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Taurus in the Ancient Zodiac

Taurus is an image of a fierce, charging bull with powerful horns. In today’s horoscope, anyone born between April 21 and May 21 is a Taurus.  In this modern horoscope interpretation of the astrological zodiac, you follow the horoscope’s advice for Taurus to find love, good luck, wealth, health, and insight on your personality.

But where did the Bull come from? What does it mean?

Be Warned! Answering this will open up your horoscope in unexpected ways – embarking you on a different journey then you intended when just checking your horoscope sign…

In the ancient Zodiac, Taurus was the ninth of twelve astrology constellations that together formed a Great Story. Virgo to Sagittarius formed an astrological unit about the Great Redeemer and his mortal conflict with His Enemy. Capricorn to Aries formed another unit which focused on the work of this Redeemer for us. Then Taurus opens the third and final astrological unit focusing on the Return of the Redeemer and his complete Victory.  This unit opens with a Bull and closes with a Lion (Leo) so it concerns power and authority.

In the ancient Zodiac, Taurus was for all people since it predicts events affecting everyone.  So, even if you are not a Taurus in the modern horoscope sense, the ancient astrology story embedded in the stars of Taurus is worth understanding.

Taurus Constellation in Astrology

Taurus is a constellation of stars forming a bull with prominent horns.  Here are the stars of Taurus.  Can you see anything resembling a bull with horns in this image?

Stars of Taurus

Here is the National Geographic image of Taurus along with the other astrological images of the Zodiac. Does the Bull come in any clearer?

Taurus in National Geographic

Observe the Taurus stars connected with lines. Can you make out the bull with horns any better? Rather it looks more like a cosmic letter K.

Taurus constellation with stars connected by lines

But this sign goes back as far as we know in human history.  Here is the zodiac in the Dendera Temple of Egypt, more than 2000 years old, with Taurus circled in red.

Taurus in Dendera Zodiac

As with the previous zodiac constellations, the Taurus image of the Bull is not obvious from the constellation itself.  It is not innate from the stars. Rather, the idea of the Charging Bull came first. The first astrologers then overlaid this idea onto the stars. But why?  What did it mean to the ancients?

Taurus the Bull

The astrological image of Taurus shows the Bull with prominent horns, head lowered, charging. It is as if the Bull is shown in intense rage – ready to gore anyone in its path, dashing forward with swift and boundless energy.

Taurus as astrological image – with Pleiades circled

Circled in red is the star group known as the Pleiades (or Seven Sisters) in the middle of the neck of Taurus. The earliest direct reference to the Pleiades comes from the Book of Job in the Bible. Job lived around the time of Abraham, about 4000 years ago. There we read:

He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the south.

Job 9:9

The constellations, including the Pleiades (and so also Taurus) were made by the Creator himself. Originally the zodiac was His story given to the ancients before revelation was written down. Central to this Story was the coming (Virgo – from the Virgin) of Jesus. Taurus continues the story, but expands the scope. The horns of Taurus and the Psalms are the keys to understand. The Christ had to come from the line of David (The title ‘Anointed one’ = ‘Christ’). Among the images describing the coming Christ was that of ‘horn’.

Taurus and The Horn

“Here I will make a horn grow for David and set up a lamp for my anointed one. Psalm 132:17

Psalm 132:17

You have exalted my horn like that of a wild ox; fine oils have been poured on me.

Psalm 92:10

The ‘horn’ represented power and authority. The Anointed One (Christ) was the horn of David. In his First Coming he did not wield his horn because he came as a Servant. But consider what his Second Coming will be like.

Come near, you nations, and listen; pay attention, you peoples! Let the earth hear, and all that is in it, the world, and all that comes out of it! 2 The Lord is angry with all nations; his wrath is on all their armies. He will totally destroy them, he will give them over to slaughter. 3 Their slain will be thrown out, their dead bodies will stink; the mountains will be soaked with their blood. 4 All the stars in the sky will be dissolved and the heavens rolled up like a scroll; all the starry host will fall like withered leaves from the vine, like shriveled figs from the fig tree. 5 My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens; see, it descends in judgment on Edom, the people I have totally destroyed. 6 The sword of the Lord is bathed in blood, it is covered with fat— the blood of lambs and goats, fat from the kidneys of rams. For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah and a great slaughter in the land of Edom. 7 And the wild oxen will fall with them, the bull calves and the great bulls. Their land will be drenched with blood, and the dust will be soaked with fat. 8 For the Lord has a day of vengeance, a year of retribution, to uphold Zion’s cause. Isaiah 34:1-8

The dissolving of the stars is exactly what Jesus said would be the Sign of his return. The prophet Isaiah (700 BCE) here is predicting the same event. So it describes the hour of the Christ’s coming to judge the world in righteousness – the hour of a coming Judgment. It is pictured in the heavens with Taurus, and it is written in the Book. He is coming as Judge.

Taurus Horoscope in the Writings

The Prophetic writings mark the Taurus ‘horo’ like this.

Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people. 7 He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour (horo) of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.” Revelation 14: 6-7

The Greek word for the hour of judgment is horo, the same as the root in ‘horoscope’.  The prophetic reading says that this hour will come and it is the hour that marks Taurus in the ancient astrological horoscope.

Your Taurus Horoscope Reading

You and I can apply the Taurus horoscope reading today.

Taurus tells you that the end will come with such a big bang that all the lights in the sky will go out.  There won’t even be any planets around to align with any star. So best to make good use of your time while the lights are still on. A good place to start is working on your humility trait because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. In other words, there is no compatibility between Him and pride in you. And by the sounds of it, you will be looking for much mercy in that Hour (horo). A characteristic He will test for in that Hour (horo) is whether you love him or not. How do you know if you love him? According to him, if you guard his commands then you love him. At the very least, guarding his commands means knowing them and doing them.

