Commentaries, Global Warming, Opinions   Cover   •   Commentary   •   Books & Reviews   •   Climate Change   •   Site Links   •   Feedback
"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." - John 8:32
WEBCommentary Guest
Author:  Gerald V. Todd
Bio: Gerald V. Todd
Date:  November 30, 2012
Print article - Printer friendly version

Email article link to friend(s) - Email a link to this article to friends

Facebook - Facebook

Topic category:  Religion & Philosophy in the News

“God’s Prophetic Zodiac plus BELs and Whistles on Human Behavior” - A Book Review
I started writing this book in 1978. Dr. Norris wrote this review in 1981. I finished it in 2007 after adding a section that fleshes out what and why the primordial promise of redemption was given our first parents.

This is an early book review written by the late Dr. Murray Norris of my book “God’s Prophetic Zodiac plus BELs and Whistles on Human Behavior” © 2007 Gerald V. Todd www.lulu.com I later added the BELs and Whistles section to achieve a “complete” overview of humankind’s “Origins and Ultimates” from the viewpoint of inevitable and ongoing spiritual warfare. It is a story of how God named the stars in ancient times – Psalm 147 – to give all humankind hope for redemption. Aristotle saw Greek mythology as a “perversion of (then -332 BC) of ancient wisdom.” Aren’t we paying the price for our ancient ignorance today? I dare say it hints at why the Jews are so hated and vilified in spite of their great generosity ad contributions to society. I suggest these chosen ones of God carry a message in their Tradition that the world and the evil one cannot abide. For those who understand, we Gentiles owe a debt that can only be appreciated in the glory of eternity.

Introduction

Throughout history, men have looked to the stars and sought various answers in their placement and names. Men at sea have used the stars for navigation aids. Others have sought an answer to their future. Still others see a frontier among the stars. And three men found the announcement of the Birth of a Messiah in the stars.

The more prominent stars, which can be seen by the naked eye, have been divided into constellations of stars. Many have grouped these constellations in various areas into "houses" with zodiac signs, four constellations to a zodiac sign. These signs are so ancient that each of the tribes of Israel, leaving Egypt, carried an ensign with the stars of the zodiac sign with them. Each tribe had its own zodiac symbol. Jews today still use the zodiac signs on their Purim plates and in other symbols in their synagogues and homes.

Many people today feel that the stars will foretell the future through astrology charts or horoscopes. Yet there seems to be a far more important story to be told by the stars, one which many people seems to have missed - a story which is so important that it was placed there by God Himself.

The first book of the Bible, Genesis, says that God placed the stars in their places. Psalms 147 says that God named the stars - some translations even add that he put each in its place. Isaiah affirms that God named the stars.

Psalm 19 says that "the heavens declare the glory of God and night unto night showeth knowledge ... through all the earth to the end of the world. . . ." Could it be that God Himself has placed in the stars and their names, a story He wants to tell mankind? In the Bible, there is a story about Three Wise Men who read the stars and knew when the Messiah was born. Could it be that there is a story about the Messiah in the stars? And why would God put the story about the Messiah in the stars, instead of merely writing it in a book, or on tablets, where men could easily read the story. But wait, how many people throughout history could actually read the tablets, or books? How many can read today? And how many can actually get the Bible today in lands that ignore or reject the Bible?

God says He placed the stars in the heavens to last until the end of the world. Here would be the logical place for Him to put the most important story of all - the story of a Messiah Who is to be born of a Virgin, who will have conflict with the Evil One, and Who will come again.

In recent years, a number of scholars, historians and scientists have written entire books about this story in the stars. Others have given short explanations or alluded to this story in their books and treatises. The question remain, Why has this story not been given widespread publicity? One of the many reasons could be that the writers were too scholarly in their approach, and few people could easily understand what was written. Two books which mention this story of the Messiah are “Witness of the Stars (1892) by E. W. Bullinger, D. D. – Kregel Publications; Bertha Carr-Harris – “The Heiroglyphics of the Heavens” – Toronto, Ontario, Arnac Press, Ltd. 1933 Joseph A. Seiss, “The Gospel in the Stars”, Philadelphia, PA Castle Press, 1884 among others including the Jesuits who used similar understanding to evangelize China in the 16th Century. Anne Field wrote in “Binding of the Strong Man” – 1976 Word of Life – Ann Arbor, MI, why the Church with Pope Leo the Great in 440 AD rejected the Babylonian astrologers but understood the Magi as being “ones who knew the meaning in the stars.

