Orion Constellation
Intro Flash - Star Photo
"The heavens declare the glory of Elohim and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world. In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, And rejoices like a strong man to run its race. Its rising is from one end of the heaven, And its circuit to the other end; and there is nothing hidden from its heat." Psalms 19:1-6.
The star constellation photo in the flash intro shows the central region of the Orion Constellation, including the M42 nebula/star complex, a major star-birth region (red nebula in the left portion). The orange color star that moves to the right of the screen and to the top in its final location, is the "red giant" star Betelgeuse, top left bright yellow/orange star as you face the photo, representing the raised sword in the hand of Orion the great hunter according to the original Hebrew understanding that the star constellations represent or depict the conflict of the ages and the final redemption.
Although many of the star names in the heavens have ancient Arabic names, all of the major stars were originally given Hebrew designations. The red giant star "Betelgeuse", 427 light years from Earth, is named from the ancient Hebrew, meaning, "The Branch", or "the coming forth as The Branch", one of the Messianic titles of Messiah (Christ). The biblical word is Tzemach (The Branch) is revealed in the Book of Zechariah, chapters three and six. The stars do foretell a prophetic drama, history and prophecy, relating to the Person and the work of Messiah. In her time, Ellen White wrote that when Messiah returns, at the visible Second Advent, He will come through the portal of the Orion Nebula (M42).
The star Betelgeuse, near the end of its lifespan as a star, is very much larger than our own star, Sol, the Sun. Astronomers today have long considered that Betelgeuse may explode, or go supernova, with-in our lifetime, or, it may have gone supernova centuries ago and the light of the event has not yet reached us. Most stars that are large enough to go supernova either become a fast spinning neutron star, becoming a kind of powerful light beacon in the galaxy, or, if massive enough, a supernova star may become a "black hole", according to astronomers today.
The names of two major stars near Betelgeuse, Bellatrix and Rigel, also part of the Orion constellation, further depict the work of Messiah. The name "Bellatrix" means, "quickly coming to destroy", and the name "Rigel" means "the foot that crushes", depicting in the heavens the Genesis 3:15 promise of Messiah's work. Interesting to note, on the illustrated Orion Constellation on star charts, his right foot is lifted over the head of the Constellation of Eridanus, the serpent, to crush his head, just below the Orion Constellation in the night sky. There are three constellations depicting Satan in the heavens, namely, "Draco" the dragon, "Hydra" the sea monster, and "Eridanus", the snake, each one showing a different aspect of the conflict of the ages.
The name "Orion", in the Hebrew, means "coming forth as light". The Orion Constellation is known as probably the most interesting of all the constellations of the winter sky due to the many gaseous nebulas such as the Barnard's Loop (Nebula), the Horsehead Nebula (designation B33/IC434) just below the upper belt star (top of photo), which also includes the Flame Nebula (designation NGC 2024) in the same immediate area, but not visible from earth. The extensive Hebrew understanding of the stars and their meanings from a Scriptural basis may be found in the Biblical Astronomy web link on this website under "Links", at the bottom of each page.