COSMIC CHRISTMAS
BIRTH OF THE SUN GOD
By Barbara Aho
The great Bimillennial celebrations which were launched in December of 1999 presaged the celebration of Christmas in a new form. Evangelical leader Jay Gary, in collaboration with former U.N. Assistant Secretary-General, Robert Muller, called for "an entire year of Christmas" through A.D. 2000. Commencing these high profile celebrations on this particular holiday signified quite another commemoration than the birth of Jesus Christ. In the various pagan religions of remote antiquity, December was the celebration of the Winter Solstice. Alexander Hislop revealed the true meaning of the festival of the Winter Solstice in his classic work, The Two Babylons:
The Sun-god Osiris and his consort, Isis, together with Re-Atum, the "Father of the Gods," were regarded by the ancient Egyptians as the supreme rulers of a Golden Age of plenty called Zep Tepi or the "First Time." Their kingdom ended abruptly when Osiris was murdered by his evil brother, Seth or Typhon. The childless Isis searched for the dismembered body of Osiris, which she then reassembled and resuscitated long enough to conceive a son named Horus. Horus was believed to be the reincarnation of Osiris, and the new husband of Isis, whose destiny it was to repossess the Kingdom of Osiris from the control of Seth."This festival has been commonly believed to have had only an astronomical character, referring simply to the completion of the sun’s yearly course, and the commencement of a new cycle. But there is indubitable evidence that the festival in question had a much higher influence than this--that it commemorated not merely the figurative birthday of the sun in the renewal of its course, but the birth-day of the grand Deliverer...the Sun-God and great mediatorial divinity." 1.
The myth of Horus is, of course, an allegorical perversion of the Genesis account of God's judgment of Nimrod and the Babylonian religious system from which the Egyptian mystery religion derived. The interpretation of the Horus myth is explained in the book, Spiritual Politics: Changing the World From the Inside Out by Corrine McLaughlin and & Gordon Davidson:
"Like the goddess Isis, who found and restored all of the lost pieces of her husband, Osiris, many are restoring the unity of all life, bringing together the separate parts of humanity -- different races, religions and cultures." - 42:62
The fable of Isis and Osiris, which forms the basis of Freemasonry and other occult belief systems, is currently experiencing a revival through entertainment, literature, education, and religious traditions. For example, the theme of Horus is the basis of the popular Hollywood production, Lion King. Through many points of entry, the pagan alternative to Jesus Christ is subtly being introduced to the world--and also to the Church--as mankind is subconsciously undergoing preparation for a universal return to the ancient practice of Sun worship.
In The Two Babylons, Alexander Hislop noted the purity of the early church as regards the adoption of pagan traditions prior to the Roman Catholic apostasy:
In pagan Rome, the celebration of the Winter Solstice began on December 17 with the feast of Saturn -- also called the Saturnalia. Through December 23rd, the Roman world engaged in merrymaking and the exchanging of gifts in honor of Saturn, the god of sowing and husbandry and, according to one Rosicrucian source, to commemorate a future Golden Age of Saturn:"...within the Christian Church no such festival as Christmas was ever heard of till the third century, and...not till the fourth century was far advanced did it gain much observance. How, then, did the Romish Church fix on December 25th as Christmas-day? Why, thus: Long before the fourth century, and long before the Christian era itself, a festival was celebrated among the heathen, at that precise time of the year, in honour of the birth of the son of the Babylonian queen of heaven; and it may fairly be presumed that, in order to conciliate the heathen, and to swell the number of nominal adherents of Christianity, the same festival was adopted by the Roman Church, giving it the name of Christ." 2.
Following the Roman commemoration of the Golden Age of Saturn began the celebration of the birthday of the Grand Deliverer, who was known as Mithra in Rome, Horus in Egypt, Tammuz in Babylon and various appellations in other ancient mythologies:"Here is the general reformation of the world announced in the Rosicrucian manifestos described as a world reformation... Whilst involving definite reforms in education, church, and law, this general reformation has millenarian overtones; it will bring the world back to the state in which Adam found it, which was also Saturn's golden age. So, in the Confessio, the second Rosicrucian manifesto, the general reformation is said to presage ‘a great influx of truth and light’ such as surrounded Adam in Paradise, and which God will allow before the end of the world...this millennium, this return to the golden age of Adam and Saturn, is said to be assisted by ‘the high society of the Rosicrucians.’" 3.
Not only were the Sun-God and his mother universally worshipped at this time, but common customs symbolizing his reincarnation were derived from the Biblical prophecies that applied exclusively to Jesus Christ:"In Egypt, the son of Isis, the Egyptian title for the queen of heaven, was born at this very time, ‘about the time of the winter solstice.’ The very name by which Christmas is popularly known among ourselves - Yule day - proves at once its Pagan and Babylonian origin. ‘Yule’ is the Chaldee name for an ‘infant’ or ‘little child’ and as the 25th of December was called by our Pagan Anglo-Saxon ancestors, ‘Yule-day,’ or the ‘Child’s day,’ and the night which preceded it, ‘Mother-night,’ long before they came into contact with Christianity, that sufficiently proves its real character. Far and wide in the realms of paganism was this birth-day observed." 4.
The tradition of the Christmas tree symbolically portrayed the death and reincarnation of Osiris in his son, Horus:"The Christmas tree, now so common among us, was equally common in Pagan Rome and Pagan Egypt. In Egypt it was the palm tree; in Rome it was the fir; the palm-tree denoting the Pagan Messiah, as Baal-Tamar, the fir referring to him as Baal-Berith. The mother of Adonis, the Sun-God and great mediatorial divinity, was mystically said to have been changed into a tree, and when in that state to have brought forth her divine son. If the mother was a tree, the son must have been recognized as ‘Man the Branch.’ And this entirely accounts for putting the Yule Log into the fire on Christmas Eve and the appearance of the Christmas tree the next morning. As Zero-Ashta, ‘The seed of the woman,’ ...he has to enter the fire on ‘Mother night,’ that he may be born the next day out of it, as the ‘Branch of God,’ or the Tree that brings divine gifts to men." 5.
"...the divine child born at the winter solstice was born as a new incarnation of the great god (after that god had been cut in pieces...on purpose to revenge his death upon his murderers.) Now the great god, cut off in the midst of his power and glory, was symbolised as a huge tree, stripped of all his branches, and cut down almost to the ground. But the great Serpent, the symbol of the life restoring Aesculapius, twists itself around the dead stock...and lo, at its side sprouts a young tree - a tree of an entirely different kind, that is never to be cut down by a hostile power -...and thus shadowed forth the perpetuity and everlasting nature of his power, how that after having fallen before his enemies, he has risen triumphant over them all. Therefore, the 25th of December, the day that was observed in Rome as the day when the victorious god reappeared on earth was held at the Natalis invicti solis, 'The birthday of the unconquered Sun." 6.
Moreover, the Romans practiced human sacrifice during the Saturnalia and human heads adorned the pine trees as ornaments.
