Salvation History. Chapter 11: - The Promise of Redemption.

Chapter 11: - The Promise of Redemption.
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A PLAN OF SALVATION.


Sin has entered into the sphere of man's existence, and has brought about its evil consequences. But what is God to do? Is he left with egg on his face? Has he no way of overcoming this problem? Did he not foresee it - after all God knows everything, Doesn't he?

God did foresee man's sin and the consequences of it - which is why he warned Adam not to follow certain courses of action. But more than that God had already foreordained a way of Redemption for mankind and had established that in Eternity as an Eternal Fact.

Man remained redeemable because:
(i) Man didn't invent sin but was tempted.
(ii) Man did not identify with evil and sin even after the Fall. Even in the act of sinning man showed that sin was something foreign to him in that:
* He covered himself. The fig leaves signify man's flight from evil.
* He shifted blame.
* He was Ashamed. Shame is man's first defense against sin.

God's plan of Redemption was simple in its scheme, yet so profound that Satan could not conceive of it. It was simply this:
God determined himself to enter into human history and pay the penalty for man's sin.

The Omnipotent was to become impotent.
The Omniscient was to become Ignorant.
The Omnipresent was to become limited in time and space.
The Eternal One was to die.

It was a plan so unlikely that no one would ever consider it a possibility, so it had every chance of success because no one would be able to stop it.

In the Eternal Courts of Judgement God the Son, the second person of the Trinity, volunteered to become the Scapegoat for mankind and bear their sin. He who, as the Son, was the one for whom all this was made. He who designed it all. He who executed it as the Living Word. He who holds it all together by his word. He it was who said, "I will Go".

And in the Courts of Eternity God the Father decreed that this sacrifice was sufficient for the sins of All men for All time.

Christ became an eternal sacrifice for sins.

The Scriptural references for this are all found in Chapter 2: - God in Eternity.

In this plan God determined the time when Christ would die and set in motion a series of events preparing for that event so that all would be ready.

The Old Testament is the record of God's preparing of the world for that event. In the process God had to do several things:

(1) He had to promise mankind that there was a hope in the future that men could look forward to in faith. Hence he needed to give mankind a revelation of what was going to happen. Yet the revelation could not be so clear that the meaning of it would be open to Satan. In other words some of the details had to be hidden.

(2) He had to give men a way of "Covering" their guilt until then so that they could be free of the Enemy's taunts.

(3) He had to bring to birth in history certain things so that the prophesied salvation could be seen to be the real thing as it fulfilled prophecy.

In Genesis 3,4 we see how God answered the first two of these requirements. From Genesis 11 onwards we see God beginning to prepare the ground for his promised salvation.


THE PROMISE OF REDEMPTION.


The Promise of Redemption includes these elements:

1. A revelation of the Purposes of God through prophecy, of a Coming One, a Redeemer.
2. A demonstration, in symbolic form, of the meaning of this Redeemer’s work. This demonstration also provided the means of covering man’s sin until the Redeemer came.


1. The Revelation of Redemption.

Genesis 3:15.
“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."

Literally: “between your seed and her seed”.

Women do not have seed; the seed comes from the man. This implies that there was to be something special about the promised child – he was to have no human father, the mother was to be a virgin. The ancient world understood this clearly. (The implication by many intellectually arrogant modern people that these "primitive people didn't know how reproduction, etc., worked and thus blah, blah..." is manifestly wrong when we study the History of Religion and religious ideas. The ancient world was abundantly clear that the Promised Redeemer of mankind was to be a man, born of a woman who was a virgin - and it was also completely clear on the fact that this was to be something out of the ordinary, a miracle.)

This revelation of a Coming Redeemer, the seed of the woman, was given to Adam, hence became the property of all of his descendants. It is knowledge common to mankind.

This is important to remember as it explains why many cultures are aware of it even without any visible contact with the gospel. In actual fact this promise is the basis of nearly all of the heathen religions.

Don Richardson in his book, "Eternity in Their Hearts" demonstrates how many isolated cultural groups have two religious beliefs. The oldest is a belief in one creator God who is going to redeem mankind. This is a prophetic religion of Hope. The newer religion is a spirit (demon) worship that is imposed on top of the true tribal religion. This second belief is a worship of fear.

