KINGDOM BIBLE STUDIES
studies in end-time revelation
THE HEAVENS DECLARE
Part 3
In the first chapter of the Bible we read, "And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: He made the stars also" (Gen. 1:16). Again, "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" (Gen. 1:14). It should be obvious to everyone with even an elementary knowledge of astronomy that the heavenly bodies have a great deal to say about our YEARS, our DAYS and our SEASONS. But what about the relationship of the celestial bodies to that word SIGNS? How are they SIGNS? What is a SIGN? Perhaps the best way to answer our question is by answering another question first. What precisely is the purpose of a "sign"? Is it not to bear a message? To give information? To tell a story which is of importance to the one who put up the sign? If so, then let us observe that this verse is saying that God placed the sun, moon, and stars in the heavens to tell a story, to declare a word of utmost importance. The heavens are the unfurling of God's revelation to man, the heavens tell the story of things to come--they PROPHESY!
It is in the book of Job that we first have reference to this Stellar Revelation. In chapter 38 God speaks to Job and his false comforters. He says to them, "Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion? Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth (the twelve signs of the Zodiac) in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons? Knowest thou the ordinances of the heaven? canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth?" (Job 38:31-33). The MAZZAROTH--the signs of the Zodiac--are brought forth each night by the skillful hand of God. These constellations were sprinkled by His hand across the sky as He garnished the heavens and created the figures which we now know as the figures of the Zodiac. He has written this with His own hand; He has created the stars; He has named and numbered and arranged and ordered them. Remember--this is GOD speaking! And the almighty Creator speaks of the "sweet influences" of Pleiades, the "bands" of Orion, the "seasons" of Mazzaroth, the "ordinances" of the heavens, and the "dominion" of these constellations in the earth! Each of these powers and influences of the constellations over the earth is indicated by God Himself as FACT!
THE HEAVENS RULE
Throughout history, there have been those anointed of God who have seen some connection between stars and angels- the messengers of God. This connection can easily be made because both the stars (Deut. 4:19; II Kings 21:3; Isa. 34:4; Jer. 8:2; 33:22; Zeph. 1:5) and the ministering spirits (I Kings 22:19-22; Lk. 2:13) are called "the host of heaven" in the Bible. There are several beautiful passages which provide the indisputable link between the two, of which I will cite only one. "Praise ye the Lord. Praise ye the Lord from the HEAVENS: praise ye Him in the heights. Praise ye Him, all His ANGELS: praise ye Him, all His HOSTS. Praise ye Him, SUN and MOON: praise ye Him, all ye STARS OF LIGHT. Praise Him, all ye HEAVENS OF HEAVENS" (Ps. 148: 1-4).
A person who speaks only the English language can take a book, written in French, and while he may not be able to read it, except with much hesitation and mispronunciation, still he can struggle through it, after a fashion. Occasionally he will come to a word which closely resembles the English, with which he is familiar. But, because he knows nothing of the meaning of French words, no matter how well he can read the text, it means nothing to him until he learns what each individual French word means. Even so, Christians who read Bible prophecy, or study God's Bible in the sky--the signs of the Zodiac, if they do not understand prophetical language, are confronted with a similar problem. Prophecy is invariably written in spiritual and prophetical terms, and unless one understands the meaning of each individual term, though he may be able to read the text fluently, yet he has no understanding of what he reads. So, before one can understand prophecy, he first must receive a revelation of the prophetic language. Fortunately, the Word furnishes us with the KEYS to prophetical terms by which we may, through consistent study. and the illumination of the blessed Spirit of Truth, become proficient in the prophetic language.
in Matt. 24:29 we read, "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken." In this significant passage Jesus sets forth several prophetical terms. Some of the prophetical terms are: SUN, MOON, STARS, HEAVEN. Let us take a look at these!
The natural sun, is the brightest luminary in the natural heavens. And to help us in correctly interpreting the meaning of the prophetical sun, Gen. 1:16 informs us that God made "the greater light to RULE the day, and the lesser light to RULE the night." Here we first have the idea expressed of both the sun and the moon being RULERS. Then we find that God, the supreme Ruler, is called in the Word a "Sun." "For the Lord thy God is a SUN and a shield" (Ps. 84: 11). Also, our Lord Jesus Christ, the King of kings, is in Mal. 4:2 called "the Sun of Righteousness." He rules. Furthermore, we find, in reference to men, that II Sam. 23:3-4 reads: "He that RULETH over men...shall be as the light of the morning, when the SUN ariseth." And in II Sam. 21:17 we find David the king called "the LIGHT of Israel." This same meaning is found in II Kings 8:19 where wt, read: "Yet the Lord would not destroy Judah for David His servant's sake, as He promised him to give him always A LIGHT." This is exactly the same promise that we find in Jer. 33:17 where the Lord says: "David shall never want a man to SIT UPON THE THRONE of the house of Israel." l)David's offspring were! to be the "suns," or RULERS of Israel, the source of light, influence, and direction. In Mat. 13:43 we find, concerning saints who are to be Kings and Priests and rule with Christ (Rev. 3:21; 5:9-10), that they are compared to the sun: "Then shall the righteous SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN in the Kingdom of their Father." Of these same ruling saints Jesus says, "And he that overcometh, and keepeth My works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations and he shall RULE them with a rod of iron..." Then He hastily adds: "And I will give him the MORNING STAR" (Rev. 2:26-28). that is, "I will give him power over the nations -- rulership --and I will give him the POSITION AS THE MORNING STAR to give direction to mankind." Now consider these meaningful words of Daniel the prophet wherein he foretells the manifestation of the sons of God in the end of the age: "And they that be wise shall SHINE AS THE BRIGHTNESS OF THE FIRMAMENT; and they that turn many to righteousness as the STARS forever" (Dan. 12: 3) .
