Finding Christ in the Movements of the Stars

One thing I have always enjoyed has been laying out on a blanket while camping staring into the night sky. When I was little my Father would point out the different constellations. On some occasions we would climb out my window and sit on the roof while we watched the sun set or count asteroids as they fell. One cannot help but feel small as you stare into the night sky. For the Lord has said “worlds without number have I created and I also created them for mine own purpose (Moses 1:33).

Like Moses we can easily arise at the conclusion “that man is nothing” (Moses1:9),  that we are a small grain of sand on an immense beach. However, as I have learned more about the regular motions of the stars I have found what for me personally has been a witness that there is a supreme Creator reaching out to let us know he is there.

For “even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator” (Alma 30:44).

Sun

It is the sun that is the bestowed light and life to the world. In ancient Egypt the sun God Ra played a dominant role among the high Gods. In their writings the sun’s qualities as creator and nourisher of the earth and its inhabitants are glorified. Each Day Ra travels across the sky. It was thought that Ra “died” each evening. Throughout the night he traveled through the world of the dead coming off conqueror over death and was reborn in the morning.

The analogy presented of the Savior by the sun is clear. Christ is “the light and the life of the world” (3 Nephi 11:11,  D&C 12:9, D&C 39:2). He gave himself for the world. He overcame the power of death and was resurrected. As the sun rises in the east, so too will Christ come again.

Moon

The sun the moon and the stars were given “for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years” The significance of the moon for me as a reminder of Christ is a unique one as it had significance during Christ’s own life and death.

Some fourteen hundred years before Christ was born the Israelites were enslaved to the Egyptians. Through a series of plagues brought upon the land of Egypt the Lord showed forth his power to the pharaoh in order to encourage him to let His people go. With each new plague pharaoh hardened his heart and would not free the Israelites. In the final plague the Lord brought death to all the firstborn of both man and beast foreshadowing the sacrifice of his own firstborn to bring salvation to his people. After this final plague

“the Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt… and He called for Moses and Aaron by night and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the LORD, as ye have said” (Exodus 12:31).

And the LORD God brought forth the Israelites out of Egypt by night (Deut. 16:1). I think it is significant that the release of the children of Israel occurred under the guiding light of a full moon. We know this because from that time forth the Children of Israel were instructed to keep the Passover on the day of their release so as to always remember their deliverance. This celebration begins on the eve of the 14th day of Nisan every year.

The Gregorian calendar that we use now is based on the sun and therefore a full moon can land on any given day in a month. The Hebrew calendar however follows the phases of the moon. That means that each month the full moon falls about the 14 of every month. With this in mind it was during Passover that Christ was crucified and that evening there was a full moon. To me it is significant that following the death of Christ the Moon would commence its waning phase and the light would begin to diminish. Those that crucified the Savior had hoped that the light of Christ would have gone out altogether. Indeed many of his followers had lost hope, but as the new moon returns each month so to was the promise that the Savior would return. His light would not diminish but would return again to fill the whole earth.

Incidentally for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints there is a belief that Christ was born on April 6th not December 25 as commonly celebrated today. If this was the case and He was born on April 6th in 1 BC he was also born on the day of a Passover. As the shepherds watched over their flocks it would have been a full moon that shone overhead. The exact birth day and year of the Savior is debatable but if this was the one the symbolism would be striking.  Christ a lamb without blemish, the only begotten and firstborn of the father came into the world as the pascal lamb from his very birth. It was not until after his mortal ministry was over, some 33 years later, that he would be slain.

Hebrew Year Date of 15 Nisan Gregorian Year 3758 Mar 29 3 BC 3759 Mar 18 2 BC 3760 Apr 6 1 BC 3761 Mar 27 1 AD 3762 Apr 14 2 AD 3763 Apr 3 3 AD

Passover begins the evening of the 14th day of Nisan.

Again, for members of the LDS church, there are other significant correlations. First, the church was  organized on April 6, 1830. This was the day before Passover in that year. For me the significance was that on this day the paterfamilias of a Jewish household led his family through the house by candlelight, looking in nooks and crannies for any leaven in the house. No leaven was supposed to be in the home during the Passover. Not infrequently, Jews would sell their leaven to their Gentile neighbors and buy it back after the eight days of unleavened bread. In this situation on this eve of the Passover you could see the symbolism of the leaven being sold or passed from the Jews to the Gentiles. The parable of the Leaven is significant.

