Zodiac Reclaimed

‘The Heaven’s declare the glory of God … day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.’ These verses from psalm 19 are beautiful but. Are they meaningless? The psalm goes on the say ‘there is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.’ I have to admit I haven’t heard their voice. Am I deaf? Blind?

Did I missed something? Yes! In Genesis 1:14 the record says God put the lights in the sky to be signs and for seasons. This means much more than simply Summer through to Spring. There is a story woven somewhere, somehow in the sky. When creation took place, in far fewer years than the billions being mooted, Humanity could see that story. Since the flood of Noah’s time, two things have happened to that story I the stars. One, the Heavens keep expanding. A scientific reality and Biblical testimony (Job 37:18. Isaiah 40:22. 42:5. 44:24. 45:12. 51:13).

It is remarkable the amount of references to the stars in the book of Job. How did he know that his Redeemer lives? That He would stand upon the earth and Job would see Him, even after Job’s death. (Job 19:25-27). Surely, psalm 50:6 sums it up, ‘The Heaven’s proclaim his (God’s) righteousness.’ What a shame the human heart has sullied it. That helps us understand why the Lord God raised up a nation with prophets to record His program and purposes. Even then the contest between God’s revelation and the perverter of Scripture (and the story in the stars) was unrelenting. Still ongoing.

The second is the corruption of the story. It has been turned into the ‘Horoscope’ which I would write as the ‘Horror-scope!’ The account of Babylon’s foundation and history (Genesis 10:6-20. 11:1-9) bear witness to the corruption of God’s story in the sky. Why would anyone or thing want to do that? Because God spelt out His redemptive plan before it was committed to tablet then parchment and books. The spiritual power behind Babylon didn’t like it because it revealed his doom. He wanted to usurp the Messiah and remove God from His throne. Read Isaiah 14:12-15. 47:8)

In Job 38:32 this ‘story in the stars’ is called ‘the Mazzaroth.’ The Study Bible by Bullinger has a whole section on this matter. There is far too much to include in a blog. I’d like to highlight the following: He has recorded the Redeemer’s role. I’ve put alongside it some verses I considered relevant. This story is connected with Israel and the promised Messiah.(The Church, the Body of Christ on earth was the Lord’s surprise and masterstroke, Ephesians 3.Romans 16:25-26)

The 1^st book in the story of the stars. The Redeemer’s first coming.

Virgo.             The prophecy of the promised seed                     (Genesis 3:15. Isaiah 7:14.)

Libra.             The Redeemer’s work                                            (Matthew 20:28 John 3:14-21.)

Scorpio.          The Redeemer’s conflict.                                      (Psalm 91:13. Psalm 22.)

Sagittarius.   The prophecy fulfilled.                                           (John 12:31-32. Matthew 27.)

The 2^nd book in the story of the stars. The Redeemer’s work and results.

Capricornus. The prophecy of deliverance.                                                 (Isaiah 53).

Aquarius.      Results of His work given.                                                       (Hebrews 1.)

Pisces.            The results of His work enjoyed.                                            (Hebrews 2.)

Aries.              The promised deliverance fulfilled.                                       (1 Peter 1.)

The 3^rd book in the story of the stars. The Redeemer’s second coming.

Taurus.          The prophecy of coming Judgement.                  (John 5:22-30.Revelation 20)

Gemini.         The Redeemer’s reign in glory.                              (Psalm 24. Revelation 21-22)

Cancer.           The Redeemer’s possessions are safe.                 (2 Peter 1.)

Leo.                The prophecy of triumph fulfilled.            (The Lion of Judah. Revelation 5:5.)

Our faith isn’t in the stars. It is founded upon the Sacred writings Jesus believed in and held as inspired. We stand on the ground Jesus ‘paved’ for His apostles with ‘The Comforter … He shall teach you all things, and bring to remembrance, whatever I have told you.” (John 14:26. 16:7-15).

©Ray Hawkins July 16 2017.

the Christmas Sign

Moses captured the enslaved Israelites' attention through the signs and wonders Yahweh did through him. Until then, it would seem that the people were in a dejected and defeated mood. The Lord God also revealed the impotency of Egypt’s idols at the same time. The ten plagues were God’s declaration that He, and He alone, is sovereign. As such, He will bring judgement upon the gods of the nations (Exodus 12:12).
    
Signs became a feature of the Eternal God’s dealings with the people of Israel. The apostle Paul expresses this in 1 Corinthians 1:22: ‘Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom.’  Time and again in His ministry Jesus was asked for a sign, presumably from Heaven, that would verify who He was and what He did. Why they couldn’t grasp His miracles as such is beyond understanding. Jesus, however, did give them one sign, the sign of Jonah (Matthew 12:38,39).

There is another sign, God given, which validates Christmas for all – especially a Jewish person. It was given at the Lord’s direction through Isaiah to King Ahaz that a virgin would bring forth a child and call his name Emmanuel (7:14). The sign would be from Yahweh and done by Him. Somehow or other, God would bring this sign to fruition without the power, cunning or strategy of man.

It was that glorious night the angels shattered the Bethlehem darkness when the promised sign came into being. Luke 2:11-12: ‘Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manager.’ What was so striking about this birth? We know the story so well that we miss the emotional aspects of it. How would anyone have known the details of Jesus’ birth unless Mary and Joseph, at God’s direction, told Matthew and Luke! The intimacy of pregnancy and, in Mary and Joseph’s case, the potential for embarrassment and misunderstanding, reveals how important the uncovering of this sign was. It remains so today!

