How old is the gospel? (v)

The Twelve Tribes and Their Star Signs

The Ecliptic Path of the Sun

"For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. 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. But I say, did Israel not know? First Moses says: “I will provoke you to jealousy by those who are not a nation, I will move you to anger by a foolish nation.” But Isaiah is very bold and says: “I was found by those who did not seek Me; I was made manifest to those who did not ask for Me.” But to Israel he says: “All day long I have stretched out My hands To a disobedient and contrary people.”” (Rom. 10: 13-21)

These words not only show that faith in Christ and calling upon the name of the Lord are necessary for salvation, but they also show that hearing the word of God and/or the gospel is a prerequisite for believing or having faith. What I want to focus upon, however, is the question of the apostle - "have they not heard?" And, upon Paul's answer of "yes indeed." Who are intended by the pronoun "they"? Does Paul say that all men, Jew and Gentile, have heard that word of God that is necessary for producing faith in Christ? Or does the pronoun "they" refer only to the Israelite people? Is he also saying that all the Jews have heard the gospel concerning the Messiah? Or, is he saying that all the Gentile nations have heard the message of the gospel at some point in their national histories? Obviously it cannot mean that every Jew or every Gentile has heard the gospel. History, as well as scripture, shows that this is not the case. 

So, these are the questions facing interpreters.

1. Who are designated as "they" in the question "have they not heard?" Is it all Jews? All Gentiles? Or, all Jews and Gentiles?

2. What is it that is "heard" by the "they"? Is it simply the word/voice that says "God is" and "God is great"? Or, is it the gospel concerning Christ? Is it the voice of natural revelation or of the written oracles?

3. Who is the "Lord" called upon and believed? God the Creator without any knowledge of Christ? 

Another important question that arises from the passage is why Paul cites Psalm 19: 4 as evidence that all have heard the gospel. If that Psalm (verses 1-6) is dealing with general or natural revelation (what is evident from the creation), how does it reveal the gospel? Can one look at the heavens and see or hear the gospel message? Further, if the gospel message is heard from the heavenly bodies, how so? Also, if it is revealed in the heavens, then why is there a need to send preachers and missionaries? If the heavens are declaring the gospel to every human being (who has eyes to see the heavens, which of course the blind do not), then why send preachers to declare it? 

First, let us look at what some of the commentaries have said about our text and the questions it raises in our minds (as numerated above).

Wrote Dr. John Gill in his commentary on the verse:

"The Ethiopic version confines these words to Israel, and reads, "have not Israel heard?" whereas they are to be understood both of Jews and Gentiles; the question refers to each, and the answer is, yes, verily."

I think that is true, but all do not agree. Some think the "they" refers to the Jews. 

Gill also commented:

"...the passage referred to is (Psalms 19:4), which some here, as there, understand literally of the works of nature, the heavens, the firmament, the sun, moon and stars, proclaiming every where the being of God, his perfections, especially his wisdom, power, and goodness; so that the Gentiles were not without hearing of God, even whilst they were destitute of a divine revelation..."

But, what do the heavens, the stars, reveal about God? Surely many commentators go to extremes in telling us what truth about God they affirm is apparent to all by the created heavens. Many would argue that very little is known about God by looking at the heavens. How do they teach that there is one creator (monotheism) over against many creators (polytheism)? Atheists in our day would dispute that the heavens prove that God exists and that only one god exists. Further, if they prove the existence of one God, what kind of God? What attributes of God are discernible from the heavens? Paul, as we have seen in the previous chapter, affirmed that the being of God was evident from the created cosmos, and also the omnipotence and divinity of that Creator. We have also inferred that the Creator must be possessed of great, or infinite, wisdom and knowledge. But, can we infer his goodness and immutability? His omnipresence? His hatred of sin? His call to repentance and faith? His way of salvation through the cross? 