Bullinger and Seiss, in their books on Biblical Astrology, show how true astrology, in its original form, is part of this revelation of God to Adam. The modern form of Astrology is relatively recent and is clearly a corruption of the older belief.

Alexander Hislop also, in his book, "The Two Babylons", shows how this promise is the basis of all of the mystery cult religions of the ancient world and of Astrology. We will look at Hislop’s work in chapter 13

This Revelation included the following Elements.

(1) Enmity between Eve and Satan.

About this we know nothing. Presumably there was some personal conflict between Eve and Satan.

(2) Enmity between her offspring and Satan.

I.e. between mankind in general and Satan. Satan is symbolised by the Serpent, but there is also a literal sense to the prophecy. Mankind and snakes have never got on too well.

(3) There will be a specific "Seed".

I.e. a man who will once and for all crush the head of Satan. To "crush his head" means to destroy his authority. The metaphor is drawn from the practice of ancient kings where they put their feet on the heads of defeated foes.

By the phrase "seed of the woman", it was understood that this Redeemer would not have a human Father, his mother would technically be, in human terms, a Virgin. The Redeemer would thus be the “son of (the) god(s).”

(4) Death would be conquered by the dying of the Redeemer.

In the process of attaining this once for all victory over Satan the Redeemer will himself be incapacitated for a season. The metaphor of "striking the heel" has come to mean a crippling, or mortal, blow. I.e. the Redeemer would conquer death by dying.

These four ideas are common to ancient and primitive religion the world over.

e.g. Achillee's heel.

2. The Demonstration of Redemption.


Adam and Eve themselves need some covering for their sins. At this time God provided a way for men to cover their sins so that they were absolved from them. This arrangement was to last until the promised Redeemer came who, once and for all, would deal with sin.

Genesis 3:21.
“The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.”

Genesis 4:1-4.
“Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, "With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man." Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor.”

In instituting a method of cleansing God wanted to depict the work of the coming Redeemer. The essence of the Redeemer's work was that he would have to pay the price for sin, i.e. death. Hence the method of covering sin needed to depict this. Therefore the rite of sacrifice was instituted. Abel did not dream up the idea of presenting from his flock all by himself - God had already demonstrated that this was his intention by killing an animal in Genesis 3 and covering Adam and Eve with the skins. Here we see a double symbolism - the death of the substitute, and the covering of the shame (Genesis 3:21).

For this reason Cain's offering was unacceptable. The offering of the fruit of the field is an acceptable offering to God as a Fellowship meal, but only after sin has been first dealt with. Cain presumed that he was innocent, that he did not need to repent of sin, so in arrogance demanded fellowship with God without acknowledging his guilt. Hence he was rejected. His anger shows he knew he was wrong. Cain’s attempt to reach God without dealing with sin and death is typical of man – and the anger men show towards the Christian gospel is the same as Cain’s anger. Men want to presume they are innocent, when in actual fact they know they are not. But if they can blame someone else then they don’t have to face sin and the consequences of it. so they try to approach God without dealing with the real problem – sin.

Abel, on the other hand, sought to give to God what God required, in faith, and so was accepted. He acknowledged his need for a saviour by bringing a lamb as a substitute for himself, thus pointing towards the great substitute, Jesus Christ.

This arrangement of covering sin with animal sacrifice did not actually remove sin from the picture.

Hebrews 9:6-15.
“When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly into the outer room to carry on their ministry. But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still standing.
This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings- external regulations applying until the time of the new order.
When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.
The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance- now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.”


What happened was that the sins were simply "covered". It is as if God put the IOU in a drawer and said "We'll get them out when the Redeemer comes". When Christ came he took all of the IOUs and paid the debt. Christ is the sacrifice for the sins of the WHOLE WORLD, not just for the portion of the world that existed after Calvary.

In offering a blood sacrifice the sinner was saying something like this:
"I know I am a sinner and I deserve death. But I know you have promised to send a Redeemer who will die for me and pay my penalty. In offering this sacrifice I acknowledge that forgiveness only comes from the sacrifice of the Redeemer, so in faith I symbolise his death, looking forward to his coming, He who will cleanse me from all my sin."

In other words the sacrifice did not cleanse from sin, rather the faith in the Coming Redeemer did.

This is the basic outline of the revelation of Redemption God gave to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden as they were expelled from his presence. But God also gave greater detail. Genesis 3:15 and the practice of sacrifice is but the summary of what God revealed. The details were revealed in the stars – in the original astrology.

