Chapter III. The Sign CANCER (The Crab).

_Messiah’s Redeemed Possessions held fast._

With regard to the sign of CANCER, one thing is certain, that we have not got the original picture, or anything like it.

It does not agree with the names either of its three constellations which have come down to us, or of its stars.

In the ancient Denderah Zodiac it is represented as a _Scarabæus_, or sacred beetle.(69) In the Zodiac of Esneh and in a Hindu Zodiac (400 B.C.) it is the same.

Plate 35: CANCER (the Crab)

According to the Greeks, Jupiter placed this Crab amongst the signs of the Zodiac.

In Sir William Jones’s Oriental Zodiac we meet with a crab, and an Egyptian Zodiac found at Rome bears also the crab in this sign.

The more ancient Egyptians placed _Hermanubis_, or _Hermes_, with the head of an ibis or hawk, as the symbol of the sign now allotted to Cancer.

The Denderah name is _Klaria_, or _the cattle‐folds_, and in this name we have the key to the meaning of the sign, and to the subject of this chapter.

The Arabic name is _Al Sartan_, which means _who holds_ or _binds_, and may be from the Hebrew אָסַר, _to bind together_ (Gen. xlix. 11). There is no ancient Hebrew word known for the crab. It was classed with many other unclean creatures, and would be included in the general term “vermin.”

The Syriac, _Sartano_, means the same. The Greek name is _Karkinos_, which means _holding_ or _encircling_, as does the Latin, _Cancer_, and hence is applied to the crab. In the word _Khan_, we have the traveller’s rest or _inn_; while _Ker_ or _Cer_ is the Arabic for _encircling_. The ancient Akkadian name of the month is _Su‐kul‐na_, _the seizer_ or _possessor of seed_.

The sign contains 83 stars, one of which is of the 3rd magnitude, and seven are of the 4th magnitude, and the remainder of inferior magnitudes.

In the centre of the Sign there is a remarkably bright cluster of stars, so bright that they can be sometimes seen with the naked eye. It looks like a comet, and is made up of a great multitude of stars. Modern astronomers have called it the _Beehive_. But its ancient name has come down to us as Praesepe, which means _a multitude_, _offspring_.

The brightest star, ζ (in the head), is called _Tegmine_, _holding_. The star α (or α1 and α2), in the lower large claw, is called _Acubene_, which, in Hebrew and Arabic, means _the sheltering_ or _hiding‐place_. Another is named _Ma’alaph_ (Arabic), _assembled thousands_; _Al Himarein_ (Arabic), _the kids_ or _lambs_.

North and south of the nebula _Praesepe_ are two stars, which Orientalists speak of by a name evidently of some antiquity. _Asellus_ means an _Ass_, and one was called _Asellus Boreas_, _the northern Ass_; while the other, _Asellus Australis_, is _the southern Ass_.

The sign was afterwards known by the symbol ♋, which stands for these two asses.(70)

This connects it with the Tribe of Issachar, who is said to have borne upon the Tribal standard the sign of _two asses_.

This is doubtless the reference in Jacob’s blessing (Gen. xlix. 11, R.V.):—

“Issachar is a strong ass, Couching down between the sheepfolds; And he saw a resting‐place that it was good; And the land that it was pleasant; And he bowed his shoulder to bear, And became a servant under task work.”

Have we not here the gathering up of the teaching of this sign—

_Messiah’s redeemed possessions held fast._

Here we come to the completion of His work. In CANCER we see it with reference to His _redeemed_, and in the next (the last) Sign, LEO, with reference to His _enemies_.

The three constellations develope the truth. What is now called _Ursa Minor_ is _the Lesser Flock_; _Ursa Major_ gives us _The Sheepfold and the Sheep_; while _Argo_, _The Ship_, shows the travellers and the pilgrims brought safely home—all conflict over.

To accomplish this, we see the true Issachar bowing his shoulder to bear. He could say, “My soul is bowed down” (Ps. lvii. 6). HE became a servant, and humbled Himself to death. HE undertook the mighty task of saving His people from their sins. “Their Redeemer is strong” (Jer. l. 34); for help was laid on “One that was mighty” (Ps. lxxxix. 19). And His redeemed shall come to a resting‐place that is good, and to a land that is pleasant. No earthly Khan on earth affords them a home. They look for a heavenly home, and in the many mansions of the Father’s house they shall find eternal rest.

Here we see that sheltering home to which the names of these stars point; where the assembled thousands (_Ma’alaph_) shall be received into the true _Klaria_, even the “everlasting habitations.”

These are now to be shown to us.

1. URSA MINOR (The Little Bear).

_The Lesser Sheepfold._

Here we come to another grievous mistake, or ignorant perversion of primitive truth, as shown in the ancient names of these two constellations.

