Jeremiah 16:14-15
“Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “that it shall no more be said, ‘The Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ but, ‘The Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where He had driven them.’ For I will bring them back into their land which I gave to their fathers.”
As you know, each major constellation has three minor star signs associated with it that fill out the details of the portions of the story introduced by the Major constellation. Ursa Minor is the first of the three decans associated with Cancer, the Crab. As you read in the previous article, it is a picture of the Church.
This little star sign near the center of the heavens is a picture of Israel! That tiny nation is God’s prophetic timeline. While all history is HIS-STORY, everything revolves around his natural family: Israel.
The Little Dipper.
This constellation is most commonly known as “The Little Dipper,” particularly in the Americas. Its larger counterpart, “The Big Dipper,” is another of the most easily recognizable constellations in the night sky, along with Orion. We’ll be studying that one next.
The Little Dipper is also known as “The Lesser Bear.” It was the smaller of two very unusual bears, unlike any in existence today, both having long tails, like a raccoon. What do bears tell us about Jesus? Nothing! Bears aren’t even native to any of the nations that produced the planispheres! What gives?
Remember, the devil perverted the story in the stars so that it wouldn’t make any sense, hence the bears. You see, he hates God and therefore us, who are made in His image. When people learn the truth and believe the Gospel, they get saved. Well, he doesn’twant us to get saved. He wants us to go to hell because it hurts God Who paid a price to redeem us all we will probably never fully understand, even in eternity.
The Lesser Sheepfold.
What makes a whole lot more sense is the picture of this constellation below which appears on older star charts. In ancient times,it was known as “The Lesser Sheepfold,” pictured below:
Above the Lesser Sheepfold you can see King Cepheus seated. Under His left foot is Cynosure, the Pole Star. He, of course, is a picture of Jesus! In His left hand, He is holding out His royal scepter as if offering it to the woman enthroned, Cassiopeia. He appears to be inviting or directing her to enter the Lesser Sheepfold.
Why does this Sheepfold come before the Greater Sheepfold in this heavenly story? Because it is a picture of Jesus’ natural family, “Israel,” as you read above. Jesus Himself said that in His first coming, He came to seek and save the lost sheep of the House of Israel. You can see it so clearly in His statement to the Syrophonecian woman in Matthew 15:24 – “But He answered (her) and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
Yes, Jesus died to save the whole world. But first and foremost, He came to reach His own people. As you can see in the pictures above, they took a little bit longer to get into the fold because they rejected their Messiah as a whole, initially. But He has NEVER EVER forgotten or forsaken them. Though hurt by their rejection, He loves them still as evidenced by the scripture below which was fulfilled in 1948:
Ezekiel 34:13-14
“I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land; I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the valleys and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them in good pasture, and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. There they shall lie down in a good fold and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.”
Two Sheepfolds?
This Sheepfold is much smaller because there are fewer Jewish people in the world than Non-Jews by far. In Luke 12:32 He even calls them His little flock: “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
This verse is demonstrated by Jesus holding out His scepter, a symbol of His power, to Cassiopeia. Like Esther who dressed in her finest royal robes when she came unbidden before Ahsueras, this woman enthroned has come before her Lord. He holds out His scepter showing His acceptance of her.
Is there any mention of another Sheepfold in scripture? Why yes, there is, in John 10:15-16. “I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.”
So you see scripture clearly says there are two sheepfolds which He will ultimately combine. That topic is discussed in greater detail in the article below: You may follow the link below if you wish:
Note that forward edge of the Big Dipper points directly to the Pole Star, Polaris. As you read in the article about the North Star, it is the point of light around which ALL stars in the heavens revolve. Jesus is the center and all the saved Non-Jewish people not only know it but are pointing to Him!
Ancient Names For The Sign.
The Constellation we call, “Ursa Minor,” was called, “Kochab: He Who Cometh,” by the Hebrews, so named for its second brightest star, located in the upper right corner of the Sheepfold.
The Greek poet, Aratus, called the entire star sign, “Cynosura,” which is also the name the Greeks gave to the star we call, “Polaris.” Amazingly, Cynosura means, “The Center,” or “The Center of the Constellations.” This is a stunning revelation! Why?
Well, while it may not seem like a big deal today because that star actually IS the one around which all others revolve, when the ancient planispheres were drawn, that was not the case. The guiding star at that time was, “Alpha Draconis: The dragon star.” It was located in the constellation of “Draco,” the great Dragon,” which is a picture of the devil, folks!
How did that star “happen” to be the pole star? Remember what happened in the garden? Adam, who used to have the “Keys to the kingdom,” so to speak, bowed his knee to satan and handed them over to him. But when Jesus died on an earthly cross, that all changed! Now, the guiding star is Cynosura/Polaris located in the Lesser Sheepfold!
Bear in mind now that these stars were named thousands of years ago. How did Ancient man know that Cynosura was going to end up being the center of the constellations? How did they know to call it by that name? The Bible tells us in Psalm 147, verse 4:
“He (God) counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name.”
There’s been a shift in the powers in the heavens because of Jesus! The kingdom of this world that used to belong to the prince of the power of the air has become the Kingdom of our God and of His Christ!!! HALLELUJAH!!!
Here’s another example: The Arabs called this very same star, “Al-Ruccaba: The Pole Star; The Turned Upon, or The Gate of the Enemy.” How in the world could these primitive people have known that this star would eventually be the star around which all other stars would revolve as shown in the above picture? The answer is, “They couldn’t.”
They learned the name from the One Who made the stars, placed them in the heavens, orchestrates (present tense) their movements, AND CALLS THEM ALL BY NAME!!
Ancient Names Of The Stars
The brightest star, “Cynosura,” and the second brightest, “Kochab,” you’ve already met. Three other ancient names that have come down to us bear Arabic names. They are, “Al Pherkadain: The Calves; “Al Gedi: The Kid; and “Al Kaid: The Assembled.” The fifth star name is from the Latin: “Areas or Arctos,” which means, “Traveling company.”
The star names echo what we learned from the names given to this star sign; that a company of sheep, or people, are waiting expectantly for the One Who is coming. They are an assembly of His people, the sheep of His pasture.
The Denderah.
Since this is the oldest planisphere, it comes as no surprise that we do not find a bear here, either. Ursa Minor is pictured as a wolf or jackal standing on a ploughshare which is tearing through or “bruising” the ground. They called it, “API-Feni: The head of the serpent.”
Here we find the narrative describing once again this One Who comes to bruise the head of the serpent. In some circles, this constellation is actually called, “The Plough.” The Denderah is very likely where they got the idea. Interesting observation!
In the next decan, “Ursa Major,” we’ll be talking about “The Greater Sheepfold” and the aforementioned, “Sheep that are not of this fold.” Please follow the link below if you wish to continue this series:
(Link is mis-numbered, please disregard.)
No comments:
Post a Comment