expected
by the Jews.
Now, if an individual and isolated conjunc
tion of these" two planets presaged the birth
of one so illustrious as Moses, and always
indicates the coming of some great one on
earth, what would- be the dignity and glory

CONJUNCTIONS OF JUPITER AND SATURN. 437
of a Child whose birth is heralded by three
successive conjunctions of these same planets
in one and the same year ? And yet this is
what, in fact, did occur just before the birth
of Jesus of Nazareth.
In the year of Rome 747, within the two
years preceding the Nativity, .during the last
days of May, there was one such conjunction.
In the same year, during the last days of Octo
ber there was another such conjunction. And
again in the same year, during the first days
of December, there was a third conjunction —
all three being conjunctions of Jupiter and
Saturn, as on the occasion of the birth of
Moses. . It was Kepler, the great German
astronomer, who first pointed out these rer
markable incidents of the heavens, and gave
the opinion that they were most likely the
starry phenomena which influenced the wise
men in the case before us. The calculations
on the subject have been repeatedly re-ex
amined, and latest by the astronomer-royal
at Greenwich, and pronounced to be correct.
Independent of all theories or interpreta
tions, the facts thus stand attested by the
best science, and, as Farrar says, " do not
seem to admit of denial."
And as the star in the head of the Virgin-
37*

43 8 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
born Infant was at the time shining with a
peculiar brilliancy new to it and brighter than
all other fixed stars in the firmament, those
who took the conjunctions of Jupiter and Sat
urn as indicating the near birth of a lordly
and illustrious operator in human affairs
could by no means help themselves from
the conclusion that here was the astronomic
showing of the pending birth of a triply-illus
trious One, who could be none other than
that divine-human Seed of the woman every
where set forth in the constellations, and
promised and hoped for among all nations
from the foundations of the world. These
wise men would thus know, and be assured
beyond all doubt or misgiving, that the par
ticular time had come in which the worshipful
One they were seeking was to make His ad
vent. Such portentous conjunctions, along
with the new star in Coma, and the Virgin
herself on the meridian at the same time,
would seal the whole matter. The sigris
were full, definite, and complete.
The Sign of the Fishes.
And as to His being born in Judea as a
Jewish Prince, that they would know from the
same signs, just as well as the Egyptian priests

THE SIGN OF THE FISHES. 439
knew from the conjunction of the same plan
ets many centuries before that the illustrious
one they held, to be presaged at that time was
to arise from among the seed of Jacob. The
conjunction occurred m Pisces, the sign of the
Fishes ; and the sign of the Fishes, by Jews
and Gentiles alike, was assigned to theTsrael-
itish people as to the Sethites and Shemites,
who held to the worship of one only God and
His holy promises over against apostates and
unbelievers. Abarbanel argues five reasons
for the reference of the sign of Pisces to Is
rael. In our explanations the sign of the
Fishes means the earthly Church, and the seed
of Jacob at that time constituted God's chosen
and acknowledged people. And, as a matter
of astronomic fact, all three of the conjunctions
between Jupiter and Saturn which immediate
ly preceded Christ's birth were in the sign of
the Fishes — the first in the twentieth degree,
the second in the sixteenth degree, and the
third in the fifteenth degree. With the same
clearness and loudness, therefore, with which
these planetary conjunctions and stellar indi
cations announced the immediate birth of the
glorious divine-human Seed of the woman,
did they also announce that He was to arise
out of Jacob and to be a Jewish Prince.

44° the gospel in the stars.
The Following of the Star.
It was in December, at the winter solstice,
then the twenty-fifth day of the month, that
Christ was born. It was most likely in the
following March, about the time of the spring
equinox, at the first anniversary of the angel's
annunciation to Mary, that these wise men
reached Jerusalem. The Church mostly puts
it a little earlier, but without very solid chro
nological reasons. It was at this time that
the bright star in Coma was vertical at Jeru
salem at midnight. The record plainly im
plies that these men were following the star
they ^spoke of as Christ's Star. The follow
ing of the star in Coma, so emphatically the
star of the infant Seed of the woman, could be
no other following than the going to the place
at which it would be thus vertical over them
at that hour. We cannot conceive of any
other sort of following of a fixed star. And
it was at Jerusalem, and only there or close
on that particular line of latitude at that par
ticular time of the year, that this star was ver
tical at exact midnight. This would also al
low the required time for their journey after
the third conjunction.
The further item in the narrative, to the

