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Chapter
3
The Witness of the Stars
E. W. Bullinger
The Second Book
The
Redeemed
"The result of the Redeemer's sufferings"
The Sign Aquarius (The Water Bearer)
Their
blessings ensured, or the living waters of
blessing poured forth for
the redeemed
18. Aquarius (the Water
Bearer)
Piscis Australis (the Southern Fish)
The Atonement being made, the blessings
have been procured, and now they can be bestowed and poured forth upon the
Redeemed. This is the truth, whether we think of Abel's lamb, of
patriarchal sacrifices, the offerings under the Law, or of that great
Sacrifice of which they all testified. They all with one voice tell us
that atonement made is the only foundation of blessing.
This was pictured and foreshown in the
heavens from the beginning, by a man pouring forth water from an urn which
seems to have an inexhaustible supply, and which flows forth downwards
into the mouth of a fish, which receives it and drinks it all up.
In the ancient Zodiac of Denderah it is
the same idea, though the man holds two urns, and the fish below seems to
have come out of the urn. The man is called Hupei Tirion, which
means the place of him coming down or poured forth.
In some eastern Zodiacs the urn alone
appears.
This agrees with its other names--Hebrew,
Deli, the water-urn, or bucket (as in Numbers 24:7); the
Arabic Delu is the same.
There are 108 stars in this Sign, four of
which are of the 3rd magnitude. Their names, as far as they have come down
to us, are significant.
The star a (in the right shoulder)
is called Sa'ad al Melik, which means The record of the pouring
forth.
The star b (in the other shoulder)
is called Saad al Sund, who goeth and returneth, or the pourer
out.
The bright star d (in the lower
part of the right leg) is well-known today by its Hebrew name
Scheat, which means who goeth and returneth.
The bright star in the urn has an Egyptian
name--Mon or Meon, which means simply an urn.
Aquarius is the modern Latin name by which
the sign is known. It has the same meaning, the pourer forth of
water.
Can we doubt what is the interpretation of
this sign? The Greeks, not knowing Him of whom it testified, were, like
the woman of Samaria, destitute of that living water which He alone can
give. They therefore invented some story about Deucalion, the son
of Prometheus; and another, saying he is Ganymede, Jove's
cup-bearer! But, as an astronomer says, "We must account otherwise for the
origin of this name; for it is not possible to reconcile the symbols of
the eleventh sign (because everyone begins to reckon from Aries, and not
as we have done from Virgo) with Grecian mythology." No! we must go
further back than that, and not cramp our vision, and distort the
Scriptures, by confining our thoughts to "the Church." The Church is
nowhere seen in these Signs, as it is nowhere revealed in the Old
Testament. This we shall enlarge on when we come to the sign Pisces.
Meanwhile we must read the witness of the stars as if there had been no
Church!
Christ is first. Yea, He is all in all.
The Scriptures testify of Him; and the very stars in this Sign tell of His
going away and His coming again. These prophetic signs have to do with
Him, with the Atonement He wrought, with the conflict He endured, with the
blessings He secured, with the victory He shall win, and the triumph He
shall have. For it is written:
"He shall pour the water out
of His buckets,
And His seed shall be in many waters,
And His king
shall be higher than Agag,
And His knogdom shall be exalted." Numbers
24:7
It tells of that glorious day when
"A King shall reign in
righteousness;
And princes shall rule in judgment;
And a MAN shall
be as an hiding place from the wind,
And a covert from the tempest;
As RIVERS of WATER in a dry place." Isaiah 32:1, 2
It speaks of that glorious time when
Israel shall be restored, and their "eyes shall see the King in His
beauty"; when the peace of Zion shall be no more disturbed, "but there the
glorious LORD will be unto us a place of broad rivers and streams" (Isaiah
33:17,20,21). Then
"The wilderness and the
solitary place shall be glad for them;
And the desert shall rejoice,
and blossom as the rose,
For in the wilderness shall waters break out,
And streams in the desert." Isaiah 35:1, 6
"I will open rivers in high
places,
And fountains in the midst of the valleys;
I will make the
wilderness a pool of water,
And the dry land springs of water." Isaiah
41:18
"Fear not, O Jacob, My
servant;
And thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen,
For I will POUR
WATER upon him that is thirsty,
And floods upon the dry ground;
I
will pour My Spirit upon thy seed,
And My blessing upon thy offspring.
Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel,
And his Redeemer the LORD
of hosts." Isaiah 44:2, 3, 6
This is the meaning of the Sign. The MAN
Christ Jesus, who was humbled in death will yet be seen to be the pourer
forth of every blessing. Physically pouring forth literal waters,
removing the curse, and turning this world into a paradise:
"Making her wilderness like
Eden,
And her desert like the garden of the LORD." Isaiah 51:3
And morally pouring forth His
Spirit in such abundance as to fill the whole earth with peace, and
blessing, and glory, "as the waters cover the sea."
Upon Israel restored He will pour out His
blessing. They will be sprinkled with clean water, and possess a new heart
and a new spirit (Eze 36:24-28; Joel 2:28-32).
Such are some of the Scriptures which tell
of this glorious Water-pourer. We need not rob Christ of His glory, or
Israel of her blessing, in order to see in all this Pentecost or the
Church. These are quite independent of the great line of prophetic truth.