"William Smith, in his Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities...notes this is stated distinctly in Macrobius who tells us that 'on the Saturnalia presents were made with little pottery figures or faces.'... And he adds that, as with Dionysus, 'We have then the propitiation by human sacrifice once real and afterwards simulated, at festivals of Jupiter, and of gods connected with death, Saturnus (to whom human sacrifice especially belonged...). These masks or figures...were hung upon the boughs of trees...for Vergil speaks of a pine... There can be little doubt that (they)...represented sacrifices'." - 54:130
When the prophet Jeremiah warned Israel of God's approaching judgment for its apostasy, he described precisely the heathen custom of decorating the Christmas tree, which custom God forbade his people to practice:
Hear ye the word which the LORD speaketh unto you, O house of Israel: Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good. Jer. 10:1-6
The feast of Christmas is, in allegorical form, the pagan celebration of the Serpent’s eventual triumph over the very God who frustrated the Babylonian attempt to build a tower to heaven (symbolized by a tree). By reviving and restoring the mystery religions as they were practiced in the pre-flood civilization, Horus became the Egyptian savior and virtual counterpart of Jesus Christ. In her Theosophical Glossary, H.P. Blavatsky thus describes Horus:
In the fourth century, the Emperor Constantine designated December 25, the birthday of the Roman Sun-God Mithra, as the birthday of Jesus Christ, thereby placing the true Savior among the pantheon of Roman gods. Constantine succeed in drawing Christians into the pagan celebrations of Rome, which procured the religious unity needed for the success of the Holy Roman Empire. This empire dominated the world for 1200 years until the the 16th century, when the Protestant Reformers led 2/3 of Europe to break with the Roman Catholic Church and discontinued the celebration of Christmas by reason of its pagan character. The Puritans who controlled the English Parliament in 1644 declared that no observation of Christmas was permitted, calling it "The Profane Man’s Ranting Day." C. H. Spurgeon proclaimed as late as 1871: "We have no superstitious regard for times and seasons. Certainly, we do not believe in the present ecclesiastical arrangement called Christmas." In 1983, USA Today recalled the Protestants' scorn for Christmas:"Horus (Eg.). The last in the line of divine Sovereigns in Egypt, said to be the son of Osiris and Isis. He is the great god ‘loved of Heaven,’ the ‘'beloved of the Sun, the offspring of the gods, the subjugator of the world.’ At the time of the Winter Solstice (our Christmas), his image in the form of a small newly-born infant, was brought out from the sanctuary for the adoration of the worshipping crowds..." 7.
It was inevitable that the nineteenth century social and spiritual revolutions in England and America would eventuate in a mass departure from Puritanism. The author of Man, Myth And Magic jubilantly records the modern return to pagan tradition:"A broad element of English Christianity still considered Christmas celebration a pagan blasphemy. The Puritans, Baptists, Quakers, Presbyterians, Calvinists and other denominations brought this opposition to early New England and strong opposition to the holiday lasted in America until the middle of the 18th century." 8.
In America, founding members of the New York Historical Society revived the Christmas tradition in the early 1800s, and in 1836 the state of Alabama declared Christmas a legal holiday. No doubt many of Christians who strove to stem the tide of apostasy recalled the words of Tertullian, who lamented the identical compromise of Christendom as early as 230 B.C."In Britain…social conditions were laying the foundations for a glorious revival of the Christmas spirit, as a reaction to the wretchedness and drab poverty that was a byproduct of the Victorian age… As early as 1841, Punch [a British periodical] suggested that the Christmas season should be a time for helping the poor and hungry, a sentiment that was given tremendous impetus by Charles Dickens in his Christmas Carol two years later." 9.
In his book, Too Long In The Sun, Richard Rives draws an appropriate parallel to the circumstances in Exodus 32, a Biblical precedent which provoked God nearly to the point of destroying the nation of Israel for their sin of blending pagan worship with His own:"By us...who are strangers to Sabbaths, and new moons, and festivals, once acceptable to God, the Saturnalia, the feasts of January, the Brumalia, and Matronalia, are now frequented; gifts are carried to and fro, new year’s day presents are made with din, and sports and banquets are celebrated with uproar; oh, how much more faithful are the heathen to their religion who take special care to adopt no solemnity from the Christians." 10.
Rives' assertion is validated by evidence that the golden calf was an Egyptian idol of sun-worship, Hat-hor being the womb of Isis, the mother/wife of Horus:"…the golden calf was built and the celebration declared a ‘feast to the Lord.’...The people had declared a celebration to honor God that he did not recognize as being in his honor." 11.
This identical form of worship is found among God's people again in I Kings 12, which records Israel's apostasy under the reign of Jeroboam, who devised a feast "like unto" the true feast in Judah:"Hathor and Aphis, the cow and bull gods of Egypt, were representatives of sun worship. Their worship was just one stage in the long Egyptian history of solar veneration. The golden calf at Mount Sinai is more than sufficient evidence to prove that the feast proclaimed was related to sun worship. The event at Mount Sinai was just one episode in the Satanic apostasy which began at the tower of Babel. The celebration of December 25th, originally proclaimed in honor of the birth of the sun god Mithra, can only be one of the final events in the long continuing saga of Satanic sun worship." 12.
The Matthew Henry Commentary notes the good intentions which attended Jeroboam's compromise:26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David: If this people go up to sacrifice in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah.
27 Whereupon the king took counsel and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
28 And he set one in Bethel, and the other in Dan.
29 And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan...
32 And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made.
33 So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised in his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense."
History demonstrates that the point of departure for every major apostasy in Israel and Christendom involved the commingling of worship of the true God with worship of the Sun-god. The return of the Israelites to sun-worship in the wilderness was indicative of an inward return to Egypt, which led to their eventual judgment. The establishment of sun-worship by King Jeroboam marked the division of the kingdom and the beginning of Israel's apostasy, which culminated in the Assyrian captivity. Likewise, Judah's apostasy involved practice of the heathen custom of decorating the tree which symbolized the sun-god, Horus. And the 4th century merger of Christianity with the pagan religions of Rome coincides with the institution of the feast of Christmas. The Christians' embrace of this heathen custom facilitated the establishment of the Roman Catholic Church."Thus Jeroboam made Israel to sin, and introduced idolatry, which continued in the kingdom of Israel till the Assyrian captivity. Though it is probable he meant this worship for Jehovah the God of Israel, it was directly contrary to the Divine law, and dishonorable to the Divine majesty, to be thus represented. The people might be less shocked at worshipping the God of Israel under a similitude, than if they had once been invited to worship Baal, but it made way for that idolatry." 13.
Finally, the 19th century departure from the Christian faith which has progressed to the present apostasy occurred around the time of the re-establishment of Christmas as a Christian holiday. In the progressive plan of Satan, a mid-nineteenth century revival of sun-worship -- in the form of Christmas -- occurred in due time to restore the ancient religious system that will be essential for transition into the New Age: MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. (Rev. 17:5) The testimony of history makes it difficult to resist the suspicion that the kick-off for Bimillennial celebrations during the Christmas celebration was for reasons that are occult and conspiratorial -- the anticipated rebirth of the Sun-god.
The restoration on a global scale of Mystery Babylon--the harlot religious system of Revelation 17--is the result of a carefully laid Plan originating in the mind of Satan and currently being brought to fulfillment by his Spiritual Hierarchy and human agents. An indispensable element of The Plan, as delineated in 1922 by Theosophist Alice Bailey, requires infiltration of the Christian Church and the placement of Adepts or initiates in positions of leadership:
Central to the bimillennial fervor and millennial delusion of these initiates -- the false prophets whom Jesus warned would abound in the last days -- is found a curious fascination with the tradition of Christmas. A 1994 publication, The Star Of 2000: Our Journey Toward Hope by evangelical leader Jay (Judson) Gary, introduces the Church to the secular Bimillennial agenda and encourages our participation commencing with Christmas of 1999."Very definitely may the assurance be given here that, prior to the coming of the Christ, adjustments will be made so that at the head of all great organizations will be found either a Master, or an initiate who has taken the third initiation. At the head of certain of the great occult groups, of the Freemasons of the world, and of the various great divisions of the church, and resident in many of the great nations will be found initiates or Masters." 14.
Sold as a Christian publication, The Star Of 2000 opens with high praises from prominent evangelical leaders like Bill Bright, President of Campus Crusade for Christ, Dr. David Barrett, Editor, World Christian Encyclopedia, Dick Eastman, International President, Every Home for Christ, John Dawson, Urban President, Youth With a Mission, Dr. Paul Cedar, President, Evangelical Free Church and David Bryant, President, Concerts of Prayer International.