THE FOLLOWING OF THE STAR. 44 1
effect that " the star went before them till it
came and stood over where the young child
was," is explainable in the same way. The
short distance of some six miles between Je
rusalem and Bethlehem would make so little
difference in the observation of a vertical star
that it would be impossible to note it without
special astronomical appliances. Hence; when
these followers of the star came to Jerusalem,
they had gone as near to the spot they were
searching for as ' their natural observation
could serve to bring them. Accordingly, the
record implies that there they somehow lost
the benefit of the star's leading, so that they
applied to Herod for further information.
Their light from the observance of the stars
being in this way exhausted, they would nat
urally betake themselves to the reigning sov
ereign there to learn the specific locality in
which this sublime Prince was born, being
assured by their starry guidance that it must
needs be somewhere in that immediate vicin
ity. And having obtained answer that Beth
lehem was the exact place indicated by sacred
prophecy, they set out for Bethlehem.
But on their way to Bethlehem, by some
means or other, to their great joy, their star
began to serve them again the same as it did

442 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
before. How this came about is explained by
a well-preserved and beautiful old tradition
which we have no reason to discredit.
Though Bethlehem is only about six miles
from Jerusalem, it is said that these distin
guished visitors stopped on the way, and tar
ried by the side of a deep well. What they
halted for in so short a journey it would be
hard to tell, except it was to take another
midnight observation of their star. For this
purpose the well, with its perpendicular walls,
would serve them the same as a fixed obser
vatory. It was by means of such a well, and
the reflection of the sun in it, at Syene in
Egypt, that the line of the tropic was deter
mined, and the extent of its declination in the
time that had elapsed since that well was dug.
So these wise men, by looking down the well,
and observing the reflection of their bright
star in the still water at the bottom, could
find with great accuracy whether it was ex
actly vertical over them, or in what respect,
if any, it was not. And so the tradition is,
that they looked into the well and saw their
star, and perceived that it " stood over" — was
exactly vertical at — not Jerusalem, but Bethle
hem, "where the young child was." Making
it designate the house is not in the record.

prophecy and astronomy. 443
Junction of Prophecy and Astronomy.
The result of the acquisition of this new
light by means of their own star-guide tradi
tion and the Scriptures both describe. They
both say that " when they saw the star " and
realized its relation to Bethlehem, "they re
joiced with exceeding great joy." And well
they might, for it was a conjunction like that
of Jupiter and Saturn themselves — the per
fect conjunction and coincidence of the pri
meval astronomy and the revelations giv
en by Israel's prophets touching the great
Messiah. These men, indeed, had not yet
reached the object of their search, but they
were now doubly sure of finding and seeing
the illustrious Virgin-born Saviour of the
world, of whom the heavens arid all sacred
story had been telling and prophesying from
remotest antiquity, and in whom they felt
more interest than in all the earth besides.
It was the Eureka ! Eureka ! of Gentile faith
and hope on the threshold of embracing the
adorable infant Seed of the woman, of whose
glorious advent they had now no longer the
least shadow of a doubt. Nor need we be
surprised if it should turn out that this was
the very well of Bethlehem of which David

444 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
had such fond remembrance, and from which
he so longed to drink.
And when we come to consider who these
" wise men " were, whence they came, and
what their character, position, relations, and
main occupations, our explanation of the case
is doubly strengthened. Who the Magi were.
There has been about as much uncertainty,
debate, and diversity of opinion touching the
identity of these people as about the star of
which they spake. It would be a waste of
time to describe the wide-ranging imaginings
upon the subject. We only need to know
the solid facts in the case.
It is settled by Matthew's narrative that
these people on their mission of homage to
the infant Christ were Magi, and that they
came from a country far eastward from Pal
estine. Whether from due east is not in
volved in the statement. According to all
the elements of the showing, and by the gen
eral consent of the Church in all ages, they
were Gentiles — the first-fruits unto Christ
from the Gentile world. All classic writers,
from Herodotus down to Ammianus, agree
in pointing to Media as their home-country —

