THE HISTORY AND TRUTH OF THE ZODIAC

The Zodiac’s intended interpretation was, and still is, the foundation of God’s truth to all mankind, regardless of geographical or cultural differences. Yahweh revealed Himself and His plan to the ancients through the Zodiac; however, its beauty and simplicity was quickly and deviously covered up by a perversion that stems all the way back to the Babylonian mystery religion. It’s understandable that the very mention of the word “Zodiac” can send many people into contortions because of its deviant distortions.

Astrology, which should more accurately be called “astrodivination,” has been very unkind to the foundational history and truth of the Zodiac’s celestial revelation. Yet, God’s plan written in the skies has not changed one jot or tittle since that original revelation, except that some of its prophecies have been fulfilled and some of its future ones are lining up even now. In this blog posting, I will present an understanding of the Zodiac’s true origin and explain how and why its meaning has been perverted through the ages. By God’s grace, its mystery will be unveiled so that we can clearly see one of the great revelations of our age.

The amazing message that the Zodiac and the heavens have continuously heralded is that a Messiah would come from heaven to Earth as mankind’s Redeemer and King.

Each one of the original pictures of the 12 basic constellations, as well as their 36 decans, reveals information about the Messiah—including His character, His trials, His victories, and His return to Earth. That is quite a different interpretation of the constellations than the world perpetrates through astrology and horoscopes. The Zodiac’s intended message has been perverted into a greedy game run by charlatans using the heavens as a divining tool just as they use tarot cards, Ouija boards, crystal balls, and palm readings, etc.

In this quest, we will look at the history of the Zodiac and the false religious images that have been refashioned and pasted over the original images that revealed Messiah. Once they are removed, we will again be able to see the true Messianic depictions. We will also briefly discuss how your own birth sky reveals information pertinent to your unique potential destiny and calling.

Simply put, the message of the heavens and the Zodiac is about the Messiah—His person, His character, and His coming.

It also reveals to each of us the aspects of the Messiah that we have been individually called to champion and display. While it’s true that these are personal messages for each of us, they are not intended to lead us into fame and fortune as astrologists propound, but rather into an understanding of Messiah and how we can represent Him here on Earth. Your personal message is about your character, your unique abilities and calling—basically, who you have been called to be in Christ (Messiah).

Since the waters have been so muddied through deception, we must act as detectives sifting through and sorting out clues. We will see what the Zodiac was originally intended to be and how it was to be read. Once the whole picture and its truth are presented, you will be amazed at how easy it is to grasp and how fun it is to interpret the pieces.

Once we remove the layers of added paint off the canvas of the heavens and uncover the true masterpiece, it will be easy to see where the Babylon Mystery religion’s doctrines and myths of the Watchers and Nephilim were layered on top of it. As these truths are recovered through documented research and you see the integrity of the original message, your faith will grow in its truth.

The Background of the Zodiac

Years ago, I was privileged to hear a teaching called, “How Did We Get the Bible?” That teaching did more to build my faith in the written Scriptures than all the classes I had taken on Greek and Hebrew and scriptural structure, combined. I learned that the Bible came from holy men of God speaking as they were moved and directed by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21) and that I could trust the revelation. I believed that then, and I believe it now; and I also now know and believe that, similarly, the ancient Old Testament fathers and prophets received revelation from the Holy Spirit to name the stars (Psalm 147:4; Isaiah 40:26) so that they could interpret the heavenly scriptures. Through the knowledge of the star names, they were able to piece together the intended pictures of the constellations, which then enabled them to interpret the whole plan that was being displayed in the sky. The Holy Spirit gave the patriarchs of old such as Adam, Seth, Enoch, and Noah, etc., understanding of the heavenly scriptures. This same knowledge is available to us so that we can believe the integrity of the words written in the heavens just as we do the ones written upon the pages of the Bible. Both are declarations of God through divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit. As we exhume the star names and constellational meanings, the message of Messiah becomes clear. 

If we do not believe what the heavenly scriptures say, they will not profit us—just as Hebrews 4:2 says about the preached Word.

For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. ~Hebrews 4:2

Because of today’s computer technology, we can now also examine our own birth skies to see His attributes that we were uniquely called to represent. As the background of the true Zodiac is validated, we should grow in our faith about what it says to us, even the personal message it contains within our birth skies.

Note: We have designed a site for you to see your birth sky and its interpretation at http://astronomy.lmci.org.

Zodiac. The word “zodiac” is not, in itself, a malevolent word; however, it does have evil connotations that can be attributed to the pretended art of astrodivination, more commonly known as “astrology.” The Online Etymology Dictionary says “zodiac” comes from an Old French word meaning “a circle of little animals.”¹ But Bill Banks says the following from his book, The Heavens Declare.

One sixth of the constellations are inanimate, and therefore, a word denoting animals or life could not adequately describe the constellations.

Instead the word “Zodiac” comes to us from the Hebrew root word zodi or sodi for “A Way.” This latter word actually appears on some of the old star charts. “Zodiac” itself comes directly from the Greek word zodiakos, derived from this Hebrew word and therefore denotes The Way or The Path (lit. a way of steps) which the sun appears to follow through the heavens.²

Literally, the Zodiac is the path of the Sun on the celestial sphere, which is known as the ecliptic or the ecliptic plane.

