Biblical Astronomy
Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. 1 Thessalonians 5:1-2 NASB
The times – “For all astrological statements are senseless and untrue, anyone making them is a fool or a madman, or intentionally contradicting Torah—as though the Deluge and the destruction of Sodom had been caused by the stars and not by the sins of men and the will of God.”[1]
Is Maimonides correct? Well, if you believe in the sovereignty of God, you have to admit that alignment of the planets or configurations of the stars have absolutely nothing to do with the cause of earthly events. God’s involvement is the only thing that matters. Horoscopes are enticing fiction! And Tomb Raider movies are just digital dysentery. The times are not determined by the elements.
Maimonides helps us realize the truth of our circumstances. We are in the hands of only two beings, God and us. Our actions and reactions can advance or delay His purposes, never thwart them. We are responsible for our part. No blame falls on the moon. And consequently, no sign in the sky can cause anything on earth to come to pass.
But can’t we look for signs in order to know that the day is approaching? What does Paul say? “Hey, don’t you know that the day comes like a thief in the night? Do you really think you can tell when a thief will arrive? The whole purpose of a thief is to not be detected. So stop wasting your time on this. Don’t bother reading all the signs. It is coming for sure. Just be prepared.” God is in charge. You aren’t! That’s about all you need to know.
That doesn’t seem to stop us though, does it? Even in the smallest of life’s details, we are constantly watching for signs. Let’s see. Does she love me? What do the tea leaves say? Will I be happy? A Tarot reading might tell. Is this office going to be a success? Ask the feng shui compass. Want to know your compatibility quotient? Check her Zodiac sign. Oh, I see. You don’t mess with all those spiritual pagan rituals. OK, then why are you looking for signs in the stock market or carrying your favorite team’s lucky charm? Why do you think that you can manipulate God into giving you success by saying the right prayer (of Jabez maybe?) or tithing more or lighting a few more candles? Why do you worry about a flight on Friday the 13th or walk on the other side of the street from the cemetery? How much of your life is run by powers claiming sovereignty? How much idolatry is hidden in your own behavior?
God reigns. The rest is commentary. Enjoy what He does and leave Him to do it.
Topical Index: signs, 1 Thessalonians 5:1-2, thief, day of the Lord
[1] Maimonides (circa 1170)
I while back I attempted to reverse some agenda’s search-and-destroy of Wikipedia prose and articles distinguishing between causal astrology and “signs in the heavens”; i.e., non-causal synchronization between heavenly and Earthly events. I was unsuccessful, as the powers that be want “signs in the heavens” to just go away and never come back. I suspect The LORD has other ideas.
Today’s word makes me chuckle. This is a personal reflection and not any sort of judgement for anyone who is yet relying on these things mentioned. I just find it amusing that when we have a Creator/Father so great as Y-H for whom nothing is impossible that we sometimes find ourselves looking to such simple or even pagan things to guide our choices.
I have learned that God is truly all I need but do I forget that at times? I sure do and find myself in chaos of one form or another until I turn back to the One I call Father.
“Enjoy what He does and leave Him to do it.” YES!!
Dawn, I shout a double Yes with you!! Your reply to Skip’s article is my own! Praise be to God for the Spirit of Truth He has placed in everyone of us who know and love Him!
Could, He also be alluding to previous times that Adonai was in control over the universe, as in Joshua 10:12 Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)
12 Then, on the day Adonai handed over the Emori to the people of Isra’el, Y’hoshua spoke to Adona i; in the sight of Isra’el he said,
“Sun, stand motionless over Giv‘on!
Moon, you too, over Ayalon Valley!”
I appreciate today’s post. The Father is absolutely the one in control and He is the only one who can cause anything to come to pass. The only thing I am wondering about is Paul’s follow up comment, ‘But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief;’ Not saying this can be used to justify our becoming preoccupied with reading signs in the sky or the stock market, but isn’t it saying that ‘sons of light and sons of day’ will not be surprised when He returns or be ‘overtaken like a thief in the night’?
Good point, there does seem to be encouragement to watch for when the leaves change color.
We don’t see the leaves change color until after the chemical/weather reaction that is needed has started to occur. We can recognize that the wind (Ruach) is moving, but does that mean we should try to predict where it will go or how life will look after it does? I can see that daylight is ending when the sun is low on the horizon, but that doesn’t give me absolutes for what may happen through the night. I think Paul’s point was that we should live with an overall sense of the nearness of the kingdom of God. We see the results of men turning from God, just as Godly men and women have seen since the “end times” were announced by Yeshua. But the only way that should change our lives is as an encouragement to press on towards His return — the signs that have already occurred are proof that He is moving. We don’t need to predict the future in the way of those who don’t believe. His promise is sure and we can see where we are going by recognizing where He has been. 🙂
I have a dear friend who has a vast knowledge of the Bible. I enjoy talking “theology” with him whenever we get together. He sort of tolerates my views and I his. We have been able to talk and disagree on viewpoints and still remain very good friends. We challenge each other and usually always offer points and counterpoints. As I said, I enjoy, respect and appreciate his friendship greatly. I only wish we could get together more often.