WHO THE MAGI WERE. 445
the country of the illustrious Cyrus, who is
noted in sacred prophecy and was announced
by inspiration as God's anointed for the de
liverance of Israel from Babylon long before
he was born.
The Magi are specially named in the list
of the Median tribes, just as Matthew names
them. Anciently they were mostly a pastoral
people greatly occupied with religion, astron
omy, and other sacred sciences. They were the
great teachers of kings and people in the di
vine wisdom. They were a priestly or sacer
dotal tribe, after the style of Levi among the
tribes of Israel. It was their hereditary priv
ilege to provide their country with priests and
religious instructors. They were the minis
ters and prophets of their day. Their relig
ion was the noblest and the least corrupted
of all the ancient world. They lived mostly
in towns without walls, observing their own
laws and trusting to God alone for protec
tion. It was from among them that Zoroaster
sprung, if indeed such a man ever lived, and
that Confucius, more remotely perhaps, ob
tained his better knowledge. It was from
among them that Cyrus selected his priests
for Persia. They believed in one God, orig
inal Creator, supreme in omniscience and
38

446 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
goodness, unrivalled in splendor, and dwell
ing in light eternal. They believed in a great
and powerful spirit of evil in constant antag
onism to God, the spoiler of the divine works
and the author of all mischief. The history
of the world to them was the history of the
conflict of the good originating with God and
the evil originating with the Devil. All men
they considered active in this conflict on the
one side or the other. They held that God
by His prophets gave a revelation and a law
by which men might know their duty, fashion
their hopes, and direct their conduct, and
which it was their business to preserve and
expound. They possessed both the Solar
and Lunar Zodiacs, and claimed that they
were given of God to teach mari wisdom,
forecast the future, and give hope to the
good. According to the showings of the
constellations, they looked for a time when a
Son of the eternal Lawgiver would be born,
who should be a great Saviour and Deliverer,
by whom the spirit of evil and the powers of
hell would- be destroyed, the dead raised up
to life again, and a kingdom of everlasting
life and happiness established over all the
earth. So I find it written in the best accounts of

WHO THE MAGI WERE. 447
them and in those fragments of their sacred
books which are still preserved and of late
years published in our tongue.
And, as before Abraham's time and outside
of his chosen family-line, there were men like
Job and his friends, like Melchisedec, king of
Salem, like Jethro, priest of Midian and father-
in-law of Moses, like Balaam before his fall —
men of faith in the traditional revelations that
came forth out of the ark — men whom the
Spirit of God and saving wisdom had not en
tirely abandoned — so in the time of Christ's
birth there were some noble spirits among
the descendants of these ancient Magi who
still eagerly clung to the hope of the sure ful
filment of the primeval promise, and hence con
tinued to observe the heavens, and to consult
what they considered the inspired lore of the
skies, that they might not miss the signs and
tokens noted in the hereditary prophecies
of their caste as presages of the advent of
the great Virgin-born Son of the eternal
Sovereign. And to men of such descent, culture, faith,
hope, office, and pursuits, what more would be
necessary than just the starry indications which
I have named to thrill their souls with pro-
foundest enthusiasm, fan the smouldering em-

448 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
bers of their hereditary knowledge into a flame
of intensest animation, and create just such
an expedition to greet the new-born divine
King, as that described in connection with the
text ? Had we been in their place, with their
beliefs, feelings, and anticipations, with such
signs and indications upon the face of the sky,
where we and our fathers were taught to read
the sacred foreshowings of what was to come
to pass, I feel sure that we would have been
moved, rejoiced, thrilled, and impelled just as
they were.
And why, then, should we not accept the
conclusion that so it was ? There is not a
particle of evidence on earth that this was not
the true state of the case as respects the Magi.
All the conditions and known facts and pre
sumable likelihoods point in this one direc
tion. Everything in the record thus explains
to the full as it will not explain in any other
way known to men. And the whole result in
this view takes on that dignity, importance,
and far-reaching instructiveness which, best
befit its place in the New Testament. It is
a view which silences and sweeps away the
unworthy suspicions, perplexities, and cavils
which have so long hung about it in the minds
and estimates of many, clearing it up into def-