And again he said, Where unto shall I liken the kingdom of God? It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened. (Luke 13:20-21)

  

The leaven was passed onto the Gentiles the day the church was organized. It was from here that the full light of the gospel should be reflected into the world. And the evening of the Next day began Passover with the full light of the moon shining once again on the inhabitants of the earth. In time and through missionary labors that leaven would again be given back.

 Secondly, Christ's body was restored to Him on the Sunday following the paschal full moon so to was there to be a modern restoration to the body of the church. On April 3, 1836 the Savior, Moses, Elias and Elijah appear in succession in the Kirtland temple to restore the priesthood keys required for this dispensation to the church. Passover in the year 1836 fell on Friday April 1. This meant that Sunday April 3, 1836 was the symbolic day that Christ was resurrected. As Christ's spirit was restored to his body, so too was the spirit of Elijah returned to the saints in like manner.

Each of these events occurred when the light of the moon was at its fullest (or the Sunday following). To me this light is a reminder of the Savior who is the light that shines into the darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not (John 1:1). Many eternally significant events happened under the reflecting light of a full moon but the world did not pay attention.

There are yet other ways in which the moon reminds of the Savior. The characteristics of the moon are interesting. For one it has a gravitationally locked (tidal locked) rotation with the earth. The result of this is that the same side, or face, of the moon is always visible from the earth. Christ has said “I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them.” (Jeremiah 32:40) The moon is continually facing toward us and will not turn away. This stands as a reminder that no matter what we do Christ will be turned toward us to reflect his light into our life. It is where we place the Savior that will determine how much light we will receive.

http://astroyogalove.com/the-planets/the-moon/

The moon also is exerting an incredible force on the earth. It reaches out in attempts to pull the earth closer to it. The earth doesn’t move but the water does. It is this pull that causes the rising and falling of the ocean. Some scientist believe that it was the ebb and flow of these tides which lead to the creation of life on earth. It certainly effects the times and seasons at it continually reaches out to the earth to pull it closer. For me the moon provides a beautiful analogy of the Savior as the creator and bringer of life as well as one who continually reaches out to each of us individually in attempts to draw us closer to Him.

Scientists believe that without the moon life on the earth could not exist. By intelligent design the moon attracts almost every comet, meteor and or asteroid that may have otherwise hit the earth. The moon is completely covered with craters as a result of a bombardment of foreign bodies floating through space. The earth on the other hand contains very few. If it were not for the moon acting like a huge vacuum cleaner sweeping back and forth across the sky life on earth may have ended as it did for the dinosaurs. As I look at the scars on the surface of the moon borne from dangers that would have otherwise hit us here on earth I can’t help but think of the wounds made in Christ's own body for our salvation from spiritual death. “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows… smitten of God, and afflicted… he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 534-5). 

The final way in which the moon represents Christ for me is as it relates to a prophesy of his second coming  for “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come” (Acts 2:20).

A total lunar eclipse occurs whenever the sun the earth and the moon line up with the moon on the far side of the earth from the sun. Direct sunlight is completely blocked by the earth's shadow. The only light seen is refracted through the earth's shadow. This light looks red for the same reason that the sunset looks red, due to rayleigh scattering of the more blue light. Because of its reddish color, a total lunar eclipse is sometimes called a blood moon. The sun can be turned to darkness when the moon is located between the earth and the sun resulting in a solar eclipse. These phenomenons have happened many times since Christ was crucified and will continue to happen many more before he returns. For me there is also a spiritual interpretation of this scripture.  How is it that the sun will be turned to darkness and the moon will be turned into blood simultaneously? As the world turns more fully away from the Savior the divine light cast upon us will have no power to light our way. At the same time, if we stand in front of that light it will forever be changed turning the moon to blood as it were. Besides a physical manifestation could this prophesy also be symbolic of a world that has turned completely from the light of the Saviour in such a way as to block even its reflective rays into the lives of those that live upon it?

Ironically, if Christ was crucified during the Passover in 33 A.D. His crucifixion occurred during a lunar eclipse.  The eclipse began at 3:00 pm during the exact moments Christ was suffering on the cross. By the time the moon rose above the horizon the eclipse was well underway and as a result it would have appeared blood red. (the following image was made with the help of Stellarium)

What is even more significant is that lunar eclipse results in a syzygy.  If there is an eclipse in one direction there is an eclipse in the other direction as well.  If you were standing on the moon during that syzygy of 3 April 33, you would see a total eclipse of the Sun. The blotted Sun would be in the heart of the constellation of the Ram (Aries). Truly even the sun the moon and the stairs paid homage to the Lamb who was slain.

