We
are now beginning to see the signs of the Bridegroom and the Bride, in
the heavens. Just as the Star of Bethlehem appeared in the
night
sky to announce the Birth of Messiah, these signs are now appearing to
announce the soon-to-occur, taking away of the Bride, and the Wedding
of Messiah! What are these signs? Let's look at
this in
detail.
In
the Beginning, Elohim created the heaven and the earth. He
then created the sun, moon, and stars:
14
And God said,
Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven
to divide the day
from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons,
and for
days, and years: (Genesis 1:14) In
the above passage, we see that Yahuweh's purposes for these
heavenly
lights are:
For Signs -
<0226> (Heb. 'oth,' meaning "sign, token, or signal");
For Seasons
- <04150> (Heb. 'mo-ed,' meaning "an appointed time,
season,
Feast, or assembly"); from <03259> (Heb. 'ya-ad,' meaning
"to assemble, meet together, gather, or to betroth").
So
we see the sun and moon are to be for Signs or Signals,
and for Seasons.
Let us look further into
the purposes
of these Lights:
16 And God
made two great lights;
the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the
night: he made the stars also. 17
And
God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light
upon the
earth, 18
And to
rule over the day and
over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw
that it was good. (Genesis 1:16-18) Here
we are given additional information and purposes for the
lights. First,
we see that Yahuweh also made the Stars. The Lights (and stars) are for the
purpose of giving Light, [Hebrew 'owr', Strong's
number <0215>]
meaning
"light or enlightenment" upon the earth, and
for dividing,
or
separating the "Light" [Hebrew
'owr',
Strong's number <0216>,
meaning "daylight
or instruction"] from "darkness" [Hebrew
'cho-shek', Strong's
number <02822>,
meaning "darkness or
obscurity," from
Hebrew 'cha-shak',<02821>
meaning "to darken, to hide"]. Thus we see
within the Hebrew meanings, that one purpose the stars, and
the lights in the heavens, are given, is to separate "enlightenment,"
from "hiddenness" and "ignorance."
The
Hebrew
word for stars - Strongs number
<03556> - is mentioned 37 times in Scripture.
The number 37 in Scripture speaks of "The Word of Yahuweh" (See Numbers
in Scripture).
From this we have a hint that the
stars may
somehow portray the Word of Yahuweh - the Gospel of the
Kingdom. This is exactly the case, for many have written of
the entire Gospel having been written by Yahuweh Himself,
written
in the stars, and portrayed in pictures that make up the 12
constellations.
We also see above in Genesis 1:17
and the word definitions, that the lights and stars are for giving
light ("enlightenment")
upon the earth ("man"), and for dividing/separating light
(enlightenment and instruction) from darkness (obscurity and
hiddenness).
So the Word of Yahuweh -
written in the sun, moon, and stars, for our instruction - is
intended to give to man enlightenment and understanding, and to remove
obscurity and hiddenness, regarding Yahuweh's Word and His purposes.
Understanding
of Prophetic ThingsWe see in the Scriptures many men of
Yahuweh who, over the course of time, began to develop an understanding
of prophetic things of Yahuweh. We see such people as Joseph
and Daniel, who were given prophetic understanding of dreams and
visions; we see Elijah, Elisha, and David, as well as many
others, who had their eyes and ears opened, to see and understand the
hidden messages of Yahuweh, and His purposes.
We
see also Messiah Yahushua, whose life on earth reveals, that not only
the Words He spoke - but every move, every action He took - was
prophetic - full of meaning for us today.
Joseph
and Daniel were two examples of men in the Bible who grew in their
understanding of prophetic things. Joseph not only had
prophetic dreams, but received the understanding of dreams of
others. Later he was able to give the prophetic
interpretations, that brought about Yahuweh's purposes for preserving
all of Israel.
Daniel likewise was a student of the
Holy Scriptures, and of the prophetic things of Yahuweh. He
was able to interpret the dreams of kings, which eventually brought
about decrees that resulted in the rebuilding of Jerusalem.
The
Star of BethlehemIt is said by some today, that
Daniel had a following of students, part of whose instruction was to
understand the Gospel written in the stars. Apparently Daniel
was able to instruct his students to look for certain celestial signs,
that would mark the future birth of the King of Kings that Yahuweh would
bring to earth. Some have said the following verse alludes to
a heavenly sign:
"there shall
come a Star out of
Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel..."
(Numbers 24:17b) Since the days of
Daniel the Prophet,
many have studied the Scriptures, and have understood the fact that a
Messiah was to come to Israel. In the day that the Messiah
was actually born, however, why were there so few that knew when He was
to be born? Many knew the WHAT of the Scriptures, but only a
few wise men that had come from the east knew the WHEN of Messiah's
birth. Why was that?