THE SUM OF THE WHOLE. 449
inite and comprehensible shape, and vindi
cating the action of the Church in putting it
forward as the subject of a special festival,
the opening theme of a prominent season in
her calendar, and the keynote of the earthly
Epiphany of the sublime Redeemer of the
world. >
The Sum. of the Whole.
Here, then, is a magnificent instance, ac
credited by the Holy Ghost, which stands as
an everlasting testimony to the fact of a pri
meval revelation to all men, to the existence
of a record of that revelation in the primeval
astronomy, and to the preservation of the
same in sufficient incorruptness to inform
those who clung to it of the time and place
of the nativity of the long-promised Seed
of the woman, and to move them to go and
greet Him in His cradle with their devoutest
homage and adoration. Surely, this ought to
be enough to put the matter beyond dispute,
and to settle for ever that there is such a
thing as the Gospel in the Stars — even that
.very Gospel of God which holds forth Jesus
of Nazareth as the promised Seed of the wo
man, the divine-human Son of the Virgin, who
was to come, to suffer, and to toil and die for
38 * 2D

450 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
the deliverance of man from darkness, sin,
death, and the power of the Devil, to bruise
the head of the Serpent, to destroy the works
and dominion of the great Enemy, and to
bring in everlasting redemption- to our fallen
race. It was to Jesus of Nazareth, even in
His cradle, that the primeval' astronomy con
ducted these remote Gentile believers ; and
to that same Jesus, amid vivid and glowing
illustrations of the truth respecting His na
ture, person, mission and work, past, present,
and future, the primeval astronomy is still
capable of conducting even Christians them
selves. To those who have entered into the induc
tion of facts and showings which I have given,
though imperfectly, in these Lectures, I am
sure no further evidence is needed to work
conviction of the merit and worth of the sub
ject, and of the evangelic illuminations which
it furnishes. We have considered these heav
ens, and, behold, we have found them flaming
from end to end, from centre to circumfer
ence, with that superlative "glory of God"
which shines " in the face of Jesus Christ."
We have taken our stand beneath the shining
archway, and looked at the grand procession
of the celestial scenery as inscribed by God's

THE SUM VF THE WHOLE. 45 1
primeval prophets, and have listened to the
story as it unfolded ; and, lo ! it is the same
blessed story of the fall and redemption —
of Jesus and " the restitution of all things " —
which we have in the writings of the Prophets
and Apostles. Our experience has been akin
to that of those on Jordan's banks, who saw
the heavens opened, and beheld .the Spirit
alighting on the Virgin's Child, and heard a
voice from the depths of eternity saying,
" This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased!' On that great Virgin-born our
eyes were fixed from the very starting-point.
On Him our attention has been kept and
riveted at every step of the way through the
whole circuit of the skies, with the Ecliptic
and across it. And ever sharper, clearer,
gladder, and fuller grew the glorious testi
mony as we advanced, till all the morning
stars seemed to resume their ancient songs
and all the sons of light their primeval shouts,
whilst these far-spanning heavens through all
their constellations rang out, "Hosannah!
Blessed is He that cometh in the Name of the
Lord! Hosannah in the highest!"
On such sublime heights, amid such scenes
of song and brightness, we would fain linger.
Like Peter on the mount, we Would here build

452 THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS.
tabernacles and abide. But, though to other
scenes and duties called, like him we still may
bear away with us the memory of what we
have witnessed, and think of it in' our humble
toils and sad solitudes, and be all the firmer
in our faith and the more hopeful in our out
look toward the nearing eternity. And happy
they, and wise indeed, to whom it is given
through these contemplations to say in truth
and soul-earnestness of Him to whom the
heavens thus testify, " We have seen His star,
and are come to worship Him."
Thus, then, my long task is done. And
may the God of heaven and earth, who bring-
eth forth Mazzaroth in his seasons and guides
Arcturus with his sons, bless the humble con
tribution to the confirmation of His Word, the
honor of His Name, and the vindication of the
claims of Jesus Christ to the undoubting faith
and everlasting adoration of all that live and
move beneath His genial skies !

Gloria in Excelsis Deo !

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