Biography
Birth Chart
Death Chart
Conclusion
Birth Chart Planets
Moody was baptized by sprinkling at 5 as an unbeliever by the local Unitarian pastor. As a boy he had to work to help support the family. At age 6 he was working for a neighbor taking the cows to pasture and bringing them back when a rail fence fall on him as he was crawling under it. The rails pinned him down, and he was unable to free himself. There was no one around to here his cries. He stopped and thought maybe God would help. So he asked Him, and after that he was able to lift the rails.
Moody didn't get much out of school, primarily because he was one of the leading mischief makers. At age 18, he couldn't read the Bible. He left home at age 17 and went to Boston where he worked for his uncle as a clerk in a shoe store. The next year his Sunday School teacher went to the store and led him to Christ on April 21, 1855. However, the Congregational Church would not accept him for membership for a year because of his ignorance of Christianity.
The next year Moody moved to Chicago where he worked in a shoe store and became active in local church outreach ministries. His goal was to earn $100,000. He started his own Sunday School in 1858 and with the use of gimmicks like free pony rides and hard work, he soon had the largest Sunday School in Chicago with attendance of 1,500 per week. By age 23 after five years work, he was making $5,000 a year, but he gave that up to enter full-time Christian service in June, 1860. President Lincoln visited his Chicago Sunday School on November 25, 1860.
Moody married Emma Charlotte Revell on August 28, 1862 at age 25 when she was 19. They had three children. When the War Between the States broke out, Moody did not enlist because he said he could not consciously kill another human being. However, he quickly organized evangelistic meetings for the Union troops who were training in Chicago. Throughout the war he worked tirelessly in the camps, hospitals, and even on the battlefields to evangelize the troops. He even held evangelistic meetings for Confederate prisoners of war who were being held in Chicago. As he led dying men to the Lord, he came to understand the urgency of making a decision for Christ which he carried with him through life.
Many of the stories of the death-bed conversions during the war are quite moving. Once as a soldier lay dying, Moody pressed him to accept Christ. The doctor had told Moody that the man would soon die. When the man refused to accept Christ, Moody talked to the man's friend, found out where his mother lived, and offered to take a message to her. When Moody asked the man what he should tell his mother, as the man was about to pass out, he said to tell his mother that he died "believing in Jesus."
Moody's Sunday School burned in 1862. In 1863 at age 26, he raised $20,000 to build the Illinois Street Church, which opened Feb. 28, 1864 with a seating capacity of 1,500. The church was later named Moody Church. Moody became President of the Chicago Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) in 1866 and served to 1869. He held his first revival in Philadelphia in 1867. He took his wife to England in 1867 for her asthma. There he met some of the big-name evangelists. In Dublin, Moody met Henry Moorhouse, one of the Plymouth Brethren, who preached in Moody's church in Chicago the following year and had a big influence on him.
In 1867 Moody supervised the construction of Farwell Hall, the first YMCA building in the US. In 1871, song leader, Ira A. Sankey, joined Moody. By 1871 Moody was preaching to large crowds in Chicago at Farwell Hall, which had a seating capacity of 3,000. On Sunday night October 8, 1871 during a service there the Great Chicago Fire began and burned down Farwell Hall along with his church and parsonage. The church was rebuilt and opened on December 24, 1871.
In 1872, Moody held an evangelistic meeting at the Arundel Square Congregational Church in London. He accepted an invitation from three Englishmen to return the next year. He left for England again on June 7, 1873. When he arrived, two of his sponsors had died. He spoke at the York YMCA for five weeks. Then he attracted large crowds at Newcastle where trains were used to bring in people. He went to Scotland on November 23 and held meetings in Edinburgh until January 20. Invitations from all over Great Britain followed, and Moody spoke in various cities. He began meeting in Belfast on September 6, 1874. Beginning in October, he packed the 10,000-seat Exhibition Hall in Dublin every night. Then he returned to the large cities of England where he spoke to crowds of up to 15,000. Moody spent five weeks of his tour in London where he spoke all over town to an estimated 2.5 million.
Moody's Great Britain campaign made him famous and invitations came from places across the US. He returned home to Northfield on August 14, 1874. There he held a revival where his mother was saved. He began holding city-wide campaigns in Brooklyn, Philadelphia, New York, and Chicago and preached to millions. He spent 7 months and preached 270 times in Baltimore from 1878 to 1879. Then he spent 6 months in St. Louis. Then he went to San Francisco. He conducted campaigns in other cities in the US during the 1880's and returned to Great Britain several times.