Said Gill again:

"But certain it is, that the apostle is speaking neither of the light of nature, nor the law of Moses, but of the preaching of the Gospel; and what the Psalmist, literally understood, says of the heavens, that the apostle in an allegorical and mystical sense, or by an argument from the lesser to the greater, or by way of allusion, applies to the apostles and ministers of the Gospel, the luminaries of the world, and stars of heaven; whose ministry, by this time, had reached the then known parts of the habitable world; as it was to do, before the destruction of Jerusalem, according to Christ's prediction, (Matthew 24:14), and as the Apostle Paul testifies it had, (Colossians 1:6), and in which he himself had a very considerable share, having preached the Gospel from Jerusalem, round about unto Illyricum."

Gill says it is certain that Paul is not speaking of the light of nature, although this is a common opinion. Does Psalm 19: 1-6 refer to the light of nature, to general or natural revelation? He also says that what all men have heard is not "the law of Moses," or the ten commandments. Can one look into the heavens and see the moral law written? Gill, like other commentators, believes that Paul is not citing the Psalm at all but merely using its language and applying it to the preaching of the gospel. The problem with this view is that Paul speaks in the past tense, affirming that all men had indeed heard the preaching of the gospel by preachers. But, that was certainly not the case, though he cites Christ's prediction that it will have been preached to all before his return. He also cites Colossians 1: 6 as proof that it had been preached to all. But, this cannot be true for in the same Roman epistle Paul speaks of going to places like Spain, where Christ was not known, in order that the people there might hear the gospel. (See 15: 20-28) It is true that the gospel had been preached to all in the sense of preaching indiscriminately to everyone, but it surely had not been preached to the Chinese or native Americans and other such groups.

Some commentators believe that the "sound" that "has gone out to all the earth" is that which comes from the physical creation, or from general revelation. One of the reasons for this is the fact that Paul quotes from Psalm 19: 4 which does seem to apply to the creation. But, if that is so, how do the heavens announce the glad tidings and produce evangelical faith in Christ? 

Wrote Coffman's commentary:

"Here we have another instance of Paul's using an Old Testament text out of context. Psalms 19:4 speaks of the universal knowledge of God through the revelation of nature; but here Paul applied the words to the worldwide preaching of the gospel. As Murray noted: 

 

Since the gospel proclamation is now to all without distinction, it is proper to see the parallel between the universality of general revelation and the universalism of the gospel. The former is the pattern now followed in the sounding forth of the gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth. The application which Paul makes of Psalms 19:4 can thus be seen to be eloquent, not only of this parallel, but also of that which is implicit in the parallel, namely, the widespread diffusion of the gospel of grace."

I don't think that Paul used Psalm 19 "out of context." Others affirm the same thing. 

Said Ray Stedman, bible teacher and commentator (See here):

"There has been a universal proclamation of the gospel through nature. Now, this is not a lot of light about God, but it is light. In the first chapter of Romans, Paul mentioned that very thing (Chapter 1, Verses 19-20)...The answer to the question "What about those who have never heard about God?" is: "There aren't any people who have never heard about God." Everywhere men and women know something about God. He is revealed in nature. There is a universal proclamation that has gone out. And if it is observed, if it is noticed and followed, more light will be given."

I cannot accept what Stedman says about nature proclaiming the gospel. If that is true, then there is no need to send preachers since the heavens are doing the preaching. I do believe that the heavens preach the gospel, but not as Stedman envisions. I believe the message is in the stars only as it is seen by the lens of the ancient Zodiac (or Mazzaroth), in the names of the stars and constellations, and other ways. But, more on that shortly. 

Stedman speaks of how the created heavens testify to God's existence and greatness and that is good, but he does not show how Christ and the cross are proclaimed by the stars. There is a "southern cross" constellation, but no one would know how it speaks of the cross of Christ without seeing it drawn on a map first, and seeing the names of its leading stars. There is a Virgo constellation that speaks of a virgin giving birth to Coma, the "desired one," and of her holding forth an illustrious seed and branch, but that would never be known unless one had a map showing that drawing with the names of Virgo's leading stars.