In the old testament God commands the Israelites to  “Observe the month [hebrew: chodesh חֹ֫דֶשׁ (Stong’s no. 2320), may also be translated new moon] of Abib and keep the Passover…” (Deuteronomy 16:1). Here, the word “observe” in the Hebrew is shamar שָׁמַר and also means “look narrowly for, search” (Strong’s  No. 8104). The Holladay Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon defines it as watching in the sense of looking. The command is to look for, wait for, watch and mark the new moon. Symbolically we are to also look for wait for, watch and mark the signs that will announce the return of the Savior an event that if we do not take care to notice the signs we may miss.

 Jupiter

Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. Jupiter was known to astronomers of ancient times. The Romans named it after their god Jupiter. When viewed from Earth, Jupiter can reach an apparent magnitude of −2.94, bright enough for its reflected light to cast shadows, and making it on average the third-brightest object in the night sky after the Moon and Venus. For me the symbolism of this planet as a reminder of Christ is as follows:

First, Jupiter is by far the largest planet, and as such there is something kingly in its nature. The meaning of the name Melchizedek is “Zedek is [My] King.” Zedek,  was the Jewish name given to the planet Jupiter, remaining so in the astronomy of the Jews in later ages. Zedek also has the meaning of “righteousness” or “justice.”

Many theories for the Star of Bethlehem, which invoke celestial alignments, have Jupiter as one of the bodies involved. Jupiter was always seen as the Planet of Kings, and thus its rise and alignment would have signified to the Magi (Three Wise Men) that a ‘King’ was to be born.

We are told in the New Testament that Jesus was born of a virgin. And precisely on December 25, 2 B.C., Jupiter “stopped” in the constellation of Virgo, the Virgin (in the middle of the constellation). On that day the “King, planet” stopped its lateral motion through the stars and remained stationary for about six days. To an observer on earth it would have appeared completely stationary in the midst of Virgo. An event such as this one would be noticed by astrologers and may have signalled the Magi to begin their quest for the Christ Child. From Jerusalem it would have appeared directly overhead Bethlehem.

If Christ was born on April 6, 1 B.C. it would have also been during the exact time Mary (the Virgin) was carrying the Christ Child. If he was born on the 25 of December it would have been unlikely that there would have been shepherds abiding in the field as this was usually done from early spring to early fall.

Another possible celestial sign was given earlier that year on June 17, 1 B.C. During this evening one of the most impressive conjunctions occurred with the two brightest planets passing each other in the sky. Jupiter the king of planet joined Venus, called Meleket ha-Shamayim, "the queen of heaven," in (Jeremiah 7:18). All of this occurs near the constellation of Leo the Lion which was the symbol of Juda.  In the middle east, the two planets were in contact at sunset (in the western sky). Venus passes Jupiter at about 2' arc per hour. The eye has a resolution of 1' arc so the two appeared as one only for a little more than 1 hour. To add yet one more celestial coincidence this all occurred under a full moon. Again if we take this as an annunciation of Christ birth and we use April 6^th as the date this event occurred there was roughly nine months that fall between these events. (To see these events for yourself download  Stellarium change the location to Jerusalem looking at the western horizon on the following date June 17, -1 at 11:00 pm which would correspond to June 17, 2 B.C. as Stellarium uses a 0 to represent 1 BC - there is no 0 AD)

To me I think it is significant that Jupiter takes 12 years to circle the sun. Each year Jupiter is in a different sign of the Zodiac. There are twelve celestial constellations that stand as witteness of the majesty of Jupiter.

Jupiter is also significant in that it gives off twice as much energy as it receives. In other words unlike earth that receives more energy from the sun than it gives off Jupiter creates energy of it own.  The symbolism here is that Christ also has life in himself not relying on outside forces.

This image shows the heat given off by Jupiter seen at infrared wavelengths.

Jupiter, like the moon, is vital to the very survival of life on earth thanks to it's location and sheer size. The king of planets acts as a gatekeeper sweeping up comets and asteroids that might otherwise crash into earth. It also 'shepherds' the asteroid belt, preventing the asteroids from falling into the sun and thus keeping them away from harming us.

http://www.physics-astronomy.com/

As the king of all planets I think Jupiter has much to teach us about the symbolism of Christ.

