Chapter One

Signs and Symbols

In July of 1886 Vega, a brilliant star that lit up the sky could be clearly seen in the northern hemisphere. Considered the most important star in the sky after the sun, Vega is easily recognized for its brilliance and clarity.  To ancient Babylonian astronomers Vega represents one of the "Messengers of Light." On the 30th of July in that year, in the small village of Cove, Ireland, as the star Vega cast its brilliant light among the twinkling stars in the sky, a baby was born, a true messenger of light who would one day give the world the keys to greater spiritual living. He was named Joseph Emmet Fox. He was one of three children, including an older sister, Nora. Emmet, as he would be called, received the sacrament of Baptism, initiating him as a child of God.

From an early age, Emmet Fox had an intense interest in astronomy and the galaxy's billions of stars. He was thrilled by the grandeur of the universe and the hundreds of billions of galaxies in the universe. For most of recorded history, humans believed that God created the ordered universe out of chaos. This belief is still shared by a majority of people around the world, but Emmet Fox believed that the universe was one of cosmic order.

When he completed his elementary education in England, he read widely and deeply about the universe, and learned under the wing of a retired professor of physics and astronomy. Later in life, his interest deepened, with his focus on the phenomenon known as the Precession of the Equinoxes. The Precession of the Equinoxes is the gravitational forces of the Sun and the Moon, and to a lesser extent, other bodies on the Earth. It is the observable phenomenon of the rotation of the heavens, a cycle which spans a period of (approximately) 25,920 years, over which time the constellations appear to slowly rotate around the earth. It was first explained by the great mathematician and scientist Sir Isaac Newton. In approximately every 2,156 years, there is a shift into a new astrological sign, which ushers in a new age. We have been in the Age of Pisces which focuses on religion, spirituality, religious wars, crusades, and religious freedom. We are presently at the dawning of the Age of Aquarius. There is no definite date known to man as to when that will transpire. The Age of Aquarius focuses on accepting oneself as a whole person.

Judge Thomas Troward, the English author whose works influenced the New Thought movement and mystic Christianity, stated that a man's life must always be the exact reflection of that particular stage which he has reached in the perception of the divine nature, and of his own relation to it. As we approach the full perception of Truth, the life principle with us expands. From this perspective Emmet Fox came into this life to bring insight into the mysteries transcending ordinary human knowledge, as by direct communication with the Divine. His self-surrender to obtain unity with God-Mind beyond the intellect brought him to a mystic way of life. Fox never referred to himself as a mystic, but his intimate union with the Divine, along with his contributions to spiritual interpretations of the scriptures, gives him that status. 

On September 6, 1933, Emmet Fox delivered a talk at the famed Victoria Hall in London. The substance of the lecture was the twelve symbols or signs of the Zodiac, which he called the Cosmic Clock. The Bible, he said, has the Zodiac running through it from the beginning to end. There were the twelve sons of Jacob, who became the twelve tribes in the Old Testament, and the twelve Apostles of the New Testament. Then there were the twelve Tribes of Israel in strict astronomical order in the great encampment in the wilderness, a true example of Zodiac symbolism, which the reader can verify for himself.

In his writings of the Four Horsemen and the Apocalypse, he states that it may seem strange to the reader that the Signs of the Zodiac should be brought into this at all, but, of course, we have to take the Bible as we find it. The book of Revelation, often referred to as the Apocalypse, was written in complicated symbolism and has been greatly misunderstood.  

Why would the word of God be given symbolically? The answer is that symbols are the universal language of all people in all ages. Symbolism transcends language. Fox tells us that the Book of Revelation is not intended to foretell what will happen to nations or people. It is a book of prophecy of what will happen to the individual soul. The Apocalypse contains blueprints for personal living. These things are in the Bible, and it is our business to interpret the Bible rather than to think it should be written in some other way.

It was during that Victoria Hall lecture that Emmet Fox predicted world changes that took place five years later. He also spoke of significant changes in history, changes that would affect our religious freedom and bring about an erosion of individual rights. Because we are approaching the Age of Aquarius, we see people all over the world fighting in what we call "religious wars. "Fox made some extraordinary predictions of events which he said would happen around the midpoint of the age of Pisces, and the coming of the new Age of Aquarius. During a question and answer period, after one of his lectures in the United Kingdom, Fox made a statement, that there would be a "technology addiction in the 21^st century." Researchers at the University of Glasgow, in a recent study discovered that most folks check their e-mails every hour and fifty percent of those studied, check their e-mails thirty and forty times an hour. They also reported that nearly ninety percent of all Americans actively use some sort of computerized device. Regarding religion, Fox stated, "God and heavenly Father will be denied or forbidden in places other than churches," and "prayers would have to be in secret." In 1962 the U.S. Supreme Court removed prayer from the nation's schools. Fox also spoke about chaos and war in the Holy Land. In his book Diagrams For Living, he writes that by expanding the horizon of space, man will not only discover that God is God of the human race, but the God of the universe, and of many other races scattered throughout the cosmos. In a recent CNN report, scientists are said to be theorizing about life on other planets.  Scientists recently announced the discovery of three planets that are the best candidates so far for habitable worlds outside our own solar system and they're not very far away. As the individual opens his heart to the Christ, he will understand more completely his relationship to God and the cosmos, and especially will he realize that the earth with its inhabitants is not an island unto itself. Jesus, far-seeing seer, gave a hint. He said, "I have other folds that you know not of." "And now" Fox said, "We are on the threshold of knowing."

Why would the word of God be given symbolically? The answer is that symbols are the universal language of all people in all ages. Symbolism transcends language. Fox tells us that the Book of Revelation is not intended to foretell what will happen to nations or people. It is a book of prophecy of what will happen to the individual soul. The Apocalypse contains blueprints for personal living. These things are in the Bible, and it is our business to interpret the Bible rather than to think it should be written in some other way. It was during that Victoria Hall lecture that Emmet Fox predicted world changes that took place five years later. He also spoke of significant changes in history, changes that would affect our religious freedom and bring about an erosion of individual rights. Because we are approaching the Age of Aquarius, we see people all over the world fighting in what we call "religious wars."Fox made some extraordinary predictions of events which he said would happen around the midpoint of the age of Pisces, and the coming of the new Age of Aquarius. During a question and answer period, after one of his lectures in the United Kingdom, Fox made a statement, that there would be a "technology addiction in the 21^st century." Researchers at the University of Glasgow, in a recent study discovered that most folks check their e-mails every hour and fifty percent of those studied, check their e-mails thirty and forty times an hour. They also reported that nearly ninety percent of all Americans actively use some sort of computerized device. Regarding religion, Fox stated, "God and heavenly Father will be denied or forbidden in places other than churches," and "prayers would have to be in secret." In 1962 the U.S. Supreme Court removed prayer from the nation's schools. Fox also spoke about chaos and war in the Holy Land. In his book Diagrams For Living, he writes that by expanding the horizon of space, man will not only discover that God is God of the human race, but the God of the universe, and of many other races scattered throughout the cosmos. In a recent CNN report scientists are said to be theorizing about life on other planets.

 Scientists recently announced the discovery of three planets that are the best candidates so far for habitable worlds outside our own solar system and they're not very far away. As the individual opens his heart to the Christ, he will understand more completely his relationship to God and the cosmos, and especially will he realize that the earth with its inhabitants is not an island unto itself. Jesus, far-seeing seer, gave a hint. He said, "I have other folds that you know not of." "And now" Fox said, "We are on the threshold of knowing."