Larry, you are depending on intellectual understanding as a condition for salvation. I'm glad God doesn't, for then none of us would be saved!
The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.
There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
There is your first biblical evidence. Notice that although the day pours forth speech, the NIGHT DISPLAYS KNOWLEDGE.
Notice also that the glory of God is NOT the twinkling of pretty stars.
The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.
God's glory is the Son, and shown in the Son. So HOW do the stars demonstrate knowledge of this?
In Genesis 15:5, Abraham is told by God to go out and 'tell' the stars. The Hebrew verb there means to name them. Remember that GOD named the stars (Psalm 147:4). Adam named the animals, but God named the stars. So when Abraham was told to recite the names of the stars, what did that have to do with anything? Something, evidently, for we read that "Abram believed the Lord, and he credited to him as righteousness." (remember that ALL righteousness is in Christ)
Paul deals with this incident in Galatians 3:16 where he says this incident refers to Abram's SEED in the singular and not in the plural. In other words this episode between God and Abram had nothing to do with Abram's multitude of descendants, but with the fact that the Messiah would come from his line.
How did naming the stars inform Abram about the coming Messiah?
Because the name of every star in each language has the same meaning. And when the stars are 'told', starting with the Virgo constellation, the story and character of the Messiah to come emerges. Satan has been allowed to pervert the zodiac into astrology since Christ, but "in the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways." (Hebrews 1:1)
One of those ways was in the heavens. If you go back to Genesis 1:14, you will find that the lights and stars in the heavens are not just for seasons and days and years, but also for signs (the NIV corrupts the translation at this point, but it is clearer in the King James).
In other words, there is excellent biblical evidence that every man on earth has had access to knowledge of the Messiah, on either side of the Cross.
Larry, you may not like anecdotes, but the reports from missionaries do show that God has indeed loved the whole world -- every person ever conceived. Each person has been given enough to put their trust in God and in His promise of salvation.
I have been accused of promoting astrology by presenting evidence for the gospel in the stars. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Since Christ we have revelation through HIM and nothing else. That's the verse that follows Hebrews 1:1!
But if you want evidence that the study of the stars, or astronomy, was also involved with ancient astrology, take a look at the book of Daniel. He was the head astroloGER under four different kings while the Israelites were in exile.
Do you know who one of his students was, historically? Zoroaster.
Do you know what the religion of Persia was at the time of the birth of Christ?
Zoroastrianism.
Do you know what the upper house of the Persian parliament was called?
The Magoi.
According to Matthew, it was these Magoi (NOT 'magi') who came to look for the new king. "For we have seen His star in the east..." They had been looking for the astrological sign which could and did happen only once in the history of the earth, about which Daniel must have told Zoroaster.
Herod and all Jerusalem were not frightened by three old men on camels! First of all, camels were used for baggage carriers, not for human transporation. The entire upper house of Persia came to see this new King, along with their crack military unit of protection, as they were journeying in hostile territory. There were three gifts, but a lot more then three men!
They knew because of the stars. They came to worship the fulfillment of the Promise of God, the King of the Jews.
Yeah, it's in the Bible. It's also in the heavens and in the stories the missionaries bring back and in the study of linguistics and in history.
For those interested in reading a little further, my husband has done an enormous amount of research here as he has lectured in astronomy to professional astronomers and has also accepted a job teaching astronomy here in our area. Here are a couple of articles, one co-written by four of us (I was "Fryman" before I married Barry) and one entirely by him:
http://www.ldolphin.org/zodiac/index.html
http://www.setterfield.org/star.htm