Judson Gary is no minor player in the Evangelical religious system. Having graduated from Georgia Tech in 1976, he began his meteoric career in the church doing research in apologetics for Josh McDowell. In 1978, he moved to Los Angeles to work with the group which formed the U.S. Center for World Mission. During this time, he developed the Perspectives Study Program for worldwide lay missions. In 1982, he became their conference planner and also executive editor of the World Christian Magazine.
From 1986-89, Mr. Gary was communications consultant for New Life 2000, the World Strategy of Campus Crusade. During this period he was also Program Director for the Lausanne Movement founded by Billy Graham and organized the 1989 Global Consultation on World Evangelism by A.D. 2000 and Beyond, the worldwide conference which launched the A.D. 2000 Movement.
In 1991, Gary established the Global Service Office located in Colorado Springs. From this headquarters he then created the Bimillennial Global Interaction Network, a worldwide network of groups participating in the Bimillennial celebrations. This organization was jointly led by Jay Gary, Paul Guest of the World Association for Celebrating the Year 2000, and Robert Muller, former Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations. Robert Muller is also a Spiritualist and the author of books such as The Birth Of A Global Civilization and the World Core Curriculum in use globally to indoctrinate children as World Citizens. Robert Muller's School of Ageless Wisdom is a center for teaching the ancient mysteries as channeled by Alice Bailey, third president of the Theosophical Society, through her Tibetan master, Djwhal Khul:
"...in Arlington, Texas... [t]his institution, although commonly referred to as The Robert Muller School, is officially a branch of The School of Ageless Wisdom, founded in 1974 by Gloria Crook, a Bailey admirer and one of Muller's close friends. The fact that this school draws heavily from the teachings of Alice Bailey is plainly revealed in the preface of the WCC Manual...: 'The World is indebted to Dr. Robert Muller, former Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations,...for the formulation of the World Core Curriculum in its skeleton form. It is upon that scaffold combined with the ageless wisdom teachings that this present work has precipitated. The underlying philosophy upon which The Robert Muller School is based will be found in the teachings set forth in the books of Alice A. Bailey by the Tibetan teacher, Djwhal Khul (published by Lucis Publishing Co.).'.... The Robert Muller School has served as a type of testing ground for The World Core Curriculum and the teachings of Alice Bailey...[and] has been certified as the United Nations Associated School... As difficult as it may be to believe, the U.N.'s global education of the future is being openly modeled after the teaching of a Luciferic trance-channeler and her demonic spirit guide." - 15.
In 1993, Jay Gary wrote a letter to the World Goodwill Newsletter (an organization associated with Alice Bailey’s Lucis Trust, the Arcane School and the United Nations) announcing Robert Muller’s leadership through the U.N. of the International Year of Thanksgiving in 2000. 16. It is probable that Gary knew of Muller’s early association with Thanks-Giving Square, an interfaith organization in Dallas, Texas which was established in 1981 for the purpose of uniting the world’s religions on the basis of their Thanksgiving traditions. In 1982, Muller signed the first "Declaration of World Thanksgiving" with eleven other world religious leaders including Pope John Paul II, the Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa and Sir John Templeton, founder and benefactor of the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion. 17.
In 1992, Jay Gary formally dissociated with Robert Muller after his exposure by several ministries. However, in a late 1994 conversation with a Boston talk show host, Loren Decker, Gary privately admitted to a personal ongoing friendship with Muller:
The April 1994 report of the "March for Jesus" identified Jay Gary as the Regional Coordinator for the Midwest Region of the U.S. Then, in October of 1995, Gary made a joint presentation about Celebration 2000 with Focus on the Family C.O.O., Dick Mason, at the Front Range Ministry Forum in Glen Eyrie, Colorado. Their subject was "Ministry Reports on Collaboration & Partnership & Teamwork." 19."...the New Age has got it right...they’ve gotten their symbols right when it comes to 2000 in terms of a new millennium and a hope-a symbol of hope-and transformation. The new millennium happens within, not without. We need to begin anew and so there’s a number of people who...have answered the questions about what this means - it’s not external, it’s internal. All the dreams that Muller has for our world are Christian dreams when it comes down to it in terms of the democratic dreams... I have no shame that I call him a friend. I wouldn’t call him a friend on the air, but I’m honored to be his friend and honored to learn from him... I see Robert Muller one of the most Christian statespeople - Christian values, not Christian relationships or Christian culture - but he is incarnating quite a bit of what Jesus has called for and his visions for the U.N. of greatness are largely mimicked after his visions of greatness for the Church -- what the Church has achieved... These people have learned their lessons from the Bible - the Book of Revelation and the New Jerusalem - far better than we have and are bringing the Kingdom of God to earth and you have to respect it and at the same time you can’t lose the genesis of it, which is Jesus...It’s kind of like banquet etiquette ...those who will be first shall be last... We need to invite the poor to this thing, the public and the church might be last to - I’m not downing the church at all, but I’m just saying it’s funny the people that have seen this Star - people you wouldn’t think..." 18.
Beyond this seemingly superhuman profile, Mr. Gary, who describes himself as "The Millennium Doctor," confided in 1995 to the L.A. Times that he is anticipating a new assignment --
Does Mr. Gary have delusions of grandeur? Certainly, the Lord Jesus Christ has no need of an advance man and, if He did, spiritual cross-dressers need not apply. However, there is a high profile position available for which Jay Gary might qualify -- that of the False Prophet."When asked if the Millennium Doctor will keep operating till the year 2000, Jay confesses he is looking to heaven for a new vocation. 'I might shed my white doctor’s coat to become a stage manager. You would have never heard of the Beatles without Brian Epstein.' Apparently as the Bimillennium approaches, even a superstar like Jesus Christ is in need of an advance man." 20.
Among Jay Gary's New Age friends is Dr. Richard Kirby, who heads the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge and is also a member of the advisory board of Sancta Sophia Seminary. Jay Gary and Dr. Kirby, along with Barbara Marx Hubbard, attended the May 1997 convocation of this New Age institution. Jay Gary also participated on the panel of the July 1996 Eighth General Assembly of the World Future Society which was moderated by Richard Kirby and Barbara Marx Hubbard. At this conference, Richard Kirby described the new religion of the 21st century as:
The heliocentric cosmology of the 16th century would be a reference to the debut in Europe of the mystical Order of the Rose Croix, whose ultimate aim was the reestablishment of the ancient mysteries in a form that would be publicly acceptable. From this occult order originated the Freemasons and it is through their vast membership and influence that sun-worship has indeed achieved respectability in the Western world."...that altered state of consciousness of the religious thinker and... the coming astronomical or cosmic age of religion. For the merely terrestrial age of religion is passing away...and as geocentric cosmology gave way to heliocentric cosmology in the 16th century, so geocentric or terrestrial religion is giving way to astronomical, astronautical cosmo-centric religion of the 21st century. A vast restructuring is going on..." 21.
During the World Future conference, Dr. Kirby characterized Jay Gary’s book, The Star Of 2000, as "questioning the role of Christ in the 21st century." This book does in fact omit any presentation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and promotes every futurist and New Age thinker as innovative and contributing to a new understanding of Christ -- a perception which Jay Gary believes the Church must now acquire:
The Star Of 2000 commends and quotes liberally the New Age wisdom of Robert Muller, Hans Kung, Isaac Asimov, Brian Swimme, Thomas Berry and St. Francis of Assisi, who praised "sister Moon," "brother Wind" and "sister Earth" in The Canticle of the Sun. Addressing a 1994 Adopt-A-People Consultation, Jay Gary also highly recommended the New Age books of David Spangler and Tom Sine, calling these Luciferians "the best." And what is the gospel according to David Spangler?"At times, the world can reveal a broader implication of the gospel of Jesus Christ which the church has forgotten or never discovered." 22.