Apparently these that
came from the east were indeed descendants of the students of
Daniel. Despite being generations removed from Daniel, they
continued to seek the Scriptures, and to study the heavens for signs of
the coming Messiah. These men knew the time of His birth, for
they saw the heavenly "signs" foretold by the Scriptures. The
Religious establishment,
on the other hand, though they knew that Messiah would
come, simply had no clue as to the timing.
Even
so it is today. Many know that the Saviour will return.
Some likewise have a general understanding that the time is
drawing near. However, very few today are as the
students of
Daniel - not only searching the Scriptures, but
watching the
signs in the Heavens!
For
Signs and Seasons - For Us TodayWhat do the heavens
tell us? First of all, we saw in Genesis 1:14 that the sun
and moon are to be signs or signals. We also saw that they
are for Seasons
<04150> Heb. 'mo-ed,' meaning
"an
appointed time, season, Feast, or assembly;" from
<03259> Heb. ya-ad
meaning "to assemble, meet
together, gather, or to betroth."
These mo-edim
-
Yahuweh's appointed times - are His "appointments" He has scheduled with
His people. These appointments, also called "Feasts of the
LORD" in Scripture, are described in Scripture as special meeting-times
for Yahuweh to meet with His people. These Feasts of
the
LORD are said to be wedding rehearsals, intended for those that would
be part of the wedding of the Bride and Bridegroom.
Yahuweh
has given His instructions to His people, and has written them in the
Scriptures. Yahuweh has written the details of His Eternal
Covenant, and sealed it with the Blood of His Son. He has
gone into great detail outlining the eternal, and perpetual,
and
everlasting terms of His Covenant. Yahuweh
has hidden these
Instructions within the Scriptures, in order that His people would
seek Him, and would find Him, and would also find His
Instructions.
In
the Instructions, Yahuweh
has given details of exactly when, and how these special meetings with
Him occur. He has keyed the timing of these Feasts
to the
beginning of each month, according to the Biblical Calendar.
The Scriptural calendar is based on the start of each month ("moon") at
sundown, the first day of the month commencing when the moon
is first able to be sighted, upon a fraction of change of reflected
light. Unless we use the sign of the moon in the sky, we
will be unable to keep Yahuweh's appointments at their proper time.
Another
important Bride characteristic is seen in Genesis 1:14, in the Strongs
definition of the Hebrew word for Seasons
<04150>. We saw that one of the meanings is
"to betroth." The missing piece of the puzzle can be seen in
the following passage:
16 Let
no man therefore judge you in ... in respect of an holyday,
or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:
17 Which are a shadow of
things to come... (Colossians 2:16-17) It
is the very participation
in the Holy Convocation days of Yahuweh - called "My Sabbaths"
throughout the Scriptures - that enables us to understand "things
to come," moving them out from the shadows, and into the
Light. The Feasts are the shadows that actually reveal to us the substance of things that are yet future.
We
can see also from the above passage
another Bride
feature. As soon as one (Redeemed by the Blood of Messiah)
begins to participate in Yahuweh's Feasts or Sabbaths, or other
Scriptural activities that Father delights in, a separation is
begun. Undergoing this separation is a Bride-characteristic,
for
it is no less than Yahuweh's separation of Gideon's
army down to 300, to bring
about Yahuweh's purposes (See Gideon's Army).
We
now
understand more clearly that
participation in the Feasts of Yahuweh is one major characteristic of
the Bride. Indeed, we are told in Ezekiel 20:20 (and
others)
that this participation is a sign or signal to Yahuweh Himself,
revealing those that are indeed among the Bride company, and
those who will participate in the
wedding! We will now look at some of the heavenly signs that
are for the Bride.
Bride Signs in the
HeavensThe
"Gospel" that Yahuweh wrote in the night sky has been described by many
writers (See Witness of the Stars, by Bullinger). Since the
creation, satan has attempted to corrupt the original meaning of the
Gospel written in the heavens, and this corruption has led to the false
religion of astrology. As we see in ancient Israel's case,
there was even a falling away from Yahuweh to worship the stars.
What
do the heavens tell us regarding the Bride? Let us look.
1
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the
firmament sheweth his
handywork. (Psalms 19:1) We
are
told in Psalms 19:1 that the heavens declare "His Glory."