Wrote Robert Haldane in his commentary:

"Dr. Macknight supposes the question here asked, ‘Have they not heard?’ to be answered by the preaching of the works of creation, according to the words of the Psalm in their literal meaning. This is contrary to the whole train of the Apostle’s reasoning, who is speaking of the preaching of the Gospel."

 

I agree. The apostle Paul has already said that "faith (in Christ) comes by hearing" and "hearing by the word of God" via God sent preachers. For Paul to say "all have heard the gospel by the preaching of the heavens" is to go against what he has been asserting, i.e. that God sent preachers are necessary. Haldane continues:

"Even Calvin makes the preaching spoken of in that Psalm to refer to the ‘silent works of God’ in ancient times, and not in any sense to the preaching of the Apostles. But it is evident that the Apostle is not referring to the former, but to the present state of the Gentile nations. The words of the Psalmist are thus spiritually, as they always have been literally, fulfilled in the preaching of the silent works of God. The description in the nineteenth Psalm, of the sun in the firmament, has, as above noticed, a strict literal and primary meaning, but it is also typical of Him who is called the Sun of Righteousness, who by His word is the spiritual light of the world. Paul therefore quotes this description in the last sense, thus taking the spiritual meaning, which was ultimately intended. This suits his object, while he drops the literal, although also a just and acknowledged sense. It is not, then, as setting aside the literal application of such passages that the Apostles quote them in their spiritual import, nor in the way of accommodation, as is so often asserted, to the great disparagement both of the Apostles and the Scriptures, but as their ultimate and most extensive signification."

I think Calvin and Haldane are on the right track with these comments. There is gospel to be discerned in the movement of the Sun once the Sun is seen as a symbol of God and Christ. But, more on that shortly.

So then, how is the gospel message communicated by the heavens, by the stars and planets? As stated in previous chapters in this series, it is through the drawing and naming of the twelve constellations, their star names, and of their decans. In Genesis, God explains His purpose for creating all those lights in the universe. He 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 for seasons, and for days, and years; And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth; and it was so.” (Genesis 1:14 KJV)

The stars were given for "signs." The ancient primeval Zodiac, written by the world's first prophets, gave us the divine names of the stars, and the drawing of the constellations, and if one has the "Rosetta Stone," as it were, of Mazzaroth, the decoder of the star signs, he could get a full gospel. Everyone should read J.A. Seiss's "Gospel in the Stars" book and E.W. Bullinger's "The Witness of the Stars" for then he would see the gospel proclaimed. However, just looking at the stars without the charts of the constellations, along with their star names and figures, would be like trying to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphs without a translation. When we see how extensively the Zodiac has permeated all societies of the world throughout history, we can see how the gospel could have been discovered by it. 

Notice these texts from the book of Job, the oldest book in the bible, concerning the ancient constellations and their names.

“[God] which alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the sea. Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south.” (Job 9:8-9 KJV) 

Notice the mention of "chambers." This word denotes the twelve "houses" (constellations) that the sun passes through in the course of the year. See the picture at the heading of this chapter. In Psalm 19 there is mention of the sun coming forth from his chamber or house as a bridegroom and strong man who runs a race, and of the circuit or ecliptic, and the path of the sun through each house. In that ecliptic circle there is 360 degrees and divided into twelve segments of 30 degrees each. Each segment is a house or chamber or zodiacal sign.

 

“Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion? Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth [Hebrew: “The Constellations of the Zodiac”] in his season? Or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons? Knoweth thou the ordinances of heaven? Canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth?” (Job 38:31-33 KJV) 

 

Also, from the book of Amos: “Seek him that maketh the seven stars [Pleiades] and Orion . . .” (Amos 5: 8a KJV).