Then we find in Dan. 4:26, "the HEAVENS DO RULE." God's heaven is His throne. "Heaven I-S M-Y T-H-R-O-N-E" (Isa. 66: ]). Heaven in the spiritual terminology of prophecy is the seat where the SUN, the mighty God sits and RULES. And as God's heaven is His throne, so the prophetical heavens include all the governmental realm THROUGH WHICH GOD RULES, and He is LORD OF ALL. That the prophetic "heaven" is the governmental realm, including the thrones of men through which God rules over men, is demonstrated quite clearly ~n Dan. 4:22, where Daniel tells Nebucbadnezzar, "thy greatness is grown, and REACHED UNTO HEAVEN." He had just become the most exalted monarch of earth: the sun. And in Isa. 5:30, describing the casting down of earthly kings from their thrones, the prophet says, "THE LIGHT IS DARKENED IN THE HEAVENS THEREOF." This statement is most meaningful when compared with all the foregoing scriptures, and finally compared with the statement in Mat. 24: 2'.~: "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the SUN BE DARKENED, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of t~ e heavens shall be shaken."
The sun in prophecy is the most exalted ruler of any order, the moon second, while the stars are other governmental authorities. The heavens are the thrones which these rulers occupy. The earth is that which is ruled by the heavens- that which looks to the sun, the moon, and the stars for its light and direction. There is an order of human government now, but all these are soon to pass away, be darkened, fall from heaven, and a new order shall be inaugurated. In the Kingdom of God the SONS OF GOD shall constitute the heavenly bodies (sun, moon, stars) that shall RULE THE EARTH. When we read of the stars falling from heaven, we are simply reading that the so-called "big shots" are coming down! We are being made to know that all that has been giving light in the past, and that has ruled in the past, is going out and is darkened forever. But in Mat. 24:27 we read that God's Christ shall come "as the lightening (sun) cometh out of the east and shineth even unto the west." The glorious CHRIST COMPANY shall TAKE THE PLACE of all the former sun, moon, and stars. A NEW HEAVENS and a NEW EARTH--hallelujah!
The truth of the constellations of the heavens includes many wonderful examples of that which is taking place in the realm of the Spirit. The stars of the heavens exist in a realm where God is absolute Sovereign and Lord, where His life prevails. Therefore, in their highest meaning, in their spiritual meaning, the stars are used to represent HEAVENLY, SPIRITUAL RULE AND DOMINION. Can we now open the eyes of our understanding to behold the wondrous truth that God's elect sons ARE THE CONSTELLATIONS OF THE SPIRITUAL HEAVENS, THE LUMINARIES AND RULERS IN GOD'S SKY! As the glory of the Lord arises upon His chosen ones they pierce the gloom of the dark night of sin and sorrow and bring deliverance, life and order out of the chaos of man's failure and despair. In the light of Daniel's startling prophecy (Dan. 12:3) I am compelled to say to the elect of the Lord: Y-O-U ARE THE TRUE SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC IN GOD'S SPIRITUAL HEAVENS!
In that long ago primordial beginning the sun, moon and stars were given as SIGNS. A sign is something that points to something else. The sign itself can be a reality. But as a SIGN, it is a reality that points to A REALITY THAT IS BEYOND AND GREATER THAN ITSELF. If you see a sign in a building that reads, "EXIT," you do not for a moment think that the sign itself is the way out. You know that it is an indicator pointing you in the direction of a door or opening nearby. The scriptures declare that our Lord Jesus Christ was just such a reality, for it is written that He was a SIGN. "Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a SIGN. Behold, a virgin shall conceive .and bear a SON and ye shall call HIS name IMMANUEL (God with us)" (Isa. 7: 14). It was not the virgin birth that was to be the sign. It was THE SON THAT WAS BORN OF THE VIRGIN that was the sign. Therefore when the infant Jesus was brought to Simeon and Anna in the temple, again it was prophesied that the SON was a SIGN, for Simeon said, "Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many...and FOR A SIGN which shall be spoken against'' "Lk. 2:34).
Jesus was a SIGN! He was also a "stumblingblock". People stumbled over the sign because they could not comprehend its meaning! They spoke against it because it was beyond their understanding. They resisted it because they perceived it with carnal, rather than spiritual, eyes. But Jesus was a Sign, a fact that He Himself told us when He said, "The things concerning Me have an END" (Lk. 22:37). That word "end" is in the Greek TELOS, meaning "consummation." In other words, Jesus was something to be FULFILLED. He was a reality in and of Himself, but He was also a reality that pointed to a reality greater than Himself. What reality was that? As the FIRSTBORN among MANY BRETHREN, He was the SIGN that pointed to a many-membered Christ, a whole company of Saviours (Ob. 21), who shall be HIM revealed in His many-splendored glory!