Loving one another is another trait that He values highly. Of course His idea of what love is may be different than yours so you will want to know what He says true love is. His idea of love will carry you far in any relationship, whether at work, at home or in romance. He talked less about how love makes you feel, and more about what love makes you do and not do. He said that love is patient and kind and does not envy, does not boast, and is not proud. Practicing to put these characteristics into your life will go along way to prepare you for the Taurus hour (horo). As a final thought, it may open things up to learn what ‘the eternal gospel’ is which the angel was to proclaim to all nations.

Further in the Zodiac and deeper into Taurus

Taurus pictures judgment.  Gemini will picture what happens to those passing this Judgment. For the beginning of the Zodiac Story see Virgo.

To go deeper in the written story of Taurus see:

Download PDF of the Zodiac chapters as a book

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Gemini in the Ancient Zodiac

Gemini is Latin for twins. In today’s horoscope if you are born between May 22 and June 21 you are a Gemini.  Gemini forms two persons, usually (but not always) men who are twins. In this modern astrology horoscope reading of the ancient zodiac, you follow the horoscope advice for Gemini to find love, good luck, health, and gain insight on your personality.

Gemini Constellation in the Stars

But how did the ancients read Gemini from the beginning? What did it mean to them?

Be Warned! Answering this will open up your horoscope in unexpected ways – embarking you on a different journey then you intended when just checking your horoscope sign…

Here is a picture of the star constellation that forms Gemini.  Can you see anything resembling twins in the stars?

Photo of Gemini Star Constellation. Can you see twins?

If we connect the stars in Gemini with lines it is still hard to ‘see’ twins.  We can see two persons, but how did ‘twins’ arise?

Gemini Constellation with stars joined by lines

Here is a photo of National Geographic poster of the zodiac showing Gemini as seen in the Northern Hemisphere.

National Geographic Zodiac Star chart with Gemini circled

Even with the stars joined by lines it remains hard to see twins. But Gemini goes back as far as we know in human history.

Castor & Pollux long ago

The Gospel references Gemini when Paul and his companions were travelling to Rome by ship and they noted

After three months we put out to sea in a ship that had wintered in the island—it was an Alexandrian ship with the figurehead of the twin gods Castor and Pollux.

Acts 28:11

Castor and Pollux are the traditional names of the two twins in Gemini.  This shows the idea of divine twins was common around 2000 years ago.

As with the previous zodiac constellations, the image of two twins is not obvious from the constellation itself. It is not innate within the star constellation. Rather, the idea of Twins came first. The first astrologers then overlaid this idea onto the stars. But what did it originally mean?

Gemini in the Zodiac

The image below shows Gemini circled in red in the zodiac of the Dendera Temple in Egypt. You can also see the two persons in the side-sketch.

Ancient Egyptian Zodiac of Dendera with Gemini circled

In the ancient Dendera zodiac, one of the two people is a woman.  Instead of two male twins this zodiac shows a man-woman couple as Gemini.

Here are some common astrology images of Gemini

Gemini Astrology Image – Always a pair but sometimes man/woman still today

Why have astrologers since ancient times always associated Gemini with a pair – usually, but not always, male twins?

Gemini in the Ancient Story

We saw in Virgo that the Bible state that God made the constellations. He gave them as signs of a Story to guide mankind before written revelation. Thus Adam and his sons taught them to their children to instruct them of God’s Plan. Virgo foretold the coming Seed of the Virgin –Jesus Christ.

Gemini continues this story.  Even if you are not a Gemini in the modern horoscope sense, the ancient astrological story in the Gemini stars is worth knowing.

Original Meaning of Gemini

We can understand its original meaning in the names of the Gemini stars, which Greek and Roman pagan myths now associated with Gemini have distorted.

Medieval Arabic astrologers passed on names of these constellation stars received from ancient times. The star ‘Castor’ has the arabic name Al-Ras al-Taum al-Muqadim or “The Head of the Foremost Twin”. Prominent in Castor is the star Tejat Posterior, meaning “the back foot”, referring to Castor’s foot. It is also sometimes known as Calx which means “the heel.” Another prominent star has the traditional name, Mebsuta, coming from the ancient Arabic Mabsūṭah, meaning “the outstretched paw”. Mabsūṭah represented lions’ paws in Arabic culture.

Pollux is known as “The Head of the Second Twin,” from the Arabic Al-Ras al-Tau’am al-Mu’akhar. The meaning is not so much of two born at the same time, but rather of two becoming completed or joined.  The Torah uses the same word where it says of two boards in Ark of the Covenant:

At these two corners they must be double from the bottom all the way to the top and fitted into a single ring; both shall be like that. Exodus 26:24

As the box of the ark doubles the two boards, so Gemini brings the two together, not by time of birth, but by a bonding. Since Castor is identified with ‘heel’ (Scorpio) and ‘paw of lion’ (Leo) which are prophecies of Jesus Christ, then Castor is the astrological picture of Jesus Christ at his return.

But who is the one joined to him?

The writings give two images which explain the two pictures of Gemini as

  1. United brothers
  2. A man-woman pair.

Gemini – Firstborn & Adopted Brothers

The Gospel explains of Jesus Christ  that

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. Colossians 1:15

‘Firstborn’ implies that others will come later. This is confirmed.