But, notice the following verse:
13
I bring near my
righteousness; it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not
tarry: and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my
glory. (Isaiah 46:13) This phrase
Israel My glory reveals a nickname that Yahuweh has
given to His People, and to the Bride in
particular. It is not the
same Hebrew word used in Psalms 19:1, which is
<03519> kabowd, but is
similar in meaning. Thus far we may think
from Psalms 19:1 that the Heavens declare "Israel." But does
it tell us
that the Heavens declare "His Bride?" Thus far we do
not have enough information. We
will note in passing that the Isaiah 46 passage above is verse 13,
which
number has the meaning of love, thus
flagging this verse as a possible Bride
verse. We will now move on to some of the signs in the
heavens.
Bridegroom Signs in the
Heavens: The SunAccording
to Psalms 19,
4
Their line is gone out
through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them
hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, 5
Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
and rejoiceth as a
strong man to run a race.
(Psalms 19:4-5) Here
Yahuweh reveals the prophetic meaning of the Sun as a prophetic
sign. The Sun
speaks of the Bridegroom Himself. Any significant
Bridegroom-sign in the heavens will involve a conjunction of the Sun
with other heavenly bodies, to be read just as we read the hands of a
clock.
Bridegroom Signs in the Heavens:
The Planet MercuryMercury
is known as the "messenger" planet. Its meaning through
antiquity is that of "running" and of being the announcer, or
messenger. All significant heavenly signs will involve a
conjunction of Mercury, as the announcer or messenger signalling the
particular event. Scripture implies that it is
a messenger
who cries out, "Behold, the Bridegroom cometh..." (Matthew 25:6).
The
passage in Psalms 19 seen above describes the race between the Sun,
which is the Bridegroom, and another runner. That other
runner is
the "Messenger," the Planet Mercury. The race is further
described below. But before we look at the race, we
will notice what the "Finish Line" of the race is, and what it
represents. The "Finish Line" of the race can be clearly seen
in the night sky - It is the Constellation Pisces.
The
Constellation PiscesHow
blind and deaf have we been, to have ignored the very words, and the
very actions- of Yahushua Messiah Himself! The words Yahushua
spoke were not only "prophetic" - full of meaning for us today - but
his words and actions together were prophetic in meaning.
Notice the following verses:
19
And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the
five loaves, and the two fishes,
and looking up to heaven, he blessed,
and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to
the multitude. (Matthew 14:19)
16
Then he took the
five loaves and the two fishes,
and looking up to heaven, he blessed
them, and brake, and gave to the disciples to set before the multitude.
(Luke 9:16) In
the above two passages we see a number of Bride-characteristics
together in a tight pattern. First, we see that there are
Five loaves. These are Barley loaves, as we are told in John
6:9. So immediately we have a clue that this passage has
something to do
with the Bride, for the firstfruit Barley speaks of
the Bride, as
does the number five.
Next, we
see there are "two
fishes." The number two in Scripture
speaks of division, so
we perceive that the two fishes are somehow also related to the
Bride separation. But there is more. Notice that
next to the Scriptural mention of two fishes,
we see immediately the phrase "looking up to heaven." This
pair
of phrases appearing together, seems to be a prophetic event.
We
are now
reminded of the signs in the Heavens, placed there by Father,
as
signs
or signals of important events. We now recall that Pisces
-
one of the heavenly Constellations - is spoken of as a cluster of stars
picturing two fishes.
The
Constellation Pisces
consists of two fishes, each held by a cord. These two
restraining cords are joined at one common point at the
bottom. One of the fish appears to swim upward, the other
along the ecliptic, or path of the sun.
Pisces
has been seen for thousands of years to represent "Israel," and also
the
"congregation of the One who is to come." Our earlier
assessment of the Heavens declaring "Israel" is reinforced somewhat by
this bit of knowledge. Historically, men have
studied the Biblical accounts and the heavenly signs, and have likened
the
north-bound fish to those Believers whose lives are focused on
seeking the Father, looking toward the "Sides of the North."
These have speculated that the "path of the sun"-bound fish speaks
of those who do not seek the Father.
The
speculation goes on to say, that the Sun-bound fish may speak of the
rest of
the "Believers," who unknowingly are "Sun-Worshippers," for they
continue to embrace Christmas and Easter, and worship on "Sun-Day,"
which are all modern-day remnant practices of ancient Sun-Worship,
though
re-packaged and modernized to appeal to the deceived. The
implication here is that the Sun-bound fish continues in the
Sun-Worship "attributes" of the Christian Faith, which is a mixture of
Truth
and Error.
We note here, that Pisces is one
constellation, yet is split into two separate parts. Just as
the one divided army of Gideon speaks of the Bride separation, in the
same way this heavenly "split" reveals one congregation - split into
two
separate groups, in time and in purpose. Notice
the "prophetic event" seen in the following passage in Mark:
And
when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he
looked up
to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them
to his
disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he
among them
all. (Mark 6:41) Here
we see a prophetic event - the mention of "two fishes" and "looking up
to heaven." We then see another prophetic event
within this passage --the words spoken by Yahushua -- confirming to us
that there will be a "dividing" of the two
fishes, which will be related to a division
"among all the
people."
