The Signs of the Zodiac, No. 2
RO137-02

Psalm 19

The Zodiac

The constellations of the zodiac have, from ancient times, been associated with certain imaginary figures. The stars of each constellation do not actually outline that figure. Sometimes they do, as in the Northern Cross and the Southern Cross, or in the big and little dippers. But what we have from ancient writings is that people would look up at the cluster of stars, which we call the constellation of Virgo, for example, and they would say, "Now do you see those stars? Do you see how they're arranged? That is the outline of a woman lying on her back." Now the ancients had a variety of stories as to why that particular woman was placed in the skies. I am bypassing all of the heathen stories, and all of the pagan corruptions, of the original information which God gave to Adam, when He pointed out that constellation Adam and told him, "Imagine that in the form of a woman with a sheaf of wheat grain seed in her one hand, and a branch in her other hand."

These original messages of these signs in the sky were eventually corrupted by the pagan cultures, and made to apply to something totally different. But they were always, we noticed, with some element and grain of truth left, indicating where the thing originally came from before it was distorted. The message of each main constellation of the zodiac illustrates the plan of salvation that God promised in Genesis 3:15 to provide fallen man.

Furthermore, we pointed out that each of the main constellation's message is further illustrated by three associated constellations, which are called decans, which means "pieces." Over the centuries, these pieces also have had their basic message corrupted by pagan cultures. In fact, this whole system of the zodiac was eventually taken over into astrology (not astronomy, but into astrology), and converted into a fortunetelling system.

So, as the sun moves, beginning with Virgo, through its 12 houses in a year, and ends in the constellation of the lion, it tells the story of salvation. We pointed out that the story of the zodiac falls into three books, and I have given you now an outline of these three books, and the breakdown of the outline that we will be following, on the presentation of the constellations, to help you to keep track a little more. The 12 constellations are arranged into groups of four constellations, which thus form three books that are telling the story of salvation. Each book has four chapters, which are the four constellations. Then each constellation is broken down into three paragraphs, which are the three decans. And you can see that in your outline.

1. The Redeemer

   So, we're looking at book 1 now. The title of book 1 is the Redeemer.

   1. Virgo

      The first chapter is the sign of Virgo. As you look up into the sky, you would see these basic stars composing the image upon which has been imposed this view of the young woman. And, of course, up in the sky, she is lying on her back. The word "Virgo" means "virgin." And the title of this chapter is "The Promised Seed of the Woman." This woman, lying on her back, as a stock of wheat in her left hand, with seed (grains) on it. And in her right hand, she holds a branch. The Hebrew name for this particular constellation is "bethulah," which means "virgin." Throughout the ancient cultures, the names of the zodiac remained the same. This particular sign of the zodiac, we showed you, fulfills the promise of Genesis 3:15. This promise was later expanded in the Bible, indicating that God would send the Savior through a particular kind of woman, and that is a virgin woman. Isaiah, 7 tells us that.

      You can see that we need the information of the Bible to understand what the original information was that was being portrayed by these visual aids in the sky. The Lord Jesus Christ is compared in the Bible, as we pointed out, to the seed of the woman, which compares to the stock of wheat in the virgin's hand in the sky. Also, he is compared to the branch, which is the royal line of David, and compared to the branch which she holds in her other hand. So, the Lord Jesus Christ was born indeed of the seed of Abraham, in the royal branch line of David, through a virgin mother.

      Then we further pointed out that this primary constellation is amplified by three pieces (these three decans), which further expand the message.

      1. Coma

         Number one was the constellation called Coma. This portrays, in ancient cultures, a mother holding a baby boy. Coma refers to the boy, and it means "the desired one." This is the very phrase which is used in Haggai 2:7, describing the coming Messiah Savior. He is called "the desired one." And here he is named "Coma," which means "the desired one." Jesus Christ here was viewed as a baby boy being held by this virgin mother.

      2. Centaurus

         The second part was Centaurus – the Centaur. This portrayed the two-natured man in humiliation. This portrays a creature who combined a human torso up front, and a horse in the back, portraying the union of the two natures in Jesus Christ as both God and Man – divine and human in one person. We call that the hypothetic union. The divine nature of Jesus Christ, joined to his human nature, thus produced a sinless man who was not able to sin. The humanity of Jesus Christ could not do anything that the deity of Jesus Christ would not permit Him to do. Thus, you had a man who was sinless once more, as Adam was. He had no sin nature, as Adam was originally. He had no sin nature, and He could do nothing to foul up the system again. Therefore, He was fully qualified to be the Savior to pay the price for the sins of the world.