For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. Romans 8:29

This picture goes back to creation. When God created Adam & Eve He created them

So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27

God created Adam and Eve in His essential spiritual likeness. Thus Adam is called

… Adam, the son of God Luke 3:38

Original Image Marred… and Restored

When Adam & Eve disobeyed God they marred this likeness, annulling our sonship. But when Jesus Christ came as the ‘firstborn son’ he restored the image.  So now through Jesus Christ…

Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. John 1:12-13

The gift offered to us is ‘to become children of God’. We were not born children of God, but through Jesus Christ we become His children through adoption.

But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Galatians 4:4

This was the Libra horoscope reading. Through Jesus Christ God adopts us as His children. He does this through the gift of Jesus Christ, the firstborn.

Upon his return Jesus Christ will reign as King. The Bible closes with this vision of the role of the adopted younger brother.

There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. Revelation 22:5

This is almost the last sentence in the Bible, as it looks to the fulfillment of all things. There it sees the adopted brothers reigning with the Firstborn. The ancients pictured this long ago in Gemini as the Foremost and the Second brothers ruling in heaven.

Gemini – The man & woman united

The Bible also displays the wedding union of a man and woman to picture the relationship between Christ and those who belong to him. The details of Eve’s creation & marriage to Adam on Friday of Creation week were purposefully designed to foreshadow this union with the Messiah. It was also pictured in the love story of Ruth & Boaz. The Gospel concludes with this wedding picture between the Lamb (Aries) and his bride.

Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Revelation 19:7

The closing chapter gives the following invitation as it looks to the cosmic union of the Lamb and his bride.

The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life. Revelation 22: 17

Aquarius will marry and he is inviting us to be that Bride. Gemini pictured this long ago – the cosmic union of the Lamb and His Bride.

Gemini Horoscope in the Writings

Horoscope comes from the Greek ‘Horo’ (hour) and means the marking (skopus) of sacred hours.  Jesus marked The Gemini hour (horo) in his story of the Wedding Banquet.

“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3 The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4 The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5 The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. 6 “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ 7 “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’ 9 “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ 10 “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. 11 “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’ 12 “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’ 13 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour (horo). Matthew 25:1-13

At the hour (horo) of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ Luke 14:7

The Two Horos of Gemini

The Gemini horoscope has two hours. Jesus taught there is a definite but unknown hour when the Wedding occurs and many will miss it.  This is the point of the parable of the ten virgins.  Some were not ready for the appointed hour and so missed it. But the hour remains open and the Groom continues sending invitations to all to come to the wedding banquet.  This is the hour we live in now.  We simply need to come because He has done all the work to prepare the banquet.

Your Gemini Horoscope Reading

You and I can apply the Gemini horoscope today in the following way.

Gemini declares that the invitation to your most important relationship is still open. You are invited into the only relationship that the stars say will eclipse all other pursuits – adoption into the cosmic royal family as well as the celestial marriage – one that will never perish, spoil or fade. But this bridegroom will not wait around for ever. Therefore with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when this Bridegroom is revealed at his coming. As an obedient child of your celestial Father, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance of this destiny.

Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. Rid yourself of all traits like malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is greatly admired by the coming Bridegroom. Finally, be sympathetic, loving, compassionate and humble to those around you. These characteristics displayed to those around you show your compatibility to your destiny – since those around you are also invited to the same royal birthright and wedding.

Deeper into Gemini & through the Zodiac Story

Originally Gemini did not guide decisions for health, love and prosperity.  Rather Gemini showed how the Redeemer would complete his redemption.  Gemini shows our coming adoption to a firstborn brother and celestial wedding.

To start the Ancient Zodiac Story at its beginning see Virgo. The Zodiac Story continues with Cancer.

To go deeper in the written story of Gemini see:

Download PDF of the Zodiac chapters as a book

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Cancer in the Ancient Zodiac

Cancer commonly depicts as a crab and comes from the Latin word for crab. In today’s horoscope if you are born between June 22 and July 23 you are a Cancer.  In this modern astrology horoscope reading of the ancient zodiac, you follow the horoscope advice for Cancer to find love, good luck, health, and get insight on your personality.

But how did the Ancients read Cancer from the beginning? What did it mean to them?

Be Warned! Answering this will open up your horoscope in unexpected ways – embarking you on a different journey then you intended when just checking your horoscope sign…

Astrology of the Cancer Constellation

Here is a picture of the Cancer star constellation.  Can you see anything resembling a crab in the stars?

Photo of Cancer star constellation. Can you see a crab?

If we connect the stars in Cancer with lines it is still hard to ‘see’ a crab. It looks like an upside-down Y.

Cancer Constellation with stars joined by lines

Here is a photo of National Geographic poster of the zodiac, showing Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere.

National Geographic star chart with Cancer circled

How did people first come up with a crab from this? But Cancer goes back as far as we know in human history.

As with the other zodiac constellations, the image of Cancer is not obvious from the constellation itself. It is not innate within the star constellation. Rather, the idea of the crab came first. The first astrologers then overlaid this idea onto the stars to be a recurring sign.

Why? What did it mean to the ancients?

Cancer in Zodiac

Here are some common astrology images of Cancer

Cancer Astrology image with a Crab
Cancer Astrology image with a Crab
Cancer Zodiac Image with crayfish, not crab and Cancer 69 symbol

Here is the zodiac in the Dendera Temple of Egypt, more than 2000 years old, with the image of cancer circled in red.

Ancient Egyptian Zodiac of Dendera with Cancer circled

Though the sketch labels the image ‘crab’ it actually looks like a beetle. The Egyptian records of about 4000 years ago describes Cancer as a Scarabaeus (Scarab) beetle, the sacred symbol of immortality.

In ancient Egypt the scarab symbolized rebirth or regeneration. The Egyptians often depicted their god Khepri, the rising sun, as a scarab beetle or as a scarab beetle-headed man.

