Archive for Ezekiel

Ancient Star Lore & Biblical Myths

Posted in Astronomy, Atheism, Atheist, belief, Bible, Christianity, culture, faith, history, humanity, prehistory, random, religion, thoughts with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 23, 2010 by chouck017894

There is never any acknowledgment among religious scholars of the vast debt that is owed to the prehistory star-wisdom and cosmic understandings upon which the authors of “sacred” tales fashioned a holy “history.”  A good example of sacred language is the intentionally oblique manner that actually refers to the Zodiac.  For example, in Proverbs 8:27 it is the Zodiac that is spoken of where it says, “When he established the heavens, I was there: when he set a circle upon the face of the deep.”  Elsewhere in scriptural myths the four major Zodiac divisions are alluded to as the “four-square wilderness camp” of the Israelites.  In sacred language, wilderness always referred to the void in which creative activity brought forth energy manifestations.  Israelites, the supposed forebears of the Hebrew devotees of Yahweh, are really in reference to the elementary particles or primordial energies moving—or fleeing—into prototype forms that are to become manifest as matter.  And the twelve Israelite “tribes” alluded to are none other than the twelve divisions of the Zodiac reworked and presented as ancestral background.  (This is detailed in The Celestial Scriptures: Keys to the Suppressed Wisdom of the Ancients.)

The twelve “tribes” are said to have been headed by the alleged descendants of Jacob/Israel, and each “tribe” can be identified in relation to the Zodiac divisions.  The most undisguised reference is found in Genesis 49:17 where Jacob/Israel lay dying and gives the “blessing” which was supposedly prophetic of the tribes.  In this case the “prophecy” was in regard to Dan: “Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels so that his rider shall fall backward…”  This is reference to Scorpio (and its associate constellations, Ophiuchus and Serpens) which in the Zodiac lineup is figuratively at the heels of Sagittarius, the Centaur.

The most famous reference to the Zodiac in biblical myths, however, is the alleged “vision” of a “wheel in the middle of a wheel” related in the book of Ezekiel.  We should take into account that Ezekiel is one of the two “prophets” linked with the exile saga (the other “prophet” of exile is Daniel who personifies Libra).  The story goes that the “prophet” Ezekiel allegedly saw the “likeness of four living creatures” that came out of the midst of a “whirlwind” that circled out of the sky, and their “faces” were likened to a man, a lion, an ox and an eagle.  It is not coincidence that these figures also happened to refer to the constellations that marked the quarterly divisions of the ancient charting of the heavens.  Ezekiel’s man was and still is the representative of constellation Aquarius, which heads the first quarterly  division, and the water signs of Zodiac.  The lion, as you may suspect, represented the constellation Leo which heads the third Zodiac division.  The ox is Taurus, more familiarly represented with the bull, marks the second quarterly division.  The eagle happened to be the Hebrew figure used for constellation Scorpius (Scorpio), and heads the fourth quarterly division.  The “vision” reference to the “likeness” lineup was muddled intentionally in an attempt to disguise the fact that the Zodiac was the true source of the “prophet’s” vision.  The “whirlwind” of Ezekiel’s vision is in reference to the entire cyclic movement of the constellations which exemplified the cyclic rhythm of Creation. 

Of course we should not ignore the glaring coincidence that there were supposedly twelve apostles that are said to have orbited around Jesus just as the twelve Zodiac divisions seem to revolve about the Sun.  Each of those can be identified with specific Zodiac signs.  Thomas, for example, is Gemini (remember, he had to see Jesus’ hands).  In St. John 20:24 (King James version) he is called Thomas Didymus, and Didymus comes from the Greek didymos, a direct reference to the Zodiac twins–Gemini.  Thomas was also referred to as “…the twin.”  Then there is the “many mansions” spoken of as being in my father’s house (John 14:2), which alluded to the twelve major Zodiac divisions, each of which also had three sub-constellations closely associated with it.

