Prologue:
“You know how to evaluate correctly the appearance of the sky, but you are not able to evaluate the signs of the times.” -Matthew 16:3b LEB
I like signs. They’re very helpful. My family is always amazed at how I know where things are in the grocery store.
“Just read the signs,” I reply.
Our society is saturated with signs. Road signs, municipal signs, billboards, you name it. Signs are everywhere. I doubt that a day goes by for most Americans where they do not encounter some type of sign.
Signs & Symbols
There is a branch of philosophy dedicated to the study of signs and symbols. It’s called Semiotics.
Semiotics is the systematic analysis of sign processes and the communication of meaning. In semiotics, a sign is defined as anything that communicates intentional and/or unintentional meaning to the sign’s interpreter. The term derives from the Greek term sēmeiōtikós, which describes the action of observing signs. The root of sēmeiōtikós is sēmeion: a sign.
While sēmeion is used in the gospel accounts as “sign” in the general sense, in specific instances in the synoptic gospels, it has a more nuanced contextual meaning.
For instance, in Matthew 16 it says:
“And when the Pharisees and Sadducees came to test him, they asked him to show them a sign from heaven.”
Jesus’ response in verse 4 is interesting:
“An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, and a sign will not be given to it except the sign of Jonah!” And he left them and went away.”
What is often overlooked is the contextual nuance shared between the sign from heaven (Greek: ouranos, lit. sky) and the sign of Jonah.
Signs in the Sky
“And God said, “Let there be lights in the vaulted dome of heaven to separate day from night, and let them be as signs and for appointed times, and for days and years, and they shall be as lights in the vaulted dome of heaven to give light on the earth.” And it was so.” –Genesis 1:14-15 LEB
A sēmeion or sign from the sky would either have been an astronomical event or a constellation. As it happens, sēmeion was a term used to refer to the starry constellations or signs in the sky. Genesis 1:14-15 makes it clear that this was their intended purpose: to be signs. Dr. Bruce Malina, in his commentary on the book of Revelation, discusses this in detail. Here’s a quick quote:
“God’s secrets… are going to be indicated in signs requiring interpretation rather than in words. This is basically the meaning of the Greek word semaino (NRSV “made known”). Semaino bears a number of meanings: to indicate, make known, interpret, explain, and the like.
The noun forms of semaino include sema and semeion. Both words mean “sign” as well as “constellation,” depending on where one looks and what one sees. If one goes into the sky or looks at the sky, what one sees are constellations, which are also signs requiring interpretation and explanation.”
—Malina/Pilch Social-Science Commentary on the Book of Revelation
The implication here is that the story of Jonah —specifically, his three days and nights in the belly of the sea monster— had a celestial context and origin.
What the Pharisees and Sadducees were essentially asking Jesus was for him to show them celestial justification for his actions. In other words, “where is what you claim and what you’re doing written in the stars?”
A little too spooky spiritual or New Age-y? Stay with me. We’ve not gone off the edge of the map just yet.
There is an area of biblical scholarship called Astral or Astro-Theology. While I would presume most have never heard of it, it isn’t uncharted territory by any means. Like any field of scholarship, there is a good deal of literature written on the subject (e.g. the commentary by Malina/Pilch cited above). There is also active research being conducted and new “discoveries”, for lack of a better term, being made. As such, though relatively unfamiliar, Astro-Theology is terra firma, as far as legitimacy is concerned.
That being said, the question that needs to be answered is: what’s the difference between Astro-Theology and Astrology?
I’ll answer that in a roundabout way.
Astro-Theology or Astrology?
Both Astro-Theology and Astrology have been around for millennia. Reading the movements of the starry sky is an ancient practice. Astro-Theology is essentially this: the ancients looked at the heavens and considered what was going on as signs of God working out his will or as portents of what he was about to do. It had a prophetic flavor.
Astrology is different. First-century Christians had negative views of astrology in the same way modern Christians do. What was offensive in terms of astral religion or Astrology was the foreign gods element married to the idea that the movements of the objects in the sky dictated individual destiny. That was theologically anathema. Yahweh determined a person’s fate, not the stars.
In short, Astrology saw the stars as gods or the powers that controlled fate. Astro-Theology saw the celestial objects as signs that God used to convey information.
To summarize what we’ve covered so far:
- The celestial objects were created by God to be “signs”.
- The terminology used in the New Testament contains celestial “sign” language.
- God used the celestial “signs” to communicate information.
- Astro-Theology was the reading of those “signs”.
Epilogue:
In light of that, it stands to reason that the relegation of Astro-theology to a specialty field of scholarship is due to an underestimation of its importance to the biblical world, as well an ignorance of its use in the scriptures and its relevance to us today. Astro-Theology, though distinct from Astrology, has been considered by most Christians as taboo, or, as I mentioned above, “spooky spiritual”, or “new age-y”. Which is why it’s currently a novelty. The consensus has been that it’s weird to look at the sky to understand the signs of the times… so nobody does it.
Well, almost nobody.
Stay tuned for Part II.