In a sermon good things often have to be cut from it. Yesterday, I mentioned Orion in the sermon enough to give a glimpse of what that constellation meant to Job and what God designed it to mean. Below is the full version of the notes that will explain it in more detail. The post is not written very smoothly…
after all… it is a cutting board situation….
Long before astrology “signs of the Zodiac” and before Greek Mythology took the constellations and made stories out of them. God created them and named them. Adam was given the job of naming the creatures (animals) and God named the stars… something only He could do.
As He made and named them He revealed His plan for mankind. The book of Job (the oldest book in the Bible written before Genesis) mentions several constellations, let’s dive into one example from that book and then take a look at one of the constellations that is mentioned in those verses.
Job 38:31 “Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades or lose the cords of Orion?”
Orion means “the coming light.” (Greek – used for sunrise or dawn) – (John 8:12, John 1:4-5; Isaiah 9:2)
His right foot is over a constellation called Eridanus meaning “river of the judge” and has always been seen as a river of fire – representing judgement for those who choose not to follow the coming light. His left foot is over a constellation called Lepus which was a snake in old times. Orion’s heel is crushing its head. Lepus means “The enemy trodden underfoot” (later it (the snake) was attached to a constellation to complete the image of a rabbit)
He holds in his right hand a lion skin (which represents Satan – in scripture a lion seeking those he may devour) Here the lion skin shows his defeat. In Orion’s left hand is a club, for the enemy has been beaten.
In front of Him is the constellation Taurus “the Judge” but Orion is not fighting him (as some of the stories go) – Taurus is not a bull, it is a wild ox of long ago, a fierce, mighty and untamable creature (Job 39:9-10) Pleiades that is mentioned in Job is part of the Taurus constellation. Both Taurus and Orion are symbols of the coming Messiah (more on Orion in a moment) Taurus with His head lowered is in the act of charging the enemy. Taurus portrays the power and glory of Christ coming as the Judge (Deut. 33:17; John 5:26-27)
But back to Orion and the stars that make up His constellation.
The brilliant star in His right shoulder is Betelgeuse and means The Coming Branch (Isaiah 11:1; Jer. 23:5). The star in his left shoulder is Bellatrix and means swiftly coming or suddenly destroying (Rev. 22:7). Rigel, the star in his raised foot means the foot that crusheth (Psalm 91:13-15; Romans. 16:20). A star in his belt means The Wounded One (Isaiah 53:5). Saiph, in his leg, means Bruised (Isaiah 53:5).
Orion is a symbol of the suffering Messiah that defeats Satan (lion skin) by His death. This is the first coming of Christ. Taurus portrays Jesus’ Return to this earth… His second coming.
This all before men created a different story….
It took me a while to dig all this up. I knew if they are mentioned in scripture and God was using them to show that through them we should see Him better ( listen to the sermon from yesterday “The Answer to Our Greatest Need”) they must have a different purpose than what man has created for them.
Here are some resources I used for this information. Please know I have not read all that is in these sources. Just enough to find what was needed for the message from yesterday.
- Fleming, Kenneth C., God’s Voice in the Stars: Zodiac Signs and Bible Truth, Loizeaux Brothers, Neptune, New Jersey, 1981.
- Capt, Raymond, E., The Glory of the Stars: A Study of the Zodiac, Artisan Sales, Thousand Oaks, California, 1976.
- Seiss, Joseph A., The Gospel in the Stars, Kregal Publications, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1972.
- Bullinger, E. W., The Witness of the Stars, Kregal Publications, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1967.
- Bauvan, Robert and Gilbert, Adrian, The Orion Mystery, Crown Publishers, Inc., New York, 1994, p. 215.
phillipbrande.com 
Thanks for doing the research and sharing the blessing. Isn’t all of this a marker of how “grand” God is. The Creator reveals Himself in creation as well as in His Word.
That is amazing….