Last week we looked at the constellation of Aquarius and
its’ first decan, the southern fish.
The second decan of Aquarius is Pegasus, the
winged horse. We also find another unusual creature in the Bible, the
unicorn; and as one prophesy states, the man from the seed of Jacob will come
like one of these beasts. A few weeks ago we looked at the four horsemen of the
Apocalypse who are presently keeping peace. We noted that their mission will
change once the seals are broken open. Horses denote travel and war, and as we
see in the Bible Jesus and his armies will come back to earth on them. Just to
be clear, we are not in the “Age of Aquarius”, but are actually in the Age of Pisces.
http://musingsofawinsomeheart.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-age-of-pisces-not-aquarius.html
The Hebrew words for the stars in Pegasus mean returning from, who goeth and returneth, and the
branch. It tells the story of one who goes away and returns. The Arabic
meanings for the names of the stars in Pegasus are who carries, the water, who causes to overflow. The idea here is
that the one who goes away and comes back also carries the water, or causes
water to overflow. Jesus is the branch who goes away, sends the flow of the
Holy Spirit, and then comes back. In Greek, Pegasus is known as the horse of the gushing fountain, taking a
cue from the star names in the constellation. In Psalm 68 we see a rider whose
name we should extol.
Ps 68:4 Sing to God, sing praises to his name: make a
way for him that rides upon the west (the Lord is his name) and exult before
him. They shall be troubled before the face of him, 5 who is the
father of the orphans, and judge of the widows: such is God in
his holy place. 6 God settles the solitary in a house; leading forth
prisoners mightily, also them that act provokingly, even them
that dwell in tombs.
Ps 68:4G103Sing G3588 G2316to
God! G5567Strum G3588to G3686his
name! G1473 G3597.2Open
the way G3588to the
G1910one
being mounted G1909unto G1424the west
-- G2962the lord
G3686is his
name, G1473 G2532and G21exult G1799before
G1473him! G5015They
shall be disturbed G575before
G4383his
face. G1473
Ps 68:4 Sing hymns to God; all heaven, sing out; clear the way for the coming of Cloud-Rider. Enjoy God, cheer when you see him! (from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)
The cloud rider is riding Pegasus, a horse that can ride in
the sky. While that is not a literal horse as we have on earth today, it is the
story of the heavenly transporter of the Lord. As we read in Zechariah, the
ones riding horses are out to keep peace on the earth. An earthly horse cannot
travel around the earth particularly fast, these are the horses of the angelic
armies. They, like a Pegasus, can move around the earth quickly.
Zech 1:7 On the twenty-fourth day in
the eleventh month, this is the month Sabat, in the second year of the
reign of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zacharias, the son of
Barachias, the son of Addo, the prophet, saying,
8 I saw by night, and behold a man mounted on a red
horse, and he stood between the shady mountains; and behind him were red
horses, and grey, and piebald, and white. 9 And I said, What are
these, my lord? And the angel spoke with me said to me, I will
shew thee what these things are. 10 And the man that
stood between the mountains answered, and said to me, These are they whom
the Lord has sent forth to go round the earth. 11 And they answered
the angel of the Lord that stood between the mountains, and said, We have gone
round all the earth, and, behold, all the earth is inhabited, and is at rest.
12 Then the angel of the Lord answered and said, O
Lord Almighty, how long wilt thou have no mercy on Jerusalem, and the cities of
Juda, which thou has disregarded these seventy years? 13 And the Lord
Almighty answered the angel that spoke with me good words and consolatory
sayings.
Comparing this time period of peace keeping to the change
in their mission, these riders of the four horses go out as the Lamb opens each
seal. This happens at the beginning of the tribulation, during the first three
and one half years of the wrath of the Lamb. The first horsemen has arrows to
conquer as the constellation of Sagittarius tells us.
Rev 6:1-8THEN I saw as the Lamb broke open one of the seven
seals, and as if in a voice of thunder I heard one of the four living creatures
call out, Come! 2 And I looked, and saw there a white horse whose rider carried
a bow. And a crown was given him, and he rode forth conquering and to conquer.
[Ps 45:4,5; Zech 1:8; 6:1-3.]
3 And when He broke the second seal, I heard the second
living creature call out, Come! 4 And another horse came out, flaming red. And
its rider was empowered to take the peace from the earth, so that men
slaughtered one another; and he was given a huge sword.
