.)Return To The Study Of Revelations
CELESTIAL TERMS |
-their prophetic meanings- |
| A classic example of the use of celestial terms is found in young Joseph’s dream. |
(Joseph was of the fourth generation of the Hebrew nation, the nation chosen of God through Abraham and Isaac to represent Him in the world.)
[bowed down] to me (Genesis 37:9).And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance
In the dream, the celestial bodies represented Joseph’s family as per the following.
In general, the following types apply for Israel.Joseph’s family: sun = Jacob (the father), type of the faithful of Israel
moon = Rachel (the mother), type of the nation itself--the woman that brought forth the man child (Rev. 12:14)
the eleven stars = jacob's sons, types for the children of Israel
the sun = type of Christ, the Sun of righteousness (Mal. 4:2) the moon** = type of Israel The Nation (Job 25:5, etc.) the stars = type of the Hebrew children (Genesis 15:5 cf. Judges 4:2-3; 5:20, etc.) **new moon = David’s rule (God’s chosen) vs. Saul’s rule (chosen by men)—TYPE of Christ’s rule in the Kingdom Age
| Stars are used in the Bible when speaking of Grace-Age soul winners. |
And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever (Daniel 12:3).
| Stars are also used in the Bible to represent the angels. |
Before Creation...
Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said…where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? …When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? (Job 38:1, 4a, 7).
The Faithful Angels...
The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches (Revelation 1:20).
The Fallen Angels...And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having
seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth:
and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her
child as soon as it was born.
And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her
child was caught up unto God, and to his throne (Revelation 12:1-5).
| Christ is known as the Morning Star. |
| Christ is also known as the Sun of righteousness. |
| Peter speaks of Him as the prophetic "day star." |
We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts (2 Peter 1:19).
| False teachers are called "wandering stars." |
Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever (Jude 1:13).
| The "sun" and "moon" of Revelation |
Since in prophecy Jesus is the Sun of Righteousness, and the Church is His
Body, being one with Him in the Spirit, then there are times when the Body of Christ is
also known as the sun. Prophetically, Israel, then, is the moon. In the
natural the sun is a source of power and moon is but a reflection of the light of the
sun. This is also true in the spiritual. Christ (and His Church which is the
temple of the Holy Spirit) have power and give off light, while Israel could only reflect
His light when they walked in obedience to the Word of the Lord.
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(I’m sure I haven’t listed all of the prophetic, celestial terms. If you want
to share with with our visitors some that we have missed, Email us at
.)