By: Mark Tabata (Evangelist)
In our study of the alleged “Christian Copycat” theory (I.e., the belief that the Christians borrowed their teachings from the pagans), we have learned several things.
First, that similarities between stories does not necessarily mean that “copying” took place.
Second, we observed that the late date of the sources of the pagan stories shows that the Christians could not have borrowed their ideas from the pagans, since the pagan stories post-date Christianity; and that if anyone “copied” ideas from the other, it was clearly the pagans who borrowed their ideas from the Christians.
Third, we noticed that Judaism greatly influenced both paganism and Christianity, and that undoubtedly, the pagans had gotten many of their ideas of a virgin-born Savior from the Hebrew Scriptures, which existed long before the First Advent of Jesus Christ.
In this article, we are going to continue our study by noticing that many of the pagans had gotten their religious ideas from the stars and the star constellations themselves.
Indeed, we will learn that God declared throughout the Scriptures that He had used the star constellations from the very beginning to prophesy the Gospel story.
Let’s start by noticing something that Moses declared in the first chapter of the Book of Genesis:
Genesis 1:14-15-Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; 15 and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so.
Notice that God declared that the stars would be given for “signs.’ The idea of the passage is that God would somehow convey great information to mankind through these signs.
Speaking of the word translated as “signs” here, one researcher has noted:
“Let us read verse 14 of the creation account once more: “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years.” It is clear that one of the tasks assigned by God to astronomical bodies is to be signs. The Hebrew word oth used here is the same as the sign God gave Cain: “Then the LORD put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him” (Gen. 4:15)….We may now conclude that the stars not only indicate the seasons, but they also transmit information pertaining to their function as signs. An essential characteristic of a sign is that it points away from itself to something else or to somebody.” (Werner Gitt, Stars And Their Purpose: Understanding The Origin Of Earth’s ‘Nightlights,’ 1005-1022 (Kindle Edition); Green Forest, AR; Master Books).
Later, in the Book of Psalms, we read:
Psalm 19:1-4-Psa 19:1 To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.
Psa 19:2 Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge.
Psa 19:3 There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard.
Psa 19:4 Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world. In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun,
Notice that the psalmist is clear that God had revealed Himself through nature. This is especially interesting when we see that Paul quotes this passage in Romans to demonstrate how the Gospel had been revealed to mankind through the various star constellations.
Notice:
Romans 10:16-18-But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT?”
Rom 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Rom 10:18 But I say, have they not heard? Yes indeed: “THEIR SOUND HAS GONE OUT TO ALL THE EARTH, AND THEIR WORDS TO THE ENDS OF THE WORLD.”
Incredible!! God had revealed the Gospel to the world through the various star constellations.
With that in mind, what did the constellations reveal about the Gospel?
Renowned scholar Henry Morris discusses this in great detail.
He writes:
“Long before there were any written Scriptures that we know about, men, of course, needed to know about God and their relation to Him, especially His plans for their salvation. There had been prophets of God in the antediluvian world (e.g., Abel, Enoch, Lamech), as well as in the post-diluvian world before Moses (e.g., Melchizedek, Abraham, Joseph). As noted in chapter 4, the various divisions of the book of Genesis give evidence of having been written by the early patriarchs and then edited by Moses later….The most important of these primordial truths seem actually to have been impressed upon the very stars themselves. It almost seems as though certain antediluvian prophets, in view of the impending destruction of the earth and its civilizations in the coming Flood, desired to preserve these revelations by engraving them upon the only indestructible systems they knew about —namely, the starry heavens. The heavens were filled with distinctive groupings of stars that had become familiar to all who looked at the night skies. These constellations proceeded month-by-month across the heavens, returning again in the same order the following year. Accordingly, the idea presented itself to someone that these star groups and movements could be utilized to record the great cosmic narrative. Since the stars would be permanent, so would the great saga, and so, hopefully, the primeval revelations and promises would be preserved for all time to come….With appropriate reservations, therefore, a narrative such as the following might be inferred from the 12 main signs and their respective decans. Virgo. “A Deliverer will come into the human family someday, born as a man, yet supernaturally conceived of a virgin, seed of the woman, yet Son of God.” Libra. “Since man is a sinner and under the curse, an adequate price must be paid to redeem him and balance the scales of divine justice.” Scorpio. “The price of redemption must be the death of the Deliverer, since man is under the condemnation of death, and yet, in dying, He must also destroy the Serpent who led man into sin.” Sagittarius. “To prevent the coming of the Deliverer in the human family, the great dragon will seek to corrupt mankind into a race of demon-possessed monsters and murderers.” Capricornus. “Man will finally become so sinful as to leave no remedy but complete inundation in his entire world.” Aquarius. “The floodgates of heaven will pour forth waters to cleanse an evil world, but representatives of the land animals will survive to fill the earth again.” Pisces. “From the waters will emerge the true people of God, as God retains His kingly throne despite all the attacks of Satan.” Aries. “In the fullness of time, the seed of the woman will come, ready to die as the sacrifice for man’s sins, paying the great price to redeem His bride and destroy the works of the dragon.” Taurus. “Having paid the price, the slain Ram will rise as the mighty Bull, to execute judgment on all ungodliness and to rule supreme.” Gemini. “As both Son of God and Son of Man, the second Adam will claim His bride as did the first Adam, taking her to himself forever.” Cancer. “All the redeemed will come to Him from all times and places, secure eternally in His presence, enjoying His love and fellowship.” Leo. “As eternal King and Lord of lords, He will utterly vanquish and destroy the serpent and all his followers, reigning forever and ever.” (Henry M. Morris with Henry M. Morris III, Many Infallible Proofs: Evidences For The Christian Faith, 6455-6617 (Kindle Edition); Green Forest, AR; Master Books)
When we consider that the Lord had revealed so much of the Gospel in the constellations long before Christ came to the world, it should not surprise us that the ancient pagan religions were able to understand some elements of the Divine plan of redemption.
It has literally been revealed to mankind since the very beginning of time in the starry record.
Whether we are talking about God’s revelation in nature, or His special revelation in Scripture, all signs lead to us to the same Man: Jesus Christ.
Why not turn your life to the Son of God who loves you so very much that He went to Calvary and died for your sins, was buried, and arose again the tire day (1 Corinthians 15:1-8)?
Why not believe in Him, based on the many “infallible proofs” of Who He is (Acts 1:1-3; John 8:24)? Repent of your sins, confess Him today, and be baptized into Him to wash away your sins (Luke 13:3; Matthew 10:32-33; Acts 22:16)!
If you have done these things and have wandered away, why not return to Him right now in repentance and prayer (Acts 8:22; 1 John 1:9)?
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
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