Saturn

Saturn was referred to as Shabbatai שבתאי, Meaning: "the restful one," since Saturn is the slowest-moving visible planet. The name has reference to the 7^th day when God rested,  incidentally Saturn is the 7^th brightest object in the sky (The brightest object being the Sun followed by the moon, Venus, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury and then Saturn).  In many ancient religions dominion passes from Saturn to Jupiter. Jupiter (Zeus) became the chief god after supplanting Saturn (Kronos). As I looked at Saturn for the first time through a telescope I was amazed at the rings surrounding the planet. You see pictures in school but actually seeing with your own eyes is a sight to behold. If Jupiter reminds me of Christ, then Saturn reminds me of God his father. As I looked at this planet through the telescope the thought came to my mind that the rings surrounding this planet were made up of the primordial elements that would make up a planet floating in concentric circles around the main body. As I thought about this I could not help but think of the scripture in Abraham:

I came down in the beginning in the midst of all the intelligences... Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was;and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones; And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born. (Abraham 3:21-23) 

In the Jewish apocryphal writings there is an often depicted situation described in the Book of Mormon. In a vision Lehi sees God on his throne "surrounded with numberless concourses of angels in the attitude of singing and praising their God" (1 Nephi 1:8). Hugh W. Nibley says “these surrounding concourses are concentric circles, and the singing and praising are never static: it is a dynamic picture with everything in motion, as Lehi sees it, and as the cosmic pattern of the thing requires.” As I saw the rings of Saturn I was reminded of this symbolism.

Sirius

Sirius is a star system and the brightest star in the Earth's night sky. The name "Sirius" is derived from the Ancient Greek Σείριος (Seirios), meaning "glowing" or "scorcher". Sirius is also known colloquially as the "Dog Star", reflecting its prominence in its constellation, Canis Major (Greater Dog). For the Egyptians the heliacal rising of Sirius marked the flooding of the Nile and which brought life and fertility to her lands. For the ancient Greeks it marked the "dog days" of summer or the hottest part of the summer. Its heliacal rising was of such importance that its arrival was anticipated or heralded by an announcing star. Mirzam a less bright star is situated to the east of Sirius. Mirzam would rise above the horizon shortly before Sirius. In fact the name is derived from the Arabic Al Murzim, "The Announcer."

The symbolism that Sirius signals the renewing of new life to the world is a beautiful one. Also the fact that Sirius is the brightest star cannot be overlooked. Christ has said “I am the light and the life of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12) it is also significant that Sirius is preceded by Mirzam. Again the scriptures teach “Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me” (Malachi 3:1). John the Baptist said of himself “He… who [comes] after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose.”   (John1:24) So as John was to come before the Savior to herald his coming so to does the rising of Mizram announce the immediate rising of the still brighter star Sirius.

Polaris (The North Star)

Because Polaris lies nearly in a direct line with the axis of the Earth's rotation "above" the North Pole it stands almost motionless in the sky. All other stars of the northern sky appear to rotate around it. Therefore, it makes an excellent fixed point from which to draw measurements for celestial navigation and for astronomy. I myself have used the north star to find my way when I was lost while on a night quading adventure in which I got lost. Using the north star I was able to find my way back to the highway which I knew lay north of my current position. From there I was able to get home.

A story from the Qur'an that I like speaks of how Abraham became a true believer. 

And when Abraham said to his father Azar, 'Takest thou idols for gods? I see thee, and thy people, in manifest error.' So We were showing Abraham the kingdom of the heavens and earth, that he might be of those having sure faith. When night outspread over him he saw a star and said, 'This is my Lord.' But when it set he said, 'I love not the setters.' When he saw the moon rising, he said, 'This is my Lord.' But when it set he said, 'If my Lord does not guide me I shall surely be of the people gone astray.' When he saw the sun rising, he said, 'This is my Lord; this is greater!' But when it set he said, 'O my people, surely I am quit of that you associate. I have turned my face to Him who originated the heavens and the earth, a man of pure faith; I am not of the idolaters.' His people disputed with him. He said, 'Do you dispute with me concerning God, and He has guided me? I fear not what you associate with Him, except my Lord will aught. My Lord embraces all things in His knowledge; will you not remember? How should I fear what you have associated, seeing you fear not that you have associated with God that whereon He has not sent down on you any authority?' Which of the two parties has better title to security, if you have any knowledge? Those who believe, and have not confounded their belief with evildoing -- to them belongs the true security; they are rightly guided. (Surah Al-An'am [6:74-82])

In this story Abraham was looking for a God he could rely on. One that was not of the "setters". Just as the North Star does not set so to can we trust in Christ. For Christ is "the same today and tomorrow, and forever" (Moroni 10:7)  

 Many a mariner has contributed his safe return home to the steady, unchanging and sure guidance of the North Star. So too will we find our way home if we use as our guide an eternally unchanging landmark, even Jesus Christ.
 