There are early writings from virtually all civilizations describing the major stars contained in the twelve “Constellations of the Zodiac.” The records of ancient Egypt, Persia, Assyria, Babylonia, etc., all mention this ancient zodiac. The chart of the zodiac displays twelve major constellations around the ecliptic, which is the apparent path of the sun through the heavens, caused by the earth’s path around the sun during a year’s time. (See diagram above)

I agree with J.A. Seiss in his remarks on the verses from Psalm 19 cited by the apostle. Here is what Seiss said in his book "The Gospel in the Stars" (page 32 - See here - emphasis mine):

"One of the sublimest of the Psalms, which celebrates the twofold world of Nature and Revelation, begins with the ever memorable assertion, “The heavens declare the glory of God.” What the heavens are thus said to declare certainly includes more than the celestial bodies naturally tell concerning their Creator. Their showing forth of His “handiwork,” His wisdom and power, is the subject of a separate and distinct part of the grand sentence. The chief "glory of God ” cannot be learned from Nature alone, simply as Nature. The moral attributes of Deity, and His manifestations in moral government, are preeminently His glory. In the sending, incarnation, person, revelations, offices, and achievements of Jesus Christ, above all, has God shown forth His glory. We are told in so many words that Christ is “the image and glory of God;" nay, “the brightness—the very out beaming of His glory.” The glory of God is “in the face of Jesus Christ.” There can therefore be no full and right declaring of "the glory of God” which does not reach and embrace Christ, and the story of redemption through Him. But the starry worlds, simply as such, do not and cannot declare or show forth Christ as the Redeemer, or the glory of God in Him. If they do it at all, they must do it as “signs,” arbitrarily used for that purpose. Yet the Psalmist affirms that these heavens do “declare the glory of God.” Are we not therefore to infer that the story of Christ and redemption is somehow expressed by the stars? David may or may not have so understood it, but the Holy Ghost, speaking through him, knew the implication of the words, which, in such a case, must not be stinted, but accepted in the fullest sense they will bear. And as it is certain that God meant and ordained a use of the heavenly bodies in which they should "be for signs,” and as we are here assured that what they have been arranged to signify is “the glory of God,” there would seem to be ample scriptural warrant for believing that, by special divine order and appointment, the illustration of God's moral government, particularly as embraced in the story of sin, and redemption by Jesus Christ, is to be found in the stars, according to some primordial and sacred system of astronomy." 

I believe that this is what Paul means when he affirms that all have heard the gospel from the heavens. 

There is good evidence that the twelve constellations were adopted to represent the twelve tribes of Israel. Wrote one writer (See here - emphasis mine):

"The earliest reference in Scripture to the constellations of the zodiac occurs in the course of the history of Joseph. In relating his second dream to his brethren he said— "Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon, and the eleven stars made obeisance to me." The word "Kochab" in the Hebrew means both "star" and "constellation." The significance, therefore, of the reference to the "eleven stars" is clear. Just as Joseph's eleven brethren were eleven out of the twelve sons of Jacob, so Joseph saw eleven constellations out of the twelve come and bow down to him. And the twelve constellations can only mean the twelve of the zodiac."

Wrote another writer on this subject (See here):

"As has been pointed out in numerous earlier articles, the Book of Enoch records that an angel revealed the constellation figures to the prophet Enoch some 5,000 years ago, and many scholars claim they symbolize the key features of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Last month's article proposed that each of the twelve constellations of the zodiac, through which the sun appears to travel during the year, represents one of the twelve principal roles of the Savior."

I agree with this, and believe Paul is alluding to it in Romans 10: 18 as the Psalmist also did in the first six verses of Psalm 19. The zodiac is implied in those verses just as a pyramid is implied in those texts where Christ is described as the chief or head cornerstone. (See my post "Christ the Capstone" here)

The author says again:

"Satan twists truth and perverts it for his own purposes, which he has clearly done with the zodiac signs. That causes many to avoid the entire subject, but the symbolism of these figures is so rich that it would be a tragedy not to learn of the beauty of their meaning, and the clarity of their symbolism. So my articles on the subject attempt to ignore the perversions and focus on the good. My position is that the sun, moon, and planets are like the hands on a huge clock, with the twelve zodiac constellations through which they move being the 12 numbers on the clock face. The Lord uses his clock to time key events in world history. But when Israel began to worship the hands on the clock, as did the pagan nations, then they were told they had missed the whole point, and to desist. Similarly today, if someone believes the planets are controlling his life, rather than merely keeping time, then Satan could falsely convince him that he is not responsible for his actions."