      3. Boötes

         The third piece is Boötes, the coming one. And our title for this particular paragraph is "The Exalted Shepherd and Harvester. This one portrays a man walking rapidly, with a spear in his right hand, or perhaps a shepherd stick in his right hand. And in his left hand, he carries a sickle. The brightest star in his left knee is called Arcturus. "Arcturus" means "he comes." The amazing meaning of the names have come down from ancient times to these stars, indicating again that somebody was giving names that were intended to portray the message of that translation. And for this brightest star here to be called Arcturus (and it means "he comes") is very significant in this particular constellation.

         This portrays the virgin Son as the one who will one day come to cut down unbelievers in judgment – the God who finally comes to the end of His patient waiting. In Revelation 14:14-16, we have this described: "And I looked, and behold, a white cloud. And upon the cloud One sat like the Son of Man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand, a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple crying with a loud voice to Him that sat on the cloud: 'Thrust in your sickle, and reap, for the time has come for you to reap, for the harvest of the earth is right.' And He that sat on the cloud thrust in His circle on the earth, and the earth was reaped." That's very clear, when we look to Scripture, what the significance is of Boötes, standing there with that raised in his right hand, ready to cut down the unbelievers who, up to now, had thought they were getting away with murder.

         Now, the other hand tells us something else – that he is perhaps a spear. Sometimes in ancient cultures, it was described as a spear, but sometimes as a shepherd's stick. So, we may see in Boötes that he's not only one who is charging out to cut down unbelievers, but who is also charging out as the Good Shepherd to take care of his sheep.

      So, that's the first sign we've covered. That's chapter 1 in the first book about the Redeemer.

   2. Libra

      We move now to chapter 2. Chapter 2 is the sign of Libra. Book 1, chapter 2: Libra – the name of this constellation is the scales. The title of this second chapter is "the Redeemer's Atoning Work." Here we have portrayed, from ancient times, on this constellation (on this little group of stars), there was imposed a figure of a balance scale, with one end of the beam up and the other down. In some illustrations, there's actually a hand which is holding the beam, as the two sides of the scale on the balance beam are going up and down. But the stars are in a position so that the balance beam is viewed as one down and one up. It is not in balance. This sign portrays the reason for, and the manner of, the death of the virgin son.

      The Hebrew name for this sign of the zodiac is the "mozen." "Mozen" means "the scales" or "weighing." So, that something is being weighed on these scales. The unbalanced scales picture the condition of mankind, of having been weighed in the scale of God's justice, and found guilty. And this, in one way or another, is the story which is associated with this constellation from pagan cultures. It always has to do with some kind of justice which is not being met.

      Now we can readily see that we have here the justice of God that is creating a problem for the lack of absolute righteousness on the part of man. The brightest star in the upper pan is called "Zubenelgenubi." "Zubenelgenubi" means "the price is deficient." So, up here sits the sinner. And the name of the star is naming this pan as the price not being sufficient. There's not enough weight here. So, it gets pulled up. Interestingly enough, the brightest star on the lowest pan is called "Zubeneschamali," which means "the price which covers." So, here you have a star that says, "The price is deficient." That's where man stands with God. Then you have the star that says, "The price which covers," which is the demand of God's absolute righteousness, which outweighs man's lack of that righteousness.

      So, the standard weight to be met for eternal life in heaven was absolute righteousness, and man does not meet that weight. The human race was found outweighed because of its sin and moral guilt, and with no way to balance the scale.

      Now the people of the Old Testament knew that, and when they looked up at that sign, they understood that that balance was telling them that they lacked what it took to be able to get into heaven. They had to be balanced against God's righteousness. Psalm 49:7 for example, says, "None of them can, by any means, redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him. Nobody can pay for another person's sins because he doesn't have enough to pay for his own.

      In Psalm 62:9, we read, "Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie; to be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity." So, the people of the Old Testament knew that it didn't matter whether you were a VIP type of person, or whether you were a common nobody – both of you had the same problem when you faced God's scale of judgment. And each one of you, when you got into your side of the balance, and God put His absolute righteousness on the other side, found that you flew up into the air. You didn't balance out. You were in big trouble. It's an amazing observation in the book of the Psalms.

