Leviticus 9:3
"And to the children of Israel you shall speak, saying, ‘Take a kid of the goats as a sin offering, and a calf and a lamb, both of the first year, without blemish, as a burnt offering, also a bull."
"And to the children of Israel you shall speak, saying, ‘Take a kid of the goats as a sin offering, and a calf and a lamb, both of the first year, without blemish, as a burnt offering, also a bull."
-
What a strange conjunction of creatures we see in the constellation of Capricorn, "The Goat Fish." Here is another improbable creature like the Centaur; one that has never existed in nature.
-
Dual Nature.
Caprocorn has the head and upper body of a goat who's right foreleg is tucked back under its body as though injured. The back part of this strange creature is the lower half of a healthy fish with a flourishing tail. These two creatures incorporated into one body depict the dual nature of Jesus as fully God and fully man.
But there is more that is new in this Sign.
-
Sacrifice Of Atonement.
Why a goat? The goat is an animal that was used in the sin offering and on Yom Kippur.. In the opening scripture, God is speaking to Moses about the offering that is most precious to Him: The Burnt Offering, which depicts Jesus, not as carrying our sins, but as the spotless Lamb of God. This was an ascending offering which went up to God as a sweet aroma or "savor of rest," to His heart.
The ascending offering benefits God first and man second. It is through this offering that Jesus' righteousness is conferred on us! It depicts His atonement, or covering, and the sacrifice by which that atonement was accomplished
-
(Hebrew letter, "nun).
Why A Fish?
"Ok. I understand the goat part, but why a fish?
The fish is a symbol, not only of the individual believer, but also of the Church.
-
You've seen, no doubt, the "fish" symbol which was ascribed to the early Church? There's a very interesting reason why the symbol of a fish was chosen.
In the Hebrew alphabet, there are 22 letters. Like Chinese, Hebrew is a form of picture writing. Each letter is a picture of something, and these pictures are very consistent.
-
The letter, "nun [נ]" is a picture of a fish. From earliest times, it was symbolic of the believer. You see this theme echoed throughout the story in the stars from here on out. Of course, Jesus is the first-born of all these "fish."
You recall in Matthew 4:19 and Mark 1:17, Jesus said, "Follow Me, and I will make you (become) fishers of men." Human beings are often likened to fish throughout the Bible.
-
-
Jesus went down in death and sprang up (hence the fourishing fishtail) to everlasting life as the first among many brethren. From Him sprang the Church!
-
Jesus also speaks of believers being born of water and of the Spirit. In Biblical typology, water refers to the Word of God. Jesus Himself is "Living water." How does someone come to know about Jesus? "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." Who speaks truth to us and quickens that living water? The Holy Spirit.
So we see, in this beautiful story in the stars, God speaking to us things that would be written in the New Testament about Jesus.
-
Ancient Names Of The Stars.
The ancient Israelites called this sign, "Gedi," meaning "the Kid," or "cut off." It carries the additional thought of being "hewn down or a sacrifice slain."
-
Remember Isaiah 53:9? It reads, "He was taken from prison and from judgment; and who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off out of the land of the living.”
-
He certainly was.
-
The name we know it as today, "Capricorn," comes from the Latin name, "Capricornus," which means, "The Goat."
The Arabic and Syriac names are the same as the Hebrew, interestingly enough.
-
-
-
The Planisphere Of Denderah.
Then we come to the oldest planisphere of them all: Denderah, belonging to the Egyptians. They named it, "Hupenius," meaning "The Station of Bearing (or the Place of Birth).
It's an apt description of this star grouping for out of Jesus' death and resurrection was birthed the Church.
-
Ancient Names Of The Stars.
Some of the ancient namesof the stars have come down to us. As in earlier portions of this series, the names serve to add to and further our understanding and appreciation of the work Jesus did at the cross.
-
The brightest star in the constellation is located in the left horn area. It is named, "Al Gedi," in Arabic, which means, "The Kid or Goat."
The next most prominent star, for which we have a name, is located in the tail. It was known to the Arabians, "Deneb Al Gedi," which means, "The Lord, Judge, or Sacrifice Cometh."
There are some other stars for which we have names, though we don't know their position in the constellation. Their names are quite significant, however:
"Al Dabih," in Arabic, means, "The Sacrifice Slain."
"Al Dshabeh" is another and means, "The Slaying of the Sacrifice."
"MaAsad," means, " The Slaying, The Destroying."
"Sa’ad al Naschira," means, "The Record of the Cutting Off."
-
-
-
These all bring to mind the scriptures that say,
“He was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.” Isa. 53:8b
“He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed.” Isa. 53:5
-
That's the beautiful picture our Father drew in the stars when He formed the Constellation of Capricorn, the Goat-Fish.
Thank you!
ReplyDelete