Once upon a time (well, not really, just a while back), I had a gig as a home inspector for a solid twelve years in good ol' Pennsylvania. Then, out of the blue, I got this fancy request to be an expert witness in some legal shindig. Now, mind you, I had zero experience playing detective in a courtroom, but hey, why not spice up my resume with a dash of legal drama, right? Who knows, maybe I'd discover my hidden talent for dropping truth bombs in a legal context!
An expert witness is a person with specialized knowledge, skills, education, or experience in a particular field who is called upon to provide expertise (their opinion) in legal proceedings to assist the court with understanding complex technical or scientific issues. On the day of the trial, I was called by the judge to sit next to him, while the attorneys for both sides of the argument asked me a ton of questions. At the end of the questioning, the court ruled that I was to be considered an expert witness. I was directed to give testimony as to what happened.
What happened? A homeowner hired a contractor to install a new slider door. One night, it rained. And the next morning, the homeowner found large puddles of standing water in her dining room. The water permanently damaged the wood flooring. She asked the contractor to take responsibility. The contractor did not. She sued the contractor. And she hired me to inspect the slider door and its installation and determine the cause of the problem she experienced. I did just that by spraying water onto the door and flashing areas. And she asked me to be her expert witness in court. And I agreed.
In court, I testified. My client, the homeowner, she won the case, based primarily upon me being her witness. I had knowledge and experience in a particular situation, and I was asked to help others understand what was apparently a complex issue. For me, it was simple. I understood, fully understood what was going on. They didn’t. As a witness, I provided information that helped bring a problem to a solution.
We can do the same as witnesses. Witnesses for God. Now, what does that mean to me? “Witness for God.” Remember, God’s not an old man, with gray curly hair, floating in the clouds, pointing down at us, and doing good and bad things to people. I can’t give witness to that, because that doesn’t exist. That’s not God.
What is God? What can I give witness to? What is it that I can share with others, that which I know, experience, and understand. Let’s read John 4:24, which says, “God is a Spirit. And they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” God is Spirit. I understand that. I can witness to that. God is peace (1 Corinthians 14:33). I can testify to experiencing that. God is light (1 John 1:5), and God is love (1 John 4:16). I can provide some info on knowing love, for sure. Now these things, I can bear witness to, because I’ve experienced these things. I have knowledge of these things. That’s what God is.
Please turn to 2 Timothy 3:17.
I know what you may be asking yourself. “Well, Benjamin, how do I come to know what God is?”
The Word. The purpose of the Word of God is that we can learn about the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth, so that we can be fully equipped and able to do great things in life. Let’s read 2 Timothy 3:17. It says, “That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” That’s the purpose of God’s Word. The written Word is how I get to know what God is.
Let's read Matthew 4:4. It says, “But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
So, we are to live by every word that comes out of the mouth of God. Well, what is the Word that comes out of God’s mouth?
Let's read 2 Timothy 3:16. It says, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.”
So, this Word of God, that comes out of the mouth of God, is given by inspiring men and women who wrote the books and letters of the Bible.
Ah, but I know what you may be asking yourself: “What happened before humans were able to write the Bible?” How were people supposed to learn about God before written language even existed?
The answer is oral tradition. Oral tradition is a form of human communication where knowledge, art, ideas, and culture are held, transmitted, and received orally from one generation to another. The transmission is through speech or song and may include hymns, poetry, parables, and stories. Let's read Ephesians 5:18, where it says that we are to “be filled with the Spirit. Speaking to each other in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.”
In this way, it is possible for a society to transmit oral history, law, truth, culture, and knowledge across generations without a writing system.
But before the written word existed, where did that oral history, law, truth, culture, and knowledge come from? Where could everyone go, initially, to see the truth and learn about our Creator of the Heavens and Earth?
The stars.
Not only are we witnesses of God, but so are the stars. Please turn to Revelation 12.
God put his Word in the stars. So that everyone could learn the truth, even before there was any writing. Before words were written, before the alphabet existed, before an inspired revelation from God was written down, God’s Word was written in the stars.