      However, in the book of Romans, we have the same principle brought over in the New Testament. Romans 3:10 says, "As it is written, there is none righteous: No, not one."

      So, nobody has absolute righteousness, and this particular constellation was conveying that message. God in His Holiness, of course, cannot ignore the lack of absolute righteousness. So, He must condemn the person on the other side of the scale to the lake of fire.

      Now the virgin's sinless son can pay the penalty for the death of mankind to satisfy the justice of God, and thus to balance the scales. And that is precisely what the virgin son, portrayed in the constellation of Virgo, came to do. Revelation 5:9 clarifies that when it says, "And they sang a new song, saying, 'You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals, for You was slain, and is redeemed to God by the blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation." It is Jesus Christ who has redeemed people from every group of human beings that ever lived. And remember that that's true now. God has already done that, because every baby who has died from any primitive culture has gone immediately to heaven. So, from every group of people, God has already fulfilled His promise. He has taken care of balancing His justice.

      In pagan cultures, this sign, as I indicated, has been perverted to some kind of civil justice. And this is a symbol, therefore, which is used in courts of law today – justice with a blindfold on her eyes, to show that she's fair, and she's holding out the balance scale. Now that's a perversion of what the original meaning was of Libra in the sky.

      Now when a man comes into facing this issue that he's on the high side of the balance arm, you understand that the first information of the human race has been to balance the scale themselves with good works which are produced out of their own old sin nature. And, of course, such human good carries no weight with God. So, no matter how much they pile up on that side, it doesn't help them. As a matter of fact, the more human good you produce, the more judgment you will bring against yourself, because the greater is your guilt.

      The scale of God against the helpless, fallen, human sinner can only be balanced by God Himself. And this is done through the payment for the sins of the world by the death of the virgin's son, Jesus Christ.

      In some of the most ancient zodiacs, this sign was viewed with a little different figure. It was viewed as an altar rather than as a scale. But mostly it's pictured as a scale. But in some places, in ancient cultures, it was viewed as an altar, which would convey the same idea that a payment needs to be made that man cannot make for himself. So, the ancient evidence indicates that this sign speaks of some great divine decision which is made to satisfy the justice of God against the sin of the world. This is to be accomplished by the woman's seed. The Son will lift up fallen, sinful man, and provide eternal life, while at the same time, preserving the holiness of God. Sin is a debt which the assets of Jesus Christ pay in order to balance the divine books. He is the propitiation for our evil. 1 John 2:2, 1 John 4:10, and Romans 3:25 tell us that. And when Jesus Christ puts His assets on our side, then the scale tips back, and we are in balance with the justice of God. Jesus Christ becomes the substitute to receive the sinner's judgment, and to balance the scale. And we will not read the Scriptures. I'll mention them to you, but we have many Scriptures that indicate that, such as 2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 Corinthians 15:3, and Romans 5:8. It is Jesus Christ who takes the sinners judgment and thereby balances the scale. That's the main message.

      But as with all the constellations, it has three associated decans; that is, further explanations that illustrate the main message of that constellation.

      1. The Cross

         The first of these decans is the cross. And our title for this particular paragraph of chapter 2 here is "The Cross Endured." This is called the Southern Cross. And here is one constellation where the formation of the stars, indeed, do make a cross. We have a cross in the northern hemisphere (in our hemisphere) that we can see. There is another cross which we can't see, because it's below the equator. So, it is called the Southern Cross, and it is seen only south of the equator.

         However, when the Lord Jesus Christ died, it was just visible at the latitude of Jerusalem. And that's interesting. Since then, because of the motion of the earth, and the movement of everything out in space, this Southern Cross, which was just barely visible in Jerusalem when Christ died, has gone below the equator, and is no longer visible there. It is almost as if it were symbolic that the price has been paid, and you don't need the cross anymore.

         This constellation is portraying the means for paying for the sins of mankind by Jesus Christ. The Hebrew has a name for this constellation. It is called "adom." And "adom" means "to cut off." In Daniel 9:26, you'll find Daniel describing the Messiah Savior, and he uses this identical word – that He is going to be cut off, which means He is going to die.