Khepri, an ancient Egyptian God represented with the head of a beetle.[1] Based on New Kingdom tomb paintings

Cancer in the Ancient Story

We saw in Virgo that the Bible states that God made the constellations. He gave them for guidance until written revelation. Thus Adam and his sons taught them to their children to instruct them of God’s Plan. Virgo began the story and foretold the coming Seed of the Virgin.

Cancer furthers the story.  Even if you are not a Cancer in the modern horoscope sense, the astrological story of Cancer is worth knowing.

Original meaning of Cancer

The ancient Egyptians are much closer in time to when the Zodiac was first drawn up, so the scarab beetle, rather than the crab of the modern astrological horoscope, is key to understand the ancient zodiac meaning of Cancer. Egyptologist Sir Wallace Budge says this about Khepera and the scarab beetle of the Ancient Egyptians.

KHEPERA was an old primeval god, and the type of matter which contains within itself the germ of life which is about to spring into a new existence; thus he represented the dead body from which the spiritual body was about to rise. He is depicted in the form of a man having a beetle for a head and this insect became his emblem because it was supposed to be self-begotten and self-produced.

Sir W. A. Budge. Egyptian Religion p 99

Scarab Beetle: Ancient symbol of Resurrection

The scarab beetle goes through several life stages before it finally transforms into the adult beetle. After hatching from eggs, the scarabs become worm-like larvae called grubs. As grubs they spend their existence living in the ground, feeding on decomposing matter such as dung, fungi, roots or rotten meat.

After crawling as a grub, it then cocoons itself into a chrysalis. In this state all activity ceases. It no longer intakes food. It closes all senses. All functions of life shut down and the scarab hibernates inside the cocoon. Here the grub undergoes metamorphosis, with its body dissolving and then re-assembling. At the appointed time the adult scarab emerges from the cocoon. Its adult beetle form does not resemble the worm-like body that could only crawl in the ground. Now the beetle bursts forth, flies and soars at will in the air and sunshine.

The ancient Egyptians venerated the scarab beetle because it symbolized the promised resurrection.

Cancer … like the Scarab Beetle

Cancer declares that our lives follow a similar pattern. Now we live on the earth, slaves of toil and suffering, full of darkness and doubt – mere knots of incapacities and troubles like the earth-born and dirt-fed grubs, though bearing in us the seed and possibility of eventual glory.

Then our earthly life terminates in death and passes into the mummy-like condition in which our inner person sleeps in death, with our body waiting for the resurrection call to burst out of the graves. This was the ancient meaning and symbol of Cancer – the resurrection of the body triggered when the Redeemer Calls.

Cancer: Resurrected Life

As the scarab bursts from its hibernation so will the dead awake.

Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.

Daniel 12:2-3

This will happen when the Christ calls for us to follow in the path of his resurrection.

But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. 24 Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power.

25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 For he “has put everything under his feet.” Now when it says that “everything” has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. 28 When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all. 1 Corinthians 15 20-28

1 Corinthians 15 20-28

Cancer: Depicting the novel essence of the Resurrection Body

As the adult scarab is of a different essence, with features and capabilities unimaginable by extrapolating from the worm-like grub from which it arose, so our resurrection body will be of a different essence than our bodies today.

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

Philippians 3:20-21

But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” 36 How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 38 But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. 39 Not all flesh is the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. 40 There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. 41 The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor. 42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 46 The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. 47 The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. 48 As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man.

1 Corinthians 15: 35-49

The Cancer Metamorphosis: At His Return

It is at His return when this will happen.

Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.

16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-18

1 Thessalonians 4: 13-18

The Cancer Horoscope from the Writings

Horoscope comes from the Greek ‘Horo’ (hour) and means the marking (skopus) of special hours or times.  Jesus marked the Cancer hour (horo) in the following way.

“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. 25 Very truly I tell you, an hour (horo) is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.

John 5:24-26

There is a specific hour when the One who spoke the world into existence will speak again. Those who hear will rise from the dead. Cancer was the symbol of this coming hour of resurrection read by the ancients from the stars.

Your Cancer Horoscope reading

You and I can apply the Cancer horoscope today in the following way.

Cancer tells you to continually look forward to the horo of your resurrection. Some say there is no such resurrection coming but do not be fooled. If you live only for eating and drinking in the here and now so you can have a good time then you will have been fooled. If you gain the whole world and pack it full of lovers, pleasures and excitement and you lose your soul what will you gain? Therefore stand firm. Let nothing move you. Fix your eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

In the unseen is a great crowd of the asleep waiting along with you for the Voice to Call them. Throw off everything that hinders you from visualizing the unseen and throw off the sin that so easily entangles. Then run with perseverance the race marked out for you, fixing your eyes on The Living Lamb, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Deeper into Cancer & through the Zodiac Story

The Sign of Cancer originally did not guide decisions for health, love and prosperity. Rather Cancer signified from the stars that the Redeemer would complete his redemption in the resurrection.

To start the Ancient Zodiac Story at its beginning see Virgo. The Zodiac Story concludes with Leo.

To go deeper in the written story of Cancer see:

Download PDF of the Zodiac chapters as a book

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Leo in the Ancient Zodiac

In today’s horoscope if you are born between July 24 and August 23 you are a Leo, Latin for lion.  In this modern astrology horoscope reading of the ancient zodiac, you follow the horoscope advice for Leo to find love, good luck, health, and gain insight on your personality.

But how did the ancients read Leo? What did it mean to them?

Be Warned! Answering this will open up your horoscope in unexpected ways- embarking you on a different journey then you intended when just checking your horoscope sign…

Astrology of the Leo Constellation

Here is a picture of the star constellation that forms Leo.  Can you see anything resembling a lion in the stars?