Whilst he heavily promotes the New Age agenda, Mr. Gary is scornful of Christian doomsdayers, disdaining all talk of a Tribulation or Armageddon, conspiracy research, and the dispensational view of human history--6,000 years followed by a seventh thousand years. Mr. Gary refers to the rapture of the Church as the worst of all possible scenarios, calling this mindset "a survival movement, a waiting game, a great escape for the chosen..." Conversely, "The best scenario" -- which he proposes -- "offers us everything! What better culmination to the bimillennial than to have the guest of honor, the Lord Jesus, personally arrive to usher in His kingdom?" 24."Lucifer works within each of us to bring us to wholeness, and as we move into a New Age...each of us in some way is brought to that point which I term the Luciferic Initiation, the particular doorway though which the individual must pass if he is to come fully into the presence of his light and wholeness. Lucifer prepares man in all his ways for the experience of Christhood..." 23.
Avoiding the worst scenario at all costs, no Antichrist appears in The Star Of 2000.
Or does he?
The Star Of 2000 is dedicated "to the Magi everywhere who decide to join this journey toward hope." In his preface, Jay Gary states, "...you will...meet various Magi who have seen His star." Among the various "Magi" cited in The Star of 2000 are prominent evangelical leaders Bill Bright, Chuck Colson, Ralph Winter, John Dawson, David Bryant, Graham Kendrick, Tony Campolo, Karen Mains and Madeline L’Engle. Other "Magi" include New Age Spiritualists Robert Muller, Hans Kung, John Naisbitt, Isaac Asimov, Tom Sine Brian Swimme, Thomas Berry and Mahatma Ghandi.
"Magi" are practitioners of magic or sorcery as were Simon the sorcerer in Acts 8 (who thought to merchandise the power of the Holy Spirit) and Elymas the sorcerer in Acts 13, who withstood the preaching of the Word of God through Saul and Barnabas. The Acts of the Apostles is considered an extension of the Gospel of Luke and it is noteworthy that New Age publications have reinvented the traditional Gospel accounts according to "recent archaeological discoveries" of Gnostic sources. One such book, Bloodline of the Holy Grail by Laurence Gardiner, remonstrates that there has been a cover-up of the true historical accounts and graciously provides the true records for readers:
The underlying thesis of Gardiner's book and indeed of most New Age literature, is that Jesus was a high ranking adept in the Gnostic Essene Community who trained his disciples (a militia of sorts with political aspirations) for the purpose of defeating the evil Roman Empire and liberating the Jewish nation. During his "lost years," says Gardiner, Jesus was initiated into the Egyptian mysteries to prepare him for his Messianic mission -- to unite Israel and the Gentile nations in one religion. According to this popular book, Simon the Sorcerer (Simon Magus) was not only Jesus’ disciple -- Simon Zelotes mentioned in Luke 6:15 -- but also the influential head of the Samaritan Magi, the spiritual mentor of James and John and the consort of Salome! 26."(Bloodline's) authority rests with revolutionary interpretations, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls and with the many Gospels and early texts that were conveniently obscured from the public domain. Recorded facts have also been culled from Celtic annals, and from chronicles of the Dark Ages, along with much information from the sovereign, saintly and chivalric archives of Europe. Throughout the centuries, an ongoing Church and governmental conspiracy has prevailed against the Messianic inheritance. This heightened when Imperial Rome diverted the course of Christianity to suit an alternative ideal, and has continued to the present day." 25.
The Theosophical Glossary defines the term "Magi" as a derivative from the Latin word for ‘great’:
Acts 8:9 records that Simon Magus was in fact "giving out that himself was some great one." A recent New Age book, The Gift of the Magi: Christmas for a New Millennium by Rick Levine, locates the origins of the Magi in Persia, although the author erroneously identifies modern Babylon as Persia (Iran) rather than Iraq:"The name of the ancient hereditary priests and learned adepts in Persia and Media, a word derived from Mâha, great, which became later mog or mag, a priest in Pehlevi..." 27.
The Secret Book Of The Egyptian Gnostics credits the Persian Magi with initially producing the body of spurious scriptures from which Gnosticism developed:"Chaldea was the home of a great and ancient sacred knowledge called astrology. Chaldea became Babylon, which later became Persia. Five centuries before the birth of Jesus, the prophet Zoroaster brought a new religion to this land. Zoroastrianism played a significant role in this ancient world. Zoroastrian priests were astronomer-priests. The ancient Persian temples, ziggurats, were astronomical observatories. In these observatory-temples, the ancient Persian priests spent the nights watching the divine magic unfold. Around the time of the Jesus’ birth, Zoroastrian magi undoubtedly practiced astrology." 28.
"Gnosis" means knowledge. The Gnostic believed that he was one of the elect who possessed this knowledge: knowledge of God and things divine, either through direct mystical experience, or through the possession of a secret body of knowledge which had been handed down to those initiated. The Gnostics asserted that the world of matter in which the human soul was imprisoned was evil and that the spirit was meant to partake in the divine nature of the Great Life beyond. Gnosis, or the knowledge which insures salvation, is the perception by man that he contains a spark of God and the realization of the necessity of awakening from the half-life he leads on earth to a full consciousness of his divinity, which has been ensnared in matter. The Encyclopedia of Religion explains the philosophical origin of this aberrant hypothesis:"The...remnants of mystical or sacred (Iranian) writings that the Magi of Asia Minor - the Maguseans -- composed in Greek... The principal book of this kind, given under the names of Zoroaster, Ostaneas and Hystapes, dates back to the second century of our era. It was these books, perhaps, which did the most to prepare the mythical framework in which our Gnosis was coming to birth." 29.
"A series of emanations from the Godhead …were intended to constitute the created world. As the emanations proceeded from their divine source, a catastrophic event occurred -- the breaking of the vessels that carried them. Sparks of the divine light fell into the material domain where they were imprisoned in shells of matter. The task of the Qabbalist was to liberate the sparks in order to reconstitute the divine configuration, the primordial man (adam quadmon), a goal with eschatological overtones." 30.
THE NOAHIDE LAWS Gnostics including author Rick Levine maintain that the coming of the Messiah was discerned through astrology rather than the Hebrew Scriptures. The Secret Book of the Egyptian Gnostics claims that Adam had prophesied the narrative of the Magi and was buried in a Persian cave along with certain treasures:
The sacred Book of the Cave of Treasures is alleged to contain the secret teachings that were written by Adam, who transmitted them to Noah."At the same time, now mingling nascent Christianity with these Iranian and Jewish myths (Zoroaster), there were amplifications of the major episode of the Magi keeping watch for the rising of the star that was to guide them to Bethlehem for the adoration of the Messiah. The principle work in which ...all these traditions became synchrotized was The Book of the Cave of Treasures...It puts all these revelations into the mouth of Adam as the first of a long series of prophets, who predicts how the Magi will await the announcement of the Saviour, near this cave in which Adam himself will have been interred, and where the Treasures are concealed which the Magi will carry to Bethlehem." 31.
The History of Freemasonry, by High Adept and Prince of Masonry Albert Mackey, provides the sequel to the Gnostic version of the account of Noah:"In The Book of the Cave of Treasures ...let us quote from it these lines, supposedly spoken by the Magi: Adam imparted revelations to his son Seth...he recommended his son Seth never to fail in justice as he Adam had done. Seth welcomed the teaching of his father with a pure heart and it was given to him to inscribe this wisdom in a book and to teach it...And thanks to him, for the first time in this world, there was seen a book written in the name of the Most High. Seth bequeathed to his descendents the book thus written, and that book was handed down even to Noah...(who) took with him into the Ark the books of these teachings... He ordained in his turn that the generation that came after him were to repeat...the mysteries in the books of Seth...These mysteries and this narrative were handed down even to our fathers...who passed them on to us." 32.
