The Scriptures point out that it is God who calls us and invites us to make a decision in Faith to accept Him.  No one is capable to seek God unless God first revealed Himself through 

• His Creation which includes the stars
• Angels
• Human Witnesses
• His written Word
• Theophanies

which leads us to Faith and acceptance of God in past dispensations, and then through Jesus Christ as a Personal Savior, in our current-time.  God had a plan for us before the foundation of the world.

What is the Mazzaroth?

Mazzaroth is the Hebrew word for "Constellations".  Many websites and books, on the Mazzaroth, describe it as:

• Having the Gospel Message in the signs and meanings of the visible Constellations and their Decans.
• Containing many idioms to the plan of God along with identified with the tribes of Israel shown further in this topic:  

  	1	2	3	4	5	6
  Constellation	Aries	Taurus	Gemini	Cancer	Leo	Virgo
  Sign	Ram	Bull	Twins	Crab	Lion	Virgin
  	7	8	9	10	11	12	13
  Constellation	Libra	Scorpio	Ophiuchus	Sagittarius	Capricorn	Aquarius	Pisces
  Sign	Scales	Scorpion	Snake-wrestler	Archer	Goat-Fish	Water-Bearer	Fish

• Believed to have the additional meaning of "The Way" in Hebrew, which is also the meaning in the ancient Sanskrit language.  There is no such thing as coincidence with matters concerning God, as this is the same expression that Jesus Christ spoke.

There is a belief and traditions that the Mazzaroth:

1. Was used by Adam and others that lived before the Great Flood and after, to tell the plan of God by the names of the Constellations and their Decans. 
2. At night, the Constellations and their Decans were for everyone to admire for beauty and majesty, along with learning and to speak about.
3. For navigation when traveling long distances.  Even today, without using a GPS system, there is the process of using the North Star and others for determining directions.

1. That the names that we have today are derived from ancient Egyptian and Babylonian names, where they inherited the names from earlier unknown civilizations.
   (a) Secular sources insist it was from the Babylonian period and a little before.
   (b) Biblical Scholars who researched the Mazzaroth, point to the period of time originated in the times of the Book of Genesis.
2. The names and the meanings, that we have today, have only had a few very minor variations/changes from the original names and meanings because the naming of Constellations and Decans were part of the method for memorizing and learning for both religious and navigation purposes.

Therefore, the following can be speculated:

• There is still a great deal to correlate with the original purposes that was rooted in a message about God for us.
• The meanings when grouped together give a message that points to the plan of God.

From the scriptures, we know that God spoke to Adam and Eve and others prior to Great Flood and also after which is recorded in the scriptures.  When God spoke to individuals and the prophets, these individuals then let others know what God told them, which is a what we call evangelism.  Today, we hear the Word of God in our Church Services and are reading the scriptures, where we share the Good News of Jesus Christ with others. 

The names and meanings of the star Constellations and Decans may have been the means for many people to have Faith in God during the earliest of times in the history of the world after the Garden of Eden and before the scriptures were written.

One Example in the Mazzaroth

As one example in the Mazzaroth, we know from Genesis 3:15, that Adam and Eve were promised that through the seed of Eve there would be a reconciliation and justice done for the fall of humankind in the Garden of Eden because of Lucifer.  Verse 15 follows the penalty described against the serpent, which was possessed by Lucifer, and also the future penalty of Lucifer.  The scriptures often will start speaking about a person then go past the person to the entity behind the actions of the person, an example is Ezekiel 28:11-19, which is Lucifer when speaking about his seed.

The paradoxical point is the seed of the woman, which is anatomically impossible, points to the future Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ, that was also required because of the Curse of Jeconiah that God knew in advance.  The Virgin Birth is encapsulated in the Zodiac ensign of Virgo, the virgin, which is part of the Mazzaroth and today's Zodiac.  There is much more to the Mazzaroth message discussed further in this topic that point to Jesus Christ the Messiah.

Should Christians study the Mazzaroth?

The question is often asked whether or not to study the Mazzaroth?  The answer is there is no absolute agreement in this area.  It is this author's opinion that the Mazzaroth is worthy for Christians to have some fundamental understanding because parts of it are most likely true. 

Obviously, it must be said that even if everything that many well-meaning scholars, who love Jesus Christ, are saying is true about the Mazzaroth, the main focus in this author's opinion is to take the time to know the Word of God in the Bible. 

Most Likely True

This author believes that the portion of the Mazzaroth, which describes the original purposes of the names dealing with the Constellations names and some of the Decans, is most likely true.  The names had meanings that did and do point to the Gospel Message.  The reason for believing this is true:

1. The current names match to closely to idioms in the scriptures.
2. Adam and Eve's descendants would have used the Constellations for navigation (on land and sea) and the seasons of Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer.
3. Adam most likely named the Constellations and Decans while in the Garden of Eden because he also named the animals in Genesis 2:20.  God would have been intimately involved with Adam in naming all things because God loved Adam and enjoyed what Adam was accomplishing.
4. The current names with their meanings do carry a story, which could not have changed that much from the original because the names, and stories behind the names, were most likely part of mnemonic ways of recognizing and remembering the names.
5. Most importantly, God would most likely have the Mazzaroth as a way for humankind to have Faith in God after exiting the Garden of Eden and also after the Great Flood.

Most Likely NOT True

This author does NOT believe that much of the other areas of the Mazzaroth are necessarily true.

1. The names of the Tribes of Israel are not necessarily part of the Mazzaroth.  This area contains too much conjectures.
2. The symbols and gemstones of Israel, listed later in this topic, were obtained from those who collected these from traditions.  These traditions cannot be proven to be true and cannot necessarily correctly be identified with each Tribe of Israel.  Therefore, the symbols and gemstones of the Tribes cannot be necessarily associated with a Constellation or Decans name.  This author believes this is highly speculative area that some Mazzaroth researchers have suggested as correct.

