Monday, September 7, 2009

The Heavens Proclaim the Glory of God - Libra



(Above chart is from Lost Constellation Testifies of Christ by John P. Pratt:

www.johnpratt.com/items/docs/lds/meridian/2004/prince.html)



LIBRA - THE REDEEMER'S ATONING WORK.


  


   Libra defines and develops the manner and object of the death of the coming seed covered in Virgo.


   The name of this sign together with its three decans and the names of the stars give the complete picture of this redemption. This sign shows that with the birth and murder of Jesus there is a great judgment and a weighing of all men.




The second zodiac constellation is the Balance or Scales (Libra), which were used before coins for weighing out money for payment. The meaning seems to be that Christ would "pay the price" in order to redeem mankind. Indeed, Christians have been "bought with a price" (I Corinthians 6:20, 7:23). The corresponding title of the Savior is the Redeemer.



  • The Hebrew name of this sign is Mozanaim, the Scales, weighing.

  • The Arabic name is Al Zubena, purchase, or redemption.

  • In Coptic, it is Lambadia - house of propitiation. In Arabic Lam is Grace and Badia is Branch.

  • In Latin, it is Libra, which means weighing.

  • The older Akkadian name was Tulku, which means the sacred mound or the holy altar.

  • The brightest star is named Zuben al Genubi - which means the purchase or price which is deficient (Man is weighed in the balances and found wanting).

  • The second brighter star is Zuben al Chemali - the price which covers. It also has another name: al Gubi - heaped up or high.

  • The third brightest star is near Centaurus and the Victim slain. It is called Zuben Akrabi or Zuben al Akrab - the price of the conflict.


Daniel 5:25-27: “This is the message that was written: Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin. This is what these words mean: Mene means ‘numbered’—God has numbered the days of your reign and has brought it to an end. Tekel means ‘weighed’—you have been weighed on the balances and have not measured up.


Psalm 49:7: Yet they cannot redeem themselves from death by paying a ransom to God.

1 Corinthians 6:20, 7:23: for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body...God paid a high price for you, so don’t be enslaved by the world.


Psalm 62:9: Common people are as worthless as a puff of wind, and the powerful are not what they appear to be. If you weigh them on the scales, together they are lighter than a breath of air.


Matthew 20:28: For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”



DECAN #1: CRUX - THE CROSS



   The First Decan is the sign of the Southern Cross, the Crux, in which the Centaurus is advancing towards.


   The Hebrew name of this sign is Adom which means cutting off:

Daniel 9:26: And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. (King James version)

This name means a cross, but a deeper meaning is ‘it is finished’. The meaning of Crux was echoed by Jesus on the cross Just before he ‘yielded up the spirit’ (Matthew 27:50) saying in John 19-30. ‘It is finished’. The more popular name is the Southern Cross. This sign is situated immediately below Centaurus.


   The Southern Cross points to the forgiveness available through His cross:

1 Peter 1:18-19: For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.

1 Peter 2:24: He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.


   The Southern Cross was just visible in the latitude of Jerusalem at the time of Christ's birth. It was no longer visible in the northern latitudes when Christ died on the cross, due to the gradual recession of the Polar Star. Dante sang of "the four stars never beheld but by the early race of men."


   In the zodiac of Dendera, this constellation is a figure of a Lion with its head turned backward, his tongue hanging out of his mouth in a consuming thirst. Christ, when on the cross, had a consuming thirst, and of course he is the Lion of the tribe of Judah.


   It is well known that the cross was a sacred emblem in the Egyptian mythology. The Arabians and Indians also, before the coming of Christ, venerated this emblem. There is in the British Museum a large silvery cross, taken from the mummy of an Egyptian priest. Sozomenes, AD 443, relates that "there was found in the temple of Serapis the sign of the cross, surrounded by hieroglyphics, which meant the life to come." The last letter in the Hebrew alphabet, thau, was originally in the form of a cross; and its name means boundary, limit, finishing (as in Genesis 49:26), as of the Messiah's work, as when He said, "It is finished."



DECAN #2: LUPUS or VICTIMA- THE VICTIM



   Although known as the wolf, this picture could be that of any animal. The Greek name is Thera, meaning ‘a beast’, the Latin name is Victima meaning ‘the victim slain’ and the Hebrew name is Asedah 'to be Slain'. The important point is that it has been slain (by the Centaur) and is falling down dead. In the Zodiac, in the temple of Denderah in Egypt this sign is pictured as a little child with its finger on its lips, and he is called Sura, a lamb. In view of the divine message so far, this would be more appropriate. Nevertheless the message is the same - the victim (Jesus) gives up his life (for us all).




  • John 10:17: “The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again. No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded.”

  • Isaiah 53:7: He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth.

  • Hebrews 9:26: If that had been necessary, Christ would have had to die again and again, ever since the world began. But now, once for all time, he has appeared at the end of the age to remove sin by his own death as a sacrifice.

  • 1 Corinthians 15:3: I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said.

    Philippians 2:8: he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

  • Revelation 5:9: And they sang a new song with these words: “You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals and open it. For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.


   Lupus is inconspicuous, lying partly in the Milky Way, south of Libra and Scorpio, east of the Centaur (Centaurus).



DECAN #3: CORONA - THE CROWN BESTOWED



   The modern name Corona Borealis meaning ‘the northern crown’. The Hebrew name is Atarah ‘a royal crown’ and the Arabic name is Al Iclil ‘an ornament or jewel’. The brightest star has the name Al Phecca ‘the shining’. A royal crown can only be destined for a king.



  • Hebrews 2:9: What we do see is Jesus, who was given a position “a little lower than the angels”; and because he suffered death for us, he is now “crowned with glory and honor.” Yes, by God’s grace, Jesus tasted death for everyone.

  • 2 Timothy 4:8: And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing.

  • Matthew 27:29: They wove thorn branches into a crown and put it on his head, and they placed a reed stick in his right hand as a scepter. Then they knelt before him in mockery and taunted, “Hail! King of the Jews!”


   The first Adam lost the crown to the serpent in the garden. The last Adam (Jesus) gained it back again. The contest is for Dominion! It was the Devil, in the form of a serpent, that robbed the first man of his crown; but in vain he struggled to wrest it from the sure possession of the Second Man. Not only does he fail in the attempt, but is himself utterly defeated and trodden under foot. The serpent is also attempting to seize our crowns:

Revelation 3:11 – I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take away your crown.



   Libra and its decans we have the perfect picture of Christ paying the adequate price by going to the cross, becoming the victim by his own doings, and obtaining the Crown of Glory so that every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.


Here is the story the Mazzaroth presents to us, with the first two that we've covered thus far in bold:



  1. The seed of the woman shall come.

  2. There shall be a price paid by Him for a purchased possession.

  3. The price shall be a conflict with the serpent-foe, and a wound in the conqueror's heel.

  4. He shall be sent forth swiftly, surely, as an arrow from a bow.

  5. He shall be slain as a sacrifice.

  6. He shall rise again and pour out blessings on His people.

  7. His people shall be multitudes, and held in union with each other and Himself

  8. He who was slain, whose heel was bruised, shall rule, and shall tread His enemy under foot.

  9. He shall come in power, triumphant, and have dominion.

  10. He shall be the Son of God and the son of man, the victim and the ruler.

  11. He shall hold fast His purchased possession, the reward of His work.

  12. He shall finally put all enemies under His feet, coming with ten thousand of His saints to execute judgment upon all, separating the evil from the good.



   Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the New Living Translation of the Bible.



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