Here I would share a most illuminating and instructive word from the pen of George Hawtin. "One of the greatest truths ever kept hidden from the eyes of man is this: that JESUS CHRIST, THE ONLY BEGOTTEN SON OF GOD, was from His birth to His resurrection the greatest SIGN that God has ever given to the world. Everything about His life and His ministry, His birth, His death, His resurrection was a clear distinct SIGN of things that are to come. We may have overlooked the fact that no less an authority than Jesus Christ Himself made the clear definite statement that 'as Jonah was a SIGN to the Ninevites, so also shall the SON OF MAN be to this generation' (Lk. 11:29-30). This passage tells us that Jesus was a sign to this generation in the same way that Jonah was to his generation. When I meditate upon the experience of Jonah as he went into the whale' s belly and felt the bars of hell close about him, then to come forth from that hell to experience the glory of a resurrection, it seems small wonder that his preaching so mightily affected the Ninevites that in forty days one hundred twenty thousand souls turned to the Lord. Jonah's experience was a sign to the Ninevites of wonderful things to come when Christ would go into death and hell and then lead forth in triumph an innumerable company of captives from the pit itself (Eph.4:7-10). But we dare not stop here. The glorious victory of Christ in descending to hell and leading forth a host of captives is in itself a sign of the day when the sons of God will unlock the gates of hell, for the gates of hell shall not prevail against them" --end quote.
May God grant unto all who peruse this message eyes to see that this glorious first-born Son of God, begotten of the Father by the Holy Ghost, was a SIGN SON. He was a sign of a great COMPANY OF SONS who would also be born of the Spirit and nurtured unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of the Christ through the centuries stretching between Bethlehem and the end of this age. This is the truth that illumined Paul's mind as he exultantly wrote, "Whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the IMAGE OF HIS SON, that HE might be the eldest in a VAST FAMILY OF BROTHERS" (Rom. 8: 29). Well, if He was a sign, those who are joined to Him in spirit- truly joined to Him in spirit, of His mind, of His attitude, of His thought--WILL ALSO BE SIGNS! That is why it is written in another place, "Behold, I and the children whom the Lord hath given Me are for SIGNS AND WONDERS in Israel from the Lord of hosts" (Isa. 8:18; Heb. 2:13). "I and the children..." That is Christ and His members!
Jesus was a sign and you and I, my beloved, are given for signs. The sun, moon and stars were set in the diamond-studded heavens to be for signs and to rule over the earth. Jesus was a sign, and He is the Sun of righteousness set in the heavens of God's vast spiritual universe, and He is the Creator of the world, and its Ruler. The bride of Christ is the moon in God's spiritual and governmental heavens, for as the sun represents the positive, masculine, life-giving principle, so the moon symbolizes the passive, feminine, receptive side. The elect sons of God are for signs and they shall shine as the brightness of the firmament and as the STARS forever. "Do all things without murmurings and disputings, that ye may become blameless and harmless, sons of Cod, without blemish in the midst of a crooked and darkened generation, AMONG WHOM YE SHINE AS LIGHTS IN THE WORLD" (Phil. 2:15). This word here translated "lights" is the Greek word PHOSTER, and it means luminary, light container, or simply star. The sons of God, then, are the stars of God to shine in this darkened world.
To what purpose is this beautiful figure given? Let us recall that Moses said of the stars that they were for SIGNS. Many a weary wanderer, lost in the blackness of a darkened night, has thanked God when the storm was lifted, so that he might see the stars, and find his way back home to safety and to peace. The stars are for signs, and that tells the whole tale of God's expectation of us. Christ Jesus our Lord is a sign and He is a sun and Christ is King, He rules, and not another. He has been given power over "ALL flesh" (Jn. 17: 2). Before He ascended He stated, "ALL power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth" (Mat.28:18). "All power" means "all power" and leaves no room for Satan to have some power. And this unbounded power is not a mere recent acquisition, for in Jn. 17:5 we read that before ascending Jesus petitioned the Father to glorify Him with the glory which He had before the world was. So the glory and power which He now possesses, He also possessed in Old Testament times, and even before time began. And by the wisdom of God and the revelation of His Spirit, we have come to understand that our spirits, too, were with God in the beginning of the creation. Long before we existed in this form of dust, or of flesh and blood, we were with the Father. To those who can receive it there is a blessed and divine answer in the New Testament to the question put by the Almighty to Job in that long ago: "Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth...when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" (Job 38:4,7). O that men might see that there was a day in which God established in the heavens His great plan of creation and redemption. In that moment of the early councils of the Elohim there erupted such an harmonious symphony of rejoicing and praise and the morning stars formed a celestial choir which broke forth into a rhapsody of song while all the sons of God filled the unlimited vastnesses of infinity with their shouts of joy and expectation as they with wonder beheld the end of Father' s glorious plan.