If we look back in history, we find that Three Wise Men saw the Star of Bethlehem in the constellation Comah, which is the house of Virgo. This told them that the Messiah had been born. They could read the stars because they knew the names and places and what they meant.
The zodiac symbol of Comah is Virgin with Child. Star names in the house of Virgo include AI Zimach, which is Arabic for "The Branch"; AI Murredin, which is Arabic for "Who Shall Come Down"; Lu-Lim, which means Gazelle or King. Even His future is predicted in the star name, In Asino, which is Latin for "an ass", which is reflected in the prophecies of Zachariah 19:91. which say that the King shall come mounted on the foal of an ass. In addition to the star names, even the precious stones relegated to each of the zodiac signs also has a significance, or as the Bible says, "Even the stones cry out ..."

On the breastplate of the high priest of Israel there were 12 precious stones, one for each tribe. For example, the tribe of Judah, which carried the sign of Leo, had as its stone the garnet. This confirms the Messiah's origin as "the seed of the woman" as set out in Genesis 3: 15. The garnet is a deep red and shaped like a pomegranate seed, says Webster's dictionary. The grain seed is the "promised seed" of Genesis, and red is His Blood shed for our redemption. The garnet also appears in 12-, 24-, and 48-sided crystal forms, each number with significance in God's Plan: 12 Tribes and Apostles; 24 Elders at the throne of God; 48 constellations that tell the plan of redemption.
The full story of the meaning of each precious stone - and its relation to the zodiac, the tribes of Israel, and even the connection of each tribe to the gates of Jerusalem and their significance in the plan of redemption - is explained in the book, The Prophetic Zodiac, by Gerald Todd, As explained in the Bible, each tribe of Israel was represented by a stone in the breastplate of the high priest, although there is no exact explanation of the carvings on the stones. A brief listing of the stones and tribes is as follows:

•The tribe of Zebulon is represented by the zodiac sign Virgo and the Chrysolite, a greenish-yellow stone symbolic of a dead seed.

•The tribe of Levi is represented by the Zodiac sign Libra [Altar] and the Emerald, a hexagonal-shaped crystal like the Star of David.

•The tribe of Dan is represented by the zodiac sign of Scorpio and the Sapphire, or the Day Star as explained in Isaiah 14:13.

•The tribe of Asher is represented by the zodiac sign of Sagittarius and the Agate, which reminds us that "by His stripes we are healed" in Isaiah 53:5.

•The tribe of Nephtali is represented by the zodiac sign of Capricorn and the Beryl, the sign of God's own sacrifice.

•The tribe of Reuben is represented by the zodiac sign of Aquarius and the Carnelia, a flesh-colored gem, representative of "the Man."

•The tribe of Simeon is represented by the zodiac sign of Pisces and the Topaz, a yellow stone possibly signifying the cowardice or rebellion of Israel in the face of God's commands.

•The tribe of Gad is represented by the zodiac sign of Aries and the Jacinth, a reddish-orange stone, symbolic of the blood and glory of the sacrifice of the Lamb of God.

•The tribe of Joseph is represented by the zodiac sign of Taurus and the Onyx, the color of the nail, reminding us of the Redeemer who was pierced by nails.

•The tribe of Benjamin is represented by the zodiac sign of Gemini and the Jasper, which represents the Judge and Ruler, the true' 'Lord of the Treasure.'

•The tribe of Issachar is represented by the zodiac sign of Cancer [Acubene) and the Amethyst, which is the color of wealth and royalty.

•The tribe of Judah is represented by the zodiac sign of Leo and the Garnet, a deep red "seed grain" symbolic of the promised seed of Virgo.

Why the Book Was Written

Dr. Todd first started writing his book, The Prophetic Zodiac, after trying to explain the stars to his children. They were lying on the top of a houseboat which was floating in one of the mountain lakes in California. He explained the few stars he knew and the children asked for more information. In his thorough and scholarly fashion, Dr. Todd started studying books on the stars and their meaning. From the beginning, it was clear there was a message in the stars, the most important message of all God's redemption of man.

Even today, Dr. Todd is the first to explain that his book does not exhaust the subject, but it gives an excellent overview and historical proofs of the story of the stars. To explain the book, Dr. Todd points out that each tribe of Israel was given a sign of the Zodiac as an ensign or standard. This way, God provided them to carry His promise of redemption with them, wherever they went.

As God guided His people, He told them where each tribe was to camp after they won their freedom from Egypt, and in the end, which gates of Jerusalem would be guarded by which tribe. He used each tribe's position to confirm a story that was written in both the Torah and the Bible. His people, the Jews, used these Zodiac signs as decorations for floors, walls and ceremonial dishes.