After getting a bad cold in England in the fall of 1892, Moody was examined by a physician and first learned of his irregular heart beat. He had been traveling and preaching almost constantly in Great Britain for 12 months, except for a two month vacation in the Holy Land. On the way home from England in November 1992, the shaft broke on the steamship, Spree, in which he was traveling. The stern of the ship was breached and the aft compartments flooded. The ship was dead in the water and almost sank. Moody said it was his darkest hour. Late the next afternoon, Moody led a prayer meeting and read Psalms 91 and 107:20-21. Then he went back to his cabin and cast his burden on the Lord, and went to sleep. Then at 3 AM the light from a passing steamer, Lake Huron, from Montreal was spotted, and the ship was safely towed into port in Cobh, Ireland.1
Moody held meetings in Chicago during the World's Fair in 1893. In 1895 he held a crusade in Atlanta. In Fort Worth, Texas the roof collapsed during a rainstorm during a meeting of 4,000, but Moody was able to maintain order and no one was killed.
Moody was short and weighed 280 pounds.3 During the summer of 1899, he did not exercise as much as usual and gained an additional 30 pounds, which proved too much for his already weak heart.2 He died, apparently of heart failure, on December 22, 1899 at age 62, where the numbers mean: 22 - cursing; 99 - challenger or almost but not quite; 62 - the end.
The
Birth Chart of Dwight L. Moody contains a Sling and a Plow. A Sling
is used for slaying giants. The planets of a Sling revolve around
a center, which becomes the center of attention in life. The Center
of the Sling in Moody's chart consisted of a pair of planets in Cancer.
The Almighty God Planet in Cancer symbolized great booty from the spoils
of victory, and the Red Planet in Cancer symbolized suffering from a security
or safety breach. A Plow resolves two planets in opposition
into a third at the point of the Plow, The Plow is always a sign
of intense suffering, like being plowed under. The point of the Plow
in Moody's chart was the God of the Covenants in Libra, which symbolizes
a treasurer. Moody raised millions of dollars to support his ministry
and schools.
Moody's Sun Sign was Capricornus, for a Light to the Gentiles. This symbolized Moody, the evangelist. The Moon was new in Capricornus, the sign of a Gentile congregation. A Stellium of the Sun, Moon, and Savior planets in Capricornus, plus the Redeemer Planet nearby, added even more significance to influence of Capricornus in Moody's chart. Since the time of birth was not known, the Ascendant and Midheaven cannot be determined.
Sun Sign
Moody's Sun Sign was Capricornus, for a Light to the Gentiles. This symbolized Moody, the great evangelist. There certainly has not arisen a greater evangelist than Dwight Moody in the Protestant Reformation. Moody's evangelism of the United States and Great Britain reached more people than George Whitefield or John Wesley.
Moon Sign
The Moon was new in Capricornus, which symbolizes a Gentile congregation. Moody spoke English and communicated mostly to English people. The New Moon would normally be a sign of lack of response from the audience. However, there are other factors here. Moody had a Stellium of the Sun, Moon, and Savior Planet, along with the Redeemer Planet nearby in Capricornus. This certainly offset the lack of response indicated by the New Moon. Moody is often credited with over a million converts. Another consideration associated with the New Moon is that Moody's short, simple sermons from the King James Bible did not bring the depth of response that could have been.
Sling
A Sling is used for slaying giants in Spiritual Warfare. The planet at the Center of the Sling will be the center of attention in a person's life. There was a pair of planets in Cancer at the Center of the Sling in Moody's Chart. They were the Almighty God Planet, for great booty or spoils of victory. The souls that were saved from Moody's evangelism could be considered the precious booty, which was the center of his attention. In order to support his ministry and schools, Moody also required large sums of money. He raised an average of $100,000 annually, and $1 million was invested in his schools. He raised additional hundreds of thousands of dollars for other groups, such as the Young Men's Christian Associations.1
The other planet at the Center of the Sling was the Red Planet, for suffering. The Red Planet in Cancer can symbolize suffering from a security or safety breach. Suffering was ever present in and around Moody. His father died when he was four, and his family suffered extreme hardship. In his early ministry, Moody led evangelistic campaigns on the battlefields and in the hospitals of the War Between the States. Throughout his life, Moody's fund raising in support of his ministry was to alleviate suffering of the masses, not the least of which was suffering from a security breach, i. e. lack of Eternal Security. He provided free education to those in need at his Northfield schools. An example of suffering from a safety breach occurred on April 21, 1895 when Moody was preaching in a temporary building with a flat root in Fort Worth. During a heavy rain, a section of the roof collapsed over the middle of the congregation.1 Moody maintained control of the audience and prevented mass panic, which could have injured many.