Perhaps the greatest mockery of ancient star lore pops up in the book of Revelation which was based entirely on prehistory events in Earth’s shifting and terrifying relationship with other planets.  These prehistory calamitous events served as the basis for the alleged “prophecy” of Armageddon in the closing book of the New Testament.  Reworked and presented as the “judgment” passed upon man by god to take place in the near future the tale’s purpose was to strike fear in spiritual seekers to turn them to the cult movement that became Christianity.  Today the book of Revelation still strikes fear in spiritual seekers who accept as truth the claim that every word in their man-written scriptures contains prophecy of world’s end.   However, the timeframe of Revelation‘s writing, 132-135 CE, makes it suspicious, to say the least.  The composing of Revelation followed upon the Jewish insurrection in Jerusalem under Bar Cocheba, 132-135 CE, which had spread to Cyrene, Egypt, Cyprus and Mesopotamia.  At that time the psychological change in the Jesus character from gentle teacher to the harsh judgmental figure was due primarily at frustration at the Jews and a conviction of the author that the Christian movement had been mishandled.  Tellingly, through the early centuries of the Christian cult movement the book was banned as unacceptable numerous times by many prominent church leaders who felt that it was not consistent with the compassionate, peaceful Jesus character presented in earlier N. T. scriptures.

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Revelation, fallacy of

Posted in Astronomy, Atheist, Bible, Christianity, culture, history, random, religion with tags , , , , , , , , on June 13, 2009 by chouck017894

Written in the occult style, the book of Revelation, penned c. 135-138, is not “revelation” at all but is embellishment upon mystery teachings concerning the dimensions and advancement of creation powers that were ancient even in Roman Empire times.  The occult manner of presentation such as the repeated use of the number seven should be clue enough to alert any reader that the “revealed” information is being presented in a questionable mystical style.  Consider for example—7 angels, 7 horns, 7 stars, 7 seals, 7 vials (of god’s wrath), 7 plagues, 7 candlesticks, 7 churches, 7 letters (to the churches), 7 spirits (before the throne), 7 dooms, 7 heads, 7 kings–and eventually 7 new things.

An important factor to remember about the book of Reveleation is the timeframe of its composition.  The Roman Empire at the time was in an extremely critical state from barbarian invasions and the revolts of subject peoples, especially the Jews.  Emperor Hadrian had been compelled to go to Palestine to put down the insurrection of the Jews that had escalated from 132 under the leadership of Bar Cocheba.  Roman patience was running thin at the decades-long stubborn noncompliance of the Jews.  Revolts had spread even to Cyrene, Egypt, Cyprus, and Mesopotamia.  Jerusalem was destroyed by Hadrian’s army and Jews were forbidden to set foot on the site.  It was established by Roman strategists that the spiritual obstinacy and consistent disquiet of the Jews was anchored in their priest-written and self-serving scriptures.  Out of this came the inspiration for the work claimed to have been authored by “Saint John the Divine,” but was more likely the work of a Roman frustrated at Jewish resistance to Roman governance.

The Apocryphal vision presented in Revelation was unmistakably influenced by Hebrew stories such as that of Moses and the “war in heaven” allegedly fought between the archangel Michael and Satan for possession of Moses’ body.  Obviously that tale was not about a mortal man but used Moses as analogous to the primal Earth.  In other words, that tale was cosmology told in occult style.  Among the elements borrowed from that Moses myth and incorporated into Revelation was the attention given to the number seven, as mentioned earlier.

Many of the symbols in  Revelation are also found in Ezekiel; i.e. gates of heaven opening, a throne within, seven lamps, etc.  As in Ezekiel, dead bodies are seen in the street which, after three and a half days, rise and walk.  There are numerous other parallels.  And all of them were borrowed from  more ancient mystery teachings on creation processes and cosmology, but tossed together without proper sequence to present the ecclesiastic deception of man’s downfall if Christianity was not embraced by all. 