5 When He broke open the third seal, I heard the third
living creature call out, Come and look ! And I saw, and behold, a black horse,
and in his hand the rider had a pair of scales (a balance). 6 And I heard what
seemed to be a voice from the midst of the four living creatures, saying, A
quart of wheat for a denarius [a whole day's wages], and three quarts of barley
for a denarius; but do not harm the oil and the wine! [2 Kings 6:25.]
7 When the Lamb broke open the fourth seal, I heard the
fourth living creature call out, Come! 8 So I looked, and behold, an ashy pale
horse [black and blue as if made so by bruising], and its rider's name was
Death, and Hades (the realm of the dead) followed him closely. And they were
given authority and power over a fourth part of the earth to kill with the
sword and with famine and with plague (pestilence, disease) and with wild
beasts of the earth. [Ezek 5:12; Hos 13:14.] AMP
We see that the Angel Armies ride horses, and they are not
the slow moving types we have on earth. Jesus will ride a horse when he
returns, along with his mounted heavenly armies. This happens on the Day of the
Lord, at the end of the great tribulation, the second three and one half years
called the “wrath of the Father”.
Rev 19:11-16And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white
horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in
righteousness he doth judge and make war.12 His eyes were as a flame of fire,
and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew,
but he himself.13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his
name is called The Word of God.14 And the armies which were in heaven followed
him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.15 And out of his
mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he
shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the
fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.16 And he hath on his vesture and on his
thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND Lord OF LordS. KJV
Joel gives us a look at the Day of the Lord and the armies
who will ride these magnificent spiritual horses.
Joel2:1 Sound the trumpet in Sion, make a proclamation
in my holy mountain, and let all the inhabitants of the land be confounded: for
the day of the Lord is near; 2 for a day of darkness and gloominess
is near, a day of cloud and mist: a numerous and strong people shall be spread
upon the mountains as the morning; there has not been from the beginning one
like it, and after it there shall not be again even to the years of many
generations. 3 Before them is a consuming fire, and behind them is a
flame kindled: the land before them is as a paradise of delight, and behind
them a desolate plain: and there shall none of them escape.
4 Their appearance is as the appearance of horses; and
as horsemen, so shall they pursue. 5 As the sound of chariots on the
tops of mountains shall they leap, and as the sound of a flame of fire
devouring stubble, and as a numerous and strong people setting themselves in
array for battle.
Pegasus is a spiritual horse who can move between heaven
and earth bringing a rider who pours out the Holy Spirit on people who believe
on Jesus as the scripture says, John 7:38. There are similarities between the
story of Pegasus and the four horsemen who ride around the earth keeping peace,
and the four horsemen who take peace off the earth in the tribulation, as well
as with the horses that Jesus and his armies ride on the Day of the Lord. These
horses seem to defy gravity, have a lot of speed, and escort riders. They are
battle ready as well. So while the Lord rides a horse, angels ride horses and
Jesus’ armies will ride horses.
Balaam spoke of the glory of a Unicorn, this is not the
same animal as a Pegasus. We think of unicorns as white horses with one horn
and sometimes wings, but that is not what they are. Let’s explore.
No matter what we think of Balaam, as far as his personal
integrity goes, he was a prophet. He also knew the gospel story written in the
heavens. We have to recognize the time frame of this prophecy. Israel had come
out of Egypt but had not entered the Promised Land. At the time of their wandering, being led by
Moses, Balaam is prophesying about Jesus coming and the Day of the Lord.
Numbers 24:1 And when Balaam saw that it pleased God
to bless Israel, he did not go according to his custom to meet the omens, but
turned his face toward the wilderness. 2 And Balaam lifted up his
eyes, and sees Israel encamped by their tribes; and the Spirit of God came upon
him. 3 And he took up his parable and said, Balaam son of Beor says,
the man who sees truly says, 4 he says who hears the oracle of the
Mighty One, who saw a vision of God in sleep; his eyes were
opened: 5 How goodly are thy habitations, Jacob, and
thy tents, Israel! 6 as shady groves, and as gardens by a river, and as
tents which God pitched, and as cedars by the waters. 7 There shall
come a man out of his seed, and he shall rule over many nations; and the
kingdom of Gog shall be exalted, and his kingdom shall be
increased. 8 God led him out of Egypt; he has as it were the glory of
a unicorn: he shall consume the nations of his enemies, and he shall drain
their marrow, and with his darts he shall shoot through the
enemy. 9 He lay down, he rested as a lion, and as a young lion; who
shall stir him up? they that bless thee are blessed, and they that curse thee
are cursed.
Numbers 24:7G1831[2came
forth G4441A man]
G1537from
out of G3588 G4690his
seed, G1473 G2532and G2961he
shall dominate G1484[2nations
G41831many].