They are parenthetical, and distinct, and true, quite apart from the
glorious prophecies of Israel's scattering and gathering. The physical
marvels referred to in the texts above can never be satisfied or exhausted
by any spiritual fulfilment. We may make an application of them as
far as is consistent with the teaching of the epistles; but the
interpretation of them belongs to the Person of Christ, and the
nation of Israel. That interpretation is pictured for us in the Sign, and
in its three constellations.
1. PISCIS AUSTRALIS (The Southern Fish)
The
blessings bestowed
18. Aquarius (the Water
Bearer)
Piscis Australis (the Southern Fish)
This first constellation is one of high
antiquity, and its brilliant star of the first magnitude was a subject of
great study by the Egyptians and Ethiopians. It is named in Arabic Fom
al Haut, the mouth of the fish There are 22 other stars.
The constellation is inseparable from
AQUARIUS. In the Denderah Zodiac it is called Aar, a stream.
It sets forth the simple truth that the
blessings procured by the MAN--the coming Seed of the woman, will be
surely bestowed and received by those for whom they are intended. There
will be no failure in their communication, or in their reception. What has
been purchased shall be secured and possessed.
2. PEGASUS (The Winged Horse)
The blessings
quickly coming
19. Pegasus (the Winged
Horse)
Not only shall they be received, but they
shall be brought near. They will not have to be fetched, but they will be
caused to come to those for whom they are procured, and will yet be
brought by Him who has procured them.
In the Denderah Zodiac there are two
characters immediately below the horse, Pe and ka.
Peka or Pega, is in Hebrew the chief, and Sus
is horse. So that the very word (Pegasus) has come down to
us and has been preserved through all the languages.
The names of the stars in this
constellation declare to us its meaning. There are 89 altogether; one of
the 1st magnitude, two of the 2nd, three of the 3rd, nine of the 4th, etc.
And, as astronomers testify, "they render Pegasus peculiarly remarkable."
The brightest a (on the neck of the
horse at the junction of the wing), comes down to us with the ancient
Hebrew name of Markab, which means returning from afar. The
star b (in the near shoulder) is called Scheat, i.e., who
goeth and returneth The star g (at the tip of the wing) bears
an Arabic name--Al Genib, who carries. The star e (in the
nostril) is called Enif (Arabic), the water The star
h (in the near leg) is called Matar (Arabic), who causes
to flow.
These names show us that we have to do
with no mere horse. A winged horse is unknown to nature. It must therefore
be used as a figure; and it can be a figure only of a person, even of Him
who is "the Branch," as the star Enif shows, who said, "If I
go away I will come again," as the star Scheat testifies.
He who procured these blessings for the
redeemed by His Atonement, is quickly coming to bring them; and is soon
returning to pour them forth upon a groaning creation. This is the lesson
of Pegasus.
"Come, blessed Lord, bid
every shore
And answering island sing
The praises of Thy royal
Name,
And own Thee as their King.
Lord, Lord! thy fair creation
groans--
The earth, the air, the sea--
In unison with all our
hearts,
And calls aloud for Thee.
Thine was the Cross with all
its fruits
Of grace and peace divine:
Be Thine the Crown of glory
now,
The palm of victory Thine."
3. CYGNUS (The Swan)
The Blesser surely
returning
20. Cygnus (the
Swan)
This constellation repeats, emphasises,
and affirms this glorious truth. It has to do with the Great Blesser and
His speedy return, as is testified by all the ancient names connected with
it.
In the Denderah Zodiac it is named
Tes-ark, which means this from afar.
It is a most brilliant and gorgeous
asterism of 81 stars; one of the 1st or 2nd, six of the 3rd, twelve of the
4th magnitude, etc. It contains variable stars, five double stars, and one
quadruple. The star marekd "61 Cygni" is known as one of the most
wonderful in the whole heavens. It consists of two stars which revolve
about each other, and yet have a progressive motion common to each!
This mighty bird is not falling dead, like
Aquila, but it is flying swiftly in mid-heaven. It is coming to the earth,
for it is not so much a bird of the air, but a bird peculiarly belonging
to both the earth and the waters.
Its brightest star a (between the
body and the tail), is called Deneb (like another in CAPRICORNUS),
and means the judge. It is also called Adige, flying
swiftly, and thus at once it is connected with Him who cometh to judge
the earth in righteousness.
The star b (in the beak) is named
Al Bireo (Arabic), flying quickly.
The star g (in the body) is called
Sadr (Hebrew), who returns as in a circle.
The two stars in the tail, now marked in
the maps as p I and p II, are named Azel, who goes and
returns quickly; and Fafage, gloriously shining forth.
The teaching, then, of the whole sign of
AQUARIUS is clear and complete. The names of the stars explain the
constellations, and the names of the constellations explain the sign, so
that we are left in no doubt.
By His atoning death (as set forth in
CAPRICORNUS) He has purchased and procured unspeakable blessings for His
redeemed. This sign (AQUARIUS) tells of those blessings being poured
forth, and of the speedy return of Him who is to bring "rivers of
blessing," and to fill this earth with blessing and glory "as the waters
cover the sea."
"Then take, LORD, thy
kingdom, and come in Thy glory;
Make the scene of Thy sorrows the
place of Thy throne,
Complete all the blessing which ages in story
Have told of the triumphs so justly Thine own."
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Chapter
3