We tend to picture it as a line drawn against the backdrop of the heavens. This invisible line or actual path of the Sun determines the 12 major constellations of the Zodiac. The Bible calls the heavens a tent (Isaiah 40:22), so this line would be like the major seam inside that huge tent. The ecliptic intersects certain stars and sections of the heavens repeatedly, year after year after year, etc., and the groupings of stars (constellations) that it consistently runs through are the 12 major constellations. 

Constellation. The word “constellation” was put together from the Latin words con (together) and stellos (stars) and simply means a group of stars. According to the Bible, not only did God (Yahweh), via the Holy Spirit, give the ancient patriarchs the star names but He also showed them how to group them together into constellations. In a clear night sky, they are easy to find if you know what you are looking for.

The oldest existing catalogues of the Zodiac contain 48 groups of stars, or constellations. In addition to the major 12 that are directly on the line that the Sun inscribes across the sky, there are also 36 that are in close proximity and contribute to the message of those 12. These are divided up so that each of the ecliptic 12 constellations are assigned three, which are called decans. The decans are located near their main constellation and they amplify its message.

The names of the constellations have been somewhat distorted and then popularized by astrology, but with an understanding of their intended message from the star names within them, it becomes clear what they were actually meant to represent. Although the pictures have been altered through mythology, the Messianic virtue and message can still be seen. For example, Virgo shows the virgin birth of Messiah and the trend changer He would be. Libra, the scales, shows His sacrificial nature that paid the price to balance the scales for all of mankind. Scorpio depicts the scorpion stinging the heel of the Messiah who is represented by Ophiuchus, which shows that He would be wounded to redeem mankind. Each picture (constellation) contributes to the whole story. In my book, Christological Astronomy—Interpreting Christological Profiles from the Heavens, I go through each of the 12 constellations in detail and show their amplifiers (decans) and the star names that make up their interpretations.³

Mazzaroth. In Hebrew, the Zodiac is referred to as the Mazzaroth, which is referenced as “line” in Psalm 19:4.

Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world. In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun. ~Psalm 19:4

Note: Jesus of Nazareth called Himself “The Light of the World” and “The Way.” These titles indicate that Jesus was the prophetic fulfillment of the Sun. Ignorance of celestial terminology and its Christological reference has hidden the truth of its Messianic prophecy and of its fulfillment through the person of Jesus of Nazareth.

The actual term “Mazzaroth” appears in Job 38:32.

Can you bring out Mazzaroth in its season? or can you guide the Great Bear with its cubs? ~Job 38:32

Mazzaroth (a noun) stems from the verb, “nazar,” which means “to separate.” This tells us that the Zodiac/Mazzaroth is not only a line (made by the Sun’s path) but it also forms divisions as it crosses the 12 major constellations, and these provide distinctions in time and meaning. A major error of astrodiviners is that they equally divide these constellations at exactly 30 degrees, and this violates the proper rules of separating the Zodiac/Mazzaroth. The Way (Zodiac) needs to be rightly divided in order to be properly interpreted, just as the Bible needs to be rightly divided (2 Timothy 2:15) and properly interpreted (2 Peter 1:20).

Not only did astrodiviners improperly divide the ecliptic plane, but they also forgot to factor in the astronomical law of precession that has resulted in Earth’s wobble of 31.9 degrees backwards since the astronomy tables were codified.⁴ Around 130 bc, the Greek astronomer Hipparchus of Nicea discovered the law of precession,⁵ and the historian Josephus records in his chronicles that the patriarchs of old also knew about this. Present-day astrologers ignore this scientific fact and stick to their old charts, even though this has been known for centuries. When computer technology came of age, it flushed out this error and forced astrologers to face it (although most of them still ignore it). 

The following tables show the old traditional astrological dates vs. the actual astronomical dates that are presently valid. The traditional astrological table is 2,300 years out of date, so when someone tells me that they have been involved in astrology, I surmise pretty quickly that they do not know the accurate location of the Sun, which means their whole premise is based on error.  No astrological reading is accurately calculated if the 2300 year-old tables are used. Yet, the interest in errant astrology continues, and this should be enough to alert us to the magnitude of our quest and the prize of our discovery.

TRADITIONAL ASTROLOGICAL DATES				ACTUAL ASTRONOMICAL DATES TODAY (c. 2000 C.E.)
Constellation	Date Span	Days		Constellation	Date Span	Days
Aries	21 Mar – 19 Apr	30		Aries	19 Apr – 13 May	25
Taurus	20 Apr – 20 May	31		Taurus	14 May – 19 Jun	37
Gemini	21 May – 20 Jun	31		Gemini	20 Jun – 20 Jul	31
Cancer	21 Jun – 22 Jul	32		Cancer	21 Jul – 9 Aug	20
Leo	23 Jul – 22 Aug	31		Leo	10 Aug – 15 Sep	37
Virgo	23 Aug – 22 Sep	31		Virgo	16 Sep – 30 Oct	45
Libra	23 Sep – 22 Oct	30		Libra	31 Oct – 22 Nov	23
Scorpio	23 Oct – 21 Nov	30		Scorpius	23 Nov – 29 Nov	7
				Ophiuchus	30 Nov – 17 Dec	18
Sagittarius	22 Nov – 21 Dec	30		Sagittarius	18 Dec – 18 Jan	32
Capricorn	22 Dec – 19 Jan	29		Capricornus	19 Jan – 15 Feb	28
Aquarius	20 Jan – 18 Feb	30		Aquarius	16 Feb – 11 Mar	24/25
Pisces	19 Feb – 20 Mar	30/31		Pisces	12 Mar – 18 Apr	38

This dating is from http://dionysia.org/astrology/sun-signs.html.