Thus saith the Lord your God, even Jesus Christ, The great I am, Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, The same which looked upon the wide expanse of eternity, and all the seraphic host of heaven, before the world was made" (D&C132:66)

Uranus and Neptune

Although Uranus is visible with the naked eye it was not generally recognized as a planet until about 1783. Uranus is named after the ancient Greek deity of the sky Uranus the father of Cronus (Saturn) and grandfather of Zeus (Jupiter). For me one of the most fascinating aspects of Uranus was that through observations of its movements the observer was pointed to something more, something unseen.

After the discovery of Uranus, astronomers noticed that the planet was being pulled slightly out of its normal orbit. After being unable to reconcile this data one such astronomer  perceptively remarked the following:

"... I leave it to the future the task of discovering whether the difficulty of the reconciling [the data] is connected with the ancient observations, or whether it depends on some foreign and unperceived cause which may have been action upon the planet" (Alexis Bouvard)

A few decades later John Couch Adams of Britain and Urbain Jean Joseph Leverrier of France, used mathematics to predict that the gravity from another planet beyond Uranus was affecting its obit. Through their calculations they figured out not only where the planet was, but also how much mass it had. A young astronomer, Johann Gottfried Galle, decided to search for the predicted planet and observed Neptune for the first time in 1846.

As I think of how Neptune was discovered I can't help but think of how the scriptures hint to me that there is something more, something that although is true cannot be seen and that not all knowledge is given at once. Instead knowledge is given line upon line and precept upon precept; through studying the scriptures one can gain an understanding of things not yet seen. We can also gain hope that questions that do not have adequate answers today will someday be made so clear that even a small child will be able to provide an answer, even as any child now could tell you what planet exists beyond Uranus.
    

For me these similarities between Christ and the movements of the stars is striking. They have reminded me of my loving Saviour who brought life and light into the world and who has reached out through the regular motions of the universe to let us know He is there.  Whether or not the above mentioned motions were divinely appointed is debatable but if their movements can turn our view toward the Savior I don’t think this is a bad thing.

“The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.

Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.” Psalm 19:1-4 (NIV)

 

The Bible - What we are missing.

The Lord Jesus Christ told his disciples that not one "jot" or "tittle" will pass away from the Law until all is fulfilled (see Matt. 5:18).  The word translated "jot" (iota from the Greek New Testament) refers to the smallest Hebrew letter "Yod”. It distinguished Joshua (יהושע) from Hoshea (הושֵע) and Sarai from Sarah. The “tittle” (keraia in Greek) is one of the smaller strokes when writing the Hebrew letters. It distinguished ד (D) from ר (R), or כ (K) from ב (B). Jewish Rabbis used to caution their scholars against so writing as to cause one letter to be mistaken for another, so doing could result in nonsense or misinterpretation. For Christ the smallest stroke of the smallest letter of the Law had value.

I have always wanted to read the Old Testament in Hebrew or at least be able to get through the Torah (the first 5 books of the Old Testament) as well as Isiah. Admittedly I have started the process more times than I care to say and have progressed less than I would have liked. For a while I get excited about it and jump in with both feet but over time life gets in the way. Despite the fact that I have progressed very slowly, I have begun looking at the Old Testament through a Hebrew lens. I am amazed at how many gems are missing in the English translation and how a jot or a tittle of information can provide so much more insight into the scriptures. 

Whether you’re interested in learning Hebrew or not I recommend getting a copy of Stong’s Concordance. It is a reference book that takes every word from the bible and indexes it. This allows the reader to find Hebrew words where they appear in the Bible. This reference book also provides direct comparison where the same word may be used in different passages. The main benefit for me is that a word in Hebrew may be translated into different words in English depending on the context and as a result the comparison is lost.

So let me begin. When you want to share something, it is best to start at the beginning and so we shall. The first chapter of the first book of the Old Testament starts out like this:

"In the beginning God created heaven and earth."