Regarding today’s TW, I’ll point out that this friend has become deeply focused on prophecies and the “soon” coming of Yeshua. I listen to him but don’t offer much response to the subject as I just can’t speak very detailed about it as yet.
Overall the topic of Skip’s post hits home in this situation. While I don’t indulge in the prophecy topic as much as my friend, I do revel in his company and shared discussions whenever I can. He is not obsessed with it as some I’ve known, but quite focused and enraptured in the subject. My part is to listen, try to learn and solidify our friendship more and more. However, I find my mind and heart more in line with how Skip put it, “God reigns. The rest is commentary. Enjoy what He does and leave Him to do it.” Simple and it certainly makes sense and is very livable.
Thanks, Skip. Again, you’ve confirmed my mind of rambling thoughts by simplifying a collection of disjointed thoughts I have quite frequently. I have a lot of good solid thoughts but have trouble connecting them cohesively together at times. Your simplicity of often complicated topics in to simple, straight forward expressions helps me tremendously.
What else does Paul say? “But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.”
“Maimonides expressed disapproval of poetry, the best of which he declared to be false, since it was founded on pure invention.”
Hmmm with all due respect for Maimonides, I think Mel Gibson’s question in the movie Signs “what if everything we encounter is a sign from God?” (we just don’t know how to read it) is as important as a lot of poetry I’ve read.
And poetry could be telling us the same thing the Torah teaches us, and therefore can’t all be false IMO
I tend to see languages as either systems of signs, which I think parallels the Greek or scientific worldviews
Or dialectical constructs that are dynamic and contradictory like the Hebrew worldview and Marxism eg
Many times when I’m walking with Max, lately up in the hill around the lakes in Niles Canyon
I can’t see God, but the “signs” make me sense him and I think of him “every where I gohohoo” 🙂
Skip, your Biblical Astronomy article is wonderful!! What a refreshing to my soul as I read it!
Thank you!
Who believes we can not say if the system is geocentric or heliocentric
Clearly if we take the scriptures literally it is the sun going around the earth
“We are in the hands of only two beings, God and us. Our actions and reactions can advance or delay His purposes, never thwart them. We are responsible for our part.”
I absolutely agree, 100%
It has been dawning on me that, for all the noise we humans make about ‘having our own way’, when it comes down to examining what we DO with that ‘own way’, we actually end up using it as a license of sorts to avoid hard choices. We use license to follow the course of least resistance. We use it, in fact, to NOT HAVE TO CHOOSE. To put it bluntly, I have been slowly coming to the amazing realization that we want our choices done FOR us. Why? Because it creates an illusion that, somehow, if we don’t actually write our name on the blueprint of our lives, we won’t have to bear the GUILT for when things go wrong. So, down deep where the sun don’t shine, a sinning heart is a heart that desires it ALL to be someone else’s fault. Fear, guilt and shame are all chronic buck-passers. At the bottom of this barrel of apples, I think I see sin being the desire to avoid responsibility of all sorts. Oh, it will cause us to desire all the CREDIT, but I think we are tempted to believe that responsibility and credit can be divorced from each other.
I think I have seen that the occult promises that credit without that responsibility. It can promise ‘freedom to be your own ‘gods” and have it all be about you with one hand, but with the other, give you a multitude of ways to pass the buck when it comes to explaining the messes. In this way, it can deliver an illusion that you possess love and light and freedom (FROM obedience, of course!), but at the very same time, make it all, ultimately, be about something OTHER THAN YOU when it comes to anything that is less than perfection in the flesh. This takes out the need for repentance and replaces it with blame. An astounding sleight-of-hand! When I read again the list of the abominations of the heathen that Israel was commanded not to emulate in Deut. 18, including: “one who uses divination, observer of times, enchanter, witch, charmer, consulter with familiar spirits, wizard, necromancer”, aren’t all of these a function of influencing choice? “The devil made me do it” is just another way to pass responsibility. Sigh.
Good observations, Laurita. I once had a pastor who said, “some of us need to praying for a crop failure rather than a 100 fold return.” Behavior has consequences. We can be forgiven, but that doesn’t mean the results of our poor choices disappear. Yet in my experience, walking through the “after” muck of poor choices has usually been the times when I’ve learned the most.