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The woman and her son

When the temple in heaven was opened, thunder, lightning, hail, an earthquake, and a sign in heaven were all seen as a result. The sign was that of Virgo bringing forth a son and the conflict with a great dragon. Revelation 12:1, 2 says,

¹ And a great sign appeared in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; ² and she was with child; and she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth.

This is one of the most striking references in the book of Revelation to the constellations in the heavens which were perhaps the oldest prophecies on record. These heavenly signs date back to Genesis 1:14,

¹⁴ Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years.”

What is a Sign?

A sign is something that is appointed to represent something else. The Hebrew word used here is (אות) owth, whose root word, spelled with the same letters, is uwth. Hebrew root words are always verbs, and in this case, uwth means “to consent or agree.” In other words, a sign is something that provides a double witness that is in agreement with something else.

Both the verb root and its noun form are spelled with three Hebrew letters: the first (alef), the last (tav), and a vav, which is a connector that means a nail or peg and is often translated “and.” When Hebrew writing starts a sentence with “and,” it is normally written with a vav. In other words, a sign expresses the truth that God is the first and the last. This is the thought expressed in the Hebrew word for a sign. By extension, this conveys the truth that God knows the end from the beginning. Because He is at both ends of history at the same time, He stands outside of time and directs history with an advantage over those who are limited by time.

The Constellation Virgo

John sees the constellation Virgo appear in the heavens. It is one of the signs that God not only created, but also named (Psalm 147:4) for the purpose of expressing the gospel story. Not only this sign, but all of them silently speak the gospel to the whole earth, David tells us in Psalm 19:1-4,

¹ The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. ² Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. ³ There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard. ⁴ Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their utterances to the end of the world…

The statement in verse 1 that is underlined (above) carries a numeric value of 888, which is the same as Jesus in Greek. Whether this refers to Christ as the One declaring the glory of God, or just the heavens declaring Christ as the glory of God, we cannot say for certain. In my view, it is both, for the gospel of Christ is what has been preached to the whole world from the beginning of time. Thus also Paul references this in Romans 10:18, saying,

¹⁸ But I say, surely they have never heard, have they? Indeed they have: “Their voice has gone out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.”

The gospel was expressed in the heavens and was known, more or less, to all cultures from the beginning. It was the first Universal Bible, written as signs, prophesying of the divine plan to send His Son through a Virgin, who would give His life to save the world. The truth in the stars and constellations diminished over time and was often changed, perverted, and misused as mere astrology, but what men did with the truth did not eliminate it or diminish its value.

The heavens are divided into twelve main signs with three lesser constellations supporting each of the twelve. Hence, there are really 48 constellation signs which preach the gospel in picture form. So Virgo, the Virgin, is supported by three others (called Decans). The first is Coma, the Infant, revealed by the names of the stars themselves, as The Branch and The Desired One.

The second Decan is the Centaur, who depicts the two natures of Christ—half man, half horse. Third is Bootes, or Arcturus, the Great Shepherd and Harvester, holding a rod and sickle. Bootes is the main subject of Revelation 14:14-17, where Christ is pictured having “a sharp sickle in His hand” with which He reaps the earth.

It is not feasible to give a complete study of the gospel in the stars, nor have I had the time to write such a book myself. There are other books written about this, including E. Raymond Capt’s book, The Glory of the Stars; Joseph Seiss’ book, The Gospel in the Stars; and Dr. E. W. Bullinger’s book, The Witness of the Stars. If you have The Companion Bible, you may look up Dr. Bullinger’s summary in Appendix 12.