Another example out of hundreds of the occult treatment used as Revelation can be discerned in chapter 4 verses 2-3 that describes “…a throne was set in heaven, and one sat upon the throne.  And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.”  More ecclesiastic deception: these gemstones symbolize the Zodiac constellations Pisces, Gemini, and Cancer.  (See accompanying notes on Gemstones of the Bible.)

Another example of  occult story handling continues in verses 6-7: “…and round about the throne were  four beasts full of eyes before and behind.  And the first beast was  like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had the face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.”   Really?   It all sounds suspiciously like the four quarters of the Zodiac (also used by Ezekiel) listed out of sequence—Leo, Taurus, Aquarius, and Scorpio (the eagle was Hebrew symbol for Scorpius).  Why are Zodiac symbols part of  Revelation?  Because in cultures predating the Hebrews, creation-cosmology lessons were taught using the constellations as focus for the lessons.  (As detailed in The Celestial Scriptures: Keys to the Suppressed Wisdom of the Ancients.)

The  book of Revelation is not worthy spiritual material, which is probably why so many other “saints” could not comprehend it.

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Wheeling Around with Ezekiel

Posted in Astronomy, Atheist, culture, enlightenment, history, life, logic, prehistory, religion, science, UFOs, Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , , , on May 7, 2009 by chouck017894

The biblical character of Ezekiel is declared to have played the role of “prophet” of doom from c.597 to c.586 BCE. After the Hebrews were allowed to return to Jerusalem after their Captivity, Ezekiel is then credited with developing a new ecclisiastical system and the theological doctrine of propitiation (god’s favoritism). More than any other character in biblical storytelling, “prophet” Ezekiel stands responsible for the priest-written Levitical Code being imposed upon the people of Israel—a code that gave priests authority over all the people.

But what most people think of when the name Ezekiel is mentioned is the account of a “wheel within a wheel” which he claimed to have seen in a vision and which kicks of chapter one–and rapidly plunges toward the surreal by verse five. “Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man.” Then in verse ten he claims: “As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle.” So enthralling is the tale of Ezekiel that speculation has been put forth in our technilogical age that perhaps Ezekiel was attempting to describe some UFO and the extraterrestrials that he might have encountered!

The the “likeness” symbolisms used to describe his “visions” are suspicious, however,and it should be taken into account that Ezekiel supposedly received his “prophetic calling” during the time spent in Babylon c.593 BCE. The founders of the Babylonian dynasty in the 7th century BCE were a Semitic people referred to as Chaldeans and are remember chiefly for a series of kings that included King Nebuchadnezzar II in Ezekiel’s time  period.   In biblical references to Chaldean, the term is usually synonymous with “magician” or “wise man,” but what is rarely discussed is that all these were in reference to men who were dedicated astronomers. Even later,well into the second century BCE, about the time that the Babylonian book of Daniel was adjusted to fit into scripture, Chaldea was recognized as a center of ancient esoteric learning.

Ezekiel made use of his time during the Babylonian Captivity by becoming proficient in the science of astronomy–for his was an age of monumental and frightening activity in the heavens. Indeed, around 587 BCE eventful happenings in the heavens affected Earth to such an extent that all civilized nations of the world found it necessary to begin recalculating their manner of chronological measuring. Knowing this, the “prophetic” visions attributed to Ezekiel can be deciphered: the vision of the face of a “man” was in reference to constellation Aquarius; the “face” of the lion referred to constellation Leo; the “face” of an ox alluded to constellation Taurus; and the “face” of an eagle was the Hebrew symbol for constellation Scorpius. So the mysterious “wheel within a wheel” was nothing other than sky positions designated with Zodiac imagery which contains within it the cosmogonical, precessional, annual and diurnal cycles. The “eyes” spoken of in verse 18 as being within the “rings” therefore are but a poetic reference to stars.