Again, I agree. As we have seen already, chiefly from Romans chapter one, the Gentile nations "changed" the truth of God, and "became" fools religiously. All this implies that each nation's ancestors, at some point, have heard and known the truth, and that it was corrupted so that their children lost the truth. This is true with the story of redemption as told in the scriptures and in the constellation's original names and designs. Changes were made to the primitive original zodiac and its meaning, so that the story was also changed. Yet, what the results were of those changes nevertheless retained some likeness to the original. Truth became myth in Pagan and polytheistic religion. It is similar to the mono myth theory.

Paul, also in his Roman epistle, also affirms that Israel, above all other nations, had been given revelation relating to God and his works, even though they too, like the heathen, either totally forsook that revelation, or ignored it completely so that children were sometimes born into the community who had no knowledge of the original pure revelation. Wrote the Psalmist:

"He shows his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel. He has not dealt so with any nation, neither have the heathen knowledge of his laws." (Psalms 147:19-20)

Israel and her prophets were given the oracles of God. They were to share them with all other nations. Sometimes they did, as we have seen in previous chapters. But, sometimes they experienced cultural or paradigm shifts so that at some times in Israel's history the word of God became virtually extinct, as we see happening in the time when Samuel is called to be a prophet.

"And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision." (I Sam. 3: 1)

By the word of the LORD being precious in those days means that copies of the scriptures were rare, hard to find, and why? Because it was ignored and forgotten. It was like this also in  2 Kings 22 and Nehemiah 8. 

Psalm 19: 1-6 - The Bridegroom & Strong Man

"The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. 2 Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. 3 There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard. 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, 5 Which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, And rejoices like a strong man to run its race. 6 Its rising is from one end of heaven, And its circuit to the other end; And there is nothing hidden from its heat."

Many commentators see Christ in the symbolism of the sun. He is the "bridegroom coming out of his chamber" and the "strong man to run its race." Certainly the scriptures warrant us in seeing the sun as a symbol of God. "For the LORD God is a sun and shield," said the Psalmist. (Psa. 84: 11) The coming of Christ is also said to be an antitypical rising of the sun. Wrote the prophet: "But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise With healing in His wings." (Mal. 4: 2) Said the angel Gabriel of the coming of John the Baptist:

“And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, To give knowledge of salvation to His people By the remission of their sins, Through the tender mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.” (Luke 1: 76-79)

When Christ came it was as the rising of the sun upon our dark world. Christ said that he was "the light of the world." (John 8: 12) 

Wrote Spurgeon on Psalm 19: 6: 

"His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it." He bears his light to the boundaries of the solar heavens, traversing the zodiac with steady motion, denying his light to none who dwell within his range." 

God, like the sun, "walks in the circuit of heaven." (Job 22: 14) That message of the sun's (or God's) journey through the whole circuit of heaven's 360 degrees, or twelve house chambers, gives us the story of both creation and redemption, and is all about Christ. The daily arising and setting of the sun, like the yearly circuit of the sun, does tell us something about our God, for the sun is a symbol of him, and of Christ who is likened to a "bridegroom emerging from his chamber,"  and as "a strong (gigantic - Hebrew) man to run a race." It tells us that the message can only be known by those who know the scriptures and the gospel story, or by having someone interpret it for you, to tell you what it means. 

Do the heavens declare the gospel? Does the earth declare the gospel? Why does the Psalmist say it is the heavens that declare the glory of God, which would exclude the earth, rather than say "all creation declares the glory of God"? 

Spurgeon, in his notes on this Psalm, said: "So much is this the case that it has been well said that “an undevout astronomer is mad.” 

In closing this series, let us cite these words of the apostle Paul:

"For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles— if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power." (Eph. 3: 1-7)

The additional revelation that the Lord gave to the prophets and apostles of the first century church has increased the degree of light that we have of God and his works, particularly of Christ, the Son of God. We know more of God's "eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ." (vs. 11)