I’d like to tell you about one example of how God’s Word is written in the stars.
Let’s read Revelation 12:1-5, where it says, “1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars. 2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. 3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. 4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. 5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.”
What a great story! God gave this vision to Apostle John, who wrote these words by inspiration. These words describe great truths which can be studied in the Bible, and the stars.
In Revelation 12:1, the word “wonder” is the Greek word sēmeion, which means “a sign.” And signs, miracles, and wonders serve as both evidence of God's presence and evidence for believers to help share the Word with others. And the “sign” in the stars in verse 1 is a woman, “a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet.” And the only sign of the Zodiac that is a woman is Virgo. Now, the Zodiac is astrology, not astronomy. We don’t study or believe in astrology. Astronomy is science. Astrology is not science.
Take a look at these images from “The Witness of the Stars” by E. W. Bullinger’ and “Jesus Christ Our Promised Seed” by Victor Paul Weirwille.
Now, this woman in verse 1 is “clothed with the sun.” According to astronomy, the sun, as it appears to travel through the ecliptic each year, enters into the mid-body between the neck and the knees of the constellation Virgo, which “clothes” the woman with “the sun.” The ecliptic is the path the sun moves through the stars during the course of a year as it passes through the twelve constellations.
Astronomy is the study of the stars, and you can see the stars and study them for yourself tonight if you’d like.
These astronomical details in John’s vision describe twenty days of the year when the sun was in this position in the stars. Now, the sun was in this position (moving through the Virgo woman, clothing her with sunlight), from August 27 through September 15, in the year 3 B.C.
The woman also had “the moon under her feet.” And the sun and the moon were in this configuration with Virgo on one day only, and that was September 11, 3 B.C.
This description given in Revelation 12:1 exactly describes the astronomical occurrence of September 11, 3 B.C. Also, on September 11, 3 B.C., Jupiter (the king planet) could be seen approaching Regulus (the king star) in the constellation Leo, which is another astronomical sign of the Messiah, the ultimate king, coming.
In verse 2 of Revelation 12, a woman gives birth. Verses 3 and 4 describe the Adversary’s fall from heaven and his plan to slay the child that was born. In verse 5, the child is born and ascends to God’s throne.
By way of the stars, God’s story, God’s plan for us believers was known long before it was put into writing. Biblical astronomy is an understanding of the stars as they tell the story of Jesus Christ. Just as the sun and moon mark our days and nights, so do the stars and planets tell the story of God’s design and plan for our lives.
In the beginning, when God created the heavens and Earth, and set the stars in their courses, he wrote out his story, his plan, for us to live in this day and time. Sometimes, it’s difficult for us who are used to reading God’s Word in written form to understand that God can and does communicate to people in more ways than just the written Word. Let's read Hebrews 1:1. It says, “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets.”
One of the “diverse manners” in which God spoke was through the signs of the stars. Just as the written Word declares God’s love for us, so do the stars. And we are witnesses to the stars. And we are witnesses for God.
Please turn to Acts 1.
Acts 1:8 is a pivotal verse in the New Testament, situated just before Jesus Christ's ascension into heaven. It serves as both a promise and a direction to disciples, outlining the scope of their mission and the source of their power for witnessing.
After His resurrection, Jesus appeared to His disciples over a period of forty days, teaching them many things. Just before His ascension, He promised them the Holy Spirit, which would empower them to be His witnesses. Let’s read Acts 1:8, where it says, "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
As born-again believers, we can be witnesses.
We have knowledge and experience in all kinds of situations in life, right? And sometimes, we have opportunities to help others understand what is apparently a complex issue for them. And for us, maybe it’s simple. Maybe we can fully understand what’s happening, and they don’t. But as expert witnesses for God, in God’s court, we can be inspired to provide testimony and information about the stars and the scripture that helps fully equip people to do good works and live more than abundant lives.
And that’s what I encourage you to do.
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