Plow
A Plow resolves the opposition of two planets into a third at the point of the Plow. The result is intense suffering, like being plowed under. The planets in opposition were the Red Planet in Cancer, for suffering from a security breach, and the Sun in Capricornus, for a Light to the Gentiles. The point of the Plow was the God of the Covenants Planet in Libra, a sign of a treasurer or businessman. Moody collected large sums of money, in the millions of dollars, to support his evangelistic ministry. He did not use the money for his own benefit. But the time and effort required to collect the money was a form of suffering that Moody endured to support his large evangelistic and Christian educational enterprise.
Capricornus
Capricornus contained a Stellium of the Sun, Moon, and Savior Planet, in addition to the Redeemer Planet nearby. This added great significance to the meaning of the sign, which symbolizes the Gentiles with their associated sin of unbelief. The planets in Capricornus symbolized the great power of Moody's evangelistic push. He was an evangelist of the Gentiles, and he taught his converts that they must turn from their life of sin to live the Spiritual life.
The planets in Capricornus were:
The Last Adam in Pisces symbolizes an intercessor. Moody taught and practiced the importance of prayer. Prayer is an essential function of the believer-priest in the Spiritual life.
Sagittarius
The Morning Star in Sagittarius symbolizes a battle leader. Moody was called "the general" because of the way he ran his evangelistic ministry. He was the leader, who organized and operated very much like a military general. Moody was engaged in a Spiritual war.
The
Death Chart of Dwight L. Moody contains Sling with an inscribed Plow and
a Catwalk. The configuration of Moody's Death Chart bears a striking
resemblance to his Birth Chart. The Center of the Sling consists
of two planets like the Birth Chart. The planets at the Center of
the Sling in the Death Chart were the Last Adam in Taurus, for hidden riches,
and the Redeemer in Gemini, for the double blessing. The Sling contained
two groups of three planets in Sagittarius and Scorpius to symbolize Moody's
conflict with Satan in his death.
The Catwalk stretched from the two planets at the Center of the Sling across the chart to planets in Sagittarius and Scorpius. The Catwalk was like a ladder reaching to Heaven. The planets at the Center of the Sling symbolized the blessings of Heaven, while the planets in Sagittarius and Scorpius symbolized Moody's conflict on Earth in his death.
The Plow symbolizes intensified suffering, like being plowed under. The Plow in Moody's chart was pointed at the Moon in Leo, for a politician. Moody died surrounded by friends and family, like a politician. The Plow resolved the opposition of the Last Adam in Taurus, for hidden riches, and the conjunction of the Savior and Mediator Planets in Scorpius. The Savior Planet in Scorpius symbolizes a Satanic attack, and the Mediator in Scorpius symbolizes fraud or an accuser, such as Satan, the accuser of the brethren (Rev 12:10).
The Sun was in Sagittarius, for the armor of the Light. Moody was dying of heart failure, which is divine punishment of a weakening of Divine Light and subsequent darkness. Since the time of death is not known, the Ascendant and Midheaven cannot be determined.
Sling
The Sling is for slaying giants in Spiritual Warfare. Giants are Satan's Demon Managers, like Baal. They are not people. Moody's weight of around 310 pounds prior to his death, gave him the appearance of a giant. The Stellium in Scorpius symbolizes Satan's attack on Moody at his death, and the Stellium in Sagittarius symbolizes Moody's Spiritual Warfare against his attackers. The Sling, then, symbolizes the conflict in Moody's life as he was dying. This conflict glorified God.
Plow
The Plow symbolizes intensified suffering, like being plowed under. The Plow in Moody's Death Chart resolved the opposition of the Last Adam in Taurus, for hidden riches, and the conjunction of the Mediator and Savior Planets in Scorpius, for Satan's attack on the believer. The Last Adam in Taurus, for hidden riches, applies both to Moody's vast temporal holdings as well as His Eternal rewards in Heaven. These blessings for Time and Eternity were opposed by Satan's attack. The opposition was resolved into a third planet, the God of the Covenants in Leo, for a politician. A politician has worldly friendship rather than a Divine Love relationship with others. Moody was receiving the divine punishment of a politician. His Light from God was being turned out. His heart was failing. The heart (right lobe) of the soul is symbolized by the physical heart of the body.