According to the Encyclopedia of Religion, these regulations, which are known as the Noahide Laws, derive from a Cabalistic interpretation of the Torah. 34. Essentially these laws are condensed from a 1990 edition of the Institute of Judaic-Christian Researcher:"After Noah’s emergence from the Ark, he is said to have promulgated seven precepts for the government of the new race of men of whom he was to be the progenitor... (1) To do justice (2) Worship God (3) Abstain from idolatry (4) Preserve chastity (5) Do not commit murder (6) Do not steal (7) Do not eat blood." 33.
Author of Rapture Watch, Jamma M., warns of this insidious revision of the Ten Commandments: "The danger of these laws is very subtle. Who will determine what is classified as an idol? Which God or gods are they speaking of? Who will define blasphemy of the god of choice? The Old Testament required 2 or 3 witnesses for a death sentence and strictly forbade the execution of a person by the word of one witness (Deut. 17:6)" 36."(1) Thou shalt not engage in idol worship. (2) Thou shalt not blaspheme God. (3) Thou shalt not shed innocent blood. (4) Thou shalt not engage in bestial, incestuous, adulterous or homosexual relations not commit the act of rape. (5) Thou shalt not steal. (6) Thou shalt establish laws and courts of law to administer these laws, including the death penalty for those who kill, administered only if there is one testifying eyewitness. (7) Thou shalt not be cruel to animals." 35.
According to Albert Mackey, the Noahide laws were intended to regulate the conduct of both Jews and Gentiles: "These seven obligations...are held binding on all men, inasmuch as all are descendants of Noah, and the Rabbins maintain that he who observes them, though he not be an Israelite, has a share in the future life, and it is the duty of every Jew to enforce their due observance wherever he has the power to do so." 37.
The Encyclopedia Of Judaism lists the same seven laws, which "…are felt to represent at least a formulation of basic, intuitive ‘natural law’...as a mechanism for non-Jews to be governed under Jewish jurisdiction." The entry mentions further that: "Full-page ads in the New York Times and other newspapers have proclaimed: ‘All nations of the world: Fulfill the 7 universal Noahide Laws given to you in the Torah of Moses.’" 38.
The Encyclopedia then bluntly asserts the appropriate penalty for disobedience: "One additional element of greater severity is that violation of any one of the seven laws subjects the Noahide to capital punishment by decapitation. (Sanh. 57A)" 39.
It is not common knowledge that the U.S. House of Representatives passed a Joint Resolution on March 20, 1991 by which the Noahide Laws became Public Law #102-14, after passage by both Houses of Congress and the signature of former President George Bush. A Rabbi Schneerson, the messianic leader of a worldwide ultra-orthodox sect known as The Lubavitch Movement, as being responsible for this unknown law.
Based on the transmission of the Noahide Laws according to Gnostic sources, it can be educed that the principle work of the Persian Magi, The Book of the Cave of Treasures, provided a blueprint for world government. According to New Age astrologer/author Rick Levine, it was this contribution to mankind that was the true gift of the Magi who visited Jesus Christ:"The Resolution reads in part: ‘Whereas these ethical values and principles have been the bedrock of society from the dawn of civilization, when they were known as the Seven Noahide Laws... Whereas the Lubavitch movement has fostered and promoted these ethical values and principles throughout the world... Now, therefore be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress Assembled, that March 26, 1991, the start of the ninetieth year of Rabbi Menachem Schneerson, leader of the worldwide Lubavitch movement, is designated as ‘Education Day, U.S.A.’ The President is requested to issue a proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to observe such day with appropriate ceremonies and activities." 40.
Jay Gary likewise refers to "new treasures from the unreached world" in terms of a new movement out of the cradle of civilization. He wrote in "The Journey of the Magi" as published in the World Christian News:"The gift of the magi was really the changing of civilization. It doesn’t matter what religion you are, the last two thousand years have been the age of Christianity...The Three Wise Men sought out the birth of a baby to play a role in the founding of a religion that has been dominant for two thousand years... The suppressed origins of Christianity date back to these magi who recognized the sign of their times... The magi were undoubtedly the founders of Christmas, and of Christianity." 41.
Such a journey is now on the schedule of events leading up to the celebration of Christmas, 1999. In August of 1999, thousands of people will join Jay Gary to form a caravan journeying from Iraq to Bethlehem -- a journey which will take five months and culminate in December of 1999. 43. Will this "people movement" of Kurds or Palestinians "bring forth new treasures" from the Cave of the Treasures in Persia -- even a new civilization governed by the Noahide Laws?"This fall believers around the world are ‘praying through the window.’ For some it will mean a prayer journey among the 10/40 Window, for others it will mean a month of concerted prayer that God might bring forth new treasures from the unreached world. If our highest prayers would be answered, what might come forth from the cradle of civilization? Perhaps you envision a people movement sweeping through the Kurds, or the Palestinians. If this were to happen it would virtually be another Journey of the Wise Men, a spiritual procession arising from the heart of the cradle of civilization... As we approach 2000, another journey of the Magi could be reenacted before our eyes." 42.
Daniel 7:25 informs us that the next "new civilization"-- the fourth Beast -- will be governed by new laws, and John foresaw in Rev. 20:4 "the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the Word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast..." Inasmuch as refusal to worship the Antichrist will be tantamount to disobedience of the second Noahide Law, it is certain that death by decapitation will be commonplace in this new civilization. (Rev. 20:4)
The Star of 2000 is dedicated "to the Magi everywhere who decide to join this journey toward hope." We are indebted to James Webb, historian of The Occult Establishment, for removing the sheep's clothing from these ravening wolves: "The term ‘magus’ is no figure of speech -- it refers to occultists proper." 44.
Jay Gary does omit all reference to the conversion of the Eastern Magi to faith in Jesus Christ as "God come in the flesh" or to their rejection of the Babylonian mystery religion, although this change of heart is understood in Scripture. Without this clarification and taking into consideration the preponderance of New Age mystics promoted by Jay Gary as modern "Magi," it seems fair to assume that The Star Of 2000 is dedicated to "occultists everywhere who will unite to found a new civilization governed by the Noahide Laws" in A.D. 2000.
The Prologue to The Star of 2000 presents "The Parable of the Fourth Wise Man," an Arabian magus who lost his way en route to Bethlehem, having since wandered the earth in search of the "true spirit" of Christmas. The bewildered Zalshar wondered:
Centuries passed and Zalshar noticed that only a few people on earth kept the "true spirit of Christmas." Bishop Nicholas (a.k.a., Santa Claus) was one. Another was St. Francis of Assisi who first placed a nativity scene in church (more Roman idols). Zalshar also fondly recalled Charles Dickens, author of those immortal words "Bah! Humbug!"-- opprobriously ascribed to the archetype of those who decline to celebrate the birthday of the Sun-God. A cursory mention of Handel - sans reference to his magnum opus or its Gospel message - and Zalshar continued his journey, disappointed that he had not found the "true sprit of Christmas.""Was I here to search for the true spirit of Christmas until I found it? Would I follow that Star, wherever it led, until the whole world saw Him?"
As A.D. 2000 approached, Zalshar heard talk of a new advent that will come in time for the new millennium. He waited with eyes fixed on the horizon for the Star he once saw to appear again. Rejoicing at the prospect of a reappearance of the Star, the fourth Magus predicted:"Yet, I kept waiting for the time when the whole world would find the Prince of Peace."
Zalshar’s quest climaxed with his observance of an astronomical sign -- the watershed event which Jay Gary believes will commence another journey of modern Magi:"Another spiritual procession will certainly begin before the year 2000."