You can imagine the innuendoes, wagging tongues and slander that erupted when the Gospel began circulating. Who would put themselves into such an emotional and religious cauldron if the birth of Jesus had not taken place this way? Then again, if He had never risen from the dead, no one would have been interested. Therefore, what is recorded about the birth of Jesus is to authenticate it as the fulfilment of the Isaiah declaration. Matthew makes this quite clear when he writes what the angel of the Lord said to Joseph: ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, because he will save his people from their sins all this took place to fulfil what the Lord had said through the prophet: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel – which means, 'God with us.’ (Matthew 1:20-23).

Some think it unimportant to stress the virgin birth of Jesus. Part of their claim comes from the paucity of direct reference to it in the Epistles. However, the necessity for such a birth is everywhere inferred. Without it Jesus could not have been the second Adam; Jesus could not have been sinless, for He would have had a soul nature corrupted by the fall; His human spirit would have been dead to God (Ephesians 2:1-4); if He was born of ‘the flesh’ then He would be blemished in the sight of God the Father. There is no way Jesus’ crucifixion would be able to deal with humankind’s sin through substitution and identification, for He would have been in need of saving Himself.

R.N.Hawkins

This is a chapter from the 31 day devotional 'Bethlehem's Warrior Baby' available from Christian bookshops, Amazon etc and as an ebook.

Discipleship #3 When the Winnowing Comes.

Verse: My flesh is true food and my blood is true drink … When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?” John 6:55. 60.

Winnowing is meant to sort the wheat from the chaff. This farming principle was used by Rabbi Jesus to explain a reason why some things happen to us. It is meant to reveal those who were genuine and those who are simply along for what they can get. The master Teacher could easily draw a crowd as the supreme story teller. Others crowded Him as the miracle worker and healer. Who wouldn’t want a free fish and bread lunch or see amazing healings. To cap it all off this apparently unlearned man revealed the covetous nature of so many Scribes and Pharisees. Even today Jesus can draw a crowd whether it be through movies, meetings or testimonies, for or against Him.

Jesus confronted the multitudes with some interesting statements that unmasked those who were self seekers, not disciples. By His Holy Spirit and the Scriptures the process continues today. Consider John 6. Jesus talked about being the ‘Bread and Wine of Heaven’ and didn’t try and explain it. Even today His words are misunderstood or inadequately explained. This is a reference to Leviticus 17:11: ‘The life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you for making atonement for your lives on the altar; for, as life, it is the blood that makes atonement.’ Notice the link to the altar. This was the place for animal sacrifice. Each of those offerings on the altar were pictures of a future event which will fulfil them. That was and remains the cross on which Christ Jesus was crucified at Calvary. Not knowing the Scriptures, as was the case in John 6, still produces all types of weird conjectures.

The result? This statement became a winnowing of the commitment of those who gathered around Jesus. Those who were attached to Jesus because of ‘bread and fishes’ or seeing Him do signs and wonders were ‘blown away’ by Christ’s tough sayings. Those who simply enjoyed being with a celebrity were also sifted because it was no longer kosher to be seen in His presence. That remains true even today. Will we stand with the Lord on what He taught? Will we compromise our faith and be sifted on such matters as: Creation, the uniqueness of Christ Jesus, the cross and resurrection, the ‘Noah’ flood, the promise return of Christ to judge and rule, to highlight just a few. Today’s church going crowds will need to answer these questions. What will be their response? Will it be that of the crowd or ‘the twelve’ when asked by Jesus? “Do you also wish to go away?” What held this group to Jesus? Conviction! Peter’s reply must ultimately be ours: “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”

Would Jesus make an exception about the principle of ‘winnowing’ for those with good social credentials? Remember the rich young man who asked about earning the gift of eternal life? (Luke 18:18–25) He was also observant of the Law and thereby had good moral integrity. Jesus challenged this young man on the issue of priority and faith. Would he relinquish his love of and security in money? Would Jesus become his Master and provider? The winnowing must have been severe in the heart of this inquirer. The breath of the Lord blew upon Mammon but the man would not let it depart from his heart.

There are forces, spiritual, physical and emotional which we may face. These may appear unannounced. They can pounce on any of us to crush, bruise and take us away from Jesus. Again the fisherman Peter becomes an example for us. In the future he would face the greatest crisis in His life. It would take place when he denied his Lord. This caused not merely emotional pain, guilt and self loathing it opened the door for Satan’s onslaught. What saved him? Jesus prayed for Peter. Then, after the resurrection, Jesus made a point of meeting with Peter and assuring him of forgiveness and re-instatement.
He does this for you too. He knows there will be times when you and I fail to stand the test. Jesus doesn’t abandon His disciples. Correct them yes. Forgive them definitely. Lift them up to get on with the task, assuredly. Jesus continues to be our intercessor (and restorer) according to Hebrews 7:25.

Jesus is up front to men and women who are drawn to Him. What He offers is beyond price and is eternal. However, there is a cost factor. You will be faced with it in many of the devotions. As Jesus went to the cross to secure for you all He promised so you must have a ‘death to self’ encounter to receive the promises. To walk in newness of Life means you could be opposed, ridiculed, ignored or condescendingly endured. Jesus considers this part of the sifting process. You must recognise what awaits you. When the choice is made you either begin the discipleship journey or remain uncommitted. In Athens you get a glimpse of the winnowing of the Holy Spirit through the preaching of the Gospel. ‘When they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some scoffed; but others said, “We will hear you again about this.” – But some of them joined him and became believers’. Acts 17:32–34