PS News-227

#227:
WITNESS OF THE WOMAN
SIGN OF VIRGO
A Case for Biblical Astronomy

The redemption story of mankind is written in the Stars.
Every constellation is an attribute of the work and person of Jesus.
Virgo is the start of the Mazzaroth or Zodiac, Leo is its conclusion.

by Luis B. Vega
for PostScripts News (PSN) | www.PostScripts.org
EMAIL: vegapost@hotmail.com

The purpose of this study is to dispel any notion that such a study centered on astronomical alignments of the Sun, Moon and the Stars is not Biblical. There is Astrology and there is Astronomy. There is a difference and even so, the Church of Christ is either willfully ignorance or apathetic to such knowledge that the Bible begins with, the creation of such. Astronomy is a science based on the Scientific Method of direct physical observation and repeatable investigations to prove a theory. The patterns of the eclipses, comets, frequency of planets, their colors and resonances are all a factor of mathematics and harmonics.

For example, NASA can predict scientifically down to the seconds when eclipses, both solar and lunar occurred 1000s of year back in time and in the future. Astronomy is the study of the ‘astros’ or stars. On the other hand, Astrology is the interpretation of the Astronomy. This is where many in the Body of Christ infer as ‘divination’ and cast out all such knowledge and science, out the preverbal window. There is some truth in that Astrology is definitely used by the Luciferians to also mark times and season. In some cases, with the incorporation of magic; such knowledge delves into the forbidden domain of the occult and demonic realms.

However, there is an Astrology that is even prescribed in the Bible that YHVH’s People are admonished to take heed of.It begins in Genesis where YHVH told Adam and Eve that the Sun, Moon and the Stars were created to mark time, in essence a ‘celestial clock’. One would and could tell what time ‘prophetically it was by looking at the pattern and sequences of the Sun, Moon and the Stars. Here lies the test if the Astrology one is receiving is sound, reliable and Biblical. If the Astrology does not lead one to Jesus Christ, it is not of the Holy Spirit. If the Astrology leads one closer to Jesus Christ, it is of the working of the divine protocols.

In Psalm 19, YHVH declares that the Heavens to include the Sun, Moon and the Stars ‘declare the glory of YHVH’. It speaks about the circuit or the Ecliptic and how the Sun is like a Groom chasing the Stars and Moon as a ‘Bride’.Such are part of the tapestry of the divine revelation as far as the Plan of Redemption is laid out in the ‘Story of the Stars’. This was first discovered and expounded by the great theologian E.W. Bullinger. His book entitled, The Witness of the Stars was ground-breaking and ahead of his time, conventionally that is. Most if not all the ancient civilizations know about his ‘storyline’ of the King of the Universe and the Son that was to die on a cross, etc.

It spoke without a word to testify of the redeeming work of the Hero, Orion over the Villain the Dragon Serpent Lucifer that seeks to take domain over all creation, not just over Humanity but YHVH’s Throne as well. Many Christians are downright stupid when it comes to unfounded critique of those that appear in their eyes to be ‘star-gazers’ and that YHVH’s People are not to bother with such knowledge for being ‘Satanic’. One would have to suspect that either such people are downright ignorant of such revelation or they are being used, if knowingly or not by the Luciferins to obscure and keep the Sheep of Jesus Christ in total oblivion as to what time ‘prophetically’ it is. Why is this an issue? Well, the LORD admonishes His People to be like the Sons of Issachar that ‘know the times in which they lived in’ and acted accordingly.

Why YHVH’s People ‘parish’ and/or run wild as other translations state it is that there is no knowledge of what ‘time’ it is prophetically, thus it does not know what to do and how to be the most effective in that generation for Christ and the Kingdom to come. Jesus became very angry at the religious rulers of the Jews in that they did know how to read the signs of the weather and they interpreted them correctly yet they missed the Messiah’s 1st visitation to their ‘vineyard’ because they could not tell time prophetically all the while it was written in the Stars. All the while, the gentile Wise Men did discern and interpret correctly to find Jesus. Perhaps in the Last Days, the Sign of Virgo of Revelation 12 is one such Celestial Sign to be seen, headed, interpreted and understood in a similar way. The other prophetic Sign is that of the Days of Noah.

One might say, where in the Bible did YHVH specifically instruct His People to be stargazers? As noted, it began in Genesis 1:1. YHVH even interpreted the dream of Joseph of how his brothers and parents were like the Stars and the Sun and Moon. Thus, is YHVH then a ‘stargazer? When YHVH called out Abraham to the Promised Land and it got to the point that his flocks were mixing with the flocks of Lot, YHVH told Abraham to ‘gaze-up at the stars’ and attempt to count them. It is observed that YHVH is instructing His ‘Friend’ to be a ‘stargazer’ and interpret the star as signs? Then there is Daniel who was called the Chief Astrologer of the Court. How can this be and allowed of the most prolific Prophet of all time? Daniel’s astronomical and astrological influence was such that the future Wise Men of Persia ‘gazed’ upon an astrological star, the Astronomy part and determined by divine interpretation that it signaled the Christ Star of where and when the Messiah was to be born, this is the Astrology part.

