(Isa. lx. 1-3.)
This is “the glory of God” which the heavens constantly declare (Ps. xix. 1). They tell of that blessed time when the whole earth shall be filled with His glory (Num. xiv. 21; Isa. xi. 9); when “the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all [pg 129] flesh shall see it together” (Isa. xl. 5), as all see now the beauty of Orion's glory.
But side by side with the glory which the coming Light of the world shall bring for His people, there is “that wicked,” whom the Lord “shall destroy with the brightness of His coming.” Hence, as in the concluding chapter (IV.) of the First Book (of which this Third Book is the expansion) we had in Lyra (the harp), as § 1, Praise prepared for the Conqueror; and in ARA (the burning pyre), as § 2, Consuming fire prepared for His enemies: so in the first chapter of this book, we have in ORION, as § 1, Glory prepared for the Conqueror; and in ERIDANUS, as § 2, the River of wrath prepared for His enemies. This brings us to—
2. ERIDANUS (The River of the Judge).
The River of Wrath Breaking Forth for His Enemies.
It issues forth, in all the pictures, from the down-coming foot of Orion. While others see in it, from the ignorance of fabled story, only “the River Po,” or the “River Euphrates,” we see in it, from the meaning of its name, and from the significance of its position, the river of the Judge.
Plate 30: ERIDANUS (the River)
In the Denderah Zodiac it is a river under the feet of Orion. It is named Peh-ta-t, which means the mouth of the river.