Coma, the Virgin’s Son

The sign of Virgo, accompanied by Coma, her Infant, is the main focus of Revelation 12:1, 2. It is where the star-gospel begins. While some Christian theologians may argue whether Mary was a virgin or just a young woman, all of the traditions of every culture emphasize the virginity of the woman in the heavens. This truth was universally understood from the beginning. Seiss tells us,

“A hundred years before Christ an altar was found in Gaul with this inscription: “To the virgin who is to bring forth.” And this maiden in the sign is the holder and bringer of an illustrious Seed. In her hand is the Spica, the ear of wheat, the best of seed, and that spica indicated by the brightest star in the whole constellation. (The Gospel in the Stars, p. 28)

Jesus Himself referenced this theme and applied it to Himself in John 12:24,

²⁴ Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

The Virgin carries a branch in her other hand, which is another sign of the Messiah. Isaiah 4:2 calls the Messiah the Branch (Hebrew, Zemach), saying,

² In that day the Branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth will be the pride and the adornment of the survivors of Israel.

Likewise, Zechariah prophesies to Joshua the high priest (one of the two witnesses in his time), “I am going to bring in My servant the Branch” (Zechariah 3:8). Again, Zechariah 6:12 says,

¹² Then say to him, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Behold, a man whose name is Branch, for He will branch out from where He is; and He will build the temple of the Lord’.”

Coma, the Infant, was also known as The Desired One. In Egypt the child was called Shes-nu;, “the desired son.” This is referenced in Haggai 2:7 KJV, which says,

⁷ “And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come; and I will fill this house with glory,” saith the Lord of hosts.

The Greeks changed Coma from the Desired Son to a bundle of hair. Seiss explains this:

“The Greeks knew not how to translate it, and hence took Coma in the sense of their own language, and called it hair—Berenice’s Hair. The story is that that princess gave her hair, the color of gold, as a votive offering for the safety of her brother; which hair disappeared. The matter was explained by the assurance that it was taken to heaven to shine in the constellation of Coma. Hence we have a bundle of woman’s hair in the place of ‘the Desire of all nations’.” (p. 29)

Haggai’s reference to “the desire of all nations” carries a numeric value of 528, which, on the Solfeggio music scale, is the frequency of love and healing. It is believed to heal DNA. It is mi on the scale (as in do, re, mi), which is short for the miracle note or tone. Dr. Leonard Horowitz calls it the “musical mathematical matrix of creation.”

The Hebrew word maphteach, “key,” has a numeric value of 528. It is the key of David in Isaiah 22:22. David’s name means “love.” All of these things point to the fact that Coma is a picture of Jesus Christ who was born of a virgin.

Clothed with the Sun

Each year as the sun appears to move through the constellations, Virgo is said to be “clothed with the sun” for a month beginning in late August. The sun normally transits Virgo from August 23 to September 22. For this reason, John’s terminology in Revelation 12:1, 2 pictures an event taking place during this time of year. It shows that Mary did not go into labor in December, but in September.

While this sign is seen every year, only rarely does it happen in conjunction with “the moon under her feet.” This sign actually occurred four years in a row: September 15, 1996, October 2, 1997, September 21, 1998, and September 11, 1999. The moon appeared to pass from Virgo’s womb to her feet. You may view charts from 1996 and 1999 here:

http://sonstoglory.com/Revelation12starSignBirth.htm

We took note of this occurrence at the time, and when the Virgo sign culminated in 1999, we were led to hold a prayer campaign called Dragon’s End. I wrote about this in chapter 21 of my book, The Wars of the Lord.

This Virgo sign is also of interest to us, because this occurred immediately after we were led to declare the 120^th Jubilee from Adam on September 22, 1996. Over all, I believe that John’s revelation spoke of our time, specifically from 1996-1999, ending on the 2000^th anniversary of Jesus’ birth in 1999. (Jesus was born in September of 2 B.C., but because there was no Year 0, it was 2000 years from 2 B.C. to 1999 A.D.)

I believe that the temple was opened in 1996, and that the sign of Virgo was then seen in the heavens. In 1999 we completed the second “day” (2000 years) since Jesus’ birth, and we entered into the beginning of the third day prophesied in Hosea 6:2,

² He will revive us after two days; He will raise us up on the third day that we may live before Him.

It appears from this that we are living in the beginning of the third day, and that we should watch for the resurrection of the dead in conjunction with the coming of Christ.