Photo of Leo star constellation. Can you see a lion?

Even if we connect the stars in Leo with lines it is still hard to ‘see’ a lion.

Leo Constellation with stars joined by lines and named

Here is a National Geographic poster of the zodiac, showing Leo in the Northern Hemisphere.

National Geographic star chart with Leo circled

How did people first come up with a Lion from this? But Leo goes back as far as we know in human history.

As with all the other zodiac constellations, the image of Leo is not obvious from the constellation itself. It is not innate within the star constellation. Rather, the idea of the Lion came first. The first astrologers then overlaid this idea onto the stars to be a recurring sign.

Why?

What did it mean to the ancients?

Leo in the Zodiac

Here are some common astrology images of Leo.

Leo in the Stars
Leo ready to pounce

Consider the zodiac in the Dendera Temple of Egypt with Leo circled in red.

Leo in the Ancient Dendera Zodiac of Egypt

Leo in the Ancient Story

We saw in Virgo that the Bible states that God made the constellations. He gave them for guidance before written revelation. Adam and his sons taught them to their children to instruct them of God’s Plan.

Leo concludes the story.  So even if you are ‘not’ a Leo in the modern horoscope sense, the ancient astrological story of Leo is worth knowing.

Original meaning of Leo

In the Old Testament, Jacob gave this prophecy of the tribe of Judah

You are a lion’s cub, Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness—who dares to rouse him? 10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his. Genesis 49:9-10

Genesis 49:9-10

Jacob declared that a ruler will come, a ‘he’ pictured as a lion. His rule would include ‘the nations’ and he would come from the tribe of Judah of Israel. Jesus came from the tribe of Judah and was anointed the Christ. But in that coming he did not pick up the ruler’s scepter. He is saving that for his next coming when he will come like a Lion to rule. This is what Leo pictured from the earliest times.

The Victorious Lion

Looking to this coming, the writings describe the Lion as the only one worthy to open the sacred scroll.

Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. 2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” 3 But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. 4 I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. 5 Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

Revelation 5: 1-5

The Lion triumphed over his enemy at his first coming and so now is able to open seals that usher in the End. We see this in the ancient Zodiac by noting Leo over his enemy Hydra the Serpent.

Lion Leo trampling the Serpent at Ancient Dendera
Leo pouncing on Hydra in Medieval Painting
Sketch of Constellations. Leo is going to seize the head of the Serpent

The Conclusion of the Zodiac Story

The intent of the Lion’s struggle with the Serpent was not simply to defeat him, but to rule. The writings picture the rule of the Lion with these words.

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” 5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7 Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. Revelation 21:1-7

Revelation 21:1-7

I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26 The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. 27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. Revelation 21:22-27

Revelation 21:22-27

In this vision we see the fulfillment and completion of the Zodiac. We see the bride and her husband; God and his children – the double-sided picture image in Gemini. We see the river of water – promised in Aquarius. The old order of death – pictured by the bands around Pisces – is no more. The Lamb dwells there – pictured in Aries, and the resurrected people – pictured with Cancer – live with Him. The scales of Libra now balance since ‘nothing impure will ever enter’. We see the Kings of all the nations there as well, ruling under the authority of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Messiah – beginning as the seed of Virgo, and at the End revealed as the Lion.

The Hostages of the Zodiac Story

A question remains. Why did the Lion not simply destroy Satan the serpent at the very beginning? Why go through all the Zodiac chapters? When Jesus faced his adversary Scorpio he marked that hour with:

Now is the hour (horo) for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out.

John 12:31

The prince of this world, Satan, was using us as human shields. When confronted with a powerful military force terrorists will often take cover behind civilians. This creates a dilemma for the police in that they might kill the civilians while they take out the terrorists. When Satan succeeded in tempting Adam and Eve he created a human shield for himself. Satan knew that The Creator is absolutely just and if he punished sin then, to be righteous in his judgment, he must judge all sin. If God destroyed Satan, then Satan (which means The Accuser) could simply accuse us of our own wrongdoing, requiring our judgment along with him.

To look at it in another way, our disobedience brought us into Satan’s legal control. If God destroyed him then He would have to destroy us also because we also were caught up in Satan’s disobedience.

The Need for Rescue before Judgment

So we needed rescuing from Satan’s demand that any judgment on him must also come upon us. We needed ransoming from our sin. The Gospel explains it like this:

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.

Ephesians 2:1-3

OUR Ransom NOW PAID

In his sacrifice pictured in Capricorn Jesus took that wrath upon himself. He paid the ransom so we could go free.

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

Ephesian 2: 4-9

God never intended the Judgment of Hell for people. He prepared it for Satan. But if he judges the devil for his rebellion then He must do the same for those not ransomed.

Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

Matthew 25:41

Our Way of Escape now Made

This is why Jesus achieved a great victory at the cross. He freed us from the legal right that Satan had over us. He can now strike Satan without having to also strike us. But we must choose to take this escape from Satan’s dominion. Leo is currently holding back from striking the serpent so that people can escape from that Judgment.

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

2 Peter 3:9

This is why we find ourselves today still waiting for the final strike against Satan, pictured in Sagittarius, and still waiting for the final Judgment, pictured in Taurus. But the writings warn us.

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. 2 Peter 3: 10

2 Peter 3: 10

The Leo Horoscope in the Ancient Writings

Horoscope comes from the Greek ‘Horo’ (hour) and means the marking (skopus) of special hours or times.  The Writings mark the Leo hour (horo) in the following way.

And do this, understanding the present time: The hour (horo) has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.