It is sufficient to point to the fact that no Bear is found in any Chaldean, Egyptian, Persian, or Indian Zodiacs, and that no bear was ever seen with such a tail! No one who had ever seen a bear would have called attention to a tail, such as no bear ever had, by placing in its very tip the most important, wondrous, and mysterious Polar Star, the central star of the heavens, round which all others revolve. The patriarchal astronomers, we may be sure, committed no such folly as this.

The primitive truth that there were _two_, or a pair of constellations is preserved; and that of these two, one is larger, and the other smaller. But what were they? We have the clue to the answer in the name of the brightest star of the larger constellation, which is called _Dubheh_. Now _Dubheh_ means _a herd of animals_. In Arabic, _Dubah_ means _cattle_. In Hebrew, דֹּבֶר, _Dōhver_, is _a fold_; and hence in Chaldee it meant _wealth_. The Hebrew דֹּבֶא, _Dōhveh_, means _rest_ or _security_; and certainly there is not much of either to be found or enjoyed with bears! The word occurs in Deut. xxxiii. 25: “As thy days so shall thy strength be.” The Revised Version gives in the margin, “So shall _thy rest_ or _security_ be.” This accords with what we have already seen under “CANCER”: “Couching down between the sheepfolds,(71) he saw a resting‐ place that it was good.”

Here are the two Sheepfolds, then; the Greater fold, and Lesser; and here is the _rest_ and _security_ which the flocks will find therein.

But in Hebrew there is a word very similar in sound, though not in spelling—דֹּב or דּוֹב, _dōhv_, which means _a bear_! So we find in Arabic _dub_; Persian, _deeb_ and _dob_. We can see, therefore, how the Hebrew _Dōhver_, _a fold_, and _Dōhv_, _a bear_, were confused; and how the Arabic _Dubah_, _cattle_, might easily have been mistaken by the Greeks, and understood as a bear.

Plate 36: URSA MINOR

The constellation, which we must therefore call THE LESSER SHEEPFOLD, contains 24 stars, _viz._, one of the 2nd magnitude, two of the 3rd, four of the 4th, etc.

The brightest star, α (at the point of the tail), is the most important in the whole heavens. It is named _Al Ruccaba_, which means _the turned_ or _ridden on_, and is to‐day the Polar or central star, which does not revolve in a circle as does every other star, but remains, apparently, fixed in its position. But though the star does not revolve like the others, the central point in the heavens is very slowly but steadily moving. When these constellations were formed the Dragon possessed this important point, and the star α, in _Draco_, marked this central point. But, by its gradual recession, that point is sufficiently near this star _Ruccaba_, in the _Lesser Sheepfold_, for it to be what is called “the Polar Star.” But, how could this have been known five or six thousand years ago? How could it have been known when it received its name, which means _the turned_ or _ridden on_? That it was known is clear: so likewise was it made known in the written Word that the original blessing included not merely the multiplication of the seed of faithful Abraham, but it was then added, “And thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies” (Gen. xxii. 17).

This star was called by the Greeks Κυνόσουρα, the “_Cynosure_.” ARATUS seems to apply this term to the whole of the seven stars of the _Lesser Bear_. Mr. Robert Brown, Junr., shows(72) that Κυνόσουρα, once supposed to be Hellenic, is non‐Hellenic, and possibly Euphratean in origin, from a word which he transliterates _An‐nas‐sur‐ra_, and renders it, “as it literally means, _high in_ rising, _i.e._, in heavenly position.” Is not this the primitive truth of the Revelation? Will not this Lesser Fold be high, yea, the highest in heavenly position?

The Polar Star has been removed from the Dragon, and is now in _the Lesser Fold_; and when the Dragon shall be cast down from the heavens, the heavenly seed will be safely folded there. But this is _the Lesser Sheepfold_. These are they who all through the ages have been “partakers of the heavenly calling,” who desired a better country, that is, a _heavenly_; wherefore God “hath prepared for them a city,” the city for which Abraham himself “looked.” This was no earthly city, but a city “whose builder and maker is God” (Heb. xi. 10‐16). These have always been a smaller company, a “little flock,” but the kingdom shall be theirs, even the kingdom of God, for which they now look and wait. They have not yet “received the promises; but, having seen them afar off” by faith, they “were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth” (Heb. xi. 13). Their Messiah has accomplished “the redemption of the purchased possession,” and in due time the redeemed will inherit it, “unto the praise of His glory” (Eph. i. 13).

The bright star β is named _Kochab_, which means _waiting Him who cometh_. Other stars, not identified, are named _Al Pherkadain_ (Arabic), which means _the calves_, or _the young_ (as in Deut. xxii. 6), _the redeemed assembly_. Another, _Al Gedi_, means _the kid_. Another is _Al Kaid_, _the assembled_; while _Arcas_, or _Arctos_ (from which we derive the term _Arctic_ regions), means, according to one interpreter, _a travelling company_; or, according to another, _the stronghold of the saved_.