THE REVELATION IN THE STARS.

Reference Works:

E.W.Bullinger: - The Witness of the Stars.
J.Seiss: - The Gospel in the Stars.
(Both recently reprinted by Kregel).
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The Theme of these books is the original meaning of the constellations.

Both Seiss and Bullinger put forward a convincing argument that modern astrology, and its interpretation of the constellations, is not original. There was an earlier interpretation that has been corrupted.

This older version is reflected in the religious myths of every ancient civilisation, and we can trace its corruption through time. Interestingly enough, we can also isolate out the original interpretation of the stars, and this interpretation is common to all ancient peoples. This commonness suggests a common source. The corruption began in Egypt and Babel and reached its final form in the Greek Empire.

The original interpretation of the pictures in the stars were a prophecy – of the Coming Redeemer of mankind, his work and its results. The corruption retained the idea that the pictures in the stars were a prophecy, but made them into a personal prophecy for each person, the horoscopes (or “horror-scopes”) of today.

Seiss claims that this original interpretation, and indeed the pictures themselves, were the bulk of God's original revelation of his purposes to Adam after the Fall, and that Genesis 3:15 are actually only a summary of this revelation.

It is clear that Genesis 3:15 is not the total of the revelation given by God at that time as we discover sacrifice in Genesis 4 which is not detailed in Genesis 3.

Seiss claims that God first showed Adam the picture in the stars and then gave Adam a prophetic Messianic interpretation of them. This message tells of the coming Messiah, firstly to suffer, then to reign.

It is clear that the ancient world knew of the gospel as a prophecy, as it was enshrined in their mythologies. Not only as a sketch, as in Genesis 3:15, but also fine details are contained in the myths, and these predate the existence of Israel. The connection of the stars with this REVELATION KNOWLEDGE dates from the earliest times so the two seem to belong together.

There is nothing in the stars themselves to suggest the pictures. Clearly the following is true:
(i) The pictures have been imposed on the stars.
(ii) Then a meaning was given to the pictures, and finally
(iii) Individual stars have been named in such a way that the meaning of their names have relevance only when considered in the light of the picture in which they are contained and its prophetic gospel message.

That modern astrology is also a corruption of something more ancient is also indisputable historically.

Scriptural Support For Such an Idea.

(a) Genesis 1:14-18.
“And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so. God made two great lights- the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good.”


The stars were given as a “sign”. The Hebrew words are important.
* "Stars" = constellations.
* "sign" = Astrological signs.
The two words are actually technical terms to do with astrology.

How the sentence is punctuated is important. The NIV (above) links the “signs” with “mark seasons and days and years”, but this is not the original. It would be better translated with a comma after “signs”. Thus the functions of the “lights in the expanse are:
* To be (astrological) signs.
* To mark seasons, days and years (by their position at different times of year).
* To be lights.

A sign is something arbitrarily selected and appointed to mean something else. I.e. the meaning is not immediately, or physically, obvious.

(b) Psalm 19:1-7.
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.
There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun, which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is hidden from its heat.
The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple….”


* There are two witnesses to God and his plan. The Bible is one (vs 7ff) , the stars is the other (vs 1-6).
* God's "glory" includes his moral and redemptive nature, which can only be seen in the stars if the stars are signs, i.e. symbolic pictures.
* The stars can only “pour out speech” day by day if the stars have been assigned a symbolic meaning and if this meaning can be known.

(c) Romans. 1:19-22.
“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities- his eternal power and divine nature- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.”

C/f Romans 10:18.
“But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did: "Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world."

* "What may be known about God…is plain to them."
* “Did they not hear” – “their voice has gone out into all the earth”. Paul here quotes from Psalm 19 where the Psalmist tells us that the stars are speaking as a proof that all men have heard the gospel message somehow.

God considers the revelation that the Heathen have to be sufficient to bring them to salvation if they heed it. Hence they are liable to judgement if they reject it.

(d) Some constellations are named in the Bible and in such a way that we could be meant to see a "Christian" meaning in them.

(e) Isaiah 40:26.
“Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.”

God names the stars. This is important if the meaning of their names takes on Redemptive significance.

(f) Some of the Pictures in the constellations are used in the Bible, particularly in REVELATION, in a way that suggests this was their intended meaning. Of the 48 pictures in the constellations around 27 of them (I think) are so used. This has to be strongly suggestive of a Divine origin to them.


