Astrology: The Gospel of Truth?

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And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things....”

Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen."

Just as Christians are embracing occult symbolism, many are advancing into promotion of astrology, no different than kabbalists, mentioned in the series To Embrace Hebrew Roots. Stephen Strang of Charisma and Christian Life Magazine (Charisma) was a featured speaker at the Messiah’99 Conference. Strang, who worked with Jamie Buckingham, has long endorsed Promise Keepers, the Vineyard, the charismatic movement and all that goes with them. Strang also publishes New Man magazine of the Promise Keepers. Perhaps these facts would explain why ‘Charisma’ magazine sells such things as warrior angel figurines and also promote the teachings of D. James Kennedy(CNP) of Coral Ridge Ministries and his Bible Zodiac/Astrology. D. James Kennedy is Senior Pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church (PCA) and an endorser of A Call to Evangelical Unity- The Gospel of Jesus Christ - An Evangelical Celebration! [See: EJECCT]

An ad in Charisma and Christian Life promoted the astrology and zodiac teachings of Dr. Kennedy.

"Startling discoveries made by eminent theologian Dr. D. James Kennedy prove that God created the Zodiac! God intended the stars to foretell the future of the world. Discover what Dr. Kennedy calls BIBLICAL ASTROLOGY or the Gospel in the stars. Order, 'The Real Meaning of the Zodiac' book on cassette....14” 1

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In “Masonic and Occult Symbols Illustrated,” Dr. Burns presents Kennedy’s teaching on “Sagittarius,”

"Fourthly, in the signs of the zodiac, is Sagittarius, the Archer. Sagittarius is a CENTAUR WITH THE BODY OF A HORSE AND THE TORSO OF A MAN. He is a man with a drawn bow and arrow. The Bible speaks of one in Revelation 6:2, 'And I saw, and behold a white horse, and he that sat on him had a bow...and he went forth conquering and to conquer.’ This is a picture of one who has two natures: of Christ who is THE GOD-MAN (the theanthropos, both man and God) who is going forth conquering and to conquer.15” 2 (Italics and boldface in the original; Caps added)

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The centaur that Kennedy is trying to palm off as “gospel,” is a mythological animal and Dr. Burns rightly admonishes and rebukes with Scripture.

“Personally, I feel that this is blasphemy. The centaur is a MYTHOLOGICAL animal, so does this make Christ a mythological being? In Revelation 6 we see TWO DISTINCT beings--a horse AND a man, not a horse-man. Supposedly this represents the two natures of Christ, but does the horse represent the man aspect of Christ or the divine aspect? Or, does the man represent the man aspect or the divine aspect? We cannot make either the horse or man DIVINE. Romans 1:22-23, 25 warns: 3

The centaur which Kennedy would align our Lord with is connected to the abominations known as false gods. The Centaur is another name for Osiris, the Egyptian god of the dead, also known as the sun god. Throughout the world and various cultures, the various names for Osiris include: The Centaur, Liber, Bacchus, Dionysus (human sacrifices), Mithras (astrology), Zagreua (underworld divinity), Sabazius (solar deity, with horns and serpent emblem) Deouis, The Boy Jupiter, Orion, Saturn, The Boy Plutus, Iswaram, The Winged One, Nimrod, Adoni, Hermes, Prometheus, Poseidon, Butes, Dardanus, Himeros, Imbors, Iasius, Zeus, Iacchus, Hu, Thor, Bel, Serapis, Ormuzd, Apollo, Thammuz, Atus, Hercules, Shiva, Moloch, and Baal. 4

With the promotion of his “Gospel Zodiac”, Kennedy then has the brass to admit that what he’s teaching about the zodiac actually is false.

"Remarkably, the stars in the heaven which represent those twelve signs bear absolutely no resemblance to the pictures or the signs themselves. For example. What we call the Big Dipper has been called Ursa Major (Great Bear). One thing it does not look like is a great bear! Neither do any of the other signs look like what they are supposed to represent."16 5

Dr. Burns responds with, "This is some admission! Kennedy claims that "God intended the stars to foretell the future of the world,"17 but if the signs do not "look like what they are supposed to represent" then how can the Gospel be clearly proclaimed by the constellations? The Bible tells us: "Have NO fellowship with the unfruitful works of DARKNESS, but rather REPROVE them" (Ephesians 5:11). We are not to try to "Christianize" the occult." 6

" For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty."