Each Star was given a name that reflected directly the specific attributes of the Sign it was in. It meaning added, as a piece to the overall storyline of the Messiah’s mission. For example, Virgo is represented as a woman with a branch in her right hand, and some ears of corn in her left hand. Thus giving a two-fold testimony of the ‘Coming One’, Jesus the Manchild or Messiah. Astrologically, as it pertains to the interpretation of the Sign of Virgo, the name of this Sign in Hebrew is Bethulah, which means a Virgin, and in the Arabic a Branch. The 2 words are connected, as in Latin—Virgo means a virgin; and virga, means a branch or shaft. Virgo, astronomically and astrologically begin the celestial tapestry of the Mazzaroth as a ‘Genesis’ and is reminiscent of Genesis in the Garden of Eden with Eve.

The Sign Virgo
The following sections are taken from the book by E.W. Bullinger as it pertains to the meaning of Virgo. Bullinger not only researched the specific name and meaning of each star in the constellation but offers a Biblical and perhaps divinely inspired ‘astrological’ interpretation of its divine purpose and meaning. As the copyright for the book has expired long ago; the portion of Bullinger’s work will also serve to highlight and honor his scholarship. The chapter will be entirely italicized and given in abbreviated form and paraphrased form at times. With such a foundation and understanding perhaps the study of the Virgo Sign will be more significant and pressing.

Here is the commencement of all prophecy in Genesis 3:15, spoken to the serpent: ‘I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel.’ This is the prophetic announcement which the revelation in the heavens is designed to unfold and develop. It lies at the root of all the ancient traditions and mythologies, which are simply the perversion and corruption of primitive truth.

Virgo is represented as a woman with a branch in her right hand, and some ears of corn in her left hand. Thus giving a 2-fold testimony of the Coming One. In Genesis 3:15 she is presented only as a woman; but in later prophecies her nationality is defined as being of the stock of Israel, the seed of Abraham, the line of David; and further, she is to be a virgin. There are two prominent prophecies of her and her seed: one is connected with the 1st coming in incarnation, Isaiah 7:14 which is quoted in Matthew 1:23.

‘Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.’

The other is connected with His 2nd coming, leaping over the sufferings and this present interval of His rejection, and looking forward to His coming in glory and judgment as foretold in Isaiah 9:6-7 and quoted in Luke 1 :32-33 and 2:11. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government there shall be no end. Upon the throne of David, and upon His kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

Here is the fact of His humiliation, together with this long period of His rejection, is leaped over, and the prophecy passes on at once--over at least a period of 1984 years--to this ‘glory which should follow.’ It is difficult to separate the Virgin and her Seed in the prophecy; and so here, we have first the Sign, Virgo, where the name points to her as the prominent subject; while in the first of the three constellations of this Sign, where the woman appears again, the name Coma points to the child as the great subject. Virgo contains 110 stars, 1 of the 1st magnitude, 6 of the 3rd, 10 of the 4th, etc.

Thus the brightest star in Virgo has an ancient name, handed down to us in all the star-maps, in which the Hebrew word Tsemech is preserved. It is called in Arabic Al Zimach, which means The Branch. This star is in the ear of corn which she holds in her left hand. Hence the star has a modern Latin name, which has almost superseded the ancient one, Spica, which means, an Ear of Corn. But this hides the great truth revealed by its name Al Zimach. It foretold the coming of Him who should bear this name. The same divine inspiration has, in the written Word, four times connected it with Him.

There are 20 Hebrew words translated ‘Branch’ but only 1 of them Tsemech is used exclusively of the Messiah, and this word only 4 times is found in Jeremiah 33:15. Each of these further connects Him with one special account of Him, given in the Gospels. The stars are known by Greek letters and sometimes by numbers.

Alpha denotes a star of the 1st magnitude; Beta, the 2nd, and so on. This plan was originated by Bayer in his Uranometria, 1603. The star Alpha in Virgo was discovered to be really a double star, though it had hitherto always appeared to be one. The following are the prophetic verses pertaining to the coming of the Messiah through the Virgin, ‘Virgo’.