USES OF THE CONSTELLATIONS IN SCRIPTURE.

(a) With Respect to Israel.

(i) Apparently each of the tribes had a flag, or banner, or standard which was a picture of one of the constellations, or a decan of it. They marched under these flags in the wilderness.

Definition: Decan: Each of the main pictures in the stars gives its name to a constellation, e.g. Aries, Leo, Virgo, and so on. But each of these major pictures has three subsidiary pictures associated with it. Theses associated pictures are called decans.

(ii) Genesis 37:9.
“Then he (Joseph) had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. "Listen," he said, "I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me."

"eleven Stars", the Hebrew literally means " the eleven constellations".

(iii) Genesis 49. Jacob's blessing.

Each blessing given alludes to the constellations:
E.g. Reuben - water = Aquarius.
Dan - serpent = Scorpio.
Judah - lion = Leo.
Issachar - sheepfolds = decans of Cancer now called the Bears.

(iv) Numbers 2.
When Israel was travelling through the wilderness they camped in a circle in four groups . When laid out on a plan as in Numbers it suggests the camp reflected the 360-degree circle of the ecliptic, i.e. they encamped as if they were trying to reproduce the constellations.

(b) The Book of Revelation.

Ch. 1 - the seven stars = the seven known planets, or possibly the Pleiades, seven stars in Ursa Minor.
Ch. 4 - the four faces of the Cherubim represent the four corners of the sky - Aquarius (the man), Taurus (the Bull), Leo (the Lion), Aquilla the Eagle (of Scorpio).
Ch. 5:5,6 The Lion who is a Lamb = Leo.
Ch. 5:8 Harps = Harpo.
Ch. 6:1,2 Rider with a Bow, could be Saggitarius.
Ch. 6:9 Alter = Ara.
Ch. 8:13 Eagle = Aquilla.
Ch. 12:1,2 Woman = Cassiopeia, Virgo and Andromeda.
Ch. 12:3,4 Serpent = Hydra.
Ch. 14:14-16 Reaper = Bootes.
Ch. 15:7 Cup = Crater.
Ch. 19:17-18 Birds = Corvus.

As you can see the usage is considerable. Other symbols in Revelation could possibly be sourced from the stars. John has used these symbols with the traditional meaning, with only minor variations in order to clarify the meaning. E.g. The rolling of the three women together into one confirms what the ancients suspected, they were in fact the same, but seen at three different points of her existence.

In fact John often tells us that the sky is where he was getting his inspiration from:

Revelation 4:2.
“At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it.”

Revelation 12:1.
“A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head.”

Revelation 12:3.
“Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth.

Revelation 15:1.
“I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues- last, because with them God's wrath is completed.”

Revelation 15:5.
“After this I looked and in heaven the temple, that is, the tabernacle of the Testimony, was opened.”

These all have reference to pictures in the constellations.

THE ZODIAC.

The line the sun "travels" through the sky over the course of a year is called the Ecliptic. In reality this is the path of the earth around the sun.

On this line were originally pictured 48 signs, though the Greeks later on added to this.

The Ecliptic is divided into 12 parts and the sun "passes through" one part each month. As the Moon circles the earth it cuts the ecliptic into 12 equal steps. Thus the 48 pictures are divided into 12 groups of four pictures. The whole course of the sun is called the Zodiac (from Zoad = the walk, go by steps). There are four pictures in each step, the main picture giving the group its name and the other three are known as its DECANS.

In ancient Egypt the Zodiac was divided between Leo and Virgo. Virgo was the beginning of the circle, Leo was the end. Ancient inscriptions show the Sphinx (half woman, half lion) in here. The word "sphinx" comes from a root meaning, "to join", or "the joining", i.e. of the Zodiac.

Corruptions came over the years, the worst being the renaming, redrawing, and addition of some pictures by the Greeks. The use of the stars to predict PERSONAL PROPHECY appears to date from Babel, and it is the use of the stars in this way that is a dangerous lie. The Book of Enoch tells us that one of the fallen angels "taught men the constellations", i.e. the corruption of it. It is clear that the stars were to be seen as a prophecy, but that prophecy concerns the coming Redeemer, not events in our personal lives.


THE CONSTELLATIONS AND THEIR DECANS WITH THEIR INTERPRETATION ACCORDING TO SEISS.

