Table of Contents |
Introduction
The Witness of the Stars
E. W. Bullinger
Preface
Some years ago it was my privilege to
enjoy the acquaintance of Miss Frances Rolleston, of Keswick, and to carry
on a correspondence with her with respect to her work, Mazzaroth
or, the Constellations. She was the first to create an interest in
this important subject. Since then Dr. Joseph A. Seiss, of Philadelphia,
has endeavored to popularize her work on the other side of the Atlantic;
and brief references have been made to the subject in such books as
Moses and Geology, by Dr. Kinns, and in Primeval Man; but it
was felt, for many reasons, that it was desirable to make another effort
to set forth, in a more complete form, the witness of the stars to
prophetic truth, so necessary in these last days.
To the late Miss Rolleston, however,
belongs the honor of collecting a mass of information bearing on this
subject; but, published as it was, chiefly in the form of notes,
unarranged and unindexed, it was suited only for, but was most valuable
to, the student. It was she who performed the drudgery of collecting the
facts presented by Albumazer, the Arab astronomer to the Caliphs of
Grenada, AD 850; and the Tables drawn up by Ulugh Beigh, the Tartar prince
and astronomer, about AD 1450, who gives the Arabian astronomy as it had
come down from the earliest times.
Modern astronomers have preserved, and
still have in common use, the ancient names of over a hundred of the
principal stars which have been handed down; but now these names are used
merely as a convenience, and without any reference to their significance.
This work is an attempt to popularize this
ancient information, and to use it in the interest of truth.
For the ancient astronomical facts and the
names, with their meaning, I am, from the very nature of the case,
indebted, of course, to all who have preserved, collected, and handed them
down; but for their interpretation I am alone responsible.
It is the possession of "that blessed
hope" of Christ's speedy return from heaven which will give true interest
in the great subject of this book.
No one can dispute the antiquity of the
signs of the Zodiac, or of the constellations. No one can question the
accuracy of the ancient star names which have come down to us, for they
are still preserved in every good celestial atlas. And we hope that no one
will be able to resist the cumulative evidence that, apart from God's
grace in Christ there is no hope for sinners now; and apart from God's
glory, as it will be manifested in the return of Christ from heaven, there
is no hope for Israel, no hope for the world, no hope for a groaning
creaton. In spite of all the vaunted promises of a religious world, and of
a worldly church, to remove the effects of the curse by a social gospel of
sanitation, we are more and more shut up to the prophecy of Genesis 3:15,
which we wait and long to see fulfilled in Christ as our only hope. This
is beautifully expressed by the late Dr. William Leask:
And is there none before? No
perfect peace Unbroken by the storms and cares of life, Until the
time of waiting for Him cease, By His appearing to destory the strife.
No, none
before.
Do we not hear that through
the flag of grace By faithful messengers of God unfurled, All men
will be converted, and the place Of man's rebellion be a holy world?
Yes, so we
hear.
Is it not true that to the
Church is given The holy honor of dispelling night And bringing
back the human race to heaven, By kindling everywhere the Gospel
light?
It is not
true.
Is this the hope--that Christ
the Lord will come, In all the glory of His royal right, Redeemer
and Avenger, taking home His saints, and crushing the usurper's might?
This is the
hope.
May the God of all grace accept and bless
this effort to show forth His glory, and use it to strengthen His people
in waiting for His Son from Heaven, even Jesus which delivered us from the
wrath to come.
Ethelbert W. Bullinger
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Introduction
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