"On the eve of the bimillennial, Zalshar, the fourth wise man, found himself gazing more each night into the heavens. Then one evening it suddenly appeared. Morning was just about to break when Jupiter and Saturn strolled together like two saffron flames merging into one. As Zalshar watched, a royal blue spark burst out of the darkness beneath. Jupiter emerged wearing a magnificent mantle of light. ‘This is the heavenly sign,’ Zalshar cried. ‘The morning Star is soon to arise in every heart. Another journey of the Magi must surely begin.’ Before embarking Zalshar lifted up his eyes to heaven and prayed, ‘Oh sovereign Lord, Father of Lights...’" 45.
THE NEW IMPROVED LUCIFER Although The Star of 2000 is promoted and sold as a Christian book, Zalshar's prayer is not offered in the name of Jesus Christ, but is addressed to the "Father of Lights." It is noteworthy that David Spangler identifies Lucifer as the "Morning Star" and redefines his name of Light Bearer to mean the source of Enlightenment or Gnosis:
The title "Morning Star," which rightfully belongs to Jesus Christ, appears to be much coveted by Lucifer whose evil character has been transformed in occult lore. A thoroughly metamorphosed Lucifer is found in H.P. Blavatsky's Theosophical Glossary:"The light that reveals to us the presence of the Christ...comes from Lucifer. He is the light-giver, he is aptly named the Morning Star because it is his light that heralds for man the dawn of a great consciousness... He stands...as the Great Initiator, the one who hands the soul over to the Christ." 46.
One New Age book, Walking Between The Worlds, by Gregg Braden, likewise praises the selfless virtue of Lucifer as the force of darkness who elected to leave heaven and --"Lucifer (Lat.). The planet Venus, as the bright ‘Morning Star.’ Before Milton, Lucifer had never been the name of the Devil. Quite the reverse, since the Christian Saviour is made to say of himself in Revelations (xvi.22) ‘I am. . .the bright morning star’ or Lucifer." 47.
"Enough!," protests the Christian reaching for a Bible, "Surely this heresy is refuted by Scripture!""…in perhaps one of the greatest acts of compassion ever witnessed in our ancient memory, willingly gave and continues to give of himself as our personal mirror of darkness because he loves us that much..." 48.
We think not . . . depending upon which version of the Bible is at hand. Mme. Blavatsky, who laid the doctrinal foundation for the modern New Age Movement, published her Theosophical Glossary in England in 1892, seven years after the release of the 1885 English Revised Version of the Old Testament. A significant revision found in the 1885 ERV (and the modern versions based upon it) is the removal of Lucifer’s name from Isaiah 14:12 and the substitution of "morning star" for "son of the morning." Thus revised, the subject of this profile becomes Jesus Christ, who is later identified in Rev. 22:16 as the "Morning Star." With this literary sleight of hand, Lucifer’s judgment is removed and the fallen archangel is given the very identity of Jesus Christ, who is merely "brought down to the grave."
Isaiah 14:12,15
"How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou brought down to the ground, which did weaken the nations. For thou has said in thine heart... I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit." (KJV)
The removal of Lucifer's name from Isaiah 14:12 in modern versions also destroys the cross reference to Luke 10:18, in which verse Jesus identifies Satan as the former Lucifer: "I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven." With Lucifer divorced from the person of Satan, heretics are at liberty to remodel Lucifer as a benevolent deity. II Peter 1:19 in modern translations completes the repackaging of Lucifer and encourages readers to wait for him "...until the day dawn and the morning star arise in your hearts.""How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart... I will make myself like the Most High. But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit." (NIV)
It is the case today that occult sources defend the reimaging of Lucifer on the basis of this mistranslation of Scripture, and support their position with the writings of Bible scholars and translators! Gregg Braden offers this scholarly rationalization:
We are not astonished that this New Age author, nor the author of the Templar Legacy & Masonic Inheritance, would conspire to transpose Lucifer and Jesus Christ. However, it is staggering to read the identical interpretation of Isaiah 14 in The NIV: The Making of a Contemporary Translation. This apology for the New International Version contains a chapter written by NIV editor, R. Laird Harris, which presents the view that Isaiah 14 does not describe Lucifer’s expulsion from heaven and descent into hell, but is totally concerned with Nebuchadnezzar and his interment. 50. The removal of Lucifer's name from Isaiah 14 in modern translations supports this interpretation."...in the twelfth century A.D.... (there was) a well intentioned error in translation that Lucifer and Satan were treated as one and the same. Detailed by Andrew Collins in the book, Templar Legacy & Masonic Inheritance within Rosslyn Chapel, the error may have come from an interpretation of the Biblical book of Isaiah. ‘How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning.’ According to Collins, Biblical scholars are in agreement that this is a reference to the king of Babylon at the time, Nebuchadnezzar, known as ‘The Morning Star.’ Collins goes on to say that the term ‘Lucifer’ is believed to have been a name given both the king as well as the Morning Star, Venus..." 49.
Conversely, the inclusion of Lucifer's name in Isaiah 14:12 of the King James Version allows the reader no such liberty of interpretation as to the object of God's wrath - the spiritual King of Babylon; and the word "hell" in verse 5 clearly identifies his place of judgment. One must deny the obvious to miss the point: The removal of Lucifer’s name from Isaiah 14:12 in the ERV and subsequent versions has left readers of modern translations without an effective defense and vulnerable to New Age reinterpretations of this fallen archangel.
"Morning was just about to break when Jupiter and Saturn strolled together like two saffron flames merging into one. As Zalshar watched, a royal blue spark burst out of the darkness beneath. Jupiter emerged wearing a magnificent mantle of light. ‘This is the heavenly sign,’ Zalshar cried."-- Jay Gary
Astrologer Levine also describes the Jupiter/ Saturn alignment at daybreak (the very time at which Zalshar saw the "morning star") as the "heliacal rising of his star." According to his revolutionary exegesis of Matthew 2:2:
The predecessors of the Persian Magi were the Egyptian priests who worshipped the sun. Two Egyptologists who researched and wrote a book titled The Message Of The Sphinx: A Quest For The Hidden Legacy Of Mankind identify the heliacal rising of a star as the birth of Egyptian sun-god, Horus:"The original Aramaic text quotes the magi as saying they had seen ‘his star in heliacal rising.’ Heliacal rising means that it is the last star that is seen in the sky before the sun rises and makes other stars invisible in the brightness of daylight. This was a common observation technique for astrologers of those days." 52.
Osiris and Isis, the father and mother of Horus, had established their sacred Kingdom near the constellation of Orion and the star Sirius (Sothis) on the western side of the Milky Way. After a seventy-day period of invisibility, the day on which Sothis-Sirius was first seen rising with the sun at dawn was considered by the Egyptians to be the cosmic marker for the beginning of their New Year. The event of this particular star rising with the sun at dawn is referred to by astronomers as the "heliacal rising" of Sirius."The Hieropolitan priests were high initiates in the mysteries of the heavens and their dominant preoccupation was the observation and recording of the various motions of the sun and the moon, planets and the stars.... The particular worship peculiar to Heliopolis [the earliest cult centre of the sun-god Re] was that of the stars. From the worship of the stars evolved the worship of Re in the form of ‘Horus-of-the-Horizon...the god rising in the east at dawn’...Pyramid Texts also specify the time of day at which the sky is to be observed - clearly dawn, since this was when the birth of the gods was said to have occurred.’" 53.