(1) Jeremiah 23:5
‘Behold, the days come, says the LORD, That I will raise unto David a righteous Branch i.e., a Son and a King shall reign and prosper.’ The account of His coming as King is written in the Gospel according to Matthew, where Jehovah says to Israel, ‘Behold thy KING.’ (Zech 9:9; Matt 21:9)

(2) Zechariah 3:8
‘Behold I will bring forth my Servant the Branch.’ In the Gospel according to Mark we find the record of Jehovah's servant and His service, and we hear Jehovah's voice saying, ‘Behold my SERVANT.’ (Isa 42:1)

(3) Zechariah 6:12
‘Thus speaks the LORD of Hosts, saying, Behold the Man whose name is the Branch.’ In the Gospel according to Luke we behold Him, presented in ‘the Man, Christ Jesus.’

(4) Isaiah 4:2
‘In that day shall the Branch of Jehovah be beautiful and glorious.’ So that this Branch, this Son, is Jehovah Himself; and as we read the record of John we hear the voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold your GOD.’ (Isa 40:9)

This is The Branch foretold by the star Al Zimach in The Ear of Corn. The star is called Zavijaveh, which means The Gloriously Beautiful, as in Isaiah 4:2. The star in the arm bearing The Branch, is called Al Mureddin, which means ‘Who Shall Come Down’ as in Psalm 72:8, or Who Shall Have Dominion. It is also known as Vindemiatrix, a Chaldean word which means The Son, or Branch, Who Cometh. Other names of stars in the sign, are Subilah, which means Who Carries. (Isa 46:4) Then there is the Star Al Azal, which also means The Branch as in Isaiah 18:5. There is also Subilon, which means A Spike of Corn as in Isaiah 17:5. The Greeks, ignorant of the Divine origin and teaching of the Sign, represented Virgo as Ceres, with ears of corn in her hand.

COMA (The Woman and Child)
The desired of all nations
In the Zodiac in the Temple of Denderah, in Egypt, about 2000 BC (now in Paris), VIrgo is likewise represented with a branch in her hand, but ignorantly explained by a false religion to represent Isis! Her name is called Aspolia, which means Ears of Corn, or The Seed, which shows that though the woman is seen, it is her Seed who is the great subject of the prophecy. Passing to the 3 constellations anciently assigned to the sign Virgo, we come to what may be compared to 3 sections of the chapter, each giving some further detail as to the interpretation of its teaching.

The first constellation in Virgo explains that this coming ‘Branch’ will be a child and that He should be the ‘Desire of all nations.’ The ancient name of this constellation is Comah, the desired, or the longed for. We have the word used by the Holy Spirit in this very connection, in Haggai 2:7 it states, ‘The Desire of all nations shall come.’ The ancient Zodiacs pictured this constellation as a woman with a child in her arms. Albumazar or Abu Masher, an Arabian Astronomer of the 8th century, says, ‘There arises in the first Decan as the Persians, Chaldeans, and Egyptians, and the 2 Hermes and Ascalius teach; a young woman whose Persian name denotes a pure virgin, sitting on a throne.

She is nourishing an infant boy having a Hebrew name, by some nations called Ihesu, with the signification Ieza, which in Greek is called ‘Christos.’ A Latin translation of his work is in the British Museum Library. He says the Persians understood these Signs, but that the Indians perverted them with inventions. The constellations are called Decans. The word means ‘a part’ and is used of the 3 parts into which each Sign is divided, each of which is occupied by a constellation. But this picture is not found in any of the modern maps of the stars.This is a good example of how the meaning of other constellations have been perverted ignorantly or intentionally. In this case, as in others, the transition from ancient to more modern languages helped to hide the meaning.

The Hebrew name was Coma (desired). But the Greeks had a word for hair, Co-me. This again is transferred to the Latin coma, and thus ‘Coma Berenice’ (The hair of Berenice) comes down to us today as the name of this constellation and gives us a woman's wig instead of That Blessed One, the Desire of all Nations. In this case, however we are able to give absolute proof that this is a perversion. The ancient Egyptian name for this constellation was Shes-nu, The Desired Son. The Zodiac in the Temple of Denderah, in Egypt, going back at least 2000 years BC, has no trace of any hair, but it has the figure of a woman and child. Even Shakespeare understood the truth about this constellation picture, which has been so long covered by modern inventions. In his Titus Andronicus he speaks of an arrow being shot up to heaven to the ‘Good boy in Virgo's lap.’

The constellation itself is very remarkable. Others contain one or two stars of the 1st or 2nd magnitude, and then a greater or less variety of lesser stars; but this is peculiar from having no one very bright star, but contains so many stars of the 4th and 5th magnitudes. It contains 43 stars altogether, 10 being of the 4th magnitude, and the remainder of the 5th, 6th, etc. It was in all probability the constellation of Coma in which ‘the Star of Bethlehem’ appeared. There was a traditional prophecy, well-known in the East, carefully preserved and handed down, that a new star would appear in this Sign when He whom it foretold should be born. This was, doubtless, referred to in the Prophecy of Balaam, which would thus receive a double fulfilment, first of the literal ‘Star’ and also of the Person to whom it referred.

