Let's Put This Story to Rest Once and For All
The Planet Venus is the Light Bringer and the Story Behind the Fall of "Satan" in Isaiah 14
If I ever heard an Old Testament story once, I have heard this one told ten thousand times. It comes from Isaiah 14.
12 "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! (Son of the Morning Star. i.e. the Sun) how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
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(Note: The 'sides of the North" is where Cassiopia, "the Throne" is in the night sky and considered "God's Throne".
Through it runs "the sea of glass", the Milky Way, of Revelation.
Opposite it are "the Seven Spirits of God", i.e. the seven stars of the Big Dipper, all in the Circumpolar Constellations. The ancients invented "Nightflixs"
Revelation 4 reflects this image
Revelation 4:
. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. 6 Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.
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Back to Ezekiel
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
Note: The "Most High" position is Noon
15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;"
This story was THE proof that Satan used to be one of God's good guys and then all of a sudden, one day decided to be take over everything and knock God off His throne. Local boy goes bad I guess. Well Satan, which term is never mentioned here, former Light Bringer, which is what Lucifer means, is now the Prince of Darkness and the rest is history.
What's really going on with this story. Did you know that you see this drama literally take place multiple mornings and evenings of the year. Did you know that even to this day, this Lucifer is mistaken for UFOs or landing lights! Jesus said he saw Satan fall as lightening from heaven as did millions then and billions today if you know where to look. It's a very old story based on a very real observation by humans who made up a story about what they did not understand at the time.
First of all, let's understand that Isaiah 14 is really not about a Satan the Devil as he has evolved into over the history of the Church. A scripture can never mean what it never meant, and this principle applies to Isaiah 14 for sure.
In the original Hebrew text, the 14th chapter of Isaiah is not about a fallen angel, but about a fallen Babylonian king, who had persecuted the children of Israel. Later in the context we see he was a man, who died. Now we often hear that this was a "type" but that's slippery ground mostly. Metaphor maybe, but not a type, where we can change a man into a Lucifer and then Lucifer into Satan, never mentioned, and then the whole thing into how Satan came to be the God of this world so send in your tithes and be safe with us. "In the Hebrew text the expression used to describe the Babylonian king before his death is "Helal, son of Shahar", which can best be translated as "Day star, son of the Dawn." The name evokes the golden glitter of a proud king's dress and court (much as his personal splendor earned for King Louis XIV of France the appellation, "The Sun King").
The King here was a man, plain and simple, and for his cocky attitude, he got to die like everyone else.
Lucifer means "Light Bringer" and is a term used by Roman astronomers to describe the planet Venus. Venus has always been the light bringer as it always precedes the early morning sun.
It is very bright and very noticeable, such that it has been confused, as noted, for the landing lights of non-existent airplanes. It is bright, but not as bright as the sun of course. In mythology, humans noted this 'god" that preceded the sun and seemed to be racing to the zenith, which in Astro theology is called the place of the "Most High" or plainly put for us today, NOON! Noon is God's throne in Astro theological terms.
In Isaiah, this "Lightbringer" went before God, the Most High-The SUN. The highest point in the sky where the sun or anything that shines outside the planet can rise, from our perspective. When mythology and even the Bible speaks of God as "the most High", one can see the deeper meaning that hints at sun worship. The Bible promotes a similar yet different form of Sun/Son worship but that has been lost on most Christians today.
The planet Venus proved to be an enigma for mankind. Its job seemed to be to go before the morning sun and announce, if you would, it's coming forth. But then, bright as it was and still is, it falls from the sky and descends into the ground, or in mythology, seems to be thrown down. Strange! Not knowing that Venus was an inner planet and all inner planets that rotate with the earth around the sun can never pass over us, east to west as do the outer planets and stars, they had to explain it.
Thus we have the "fact" that this Lightbringer, this Lucifer soon be called Satan, MUST have become discontent with just announcing the Sun God, so MUST have said in his heart, "I will become the MOST HIGH." Well that was it for him! The Most High, not willing to give up his throne to this usurper, simply threw him back down to the earth, or apparently so at least as we look on the horizon. After that rather unsuccessful endeavor the dethrone God Most High, we get stuck with him as Satan compliments of the Church, who embellished the story and ta ta!...The mess the world in is explained and it isn't the fault of mankind for the most part. Forever more, we can say, "Satan made me do it." You know, the bright and morning star that tried to become God but lost.