There is a chord far away in the depths of my spirit today that still vibrates to that wondrous shout of joy. There is no doubt whatsoever in my mind that in that long forgotten past we were there with Him in spirit, and there is an inward sense of assurance that much of the truth we now possess was known to our spirits since that early beginning. The call to sonship was placed within our spirits at that time, for the scripture with divine certainty testifies that it was those whom the Father FOREKNEW that He also predestinated to be conformed into the image of His Son (Rom. 8: 29), according as He hath chosen us in Him BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love: having predestinated us unto the adoption of sons by Jesus Christ to Himself (Eph. 1:4-5). Paul Mueller wrote some time ago that all that has taken place in our lives, from the cradle to the grave, was at that time programmed into our spirits, and we are now walking out the path that Father ordained for us in that pre-dawn hour. To which my spirit shouts a hearty "Amen!"
Jesus Christ is Himself the "bright and the morning star," but this assurance I have from the Spirit of Truth within, that a vast company of MORNING S-T-A-R-S intoned that glorious celestial song of creation and redemption on that primeval occasion ere the foundations of the earth were laid. And just as Jesus Christ came into this world as a Sign-Son, so all the sons of God are given for signs and wonders in Israel. In the same wonderful way that the heavenly constellations of the signs of the Zodiac rule by cosmic energy the men of earth, so do the heavenly, spiritual sun, moon and stars rule over the earth realm by the spiritual authority and power of the Kingdom of God. The physical Zodiac in the natural heavens of the material universe is but a faint shadow of the true and spiritual and heavenly Zodiac composed of the blessed Sun of righteousness, and the moon, which is the bride of Christ and the Queen of heaven, and the brightness of the stars constituting that vast family of the sons and daughters of the Most High. Some teach that the "morning stars" represent only the daughters of God, but it is my deep conviction that we must bear in mind that Jesus Christ, the SON of the living God is Himself T-H-E BRIGHT AND MORNING STAR.
"Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: and then shall appear the S-I-G-N OF THE SON OF MAN IN HEAVEN: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory" (Mat. 24:29-30). I have quoted this portion of our Lord's teaching that we might be assured that by using the symbols of the sun, moon, stars, and the powers of the heavens, Jesus reveals the total and complete collapse and destruction of this present World-order. Then He shows that after all the lights of the human governmental systems go out, when one would expect only darkness and anarchy, A VERY IMPORTANT EVENT OCCURS. The SIGN of the Son of man will appear in THE HEAVEN.
"And THEN shall appear the SIGN of the Son of man in heaven." In examining this statement we must first note a grievous error that is made by most people who study it. The unthinking masses skip over it lightly, misinterpreting it as "the COMING of the Son of man in heaven." That is not what the text says at all. We need to pay particular attention to all the words. they all mean something. The verse does not say that the Son of man will appear in heaven, rather, "the sign" will appear: the SIGN of the Son of man. A sign is a far different reality from that which it points to. You cannot ride in a road sign advertising a certain make of automobile. The sign merely tells you where to find the man who sells that car. So the SIGN of the Son of man is not the Son of man. But going to the Greek we find the word for sign is SEMEION which means a miracle, sign, wonder or signal. And the text also tells us where this wonder, or signal will appear. In the previous verse we saw the sun, moon, and stars fall from heaven: from their thrones. And then we saw these heavenly or exalted powers themselves pass away and go into oblivion. They are no more. And the Word of God tells us that upon the burning of the Babylonian heavens, there will arise a new system, a new governmental arrangement, a new heaven and new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness (II Pet. 3:12-13)- And that is where we find this "sign" or wonder or signal of the Son of man. It appears "IN HEAVEN." And heaven in prophecy means thrones, the governmental realm, that which is established for rulership. The sun, moon and stars of Mat. 24:29 "fall from heaven," from their place of dominion, and in verse 30 we see the sign or signal of the Christ ascending the SAME THRONES~ or taking away their place. The old order passes away. This is a new day. And Christ is King. He reigns. And His will shall be done in earth as it is done in heaven!
Let us turn now to chapter 12 of Revelation, that most wonderful, symbolic unfoldment of God's plan for the time now present and the days just ahead. The chapter opens with this cryptic statement: "And there appeared a great WONDER IN HEAVEN." It is necessary to pause here and note that the word "wonder" in this passage is the same Greek word SEMEION which, in Mat. 24:30 is translated "sign". In other words, "there appeared a great SIGN IN HEAVEN." Now compare this with the statement of our Lord in Mat. 24:30:-"And then shall appear the SIGN of the Son of man IN HEAVEN." This comparison makes it crystal clear that what Jesus spoke of, and that which John saw, are indeed ONE AND THE SAME THING! So --what is the SIGN that John saw "in heaven"?
"And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: and she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered...and she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to His throne" (Rev. 12:1-2,5). Some tell us that the woman in this chapter is Mary, or Israel, and that the man-child is Jesus. But we do a serious discredit to the Word of God when we ignore the fact that John the Revelator was being shown things which "must be hereafter" (Rev. 4:1) and not events which had transpired many years before he trod the burning rocks of Patmos. It should not be difficult for any to understand that just as Mary, the typical woman, brought forth the first-born Son, the SIGN-SON, so the Bride of Christ is here pictured as a symbolic woman in the closing days of this dispensation. Some tell us that the sons come forth in this age, and the bride is perfected in the next age; but who ever heard of a son being born without a mother! That would indeed be a "wonder" far greater than what John was shown on Patmos! Just as Mary was a virgin, and brought forth her Son before her marriage was consummated, so is the bride of Christ a virgin, and brings forth her many-membered son before her marriage is consummated.