Catwalk
The Catwalk is like a bridge for crossing a chasm. The Catwalk in Moody's Death Chart symbolized the bridge between Earth and Heaven. On the Earth side were the God of the Covenants Planet in Sagittarius and the conjunction of the Mediator and Savior Planets in Scorpius. On the Heaven side were the Last Adam in Taurus and the Redeemer Planet in Gemini.
Scorpius
The three planets, which could be considered a Stellium, in Scorpius symbolized Satan's attack on Moody in his death. The planets were:
The Stellium of the three planets in Sagittarius symbolized Moody's Spiritual Warfare. He waged a defensive battle to try to stay alive as Divine punishment left him weakened and vulnerable to Satan. The Stellium in Sagittarius consisted of:
The Morning Star in Capricornus symbolizes a Gentile leader. That was Moody.
Death Summary
Dwight L. Moody died of a heart attack on December 22, 1899, where 22 is for cursing. He died under divine punishment of heart failure. He learned of his bad heart in 1892, but he failed to recognize his limitations as divine discipline and tried to ignore it. In November, 1899, he left for Kansas City with chest pains. He completed most of the crusade there, but was unable to complete it when his heart became too weak. He had been running around the country as a warrior when he should have been responding in Grace to God's punishment. Sickness is divine punishment. Moody had a big heart, and he died of heart failure. In spite of all the work he did for God, God ended his work at age 62, for the end.
Moody died in 1899, for almost but not quite. He died ten days from the new century on the shortest day of the year when God cut out his Light. Moody's life was cut short. Although his life was impressive, it failed to receive the fulness of blessing from God in Spiritual Rapport. The believer-priest must Love God more than people.
Moody was a tireless worker who raised large sums of money to support his schools and evangelistic outreach. He preached three times a day, five days a week, and four or five times on Sunday with only Saturday off. He ministered under fire in the War Between the States and in hospitals in the face of deadly diseases like tuberculosis and smallpox. He organized and led Christian soldiers like a general; yet his love for people was like a mother. It was said that he never uttered a cross word to his staff and all his workers loved him.
Moody was born on his mother's birthday, and his father died when he was four. He grew up without the authority of a father. Although he was certainly not effeminate and he performed manual labor with other men in the field, he was left with an arrogant, rambunctious streak from the void of being without a father but in perfect harmony with his mother's love in the face of suffering and hardship. Moody truly loved others and was keenly aware of their suffering. This was portrayed by the two planets at the Center of the Sling in his Birth Chart. The Red Planet in Cancer symbolized the suffering around him, and the Almighty God in Cancer symbolized great booty, or the spoils of victory, which included the souls of men who were saved through Moody's evangelism. The Sling was for slaying giants like Baal in order to free men to believe in Christ.
On one side of the Sling was Moody, the treasurer, who collected money to support a powerful ministry. This was symbolized by the God of the Covenants Planet in Libra. This was at the point of a Plow, which symbolized the suffering and toil involved in collecting money to support Moody's ministry. On the other side of the Sling was the Last Adam in Pisces, for an intercessor. This was the function of the believer-priest in intercessory prayer in support of Moody's evangelistic campaigns.
Moody had four planets including the Sun and the Moon in Capricornus, the Goat, and symbol of Gentile sin. Moody was a Gentile who preached to Gentile audiences in the US and Great Britain. The Morning Star in Sagittarius was the symbol of Moody, the battle leader. He was said to be like a general in directing the organizations which he led.
Moody was followed by C. I. Scofield and Lewis Sperry Chafer, both of whom founded schools for Bible instruction and championed the Bible conference movement. Scofield founded the Philadelphia School of the Bible and championed dispensationalism in the notes of the Scofield Bible. And Chafer founded Dallas Theological Seminary and published a premillennial, dispensational systematic theology, which became the standard for accurate theology. And from Dallas Theological Seminary came R. B. Thieme, Jr., whose grace-oriented categorical, exegetical, and isogogical teaching for over 50 years established a new standard for accurate Biblical interpretation.
Thus, Moody was the beginning of a work that God continued for another hundred years to make Bible Doctrine available to positive believers. Moody believed the Bible and tried to live it. He was one of the weak ones that God chose to disgrace the wise. He was a genuine Christian, who demonstrated what God can do with a believer who is truly dedicated to Him.
Released February 5, 2010
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