 

The Hebrew word used for creation is ארב “Ba-raw” and is more exclusive then the English equivalent. In English the word create is generic you can create, I can create, anyone can create. In Hebrew however ארב is a verb that is only used when God is the subject of the verb. For example

1)      God created the Heaven and the earth (Gen. 1:1)   

2)      God created mankind both male and female (Gen 1:27)

3)      God created heavenly Host (Isa 40:26)

4)      God will create a new heaven and earth (65:17)

5)      God created righteousness and salvation (Isa45:8)

As we look at this list we may feel that God is a very distant God, one who is only concerned with the grand and important events of his plan but David knew better. He knew that if we were to cast off the natural man and become saints we could not do it alone. In fact, it is only through and with God that we can overcome the natural man. In one of the Psamls of David as he pleads with the Lord he asks the Lord to “create in [him] a clean heart… and renew a right spirit within [him]”   (Ps. 51:10). In this verse David uses the verb ba-raw. He realizes that God is not only involved in the creation of the universe but is intimately involved in David’s own creation and salvation. David understands that if we are to become as God we need to allow him to change us.

 

The link between our own progression and Christ is so precisely depicted in Dante’s Divine Comedy a 14^th century poem written by Dante Alighieri. In this story Dante finds himself lost in a dark and dreary wood with help from Virgil a guide from beyond the grave Dante descends into the pits of hell then ascends Mount Purgatory to Paradise or Heaven. The poem represents, allegorically, the soul's journey towards God. As Dante Climbs Mount Purgatory it is revealed that Souls may climb the mountain only during the day. Symbolically this is because they can reach the top only with the help from the divine light. Christ must be an integral part of their ascension.

Mount Purgatory by Domenico di Michelino, 1465.

 

Ezekial also understood this link. He teaches that the Lord, if we let him, will play a central role in our development.

“For I will take you from among the heathen… Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness…I will cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statues and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.” (Ezekial 24-27).

 

As we once again look at the opening words of Genesis there is one unique word that is left untranslated. There is in fact no equivalent word in English. If we are to translate it literally it would look something like this.

“In the beginning God created et [אֵת]”

 Et (אֵת) is a particle used in front of the direct object of a verb. In Genisis 1:1 “et” precedes the heaven and the earth which in this case are the direct objects of the verb “created”. The word et is composed of the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet (Aleph and Tav) Some Rabbis interpret this to mean that God first created the alphabet.

Hebrew Alphabet

Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi stated that if the letters were to depart even for an instant, all of creation would become absolute nothingness (Zalman, Shneur. 1981. "Igeret Hateshuvah." Likkutie Amarim - Tanya. Brooklyn: Kihot. 289).

From those letters God created the word. Jews would equate the words of life with the divine revelations as given in the Hebrew Bible. Christians view this from a different vantage point.

It is interesting that in the first instance it was the WORD that Elohim created. The word for me has a three fold meaning. It is the word that gave him the power to create. As it is written, “God said let there be Light and there was light”. It is also the words of life that will teach us how to return to live with him. Finally the Word is the Savior, the means by which we will be able to return. For as John says:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” (John 1:1)

For me this gives a whole new meaning to Lehi and Nephi’s vision of the tree of life. In this vision numberless concourses of people hold tight to an iron rod which leads them through the mists of darkness to the tree of life. The rod is identified by Nephi as the WORD of God and so it is but could we not also see the WORD as a representation of the Word that was with God in the beginning even Christ himself.

 

As we press our way forward feeling our way toward the tree of life is it not Christ that we must take hold of to guide us through the mists of darkness, Like Dante as we ascend our own mount Purgatory is it not Christ that will provide the guiding and reassuring light and Ezekiel and David taught that as we attempt to purge our imperfections do we not need to hand our life over to Christ in order to create in us a new spirit.  Let us remember that we can not do it alone. We must invite divine guidance into our lives and allow the Creator of all to create in us a new heart. 

Changes to church policies according to Luke.

The author of The Gospel According to Luke has never been quite clear. Tradition has it he was the traveling companion of Paul however many scholars disagree with this assertion sighting contradictions in between Luke’s writings and the writings of Paul. Regardless of the actual identity of the author of Luke this much we do know.