Responding to the widespread Zodiac ‘Gospel’ in the BDM article, “Gospel in the Stars,” the authors state:

“This theory was popular in the late 1800s. Some of the books published then have lately been brought back into print, among them E.W. Bullinger's The Witness of the Stars (1893) and Joseph A. Seiss's The Gospel in the Stars (1884), both republished by Kregel. It is asserted that the signs of the Zodiac were originally designed by God to communicate the "gospel;" that this "Gospel in the Stars" was known to those living before the Flood; that it was later corrupted into astrology; and that the alleged recovery of the "gospel interpretation" of the Zodiac is a great "witness" to God and His Word.” 7

It is also noted in the same article that there are other besides, “…"evangelical" D. James Kennedy who teaches this "Gospel in the Stars" folly.” 8 The authors write that, “…other lesser known promoters are Noah Hutchings, J.R. Church, John Barela and David Webber, all currently or formerly of Southwest Radio Church, and Chuck Missler of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa. …” 9 [Bolding Added]

JR Church, in his Where Will The Planets Be In The Year 2000?, shows his allegiance to the Zodiac:

"....Some remarkable conjunctions will occur in May of the year 2000 as all five major planets, along with the sun and moon, group together leaving the constellation, Aries, and entering Taurus around May 4.

Jupiter and Saturn will be extremely close as Venus has a conjunction with Jupiter on the morning of May 17 and with Saturn a few hours later, May 18. Jupiter and Saturn, the two largest planets in our Solar System, will meet a few days later on May 27. This is a remarkable series of events to occur in a single month.

According to THE WITNESS OF THE STARS, by E. Bullinger, published in 1893, Taurus begins the story of the second coming of Christ. Bullinger writes, "In this third and last book, we come to the concluding portion of this heavenly revelation. Its subject is redemption completed, and consummated in triumph ... the glory that should follow ... The sign in Chaldee is Tor; Greek, Tauros; Latin, Taurus. The Hebrew name is Shur, which is from a root which
means both coming and ruling. It is a prophecy of Christ, the coming Judge, and Ruler, and Lord of all the earth." http://www.prophezine.com/search/database/jrc/A960302.htm

Although mentioned in More Ecumenical "Comrades" we are reminded that J.R. Church and Chuck Missler are among those who attended the “GOD'S NEWS BEHIND THE NEWS INTERNATIONAL PROPHECY CONFERENCE 2000” held in Orlando, Florida, APRIL 5-8, 2000. http://www.godsnews.com/main.htm

As discussed previously, we see those same name connected to the Prophecy Alliance (Prophezine) of Ray Gano and Prophecy Central groups. From the Prophecy Alliance, called PropheZine, those names include: Berit Kjos, Gary Kah, Ron Wallace (Bible Fragrances), Shirley Ann Miller (Sr. Ed Lampholder Newlsetter), Bill Cloud, J.R.Church (Prophecy in the News), Prophecy Central, The Trump of Maranatha, Arno Froese (Midnight Call), Scott Pearson, Terry Cook, Master Mind Ministries, Prophetic News and Analysis, Bible Guide and Jack Van Impe Ministries. http://www.prophezine.com/alliance.index.shtml

Lambert Dolphin was a guest speaker at the 97 PropheZine Prophecy Conference in Alta Loma CA. and promotes Ray Gano's writing on his website. Ray Gano promotes Lambert in a book review >http://www.ridgenet.net/~vswin/bookrev.htm.

Grant Jeffrey, Hal Lindsey and Chuck Missler also promote the popular Bible Codes, the Christianized version of occult numerology, and many are openly involved in the ecumenical movement. Please read the reports on the Hebrew Roots Movement, specifically Part VIII: Gematria and Numerology, to understand Bible codes.

PropheZine and it's adherents support and align with Master Mind Ministries which writings are best described as New Age. Shirley Ann Miller (Sr. Ed Lampholder Newlsetter), also a member, was queried on their provided email address at PropheZine, "...As a former astrologer, do you see things such as "prophecy in the stars" and Bible Codes as astrology creeping into the church or do you see it as something positive?" the reply came from "Sammie, Lampholder Publications"

Bob Jones and friends also try to promote astrology and the concept of Jupiter as being "righteous."