The main problem found in the areas that this author does not feel are true, is the use of 12 Tribes of Israel.  This has to be conjecture when trying to connect the Mazzaroth with 12 Tribes of Israel because there is actually 14 Tribes.  This is explained in the topic on the 12 Tribes of Israel.  Yes, the scriptures uses the idiom of the 12 which is also discussed in the 12 Tribes of Israel topic, but when using explicit references to a Tribe, the scriptures are always precise.  This author explains this more later in this topic.

Scriptural References?

The most well-known scripture that mentions the Mazzaroth by name, but is sometimes translated as constellations in modern English is:

What is the Purpose of the Stars?

The scriptures should always be kept in context and notice that in verse 14, that God is stating the stars are for signs amongst other purposes.  They are not for divination.

Read in Psalms 19:1-6; 50:1-6; 97:-16; and 136:1-9 that mention the purposes of the Sun, Moon and Stars.

Warning not to Worship the Stars

Spheres in the Heavens

The visible heavens are made up of 9 spheres according to rabbinical scholar information regarding the Zodiac.

The ninth sphere contains all the previous spheres and these were divided up into 12 sections.  As Christians, we understand that God exists outside of all of Creation, all time domains and also separate from the entire Kingdom Of God, because God existed before He created everything.  

Signs of the Zodiac with the Decans

Those who have studied the Mazzaroth have formulated the following summary list, which is partially based on traditions.  This author has obtained this information from many sources including notes on Genesis from Chuck Missler. 

Notice the list below only includes twelve of the constellations of the Zodiac and excludes the Constellation of Ophiuchus, because Ophiuchus was not considered part of the Mazzaroth in ancient times.  Additionally, there is a concern from this author, that we know that there are actually 14 Tribes of Israel because of the adoption of Joseph's two sons by Jacob, so why would the Mazzaroth exclude Manasseh and Ephraim?  This author could not find an answer.

Additionally, there is another part of those who study the Mazzaroth believe the Tribes of Israel's ensigns are included even in the ensigns of the Mazzaroth even before the Tribes of Israel even existed.  Doing the research on the Tribes associated with the Zodiac signs is very difficult because of the numerous interpretations.  There is more information about this list further in this topic.

Ensign in Relation to the Tribes of Israel

Relating to the Tribes of Israel, all of the tribes had ensigns based on the prophecy of scriptures from Jacob and Moses.  The prophecies of the tribes are detailed in the topic on the Tribes of Israel part 2.  Note that the scriptures always refer to the Tribes of Israel as 12, but there are actually 14 which is explained in the topic on the 12 Tribes of Israel.

An ensign is a flag or "a standard" that identifies a group.  Examples of animal ensigns, or national animal, for countries are: (a) United States has the Eagle, (b) Russia the Bear, and (c) England the Lion.  Interestingly, many of the countries formed out of the British Empire, have incorporated parts of the British Flag's insignia into their flag, which is part of a clue to identifying and understanding the prophecy of Ezekiel 38:13.

Below is a list of the ensigns for the Tribes of Israel with their primary ensigns.  The highlighted green match the Cherubim that surround God's Throne.

Tribes mapped with their Symbols, Gemstone and Constellation are listed next.  A great deal of this is very subjective and speculative, albeit written in sources that were based on inferences, traditions and historic writings, that this author was not always able to verify.  Regardless, there is nothing listed that is contradicting to any scriptures that this author could identify, and this does not diminish the high-level names with the meanings of the Constellations and Decans.

* The yellow highlighted Tribes are the decedents of Joseph, who Jacob adopts as his own. 
** The ensign of Manasseh and Ephraim is found in research, but this author could not find definitive scriptural references at this time on some of the Symbols, Gemstone and Constellation identification.  According to some sources, they are linked with the Tribe of Dan and Joseph, as shown.

Is There a Message?

The Constellation of Virgo, is considered one the oldest-known star configurations.  In the months of March and April, Virgo begins to become visible throughout the night-time hours.  This is also the time period of the Hebrew Calendar month of Nissan which was declared the starting month for the new calendar because it is the same day that Noah's Ark rests and the next day is Jesus Christ's Resurrection.

Knowing the names and positions of the constellations was very important for everyone in the history of the world until the advent of GPS navigation, because uses of the constellation and star positions in the sky was used in navigation.  The names of the Constellations and Decans conveyed meanings that were used to aid in memorization, as a mnemonic in recognizing the stars in the sky.

Many decades ago, there were lectures and shows at planetariums about the constellation's zodiac signs.  These shows would highlight or point to stars and state that when connecting the stars with lines would convey a person or animal which is how the constellations of stars got their names.  The planetarium shows depicting names has been proven to be nonsense, as there is a deeper meaning for the names.

The message that can be pieced together from the Mazzaroth, by taking the meanings of the constellations liberally is shown below.  This is the rendering by the author which is most likely very close to others. 

Has God used other types of encoding messages that would also deliver His Plans for all of us?  The answer is yes and a quick example of many is the lineage of Adam through Noah which has the liberal interpretation shown below, which is remarkably similar to the message of the Mazzaroth.

What to read next?

See this page on Astronomy links.  Also: (a) Time and Time Travel, (b) Time Domains, (c) Evolution, (d) Singularity and the Big Bang Theories, (e) E=mc˛,  (f) Ten Dimensions of the Universe, (g) Age of the Earth, Periods that Developed Life, Heavens