The
Strong Man Runs a RaceWe saw that
according to the
Psalms 19:4-5 passage, the sun speaks prophetically of the
Bridegroom. Mercury and the Sun together speak of the
announcement of the Bridegroom: "Behold the Bridegroom is coming!"
(Matt 25:6). Here we catch a glimpse of one facet of meaning
of the "race." Here we see the race is between the Sun, as
the Bridegroom, and Mercury, as the Announcer or Messenger.
The
"Finish Line" is one side or another of the constellation "Pisces" or
the "Two Fishes."
A
spectacular display of this race can be seen on a computer astronomy
software such as Cybersky. As the sun approaches the
constellation Pisces, on a given date, Mercury appears to "run a race"
with the
Sun. At the last minute the messenger forges ahead and
reaches the goal only several hours ahead of the Bridegroom.
The goal
is the apparent line or cord holding the fish down, as if it were a
ribbon to be cut, at the finish line of a race.
What
can be seen is unusual, and is a highly significant "first sign" given
by the Bridegroom, to the Bride. On the Biblical 10th day of
the
first month, 2008, shortly before midnight, the messenger
planet
Mercury will arrive at the finish line, and shortly thereafter the sun
will arrive at the finish
line of the North-facing fish, appearing to cut the cord as with
scissors. Exactly 7 years later the same conjunction occurs
with the sun-bound fish. These heavenly events sound vaguely
familiar to the end-time events we understand from the
Scriptures.
The
Heavenly Message and
its SignificanceSo what is the message spoken by
the Gospel written in the Heavens? The Sun and Mercury have
run the same race every 6 to 7 years in the general vicinity of
Pisces. Likewise there have been many conjunctions of the Sun
and Mercury. However, it is very rare that these conjunctions
occur at the cords holding the fish. Having
fast-forwarded the computer program and noted all conjunctions for the
next 100 years, there are very few possibilities. One of these is very
near to us now, even at the door.
We
must ask ourselves, "What is the significance of this sign in the
heavens for today?" It is clear that the heavenly signs were
put there by Yahuweh not to create Truth, but only
to confirm Truth
Yahuweh has already spoken, though concealed, in the
Scriptures.
The
significance may be seen in all the prophetic words, names, and numbers
found in Scripture. All that is considered Truth must be
based on Scripture. Anything we think we see, must be held
loosely, not dogmatically, even as loose-fitting pieces of a great
puzzle. We then move these pieces around to see if the
pictures and the shapes match. We can not force the pieces to
fit. We must allow the Holy Spirit to reveal His Truth to us,
in
His timing.
The Eclipse of the Bride MoonOn
February 21, 2008, the moon was fully covered in a Lunar
eclipse,
appearing next to Regulus on one side, and Saturn on the other. This
sign in the heavens tells us this is the time for the
Bridegroom
to present the fully-veiled Bride before the Father, to ask His
approval for marriage.
This is also a signal to the
Bride,
corresponding to the sign given to Jephtha's daughter, who was
given two months in which to bewail her virginity on this
earth,
and to bewail all that she had hoped and dreamed for herself on this
earth. But as Jephthah’s daughter willingly gave up
herself to
the oath of the covenant, so does the Bride, for her heavenly
Bridegroom.
We do not know what happened eventually
to
Jephthah’s daughter, except that she knew no man. But we can
say with
confidence there is no need to bewail what we will miss on earth, but
only to reconcile ourselves, and prepare for the heavenly marriage.
This
second sign of the covered Bride is given by the Bridegroom, both for
the Bride's understanding and preparation, and to confirm the first
sign. We are told in Rev. 3:3 that those that watch, will not
be
punished by not knowing the hour of the Bridegroom's return.
Perhaps these two signs tell us the time is almost at hand,
to
hear the midnight cry: "Behold, the
bridegroom cometh;
go ye out to meet him." (Matthew 25:6)
The
Timing of the Messenger, and of the Bridegroom's Arrival At
the time of Messiah Yahushua's birth, the wise men from the
east
saw the signs in the heavens, and knew from the Scriptures what was
about to take place. Perhaps these signs were for them alone.
We do not know. But they did not publicise the
event, as
Herod was to eventually bring disaster on that generation.
Perhaps there is
a Herod that would bring disaster on this generation too, at the time
of the heavenly signs. So the Bride might do well to
consider these signs in her heart, and to speak only in veiled
terms of the day and hour of His return.
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