This glorious sun-clad woman is the same woman of whom Paul spoke in II Cor. 11:2, "For I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." Paul again speaks of this woman in Eph. 5:31-32, "for this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: BUT I SPEAK CONCERNING CHRIST AND T-H-E C-H-U-R-C-H." Nothing in all the pages of God's blessed Book can be plainer than the fact that THE CHURCH IS THE BRIDE OF CHRIST. If it is not, we will have to tear the above quoted verses from our Bibles and cast them into the fire. It is the end-time Church, not the wanton harlot who calls herself the Church, but the true Church of the living God in the end of this age which as a virgin people is clothed with the sun, even the Sun of righteousness, the glory and splendor of the Lord Jesus Christ; she shall be crowned, brought under the submission to the divine authority of God, for twelve is the number of divine government, this government being symbolized by the stars of the twelve Patriarchs of the Old Testament and the twelve apostles of the Lamb in the New Testament. Since the primary figure in this instance is the woman, the moon, in this case, bears a different connotation, representing that this spirit-filled and spirit-led woman has put the cold, reflective light of ritual and ceremony under her feet, to walk in the brilliance of the glory of the living Son of God. And it is from this virgin company, this espoused bride, this sun-clad woman that the man-child, the manifested sons of God shall be birthed. This CORPORATE SON is destined to rule all nations with a rod of iron, and shall be caught up to God and to His throne. This should help us to understand the fathomless depths of meaning in the words of Jesus, "And he that overcometh, and keepeth My works unto the end, to HIM will I give POWER OVER THE NATIONS: and he shall RULE THEM WITH A ROD OF IRON" (Rev. 2:26-27). this overcoming company, my beloved, is the man-child who is caught up to God and to His throne, who rules all nations with a rod of iron.
With the foregoing truths in mind, let us see with divine clarity that the "sign" of the Son of man in heaven, and the "wonder" John saw in heaven both portray the very same reality. That "sign" is simply the coming forth in the earth of a company of fully overcoming, victorious SONS OF GOD who are to take the reins of the government of this world and ~I~L!~ ALL NATIONS in the blessed age to come. When these sons of God begin to come forth in the earth in the GOVERNMENTAL AUTHORITY of the Spirit of God, then shall the SIGN of the Son of man be seen--for these sons ARE THE SIGN! Methinks that I have stood in God's bright today, as John stood in vision in that long ago, and with my eyes have beheld this SIGN OF THE SON OF MAN IN HEAVEN. In my brief span of years upon this fair planet I have been privileged to be a firsthand witness to this woman heavy with child, and pained to be delivered. Within the depths of my own soul have I experienced the piercing pain of her travail for the dominion of the Christ Spirit to come forth into manifestation and ascend the throne of my own being to rule in life and victory and authority over every vestige of sin, carnality and death. I have beheld with my own eves the wonder of the incorruptible nature of God's pure and holy Son being formed in a people that has embraced the Cross of Christ. I have the assurance of the Holy Spirit that in due time these shall be raised to the incorruptible, heavenly sphere to reign in absolute righteousness, perfection and incorruptibleness, free forever from sin, limitation, and the curse.
This present time is, therefore, the most important of all the periods of earth. It is the time to which patriarch and prophet looked forward with longing to see. We are truly a privileged people, in that we have been favored to live to see this day. It is the great day of the Lord, bringing in the Sabbath, the day of rest, when God's saints will have rest and rejoicing, and deliverance from all the bondage of the past. And it is the day of defeat, and darkness, and bondage, and humiliation for all our enemies (Amos 5:18-20). It is the day when the first shall be last, and the last first: when those who have been despised and reproached for the truth' s sake, out of all the ages, will be brought to honor and glory, and all the proud and haughty who now reign will be abased and brought low.
Therefore, my beloved, if you desire to see a "sign" of the coming of the Lord, look not to the depressing, negative, corrupted conditions in the earth today. Wickedness, licentiousness, violence, war, and ever-increasing sorrows are NOT signs of the Lord's appearing, as the ministers of Babylon mistakenly proclaim. Those negative conditions are merely signs that we have reached the crisis, the turning point in the long night of man' s rebellion and misrule. But the "sign" of the SON OF MAN IN HEAVEN is the sign of the birth of God's manchild, the maturity of the enChristed, the coming upon the scene of the overcoming sons of God who hold within their experience the answer, the solution to the ills and despair of sin-cursed humanity. Keep your eye on GOD'S ELECT, my friend. As full maturity, perfection, strength, and the Glory of the Lord arise upon them- a GREAT WONDER SHALL APPEAR IN HEAVEN. A new RULING GOVERNMENT of Christ IN HIS BODY shall appear on the scene, authority and power in the prophetic "heavens". "The saints of the Most High shall TAKE THE KINGDOM, and possess the Kingdom for ever...and the Kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the Kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to THE PEOPLE OF THE SAINTS OF THE MOST HIGH...and all dominions shall serve and obey Him. Hitherto is the END of the matter" (Dan. 7:18, 27-28).