It was mostly the Catholic St. Jerome in the fourth century who mistranslated the Hebraic metaphor, "Day star, son of the Dawn," as "Lucifer," and over the centuries an evolution of ideas took place. Lucifer the morning star became a disobedient angel, cast out of heaven to rule eternally in hell mostly waiting for all Non-Catholics, but later all Non-Protestants too. Now the Church had it's Prince of the Power of the Air, the Prince of Darkness, the God of this world, The Roaring Lion, the Fallen Angel, the former Day star (because if you know where to look, Venus can even be seen in the daytime)...gone bad.
Interesting enough, even Jesus, well the Jesus of Revelation who bears no likeness to the Jesus of the Gospels, identifies himself as the morning star, a term used as a central theme in many Christian sermons. Jesus refers to himself as the morning star in Revelation 22:16: "I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star."
So here we have it. Humans could never quite explain why this bright "star" we know as the planet Venus, preceded the morning Sun as if to announce it's arrival, but then crashed back to earth. Very strange! Let's make up a story!
This bright light, an Angel, the Lightbringer and minor deity compared to the SUN, really went bad and decided to knock the SUN GOD, and later the SON of GOD, off the throne, which is where the SUN rises to when it becomes the MOST HIGH at NOON. God, not putting up with that, simply threw Lucifer, now Satan or the Destroyer, back down to earth where he belongs and humans can get stuck with him until the SON of the SUN God comes back to destroy the works of the Light Bringer now gone dark. Great story! In Isaiah 14, this haughty king was acting just like that in thinking he could knock Israel out of the picture, he lost, was thrown down and died, just like that planet Venus every morning.
19 But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcass trodden under feet.
In the real story of the real human king of Isaiah 14, we see he dies like all mortal men and is not well thought of for thinking he could challenge Israel. In verse 19 we read, "But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcass trodden under feet. 20 Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned." Graves, carcasses, pits, burials and oblivion are all features of what happens to humans, not Angels or mini-gods.
So when you see Venus early in the morning when you drive to work and think either a train if low enough or a plane looking for place to land is coming right at YOU, know that's only the Light Bringer, Lucifer, later your arch nemesis Satan, announcing "But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall"
Notice it doesn't say "Son". Think of wings more like rays and you'll get the picture. That planet Vensus, so beautiful is explaining a phenomenon that we take for granted to human beings long ago who feared such things and simply had to come up with a theology to explain it. Now you can say you saw Satan fall as lightening from heaven too.
It also cast doubt on Lucifer actually being any literal being in the pantheon of the gods and demons.
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Bonus Astro-Theology of the Scriptures.
Ezekiel 10
16 comments:
Dennis,
From the perspective of a former Armstrongite and atheist, your post makes a lot of sense. However, from the perspective of someone who still adheres to the Christian faith, your post reflects Armstrong's belief that everything which we now believe originated in paganism. Likewise, as someone who believes that the Judeo-Christian canon is devoid of any Divine influence/contribution and reflects the ignorance of a superstitious past, your perspective makes sense. Nevertheless, for traditional Christians, Scripture is full of spiritual insight and reflects the story of God's dealings with humanity.
Now, we can quibble over whether many of the passages in Scripture should be regarded as literal, and which ones should be regarded as rhetorical, but Christians clearly see Divine fingerprints all over these ancient writings. We should also note that God NEVER intended for Scripture to be regarded as a science, geographic, or historical text. We believe that it was intended to reflect God's plan to save humanity through Jesus Christ. Hence, we wholeheartedly reject your axiom that passages can never mean anything beyond what the original human author believed or intended. In other words, if God had any role in producing these writings, they mean whatever he or the Christ says that they mean!
Now, while your post does present a fairly accurate presentation about ancient astrological beliefs, it does not follow that that is what those symbols meant to God or his people. That is not logic - that is what we call speculative. When I review the history of religion and the world, I see some very unique features in both the Jewish and the Christian faith - some things which are very foreign to the pagan notions which preceded them. I have written extensively about Herbie's preoccupation with the false premises advanced by the pseudo-historian Hyslop about pagan influences on Roman Catholicism. Indeed, most modern scholars reject that narrative out-of-hand these days. The "plain truth" is that the Judeo-Christian tradition destroyed and supplanted the religions which had preceded them.
Satan's greatest achievement is to make billions of humans believe he doesn't exist.
Thank you Dennis for your post.