"On July 16, 1994, which is the 9th of Av on the Hebrew Calendar, the twenty-one pieces of Shoemaker-Levi comet began its bombardment on the planet Jupiter...It is clearly prophetically significant that the ... assault on the planet Jupiter [was] on this notable date... It is also significant that the comet was broken into twenty-one pieces also representing the twenty-one days extending from the 17th of Tammuz until the 9th of AV, the season which this prevailing spirit operates with its greatest authority. Even though Jupiter is a symbol of idolatry for the pagan world, it is also a term for righteousness in the Hebrew language. The Hebrew name for Jupiter is Tzedeq and comes from the word meaning "righteous" or "righteous one". It is from this term that the name Melchizedek is derived denoting "King of Righteousness"."

"Clearly, we can see that Satan has perverted Jupiter into a symbol of idolatry. However, we can glean understanding from this term as a symbol of righteousness in the hope of our being cleansed by the Truth of God's Word thereby making us a suitable habitation for His Holy Spirit so that we can share in His holiness. . ." 10.

The influence of the Zodiac-Astrology teachings goes much deeper than stated by the above authors. Franklin Hall wrote "Atomic Power with God Through Prayer & Fasting,” in 1946. His acknowledged influence spanned the Pentecostal, Latter Rain and Charismatic leadership including Gordon Lindsay, Oral Roberts, William Branham, George and Ern Hawtin (started Sharon Bible School/ Latter Rain) A.A. Allen, W.V. Grant (senior), Tommy Hicks, Dr. Waltrip (Katherine Khulman's husband) and many more. 11

Like Joyner, Jones, Cain, Wimber and many others, Hall believed that the restoration of the church would involve the immortality of believers in the Lord Jesus. Hall taught that Joel’s Army would be achieved,

“… through a life of holiness plus various psychospiritual encounters ( i.e. experiences with UFOs, UHOs--unidentified heavenly objects and IHOs - immortal heavenly objects).6. He called this 'overcoming' which would bring a 'rain of righteousness' or 'a rain of immortality' upon the earth and revitalize the sleeping church.7 Hall also taught a number of other strange and non-biblical doctrines including assigning spiritual significance to the signs of the zodiac. He believed that what he was encouraging was all part of the fulfillment of the Joel's Army prophecy of Joel 2:3-11 when 'gravity freed, great people will run up walls' and 'permanent, lasting Freedoms from all sickness, harmful, accident things and defeat will come about' in this present life.” 12

William Branham’s teachings also included that God’s Word consists of scriptures, the Zodiac and the Egyptian pyramids. He stated, “

“The first Bible was in the sky, called the zodiac. Now if you don't know the Book of Job, just forget about it, 'cause--because Job is the one explains it: how that he looked up, and he named those things in the sky. And notice, in the zodiac is the virgin. The last thing in the zodiac is Leo the Lion: the first coming of Christ through the virgin; the second coming, Leo the Lion, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.” 13

William Branham, who believed the millenium would start in 1977, described heaven in a sermon given in 1960: "The gates of gigantic pearls are raised and hinged. Like a pyramid she stands so fair and glorious. The heavenly beings who have prepared her watch breathlessly, for she glistens and shines with a glory that is unearthly...Yes, it is the last call. The Spirit will not speak in another age. The ages are over." 14

Rodney Howard Browne admires and considers William Branham to be a "great man of God". ("The Coming Revival", written by Howard-Browne, page 13) Branham declared that Jesus was the missing headstone on the pyramid.

"...But now what if He comes...See, that was the days gone by, back in the Pentecostal days. We're living ahead of that now. We are beyond Pentecost, the same as we are Methodist and Lutheran. We're way on up to the coming of the Lord, where the ministry that Jesus Christ exercised, Himself, has to be exactly. Like the headstone on the pyramid, has to be honed till every stone fits perfectly. And the church has got to get in that condition to receive the Headstone, then take the whole thing in the resurrection , when the Body is raised up... " 15 http://imaginint.com/bereans/river/rhb3.html

Herbert W. Armstrong also embraced Pyramidology, which teachings are reported in the article, "Anglo-Israel and Pyramidology." 17 His source of information besides J.H. Allen, was from A.A. Beauchamp, the publisher of the British Israel doctrine in Allen's, " Judah's Sceptre and Joseph's Birthright."