The point is that the Sun’s path intersects the heavens repeatedly year after year and this line is divided into 12 uneven parts. God purposely designed it this way to tell His story (plan) of Messiah, with each constellation contributing to the account. As the ancients observed and learned from these star pictures, and as they watched their courses throughout different times of the year, they were not doing it for fortune or fame. They saw Messiah’s pattern in the sky, the depiction of a super human who would be sent from God, and this spurred them to look for His coming. When we accurately interpret and apply God’s Word from heaven as they did, then we also will be inspired and motivated by His eternal plan of redemption, as well as His purpose for us as individuals.

The true way to read the Zodiac is the way the holy patriarchs of old did. They read the heavens looking for a Messiah and basing their lives upon the truth they saw. 

It is evident that the 12 ecliptic constellations, along with their corresponding decans, give the Zodiac a much deeper meaning than simply “the path” of the Sun. That’s why it is so vital that we divide the ecliptic plane properly to derive its accurate interpretation. When the separation points are drawn from the celestial center of our galaxy, the proper divisions of the heavens can be seen.

The following is a proper illustration of all of them, corrected with their ancient star names and divided according to ancient astronomical laws submerged within the Scriptures that can unlock their true messages.

“Constellation Map of the Heavens” illustration adapted from William D. Bank’s book, The Heavens Declare. Used by permission.

The Stars

God named the stars (Psalm 147:4, Isaiah 40:26) so that each one would represent something about either the Messiah or the enemy He would subdue. Through His Holy Spirit, these names were revealed to the patriarchs of old so they could read and understand His plan written in the skies; and they subsequently endeavored to live in anticipation of Messiah’s coming and rule. Providence preserved these names—even through the decimation and eventual loss of the ancient Hebrew language. Part of our quest is to recover the beauty and truth of the Mazzaroth/Zodiac by tracking these accurate star names back through antiquity.

Once the true messages of the 48 constellations were interpreted, imaginary lines were drawn about them to memorialize those meanings. This helped them and their future generations to remember the truth of the story that was being continually displayed above them night after night.

Genesis 1:14 lays the mandate for reading and interpreting the celestial lights.

Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years.” ~Genesis 1:14

The lights are for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and I believe this means they can be interpreted according to the day and year. There are other keys to dividing the ecliptic plane that will open our understanding, but the synthesis of this discussion is that we can rely on the 48 constellations of the heavens just as we rely on the 66 books of the Bible.

About the 48

This is where the rubber meets the road. In order to recover the true meaning of the Zodiac, we must get back to the original star names and constellation pictures. The initial perpetrator of these errors can be traced all the way back to Nimrod and the Babylon Mystery Religion.

The International Astronomers Union (IAU) presently recognizes 88 constellations in the heavens; however, 40 of these were added through the years mainly as a result of explorers in the southern hemisphere who saw unfamiliar groups of stars and decided to name them. These additional 40 might be helpful to those who simply like to locate stars on their telescopes, but they have no real substance in our quest to understand the history and truth of the Zodiac. Since they were given names by people and not by God, they are not relevant to our search to uncover the accurate meaning of the Zodiac.

Francis Rolleston, a vital apostolic pioneer in this field, studied the ancient Zodiacs in an amazingly detailed manner to discover the revelation of the star names and many of the hidden truths about the true celestial word. She wrote the following in her book, The Mazzaroth, in 1850.

The ancients divided the heavens by forty-eight constellations, imaginary and arbitrary divisions, sometimes, but not always, comprising remarkable stars. Among the twelve signs, Taurus, Scorpio, and Virgo have bright stars, leading the eye to fix on them as constellations, but the others have not; and would not be naturally distinguished as such. It is therefore evident that the distinction of the starry heavens into constellations, like the division of the earth into districts, is the work of man’s imaginations for his own purposes. In this case the purpose was to declare the glory of God.⁶

By “the ancients,” Rolleston was referring to the ancient astronomers and guardians of the Mazzaroth. It is well documented that Claudius Ptolemy (circa ad 137) had a solid star catalogue of the 48 constellations with most of its names in Greek. He references Aratus of Sodi (circa 270 bc) in his research as did Paul of Tarsus in his discourse at Mars Hill. Aratus’ star catalogue is almost identical to Ptolemy’s, showing his structure of the heavens in 48 constellations.

Also, Walter Maunder in his book, The Astronomy of the Bible, quotes from the fifth table of the Babylonian Creation epic (dated between 1900 bc and 1500 bc).⁷ Though the epic is deeply mythological, it nonetheless references the basic 48 constellations.

In the following illustration we see another ancient zodiac—the Egyptian Denderah Zodiac (circa 2300 bc)—which displays 48 constellations, with its obvious changes from the Holy Spirit’s original revelation stemming from Nimrod’s erroneous teachings that made their way to Egypt.