G2532And G5312[3shall
be raised up high G3588 G*1Gog G9322his
kingdom], G1473 G2532and G837[2shall
be increased G9321his
kingdom].G1473
The Man who comes out of the seed of Jacob is also called “the
branch”, and is known in the heavens as the seed of the woman, Virgo. Just like
the constellation story of Aquarius and Pegasus, the branch is Jesus. Jesus
will rule over many nations, not just Israel, but many tribes, tongues, and
ethnic groups. Gog is not the individual Gog
the Locust King, but the place Agag, representing kings of nations. In
those days the kingdoms of the world were different than they were at the time
that Israel entered the Promised Land. Gog represents the nations, ethos,
tribes other than the Israelites. This is an amazing prophecy. Not only will
the non-Israelite nations grow and be raised up, His kingdom will increase.
Numbers 24:8G3588 G2316God G3594guided
G1473him G1537from
out of G*Egypt;
G5613as G1391the glory
G3439.2of a
unicorn G1473to
him. G2068He
shall eat G1484the nations
G2190of his
enemies, G1473 G2532and G3588 G3974.2[2of
their thickness G1473 G1591.31he
will extract the marrow], G2532and G3588with G1002his
arrows G1473 G2700he
shall shoot G2190an
enemy.
A unicorn is a wild beast which comes to consume nations of
the enemies. This warrior comes out of Egypt, just as Jesus and his family came
out of Egypt. Jesus comes with the glory of a unicorn. This is not the type of
mystical unicorn we think of today, but an Indian rhinoceros or an aurochs,
which was an ox with horns that were symmetrical and looked like one horn.
Julius Caesar described them as a bit smaller than an elephant, with the
appearance of a bull, yet with extraordinary speed, and they are untamable. So
if we think through the timing, Balaam is describing a unicorn that is a fierce
animal, scary and majestic. Just prior to this prophecy Balaam said that Israel
came out of Egypt with the glory of His unicorn. Balaam gives us the picture of
Israel as a wild strong dominating beast going exactly where he wants to go as
opposed to a group of people who were whiney, scared, complainers, and afraid
of Pharaoh. Israel came out of Egypt with boldness. All the miracles done on
Israel’s behalf emboldened them.
Numb 23: 22G2316God G3588was the
G1806one
leading G1473him G1537out ofG*Egypt;
G5613asG1391the glory
G3439.2of his
unicorn.G1473
The phrase from verse 8, “extracting the marrow of his
thickness” is a reference to breaking the hips of the enemy. One of the places
in the body where bone marrow is produced is in the hips. This unicorn eats his
enemies, breaks their hips, and sucks out the marrow. That is a big mean
animal. If this is what Julius Caesar was referring to in his time, they were
probably more plentiful in Balaam’s time. So Israel and the man are both
likened to the unicorn. He also shoots the enemy with arrows. Also notice the
allusion to Sagittarius the archer shooting at his enemies. The man that comes
out of this seed will be a fighter like the archer Sagittarius and a strong
beast like the unicorn. The question is when
will this man come in this manner? That is the part that hangs us up. Jesus
came as messiah first, he will come back with his armies as a warrior on the
Day of the Lord at the end of the great tribulation.
Another insinuation to the constellations and the story of
heaven being about Jesus is in verse 9.
Numbers 24:9 G2625Lying
down G373he
rested G5613asG3023a
lion, G2532and G5616as G4661.1a cub G5100who G450shall
raise G1473him? G3588The G2127ones
blessing G1473you, G2127they
are blessed; G2532and G3588the G2672ones
cursing G1473you, G2672they
are cursed.
We’ve seen lions that have been filmed in the wild, and
many times they are resting. But when they are hungry, they are fierce. After
tearing apart the nations of his enemies by breaking their hips and extracting
their marrow He will rest. The lion here is another allusion to the
constellation story of Leo, the Lion of the tribe of Judah who comes to rend
the enemy. Once he is done he will take his rightful place and rule the
nations. We can see Balaam’s prophecy follows the story of the stars and
according to the rest of scripture aligns with the Messiah who will return with
his armies in this like manner.
There are many occurrences of unicorns in the Bible, but to
look at a few, Moses prays a blessing over the tribes of Israel, the sons of
Jacob.