This earth is but a proving ground for those who shall reign with their Lord over the endless vastnesses of infinity. They have proven faithful over few things. In due time they will be made ruler over many things: over all His possessions (Mat. 24:45-47). And these possessions are beyond number. We are able to see a few of them in the starry heavens above, but there are others besides these, and they all belong to our King. And as He has given us His glory (Jn. 17:22), because we are brethren, bone of His bone and flesh of His flesh. We are of common parentage, brothers by birth: to be like Him in nature, name and being. We are all "out of ONE: for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren" (Heb. 2:6). Hence, we belong on His throne. And the place which He has been preparing for each one is not only a world, and a Kingdom of life and light, but a position, a place of eminence at His side, ruling with Him from the throne of His heaven, over all the endlessness of His unbounded dominions. AMEN!
A TABERNACLE FOR THE SUN
From the finger tips of our almighty heavenly Father worlds glide forth in their orbits, and mighty stars as numerous as the sands of the sea circle for incalculable ages in their courses with the sweet precision of a diamond watch. The inspired Psalmist penned these words of beauty and truth: "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth His handiwork. IN THEM HATH HE SET A TABERNACLE FOR THE SUN. Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof" (Ps. 19:1,4-6).
In the days when David wrote these expressive words the word "tabernacle" carried an altogether different connotation than it does in our modern usage. When we were in Israel we saw dotting the landscape the black "tents of Kedar" mentioned in the Song of Solomon, the goat-skin tent habitations of the nomadic tribes which follow their flocks over the hills of Judea. We are accustomed to think of a tabernacle in terms of a temple or other grand and imposing edifice, whereas in the east where the books of the scriptures were written, tabernacles were tents, and so was the House of God, the Tabernacle of God in the wilderness. We view our sturdy houses as places of security and protection from the blazing sun, the chilling cold, the ravaging winds, and the treachery of men; but in the east the tent was the place of habitation, the position of dwelling.
In God's tabernacle or habitation it was not a matter of protecting God from the influences of the external elements, but a matter of a place to draw attention to the fact that He was there. It was the place of His abode, His manifestation, His activity, that His people might behold Him and know that He dwelt amongst them. He inhabited the tabernacle in order to presence Himself with them, not in order to have a shelter for Himself. This concept of the tabernacle as being a DISPLAY to EXHIBIT the glory of God is the thought of the Holy Spirit in Psalm 19. The sun is not contained within the strong walls of some celestial fortress--if it were it would be hidden. It is not concealed, it is put on display for all creation to behold in all of its brilliance and majesty. "In them (the heavens) hath He set a tabernacle for the sun."
There is no truth within the pages of God' s blessed Book more certain than the fact that God is creating a new heavens and a new earth, and the constellations of the new heavens are not made up of the physical stars which comprise the signs of the Zodiac, but of living stars of God's sons formed and fashioned into an order and image through which to influence creation and rule over all things. Beyond question this is the allegory proclaimed by the Lord to the prophet Isaiah, "And I have put My words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of Mine hand, THAT I HAY PLANT THE HEAVENS, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, THOU ART MY PEOPLE" (Isa. 51:16). In commenting on this instructive passage Ray Prinzing wrote: "When God has thoroughly planted His people in the heavenlies, they will be in a settled place, firmly secured by His grace, to DWELL IN HIM, established in His love and grace, no more to be lost or wandering in the emptiness of selfhood. 'But God...hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus: that in the ages to come He might show (display) the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus' (Eph. 2:4-7).
"Andrew Jukes brings out that this expanse above us is called 'heaven,' that is THE ARRANGER, so called, because this heaven, in ways above our thoughts, is the great agent in arranging everything, and that the word comes from the root 'to set or place.' And there is reference made to the effects ascribed to attraction, gravitation, etc. along with the repulsion, electricity, evaporation, and so on. While we are more acquainted with the effects, than understanding the underlying forces or power which cause these effects. Might also point out how the ancient Greeks derived their word THEOS for 'God,' from the word TO SET OR PLACE, for the same reasons. That HE is the DIVINE ARRANGER, PLACER. In His planting the heavens, God has purposed to bring into ONENESS WITH HIMSELF a people that shall become 'arrangers, placers,' that with Him they might establish His righteousness upon the earth. To be, as Paul brings out so very clearly, 'laborers together with God' (I Cor. 3:9).
"Furthermore, as Paul pointed out, we are made to 'SIT TOGETHER,' or, literally, TO SIT [)OWN WITH HIM in the heavenlies. There is a DIVINE PLACEMENT where we are FIXED in Him. Not running or wandering all over the heavens, roaming about here and there, causing havoc by the exercising of spiritual power where it ought not to be placed. We are not to be 'wandering stars' blazing across the sky in some brilliant display attracting attention, but we are to be placed in our fixed orbit, to be SEATED IN HIM--abiding in the calling wherewith we are called, to fulfill that for which we have been apprehended. God has a place for every one in His great purpose.
