15. The Gospel in the Stars

15. The Gospel in the Stars



Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. 
And let them be for signs and for seasons... 
—Genesis 1:14

God's entire story of redemption is summed up in one chapter in the Bible, and I bet you'll never guess which one.  In fact, I will gift you a copy of Unbreakable Vow (sequel to Primordium) if you can tell me which chapter. Simply email me at redemptionchapter [at] blogginghisstory [dot] com with 2 words in the subject line—the book of the bible and the chapter number.

Lamps vs Deities

One of the interesting non-parallels in the Genesis account of creation vs other creation accounts (Sumerian, Babylonian, Egyptian, etc.), is the sun and moon are not named. In ancient pagan cultures, the sun and moon were deities. Even today, our sun's unofficial name is Sol, as in the Roman sun god, Sol, the equivalent of the Greek sun god Helios. But the writer of the first toledoth (or Moses as a polemic) merely refers to them as lamps.

Gospel in the Stars

That aside, there is also this idea of the gospel in the stars, or a Christian Zodiac. This theory purports that the original understanding of the constellations pointed to Christ and the gospel message.

Examples:

Aries: The Lamb of God

Leo: The Lion of Judah


Bethany Blankley, a biblical literacy advocate, wrote a series of articles on this subject, which you can read at The Original Christian Zodiac.

Not every Christian agrees with the theory. Note, it's not that they find the concept pagan or immoral, they just don't believe there is any historical merit.  For more on that point of view, see Is There a Christian Zodiac?

Personally, I have no opinion on either theory. But it is interesting to note that in the Babylonian Hymn to Shamash, the sun god (Shamash) is also the god of divination. And, "the Hebrew word used for 'sign' has a cognate in Akkadian that is used for omens."1

So I await your emails on the Chapter That Will Not Be Named hinted at earlier in this post. 😜


1The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament
Photo Credit: Pixabay

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

6. Heaven's Bestiary

Image
6. Heaven's Bestiary The Bible (and thus The Chronicles of Time) has an amazing bestiary. Most of these creatures are mentioned only in the Apocalypse of John (Revelation), but some are mentioned in the Old Testament as well. 1) Four Living Creatures—in the Bible, these creatures make an appearance in God's throne room, though in CoT they are gargoyle-like creatures that guard the throne room doors. 2) Horses of Fire—in 2 Kings, these are the mounts the angels ride. In CoT, they are not actually made of fire, but have coats of metallic amber with golden manes and tails that give the impression of flaming horses, especially when in motion. They also have a shimmering aura so to a mortal, they would appear to be like fire even when standing still. They also have wings, since they fly from heaven to earth and back again. 3) White Horse—the Bible says Jesus makes his return on a white horse, Again, since this horse flies from heaven to earth, in CoT, it is a pegasus. Actually, I ma
Read more

5. The Angel Armies

Image
5. The Angel Armies "Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation … and all the angels shouted for joy?" —Job 38:4, 7 Since the Bible states that the angels were witnesses to the creation, many Bible scholars assume they were created outside of time (before Day One). The Hebrew word for angel is Malak (the term I use for angels in CoT), which means messenger . Over 200 times throughout the Bible, God is referred to as Yehovah tsaba' , often translated "the Lord of hosts." According to Blue Letter Bible , hosts means: army, war, warfare, host of organised army. So Eugene Patterson's translation of the Bible, The Message, is spot on when it translates  Yehovah tsaba' as God of the Angel Armies, a phrase in the popular CCM song: Whom Shall I Fear? by Chris Tomlin I know who goes before me I know who stands behind The God of Angel Armies Is always by my side The one who reigns forever He is a friend of mine The God of Angel Armies Is always by my side
Read more

23. Breath of Life

Image
23. Breath of Life Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living soul.  — Genesis 2:7 The word soul in Hebrew is nephes h, meaning “an animated, breathing, conscious, and living being.” Man did not become a living soul until God breathed life into him. In Genesis 6:17, "breath" in the phrase "breath of life" is the Hebrew word ruwach, which means “wind, breath, air, spirit.” It is the word translated all throughout the Old Testament in the phrase the Spirit of God , and in the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament) as well as the New Testament, it is the word translated in the phrase Holy Spirit . Photo Credit: Copyright © Bill Osborne . Used with Permission. / Video: Great Are You Lord by Casting Crowns.
Read more