Deut 33:1 And this is the blessing
with which Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his
death………13 And to Joseph he said, His land is of the
blessing of the Lord, of the seasons of sky and dew, and of the deeps of wells
below, 14 and of the fruits of the changes of the sun in season, and
of the produce of the months, 15 from the top of the ancient
mountains, and from the top of the everlasting hills, 16 and of the
fullness of the land in season: and let the things pleasing to him that dwelt
in the bush come on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of him who was glorified
above his brethren. 17 His beauty is as the
firstling of his bull, his horns are the horns of a unicorn;
with them he shall thrust the nations at once, even from the end of the earth:
these are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and these are the
thousands of Manasse.
Deut 33: 17G4416As a
first-born G5022bull G3588 G2566.3is his
beauty. G1473 G2768Horns G3439.2of a
unicorn G3588 G2768are
his horns. G1473 G1722With G1473them G1484[2nations
G2768.31he
shall gore] G260together,
G2193even G575from G206.1the tip
G1093of the earth.
G3778These are
G3461the myriads
G*of
Ephraim, G2532and G3778these
are G5505the thousands
G*of
Manasseh
The sons of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh, will be like a
unicorn, goring the nations. Yahweh corrects Job and mentions the unicorn. He
speaks somewhat sarcastically to Job asking if the unicorn will be willing to
serve Him or plow for him. If we imagine the unicorn as Julius Caesar described
we can see the obvious rhetorical question to Job.
Job 39:9 And will the unicorn be willing to serve
thee, or to lie down at thy manger? 10 And wilt thou bind his yoke
with thongs, or will he plough furrows for thee in the plain? 11 And
dost thou trust him, because his strength is great? and wilt thou commit thy
works to him? 12 And wilt thou believe that he will return to thee
thy seed, and bring it in to thy
threshing-floor?
Job 39:9 G1014[2shall 4be
willing G11611And G14736to you
G3439.23 the unicorn
G13985to
serve], G2228or G2837to
sleep G1909at G5336your
stable? G1473
Job 39:5-12 "Who do you think set the wild donkey
free, opened the corral gates and let him go?
6 I gave him the whole wilderness to roam in, the rolling
plains and wide-open places.
7 He laughs at his city cousins, who are harnessed and
harried. He's oblivious to the cries of teamsters.
8 He grazes freely through the hills, nibbling anything
that's green.
9 "Will the wild buffalo condescend to serve you,
volunteer to spend the night in your barn?
10 Can you imagine hitching your plow to a buffalo and
getting him to till your fields?
11 He's hugely strong, yes, but could you trust him, would
you dare turn the job over to him?
12 You wouldn't for a minute depend on him, would you, to
do what you said when you said it? (from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary
Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)
Psalm 22 is the prophetic psalm of the Messiah’s life and
death. The usage of unicorns here is the humiliation of the Messiah.
Psalm 22:19 But thou, O Lord, remove not my help afar
off: be ready for mine aid. 20 Deliver my soul from the sword; my
only-begotten one from the power of the dog. 21 Save me from the
lion’s mouth; and regard my lowliness from the horns of the
unicorns.
Ps 22:21G4982Deliver
G1473me G1537from G4750the mouth
G3023of the lion,
G2532and G575from G2768the horns
G3439.2of the unicorns
G3588 G5014of my
humiliation!G1473
Ps 22:21 Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard
me from the horns of the unicorns. KJV
People used to sing about unicorns in Sabbath songs.
Ps 92:9 For, behold, thine enemies shall perish; and
all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered. 10 But my horn
shall be exalted as the horn of a unicorn; and mine old age
with rich mercy. 11 And mine eye has seen mine enemies, and mine ear
shall hear the wicked that rise up against me.
Ps 92:10 G2532And G5312[2shall
be raised up high G56133as G3439.24a
unicorn G3588 G27681my
horn]; G1473 G2532and G3588 G1094my old
age G1473 G1722with G1637[2oil
G4104.21plentiful]
Ps 92:7 But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn:
I shall be anointed with fresh oil. KJV
Unicorns were majestic, fierce, animals. They were not
horses or even similar to horses. Pegasus was a winged horse bringing back a
rider that had left. If we put these two ideas together with Balaam’s prophecy
and the gospel in the stars we see that the Messiah came, as a man, the branch.
He then left. He then pours out the Holy Spirit. The four horsemen are keeping
peace on the earth, but when the Lamb opens the seals they will take peace off
the earth. When the Messiah returns riding a white horse, he comes like a
unicorn, fierce and destroying the enemies. The armies of heaven are also
riding white horses and come to destroy the enemy. This is on the Day of the
Lord. The Messiah will then rest as the Lion of the tribe of Judah and rule for
one thousand years. That is the story of Aquarius, Pegasus, and Balaam’s
prophecy.