But there is not only the heavenly seed, which is compared “to the stars of heaven,” but there is the seed that is compared to “the sand of the sea”—the larger flock or company, who will enjoy the earthly blessing.

This brings us to—

2. URSA MAJOR (The Great Bear).

_The Fold and the Flock._

Of these it is written:—

“But in Mount Zion there shall be those that escape, And it shall be holy: And the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.”

(Obad. 17‐19, R.V.)

It is a large and important constellation, containing 87 stars, of which one is of the 1st magnitude, four of the 2nd, three of the 3rd, ten of the 4th, etc. It always presents a splendid appearance, and is perhaps, therefore, the best known of all the constellations.

In the Book of Job (ix. 9, and xxxviii. 31, 32) it is mentioned under the name of _Ash_. “Canst thou guide _Ash_ and her offspring?” which is rendered in the A.V., “Arcturus and his sons,” and in the R.V., “The Bear with her train” (marg., “_sons_”). The Arabs still call it _Al Naish_, or _Annaish_, _the assembled together_, as sheep in a fold. The ancient Jewish commentators interpreted _Ash_ as the seven stars of this constellation. They are called by others _Septentriones_, which thus became the Latin word for _North_.

Plate 37: URSA MAJOR

The brightest star, α (in the back), is named _Dubhe_, which, as we have seen, means _a herd of animals_, or _a flock_, and gives its name to the whole constellation.

The star β (below it) is named _Merach_ (Hebrew), _the flock_ (Arabic, _purchased_).

The star γ (on the left of [Greek: beta]) is called _Phaeda_, or _Phacda_, meaning _visited_, _guarded_, or _numbered_, as a flock; for His sheep, like the stars, are both _numbered_ and _named_. (See Psalm cxlvii. 4.)

The star ε is called _Alioth_, a name we have had in _Auriga_, meaning _a she goat_.

The star ζ (in the middle of the tail) is called _Mizar_, _separate_ or _small_, and close to it _Al Cor_, _the Lamb_ (known as “g”).

The star η (at the end of the so‐called tail) is named _Benet Naish_ (Arabic), _the daughters of the assembly_. It is also called _Al Kaid_, _the assembled_.

The star ι (in its right foot) is called _Talitha_.

The names of other stars, not identified, all give the same testimony: _El Alcola_ (Arabic), _the sheep‐fold_ (as in Ps. xcv. 7; and c. 3); _Cab’d al Asad_, _multitude_, _many assembled_; _Annaish_, _the assembled_; _Megrez_, _separated_, as the flock in the fold; _El Kaphrah_, _protected_, _covered_ (Heb. _redeemed_ and _ransomed_); _Dubheh Lachar_ (Arabic), _the latter herd_ or _flock_; _Helike_ (so called by HOMER in the _Iliad_), _company of travellers_; _Amaza_ (Greek), _coming and going_; _Calisto_, _the sheepfold set_ or _appointed_.

There is not one discordant voice in the rich abundance of this testimony. We have nothing to do here with the Grecian myths about bears or wild boars. We see only the innumerable seed _gathered_ by Him who _scattered_ (Jer. xxxi. 10).

Many are the Scriptures we might quote which speak of this gathering and assembling of the long‐scattered flock. It is written as plainly in the Book, as it is in the heavens. The prophecies of this gathering are as conspicuous in the Word of God as the “_Seven Stars_” are in the sky. It is difficult even to make a selection from the wealth of such promises; but few are more beautiful than that in Ezek. xxxiv. 12‐16:

“As a shepherd seeketh out his flock In the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; So will I seek out my sheep, And will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. And I will bring them out from the people, And gather them from the countries, And will bring them to their own land, And feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers And in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them in a good pasture, And upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: There shall they lie in a good fold, And in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. I will feed my flock, And I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD. (Adonai Jehovah). I will seek that which was lost, And bring again that which was driven away, And will bind up that which was broken, And will strengthen that which was sick: But I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.”

It is of this judgment with which this book, and indeed the whole Revelation, ends, in the next and final chapter.

But before we come to that we have one more picture in the third constellation of this Sign, which combines the first two in one.

3. ARGO (The Ship).

_The Pilgrims safe at Home._

This is the celebrated ship of the Argonauts, which HOMER sung nearly ten centuries before Christ. Sir Isaac Newton puts the expedition of the Argonauts shortly after the death of Solomon (about 975 B.C.). While Dr. Blair’s chronology puts it 1236 B.C.