1) Virgo - Virgin - The Virgin with her promised seed.
a) Coma - the woman and her manchild, who is the Redeemer.
b) Centaurus - the Centaur - half man, half horse - speaking of the two natures of the Redeemer who is a sin offering.
c) Bootes – “the Coming One” - the Victorious Coming Redeemer.

Virgo is in some ways a summary of all that is to come, telling us of his pre-existence, virgin birth, dual nature, sacrificial death and victorious coming.

2) Libra - the Scales - The Redeemer's atoning work, the weighing of sin.
a) Crux - the Southern Cross - the Cross endured.
b) Victima - a dying animal - the victim slain.
c) Corona - the Northern crown - victory after death.

3) Scorpio - the Scorpion - the Redeemer's conflict. Scorpio
is the enemy.
a) Serpens - the serpent - the enemy.
b) Ophuchus - the serpent holder - victory over death by
dying.
c) Hercules - the Saviour, Deliverer.

4) Sagittarius - the Archer - the Redeemer's triumph.
a) Ara - the Alter - fire to consume the enemies.
b) Lyra - the Harp - new song for the Redeemed.
c) Draco - the Dragon cast down.

5) Capricornus - the dying goat - death bringing new life.
a) Sagitta - the Arrow - the Word of God goes forth.
b) Aquilla - the Eagle - the Enemy of the Serpent dying.
c) Delphinus - the dolphin - life from death.

6) Aquarius - the Water pourer - Living Waters poured forth.
a) Pisces Australis - the southern fish - the blessings
bestowed.
b) Pegasus - the winged horse - blessing comes quickly.
c) Cygnus - the Swan - the Blessor surely returns.

7) Pisces - the mystic fishes - the blessings are received and
enjoyed.
a) The Band - Christ and the Church bind the enemy.
b) Andromeda - the chained woman - the Church in bondage and
affliction.
c) Copheus - the King - Christ enthroned.

8) Aries - the Ram - the blessings of the Redeemed Consummated
and enjoyed.
a) Cassiopeia - the Enthroned Woman - the Church enthroned.
b) Cetus - the sea monster - the enemy bound.
c) Perseus - the breaker - delivering his redeemed.

9) Taurus - the Bull - the Day of the Lord.
a) Orion -the Coming Prince.
b) Eridanus - the river of the judge - waters of wrath.
c) Auriga - the shepherd - safety for the Redeemed.

10) Gemini - the twins - Christ and his Bride.
a) Lepus - the Hare - the enemy trodden underfoot.
b) Canis Major - the Great Dog - enemy of the Hare.
c) Canis Minor - the little dog - the Church.

11) Cancer - the Crab - Christ's inheritance secure.
a) Ursa Major - the Greater sheepfold.
b) Ursa Minor - the Lesser Sheepfold.
c) Argo - the Ship - pilgrims safely home.

12) Leo - the Lion - Christ's triumph.
a) Hydra - the seven-headed Serpent Destroyed.
b) Crater - the Cup of Wrath.
c) Corvus - Birds of prey devouring the serpent.

SUMMARY.

From this we can see there was quite possibly given to Adam a quite detailed outline of God's plan of Redemption. This seems to have covered the nature and work of the Redeemer, his conflict and victory, the people he would redeem and their sharing with God in ruling, and other details. Clearly sacrifice is part of the picture, the voluntary death of the Redeemer, and that it is through this death that the victory is won.

It is apparent that we can only see this prophecy clearly for what it is now with the benefit of hindsight. Like a lot of Biblical prophecy it is better understood after the event. For Adam and his seed the meaning must have been quite obscure, but they seem to have grasped the main threads and these were enshrined in religious mythology from very early times. How this was used in religious mythology we shall see in Chapter 13.

However, even modern astrology retains the idea that the stars and the pictures in them are prophetic, they somehow tell the future. The question is "The future of What?" Seiss's answer is "The outworking of God's plan of Redemption." The two books referred to above make compelling reading, and their argument seems to hold together.

Bullinger’s Book, "The Witness of the Stars," can be downloaded from:

http://philologos.org/__eb-tws/

Both Bullinger’s book and Seiss’s “The Gospel in the Stars" are available through Amazon as are Richardson's "Eternity in their Hearts" and Hislop's, "The Two Babylons".