Image Credit: http://solariapublications.com/2011/04/09/hello-world/

The historian Flavius Josephus chronicled that Abraham (circa 2000 bc) corrected the Egyptian astronomers when he saw their images.⁸

From historical, astronomical, and mythological sources, it appears the 48 constellations are the basis of the celestial revelation that stretches back into ancient history, even to the antediluvian period (pre-flood era). Here is a brief look at these 48 constellations and their accurate meanings.     

Virgo	The prophecy of the promised seed
Coma	The desired
Centaurus	With two natures
Bootes	The coming one with branch
Libra	The redeemer’s atoning work
Crux	The cross endured
Lupus	The victim slain
Corona	The crown bestowed
Scorpio	The redeemer’s conflict
Serpens	Assaulting the man’s heel
Ophiuchus	The man grasping the serpent
Hercules	The mighty man victorious
Sagittarius	The redeemer’s triumph
Lyra	Praise prepared for the conqueror
Ara	Fire prepared for his enemies
Draco	The dragon cast down
Capricornus	The result of the redeemer’s sufferings
Sagitta	The arrow of God sent forth
Aquilla	The smitten one falling
Delphinus	The dead one rising again
Aquarius	The blessings assured
Piscis Australis	The blessings bestowed
Pegasus	The blessings quickly coming
Cygnus	The blesser surely returning
Pisces	The blessings in abeyance
The Band	The band ties together Jews and Gentiles
Andromeda	The redeemed in bondage
Cepheus	The deliverer coming to loosen
Aries	The blessings consummated
Cassiopeia	The captive delivered
Cetus	The great enemy bound
Perseus	The “breaker” delivering
Taurus	Messiah coming to rule
Orion	The redeemer breaking forth as light
Eridanus	Wrath breaking forth as a flood
Auriga	Safety for his redeemed in the day of wrath
Gemini	Messiah as prince of princes
Lepus	The enemy trodden under foot
Canis Major	The coming glorious prince
Canis Minor	The exalted redeemer
Cancer	Messiah’s redeemed possessions
Ursa Minor	The lesser sheepfold
Ursa Major	The fold and the flock
Argo	The pilgrim’s arrival at home
Leo	Messiah’s consummated triumph
Hydra	The old serpent destroyed
Crater	The cup of wrath poured out
Corvus	The birds of prey devouring

                       

Ancient History and Origin of the Zodiac

The secret to deciphering the puzzle of the heavens is that it is all about the coming Messiah. When we understand this, we can clearly see through the erroneous characters that replaced the original ones. Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel 2, along with Daniel’s interpretation, holds an interesting parallel to the corruption of the Zodiac. The major kingdoms prophesied through that dream to dominate Israel are the same ones that affected the original depictions of the constellations. In the dream, the head of gold represents the Babylonians/Chaldeans; the chest and arms of silver, the Medo-Persians; the belly and thighs of bronze, the Greeks; and the legs of iron and feet of iron and clay, the Romans. Each of these kingdoms “pasted” their own figures over the original ones according to their differing mythological/religious beliefs, perverting their original messianic messages.

These changes can be easily understood when we look at the religions of those kingdoms. The Babylonians/Chaldeans were influenced by Nimrod’s polytheistic beliefs, and the Medo-Persians followed suit.⁹ The Chaldeans, according to Flavius Josephus, contributed to the Egyptians’ mythological beliefs as well. The Greeks and Romans also added their own mythological figures, many of which actually came from the nephilim of Genesis 6 who were the deified heroes of their societies. If you will take the time to trace the Christology of the planets from their ancient Hebrew names, you will see how fascinating this topic is—especially as the overall truth begins to surface.

Abraham—Guardian of the Mazzaroth

We followed the source of the 48 constellations back to the ancient Babylonian mythology, so we know that this knowledge existed at least by circa 1900 bc. However, the ancient zodiac called the Denderah of Egypt that we discussed earlier came from around 2300 bc. But it can be traced back even further because there is evidence from the book of Jubilees and from the history of Josephus that Abraham was a vital guardian of the Mazzaroth, as he obtained all the writings of Noah, Enoch, and other ancient patriarchs; and these were written on astronomy and geometry.

This is what Josephus recorded about Abraham in his Book of Antiquities.

He was a person of great wisdom, both for understanding all things and persuading his hearers, and not mistaken in his opinions; for which reason he began to have higher notions of virtue than others had, and he determined to renew and to change the opinion all men happened then to have concerning God; for he was the first that ventured to publish this notion, that there was but one God, the Creator of the universe; and that, as to other [gods], if they contributed to the happiness of men, that each of them afforded it only according to his appointment, and not by their own power. This opinion was derived from the irregular phenomena that were visible both at land and sea, as well as those that happen to the sun, and moon, and all the heavenly bodies, thus: “If [said he] these bodies had power of their own, they would certainly take care of their own regular motions; but since they do not preserve such regularity, they make it plain, that in so far as they cooperate to our advantage, they do it not of their own abilities, but as they are subservient to Him that commands them, to whom alone we ought justly to offer our honor and thanksgiving.” For which doctrines, when the Chaldeans, and other people of Mesopotamia, raised a disturbance against him, he thought fit to leave that country; and at the command and by the assistance of God, he came and lived in the land of Canaan. And when he was there settled, he built an altar, and performed a sacrifice to God. Berosus mentions our father Abram, without naming him, when he says thus, “In the tenth generation after the Flood, there was among the Chaldaeans a man righteous and great, and skillful in the celestial science.” ~Josephus, Book of Antiquities, Book I, Chapter 7:1b–2a (154–158)¹⁰

According to Jubilees 12, Abraham was an avid observer of the stars. In this record, we read an account of how he was visited by God on the new moon of the seventh month in the year 1951 AM (Anno Mundi, “since the creation”).