"Beauchamp was an interesting character. Before his correspondence with Mr. Armstrong, he had converted to a now-defunct offshoot of Christian Science called the Church of Integration. His publishing house became the principal means by which the Church of Integration grew. Through his influence, Anglo-Israelism became the central perspective of the sect, while its prophetess, Annie C. Bill, became increasingly fascinated with pyramidology.4" 18

Christian Science, which has the cross and crown emblem, was founded by Mary Baker Eddy who was associated with the Theosophical society members. Many Eddy family members were involved in seances with Blavatsky. The only secret societies Christian Science members were allowed to belong to, were Masonic. 19

Following the teaching of a 1927 article in the Jehovah Witness' Bible Advocate, Armstrong also sourced, " Seiss' The Miracle in Stone, a popular book that underwent 14 editions... Charles Piazzi Smyth, ... Our Inheritance in the Great Pyramid.3 " Seeking help from Reverend Lincoln McConnell, the author of the 1927 article, Armstrong was directed to ," a book by Davidson entitled The Great Pyramid: Its Divine Message" also published by Beauchamp. McConnell wrote:

The most recent book on The Great Pyramid and a much easier one to read if you want this, is by "Discipulus," .... Its special value lies in the fact that it connects Pyramid truth with "British"-Israel truth in a fine way. (Reverend Lincoln McConnell to Herbert W. Armstrong, 3 June 1927, Herbert W. Armstrong Papers collection [HWAP], #867).

"I must say that if you really want to KNOW your Bible you will have to get the books on "Anglo-Israel".... You will never know the real truth the BOOK is teaching without this key." 20.

When queried, Beauchamp commented to Armstrong, saying that the "Discipulus"' pyramidology book was, "very good and up to date. Much of the information is based on a book by Davidson entitled The Great Pyramid: Its Divine Message. It...is one of the most remarkable and most interesting things that I ever read on the subject after Smyth's great work.... I am sending you...a series of articles by Davidson.... They confirm in every respect the noble work done by Piazzi Smyth and for which he suffered scorn and ridicule. (A.A. Beauchamp to Armstrong, 5 April 1928, HWAP, #874)."

"Mr. Armstrong's original manuscript, What Is the Third Angel's Message?, referred at one point to the pyramids. In explaining Matthew 21:42-45, where Jesus spoke of the stone that the builders rejected, Mr. Armstrong stated:

The Great Pyramid is here referred to and used as a symbol of the nation Israel. It is significant that the corner-stone, which is the top stone of the Pyramid, is MISSING, as if it had been rejected by its builders. (page 138B)" 21

Malcolm Bowden, Carl Japikse, Barry Setterfield and Helen Fryman are all teaching the Zodiac. The web site, Straight Talk about God , disseminates The Zodiac- Bible in the Stars, Lost Tribes theology, Gematria and the Pyramids, no different than Hall, Branham, Armstrong, Missler, J.R. Church and many others. Straight Talk promotes the teachings of Dr. Gene Scott who promotes the writings of E.W. Bullinger's, The Witness of the Stars mentioned above.

1. Charisma and Christian Life (November 1991, Vol. 17, No. 4) p. 57 as cited in Masonic and Occult Symbols Illustrated, p. 278; Dr. Cathy Burns; Sharing; 1998

2. Masonic and Occult Symbols Illustrated, p. 279; Dr. Cathy Burns; Sharing; 1998

7. Gospel in the Stars; http://rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/Letter/v1n9-1.htm: Biblical Discernment Ministries; http://rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/

10. The Lance Of The Basilisk PLANS AND STRATEGY FOR SPIRITUAL WARFARE IN 1999 & 2000 Bob Jones, Nita Johnson and Keith Davis March 12, 1999 http://www.bobjones.org/articles/the%20lance%20of%20the%20basilisk.htm

11. Latter Rain, Richard M. Riss, Honeycomb Visual Productions Ltd. 1987; Blessing the Church? Clifford Hill and Peter Fenwick, David Forbes, David Noakes; Eagle; 1995;

12. Blessing the Church? p.66; Clifford Hill and Peter Fenwick, David Forbes, David Noakes; Eagle; 1995

13. The Spoken Word; p.10-12 ; William Marrion Branham; Blasphemous Names, November 4, 1962, Branham Tabernacle, Jefferson, Indiana Vol. 3 No. 21

14. Page 42 The Laodicean Church Age by William Marrion Branham, from December 1960, reprinted 1985

15. The Spoken Word by William Marrion Branham , Phoenix Series 1964 ; Looking Unto Jesus 4, Vol.22 No.2 ;Page 25

Copyright . All articles are the sole property of SeekGod.ca and Vicky Dillen. All Scripture King James Version unless otherwise stated.

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