Whatever fables have gathered round the story there can be no doubt as to its great antiquity. Some think that the story had its origin in name, as well as in fact, from the _Ark_ of Noah and its mysterious journey. All that is clear, when divested of mythic details, is that the sailors in that ship, after all their dangers, and toils, and battles were over, came back victorious to their own shores. The “golden fleece,” for which the Argonauts went in search, tells of a treasure that had been _lost_. “Jason,” the great captain, tells of Him who recovered it from the _Serpent_, which guarded it with ever‐watchful eye, when none else was able to approach it. And thus, through the fables and myths of the Greeks, we can see the light primeval shine; and this light, once seen, lights up this Sign and its constellations, so that their teaching cannot be misunderstood.

ARATUS sings of _Argo_:—

“Stern‐foremost hauled; no mark of onward‐speeding ship. Sternward she comes, as vessels do When sailors turn the helm On entering harbour: all the oars back‐water, And gliding backward, to an anchor comes.”

It tells of that blessed home‐coming, when—

“The ransomed of the LORD shall return And come to Zion with songs, And everlasting joy upon their heads; They shall obtain joy and gladness, And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”

(Isa. xxxv. 10.)

It tells of the glorious Jason,(73) of whom it is asked:

“Art thou not it which hath cut Rahab, And wounded the dragon? Art thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; That hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over? Therefore the redeemed of the LORD shall return, And come with singing unto Zion,” etc.

(Isa. li. 9‐11.)

“For the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, And ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he. Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion And shall flow together to the goodness of the LORD.”

(Jer. xxxi. 11, 12.)

This is the return of the great emigrant‐ship (_Argo_) and all its _company of travellers_ (for this is the meaning of the word _Argo_).

Plate 38: ARGO (the Ship)

In Kircher’s Egyptian Planisphere _Argo_ is represented by two galleys (as we have two sheepfolds), whose prows are surmounted by rams’ heads; and the stern of one of them ends in a fish’s tail. One of the two occupies _four segments_ of the sphere (from Taurus to Virgo), while the other occupies the four from Leo to Capricorn. _One half_ of the southern meridians is occupied with these galleys and their construction and decorations. Astronomers tell us that they carry us back, the one to the period when the Bull opened the year (to which time VIRGIL refers); and the other to the _same_ epoch, when the summer solstice was in Leo—“an era greatly antecedent to the Argonautic expedition. How else, they ask, do we account for the one ship having her prow in the first Decan of _Taurus_, and her poop in the last Decan of _Leo_? or for one galley being freighted with the installed _Bull_, and the other with the solstitial _Lion_?”(74)

These are the words of an astronomer who knows nothing whatever of our interpretation of the heavens which is set forth in this work.

It will indeed be a large vessel, the true _Argo_, with its _company of travellers_, “a great multitude which no man can number.” All this is indicated by the immense size of the Constellation, as well as by the large number of its stars. There are 64 stars in _Argo_ (reckoning by the Britannic catalogue); one of the 1st magnitude, six of the 2nd, nine of the 3rd, nine of the 4th, etc. Only a small part of the ship’s poop is visible in Britain.

Its brightest star, α (near the keel), is called _Canopus_ or _Canobus_, which means _the possession of Him who cometh_. Other star‐names, not identified, are—_Sephina_, _the multitude_ or _abundance_; _Tureis_, _the possession_; _Asmidiska_, _the released who travel_; _Soheil_ (Arabic), _the desired_; and _Subilon_, _the Branch_.

Is not all this exactly in harmony with the rest of this sign? And is not this what is written in the Book?

“Therefore, fear thou not, O My servant Jacob, saith the LORD; Neither be dismayed, O Israel: For, lo, I will save thee from afar, And thy seed from the land of their captivity; And Jacob shall return and be in rest, And be quiet, and none shall make him afraid, For I am with thee, saith the LORD, to save thee.”

(Jer. xxx. 10, 11.)

“Lift up thine eyes round about, and see; All they gather themselves together, they come to thee; Thy sons shall come from far, And thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side, Then thou shalt see, and flow together, And thine heart shall fear and be enlarged; Because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee.... Who are these that fly as a cloud? And as doves to their windows? Surely the isles shall wait for me, And the SHIPS of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far.”

(Isa. lx. 4, 5, 8, 9.)

The whole chapter (Isa. lx.) should be read if we wish to understand the great teaching of this Sign, which tells of Messiah’s secured possessions, the safe folding of His blood‐bought flock, the blessed return of His pilgrims, and their abundant entrance into everlasting rest.

“There is a blessed home Beyond this land of woe, Where trials never come, Nor tears of sorrow flow; Where faith is lost in sight, And patient love is crowned, And everlasting light Its glory throws around.

O joy, all joys beyond, To see the Lamb who died, And count each sacred wound In hands, and feet, and side; To give to Him the praise Of every triumph won, And sing through endless days The great things He hath done.

Look up, ye saints of God, Nor fear to tread below The path your Saviour trod Of daily toil and woe; Wait but a little while In uncomplaining love, His own most gracious smile Shall welcome you above.”