In northern climates, where survival depended upon the change of seasons, the birth of the Sun-god was celebrated at the Winter Solstice, whereas life in the desert land of Egypt was wholly dependent upon the yearly overflowing of the Nile River at the summer solstice. During the Egyptian Pyramid Age, two corresponding events coincided with the heliacal rising of Sirius: The celestial event was the summer solstice and the terrestrial event was the flooding of the Nile or the "Great Inundation" upon which Egyptian civilization depended. At the heliacal rising of Sirius, Horus was born and set out to find his father Osiris in order to rouse him to awake (be reborn) and set himself in motion to bless the land with a rebirth of nature. Authors of The Message of the Sphinx, Graham Hancock and Robert Bauval, explain this astral phenomenon:
The Masonic author of Signs & Symbols of Primordial Man, Albert Churchward, calls this the Star of Annunciation: "Sothis, in its heliacal rising, was the Star of Annunciation, at the birth of Horus the Child." 55. According to Frances Yates, historian of The Rosicrucian Enlightenment, the sign which will inaugurate the transformation of the world will be observed just before dawn."…the two fold funeral regions of Osiris are said to reelect eachother at the time of the heliacal rising of Sirius, the ‘star of Isis,’ the sister-wife of Osiris and mother of Horus-an astronomical event which we know coincided in the early Pyramid Age with the appearance of the rising sun at the summer solstice (known as the birth of ‘Re’). It was at this propitious moment that Horus-King set out on his quest for the regeneration of Egypt by participating in a grand rebirth ritual simultaneously as the ‘son of Osiris’ and the son of ‘Re.’ As the ‘son of Osiris’ he emerged from the womb of Isis, i.e. the day of the ‘Birth of Re.’" 54.
The implications of Jay Gary's parable are clear: The fourth Magus has seen the Star of Annunciation and expects to witness the imminent revelation of "Christ." However, the term "Christ" is inclusive and the wise reader will be cautious to discern from context which Christ is presented. (Matthew 24:24) According to H.P. Blavatsky's Secret Doctrine, Horus is the Gnostic Christ 57. and a Masonic book, The Hiram Key, states: "...a passage from the Pyramid Texts shows that the new Horus was considered to be the morning star, where the new Osiris says... '...the Morning Star is my offspring.'" 58."Howbeit we know that after a time there will now be a general reformation, both of divine and human things, according to our desire, and the expectation of others. For it is fitting, that before the rising of the sun, there should appear and break forth Aurora or some clearness, or divine light in the sky." 56.
If the multitude of deities and occult correspondences in the mystery religions seems hopelessly confusing, it is helpful to understand the hidden motive for devising this irrational system. Richard Rives states, "A Satanic mystery religion (is) designed to hide the true identity of the one being worshipped by way of multiple names." Rives corroborates his hypothesis with a reference to The Five Great Monarchies Of The Ancient World:
In other words, polytheistic religions are essentially monotheistic, whose adherents worship a supernatural being variously called the "Divine Nature," "the Supreme," "the One," "Deity," "the Universal Soul," "the Universal Spirit," "the Name" and other appellations. It is noteworthy that modern bible versions frequently substitute the terms "Divine Nature," "divine being," "Deity," for "the Godhead" - a reference to the Trinity. (See Romans 1:20, Acts 17:29, Col. 2:9)"It may be perhaps suspected...that an esoteric doctrine...taught the real identity of the several gods and goddesses, who may have been understood by the better instructed to represent, not distinct and separate beings, but several phases of the divine nature. Ancient polytheism had, it may be surmised, to a great extent this origin, the various names and titles of the Supreme, which designated His different attributes or the different spheres of His operation, coming by degrees to be misunderstood, and to pass, first with the vulgar, and at last with all but the most enlightened, for the appellation of a number of gods." 59.
The Star of 2000 portrays a blazing star on its cover and title page. In the various orders of Freemasonry, a Blazing Star is observed during advanced initiations, an occult phenomenon which gives new meaning to Jay Gary's boast that the modern Magi in The Star of 2000 "have seen his Star." Nineteenth century Theosophical Society leader, Charles Leadbeater, stated in The Hidden Secrets of Masonry:
In Hidden Secrets of the Eastern Star, Dr. Cathy Burns documents sources such as Albert Pike, the Sovereign Pontiff of Universal Freemasonry in the late 1800's, which have identified the various gods represented by the Blazing Star:"...the Blazing Star...was called the 'star of the dawn' or Morning Star'; and represented Horus of the resurrection, who was pictured as bearing it upon his head and as having given it to his followers." 60.
However, in his "Instructions to the twenty-three Supreme Councils of the World" Pike disclosed the ultimate object of Masonic worship: "Yes Lucifer is God, and unfortunately Adonay is also god...Lucifer, God of Light and God of good is struggling for humanity against Adonay, the God of Darkness and Evil." 62."Pike explains that the Blazing Star in our Lodges ...represents ...Sirius. Pike also calls this Dog Star Horus and Sothis. Other sources list this Star as Star of Isis, Star in the East, Star of the Annunciation ...Star of Hathor, Star of Horus, Nile Star, Morning Star ...Star of Set...Lucifer." 61.
Which Christ are we to believe the fourth magus of Jay Gary's parable is anticipating as he observes in the heavens the Jupiter/Saturn conjunction at daybreak -- Jesus Christ or Horus of the Horizon? In Matthew 24:30, the Lord Jesus Christ foretold that a heavenly sign would precede the Second Coming and certain events which would attend His glorious return:
There is no mourning on earth nor gathering of the elect in Zalshar’s fable. Rather, Zalshar prays to the "Father of Lights" for a global awakening --"And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."
It is doubtful that "holy" angels will be sent "from the East to the West," but rather demonic spirits who spread the Babylonian mysteries to Western culture. The sixth vial judgment of Revelation may refer to the "magi" of the Eastern mystery religions, who will be unleashed on mankind during the Great Tribulation. And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. - Rev. 16:12 For apostate Christianity, a major point of entry into Eastern mysticism will be the Eastern Orthodox Church. Matthew Fox wrote in The Coming of the Cosmic Christ:"Let a temple to Christ be built so a new memorial might stand. Send forth your holy angels from the East to the West, to gather praises and tributes to present to Christ our best. As this happens in heaven, on earth may awakening come. As we celebrate the greatest Christmas ever may your will be done." 63.
"Eastern Orthodox Christianity - which has never forsaken the Cosmic Christ as has the West - considers the feast of the Transfiguration to be the pivotal point of the liturgical year... The Eastern Orthodox tradition, as represented by theologian Nicolas Berdyaev, celebrates some of the implications of a Cosmic Christ theology of the Transfiguration. Berdyaev writes: 'The central idea of the Eastern Fathers was that of Theosis, the divinization of all creatures, the transfiguration of the world, the idea of the cosmos and not the idea of personal salvation... Only later Christian consciousness began to value the idea of hell more than the idea of the transfiguration and divinization of the world... The kingdom of God is the transfiguration of the world, universal resurrection, a new heaven and a new earth.'" (pp. 102-3)
In The Reappearance of the Christ & The Masters of Wisdom, Benjamin Creme confirms that, besides Freemasonry, other esoteric institutions will be in place to perform the mystery rites: "Through the Masonic initiation and certain esoteric groups will come the process of initiation. In this coming age millions of people will take the first and second initiation through these transformed and purified institutions." 64.
Predictably, the endnote to "The Parable of the Fourth Wise Man" identifies the basis of Jay Gary’s fable as early apocryphal writings. These would be the Gnostic scriptures fabricated in Alexandria, Egypt (origin of the Eastern Orthodox Church) and other fictional and dubious sources:The Gnostic School at Alexandria, Egypt, founded by Clement c. 190 A.D, produced the Apocrypha, the Septuagint and many other Greek manuscripts used to corrupt the Word of God and the early Church with Gnostic doctrine. 66. It is conceivable that Paul was speaking prophetically of the Alexandrian cult which gave rise to Gnosticism when he wrote to Timothy:"The only mention of the Magi in Scripture comes from Matthew 2:1-16. The traditional number of three wise men has been inferred from the three gifts mentioned: gold, frankincense and myrrh. All the rest, including the names of Gaspar, Melchoir and Balthasar, derive from early apocryphal writings and stories written in the Middle Ages. The legend of a fourth king who started farther away than the others, missed the nativity in Bethlehem and wandered until Good Friday, has been told by Henry Van Dyke (1852-1933), in his classic, The Story Of The Other Wise Man. The parable in this prologue is my creation, inspired in part by Jim Bradford’s nativity play, Journey To The Light." 65.