Zodiac Patterns

In proper use, the Zodiac pattern corresponds with the seasons and the promise or redemption. There is the Promise, Grace, Conflict, and Fulfillment" – a cycle discernible in the New Testament Romans chapters 5, 6, 7, and 8.

•The Promise of something to come, like in Winter.

•Grace is the outpouring of life or the Love of God, like Spring.

•Conflict is like the heat, drought and bugs of Summer.

•Fulfillment is the harvest, like Autumn.

The first great Promise of God for all creation was thwarted by Satan in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. Grace is the first volume of Zodiac houses (Virgo to Sagittarius) and is the promise of the Messiah. The stars tell of His Origin, His Nature and His role. The second volume of four Zodiac houses (Capricorn to Aries is the Conflict group. This tells of the cutting off of the Messiah which includes His Death and Resurrection and His rejection by the Jews until their recognition of Him in the time of Aries when they see Him as the Perfect Passover Lamb.

The third volume is the Fulfillment group (Taurus to Leo), depicting the events from the preaching of the Gospel to all nations and the recognition of the Messiah to the gathering of the nations - The Judgment and the ultimate rule of the Lion of Judah.

Four Constellations

The four constellations in each individual Zodiac house follow a similar pattern. Each Zodiac sign has its own Promise. One constellation is considered the Key to the sign, another the Action taken, and the last tells of the Result of the Action.

For example, in the House of Virgo which promises the coming Redeemer, the constellation Comah is the Key. It is depicted as the virgin-born son, the One longed for, “Shes Nu” - the Desired One of the nations.

It was in the constellation Comah that many believe the Star of Bethlehem appeared, telling the Three Wise Men that the King of Israel had been born. In ancient Zodiacs, the true symbol of Comah is the Virgin with Child, not Berenice’s Wig, as we see in today's astrology charts.

The Action in Virgo is the constellation Centaurus, a two-natured being representing Christ's two natures as God and man. It also tells that He will deliver Himself up for Sacrifice.

The Result is constellation Bootes, a victorious man•figure known as the One Who Comes to Rule.

There is not room in this article to explain each Zodiac house in this manner and the Scriptures and Tribal definitions that verify the story. You have to read the book.

On the following page is a quick summary table of the 48 constellations and their meanings based on ancient star names and their Biblical parallels. One interesting juxtaposition is the two natured being Centaurus, the Action sign in Virgo, completely surrounds the Southern Cross – Crux in Libra – the Altar of Sacrifice. Others in this show the Victim delivers Himself up for sacrifice. This primordial gift from God to our first parents seems a long way from the popular astrology of today, doesn’t it?

In our upside down world of creeping totalitarianism, isn’t it time to right our world and our own lives with a fresh understanding of the Universal love of God for all humankind and for his creation?

“God’s Prophetic Zodiac plus BELs and Whistles on Human Behavior” © 2007 Gerald V. Todd www.lulu.com 335 pages in print or download

Read left to Right – based on ancient star and constellation names:

Prophetic Zodiac

Gerald V. Todd

Send email feedback to Gerald V. Todd


Biography - Gerald V. Todd

Jerry is a retired engineer with strong experience in environmental innovation which he still applies today with 2 clean water and energy saving technologies. His life avocation in writing and study of philosophical and biblical themes as they apply to the body politic's spiritual warfare. He survived stage 4 Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 2006; now in excellent health. A graduate of the University of Illinois (1958, Industrial Engineering), Jerry had post graduate studies at both the University of San Francisco and the University of Santa Clara in California between 1961 and 1963 (Logic, Marketing). As co Founder and seminar presenter he was awarded a Ph.D. in Philosophy at Valley Christian University operating under California private-post secondary statutes for mid career student, VCU was the pioneer external degree school for mid career students. Its course structures were picked up by several well known Christian colleges. Hosted local broadcast radio and TV shows, "Religion on the Line" and "The News Firm" (jointly with wife, Joanne), respectively. Jerry has published several books that are available at Amazon. Jerry is available to speak as a visiting lecturer at the high school, college or community organization level. Jerry is married 55 years to Joanne Dean Todd – 3 children, 8 grandchildren.


Read other commentaries by Gerald V. Todd.

Copyright © 2012 by Gerald V. Todd
All Rights Reserved.

[ Back ]


© 2004-2024 by WEBCommentary(tm), All Rights Reserved