And in the sixth week, in the fifth year thereof, [1951 A.M.] Abram sat up throughout the night on the new moon of the seventh month to observe the stars from the evening to the morning, in order to see what would be the character of the year with regard to the rains, and he was alone as he sat and observed. And a word came into his heart and he said: ‘All the signs of the stars, and the signs of the moon and of the sun are all in the hand of the Lord. Why do I search (them) out? If He desires, He causes it to rain, morning and evening; And if He desires, He withholds it, And all things are in his hand.’ And he prayed that night and said, ‘My God, God Most High, Thou alone art my God, And Thee and Thy dominion have I chosen. And Thou hast created all things, And all things that are the work of thy hands. Deliver me from the hands of evil spirits who have dominion over the thoughts of men’s hearts, And let them not lead me astray from Thee, my God. And stablish Thou me and my seed for ever That we go not astray from henceforth and for evermore.’ And he said, ‘Shall I return unto Ur of the Chaldees who seek my face that I may return to them, am I to remain here in this place? The right path before Thee prosper it in the hands of Thy servant that he may fulfil (it) and that I may not walk in the deceitfulness of my heart, O my God.’ And he made an end of speaking and praying, and behold the word of the Lord was sent to him through me, saying: ‘Get thee up from thy country, and from thy kindred and from the house of thy father unto a land which I will show thee, and I shall make thee a great and numerous nation. And I will bless thee And I will make thy name great, And thou shalt be blessed in the earth, And in Thee shall all families of the earth be blessed, And I will bless them that bless thee, And curse them that curse thee. And I will be a God to thee and thy son, and to thy son’s son, and to all thy seed: fear not, from henceforth and unto all generations of the earth I am thy God.’ And the Lord God said: ‘Open his mouth and his ears, that he may hear and speak with his mouth, with the language which has been revealed’; for it had ceased from the mouths of all the children of men from the day of the overthrow (of Babel). And I opened his mouth, and his ears and his lips, and I began to speak with him in Hebrew in the tongue of the creation. And he took the books of his fathers, and these were written in Hebrew, and he transcribed them, and he began from henceforth to study them, and I made known to him that which he could not (understand), and he studied them during the six rainy months. ~Jubilees 12:16­–28

As mentioned earlier, Josephus recorded that when Abraham traveled through Egypt, he taught them proper understanding of astronomy and arithmetic, among many other things. These are things he learned out of the books he translated from Noah and Enoch.

For whereas the Egyptians were formerly addicted to different customs, and despised one another's sacred and accustomed rites, and were very angry one with another on that account, Abram conferred with each of them, and, confuting the reasonings they made use of, every one for their own practices, demonstrated that such reasonings were vain and void of truth: whereupon he was admired by them in those conferences as a very wise man, and one of great sagacity, when he discoursed on any subject he undertook; and this not only in understanding it, but in persuading other men also to assent to him. He communicated to them arithmetic, and delivered to them the science of astronomy; for before Abram came into Egypt they were unacquainted with those parts of learning; for that science came from the Chaldeans into Egypt, and from thence to the Greeks also. ~Antiquities of the Jews, Book I, Chapter 8:2¹¹

Josephus’ account records that the science of astronomy the Egyptians had at that point came from the Chaldeans, and this would have been adapted from Nimrod’s polytheistic distortion of the heavens. (We know this because of the Denderah Zodiac.) Abraham arrived in Egypt shortly after 2000 bc and “delivered to them the science of astronomy,” for “they were unacquainted with those parts of learning,” as Josephus states it.

Note: How amazing that to this day, we can look into the night sky and see the same things Abraham taught the Egyptians. If ever we sit around a camp fire on a starry night, I will show you some of the same things he showed them.

Abraham believed in the God who cannot be seen but is written about in the heavens, and he became a patriarch of that celestial knowledge. He was not only the father of all who believe but of the heavenly message that revealed God’s Son who would be both Redeemer and King.

Abraham did not come from a monotheistic culture but was, in fact, born into a four-generation idol-worshiping family. However, the history of his early life reveals a very unusual upbringing that introduced him to the one true God. According to the Book of Jasher, when Nimrod threatened to kill Terah’s newborn baby Abram, Terah hid him away in a cave for the first 10 years of his life.

And Terah took Abram his son secretly, together with his mother and nurse, and he concealed them in a cave, and he brought them their provisions monthly. And Yehovah was with Abram in the cave and he grew up, and Abram was in the cave ten years, and the king and his princes, soothsayers and sages, thought that the king had killed Abram. ~Jasher 8:35–36¹²

When he came out of the cave at 10 years old, he then went to live with his ancestors Noah and Shem who taught him the ways of the one, true God.

