On a clear and cold night, I walked through our neighborhood streets. There is nothing more amazing and wondrous than the dark canopy of night sky lit up with twinkling stars. It is God's handiwork and testifies to our awesome Creator. But the nighttime sky has additional meaning to me. Gazing upwards I remember Jesus as the Light of the world, the Great Shepherd, the Lion of Judah, the Lamb of God, and this is just a beginning. God has given us a nighttime storyboard illustrating the good news of Jesus. What I have learned has been such a blessing to me that, like Jeremiah the prophet, I can no longer keep quiet. It is the study of the original names and groupings of the stars as given to men long ago.

What Does The Bible Say About Stars?

1. God made the stars. When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, . . . (Psalm 8:3, NIV)

2. The stars have a purpose, both as signs and light: And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." (Gen 1:14-15).

3. God knows their number and their names. He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. (Psalm 147:4). Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. (Isaiah 40:26).

4. The stars are divided into constellations. The stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light. (Isaiah 13:10).

5. The Bible names some constellations: Can you bind the beautiful Pleiades? Can you loose the cords of Orion? Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons or lead out the Bear with its cubs? Do you know the laws of the heavens? (Job 38:31-32) See also Amos 5:8;

6. The stars have an order or procession. Who is this that appears like the dawn, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, majestic as the stars in procession? (Song of Solomon 6:10).

God's Purpose in the Stars

        In ancient times, signs were used as a witness of a special covenant either between God and mankind or between different peoples on the earth. In Genesis 9:12-13, God put a special sign in the sky.

And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.

        Observing the Sabbath was a sign of the covenant relationship between Israel and God (Exodus 31:16-17). On several occasions, a stone was a sign or witness of a promise (see Joshua 24:25-27; 1 Samuel 7:12).

        The constellations are also referred to as signs. (See Gen. 1:14-15, above.) They are somewhat abstract in form -- they don't look exactly like what they represent. The rainbow after a rain is the sign of God's promise not to destroy the world again by water. In like manner, the constellations bring to mind God's wonderful promises concerning the Messiah, His redeeming work, and his Bride, the Church.

What's In A Name?

        The ancient constellations (48 in all) are picture prophecies of Jesus, the Word or Logos, and are in harmony with the written Word of God. In fact, many individual star names are recorded in the Bible as appellations or attributes of Jesus. Just to get us started, here are a few: Arm of the Lord, Isa. 51:9,10; Chief Shepherd, 1 Pet. 5:4; Desired of all nations, Hag. 2:7; Governor, Matt. 2:6; Great shepherd of the sheep, Heb. 13:20, 27:24; King, Matt. 21:5; Lamb, Rev. 5:6,8; 6:16; 7:9,10,17; Light, John 8:12; Lion of the tribe of Judah, Rev. 5:5; Prince, Acts 5:31; Redeemer, Isa. 59:20; Scepter, Num. 24:17; Shepherd, Mark 14:27. These names are components of larger pictures or constellations which tell a story.

Their Meaning from Ancient Times

        There are 12 major constellations. Their modern names are in parenthesis. Each major constellation has three other minor constellations associated with it which modify or complete its meaning. They are called decans and are listed on the page titled 12 Major Signs of the Zodiac.

1. The Woman Bearing the Branch  (Virgo) Isaiah 7:14
    

2. The Scales of Redeeming (Libra) 1 Cor. 6:20
    

3. The Conflict of the Messiah (Scorpio) 1 Cor. 15:55-56
    

4. The Sending Forth of the Gospel (Sagittarius) Rev. 6:2
    

5. The Slaying of the Victim (Capricornus) Romans 3:25
    

6. The Pouring forth of Spiritual Blessings (Aquarius) John 7:38
    

7. The Multitudes of the redeemed (Pisces) Gen. 48:19; Mark 1:17
    

8. The Lamb, as it had been slain (Aries) Rev. 5:6
    

9. The Bull, once a sacrifice, now ruling (Taurus)  Rev. 19; John 5:22
    

10. The Messiah uniting the divine and human nature (Gemini) Romans 1:3
     

11. The Possession, the reward of his sufferings (Cancer) 
     

12. The Lion of Judah punishing the enemy (Leo) Rev. 5:5

            As mentioned previously, the names of the stars themselves give definition to each of the constellations. These names are preserved from the most ancient of times.  In the major civilizations of the world, we find the major signs of the constellations are the same in the meaning of their names and their procession . These 12 major constellations (or Mazzaroth, Job 38:32 KJ) mark a continuous circle or line (ecliptic) around the earth which today is called Zodiac, from the Greek word zoad and meaning The Way or A Path (John 14:6; Psalm 119:105).

    Part 2 of Logos in the Night