55. SEVEN STARS AS THE SHEEPFOLD

55. SEVEN STARS AS THE SHEEPFOLD[i]

In that region of the world at that time in history, I believe this constellation, Ursa Major, was known as "The Greater Sheepfold.” The smaller constellation, Ursa Minor, known as the "Lesser, or Former, Sheepfold," hangs upon the pole star and is in the center of the revolutions of the circumpolar stars known as "The Greater Sheepfold."  The Greater Sheepfold therefore encompasses it. This "Lesser Sheepfold" would have symbolized the original body of Jewish believers from which the Church began. The seven named churches of Asia, therefore represented the "Greater Sheepfold," i.e., the entire universe of both Gentile and Jewish Christians, the complete Church.[ii]  (See also Revelation 1:11.)

The earthly churches are therefore the spiritual counterpart of the Church in the heavenlies, where the Angel, ministering Spirit, of the Church resides. Just as nations have their "Prince," (as the Prince of Persia and the Prince of Grecia in Daniel 10:13, 20), so the Churches have their "Angel," or Prince, in the heavenlies, whose Head is Christ.  The heavenly "Mount Zion" was in Old Testament times represented on earth by the earthly city of Jerusalem.  The Psalmist could say:[iii]

Walk about Zion, and go round about her, tell the towers thereof, mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces, that ye may tell it to the generation following.  For this God is our God forever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death, (48:12-14). The North Star has been the guide of earthly travelers on earth from the beginning of time.

      [Perhaps you are saying: "Irene, why are you spending so much time talking about the stars?" Well, I thought you would never ask! The whole Book of Revelation is about stars and heavenly signs, and the heavenly throne and the angels and the other spiritual realities. These are all described in terms of what we would call "the sky". We need to know how they viewed the sky and how it was totally relevant to their daily lives.

   Knowledge of the heavenly bodies, their movements and relationship to the earth were of major importance in ancient times. The ancient civilizations had this precise knowledge and demonstrated it by their buildings, both above and below ground, for example the Mayans, the Egyptians, the American Indian tribes in the Southwest USA. Their work has been passed down to us in our time-telling systems, calendars, Global Positioning Systems and almanacs. The Hebrews enshrined this knowledge in their Scriptures, their Laws, their rituals and their Tabernacle and Temples. It should therefore not surprise us to find that in the Book of Revelation this knowledge is used to symbolize the spiritual realities.]

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[i] Some Scriptures that show how important this concept of the Sheepfold was in the Bible: Isaiah 40:11; Jeremiah 23:3; 31:10-12; Ezekiel 34:10-31; Micah 4:6-8; Zechariah 9:16; Luke 12:32; John 10:1-16; Acts 20:28-9; 1 Peter 5:2-4.

[ii] Note that "in Asia" is not in the Greek text of 1:11. The Greek text of 1:4 actually reads: "in the Asia." See my Commentary at 1:4 "Asia".

[iii] For discussion of the Pole Star as symbolizing Mount Zion, see "Satan Cast Down," Commentary at 12:10.
This lesson is an edited excerpt from my book Revelation In Context.

My Book is available at the Living Word Bookstore in Shawnee, Oklahoma and is also available online at www.amazon.com  or www.xulonpress.com.

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