         The emblem in the sky of the price of human redemption is that in which Paul said he rejoiced. In Galatians 6:14, Paul says that he doesn't rejoice in anything but in the cross of Jesus Christ. Because Christ died on the cross, those who trust in Him will live forever in heaven. John 5:24 makes that clear to us. The sign of the cross is located directly under Centaurus, who represents the two-natured person to die on the cross.

         As you may remember, we saw the virgin earlier. The Centaur is part of further explaining about her son being two-natured, and here's where the cross is. It's right under the Centaur, indicating that this two-natured person is the one who is associated with what is going to happen on that cross.

         Pagan cultures also used the cross, from ancient times, as a symbol of deliverance from judgment. That was characteristic. For example, I can remember, as a boy, going to the bakery store at Easter time to buy hot cross buns – buns which were made, and on which they made a cross with the icing. Hot cross buns have come down from the pagan Babylonian mystery cult, as a symbol of the cakes which were offered in worship to the queen of heaven, Semiramis, the wife/mother of Nimrod. She was both roles.

         So, the cross from ancient times was associated with deliverance from evil. But again, the pagans got hold of it and took the cross, which was up in the sky, and had a significant meaning, and perverted it.

         In Egyptian and Hindu cultures, you will often find the cross, in some way, symbolizing life.

         The absolute righteousness which is made available to believing sinners through the death of the son, the Lord Jesus Christ – that balances God's judgment.

      2. The Victim

         The second decan, or further explanatory piece, is called the Victim. The title of this chapter is "The Victim Slain." This portrays an animal which was usually described as being a wolf which has been killed. For this reason, this consolation is sometimes called "lupus," which means "wolf." The Hebrew name for this means to be slain, so that further clarifies that what has happened to this wolf is that he's been killed. And the constellation here further portrays what the main constellation is saying – that somebody has to pay a price to balance the scale of justice. Here it was paying the price of the death of the Son of God for the sins of the world, as we find described in 1 Corinthians 15:3.

         So, the animal here represents Jesus Christ, who was killed by the spear of the Centaur. It is the Centaur's spear that your see here. The wolf is curved up, and his spear point is coming. The Centaur is coming to kill the wolf. But we said the Centaur represents Jesus Christ – the double-natured man. Now we say that the wolf, who is being slain, is another picture of Christ dying. That's true. Do you see the message? He died voluntarily. He gave His own life. His life was not taken. And it is amazing that even the stories of these constellations are so related as to clarify the fact that He willingly, voluntarily paid that terrible price in behalf of the sins of the world.

         We have that clearly declared to us in Scripture. Let's look at a couple. John 10:15-18: "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 that are not of this fold. Them also I must bring. And they shall hear My voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd. Therefore, My Father loves Me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself, and I have power to lay it down, and have power to take it again. This commandment have I receive of My Father."

         In Hebrews 9:14, this same principle is again laid out for us: "How much more shall the blood of Christ, Who through the eternal Spirit, offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?"

         Then Hebrews 9:26 says, "For then must He often have suffered since the foundation of the world; but now once, in the end of the ages, He has appeared, to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself." Jesus Christ, our high priest sacrificed himself voluntarily.

         So the victim consolation conveys the fact that the sinless seed of the virgin woman would suffer, and would die voluntarily on the cross for the sins of mankind. This is precisely the message of Philippians 2:5-8, "Though Jesus Christ was God, He did not demand that (because he was God) He would not take this suffering and this humiliation. But rather He put that aside and paid the price."

      3. The Crown

         The third decan is a group of stars upon which has been imposed the image of a crown. We have named this paragraph "The Crown Purchase." This was called the Northern Crown in ancient times. This constellation portrays the exaltation of the Lord Jesus Christ as King of Kings, to whom all creation will bow. Philippians 2:9-11 says that: "Every knee is going to eventually bow to Jesus Christ. And they're all going to say, "Yes, You are the Preeminent One." The Muslims are going to say it. The Jews are going to say it. The Hindus are going to say it. The unbelievers are going to say it. Everybody is going to bow and say, "Yes, you are the Preeminent One" – now the one whom they turned their backs upon. Hebrews 2:9 also said the same thing. The Hebrew name for this decan (this constellation) means "royal crown."