And when Abram came out from the cave, he went to Noah and his son Shem, and he remained with them to learn the instruction of Yehovah and His ways, and no man knew where Abram was, and Abram served Noah and Shem his son for a long time. And Abram was in Noah’s house thirty-nine years, and Abram knew Yehovah from three years old, and he went in the ways of Yehovah until the day of his death, as Noah and his son Shem had taught him.                                                                                                                                        Jasher 9:5–6a¹³

God committed to Abraham the secrets of the patriarchs of old, especially the knowledge of the heavens. Abraham passed these down to Isaac, and Isaac passed them down to his sons as well. Through Jacob’s sons, Israel became the vanguard of truth. However, Abraham would have also taught Ishmael and the other six sons he had after Sarah’s death. These would have then carried their knowledge of the constellations to the Far East, including India. This explains why the Indian Zodiac agrees with the western ones and prophecies of the Messiah are found in several places in the ancient Indian Vedas.

Note: During one of my India trips, an apostle who was a converted high-caste Brahamin shared with me that a common belief amongst the Brahmins is that they are descendants of Abraham (hence the name “Brahmins”).

We can see this knowledge being carried down through the generations, especially in light of the dream Joseph had about the 11 stars that bowed down to him (with either Joseph or Benjamin possibly being the 12^th star). That was representative of the 12 major constellations, one of which each of Jacob’s 12 sons had as an ensign (Joseph’s two sons Ephraim and Manasseh represented him).¹⁴ The following illustration shows the 12 constellational banners of the 12 tribes of Israel.

The children of Israel were entrusted with the secrets. The brilliant minds of Israel held the secrets of the universe with its knowledge of a Messiah and coming king. Israel is renowned for its brilliant scholars, mathematicians, and astronomers.¹⁵

In my opinion, the inner secrets of the heavens, including the interpretations of the 48 constellations, were most likely kept by Israel among the treasures of the temple. A terrible thing happened on the way to fulfilling Daniel’s prophecies of the kingdoms that would rule over Israel: the temple was destroyed and the secrets probably stolen during the Babylonian captivity.

Daniel—Another Guardian of the Mazzaroth

Yahweh alone inhabits eternity and sees the end before the beginning, so He was well aware that the children of Israel would rebel against Him and be cast to the utter parts of the nations. He knew that Israel was headed into captivity and that even their native tongue, the Hebrew language, would be lost, along with the secrets of the Mazzaroth. The breathtaking reality is that He hid the Mazzaroth’s secrets in other languages.

In the book of Daniel, we see that He chose to hide these secrets within a 17-year-old teenager and some of his compatriots who were taken as prisoners during the Babylonian captivity. When the temple in Jerusalem was ransacked and the celestial mysteries fell into the hands of those who did not understand them, God would use Daniel to publish these secrets—most notably the prophecy of His Son’s coming.

We first saw that God entrusted Abraham as a guardian of the Mazzaroth, and now we see His providence moving Daniel into the Babylonian and Persian kingdoms with this knowledge as it was passed down to him through the generations. This was Yahweh’s divine design—to place and protect this knowledge in the Babylonian and Persian kingdoms by bringing in a troop of young Jewish men who were wise in understanding. They were seers and secret tellers who had the ability to quickly learn other languages and translate His message into Chaldean and then into Indo-Arabian. From there, the celestial revelation of a coming Messiah was publicized amongst the most renowned scholars—out of which came the Magi, the wise men who would follow the heavenly signs to find the Lion of the Tribe of Judah more than 500 years later.

Daniel became known as the wisest teacher across two world empires—both the Chaldean and the Persian. His knowledge of the 48 constellations was spread to all the nations of the world, which explains why the Magi who searched for the fulfillment of the prophecy came not only from Persia but also India and other remote nations. They were all aware of the signs in the heavens according to the secrets that Daniel had translated and dispersed.

Daniel’s prophetic and scholastic influence impacted the Babylonian and Persian kingdoms and left a huge footprint upon both secular and religious history. His legacy spans hundreds of years and still lives on. The Medo-Persian Empire was in full bloom during his time, and the language of the heavens was spread far and wide, becoming a cultural belief throughout the region. It was during this era that the wise men (Magi) were formed and began teaching some of the inner secrets. Although two Arab scholars, Albumazer (ad 850) and Ulugh Beigh (ad 1450), contributed accurate star names, those names likely stemmed from Daniel’s knowledge as it was preserved and passed down by the Magi (who in the process learned about the coming of the King of the Judeans and began looking for His coming). There is every reason to conclude that Daniel could be considered the father of astronomy since he promulgated it within the very cultures who then spread it around the world.

Note: Daniel’s influence can also be seen on the Greek culture in the poetry of Aratus of Soli (270 bc) ¹⁶ and then Ptolemy (ad 137).

Errors and Misinterpretations

The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. ~Deuteronomy 29:29

Just as with the Bible, when God gave the revelation of the heavens to mankind, He entrusted it to His patriarchs. Since the stars and constellations could not be changed, Satan began his quest to steal God’s glory out of the heavens by perverting the messages. God, in His infinite wisdom, made sure that even through the enemy’s perversions the truth could still be recovered so that His glory could once again be understood from the canopy above our heads.