1. The author of Luke also wrote The Acts of the Apostles. (Act 1:1-3).
2. Luke was not a first hand witness of the life of Christ, rather he wrote of others’ experiences that were told to him (Luke 1:1-2).
3. Scholars place the writing of Luke to be around 80-100 A.D.
4. He used the Gospel of Mark as a guide to his text. Scholars assume this because although he follows the basic outline of Mark the author of Luke expanded on the story of Mark while he also corrects Mark’s poor grammar and syntax.
5. On of the most interesting aspects for me is that he does not follow the story exactly but I will come back to that.

In addition to the question of the authorship there is much debate as to who it was written to. Luke commences with a salutation to Theophilus, but who was Theophilus?. Again, Tradition and theories vary greatly,however, my favourite is that Theophilus is not a person at all but represents the friends of God or from my perspective the members of the church. Both Luke and Acts were written in a refined Koine Greek, and the name Theophilos ( "θεόφιλος") as it appears therein, is an amalgamation of the words for God "theos" and friend or loved "philos". Literally translated it could mean loved of God or friend of God. I like this translation because on a more personal note this means Luke was written for me as one who seeks to be called by such a title.

Luke is unique from the other gospels in many respects. For instance, there are more stories of women mentioned in Luke than  in any other the other gospels. There are also more stories related to the poor and the sinners. In one way,  however,  I find Luke extremely unique. As the writer of his gospel Luke develops certain themes. He has a purpose and he attempts to convey certain messages to his readers. In doing this he takes the  liberty to alter the time line of events to convey his message in a specific way. We can see this from the opening verses of Luke where he all but tells us he is going to do this. He writes:

“Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us… It seemed good to me also, having had a perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus. "(Luke 1:1,3)

For Luke the order in which the story was presented was important and from the start Luke takes advantage of order to present a sub plot of the Luke-acts story. That of a traveling narrative or journey motif of Christ in Luke and the church in Acts..  In Luke  Jesus journeys from Galilee to Samaria and into Jerusalem while in Acts the church starts in Jerusalem and extends out through Samaria into the world.  In this journey there is a subplot of the gospel being presented first to the Jews rejected and from that rejection being offered to the rest of the world (or the Gentiles).

We can see this theme from the start of Christ’s ministry as we look at His  inaugural speech as presented by Luke. It deals with his rejection by those of his home town (symbolically the Jews) subsequently goes out to share the gospel with those not of his hometown (symbolically the Gentiles). The interesting aspect of this event is that it did not happen until much latter in Mark; in fact it occurs in reverse order.

• Rejection of Christ by those in Nazareth - Luke 4:16-30 -  Mark 6:1-6
• Travels to Capernaum and taught there  - Luke 4:31-32 -  Mark 1:22-23

Notice the reverse order of these events in Mark and Luke. Luke does not even go out of his way to remedy this discrepancy. In  his text as we can read where people beseech Christ to perform the same miracles in his own country that they have heard him perform in Capernaum (Luke 4:23), an event that, according to the text of Luke,  has not even occurred yet and won’t  until after he departs from Nazerath. We can see from this that Luke simply cuts and pastes experiences of the life of Christ from his source documents (Mark) with little or no care as to the historical timeline. He does this to help build the theme and present the doctrine as he sees it. Knowing that Luke used other material as his source and did not follow the order as they were presented is an important part of studying Luke and Acts. The reader now has to ask two questions:

1. Why did Luke choose particular stories to be present in his work?
2. Why did he place them in the order he did?

Let me show another example found in Acts. This is what I really wanted to present. Following the martyrdom of Stephen, we read the following verses:

“And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison. Therefore they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word… Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only. And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.” (Acts 8:2-4 and Acts 11:19-20)

Did you notice that? Look at the reference for these versus, they were taken from two different passages separated by 2 and a half chapters. The first part was from Acts 8:2-4 and the last was from Acts 11:19-20 but they would appear as if they came from the same paragraph.  One uninterrupted thought. Again Luke took liberty as the author of this book to splice his source document  mid paragraph inserting material in between, Why? The question needs to be answered by exploring two aspects of the text First what was the content that that was added. For one the conversion of Paul who was considered as the principle missionary to the Gentiles but also, and more importantly, Peter was given a vision to bring the gospel to the gentiles. Something that to this point was not done. As of yet the gospel was reserved for the Jews.  Secondly we need to look at the verses that were spliced. You will note that those that were scattered shared the gospel with the Grecians (Translated Greeks in the NIV bible) after being rejected by the Jews. hey were as it were sharing the gospel with the gentiles and the gentiles where accepting the gospel.