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Holy Astronomy

Posted in Astronomy, Atheist, Bible, Christianity, culture, freethought, history, nontheism, random, religion, science, Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , , on April 24, 2009 by chouck017894

Astronomy is the most ancient of all sciences, and the knowledge was so all-encompassing in its means of charting and presentation that star groupings (constellations) also served as illustrations for instruction on cosmogony as well as on lessons on life’s meaning. Of course such in-depth knowledge was not available to everyone, but the basic premises and the imaginative illustrations associated with the arbitrary groupings of stars were widely recognized by the masses almost everywhere.

Each constellation’s imagined figure–the symbols for the divisions of the ecliptic groupings and the symbols for the planets–were so intriguing that they passed into lore. This remarkable illustrative tool of astronomical charting is still known today, and we call it the Zodiac.  Astonishingly, the origin of that illustrative tool has been traced back more than 10,000 years. Zodiac figures such as Capricornus and Scorpius are known to have existed in their complete form even then. (The Zodiac’s true purpose should not be confused with the later horoscope practice of astrology.) Since the Zodiac figures and divisions were complete even in those ancient days, it means that the Zodiac, which was mapped out in precise degrees, has to be even older. There is, by comparison, no manmade religion that can claim such an ancestry.

Heavenly events were of much concern to the inhabitants of Earth for many generations through the second and first millennia, for neighboring planets were adjusting their orbits. This fact is even attested to in the OT book of Jeremiah (44:18-19) where it is recorded that there was a long history of women offering wine and incense to the heavens from the roofs of buildings.  The planet Venus was of especial interest to them, and it is referred to more than once as “Queen of Heaven.”  Even so, during generations of global upheavals the intimacy once felt for the ancient “celestial picture book” was lost, and the lessons once associated with the star charts became the treasures held as privilged information by a select few. In the passage of time the ancient knowlege became fragmented but would be incorporated into the world’s “holy books.”

The biblical character of Ezekiel, for example, is declared to have played the role of “prophet” of doom from c.597 to c.586 BCE. His most memorable storyline allusion was to a “wheel within a wheel”–which is actually a crafty reference to the Zodiac. And the “faces” that he claimed to have seen in connection to the “wheels”–man, ox, lion and eagle–were ancient references to the quarterly divisions of the Zodiac. These were and are Aquarius, Taurus, Leo and Scorpius (the eagle was the Hebrew symbol for Scorpius). The “eyes” spoken of  in verse 18 as being within the “rings” are but poetic reference to the stars. There are many more disguised zodiacal references throughout the Old Testament.

Naturally such a treasure trove with heavenly implications was not neglected in New Testament literature either. Probably the most prominent example of Zodiac association was the borrowing of its emblematic figures by church fathers to represent the four alleged authors of the approved Gospels. After much shuffling of Gospel story elements, the church fathers decided that Matthew was to be represented with a human head (man=Aquarius) because, they said, he had started the book’s narrative with the genealogy of Jesus. The book of Luke began with the story of the priest Zachary, and so it was deemed appropriate that Luke be represented by a sacrificial ox (Taurus). Mark began his version of Gospel events with the mission of John the Baptist who dwelt in the desert, and because the lion was an inhabitant of the desert it was deemed appropriate to symbolize Mark with a lion (Leo). And finally “St.” John, who began his text version with the words “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God…” was given the attribute of an eagle (Hebrew figure for Scorpius), for eagles were widely accepted as symbolic and representative of the higher God in Heaven.  And we should not forget that Jesus is said to have had twelve apostles who revolved about him as the Zodiac signs seem to revolve about the sun. 

Unfortunately, even greater perversion of the ancient Zodiac presentations and the lessons associated with them were looted for use and abuse in the book of Revelation.

Much more detailed information is presented in the books The Shiny Herd and in The Celestial Scriptures. How it all came together for modern evangelical power-plays to build upon is given in Time Frames and Taboo Data.

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