The first attempt to pervert the message of Messiah began with the fallen angels teaching mankind about astrology—particularly the message of worshiping the heavens and the fallen angels who put themselves in the place of the promised Messiah. Enoch chapter 8 provides some insight on this.

And Azazel taught men to make swords, and knives, and shields, and breastplates, and made known to them the metals of the earth and the art of working them, and bracelets, and ornaments, and the use of antimony, and the beautifying of the eyelids, and all kinds of costly stones, and all colouring tinctures. And there arose much godlessness, and they committed fornication, and they were led astray, and became corrupt in all their ways. Semjaza taught enchantments, and root-cuttings, ‘Armaros the resolving of enchantments, Baraqijal (taught) astrology, Kokabel the constellations, Ezeqeel the knowledge of the clouds, Araqiel the signs of the earth, Shamsiel the signs of the sun, and Sariel the course of the moon. And as men perished, they cried, and their cry went up to heaven. ~Enoch 8:1–3

Much of this knowledge was washed away at the time of the flood, but the book of Jubilees gives a pertinent detail concerning the integrity of the Mazzaroth.

In the twenty-ninth jubilee, in the first week, [1373 A.M.] in the beginning thereof Arpachshad took to himself a wife and her name was Rasu’eja, the daughter of Susan, the daughter of Elam, and she bare him a son in the third year in this week, [1375 A.M] and he called his name Kainam. And the son grew, and his father taught him writing, and he went to seek for himself a place where he might seize for himself a city. And he found a writing which former (generations) had carved on the rock, and he read what was thereon, and he transcribed it and sinned owing to it; for it contained the teaching of the Watchers in accordance with which they used to observe the omens of the sun and moon and stars in all the signs of heaven. And he wrote it down and said nothing regarding it; for he was afraid to speak to Noah about it lest he should be angry with him on account of it. ~Jubilees 8:1-5

Kainam (Cainan) the grandson of Noah, must have known that he was translating an evil writing, because he was afraid to tell Noah about it. This also indicates that Noah knew of the erroneous teachings of astrology before the flood. When Cainan found this writing, he took it upon himself to translate it, and this explains how the astrodivination deceptions were carried over to the other side of the flood.  It’s likely that this was the Zodiac Nimrod used when building the ziggurat on top of the tower of Babel. Cainan’s translation became a major source of misinformation about the Zodiac that spread to Egypt and Greece. Josephus’ account of Abraham’s time in Egypt documents that this misinformation came to Egypt from the Chaldeans (Nimrod), and now we can see how that happened. Josephus’ Antiquities of the Jews, Chapter 8 Section 2, verses 167 and 168 gives the details.

For, seeing that the Egyptians were addicted to a variety of different customs and disparaged one another’s practices and were consequently at enmity with one another, Abraham conferred with each party and, exposing the arguments which they adduced in favour of their particular views, demonstrated that they were idle and contained nothing true. Thus gaining their admiration at these meetings as a man of extreme sagacity, gifted not only with high intelligence but with power to convince his hearers on any subject which he undertook to teach, he introduced them to arithmetic and transmitted to them the laws of astronomy. For before the coming of Abraham the Egyptians were ignorant of these sciences, which thus travelled from the Chaldaeans into Egypt, whence they passed to the Greeks. ~Antiquities of the Jews, 8:2 (last part of 167 and 168)

Through the Denderah Zodiac, circa 2300 bc, we can see the Egyptian, Chaldean, and Greek Zodiacs with all their erroneous changes. These perversions parallel the religious cultures of the kingdoms that overtook Israel, as prophesied within Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel 2. The Babylonian culture was the biggest culprit because of Nimrod’s influence upon it. He misrepresented the constellations as telling of him and the fallen angels, and this wreaked the greatest damage upon the truth of the original Zodiac (Mazzaroth). From there the error was compounded as the Persians and Greeks, and later the Romans, added their mythologies. Not surprisingly, the main target of the errors was the true person of Messiah.

The Greeks freely plastered their nephilimic gods over the Messianic constellations. For example, they overlaid Hercules upon the Redeemer, they pasted Sagittarius (a centaur) over the horseman, a Centaurus over the constellation that shows Messiah’s suffering and glory, and they also changed the hawks hunting the serpent into dogs chasing a rabbit. Apparently, the Greeks and Romans thought it their right to alter God’s glory that was revealed in the heavens into creatures that have nothing to do with anything.

The Romans followed suit by adopting their own version of nephilimic worship and adding their figures and names to reflect it. They also named the planets after their false gods, which covered up their true interpretations. Following the Roman reign, the Roman Catholic Church propounded these lies by deifying the celestial figures. Fortune tellers took advantage of people’s gullibility by embellishing these messages with fables that lured more of the masses into their snare. The truth of Messiah written in the skies moved further and further away, affecting not just the message but also the incentive to read and interpret the heavens.

The ancient truths of the Zodiac that speak of Christ have been missing for millennium, but God protected them for those who would search for them later. Through His wisdom and foreknowledge, He preserved the star names that originally determined the meanings of the constellations, so that their true depictions could be recovered.

Those who believe that the stars were meant for signs usually concur that they foretell certain significant events, and there is history that supports this. Once we understand the true interpretations of the constellations, it will become evident that the location of the planets at any given time are always broadcasting a Christological message.