This is all so unsatisfactory. We are all looking searching, and there are many who would deny and decry us who search. Indeed those who oppose faith communities and reason they are not founded in reality are searching also. Through millennia humanity has looked and pondered for meaning. Believers and non. One looks at the hell unleashed on Afghanistan today by its puritanical religious regime , Iran and Yemen also, and those of atheism, to this present time. Russia Cambodia North Korea all come to mind. And the murderous suffering they all unleashed. Ultimately the eastern bloc in Europe fell because of their inability to feed the human soul. Besides their economic mismanagement. This yearning within for solution a utopia is unquenchable and points to I believe a call of God placed in the heart of man. To bring him to Himself. For many the search continues, but He is never far from us all as scripture attests. I can only speak for myself, as our own stories and experiences and expectations are all uniquely different. That in itself points to the above I conclude also. Cheers and keep posting.
The Astro-theological aspects of scripture are commonly understood by those who understand such things. It has NOTHING to do with me being a former Astrogate or even non-believer. It is clear that some of the OT and NT authors understood the concept of "as above, so below" and wrote the journey of the signs of the Zodiac into the parts of their story they had no clear understanding about.
The astro-theological nature of scripture has NOTHING to do with paganism save that pagans also wove the progression of the equinoxes, solstice observations and the sky figures in the constellations into their stories.
Christianity, in part, built itself on the pre-existing tales, myths and sky stories of previous iterations. That is simply a fact. The "plain truth" is that the Judeo-Christian tradition copied and retold, with a Hebrew and then Christian twist, the religions which preceded them.
Another article by Dennis discrediting the bible as God's inspired word. And as usual, just before a holy day, in this case the Day of Atonement.
The holy days must secretly arouse anxiety in fallen Christians since it reminds them of their eternal end.
Fool. ( shouldn’t call a brother ‘fool’ so I am safe!
Its hardly a major theological upheaval, but I was always a little puzzled as to how "Lucifer" got into the mythology since it is a Latin name, not derived from an earlier, similar antecedent. (Not that angels' native language is Hebrew anyway).
Dennis,
You may not have intended it, but your post and subsequent comments appear to reflect an attitude of intellectual superiority - similar to what we all experienced with "THE TRUTH." After leaving the intellectual straitjacket of our former association (Armstrongism), I learned that "THE TRUTH" isn't found in a neat little packet of information and is not based on what we know or think we know. NO ONE has a monopoly on "THE TRUTH" - NOT even historians and scientists! Many of the things that we know (or think we know) are based on incomplete information.
The notion that Christianity was built on the pre-existing tales, myths, and sky stories of previous iterations of religious beliefs is speculative, NOT FACT. As you well know, astrology is an integral part of the ancient Mesopotamian/Babylonian pagan religious system. As soon as ancient peoples began observing celestial bodies and noting their movements in the night sky, they began weaving developing their mythologies about the gods and speculating about how those movements related to events on earth. I'm quite sure that you also understand that Christianity was so relentless and ruthless in its pursuit of rooting out paganism and replacing it that we are still trying to figure out what these ancient peoples actually believed and practiced! For a relevant example, we are still debating what Stonehenge was to the ancients - how they used it - what it meant to them (all kinds of speculation).
Now, to be sure, there are certainly scriptural mentions and allusions to some of these ancient symbols and stories, but it is quite a leap to suggest that Judaism and Christianity were built on that foundation. Indeed, the internal evidence within those writings suggested that there was a pronounced bias against astrology and astrologists (see Deuteronomy 4:19, 18:9-14, II Kings 23:5, Isaiah 47:13-14, Jeremiah 10:2, Daniel 2:27-28, 4:7, etc.). Moreover, stories that are similar to other stories from other cultures may indicate a common origin, or they might be indicative of the memory of some shared event/experience. Moreover, the etymology of words and the study of origins often result in more than one plausible theory or point to borrowing from more than one source. In other words, you may be right, but you may be wrong.
Dennis hates those who are Christian and does all he can to mock those who believe.
I have to wonder if Dennis used to mock the members in his congregations and their beliefs when he was a pastor.
To 4:08
Matthew 2:2
Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
Thanks for the post Dennis!
I appreciate the perspective. Don’t let the naysayers get you down. Seeing how beliefs evolve over time creates cognitive dissonance In many.
Heh. Didn't even need to check the by line to know who had written this. Who else?
This is horrifyingly true 4:43. But Dennis is not living like a hippy in some remote village. He dwells amongst believers. You should turn back to God Dennis before it is too late. The LORD sees what you do.
He still does 4:49!! He never left.
They hate Tabernacles and go out of their way to upset believers either right before Tabernacles or after it and in some instances during it. It is a very real problem. Brethren need prayers for protection.
That's absurd! I don't think anyone here, even those who are no longer members and believers. The Feast was a great vacation opportunity.
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