         So, the shameful death of the Savior on the cross to balance the scale of divine justice ends in His exaltation to a crown which makes Him Lord of Lords and King of Kings. 1 Timothy 6:14-15 puts it this way: "That you keep this commandment without spot, unrebukable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which, in His times, he shall show Who is the blessed and only potentate: the King of Kings; and, the Lord of Lords."

      So, constellation number one in the book of the Redeemer was Virgo," giving us the message about a virgin woman who was going to send a special kind of two-natured Son Who would come in to take upon Himself the responsibility of meeting the human problem of sin. Libra. The scales indicates, furthermore, that He must balance that by placing His own life in sacrifice for the sins of the world, and that He would eventually then be exalted, and will be securing for Himself the Crown.

   3. Scorpio

      Let's look at the next one. The next sign is Scorpio. And you can see by the outline of the stars and the links in his tail that this is one that you can look up in the sky and very readily recognize as being a scorpion. This portrays a scorpion with its tail and stinger lifted in anger, about to strike the heel of the mighty one. The name of this chapter is "The Redeemer's Conflict." The sting of a scorpion can be very painful. Certain scorpions can hit you and make you sick, but you've all seen them. We have them all over everywhere here in Texas, and that tail is sitting over their backs, arched and ready to strike. And when they get an opportunity, they dig that stinger in, and pump that venom out.

      So, here you have a picture of this scorpion about to strike. And what is he going to strike? A mighty man – who is standing there, and who is struggling with a serpent. The man and the serpent are two of the explanatory decans for the Scorpio constellation. We'll get to those in a moment. But I want you to notice that his foot is on the head of the scorpion, about to crush it, while the scorpion's stinger is aimed toward hitting him in the heel of his foot.

      Now you can see immediately the implications of this position, and of this description in ancient times what was taking place. Do you see the scorpion? Do you see his tail? And do you see those stars coming down? That's the mighty man. That's his heel there. And the scorpion stinger is going to hit it. But do you see his other foot? He's standing on the scorpion's head, and he's going to crush it. That is obviously Genesis 3:15 all over again, where Eve was told that, eventually, from the seed of the woman would come, from the branch of the royal line of David, a child who would be struck in the heel by Satan. It was a non-mortal blow, and that's what took place on the cross. But that he in turn would crush Satan's head – a mortal blow that would permanently put Satan out of operation. The Hebrew name for this scorpion constellation is "acrab," and it means "conflict." And it conveys the idea of warfare, In Psalm 144:1, David uses this word "acrab." It's translated as "war:" "You have taught my hand to war;" that is, to conflict.

      The brightest star in the Scorpio constellation is a star which the astronomers call "a first magnitude star" – the brightest one: first degree. It's right in the thorax, and it's called Antares. Here again, isn't it interesting that Antares has a significant meaning. When you translate the word "Antares," it means the wounding. So, the Scorpion constellation speaks of some kind of wounding that has some significance. Scorpio, therefore, represents Satan in his battle to inflict a fatal wound on Jesus Christ; and, thereby to frustrate God's plan of salvation – God's plan of redemption of the human race. Did Satan try to do that? You bet he did. When Jesus Christ was born, Satan used Herod to try to kill the baby boy Jesus.

      After the water baptism of Jesus Christ, the attestation from heaven, from God the Father, and the appearing of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove, showed that Jesus Christ was indeed telling the truth concerning His claim of being the Messiah. And after 40 days of fasting in the wilderness, Satan hit Him, and tried to cause Him to sin, in order to frustrate the plan of redemption.

      When He was in the Garden of Gethsemane, He rose to the point of enormous agony such that His capillaries in His skin began to break, and the blood began to pour out, mixed with His perspiration. And in that moment, He said, "Is there any other way, Father, that we can cover the problem of sin without My taking upon Myself the evil sewage of all the sins of mankind? If there is, I'd like to do." He's speaking here in His humanity: "But if not, Your will be done." And, of course, there was no other way.

      So, here again was the appeal to Him, even on the cross, to come down. There was the appeal to Him by saying, "Forget it." There was the appeal to Him in the wilderness temptation: "I'll give You the crown without the suffering. All of that, is indicated here by the Scorpio constellation – wounding Jesus Christ, and seeking to put Him out of operation. Jesus Christ on the Cross was indeed wounded in the heat of by Satan the scorpion, but it was not a mortal blow. He rose again from the dead. 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, among many passages, tell us that.