The insertion of the additional text is a subtle but important one. Luke is trying to teach us the way in which change is brought about in the church by revelation. It was not that these missionaries found that the gentiles were accepting the gospel decided it was a good idea then approached the leadership of the church to tell them things needed to change. Nor was it that they went against the teachings of their leaders because they felt that the teachings of the church were somehow out of date. Instead Luke is confirming the pattern of revelation. If, and when a change needs to occur, it is the Lord who directs his prophet through revelation.  Luke is reminding us that Christ is the Head of the church and that church policies, direction and governance will come by him to his prophet. Not by a grass roots petitions to their leaders. He is also reminding us that changes can and does happen. After all,"We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God." (A. of F. 7) but that change will come through the revealed pattern he established. What more important message could Luke have given to those that are the “friends of God” than this? Although at times we may not understand the policies, procedures and doctrines of the church we can take comfort knowing that Christ is at the helm and will direct his Prophets when a course correction needs to be made.

If we make it we are going to be cut, bruised and worn out.

I have often heard statements in Sunday school that suggest that if we are doing what we are supposed to do  our lives will be easy and happy; everything will work out. As if somehow following Christ will protect us from the pains, struggle  and temptations of this world. After all Christ teaches in Mathew 11:29

“Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest to your souls. For my yoke is EASY and my burden is light.”

The word used for easy in the original greek was chrestos. This same word could also be translated as well-fitting. At the time of Christ ox-yokes were made of wood. An ox was measured and a custom fitted yoke was fabricated then carefully adjusted so that it fit well without chafing the neck of the animal. Jesus in this statement for me is not saying that his yoke is easy. He is saying in essence “the yoke I give you is not meant to cause you pain rather it was made to measure, it was made to fit you well”.  That is to say our trials and our tests were made for us to fit our needs and abilities exactly. 

In another passage from the book of Mormon we read

“And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.” (Helaman 5:12)

The lesson learned from this passage is very clear. For us it is not if the devil will send forth his mighty wind, it is when. Each of us will have to go through our own struggles, our own trials of faith and experience our own loss as did Job. Struggles at times that might feel like they will break us. But we can take courage in the thought that the power of the adversary can only go so far. When comforting Joseph Smith while in-prisoned in Liberty  jail the Lord said:

 Therefore, hold on thy way… for their bounds are set, they cannot pass. Thy days are known, and thy years shall not be numbered less; therefore, fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever. (D&C 122:9)

In a poem by John Milton entitled Paradise Lost God says of Adam and Eve and I believe symbolically about all of mankind

“I made [man] just and right,Sufficient to have stood, though free to fall.” (Book 3 line 95)

though not scripture I feel the point is very true we are made equal to the task before us and the task before us will stretch us to our limits. 

This thought is taught so well in the vision of Lehi of the tree of life as he beheld the 

“ multitudes pressing forward; and they came and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron; and they did press their way forward, continually holding fast to the rod of iron, until they came forth and fell down and partook of the fruit of the tree.”( 1 Nephi 8:30)

The journey will not be an easy one. It will be made to test our limits. And when we reach the end we may also find ourselves falling down exhausted having giving are all. 

One of my favourite stories of the Old Testament is that of Jacob. One of the major themes of his life is of his constant struggle. Beginning in  the womb a struggle arises between him and his brother Esau (Gen. 25:22-24)  one that would continue throughout  the remainder of their  life; you might remember his struggled to earn the birthright.  Later we see him struggle once again with his future father-in-law for Rachel. This struggle culminates On his journey back to the land of his father  when he wrestled with an angel until daybreak seeking a blessing, when the being saw that he did not overpower Jacob, he touched Jacob

on the sinew of his thigh, as a result, Jacob developed a limp (Genesis 32:31). Following this struggle Jacobs name was changed to Israel , it has been suggested that the name "Israel" comes from the Hebrew words לִשְׂרות (lisrot, "wrestle") and  אֵל (El, "God"). Literally translate he who wrestles with God.  The symbolism of this story is that each of us are locked eternally in a struggle with God neither prevailing completely over the other both forever changed by this encounter. As with  Jacob when our long night is over we may find ourselves literally limping back to the home of our fist inheritance. 

In fact I believe if we are going to make it  we going to be cut brushed and worn out having endured the yoke that was made specifically for us. Not a yoke made to ease our burden but to purge out our imperfections.