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Research Principles of Biblical Astronomy

    Biblical Astro-archeology can provide us powerful implements in our search for truth that neither Astronomy nor archeology, have afforded us up to now. As we employ a three-pillared system of research, we permit ourselves an unadulterated perspective, free from pagan prejudices and past evolutionary blinders. In addition to the fields of astronomy, Biblical research & archaeology, this work will give a meaningful contribution to the "Intelligent Design movement." This is achieved by adding to the mountain of evidence in the case for the Creator as the "Designing Agency" for all living organisms, in concert with Natural Law which is not only scientific, but provides the basis for all true science. The Creator both named and numbered the stars of the firmament [Ps. 147:4, Gen. 1:14-16] by His Spoken Word, the record of His first covenant with man. This was later given to the apostles and prophets by revelation, who preserved the Scripture in written form. Thus, the evidence of God's handiwork in the heavens will uphold the witness of God's written Word and vice versa, providing the missing keys to decipher the vast stellar mysteries. By implementing the principles of this system of research we finally will have the Rosetta stone to the celestial epistles that man has ignored for too long.

    The first pillar of this system was preserved for us by our Heavenly Father, Who protected the ancient Star names that have come down to us from antiquity, even as He guarded His Holy Scriptures, the second pillar of our system. When we combine the understanding of the Biblical zodiac relating to the twelve tribes of Israel, as seen in Genesis 49 among other places, we have a three-fold witness of how the heavens reveal God's glory [Ps. 19:1]. There are many cases where the ancient name or root of a star name occurs in the Scripture, giving us a Biblical basis from which we can study the significance of a star in relation to its place in a Zodiacal sign, or decan of the heavens. On the other hand, when a particular star name occurs in God's Word in its biblical context, it may carry a meaning that adds depth to its associated sign of the zodiac. This shows how God's Written Word will compliment the revelation in the heavens, and how both media of revelation support each other like nothing else in man's history. Throughout the celestial epistles we find the Woman, her seed & the serpent depicted in various pictorial settings, that have been universally carried down and memorialized into modern times, in various settings of cultural tradition, and mythology.

    At last we can not only decipher the original intent of these signs methodically, but as we apply these principles to the study of ancient myth we can see where the original truth or concept from the gospel of the stars and/or God's Word was adulterated in these myths. This will provide an important alternative perspective of what Joseph Campbell called the world monomyth or the idea that one universal myth underlies all world mythology. Evidence that celestial lore is the basis of all world mythology comes to us from classic works like Hamlet's Mill, that provide detailed documents for common stellar myths all over the face of the earth. As William Tyler Olcott points out: "early inhabitants of Ireland called Orion the armed king, and the Mayas knew the Constellation as a warrior, a further instance of a similarity in stellar nomenclature among widely separated nations, a similarity that is so marked and so often encountered as to disprove any idea of mere coincidence." ¹

     In this way methodical study of the heavens is governed by the same principles that rule over our inductive study of God's Word. As we allow the heavens to have their say, even as the Word of God speaks to us, we will uncover amazing truths that have been lost or covered for centuries. As our search for biblical truth is not limited to only the English text, or exclusively the Greek, Hebrew or Aramaic manuscripts but a comparison of these detailed texts, with a view to ascertaining the common truth inherent in all the texts. These principles also serve as our guide as we compare the individual Biblical words in their verses and contexts within these manuscripts, to allow God's Word to have it's rightful say on a subject without contradiction.
     These signs and seasons that are revealed via the great celestial bodies of light will exhibit the significance of the Creator's handiwork, in His reordering of Creation. This includes many laws of the sciences that man has only partially rediscovered. They will also tell us of the temporal and spiritual seasons and administrations utilized by God in His reordering of Creation. The amount of detail in the celestial epistles is not surpassed by the detail of God's Written Word. As we faithfully apply the principles that allow the Scriptures to have their honest and righteous voice, independent of man's private opinion, then we can witness the true untouched majesty and glory of God as the heavens speak it forth. We begin this process with the following seven steps.

Seven Steps to Accuracy in Biblical Astronomy

1. Understand the Biblical symbolism of the Planets and the original star names.
2. Understand how the original star name and planets fit into the sign in which they appear.
3. Understand how the decans fit into their sign of the zodiac.
4. Understand how each sign fits into its quadrant of the zodiac.
5. Understand how the Celestial Quadrants and poles fit in with the entire circle of the zodiac.
6. The Planets and stars are understood in light of both the proper Heaven and Earth and Biblical Administration.
7. Planets and stars are understood in light of the sign or decans they appear in, which are symbols with Biblical significance relating to Messianic prophecies in the Scriptures.