The Lord said by Balaam in Numbers 24:17.
‘There shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel.’

This Star is also rendered in Genesis 3:24 ‘There shall come forth a Star at or over the inheritance or possessions of Jacob,’ thus indicating the locality which would be on the meridian of this Star. Thomas Hyde, an eminent Orientalist (1636-1703), writing on the ancient religion of the Persians, quotes from Abulfaragius an Arab Christian Historian, 1126-1286, who says that Zoroaster the Persian, was a pupil of Daniel the Prophet, and that he predicted to the Magians who were the astronomers of Persia, that when they should see a new Star appear it would notify the birth of a mysterious child, whom they were to adore. It is further stated in the Zend Avesta that this new Star was to appear in the Sign of the Virgin. Some have supposed that this passage is not genuine. But whether it was interpolated before or after the event, it is equally good evidence for our purpose here. For if it was written before the event, it is evidence of the prophetic announcement; and if it was interpolated after the event it is evidence of the historic fact.

The Book of Job shows us how Astronomy flourished in Idumea; and the Gospel according to Matthew shows that the Persian Magi, as well as others, were looking for ‘the Desire of all nations.’ New Stars have appeared again and again. It was in 125 BC that a star, so bright as to be seen in the day-time, suddenly appeared. It was this that caused Hipparchus to draw up his catalogue of Stars, which has been handed down to us by Ptolemy around 150 AD. This new Star would show the latitude, passing at that time immediately overhead at midnight, every twenty-four hours; while the prophecy would give the longitude as the land of Jacob.

Having these 2 factors, it would be only a matter of observation, and easy for the Magi to find the place where it would be vertical, and thus to locate the very spot of the birth of Him of whom it was the Sign, for they emphatically called it ‘His Star.’ There is a beautiful tradition which relates how, in their difficulty, on their way from Jerusalem to find the actual spot under the Zenith of this Star, these Magi sat down beside David's ‘Well of Bethlehem’ to refresh themselves. There they saw the Star reflected in the clear water of the well.

Hence it is written that ‘when they saw the Star they rejoiced with exceeding joy,’ for they knew they were at the very spot and place of His appearing whence He was to ‘come forth.’ There can be little doubt that it was a new star. In the first place a new star is no unusual phenomenon. In the second place the tradition is well supported by ancient Christian writers. One speaks of its ‘surpassing brightness.’ Another, Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, AD 69 says, ‘At the appearance of the Lord a Star shone forth brighter than all the other stars.’ Ignatius, doubtless, had this from those who had actually seen it! Prudentius (4th century AD) says that not even the Morning Star [Venus] was so fair.

One step more places this new Star in the constellation of Coma, and with new force makes it indeed ‘His Star’--the ‘Sign’ of His coming forth from Bethlehem. It be ‘the Sign of the Son of Man in Heaven’ (Matt 24:30) when He shall come into this world again to complete the wondrous prophecies written of Him in the Heavenly and Earthly Revelations? The conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, they hold, always marked the occurrence of some even favorable to Israel. Kepler, calculating backwards, found that this astronomical phenomenon always coincided with some great historical crisis.

Such an occurrence could have been related to the Revelation being given to Adam, the birth of Enoch, the Revelation to Noah, the birth of Moses, the birth of Cyrus, the birth of Christ, the birth of Charlemagne, and the birth of Luther. Thus does the constellation of Coma reveal that the coming ‘Seed of the woman’ was to be a child born, a Son given. But He was to be more: He was to be God and man--2 natures in 1 person! This is another important proof of the truth of our whole argument. This brings us back again to Genesis 3:15 with Eve as a type of Virgo.

It shows us the Person of the Promised Seed from the beginning to the end, from the first promise of the birth of the Child in Bethlehem, to the final coming of the great Judge and Harvester to reap the harvest of the Earth. This was the vision which was afterwards shown to John (Rev 14:15,16), when he says, ‘I looked; and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. Here we see the woman whose Seed is to bruise the serpent's head, the Virgin-Born, the Branch of Jehovah, perfect man and perfect God, Immanuel, ‘God with us,’ yet despised and rejected of men, and yielding up His life that others may have life for evermore.

But we see Him coming afterwards in triumphant power to judge the Earth. The start of the cosmic storyline with Virgo contains the outline of the whole Mazzaroth, complete in itself, so far as it regards the Person of the Coming One. Like the Book of Genesis, it is the seed-plot which contains the whole, all the rest being merely the development of the many grand details which are included and shut up within it. It is only one chapter out of twelve, but it distinctly foreshadows the end--even the sufferings of Christ and the glory which should follow.
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Main Sources
The Witness of the Stars, E.W. Bullinger 1893
Wikipedia.com

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