"'Thus saith the Lord, He that created the heavens, and stretcheth them out' (Isa. 42:5). Note the word 'created' from the Hebrew BARA with a threefold meaning: to form, fashion, prepare. It covers the whole realm of processing from the initial forming, through the development, until it is fully prepared, brought forth a newly made finished product. Begun, continued, climaxed. And He does it all, as well as totally controlling the time element. That which we read of the vast cosmic order about us, is also applicable for this new spiritual order which is being prepared. 'The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth; BY UNDERSTANDING hath He established (prepared) the heavens' (Prov. 3:19). Understanding, from the Hebrew TEBUNAH meaning: skillfulness, discretion, wisdom, understanding. What tremendous wisdom and care, what skill and glorious handiwork is revealed as He marks out, chooses, plans and prepares His elect to be PLANTED IN THE HEAV-ENLIES. Furthermore, we read, 'I, even MY HANDS, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded' (Isa. 45:12).
"'He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that He may judge His people. Gather My saints together unto Me; those that have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice. And the HEAVENS SHALL DECLARE HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS: for God is judge Himself' (Ps. 50:4-6). Declare,--here we have a different Hebrew word from that used in 'The heavens declare the glory of God,' which is meant to recount, to tell with praise, or to celebrate. But now it is the Hebrew word NAGAD meaning: to be in front, thus, TO MANIFEST, by bringing to light, to declare, i.e. to solve, to explain an enigma. All the hidden secrets of His righteousness will be revealed through those whom HE has planted in the heavens. What a union, what a oneness with Him, that HE shares the mysteries of His righteousness with these processed ones, and then places them in position to declare that righteousness. Not just by words, not just by some form of preaching or teaching, but by their OWN TRUE STATE OF BEING. They, themselves, shall be all righteous, and thus become a living declaration of His righteousness. Words fail us to express the wonder of this glorious truth which begins to gleam in our spirit with hope and joy" --end quote.
Again I would emphasize the fact that the Psalmist establishes the position of the sun in the heavens. Of the heavens He says, "IN THEM hath He set A TABERNACLE FOR THE SUN." In the Old Testament as well as in the New, the glorious sun that lights our day is set as a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God. This fact is evidenced clearly by the prophet Malachi, who writes: "But unto you that fear My name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in His wings" (Mal. 4:2). The sixtieth chapter of Isaiah contains some of the grandest poetry that was ever written in any tongue. The song of Israel's redemption and triumph in this chapter reaches its climax in these beautiful words: "The sun shall be no more thy light by day, neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee, but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God shall be thy glory. The sun shall no more go down, neither shall the moon withdraw itself, for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended" (Isa. 60:19-20). In exquisite words of wondrous promise, the beautiful future of the Lord's people is portrayed. In language surpassing mere human vocabulary, the Lord, who is Jesus the Christ, is portrayed as the sun and the light of His people, and the everlasting light of His radiance is to shine upon the path of the nation, as they behold Christ in His unveiling. This thought is continued in John's description of the New Jerusalem, where the revelator says: "And the city hath no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine upon it, for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof" (Rev. 21:23). How sublime is this truth of which we speak, and wondrous beyond articulation the knowledge that this mighty Sun, this glorious Christ is found WITHIN OUR SPIRIT. On the individual plane, is it not within the heavens of our own redeemed mind that God has set a tabernacle for the sun!
The shining constellations spreading across the enormous expanse of the heavens represent the Lord's dwelling place in the Kingdom of His new creation people. Cod has set a tabernacle for the Sun (Christ) in the heavens--in the midst of His star-sons. Other passages confirm this truth, such as Isa. 40:22, which states that the Lord "stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out AS A TENT TO DWELL IN." In the constellation of Saggitarius we find the Sign of Ara, which is the altar of the heavenly tabernacle. In fact, all of the symbolisms of Israel's Tabernacle in the wilderness are found pictured in the signs of the Zodiac. Therefore, the heavens represent the Lord's spiritual tabernacle symbolically displayed. Travel back in our ancestral history, to that awesome day when Moses was given precise and explicit instructions by the Lord regarding the design and construction of the Tabernacle of His presence in the midst of His people. This "centerpiece" of the encampments of Israel was a tent, and it was within this tent that Jehovah made His presence known. It was this tent, this tabernacle in the midst of the congregation, that the Most High filled with His glory. We are informed that "the cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys" (Ex. 40:38). How wonderful, how blessed this must have been! God arranged the order, the encampments of His people, and in the midst of them HE SET A TABERNACLE FOR HIS PRESENCE AND GLORY!
God has set a tabernacle or tent in the heavens in the which the sun runs its course, a tabernacle speaking of a particular order and the sun's course denoting certain prescribed limits. Furthermore, the Lord states that its geometrical form is a CIRCUIT or circle, and this is further clarified in likening the sun to a strong man running a race which historically was normally done on a race track in the shape of a circle. "His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his CIRCUIT unto the ends of it" (Ps. 19:6). It is now concluded by leading astronomers that the sun, with the entire solar system, actually DOES move through space--it races, in fact, through the heavens at the tremendous speed of 600,000 miles per hour- and not in a straight path, but in such a gigantic circuit, or circle, that it requires over two million centuries to complete it. The sun's circuit IS from one end of the heavens to the other! What a wonderful book is the Bible! Long before astronomers discovered these things they were revealed to God's holy prophets by the Spirit.