Romans 13:11

This declares that we are like people sleeping in a building that is burning up. We need to wake up! This is the hour (horo) to wake up because Leo is coming. The roaring Lion will strike and destroy Satan and all still in his legal dominion.

Your Leo Horoscope Reading

You can apply the Leo Horoscope reading in this way

Leo tells you that yes, there are scoffers who, scoff and following their own evil desires. They say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” But they deliberately forget that God has and will judge and then everything in this world will be destroyed. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of person ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise you need to look forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. So then since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation for you and those around you. Since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position.

The Ancient Zodiac Story began with Virgo.

To go deeper in the written story of Leo see:

Download PDF of the Zodiac chapters as a book

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Was Jesus the son of a virgin from the line of David?

We saw that ‘Christ’ is an Old Testament title.  Let us now look at this question: was Jesus of Nazareth that ‘Christ’ predicted in the Old Testament?

From the Line of David

David, author of Psalms, shown in Historical Timeline

Psalm 132 in the Old Testament, written 1000 years before Jesus lived, contained a specific prophecy.  It said:

10 For the sake of your servant David,
do not reject your anointed one.

11 The Lord swore an oath to David,
a sure oath he will not revoke:
“One of your own descendants
I will place on your throne….
13 For the Lord has chosen Zion…,
17 “Here I will make a horn grow for David
and set up a lamp for my anointed one.  (Psalm 132:10-17)

Long before Jesus, the Psalms predicted that God’s anointed one (i.e. ‘Christ’) would come from David.  This is why the gospels show Jesus to be in David’s genealogy. They want us to see that Jesus fulfills this prophecy.

The New Testament begins with this right from its first verse.

This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:

Matthew 1:1

Was Jesus really from the line of David?

But how do we know that they did not just make up the genealogies to get a ‘fulfillment’?  They were sympathetic to Jesus and so perhaps wanted to exaggerate the truth.

When trying to find out what really happened, it helps to have the testimony of hostile witnesses.  A hostile witness was on-hand to see the facts but does not agree with the overall belief. So such a witness has motive for refuting testimony that might be false.  Suppose there was a car accident between persons A and B.  Both blame each other for the accident – so they are hostile witnesses.  Person A says that he saw person B texting just before the accident, and person B admits this. Then we could assume that this part of the dispute is true since person B has nothing to gain agreeing to this point.

In the same way, looking at records of hostile historical witnesses can help us determine what really happened with Jesus.  New Testament scholar Dr. FF Bruce studied Jewish Rabbi references to Jesus in the Talmud and Mishnah.  He noted the following comment about Jesus:

Ulla said: Would you believe that any defence would have been so zealously sought for him (i.e. Jesus)?  He was a deceiver and the All-merciful says: ‘You shall not spare him neither shall you conceal him’[Deut 13:9]  It was different with Jesus for he was near to the kingship”  p. 56

FF Bruce makes this remark about that rabbinical statement:

The portrayal is that they were trying to find a defence for him (an apologetic note against Christians is detected here).  Why would they try to defend one with such crimes?  Because he was ‘near to the kingship’ i.e. of David.  p. 57

In other words, hostile Jewish rabbis did not dispute the Gospel writers’ claim that Jesus was from David.  They did not accept Jesus’ claim to ‘Christ’ and opposed the Gospel claims about him. But they still admitted that Jesus was in the royal family of David.  So we know that the Gospel writers did not simply make that up to get a ‘fulfillment’.  Even the hostile witnesses agree on this point.

Was he Born of a Virgin?

The possibility remains that Jesus fulfilled this prophesy simply ‘by chance’.  There were also others from the Royal family.  But being born of a virgin!  There is no possibility that this could happen ‘by chance’.  It is either:

  1. A misunderstanding,
  2. A fraud, or
  3. A miracle – no other option is open.

The Genesis account of Adam hinted at a coming virgin birth. In the New Testament, Luke and Matthew clearly state that Mary conceived Jesus while she was a virgin.  Matthew also claimed that this was a fulfillment of a prophecy from Isaiah (ca 750 BCE) which said:

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel (i.e. ‘God with us’)

Isaiah 7:14 (and quoted in Matthew 1:23 as a fulfillment)

Perhaps this was just a misunderstanding.  The original Hebrew הָעַלְמָ֗ה (pronounced haalmah), translated ‘virgin’, can also mean ‘young maiden’, i.e. a young unmarried woman.  Perhaps that is all that Isaiah meant to say, long ago in 750 BCE.  With a religious need on the part of Matthew and Luke to venerate Jesus they misunderstood Isaiah to mean ‘virgin’ when Isaiah had really meant ‘young woman’.  Add the unfortunate pregnancy of Mary before her marriage, and it developed into ‘divine fulfillment’ in the birth of Jesus.

The Witness of the Septuagint

Many people have advanced explanations somewhat like this. One cannot refute this because it is impossible to prove whether someone was a virgin or not.  But that explanation is too simplistic.  Jewish rabbis translated the Hebrew Old Testament into Greek around 250 BCE. This Greek translation of the Old Testament was called The Septuagint. So two hundred fifty years before Jesus lived Jewish rabbis wrote down their interpretation of Isaiah 7:14. How did these Jewish rabbis translate Isaiah 7:14 from the Hebrew into Greek?  Did they translate it as ‘young woman’ or ‘virgin’? Many people seem to know that the original Hebrew הָעַלְמָ֗ה can mean either ‘young woman’ or ‘virgin’. But few bring up the witness of the Septuagint which translates it as παρθένος  (pronounced parthenos), which specifically means ‘virgin’. 

In other words, the leading Jewish rabbis in 250 BCE, over two hundred years before Jesus’ birth, understood the Hebrew Isaiah prophecy to mean ‘virgin’.  The Gospel writers or by early Christians did not invent the virgin birth.  It was in Jewish thinking long before Jesus came.