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts, shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. - II Tim. 4:3,4
JUPITER Through the fable of Zalshar, Jay Gary has cleverly conveyed to his readers (and Magi everywhere) that the advent of a false Christ and the dawning of the Morning Star in men’s hearts will be preceded by a special sign -- the alignment of Jupiter and Saturn in the heavens and the appearance of a royal blue spark after which Jupiter emerges wearing a magnificent mantle of light. Such would not be the sign prophesied in Matthew 24:30, but rather a portent of the false Christ.
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and by far the largest -- more than twice as massive as all the other planets combined. On December 7, 1989, NASA launched an exploratory mission to Jupiter of the spacecraft Galileo. The craft, fueled by plutonium, arrived at Jupiter on December 7, 1995 and has been orbiting the planet’s atmosphere for the purpose of gathering information. It’s mission was slated to end in December of 1997, but was extended for two years as the Galileo Europa Mission (GEM). On the NASA Internet site were posted the following excerpts from reports related to the extension:
"Originally scheduled to end its exploration on December 7, 1997, NASA and Congress have approved the extension of Galileo’s studies through the last day of 1999..." 67.
The Galileo Europa Mission was subsequently extended to January 31, 2000 and into the year 2001 under another name, the Galileo Millennium Mission, during which time was planned further exploration of the Jovian system, including the edge of Jupiter with its Great Red Spot, and the four largest of Jupiter's 16 moons, known as the Galilean satellites -- Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto."On December 7, 1997, the Galileo spacecraft completes its two-year ‘Prime Mission’ study at Jupiter. At that point, we enter into a new phase, the Galileo Europa Mission (GEM), a tightly focussed, low-cost continuation of Galileo’s exploration of the Jovian system, scheduled to last through the end of 1999." 68.
"NASA Headquarters has agreed in principle to extend the Galileo mission past its planned January 31 finale. Details of funding and itinerary for the new extended mission, to be called the Galileo Millennium Mission, must still be resolved. A Europa encounter took place January 3, 2000, and is technically still part of the current, extended Galileo Europa Mission. Another Io flyby is planned for February 20, with flybys of Ganymede on May 20 and December 28, and joint observations of Jupiter with the Cassini spacecraft in December 2000.
Prior to the Galileo’s launch, anti-nuclear organizations protested the mission, expressing concern that the deadly plutonium on board was potentially dangerous to Planet Earth. The official NASA web site merely reported: "As the launch of Galileo neared, anti-nuclear groups, concerned over what they perceived as risks to the public safety from Galileo’s RTGs, sought a court injunction prohibiting Galileo’s launch.""Galileo engineers like to say that the spacecraft has already lived 'well past its warranty', surviving radiation exposure more than twice the level it was designed to withstand. Although the radiation has created some problems with spacecraft instruments, Galileo is still functioning well. There's no way to predict how long the spacecraft will remain healthy, but as long as it does, it provides valuable opportunities for exploration. In addition, it will serve as a flying testbed of how electronic parts really survive through high radiation exposure over long periods."
Among the FAQ’s were: "What will Galileo do (or where will it go) after the next two year mission is over? Will its power run out at that point?" NASA's response:
William Cooper, the author of Behold a Pale Horse, maintained that option #2 would occur in December of 1999. A former U.S. Naval intelligence officer, Cooper also stated that, upon impact of Jupiter, the plutonium (RTGs) on Galileo would produce an atomic explosion resulting in the birth of a new star:"Maybe some excellent scientific ideas can be planned for Galileo at the end of 1998! Eventually, Galileo will run out of propellant, or electronics on board the spacecraft will stop functioning because of damage from the high radiation around Jupiter...but Galileo will continue to orbit Jupiter for a very long time after the mission ends. Eventually, sometime between several hundred to a thousand years in the future (these things are very hard to predict), Galileo will suffer one of the following fates: 1. The spacecraft will impact one of Jupiter’s satellites (most likely) 2. The spacecraft will impact Jupiter (less likely) 3. The spacecraft will escape Jupiter and go into solar orbit (much less likely)." 69. (Italics added)
Although Cooper's prediction did not come true in 1999, NASA claimed in that year that "Galileo will continue to orbit Jupiter for a very long time after the mission ends." In the year 2000, NASA reported: "Galileo is still functioning well. There's no way to predict how long the spacecraft will remain healthy, but as long as it does, it provides valuable opportunities for exploration." In December of 2002, NASA set a date for Galileo to impact Jupiter and on September 17, 2003 announced that Jupiter had impacted Jupiter on September 21, 2003, 4 days before the fact!"The spacecraft called Galileo is on its way to Jupiter, a baby star with a gaseous makeup exactly the same as the sun, with the load of 49.7 pounds of plutonium, supposedly being used as batteries to power the craft. When its final orbit decays in December, 1999, Galileo will deliver its payload into the center of Jupiter. The unbelievable pressure that will be encountered will cause a reaction exactly as occurs when an atomic bomb is exploded by an implosion detonator...lighting the hydrogen and helium atmosphere of Jupiter and resulting in the birth of the star that has already been named Lucifer. The world will interpret it as a sign of tremendous religious significance. It will fulfill prophecy." 70.
Galileo End of Mission Status
"The Galileo spacecraft's 14-year odyssey came to an end on Sunday, Sept. 21, when the spacecraft passed into Jupiter's shadow then disintegrated in the planet's dense atmosphere at 11:57 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time. The Deep Space Network tracking station in Goldstone, Calif., received the last signal at 12:43:14 PDT. The delay is due to the time it takes for the signal to travel to Earth." - 683It is curious that NASA's announcement came before the alleged impact of Galileo on the planet Jupiter. So how can we be sure this actually happened if there is no photographic evidence of the event? It is entirely possible, given that NASA is controlled by Freemasonry, that Galileo is still orbiting Jupiter and will impact the planet at a future time of NASA's choosing. The explosion, which will be observable from earth, will be heralded by New Agers as the long-awaited heavenly sign and the world will not think to associate it with Galileo.
Some critics have objected to William Cooper's prognostication of a baby star forming as an impossibility, given that Jupiter has only a fraction of the mass needed to collapse upon itself, and so compress the hydrogen atoms to a point where fusion reactions can begin. However, this does not rule out the possibility of a nuclear explosion occurring on Jupiter which would be observable from planet Earth. According to one scientific opinion:
"Plutonium is the core of hydrogen bombs, which produce light and heat by nuclear fusion created by implosion of the core. This same reaction could be created by causing the Galileo craft to plunge into Jupiter, creating an implosion/fusion detonation due to the rapid increase in pressure on the plutonium. Remember that a nuclear chain reaction does not require oxygen as a catalyst. Rather, what we are dealing with is the conversion of mass into energy as in any other nuclear reaction. This is the famous Einsteinian equation E=MC2 (energy = mass times the speed of light squared) which basically means that if a quantity of mass is accelerated rapidly enough, almost pure energy in the form of light and heat will be produced. Although Jupiter, which is 90% hydrogen, does not have the mass to become a star, the resulting release of energy in the form of light and heat would be greater than the combined simultaneous detonation of all nuclear weapons now in existence on earth. Quite a spectacle. Is it possible? It certainly is." - 686
PART II: SATURN