Astrologers, more accurately called astrodiviners, distorted the heavenly communications of Messiah—His character, redemption, and glory—into deceptive messages that would lure people into believing lies and conjured prophecies. In some cases, demons have been involved in the prognostications of these astrodiviners to bring their so-called predictions to pass. In any case, the true messianic messages were buried through their alterations.

So, from Nimrod and the ensuing Babylon mystery religion all the way through the Persian, Egyptian, Greek, and Roman reigns over the world, they changed the Zodiac’s truths into forgeries and lies and undermined the confidence and trust that people should have had in God’s heavenly message. The beautiful truths of the promise of the coming Redeemer and King as displayed in the skies were lost because of the charlatans, soothsayers, and all those who did not recognize the original revelation given to the patriarchs. I personally believe that the plunder of God’s glory revealed in the heavens remains the most injurious theft in mankind’s history.

Conclusion

Astrologers and astrodiviners have perverted the Zodiac and changed the truth of God into a lie whereby they deceive people and extort money from them. Regardless of Satan’s clever deceptions, God protected the true interpretation of His celestial word and gave us scriptural keys to unlock it. The “line” referred to in Psalm 19 is one such key to understanding the message. In addition, He preserved the star names in other languages because He foreknew the Hebrew language would be lost for a season.

The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world. In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun, Which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, And rejoices like a strong man to run its race. Its rising is from one end of heaven, And its circuit to the other end; And there is nothing hidden from its heat. ~Psalm 19:1–6

The heavens do declare the glory of God, but because the knowledge of reading the heavens was lost for such a long time, many people missed out on this aspect of relationship with Him. In addition, those who lived down through the ages without the benefit of God’s written Word missed out on the knowledge of the coming Messiah because His truth written in the heavens was not passed down through the generations as it should have been.  

The original 48 constellations of the Zodiac were God’s revelation to the ancient patriarchs and by consulting the proper star names, we can reconstruct His message and interpret it. Perhaps regaining some faith in the integrity of the Zodiac will help to recapture some of this lost glory.

The Zodiac (the path, which is the “line” of Psalm 19) tells the story of the Messiah and His two comings, one as Redeemer and the other as King. The heavens show the character of Messiah, and by learning the proper locations of the Sun, Moon, and planets on a specific date, those characteristics become clear, relative to that particular night sky. The location of celestial spheres against the back drop of the Zodiac on any particular day and year, according to Genesis 1:14, will show the signs and significance of that day and the Christological characteristics it heralds. God knew the day and year of your birth before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4), and what was displayed in the sky on that date holds information about which part of Messiah you were called and empowered to represent.

With this information in mind, perhaps we can come to the subject of the celestial revelation of the heavens and sort truth out from the error and appreciate the revelation of the coming Redeemer and King. We can be the ones who turn this around and regain God’s glory by knowing and sharing the truth of the Zodiac’s message to mankind. The message of the Zodiac is about Messiah—not only Who He is but also which part of Him you were uniquely called to represent. 

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Notes

1. The definition of “zodiac,” Online Etymology Dictionary, accessed November 16, 2015, http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=zodiac.
2. William D. Banks, The Heavens Declare (Kirkwood MO: Impact Christian Books, Inc., 2013), 18.
3. Dale M. Sides’ Christological Astronomy e-book can be ordered at LMCI.org.
4. Dale M. Sides, “Christological Astronomy Profile Report: Sample Date Search Report Level 3,” accessed November 17, 2015, http://astronomy.lmci.org.
5. Information on Earth’s precession was found on the “Educational Web sites on Astronomy, Physics, Spaceflight and the Earth’s Magnetism,” accessed November 17, 2015, http://www.phy6.org/stargaze/Sprecess.htm.
6. Frances Rolleston, Mazzaroth, (New York NY: Cosimo Classics, 2007), 2.
7. Walter Maunder, The Astronomy of the Bible (Charleston SC: Forgotten Books, 2012), 243–244.
8. The Works of Flavius Josephus, translated by William Whiston 1737. Antiquities of the Jews, Book 1, Chapter 8:2, accessed November 17, 2015, http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/josephus/ant-1.htm.
9. “Bible Verses About Nimrod,” Bible Tools, accessed November 12, 2015, http://www.bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Topical.show/RTD/cgg/ID/388/Nimrod.htm.
10. Flavius Josephus, translated by William Whiston, The New Complete Works of Josephus (Grand Rapids MI: Kregel Publications, 1999)
11. Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, accessed November 30, 2015, http://www.sacred
    -texts.com/jud/josephus/ant-1.htm.
12. Michael Didier, “We are Israel Blog,” accessed December 1, 2015, http://weareisrael.org/2012/05/28/abram-and-nimrod/.
13. Ibid.
14. E. W. Bullinger, The Witness of the Stars, (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1972), 17–19.
15. Lisa Katz, Judaism Expert, “Jewish Accomplishments” online article, accessed December 1, 2015, http://judaism.about.com/od/americanjewry/a/accomplishments.htm.
16. Aaron Atsma, “Aratus Phaenomena,” accessed November 19, 2015, http://www.theoi.com/Text/AratusPhaenomena.html.

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