The Rabbis knew what virgin entailed

Why would leading Jewish rabbis in 250 BCE make such a fantastic translation prophesying a virgin having a son? If you think it is because they were superstitious and unscientific, let’s think again. People in that time were farmers.  They knew how breeding worked.  Hundreds of years before the Septuagint Abraham knew that after a certain age came menopause and then childbearing was impossible. No, rabbis in 250 BCE did not know modern chemistry and physics, but they understood how animals and people reproduced. They would have known it was impossible to have a virgin birth.  But they did not shrink back and translate it as ‘young woman’ in the Septuagint. No, they stated it in black and white that a virgin would have a son.

Mary’s Context

Now consider the fulfillment part of this story.  No one can prove that Mary was a virgin. But remarkably, she was in the only and very brief stage of life where it could remain an open question.  This was an age of large families.  Families with ten children were common.  Given that, what was the chance that Jesus would be the oldest child?  Because if he had had an older brother or sister then we would know for certain that Mary was not a virgin.  In our day when families have about 2 children it is a 50-50 chance, but back then it was closer to a 1 in 10 chance.  The chance was 9 out of 10 that the virgin ‘fulfillment’ should just be dismissed by the simple fact that Jesus had an older sibling. But against the odds he didn’t.

Now add the remarkable timing of Mary’s engagement onto this.  If she had been married even for a few days, the virgin ‘fulfillment’ could again simply be dismissed.  On the other hand, if she became pregnant while not yet engaged she would not have had a fiance to care for her.  In that culture, as a pregnant but single woman she would have had to remain alone – if she had been allowed to live.

It is these remarkable and unlikely ‘coincidences’ that make the virgin birth impossible to disprove that strikes me.  These coincidences are not expected. Rather they show a sense of balance and timing as if a Mind were arranging events with plan and intent.

Witness of the rabbinical Writings

If Mary had been married before Jesus was born or if Jesus had older siblings, then hostile Jewish witnesses would surely have pointed that out.  Instead, it seems that, once again, they agree with the gospel writers on this point.  FF Bruce notes while explaining how rabbinical writings mention Jesus.

Jesus is referred to in rabbinical literature as Jesus ben Pantera or Ben Pandira.  This might mean ‘the son of the panther’.  The most probable explanation is that it is a corruption of parthenos, the Greek word for ‘virgin’ and arose from Christian references to him as a son of a virgin   (p57-58)

Today, as Jesus’ time, there is hostility to Jesus and the claims of the gospel.  Then, as now, there was significant opposition to him.  But the difference is that back then there were also witnesses, and as hostile witnesses they did not refute some basic points that they could definitely  refute, if these points had been made up or been in error.

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Where does ‘Christ’ of Jesus Christ come from?

I sometimes ask people what Jesus’ last name was. Usually they reply, “I guess his last name was ‘Christ’ but I am not sure”.

Then I ask, “If so, when Jesus was a little boy did Joseph Christ and Mary Christ take little Jesus Christ to the market?”

Hearing it that way, they realize that ‘Christ’ is not Jesus’ last name. So, what is ‘Christ’? Where does it come from? What does it mean? That is what we will explore in this article.  Along the way we will also see where the title ‘Son of God’ comes from.

Translation vs. Transliteration

First we need to know some basics of translation. Translators sometimes choose to translate by similar sound rather than by meaning, especially for names or titles. This is known as transliteration. For the Bible, translators had to decide whether its words (especially names and titles) would be better in the translated language through translation (by meaning) or through transliteration (by sound). There is no specific rule.

The Septuagint

The Bible was first translated in 250 BCE when Jewish rabbis translated the Hebrew Old Testament into Greek.  This translation is the Septuagint (or LXX) and people used it widely in ancient times and even still today.  The apostles wrote the New Testament 300 years later in Greek. Therefore they quoted the Greek Septuagint rather than the Hebrew Old Testament.

Translation & Transliteration in the Septuagint

The figure below shows how this affects modern-day Bibles:

This shows the translation flow from original to modern-day Bible

The original Hebrew Old Testament is in quadrant #1. Because the Septuagint was a Hebrew to Greek translation (in 250 BCE) we show an arrow going from quadrant #1 to #2.  The New Testament authors wrote the New Testament in Greek, so this means #2 contains both Old and New Testaments. In the bottom half (#3) is a modern language translation of the Bible (eg English). To get this translation linguists translate the Old Testament from the original Hebrew (1 -> 3) and the New Testament from the Greek (2 -> 3). The translators must decide on transliteration or translation of names and titles as explained above.

Bibles translated in the Orthodox tradition (generally East European churches) translate the Old Testament from the Greek Septuagint. Thus, for these Bibles, both Old and New Testaments come from the Greek (2 -> 3).

The Origin of ‘Christ’

Now we follow this same sequence, but focusing on the word ‘Christ’ that appears in New Testaments.

Where does ‘Christ’ come from in the Bible

In the original Hebrew (in Quadrant #1) the word used for Christ was ‘mashiyach’. The Hebrew dictionary defines ‘mashiyach’ as an ‘anointed or consecrated’ person.  Passages of the Psalms prophesied a specific coming mashiyach (with a definite article ’the’). In the 250 BCE Septuagint translation, rabbis used a Greek word for the Hebrew mashiyach having a similar meaning, Χριστός = Christos. This came from chrio, which meant to rub ceremonially with oil.