God has set a circular tabernacle or circuit for the sun, indicating a certain work is to be accomplished within those prescribed limits. This is but a faint shadow of the reality established in the spiritual heavens, typified also in the Tabernacle in the wilderness. For example, the Tabernacle in the wilderness was of a certain size and shape for a specific work, carried forth by the priestly ministry appointed to it. As the High Priest made his ceremonial "rounds" in the tabernacle, moving in priestly function from the Outer Court to the Holy Place and finally into the Holiest of all and out again, so the sun in its heavenly tabernacle makes its circuit from one end of heaven to the other, all the while fulfilling day by day its illuminating and life-giving service.
Around the tabernacle were twelve tribes, each had a standard or ensign. If you walked around the tabernacle, passing through each of the twelve tribes, you would pass through twelve standards or ensigns. This parallels the twelve signs of the Zodiac, for the twelve ensigns of the twelve tribes of Israel correspond to the configurations of the twelve signs of the Zodiac in the heavens. The signs of the Zodiac are the circuit the sun passes through as it moves through the skies. "Tabernacle" means tent or house, hence the signs of the Zodiac are called the "houses" of the sun, because in them He moves, dwells, and fulfills all His circuit. Hear me! The sun, moon and stars are for SIGNS; Jesus the Sun of righteousness is a SIGN; and the sons of God are likened unto the stars and are for SIGNS and wonders. YOU ARE THE PEOPLE THE SUN (SON) OF GOD PASSES THROUGH UNTIL HIS DAY IS ACCOMPLISHED AND HIS PURPOSES FULFILLED IN ALL CREATION. The heavens are the people of the Spirit. The study of the Zodiac is the study of the "house" in the heavens. The sun goes through each of the signs of the Zodiac AND THE SAINTS ARE THOSE SIGNS. This spiritual race is the circuit, and HE is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the goal and the prize. As the Lord arises upon His people and completes His circuit in the heavens, so He accomplishes His plans and purposes concerning ourselves and the universe. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, but is always moving ahead through His circuit, working and moving toward His ultimate purpose, the redemption and restoration of all back into Himself again. And just as" there is nothing hid from the heat" (Ps. 19:6) of the sun, so the Lord ministers to His people in compassion, faithfulness, and all-sufficiency. The sun of heaven is the Lord. The light of heaven is the divine truth, and its heat the divine love; both proceeding from the Lord as a sun. Our omniscient Father sees ALL of your circumstance and need, precious friend of mine, and He will not pass you by without tenderly touching your life with His redeeming, delivering, healing, quickening, restoring rays.
By observing the course of the sun through the signs of the Zodiac, we can understand our current, daily walk, with the outworking of God's processing's in us and in creation. There are various "houses" in God' s great house into which and through which the Sun moves on its circuit. Is it not true that there are many mansions, many levels of spiritual life and attainment in God's great Kingdom? Have we not identified with various of these spiritual realms in our forward walk in God? Some of us have camped for a season in the "salvation" house, then in the "deliverance" house, the "grace" house, the "faith" house, the "Holy Spirit" house, the "gifts" house, the "New Testament Church Order" house, the "death to self" house, the "sonship" house, the "reconciliation" house, etc. The Sun (Son) ascended and moved forward in its circuit through each of these houses! We experienced the glory of His arising there, the symbolism of the sign was fulfilled within us spiritually, and there followed a true and glorious ministration of His life from each of these realms to creation--and there still is! He is running His race as a strong man, starting from the distant skies and racing through all the expanse of the heavens, just as we are experiencing Him in this world. Thank God for the tabernacle for the Sun, praise Him for each and every "house" of this tabernacle, how we rejoice in His progressive circuit through the heavens of OUR EXPERIENCE!
The reality that lies behind what is commonly known today as horoscopes and behind the common signs of the Zodiac is an original revelation designed by God -- a revelation not of pagan mythology or superstitious powers., but of the wonderful truths of God's grand and glorious plan of the ages through His anointed Christ, written in the very stars of heaven--this fact being attested to by the faithful testimony of the scriptures "which are able to make thee wise unto salvation" (II Tim. 3: 15)
In these twelve celestial signs we have enshrined for us like jewels in a velvet case. the twelve great heavenly laws or principles which we are to pass through and master while we walk our foreordained path on this planet. Each one of the twelve signs embodies a Kingdom of Heaven principle taught in symbol and ritual under the Old Testament administration. It points to a wonderful progression as we begin in Genesis with the promised seed of the woman (Virgo) and end in the book of Revelation with LEO, the conquering Lion of the tribe of Judah! just as the sun passes through each of the twelve signs of the Zodiac in the course of a year, so must we experientially partake of the reality pictured by each sign in our progressive transformation,. into HIS likeness.
J. PRESTON EBY
P O BOX 371240
El Paso Texas
If you would like any of these messages or would like to be on J Preston Eby's mail list you may write him at the above address or e-mail me at Gary@Sigler.org and I will forward your request to Preston. He has nothing to sell, all his writings are free to all. You may contribute to his ministry to help spread this message to the world, but gifts are not tax deductible.