   God's Written Word, and the stellar epistles also reveal their truth in four basic ways:

     1. In the Verse: The great majority of Scriptures reveals its intended meaning right in the verse where it is written. The Biblical use of words is not haphazard, but governed by the divine Hand of God, Who put the words of the Word in a precise and perfect order, time and place, with an exact grammatical signature. The individual words of the Word are in harmony with the verse where they appear, as well as all relevant Scripture on the subject. These details speak volumes of truth that many overlook, or choose to change to fit their own theology. Our motivation is different. We want to return to the original intent communicated by God's Word, as it is in truth the Spoken Voice of the Almighty. This Biblical use of words in the Word provides the meaning God intends for a specific word. Thus, the Bible is its own dictionary. In the celestial epistles, the five naked-eye planets of the ancients each travel along the ecliptic, from our earthly viewpoint, in a constantly changing relationship to the signs of the zodiac and each other. As these five planets with the Sun and Moon, seven total, are understood in light of their Biblical meaning and symbolism, they carry a message that communicates to us on many levels. We will take notice of the following partial list of planetary characteristics:

• Planetary cycles
• Nearness to the Sun
• Nearness to the Earth
• Conjunction with Stars and other Planets
• Position on the ecliptic in Zodiacal Houses
• Planetary alignments
• Planetary dimensions
• Planets in transit
• Planetary massings
• Planetary and Lunar occultation
• Eclipse

   Each of these major characteristics speaks to a different shade of meaning and spiritual  significance that comes to light as it correlates with the Word of God

    2. In the Context: If the meaning of the Scripture is not revealed in the verse, we must look to the immediate or remoter context of the passage in question. In the celestial epistles we will look to the sign or decan of the zodiac, in light of their Biblical symbolism, in relation to the twelve tribes of Israel. [Gen. 49, Deut. 33] Each zodiacal sign and decan will carry a Biblical connotation relating to the story of the coming redeemer, and his struggle with and victory over the serpent. The individual star names that have been preserved by God from antiquity [Ps.147:4] will support the ideas of each sign or decan of the zodiac. This is the reverse of the purpose for much of modern astronomy, which has been only to identify the positions of all stars and heavenly bodies, or to map the heavens. God, on the other hand, used only certain stars in order to define the meaning and message of the constellated celestial pictures preserving the purpose He wanted attached to each star picture.

    3. Used Before: If the meaning of the Scripture is not revealed in the Context, we must look to the previous occurrence of the word in Scripture. God's Word defines it own terms as to how, why, when, to whom and where they are used before. In the celestial epistles we must be aware of the history of the five naked-eye planets with the Sun and Moon, regarding the traits mentioned under In the verse. As we do this we will notice how certain cycles, planets in Conjunction, transit, alignments, massings, or an eclipse or occultation can be repeated as cycles. Each of these periodic cycles will have a spiritual significance in relation to the individual symbolism of the planet or star in question and will carry meaning forward to its next occurrence. At times this can apply to a series of cycles mentioned above having ramifications for future cycles of a similar series.

    4. Scriptural narrative development, as it is written-. We need to understand the text as it was originally written according to the ancient usage. We can get to this by working the English, Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic. Astronomically, as the individual star names, decans and signs of the zodiac each carry a message of truth, collectively they tell a story of the promised coming redeemer, born of a virgin, and his battle with and victory over, the serpent.

Truths we must adhere to in Biblical Astronomy

•  Similar cycles, conjunctions, transits, alignments, massings, eclipses and occultations, even though they are repeated are not identical. Even as the Scriptures hold many things that have similar traits, they are not identical, and any confusion regarding similar things as to time, how, why, when, to whom and where they are used before, cannot be confused as identical things.
• Interpretation and application must be in light of "To Whom" it is addressed. The Scriptures delineate three general groups of Biblical people; Judeans, Gentiles and the Church of God. We cannot address The Old Testament Law to the Gentiles for example, nor do we address truths from the first Heaven and Earth, to the Second or Third, all of which are referred to in the celestial epistles. There is no overt reference to the Church of God in the gospel of the stars, since it was hidden by God, and not disclosed until the revelation of the Church Epistles to the Apostle Paul. Thus in the heavenly witness the only categories of people referred to are Judeans and Gentiles. As a result, a great majority of the heavenly witness is "for our learning," [Rom. 15:4] even where the prophecies refer to events depicted that are still future.
• Get "To Whom" correct regarding administrations. Just as God's Word contains different admonishments for different administrations, so we must be aware that only six of the seven Biblical time periods, called administrations in the Scriptures, are referred to in the celestial epistles. The fifth administration of Grace, also known as the Church Age, is not included because it is part of the Great Mystery that was hidden by the Hand of God, [Rom. 16:25-27]. Not only do different signs of the zodiac refer to different administrations, but also each of these zodiacal signs will carry a different shade of meaning depending on which of the three heavens and earth's are referred to. Also each of the planetary cycles will carry a different significance depending when and in which zodiacal sign they are found.
• Figures of Speech must be recognized as God's marking of what He wants emphasized both in the Scriptures and the witness of the Stars. Many times the signs of the zodiac will correspond to and enlighten a Biblical figure of speech in use. For example, Jesus is called the Lion of the tribe of Judah, which also refers to the sign Leo the Lion, whose fore-claws are extended in the heavens as he reaches out to destroy Hydra, the serpent beneath the lion on the ecliptic. There are also figurative references to celestial cycles in the Scriptures that reveal awesome truths that have remained hidden for centuries.

FOOTNOTES:

1 Star Lore, Myths Legends and Facts. William Tyler Olcott. P.282

 2. The Concept and general format of these Biblical Research Principles are adapted from principles taught by Christian Family Fellowship Ministries.