Therefore the word Christos was translated by meaning (and not transliterated by sound) from the Hebrew ‘mashiyach’ into the Greek Septuagint to prophesy about this coming person. This is Quadrant #2.  The New Testament writers understood that Jesus was this very person prophesied in the Septuagint. So they continued to use the term Christos in the Greek New Testament. (again in Quadrant #2)

Christ in Bibles of Other Languages

But for other languages ‘Christos’ was then transliterated from the Greek into English (and other modern languages) as ‘Christ’. This is the lower half of the figure labelled #3.  Thus the modern ‘Christ’ is a very specific title from the Old Testament. It derives by translation from Hebrew to Greek, and then transliteration from Greek to other languages. Scholars translate the Hebrew Old Testament directly to modern languages without using Greek as an intermediate language. They have used different words in translating the original Hebrew ‘mashiyach’. Some transliterated the Hebrew ‘mashiyach’ to the word Messiah by sound. Others translated ‘mashiyach’ by its meaning and so have ‘Anointed One’ in these specific passages. In either of these cases we do not often see the word ‘Christ’ in modern Old Testaments. Therefore this connection to the Old Testament is not apparent. But from this analysis we know that in the Bible:

‘Christ’ = ‘Messiah’ = ‘Anointed One’

All of these have identical meanings and refer to the same original title. This is similar to how 4= ‘four’ (English) = ‘quatre’ (French) = 6-2 = 2+2. These are all math and language equivalents of ‘4’.

Anointing was the process that a king designate went through in order to become king. This is similar to how getting elected is the process by which a Prime Minister or President gains the right to rule today. We might say the Prime Minister is the ‘elected one’ in the same way we would say the king is the ‘anointed one’. So the ‘Anointed One’, or ‘Messiah’, or ‘Christ’ designated a King, someone who would rule.

Old Testment prophecies of ‘The Christ’

So where does the title ‘Christ’ first come? We see it as a prophetic title already in the Psalms, written by David ca 1000 BCE – long before the birth of Jesus.

King David, author of Psalms, in Historical Timeline

2 The kings of the earth rise up
    and the rulers band together
    against the Lord and against his anointed, saying,
3 “Let us break their chains
    and throw off their shackles.”

4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
    the Lord scoffs at them.
5 He rebukes them in his anger
    and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,
6 “I have installed my king
    on Zion, my holy mountain.”

7 I will proclaim the Lord’s decree:

He said to me, “You are my son;
    today I have become your father.

Psalm 2: 2-7

The Anointed One is also the ‘Son of God’

Here we also see that the Lord’s decree addresses the Anointed as ‘my Son’.  In other words, God calls ‘The Anointed’ his ‘son’. This is where the title ‘Son of God’ originates, from Psalm 2.  Thus, it was not invented by Jesus or even by New Testament writers.  It is synonymous with the Anointed One. So now:

‘Christ’ = ‘Messiah’ = ‘Anointed One’ = ‘Son of God’

The related title ‘Son of Man’ we explore here.

The Christ anticipated in 1st Century

With this knowledge, let’s make some observations from the Gospel. Below is the reaction of King Herod when the wise men from the East came looking for the king of the Jews. This forms part of the story of the birth of Jesus. You will see ‘Messiah’ or ‘Christ’ used here, depending on the translation. Notice, ‘the’ precedes Messiah or Christ, even though it is not referring specifically about Jesus.

When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born.

Matthew 2:3-4

Notice that the very idea of ‘the Christ’ (or ‘the Messiah’) was already commonly understood between Herod and his religious advisors, even before Jesus’ birth. They use the title without referring specifically to Jesus. This is because, as explained above, ‘Christ’ comes from the Old Testament Psalms written hundreds of years earlier by King David. This was commonly read by Jews of the 1st century (like Herod) from the Greek Septuagint. The title existed hundreds of years before there were any Christians.

King Herod became ‘greatly troubled’ because he felt threatened by this Christ, which he understood to be a rival King. So we see in King Herod’s reaction both the meaning of Christ (a King) and its ancient roots, originating long beforehand.

Christ in Psalm 132

The Psalms had further references to this coming Christ. I put the standard passage side-by-side with a transliterated one with ‘Christ’ in it so you can see it.

Psalm 132- From HebrewPsalm 132 – From Septuagint
O Lord, …10 For the sake of David your servant, do not reject your anointed one.11 The Lord swore an oath to David, a sure oath that he will not revoke: “One of your own descendants I will place on your throne— …17 “Here I will make a horn grow for David and set up a lamp for my anointed one. ”O Lord, …10 For the sake of David your servant, do not reject your Christ.11 The Lord swore an oath to David, a sure oath that he will not revoke: “One of your own descendants I will place on your throne— …17 “Here I will make a horn grow for David and set up a lamp for my Christ. ”

Psalm 132 speaks in the future tense (“…I will make a horn for David…”) like so many passages throughout the Old Testament.  Jews have always been waiting for their Messiah (or Christ). The fact that they are waiting or looking for the coming of the Messiah is because of the future-looking prophecies in the Old Testament.

So to sum up.  The following titles are synonymous and all derive from the Psalms.

Christ = Messiah = Anointed One = Son of God

The Old Testament prophecies: Specified like a lock-key system

That the Old Testament specifically predicts the future makes it unusual literature. It is like the lock of a door. A lock has a certain shape so that only a specific ‘key’ that matches the lock can unlock it. In the same way the Old Testament is like a lock. We saw some of this in the articles on Abraham’s sacrifice, Adam’s beginning, and Moses’ Passover.  Psalm 132 now adds the requirement that ‘the Christ’ would come from the line of David.  This raises the question: Is Jesus the matching ‘key’ that unlocks the prophecies?

We look at whether Jesus fits the prophecy of coming from the line of David here. We begin exploring The Branch theme of prophecies here.