      Then, let's look at the decans (the side pieces) of the Scorpio constellation.

      1. The Serpent

         First we have the Serpent. The Serpent constellation portrays a giant serpent which is stretching out to grasp the Crown constellation. The serpent represents Satan. Revelation 12:9 clearly calls him "that old serpent – the devil." Satan's secret ambition has always been to be like God. His open crime was to try to usurp the royal authority of God in the universe. Isaiah 14:13-14 tells us that that's what happened when sin entered the universe. The devil said, "I can take over and be like God."

         So, Satan, from the very first, has been stretching out, trying to put his teeth on the crown of sovereign authority in the universe. Satan really does exist, and he is still seeking to rule over God's creation. The devil is not a figment of men's imagination. He is a very real creature. And you will notice that this is portrayed here in this constellation as a very long and powerful snake. He is no weakling.

      2. The Mighty Man

         Then we look at the second explanatory part of the Scorpio Constellation, and that is this man – the Mighty Man. The Greeks called him "Ophiuchus," the serpent holder. It portrays here a mighty man grasping the serpent to prevent him from reaching the crown. The struggling man carries this Greek name "Ophiuchus," which means "serpent holder." He lifts one foot as if he has been stung by the scorpion stinger. He has the other foot on the scorpion's head, about to crush it. This is Genesis 3:15 all over again. He represents Jesus Christ and His victory over Satan.

      3. Hercules

         Then the final explanatory detail of this constellation is a person that you are well acquainted with: Hercules. This constellation also portrays a mighty man. And remember that when we say, "This constellation is associated with Scorpio," it means that it lies eight degrees on each side of the pathway of the sun. So, these are closely associated with the main constellation, so that they are grouped together as a single story. So, this one also is closely associated with the Scorpio constellation. It portrays a mighty man who is down on one knee. He has his right foot slightly raised back as if that foot has been hurt. We are carrying over, from constellation to constellation, the wounding of the heel here. And he has that foot raised as if it is tender. This, of course, is representing, again, the strike in the heel by Satan of Jesus Christ.

         However, his left foot on Draco the dragon – representing Satan. In his right hand, he raises a large club over his head. And in his left hand, he is pictured as holding fast a triple-headed, snake-like monster, which he is about to bash with the club. Well, this pictures Jesus Christ bruising the devil, the old serpent. And perhaps we see something else here. I don't know if this is the case, but I find it interesting to observe that they described it in the ancient writings as a three-headed, snake-like creature. And as you know, in the end times, Satan himself will come up with a false trinity: Satan; the antichrist; and, the false prophet. They will be the trinity that the New Age movement of mankind will then be worshiping. And perhaps that is the significance of those three heads.

         The brightest star in the head of Hercules is called "Rasalgethi," and it means "the head of him who bruises." It's right in his forehead. That's the brightest star in that constellation.

         The second brightest star is in his right armpit. It's called Kornephoros, which means "the branch kneeling," which is exactly describing, again, that this man represents Jesus Christ. The Phoenicians, of course, worshiped this man. They called him something other than Hercules, but they worshiped him as their God 4,000 years ago. So, this is something that is not just recently invented. He was, of course, worshiped by the Greeks and the Romans as Hercules, who was able to perform superhuman feats in defeating evil powers. This man is highly honored in ancient cultures. He is given descriptions that you can see were originally true of Jesus Christ.

         For example, he dies from the bite of the three-headed "Hydra," whom he flew. The serpent kills him. He's in the belly of a sea monster three days and three nights, and survives. He opened the way through his feats of accomplishment to the fabled tree of the golden apples. This is Jesus Christ opening the way to the Tree of Life. The stories are changed, but the background still reflects the original truth in some way. The sign of Scorpio and its decans clearly portrays the virgin's God-Nan Son triumphing over Satan, though He Himself is wounded to death. The details about Hercules, as I say, reflect the person and the work of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ died; He arose; and, He opened the way to the tree of life. Jesus Christ forever has Satan under His foot now. Satan sought to destroy the Lord Jesus to keep Him from the cross, but he failed completely. He stung the Savior in the heel, but the Lord crushed his head. The serpents of Satan still hiss us today, I remind you. But we, as Christians, I'm also happy to say, are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Dr. John E. Danish, 1988

Back to the Romans index